[GRANT]
"You guys are back fast," Zelina commented as she got up to go to Ulrike and Grant.
She could see the conflict in her mate's eyes, and knew it had to do with something that had happened back at Acrod. Maybe they would talk about it later but right now they needed to focus on the matter at hand.
'What are you hiding, Ulrike?' Zelina asked herself as she looked into her mate's eyes, hoping to know what it was that seemed to trouble the great Ulrike of the Southern forest.
Granted, they had troubles at the moment, especially with the disappearance of Alanor, but Zelina knew that there was something more. And when she watched her mate watch Grant, she knew that the young enforcer had done something that could probably cost him a future.
Maybe the universe would be kind to him, but if Grant wasn't careful, then he wouldn't even have a future, to build with Nour. He would lose it all, and that would be his worst nightmare. Zelina knew first hand how harsh the losses could get, hell even Ulrike knew it, but this wasn't their battle.
This one was Grant's war, and they could only wish him the best.
"Well, Cassius did approve of Grant's service to us, so it's not going to be a problem. Anyway, how are you?" Ulrike asked his mate who looked like she'd gone through all the phases of hell.
Zelina had been fighting the urge to walk back to king Cassius and attack Acrod, but she knew that they had more pressing issues. She never thought there would come a time, when her vengeance on behalf of her people would take an indefinite back seat.
However, they had long been tasked with taking care of the young Wynter, and the longer he was out of their sight, the higher the chance was that Alanor Gideon Wynter had done something that the whole realm would frown upon.
"I'm doing okay. I think I'll accept the truce between the vamps and the wolves. If I'm going to go to war for Alanor, I can't be distracted. We all know what happened the last time, and that could be really dangerous.
"Besides, saving Heide is our priority right now," Zelina said, shocking his mate and Grant. They hadn't expected that the stubborn vampire leader would ever consider a truce between their communities.
Barely a month ago, Zelina was more than willing to burn King Cassius on this throne for being a stupid king, and now she wanted a truce with the same stupid king? Was she okay? Of course, she wasn't. None of them were, but such were the things they would have to go through for now.
"Are you sure you're okay? A truce is permanent, you know?" Grant said, like he was trying to remind Zelina of an ideal she had been considering for a while now. There were sacrifices to be made, and the fucking truce, was just one of the many shocks they would have to get used to.
"Well, it's permanent but with a timeline. If the rogues won't attack my people, then we won't have a reason to burn them all down now, would we?" Zelina said nonchalantly like it was the most normal thing.
For her to come to this decision, it had to mean that she had been thinking about it for a while, even before the wolves had gone into the forest. And that made Ulrike worry for his mate.
Zelina Navali never just gave in. She was known for exploring all the other plans, because she always had backups of backup plans. She never went to war with just one card, and this got Ulrike's attention, but maybe he would ask her later, but until then they needed to be ready.
What the hell happened to her then?
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Ulrike asked again, while he looked at Grant, almost like this wasn't even a conversation about the wolves and the hounds or even the vampires anymore, and Zelina just sighed.
Besides, what else could she do anyway?
She loved Alanor and right now, the young Wynter needed her more than her vampires did.
"We're running out of time Ulrike. We need to hurry and prevent an apocalypse. Alanor will regret it if anything happens to Heide because of him, and he will most probably go full-blown on Udrad, probably the midlands too.
"While that may be appealing, I don't want him to be a monster," Zelina said and Ulrike understood her. At the end of the day, they all wanted what was best for Alanor.
"I'm assuming that by now you already sent a raven to Acrod, right?" Ulrike asked and Zelins nodded.
She was painstakingly ready for the battle they were about to deal with, and Ulrike wished that there was some better world, where they didn't have to fight, but they all knew that as long as Edison sat on the Udrad throne, peace was just going to be an illusion with intervals.
They would never really get it, no matter what happened.
"Yeah, Cassius probably has questions, but if he wants, I can always have a sit down with him in his goddamn throne room, once this is over," Zelina said before turning to her warriors, ready with her final message for them.
Ulrike had already assigned someone to take care of the hounds while he was gone, though he wasn't worried about dying, since he was a creature of magic. He had locked down the Southern forest, and made sure his people would be safe until he returned.
Cassius had definitely already locked down Acrod too, given that it was something he had been expecting for years, not to mention, the border between the humans and the supernaturals had long been closed when the rogues decided to take camp. So that wasn't an issue today.
"Vampire warriors of Asteta, the battle has ended, but the war is ongoing… The gates of Asteta must remain closed once I walk out. There are high chances, that I won't come back alive," Zelina said, and her warriors whimpered defeatedly.
She knew she was giving them the worst-case scenario, but in a situation like the one they were currently in, pity was a thing of the past. Life was precious and if Zelina was never coming back, her people had to be mentally prepared if it ever happened.
"As I was saying, if I never come back from the battle, Galea will be the vampire leader. Listen to him. I'm assigning him because he can take care of you. However in the case that the power gets to his head, let it be known that you all have a right to democratic votes.
"You have the right to pick a new leader. The people of Asteta will choose that, not just the warriors. Let it be known across Asteta, that I, Zelina Navali, allow you to implement the Vampire constitution in such a case.
"I have confidence in Galea though, so listen to him. Our borders MUST remain closed, remember that. Until then, I have to take my leave, my beautiful Asteta. Until we meet again," Zelina said before she bowed formally to her people, who also bowed to her.
She loved them and they loved her in more than one way.
The vamps were worried for their leader but they knew she wasn't a woman ruled by emotions. If she really said the midlands were in grave danger, then that was just about it all. They trusted her so much.
"May the goddess be on your side, leader Zelina, and may you come back to us. We will pray for your safe return, and we will hope to see you again," Galea chanted alongside the warrior and the civilians who were still on the battlegrounds.
And with that, Zelina, Ulrike, and Grant, made their way out of Asteta, the loud sound of the Asteta gates closing, reminding them that this was possibly the beginning of the end, even though this right here was truly the end of the beginning.
The introductions had been done, the warriors readied, the allies and enemies had been listed, and right now, it was time for the first chapter of the great war in the Midlands.
The war of the House Wynter.