Electric hatred slithered across my skin.
"Father."
"Father?" Bragda exclaimed, staring at his demonic form.
"Scheming bastard!" Alicia growled as Marcus held her back. "You tricked us all."
"I did what I had to do," he retorted. "The Risa always hide under the guise of pacifism while the Gatál march all over Paxus. If I didn't pressure you--"
"We never would have made this choice."
"Exactly."
"Father, how could you betray us like this?" Bragda asked, both saddened and angry. "You left us. Mama died, and you didn't return. Instead, you dedicated your life to making monsters?"
I grimaced, and she gave me an apologetic look.
"Only a Fireborn can survive the calamity that is coming towards us," he said to her. "I'm sorry, Bragda. I tried the procedure on Dwarves, but it only works with Risan blood. It kills all others."
"You experimented on my people?" Bragda shouted. "You son of a--"
"Be on your best behavior," Father said, baring his fangs. "We have company."
At that, a second figure emerged from the darkness. Her graying hair was swept up in a tight twist with purple and yellow ribbons. The tall, wiry woman had the hardened countenance of a General. Her icy blue eyes twinkled with intellect and ambition, eyebrows permanently creased in a vicious scowl that cut angry wrinkles into her forehead. The scent of power wafted from her like an intoxicating fragrance.
A dangerous woman.
Alicia's eyes widened in shock. "Prime Minister Adair? You...you...knew about this?"
"Knew about it?" Father said with a scoff. "It was her idea."
The Minister curled her lip, and my insides turned to liquid ice.
"But you're our leader," Alicia said. "We trust you to keep monsters like him away from us. Not to give them funding for sick experiments."
"We are at war." The Minister shrugged. "War turns men into beasts. We might as well fight with the strength of one."
"How could you?"
"Have you not noticed that the Gatál have anti-magic armor?" The Minister neared Alicia until their faces were only inches apart. "What did you think you were going to do on the battlefield?"
"Heal people," I countered before Alicia could answer.
"If we didn't make the Fireborn," Father said, "we would all slave under the flag of the Gatál. They have said more than once they intend to rule all of Paxus and exterminate the Risa."
"Hey!" Everyone turned around and faced my furious sister. "We are your Fighters, not them!"
"You don't stand a chance against their Wraiths and dragons."
"Give us the weapons we need to defeat them!" Bragda insisted. "Why drag my pacifist sister and her friends into this against their will?"
"I told you," Father snarled, "the science only works with Risan biology."
"Not good enough."
"Did you not see what happened on the battlefields of Halden?" the Prime Minister exclaimed. "That was your home. Don't you want to win it back?"
Bragda narrowed her eyes. "I know better than you do, Minister. I fought there."
"You've witnessed what a group of five Fireborn can do." The Minister approached my sister with the lithe movements of a wildcat. "They stormed a Gatál fortress and rescued you."
"Your point, Minister?"
"Remember Liselle a year ago? Look at her now." The Minister pointed to me. "With training, your sister could rescue you on her own. Could she have done so as a Risa?"
"No," I said. "But it's still my choice, Minister. And you stole it from me."
Bragda nodded. "You can't press gang people into fighting for you. That's not what our country stands for. We're a democracy, and it's your responsibility to uphold those principles."
Alicia whipped around and glared at Father. "Is it true? Did you deceive Liselle and drag her into this against her will?"
"She signed the contract of her own free will," he replied.
"I was under duress. Bragda would have died."
"I did what I had to in order to protect my country and my people."
An audible click echoed in the hall as Alicia extended her talons. "I should have known Liselle would never betray us."
She leaped towards Father and slashed his face, leaving strips of flesh hanging from the deep wound. Black blood gushed from his cheek as he stumbled away.
The Prime Minister gasped, running towards Father. "You animal!"
Alicia whipped around to face her. "Shut up, wench, or you're next!"
Father cupped his injury and murmured an ancient dark magic spell. Ebony fog swirled around his wounds like a tiny whirlwind, healing the torn flesh, tendons, and skin. Mesmerized, I watched as the fibers wound themselves back together and sealed themselves with a black scar.
"Are you all right, Greg?" Minister Adair murmured, to which Father simply nodded.
"Greg?" Marcus murmured under his breath as if shocked to realize his Creator was just a mortal man. "His name's Greg?"
"Because you are young, I shall forgive your impertinence once," Father seethed at Alicia. "Strike me again, and I'll cut out your heart."
"I've seen enough, Greg. Where are the others?"
"First, I want to show you the royal leaders."
"Very well, where are they?"
"Right in front of you."
Minister Adair raised a quizzical eyebrow as she stared at me as though I were a rack of pork ribs she might purchase. "This is an excellent specimen, Master Wizard, no doubt. Tall, graceful, powerful. Intelligent and analytical, judging by her file."
"She's my pride and joy."
"With training, she'll make a fine General."
Why are they talking about me as though I'm not here?
Minister Adair squinted at me. "Fireborn Queen, do you hail from Halden like your father?"
I swallowed my retort and simply replied, "Yes, Minister, from the district of Tollen."
"I'm sorry for your loss," she said in a dull monotone. "You come from a prominent academic family, rare in an agricultural town." She didn't allow me to answer. "You'll make fine stock."
Clenching my fists and my jaw, I resisted the urge to punch her. I'm not an animal.
She sauntered over to Alicia, who gave the Minister an incredulous scowl. "Physically, you'd make a fearsome warrior. You have a keen mind. Too keen. You're brazen and argumentative."
Alicia stared at the Minister in stunned silence.
"Next time turn stock like that into drones," the Minister said, turning to Father. "There's potential here for leadership, but we need complete obedience from all Warriors."
"What in Hades did you just say?" Alicia growled.
"As you wish, Minister," Father replied.
"From where do you hail, Fireborn?"
Alicia's eyes glinted like daggers. "Planau, Minister, from the district of Gersten."
"Interesting, a town of academics and merchants." With slow, deliberate steps, the Minister made her way over to Marcus. "But you are the most fascinating one of all, I think."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
She gave him a lecherous gaze and licked her lips. "How does the Risan proverb go? Always be cautious of the quiet ones, for they have the quickest wit and the most devious plans?"
"The best-laid plans," he corrected.
"My mistake."
Marcus brought himself up to his full height. "I live only to serve Minningen and protect her from danger."
"Well said." She clasped her hands behind her back. "From where do you hail, Fireborn?"
Marcus squared his shoulders and replied. "Reyland, My Minister, from the district of Neustadt."
Minister Adair walked to the head of the gym and had that look of a politician ready to make a great pronouncement. "Here stand the three Royal Houses of the Fireborn: Tollen, Gersten, and Neustadt. All joined by a united purpose."
Alicia scoffed, and the Minister glared at her before she continued.
"The Gatál stole peace from us, but with your help, we can reclaim it and protect our land."
"If you wanted our help, you shouldn't have taken us against our will," Alicia said. "My father will hear about this, and he'll order a vote of no confidence in your administration."
"We'll bring him around to our viewpoint," the Minister retorted. "Boldea is the last stubborn Minister who won't tow the line. Whoever heard of a Minister of Defense who didn't want a war?"
The dissenting vote for the pre-emptive strike. Maybe we still stood a chance...
"If you want loyal fighters, you must find them honorably." Bragda leaned on the handle of her ax. "To test a woman's loyalty, set her free. If she returns, yours she is."
"I don't take advice from the likes of a Dwarf."
Bragda had a murderous glint in her eyes, and I just about managed to hold her back. Destroying the dining room table was one thing. Attacking this woman was quite another.
"Sis, please," I whispered. "You pledged an oath of allegiance. If you kill her, it's prison for life."
She lowered her ax. "Fine."
"Enough prevaricating," I said to the Minister. "What do you want?"
"I have an offer for you."
Alicia scoffed. "Like we're going to trust you."
"Last time I was given an offer, I came to regret it," I said, glaring at Father.
The Minister retrieved a thick piece of parchment from her yellow Ministerial Robes. "I have signed this government contract in heart blood guaranteeing your release, which remains binding on a Prime Minister for life. No exceptions."
"What's the catch?"
"Intelligence has revealed that the Gatál have discovered this facility and are mounting an offensive within the coming weeks," the Minister replied. "Which leaves us time to prepare."
Bragda snorted in surprise. "Holy shit, the Gatál are coming here? How do you know?"
"We have a plant in the enemy's headquarters."
Seraphina. It had to be.
"She sent word that the Gatál are sending their fiercest warriors, their strongest dragons, and the Shadow Riders to conquer Teufelwald Castle and confiscate the Fireborn."
"And you expect an easy victory, Minister?" I asked. "Have you ever seen a Shadow Rider?"
"Well--"
"I have," I said, striding towards her with an angry glare. "They are almost invincible."
Except for their one weakness. And Peter had refused to tell me.
"If you can engage the enemy and secure a resounding victory," the Minister said, "I will set you free."
"We can go home?" Alicia asked, incredulous.
"You're sending us to our deaths," I insisted. "I've failed my friends once, but I will not do it again."
The Minister squared her shoulders. "Before you reject my offer outright, you might like to know how the Fireborn managed to rescue your sister."
"Minister, a stealth operation is one thing. Defeating an entire army is totally different."
"The Dragonborn are drones commanded by magic wielded by the Shadow Riders," the Minister replied. "We've procured the one weapon that can kill a Wraith. We can end this war once and for all."
"Shadow Riders can't die."
"Normally not. But this weapon pierces the shadow essence and kills the host itself."
Peter's secret.
"What is it?"
"Pure diamond arrows."
"What?"
"They'll pierce dragon scales, metal, and even the soul of a Shadow Rider," Bragda replied, wide-eyed. "But I thought they were just a Dwarvish myth."
"We have found five quivers with twelve arrows each in the mines of Bulolduhr," the Minister replied with a wry smile.
Bragda gasped. "I'll be damned. You found the lost Treasure of Noble-Blade."
I turned to my sister with a furrowed brow. "Do you know what she means?"
"This changes everything." Her sapphire eyes glowed with hope. "No magic or science can resist the hardness of a diamond. If we use those magic arrows to take out the Shadow Riders--"
"The Dragonborn army will scatter like pollen in the wind."