“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Finn jogged to catch up to Lochlan and Brea in the courtyard.
“I have a speech to give.” Brea didn’t break her stride as she headed toward the lower part of the city where most of the commoners dwelled. Lochlan tried to get her to set out for the queen’s market near the palace. It was a lot nicer and more crowded this time of day, but she insisted the people she needed to reach wouldn’t be there.
“Wait, you have a what now?”
“A speech. Just call me Greta.”
“You’re speaking nonsense again, Brea. That’s not your name.”
“How is that different from most days?” Lochlan said, feeling uncertain about this call to arms. He should do it himself, but he had more faith in Brea’s ability to inspire her people to come to his aid.
“Greta Thunberg… she’s a human who gives lots of speeches and gets people to act…” Brea paused as if waiting for either of them to react to some joke they didn’t understand. “Loch has no personality, but he needs soldiers. Those villagers needed soldiers to protect them in Iskalt and Eldfal. So we’re going to get some.”
“Where?” Finn fell in step beside her.
“The free market near the docks.”
“Do you … think they sell soldiers at the market?” Finn’s smirk would normally make Lochlan laugh, but this was too important. He had too much riding on Brea’s ability to win the people of Eldur over to his side.
“Of course not, but that’s where the militia will be going about their lives.”
“It smells down there.” Finn sighed.
“It smells like hard work. We’re courting the city’s militia today. We have to go where they go. These men and women have jobs that keep them busy. It’s likely they don’t even know the militia has been called in for volunteers.”
“It’s not entirely voluntary,” Lochlan said. “It’s their choice to serve, but the militia is paid handsomely for their service. Many will join for the compensation—if they’re moved to fight for the cause.”
“Then let’s go find a soapbox for me to climb up on.”
“The things she says…” Finn shook his head. “You think we’ll ever understand her?”
“I doubt it.” Lochlan enjoyed the way his best friend and his—whatever Brea was to him—sparred with words. He couldn’t help but think of Alona and the way the four of them would fit together. Someday.
“Neither of you are funny.” Brea led them through the upper levels of Raudur city down to the lower regions near the river and the open marketplace where the “normal” people, as she described them, carried out their business.
“Princess Brea,” one of the shopkeepers called to her. “I have some new tunics you might like. Nothing as fine as your lovely dresses, but they’re perfect for wearing to your apprenticeship with Master Arturo.”
“Thank you for thinking of me, Mrs. Milton. I will come by later today. You know how I prefer simple clothes, and I’m in need of some new tunics. My lady’s maid has a habit of losing them in the wash.”
As they made their way into the heart of the lower city, more people came out to see Brea. Not just to sell her things, but to genuinely connect with her. They followed her without hesitation when she told them why she was here.
“They love her,” Finn said, as mesmerized as Lochlan by their response to the unusual princess they still didn’t realize was their own.
“See how you make things happen?” Lochlan murmured when they reached the market square to find a crowd waiting for them near the trader’s guild.
“Yeah, it takes loads of magic and charisma to ask a bunch of people to come listen to what I have to say when they’re already here.” Brea shook her head like it was nothing when to him it was everything. That she would do this for him and his people when she had no reason to. Did she not know how rare a person she was?
Brea smiled as she stood at the center of the growing crowd, completely at ease with herself and the relationships she’d built with these people.
“Hi, everyone.” She gave a nervous little wave. “I was never good at delivering speeches in school, so I’ll just jump right in and say what I came to say. We need your help.” She gestured to Lochlan and Finn, not realizing the disdain some of the commoners had for Lochlan and much of the Eldur nobility.
“Little more than a week ago, a village in Iskalt was slaughtered. The usurper king, Callum O’Shea is responsible. He tried to create a magical barrier around an innocent village, replicating the barrier around Fargelsi. His magic failed and killed every man, woman, and child within its borders.”
Several gasps echoed through her captive audience. Lochlan couldn’t breathe, he was so desperate for this to work. He needed the people to understand what was at stake. That is wasn’t just about some foreign village they didn’t know or care anything about. It was about them and their families. This was just the beginning of Callum and Regan’s potential reign of terror, and it was up to him and Brea to stop it.
“But that’s a long way away, right? The problems of another realm. It shouldn’t concern us here in Eldur.” Several heads nodded in agreement, and Lochlan clenched his fists at his sides. He needed to trust her. Brea had a natural charm and an effortless way of speaking to people. It wasn’t his way, but it worked for her.
“But I’m afraid it does. Just a few days ago, several soldiers from Iskalt came into Eldur on King Callum’s orders. They visited Eldfal late one night. Using their magic, they caused the mountain to erupt, wiping out the entire village except for one brave girl who traveled across the desert all on her own to warn the queen of this attack. She’s just ten years old and a hero. I can’t imagine what that poor girl suffered.
“Suffering sucks, doesn’t it?” She peered into the crowd. “We all have our burdens to bear. Some suffering is worse than others. But at the end of the day, we’re all just fae, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re from Fargelsi like me, or Eldur, or Iskalt, or even the human realm. We’re all people, and when there is needless suffering in the world, it is our responsibility to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. It’s our job to help them when they just don’t have the will or the energy to do it on their own.
“You all know how I escaped from Fargelsi. I couldn’t have done it without a very dear friend who helped me—at great risk to her own safety. She didn’t have to step up, but if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I would still be Queen Regan’s pawn.
“Regan O’Rourke is the real enemy. She would like us all slaves to her will—and she’ll have it too, if we don’t stand up for what is right. Right now, Eldur is surrounded by threats. Regan holds your princess, yet she’s in league with Callum, pulling strings to distract our focus so we fail on both fronts.
“But a king stands among us. The rightful king of Iskalt needs your help. With your busy lives, you may not have realized the queen has called in volunteers from the city militia. No one is required to join us, but I beseech you all. Before long, Regan’s touch will reach us here in the safety of Raudur as it already has in Eldfal … unless we stop her now. I’ve been her prisoner. I know how ruthless she is. She will stop at nothing to claim the power she feels she deserves, and she will use Callum as a weapon until she no longer needs him—until Iskalt belongs to her. Don’t let her do to this city what she’s done in Iskalt and now Eldfal, which stands no more. Put the call out to your friends and family. Let everyone know the time has come for the Raudur militia to take up arms to aid the future king of Iskalt. That man right there.” Brea pointed at Lochlan. “He is the greatest ally Eldur will ever have, and he needs us to stand with him.
“I am just a simple girl from humble roots, despite my royal title. I understand you all have families and livelihoods you cannot abandon so easily. I stand with Lord Lochlan O’Shea, and I will fight by his side for the safety of all fae, no matter what kind of magic they possess, no matter what realm they call home. I ask you all to do the same. Send out the call to all of Eldur as your queen has requested. Join us, and together with Iskalt under King Lochlan’s rule, Regan will never stand a chance.” Brea shuffled her feet in the silence that followed. “That’s all I had to say, so … uh, thank you for listening.” Her cheeks flushed pink as the crowed cheered for her.
Lochlan was ready to follow Brea to the ends of the world and back again. He couldn’t imagine anyone who listened to her heartfelt pleas wouldn’t feel the same. She thought she was an inept human. She didn’t see the inner strength that called out to her people. She was a natural, and he owed her a debt he wasn’t sure he could ever repay.
It took Lochlan and the queen two days to rally four-hundred volunteer militia from all across Eldur. It took Brea four hours to call in a thousand from the city’s militia in their own backyard. He could kiss the ground she walked on.
“She did it.” Finn shook his head in disbelief, staring down at the latest lists. “In one afternoon, she handed you an army.”
“She’ll make an excellent queen someday,” Lochlan agreed.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Finn gave him a hard look. “You don’t need to spend the next six months campaigning across Iskalt, calling for soldiers to join you. With nearly two thousand soldiers at your back now, you can make a move against Callum.”
“I’d like to double that number with some of my own countrymen, but that can be done along the way.” Lochlan was grateful for his friend’s support. No matter what happened in Iskalt, Finn would have his back the whole way. He couldn’t face this without the man who’d become more of a brother to him than his own flesh and blood.
“Pardon, Lord Lochlan,” a page murmured behind them in the throne room. The queen was busy handing out orders to prepare for such a huge response to Brea’s rally cry. Lochlan suspected she was more than just proud of her daughter. She was speechless from the outpouring of support she’d garnered for Lochlan. “I’ve a message for you and Princess Brea. Could you see she gets it?” The boy gave a curt bow and handed over a letter sealed with the unmistakable twisted branches of Queen Regan’s seal—addressed to Lochlan O’Shea and Brea Robinson.
“What could she possibly have to say to you or Brea?” Finn frowned as Lochlan broke the seal.
Lochlan muttered a string of curses as he read the queen’s missive. Part of him wanted to burn the letter and pretend he’d never seen it. But she deserved to know the truth. He’d seen what happened when Brea was kept in the dark, and he wouldn’t be another attempting to manipulate her. “She needs to see this.” He folded the letter and tucked it into his pocket. “Keep working on readying the campaign. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Lochlan knew where to find Brea during the hottest part of the day. She’d spent her morning at the stables before delivering her speech. No doubt she was exhausted. Heading to her rooms, he debated how to break the news.
He knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer. Peeking in, he didn’t see her. If he didn’t know her as well as he did, he’d think someone had ransacked her room. Clothes lay scattered about, and half-empty teacups held the dregs of her morning and afternoon tea. She’d refused to let Rowena clean her room everyday, only letting her in at the end of the week to ‘tidy up.’ From what Lochlan had heard, Rowena crept into her rooms while the princess was busy with her horses. Otherwise, Lochlan wasn’t sure Brea would have been able to find her bed.
“Brea?” He tapped on the door to the grotto. He didn’t want to wake her if she was napping, but this was urgent. She lay sprawled on the chaise lounge in the cool darkness of the room. Her brown hair fanned out around her, and her cheeks flushed pink with sleep. She looked so peaceful he didn’t want to bother her. She wore one of her simple tunics she’d no doubt purchased in the free marketplace—and nothing else. Her bare legs curled up as she lay on her side.
Sitting beside her, Lochlan called her name again, gently shaking her shoulder.
“What’s happening? Who’s there? I’m up.” She tried to sit up but knocked her head against Lochlan’s.
“Ouch.” He rubbed his forehead, a smile tugging at his lips. She was a bewildered mess, not quite awake yet.
“Loch?” She scowled up at him. “It’s the middle of the night. What do you want?”
“It’s afternoon, and I spoke to you not four hours ago. Have you been asleep all this time?”
“It appears I don’t know how to nap.” Brea rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “I don’t do quick little power naps. If I lay down, I’m out for a few hours at least. I don’t usually fall asleep when I come in here.”
“Listen to your body, Brea. Rest when you need it. We have a long campaign ahead of us.”
“How’s it going with the volunteers? Has my speech helped? It’s probably too early to tell.”
“You’ve performed a miracle, Brea.” Lochlan brushed his fingertips along the edge of her face, wishing he could just focus on the success of her speech and not the news he brought with him. “A thousand city militia have volunteered since this afternoon.”
“Shut up!” A smile unlike any he’d ever seen lit her face. “That’s incredible.”
“You’re incredible.” He tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
“Is that what you came to tell me? We should celebrate.”
“I have news from Regan.” He reluctantly pulled the envelope from his pocket.
“Myles?” She sat up and snatched the letter from his hands.
“She’s offering a trade. She will free Myles if you give yourself over to her.”
Brea’s eyes moved rapidly as she scanned the short missive. Her tears ran freely, each one a stab in the gut for Lochlan.
“You can’t give her what she wants, Brea. I know you love Myles and you’d do anything to free him, but if you give yourself to her, you will never leave Gelsi again. You will be her creature forever, a plaything she will manipulate to get what she wants.”
“It’s Myles.” The helpless tone of her voice nearly broke him. Brea was anything but helpless, though he knew exactly how she felt. He’d felt the same when he’d heard of Alona’s capture.
“And she is using him against you in the worst possible way.”
“Why did you even tell me?” She dropped the parchment, letting it flutter to the floor.
“Because you deserve the truth. I won’t be another royal who uses you as a pawn, keeping you in the dark. This is your choice. I won’t insult you by making it for you.”
“She’s torturing him.” Brea threw her arms around Lochlan, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
He pulled her onto his lap, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as she cried for the boy who’d once been her whole world. In so many ways he was jealous of Myles. He had her heart in a way no one else ever would.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Brea, but sometimes as a royal, we have to make hard decisions. Decisions that will benefit our people at great cost to ourselves. If Regan gets you within her grasp again, it won’t end well for any of us. Least of all you.”
“You think I care what she does to me? When I can free Myles in an instant? I don’t care if she tosses me in the dungeon and throws away the key. I don’t care if she marries me off to Griff so my children can be her blood heirs. Not if it means I can send Myles back home to his family where he can be safe.”
The thought of Griffin married to Brea made Lochlan physically ill. He tightened his arms around her, wishing he could just hold onto her and keep her safe. But Brea didn’t need or want anyone to protect her. She would see it as the ultimate betrayal. He would have to be true to his word and let her make this choice on her own. He just hoped she made the right one.
“You are too important to lose, Brea. Too important to Eldur. Too important to Fargelsi. And far too important to me.”