The Goblin's Throne

Chapter Sixty One: First Wave

The horde roared with rage and howled their call for blood. As the goblins cackled with delight, the Unseelie stomped their feet and sang a war song, calling all to rise, to pick up arms and begin marching. The white-winged Seelie, their enemy since time immemorial, sang with them, their voices mingling with the others, merging until there was no telling them apart. All of them dressed in dark goblin leather, their faces covered by helms molded from the skulls of the elves we'd hunted they all looked as monstrous as any nightmare Knut could conjure. 

My heartbeat pounded loudly in my head. I looked around us, trying to count our numbers, but even with all the schooling Knut had provided me, I could not count high enough, couldn't even begin to fathom how many bodies we had under our command. It was a thrilling thought, not just their numbers, but the fact that the Seelie and Unseelie soldiers were serving us by choice. Each willing to die for the cause we'd given them. Join us in our vengeance and take the peace you seek by force.

Slowly, the sea of bodies parted and our four generals and Bran made their way to the front. They, like all the rest, were dressed in dark leather, but their helms were shaped like our own, grimacing rat-like monsters, the metal gleaming gold on the Seelie and silver on Bran and Ib. Their wings were the only give away that they were not born as one of the so-called vermin. Together they joined in our army's songs, raising their weapons high towards the dark earth over our heads.

Their transformation was complete.

With a swipe of his hand through the air, Knut opened up a hole. In it, we could see the familiar white halls and pillars of the Seelie palace. We saw it from someone else's perspective. The images bobbed along with the person's steps and shifted with every turn of their heads. "According to our spies, as of ten minutes ago, both Titania and Lysander were in the palace." We watched as the person opened a door and peeked into Lysander's chamber. Lysander, the bane of my existence, was sleeping, sprawled out on his stomach on his bed as if he hadn't a care in the damn world. The images shifted again and we saw a different hallway from a lower perspective. They walked down the hallway, past Titania's chamber door. As they went by, wailing echoed through the Underground. The sound almost too terrible to believe it was coming from a living woman. 

She was already being torn apart by grief after the death of her firstborn. I chuckled to myself, feeling my insides flutter with delight at the sound of her heartbreak. "Now we just need to lure Lysander away to give us a clear shot at Titania and Daphne." 

"Ib, Herod, you're up first." Knut motioned them forward. "You two will go to Asphodel. Once the time is right, you'll receive a signal to withdraw and go to Hyacinth." Ib moved first, heeding Knut's command without a pause. Herod hesitated briefly. He lowered his head, looking down at the ground as his hands clenched at his sides.

Ib stopped and turned to look at him. "You can't save her now, Herod." He took Herod's hand. Herod flinched at the contact. His head snapped up and he looked at Ib with shining eyes. "I am sorry. I really am."

Herod swallowed. "As am I." His voice shook. I noticed tears drip from his black eyelashes. "Titania brought this all on herself. I know that as well as I know that this is the path I need to walk for myself as well as my people. Still...I mourn the sister I knew...I wish I could've made amends at the end at least, but that...was never to be." Their hands parted and Herod let his hand fall to the hilt of his sword. A bite came to his voice. "Let us get this done and over with." He strode forward, at last, joining Ib around Knut and me. Reaching up between them, Herod's fingers dug into a seam in reality and pulled open a doorway. He grunted with the effort, finding more resistance than before. He let go suddenly and the portal snapped shut. He staggered away, shaking his stinging fingers. "Lysander's strengthened their defenses a great deal." He huffed.