The King's Queen

Chapter 67

I leaned against him in blissful serenity, and Ashton continued peppering kisses along my neck while I wove his crown of flowers.

***

Things couldn't get any worse.

I massaged my temples with a groan, before transferring my bleary-eyed gaze to Jun. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he stared at the chess pieces he strategically placed on the map in front of us. He'd been monitoring international activities with Kiyoshi.

"Malekh declared war on Crysauralia."

"What the hell is Malekh thinking?" Ashton growled. "My announcement ensured that Prinarch Cole can't start a war with the Spade Kingdom."

Jun toyed around with a pawn, his brows furrowed in thought. "That might have been Malekh's intention all along. Your announcement made sure Prinarch Cole couldn't make the first move. Malekh took that as an opportunity to strike first."

After all our efforts to stop the war, we were back at square one. Malekh really enjoyed making our lives harder than they needed to be.

"He has nothing to gain from fighting Crysauralia when the entire world expects them to be at peace. Has he forgotten that we're an empire? Our allies outnumber his," Ashton reasoned. "The war involves humans now. The Origins can't get involved unless they're willing to have human casualties on their hands."

"Who the f*ck cares about any of that?" Kiyoshi scoffed. "This is their one chance at revenge. You think they're going to let it pass because of some flimsy humans?"

"Wow, I'd just hate to be a flimsy human in this war," Sybil deadpanned from across the table. "I'd just roll over and die right there."

"Key, language," I reminded him for the millionth time today. I didn't want him corrupting Micah.

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whom the f—"

"That's not what I meant."

"...Whomsoever?"

"No."

"I hate this stupid language," he growled in frustration.

Jun pointed at a mountainous region on the map that was nestled between Crysauralia and The Spade Kingdom. "Malekh purposely allied himself with this country. He's using the unique landscape to his advantage. When Prinarch Cole's armies set up there, they look like the enemy from the other side and attack each other, diminishing their forces."

I had to admit that was a smart strategy on Malekh's part. The enemy side would reduce their own numbers without him having to interfere much. Why didn't Prinarch Cole think of that? Was he underestimating Malekh?

"A crafty plan like that won't work for long," Ashton murmured, staring at the map. "The prinarch's not an idiot. He'll march through the middle country and storm the Spade castle."

"You're right, it didn't last long, but to a degree, it was a success," Jun continued. "Prinarch Cole countered that by using the chaos to his advantage. He allowed some of his men to get captured by Malekh."

"What would that accomplish?" Micah asked.

"To spread misinformation. The 'prisoners' told Malekh that his illusion strategy had weakened the Crysauralian forces. They also told him Malekh Prinarch Cole would launch a sneak attack on his army when he was least expecting it."

"Did Malekh fall for it?" I wondered.

"Malekh expected that Prinarch Cole would try to deceive him. He pretended to believe the information and ordered his troops to attack Prinarch Cole's army to see what he'd do. Prinarch Cole's forces pretended to retreat, but Malekh didn't fall for it and pursued them."