Chapter 170

**LUCINDA POV**

I leave Yen in the garden with her youngest daughter and go in search of Dieter, a guard had come to tell me that he has requested my presence in his office. Which he does not do often, and it can only mean that an argument is sure to follow me arriving there.

We've been arguing a lot over the past few years, mainly about our daughter Cay, he does not agree with me on anything regarding her life, and never has.

I know that it is because he wants what is best for her, but he hasn’t taken into consideration what she wants to do with her life. It is her life to lead and no one elses. She should be allowed to make her own decisions, no matter what they lead to.

It is our job as her parents to guide her through, not stop her from living. And yet, Dieter does not agree, above all else, he wanted her to be Queen. He named her his heir to show the women of this kingdom that anything is possible for them, and they can reach any goal that they desire.

But things change, and long ago, Cay decided that being Queen was not the path she wanted to take in life. She'd much rather be closer to the people, as i did in my younger days.

I enter the office without knocking and sit at the chair opposite Dieter’s, my husband head bent as he reads a letter he has been sent.

I wait, and i wait, but he does not acknowledge my presence.

“You called for me, did you not?” i ask, losing my patience. “Do not sit there and pretend i am not right in front of you.”

He places the letter down and looks at me, the anger radiating from him in waves, “Did you give Cay your consent for her to leave this castle?”

I nod, crossing my arms, “I did.”

“Do you have any idea what you have done?” he asks, leaning forward in his chair as he slams his fists down on the desk, “Do you?!”

“I gave her the freedom to choose, something that you have refused to give her time and time again.” I say, standing from my seat as my own temper flames, smoke oozing from my nostrils. “I wouldn’t have had to go behind your back if you would have listened to what she wanted!”

“I refused to let her go because it is too dangerous!” Dieter shouts, throwing important papers across the room. “In case you have forgotten, we are at war!”

“Of course i haven’t forgotten, but Cay is going nowhere near the fighting!” i snap back, “She has gone west, not south.”

Dieter shakes his head, “She has used you for a fool.”

I growl, crossing my arms, “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Dieter looks across the desk at me, his eyes pained, “The thick of the fighting is in the west, Lucinda, the shape shifters have already taken most of the southern towns, we had to retreat.”

I pale, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach, “We have to send someone to bring her back.” I say, anxiety rising.

I cannot lose my daughter, she is the only one i will ever have, i can no longer bare heirs. My womb can no longer grow children. I am barren. She is my eldest, and i care for her in a way that i can never hope to describe. She is the very air that i breathe.

I just wanted her to follow her dreams, and live the life that she wished for, i did not want to send her to her death.

“Is there nothing we can do?” i ask, hoping that he will give me even the slightest glimpse of hope.

Dieter shakes his head, “I can send some men to intercept the shifters, and try to distract them, but there is no guarantee that she will be able to make it past them.” he flops back in his chair, “We could be lucky, the gates of the town may hold long enough for our men to arrive, but again, there is no guarantee she will make it out alive.”

“We have to try.” I say, leaning on the desk, “We cannot just leave her there to die.”

Dieter looks at me, tears in his eyes, “Do you not think that if there was even the slightest chance of getting her back i would take it?”

I flop down in my seat, staring at the ceiling, “What has she done.” I murmur, mainly to myself.

Cay has always been strong headed, she takes after her father, and I. but i never in my wildest dreams believed that she would do something so reckless.

“What of Cay’s personal guard?” i ask, sitting straighter, “Could we send them?”

“They have already left the city, they snuck away under the cover of darkness, no one has been able to spot them since.” he looks defeated, he’s acting as though she is already lost.

She isn’t, she is not lost until she takes her final breath.

“Call my own personal guard and tell them to ready themselves for war.” I say, rising from my seat, “I will not sit here whilst my daughter is out there facing our enemies.”

Dieter scowls, “Then take mine also, but i must stay here to protect the city.”

I walk towards the door, knowing what i must do, “I’ll bring our daughter back, or i will die trying.”

The true war has only just begun, and i will not let my daughter die.

I will gladly take her place on the edge of a sword and join the great dragon mother in the sky for one last time.

Death is the beginning of eternal life.

It is not the end.

I have already been granted my place among the stars, i have lived enough, my daughter has barely tasted life.