Lexi stared after Cole's back as he left. She didn't move until she heard the front door close. Then, she sprinted across the room and to the wall that caught her attention when they first entered.
There, she pulled down a small sword and the leather belt hanging with it. She slid the belt around her waist and sheathed the sword. Lexi had no intention of leaving the palace; she wouldn't become a distraction to Cole, and they'd kill her as soon as she stepped foot on that battlefield, but she wouldn't be weaponless either.
Next, she pulled down the throwing stars hanging on the wall near it. She reached for the stars and froze when she saw the intricate designs marking the thick metal. The sword she wore wasn't fae metal, but these were.
And fae didn't use fae metal against each other.
However, she wasn't fae. It wasn't against the rules for her to use them in a fight with a fae. Of course, it probably wasn't the best idea to use fae metal against the species she might rule one day, but it was a worse idea for them to rise against Cole.
And she would make them pay for that if it became necessary.
She pulled the stars and the brown satchel hanging behind them down. She tied the pouch to the other side of her waist and shoved the stars inside.
Chapter 2
Gathered by the gate, the hundred or so soldiers of the King's army waited for him. Their horses pranced restlessly as beyond the gates, the torches drew nearer, and the terrified shouts of the fleeing fae folk resonated through the night.
At one time, the King's forces numbered much higher, but that was before the war. The war decimated those numbers.
He'd fought beside many of these men during the war, but their loyalty lay with his father then. He had no idea how many considered themselves loyal to him. He saved many of these men's lives during the war, but that didn't mean he could count on them now.
There was no way to know how long this rebellion had been in the works, whose loyalty was bought, or who organized it. Any of these men could be a relative of the organizer or organizers. Any one of them could have been paid to turn against him.
He was about to ride into battle to face his enemies with an untold number of them at his back. His skin prickled as he studied the men, but there was no way of telling which side they were on until they were in the fray.
"Bring me a horse!" Cole shouted to the stable boy running between the horses. The boy squeaked and ran into the stables.
He'd much prefer to ride Torigon into battle, but he'd left his steadfast mount at Lexi's. It was just one more thing working against him for this battle.
"Milord," Niall greeted as he rode up in front of Cole.
Out of everyone here, he trusted Niall the most. They were the same age. Niall’s father was once a general in his father's army; they played on top of hay bales as children, ran through the fields, skipped rocks, shared dreams of being mighty warriors, and later trained together in the art of war.
They spent countless nights together carousing with women, drinking, and fighting. Niall saved him nearly as many times as Cole did him during the war. He was one of Cole's most trusted friends, yet Cole didn't know where his true allegiance lay.
He would find out.
The stable boy ran up to him with a bay stallion. The animal was not as large as Torigon, but he looked sturdy, his legs were in good shape, and he wouldn't shy away during the fight. All the horses in the stable were battle tried, and that was what mattered most.
Grabbing the saddle's pommel, Cole swung himself onto the soft, brown leather that hugged the horse's back and settled himself there. He seized the reins and nudged his horse in the side to ride before his men.
"Destroy all who rise against me but, if possible, leave the leaders of this rebellion to me. I will see to them!" he shouted.
A chorus of shouts went through the soldiers before Cole rode up to the palace gates. As he pushed them open, he kept waiting for an arrow or sword to pierce his back, but neither thing happened.
Raising his sword high, Cole led the charge out of the gates. His horse's hooves thundered across the ground as he led his men over the hills. He didn't have to look back to know those gates would close behind the last man; they wouldn't let anyone else enter.
The fleeing fae raced past him as the rebellion's army topped the crest of the next hill. Cole was nearly to the invading rebels when the first arrow whistled past his ear.
He was not surprised that it had come from behind and struck the ground twenty feet in front of him. Shouts sounded from behind him, and when he glanced back, some of the king's men had closed in on one of their own.
They knocked the fae from the saddle, and he disappeared beneath the pounding hooves of the horses. He would not be the last enemy to come at him from behind.
Cole turned back in the saddle and focused on the enemy coming down the hill toward him. When they were upon him, Cole swung out with his sword and sliced the head from the first fae as another arrow came from behind.
No one had passed him yet, so that meant the bolt had come from another one of his men. Before he could see who, the enemy flooded the area and surrounded him.
The clash of steel against steel, the shouts of men in battle, and the screams of the injured and dying rebounded through the air. The stench of blood filled his nostrils as did horse sweat, and the rich aroma of the earth churned up beneath the horse's hooves.
These sights and smells had haunted his nightmares since the end of the war, and he could feel those memories churning within him. He buried those memories even as he realized he would now have even more death haunting his sleep.
Blood splattered his face and clothes as he cut down one dark fae after another. He didn't know how many he killed outright, but he wouldn't leave any survivors when this was over.
His horse's hooves stomped over the bodies, but it never floundered. Cole deflected the blade of one fae but missed a second sword that sliced across his bicep. He gritted his teeth against the influx of pain as blood spilled down his arm.
Spinning in his saddle, he was about to destroy his attacker when Niall's blade severed his attacker's head. Niall's black eyes shone with fury when they met Cole's, and blood dripped from his black hair. Though he was pure dark fae, Niall was a little broader and heavier than most others.
When Cole nodded to him, Niall's grin revealed all of his even, white teeth. And then, he vanished as the enemy raced between them.
A ball of fire shot at his head. Cole ducked and threw up a hand to catch the flame in his palm. Spinning his hand, he flung the ball into the face of the dark fae charging at him.
The man screamed, and when his hands flew up to protect his face, Cole drove his sword into the fae. He sliced upward, cleaving the man in half from his chest, through his head. Once his sword was free, he chopped off the fae's split head and twisted in his saddle to face the horses coming at him.
He jerked his horse's reins to the side, and the horse instantly twisted away. The animal was fast and sure and managed to avoid being plowed into by a charging horse. Cole recognized his attacker as one of the king's soldiers.
The betrayal burned like acid in his throat. Cole shifted his hold on the sword and, swinging out with his free hand, he embedded his claws under the fae's chin and ripped the man from his horse.