Page 184 of Shadow Queen
Norah snapped her head up with fire on her lips. “It most certainly is a bad thing. Mikael needs Aleon to attack, before Gregor acts against Kharav. It’s what we were counting on.”
The letter passed around the council, each member reading its news.
“The largest army they’ve ever seen,” Councilman Henricus read with a frown. “Even larger than Aleon’s.”
“That’s not possible,” Edward scoffed.
“The Aleon king admits it with his own pen,” Soren said with a slight snarl, his patience clearly gone. “It should come as no surprise. Cyrus’s army has the freed slaves of Serra. Now others flock to him, fleeing their own kingdoms to join him.”
“Slaves are not warriors,” Alastair countered.
“What about the thousands used as blood sport fighters?” Soren snapped back. “Each one would kill ten of your Northmen.”
Norah swallowed the bile building in her throat. “Kharav needs us,” she said. “We’ll send more Mercian steel—swords, shields, polearms.”
“This will take time,” Edward argued.
“Then send the mined iron. We’ll build a Mercian forge in Kharav, with smiths.”
“Queen Norah,” he gasped. “You cannot give the Shadowlands the ability to forge Mercian steel. They could dilute our trade value in the market, forge weapons against us.”
“Theyareus!” she snapped. “I am queen of MerciaandKharav, and I’ll use all means to protect both. And no more talk of delay. If it’s not ready, I’ll have every man mining until it is, including everyone in this room.”
Her councilmen stiffened but offered no further argument.
“We need more to show Japheth that Mikael’s not alone.” She looked at Alexander. “We’ll send an army of five thousand.”
“You cannot send our forces when we battle unknown attacks on our own lands,” Henricus argued.
But Norah ignored him. Still looking at Alexander, she said, “The lord justice will take the legion himself. I want Gregor to know how serious I am.”
Edward gaped at his fellow councilmen around the room. “Queen Norah, you cannot send our forcesandour justice to fight the Shadowland’s war!”
“It’sourwar!” she said angrily. She looked back at Alexander. “We still have Phillip’s ten thousand men?”
He nodded.
“Take five thousand of them as well,” she added.
“If Rael’s army is larger than Aleon’s, ten thousand men won’t matter,” James said, finally speaking.
“I’m not trying to match their number,” she countered. “But if we show that Mercia and Aleon stand with Kharav, it makes for a strong deterrence.”
“And how do you know Phillip will agree to sending his men to aid the Shadow King?” Edward questioned.
“I’ll write to him and ask,” she replied.
Henricus snorted. “After you’ve already sent his army?”
“I only return the favor,” she said shortly.
Crossing into the Shadowlands brought a rare air of excitement, a much different feel than the loathing that normally pulsed through Alexander as he made his way through the lands of his enemy. Perhaps it was because the Shadowlands were starting to feel less like the enemy. They were now home to his infant nephew, whom he would soon meet for the first time.
Adrian’s face carried a broad grin, as it had ever since they’d passed through the Canyonlands. Alexander couldn’t help a smile of his own. He’d been angry before—angry that Adrian had been so excited to leave Mercia, like he no longer belonged to his own kingdom. But as Alexander let his brother take the lead in driving the legions south, he could only watch with pride.
Adrian moved between the ranks with confidence and command. He checked on the forge equipment often, their precious cargo, knowing it was even more important than the ten thousand men they brought. He moved them along at a fast pace, but not too fast to exhaust them. Mercia, Aleon—it didn’t matter—the men listened to him, respected him. All of them, even the Crest guards that Norah had sent with them.
While Adrian’s charismatic grin could make any heart feel light, Alexander realized he was no longer a boy. He was a gentle soul, yes, full of fun and adventure. But he was also a natural leader, skilled in all the ways Alexander had taught him. And although Alexander loathed to admit it, Adrian was made even stronger by his time with the Destroyer.
