Winter's War (Her Guardians series Book 4)(39)
“Thank you for coming. For those who do not know who I am, I’m Queen Winter. These are my mates, King Jaxson, King Wyatt, King Dabriel, and King Atticus.” I introduce them, and there is silence as I look back at the people. I want to say they can call me Winter and not be formal, but I doubt it’s a good idea when I’m trying to get their alliance.
“I have heard that the fray are at war, a war very much like the one that comes for us today. I’m not going to stand here and ask people who have been kept in dungeons for years to fight for me, for supernaturals who they don’t know, and frankly, don’t give a damn about. I’m no fool to ask that of you,” I say, my words seeming to be carried by the wind.
“This castle was my grandmother’s and my great aunt’s. They were Goddesses, and my aunt made the first witch, vampire, wolf, and angel. They all lived together in peace in this castle until my grandmother fell in love with a demon. She loved him blindly, and my mother was the only good thing that came from that love. The demon king destroyed this castle, murdered her other mates, and has murdered every blood relative of mine,” I say and pause as some of the people start whispering.
“I know the queen of the fray must have killed some of your family, killed people you love.” I tell this to the fray and then look to the supernaturals.
“The same way the demon king has killed many of our loved ones in this war.”
There are mumbles of agreement through the crowd as I wait for them to be a little quieter, so everyone hears my words.
“I’m not going to demand you fight for me, or ask. I only stand here and tell you that I will fight for you. For every single one of you, and the fight is for freedom. No more wars, no more death, and a life for our children!” I shout, and cheers follow my words. I wait for them to calm down before I shout.
“I will kill the demon king and make sure that you are safe. Many of the fray here may not want to fight, and if you don’t, we will keep you safe, regardless, because we are not evil. We are not the bad guy here. We want peace and a safe place for all kinds. It’s that or death, and I hope everyone here agrees with me that I choose to fight.”
“But, if any of you can fight, please join us,” I direct that at the men in the ward, and a few of them nod at me.
“I’m not asking for me, I’m asking for a chance of freedom here. I will welcome you to live here and your children will be taught alongside ours,” I say, and I wait for them to say anything. A man steps forward and bows his head, and then another. The rest of the fray follow and so do the supernaturals.
“Freedom!” Wyatt shouts as he moves next to me,
“For Queen Winter,” Dabriel says as he steps forward.
“For those we lost,” Jaxson says as he stands next to me, and his hand finds mine.
“And, for the future,” Atti finally says and steps forward. We all hold hands as the people cheer and for the first time we watch as they actually help each other. The first step in creating peace. Now, we need to win the war.
“Be safe,” I tell Dabriel, and he gently kisses my nose, making me giggle. Dabriel doesn’t need to say any words as we look at each other, all the love he feels for me is written in his eyes. Dabriel only nods before walking away and out the doors of the castle, to his angels to be at their side in the war. I wouldn’t expect him to be anywhere else, but worry still fills me when I watch him walk out.
“Queen Winter?” a small, familiar voice says behind me, and I turn to see the half fray child, Nathaniel.
“Nathaniel, right?” I ask, looking down at him a little. Nathaniel pulls out a dagger from his cloak, the blade is glowing purple and there’s silence around the room as several people stop to stare.
“I can make weapons more powerful than fray touched, and I made this for you. I’m not that strong, yet, and this took me days. I want you to win,” Nathaniel says, and I pick the dagger up from him as Soobeen walks over to us. The dagger feels powerful, I can tell. I slide it into a space on my dagger belt.
“Thank you. I won’t forget this, and it will help me win,” I tell Nathaniel, who shyly nods.
“Nathaniel, we must go,” Soobeen says as she wraps an arm around her son.
“You have an amazing son, you must be proud,” I say, and Soobeen looks down at her son.
“Very proud,” Soobeen says and walks off with her son as I watch.
“Winter?” I hear Alex say, and I look behind me to see her with Drake and Atti. Drake is dressed for war, there is literally no other way to describe him. He has weapons on every single part of his body and some of them I’m not sure I would even know how to use. They just look like sharp things. A small sob comes from Alex, who wipes her eyes with the men’s jumper she has on over her leather leggings.
“You okay?” I ask her, and she nods quickly, putting on a brave smile. I know that smile because it’s all I’ve done all day when I’ve spoken to anyone. Act brave, or that’s what I kept telling myself.
“I can’t lose you,” she says, and I hug her. I can’t give her words of encouragement, not when I know I have to die to close that portal. There isn’t another way. I hate that I won’t get to meet her little one, but at least I know her child will live. Since Atti saved me, I’ve tried to swallow the fear and guilt of leaving my mates behind, but I know it’s no use. It’s me or the rest of the world, and as I pull away and look at Alex, I know she has to survive this. Her baby needs to be born into a good world.