23. Tori

Ientered the war room, and it was in chaos. The commanders were all bickering with each other. Avlyn was especially heated in a discussion with CommanderTalius. I listened for a few moments.

"We cannot accept this offer. He would never hold to it." Avlyn gestured frantically to something that lay on the table. I approached, and Talius turned to me, annoyance flashing in his eyes before he turned back to Avlyn.

"We are stretched thin as it is. We may not be able to stop a direct attack on the city. This could save thousands of lives."

Avlynhuffed, and I saw a scroll laid out across the table. The imperial seal was stamped at the bottom.

"What—"

"Hadeon wants us to surrender. If we surrender Xyr, surrender the whole damn kingdom, he says he will spare our citizens." Avlyn crossed their arms. "I'd rather die first."

"And you may just get your wish, Commander. You remember what happened last time," Talius retorted.

"Hadeon will never spare the kingdom. He won't uphold this bargain," I interjected.

Taliusturned to me with nothing but disdain in his voice. "I'm sorry; what is she doing here?"

"PrincessTori is here to—" Avlyn started, but Talius raised a hand.

"I would hope she can speak for herself." He turned to me with nothing friendly in his gaze.

"Talius, I respect your desire to protect the citizens of this kingdom. That is my desire as well. But you cannot believe that Hadeon will stay his hand. He doesn't care about anything but maintaining his power. Anything that threatens that, he destroys."

"Oh? So, what would you have us do, PrincessTori? Stand, fight, and all die slaughtered on the GoldenArmy's blades?" Talius bore down on me, but I did not yield.

"Do you think so little of your own army? We have the advantage, and Xyr is not defenseless. If we can prepare for an assault, we could hold out."

"Hold out for what?" His harsh blue eyes felt like they were cutting into my very soul.

Ifelt doubt starting to crawl its way into my heart. I shook my head. "Hold out until reinforcements arrive. TheRiverQueens, have they—" ButTalius waved his hand again and turned back to the table, examining the figures laid out on the map.

Ithought he was going to answer me when he said, "Just because you shared Abraxas' bed doesn't mean that your opinion is welcome here. If that was a criterion, we would need a much larger council chamber." I nearly stumbled back in surprise. Hurt and anger seethed in my belly. So, this is how he wanted to play.

Taliusand I were the same height, but he still managed to sneer down his nose at me. Avlyn moved to intercede, but I raised my hand, and they stilled. "The enemy is at our gates. We must stand united."

"United? Behind you?"

"No, beside me. I have fought alongside your armies and trained with them. I may not be royalty of this court, but I am fae royalty, raised in the art of diplomacy and strategy. And—"

"A princess whose own kingdom rejected her for the role. What a mockery of Abraxas' rule."

Everymuscle in my body spasmed, itching to lash out, to strike Talius. I tightened my jaw, and did not move, did not react. Those words rose up in my head again, you'll never be good enough, but I cast them into the emerald flames in my heart and incinerated them.

"You may not trust me, Talius, but I will not let the people of this kingdom suffer because of your stubbornness."

"You have no authority here." Several of the other commanders started trying to join us. Many supported Talius, but a few stood in my defense. They didn't matter. Talius was the one I had to convince. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "This kingdom deserves better than a princess playing at being a general, at being queen." The last word was spat out like a slur.

"I am no general, and I am no queen. I am the mate of your king, so you will honor me."

Therewas a long pause as many of the commanders glanced at each other. Finally, one I knew as Pixso spoke, "So it's true, he really is…"

Theyall looked at me, silent. I guess I had their attention now.

"Yes, Abraxas is a dragon. The last dragon."

"Why has he not returned?" Talius asked. I felt it in the smallest tremor of his voice, fear and… betrayal.

Avlynflattened their lips, but these commanders deserved the truth. They served this kingdom loyally, and they should be shown the respect they deserved. The commander might not have agreed, but secrets are what got us into this mess in the first place.

"Abraxas retook his Dragon form in Koron at great personal cost. Right now, we do not know when he will return… if he will return." The room was suddenly deafening with the commanders' shouts, each upset for different reasons.

Islammed my fists onto the table, and silence fell again. "He is not lost to us yet. I will do everything in my power to get him back. Until then, you will stay the course. We will help our allies and defeat our enemies. But most importantly, we will protect those to whom we owe our allegiance, the people of this kingdom."

Therewas still some rumbling in the room, but I had enough. I tugged on the golden bond between me and Abraxas until it blazed green, and I threw a flame onto the table, incinerating the letter from the capital. Every eye, even Avlyn's, snapped to the blaze as the paper crumbled into nothing but floating embers.

"We will not yield," my voice boomed, mana still flowing through me. "Hadeon will not take one more good thing from this world. I will protect Xyr, protect this kingdom until my dying breath. So, will you stand with me or not?"

Taliusapproached without saying a word. He stood tall and proud. We may have been the same height, but his formal armor gave him bulk I didn't have. I stood my ground, planting my feet in a fighting stance. I didn't bring my hand to my sword; this was never going to work if we came to blows. I held his stare, and he did not blink.

Hispiercing blue eyes were fierce, unrelenting. Suddenly, he dropped to one knee. "Please forgive my harsh words, YourMajesty. I remember Tenebrae. I didn't enter with you, but all my men told me the same thing on their escape. You fought for them with valor and cunning. I had to see you would not yield. We face an enemy we cannot defeat if we show even a moment of weakness."

Heslowly removed his sword from its sheath and held it aloft, the handle in one hand, the blade in the other, over his head. He bowed his chin. "My sword is yours; my life is yours; do with it what you will."

Idared a glance at Avlyn, and their eyes were sparkling. "Rise, CommanderTalius. I have no desire to see you kneel." He sheathed his sword, and I gripped his forearm just as I would with any of the soldiers to help him rise. It surprised him for a moment, but I saw a grin flash across his face.

"I am a warrior, not a general. I will need all of you to win this fight. I do not need you to kneel, just to fight at my side, as you would have done Abraxas. Can you do that for me?"

Taliusslammed his fist into the armor of his chest. "Until the sky burns, YourMajesty."

Thesound of the remaining leaders slamming their fists to their chests was deafening, and they all shouted as one, "Until the sky burns." Avlyn's voice rang just a moment longer, and they sent me an approving wink from the back of the crowd.