Marasphyr laughs. "It would be extremely hard to attain, and even if you did, you need a master smith to forge it into a weapon."
Everyone's eyes dart to Kayla. "We have a master," I say.
"I can forge anything." Kayla places her hands on her hips. "Anything."
"Fine. Fine," says Marasphyr. "But you still need to get the moonlight steel, and you won't."
Now I place my hands on my hips. "Why not?"
"Only someone worthy can receive a chunk of moonlight steel. And by worthy, I don't mean they're some cocky hero, or an innocent looking princess. I mean someone unconstrained by flaws, unhindered by doubt. Someone, and I hate to admit it, better than I. And certainly, much better than all of you."
I like this Marasphyr less and less. What did Fen ever see in her?
"But…" Marasphyr drops her eyes. "There is no harm in trying. Perhaps one of you will surprise us all."
"Okay," says Kayla, "but after we get the steel and make the sword, then what? Lucian has an entire race of Fae under his control. Two Druids under his power. And the vampires too scared or dead to oppose him."
"And…" adds Dean. "Let's not forget my lovely brothers. I bet as we speak they're sucking up to good old dad. Levi for sure. He's always looking to please father. Niam without a doubt. He follows power and right now Lucian reeks of it. Asher's under his thumb to save his lover. And Ace… actually, I'm not sure about Ace. But come on, will he really oppose an army of mindless Fae, Lucian, the ugly creature thing, and most of his brothers? That's suicide, and he's no fool."
"What about Zeb?" I ask, remembering the kind prince who treated Fen and I to food in his kingdom.
Dean rubs his chin. "Zeb… I don't think he wants to pledge allegiance. But just like Ace, what choice does he have? He's probably kissing daddy's boots right now."
"You forget," says Marasphyr. "Time moves differently here. When we leave, likely some of your brothers will still not have sworn to Lucian."
"Then we can join forces with them," I say, ideas forming in my mind. "And they must have armies. Vampires and Shade who remain loyal to them."
Dean sighs. "If the Fae haven't overtaken them. Remember, every single slave and servant on Inferna is now under Lucian's control. The Outland raiders are under his control. The men and women in Avakiri. His army spans the entire world."
"But," says Fen, his eyes shifting quickly as he thinks. "If any kingdoms can survive this invasion, it would be the realms of Sloth and Gluttony. Consider their situations. Sloth, due to all of Ace's inventions, has the lowest slave population of all realms. Low enough that the vampires and Shade will easily hold the upper hand. And gluttony: Zeb has a high slave population indeed, but most of them are on water, rowing boats. Most of the vampires and Shade are on land. If the Fae decided to invade from the sea, Zeb can lock his gate, strengthen his defenses, even set the ships on fire from a distance with archers."
I nod. "So there may be two free realms when we return."
Fen tightens his grip on me. "Exactly. Two realms and two armies."
"Using the armies, we draw Lucian out, and kill him with the moonlight blade." I frown. "But we'd have to fight and kill Fae. Fae who are under Lucian's spell and not in control of their choices. That feels… wrong."
Dean shrugs. "It's that or they stay mental prisoners for all eternity. This really is the only way to freedom."
Fen closes his eyes, his voice tired. "Freedom… Oh, this is not the way to freedom."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
He chuckles, then steps away from the group, leaning against a tree and looking out into the distance.
I follow him, even as the others continue to discuss plans. I stand by Fen's side, leaning against his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
He wraps a strong arm around me and I lean into it as he talks. "The way I see it, there are two paths we can take. We can acquire the moonlight steel, forge the sword, return to Inferna and defeat Lucian. Then I can perform the blood ritual, turning you vampire and completing your contract. We'll have an heir, and together you and I will rule the seven realms." His tone harshens. "We'll have to keep peace between Fae and vampire, settle disputes between my brothers, listen to the pleas of every citizen waiting to ask us for one favor or another. At times, we'll disagree on what to do, and as time goes on, we'll disagree more. Eventually, maybe thousands of years from now, we'll forget why we married in the first place. You'll forget why you chose me. And then we'll quarrel. Maybe even fight. Perhaps we'll start a whole new war. Or…" He pauses, his face softening. "We just leave. Right now. We leave the seven realms be, return to earth, and live our life. You, me, and our child. No responsibilities we do not desire. No duties we don't wish to attend."
I grimace. "Life rarely works that way."
"But it can." He takes my hands in his own, caressing them. "We can start that life, a new life of happiness and kindness, together. We can start it now."
"But… what of Asher and Varis?"
"When Asher helps his father reconquer the heavens, Varis will be free. Why should we interfere? I don't care for the angels who cursed thousands of their own, turned them into vampires and sent them to another world to massacre the Fae."