Crowning Glory (In Bloom Book 2)

10: Into the War Zone

As we continued our trek, Silver asked one of the soldiers, "Who are the Iron Ones and the Silver Owls?"

The soldier replied with his animal-like language, but Silver could not comprehend it. Fortunately for us, Sebek stepped in to aid in translation.

Because of the metallic suits they wore, the Iron Ones referred to any humans who had inhabited a part of the Valley. They were from another country that chose a segment of the Valley to call their own territory and were slowly spreading. The Silver Owls were a group of rogues from the Iron Ones who specialized in illegal mining of magic gems and metal ore. Both the Silver Owls and Iron Ones alike had contributed to the clearing of forests, drainage of natural resources, and destruction of citizens' homes.

Lilia and his troops had been assigned the task of clearing out the foreign invaders, but they had been struggling. Whenever they progressed in pushing them back, more would come from elsewhere. Despite the fairies having the aid  of the witches, whether it was in the front lines or behind the scenes, the two groups combined were still severely outnumbered.

I remembered those details all too well from my history lessons. These were the early stages of the Human-Fae War. The four noble families would have already united under the Draconia's reign. They would begin the battle against the invaders for the next few years.

Though, for Grim, there was another thing he was much more interested in, "Sebek, you understood all that growling gibberish? How?"

"It's an old form of fairy language. I learned it from my mother and grandfather," he explained, "There's not many people in the Valley today who speak it."

"Father taught me as well," Silver said. "But, for some reason I could never retain it. It was so hard to distinguish the words."

I was already aware of the variances between fairy and human species, like the differences in lifespan and their altered perception of time. Apparently female fairies had the luxury of never experiencing a period either.

Though, I never realized how sharp a fairy's senses were until a few days after my transformation. Everything seemed...loud. Colors appeared brighter and crisper. Sounds and pitches which I had never come across as a human rang loud and clear. I could hear hushed conversations from several rooms away. Though, I no longer had a need to wear my reading glasses. Who would've thought I would need to be an entirely different species to correct my vision? The altered perception of time nearly made me late to class one time as well.

It was these heightened senses that allowed me to recognize the sickening aroma of metal and oil. Lilia stopped us. Silver Owls were up ahead.

My magic intertwined with the natural force around me. The tree's roots began to slither underneath the earth in our path's direction. I tried to focus solely on any vibrations they picked up to judge how many Silver Owls stood guard of their campsite. There were two of them.

Baul volunteered to drive them away himself, but General Vanrouge had another idea, "Lady Vitale, is true what is said about witches?"

"A lot if said about us. You'll need to be more specific."

"That a witch is a one-woman army."

I did not need further input to know where this conversation was headed. "What do you need me to do?"

"The guards will need to be dealt with. Quietly," he directed his next order to another pair of individuals, "Humans, be prepared for a surprise ambush. Don't miss a single one."

If I was going to attack a group of unsuspecting human men, my current clothing would not be the most appropriate. The skirt of my green dress lengthened and wrapped around my legs and became a pair of black pants. My heels lowered in their height to turn into a more comfortable pair of knee-high boots. The enchanted sword Lilia gifted me for my birthday had shrunk itself to the size of a dagger and was strapped to my thigh. A white chemise top and a floral-patterned corset replaced the bodice. My hair was braided into two tight segments before coming together into a bun. It would remain out of my face and my opponent wouldn't be able to yank it.