Chapter 30

CHAPTER30

The Ashen Deep’s forest was closest to Margaret, but Lore and the Matriarch knew it was the safest place for everyone. As much as she hated to admit it.

Lore didn’t want to be any more indebted to the Ashen Deep. Already the Matriarch had sunk her claws into Lore and even a goddess had to pay her debts. Lore had no idea what the Matriarch would eventually ask for, but that debt grew larger by the day.

She’d thought it would take weeks to find the leaders of every group that might help them, but the reality was there were very few people willing to help.

There were the humans, and those were limited in numbers. Scared, nervous. Their only leaders had hidden in Tenebrous for a while, and some were on the outskirts of other towns, but none of them were quite interested in helping. Beauty’s father had come to the forest, of course, and a few other nobles who hadn’t lost as much family as the others.

The dwarves were waiting for her the moment she called upon them. Lore had smiled at Algor and promised to keep his people safe as best she could, and he’d waved her off, saying that he had always known it would come to this. And as a dwarf, he’d always wanted to see what the Ashen Deep had built in comparison to his own home.

And that was... it.

Not an army. Just a band of people who had no idea what they wanted or how they were going to take their kingdom back. Just a handful of nobility and those who thought they might be able to help.

It wasn’t what she’d hoped for, that much she knew. Algor and his people were at least useful. The dwarves could fight well, and the Ashen Deep were powerful allies. She’d seen them fight and had fought beside them. Their grimdags made a significant difference, along with their ability to fight like the best of the elves.

But it still wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.

Standing at the table with the few leaders surrounding it, she eyed the four humans, two dwarves, and three elves who stood around it with her.

“I want to fight for this kingdom,” she started, trying very hard to not look behind her at Zephyr and Beauty. “I want to take back what is ours. I know some of you do not trust me or any of us because we are magical creatures. Because we once stood by Margaret, but I need you to understand. This is not how it was supposed to go.”

“How was it supposed to go?” The tall gentleman who stood behind Beauty’s father was a general in his day. The others looked at him with a significant amount of awe, so she knew she had to get his trust first.

“The rebellion was never meant to harm the mortals in exchange for them harming us. We only wanted equality. That was the reason for starting all of it.” She met his gaze and did not flinch at the hatred in his eyes. “What shall I call you?”

“Baron Edgerton,” he replied.

“Baron. I understand you have good reason not to trust me. But we all have good reason to not trust each other here. Do we want to pull out all those bad memories and feelings, or do we set them aside for the good of our kingdom?” She arched her brow. “I, for one, would rather fight and get back all that we have lost, then let it fall between our fingers because we yet again cannot work together.”

She’d put him in his place, certainly. But it hadn’t won her any friendships on the mortals side.

Algor cleared his throat and said, “The dwarves are more than happy to fight. Margaret’s behavior toward us has become disturbing. I fear it is likely that she sees anyone who is not an elf to be lesser, and that is of great concern to my people.”

Lore nodded. “I’m certain that you are right, my friend. The elves have always held themselves in higher regard than the rest of the creatures in Umbra. I fear the same fate as you if we continue along this path.”

And what a dark path that would be. Margaret would ensure that no other magical creatures had as much as the elves. For no matter what they had given the world, the elves were always the same. Prideful, boastful creatures who wanted to control all that they could.

The Matriarch stepped in, her milky eyes seeming to follow the movements of every person in the room. “The Ashen Deep will fight at your side. We have ties to you that we cannot break now. And if the dragon wishes us to fight, then we will do so.”

Ah, of course. Because the Ashen Deep would have done nothing without their ties to Lore’s family. That was not reassuring, and it made her fear that if Abraxas could not bring back the dragons, or if Nyx or Draven had not come with them, that the Ashen Deep would pull away. Such a situation would result in not only the loss of the war, but a significant amount of lives.

Shaking her head, she pressed her fists into the table. “We need the humans to stand at our side on this. If you do not fight with us, then we are fighting for you, yet again.”

“We have given you enough, have we not? Thousands of humans all disappearing,” Beauty’s father snarled.

Lore peered through her hair at Beauty’s father, who glared down the table at her. “Do you think I’m not aware of that? I saved a band myself. Who knows where they ended up? But I gave them a few more days. I am fighting for them. Besides, we know where your humans are kept, or perhaps where they might be kept. But I need your leaders to stand beside me or I am doing all of this for you.”

“Are you not a goddess?” he asked. “Were you not sent here to do just this? Why do you need us to risk our lives when you could snap your fingers and be done with all this?”

Rage moved through her whole body until she couldn’t think or breathe through it. These people. They wanted her to do everything for them, gift them a kingdom on a golden platter and then whisper in their ear what is the right thing to do.

She was not just a goddess, she was a woman who had lived in these streets and who had begged them for any amount of attention or care, and they still were not willing to see that.

Lore kept her head down, speaking to the table as she chose her words carefully.

“If you wish me to win this kingdom back, Lords of Men, I will do so. I will slay all those who stand in opposition to me. I will stack their bodies in a pyre that will burn so brightly everyone in Umbra will see its flames. But if I do this, I will not do it for you. And you will have a woman sitting on that throne who has no weakness. This kingdom will be mine and mine alone. I will do what I wish with it. You will have no say, no power, no ability to change anything for your families. And trust me when I say this, if you think to betray me at any point, I will take over your minds and you will lick my boots clean.”

She looked up at the horrified expressions on their faces. Because they could hear the truth in her voice. That she wasn’t lying. Lore would never lie to them about the darkness that laid within her and the truth that she could destroy whatever she wanted.

“Or,” she lightened her tone, “you could take back your kingdom on your own. Together. With the creatures who do not enjoy what has been done. This is your choice. Whose kingdom is this, Lords of Men? Talented Dwarves. Deadly Elves. You are the people who must choose, right now, whose kingdom this is.”

They all stared back at her, silent with their tongues tied and incapable of understanding what she was suggesting.

Lore prodded them and added, “Because if this kingdom is mine, then I will take it. I will lay waste to everything that stands before me and I will sit on that dark throne. But I cannot promise you that you will like what I do with that power.”

Finally, she heard a scrape of a chair behind her. Zephyr had stood, limping over to her side because he was still too weak to stand on his own. He placed his hand on her shoulder, both for balance and in solidarity as he stood before the Lords of Men who glared at them both.

“I am Prince Zephyr. It is my bloodline that has sat on the throne of this kingdom for hundreds of years. I stand beside Lorelei of Silverfell, of Tenebrous, the Lady of Starlight who gave her life for our kingdom. If she wishes to take this for her own, I will still stand by her. But I believe this kingdom is ours. All of ours. And so I will fight as a mortal beside her. If I am the only one of our kind brave enough to do so, then so be it.”

Oh, but she had so much pride in this young man. He had never once disappointed her and she could hear how disappointed he was in the other mortals like himself. They were letting him down in this moment.

But the Baron, one of the few men to actually speak, cleared his throat. “I will say, the humans would follow you, my lord. You are the leader we have been looking for, not an elf who considers herself a goddess.”

Ah, there it was. All the people in her life wanted to leave the elves in the dust. “I am not an elf,” she snarled. “I’m half elf. Half your people, half theirs. Don’t you understand that means I have been denied my entire life by both men and elves? All I want to do is help you people and instead, you squander that help by claiming I am lesser because I am not like you.”

The last words were shouted, and she felt the entire earth tremble with her anger.

She needed to get better control of herself. And she couldn’t do that in this room with so many people looking at her with fear, disgust, or disappointment.

Patting Zephyr’s hand on her shoulder, she gently moved it away. “Talk with your people, my friend. Guide them to see reason or I will take this kingdom for myself and lead all the fools who refused to save it.”

Zephyr met her gaze and seemed to straighten, as if the poison in his veins and the curses that had taken their toll had never happened. “I promise you, Lore. I will fix this.”

And perhaps for the first time, she looked at him and saw a king.

Thoughts boiling in her head, she stalked out of the Ashen Deep’s home. They had not gone far, as the Matriarch did not want anyone knowing how deep these tunnels went or in what splendor her people lived.

Still, it took longer than she wanted to get outside and drag the fresh air into her lungs. And she was so tired of living underground. So tired of being far from the moon and without the only person who had always spoken reason into her heart and struggling mind.

Had her dragon made it to the island safely? Were her own children with him already? Safe and sound and whole? If only she knew that they were fine.

She could use her magic again, but she didn’t want to hover around any of them for too long. They were all adults now. All capable of taking care of themselves and she couldn’t be that mother that never let them grow up, or the partner who did not trust her mate.

“It’s a rather hard life, isn’t it?” The voice was strangely familiar and yet not. Turning away from the opening of the Ashen Deep’s realm, she saw a shadow in the forest. One with a light beard and hair that floated around him like snow. A brightly colored bird sat on his shoulder, watching her with human eyes.

“Lindon?” she asked, shocked to see a magician in the middle of the Ashen Deep’s forest.

The old man had no magic left. How had he gotten past the wards and all the magic that the deepmongers had laced through the trees?

He stepped toward her with a small smile on his face. He finally looked older, though nowhere near his much advanced age. “I heard tell there was a goddess who returned with a dragon at her side. And I thought, perhaps, I might be of use.”

“You have no magic left.” She eyed him with no small amount of distrust. “Unless you lied.”

“Oh, I have no magic.” He tucked his hands behind his back and approached her, the sylph on his shoulder ruffling its feathers at her nearness. “But I still have use even without it. It occurred to me that you would need someone to fight by your side, and while you do not have a lot of someones to fight with you, there is knowledge that I have which may be useful yet.”

She tilted her head to the side. On one hand, Abraxas would be furious that she was even talking to this man who erred toward evil. On the other hand, this was the first time she’d even thought the magician might stick his neck out for people like her.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I do truly wish to make amends, and I am tired of seeing my home in constant turmoil. I started all this, Lorelei. I was the one who urged people forward onto a path of destruction and hate.” He spread his hands wide. “I thought, perhaps, I might be able to help end what I began. And I thought that was perhaps with you, but then another took your place on the throne.”

Lore tilted her head to the side. “And just how are you suggesting to help?”

“The spell that was given to Zander long ago, the one that created the Umbral Soldiers, can be edited by someone with a power equal or greater than my own.” He eyed her with a meaningful gaze and an intent in his eyes. “You could alter it, my dear. If you would like to. I can gift you an army that the dwarves can build.”

And, oh, that was tempting. That was useful.

“What do you want in return?”

He grinned, and that’s when she knew, of course, there would be a bargain. “A safe place to rest. I’m tired of sleeping on the sands by the sea. After spending time with you and Abraxas, I realized I am still better suited to court.”

“You want a position as an advisor.” It was not a question.

“Indeed.”

“Of who?”

He tilted his head. “Whoever is on the throne, my dear. Whether that is you or someone else.”

Lore needed time to think about that. She needed time, but... Damn, it was tempting.

Finally, she nodded and swept her arm toward the entrance. “Why don’t you join us at our table, magician? Though you may have lost your magic, that does not mean you have lost your use just yet.”