Page 137 of Obsidian Throne

I couldn’t tell whether or not he was being serious, but there was no time to clarify before Iiro made a grand, sweeping gesture, effectively ordering everyone to take their seats at the table.

And the game officially began.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

ROWAN

The fog rolled in right on time and with it, two of the caravans from Bear.

That should have been a good sign, should have given me a modicum of hope, but my spine tingled with a warning that had nothing to do with the storm-cloud hanging overhead.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter what happened today, we would pay a steep price.

My stomach churned, my meager breakfast threatening to make a reappearance.

Looking at the men around me, from Andrei to where the others were nestled out of sight in the trees, I wondered how many of them would be left standing at the end of this.

I wondered if I would.

If Evander would.

But there wasn’t time for thoughts like that now. We had made a plan, and it was time to see it through. Evander was trusting me to do this, and half of Socair was depending on me doing it well.

I centered myself, taking all of the fury I felt toward the tyrannical monster who had made himself a king, and channeling it out in increments to help me move the fog.

A thick, gray blanket of mist clung to the castle, obscuring the view of the guards.

Andrei looked to me, and I shook my head. It wasn’t time yet. I wasn’t quite finished with my part.

He nodded his understanding. True to their form, not a single one of my men had ever let on that they knew what I could do, but they damned sure had to realize it wasn’t a coincidence that lightning struck when I was around.

And if they hadn’t realized it before, they certainly would now.

Evander had reasoned that if I could move clouds of fog, I could move storm clouds as well. So, I had effectively brought one with me, a particularly charged, ominous puff of air that I had moved along with bursts of wind, in case there were no storms nearby.

I could have, in theory, also pulled the fog from what mist was around us, but it would have taken all I had. Again, I reminded myself that things were going as well as could be expected.

I pushed the charged cloud forward until it was hanging directly over the castle, blotting out the sun. Then I called down two small bolts of lightning, one right after the other.

With a deafening crack, the two palace guards in the posts closest to us were flung from their towers.

The other two were Elk. They should look the other way. They should remain silent.

Should.

It was more tenuous than I wanted it to be when every single life here was on the line. But we had no choice, so on we went.

As soon as we heard the groaning of the portcullis open to allow one of Evander’s many “waylaid” food wagons through, the first round of soldiers crept through the gates. I held my breath for it to close once again, for this to be a trap…

But, true to Theo’s word, it remained open, and the Elk guards stationed in the watchtowers sounded no alarm as they turned their backs to allow my men through.

Andrei took the lead while I stayed behind with most of our army, waiting to send them in as needed. Theo had warned us that there would always be soldiers inside the courtyard, so we knew what to expect.

Still, my heartbeat thundered in my chest, a slow, powerful rhythm fueled by adrenaline and dread.

And then several voices cried out in surprise before they were abruptly cut off. Footsteps crunched along the loose gravel paths as more of the Palace or Clan soldiers ran over to the sounds of fighting, and I sent another twenty men into the mists to help.

Though I knew that holding on to the fog gave my men the upper hand, I couldn’t help the feeling of uselessness as I stood back and waited for the fighting to be over.