Chapter 20 – Xendale
THE KING’S PERSPECTIVE
The room went quiet the moment the doors creaked open.
19 min left
I looked up from the scroll in my hand, half expecting another meaningless petition or dispute over supply wagons. But the courier’s face said otherwise.
“News from the western ridge, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing quickly. “Prince Dravic’s forces were successful. Rum and West battalions have retreated. Supplies secured. The field is ours.”
I exhaled, relief sweeping through me.
The tension in the chamber cracked. Ministers shifted in their seats, some already murmuring among themselves.
“Hand me the report.”
He stepped forward.
“It’s from Prince Dravic himself. The full report.”
I took it wordlessly and cracked the seal.
The words leapt out first—clear and bold in Dravic’s unmistakable hand:
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Chapter 20 – Xendale
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Victory secured. Enemy forces repelled. Casualties minimal.
I read further, skimming down the names of units, strategies, injuries. And then I saw it.
Lady Marcia Xendale.
I paused.
My eyes narrowed, and I scanned again to be certain.
“Marcia Xendale…” I murmured aloud, the name unfamiliar and intimate at once.
The rest of the report unfolded in sharp, efficient paragraphs—a list of commands executed flawlessly, of battlefield
improvisations that turned the tide.
And again and again, that name appeared. Lady Marcia Xendale had led a flank of foot soldiers when one commander panicked. She’d held her position while outnumbered three to one. And when a West general broke through the southern gate, it was Marcia who struck him down.
All this in a single campaign.
My heart clenched.
How quickly I had doubted her.
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Chapter 20 – Xendale
“Send the messenger in,” I said, rising from my seat.
19 min left
The doors opened, and in stepped a soldier clad in field gear, mud clinging to his boots. He saluted sharply.
“You served under Dravic?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And Lady Xendale?”
“Aye, sir. She arrived the night before the march. Joined us like she’d always been there. No hesitation. No orders questioned.”
“She was not authorised to leave her pack,” I said quietly.
The soldier hesitated. “She saved lives, sire. Many more than she risked.”
I exhaled slowly.
I had assumed her motivation was petty. Jealousy. Pride. I believed she’d come to the court with forged letters because she craved attention. I thought she resented Kael and Eunice and wanted to outshine them. I believed she’d crumble the moment she faced real danger.
Instead, she’d gone to war.
And she’d won.
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Chapter 20 – Xendale
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A woman I dismissed as emotional had outperformed every general on the field.
“Leave us,” I said.
The messenger bowed and departed.
I stared down at the parchment in my hand, tracing her name with my thumb. Marcia Xendale. Daughter of the famed House Xendale. Granddaughter of the Warden of Moonshadow. The last of her bloodline.
And finally—a soldier.
I went to the side table and reached for the ranking records. I flipped through the sheets, stopping at Eunice Hale. General, and daughter of the Alpha of Blackstone. Then Kael Lightwood, Alpha Heir of Silverlake.
Both honourable names. Both recently shamed.
And now, Marcia.
Without ceremony, I pulled a fresh parchment toward me and began to write. Her name would be entered into the register of field command. Her position would outrank both Kael and Eunice. Not as a gift. Not out of pity. But because she had earned it.
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Chapter 20 – Xendale
She had acted on instinct when I faltered with caution.
She had bled for this kingdom while I dismissed her worth.
She had brought us victory.
18 min left
When I sealed the scroll, I pressed my signet hard into the wax, letting the gold imprint burn.
“Have it delivered to Commander Dravic,” I told the steward. “Let Lady Marcia Xendale be promoted to Second Commander of the western front. Effective immediately.”
The steward froze. “Second Commander, sire? That… outranks General Kael and General Hale.”
I met his gaze sharply. “Good. Let it be known.”
He bowed and left without another word.
No one else dared to speak.
For the first time in weeks, I let myself breathe.
Perhaps we had a chance in this war after all.
And just like in the past, it was all thanks to a Xendale.
