Veridia

Chapter 22

Aethiria, present

Aleksander was starting to think that Geneva Kiselev was not real. She was probably a sorceress. Or at least a witch, dabbling in black magic.

How did she get a room full of the most stubborn, individualistic people in all of Aethiria to come together?

Bow to her?

Pure wizardry. Never in his eighteen years of life had he seen something like that. And his father was the king.

She was born to be a princess. No, a queen.

My queen.

NO. No.

Aleksander shook himself free of those taunting thoughts.

After the meeting, Geneva promptly started organizing battalions. Archers, footsoldiers, cavalry, heavy weaponry units.

She looked alive, glowing, bursting with wired energy and anticipation.

She was probably the only person in the castle who was in their element.

Speaking of elements, Geneva had had all the elementals go into training underneath Oriel. This included all manipulators in water, energy, earth, fire, and wind. They would be their last line of defense, the fortress around the castle.

"Whatever you will do, make sure the king and his heirs are not harmed. They are the most important ones in the kingdom, and Romanov will likely go for them first. A chicken can only run for a little while with its head cut off. Protect them at all costs."

She was pacing, studying a map of Veridia that had been laid out on a table.

"The most obvious points of attack are here, here, and here." She pointed to three spots along the border.

"These are where the landscape is the most forgiving, as he will want to transport large amounts of troops in short amounts of time. One of these leads almost directly to the castle, which is the one I presume he will funnel the most soldiers. Reds as shock troops, and maybe Blues as the generals. Greens will stay behind as the second wave."

"What do those colors mean?"

King Volkov was peering over her shoulder, and from this angle it seemed as if he was just a councillor and Geneva was the sovereign.

"At Valorborne, Red are common soldiers, Blues are assassins like me, and Greens are bodyguards. And yes, the king does have soldiers, but none are as well trained and as deadly as Valorborne. There's a reason why Valorborne has never collectively gone to war. They would decimate their opponents."

"So why do we fight a fruitless battle? We will lose. We should just surrender now."

Kirigan was talking, looking pale and ferrety as ever. His words had a chilling effect on the entire room, and everyone waited with bated breath on how Geneva would react.

"Coward."

She narrowed her eyes, taking a step forward towards him.

"You would rather let your country go to waste than to fight for them. You would rather run and hide and surrender than to die honorably. As their prince, it's good to know that you would send their lives into battle to save your own hide. Now, if there are any other craven, selfish people such as your prince, please remove yourself from this room."

Nobody moved an inch, and again Aleksander marveled at how easily Geneva got people's attention and held it.

"There is no time to train, so we will have to pray that what little we have can be enough. Archers, do not fire unless you are positive you will not miss. Royalty, stay underground. Everyone else, best tell your families that you love them because nobody knows what tomorrow will bring."