Chapter 4
1039 Words
-Laelia-
We once again found ourselves at that familiar border. Once we crossed it, we would be in enemy territory.
“So, are we ready?” Liam inquired.
“Are you scared?” I teased.
He just smiled at me before we finally crossed the invisible line. It was rather quiet, with only the sound of birds singing and flying in the sky.
“Do any of us even know what these nymphs are like?” I asked after a little while.
I had read about them, but I had never met them.
“I mean, can they hurt us?” I wondered aloud.
“Well, nymphs are said to be able to possess a man’s soul,” Liam replied in a dramatic tone.
I rolled my eyes as my older brother started teasing me again and turned to Samuel instead, who was on my other side. Tylon rode in the front, but I caught him glancing back at me, probably making sure I was all right.
“Have any of you ever seen a nymph?” I inquired.
Samuel and Liam remained quiet, and I looked at Liam again, who just shrugged, as if he didn’t see the big deal in not having met a nymph before.
“I have.” I turned to look at Tylon, but he wasn’t looking at me. He spoke into the open air, and as he fell silent, not elaborating, I decided to ride up beside him. He continued to stare straight ahead while my eyes remained fixed on him.
“And?” I prompted.
“And?” he echoed.
“What are they like?”
“Dangerous if angered…”
“So, they can fight?” I pressed.
Tylon didn’t respond immediately, and I feared he might not answer at all. But then he finally replied, “Not in the way you’re imagining.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nymphs are usually sought out for their ability to predict the future, but many have also hunted them because their blood is said to keep you young if you continue to drink it,” he explained.
I remembered reading something about that in my books, but I stayed quiet, listening as he continued to describe the nymphs.
“If they’re angered, they can use their powers to enchant a man, making him do… vicious things to himself or others,” he continued.
“Make him do what? Kill?”
“Kill… steal… confess to a crime he never committed. Whatever they desire.”
“Only men?” I asked.
Tylon took a few moments to consider my question before responding, “Only men have ever sought them out. It’s said they are more beautiful than any goddess.”
“So, I’ll be the first woman to test their power,” I whispered.
“Don’t test them,” he warned. “They aren’t to be trifled with. They’re stronger than… than any of us. We shouldn’t try to provoke them.”
“But we need to know if they can be of value to us!”
“No, we already know they are. The people on that battlefield will mostly be men. The nymphs will be valuable to us if we can convince them to help,” he reasoned.
“Mostly.”
“What?” he asked, puzzled.
“I said most people on that battlefield will be men.”
Tylon looked at me in confusion, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my brothers also looking perplexed. It made me smile a little. Hadn’t they figured it out yet?
“You didn’t think I’d just sit around on my ass waiting for you all to return, did you?” I teased.
“Laelia, what are you saying?” Liam questioned.
“I’m going to war with all of you, of course. I thought we had discussed this.”
They all slowly shook their heads, clearly shocked by my words, which only made me smile.
“I don’t think that’s a good ide—” Tylon began, trying to convince me to reconsider, but I wasn’t changing my mind.
“I’m fighting, and I won’t be talked out of it!”
Tylon moved closer and lowered his voice. “Are you sure this is a good idea… considering…”
I shot him an angry glare that clearly told him to back off. I was pregnant, not helpless.
“I am,” I responded in a dark tone.
“Laelia, you’ve never fought in a war,” Liam pointed out.
I turned to him and glared as well. He quickly sighed and shook his head.
“Laelia, just listen—” Samuel began, but I wasn’t having any of it, interrupting him with a shake of my head. Now that I was pregnant again, the fire within me burned even stronger, making my body feel warmer, more powerful.
“We’re just trying to ensure that you actually will be crowned queen,” Liam reasoned. “Going to war… many die.”
I could see the pain in my brother’s eyes. He had been sent out before, fighting against other humans trying to seize more control over the lands.
“I can protect myself.”
“You’ve never fought in one!” Liam protested.
“Now I will…”
“Laelia…”
“Am I the white dragon, or are you?” I challenged him.
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before responding, “You are.”
“And am I the one who will sit on the throne ruling the North and the South?”
“Yes…”
“Then why shouldn’t I fight in this war? I can’t ask these people to give up their lives if I’m not even willing to risk mine!” I declared.
“But they aren’t the future queen!” Liam countered.
“No, but a queen is nothing without her people! I cannot ask them to risk so much if I won’t fight alongside them. They are my people, and I will protect them with everything I have.”
They all fell silent, and I glanced over at Tylon beside me. Was that a smile? Or something close to one?
- Writer
