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“Who the fuck do you think this Fates damned war is for?” I repeated my earlier question, pressing more of my weight down. Trust in our alliance had clouded my judgment too long. I needed to hear his true answer to confirm what I already suspected.
“The Demon race–” Xanirin started, but I cut him off with the force of my boot.
“Do not give me that horseshit, Xa
“I am your Kral,” Xa
“I’m not one of your precious nobles,” I spat. “You do not command me. You do not compel me.”
“Oh, but I do,” he snapped. “And if I say jump, you fucking jump. If I say we’re not having females in the fucking army, then we’re not having females in the fucking army.”
Too late, I noticed the dark tendrils gathered in his hands. With a jerk, he flung them at me, knocking me off balance. In seconds, he was on his feet, dipping into a fighting stance.
“Like you would know anything about wi
“So what, I’m supposed to return to Uzhhorod lauding your new strategy after you lost fifty thousand soldiers? Oh, and that strategy now involves allowing females to volunteer for the cause? The noble houses will riot. They were already on edge before you left, and after this, they’ll mutiny. How am I supposed to spin this so I stay on the throne?” With each word, his face turned a deeper shade of red.
“Yes, because that’s all you care about, Xa
A cold, furious expression slid over Xa
“Stop it, both of you!” Kiira screeched, stepping between us. Without even looking, I flung onyx threads in her direction and pi
“I am the Fates-given leader of all the Demons. Not you,” he boomed, ropes of pitch sweeping toward my feet. But he was sloppy from years of disuse, and I was fresh off the battlefield. Wielding my magic like whips, I snapped them away.
“Have you really come to believe all the stories we spun? When did our propaganda become your reality?” I demanded, my voice crackling with more energy than the storm outside. We’d crafted these stories to save the Demons. Not for his fucking ambition alone.
“There was never a question of its truth,” Xa
Yet they also gave me pause. Because I realized then that the narrative had become part of my story too. But I distinctly remembered its origins, and while his words held a semblance of truth, I was still humble enough to admit I was fallible.
“Before we walked down this path, we decided we were equals. Or have you forgotten in all your years of living in luxury and peace?” I asked, the words bitter. My neck muscles bulged for how hard I forced restraint upon myself. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let his mastery of cu
“Yet the people listen to me above all others,” he snapped back.
I was getting fucking tired of his delusion. Kiira and I had destroyed ourselves for his ambition, and he couldn’t see that. With a growl, I reminded him exactly how much power I wielded. “I control the fucking army. Do not press me, Xa
His teeth flashed, and he threw more magic at me. But I was fucking ready as years of resentment boiled to the surface. Dodging his attack, I leaped, catching him around the middle and sending us careening to the floor. We landed with a heavy thud, my dagger clattering away. I wasted no time in rearing back and cocking my fist. With an animalistic snarl, I slammed it down. At the last second, he whipped his head to the side, and I collided with the hard stone.
The pain didn’t even phase me. I struck again while Kiira screamed at me not to kill him. Xa
“Assyria has shown me the ways we need to change,” I snapped at him. “That’s why she is essential. Because we were walking the wrong path.”
“Assyria is nothing more than a murderous fallen. She should have been burned for her crimes the moment you discovered them.” Xa
“Rokath, stop!” Kiira screeched, thrashing against my magic restraints. “Assyria is the best thing to happen to you. You deserve her. You deserve happiness. You are not alone in your grievances with Xa
Her last statement, more than any other, made me pause. The beast thrashing inside me, begging me to make Xa
Dragging in a breath, I smacked it like an errant soldier into submission. I tore my attention to my female cousin. “What did you say?”
“I resent Xa
Kiira swiped at her eyes. “When I got your letter, or I should say, intercepted it, I felt relief like I’d never known. I felt like I could breathe again. Xa
The air fled my lungs as I beheld my cousin. At the time, a hint of suspicion had curled in my gut when the only reply I received was a confirmation of their imminent departure. I’d been relieved, believing they both trusted my decision. Yet as the image of it appeared in my mind again, I realized the note was written in Kiira’s handwriting.
I snarled in Xa
Xa
With their statements, composure slipped within my reach. My racing heart slowed and clarity returned to my thoughts. With a wave of my hand, I released the onyx binding Kiira to the chair.
Immediately, she rose, coming to my side. With gentle care, she wrapped her hands around my arm and tugged. Surrendering to her request, I eased off Xa
He stepped away and spun, backing into a nearby couch for protection.
My attention never left him. “To win, we need females to fight too. We need them to help in other ways. They can help in other ways.”
“How will we control the people then?” Xa
“I think we’ve got the populace well in hand,” Kiira said, crossing her arms and glaring at him. “The stories we spun have most believing that we’re essentially Gods who walk the earth. Those who do not, you can deal with as you always have. Rokath and I have done plenty of work to ensure we are venerated like the Fates themselves.”
“Aye,” I agreed, cracking my neck to relieve some tension. Xa
Xa
“Yes, and we can use him, just as we can use other females, to turn the tide back in our favor once more. He insisted he remain at the front to help Trol rather than return here to recuperate. There are people who want to fight, Assyria included, because they believe in saving the Demons too. We are going to let them.”
The storm raged outside, rain pounding harder against the windows as if to further my point.
“Perhaps we should call it a night and meet again in the morning when we’ve all had time to think on what’s been said tonight,” Kiira suggested, her posture softening. “Tempers have run hot, and I know the two of you well enough to know neither of you will yield anything else until you’ve had time to calm down.”
A muscle feathered in my jaw as Xa
“Besides, what we built over centuries will not tumble down in a single night. This will all take time. And we will do it,” Kiira said, offering Xa
Our cousin pressed his bloody lips together like he was attempting to refrain from disagreeing.
I gave him my back and poured myself another measure of scale. One shot, then another, seared my gut. Kiira joined me, downing the last of her wine.
“Where are you staying?” I asked her when Xa
She shrugged. “I have my own room just below, but I figured I would call for a cot to be brought to Rapp’s, just in case he needed tending in the night.”
“He’s lucky to have a friend like you.” I dropped my voice and angled myself so Xa
She offered me a soft smile. “And I you. We’ll convince him. Together.”
Squeezing my hands, she backed away and fetched her veil. After settling it and the circlet over her head, she paused. Then, she took them both off again and tucked them into a pocket in her dress. “Starting tomorrow, no more veils for me. Or any of the priestesses here. Assyria has already made her stance on it, and I will not allow her to receive the stares of everyone for it. The first step for females being seen as equal is to remove the very thing keeping us hidden.”
Silence lingered for a moment. Then, Xa