The End of a Claim

*Geoffrey*

Boris tells me we are within a day and a half of Shadowmanor Castle when we meet a real force to stop us. Soldiers in three different liveries come up over a hill as we are marching through a valley. They are very angry, and we are in a bad position, not having the high ground.

“Why are there Longclaw and Warfang uniforms among them?” I ask Boris who, thus far, has kept me off the battlefield.

“I guess because they’re fighting with the Shadowglade forces,” he replies as though I’m stupid.

“If we’re liberating Shadowglade, why would the wolf shifters join forces with Shadowglade’s soldiers?” I ask, confused.

Boris looks at the armies bearing down on us, looks at me, then laughs. “Oh, boy, King Maximus said you’d be easy to manipulate, but you really are an idiot. We’re not ‘liberating’ anybody. We’re taking Shadowglade by force.”

My blood runs cold. “We’re the aggressors?” I gape.

He pats me on the shoulder. “Welcome to reality, Your Majesty. Shadowglade is actually well known as a shining example of peace and cooperation among races. We’re taking it because King Maximus wants it. And I think you’d better get on the right page because if you get caught, you’re a dead man.”

I look at the Shadowglade, Warfang, and Longclaw forces, then at our own, and do some simple mental math just as wolf shifters begin to infiltrate our front lines, tearing the tired lycans at the front apart. “We should surrender.”

Boris laughs again. “You do what you want. I’m going back to Rallegrad. Screw getting killed in Shadowglade.” He turns his horse and begins riding back the way we came, barking at my personal guards to follow him.

Or rather, they must be his personal guards because they leave me and go with him.

I ride forward as another volley of wolf shifters comes through the line, attacking deeper among our men. “Stop!” I yell. “Surrender!”

As usual, nobody listens to me. Instead, the Rallegrad army, seeing Boris has turned tail and run, start to do the same, rushing past me and back toward the villages we’ve burned.

I ride forward through them.

“King Geoffrey, you can’t! If they catch you, they’ll kill you!” one Rallegrad soldier in his human form says, grabbing my horse’s bridle. “Come back to Rallegrad with us.”

“There is nothing for me there,” I reply sadly. I reach into my side pouch and offer the soldier gold. “You’re a good man. Start a better life with this.”

The soldier looks at the gold, then takes it with shaking hands. “You would have been a good king, Your Majesty,” he tells me loyally before following the others.

Soon, it’s just me and the wounded and dying. I sit stiffly in my saddle, waiting for the armies to approach.

“These men need medical attention,” I call out as soon as I think someone in charge might be able to hear me.

“Surrender, and we’ll think about it,” a vampire shouts back.

I dismount my horse and go to my knees, putting my hands behind my head. “I surrender. These men need help.”

He rushes up. I note he is wearing Shadowglade livery, but now I can smell he is a half-breed, like me. Half-fae/half-vampire. But a half-breed, just the same.

“I am Llewellyn Ashbow,” he tells me as he looms over me on horseback. “Who are you? You wear the Shadowglade colors yet fight for Rallegrad.”

What I want to say is that I am an idiot. But I still have my pride. King Maximus gave that back to me. “I am Ki-Geoffrey Brodcraz,” I say.

He blinks at me. “Why didn’t you leave with the others?”

“Because I’m not a coward, and I know what I did was wrong,” I reply.

“No shit. Which part? The killing of the innocents, the burning of the crops, the pillaging of the villages?” he snaps.

I hang my head. “All of it.” I may not have given the orders, but I was in charge–allegedly.

“Then why did you do it? Scratch that. I don’t need to know. You’re just lucky we’re supposed to take you in alive,” he says. He nods to four soldiers around him who are on foot.

I don’t resist when they come forward and bind my hands behind me. “Please, look after my wounded?” I ask.

“Why the FUCK would I?” He takes a deep breath. “No. Percy would want us to. Oi! Get these men picked up and put in the wagons! Maybe we can get them back to Jerim at the castle before they kick the bucket.”

Much to my relief, Shadowglade, Longclaw, and Warfang troops come forward and begin picking up the lycans who still have a pulse. They put them carefully in several wagons.

“I should tie you up behind my horse and make you walk,” he says, glaring at me. “But you have concern for your men, and there’s some honor in that. Toss him in a wagon, too.”

The next thing I know, my feet are bound as well, and I’m lying next to bleeding Rallegrad troops.

“I’ll go back to Shadowmanor Castle with Geoffrey Brodcraz and the wounded,” he tells the others. “Orpheus, you’re in charge of the Hybridians. Play nice with General Friedric. We don’t want to piss off Warfang. Drive those Rallegrad troops into the dirt. They either surrender, or they’re dust. Understand? We’ve got orders to take Rallegrad.”

A loud war cry goes up from the Shadowglade, Longclaw, and Warfang troops, including much howling from the wolves. Then they all go chasing off after Boris and the retreating Rallegrad army while Llewellyn and a smaller force turn back toward Shadowmanor Castle.

The wagon isn’t exactly comfortable, especially when I’m bound hand and foot, but it’s better than being dragged behind Llewellyn’s horse, which I completely deserve.

He rides up next to the wagon, eyeing me. “Why did you attack Shadowglade?” he asks. “King Axel Brodcraz was very specific about who he wanted to lead his people. And that wasn’t you.”

“Sir,” I say quietly. “I think I’ve been lied to. King Maximus found me in the northern villages in Rallegrad. I didn’t know how to read or write. I ate scraps and begged for what little I got.” I shrug. “I am a half-breed.”

“Hybrid,” he corrects me. “Half-breed is very insulting.”

I nod. “Hybrid.” I roll the word around in my mouth. “King Maximus cleaned me up and put me in Shadowglade clothes and said I was supposed to be king. He told me that King Rafe Poe was a tyrant, and I needed to save my people from him. Only, I’m getting the impression that wasn’t true.”

“Not even a little bit, Geoffrey,” he says. “King Rafe Poe and Luna Queen Ainslee Bleiz-Poe are the best thing that ever happened to any kingdom anywhere. They are kind, fair, and even found room for a bunch of hybrids like us when we came up from Tormentia.”

“They sound like good people.” I crane my head to wipe a tear on my shoulder. “I’m sorry for everything. I had no idea what war was like. If I knew we’d be burning villages and killing innocents, I never would have left Rallegrad.”

“You didn’t order that, then?” he asks shrewdly.

“I believe I was supposed to think I was in charge, but Boris ran everything. I’m sorry. When I found out, I tried to get my army to surrender, but, well, it turns out they aren’t really my army.” I laugh bitterly. “I should have tried giving an order sooner. Then I wouldn’t have found out how stupid I’ve been so late in the game.” I shake my head. “Maybe I didn’t want to know.”

He nods. “I won’t say you were stupid, just lied to and uneducated. But I don’t get to determine your fate. There are a lot of people who are going to want you dead.”

“That’s all right. There are some things worse than death,” I reply softly.

“And you’ve probably experienced half of them because you were a hybrid living among lycans.” He sounds angry now. “I, for one, don't think you should have to answer for King Maximus’s crimes, and I’m going to tell them that when we get to the castle.”

“Did King Rafe get home?” I ask.

“Yes, he did, with Prince Drake,” he says.

I don’t know whether to be happy or angry. “He killed my sister.”

“Your sister kidnapped his son and told him she’d killed the young prince. I’d have done more than popped her head off,” he scoffs. “Not to mention all the other shit she’s pulled over the years.”

“She was still my sister,” I insist.

“Well, you have a better one,” he says. “Princess Sophia is a great lady. Rumor has it she’s going to marry Alpha King Karl Striker of Warfang one of these days.”

I am glad to hear about Sophia, but I can’t help but think about poor Riley. “King Rafe still killed my other sister. She was kind to me,” I respond.

He gives me a pitying glance. “Geoffrey, she was using you just as much as King Maximus was. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, knows that Princess Riley wanted the Shadowglade throne more than anything. First, she was going to marry King Rafe. Then, when that wasn’t going to happen, she killed her father. Your father.”

“Oh.” I am a hundred times a fool. “That’s… not good.”

“No.” He reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “I’m going to see if I can’t talk them out of executing you. You’re as much a victim as anyone.”

I hang my head again. “I don’t know about that.”