Page 83 of Empire of Death
“We don’t have enough armor to outfit them all,” I argued.
“Even so, this is how it must be,” Commander Maverick said. “They’re the only leverage we have. If the Barbarians make it to land with their vampire army, it’ll be a massacre. Based on what you described, our men don’t stand a chance.”
“He’s right,” Hawk said. “I hate the idea too, but it’s either we risk them…or we risk everyone.”
“Zehemoth was able to navigate the golden spikes, but he had no other distractions?—”
“We will lose dragons,” Hawk said. “There’s no denying that. But there is no other way.”
“The dragons are a part of the Southern Isles,” Commander Maverick said. “They should defend it like one of us. It’s unfair to ask the soldiers to put their lives on the line if the dragons aren’t willing to do the same.”
I turned to Commander Maverick, my protectiveness almost making me angry. “They’re not soldiers or citizens. They’re free dragons who live beside us as neighbors. They’re not horses or sheep.”
“They’re free dragons because of Talon Rothschild—who barely clings to life as we speak,” he said authoritatively but respectively.
“I know it’s hard, Lily,” Hawk said. “But I’m sure Khazmuda would agree. We must use every tool at our disposal if we want to win this. We can’t afford to keep our strongest weapons away from the battle. Every second counts.”
I turned to my brother. “But they will be shot down. What part of that don’t you understand?—”
“Commander Maverick, could you give us a moment?”
He gave a slight nod before he let himself out of the room. Daylight came through the open window, but it was dropping quickly below the horizon because this meeting had taken far longer than I anticipated.
Hawk moved to the other side of the table and stared me down. “Lily, I understand your love for these dragons. Remember that I care for them just as much. But we’re fighting to survive right now. You told Zehemoth to stay behind when you went to the Empire Colonies, and what happened? He came anyway. They know if the enemy prevails, they’ll be hunted and forced into servitude in some capacity. They’re fighting for their freedom too. This is how it has to be.”
I stared down at the enormous map of the Southern Isles and the other nearby kingdoms. My heart ached for the violence about to ensue, not just on my fellow humans, but on my dragon kin. “Now I know how Dad felt when I left. Loving Zehemoth is like…loving a child in some ways. I understand he’s a powerful dragon, but his heart is so pure and innocent. They’re such extraordinary creatures that could rule the world if they wanted, but all they desire is peace.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “But peace can only exist with power, and this is the way to ensure it continues.”
I continued to stare at the board, unable to meet his gaze, to give the order I didn’t want to give.
“Lily.”
I finally conceded and lifted my gaze to him. After a long stare, I gave a nod in agreement.
He nodded back. “Alright, we’ll continue to work on strategy. There are a couple different possibilities. They could strike us solely from the sea, or they might separate their army into halves and have one of them take us by land.”
“It would take them weeks to reach us from the south.”
“I agree, but then they would have us cornered. And our men are no match for their vampires. It’s what I would do.”
“But our dragons would destroy them.”
“Our dragons would either have to be split between sea and land, or they would be distracted by the attack from the south and their ships would dock. The only other option is to attack them, because they probably wouldn’t expect us to do that.”
“But the cannons…”
“If they can use those cannons on land, then yes, we’re fucked. They’re better at sea and better at land, and if they fire their spikes from the ground, it’ll be hard for the dragons to discern where they are. On the ships, it’s very easy to figure out.”
“What would Dad do?” I said it more to myself than to anyone else.
“He would say that we’ll figure it out. That he has complete faith in us.”
“Yeah, but would he mean it?”
He stared at the map again for a while. “Can you think of any other allies to call for aid?”
“We don’t know anyone else, Hawk. If we sail around asking for help, they might take advantage of our vulnerability.”
