The Warrior's Assault

by Kristen Banet

  She winced. “How is he?”

  “You don’t want to know,” Nevyn whispered. “Maybe he’s doing better now. He should be more in control by our meeting. We’re planning to get everyone here by dinner.”

  “Do you need me for anything?” She rubbed her side, testing the cut there. It had been deep, but it felt like it had started knitting and scabbing. It would scar, joining all the others.

  “Not right now,” Alchan told her, looking down at the map. “Right now, we’re trying to get the logistics handled. Unless you have some hidden talent for that…”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Never done anything with it. I’ll get out of the way.”

  Varon grabbed her before she could leave. Once more, he signed to the males she couldn’t see, then grabbed her again and walked out with her.

  “I’m fine, Varon,” she growled after the door was closed. “I’m fine. We’re going to rescue them. We have to.”

  He started walking down the steps backward so she could see his hands. “No one should be alone right now. We’ll walk together. I’m no good in there, either.”

  “Really?” She dared to chuckle. “Aren’t you and Nevyn two of the best soldiers ever?”

  “I started out as a priest, then became a soldier. I never ranked up outside of my combat skills, and my muteness makes it difficult for me to be in those types of fast plans. Nevyn, however, loved being involved with the planning. I just followed his lead.”

  “Ah. Learn new things every day.”

  They walked away from Alchan’s home together, going down the trail, back toward the village. When they arrived, Mave felt the tense mood cast over all of them. Adults walked around, pulling things from the wreckage of the large buildings. Looking up, she saw others flying carefully in and out of homes. Without the perches, it seemed difficult.

  They didn’t talk to anyone. When they saw someone struggling to move a crate, they jumped in to help, then kept walking after it was loaded onto a cart.

  “This is her fault,” someone whispered.

  Mave froze. Varon grabbed her arm, shaking his head slowly.

  “Say that again,” she ordered softly, yanking herself free from the mute. She turned in the direction of the whisper. A group of males were cleaning up. “Say it again.”

  “This is your fault,” a male growled. “They came here because of you.”

  She snarled. There it was. The blame—the thing that enraged her.

  It is my fault.

  “If the Company had left you in the Empire, they never would have come here,” another added.

  The fury boiled in her veins again.

  “I didn’t ask for this,” she hissed. “I tried to save them.”

  “You didn’t try hard enough!” the first male roared. “My wife is gone!” He jumped for her. “It should have been you!”

  She caught him and roared back as she tossed him into the dirt. She growled down at him, not paying attention to the others around her, grunting as a fist smashed across the back of her head. She staggered, reaching back to find blood where the blow had landed. She grabbed the male closest to her, kneeing him in the gut. She spun and pushed him into a different one, giving herself space.

  “Three against one?” She grinned. “Let’s go.”

  Varon tried to grab her, but he was too slow. She dove into one of them, tumbling to the ground. The second kicked her off his buddy. The third stomped down, and she roared as he hit her injury. One was pulled away as Varon joined the fray. That left her with two. She grabbed the male’s ankle before he could stomp again and twisted until he fell. She didn’t break it, but only because he fell before she could. She elbowed the first in the face as he tried to grab her from behind and stop her from getting up. On her feet, she kicked his head as someone grabbed her and yanked her back to the ground.

  They rolled around, exchanging punches. People yelled at them to stop, screaming for them to knock it off.

  This is my fault.

  She roared, breaking the nose of the male under her.

  “ENOUGH!” someone roared. “I said enough!” A hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled, forcing her off the male. Thick arms wrapped around her, locking her arms and wings down. She roared, kicking, trying to free herself.

  “Release me!” she snarled. “Let me go!”

  “Enough, Mave.”

  She recognized the voice. It stopped her fight. She couldn’t hurt him.

  “Kian.”

  “Yeah, Kian.” He yanked her along then shoved her away from the crowd that formed around them. Varon shoved someone behind him and walked to them, growling. “Get out of here. Now. You too, Varon. The village is mine, and I want both of you out of it.” He turned and started walking away before she could find anything to say. “The rest of you! Start another fight with the Company, and I’ll fucking gut you!”

  Varon stopped next to her, growling low, the rumble of his chest the first sound she ever heard from him.

  “He blames me,” she whispered.

  Varon looked away. She jumped up. Nowhere was safe for the Andinna, and it was her fault. She hadn’t realized Varon followed her until they were back at Kian’s.

  “I didn’t think they would start a fight. I figured they would let you stretch your legs,” Varon signed. “Kian wouldn’t have minded if we didn’t get into trouble.”

  “He blames me,” she growled. Pain gripped her chest. Kian was her friend. Senri was her friend. She broke their family, and now they hated her.

  “No. He blames the Company. He blames the mission we went on that ended up rescuing you. He was for it at the time, upset he wasn’t being allowed to go, but the Company lost no one, and now he’s lost everything. He’ll come back around.”

  “Did he leave the Company? Did I do that?”

  “We don’t know yet. He asked us to leave him be. This isn’t your fault.”

  “It feels like it is,” she said, swallowing a mouthful of guilt. “But we’re going to get them, and I’m going to kill every Elvasi that stands in my way. They’re going to wish they had forgotten about me.”

  20

  Alchan

  Alchan left his brother to cook with Matesh and Leshaun. He wasn’t in the mood for the Company. He wasn’t in the mood for much of anything. He was the king of a dying people, and this was a blow they couldn’t afford—he couldn’t afford.

  That had a way of killing whatever companionship he had with those around him. He needed to think, and he could only do that alone.

  He wasn’t the only one, either. As he walked through his main room, he saw Nevyn sitting alone, an unusual sight. Varon was still hovering over Mave, and Kian was...

  Kian was probably going to leave them for this—all of them.

  Alchan ignored the sting in his chest. It wouldn’t be the first time they had lost a Company member over this type of disagreement, but Kian cut deep. Over a thousand years of working together and this was going to break it.

  He walked outside to see Brynec sparring with Rainev, both fast as lightning. He hadn’t talked to Rainev about his offer yet, and he wasn’t sure when it would be a good idea. After everything, the thought of designating a nemari seemed small.

  He walked down the steps slowly, finding Varon and Mave sitting quietly by his waterfall. She was ridden by guilt nothing he could do would fix. Varon was the spiritual healer. If he couldn’t do it and her males couldn’t do it, nothing ever would.

  Maybe the rescue mission would help her. He didn’t want to see a good warrior fall apart from survivor’s guilt.

  He walked away from all of them, heading into his woods. The world was moving too fast, and he had too many important decisions to make. He needed everything to slow down. He needed everything to be quieter.

  A twig snapped behind him, and he growled.

  “What do you want?” he asked whoever was behind him.

  “Sir…” Rainev walked closer and stepped around to his side. Alchan frowned at him.
“I saw you leaving and remembered no one can be alone—”

  “And?”

  “As your nemari, I am the one expected to remain at your side.” Rainev lifted his chin, daring to look him in the eyes.

  “So,” he sighed, “that’s your answer.” He thought Rainev would have forgotten in the madhouse of the attack—apparently not. “Sit. Be quiet. I need to think.”

  “Yes, sir.” Rainev did as asked, and once settled, he didn’t move a muscle.

  He tried not to smirk. He had more important things to worry about, but he was glad something went right in the last few days. This also presented him with someone to bounce ideas off who wouldn’t talk back or argue. He wasn’t in the mood for the arguments. The afternoon trying to deal with logistics with Luykas and Nevyn had given him enough of those.

  Rainev did as he asked, staying silent, keeping a watchful eye on the woods around them, leaving Alchan to his thoughts.

  There was so much to do. The village had to be abandoned. It wasn’t secure anymore, and there wasn’t any leadership in place. The supplies were ruined. Only a third of their horses were saved. Homes were destroyed. He’d personally gone to the Company homes early in the morning after sending most of them to sleep. Rainev’s home with Zayden was destroyed, a lot of things burned to ash. Mave’s home hadn’t been burned, but he saw the bodies and the blood. He’d send Matesh later to get their remaining items. Leshaun’s home had been ransacked, many of his old tomes and scrolls destroyed. Luykas’ home was relatively untouched, like Nevyn and Varon’s. He didn’t go to Kian’s home. Kian hadn’t let him see what he had to replace or what irreplaceable things had been lost.

  “I don’t need anything from you.”

  Alchan rubbed his face.

  “Rainev, when we get back, I want you to go and see if Kian will be joining us.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Please stop calling me sir,” he groaned.

  “Are you sure he’ll be up to seeing any of us?”

  “He’ll see you. He probably considers you innocent in all of this.” Alchan looked down at the young male. “Just get his answer.” He held out a hand. He didn’t know how long he kept them out in the woods, but it was time to head in. The sun was setting.

  “What are you thinking? What are we going to do?” Rainev grabbed his hand, letting Alchan pull him up.

  Normally, he wouldn’t answer, but Rainev was going to be with him constantly. Answering these questions was important to his training.

  “First, I need to know where Kian stands before this meeting. Then we’re going to break it all down over dinner. Everyone’s had atleast day to recover, to think, and to plan. I’ve had Luykas reverse engineer the attack plan so we can better understand it. Nevyn was handling logistics. Kian took over the village, and if he comes, he should have information on what’s left. If he doesn’t, you need to stay on his ass until he gives it to you. Then we need to talk about the rescue.” He patted Rainev on the shoulder. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Rainev started walking away, and Alchan was true to his word, walking slowly and keeping Rainev in his sight. When they broke out of the forest, the young male didn’t take off and head to the village.

  Alchan looked over him to find Kian standing alone on his steps. Walking up to the steps, Kian didn’t move. Rainev stayed behind him, guarding his back. Alchan refused to speak first, meeting Kian’s stare. He was the king, and Kian was angry, but he was still outranked.

  “Alchan,” Kian finally broke the silence.

  “Are you still a member of the Ivory Shadows, or is this your formal resignation?”

  “I’ll be a member until we rescue Senri,” the warrior growled. “After that, we’ll revisit the topic.”

  “I won’t tolerate an attitude.” Alchan stepped up, meeting Kian on the same step, chest-to-chest, their eyes meeting in obvious challenge. “People may die on this mission, and anger may get you killed, or Willem or Gentrin, before we even reach her. How will I be able to explain that to her? ‘Kian blamed us and didn’t follow orders. He was pissed off and got your family killed.’ Want to know what might be harder than telling you Senri was captured? That.”

  Kian looked down, submitting to him. “Yes, sir.”

  “And if you dare blame Matesh, Rainev, or Mave, I’ll gut you. Blame me. Nevyn and Varon? They’re soldiers who follow orders. My orders. They don’t deserve the cold shoulder from you. You’ve fought with them for thousands of years. If you blame anyone, blame me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You have one chance to speak your mind, right now. Get it out, then we’ve got a mission.” Alchan growled at the end, unable to keep it locked away.

  “We knew the Empress goes hit-for-hit. We knew and hit her too hard, so she hit us harder than…” Kian swallowed. “I don’t…I don’t blame you, but I don’t think after this I can stay in the Company. I can’t lose someone else to the Empire.”

  “I understand. Let’s go rescue your female.” Alchan walked up his steps again. Rain ran to keep up with him and grabbed his door before he could. “You don’t need to do that unless we’re in a political situation, like meetings with foreign dignitaries.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Rainev kept holding the door though, so Alchan walked in, shaking his head.

  “Everyone here?” he called out. “Now, this is normally the time of year when I would host a cookout, and we would laugh about how our hunts went and brag about the game we took down. In an effort to keep some of that normalcy, I’m going to brag for a moment. I’ve never killed a cave bear with Luykas. Zayden, Rainev, good work.”

  A few chuckles filled the room, even from behind him where Kian was hiding.

  “And while I’m talking about Rainev, I have an important announcement. I’ve been training him over the winter while he was going through the well-earned slap on the wrist I gave him. I offered him the position of my nemari, and he’s accepted.”

  That was a shock, one that brought silence to the room again. The only person not surprised was Zayden, who began to clap. Others joined in. He saw Matesh whispering to Mave, who started to clap last. She probably had no idea what a nemari was until that moment.

  “Now onto the more serious topics at hand,” he said, sighing. “We were attacked. Luykas? You have a history lesson ready for us, I hope.”

  “Shadra took advantage of our traditions. She might outwardly hate the Andinna, but there’s a history lesson in her hate that needs to be understood. She’s jealous our females are revered and put on pedestals, leading armies, our country, our people. She’s incredibly intelligent and has spent a very long time learning every little thing about us. This goes back to times before the War. She was part of the emissaries who would meet with ours and talk trade deals. She was cultural outreach, helping the two races who lived beside each other to understand each other.”

  Alchan watched Mave for this. They were talking about the woman who had put Mave through hells designed to break their people.

  “Why are we going through this?” Kian asked with a growl. “We know—”

  “We don’t know,” Alchan snapped. “Right now, the general consensus is she had our village attacked to capture Mave, but that’s not good enough. Not even for Shadra. To defeat our enemy and prepare for future attacks, we have to understand our enemy. I think we need to break this down to understand. Luykas is the expert in Elvasi ways and has had his focus on this since it happened.” He nodded at his brother, who was an expert in more than just the Elvasi. “Continue.”

  “Eventually, she grew power-hungry, angry at the life she had to live as she saw our people thriving. She was expected to marry into another house and watch her line die, forgotten because her parents only had a daughter, not an all-important son.” Luykas sighed. “She hated us because she wanted power like our females had. It goes further than that, though. Shadra isn’t completely compelled by her emotions. She’s too smart for that, so she bends circumstances to fit her goals
politically as well. She married the Emperor, who needed to prove himself for history. She whispered in his ear, most likely because we were at war with them.

  “When the War ended, the Emperor mysteriously died after she gave birth to a son. Now, let’s be honest, she had him killed, and when her infant son was supposed to take the throne and have a regent, she took control. She helped the Emperor to their greatest victory in all of history. They respected her—as the Emperor’s smart wife but also as a leader. She achieved the power she always wanted.”

  “How does that explain what happened here?” Mave asked, growling softly.

  “Because we hurt her in not one but two ways.” Luykas held up two fingers to emphasize his point.

  Alchan crossed his arms, leaning back on the wall. He was never as politically minded as his brother, but he knew what Luykas intended to say. To anyone in a position of power, it was clear.

  “One was personal,” Luykas continued. “We took her property away from her. Her special slaves who represented her victories, to not just us but her own people. We walked into their capital and took them, which is how we hurt her in a second way—politically. We made her look weak to those who keep her in power, and that’s what we forgot to consider when we came home.”

  “So…” Mave was still frowning. Alchan knew the female had no head for politics but was impressed to see her trying. “She needs to look strong again.”

  “Exactly,” Alchan agreed. “Like any of us if our position was threatened. Her nobles are probably whispering about how she’s weak, how they can’t believe they let a woman rule when we could do this to her. She must not have a mind for military. So, she proved them wrong.”

  “And attacked us in our safest place, deep in Olost, which probably also pisses off the Free Cities who can’t fight a ground war with the Empire. They were probably convinced to allow her to come after us, so they weren’t the new focus. She probably proved she could sneak in enough men to take one of their cities without the pirates catching them. That’s dangerous for the Free Cities.” Luykas paced before settling in the middle of the room.