Warrior of the Moon

37

Serena sent nymphs out to all southern and western cities within a few days' ride of the capital city, commanding any warriors they had within their boundaries to move to Azure and hold the city. She did not know if Celestine would bother taking it back, or if she would just focus on breaking the queen she believed to be in her custody before breaking the rest of the kingdom to her will. She would be prepared for the worst, anyway.

She sent others north. She knew that Tarin's commanders had already sent word to most of the lords and ladies of the Realm that the armies were gathering on the edge of the Mesa, but there had not yet been a command for them to leave their cities and gather with them. Serena would not risk being outnumbered if she had more numbers to offer. So her nymphs went with that message, to all northern and eastern cities that could find their way to the Mesa in time, even if it meant she had to offer up the transporting services of her nymphs to get warriors there.

Come north, and fight for your kingdom.

Your queen commands you.

Tarin had not commented on her decision to draw out the Fae of the Realm, even from the stretches of the kingdom that had not yet been affected by this war. He had remained silent on her decision to reveal that she was alive as well. She knew he would not disagree with her, no matter what she decided to do; would only give her alternate ideas if his warrior mindset saw an opening for something better.

She did not pretend to have knowledge of wars, but she did have a whisper in her mind; an ancient voice that would send comforting surges of encouragement sometimes, or murmur in warning others. She tried to listen to it, knowing that it was wisdom left behind by her great-grandmother, who had experienced so much more in her long life than Serena had in hers, that may as well have just begun.

And even as Tarin remained beside her as they ran north from the tip of Lilia's Basin, plotting the best way to go about sneaking into his mother's lair, she was paying more attention to the whispers.

The end of the war is coming.

Serena wanted to be encouraged by that knowledge, but she was not deaf to the fact that this ancient wisdom did not tell her how, exactly, it would all end.

She had first heard that whisper when Flora had entered her room, awakening her from her very short slumber with news that was both good and bad. She could not listen to the nymph for long, not when Muiress spoke in her mind. Telling her that the only thing she could do now was walk into the darkness, no matter the risk, before her kingdom and the magic throughout it got consumed.

They would intercept with the armies at some point, who were marching east to make it to the Mesa. Iliss was very quiet behind them, running in between the twins, whom Serena was sure had some kind of magical hold on her to make sure she did not turn on them during their trip. Of course, how anybody could ensure that she would not turn on them at the worst possible moment of battle, Serena had no idea. But Tarin was under the impression that she could be trusted today, and Serena would trust him in turn. Iliss had come quite vital to her plans in facing Celestine, anyway.

Because that was what Serena had to do. Everyone knew it, even Tarin, though he would argue against it till his dying breath. Serena had to face Celestine. It was a match decided by Fate. The woman had destroyed generations of her family, and Serena was the only thing now standing in her way from declaring herself the chosen one of the heavens, as she surely already thought of herself.

"If she wants to destroy all the Fae," Serena mused, no doubt interrupting Tarin mid-speech, though he made no sign that he was bothered by it, "and will turn on her own armies once she succeeds with that... how does she intend to rule? There will be nobody left to rule over."