Noble floated over the city, searching for any sign of Counsel or Kosi.
She tried not to worry about Sarai or Nickel.
'The others will have to take care of themselves for now while we gather the forces and prepare for what was coming.' Noble told herself.
"Get North! Those who can, prepare to fight. Those who cannot, seek shelter by the north wall."
The Queen would do what she could to keep the battle away from that area. It would be even better if they could get out of the city, but funneling so many out of a narrow place would be creating a choke point for the corrupted abominations to exploit.
There was another problem. Getting the civilians out in the countryside would leave the women and children unprotected.
Noble glanced northward toward the mountains. The sky was becoming even more clouded with monsters. Helpless humans out in the open would be too tempting of a target for corrupted creatures to resist. It was better for them to remain hidden.
But where?
Not underground. The earth was ready to burst.
'Stuck between a rock and a hard place...Nothing new.'
With death coming both from above and below, the only thing to do was fight.
'And survive.'
The first was easy enough, but the second would prove more challenging.
In the end, it would all be worth it if she could feel Fort's arms wrap around her one more time. The thought of her husband invigorated Noble.
"Get North!" She repeated her plea to fight or take shelter.
'I can't find him!' Nickel's frustrated voice blasted into her head as she passed above the palace. 'I've cleared out most of the palace staff and a handful of the lingering nobility, but that idiot and your feline friend are not here.'
'I cannot find them either. Either Counsel is no longer in the city or he is evading us…' Noble furrowed her brow as her eyes swirled.
She had sensed Counsel's emotions almost constantly for the past couple of months. Though she couldn't say the exact moment they left her consciousness, she could feel the absence of them keenly right now.
Where was he?
'Have you seen General Theo?' Noble asked through her Memory.
'Last time I slipped by him, he was dividing his forces between the search and the city's defenses. He was having to make some difficult decisions. I don't think anyone knows exactly how to prepare.' Nickel's voice trailed off.
'You have a suggestion?' Noble could hear his hesitation.
Nic countered her question with one of his own. 'Is the Tyrant coming for sure?'
It had been many minutes since the last time Noble had searched the horizon. She shifted her gaze and let her Ability rest for a moment.
From the mountains, the horde was growing dangerously near. In their midst, a dark shape hid nearly unseen. But Noble knew it was there. It made her shiver.
'He is with them,' she confirmed.
'Then we should just fight him. If we defeat him, then we no longer have to worry about the Heart.' Nickel stated.
The floating woman felt herself fall a few meters through the air before catching herself. 'But without the Heart, we have no way of controlling where the Tyrant will go, or what he will do—'
'We don't know what having the Heart would or would not have done. It's your call, but I think we need to move on...'
Sadly, what Nickel said made sense. They were wasting time with no results. Precious seconds were being wasted.
Noble sighed.
'Go join Theo and apprise him of what we know about what is coming. All of it. I will do one more sweep to warn people and pick up Sarai. Then I will join you.'
Nickel grunted. 'See you soon, Noble...'
The final turn around the city was brief. Most people had either gotten the message or decided to ignore it. There was no real need to address either group.
Finding Sarai, Noble came beside her to offer her another ride.
"You can fly faster without me," Sarai rejected the chance to take to the air. "I'll be there soon enough."
"But…" Noble looked at the cracked ground with unease.
The redhead flicked her hand dismissively as she ran. "Go! Be Queen!"
Reluctantly, Noble left her friend behind to continue the run toward the palace.
She rose to get a look at the city-kingdom. There were preparations of all kinds happening. The military was forming into ranks while scared civilians sought to shore up any shelter they could find in the northern part of town.
Suddenly Noble's eyes stopped swirling as something caught her attention.
"Kosi!" Noble smiled. In the distance, the golden creature was bounding down from Crestfall's north wall and racing toward the palace.
Her happiness turned to confusion. On his back, a figure rode like a knight in shining armor.
The polished metal reflected the sun even through the quickly forming gloom. His sword was in the air as he bolstered those around him. He paused briefly before a ragtag group to give instructions and then continued on his way.
As Counsel finally came within her range, she could feel his emotional signature.
He felt...triumphant!
'Nickel, I found them. They are coming toward you.'
Diving, Noble flew to intercept the pair as they reached the palace entrance.
Counsel must have seen her coming because he had already dismounted before Noble was able to land beside him.
"Your Majesty, I have done it!" he beamed as he bowed. "And I am so glad you are here to witness it!"
Confused by his words and excitement, Noble furrowed her brow. "Where have you been? And what have you done?!"
The words spat out like an accusation.
Confused, Kosi tilted his head, backing away from Counsel to stand behind the Queen. He didn't want any part of a disagreement between friends.
Counsel's ecstasy dampened for a moment. He clasped his hands in front of him.
"What have I done? I have been enacting our plan. I told you I would make myself indispensable, and I have. Together we can rule! After today, there will be no need for your aunt or anyone else to help us run this nation. We can do whatever we want."
"We?" Noble blinked. She could feel a resurgence of his strong feeling towards her. This time he made no effort to hide them.
Oblivious to her concern, the blond man smiled brightly. "Yes, we, my love! I have followed your messenger around. He is a fraud— merely a low-level criminal that you had the compassion to free. Which means there is no man who has your heart. You can drop the act. You already had my affection, there was no reason to make me jealous! I know now is not the best marriage proposal, but I will do better once this is all over."
"You found the Heart and broke the barrier..." Noble changed the subject. The current line of thought wasn't giving her anything but a queasy stomach.
"I know! I have solved all our problems," the man beamed.
"Was Pen one of those problems?!" The floating Awakened's eyes misted as she remembered the poor servant's face.
"Pen was a solution. I told her we needed to get a hold of one of the sets of bracelets and she found a way to make that happen. I didn't mean for her to die!" Counsel defended himself.
His emotions spiked. It was a lie or at least a partial one. Counsel didn't have access to the books that told Noble not to touch the ball, but he must have known the action was dangerous, or he would have done it himself.
"You used her!" Noble felt like retching.
'It is my fault!'
Hadn't Noble pushed them together to remove Counsel's affection from herself?
And he had taken that misplaced love and used it to his advantage...
"Pen gave her life to a great cause. We will make sure to give her a heroine's funeral." The handsome soldier dipped his head. "What do you think, Brenna, should we name our first child after her?"
"Counsel, you have gotten ahead of yourself!" Noble's cheeks flamed.
The man frowned.
"At least call me by my name! You have hidden behind titles for too long, my love. Have you forgotten?"
Noble gritted her teeth.
"I have not forgotten."
Noble had only figured it out that morning. Even now she didn't believe it. Her face darkened.
"You're Ender."