I nodded. “We don’t have many to spare, but I’ll call for volunteers.”
“Excuse me, Lily?” a familiar voice peeped from behind me.
Spinning around, I saw a small group of garden-tender fae. They lived on the outskirts of the dome shield, and I rarely saw them. They were holding baskets full of fresh fruit and vegetables, baked breads and jarred jams. My throat tightened with emotion.
“We wanted to thank the Half—uh, your friends for helping get the crystals.” She bowed deeply to Liam and set one of the baskets at his feet. The others set more, and soon, there was enough food to feed our large crew.
“Thank you,” I croaked.
I’d done the right thing in telling my people about the crystals and the Sons. I could see that although they were a bit timid and unsure about these new fae—wingless ones, horned ones, or black-winged ones like Liam—they were open to them, and that could change everything.
“We will bring more tomorrow,” she told me.
“Thank you,” Liam muttered, and I could hear the emotion in his voice. Then he looked at me. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”
Over the next week, we took turns sleeping in my house or in the “mud camp,” as the boys had so aptly named it. The farmers had brought tons of extra hay and bark pieces, and they’d sprinkled it over the ground to absorb the mud and moisture. The blacksmith and some of the other fae had stepped in to repair the roofs and donate furniture.
We now had four earthen ovens where we could bake vegetables and make pizzas and breads. It was a bit of an outdoor kitchen, but with some lights that Elle had strung up through the tops of the trees, it looked kind of homey and cool. We were working on building a bathroom, but until then, three nearby neighbors had volunteered to let the boys use theirs whenever they needed. All in all, I was proud of my community and how they’d come together.
Trissa and her whopping five apprentices had merged with Liam’s men, and we’d found an additional twenty fae volunteers after putting out a call for help within the community. We were doing daily hand-to-hand combat drills, weapons training, and even first-aid and triage drills at Liam’s request. We had the makings of a fine fae army, and I thought we were ready to get the last crystal. Everyone was pretty much fully healed and ready to fight.
The sun was setting on the seventh night when I went to find Liam. I came across him showing Cain how to throw a small blade into a target someone had painted on a tree.
“I think we’re ready,” I told Liam as he plucked the knife from the tree and handed it to Cain.
His brothers had flourished here. They loved seeing all of the fae and helping out on the farmlands. The garden-tender fae had taken to the small boys and let them pick as many sugar berries as they wanted.
Liam’s mom was getting healthier by the day, too, and no longer showed any signs of having cancer or illness. In the end, we’d decided to keep her at Mara’s. It was Mara’s idea—since her home was between worlds, it would not harm his mom. She would be safest there. Truthfully, I thought Mara was a bit lonely, and having a human friend who knew of the magical world was a perfect way for her to pass the time.
Kira and Trissa had been on constant revolving guard around the queen, and the last time I’d gone to check on her two days ago, her fingers and toes were twitching. I thought she was waking up. I thought Indra had kept her asleep this whole time. Maybe the crystals had, too, but to a lesser degree.
My plan was to get the last crystal, wake the queen, and let her dispose of Indra or do whatever else she wanted. Then she would restore Faerie and hopefully let the boys have a beautiful section of land nearby to make their own village. They could be free, and Faerie would flourish again.
Liam surveyed his men. “I think you might be right. My men are healed. Your fae need work on melee combat, but they’re great archers. We can put them at the back of the line.”
I nodded. “You and I could go Seeking at first light tomorrow. See if your father has moved the crystal. Then we send for the others.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “All right. Just one more.”
I nodded. “Just one more.”
Someone cleared his throat loudly behind me, and I jumped a little. Spinning, I saw Jasper. He looked…shaken. Not his usual scowling self.
“What’s up?” I approached him, and Liam followed me so that we could be alone in the small section of the muddy forest.
Jasper sighed, rubbing his temples. “I was having a lovely lunch with my friend when a horrible vision came to me.”
I frowned. “Vision?” I didn’t know enough about warlocks to know what powers they had, but vision almost sounded like—
“At times, I can glimpse the future,” he stated plainly.
What the what?
“What did you see?” Liam looked unfazed, so he may have already known this.
Jasper sighed again. “I saw that your father has amassed an army so large, we cannot win as we currently are.” He scanned our small group of men. “I saw that my beautiful plot of land will not come to pass if you do not retrieve the Sword of Night.”
Chills ran up my arms. “The Sword of what?”
“A powerful item that will give you the upper hand against the Winter King.”
“No way.” Liam shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. She couldn’t handle it.”
Excuse me, what? I glared at him, plotting his future of sleeping on the couch alone.
“I know,” Jasper said.
