The silence in the throne room after Krag's departure was thick with unspoken questions. I had done it. I had turned my most dangerous public enemy into a secret, devoted weapon. A thrill, cold and sharp, went through me. I was playing the game, and for the first time, I felt like I might actually be winning.
Xue was looking at me with an expression that was no longer just grudging respect, but something closer to awe. "My Queen," she said, her voice low and filled with a new intensity. "That was… masterful. You did not just break him. You reforged him."
"I gave him what he needed," I said, my voice still a little unsteady. I looked down at my hands, half-expecting them to look different. They didn't. They were just the hands of a healer. A healer who had just become a master manipulator. The thought was a bitter one.
I reached up and touched the phoenix hairpin. The warm, artificial energy from it pulsed, a soothing balm to my frayed nerves. It made me feel confident, in control. It made me feel like I could do anything.
My thoughts were interrupted by Shi, who burst into the room, his four arms flailing. "My Queen! My Queen! A message from the front!"
My heart seized. Di Jun. Was he okay? "What is it? Is it the Demon Lord?"
"No, my Queen," Shi panted. "It is from the forward camp. General Vex's legion. They are reporting a massive surge in enemy movement. Lord Ying's forces are on the move. But… they are not moving towards the Lord's position. They are… splitting up. A large contingent is heading east, towards the Crystal Spires, but a smaller, faster force is heading here. Towards the capital."
My blood ran cold. "Here? Why would he send a force here? The main prize is Di Jun."
Xue's face hardened. "It is a feint. A diversion. He wants to draw the Lord's forces away, leaving the capital vulnerable. Or… he wants to capture you."
"He wants the sun," I whispered, the horrifying realization hitting me. He wasn't just after Di Jun's power anymore. He was after mine.
"How long until they arrive?" Xue demanded.
"Two days. Maybe three," Shi said, his voice trembling.
"Two days," I repeated. We had two days to prepare a defense for a city that was still in shock, with an army that was loyal to a king who wasn't there.
"We must fortify the walls," Xue began, her mind already in general-mode. "We must rally the city guard, arm the citizens…"
"No," I said, my voice surprisingly calm. The hairpin's energy was humming in my mind, sharpening my thoughts, clearing away the fear. "That's what he expects us to do. That's what a normal ruler would do. But we are not normal."
I walked over to the massive Star Chart, the glowing map of the Underworld's leylines. I traced the lines with my finger, my mind racing. I was a healer. I didn't think in terms of walls and soldiers. I thought in terms of energy. In flow.
"He is sending a fast force," I mused aloud. "A strike team. They won't want a siege. They will want a quick, precise strike to capture me. They will look for a weak point in the city's defenses."
"The western gate is the weakest," Xue said immediately. "It is the oldest."
"Exactly," I said. "Which is why they won't attack there."
I looked at Krag, who had just entered the room, his face still pale from our earlier encounter. "Lord Krag. Your legion. The Bone-Crushers. You are earth-attributed demons, are you not?"
"We are, my Queen," he rumbled, his voice a low gravelly sound. " We draw our power from the stone of the Underworld itself."
"Good," I said, a plan forming in my mind, a plan so audacious it was either genius or suicide. "I don't want you to defend the walls. I want you to do the opposite."
I pointed to a spot on the Star Chart, a location just outside the city walls. "Here. This is the old quarry, correct?"
Krag nodded, confused. "It is, my Queen. It has been abandoned for centuries."
"It's about to become the most popular place in the Underworld," I said. "I want you to take your legion. I want you to use your earth-cultivation. I want you to tear down the western wall."
Xue and Krag both stared at me as if I had gone insane.
"My Queen!" Xue cried out. "You cannot! That is madness! You would leave the city completely open!"
"No," I said, a slow, confident smile spreading across my face. "I'm not leaving it open. I'm creating a kill zone."
I turned to Shi. "I want you to take a message to the Iron Tyrant's approaching force. Do not engage them. Just get close enough for them to hear you. Tell them that the Queen, in her infinite wisdom, has decided to tear down the western wall to welcome them. That she is so confident in her power, she is meeting them in the open field, as a sign of goodwill."
Shi's four mouths fell open. "My Queen… that is a lie!"
"Is it?" I asked, my eyes gleaming. "They won't think so. They will think I'm an arrogant, foolish mortal who has let her power go to her head. They will see it as a trap, but a clumsy, obvious one. They will think their real plan—to find a secret entrance, a weak point—is still viable. They will change their route, trying to outsmart the 'stupid queen'. And they will walk right into the one place I want them."
I pointed to the quarry on the map. "They will think they are flanking us, but they will be walking into a box canyon made of stone. And when they are inside, Krag… you will bring the walls down on them. You will bury them."
The room was silent. Xue, Krag, and Shi just stared at me, their faces a mixture of horror and dawning, terrifying admiration.
"It is… a risky plan, my Queen," Xue finally managed to say.
"All the best plans are," I said. I looked at the phoenix hairpin in my reflection on a polished shield. It seemed to glow with a warm, approving light. I felt a surge of confidence, a feeling of absolute, untouchable brilliance. I was a genius. I was a strategist. I was a queen.
I didn't see the flicker of doubt in Xue's eyes. I didn't see the worried look she shared with Krag. I was too basking in the warm, wonderful glow of my own perfect, infallible plan.