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April stared at the gaping hole by the entrance of the Ice Capital. It was at least ten fairies across—big enough to transport the artillery inside. She needed at least half of the troops with her to capture more floors.
Initially, she didn't think the Sovereign's newly developed weapons could crack the ice, let alone penetrate walls made of purely that. Kymalin had fired the signal meaning the banshee had succeeded in luring most of the ice sprite army out. As agreed, April would give the banshee at least five minutes to clear the area of her men. Then, she would rain hell.
They ensured that there was no one in Diven. That's what April had been doing the past few days. She figured that if Kymalin and Marin would spend days warring down below, then she could at least evacuate the people that would probably get caught in the fire zone.
She and a part of the Sovereign's army that weren't out in Carleon stood on the plains of Diven, now barren and quiet with no people around. The platoon did good work in setting the artillery up since April couldn't figure out the entire calculations involved in making sure the bullets would hit where she intended it.
When she did give the order to fire, she wasn't prepared for the booming sound it emitted. Even now, as she stared at the seemingly endless chute that glared at her, her ears still rang with the residue of the explosion. It's like her ears could start bleeding any time later. She shook her head. That's not her problem now.
Kymalin stepped out of the shadows a few distance from April, took one look at the hole, and whistled. "You think someone is alive after that?" she asked.
April's head swam at the notion but she pursed her lips to make sure she was frowning and not grimacing. "They better be. Otherwise, we'd have nothing to show the Heiress and the Sovereign. Work on getting the Virtakios and I will work on getting June out of there."
Kymalin grinned as April pushed past the banshee. "Don't think about it too much," Kymalin advised.
April turned to regard the banshee's words. "What do you mean?"
"The killing. The carnage. The lives lost," Kymalin's nonchalant grin began to irk April. "Don't think about them especially during battle. They will only slow you down. Focus on your goal and get out as fast as you can. Inflict the most damage on the enemy and get out."
As much as Kymalin annoyed April, she had to admit that the banshee had a point. Tons, in fact. April gave Kymalin a brief nod. That's as much as an acknowledgement from her that Kymalin was going to get.
Her knees shook when she stepped forward. It took all in her to continue walking. She couldn't succumb to that feeling. Never. Whatever was swirling in her gut and what was pounding in her head were nothing. If she couldn't handle the sight of a few deaths, how would she be able to handle being High Queen?
Even her mother, Nevrin, had to use June to kill her enemies. She used her own son to assassinate everyone who contradicts her rule. If April were to rise above the previous High Queen's reign, if April wanted to fix this island, she would have to be tougher than that. She would have to call for sacrifice more than her mother did.
