Not far from the castle, they found King Inari and his force waiting for Vladek’s to arrive. This worked even better for Leogane’s force because they could tackle Inari and his men before Vladek’s reinforcements reached them.

  It didn’t take long before Leogane and his men were battling Inari and his warriors. Artur saw Leogane going after Inari. Artur joined him so he could fight anyone who tried to attack his king.

  The men from both sides were fighting each other to the death. Even though Leogane’s force was larger, they knew at anytime Vladek and his men could arrive. Then what? They would be fresh in battle to fight them.

  Artur was fighting two knights at once, wondering why it seemed everyone was ganging up on him when Leogane’s side had the superior number, not Inari’s men. Artur finally got the upper hand with one of the men, and the knight fell to his knees, then collapsed. The other man jumped in to take his place, but at least for Artur it was only the one this time.

  They fought, swords clashing, sweat beading on Artur’s forehead underneath his helm. He continued to fight just as aggressively as his foes, parrying, lunging forward, striking sword against sword, sword against shield, until he finally managed to get the advantage of the man. He killed the knight and then looked around at the battlefield, all the knights fighting in earnest, each one trying to protect himself and take down his enemy first.

  Some of Inari’s men had rushed forth to protect their king, and now Leogane was fighting some of those men. Artur and Jeremka hurried to assist him, and Leogane was grateful for that. But then they heard the charge of Vladek and his men and knew that they had raced to join Inari’s men and fight against Leogane’s, most likely hearing the battle from afar.

  Both Leogane and Inari had lost a few men either to injuries or death and all of them had been fighting for the entire time. With the insurgence of the new forces, they could have the advantage. On the one hand, Artur wished that Rina was here with him, fighting side by side. On the other hand, he was glad she was safely back at the castle recuperating.

  He was fighting some of Vladek’s men now too when he saw a figure suddenly appear beside him. He turned to look to make sure it wasn’t one of his foe. Rina? What the—?

  Rina, her one arm bandaged, sword in her hand, swung it at one of Vladek’s knights and then she took him down and saw Mirabella’s uncle, but Leogane was fighting him again.

  Rina might have been injured, but she fought like any knight who hadn’t been injured, with ferocity and determination to take down the enemy. She was a warrior elf who was just as skilled at fighting as Dracolin, though her cousin glanced in her direction and scowled at her for being there.

  She shouldn’t have been there, but Artur understood why she was. She was a fighter and she felt she needed to help their side.

  She killed another of Vladek’s men, bumped into Artur’s hip once, but when he had a chance to look at her again, she had vanished. He glanced at the ground, afraid she’d fallen, but she wasn’t on the ground. Where had she gone to now?

  That’s when he looked around the battlefield and saw Vladek fighting Jeremka and the next thing he saw was Rina thrusting her sword at Vladek also.

  Goddess, Artur had to get over there now. He fought through the crowd of men, seeing Jeremka turn to fight another Inari knight at his back. Another of Vladek’s knights struck at Artur.

  Now Rina was fighting Vladek on her own. Dracolin dispensed with the knight Artur was fighting. That gave Artur the chance to move in Rina’s direction again. She was tenacious. He’d give her that.

  Then he saw the three dragons moving in overhead. Everyone was so busy fighting, no one saw the dragons until they began grabbing Inari’s or Vladek’s men with their long talons and carrying them off, reducing their knights’ numbers. Artur was getting closer to Rina when she fell. His heart practically gave out as he rushed past knights attempting to engage him. All he saw was Rina on the ground, trying to defend herself from the brutal attacks of Vladek, a much larger, muscular man. She couldn’t camouflage herself with the ground because he was striking at her incessantly.

  As soon as Artur reached Vladek, he struck at him, forcing him to fight him until Rina could get to her feet. She finally slowly stood, looking worn out while he was fighting Vladek. Artur realized his own shoulder was bleeding. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but he wasn’t stopping the fight between him and Vladek if he could help it. Rina cut Vladek in the arm and with the distraction, Artur thrust his sword into the count’s chest a moment later. Vladek’s eyes were wide, then he fell on his face to the ground.

  Rina checked his pulse. “He’s dead.” She frowned. “You’re hurt.” She hurried to get something out of her pack and wrapped his shoulder.

  For a few minutes, the fighting continued until some of Vladek’s knights saw that the count was no longer leading them. Some of his elvish knights began to break off from the fighting and tore away from the battlefield. It appeared this was Vladek’s fight alone, not theirs. Artur wanted to cheer, but he glanced around to see what was going on with Inari. He was dead, Leogane standing over his body and the fighting finally stopped.

  The rest of Vladek’s men immediately took off. The rest of Inari’s men were taken into custody. They would either serve Mirabella and Leogane, or they would die. They couldn’t have elvish knights in their camp who were still their enemy and would want to kill Leogane and his men.

  Leogane’s people cheered in victory, but then began gathering their injured and dead.

  Because Inari had murdered Mirabella’s father and stolen the crown, he would not be returned to the Black Hill’s kingdom for a formal burial but buried here where he had fallen. They would leave no tombstone over his grave. He didn’t deserve any more than that. Inari’s knights would dig the trenches for their fallen and for Vladek and Vladek’s dead also, since their own people had left them behind to save their own skins.

  Artur pulled Rina into his arms and held her tight. “Are you all right?”

  “Aye. But you’ve been wounded also.”

  He didn’t bother to mention she shouldn’t have been out there to fight when she was still healing from her wound. He didn’t need to. Dracolin was right there, coming to their aid, or to scold his cousin.

  “I would ask what you’re doing here, but it’s of no use,” Dracolin said to Rina, almost as if he were scolding her, but he sounded like he was more resigned to it than annoyed.

  Artur smiled at the two of them.

  “You needed my help,” Rina instantly said.

  Dracolin called to a man who brought her a horse. Artur helped her onto it. “Aye, always.” Artur found his horse and climbed onto it.

  “I’m going back with you,” Dracolin said, another man bringing him a horse.

  They didn’t need Dracolin’s assistance in burying bodies or safeguarding prisoners. He had only been there to help them fight. Artur figured Dracolin was also making sure his cousin returned safely to the castle.

  Jeremka stayed to help Leogane monitor things there since Artur had been injured and needed medical care.

  They rode toward Castle Grande and Rina was gritting her teeth, keeping her injured arm close to her body. Artur saw blood on the bandages on her arm and hoped she hadn’t been cut again. Even reopening the wound could be bad.

  The dragons were carrying Leogane’s wounded men back to the castle so they would receive medical care more quickly.

  As soon as they arrived at the castle, Princess Mirabella, Callie, and Persephonice were there helping others to take care of the injured. Mirabella immediately came to Artur and Rina’s aid.

  “King Leogane is fine. He’s uninjured,” Artur said, knowing she’d want to learn of that first.

  “Oh, good. Jeremka?” Mirabella asked.

  “Aye, he’s fine,” Artur said.

  Callie looked immensely relieved.

  Mirabella ushered them into the castle as if she had quickly learned how to take charge of situations and he loved seeing that. She wasn’t a spoiled princess at all.

  She took them to the sitting room and a healer soon came into the room carrying herbs and supplies. She cleaned their wounds and wrapped them in bandages as Mirabella helped her and learned how to properly take care of the injured.

  “What about my uncle?” Mirabella finally asked.

  “He is dead,” Leogane said, coming into the room and taking her into his arms and hugging her.

  Tears filled her eyes.

  “I would have taken him prisoner and made him stand trial, but he wasn’t going to allow it. It was either kill me or die so we ended up fighting to the death,” Leogane said.

  “I’m glad he’s gone. He deserved as much for what he did to my father and my people. Now what do we do?” Mirabella asked.

  Leogane kissed her. “Now you become queen in his place, and you’ll be queen here.”

  Mirabella smiled through her tears. “And you’ll rule beside me as king.”

  “Aye. We’ll put Erlig in charge here while we make the transition with your people and make sure they know who rules,” Leogane said.

  She nodded.

  Then Leogane glanced at Artur and Rina. “Thanks to both of you for aiding us when we truly needed the assistance.”

  “Aye,” Artur said, “as it should have been for me, but Rina—”

  “Was needed also,” she quickly said.

  Mirabella smiled at her. “Once Darksmoke brought you back and we made sure you had returned to bed, we didn’t think we’d have to post a guard to keep you there.”

  Rina shook her head. “I would have found a way to slip out.”

  “Through the window. Aye. Now will you be returning home?” Mirabella asked.

  Dracolin walked into the room and said, “Aye.”

  “Nay. I mean, certainly, but only after I have enjoyed a feast. I keep missing out on them,” Rina said.

  They laughed.

  “We will have one in the morning after you and the remainder of our party have rested up,” Leogane said.

  “What of that horrible woman at Mayden Castle. Phiri?” Rina asked. “And the guards there?”

  “They will all be fired. They will have to make their way in the world. I don’t intend to give them a chance to prove their loyalty to me like I will Justina.” Mirabella smiled at Rina.

  “Good,” Rina said.

  Artur was glad for that, and he realized Mirabella had the fortitude to make decisions like a queen would do.

  Dracolin cleared his throat. “I meant to tell you that another langolar arrived near where Persephonice was left by the cliffs along the ocean. Word reached us before we returned home from our own mission, and then we had to come searching for you. We don’t know any more than that.”

  “She has come to take her home?” Rina asked, sounding shocked and ready to defend her.

  Persephonice joined them in the sitting room. “Are you all right, Rina? You weren’t supposed to slip away like you did.”

  “I’m fine. What of this langolar that has come to our lands? Is she going to try to convince you to return to your ship and your father?” Rina asked.

  “Nay, Persephonice stays with the shadow elves. With me.” Dracolin folded his arms.

  “Aye, I would never leave here. They say the langolar is a male this time. He disappeared, once the blue elves had spied him and the word spread to us that another of my kind had been left in the elves’ world. Maybe the blue elves have taken him prisoner.” Persephonice shrugged. “We don’t know anything more about it than that. He may be someone I know, but we don’t know his name.”

  Artur looked at Rina. She smiled at him. He wanted to growl. She had already said she might be interested in a male of Persephonice’s kind.

  “We will leave after the feast tomorrow then,” Dracolin said, giving Rina a stern look, telling her she wasn’t delaying returning home with them any longer.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t want to worry my family.”

  “Now you say so,” Dracolin said.

  “I’m going with her,” Artur said, then realized he should have at least asked his king’s permission! “To make sure that her family understands that she was very much needed to help with the princess’s safety and further take down the druids, dark arts knights, Vladek, Inari, and their men.”

  Dracolin could tell her parents about a lot of what had gone on, though Artur had been there with her every step of the way.

  Everyone was smiling.

  “With your permission, of course, Your Grace,” Artur quickly said to King Leogane.

  “I would have suggested it if you had not offered,” the king said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “We will have to visit your land one of these days,” Mirabella said. “Oh, and I told you I would pay for your services, Rina, once I had rule of my castle and the treasury.”

  “As did I,” Leogane said.

  Rina let out her breath and smiled. “Good. That should make everyone happy when I return after a job well done, money besides, and enough even to pay the shadow elf king’s taxes.”

  The next day after resting up, they feasted to their hearts’ content in the great hall, and it was finally time for Rina and her family to return home, accompanied by one determined knightly champion, Artur.

  “You know you could be one of us,” Artur said to Rina, riding beside her on their horses while Dracolin and Persephonice soared up above, watching for any signs of any other kind of trouble. “A champion serving King Leogane and his queen.”

  Two more dragons—the one called Darksmoke and the others—were flying nearby them. Artur and Rina could have ridden a dragon also, but she wouldn’t leave Midnight behind, and Artur wouldn’t leave his horse, Windstorm, behind either.

  “You could be one of us. A warrior elf who is much needed all over.” Rina turned to smile at him.

  Artur had made this trip with thinking of doing just that, but he’d had to propose she could be in Leogane’s forces also, in case she preferred that. He didn’t have any living family, but she had her family who would most likely miss her too much and she the same with them if she moved far from home.

  That night, they camped under the stars with three dragons surrounding them. The dragons had even caught fish for all of them, though they’d eaten theirs raw. Over the campfire, Dracolin and Rina cooked the rest of the catch for the elves to eat.

  Once the meal was cooked, they ate their fish and their bread, and drank their mead.

  “Expect Rina’s father to ask a ton of questions of you when we arrive at the shadow elf kingdom,” Dracolin warned Artur. “He would in general because they tend to rehash missions with the whole family to see what they’ve learned from the experience. But since you’ve come with us, he’ll want your perspective on what went on.”

  “I’ll be happy to fill him in on everything,” Artur said, though he suspected her father would want to know why he had really gone there with them.

  Then they cleaned up afterward and set up tents to sleep in. Artur kept smiling at Rina, hoping she’d just forgo sleeping in her own tent and stay with him, but she only smiled back, knowing just what was on his mind and she wasn’t going for it.

  The next morning, they had breakfast of oats and honey, then headed out again. “We’ll get there late today,” Rina said.

  “It would be faster if we flew,” Dracolin added.

  “Aye, but I don’t want to send Midnight home alone. If my folks saw him, they would think the worst. That I was in trouble, and they’d come after me,” Rina said.

  “Of course.”

  Then they were on their way, stopping to give the horses and dragons breaks, getting lunch, then heading out again. At least they hadn’t had any trouble with any wildlife or hostile elves on the way.

  As soon as they reached the village and the castle grounds of the shadow elves, several elves came out to welcome Dracolin and the others in the party. The sun hadn’t faded yet and he was glad they had finally reached their destination.

  Dracolin and Persephonice probably always had a warriors’ welcome when they returned home because of the importance of the missions they went on. Several people were looking over Artur, the stranger in their midst. They were curious about him, and Rina quickly introduced him to everyone.

  Then a dark-haired, dark brown eyed man and woman joined them, both having Rina’s smile and slim build, both welcoming Rina home with hugs, then doing the same with Persephonice and Dracolin.

  “You brought her home wounded,” Rina’s dad said, frowning at Dracolin.

  “She was as safe as she could be under the circumstances.” Dracolin told them all about their adventures, except he left out the fact that Rina was supposed to be on bedrest in a chamber at Castle Grande and had slipped out to fight—twice.

  Rina’s father looked at Artur and she quickly introduced him to her parents. He knew her parents were so relieved to see her that she had forgotten to mention him right away.

  Her brother and sister soon joined them. They were just as dark haired as Rina, but both had dark brown eyes like their parents. Artur wondered how Rina had ended up with a green and a blue eye. They were remarkable and every time he looked at her, he would be lost in her gaze.

  Rina put her arm around him, in a way that said she wanted to be with him.

  “We were worried sick—” her mother said, clearing her throat when she saw how intimate Rina was with Artur.

  “I am here to explain why Rina was with us, aiding us,” Artur said.