Page 1 of Knight's End
Chapter One
We stood on the hill outside the cave, in a sea of dead Raslen soldiers, and stared at one another silently as a gentle pink dawn swept over us. But the light did nothing to combat the dark reality we faced.
Connor, my best friend since childhood, swallowed hard when his worried blue eyes met mine. I longed to brush back his tangled brown curls and tell him that everything would be okay. But that would be a lie.
Blue's words echoed in my head. Human. My knights were human.
I looked at Declan, my Sedarian knight. His face was pale and drawn. All his life, his magic had been sought after, prized, treasured. He’d been sent to our kingdom to help protect my sister, to help seal the alliance between Evaness and Sedara via marriage. And now, my sweet, magical scholar was facing the possibility that he might be human.
How the hell could we end a magical war without magic?
The sea crashed into the rocks behind us, reminding me of the dangers lurking beneath its waters. We had already been outnumbered. We had two countries on either border targeting us. Queen Isla and Sultan Raj were bound and determined to remove Sedara’s control of the sea and wipe out my country, Evaness, in the process. The sea witch they’d recruited had stolen my only sister and now, the three of them were on a warpath.
With three different types of magic—wishes, the giants’ strength, and sea magic—against us, our half-human country was outnumbered and outmagicked.
I looked at my general. Ryan stood ramrod straight, his head and shoulders rising above my other men. He was part-giant, a true warrior full of grace and brutal strength. His proud soldier’s posture contrasted his face, which was dark, his brow furrowed as he chewed on his thick lips. Even he must have been thinking how desperate our situation was.
My heart sank. What little hope we had was lost.
Sard. Even as I had that thought, I quashed it. I smoothed my features and scanned my men’s faces; they were devastated enough. I couldn’t let them see any disappointment. I couldn’t add to their misery. And they were clearly miserable.
Quinn hadn’t sent me a single thought, not a joke, not a quip, since Blue had made his declaration. That alone told me that my quiet spy master was brooding. He ran a hand through his jet-black hair, tucking it behind his slightly pointed half-elf ears. He paced near me, like a trapped animal.
The only one of my knights who didn’t appear quite as upset was Blue. I turned to stare at my newest knight, a half-djinn I’d once thought was my enemy. His dark brown hair and skin were smooth, his forehead unwrinkled.
“You seem to be taking this discovery well,” I said.
Blue shrugged and the Raslen soldier’s shirt he’d donned slipped down, revealing several of the tattoos on his chest. “I’ve always known I only had three wishes. That once they were gone, I’d be basically human.”
I nodded. He’d had to mentally prepare for this reality all his life. Whereas my other husbands hadn’t. My eyes roamed again.
Declan pursed his lips and looked down at his hands, hiding his ice blue eyes. But my blond knight flexed his fingers as if he were testing them, trying to get them to emit a magical light and prove Blue’s statement wrong. Ryan rubbed the back of his neck as he stared, unblinking, at the dead bodies around us. Quinn just kept pacing. Connor gazed out at the sea, avoiding eye contact.
My knights, my poor knights … I had spent so many years avoiding my magic, repressing it. But they’d used theirs on a daily basis to strengthen Evaness and protect it. Without it … I wasn’t sure what we would do. I was torn. Comforting them would show pity instead of confidence in them.
Should I go to them or not? I wondered.
Desperately, I turned to Cerena. My castle mage stood slightly off to the side, giving us a respectful amount of space as we mourned the loss of their magic. Her silver hair was a frizzed, matted mess from the flight we’d taken on our way to this deathly cave, but she gave me a thin smile as I approached her.
I asked, “When will Donaloo be back? Do you know of any spells to restore power? Did he say anything?”
The old woman just wrinkled her brow and shook her head. “I don’t know exactly when he’ll be back. He took off with the dragon and that boy. He didn’t say where he was going.” Her hand flew up and gestured toward my knights. “I’ve never heard of this happening. The only place I can think to look it up is in the mage’s books back at the castle.”
The castle. Shite. It was still frozen. And likely, under further attack.
As the sea started to thrash more violently against the rocks behind us, I turned to my husbands. “We need to do what we can back at the castle. We’ll figure this out.” I tried to keep my voice strong, confident. I tried to channel mother’s courtier voice.
My job was to hold us together. My job was to find a way through. My job was to lead them through the blackness into light. I had no idea how the sarding hell I was gonna do that. But I’d find a way. I had to find a way.
My expression hardened and I said, "Look at me." They each turned reluctantly, and I waited until every set of eyes was boring into mine. Then I said, "You swore an oath to protect Evaness. My fathers were human. And they did a damned good job of it. So, don’t go thinking you’re off the hook.”
Connor at least made an effort to smile for me—but the others still held devastation in their faces. I knew magic was an integral part of them. This loss would be hard, like the loss of a limb. I tried a different approach and eased my tone. “It could be worse. The magic could have brought you back without dicks.”
That did earn a reluctant chuckle. I jerked my head toward Evaness. “Without the wizard, I suppose we’ll have to walk, unless we can confiscate any mounts from the dead soldiers.”
Ryan shook his head. “They all ran off. I think the walking trees might have been a bit much for them.”
I smiled in relief, if he was up for mockery, that was a good sign. I had no doubt that we had a long, dark road ahead of us, both literally with the war, and within each of their minds … but humor gave me hope.
