When he realized what she was saying, Kingston did a double take. He looked from her to me, and then back again, blinking away his surprise. He took in a breath and his mouth fell open as if to say something, but he couldn’t get anything out. It was as if the idea had never crossed his mind, as if he’d never pictured himself as king, nor thought it was a possibility, and surely all it did was prove that Ava’s decision was well informed. It proved that all these years he hadn’t been fighting for himself, but for our people, and that he’d continue to do so should he take the crown.
“Well…” Kingston managed eventually, but he was still in such shock that it didn’t seem like he knew what else to say. “I’ll give you two some time alone. Excuse me.” And he paced out the exit of the tent.
“I think you flattered him,” I chuckled.
“He deserves it,” Ava laughed, glancing toward where he’d disappeared. “We’re here because of him. This entire army is here because of him. He’d make a great ruler.”
“You would have too,” I assured her, “if it’s what you’d wanted.” I let go of her hand to turn toward her, and set my hands on her hips.
“Perhaps.” She shrugged, stretching upward and slipping her arms around my neck. “But if I’m to be a ruler, the only thing I have any desire to rule over is a household.”
“Is that right?” I laughed. “Do you foresee child subjects in this household?”
“Indeed,” she answered, her lips curling with a smirk. “Twelve of them.”
“Twelve!” I exclaimed, falling dramatically sideways against the war table. “Gods help me.”
Ava giggled at that, and when I straightened up and leaned back against the table, she leaned herself forward against me. “I’m only joking,” she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I should be satisfied with a couple.”
“Alright,” I agreed, taking her face in my hands. “A couple it is, then.” I leaned down to give her a slow kiss, and couldn’t help murmuring against her mouth, “But could I have you all to myself for a while first?”
Her lips thinned against mine with a smile, but she didn’t stop kissing me long enough to answer, and simply released a soft hum of agreement. The kiss only lasted another short minute though, and then she pulled away to set her forehead against mine. In the sudden stillness of the war tent, I could feel the new stutter of fear in her heartbeat. I didn’t know if it was because of everything she’d been through, or because we were about to face Hazlitt, or because she was afraid that one of us wouldn’t make it through this, but my thumbs made soothing strokes over her cheeks while she did what she could with that fear. While I tried not to let my own fear of what we were about to face show.
“Is there a prayer to the earth gods?” she asked eventually. “For war?”
“Yes,” I answered, leaning back enough to look her in the eyes. “But I don’t believe it’s the comfort you’re searching for.”
“Say it anyway,” she requested.
I nodded, kissed her, and took in a breath. “Should I prosper in this battle,” I began to recite, and her hands came up to set against the backs of mine, “gods, I ask of you: please forgive the lives I’ve taken, and let their spirits be at peace. May those they’ve loved not curse my soul, and their deaths not be in vain. But gods, if I should perish, I beg you much the same: forgive the one who shed my blood, and watch over those who’ve stayed. Please bring them joy someday without me, and may my death be worth their pain.” I thumbed away the single tear that slid down her cheek. “To war.”
She took a few moments to sniffle away the moisture in her eyes, and then whispered, “Are you certain?” She dropped her hands from mine to wrap her arms around my waist again. “Are you certain that we’ll get our future together?”
I knew better than to promise, and I knew that she couldn’t promise me either. “When you first met me, Ava, I was afraid to want things. I was terrified of wanting you. But you’ve shown me that life isn’t worth living without it.” I pressed the most comforting kiss I could to her forehead. “There’s nothing I want more than a life with you, and what I’m certain of is that I’ll fight with everything I have to make sure I get it.”
She nodded, but her fingers were clutching tight at the small part of my lower back that was exposed by my armor. “We’ll do this together,” she reminded me almost pleadingly.
“Not as either of us intended,” I agreed with a small smile, adding, “but as we always have.”
Ava smiled, managing to kiss me one more time before someone outside shouted, “We’ve received a reply!” We hurried out of the tent, standing next to our friends, Haunt, and Kingston, while soldiers crowded around to hear the response. The messenger who was holding the parchment in his hands unfolded it, held it before him, and cleared his throat. “To the rebels!” he read in a yell. “To the force that declares themselves the Vigilant! We hereby reject your terms of surrender, and offer one of our own! Lay down your arms and swear fealty to the High King, His Royal Highness Hazlitt Gaveston, and not a one will be harmed! Refusal of these terms will be punishable by death!”
First a murmur went up around the camp as soldiers passed the message further back, and then there was uproar. But it wasn’t because our rebels were afraid of Hazlitt’s threat. They were outraged.
“Quiet!” Kingston shouted, raising one hand to signal for silence. It took a few moments for the outcry to die down. “Vigilant!” He yelled at the top of his voice so as many troops as possible could hear him. “This is what we’ve trained for! The moment we’ve waited so patiently for! Some of us all our lives! While we built our army in the shadows, Hazlitt spat in our faces! He attacked our homes! His own people! And he wants to punish us with death?” There was a rumble of spiteful laughter from the troops. “We! Know! Death!” Kingston roared, and a shout of agreement went up from the soldiers. “I think it’s nigh time we brought that death to our High King’s doorstep!”
A deafening pandemonium of shouts sounded throughout the camp, but even as it traveled so far that I was sure our enemy soldiers could hear it, it was overpowered by another deafening sound. Night Phoenix’s roar. The dragon screeched its deep, earth-shaking cry while it and Pine Shadow swooped down. They landed in the space that soldiers cleared out behind us, and while Pine Shadow slithered up beneath Denig’s hand, Night Phoenix’s head hung mere feet above mine. And the dragon added to the continuous thunder of our rallied troops, so that it echoed off the enclosing mountains around us. So that I was certain if the enemy soldiers didn’t already regret refusing to surrender, then they would soon.
As we stood there preparing to march, I felt Ava’s fingers slip through mine, and beneath the clamor of battle cries, she recited two words as she squeezed my hand. “To war.”
Chapter 25
The soldiers began to march, chanting and yelling. The battle cries that echoed all around us were enough to make me nervous, and these warriors were my allies. I couldn’t imagine that our rivals weren’t getting anxious. We stood there and watched for a minute as our entire camp stirred to life, letting some of them clear before we’d take off on the dragons. During that minute, Kingston had retrieved his horse, and he walked over with it to say his final goodbyes.
“Be careful,” he said, glancing at each and every one of us. He shoved his helmet down over his head and mounted his horse. “We’ll meet again when this is done.”