Elysian Fields. Talon looked at the clear battlefield: a grassy plain with two large hills and a flat surface between them. A field that would soon be covered in the blood of his enemy—a thought he didn’t relish. He hopped off his horse and took a few steps forward.

  A scout came riding in from the distance and spoke to Corvin, who nodded and dismounted his horse. He walked over to Talon. “I’ve been informed that Harold’s army is half a day’s march away.”

  “A little slower than I expected,” Talon said. “Weren’t they on pace to get here an hour or two after us?”

  “It seems Harold took half a day’s break. The scouts saw nothing out of the ordinary. It could be nerves or unfamiliarity with traveling so far,” Corvin said.

  “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Talon said, pondering when Harold last traveled this far. Likely years ago.

  “We’ve noticed a couple of scouts trailing us. I tried to capture them, but they managed to escape,” Corvin said.

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  “About that, we should prepare a backup plan in case something goes wrong. Your plan is good, but you can’t predict what will happen,” Corvin said.

  “We’ve already put up enough preparations for a battle that isn’t going to happen,” Talon said irritably. “There’s no point in going any further. There is nothing Eshil Domain can do to stop me.”

  “As you say,” Corvin replied with a slight bow of his head.

  Talon couldn’t read what the commander was thinking. Was he annoyed with him for not allowing a backup plan? It was always hard to tell with Corvin. “Once the talks with Harold fail, I’ll send for my Ashtari and end this war in one fell swoop.”

  “I imagine he’ll be in for quite the shock,” Corvin said. “I should tell the men to prepare for battle, as is expected.”

  “Go on, I’ll remain here a bit longer,” Talon said.

  Corvin bowed slightly before departing. Arthur and Peitar remained with him. “What do you two think of my plan? And be honest; I didn’t have you trained to agree with everything I say,” Talon said dryly.

  “What is there to say? No army in the world can hold up to an army of power users,” Peitar said.

  “Yeah, we can’t call a plan dumb when the enemy has no way to counter it,” Arthur added.

  “That being said, it doesn’t hurt to keep up appearances,” Peitar said.

  “I’ve done enough pretend preparations,” Talon said. “I want to end this charade. Besides, I have other concerns.”

  He didn’t elaborate. Talon’s main concern was the mages. It wouldn’t take long for Mortham Tower to hear about what happened. Despite his confidence that the mages wouldn’t launch a full-scale assault, they would take some action. Protecting Malvarian and Skahad was obvious, but he doubted that was all the mages would do.

  A confrontation was imminent. Talon had instructed Qidan to plan for anything. Protecting not only himself but the School of Power was a priority. He couldn’t allow the mages to sneak attack his power users. One thing he had done was make it so no power users could portal to Carhan, except for the Ashtari he had authorized. All for this moment.

  “I’m going to write a letter,” Talon said.

  “May we ask about what?” Peitar inquired.

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  “The terms for Harold’s unconditional surrender,” Talon said.

  The time had finally arrived. Talon sat on his horse, staring at Eshil Domain’s army—an impressive force. He estimated fifteen thousand. Had the battle happened, he would have been curious to see how Corvin would have handled the discrepancy.

  Thousands of horsemen awaited their orders to charge. Talon could see the spearmen and wondered how many archers were hiding behind them—perhaps a couple thousand. Azzellia’s banners, displaying a red eagle with green, red, and blue stripes, flapped in the wind. On the other hill, Eshil Domain’s banners, depicting a man riding a lion, fluttered. A dozen men held flags on each side.

  Arthur and Peitar were stoic, looking at the enemy force and awaiting Talon’s command. They, along with four royal guards, would accompany him to meet with Harold and his six guards for the pre-battle meeting. Talon had no doubts Harold wouldn’t agree to his terms of surrender.

  What a sad day, Talon found himself thinking, his hands gripping the reins tightly. Many soldiers would die today for what? There was no point to any of this, not when a bigger threat loomed on the horizon. The only comforting thought was that Eshil Domain would soon be fighting alongside him and Vandalor.

  Harold, wearing his battle armor, with his crown shining brightly, moved forward with his six guards. “I’ll be back,” Talon said to Corvin and started forward with his guards.

  Both sides stopped at the bottom of the hill. Harold had a large grin on his face. “I feared you wouldn’t show,” Harold said smugly.

  There was no doubt how confident Harold was in this battle. It almost made Talon laugh. This fool had no idea what was coming. “I would rather beat you here than have a prolonged war. A more important war is coming.”

  “These imaginary invaders you speak of?” Harold threw back his head and laughed. “A nice tale you came up with. I have the superior army. Are you hoping to scare me with this imaginary enemy?”

  You won’t be so cocky in a few minutes. Talon thought, barely keeping his patience. “For the best of both our nations, I recommend you surrender now. Let’s prevent losing good men today.”

  “Surrender? Is this some sort of joke? You’re the one who is outnumbered!” Harold said.

  “This is your last chance,” Talon said. “If you don’t, I’ll crush your army.”

  “You’re a fool.”

  Talon was about to respond when he felt the power gather around one of Harold’s guards. Alarmed, he reached for the power and was shocked when nothing happened. Instead of being overwhelmed with that invincible feeling, he hit an invisible wall that prevented him from accessing the power!

  Desperately, he tried to grab the power and break through this invisible wall, but to no avail. Before he could utter a word, pressure surrounded his entire body. Talon couldn’t so much as move a finger or open his mouth. All he could do was move his eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. It wasn’t just one guard with the power; it was all six! That could only mean…

  “I see it is true,” one of the guards said. Their voice was muffled by the helmet they were wearing. “You can use the power.”

  The blood drained from Talon’s face. Harold’s six guards weren’t just random power users; they were mages from Mortham Tower! How? Why? So many questions raced through his mind, but he pushed them away. He had to get out of this or his plan would fail.

  “You did well,” one of the mages told Harold.

  Harold’s earlier arrogance diminished as he let out a nervous laugh. “Do I still get Azzellia?”

  “Of course, we keep our word,” the mage said. “In three days, you will have further reinforcements. You can use those to crush Azzellia’s army and take the throne for yourself. Not even Corvin will be able to turn the tides.”

  Giving Azzellia to Harold? Anger and panic raged through Talon. Oh, how he wanted to howl with rage. He tried to break free from the hold on him, but to no effect. He realized his guards were captured in the same kind of invisible force. How was he going to get out of this?

  “My, my, you look a tad nervous, King Talon,” the mage said mockingly. “Don’t you have something to say?”

  Talon could only imagine the mocking smile on the mage's face since the helmet obscured their face. Their superior attitude always drove him crazy, and being caught like this didn’t help. The mage turned around, along with Harold, and they started riding towards Eshil Domain’s side. Talon and his guards found themselves following along as their horses moved without his commands.

  No! I can’t let it end like this! Talon thought desperately, trying to break free of the hold on him. It was pointless; he had been outsmarted. He had been so confident in beating Harold when, in reality, the mages had played him like a fiddle.

  “Mortham Tower is going to be very happy to have you,” the mage said.

  Talon felt helpless. The only saving grace was that the mages couldn’t get him to Mortham Tower until they passed one of his stones, which should be at least a five-day ride away. The problem was, how was he going to find a way out with no support? His Ashtari wouldn’t come until he gave the signal! It was all he could do not to laugh or cry out of desperation.