Page 79 of Empire of Death
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to speak with Commander Maverick…if he survived.”
“Where did they find the Behemoths? I thought they only lived in the wildlands far to the north.”
“Must have crossed their path when they attacked Riviana Star.”
“I’m glad Zehemoth disobeyed your orders. Otherwise, you’d be dead.”
I believed Callum would have come for me just in the nick of time. But yes, it was a terrifying moment, watching seven-and-a-half-foot creatures descend upon you. Even if I were Callum, I would have been scared.
“They are vampires now?”
“Some. Not all.”
“Were some, not all, of them vampires before?”
“I don’t think so, but the battle in Riviana Star was chaos. In either case, that’s something else we’re now up against. I was able to defeat them with the blade because of the strength granted to me and the army of the dead that acted as a funnel. They’re superior to us in every way. Without those gifts, I doubt I would have survived.”
I was never one to admit defeat, and that terrifying admission made Hawk’s eyes narrow in stress. “And there are so many of them. At least ten thousand. Even if we destroyed half their fleet, they could take the ships of the Empire Colonies and sail to us at any moment.”
“How’s the engineering of their golden spikes?”
“No different from a cannon. It takes time to load, and then you can hear theboomwhen it’s lit. Zehemoth was able to navigate it pretty easily, but he was just one target in the sky. If there were dragons fighting everywhere, it would have been a different story.”
“So we’ve lost our biggest ally.”
“Unfortunately. He pleaded for an alliance with them until the end…and got his head cut off.”
“And you warned him,” he said coldly. “He got what was coming to him.”
“But at the expense of his people. Now they’re ruled by Behemoths and vampires and men who will threaten mortal wounds if they don’t comply with their demands. They’ll be forced to sail here to kill their allies.”
He was in trousers and a black shirt, his hair slightly messy like he’d recently taken a shower after his rotation in the barracks. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought quietly to himself. “Then we’ll be ready when they come. We can send dragons to spy on them from the air. That way, we know when they make their move.”
“We have to be careful, Hawk. Just because they have those cannons on their boats doesn’t mean they won’t build them on land too.”
Hawk stared at me before he gave a slow nod. “Good thinking, Queen Rothschild.”
“You don’t have to call me that.”
“You earned it without that astute assessment.”
“I didn’t earn shit because I went there and got half of our fleet destroyed and good men killed.” I’d accomplished nothing, taking down some of their ships but not nearly enough. “What I wouldn’t give to be able just to talk to Father…” Only in his coma did I truly appreciate his kingship. Appreciate the way heprotected us. Even without being able to raise the dead, he was still the most formidable opponent in this wide world.
“It’s always harder to conquer a kingdom than it is to defend one,” Hawk said. “We lost an ally, but we still have the Brigandine Empire. We still have the Northern Isles and Riviana Star. They may be vampires, but we still have dragons.”
“Where are you on the armor?”
“The forges haven’t gotten cold since your order. The smiths are doing everything they can. But remember, these dragons are big…and that’s a lot of steel.”
“What about the platinum?”
He shook his head. “You were gone for five days, Lily. I didn’t accomplish much on that front either. Perhaps we should send a messenger to the Brigandine Empire to check for news. They’re the ones most likely to find it.”
“I understand. How’s Mom?”
“Honestly, she’s with Dad most of the time, doesn’t leave the room much.”
“I’ve never seen her like this.” Absent and distant…heartbroken.
