Song Suggestion: King by Zayde Wolf.

MARE

"Two Days."

Davidson stands and I quietly wonder if he ever sits down.

"That will give me plenty of time to integrate the poison into the Sentinel food supply," Ptolemus says.

We all sit at a large wide table. Davidson didn't want to have this meeting with any other kind. With the traditional long narrow table, it raises the question of who gets to sit at the head. A political issue, but one Davidson found his way around.

It was funny actually, and a bit of a confusion but eventually everyone found their way around the table.

This will be the last meeting of all factions before we attack Archeon in two days.

Yesterday was nice, beautiful. But today, tomorrow, and every second after I can't relent. I have to muster every iota of strength I have left.

"I don't need to say that we've lost so much leading up this day."

He looks into the eyes of every person in the room. When his eyes land on me in the back of the room he says, "We all have something lose still."

"We won't," Volo says with fervor.

Davidson nods to a Scarlet Guard general. He leans down to his side brings up a silver briefcase.

Davidson turns it towards the rest of the table. He unlatches the case and everyone cranes their necks to take a look inside. All except Farley and I, we know what's inside.

Davidson picks up one the many now cleaned diamond glass bullets. He holds it up for the room to better examine.

"You collected them?" Cal asks.

Davidson nods. "Very clever of Maven, to use weapon no one can warp, control or even melt."

"We've been using diamond glass for centuries as a form of protection," Larentia Viper spits. "And now he uses them as the exact opposite."

"So why do you have them?" Ptolemus asks.

"The shooters may have escaped with their lives but not with their ammo. From what we were able to find it's a wonder that the casualty count wasn't higher. We gathered these and others that littered the floor. You'll find we can be resourceful when need be."

I can't help but smile at this. It's a gentle but firm reminder of what reds are capable of, after all, we've gotten this far.

"Your point," Volo says.

"We give them back."

"Meaning?" Cal asks.

"I'm glad you asked. We know diamond glass is the strongest material ever crafted. But, even crafted into bullets it needs a force to carry it out like a gun. And although we have plenty, we need to spare them for something I will explain in a moment. We've agreed we want this done quickly so it's best we go back to the basics."

"And that is?" Larentia inquires.

This time Farley answers, "A bomb."

"You mean to blow up the capital?" Larentia nearly spits.

"Yes, and multiple times. We have enough to place several all across the Place and then some."

"And what of the collateral damage?" Ptolemus straightens his spine.

It takes everything in me not kill him, and Farley won't show it but she feels the same way. He's the one to talk about collateral damage.

Then again, so am I.

"We know what we're doing. There will be none."

"Moving on," Davidson continues. "The reason we need to spare our gun power is because Archeon will not be our only target that day. Prince Tiberius, I ask that you lead the bulk of our forces into the base at Harbor Bay, Fort Patriot."

"I thought the Scarlet Guard lost their hold in the city after Maven became King," Cal says.

Farley straightens her posture as she speaks, "Only for a brief time. Once Elara was killed, we slowly regained their trust. They've been carefully watching the base for the past eight months."

No one says anything to this. The silvers do their best to show no surprise, but their silence is just as damning. We've come so far and I haven't even been here for most of it. But to think that in just a few days, centuries of oppression will finally come to an end.

If you even get to see the end of the war, my conscience says to my annoyance.

I can barely keep my eyes from rolling, annoyed by the fact it chooses now to put a word in. I thought you were supposed to keep me from doing something stupid not comment on them, I shoot back. Now, look where I am.

I can't believe you didn't notice at all. I mean not even your pants getting more snug. The whole "I'm so scared or nervous I might throw up" deal? How could you go so long without knowing?

I've been busy doing things.

More like doing someone.

Shut up.

"...will meet up and wait for the attack from the Lakelands," Davidson continues. "So while the majority of the Nortan military is distracted by fighting in the Rift, lead by you, King Volo, the Prince will lead eighty percent of our forces into Fort Patriot after the third wave of Air Support. While the rest of us, including Prince Ptolemus, will take on Archeon. The Queen of the Lakelands, as well as the Queen of Norta, will be deploying in…" Davidson checks his watch. "Forty hours."

"And how do you know all this," Larentia asks.

"We have our spies," he dodges.

But Larentia doesn't let him off. "And what makes you think you can trust them? Your spies were able to get very accurate intel on Maven's plans for The Rift, but were conveniently unable to obtain such information before my daughter was murdered by the hands of Lakelanders."

I applaud Davidson for keeping his composure, but I struggle to do so myself. I'm thankful I stand in the back where no pays me attention.

"And just what are you insinuating?"

"Nothing, but stating a coincidence," she says. But the whole room understands her meaning. My heartbeat picks up speed.

"If you are making an accusation than I think it's best you do so up front. Because I assure you, what you're suggesting is far from the truth. We've been bleeding for this cause years before we aligned ourselves with the Kingdom of the Rift. So if you think for a second that we would ever side ourselves with what Maven stands for then you are mistaken. Because we are determined to end this tyranny that has plagued nations for centuries. And we will not let anything or anyone get in our way."

The threat is clear but also extends beyond Larentia. Davidson never raises his voice and keeps his focus on her but I tremble all the same.

I swallow hard, and Larentia opens her mouth to say more, but her husband puts a hands on her's. Her face flushes silver with anger, but she says nothing.

"Now, any more questions?" Davidson looks around the room, waiting.

No one speaks, it's clear they've underestimated us.

Or we've underestimated them.

MAVEN: One Day Before the Attack.

Walking into the War Room is like walking into the war itself. The hectic pre-battle buzz consumes the atmosphere. It's because of this I rarely visit. But today is different because tomorrow will make things different.

A long narrow table sits in the middle of the large room, Iris leans over it, palms flat on the table, examining plans once again. Her plan is brilliant.

But the plan to attack the Rift is only made possible because of Mare. The ends and outs of Ridge House were delivered a few weeks ago. Roads leading to their estate, to their electric power systems, water, and even their sewage systems all detailed in the plans that Iris commits to memory now.

Her brow furrows in concentration, her mind oblivious yet completely aware of everything around her. I have seen this look only on one other person: Cal

She is a warrior just like him, comfortable and at home in a fight. But I've come to find out she is more than that. The way her sister abandon the alliance after her father died hurt her and she seeks to prove that it was a mistake.

Funny, the queen of water has so much fire in her.

Heads turn as I enter. I nod my head to the side and generals and advisers shuffle around me to leave. Only when the room is empty and does she look up at me with bloodshot eyes. Flecks of silvers surround her storm gray irises, nearly blending in. She hasn't slept much since receiving those plans.

As time passed she becomes increasingly obsessed with getting justice for her father. But Iris and I are nowhere near friends, barely acquaintances. So I don't bother or care to ask how she is doing.

"Rare seeing you here," she says, not coldly but a matter of fact.

"Tomorrow we regain the entirety of our kingdom, and when we do I want to know every detail."

Iris narrows her eyes with a sly smirk. "And I would like to know the details of how you were able to obtain these plans," she counters.

"Come now, Iris. We've been doing this dance for a while now, you won't learn anything that you need to know."

"Perhaps, but I need to know if I can rely on this information. Convincing my sister to aide us was difficult enough. If this fails then we risk losing her support indefinitely."

"I will work. My contact-"

"Your contact is a ghost whose anonymity could be our room if we are certain of their allegiance."

"Tread carefully, Iris. My word should be enough."

"It better because the Lakelands will not let us drag them down."

"I don't plan on it."

ANALYSIS

So…

Let's go over a few things.

Chapter 29: That part when Davidson mentions his husband, I was really excited about that quote. For those that don't know that is an actual quote from War Storm that was tweeted by our Queen Victoria Aveyard a few months ago. So that quote solely belongs to her not me. I just loved it because of the saltiness. I just had to.

Chapter 30: Does anyone remember when Mare warned Cal about his grandmother in Chapter 11?

Chapter 31: Yes, Mare is pregnant, I was so relieved to finally write that chapter. I have been planning and researching and researching. It was almost dangerous because I didn't want my mom glancing at my laptop and see a whole bunch of tabs about pregnancy. The danger was real.

I've said countless times that I'm going for this story to be realistic and believable as possible.

So just in case you haven't been following the timeline, Mare and Maven have been having sex for two months. Or eight weeks. But pregnancy is measured from the first day of the last period. So doctors typically add 2-3 weeks to the day of conception, if that makes sense. So Mare is almost 10 weeks at this point. Making it so Mare conceived probably the first time she slept with Maven or around that time.

And there is a reason why I put the date of conception around that time. But in order to keep from spoiling everyone, you'll have to wait for my explanation.

Moving on, I got a review that asked about the baby. There was some confusion. The unborn child's blood is not blue. The child's eyes are blue. I've already determined what the color of his blood will be. And it will be interesting.

Moving on, the reason Mare says the color of his eyes determines everything is because of this.

If his eyes were brown like Mare's, there really wouldn't be a problem. Because then she could sleep with Cal and pretend the child is his and no one would be the wiser. Mare knows this. But because the child's eyes will be blue, there's no hiding that.

Also, when Jon said Mare won't be able to hide her pregnancy for long...Okay, I almost made a mistake. But thankfully FinnieOdesta4ever stepped in and helped me out. And it's because of them that I am able to make this even more accurate.

Mare won't be "showing" anytime soon for a number of reasons. Number one: Mare is small built, petite. Because of this, she won't be showing for a while. The second reason is because Mare is very athletic and physically fit and she has well-toned muscles from training. In real life, many athletes are also slow to grow a belly. It's completely normal.

I didn't know this and thought it was really cool, but apparently, you can also lose weight too. But back when Gisa was fixing Mare's dress because it was too tight (Chapter 23) one of the dozens of pregnancy symptoms is bloating, similar to that of bloating during your average period. So that's what that was.

But to sum it up, every woman experiences pregnancy differently, I guess.

And I couldn't have gotten it right without FinnieOdesta4ever.

So back to what I was saying about Jon. What I'm going with now is, and I was sort of going with before, is Mare's health is declining, gradually. And there is a reason for that. But once again I can't tell you why without spoiling everything. But you will find out before the story ends.

Just know that these last few chapter will be interesting. Which reminds me, only 17 chapters left! I remember writing Chapter 10 and thinking, "How am I ever going to make it to Chapter 50? This is crazy!" But it's thanks to all of you that I've made it this far. We just made over 50 reviews and I couldn't be more proud. And while many other fanfics have hundreds of followers and hundreds of reviews, I'm so happy to have all you guys. You are all very genuine and super supportive. I couldn't possibly ask for more. The fact that you read past the first chapter means so much to me. I cherish each and every one of you. So Thank you.

As for the upcoming and final battle, I will tell you this...It spans over the course of 5 or 6 chapters. I'm super nervous. But I'll try to make it authentic.

As for Chapter 32 (this Chapter), let me sum it up real quick.

Davidson is a badass and I love it.

Larentia is the new main bitch who isn't fooled easily.

Volo and Anabel will be waiting for the Lakelands to attack the Rift in two days. This attack will be lead by Iris and her sister, but Maven will stay behind in Archeon because battle strategy is not his forte.

Cal will be leading Scarlet Guard troops and some Monfort troop into Fort Patriot. Which in Steel Scars is described as "A hub for the Nortan army, navy, and air force, the only one of its kind to serve all three branches of the Silver military."

"But how is Cal supposed to be able to take this Fort?" You may ask.

Well, Farley also describes Harbor Bay as "Unlike the capital, Archeon, where the seat of government demands absolute command, Harbor Bay is not so controlled." So the people mostly run free.

Which is why the Red Watch was needed. (The "police" for reds, run by reds.)

But what about the Measures? Weren't they super restrictive and made it nearly impossible for spies?

I'm glad you asked. Geologically, Harbor Bay is where Boston, Massachusetts once was. This is a huge city. Silvers are not going to be able to catch every suspicious action that occurs in the city. Even if they cared.

Moving on to Archeon. Ptolemus will arrive in Archeon a day before everyone to poison most of the City Guard. Now I'm sure Maven's food is tested for poison but what about his Sentinels'?

Hehe.

But where will Mare be in all of this? Stay tuned!

*laughs evilly*

Also, Maven's POV was originally Chapter 33, but last minute I added it to this chapter because this chapter was too short and it's been awhile. I had to keep it short and keep some details out because I need to save for later, that way I'm not repeating myself.

Also, I chose this song because I thought it reflected the mindset of everyone in the room. Especially the leaders.

The crown is getting heavy, But they've written my name in the stars. This reminds me of Volo and Maven.

I can feel the weight

I can feel the weight of the world

I can feel the pressure

I know the pain and the hurt.

...I will not run, when destiny comes.

These kind of remind me of Mare and Davidson.

And that's all I have for now.

See you next Friday at the latest.

The end is nigh.