Page 65 of Empire of Death
“The element I’ve been searching for, it’s known as platinum. It’s like steel but a lot brighter. Has a reflective, diamond-like quality. I need you to send a crew to find it. It’s of the utmost importance that I secure it.”
He gave a nod in understanding. “I think the more efficient way to search for it is to offer a reward. I’ll put a notice at the docks for all the pirates who come through these waters. That way, you have eyes looking for it all over the world through the various trade routes. I hate to ask for payment, but if you’re in a hurry, it’s the best way to go about it.”
“That’s fine.”
“What amount will you offer?”
“Whatever is going to get them to race for it.”
“Alright, I’ll handle it,” he said. “I’ll send a note if I find anything.”
“Thank you. And be ready for war—because it’s coming.”
Instead of placing me in the courtyard outside the castle walls, Callum placed me directly inside the throne room, underneaththe glass ceiling that showed the overcast sky above. Irregular drops of rain hit the window.
I looked at the empty throne, and the guards who were posted around it took a moment to understand that I was real, that I really had materialized out of nothing. Their eyes widened before their pupils dilated in fear, unable to explain what just happened.
“I’d like an audience with King Ithaca,” I said calmly.
The guards looked at one another, all of them turning to one another for a silent explanation. One even looked at the glass ceiling, like I’d shattered it and dropped through the broken glass without making a sound.
“Now, please.”
They probably weren’t supposed to abandon their posts, but since someone had to leave to carry the message, one of them finally walked out to notify the king. I stood there in silence, not nearly as irritated by the prospect of conversing with King Ithaca, given the circumstances.
Callum appeared beside me. “You have the strength of a god, the command of the dead, and now you can move about the world without any of the parameters of a mortal. Soon, they won’t call you Queen Lily Rothschild…but Goddess Lily Rothschild.”
I couldn’t say a word, so all I did was hold his stare, seeing the serious look in his eyes like he meant what he said. Despite everything he’d given me, I still didn’t feel powerful, but if an enemy had these same abilities, I’d be afraid to face them.
Moments later, the guard who’d left returned to the room and quickly took up his post. The commander was next, ferocity inhis eyes solely directed at me. “How did you enter the castle grounds?”
King Ithaca came in behind him, giving me his signature look of disgust, like I was the spider beneath his boot. He must have received my letter, my rejection of his offer of aid in exchange for dragons.
“How did you enter the castle grounds?” the commander repeated as he marched up to me, getting in my personal space and stealing the breath meant for me. His clothes smelled of sweat, like he was on the last day of his rotation and hadn’t had a chance to bathe.
“Take a step back, Commander,” I said calmly as I looked up into his eyes. “Before I make you.”
“Answer the question?—”
I shoved him hard in the chest, harder than I meant to because this overwhelming strength was still new to me, and he flew back until he hit the floor. He even skidded a foot or two. When he came to a stop, he looked up at me like he didn’t know how to make sense of what had just happened.
King Ithaca said nothing, but his tempered expression showed his embarrassment that a woman like me could put his commander flat on his ass. He stepped around him and came to me, like distracting me from where he sat on the floor would erase what had just happened. “I hope you’ve reconsidered my proposition.” His hands came together behind his back, wearing his armor covered in elaborate ornamentation that seemed like an unnecessary display of wealth, not power.
“No. I’ve come to share news. The Barbarians sail upon the Empire Colonies’ lands as I speak. They intend to conquer yourlands and then use your forces to take the Southern Isles next. They’re a few days away, give or take.”
King Ithaca gave no reaction to that, choosing to absorb it in silence instead. “How do you know this?”
“Because I do,” I said. “I’ve prepared to launch my fleet to come to your aid—despite the fact that you wouldn’t come to mine.” The satisfaction was like salt in the wound, to be the bigger person in a situation where I didn’t have to be.
He must have read the smugness in my eyes because he said, “I don’t need your aid, Queen Lily Rothschild. So you can keep your fleet exactly where it is.”
Icy alarm shot up my spine when I had a chance to absorb his words into my flesh. “I give you my aid freely—and you deny it?”
“Freely is a strong word.” His cruel gaze flicked back and forth between mine. “You don’t offer aid to help the Empire Colonies. You offer it in the hope you’ll defeat your enemy on my doorstep. You’re an opportunist, and you see an opportunity. You pretend to be high and mighty when you’re moving your own pieces across the board. If you were honest about that, I might actually respect you. And that’s aniffymight.”
“Then would you rather I leave you to your fate?” I asked incredulously. “Watch from afar as the Empire Colonies fall to their invaders? Then move in my fleet when they’re too exhausted to put up a good fight and take all the pieces on the board?”
He smirked slightly. “Go home, Your Majesty. I’m sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing.”
