“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s a new world, Gideon. I want you to help me build it.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “What if I’m not enough?”
“You said you’d risk everything for me. Time to put your words into action.”
He paused only a moment as if debating before he said, “If it’s action you want...”
This time when he kissed me, he was a regular man in the same way a tidal wave was a regular breaker on the beach, a shooting star was a regular spark of light, a hurricane was a regular breeze.
“So is this the reason you wanted me to come outside with you?” His hot fingers traced my spine through my shirt as he nipped my bottom lip.
“This and to discuss strategy.”
“What strategy? In a few hours, we march to Fallstaff.”
“Then what? Politely ask Le Poing Fermé to leave?”
Gideon nodded. “And if saying ‘please’ doesn’t work, we’ll ask again, but with a little lightning and perhaps a few of Sephonie’s arrows.”
“How are you on ammo?”
He pulled away, and night air blew between us, cooling my simmering blood. “We got to Inselgrau nearly three days before you, and we had some of Brahm’s money left. We’ve put it to good use.”
“Did you buy me an army?” In Isolas we’d had barely enough money left to hire a couple of good mercenaries, but perhaps Gideon had worked a miracle.
“We’ve tried to get you something better than an army.” He reached into his back pocket, tugged out a sheet of parchment, and unfolded it.
In the gloom I couldn’t make out the words, so I stepped closer to the hut to catch the light from the windows. In simple black lines Malita had rendered an accurate sketch of my face—I recognized the drawing as her style. But the Evie on the paper looked regal, brave, and confident. She wore a crown of jagged diamonds that resembled lightning. In bold letters beneath my countenance someone had printed the words:
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN
The Lady of Thunder has returned
Let your prayers be set before her like incense
Let your faith in her renew this land.
All believers worship
And your conviction shall restore her,
This Daughter of the Gods of Thunder
This Rightful Heir to the Throne of Inselgrau.
My breath seized in my chest. My mind spun as I tried to grasp the implications of what I was reading. They hadn’t been gathering fighters. They’d been gathering believers.
He cleared his throat and scrubbed his jaw, suddenly bashful. “Brigette helped me with the wording. I’m not very, um... poetic. We’ve distributed them everywhere we’ve been since we got to Inselgrau. Gerda has passed them through the surrounding villages. There are underground networks here, Evie—people still devoted to the Stormbournes. Gerda has been feeding their faith, telling them of your exploits on the Continent.”
“How would she know what I’ve been doing?”
He glanced away. “I... I might have been sending her regular communications.”
All my earlier confidence drained away. Building new worlds was a grand idea in theory, but in reality, every decision I was about to make would affect thousands of people. That was no romantic, heroic gesture, but hard, cold reality. “What if...?”
“What if what?” His brow crinkled. He grasped my arm, gaze scanning my face.
“What if they don’t believe? What if the people don’t want me?”
“I can tell you what the people of Inselgrau don’t want. They don’t want Le Poing Fermé. If you can take the cabal away, the people will be yours.”
“I can’t fail them, Gideon.”
“You won’t.” He brushed a kiss against my temple. “I believe in you too much for you to fail.”
By the time we’d returned to the hut, everyone had slipped off to sleep, even Jackie still sitting upright against the wall. I blew out the lamps, leaving a single flickering candle to light the room as Gideon and I squeezed together onto the rug beside Malita and Niffin and snuggled beneath a blanket from Adaleiz’s saddlebag. He stroked my back, and despite the calming influence of his touch, I couldn’t sleep.
Soon we’d march on Fallstaff.
Soon, win or lose, everything would change.
Dear gods, please don’t let me fail.
They’ve brought you this far, Grandfather said. Have faith that they’ll carry you the rest of the way.
Chapter 28
