There remained a palpable sense of tension throughout the citadel as Isabella and Edward went from the dining hall to the training field the following day. The whispers of Carlisle’s actions had spread far and wide, and everyone down to the young kitchen attendants knew what had transpired. Esme had not felt the need to share the consequences of the actions taken, and Isabella discovered that the unknown put her on edge.
The warriors were meeting to train for the first time in a full moon's cycle. Esme hadn't told them why, specifically, just that they were expected out on the field after they broke their fast.
The princesses, high paladins, archwarriors, warriors, and mercenaries gathered together in a loose circle. Their numbers were down to eighteen, a fact which Isabella tried not to focus upon. Katrina managed to heal in approximately the same amount of time as Edward, though Garrett had taken longer. There had been no training since the attack on their home, and they were all bound to be rusty.
Esme and Carlisle came walking toward them across the grass, appearing as a united front. Carlisle’s expression was impossible to read from that distance, but Isabella was happy to see them together whether they were actually in harmony or not.
“Today we train,” Esme announced as they reached the gathered group. “Though we defeated our opponents, it was by a narrow margin. Before the midday meal, we will have a war council where we may speak freely of what is to come.”
Isabella frowned. What was to come? There had been no word, not even a hint, of anything more happening. She tried to catch her mother’s eye, but Esme merely instructed them to pair off and spar one-on-one.
Edward had grown used to attempting to bludgeon his wife with his mace, and it no longer bothered him to think he might hurt her. He’d never managed more than a few glancing blows previously because she was swift with her shield. Not for the first time, he noted it must be from her decades of experience. As they worked together to get back into the rhythm of battle, he tried several times to distract her enough to slip past her defenses.
When he wound up on his ass for the third time, she leaned over him. “Why do you insist on a tactic you know will not work?”
“Persistence is the key.”
He accepted the hand she offered and hoisted himself off the grass. His flank smarted where he’d hit the ground with jarring force.
“More like bullheadedness.”
He snorted. “So says my stubborn wife.”
She smirked at him and lifted her shield. “Care to have your ass kicked again?”
“Bring it on.”
He’d gotten up for the fifth time when he finally found a modicum of success. He managed to push her back past their imaginary boundary line, if not knock her on her tail.
“Ha!”
She inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Well done.”
They paused with their weapons poised midair when Esme called out, “We’ll break now.”
Though he was sweaty, Isabella threw an arm around Edward’s waist and walked with him toward the keep. Trepidation crept up her spine the farther they moved, though she couldn't put her finger on the reason for it. Her parents appeared to be in accord once again, but she knew they could be faking it as a show of unity. If there was something to discuss at a war council, then her mother knew things she had not yet shared with the others.
“I can see the cogs turning in your mind,” Edward murmured as they reached the double doors at the back of the main building.
“I cannot help worrying over Mother and Father and whatever she thinks is coming.”
“The faster we clean up and go to the war room, the faster you shall have your answers.”
“Aye.”
She entered the door Edward held for her and they quickly made their way to their bedchamber. The two copper tubs were waiting for them, and they wasted no time on frivolities. Once bathed and clothed in a linen dress, Isabella pulled her hair over her shoulder and twisted it into one fat braid. With her husband’s hand in hers, she walked to the war room with a sense of dread churning in her gut.
“Thank you for joining me,” Esme said as they crowded around the table in the center of the room and Jasper closed the door. “I want to keep everyone abreast of the actions going on behind the scenes.”
She paused to allow the hum of voices to die down. “As you might be aware, I have not yet publicly sentenced Mikael of Stagbreak. However, after speaking with Wild-Claw, I hereby decree that she will make the ruling herself. This is my final judgment on the matter.”
Isabella looked at Tanja, standing in the back near the door. She did not make eye contact with anyone.
“Some time ago, Demon-Hide wrote to our neighbors over the mountains because he and I were seeking help in defeating The Forsaken.” Esme pressed her hands to the table. “Unfortunately, the response we received was not neighborly, to say the least.”
“What have they said?” Rosalie asked.
“They want the sword.”
Silence reigned for several moments after Carlisle’s statement.
“This is somehow not surprising,” Emmett said. “Apparently our lot in life is to defend ourselves against thieves.”
“The Prophecy of The First Blood reveals our family holding onto the sword long into the future,” Alise pointed out.
To this, Jasper said, “Doesn’t keep us from fighting off those who don’t understand how it works.”
“True,” Alise said on a sigh.
“The Ironbound Clan has made it known they are coming for us.” Carlisle ran his hand over his beard. “They are our closest neighbor, but they have the mountain between us with which to contend.”
“What, did they send out an invitation for a casual meeting where we are meant to hand the sword over without argument?” Emmett asked Esme.
“Nay.” She shook her head at Emmett’s description. “By all appearances, they plan to make their way here within the fortnight with the intention of taking it by force.”
“Then we’ll meet them with our force,” Emmett declared.
The others made noises of agreement.
“But we have fewer warriors than we once did.”
Everyone nodded at Edward’s assessment. Esme focused on him. “I am aware, but we have to defend our citizens.”
“If I may speak freely?” Edward waited for Esme’s nod. “We have attendants who are old enough, strong enough, to fight. Three who are certainly old enough”—he had to raise his voice over the dissenters expressing their outrage—“and more who are not as old but might be willing.”
Esme held up a hand, and silence resumed. She looked Edward directly in the eyes. “I have followed traditions so far down this one path that I fear it may have cost us too much. Though the rule has always been that only mates are allowed to ride into battle, times are dangerous.” Now she gazed around the room, meeting the eyes of each warrior in turn. “We need every willing and able body to defend us now, or surely we will perish.”
The group erupted again, several defending the old way of life while others saw the necessity of making a few changes in order to survive. After a few moments, Esme held up a hand yet again. The arguing echoed into quietude.
“It doesn't even have to be a permanent change, but I will make the decision which benefits us all. As I have done for centuries, so will I do for eternity.” Esme strode from the room with Carlisle trailing behind her.
Isabella was left wondering what the hell they were supposed to do from there.
“We should return to our rooms,” Edward said in her ear.
She nodded and grasped his hand in hers as she moved numbly to their private chambers. Edward was correct, this she knew, and she was glad her mother saw it, as well. It was disheartening that so many others disagreed.
Once they were inside their sitting room, she leaned heavily against the door. “Another fight.”
“And so soon.”
With a sigh, she crossed the room and sat on the couch. Knowing he would follow her, she tilted her head to Edward’s shoulder when he sat beside her.
“I don't want this.”
He shook his head. “Neither do I.”
“We have barely recovered from one devastating war, and here we are facing another one.”
“The men; Felix, James, and Demetri. They’ll join us. They would have defended the citadel if they could have broken out of the storage room they were locked in.”
She knew he was right. It was the only way; the best solution. And yet . . . “There will be many who will make it their mission to ensure this doesn't happen.”
“That would be foolish.”
She heaved a sigh of frustration. “Aye.”
“We should join the others for the meal.”
At his suggestion, Isabella stood and headed for the door. She ensured he followed before locking the door, having the same nagging feeling as before that things would never quite be the same as they once were.
The True-Sworn warriors were adept at leaving the issues they discussed in the war room where they belonged, ensuring there was no drama at the table. As the meal neared an end, Edward spoke in low tones to his wife.
“Do you remember when you rode out the first time and I knew something was not right?” At her nod, he continued. “And when we left together the second time, I knew it would turn out disastrous.”
She recalled thinking it was first-time jitters. “What are you saying?”
“When it came time to rescue you, I knew you could escape the city on your own but that you would need our help to make it back through the forest. When we searched Blackthorn, I knew we would find you. I knew the outcome would be favorable.”
“So you have accurate intuition.” Isabella thought about this. “You have a gift.”
“I do not know if it is a gift, exactly, but I have come to realize that I don’t merely experience a sinking feeling each time we go off to battle.”
“It’s specific to the occasion?”
“I believe so.” He took her hand, kissed the back of it. “For instance, now I feel very strongly that if we allow more men to join us as warriors, we will succeed against the Ironbound. Otherwise, it will be another disaster.”
“I see.”
“And you,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I have a strange feeling about you.”
Now she turned to face him. “Me?”
“Aye.” He kissed her temple. “Something is changing.”
She could easily lose herself in him when he spoke to her in that lulling tenor. “We are the same, perhaps stronger, than we were.”
“Not that type of change.” He squinted. “I cannot put my finger on it.”
“Well, you have me intrigued. I’ve always been the boring one without talents, as you know.” She attempted to keep the bitterness from her voice. “I would welcome a change in me if it meant gaining something of merit.”
“You have a keen mind, Isabella. You are instrumental in assisting your mother with her decisions.”
“I know I’m smart, Edward, and strong, but so are my sisters and the other warrior women.”
He dragged a fingertip along the sharp edge of her jaw. “Perhaps you do not see yourself clearly.”
A delicious shudder ran down her spine. “I see myself without the skewed vision love brings, as you so obviously do not.”
He shrugged. “You can hardly blame me for thinking you created the universe, placing the moon in the night sky and giving us the sun to light our lives.”
“I think our mealtime is over.” Her breathing was coming a little faster, a familiar sensation forming in the pit of her belly.
“If you insist.”
“Come.” She rose, extending a hand. “I require a nap.”
“I doubt you’ll be getting much sleep,” he muttered.
Once inside their private world, he took his time undressing her. He pulled the cord from the end of her braid, letting the mass of her hair spread through his hands. She arched with need, the desire for him pulsing in her veins. There was never going to be a time when she felt she’d had enough, that she was full and no longer craved him with a desperation which stole her breath. Each plane, each line and curve, called out for her to touch, to stroke. His heart beat steadily under her palm as she braced herself to tilt up for a kiss. With the sounds of the castle moving around them, they came together. Rising like the tide, he took her higher with him, never stopping as she fell off the other side.
With each smooth motion, she felt it building again. Wanting him to fall with her, she matched every pace and movement until he called her name.
With his lungs laboring and his face buried in her hair as it spilled across the pillow, he felt whole.
“Great nap.”
He chuckled. “Aye.”
And though he was sated and happy for the time being, there was someone else coming to take that away from them. As Emmett had said, perhaps it was their fate to fight for the sword for eternity.
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