“You did what?” Alayna exclaimed as she glared at Talon.

  Talon met her glare with a stern look. He had expected this reaction from Hectar, but Alayna was more unnerved. Hectar was in more control and watched the exchange carefully. The only one he was sure wasn’t bothered by this was Corvin, as he had told him about his plans for the Forest Dwellers.

  “I have been in talks with the Forest Dwellers for the past couple of months. When I left, I met one of their chiefs. We have formed a treaty and will fight the invaders together,” Talon said, clasping his hands together.

  “Why hide this from us?” Alayna asked.

  Because I’m lying. Talon couldn’t help thinking. “I didn’t have high hopes when beginning our talks. This was unexpected,” he said and relaxed his posture. “It’s great news. We needed to get an ally somewhere, and now we have Vandalor and the Forest Dwellers. If we can get the other four nations, the invaders won’t stand a chance!”

  “How can they help us? The Forest Dwellers are on the other side of the continent!” Alayna said.

  “That is being discussed, and I will update you when I have something. One of the Forest Dwellers is staying with us,” Talon continued. Dalaras was still here. The Forest Dwellar had been useful in sending and receiving messages from the chiefs. They were working on strategies they could use when the invaders arrived.

  “I think you should have discussed this with us,” Alayna pressed. “We’re your counselors. Keeping us in the dark about something like this makes it very hard for us to help you.”

  “How can you trust those savages?” Hectar said.

  Talon felt his face darken. “You will not call them savages ever again; do you understand?” Talon said coldly. This was something that had to go away, but how? Too many people thought of the Forest Dwellers as savages, and that could prove harmful to this alliance.

  “Why does it matter? It’s what they are,” Hectar said.

  Alayna started shaking her head slightly as Hectar was oblivious to Talon’s reaction. “That’s enough!” Talon said, surprised to find himself standing. “If you disobey this order, you will regret it.”

  Hectar paled and cleared his throat. “Apologies, Your Grace,” he said while bowing his head.

  “Now that that’s settled, we have bigger issues to discuss,” Talon resumed his seat and forced himself to relax.

  “Bigger issues?” Alayna said.

  Instead of responding, Talon took out a letter and handed it to Alayna, who frowned as she finished the letter and handed it to Hectar. He waited until both of them finished reading. Corvin had already read the letter.

  “As you can see, King Harold feels threatened by my army and is calling his banners,” Talon began. That should be a good thing, except it wasn’t. Harold’s army should be for the invaders, not him! “He is moving them to the edge of our borders.”

  “That is troubling,” Hectar said.

  “The last thing we need is a war,” Alayna added.

  “Precisely,” Talon said. It was troubling, for if Eshil Domain attacked, he might be forced to unleash his Ashtari. The last thing he wanted was to sacrifice men training for the invaders in a pointless war. But if he unleashed his Ashtari, the mages would know, and he didn’t have enough Ashtari to combat the mages. Not yet, anyway. “We need to find a solution to appease Harold.”

  “We could remove any military near Eshil Domain’s borders. Perhaps that will ease tensions,” Alayna said.

  “I don’t recommend that,” Corvin said, breaking his silence. “If we remove our presence at Eshil Domain’s borders, that leaves an area undefended. If the invaders sneak through Eshil Domain and enter our lands, we wouldn’t know until they attacked. What’s more, if Eshil Domain decides to attack, we are giving them a free foothold onto our lands.”

  “I agree,” Talon said and let out a sigh. “War may be inevitable.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “If we keep our troops at the border, then I think it’ll come to war,” Hectar said.

  “What other options are there? You’ve spoken to him about why our troops are there,” Alayna said.

  “That’s why I’m asking,” Talon wished he could assassinate Harold. That would be the easiest but far more dangerous solution. The mages would suspect him, and it might make the situation worse. It was a last resort, one he hoped he didn’t have to use.

  “This has to be avoided,” Alayna said, shaking her head as she spoke. “What if the invaders attack while we are dealing with Eshil Domain? That could prove catastrophic!”

  If it comes to that, I will end Eshil Domain with my Ashtari. Talon vowed to himself, yet he couldn’t tell his council that. Part of him wondered if he should conquer Eshil Domain regardless. Surely, he could take them out without revealing the Ashtari. No, there would be too many losses.

  “The best course of action would be to do nothing and see what happens,” Corvin said. “Our reasoning for having troops at the border has been explained a few times. We can hope that Harold isn’t dumb enough to start a war.”

  “I don’t like it,” Alayna said.

  “I’ll write him another letter, with guarantees that we have no intentions of attacking,” Talon said. That was all he could do. “That’ll be all.”

  “As you command, Your Grace,” Hectar said and bowed before leaving.

  Alayna did a slight bow before leaving as well. Corvin remained where he was, and Talon rubbed his temples. The commander wouldn’t stay unless he wanted to talk about something. He needed to find a way out of this mess, and the only one who knew his secret was Corvin.

  “What are you planning?” Corvin asked.

  “What gave me away?” Talon said.

  “A hunch.”

  Despite the situation, Talon chuckled. “Your hunch is right, though I have nothing to announce yet.”

  There was good news. Qidan had reported another fifty students had joined his academy and were being trained. Talon couldn’t believe how many people Qidan was finding, and Qidan said he had underestimated how many people with power were out there and admitted that the mages were making a large mistake by not recruiting.

  If recruitment kept going this well, Talon might have enough Ashtari to rival Mortham Tower’s numbers in six months. Of course, the mages would have the advantage with their training, but they would still think twice before attacking his Ashtari.

  “You should keep me in the loop; perhaps I can think of something you haven’t,” Corvin said.

  “I’m sure you could, but I promise to tell you when the time is right. I won’t make any moves without telling you,” Talon said.

  “All right,” Corvin stood up. “Then I shall leave you to it.”

  Talon watched him leave while thinking about his academy. Some of the students were being sent to recruit power users. How quickly Qidan was training them. If the invaders didn’t attack by the time his Ashtari rose in numbers, he might be able to force the continent to unite.

  He got up from his chair. It was time to deal with another problem. The three mages he had dismissed had returned, demanding to speak with him. Talon intentionally let them stew, but now was the time to confront them. He would get them to leave.

  Talon walked out of the council room and headed straight for the throne room. A couple of royal guards followed him, as they usually did. When he made it to the throne room, he told the guards to summon the three mages and ordered them to leave once the mages arrived. He didn’t want anyone listening in on their conversation, not even a servant.

  The first thing he did was sit on his throne and wait. He wouldn’t let the mages walk over him nor would he give ground, not this time. Talon was done yielding to these mages. He found himself sitting on the throne for a while and was quickly growing irritated.

  He wasn’t stupid. The mages were intentionally delaying. Talon had half a mind to cancel the meeting and leave but remained where he was. The sooner he got this meeting over with, the better. Twenty minutes passed before he felt someone wielding power, and the giant doors burst open.

  Talon stood and felt an invisible force push him back into his throne as the three mages entered. The leader, Dajrone, was the one wielding the power, and he looked angry. “We will no longer put up with your disrespect,” Dajrone said harshly.

  The power holding Talon to his chair increased, pinching his back. “We tried to do this politely, but you had to overstep. Now you will listen and understand why we mages are respected by kings, nobles, and commoners alike,” Dajrone said.

  “We left your guards behind, and they won’t be able to assist you,” Onyakoon sneered.

  Rage filled Talon. Who did these mages think they were? Barging in here and demanding things of him? Demanding respect? What a bunch of arrogant fools! He didn’t give himself a chance to think. He felt the power flood into him like a raging river and broke the hold on him. Before the mages could react, he blocked all three of them from the power.

  Dajrone’s eyes widened when he realized the power was stripped away. Onyakoon paled, and Danisha looked at Talon with her mouth wide open. None of them had comprehended what was happening.

  “You dare come into my throne room and demand my respect?” Talon shouted, walking down the stairs. He forced all three onto their knees, putting them into a bowing position, and stopped right in front of them. The three couldn’t so much as move their lips as the power stopped them from doing so. “You expect all kings to grovel before you because you can use the power? Well, those days are over. Now you will grovel and wish you had learned your place.”

  His blood was boiling. Talon felt like smacking the mages but forced himself not to. For now, he wouldn’t harm them. No, he knew exactly what he had to do. He stretched out his right hand and created a portal. His captives would beg for mercy when they realized what he was doing behind their backs.

  He grabbed the three mages and forced them into the portal. Talon stepped in, and the portal winked out of existence.