Nobody was waiting, but somehow that didn’t reassure me.
We took an accelerated path through the Realm, heading toward the castle. My heart beat a steady drum in my chest, my adrenaline pulsed low, and I did my best to stay calm.
Is it always this deserted? Archion asked as we flew over little huts and empty fields.
I shook my head slowly, looking for any signs of movement and seeing none. I don’t know, but I doubt it. They are either hiding, or getting ready to fight.
The land didn’t change much, unlike the constant changes in the Underworld. Always pretty. Always leaning toward fake. I hoped Romulus lived to spruce the place up a bit, turning the walkways into pleasant gardens and the trees into more convincing semblances of the same thing. This whole place was just stagnant, waiting for a breath of fresh air. It almost reminded me of the Mages’ Guild just before we busted it open. It needed some new blood. New ideas.
It was too bad it would take a battle and bloodshed to achieve that result.
There.
I flicked my eyes up at Archion’s thought. Cahal flew to one side of me, Penny and Emery on the other, and their gazes were turned in the same direction. Penny glanced at me with wide eyes.
The breath left my lungs.
A massive host had gathered in front of the elves’ castle. Catapults were lined up on the golden pathway, carts teamed with crews waiting beside them. Troops stood before them in neat lines, armed to the teeth, with elves at the back and creatures like minotaurs, centaurs, and trolls pushing out in front. Because of course they were being pushed into danger first. Even as we watched, creatures pushed up off the ground and flew into the sky, all manner of flying creatures—faeries, griffins, hippogriffs, lamassu… Their host had to be two thousand or more strong. Holy shit.
Coming toward them, spread out across the land, the scenery being stripped bare of its enchantments as they moved, came my father’s host. Demons of all shapes and sizes wore battle gear or just their own skin. Other demons flew overhead, their bodies gross and spindly. Some of the trolls from the Realm had joined them, and I noticed goblins as well as several other strange creatures I’d never seen before. They walked amongst the demons, not in front of them. Vampires walked to the right in the army, all in their monster forms, moving like graceful predators ready to kill. Behind them pranced the damn unicorns, creamy white and gorgeous, shaking their heads and neighing like a horse might do.
My gaze tracked upward, and I sagged on Archion.
There are all of your friends, I thought, seeing the large beasts fill the sky. Lucifer didn’t have as many fliers as the elves, but his were of a much better quality. Larger, deadlier.
At the front, flying low, Lucifer rode atop Tatsu, her jet-black scales soaking up the night.
My heart thudded in my chest. A strange feeling of being misplaced settled over me.
I should be beside him, I thought without meaning to.
You will be, Archion replied.
I shook my head, looking at the messy horde he had following him, tromping through the land and thirsty for blood. His host was larger than the elves, no question. More eager. Likely more violent. He would win this battle if we didn’t stop him. He’d tear into the elves and everyone who stood with them. He would show no mercy.
The memory of the grimy walls of my prison, my broken legs, my askew fingers, and the constant thrust of pain as I lay on that dingy floor filtered through my mind. Rage kindled into a fire within me. Lucifer knew what the elves were capable of. He’d seen it firsthand, applied to his own flesh and blood.
But what was Lucifer capable of? He had great darkness within him. It balanced the light I’d seen. I had to ask myself again whether he was any better.
There was too much hate in the worlds, and not enough compassion.
Someone had to stand in the way. We had to stand in the way. We had to be the ringleaders for a different, better future.
Our people moved forward in orderly rows, the most vulnerable in the middle and the strongest taking the front, back, and sides. It was the opposite of the fae’s usual strategy, but Roger wanted everyone to make it to the battle without falling behind.
It doesn’t look like we have time to rest before battle, Archion thought as we continued forward, unrelenting.
We’d rested along the way a couple times, getting water and food for those who needed it. Donors gave the vampires blood—with more vampires accepting than probably needed to. Roger had forbidden any banging, though. He’d even agreed to give Marie blood (who had definitely not needed it, given her age), but would not allow her to touch him anywhere, save her mouth on his arm.