Kel hurried out of the room. Having almost twenty ferals join his manor had once again proved to be a boon, and with Sachi still recovering from her wounds in the infirmary, Kel and his people were vital to the silverwood’s defense.

Drake looked to Cresh. “How do you feel about fighting in the silverwood, at night?”

“We will take losses,” Cresh said. “But if that is your command, we will go.”

“Just be straight with me. I know you guys kick all sorts of ass in the water and on open ground, but out there in the woods, how will fare against kromians?”

“The odds would not be in our favor,” Cresh conceded. “The trees get in our way.”

“What about the silverwood clearing?”

“I have never been.”

“The area around the silverwood is open and well-fortified,” Samuel said. “Many ancient fortifications placed there by former Lords Gloomwood still stand. The silverwood has always been ours to defend. Once there, the zarovians should be able to hold out for some time.”

“We will hold the kromian army until you tell us to stop,” Cresh said calmly.

“Then you’re going to the clearing,” Drake said. “While we engage the column, lead your best zarovians to the clearing and dig into whatever fortifications remain there. With luck, we might even pincer the kromians if we can split them up with all the harassment.”

Viktoria raised a hand. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Of course.”

“Allow me to aid you in your defense. With my rangers to protect me and your vero to guide me, I should be able to reach the path taken by the kromian column by nightfall. Once I know the path they are using, I can split their column with cleavage.”

“And maybe even bury a few dozen fish people.” Drake nodded. “That sounds horribly dangerous, but if you’re willing to help us fight, I’m not going to turn you down.”

“Our manors are now allied, lord,” Viktoria said. “It is my duty to defend you.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. You’ve got my blessing and my thanks. Just make sure you don’t get overrun, and after you’ve opened a few new crevasses and split their lines, I want you to fall back to the silverwood clearing and support Cresh. No heroics.”

Viktoria nodded.

Drake looked to the manor again. “Once night falls, I’ll lead a small strike team consisting of Valentia, Nicole, Olivia, and Robin to take out the head of the column. Do we have enough feathersteel to outfit everyone? That armor is invisible in the woods.”

“We do,” Samuel said. “But that force is too small to fight an army, lord.”

“We’ll engage the head of the column, not the whole thing, and we have rarities. They don’t. If we have to, we can harass and fall back to the clearing and Cresh. We have vero to move freely through the woods, feathersteel to make us invisible, and superpowers.”

“So long as you don’t get encircled,” Samuel conceded. “The vero should be able to assist with that. Shall I take command of the manor as you take the field?”

“Yes,” Drake said. “Gaby and Carl will stay here with you to defend the manor. They have good defensive rarities. And while I know you don’t like me leading the force myself, that’s non-negotiable. I won’t send my people into harm without going myself.”

Samuel simply nodded. “Then I will simply beg you to be careful, lord.”

“That’s the plan.”

His spymaster offered an open palm. “You should emulate regrowth.”

“Not this time. With Emily off her feet, someone needs to take out those octopi.”

Samuel’s brow furrowed. “So you plan—”

“I’m going to emulate rend soul. Our arrows can’t stop their walking seafood, and even zarovians will have trouble. Emily soul chopped a ten-story-tall kraken with one blow. I intend to do the same with octopi leading the charge, and if Emily’s ability to see souls through solid surfaces works as well as I hope, the kromians might not even see it coming.”

Cresh shuffled for the doors. “We will depart for the clearing now.”

“Do you need me to talk to any vero for you?”

“No,” Cresh said. “We already have vero assigned to us. The silverwood will not fall while I and my compatriots draw breath.”

“We won’t let you fight alone,” Drake assured him. “Go kick some ass.”

Cresh bared his rather terrifying teeth as he shuffled out through both open doors. One wasn’t big enough to let him through. Drake looked to Valentia. “Can I trust you to handle the logistics? Get some feathersteel and get everyone armored up?”

“Of course,” she said. “What of Darion?”

“Send him to the clearing with Raylan with Cresh. They’ll need dedicated healers. The zarovians won’t have battle maid healing gloves to triage, and they’ll need to withstand multiple kromian attacks.” Drake pondered. “We have... three burnish potions left?”

“I believe so, lord,” Valentia said.

“Then you’re taking one. Olivia gets the other. The two of you can melt crowds with your rarities when you’re at normal strength, so I’m hoping burnished flashfreeze and chainfire will wreck an entire army in close quarters. Give the last burnish potion to the zarovians. Darion or Raylan will take it they need it to save anyone who’s badly wounded.”

“I’ll handle distributing the potions, lord,” Samuel said. “Val, I will meet you in the courtyard before you and Lord Gloomwood depart.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Drake said. “I’m going to the infirmary to pick up rend soul. As soon as I have it, we’ll head out. We won’t engage the kromians until darkness falls, but I want to be ready to go as soon as the sun sets. Between our living trees, Kel’s stealthy ferals, and our own rarities, we are going to make these fish fuckers regret ever setting foot in our woods.”

Drake had no need for anyone to escort him to the infirmary, but Nicole went with him anyway. As they walked, he filled her in on the battle plan she’d missed while standing guard outside the doors. Once he finished, she only asked one question.

“If I see Prince Varnath, may I eliminate him?”

“You could, couldn’t you,” Drake agreed. “Invisibly.”

“It is a talent.”

“Then yes. In fact, if you see anyone who looks like a commander or high value target, feel free to split off from our party and murder them. Just don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“I will only take necessary risks.”

He frowned at her. “Don’t die, Nicole. I’ve lost enough people. I don’t want to lose you.”

That seemed to surprise her as much as her courtesy over the past few days had surprised him. “I will try not to disappoint you.”

Once they reached the infirmary, Nicole opened the door and stood aside. Drake glanced at her. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“I’ll stand guard out here. Do what you need to do inside.”

“All right,” Drake said. “Thanks.”

She sighed. “You make it very hard to dislike you.”

He walked into Raylan’s small infirmary and frowned as a memory returned. Last time he’d been in here, Lydia and Emily had been recovering from a fight with the Red Hood assassins the former Lord Gloomwood had hired to assassinate himself. This time, they were back, only for entirely different reasons. He was lucky to have adequate medical care.

A quick look around spotted Sachi in a third bed. She remained heavily bandaged and fast asleep. Like Lydia, she would have died from blood loss if not for Darion and others.

While her wounds from the scrap were sealed and healing, it would still be some time before she was ready to move and fight. She didn’t snore. Even sleeping, Sachi was stealthy.

Emily, who was propped up in a bed with a book in her hands, dropped the book in her lap the moment he entered. “Welcome back, lord! Lydia’s awake!”

“Seriously?” Drake hurried over to the bed to find Lydia fast asleep, with her arms wrapped around a pillow on her chest. He frowned at Emily.

“She was awake,” Emily amended. “She was also very sad about Lady Gloomwood. She wouldn’t stop pestering me until I told her all that had happened after she passed out from blood loss. After that... I guess she went back to sleep.”

“Lydia did everything she could to save my mother,” Drake said firmly.

“I told her that repeatedly, lord. I still don’t think she agrees with me.”

Of course Lydia would feel as guilty about his mother dying as he did. More, likely, even though neither of them had really had a chance to save her. Now that Drake knew how virulent demon spider poison was, he knew his mother was dead the moment the demon bit her.

He had time. He’d stay here in the infirmary until Lydia woke up. He was going to make absolutely certain she knew that his mother’s death wasn’t remotely her fault.

“I heard we have more guests today,” Emily said. “Can I go piggyback? Like Anna?”

Drake snorted. “That couldn’t possibly work.”

“I wouldn’t chop you, lord! I’d be very careful!”

“No piggyback rides today,” Drake said. “I am not a horse.”

“I suppose that is correct. And Lydia would be angry if I rode you before she...” She popped a hand to her mouth. “Oh! That’s the slurry talking. Ignore me, lord.”

Drake had absolutely no idea what Emily was talking about. “Slurry?”

“It’s juice! It tastes horrible, but it makes us hurt less.”

So Emily was high on whatever painkillers Raylan had mixed up. Drake hoped he wouldn’t get woozy from mixing blood with her. Still, he had a reason for coming here.

He offered his palm. “I can’t give you a ride, but you will be there in spirit.”

She stared at his hand. “What spirit?”

“I’m going to soul chop kromians in your honor.”

A huge grin dominated Emily’s face. “Oh, lord, you are going to love rend soul!”

“Let’s hope so.” Drake pulled out his trusty letter opener. “Now, where do you—”

Emily snatched the letter opener, drove it straight into the lower portion of her forearm, and twisted. The moment she pulled it out, blood coursed down her arm. “There you go!”

Drake took the letter opener back and cut his palm, thoroughly, then slapped it on Emily’s wound. There really had to be a better way to do this. Also, he hoped they didn’t have any blood diseases in this world. This world remained very different from his own.

As he kept his bleeding palm atop her bleeding arm, Emily turned her gaze to the woman sleeping beside them. “Can I ask you something personal?”

Drake snorted. “Like I could stop you.”

“Are you going to marry Lord Skybreak?”

He frowned at her in surprise. “What brought that on?”

“I’m curious! I know Lydia and Samuel both think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m not marrying anyone,” Drake assured her. “I mean, not until I’ve had years to think about it, and there’s not a war going on. Romance is the least of my concerns right now. I’m trying to stop a kromian army from killing my talking tree.”

“But do you like her, like her?”

It took him a moment to parse her meaning. “You mean Lord Skybreak?”

“Yes,” Emily said.

Drake considered simply telling Emily to mind her own business. She was so loopy she might not even remember this conversation tomorrow, and it might feel good to open up to someone, even Emily. Just a little.

“Can you promise you’re not going to blab to everyone?”

“I won’t tell anyone unless you say it’s okay.”

She sounded quite serious. She meant that. She couldn’t lie.

“I do like Sky. She’s strong, really smart, an absolute badass in battle, and...”

“Beautiful?” Emily asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Drake said. “She is objectively attractive, which, I mean... c’mon.”

“So you wish to marry her because she’s beautiful?”

“I didn’t say I wanted to marry anyone!” Drake protested. “It’s not like looks are all I’m interested in, and I already told you all the other stuff. You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“But if you wish for an attractive wife, why not choose one of us? Are we not beautiful?”

Drake scowled at her. “Now you’re just fishing for a compliment.”

“I’m not!” Emily insisted. “I’m simply baffled that you’ve never shown any interest in any of us. You don’t even ogle. You’re young, I’m young! Do you not find me attractive?”

“Of course I do!” Drake said, and then mentally kicked himself for admitting that. “I’m human... and a guy. But you also work for me, and we’re good friends. Right?”

She said nothing. She only watched him with a wide grin. Finally, he understood.

“You’re teasing me.”

She offered a smug grin. “And now I know you think I’m beautiful.” She glanced at the bed beside her. “So what of Lydia?”

Drake finally saw exactly where this was going. “We’re done talking about this.”

“I saw how you looked at River when she looked like Lydia, in the capital,” Emily continued eagerly. “Yet you didn’t indulge her, even though you had every opportunity in the world to enjoy all she had to offer. Was it because you had someone else on your mind?”

“It’s because I’d have you all listening on the other side of the wall!”

“I don’t think you’re telling me all of it. I’ve seen how you look at Lydia, and it’s not how you look at me or Nicky or Val, or Oli. It’s better.”

“Olivia is eighteen!” Drake protested.

“Lydia’s not!” Emily taunted. “So do you like her, like her?”

“Emily.” Lydia’s voice could have frozen ice. “Stop pestering our lord.”

“Hmph,” Emily said huffily. “I’ll just go back to reading my book, then.”