Queen Yavara: Chapter 55 free porn video

Chapter Fifty-Five

LEVERIA

I awoke to an explosion. Metal screeched, then banged, and I was suddenly hurled from my bed, and smashed into a wall. My head smacked against the stones, my teeth clicked, and whatever sleepiness remained left in my brain was shot out with a concussive thud. My blurred vision made out a pair of orange eyes, each of them bulging and trembling with wrath.

“Good morning, Yavara.” I groaned.

“What did you do?!” She snarled.

I blinked, trying to focus my vision. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“YOU KNOW WHAT I FUCKING MEAN!” She roared.

My eyelids fluttered, and my lenses finally focused to clarity. It was barely past darkness outside, five in the morning, if my estimation of the moon’s positioning was correct. I glanced around the cell. There was Zander, of course, with Titus beside him, and an orc woman between them. All of them were pallid with shock. They looked right through the Dark Queen, and stared at me. For a moment, I was as confused as they were. Then, it dawned on me. It had happened. The knight had finally moved upon the proverbial chessboard, and had laid the final blow upon the trapped Dark Queen. Checkmate.

I smiled, then I giggled, then I burst into uproarious laughter. When I saw the realization of what I’d done dawning across each of their faces, I only laughed harder. I’d been betrayed, dethroned, raped, tortured, and subjected to the worst humiliations and perversions, but it had all been worth it. I would’ve done it all over again without hesitation just to see that look on their faces when they knew I had WON. I looked down at Yavara, and choked on my hysterical mirth when I saw the expression of utter disbelief upon her face. I wish I could’ve had it painted. I wanted it tattooed to my eyeballs so that I could see it for every waking moment of my life.

“Leveria?!” She snarled, trying to sound angry, but I could hear the terror in her voice. Oh, it was so sweet to finally hear it, and to hear it directed at me, but it was even sweeter to see it in her eyes, to know that she finally beheld me for what I truly was. It was the look I deserved, the look I was owed from her! Now she knew. Now she realized. All her power, and all her strength meant nothing to me. She never had a chance.

When I caught my breath, I managed to utter between spasmatic inhales, “I take it… the horde… didn’t… arrive… tonight?!”

“WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO?!” She screamed. The walls tremored with her voice, and her orange eyes blazed with power.

“Oh, Yavara.” I croaked, “Do you see it now? How the pieces aligned so perfectly? Shall I recite my moves to you? They were as follows: Adrianna, Zander, Prince Matthew, King Arthur, and then the knight. My plan never changed; even when I knew my reign was over, I still moved my knight to checkmate you. When Ternias’s watchmen were charging up the stairs, I gave my last official order to Cavalry Commander Krakis. I told him I only needed his loyalty for one more day, and he gave me one more day. For one day, he waited, and waited. He waited for the horde to cross the marshlands along those narrow land-bridges you set up—those twenty-mile boards that are barely wide enough to pull a cart through. He waited until the horde would be at the halfway mark, then he rode out of South Fort with ten-thousand horsemen, and he skirted the old military path to catch up, and then he smashed into the rear of your precious horde, and it didn’t matter that they outnumbered him ten to one because you exiled your cavalry like the stupid cunt you are, and the rows of infantrymen that crossed the marshlands were BUT ROWS OF DOMINOES, AND HE KNOCKED DOWN EVERY, SINGLE, LAST, FUCKING ONE OF THEM!” I was shrieking the last words, my voice rising higher and higher until it was throttling in my gullet, splitting my voice-box so that I tasted iron. I panted into Yavara’s stunned face, and croaked, “Three days ago, Krakis told Field Marshal Shordian that he’d massacred the horde, and the entire Highland army turned around to amass at South Fort. They’ll be here tomorrow, right around when the Lowland fleet arrives. You thought the war was over, dearest sister? You thought you had won? Do you remember what I told you so many months ago while you were on that pirate ship? I know you do, because you recited those words verbatim just four days ago. I would like you to recite them to me once more.”

Her lower lip quivered. She mouthed something, but words wouldn’t come out.

“Your Highness?” Zander said cautiously, “The Lowland fleet will be here tomorrow. What are your orders?”

“What orders can she give?” I giggled, “Evacuate the city? Make your people homeless tribesmen of the Great Forest once more while Arthur burns Alkandra to ash? Perhaps you should draft your citizens to fight so that they can be massacred? Or maybe you should just pretend it’s not happening, and torture me for one more day to get a few cheap laughs and an applause from the mob you love so much!” I spit into her blank face, and laughed uproariously when she blinked, the rivulets of spittle running down her eyes and cheeks.

“My queen?” Zander asked again.

Yavara’s eyes suddenly focused, and flitted with panic. She looked this way and that, frantically searching the cell as if there would be an answer upon the walls. Finally, her eyes rested on me. I knew in that moment, that I had uttered my last words. Yavara cocked her fist back, and infernal energy burst from her flesh. She reared back her arm, and hurled her flaming fist into my face. It stopped an inch short. I could see nothing but the yellow fire, and feel nothing but the scorching heat. My nose began to blister with it, the pain began to crawl into my nerves, and my mouth opened to scream. Then, the fist was pulled back. My vision darkened with spots, but I barely made out the blurred image of Zander Fredeon struggling with all his might to hold Yavara’s arm back. She seemed confused for a moment, unsure of why I wasn’t a burnt splatter on the wall. Then she whirled on the man behind her, and with nothing but a backhanded slap, she hurled him against the bars. He crashed with a sickening thud, and landed in a heap on the floor. Titus and the orc woman rushed to his side, and turned him over. He coughed, and brushed them off him, his arcane shield fractured like glass from where her telekinetic swipe had struck him. He struggled to his feet, and faced Yavara.

“Why did you do that?” She hissed at him.

“Because you need her now.” Zander said, “A confession from her lips is the only thing that will stop Arthur’s fleet from raining hell on this city.”

“He won’t believe it; he’ll think it’s coerced.” Yavara growled, “Our only chance is if I go out there and attack the fleet before it gets into the bay.”

“You’ll die.” Zander said.

“But I might take enough of them with me for the city to survive.”

“Ah, no.” I interrupted, “Aren’t you forgetting about the vengeful Highland army? Forty-thousand strong? Without you there, who will save your people?” I giggled at her dismayed face, “But you can go ahead and destroy Bentius if it’ll make you feel better.” I yawned, “I don’t really give a shit. I never did. By all means, burn Ternias alive, and see if I shed a single fucking tear.”

Yavara ran her hand through her hair, staring ahead, but seeing nothing but the thoughts that ran behind her eyes, every scenario that I’d already ruminated over meticulously a hundred times now playing out in brutal detail. And with every passing moment, it became clearer and clearer to her that there was no way out. She had already lost. Either Arthur would burn her city from the sea, or Ternias would do it from the land. It was inevitable. Finally, she looked up at me.

“What would you do if you were me, Leveria?” She asked softly.

I raised my brows. “I’d start by eating a breath mint.”

“Please,” she whispered, “you must know a way out.”

“Yavara, are you actually asking for my advice?” I asked disbelievingly.

“Yes.”

I burst into fit of hysteric giggles. “Oh my god, this is precious! You want my advice?! How about you fucking kill yourself, you pathetic cunt!” My voice was shrill once again, “How about you just go to the top of the tower, climb onto the balcony, and jump off so that you can die just like Elena did?!”

“Enough!” Zander roared before Yavara could be bated to anger, “Enough, Your Highness. Listening to her will do you no good.”

“Then I should kill her now!”

“Sending her to Arthur might buy you a few days, and a few days might be all you need.” Zander said, extending a calming hand, “There is a way out of this, but we have to keep our wits.”

Yavara nodded, staring past Zander’s outstretched hand, and at the floor. She sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “You’re right, of course, Zander. There is a way out of this. We just need to consult with the hybrids and see what they come up with.” Yavara glanced up at the orc woman, “Certiok, I’m putting you in charge of organizing the city’s defense. Work with Faltia to get the most able-bodied fighters we can.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Certiok grumbled.

Yavara noted Certiok’s dismissive attitude, but didn’t bother reacting to it. She just ran her hands through her hair, and yawned. “I expect to see you all at your posts in two hours,” she mumbled, “I’ll leave you all to your tasks, whatever they may be.”

She walked out of the cell door with her shoulders drooping, her back bowed, and her head hung low. Titus, Zander and Certiok watched her go, then turned to me.

“You could’ve told me what you had planned.” Zander growled.

“Why the fuck would I do that? Because I’m the Dark Queen?” I asked mockingly, “I’m not your fucking girlfriend, you crazy old bastard. I’m your worst enemy.”

“I am going to kill this Highland cunt.” Certiok hissed.

“Then fucking do it, you orc dyke.” I sneered, “All talk and no action. Your whole race has the testicular fortitude of a post-operation transvestite.” I spat at her, “I massacred your men. I killed them like dogs! Now the Highland army is coming to gut your sniveling pups and rape your howling bitches!”

Certiok exchanged a look with Zander. “Yeah,” she sighed, “you’re right about her. She’s definitely the real one.”

“For all that matters now.” Titus sighed, “Little queen, you do realize you’ve just played yourself completely, right? Any chance you had of surviving is now gone.”

“What are you, my fucking rescue party?”

“That’s exactly what we are.” Zander growled.

I laughed again. “What was the plan, boy-genius? To get Yavara to hate-fuck me into being the Dark Queen? Even if it is possible—which it’s not—do you know how asinine that plan is?”

Zander tapped his staff, and my flesh was suddenly a rich bronze, my body was tattooed in various symbols and cartoons—most of them crude—and my tits had gone up a size. “I’m… Brianna?” I asked with a voice that wasn’t mine.

“Yavara doesn’t know Brianna as well as the others. For one, Brianna doesn’t have a cock, which makes her instantly less interesting to Yavara, and two, Brianna has a blithe attitude that doesn’t really mesh with Yavara’s personality.” Zander explained, then turned to Certiok. “You know them best; is Brianna really the right choice?”

Certiok shrugged. “I guess. From what I can tell, the Highland cunt is most like Eva, but Yavara and Eva are too close, and you said you couldn’t simulate a dick very well with a spell.”

“I can simulate a dick just fine, but Yavara would instantly know Leveria was an imposter when she tried to use it.”

“Good point.”

“Hey!” I snapped, “Why are you all acting like this is going to happen? I didn’t agree to this shit!”

Certiok smirked cruelly at me. “Because you fucked it all up, so now it’s your responsibility. Yavara obviously doesn’t have any fucking answers.”

“She’s a god! What am I?”

Titus snorted. “She’s exceptionally powerful, but she’s no god. If Zander could hold back her strike, then she doesn’t stand a chance against five-hundred Lowland mages.”

“Besides, that kind of power does us little good now.” Zander said gravely, “With an army behind her, she is mighty, but one woman cannot defend an entire city by herself. We need a different kind of power.”

I looked from Zander, to Titus, then to Certiok. The other two regarded me with something akin to respect, but I could see the hatred in Certiok’s eyes, and I was still hoping for a quick exit. “I killed Brock and Trenok,” I sneered at her, “they’re dead in the marshlands right now, sinking into the muck and shit where they belong.”

“Brock and Trenok died weeks ago.” Certiok replied coldly, “They died because they were led by a weak woman who had too much sympathy for her enemy.” Certiok shook her head, studying me with mild disbelief, “We were fighting the Dark Queen the whole time; no wonder it was so hard. If we had you from the beginning, the Ten would’ve been brought to heel immediately, the rangers would’ve been ignored as a nuisance, and we would’ve crushed the Highland army before they even crossed the marshlands. We would’ve broken the Rift without hesitation, and we would’ve invaded the Highlands before the winter snows arrived.” She laughed bitterly, “If we’d had you, Brock and Trenok would still be alive, and we’d all be dining in the halls of Bentius right now.”

“You’re not getting out of this, Leveria.” Zander said with an amused smile, “You said that you were my worst enemy? Now you are your own worst enemy. You got us all into this situation, so now you must navigate us out.”

“Or what? You’ll torture me? Rape me? Kill me?” I laughed, “What more can you do to me, Zander?!”

“We can leave you alone.” Titus said, “We can put you in a high tower in some ancient long-forgotten castle deep within the Great Forest, and we can give you three square meals, some water, and a pot to piss in. I know of such places. Places no one will ever find you. You will live a very long life, little queen.”

“Sounds like a vacation.” I sneered.

Certiok shrugged. “I’m still all for killing the bitch, if no one as any other ideas.”

Zander stepped toward me. “I know you, Leveria.”

“You know nothing, you crazy old bastard.”

“I’ve seen you behind dozens of faces. It’s funny how you all look the same to me.” He pointed to his eyes, “It’s here. Not in the eyes, but in the spaces around them. You can’t see the similarities unless you really look, but once you notice them, they’re uncanny.”

I rolled my eyes. “Someone shut this sappy geriatric up. He’s clearly in the late stages of dementia.”

Zander stopped at the side of my bed, and looked down at me with something akin to fondness. “You are a spiteful, vengeful, merciless little bitch. You always were. It was never enough for you to win; you had to destroy your opponent completely. When you raised the first Alkandra, you didn’t do it to found a great new nation; you did it out of hatred. You tore the Highland empire in half and built a kingdom that was the antithesis of everything the Highlands stood for, and you rained terror upon your neighbors for five-hundred years. Why? Because you were once a scorned high-elf woman, and you wanted those who rejected to you to pay. You told me two days ago that people aren’t complicated; find out what they want, and you’ll find out who they are. Well, I know what you want, Leveria.”

“What?” I hissed.

Zander planted one foot on the bed, and stooped low until his face loomed an inch from mine. “You want to take everything from Yavara. It’s not enough that you’ve stolen the love of her life, killed her mother, murdered her friends, massacred her army, and destroyed her kingdom. There’s still one more thing you can take.” Zander took my chin under his thumb, and raised my face until our eyes were level, “You can steal Alkandi from her. All that power, all those abilities, and all that strength; but it’s not just that, oh no. Yavara has lived with Alkandi all her life. It was Alkandi that gave Yavara her daring nature, her adventurous spirit, and her charisma. Everything your father adored in her was given to her by Alkandi, and that’s what this is all really about, isn’t it, Leveria?” He drew his thumb along my jaw, and snaked his fingers into my hair, “There was one time in Yavara’s life when she was without Alkandi. She separated from her in the astral plane, and when she returned to her body, she was only herself. She was just like your mother. Weak, fragile, sensitive, and cowardly. It was so easy for Alkandi to take her then. She just grabbed her by the hips, and raped her into submission!” Zander took a firm grip of my hair, and tugged it hard, “Don’t you want to see her like that?” Zander growled, “Don’t you want to see who your sister really is when you rip out her very soul?”

“Yes!” I gasped.

Zander pressed me into a vile kiss. His lips opened mine, his tongue snaked into my mouth, and he tasted me with avarice and a gluttony. I indulged in it for a moment, enjoying the rawness of it, the bitterness, the regret and the pain. Oh, I knew this man. I knew this man to the core. Perhaps he had loved me across lifetimes and centuries, perhaps he’d kissed my mouth in a dozen different bodies, but when my tongue slid across his gums and teeth, I only knew that he kissed me exactly like my father had. It was a love that tasted so very much like hatred. I knotted my knuckles in his hair, and ripped his face away, my breath panting from my gaping lips.

He looked right into my eyes, seeing me all the way down. “It really is you,” he muttered.

“That was disgusting.” I snarled.

“That’s just how you like it.” He snarled back.

I grinned then, and he grinned back, and our mouths moved to devour each other once more. I fished into his robe, and found his hard weapon. I aimed it between my legs, and he thrusted all the way inside, splitting my gripping cunt down the middle until he hit my bottom. I gasped in pain and pleasure, and he growled like an animal, and mounted me. I didn’t even notice when Certiok and Titus left the room. I couldn’t hear them leaving over the cries of ecstasy that sounded from my gaping lips.

ELENA

Leveria stood before me. She was backlit by the full moon, painting her heavenly body in cold, pale luminance. I couldn’t see much of her; only the profile that I recognized so easily. The rest was obscured in shadow. I walked toward her. My bare feet crunched in the cold snow. She raised her head, and I could make out the bow of her cheek, the point of her nose, and the curve of her lips quirked in her signature smirk. I smiled back, and pulled off my scarf. For whatever reason, it was the only garment I wore. The cold didn’t seem to bother me, nor her, though she was standing in at least six-inches of snow. She shifted alluringly when I approached her, putting her hands on her hips, and her weight on one leg. I changed my walk to a strut, and sauntered through the snow to her, my erection growing between my legs. She tilted her head, letting her hair cascade from her face, and the moon illuminated her portrait entirely. Her eyes were gouged out. Her teeth were rent from their gums. She reached out for me, and her hands were void of fingers. She stepped from the snow to reveal that her feet had only stumps instead of toes.

“Do you like my gift?” Yavara asked from behind me, “I did it for you.”

I awoke with a jolt, my heart beating him my throat, a scream poised on my lips. The room was dark, only the sounds of soft snores and sighs filling it. I looked to my left to see my mother. I looked to my right to see Catherine Jonias. They were both naked, their heaving breasts tangled in the sheets, their blonde hair tossed in a careless disarray about their heads. My breathing eased slowly, and my heartrate decelerated. My blood pounded in my ears for a few more seconds, then quieted. I took a deep breath, and shifted myself forward on the bed until I reached the foot. I hopped off, and steadied myself on my feet. It was still difficult for me to achieve states of balance, and I swayed back and forth for a while before feeling comfortable enough to walk. I didn’t know how I was going to fight in a battle in only a few hours, but I’d manage. I was a ranger, after all, and I’d been trained by the very best teacher to fight at every disadvantage.

I walked to the bathroom, opened the latrine pot, and sighed contentedly when the pressure released from my bladder. The single best thing about having a cock was not having to squat to piss. As my urine sounded in the bowl, I glanced out the window. Most of the rubble from the noble district streets had been cleared, and was now piled up alongside the sidewalks with the mounds of plowed snow. The bodies were obviously long-gone, and the blood had been washed away, but gashes and flame spots alongside the alley walls told the stories of battle. I wondered if the place would ever be truly washed of it. Still, the streetlamps had oil burning in them again, illuminating the boulevards in soft orange light. And there, at the very end of Flower Street, was a mass of torches. I narrowed my eyes.

A semicircle of golden-armored watchmen was formed around a house. Feractian’s house. A single figure was kneeling before them all. Feractian. His blood covered the snow around him. The figure behind him raised his arm, and brought it down viciously. I heard the faint crack of a whip, and a scream. Feractian pitched forward onto his face. Two more figures suddenly emerged; one golden-armored man holding a struggling woman. The woman was thrown to the ground next Feractian, and the man behind her drew his sword. Feractian’s scream could be heard clearly now. He threw himself at the man’s feet. The man barked something. Feractian raised his head, then turned his face. From a quarter-mile away, I could see him raise his arm, and point one finger right at me. The watchman nodded, and then kicked Feractian to the side, and drove his blade into the woman’s chest. The other guard drew a mace, and bludgeoned Feractian until his body was still, and his voice silenced.

My stream sputtered out.

ADRIANNA

The hint of dawn could be seen over the eastern horizon. It painted the black sky with a gradient of mauve, and dimmed the stars and moon. I was atop a hill overlooking a vast basin. The basin stretched for miles, and was etched with hundreds of tributaries that branched for as far as the eye could see. Each of the tributaries would be a nautical highway for ships and ferries to supply and trade with the great estates of the Highlands; Jonianas, Straltairanas, Ternianas, Feractianas, Tiadoanas, Xantianas, Shordianas, Droughtianas, Feltianas, and Huntiatanas. Those great estates were like the organs of the Highlands, the tributaries were the veins, and those veins all converged in this basin, the heart of the Highlands. The basin became a great river, and the mouth of the river became a great oceanic bay, and upon the banks of that bay, sat the spectacular city of Bentius. It was a tiered metropolis built upon a steep hill, backed by a dormant volcano whose spent ash made the basin the most fertile land on Tenvalia. Now that fertile land was blanketed with snow, the tributaries were frozen over, and the city itself sparkled with ice like a jewel. Hundreds of ballistae lined the hundred-foot walls, the wrought-iron twinkling threateningly in the moonlight. As a ranger, my sworn purpose had been to defend that city. For a thousand years, those before me had kept the enemies of the Highlands at bay, fighting them in the forests, the fields, and sometimes, even on the steps of the great estates themselves, but no enemy had ever gotten within fifty miles of Bentius. Now, I, the man who had once been Head-ranger Thomas Adarian, was going to launch the first ever attack upon its walls.

I adjusted myself atop Sasha, allowing my legs to straddle evenly across her massive shoulders. The wargs behind me growled and yipped, shuffling their great shoulder-humps, flexing their muscles. They knew something was going to happen, but they didn’t know what; they just knew there would be blood. The orcs that rode the beasts stared out upon Bentius with comingled awe and greed, imagining the riches, sins, and pleasures they would enjoy once they breached the mighty walls. A half mile down the ridge, the rebels waited, concealed behind a hill. A lone figure stood before the rest, and watched me. Esmerelda.

“Adri, I’m hungry.” Dog Meat grumbled, wiggling her sparkling stumps frustratedly. I had a makeshift baby carrier made out of leather belts that I kept her strapped in so that she was secured safely to my chest.

“Here,” I muttered, and pulled my cloak to the side so that one of my breasts popped free. I’d begun lactating sometime in the last few days, and Dog Meat was more than happy to take advantage. She moaned in both carnal and primal satisfaction as she nursed from me, and I enjoyed a comingling of sexual and maternal pleasure in turn. Was it strange to have a full-grown limbless woman covered in obscene tattoos suckling from my tit while I bestrode a man-eating wolf? Yes, but strange had become such the norm for me that normalcy was more bizarre. Everything I did seemed to be so steeped in irony that I wondered if my life was nothing but an existential punchline.

“What are we waiting for?” Dog Meat asked, smacking her lips contentedly.

I pointed out over the basin. “When the sun touches the wall, I’ll launch the attack. I want the men who guard the wall to see us coming from a long way off.”

Dog Meat nodded, and muzzled my breast once more, securing my nipple between her gentle teeth. “Will you go with them?”

“No, I’ll be back here with the rebels.”

“Waiting for when the orcs start climbing the walls, right?”

“That’s right.” I said, petting her hair, “The watchmen will hold them off for the few minutes we need to close the distance.”

“Then you and the elves will…” she pitched her voice to a whisper, “…then you and the elves will kill all the orcs, right?!”

I smiled down at her. “That’s right.”

“Yay!” Dog Meat cried gleefully, wiggling her sparkling little stumps, her magical dust turning from blue, to red. Her mirth turned suddenly sour, and she frowned. “But… what about Sasha?”

I sighed, and patted Sasha between the shoulders. “Sasha will go with the rest of her pack.”

Tears formed in Dog Meat’s eyes. “Sorry Sasha,” she whimpered.

“Sorry Sasha.” I echoed, rubbing the beast affectionately, but not too affectionately. She was a killer just like me, and neither of us deserved much sympathy.

“How much longer?” Dog Meat asked, sniffling away her tears.

“An hour at the most.” I muttered, “The sun is low in the winter, and it will luminate the basin the moment it crests the hill.”

LEVERIA

“Brianna doesn’t walk like that.” Certiok said. “Nope, not like that either. Use your hips, you skinny Highland cunt! Hips!”

I glared at the she-orc, then walked to the other side of my cell, and tried again. I threw back my shoulders, pushed out my chest, elevated my chin, and sauntered across the floor, popping my hips like I was trying to dislodge the ultimate thong wedgie.

“You walk like a fucking goose.”

“And you squawk like one.”

Certiok slapped me so hard that I spun before I hit the ground. Her fist was in my hair a moment later, and her foot was pressed into my lower back. She ripped back my head, and snarled into my face. “I don’t give a shit who you’re supposed to be, you Highland whore. Right now, you’re just a little piggy, and I’ll make you squeal if I want to.”

“You gonna do it, or are you just gonna talk about it?” I asked breathily, licking my lips at her. “All talk and no action; it’s always the same with you people.”

She growled, and yanked me to my feet by my hair. Actually, she yanked me past my feet, and I had to stand up on my toes to avoid the searing pain in my roots.

“Ow, ow, ow!” I yelled, scratching at her arms, tears forming in my eyes.

“Ow?” Certiok laughed, “After everything you endured, this get an ‘ow?’” She walked me around the room, keeping my posture high from above, “This is how you Highland girls all walk,” Certiok taunted, “up on your toes, little baby steps, hips fixed together like you’ve got a cock stuck up your ass.” She dropped my hair, and my feet collapsed onto my heels. “This is how an Alkandran walks,” she guided me by the hair with a twist of her wrist, “every motion is a tease, every sway is an invitation. You want that ass to roll above your thighs, and let every salivating cocksure fool behind you know what it feels like to watch you walk away from them.” She put her other hand on my hip, and guided it into a sinuous sway as she instructed my feet from above like a puppeteer. “That’s it, Highland whore. Don’t walk like you’ve already got a cock stuck up your ass; walk like you want a cock stuck up your ass. Every step is an advertisement, and you’re open for business. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot…”

She let go of my hip and hair, and watched me saunter around the cell in the sexiest strut I’d ever walked in. It didn’t feel right at all for me. I could be sexy—I knew that very well—but I wasn’t flirtatious. For Highland royalty, courting was a very rigid affair. My steps lost their sensuality by the footfall, and after five more paces, all of Certiok’s instruction had disappeared.

She sighed, and ran her hand through her dreads. “Maybe Zander was wrong about you.”

“Of course he’s wrong; he’s a delusional old fool.” I smirked over my shoulder, “But he fucks me just like Daddy did, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Certiok snorted. “Or maybe he was right.”

“And what are you going to do when he’s not?” I inquired amusedly, “What happens when we trick my stupid little sister into eating my pussy, and when I come, I grow a fat cock, and she realizes you and Zander tricked her?”

“We’re dead either way. Might as well take our shot.” She sneered at me, “And it’s amusing to me that you think your cock would be anything but pathetic.”

I ignored the insult to my hypothetical penis. “Certiok, even if everything is true, what do you think I can do to save you? Zander told me Alkandi chose Yavara over me because of Yavara’s natural magical potential. That means I have no natural magical potential. All I’ll have is what I inherit from Alkandi—a diluted powerbase at best. Right now, Yavara can at least buy you a slim chance.”

“If we fight this battle, we will lose. Whether we fight it with Yavara or not, it doesn’t matter. The Highland army still has its mages, and the Lowland fleet has the best magic users in the world. Yavara will fall, and when the people see it, they will lose all hope, and we will fall soon after. You’re a conniving little worm; you’ll find a way to wiggle out of this, and you’ll wiggle the rest of us out too. Now wiggle that fat little Highland ass over here.”

“Why?” I grinned coyly.

She looked at me from the top of her brows. “I said get over here.”

I grasped the bars of my cell door, pressed my tits against them, locked my knees, and bent over low at the hips. My ass spread out behind me, and I looked back over my shoulder with a lecherous grin at the she-orc staring transfixed between my parted cheeks. “You wanna taste real royalty?” I whispered, and licked the metal cell bar.

“Get over here, you elf slut.”

“No,” I giggled, “you will come to me, Certiok. If I’m your queen, then you will follow the proper customs. Get on your hands and knees like the good little orc bitch you are, and come over here to lick your master’s wet pussy.”

Certiok stood up, imposing in her six-foot muscled frame. She walked across the room, snatched me by the hair with one hand, and jammed her fingers inside me with the other. I cried out, seizing around her in pleasure and pain, bowing my body from the arch of my back to my upturned face. Her fingers were long, and they slid into my holes with ease, exploring my ass and pussy, pressing against every surface, toying with me until she found the places that made my knees buckle. She grinned at me from her tusked mouth, pleased to hear me mewl like a whore for her, pleased to see the submission in my eyes, pleased to see the need. She wasn’t cruel with me, but she was dominant, and I could be her subservient little whore-queen if she wanted, just as long as she kept touching me just… like… that…

“Oh fuck!” I gasped, staring at her inverted visage from the tops of my eyes. Her ring and index fingers twisted into my gripping rectum, opening my anus until it was a puffy ring. Her pink and ring finger pushed into my tight slit, pressing deep inside me, rubbing that spot mercilessly. My milky thighs pressed and rubbed around her squelching digits, lubricated by the flow of lust that dripped from my blushing petals. My anus clenched and winked around her ravaging fingers, sucking her deeper into my filth, beckoning her to violate me further. I coaxed her with my weak feminine tones, pleading and whimpering in my abasement, and her cruel black eyes became avaricious and wild. She penetrated me hard and fast, dividing her hand between my holes, jamming her fingers through my soft innards, deforming the pliant flesh, dilating my channels until they were weeping with my lubricating release, and I was crying out in the throes of ascension. I collapsed in the heat of my orgasm, but she held me upright by the inside, and tortured me ceaselessly until I was out of breath.

“Little Highland piggy,” she purred as I squealed, “you talk such a big game, but you are so very easy to tame.”

“I’m fucking coming!” I sobbed against the bars, “You’re making me come! Oh my god, you’re making me come!”

“Come for me, little Highland piggy.” Certiok breathed heavily, her eyes wild with megalomaniacal lust, “You can’t help yourself. High-elf sows are all so easy. So, so, easy…” She purred, and pressed every finger hard against me. I collapsed against the bars, grasping them with what little strength I had left in my hands, my cheek pressed between them, my eyes looking back at her, enraptured by her snarling savage beauty as she raped me so perfectly. My wobbling breasts pressed against the cold metal bars, then squished through them, dividing between the pole that pressed against my sternum. My belly flexed in spasms, my abdominal wall distending to accommodate the exaggerated arch of my back, which was being-ever exacerbated by the violent ecstasy being forced into me over, and over, and over again! I came with a scream, my spray of juices exploding from between Certiok’s aggressive fingers. She ravaged me through it, unrelenting even as I turned to butter between her wriggling digits, now saturated with my release.

Only when the last quivers of my orgasm left me, did Certiok finally pull her fingers out. After sucking her fingers clean, she took me by the hair, and my strengthless neck allowed her to move my head without resistance. My body was hers to do with as she pleased. She pulled me gently to my feet, put her hand on my hip, and walked me around the room. In my post-climactic trance, I moved with a sinuousness that was strange to me, but seemed to come quite naturally. My hips swayed, my feet moved in line with each other, and my shoulders rolled easily back to present my chest. Certiok let go of me, and I sauntered about just as she had guided, every motion steeped in sensuality.

“There,” she said, a tiny glint of pride in her black eyes, “that is how an Alkandran walks.”

YAVARA

The hybrids sat at the long table with me. They’d been mostly silent while I explained the situation to them. When I was done, that silence endured, pervading over us as they stared at me. Their gazes were wracked with confusion and fear, but Furia’s seemed downright accusatory—or perhaps that was just my paranoia. I hadn’t slept all night. I shifted in my chair, and cleared my throat.

“If any of you have any ideas, please bring them forward.”

“Have you tried contacting King Ternias?” Kiera asked.

“He destroyed the Jonian Spire,” Furia said, not once breaking eye-contact with me, “under our queen’s orders.”

“I didn’t want the Lowlands and Highlands conspiring against us again.”

“And yet here we are.” Furia said softly.

The others looked from her, to me. Brianna spoke next. “We need to send an emissary to the Highlanders.”

“They’re not going to talk to us.” Furia said before I could speak.

Soraya shifted uncomfortably. “We are an extremely wealthy nation. Perhaps we could pay off the Lowlanders. They don’t yet know of our horde’s fate. Zander could cast an illusionary spell to mimic the horde from afar, then we could send a boat to parlay peace for a price.”

“There won’t be any peace with the Lowlands.” Furia said, “Not after Faltia chopped off Prince Matthew’s head.”

“You’ve done quite a bit of naysaying, Furia; perhaps you’d like to make a suggestion yourself?” I said.

All eyes turned to Furia, but she kept her gaze fixed on me. “Well, there’s only one option, isn’t there, Your Highness?”

“And what is that?”

“You know what it is.” She said darkly.

“I don’t, actually.”

Faltia cleared her throat. “What are the Highland army’s numbers?”

“Forty-thousand.” I answered, “The Lowlanders number about half that.”

“It would be a force that would rival the full strength of our horde. Now, it’s astronomically overwhelming.” Eva said, “Your sister played us brilliantly.”

“She only played one of us, Eva.” Furia said, “Adrianna should’ve known better.”

“I’m also to blame for this.” I muttered.

“Like I said, she only played one of us.” Furia replied coldly, “Come now, Yavara, speak it into existence.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The only option left. The only way we can possibly get out of this. Say it.”

“Furia, I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“You have to attack Bentius.” Faltia muttered, then looked up at me, “It’s the only strategical advantage we have. If you fly right over the invading army, they’ll have to turn around.”

“It’s the only way.” Furia said, sitting back in her chair, looking at me like she didn’t recognize who she was seeing, “The horde is gone, the armies are closing in, and there’s no escape. For the sake of your people, you must do it. You are absolved of all the evil you must commit.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Furia, do you have something you want to say?”

“I’ve already said it. Do you have something that you want to say, Your Highness?”

Now, there was no doubt as to the nature of their gazes. Each of them was scrutinizing me like an insect they’d found in their food. It took me a moment to realize that I was staring at one of Leveria’s insidious plans blossoming into fruition. When I did realize it, I almost smiled at how perfectly it had been calculated. I decided right then that my sister would not live to see the next sunrise.

“Prepare the city’s defenses.” I said, “When the time comes, I will choose what course of action to take.”

ELENA

It had taken us ninety seconds to get out of the Jonias mansion. It was barely enough time. Thirty of those precious seconds had been wasted frantically explaining the situation to Catherine and Mom as they rubbed the sleep from their eyes. The next thirty seconds had been spent rushing to get Catherine’s house-mage, Javi, out of his quarters. The last thirty seconds were a flurry of panicked steps as we stumbled to shove our feet into boots, and rush out of the servant’s entrance. Ten seconds after we’d rounded the corner in the alleyway, twenty men of the watch had surrounded the house. They smashed the doors in, crashed through the windows, and raided the residence with frightening speed. The screams of Catherine’s servants sounded, and the clash of steel rang out a moment later. We didn’t stay to watch any longer.

My legs were still wobbly, and dashing through the wet snow was an exercise in balance that I was not prepared for. I fell over three times, and each time, my night gown was doused in the rank slush that filled the alleyways. We struggled to keep quiet through it all, for the watchmen were out in full force. They marched through the streets, knocked on doors and outturned the residence for questioning. The gates were barred and heavily guarded, the surrounding walls were patrolled, and the river was frozen solid, an ice-dam blocking the outflow into the next ward. We were trapped.

The city criers yelled from every street corner, their voices baying their repeated message into the night, “Lady Straltaira, surrender yourself, and no harm will come to you or those who aid you! To those who are aiding the Lady Straltaira, you will not be punished for turning her over! You will be rewarded! Lady Straltaira, surrender yourself and no harm will come to you or those who aid you! To those who are aiding the Lady Straltaira…“

“What do we do?!” Catherine hissed. We were secluded in a dark space between two shops, the width barely enough to allow us to turn our heads without scraping the walls. It was claustrophobic to say the least, but it provided the necessary cover from the passing patrols; at least until dawn broke, and the sun illuminated all.

“Cast an illusionary spell.” I whispered.

“I told you, the royal mages are using seeking spells!” She hissed back, “Using any magic will bring them right to us!”

“Lady Straltaira, surrender yourself and no harm will come to you or those who aid you! To those who are…”

“Maybe you should just give yourself up.” Catherine whispered.

“What?!”

“I mean, they said if you—”

“They killed Feractian and his wife in the fucking streets!” I hissed, “What do you think they’ll do to me?!”

“…Lady Lydia Straltaira, surrender yourself and no harm will…”

“Me?!” Mom gasped.

“Take one for the team!” Catherine whimpered.

“Shut up!” I snapped.

“We need to get inside,” Mom whispered, pointing to a door across the road, “we’re too exposed out here. If the guards don’t find us, we’ll surely freeze to death.”

“Go inside where?” Catherine snapped, “I can’t cast a lock-picking spell without altering the hunters!”

“I can lockpick.” I whispered, “I just need a pin.”

Mom fished into her gown, and pulled out one of her bra pins. She passed it to Javi, who handed it to Catherine, who tried to hand it to me, but her fingers were shaking so much that she dropped it right into the two feet of snow we were standing in.

“Shit!” she squealed; her voice shrill with panic.

“Shh,” I whispered, putting a calming hand on her shoulder, “it’s alright.”

I didn’t have room to squat between the walls, so I had to shimmy outward toward the dangerous light of the street, then stand on one leg, and lean down. I braced myself as best I could against the walls, and gritted my teeth against the sudden dizziness I felt. The maneuver would’ve normally been as easy as tying my shoes, but tying my shoes was now a task that seemed to require as much dexterity as playing a piano concerto. I didn’t know how I thought I was going to fight in a battle later that day; it would take at least a month to fully recover.

With the utmost concentration, I peered into the dim mound of snow, and found the tiny hole the pin had fallen in. Careful to control my breathing, I reached into the snow. The cold had made my fingers numb already, and the snow offered nothing but more of it. The dull burn of frost suffused my fingers, and I could feel nothing past the second knuckle. Still, I daintily fished through the slushy mixture, closing my eyes to bring more sharpness to my other senses. Finally, something interrupted the homogenous bath of cold, and my numb fingers managed to grip it.

“Got it!” I hissed, plucking the pin from the snow. I wheeled myself back upright, and shuffled down the wall until I was at the edge of the shadow. I could see about fifty feet of road on either side, but no further. I listened for the sounds of marching and heard only the distant footfalls and the crier’s call.

“Elena?” Catherine whimpered; her voice tight in her throat.

“I’m going to go across. If I get caught, all of you run the other way.”

“No.” Mom hissed.

“Don’t be selfish!” I snapped at her, then turned back around. I took two breaths through my nose, turned my hips, planted my front foot, and dashed forward. I made it two steps before I fell flat on my face. The warm lamplight above illuminated me like a spotlight. I scrambled onto my hands and knees, and frantically crawled across, then flattened myself against the wall, my breath heaving from me. I looked to the left, then to the right. The only men in eyeshot were the criers on the corners, and they were both facing the other direction. I looked forward, and could clearly make out the bulging terrified eyes of my comrades from between the buildings.

“Get over here, quick!” I hissed. Catherine collected her skirt, and sprinted across the street. Javi deftly navigated the road without any incident, but Mom stumbled before she finally flattened herself next to us. I didn’t have time to worry if we’d been seen. I knelt before the door, and placed the pin into the keyhole. My fingers were so numb. They slipped on the pinhole, twisting erratically. My hand was trembling with the cold. I had to steady it with my other hand just to line up the pin well enough, but my fingers were still so clumsy, void of any feeling. The sound of marching boots became louder. From my periphery, I could see the faint glow of torchlight being cast on the buildings down the road.

“Elena!” Catherine squeaked.

“Shut up!” I snapped. I fumbled with the lock for a few more seconds, then cursed my fingers, and put the pin between my teeth. Carefully, I guided the point back into the keyhole, and slid it forward with my tongue. I felt the resistance of the first spring. I pinched the stem of the pin with my thumb and forefinger, but not too much to rely on my hand for guidance. I bit down hard on the pinhead, and pressed my face forward. The first spring disengaged.

“Elena!” Catherine whimpered, more urgency in her voice. The footsteps were louder now. The torchlight glow became brighter, and the shadows were cast onto the walls, a row of heads and feet connected all by a mass of shadowed torsos, spearheads poking from it like spines on its back. It was deformed now, but it was becoming clearer and clearer with every second.

I turned my tongue, and the pin notched into the second spring. My finger and thumb came around to brace into place once more, and I gritted my teeth, and pushed my face forward again. The spring disengaged, leaving only the third spring.

“Elena!” Catherine sobbed, squirming against the wall.

“…surrender yourself and no harm will come to you or those who aid you! To those who are…” The criers called, the marching became louder, the shadows became clearer. My heart was beating in my throat. My blood was pounding in my ears. I closed my eyes. Carefully, I angled my tongue, and even more carefully, I placed my thumb and finger before it, and bit down on the pinhead. I pushed forward. The pin snapped in half, jamming the lock. My eyes flashed open. The shadows had taken form down the road. The marching was practically upon us. I could see the glint off spearheads. Someone was yelling. An order was suddenly given. The marching turned to running.

“Oh god, they found us!” Catherine screamed.

Javi slammed his hand on the door, and cast a spell. The lock clicked. Just as soon as it had happened, a great beam of ethereal light surrounded him. “Go!” He yelled, and shoved his mistress through the door. I dove in after, and dragged Mom with me just as Javi slammed the door behind us. From the window, we could see him sprint down the street, the ethereal beam of light following his every step, a beacon for all to see. A rush of footsteps followed after, accompanying the clanking of armor and the barking of orders. The sounds faded away. Then, there was a scream.

“Oh, Javi!” Catherine sobbed into her gown.

Mom put a comforting arm around her, and Catherine wept into her breast. I caught my breath, and assessed our surroundings. We were in a butcher’s shop, though since the trade embargos, there’d been little in the way of meat even for the nobles. Cobwebs spanned the meat hooks that hung from the ceiling, and dust had collected everywhere. My eyes fell upon the knife-rack behind the counter. They were brutal blades, more tools than weapons, but they could cut through meat just fine. I struggled to my feet, went to the rack, and picked out knives for Mom and Catherine. If it came to it, their best bet was to just stab at the enemy with the pointy end, and so chef’s knives would do just fine. I picked a pair of cleavers for myself.

“Here,” I muttered, passing them their weapons, “remember what I told you last night. The man who strikes first, kills. Don’t hesitate.”

Catherine and Mom stared wide-eyed at the knives in their hands. It occurred to me then that the pair of them were likely the two richest women in the entire kingdom, and had about as much experience in the kitchen as they did in battle. They didn’t even know how to hold the knives. They looked from me, to their new weapons, an expression of utter helplessness and hopelessness in their eyes. It would’ve been cute if I wasn’t just as terrified as they were.

“Hold on.” I muttered, and pulled a sharpening strap from the counter. I took the knife from Catherine’s hands, and wound the metal handle with the leather. “There,” I said, “that’ll keep it from slipping when you stab.”

“W-w-w-when I s-s-stab?!” She stuttered.

I placed my hands gently around hers, and adjusted her grip. “Push through with your shoulders,” I instructed, “everything from your elbow to the tip of the blade should be a straight line. Just thrust, thrust, thrust, you understand? Don’t stop thrusting until they’re down, then back off. Always strike first, remember?”

“Elena, I c-c-c-can’t d-d-d-do this!”

“You’ll do fine, Catherine.” I smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ll be right next to you.” I patted her cheek, then turned to Mom. She was practicing the thrusting motion I’d just showed Catherine, her face set in a very grim mask. “You got it?” I asked her.

“Just keep stabbing them until they go down,” she muttered, more to herself than me, “I got it.”

“Good.” I said, and leaned back against the counter, “But only if it comes to that. We just have to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Catherine hissed.

“Feractian’s barons already paid off the rioters. The noon bell will toll, and they’ll come out no matter what.”

“You think Ternias will give a shit about some rioters?!” Catherine exclaimed, “He’s uncovered a fucking conspiracy! He’ll have all five-hundred men of the watch up here until Shordian comes with the army tomorrow. The lower wards can burn for all he cares.”

“She’s right, Elena.” Mom muttered, “There will be no watchmen for the rioters to attack. The mob will form, then crash uselessly against the gates. After a while, they’ll just quit.”

“We’re fucked.” Catherine whimpered, “We should use these knives on ourselves!”

“If it comes to that, Catherine, I’ll just kill you.” I said softly, “You won’t even see it coming.”

She blinked at me. “Um… thanks?”

I snorted. “You’re welcome.” I looked out the window, assessing the eastern sky, “But until that time comes, we’re just going to wait.”

“For what?”

I smiled, and shrugged. “A miracle.”

ADRIANNA

The sun touched the top of Bentius’s ramparts. I dismounted Sasha, and adjusted the straps of Dog Meat’s carrier. The wargs moved from my path, bowing their heads respectfully as I walked through the orc ranks.

“Do you see that city?” I asked them, my voice projected commandingly, “That city is a fat whore. She hasn’t been fucked in ages, and she’s been pining for a good, hard cock. Now she’s just naked, laying in the snow, waiting for someone to finally give her what she deserves. She even took off all her clothes. The army? She took that off ages ago. The Royal Guard? She took it off just last week. The city watch? She’s still got it on, but it’s just barely hanging onto her fat ass by a strand. I mean, the poor whore isn’t just asking for it; she’s begging for it.”

Sardonic laughter sounded from all around, and I smiled with them. Dog Meat wiggled her stumps, all worked up with excitement. I opened my robe so that all the orcs could see the magical high-elf I wore like jewelry. “The fat whore needs a good fucking, gentlemen.” I said, “She needs it hard, fast, and rough. Who’s gonna give it to her?”

“We are!” They roared.

“I said who’s gonna fucking give to her?!” I yelled.

“We are!” The roared even louder.

“Then go fucking give it to her!” I screamed, and the orcs brandished their swords in a symphony of steel, kicked their feet into their wargs, and charged out over the hillside. I watched them ride into the basin, then I closed my cloak around Dog Meat, and hurried down to the adjacent hill to where Esmerelda and the elves were anxiously waiting.

“Now?” Esmerelda asked, her voice pitched high with anxiety.

“Not yet!” I said, grabbing the reins of my new horse, and mounting it, “Wait until they reach the base of the walls. The watch will keep them pinned there for enough time for us to close the gap. We need as many of those wargs dead as possible before we hit them in the back. Even with surprise on our side, it’s going to be tough.”

Esmerelda pursed her lips, and gripped her reins tightly. “I hate this,” she muttered.

“You’ve trusted me this far; don’t falter now.” I put my hand over hers, “We’re only one step to the end, Your Highness.”

She flinched at the honorific, though she did also blush. “Don’t ever call me that, Adrianna.”

“Then what should I call you?” I smiled.

She tried to conceal her smile by gnawing on her lip. “‘Ma’am’ will do fine.”

We watched as the company of wargs formed a crescent formation in the basin. It was a crude rendition of the winged cavalry formation, but it was effective. It concealed their true numbers, made them look more numerous than they were, and presented an easy counterattack to any flanking maneuvers by the enemy. By the time it was halfway across the basin, the formation no longer seemed like a conglomeration of individuals, but a strange shape moving rapidly across the flatlands.

“Shouldn’t an alarm have been sounded by now?” Esmerelda asked.

“We might not have heard it.” I muttered, narrowing my eyes at the wall. The ballistae were static in their positions, the great iron bows relaxed and pointed at the sky.

“Adrianna?” Esmerelda asked, her voice tight in her throat.

“Wait.” I muttered, holding up my hand, “Those weapons are ranged for the Bentius River. They don’t want to tip their hand too soon.”

The crescent coalesced at the bridge, and thundered across it. It took them a minute to traverse the whole span, and they flowed from the end of it like spreading water into the basin.

“Adrianna?!” Esmerelda exclaimed, nearly squealing.

Dog Meat stuck her head out of my cloak, and assessed the situation. “Uh-oh.” She said in her babyish voice.

“Adrianna?!” Esmerelda screamed at me.

“Goddamn it, Ternias, you stupid bastard.” I muttered, and drew my sword, “Now!” I kicked my heels into my horse’s flank, and charged into the basin. The rebels flowed after me, all of us riding at full-tilt. The thunder of hooves sounded from the snow-covered ground, and the war-cry of the women carried after it, propelling us ever faster. It didn’t matter. These might’ve been the fastest thoroughbreds in the Highlands, but they were nothing compared to wargs. The black crescent became smaller and smaller before the walls of Bentius. Then it was just a line along the wall’s base. For a moment, it was if they’d disappeared. Then I saw little black dots moving up the wall. One, two, three, four; they shot up the side of the wall as if they were running on flat ground, and one by one, they disappeared over the top. A minute later, all of the black dots were gone.

I looked at Esmerelda as we thundered toward the bridge. She looked back at me with horror writ across her face.

YAVARA

The stadium was silent. The streets were empty. Every able body was put to work building the city’s defenses. Soraya commanded Alexa’s old construction crews as they worked nonstop to erect walls along the river banks and before the docks. Zander cast defensive spells all over the city, while Titus and his black-cloaked vampires laid traps in every corner. Faltia hastily organized thousands of new recruits, while Furia and Eva trained them in sword and bow combat. Brianna ran the supplies crews up and down the newly-built ramparts while Kiera and her crews rushed to get the food from the silos in the fields, to the safety of the castle.

“I can see the Highlanders now.” Arbor said, standing beside me atop the tower, “The horse-riders stand at the edge of the forest. They could be here by nightfall.”

“They’ll wait for the rest of the army and arrive tomorrow.” I muttered, “The same day the Lowlanders come, just as Leveria planned.”

“They will have to go through my woodlands first.” She answered, “I will take my children with me deep into the Pines, and we will thin the herd before it arrives.” Her green and pink eyes seemed distant as they looked out upon the wintery landscape, “None of us will return.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.”

Arbor regarded me with a clinical and impassive stare. I’d seen her emote nearly like a mortal with Zander and the hybrids, but I only ever got the emotionless forest spirit. I looked back at her, waiting for her to finally break the silence.

“What?” I finally asked.

“I joined you because Elena and Zander convinced me that you would defend my children against the elven invaders. Now all of my children will die defending you against them.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you are.” She said coldly, “Fifteen-hundred years ago, I rejected Alkandi’s allegiance because I did not want to be thrown into the teeth of mortal wars. Still, Alkandi staved off the imperials for centuries. You could not even last the winter. Now I am a marked enemy of the Highlands, and the imperial rangers will hunt my children just as they did the orcs.”

“Not if we win.”

“There is no victory here. You will die, your city will burn, and then the Highlanders and the Lowlanders will chase your people back into the forest, and cull them like animals until they become as savage as they were before. You have changed nothing.”

“I tried to do what was right!”

“What was right for whom?” Arbor cocked her head, “Your people? If you wanted to do right by them, you would have destroyed their enemy when you had the chance. The Highlands? If you wanted to do right by them, you would have extended your hand in peace at the cost of your pride. No, you wanted to do what was right for you, Yavara.”

I rubbed the exhaustion from my eyes, and sighed. “Maybe I don’t know what’s right, Arbor. I just guess who’s right.”

“A tree that bends with the winds will topple to them eventually, but an oak that stands strong will only be strengthened by them. I should have seen what you w