Glass of Revenge

~25~

Approaching the battlefield that they'd selected Aedion smirked as he glanced over at Rowan. As the army and their allies continued to gather upon the northern bank of the river Florine, it seemed as though all of their plans were about to come to fruition.

Aedion almost sighed in relief as he recalled the latest intelligence that their spies had fed them. It seemed that they had gained many spies during the Adarlanian nobility and armed forces due to Lyria's generally psychopathically behaviour.

The thought of that particular meeting made Aedion smirk yet again. It turned out that the only people within the army that Lyria was leading who actually wanted this fight were Dorian and Lyria herself. Not to mention the fact that the current consensus was that Dorian was only for the invasion because he was under Lyria's thrall – ceremonial marriage was an extremely powerful contract.

It was only fear of Lyria herself that kept her soldiers from deserting her now. And that fear may work in their favour.

"What do you think our chances are?" Aedion asked solemnly.

"I don't know," Rowan replied wearily. He was already exhausted from helping Endymion ice over considerable sections of both rivers. "I suppose it depends on how large Lyria's forces are, how loyal they are to her. How scared of her they are."

"I hate to admit it," Aedion said, "but they'll likely keep marching forward out of their fear of Lyria. And they'll die for it. They'll literally drown due to that fear."

"But we have one thing that they don't have," Rowan said with a savage smirk. "We have something worth fighting for. We are united out of loyalty, not fear. And most of all, we have something that Lyria has apparently been disregarding entirely. Magic."

"But will our few magic wielders be enough to combat theirs? I know that Aelin is prepared to fight with magic as well as with blades, but I worry about the toll it will have on her, especially with her being so far along in her pregnancy."

"I'm worried about it too," Rowan admitted. "But as long as Aelin is careful and restrained with the amount of magic uses over the course of the battle, then I am fairly sure she should be alright." He paused momentarily, "I promise you that I'll look after Aelin."

For a moment it looked like Aedion was going to protest, but he decided against it in the end. It wasn't that Aedion didn't trust Rowan, because he did, but considering the circumstances, he didn't know if Rowan was thinking all that clearly at the moment. Aedion was perfectly well aware that all Lyria wanted was to kill Aelin in order to steal Rowan back. But he was more than concerned for the safety of his cousin, her husband and their unborn child. He was worried about what would happen to Aelin if Rowan decided to abandon her and return to Lyria. He knew that the possibility of that happening was extremely unlikely, but he still couldn't help worrying about all the what-ifs and the what may have beens. He didn't want to see Aelin hurt any more than she already was.

"Try not to worry about Aelin," Rowan said calmly, noting Aedion's anxiety, though mistaking the reasons behind it. "Aelin will be fine. We will all be fine."

"For the last time, are you certain that this trap will work?" Aedion asked, deliberately ignoring Rowan's statement. "I'd hate to find out that all of our planning and effort have been for nothing. That lives of our people have been lost for nothing."

Rowan looked pensive as he considered Aedion's words. "I have to believe that it will work," he said finally. "I have to believe that it will work, for I can't let this all be for nothing.

"Aedion nodded silently, surveying the camp being set up. As he continued to watch the soldiers go about their usual activities and nodded in satisfaction. Sometimes, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what war it was, some things never changed. And strange as it was, the sight of the army camp being set up brought him an immense sense of comfort.