Page 68 of Empire of Death
I nodded in agreement, the plan ironed out.
His eyes moved elsewhere again, his handsome expression hardening in thought.
“How do you know all this?”
His eyes paused before they flicked back to mine.
“About the Barbarians and their golden cannons.”
His eyes were still as they took in my face, emotions and thoughts beneath the surface impossible to gauge. “I see everything.”
22
LILY
I went straight to Hawk after my conversation with Callum was completed. “We need to launch our fleet for the Empire Colonies. The Barbarians are on their way to conquer them—and then us.”
Hawk was already dressed for battle, always in his armor except when he slept, prepared for the war that would march on our doorstep at any time. He faced me in the courtyard where I’d intercepted him on his way from the military barracks.
I waited for the interrogation, for him to ask how I knew this information when no call for aid had been released from King Ithaca. For the conversation to then turn to the topic we always discussed—the god who protected me better than the dragon scales of my armor.
But that miraculously didn’t happen. “I can prepare everyone for departure, but it’ll take at least two days for us to arrive. Is that enough time?”
“It’ll have to be.”
“The dragons can get there much sooner. Perhaps that’s all we’ll need.”
“The dragons are staying behind.”
His eyes widened slightly in clear confusion.
I couldn’t afford to conceal information from Hawk anymore, not when so many lives depended on knowledge. “The Barbarians have golden cannons on their ships. They shoot sharp spikes that might be enough to pierce the hides of our dragons. Until we can build them all suits of armor, we can’t risk their demise.”
Hawk took that all in and didn’t issue a single question. “Will our navy be enough?”
“I don’t know, but I know they won’t expect us to be there.”
“Has King Ithaca been warned of their approach?”
“Yes, I informed him of the coming battle, but the asshole seeks an alliance with the Barbarians.”
He took a slight step back, doing his best to follow me without the wealth of context I had. “What?He wants to be allies with the enemy that wishes to conquer him?”
“He thinks he can persuade them to fight together and take the Southern Isles. Since I refused to give him a few of our dragons, he’s found another way to make that happen.”
Hawk blinked several times as he processed all of this. “Then why the fuck are we giving him aid he didn’t ask for? This isn’t making any sense, Lily.”
“Because if we don’t take this opportunity to defeat the Barbarians when they least expect it, then we might have twokingdoms coming for us instead of the one. We defeat the Barbarians without risking our dragons, and then we execute King Ithaca and put a new king in power—one who agrees to be our ally. The other option is either watch the Empire Colonies be defeated and join their ranks, or the Barbarians agree to an alliance and they all come for us.”
Hawk’s eyes furiously flicked back and forth as he considered the strategy on the board. “The Southern Isles are naturally protected from the sea by cliffs. We have a much better advantage holding ground here than sailing to the east. And we’re also just not ready for such an unpredictable battle—especially without our dragons.”
“I would normally agree with you completely,” I said. “But this is theonlytime we’re going to have the element of surprise. This is theonlytime the Barbarians aren’t going to know we’re coming. The Barbarians will deny King Ithaca’s proposition, and battle will ensue. We may not be allies with King Ithaca, but we’re allies of the Empire Colonies. They will fight with us until we defeat the enemy.”
“Or until the enemy defeats us both…”
“Then one of us will stay behind and prepare for the second battle. We’ll take half our forces now and leave behind the other half. Prepare the armor for the dragons, so if I fail, then you’ll be ready for them on the second go?—”
“If I fail?” he asked. “You aren’t going, Lily. I’m General Rothschild of the Southern Isles, and I will go to battle for my kingdom. You stay with the kingdom and prepare for the second wave if we’re defeated.”
