Page 78 of Songs of Retribution

Expressions tightened and leaders exchanged looks, probably questioning if he was the right one to speak. I didn't doubt it though. I took a step closer to him, behind Lira, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked back at me, and I squeezed his muscle before dropping the touch. He turned back towards the people. "I understand the reputation the Seelie has among the different courts, and it is earned." Silence. Even the Seelie troops watched Lennox with uncertainty beneath the waving of their emerald flags.

"You all stand here bravely today despite the fear we all feel. We may not fully understand what we face today." Expressions grew more grim, lips pinching. "Fear is something I'm familiar with. For most of my life I’ve feared being myself, I’ve feared harming the Seelie and the other courts by acting or not acting correctly. I have lived frozen in fear."

Lira tensed as her brother continued speaking. "However, the divine has an interesting way of forging strength. If you've ever seen a sword crafted, you understand what I mean." The soldiers raised their chins. They all understood weapons. "Raw iron has little to offer a soldier. It's only after it goes through the excruciating process of sweltering under extreme heat and yielding to the blacksmith’s pounding hand that a sword becomes a weapon of worth.”

"This is true for us all." He turned his face slowly, skimming across the armies as he took a moment to swallow and force his voice out across the group again. "We are like iron. Our courts and our people have suffered unfairly at cruel hands, but this misery has made us into something stronger. Something King Carrington, regardless of what magic he may possess, does not appreciate. We are warriors not just by our training, but in spirit, honed by the fires of our struggle and the pains of our past."

Lennox's voice rang out like magic laced through it, echoing off the mountains. The entire crowd seemed to hold their breath, clinging to his words as they shifted to a fiercer tone. "I don’t know your minds, but you're here, facing down the darkest threat in our lifetimes united by a single purpose—to make the fae realm a safe place for all magical beings."

A roar broke out, like thunder clapping across the heavens. Lennox waited for them to quiet. "Some have left us, fear getting the better of them. I cannot speak for another soul here today, but I swear this, if I am the last man standing here today, I will stand and I will fight and I will die if I must in order to achieve a world worth living in."

The soldiers cheered and yelled, all the grim discouragement cast away like a cloak they shucked into the wind. Shaan stepped in closer to Lennox, grabbing his hand. "You will never stand alone again,” he whispered.

Lennox turned towards my brother and rested his forehead on his. Elisa clasped his other hand and Lira took hers. I grabbed my wife's smooth fingers with one hand and Luz's with the other. The action rippled down the line, until all the leaders, Prasanna, Froh, Seelie, and Alegre stood hand-in-hand, staring out bravely at the armies who howled with approval and energy.

I broke the chain and stepped up next to Lennox. Elisa parted, making room for me, and I clapped the Seelie Prince's shoulder. This was a man I'd loathed to the marrow of my bones, had resented having to work with, and now respected and loved like a brother. He looked at me like he could read my thoughts and wrapped an arm around my shoulder as well.

I turned towards the crowd and yelled. "Prasanna fae, do you stand with us?"

They roared, louder than any previous sound.

I shifted towards the middle group. "Alegre fae, do you stand with us?"

They cheered and shouted a chant in Alegre. "¡Triunfo! ¡Triunfo! ¡Triunfo!"

"Froh fae, do you stand with us?" I yelled.

They screamed, a triumphant energy stinging through the air like lightning.

"Seelie fae,"—I made one last cry—"do you stand with us?"

Despite their smaller forces, they cheered with equal fervor, their voices ringing loud and clear. Lennox took in a breath that raised the arm I had around him. I could feel his pride like we shared it. Perhaps we did.

A clatter of horse hooves thundered, shaking the ground, and we all turned around. Fear skittered down my spine, but the sound came from the opposite direction of where the Seelie forces marched. Surely, they couldn't have changed positions on us without us realizing.

Horses poured down the hills behind us. Our soldiers tensed, readying weapons, and magic crackled down the line of leaders. Then I glimpsed the rider leading the group. He raised his chin, a giant smile on his face as he called out. "Elves, do you stand with us?"

"Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah," the elf army cried out, their voices shaking rocks on the hillside. My heart swelled. We were going to win. Kali had not abandoned us. She'd bound us up, prepared us for this moment, brought us all together, and would see our enemy crushed beneath her feet on this day.

Orman rode with Neia on one side and an elf woman on the other. As he reached us and jumped off his horse, I left Lennox's side to clap his hand and pull him into a hug. "Goddess, I'm glad to see you."

He offered me a lopsided smile. "Good to know I'd be missed. You won't get a chance to, though. This one"—he thumbed back at Neia who'd dismounted—"is more of a stubborn ass than I ever imagined."

"You're welcome for caring enough about you to save your life," Neia said, her usual annoyance in place. I stepped forward to embrace her as well but was cut off by a blur of copper curls as Elisa pounced on Neia.

Neia wobbled as Elisa kissed her mouth then proceeded to place kisses over her cheeks and neck. They swayed and tumbled to the ground and Neia laughed the way she did when we returned home, when everything was okay again.

The sound made me feel like it might be true. Maybe this was what everything had built for all along, and we'd all be okay.

"You can forget talking to them for a bit." Orman rolled his eyes. "In the meantime, let me introduce you to Kirsi Kuninkaan of the elves. Kirsi, this is Prince Sai of the Prasanna."

The woman had dropped from her horse, and she skimmed her eyes down me and wrinkled her nose. Orman’s smile widened and his like of her made me appreciate her regardless of her reaction to me. I pressed my hands together and bowed deeply.

When I rose, I turned towards Orman. “You made it.”

The smile he donned now was smaller, gentler, and more sincere. "Thanks in large part to Neia and Kirsi." He shifted his posture, dropping his weight back, more relaxed again. "Now, are we ready to kick a Seelie king's ass?"

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