Chapter 160: The War Part I

Chapter 160: The War Part I
Lucy’s POV
I watched the ladies settle into their short naps, though “nap” was too generous a word for the restless shifting happening around me. It was already well past midnight when the meeting finally ended, leaving us with barely two hours to close our eyes. The night felt unnaturally heavy, as if the very air knew war was breathing down our necks.
Our camps had been divided—male warriors on one side, female warriors on the other. A simple, practical arrangement that allowed us to change into our warfare gear without worrying about any unexpected encounters. The tents were dimly lit, shadows moving like restless ghosts along the fabric walls.
But sleep?
Sleep refused to come anywhere near me.
I lay on my mat, staring at the canvas ceiling, replaying every detail of the meeting. Something had been off. I could swear that Pontione, Kenneth, and Mayi were deliberately holding back information. It wasn’t obvious, but when you’ve lived through trauma, you learn to detect the subtle hesitations, the almost-unnoticeable glances exchanged between people who know more than they are willing to share.
I considered asking Kenneth—my mind playing with the idea like a cat teasing a mouse—but I had looked at his face as we left the meeting. The weariness lining his features had held a depth I had rarely ever seen on him. He needed rest. I needed him sharp, focused. I didn’t want a tired partner beside me in battle, not for what was coming.
An hour passed. My mind drifted in chaotic circles.
Then his voice slid into my thoughts like warm gold.
“Why aren’t you asleep, babes?”
Kenneth’s tone was soft, threaded with amusement and exhaustion.
“Probably for the same reason you aren’t,” I murmured.
He chuckled—deep, low, familiar.
“I knew you wouldn’t sleep, love. I couldn’t either.”
A pause.
“I can’t get comfortable until that imposter King and his entire family are punished.”
Before I could answer, Lira pushed forward gently, her presence blooming in my mind like heat through cold water.
‘Kenneth… have you considered the possibility that maybe his family isn’t involved at all?’
Kenneth blinked, startled.
“What do you mean, Lira?”
Zeus answered before she could.
‘Mate is right,’ he said, his voice a deep rumble laced with certainty.
‘His mate and his children are completely clueless about how he really became king. They genuinely believe he won the challenge. He hides every dark thing he does—even from them. They don’t know his true identity.’
I sat up sharply, my breath catching. All desire for sleep vanished.
The idea that he lived with them, laughed with them, fathered them—while cloaked in lies—made bile rise in my throat.
“What kind of a person is this guy?”
Kenneth and I said at the same time.
It was almost absurd that we managed to sound synchronized even in horror.
Clearly, Donald was worse than anything we’d imagined—worse than a coward, worse than a tyrant. He was… monstrous.
We talked in our mind links, filling the quiet with determination instead of fear, until Kenneth finally nudged.
“Love, it’s time. Wake the others.”
I inhaled deeply, steeling myself.
The three Queens—Lisa, Sharon, and Aunt Margaret—had been stationed near the palace along with Lance, Turner, an Eastern commander, and three lions from Badosa. Their job was to secure the palace civilians. Anyone seeing those women would assume they were soft, delicate queens accustomed to manicures and gowns. Anyone thinking that would die fast. These were warriors dressed as royalty.
After getting into our gear, we began our trek toward the palace. The air was unforgiving—cold, sharp, metallic. By the time we reached the territory, it was already 3:30 a.m.
We expected the Northern army to be prepared.
We expected tension.
We expected resistance.
What we didn’t expect… was silence.
Only a few guards patrolled the grounds. The territory felt abandoned, as if the Northerners believed we’d attack next month rather than now.
My heart nearly fled my chest when the guys suddenly released a thunderous war cry.
Pontione, Paige Senior, Barot, and Kenneth shifted into their lions in an explosion of fur and glowing power.
Their roars…
Their roars weren’t normal.
They were seismic.
Ground-deep.
Anguish-laced and terror-breeding.
The earth trembled beneath my boots. Birds exploded out of the trees. Even the wind seemed to recoil.
If there had been corpses buried six feet underground, even they might have stirred at the sound.
Were the Northerners ready for this?
I doubted it.
The roars shattered the quiet. Suddenly, feet pounded across the territory as Northerners scrambled in panic. They had clearly never heard true Kings roar—not Kings with ancient blood, divine power, and reincarnated spirits running through their veins.
Donald, paranoid as he was, would never have trained ordinary civilians. He wouldn’t risk empowering people who could one day turn against him. He only trained the army he controlled tightly.
Which made them predictable.
Which made them weak.
We knew his weakness—his family.
And he knew that we knew.
The group assigned to storm the castle itself would arrive thirty minutes after us, securing the innocent civilians and removing them from the battlefield. Queen Lisa. Queen Sharon. Aunt Margaret. A deceptively soft-looking trio capable of tearing through an entire army if necessary.
The war cry triggered chaos instantly. Northerners ran in frantic clusters toward the eastern side of the territory.
Kenneth glanced at me, smirking.
That smirk…
It meant one thing.
Trap.
I returned a wicked smile.
These fools think we’re stupid enough to follow them blindly.
Our troops waited—disciplined, calm—awaiting our signal. They’d been briefed long before we left camp.
Kenneth and I shifted, giving Lira and Zeus the reins. The moment their paws hit the earth, excitement flared around us. They lived for this. It was as if their entire existence had led to this single moment.
We leapt forward, leading the troops as the night ripped past us in streaks of wind and shadow.
We already knew where the Northerners were trying to lead us.
Lira’s vision sharpened with supernatural clarity. Zeus’s did too. Their senses merged—whatever Lira saw, Zeus saw. Whatever Zeus detected, Lira processed instantly.
Patricia’s father had made a critical mistake.
He had placed the landmines in patterns predictable enough for connected minds to decode. Desperation makes even the cunning careless.
I sat back in Lira’s consciousness, letting her take over. I watched through her eyes, almost like sitting in a cinema watching a scene unfold, except the smell of earth and danger was real.
Zeus’ voice echoed through the mindlink, thick with command.
‘Follow our tracks. Do not deviate. Three feet to Lira’s left and three feet to my right are death zones.’
Warriors adjusted immediately, falling into disciplined formation.
We moved slowly—not out of fear, but precision. One wrong step would cost limbs, possibly lives.
I wished—desperately—that we could simply detonate everything at once and be done.
Lira chuckled in my mind.
‘You do know there is no limit to your abilities, right? Why do you think the goddess granted you elemental control?’
My eyes widened.
A spark—no, a blaze—ignited in my chest.
She was right.
‘Zeus! Give Ken control of your mind. I need to ask him something.’