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~~ A WEEK LATER ~~

Despite being able to hide it, he was freezing.

Landon sat upright on his horse, his hazel eyes sparkling in the light of the rising sun as he watched the oncoming Southerners. In front of them was Ulysses with Audrey, Annalee, and Will.

Getting there had not been easy: they had been met with ferocious resistance while crossing through the South, but they had made it through. Most of the Southern army was busy defending the port cities from Asher's naval attacks, clearing a path for the Northern soldiers to Teravardi.

His promised castle. Landon could see its distant grey spires from where he was positioned on a flat plain, able to see in all directions. The castle had once belonged to the Shadowharts.

It should have been his.

Landon smiled and rode forwards. Jasper and Jax stayed close behind, one smirking and the other stoic as ever. Jax had come to the South straight from the West with some leftover men to join Landon. Ethelind had betrayed them and taken the West, but Landon would ignore her until he had dealt with the bigger problem. The South was his primary aim, and he wouldn't let an overly ambitious woman get in the way of that.

"Hello," Landon said, turning to Audrey first. "It's been some time."

Landon could see the fear in her eyes. She was concealing it well, but Landon missed nothing. Her brown hair was in a braid and she had a bow and quiver on her back, a knife sheathed on the belt of the short petticoat she was wearing. A black cloak was tied around her shoulders, edged in fur with golden embroidery that matched the patterns on her knee-high leather boots. In the frosty air between them, their breaths turned to mist and mingled, intertwining with each other before they floated away, dissolving into space. The cold was such that her pale cheeks were flushed rosy pink, making her sharp blue eyes shine even brighter.

Audrey smiled slightly. "Hope you enjoyed the wedding."

"I missed you." Landon's smile was charming as he dismounted. "Come; let us speak together like civilised people."

"Audrey, stay," Annalee warned.

"This is not your business, I'm afraid," Landon said without looking at her. "Come on down, Audrey. And you too, King Ulysses."

Audrey stepped off her horse and, handing the reins to Annalee, walked up to where Landon was standing in the middle of the two armies.

Ulysses followed reluctantly, as did Will.

"Good, good." Landon tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, delighting in the hatred boiling behind Ulysses' expression. "The last time you did something like this, my brother ended up dead. Let us hope you will not use such subterfuge again." He glanced at Will. "You were never invited here, as I recall."

"I invited myself." Will shrugged.

"Jax would love to hear that, I'm sure," Landon said.

"Go back, Will." Audrey didn't even look at him.

"But—"

"Go. Back."

Will glared at him but backed away.

"What do you want?" Ulysses asked when Will was further back. "I have an army and could crush you easily."

"But could you, really? We have far more troops than you, more trained and disciplined warriors, and what do you have? Some drunken soldiers from the West? Please, spare yourself the lies." Landon moved forward.

"Tell me what you want. I am sick of these games, Landon."

"Very well." Landon shrugged. "I have Malena. You have Audrey. I would like a trade."

Audrey stiffened, and Landon noticed.

"And your armies?" Ulysses asked.

"I'd send them back. A ceasefire, if you like. It would be a win-win situation for both of us." Landon fixed his eyes on Ulysses. "I don't want Malena anymore. She's just a baby, right? No use to me. It would be so much easier if..." Landon mimicked cutting someone's throat with his index finger. "But you want as many family members as possible, don't you?"

"Ulysses..." Audrey began, but never finished the sentence.

"Audrey, please understand," Ulysses said finally, his voice firm. "I need my people safe."

Her mask dropped as betrayal and understanding spread across her features.

"Ulysses..." Audrey said, turning to him.

"I have a family," Ulysses said with no emotion in his voice.

She turned to Landon. "Please let Malena go back home. You can retreat your armies. Please. Please, Landon... you said you can't kill me..."

Landon's expression remained inscrutable. "You think you can make me retreat?"

Will was walking forwards again with Annalee. In response, Jasper jumped down from his horse and walked over to Landon's side, Jax following.

"What is going on?" Annalee demanded.

"Annalee, not now." Ulysses' voice was grim.

"Ulysses—"

"I said, NOT NOW!" Ulysses roared, rounded on her. "Go back; this isn't your place"

"You're planning something stupid," Annalee accused, hands on hips. "And if you don't tell me what it is, I'll kick your ass."

Will glanced at Audrey, and she backed away to stand by him. Landon turned away from the two.

"We're getting back Malena," Ulysses said. "And holding this war at a stalemate temporarily."

"And what is he getting for it?"

"Annalee, I said go."

"WHAT IS HE GETTING FOR IT?"

"I'm getting Audrey," Landon informed her coolly.

Will clenched his teeth. "You can't do that."

"What are you thinking?!?" Annalee demanded.

"We can't defeat him!" Ulysses hissed. "Listen to me, for once, Annalee! I am doing this for you!"

"It doesn't seem like it!" Annalee said. "I don't know what has happened to you since father died. This isn't you. You wouldn't sacrifice your own cousin for our sister."

"I would! Because she is a cousin and Malena is my sister."

Landon saw Audrey look up at Will, who shook his head.

"We'll get you out of it," Will muttered to her.

"How romantic. This is a liaison of yours?" Landon asked.

"Fuck off," Will muttered.

He looked at Audrey. "You were growing used to the idea of our future. Don't lie. You tried to hope for better. You almost convinced yourself that there was something else in me, but you found something in yourself meanwhile, something you want to hide from. And he offered you an easy escape."

Will's face went red. Audrey dropped her gaze.

"You've fallen low," Landon noted. "But I can fix that."

"You are a manipulator and monster," Will snapped.

Jasper stepped forwards, his teeth bared, but Landon held up a hand. He was patient.

"I'd rather be your idea of a monster than a person," Landon mused. "So let's try something else."

He made a gesture with his right hand where the people behind him could see...

And there came his fox, Hunter. Teeth bared and eyes blazing.

"Ateryah," Landon said to the fox, and pointed at Will.

Before anyone could react, Hunter had pounced on Will, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there.

"Leave him alone," Audrey said, facing Landon.

"You know, while your fox has been remaining playful as ever with the Hound Master, I have been training mine. It responds only to commands in Xiakyaore such as 'attack' and 'kill'. I'm fluent in the language and it is quite an interesting tongue." Landon smiled. "Would you like me to kill him?"

Audrey looked behind her for help, but Ulysses didn't show any reaction and Annalee helplessly stared.

Will made a strangled noise from behind her and Clovis began walking forward. A brown-skinned boy grabbed his wrist and muttered something to him, preventing him from going forward.

"Jax..." Audrey said, turning away from Landon and looking at the purple-eyed man. "I know there is good in you, even Ethelind saw it and..."

"Ethelind betrayed us." Jax's voice was flat and uncaring. Stoic, but more than usual. An already broken man, broken again.

"Audrey, don't worry about me." Will's voice was clear.

"One word and Hunter will kill him," Landon warned. "You can do this the hard way or the easy way. Either you surrender and no one gets hurt. Hunter gets off your lover, the South is left in peace for now, and Malena gets back to her family. Or you don't surrender and we kill Malena and all the people behind you."

"Landon, I know you've been through a lot." Audrey reached out and clasped one of his hands in both of hers. "But I know there's something in you. We can..."

"When will you ever learn that I don't feel affection? Love makes people weak." Landon pulled his hand away in disgust. "No, it's not because I care for you that I make this offer. It's for the North."

"Son of a bastard!" Will cried, and Landon sighed.

"I would be quiet if I were you, archer. Hunter is hungry, and you're really tempting him," Landon said.

"How did you train it? By using the same manipulation you use on everyone else? Threats and games and deceit?" Will asked.

"Something like that." Landon glanced at Hunter. "Ravida akeyare."

Hunter poised himself by Will's throat. Will shut up.

"Now, Audrey, which is it? The easy way or the hard way?" Landon asked.

"Don't," Will called.

"Audrey..." Annalee's voice came.

"I know what you are thinking," Landon said, standing from where he had been next to Will and walking up to her. "Kneel."

Her eyes widened. "Please, no, you don't have to..."

"Kneel," he repeated, as his father had months ago.

Audrey slowly fell to her knees, feeling the frozen grass of the ground biting through her clothes into her knees. Jax came forwards and ushered her towards the horses. She stood and met the gaze of Grace, who was on a horse with her ladies and guards, her expression unreadable.

"What about my sister?" Ulysses called.

"Oh yes," Landon said, and turned to Jasper. "Bring the girl."

Jasper nodded and walked into the gathering of knights. They all parted for him to reveal a small girl with chubby cheeks and bright blue eyes. Jasper took her from the arms of a maid and walked forward.

Ulysses walked to greet his baby sister.

Landon held up a hand and Ulysses stopped, sensing that something was wrong. "A sibling for a sibling, right? You killed my brother." Anger flashed across his features, mingled with uncontained pain. "You broke a truce, and you killed my brother."

"No!" Annalee screamed, charging at him.

Ulysses was stunned.

Jasper stabbed the girl right through the neck with a dirk, watching how easily Malena stilled and stiffened. Blood dripped from the weapon as he passed the body to Annalee, who stopped to grab the child before she fell to her knees, sobbing and curling up over the girl. With an angry cry, Clovis hobbled forward, but Alekzander grabbed him by the wrist before he could get anywhere.

A single, brave soldier ran forward, his sword raised.

Landon's knife caught the man in the throat, killing him almost instantly. No other soldiers advanced, waiting for an order.

Landon stared at Malena's body, some shock coming over his features, before they hardened as he turned to Ulysses.

"I want Audrey," Ulysses said, his voice shaking.

Grace made a furtive gesture at Audrey, tilting her head in the direction of the woods nearby. No one noticed except for her ladies and Audrey, who regained her wits at that. She turned and began shooting arrows into his men, walking backwards. A group of soldiers advanced, their shields raised to hide from her arrows. She desperately looked over at Will and shot an arrow at Hunter, missing with her shaking hands.

Ulysses was gullible to have believed Landon would have given up the chance of a battle just for Audrey's imprisonment.

He would have both.

Secretly, Landon knew his army was depleted—Damek Westerling had started to push his army forward, dominating the north-west, and Landon had been forced to send a considerable number of soldiers to block Damek from advancing further. It would be impossible to dominate the South with the numbers Landon had, but they didn't know that. It would be easy to crush the Southerners' hope, making them beg Ulysses to surrender.

"Oh, people never learn," Landon sighed. "When will an actual battle happen in this war?"

There was so much destruction. Will, on the floor with Hunter still pinning him down. Annalee, crying over Malena's body. Ulysses, unresponsive.

This is all you can create, the dark voice in his head whispered. It's all you're capable of, you heartless freak.

There was nothing left to fight back the voice. He allowed it to control him.

In his head, Aldric was betraying him, and he was drowning. Again and again. He had never stopped.

"Hunter, vitiri," Landon commanded.

Will wrestled with the fox, trying to keep Hunter's snapping teeth away from his neck. The weight of the animal was crushing him, keeping him down and unable to move.

"Fire!" Ulysses yelled.

The Southern archers fired at Landon, but Jax and Landon had already backed into the cover of the shields.

Landon smiled as he turned his attention to Ulysses, who had unsheathed his sword and was charging at him. He would never get there in time. "I'll be nice and spare some of your men."

"You despicable...!"

"I am a liar." Landon shrugged. "And you are naïve."

He turned and stepped further into the wall of shields, the sobs of Annalee and the grunts of Will as he wrestled with the fox for his life ringing in Landon's ears.

A cry from Will alerted Landon to the fact that the fox had struck a blow. He turned and saw Will bleeding from a cut to his shoulder, and sighed.

"Hunter, viterya," Landon called, and the fox bounded over to him. Will stumbled woozily to his feet, his eyes unfocused.

"Also, don't bother attacking us and losing your army. You can send me your surrender later, when you realise it's over." Landon turned to look for Audrey.

She was already fleeing, too far for him to reach and heading towards the woods. Behind him, Grace watched the girl run with an impassive expression.

"Get her!" Landon yelled at his soldiers.

He didn't move his gaze from her even as half of his army split to attack Ulysses' forces. Ulysses, rage in his eyes, turned to Will and raised his sword, yelling obscenities about how he had manipulated Audrey. Landon didn't intervene; he didn't have to kill Will. Ulysses would do it in his own despair and messed up mind.

Landon's fists curled behind his back, locking away the emotion inside him. No remorse. Never again.

Some rise in power, Landon heard his father say in his head. But for that, there always has to be people to fall.

And we're done with book one !

I can't thank you all enough for getting through this messy piece of writing. It's the best I have ever written, however, and was such a journey for me.

I really do love you all,

Shelly x