Ninth of Frostmaire

Someone had upgraded the Stadia during the night to add more chairs, though none as regal as Belkai’s throne. Belkai and Davos were the last to arrive, and the others bowed as they sat on their thrones with Loranna standing on guard behind them. There was no question about Belkai’s status this morning. She came not as a fellow mage but as a queen. Lithmae sat on Belkai’s right, Siara on Davos’ left, and the others around the circle. The only one present who didn’t lead an Order was Arak, whom Belkai had commanded to come.

“We stand at a precipice,” Belkai began as she studied their faces. “We have defeated Nimura, though the war continues around their mountains. And we stopped Delorax’s incursion in Lustria. At a cost. It will take some weeks to confirm, but I believe that he has merged our continent with another to punish us for our victory.”

Siara sat forward, and all eyes turned to her. “If you accept visions, then I can confirm your theory, Belkai.”

Belkai smiled warmly. “If I did not accept visions, I would not have invited a Prophetess.”

That invited a laugh, then Belkai nodded to her. “What did you see?”

“Only what has been described to me. Purple lightning and fires raging, but all across the eastern regions. The Ikari were devastated, Lustria was almost consumed. Only the Principality was left almost untouched. If Delorax couldn’t gain our land, he would deny it to us.”

“Grim tidings indeed,” Grishwar said. “Did we not sit with the Ascendant, I would question our ability to face such power.”

“It is Narandir that he seeks,” Lasiri said. “At least for now. So, Belkai, what do you wish to do?”

“I must confront him,” Belkai told them. “And, if necessary, kill him.”

“Kill Delorax,” the Herder chieftain said drily. “That will not be a simple task.”

“Of course not,” Belkai acknowledged. “We will need to draw him out, and he will not come alone. He will not have much support amongst the Arcane after his failures, but he still has his own army. We will need to defeat them first. And if we succeed, I will face him. Alone.”

“But there is a catch,” Grishwar said, eyes narrowing as he watched her nod.

“We have to force Delorax to commit and bring all of his force to bear.” Belkai’s face fell. “I will need to remove Narandir’s defences and invite him in.”

She ignored Loranna’s shocked gasp, and avoided Lithmae’s horrified gaze

“He will suspect a trap,” Raman warned, apparently unfazed. He must have expected Belkai’s solution.

She nodded. “Of course he will. But he will not be able to ignore the bait.”

“This is suicide, Belkai,” Lithmae said. “He will burn this Forest down before he submits.”

“He won’t get that far,” Belkai promised. “One push of defiance is all it will take for him to focus all his attention on me.”

“If we survive his army,” Lasiri pointed out. “Some of us have fought his demons. We were lucky to escape those mines.”

“We’ll be ready this time,” Grishwar growled. “There will be no chance for his deception.”

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Belkai looked at each of them in turn, then nodded. “Then we need a plan. Tomorrow morning, we will end this war.”

***

“You know that this is madness.”

The sun was setting as Belkai laid back on the cool grass and looked over at Davos, the fire flickering on his skin as he sat beside her and stretched his arms. Her eyes lingered on his shirtless chest before she spoke.

“Mad or not, this is the only way. We only win if we choose the time and place.”

Davos grunted. “If we survive.”

Belkai shook her head laughed. “You’re a damn cynic, Davos.”

He raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. “Only about fighting gods.”

Belkai reached out and rested a hand on his thigh. “We’re going to make it, my love. But this is the only way.”

“You know I trust you,” he said, and put a hand over hers. “But I can’t help thinking that we’ve gone insane.”

She had a wistful smile as she sighed. “Do you remember that night when we watched the fairies?”

“I do,” he said, and she watched as he smiled despite his fears. “The first time you held my hand.”

“That was the first time I had really seen – felt – beauty since I met Ashelath,” Belkai told him. “I can’t honestly say that it was love, but there was something different inside me that night. Something that you placed inside me.”

“The fairies sensed something about you, but it wasn’t darkness,” Davos replied. He laid down beside her, and she rolled up against him, putting a hand on his chest and her head on the crook of his arm as he draped it over her shoulders. “The stories say that they can read people, and if we could speak with them, they could reveal the deepest secrets of the human heart.”

“What did they read in me?” Belkai whispered, her fingers playing with his chest hair. He grunted and stroked her neck with his fingers.

“That’s between them and the gods,” he answered. “But they felt safe. Ashelath never had as firm a hold on you as you feared. You have always been strong, Belkai. It took Narandir to open your eyes to it, but that strength was always there.”

“What do you see?”

He turned and kissed her forehead as he rolled on top of her and pinned her hands above her head. He brought his lips an inch away from her own, leaning back when she tried to make them meet. “I see a child of Elkur who cannot be defeated. I see a woman with the heart of a lion. I see an angel.”

She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide their twinkle. “Gods, you’re such a romantic.”

“Is that a complaint, Milady?”

There was hunger in her eyes as she looked up at him and fought against his grip. “Not at all.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, and she lifted body to meet his warm skin. As their kisses became more passionate and frenzied, a single dull orange light drifted through the sky above, soon joined by a dozen more that circled as the two lovers embraced. Their own lights pulsed as the passion below increased, taking delight not in the physical joining but in the ecstasy of emotional union. Had she the ears to hear them, Belkai would have heard their songs mixing with her own cries and moans, rising in a crescendo that met her own final gasps and screams.

***

There was only the slightest breeze as Belkai stepped into the clearing where Lithmae had twice fought the dwarves. Only ash remained where the dead had been burned, though the ruined machines had been left alone. She wore the white leather armour common to the Narandir elves, with a longsword strapped to her back and two Aliri daggers on her hips, a gift from Faelin. She had once wielded a royal pair, but they had been destroyed when she killed Ashelath. It had, of course, been a worthy trade, but she had missed her favourite blades. Faelin’s lacked the embedded jewels, but they were every bit as lethal.

Davos and Loranna stood close behind her wearing similar armour, hands on their weapons. They had both heard Lasiri’s tale of the fight in the mines and were ready for a potential bloodbath once Belkai made the Forest vulnerable.

“Belkai, are you sure about this?” Loranna asked.

She nodded without looking back at them. “It’s time to end this.”

She closed her eyes and breathed out, letting herself be consumed by the magic that surrounded her. The barrier around Narandir was intimately connected to its lord. The last time it has failed had been when Mishtar was killed, thus allowing Ashelath to intervene. Yet it hadn’t been affected when Belkai left the Forest. She didn’t understand the magic involved, but then, she didn’t need to. A single thought was all that it took, and a moment later she felt the change. The trap was set.

As she’d suspected, Delorax had been watching. Within minutes the sky above Narandir turned black as grey clouds swirled before opening up as a red tunnel tore through the sky. Belkai felt divine fury raging around her, and turned to her compatriots.

“Here we go.”