by Ben Wolf
Condor directed the Royal Guard to help lower the non-flying types to the ground, and within half a day’s time, they arrived at the foothills just as the sun began to sink toward the horizon.
General Balena approached the group with several of his captains and with General Tolomus, the only other surviving general, in tow. Like General Balena, he wore black armor, but with silver accents instead of gold.
General Bravenstorm, whom Captain Perine had previously served under, was reported killed while battling the Saurian forces, along with many of his men.
Condor chuckled at General Balena’s approach. “As you can see, the Premieress is still alive and well.”
Lilly stifled a smirk, but General Balena scowled at Condor. “Your attempts at humor regarding her safety are not appreciated. The Premieress’s wellbeing is not a laughing matter.”
“It’s alright, General. Condor understands the conditions of his service better than anyone—” Lilly eyed Condor, who smirked at her. “—for multiple reasons.”
“That’s what worries me,” General Balena muttered. “But we’ve been over that.”
“Indeed we have.” Lilly turned to General Tolomus, who bowed with his spear in hand. “General, it sets my heart at ease knowing you survived the attack.”
General Tolomus nodded his graying head. Though he held the same title as General Balena, he’d only served as a general for the last five years or so, compared to General Balena’s twenty-year tenure as Avian’s right hand. While he appeared small next to General Balena’s broad form, Lilly knew no one in the Sky Realm could match his skill with a spear.
“After that onslaught, I consider every day a gift, as each new day is another I can dedicate my service to the realm, to you,” General Tolomus bowed again and performed the Windgale salute, “and to the memory of your father’s reign.”
Part of Lilly wanted to grin at the drama of his display, but his sincerity and the recent loss of her father stanched that impulse. “Thank you, General. Your loyalty is an inspiration to us all.”
General Tolomus straightened his spine and started to say something, but he stopped short when he noticed Condor. His green eyes widened even more when he saw Magnus. He gawked at them for a long moment, then he turned to General Balena, who nodded.
With a raised eyebrow, General Tolomus refocused his attention on Lilly. “If you and your… escorts would follow me, I will lead you to our people.”
When they crested the foremost foothill, Lilly’s heart thrummed with joy. There, in the shallow valley below her, bustled thousands of Windgales. A smile, one more genuine than any she’d shown in what felt like years, parted her lips.
“Incredible,” Magnus said. “Kahn himself attacked your city, and this many of your people survived?”
General Tolomus huffed. “We Windgales aren’t the fragile doves you Saurians believe us to be. We’re resilient, capable warriors.”
“I meant no offense, General,” Magnus said.
“Hundreds—perhaps thousands of the realm’s finest soldiers and protectors gave their lives to save many, many thousands more from your kind.” General Tolomus glared at him. “Why are you even here in the first place?”
Lilly positioned herself between the two of them. “General, if you knew to whom you spoke, you would—”
“Forgive me, Premieress, but I must speak for myself.” Magnus placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. “I maintain no allegiance to Kahn or Vandorian. I stand independent of their rule, and I desire to bring an end to it. Until then, I exist to serve the Premieress as one of her many protectors.”
“I don’t know whom to distrust more.” General Tolomus scoffed. His gaze flitted between Magnus and Condor. “The Sobek or the traitor.”
“You will distrust neither of them,” Lilly said, her voice firm. “Both have saved my life on multiple occasions. Without the two of them and my other friends here, I’d be dead, and you would be leaderless.”
General Tolomus’s nostrils flared, but he nodded. “Forgive my skepticism in these dark times, Premieress. I am only interested in the wellbeing of our realm and of what few of my men remain.”
“I understand.” Enough of this. Lilly needed to see her people. She shifted her attention to the throng in the valley. “Have you taken a count of how many survived?”
“Not yet.” General Balena folded his arms. “Dozens of survivors have joined the camp even since our arrival, but I estimate our current population at no more than 5,000.”
A pang stabbed Lilly’s stomach. “Less than 5,000? The Sky Realm was home to more than 30,000 Windgales, plus a few thousand more who lived around the pillar bases.”
“The Saurians—” General Tolomus eyed Magnus. “—showed no mercy. They slaughtered our people indiscriminately, whether soldiers or not. At least half of our casualties came from Kahn himself.”
Lilly bit her lip. “And how many of our army survived?”
General Tolomus glanced at General Balena. “By our best estimates, we have about five hundred soldiers of our original force of 3,000.”
“Plus thirty-one surviving members of the Royal Guard,” General Balena said.
“We’re crippled.” The voice came from behind Lilly. It was Condor, who shook his head.
He was right, but Lilly shot him a glare anyway.
“I wish I could provide you with an assessment other than the one Condor just gave—” General Tolomus frowned at him. “—but he’s right. If we are attacked again, we cannot defend ourselves. Our only hope is to flee and regroup elsewhere.”
“What about the Windgales who don’t have capes?” Calum’s voice rose from behind Magnus and Axel.
Lilly stifled a smile when she saw him. He’d been so quiet, so respectful of her need to reconcile what had happened since that morning, that she’d almost forgotten he was there. Axel, on the other hand, had been all but ever-present with offers of support and help in whatever way he could while they’d traveled to the Firjian Foothills.
“I beg your pardon?” General Tolomus asked.
“I asked what would happen to the Windgales who don’t have capes and can’t fly. If they get attacked again, what are they supposed to do if that happens?”
General Tolomus straightened his spine. “If we are attacked again, our first priority is ensuring the safety of the Premieress, then that of our people. Our warriors will fend off any attack for as long as possible, but I refuse to leave my men in harm’s way if any stragglers can’t get away fast enough.”
“So you would leave them to die? The Windgales without capes?” Calum folded his arms.
General Tolomus turned to Lilly. “Who is this human who presumes to tell me how to command my own forces?”
“Easy.” Calum held up his hands and donned a casual smile. “I’m just asking a question.”
General Tolomus glared at him. “You’re attempting to boil the intricacies of war down to a hypothetical scenario, and you suggested that I would leave my own people to die.”
“I didn’t hear you say anything to the contrary.” Axel stepped forward and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Calum, his arms also folded.
“You know nothing.” General Tolomus’s green eyes flared with anger, and his grip on his spear tightened. He drifted toward them, stopping with his face just inches away. “Nothing.”
Of course, Axel didn’t back down. It was both the quality Lilly most admired and despised about him.
“What’s the function of your army if not to protect your people?” Axel challenged. “All of your people?”
“Our army exists to protect the population as a whole,” General Tolomus countered. “In war, not everyone can survive.”
“You mean the people who don’t matter to you won’t survive,” Axel pressed.
“Take it easy, Axel.” Calum faced General Tolomus. “We’re concerned for the non-flying Windgales. If we get attacked, the Saurians will easily overrun and kill them.”
“And if Kahn returns
, then no one is safe.” General Tolomus huffed, then he turned to Lilly and General Balena. “This inquisition is pointless. We should be discussing plans for a counterattack instead.”
“A counterattack?” Now Magnus stepped forward. “The only thing a counterattack would accomplish is getting the rest of your soldiers killed and leaving the entirety of your population indefinitely vulnerable. Reptilius is far away from here, and Kahn aside, the Saurians’ army numbers nearly ten thousand. To attack them now would be a fool’s errand unlike any in recorded history.”
“You would know.” General Tolomus stared up into Magnus’s golden eyes.
“I’m still amazed that you’d leave your own people to die when your men are the only ones who can protect them,” Axel muttered.
General Tolomus leaned close to Axel until their faces were only inches apart. “People who can’t fend for themselves don’t deserve to survive.”
Axel’s jaw set, and then he shoved General Tolomus away with such force that General Balena had to catch him to keep him from falling. Despite General Balena’s protests, General Tolomus tossed his spear aside, shot forward, and drove his shoulder into Axel’s chest. They tumbled to the ground, each of them jockeying for the upper hand in the scuffle.
“That’s enough, General!” General Balena clamped his arms around General Tolomus’s chest from behind and hauled him off of Axel, while Condor grabbed Axel under his arms to keep him from springing forward.
“Both of you, stop,” Lilly ordered.
Was it her fault this had gotten so out of control? She could’ve ordered General Tolomus to stop arguing, or told Axel to back off, but she hadn’t. For her part, she’d wanted to see how it would play out, to see where General Tolomus’s allegiances truly lay.
His responses had disappointed Lilly.
“Get off me!” Axel growled and tried to twist free from Condor’s grasp. “I can take him!”
“Magnus? A little help, here?” Condor’s jaw tightened with strain, but his pleasant expression somehow didn’t fully disappear in spite of it. For all of Condor’s speed, Axel was stronger.
As Magnus approached, Axel made the mistake of kicking out at him. Magnus reacted by grabbing Axel by his ankle, yanking, and pulling him up.
“What the—hey!” Axel hung upside down in Magnus’s grip, his head at least two feet off the ground, still squirming. “Put me down!”
“Not until you calm yourself.” Magnus grunted at Axel’s jerks. “And if you fail to do so, I will smack you.”
“He’s an ingrate,” General Tolomus spat. “A rapscallion. A mindless, brainless brigand with no concept of the realities of war.”
“And you’re a soulless, cold-hearted wretch who’s more concerned with his status than with the wellbeing of the people he’s supposed to serve!” Axel hollered, but Lilly couldn’t take him seriously while he still hung upside down.
“I said stop. Both of you. Right now.” Lilly stepped between them. “We’re meant to fight our enemies, not each other.”
General Tolomus shook free from General Balena’s grasp and pointed a finger at Axel. “Just keep him away from me, and the other human, too.”
“No problem there. The last thing I want is to be anywhere near a horse’s back-end like you.” Axel pressed his fingers against his forehead and clenched his eyes shut. “Would you let me down, please? My head is swimming.”
Magnus dropped him on his head.
“Ow!” Axel rolled onto his back then sat up. “What’s your problem?”
“Nothing, anymore.” Magnus smirked at him.
Axel muttered several curses, all while alternating glares between Magnus and General Tolomus.
“We can’t afford to attack the Saurians, and we can’t protect our own people. We don’t have a home where we’re safe,” Condor said. “Rebuilding the fortress is necessary, but time-consuming, and not an immediate solution. I don’t know what other options we have to protect everyone.”
Lilly did. At this point, only one thing would enable her people to safely evade any additional attacks. “I must address the people. Find a way to gather them and get their attention.”
General Balena eyed her. “What are you going to tell them?”
Lilly matched his gaze. “I’m going to give them hope where they otherwise have none.”
Within moments, the remnant of her people had gathered before her. Lilly inhaled a large breath and hovered about ten feet above the sprawling crowd. At first, the Windgales hummed like a bustling bees’ nest disturbed by a harsh wind, but a hush cascaded over them as she raised her hands in the air.
“My people,” she began.
Lilly had reached the point of decision. Should she tell them the truth about the Aerostone? Or should she keep them subject to her every whim through the system of control and manipulation that all the Sky Realm’s rulers before her had utilized, including her father?
“It is with great sorrow that I appear before you today as Premieress in place of my father, Avian, who died this very day in defense of our Realm.”
Murmurs swelled in the crowd, but they subsided when Lilly raised her hands again.
“My father sacrificed himself so that you and some of your friends, family, and neighbors might live. His sudden death necessitated my ascension to Premieress this very afternoon.”
More murmurs, this time shorter, and quieter.
Lilly glanced at General Balena, who nodded, then she refocused on the people. An image of Falcroné’s pristine, regal smile formed in her mind’s eye, and her heart panged with regret.
“It is not my intention to waste your time with a long, elaborate speech. Instead, I’ll simply say this: Lumen, the ancient warrior of old, has awakened, and he moves to march on Valkendell, the King’s fortress in Solace. The majority of our fighting forces and any who might volunteer to join his cause shall do so with my blessing.”
Gasps and whispers hissed among the crowd, swelling to chattering conversation.
“I’d like to tell you that the Saurians who attacked us are in league with the King, who has long oppressed our human neighbors to the East of the valley, but I have no evidence that such an alliance has formed.”
The crowd simmered to silence.
Lilly cast a glance at Calum and Axel, both of whom stared at her, rapt. “I’d like to tell you that Lumen’s movement against the King will ensure our safety for years to come, but I have not spoken with Lumen about our plight, as I have only just arrived from releasing him from his prison under the Central Tri-Lake.
“However, I have met him. I have looked into his burning eyes. I have seen his power firsthand. I’ve witnessed him vanquish an entire army with one unspeakable surge of power. He has made it clear that his goal is to unite Kanarah under his banner and under his leadership, but there is still no guarantee that he will help us. Even if he does, that help could be months away.”
Lilly scanned the multi-colored faces in the crowd, all of them worn from distrust, from war, and some of them from the travails of daily life on top of the horrors they had all just endured.
“But I believe in him,” she continued. “I trust him. I believe that if we help him liberate Kanarah—all of Kanarah—then we will discover our place under his benevolent reign, a place of peace and comfort, where all of our needs are met and even surpassed.”
The crowd began to rumble, and smiles formed on several of the people’s faces.
“Even so, I know that the death of our Premier and the destruction of our realm is no cause for celebration. I’ll wager we’ve all lost something, or someone, or both, as a result of this attack. I won’t lie to you. Our army is—”
General Balena cleared his throat from behind her, but she didn’t look back at him.
“—in bad shape. We have only a fraction of our original strength thanks to Kahn’s involvement in the attack.”
“Lilly,” General Balena grunted.
“As such, I request that any of you, whether you
be men, women, or youths at least sixteen or older, volunteer to join our army to help protect your friends and family. Your people.” Lilly exhaled a long breath. “I’m barely of age myself, but I’m committed to serving and protecting our realm with my very life, just as my father did.
“My entire family is wiped out, except for General Balena, my uncle. You are my family now.” She extended her right arm and swept it in an arc across the crowd. “And for that reason, I have decided to treat you as family deserves to be treated: as equals, with love and respect.”
She turned back and stared at General Balena for a moment. He would disapprove of her choice, as would General Tolomus and many of the other Wisps, if not all of them.
Condor’s piercing blue eyes met hers, and he smirked, like he always did. He must’ve known what she was about to say.
She found Calum’s eyes next, blue and free like the sky, but with a certain softness born of suffering. He would agree with her choice, too.
So would Axel, but she didn’t bother to make eye contact with him.
“Don’t.” General Balena shook his head and stared steel at her. “Don’t do it.”
What little reservation that remained within Lilly died in the same rebellious flames that had spurred her to leave the Sky Realm a year ago. Her people needed to know the truth, for their own safety and wellbeing. How many more may have survived the Saurians’ attack had they been granted the ability to fly?
Promise me you’ll steward this power as if it were your own life, her father had begged. Promise me you won’t throw it away.
Lilly intended to uphold that promise, but in her own way. She refused to let any more of her people die because of her family’s secrets.
She pulled the Aerostone from the pouch at her hip and held it overhead.
Chapter Eleven
When Lilly spoke, Condor could scarcely believe his ears.
“With the power of this stone,” she proclaimed, “all Windgales can fly whether they’re wearing a cape or not.”
No one in the crowd made a sound for almost a minute after Lilly’s proclamation, and Condor was no exception. But where others wore expressions of confusion or shock, he stood behind her, grinning.