The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 372: Midnight Realm - First Attack

Chapter 372: Midnight Realm - First Attack

Midnight Realm ~

-

"They are here."

A raven announced as it flew down and landed on the Midnight Queen’s right shoulder. It’s bright red eyes gleamed with anticipation as it focused on the scene far away that was even hidden from the enhanced eyesight of the Unseelies.

"Then we should welcome them." The Midnight Queen announced right before she turned her horse to look at the army of Unseelies standing behind her in full preparation for the war.

"As your Queen, I did fail in my duty of keeping you all safe and away from any sort of trouble. Now, we all are facing such a situation where we don’t have any other option but to fight for the safety of our world and people."

Her heartfelt words resonated with her army that had hundreds and hundreds of powerful unseelie soldiers who had trained for decades, even centuries, to become strong enough to protect their Realm and people.

"Our enemies are here, and this time, we will face them on this battle ground. We will not only fight to save only our Realm but our entire world from those who once destroyed the powerful Seelies. We can’t let history repeat itself at any cost. Losing this war means losing our homes, our families, our lives, our future..., everything."

The Midnight Queen let her words and their depth dawn over her army before she continued, "Make sure to win. That’s the only option we all have."

Cheers erupted through the Unseelie army in a positive response. Despite the dire situation, their trust in their Queen and belief in the rightness of light was enough to build hope in their hearts for a positive outcome of the war that no one saw coming a few months ago. The once peaceful and happy lives of the people of their world had suddenly turned into a possible end of everything good.

As the cheers died after a while, the Midnight Queen found her attention shifting to a figure that was coming toward her, riding the majestic Eirwen that landed next to her horse.

"Mother." Valerius greeted as soon as his ride touched the ground and came to a stand still.

"How are things at your end?" The Midnight Queen questioned, knowing fully well that if the Winter Prince had joined her on the battle ground, it meant that he had already finished the task given to him.

A reassuring smile stretched the corners of Valerius’ lips as he answered, "You can trust me, Mother. All the citizens of our realm and those who were sent here for safety from the Mortal Realm and Mer Clan, they all have been discretely sent to the hidden location. All the wards have been checked as well. They all are safe."

Hearing the confident words directly from her son, the Midnight Queen finally took in a long and deep breath, a great burden had just lifted from her shoulders and now, she could finally focus on the war without worrying about the safety of the common people who were currently present in the Midnight Realm.

"Thank you for all your help, my son. You can now return to where you belong the most in this war."

"Huh?"

The last thing Valerius was expecting to hear from his mother were these words. He was too confused and surprised to understand their meaning. "What do you mean, Mother?"

There was a rarely seen softness in the Midnight Queen’s eyes as she answered her son’s question - "You have done your part here as the Crown Prince of this Realm. Now, you need to perform your part as the support pillar of your brothers and also as the mate of your beloved. She needs you all the most at this moment. If not all three, then at least one of you must be there with her. Don’t forget, Valerius, she’s shouldering the biggest responsibility among all of us right now because of this war. And while we have always been trained from birth to face such a situation if needed, she has grown in an innocent and oblivious environment where a war was never a future possibility. Go and stand by her side just like you promised her when you took her as your lifelong mate under the witness of stars."

The way her eyes shone at that moment, almost made it seem like she was holding back tears, but that was an impossible sight to begin with. No one had seen the Midnight Queen crying in centuries. The last time she was eve seen shedding tears was when she lost her last mate out of the four men who accompanied her for thousands of years as her life partners.

"But what about here? You all need me here as well..." Valerius could give up anything to be by his mate’s side in that moment, but at the same time, he knew that his responsibility as the Crown Prince of the Midnight Realm and as the son of his mother, required him to stay.

The Midnight Queen smiled while shaking her head. "Crown Prince Valerius, do you seriously believe that you have become stronger than your mother? If yes, then your presence is surely required here, but if not, then maybe you should reconsider your words."

"That... That’s not what I meant. I’m just worried about you. There’s no one by your side and if I’m gone..."

"I don’t need anyone by my side, Crown Prince Valerius. I have been ruling and keeping this realm safe for centuries all alone by myself and I can keep doing that even in the future. This mere war isn’t enough to shake my kingdom or my confidence in my powers that I have honed over the centuries of training."

Valerius had no words to counter-attack his mother. He knew better than anyone else just how powerful his mother was. She was one of the oldest fae alive in the four realms and a hundred time more powerful even when the powers of all three brothers were combined. She was definitely the last person who needed aid in this war.

"Then I will take my leave now. Stay safe, Mother." He wished her safety and felt the feeling of reluctance, for leaving her, fill his heart.

"Stop worrying. I’m not going to die anytime soon. I still have a long life to live with my daughter and my grandchildren." The Midnight Queen almost used a chided tone to speak this time.

A smile stretched Valerius’ lips as he gave Eirwen a pat and the Ice dragon took off in the vast sky.

The Midnight Queen watched her son flying away for a while before she returned her attention to where it was required at the moment. She was about to ask the raven just how much more they needed to wait for the arrival of their enemy when the Midnight Realm was shook with a quake.

The first tremor was too sudden but it ended just as quickly, but then was quickly accompanied by a second and a third tremor. Rocks and crumbles started falling from the high cliff that was surrounding the clearing where the army of the Unseelies were currently stationed.

"They are trying to take down the wards!" One of the Council member spoke when a couple of more tremors shook the land.

"Your Majesty, should we try and strengthen the wards?" Another council member asked.

"No." The Midnight Queen answered without wasting even a second to think about the idea. She already had a strategy planned in her mind. "These wards have been protecting our realm for thousands of years, from the very begging. With time, they have become weaker despite our constant trials of strengthening them. They could stand a normal attack from a normal enemy, but what we are going to face today is no longer normal. Trying to keep up the wards will surely give us time, but it will also weaken our powers and that could be dangerous for a war. Let them enter, it’s not like we aren’t prepared to welcome them."

Chuckles erupted from those who were close enough to hear their Queen’s sarcastic remark at the end. They were prepared for the war to the best of their ability. While the outcome was unknown, at least, they had given their all to assure that they could give a tough time to their enemy.

Seconds turned into minutes, and those minutes stretched on as more tremors shook the land of the Midnight Realm. Cracks appeared in the wards that had been protecting the land of Unseelies for millennials and just like that, the dark army succeeded in breaking into the Midnight Realm.