“No one here feels a lot of sympathy for New Rosanthe,” Eno stated. “But I doubt those soldiers, if anyone asked them, would support the decimation of all the peoples of Thia. They were never given a choice in this war. Emperor Naram Suen wants power. That’s all. He’s willing to waste countless lives to get it. He’s not fighting for the freedom and honor of New Rosanthe.”
Eno had a point. Adrian might not like it, but it was true. Despite the lives that had been lost in the Stormbreak invasion, those soldiers had been following orders. There was no way any of them would go along with this insanity if they knew the gods were involved and the true madness that was Safa.
And she was only the one bonded to the Goddess of the Hunt. The actual goddess had to be much worse.
“Okay, so what you’re saying is that we’re fucked,” Adrian mumbled.
Caelan shoved his free hand through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes. “I know there is no avoiding casualties, but without help, I’m worried that things are going to become a hundred times worse. If we go in there with the Empire’s forces waiting, the gods could just wipe them all out and that’s it. No survivors.” Caelan turned his head and narrowed his eyes on Adrian. A heavy weight sank into Adrian’s stomach as he finally realized where all this talk was heading. “I need you to return to Stormbreak, help gather Erya’s forces, and lead them to us in the Ordas. If I can keep the gods occupied, Erya’s forces can deal with the Empire, not allowing humans to get in the middle of a battle of insane gods.”
“Following the invasion of Stormbreak, we have a significant build-up of troops in and around the capital,” Rayne said. “They can be quickly marshaled and brought into the Ordas.”
“But you can send messages and talk to General Morgan on the phone,” Adrian argued.
Caelan nodded. “Yes, I can and I will, but I also want you there. You can give them firsthand accounts of the gods. Of what it’s like fighting Safa. Of what has happened in Ilon. Those reports delivered in person carry more weight than you realize.”
“We will also be reaching out to Prince Shey and Queen Noemi of Caspagir. We’re hoping they can add some troops to the fighting,” Rayne interjected.
Adrian’s head whipped back to Caelan, his heart skipping a beat. “You’re not expecting me to talk to them, are you?” It was enough that he was hanging out with the King of Erya on a daily basis. He didn’t think he could get used to talking to royalty from other countries.
“It would probably be Prince Shey that you spoke to, and he’s friendly,” Caelan reassured him.
Drayce leaned forward to look around Caelan while smirking. “Besides, he dated Rayne and Eno has almost beat him up a couple of times, so he’s like one of us.”
“Not helpful,” Rayne ground out between his teeth.
Actually, it was more helpful than Rayne realized. Drayce’s few words made the prince seem more human.
“That’s not much in the way of soldiers on the ground,” Eno grumbled. “After everything that happened in Temit and Mrtyu, we can guess that we’re not going to get any assistance from Zastrad.”
“I’m not sure Zastrad has a standing army,” Rayne stated.
“And Ilon is out.” Caelan sighed.
Fuck. He couldn’t even guess as to what happened in Brightspire after they left. The prime minister was dead and Safa was gone. There had been no word from Davi or Vitor since they escaped the city. But then, both men had to be focused on getting back to Erya without being discovered.
Did the New Rosanthe army leave Brightspire after her disappearance, or were they still holding the people hostage? He couldn’t imagine what the reports looked like out of the capital. They had to be receiving the blame for Feroz’s death. Would Ilon attack Erya in retaliation for losing their prime minister? Or would Ilon send troops into the Ordas to help the Empire?
General Morgan would also want his account of what happened in Brightspire with the prime minister.
“What about the Isle of Stone?” Drayce asked.
Adrian’s heart sped up for an entirely new reason. Would the dragons enter this fight as well? There was no question in his mind that Haru would be winging his way across the ocean in a second to join a fight with his cousin.
“I…I don’t know,” Caelan hesitated. “It’s the one thing I’ve not been able to make my mind up on. From what I’ve been able to gather from my grandfather, the dragons were poorly used by the gods. It’s why they’ve been hidden away from the rest of the world for so long. Entering the fight would give the dragons some payback for their ancestors, but it’s not just about endangering their lives.”