Chapter 37

I n the two days since they'd returned to Castle Clarion, Ro had not been able to keep herself from checking the sky. The effort was wasted. It was too soon. The letter alone would take two days to arrive, then they would have to organize, whatever that entailed, and send someone back with their reply.

If they responded. She had asked a great deal of her new friends.

The possibility that they might not answer was unthinkable, but there was still no signed treaty. Merely a handshake between monarchs. Was that enough?

Ro prayed it was. Her plan would fail otherwise.

She walked down the corridor toward one of the council chambers. This would be her first official meeting concerning the war. She hated even thinking the word, but reality required it.

Guards opened the doors for her as she approached, revealing she was the last to arrive. Posey sat ready to record everything. Even JT was already there. Her lateness couldn't be helped. She'd had a stack of new proclamations to sign and that had taken longer than anticipated.

Those proclamations would be distributed all over the kingdom, alerting the citizens that defense preparations were underway and what things they could do to help themselves, and their kingdom.

She hoped the news was well-received and that the people understood she would do everything in her power to protect them. Mostly she was worried about how they'd react to the idea of Malveauxian refugees.

But she couldn't turn anyone away who was truly seeking asylum. They'd all have to be vetted, of course. The last thing she needed was a spy or assassin in their midst. But Gabriel and Uldamar had promised to help with that.

The council stood when she entered. She nodded in greeting as she walked to her seat at the head of the table. She stood in front of her chair to address them. "Thank you all for coming. Please, be seated. It saddens me that this meeting, and the preparations we've already begun, is even necessary, but the threat of Queen Anyka cannot be ignored."

Many around the table nodded their heads.

Ro sat, interlaced her fingers, and rested her hands on the table. "First, I must say that I feel very strongly about protecting the citizens of Malveaux. They should not be punished for what their queen does. Obviously, those who support her and join her in whatever aggression she commits against Summerton should be punished. But I'm talking about the average citizen who is just trying to live life."

JT nodded. "Yes."

"Agreed," Professor Morehouse said.

"Indeed," Professor Featherlight added.

Professor Larksford looked unconvinced. "How do you know she hasn't poisoned them all against us? She's probably been telling them for years how awful we are, how we hate them, how we're the reason for the hardness of their lives."

"It's quite possible. I would expect it, actually," Ro said. "But there are always people intelligent enough to think for themselves, to research the truth, to make decisions that are their own. And those who have fallen for her propaganda could change their minds if we treat them differently than they expect."

Gabriel nodded. "Well said, your highness."

She looked at Spencer Cloudtree. "Professor Cloudtree, you've been very helpful in educating me on how well our kingdoms once got on. I would love to see us return to that place again. I don't know if it's achievable, but I want you all to know that's where my head is at."

Martin Denwood, First Professor of Defense, spoke up. "Your highness, if I may?"

"Of course." Ro sat back.

He looked around the table. "As you all know, there are two ways Malveaux might attack. One would be by sea, but the presence of archers, both theirs and ours, on the Brightwater Bridge means any marine operation would be quickly detected. Unless, of course, they came by night and stayed well away from the bridge. We should set up watchtowers along the coast and station guards in them around the clock."

She nodded at him. "Whatever you need to make that happen, I'll approve it."

"Thank you, your highness. The other way Summerton is vulnerable is via the mountains. It's a long way to come. I would estimate that the trip from Malveaux, up into the mountains, then across the river and back down through the forest toward Summerton, would take at least two days. Possibly more, depending on the size of the force."

His brow crinkled as he frowned. "I would hope that we'd notice such an advance well before it arrived. However, if only a few troops are sent, they could very easily arrive undetected." He sighed. "They might be among us already."

A chill went through Ro. She hadn't thought about that. "Do you think that's likely?"

Denwood shrugged. "This is Queen Anyka we're talking about. Anything is likely."

"What do you suggest?"

"I'd like to deploy a unit of our special forces into those woods. I want them to not only set up some watch points, but also to look for signs that others have been through there. It's all we can do now."

"All right. Get it done. Is there anything else you think we should do?"

"The guards are being prepared. We can always use more recruits, but the gaps can often be filled with magic." Denwood looked at Uldamar. "I imagine you're working on something?"

"I am," Uldamar answered. "I am working on several things. One is a kingdom-wide dome of protection against dark magic, which I'll be providing to Hythe as well. The other is not something I can talk about just yet." He glanced at Ro.

She nodded. "At my request, Professor Darkstone is developing something that may or may not come to fruition. We'll share it with all of you as soon as—"

The doors burst open, and a guard flew in. "Your highness, please, come quickly! We're being invaded!"

Gabriel had a dagger in his hand so quickly, Ro hadn't seen him move. But the dagger in her boot, the Silversmith blade, hadn't changed in temperature at all.

"Show me," Ro said.

With the rest of the council trailing her, she followed the guard to the windows that looked out over the rolling lawns fronting the palace. As soon as she could see through them, she began to laugh and clap her hands, the smile on her face making her cheeks ache. "They came!"

She grabbed Gabriel's arm. "They came!"

He nodded, also smiling. "They did, my lady."

Larksford murmured, "Dragons."

"Wyvern," Uldamar corrected him.

Ro had been waiting on a messenger from them. She'd never expected them to just show up . Even so, she ran for the lawns. It was probably undignified for a queen but she couldn't help it and honestly didn't care. She held her arms wide as she left the palace and made her way from the entrance, past the main road that served the castle, and onto the grass. "My friends, welcome to Summerton."

Across the lawn in every direction, Wyvern were coming to rest, the wind from their wings rippling the grass and bending flower stems. The sun glistened on their dazzling scales, showing off brilliant greens and blues. They all carried a version of saddlebags draped around their necks.

With a shiver of magic, King Ehlzar and Queen Varyana took their mortal forms in front of Ro. Fully clothed, they dropped their packs and walked toward her. All around them, other Wyvern shifted and soon, there was a multitude of Wyvern in front of the castle.

King Ehlzar shook her hand. "Queen Sparrow, it is good to see you again."

"It is very good to see you, too. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances but I am deeply indebted to you for answering my plea for help. And in such a generous way." She hadn't asked for this many, but she was thrilled by the sight of them all.

Queen Varyana hugged Ro. "We could not very well start our new alliance by ignoring you, could we? Friends help each other. It is what we do." She laughed. "We apologize for showing up unannounced, but we are sometimes an impulsive people."

"You have nothing to apologize for. We showed up unannounced in the cloud kingdom. I certainly can't blame you for doing what I did."

Ehlzar laughed. "I had not thought of that, but you did indeed. We also thought we could just sign the treaty agreement while we are here."

"I think just showing up was a great idea. Thank you for coming. I mean that. I cannot thank you enough." Ro noticed Varyana was still wearing the trillianite ring Ro had given her. Ro had yet to be without the crystal bracelet Varyana had gifted her in return. It sparkled in the sun, showing itself off.

King Ehlzar turned to glance at the citizens he'd brought with him. "We have a hundred with us. If that is not enough…"

"I think it will be. Come. I want to introduce you to my council, then we'll see to rooms for everyone. Once you're settled, I can explain in more detail what I need done."

Ehlzar smiled up at the castle. "Your home is beautiful, as is your kingdom. It's so green."

Gabriel, JT, and Uldamar waited a few yards from Ro in front of the castle. Raphaela wasn't far behind JT, but behind all of them, clustered in a tight group near the castle's entrance, was the rest of the council. Staff peered from the windows, ducking back into the shadows when Ro glanced up at them.

One of the people in the windows leaned forward, smiled, and waved. Ro waved back to her Aunt Violet, then held up her finger to ask for a moment.

"King Ehlzar, Queen Varyana, this is my son, Prince James."

The king and queen shook hands with him, then with Uldamar and Gabriel, who they obviously remembered.

Ro raised her hand toward the windows. "On the second floor, you'll see my aunt, Madam Violet Meadowcroft. She was at Willow Hall with us as well."

The king and queen waved in greeting, then Ro gestured toward her council, who were thankfully looking a little less intimidated.

Always one she could count on, Spencer took a few steps toward them, bowed, then straightened. "I'm Spencer Cloudtree, First Professor of History. We are honored to welcome you to Summerton."

She could have kissed him. He didn't even know why the Wyvern were here and he'd still been kind to them. The man was a treasure. Of course, none of the council, save Uldamar, JT, and Gabriel, knew what had brought the Hythians here.

"Cloudtree?" Ehlzar nodded, smiling. "A very good name. A strong name." He extended his hand to Spencer. "I am pleased to meet you, First Professor."

One by one, the rest of them came forward to be introduced.

Ro leaned toward Gabriel, keeping her voice low. "Do we have enough rooms for all of them?"

Eyes on the crowd, he nodded. "We do, your highness."

"Oh, good." She exhaled.

It took an hour to get all of their guests settled, during which Ro had the Great Hall set up to accommodate them all. Better to have everyone in attendance and make sure there were no misunderstandings about what she was asking them to do.

Soon, she was standing before a large crowd of fae and Wyvern. Ehlzar and Varyana had been seated nearby, facing the group as she was, in places of honor. On the other side of her, also facing the group, were JT, then Uldamar, then Gabriel.

She smiled, even though many of the fae faces weren't smiling back. "What a new day this is in Summerton. Today, we will be signing a treaty with King Ehlzar and Queen Varyana, beginning for the first time an alliance with the Wyvern of Hythe."

Several pairs of brows lifted and a few more smiles appeared.

"To all the Wyvern who accompanied the king and queen today, I want to thank you for undertaking this trip and being willing to give your time to Summerton. We are so pleased you're here."

She caught Martin Denwood surreptitiously studying the beautiful Wyvern woman seated next to him. Ro almost laughed. "I'm sure most of my council members are wondering why you've come. You see, I didn't tell them."

The Wyvern laughed.

"I'll be honest, I wasn't sure you'd come. It was a big thing to ask when we hadn't even signed a treaty yet. I expected to get a response to my letter, to which I'd then have to respond, and so on and so forth. Apparently, the Wyvern do things wonderfully differently."

Behind her, Uldamar chuckled.

"Council members, I am very excited to tell you that the Wyvern are here to assist us with something that should have been done years ago." She glanced at Uldamar, who nodded.

She faced the crowd again, lifting her chin in determination. "Tonight, with the help only the Wyvern can provide, we are going to remove the curse that has kept Malveaux in the dark for far too long."