“We’ve driven them back from this turf.” His gaze flicked proudly around the clearing. “As she grows stronger, so, too, do we.”
“More warriors?” Tarron asked. “More supplies?”
“Both, thanks to the true queen.” He nodded at me. “And thanks to you. Your warrior Luna brought four dozen warriors with her.”
“The rest will come, once we are assured that you are who you say you are,” Tarron said.
The Fae grinned. “I am.”
A moment later, three figures hurried into the clearing.
Claire, Connor, and Luna. All looked tired but glad to see us.
“Mari!” Claire said, her gaze flicking to Tarron. “How did it go?”
“Well enough,” I said.
Tarron stepped forward. “Mari has healed me.”
“Though I’m not as strong as I’d hoped to be.” Worry tugged at me. The feeling of not being enough, if I were honest. No one needed to hear the true queen say that out loud, though. “But we’re out of time, I hear.”
Claire’s eyes turned shadowed. “We’re definitely out of time. The false queen needs to be stopped—now.”
“Then we need a plan.” I turned to Tarron. “I’d say it’s safe to bring the rest of your troops through.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll lead you to the camp once they’ve arrived,” the Fae guard said.
Tarron nodded. “Thank you.”
“Come on.” Claire gestured for us to follow. “We’ll lead you back.”
Luna stayed back with Tarron, while Aeri, Declan, and I went with Connor and Claire. We strode down the forest path as a small group, our footsteps quiet on the leaves.
Claire leaned close to talk in hushed tones. “The Resistance has grown, but we need you.”
“Do you know what the false queen is up to, exactly?”
“We have a guess, and the beginnings of a plan.”
“Good.” I looked around, tension pulling at my shoulders. “This place is really safe?”
“This section of the forest, yes. The Resistance cleared it of the queen’s minions and placed powerful spells on it to protect it. But they won’t last forever.”
“No, that kind of magic is hard to maintain.”
A few minutes later, we reached the same camp we’d visited last time. It was larger now, with more hammocks hung between the trees. The bird’s-nest style houses had multiplied as well, dotted here and there in the branches. Hundreds of faerie lights sparkled between the branches. A fire burned in the middle of the clearing, with several Fae hard at work on some kind of breakfast they stirred in one huge pot.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to look at us, and I spotted the old woman who’d taken us in her carriage into the castle on the last visit. She gave me an assessing look, and I hoped I lived up to expectation.
Despite all the new faces, I only had eyes for my friends.
I spotted the three FireSouls sitting at a table with Brielle, the leader of the Resistance. The Fae woman was small, with the trademark dark hair and luminous skin of the Unseelie.
Cass, Del, and Nix all turned to face us. My heart leapt at the sight of my friends.
They rose and hurried to us, Brielle at their side.
I hugged each of the FireSouls in turn. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course.” Cass grinned. “We had a nap and are ready to go again.”
I smiled. “If that’s all it takes.”
“Were you successful?” Del asked. “How is Tarron?”
“I healed him, but I didn’t get the magic I’d been hoping for.” I said the words quickly, wanting to spit them out.
Nix shrugged. “Between all of us, I’m sure we can manage.”
She wasn’t wrong—as a group, we were immensely powerful. If we could manipulate the battle so all of us faced the false queen at once, we might have a shot. It was just getting the battle to that point that I was worried about.
Brielle’s gaze flicked to the forest behind me. “I see you’ve brought reinforcements.”
I turned to see Tarron leading the group of fifty Seelie Fae into the camp. “He’ll bring more if we need them.”
Brielle nodded. “We need our plan, first. Stealth may be more important than numbers.”
“What do you know so far?”
“Let’s have a seat and discuss it.” Brielle walked toward the wooden table where they’d been sitting when we’d first arrived.
Tarron turned his men over to Luna, who set off to get everyone sorted. He joined us, and we all sat at the rough wooden table.
Brielle leaned forward, her gaze intense. “We’ve been told that you have an Aranthian Crystal.”
I nodded. “I had two. I tried to use one on the false queen, but it didn't work.”
“No, she’s too powerful now.” Brielle spit on the ground, a distinctly un-Fae gesture. “But our reconnaissance suggests that she has a source of power that helps her maintain her mind control over the people of this realm.”
My mind flashed back. “Like the dark crystal that she implanted into the Seelie court?”
“The theory is the same, yes.” Brielle grinned. “You’re quite clever, for a future queen.”
The way she said it suggested that she didn't like the idea of me being the future queen, and hope surged. But first, we needed to figure out our plan.
Tarron seemed to agree, because he leaned forward. “So we need to destroy this crystal to destroy her hold on the people.”
“It’s not quite so simple.” Brielle raised her hand and ticked off her points as she made them. “First, it’s not a crystal. It’s a well of power that is vital to all of the Unseelie. We cannot destroy it, or we will destroy much of the magic that keeps this place running.”
“Oh, that makes this complicated.” I frowned, remembering what Perisea had said. “Hang on. Could we use the Aranthian Crystal to freeze the well of power and weaken her?”
Brielle grinned widely. “Yes. If we can use it to freeze the well, it will temporarily disrupt her hold on the minds of the Fae here.”
“Which would cut off its power to her,” Tarron said.
“Giving us a chance to hopefully defeat her.” Hope surged in my chest. Maybe I didn't need to be as strong as her.
“Exactly,” Brielle said. “Once she is destroyed, her magic will fade from the well, and everything will return to normal.”
“We just need to get to the well,” Cass said. “Then get to her.”
“And that’s the hard part,” Claire said. “We’ve been trying to perform some recon, and it’s going to be difficult.”
“But with our increased troops, we stand a chance,” Brielle said. “Although we think she has something else planned. We don’t know what, exactly. But she’s moving towards completion.”
“How can you tell?” Tarron asked.
“Increased magic coming from the palace. It’s really ramping up.”
“She wants me and my sister,” I said. “For our blood.”
Brielle nodded. “Queen’s blood.”