Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
Their future queen was becoming enamored with their land.
And their future king.
And they liked it.
Brilliant.
Things had not been going all that well, I sensed, for any of us.
Or amongst all of us.
And now we were parting.
I got to go home, something I greatly looked forward to.
Silence and Farah, I had worried, were facing things they wished not to face.
I felt this way no longer.
Silence seemed again lively and engaged, as she had before the attack on the palace.
And the veil of grief had not completely subsided, as it wouldn’t for some time.
But Farah’s smiles were coming freer, even freer than before her mother died.
And the distance between my two sisters was gone.
So we would all be apart.
Then we would all be together, with Ha-Lah again completing us.
But at least for now, all was well.
52
The Allies
Prince Cassius
Fifty Miles Inside the Southern Border
WODELL
Prince Cassius stood with Macrinus and Antonius in the forest on the opposite side of the moors to the wood where the women were taking a stroll, and all three men stared at the oddly transparent witch who was upright, but equally oddly floating above the earth before them.
“They have been waiting many a year for just this chance, Your Grace,” Fern promised. “They will be ready.”
“It’s essential this is kept completely secret, Fern,” Cassius reminded her. “The new proclamations haven’t yet been made. We can’t begin to know how they’ll be accepted. It might not be they’re needed.”
“They will be needed, my prince,” Fern said in a dire tone. “Word has spread wide about the weddings, the identity of your intended and the preparations at the citadel for your own nuptials. There is unrest.”
This was not news to him. Nero had reported much the same in the birds he’d sent.
It still did not fail to annoy him.
Fern took in his expression and went on, “Though, there is also much hope.”
“We’re making maneuvers to quell any unrest,” he told her. “Otho is heading to you. After Nero delivers Aelia to The Enchantments, he, too, will return to Sky Bay. Soldiers loyal to me have been dispatched in squads to keep inconspicuous but close eye on the gentry. And your spies will be helpful.”
She dipped her chin, ever humble.
But it could be that history would repeat itself and the arrogance of the ruling male elite would be their downfall.
Many of them didn’t think twice about talking openly in front of a scullery maid, a mistress or a wife. The confidence they felt in their superiority meant they completely missed, in many cases, they were living with the enemy.
And in what was sure to come in Airen, that enemy was Cassius’s ally.
He just hoped it wasn’t so fucking bloody this time around.
“Mars has dispatched four regiments to the northeastern border of Firenze,” he reminded her. “They will remain in their own land, but two thousand men will more than likely not be missed by Airenzian scouts. If any in Airenzian should act on this unrest, they will be sent the order to move in and keep peace, with five more regiments to follow. Not to mention, Aramus’s fleet will be at the ready to blockade all ports if they’re called. And I will ride with my men, and True’s, entering Airen from the western borders. If any make moves, before you put your women in jeopardy, let us see if these alliances make the statement we wish them to make so arms are laid down before too many, if any, are lost.”
“Please do not be mistaken, Prince Cassius. The women are ready to fight,” Fern told him.
“I am not mistaken, Mistress Fern,” he replied. “However, they are not trained.”
“They were not trained the Night of the Fallen Masters, and they still successfully executed a revolution,” Fern replied.
She was not wrong about that.
Therefore, to that, he dipped his chin to her.
“Thank you for casting your protections over Aelia and Nero,” he said.
She nodded and replied, “Be safe on your journey to The Enchantments.”
“And you just be safe,” he ordered. “With this instability, you will naturally be under suspicion. I do not need to tell you that they do not need to know their suspicions are accurate.”
Fern tipped her head to the side in acknowledgement before she blinked out of sight.
Cassius turned on his boot and started walking back to where they had camped.
His men fell in step at his sides.
The tents were down. Belongings packed. The horses loaded. And hundreds of soldiers had readied their mounts, prepared to move out.
Once the women returned, it would be time for all of them to go their separate ways.
However, now that the talk was accomplished with Fern, he needed a word with Mars and True before he and Elena started on their journey to The Enchantments.
“I don’t like it,” Tone muttered.
“Which part of the many things not to like that are happening are you referring to?” Cassius asked.