Once everyone was off lunch, Luykas and Emerian found the Andinna in charge of the field. Nevyn was yawning as he saw them walk up.
“We need to put Emerian through some sparring matches. He wants to get onto the battlefield, and Alchan is willing to give him a chance,” Luykas explained to the other male.
Emerian didn’t know Nevyn well. He was one of the Ivory Shadows, making him a member of the royal guard and a close confidant to the king. He was also like Luykas in that he was designated a general in their forces. He could run entire campaigns under order of the king.
“Let’s do it. He uses a scythe now, yeah? I have wooden and steel. Which do you want him with?”
“Wood. I don’t want him accidentally taking off someone’s arm. The scythe is too good at dismembering people,” Luykas answered, smiling. “Thanks, my friend.”
“No problem. Have you considered where to put him if he’s ready? Has he thought about it?”
Emerian shook his head when Nevyn looked at him, and the older male smiled.
“I was going to keep him with people we know,” Luykas said softly. “He’s not going to be a grunt with the majority of the force. I think we can use him in other places and keep him in smaller units.”
“Good. I was going to recommend that. Maybe you can find someone in the Company who’s willing to take on a nemari. Or let him approach a few people. It’ll put him on the same missions as them and keep him close.”
“And help finish his education,” Luykas said, his tone making it obvious he liked the idea. “I’ll do that.”
Emerian was handed a wooden scythe and sent into a circle before he realized what was happening, still thinking about the nemari thing. Rain had been the king’s nemari before officially becoming a consort. An assistant, an Andinna in training under a noble or a high-ranking warrior—that was all he knew about it.
I need to focus.
His first sparring session didn’t go well, with Luykas barking at him that they had gone over it all before.
His second sparring session was a draw.
His third was a victory.
Nevyn kept throwing people at him as he talked to Luykas about something in private as they watched. Emerian was able to flip one massive male in a move that should have sliced through the male’s knee. He accidentally hit the next male in the neck, a clear win. The Andinna didn’t know how to fight against the scythe nearly as well as Trevan. He was smaller and faster as well, most of them massive males while he was more Mave’s size than Luykas’ or Nevyn’s. He slammed his wooden handle into the face of the sixth sparring partner, who went down, yelling about a broken nose.
“That’s enough!” Nevyn stepped into the circle, smiling. “He’s good, Luykas,” Nevyn said appreciatively. “Who has he been training with?”
“Me, Mat, and Trevan mostly,” Luykas answered.
“You and Matesh don’t know how to fight against the scythe all that well, either, which means we should be thanking Trevan for this,” Nevyn said, chuckling as he waved a hand at Emerian. “Elvasi soldiers get that training to put down human peasant revolts.”
“They do,” Luykas agreed. “And I know a thing or two about fighting it. I had a much more thorough training than Mat, but you’re right. Trevan is good with a sword, and he did well with Emerian.” Luykas walked to his side. “So Nevyn and I talked our way through the Company. There’s really only one possibility for you to have as a nemari. Nevyn and Varon worked together, and Varon’s muteness would make it hard if not impossible. I’m becoming the spymaster, so I won’t see much fighting anymore. Mat and Zayden aren’t in the right position to do it and don’t know the first thing about having a nemari. Alchan won’t take on another one. Kian is about to have a kid, so you don’t want to be near his family when that happens. Which leaves…”
“Mave,” Emerian said softly, his eyes going wide. “But…”
“You’ll need to convince her. I can’t force her into it. If you can convince her, you’re one step closer to being an official Ivory Shadow.” Luykas thumped his shoulder. “If you can’t, we might have to wait for you to join a larger campaign run by Nevyn and Varon, but you won’t get any of the private training being a nemari will get you. I want that for you. And about the other thing? This will give you a chance to figure out how you really feel if you can convince her to say yes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go on. And good luck with Mave.” Luykas grinned, turning back to Nevyn. “Now, we need to find a home for Trevan.”
Nevyn had a response, but Emerian didn’t catch it as he jumped, leaving the conversation and the field, heading to the sky.
He was going to fight in the rebellion. A year ago, he thought the entire idea was insane. Now, he couldn’t wait, something deep inside of him rejoicing at the chance. A piece he had always pushed away was now overjoyed with the possibilities.
He just needed to convince Mave Lorren to take him on as a nemari.
Skies help me.
8
Mave
Two days after Seanev arrived from the north, Kenav returned. Mave wasn’t upset as people cheered for the return of the second campaign. She wasn’t upset as Kenav jumped off his horse and greeted Alchan, proclaiming his victories the same way Nevyn did.
She got upset when he looked at her with a smug expression. She knew the expression well, and it rubbed her the wrong way.
“How many did you get?” he asked as Alchan watched. “You got back first, so I’m going to assume it didn’t go as well for you.”
“Five,” she answered. “A little better than your four. Obviously, not only did we bring home more victory, we moved faster.”
“Behave,” Alchan growled at them both with a smile. “The village is going to celebrate, and if you two go at each other’s throats, they’ll notice and get worried.”
“Forgive me. It’s just a friendly rivalry,” Kenav said softly.
“Yup.”
“Like anyone fucking believes that,” Alchan snapped. “Kenav, let’s talk quickly about the numbers. I need to know how many are dead, severely injured, or minorly injured. Once we’re done, you can enjoy the revelry.” He grabbed his cousin and pulled him away.
Mave leaned into Bryn, who had taken a silent place at her side as Kenav rode into the village.
“He’s an asshole,” Bryn said softly. She knew he could feel her tension and sense her mood. “But he did well. You can’t fault him that.”
“I didn’t fault him his victories. I got mad when he tried to make his success into my failure. I didn’t ask for it. I was standing at my king’s side like I’m supposed to.”
Around them, the village was a whirlwind of activity. Mave wasn’t in the mood for it this time, even if she was glad to see it. It was a conflicted feeling for her. Kenav doing well on his campaign was good for all of them.
It was also fucking Kenav, a piece of shit she had known for all her years in the pits as a gladiator she called Seventy-Two, from the number on his ear tag. He was a great leader. She now had to witness twice over how he could win lower-ranking Andinna to his side, with well thought out arguments and playing to their emotions. He hadn’t led all the gladiators, only enough of them to make her life a little more dangerous than it needed to be. He’d never tried to rape her or anything like that.
He’d just wanted her dead.
She knew things done in the pits were the extreme. Kenav, other than being a bit of an ass to her now, wasn’t an enemy of Alchan. He wasn’t an enemy to the Andinna or the rebellion.
However, they would never like each other.
“I hate him,” she whispered to her husband as they walked out of the crowd.
“I could fix it for you,” Bryn whispered, leaning in to put his lips on her ear. “He could not wake up after a long night drinking, and you’d never have to see him again. Well, unless you go to his funeral pyre when the body is burned, so the ashes can be spread.”
“Don’t talk like
that. If someone hears and something happens to him, they’ll blame you.” It wasn’t that far off to accuse Bryn of something like that. He was training scouts now, but he was very good at solo missions, which is why he was so good at moving alone and cleaning up the trail—get in, kill a few people, and open the right doors for the rest of the Company.
And sometimes, assassinate a target.
“No one in the Company likes him,” he said quietly, kissing her cheek as they finally left the crowd and were free to make it home. “Sure, we can reason with why he did what he did, why he hated you in the pits, but it doesn’t mean we have to agree with it. Just say the word, love, and I’ll fix this.”
Mave listened to those words. When she had met this dangerous male, she would have taken him up on the offer without thinking. Now, she considered everything in her brutal past. She was acutely aware she wasn’t the only victim or the only one who had to fight every day to survive.
Shadra had played her games well. She knew what the pits would do to me and the gladiators she put me down there with. She knew from the very beginning.
“I hate him, but looking back, I can see the chain of events that led to him and me. From the moment I was thrown into the pits, the wheels began to turn,” she said softly. “At the time, Seventy-Two wasn’t in charge of many. As word got around who I was and what my part in the War had been, which was inevitable, the gladiators grew angry. I don’t think they were angry at me to begin with. They were angry at my father for failing them because of me. My father was dead, and I was in the pits. I was female, which for some, called to baser instincts. Seventy-Two was angry, but he really didn’t start to hate me until I started killing them. Until I started rising to the level of Champion.
“I gave them reasons to hate me after that. Shadra played her game well. She knew I never wanted to die, and she knew the other gladiators would never forgive me for living. Things got twisted over the centuries, and one day, I knew there were some who wanted my body, and all of them wanted my head. Seventy-Two knew power came in two ways in the pits. Either winning every battle on the sands or…having the loyalty of the most Andinna. He was smart. He picked the latter. For his own protection as a leader, he needed an enemy. I was the only one he could pick without pissing off others who might become his enemy.”
“He tried to have you killed,” Bryn growled.
“A few times,” she agreed, not even trying to remember all the times. “And I killed thousands of them.”
“He tried to have Mat and Rain killed,” Bryn hissed. “Mave—”
“He had them jumped, so they would back off from me. He wanted them to be his,” she countered. “When that didn’t work, he knew he couldn’t let me form a group around myself, even when I wasn’t trying to, so yes, he tried to have them killed.”
“And Rain?”
That one made Mave stop. “I don’t think he told those warriors to try to…rape Rain,” she admitted. “If he did, I would have already killed him, regardless of what Alchan wanted.”
“You think those gladiators wanted Rain because they saw an easy opportunity.”
“Yes, and they’re all dead now.” Mave crossed her arms, staring at her husband. “You were a gladiator once, Bryn. Did anyone ever plot for people to be raped?”
“No…” he said, sighing. “It was a crime of opportunity. Anger and lust begin to blend and suddenly, there’s a moment to strike.”
“Exactly. So, I tolerate him even though I hate him. He can lead, and in the end, everyone was just trying to survive down there.” Mave started walking again, trying to beat down the memories. “And you can’t assassinate him in his sleep because the rebellion needs more Andinna like him.”
“There are others.”
“He is also Alchan’s cousin and still holds a lot of respect from the former gladiators, who are still sitting on the outside of our society. Because of me. Because I don’t trust them. If Kenav is killed by another Andinna, Alchan will have to respond. If he tries to execute you, I’ll have to stop him. Then we’re done. Everything we’re fighting for is lost.” She reached out and touched his cheek. “I know you love me enough to do it, anyway. I also know you love me enough to know not to do it. You’re just feeling a little bloodthirsty because he upset me.”
Bryn’s smile was bright, and his summer sky eyes twinkled deviously as he moved to walk backward in front of her. “How much do you love me?”
“More than enough to be down for whatever you have planned,” she murmured, leaning into him. Their lips met, and it was home. Bryn moaned as she ran her hands up his chest. They stopped walking as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She ran her hands back down and used one of them to tease at the knot holding his pants up, then further down to the erection he was already sporting.
A thump made their roaming hands stop, but they didn’t step away from each other.
Mave turned and saw Emerian where he landed, looking bashful.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…I’ll go.”
“Wait,” she ordered, smiling at Bryn before turning to the mutt.
Bryn coughed, trying to stay behind her and keeping one arm wrapped around her midsection. Emerian froze, his blood red ruby eyes wide. She watched as he swallowed, so very nervous to be in front of her after interrupting a moment between her and Bryn.
“What do you need?” she asked, feeling indulgent. Emerian was a good male. He just didn’t know what that meant yet. She never wanted to turn him away because he had so much to learn.
“Yesterday, Luykas and Nevyn sent me into some sparring, and they’re willing to let me start going out and fighting for the rebellion.”
“Good for you,” Bryn said, his voice giving away how happy he was for the mutt. “We need more warriors.”
“Thank you. They had the idea I should be someone’s nemari. They don’t want to throw me into a big force—”
“Of course not, it’s dangerous for you. Really, I’m amazed we haven’t seen more mutts coming out of the Empire. I figured there would be enough to make a force.”
“They normally don’t live long,” Bryn reminded her gently. “Anywhere. Many Elvasi kill them on sight, or they run to Olost. The ones who have survived might not want to leave Olost now. They’re against the law in the Empire, and they probably don’t know the Andinna would be willing to accept them.”
Mave winced. He was right. When she had first seen Rain, she had the clear thought of wondering how long he would survive. The small mutts never lived long.
“That’s right. So, why do you need me, Emerian?” She saw the look on his face, a mix of hope and desperation, but she didn’t know where it was coming from.
“Luykas and Nevyn…decided you were really the only choice to have a nemari right now. He left it up to me to ask you if you would accept me in the role.”
The air left Mave’s lungs as shock hit her. Her husband left Emerian to approach her about this? Without telling her it was coming?
I don’t know the first fucking thing about having a nemari! Skies damn you, Luykas Andini, when I get my fucking hands on you...
“Oh, shit,” Bryn said behind her.
“I’m not a noble,” she pointed out. Bryn snorted.
“You don’t have to be, love. You’re the Champion. As your nemari, when he finishes training, he’s looking at a place in the elites if not a command.”
“Why am I the only option? Nevyn—”
“Almost always fights with Varon,” Emerian said, cutting her off, desperation leaking into his voice.
“And Varon is mute, which would make things complicated,” she finished, sighing. “Kian?”
“About to have a kid. No one is going to want to be within a hundred yards of him once that baby is born,” Bryn said. “Ah, I see what Luykas did. He wrote off Mat and Zayden. They’re good, but they grew up common, and they have smaller positions. Not enough prestige to really give Emerian a good future. I’m in charge of a completely different part
of our forces, ones not suited to having a nemari, and scout work isn’t suited to Emerian. Alchan won’t take another one after Rain. Too soon. Luykas is becoming the new spymaster, and Emerian isn’t a Blackblood.”
Only one name didn’t come rolling off her husband’s tongue with an excuse as to why they weren’t available or enough.
Her own.
“Skies,” she whispered. “Look, Emerian, I don’t know the first thing about having a nemari. Can you give me a night to think about it?”
“Sure!” Emerian’s grin was energetic and just as pretty as she always thought it was.
“Meet me in your training field tomorrow at dawn, and I’ll have an answer.”
I’m going to fuck Bryn, strangle Luykas, then worry about this. In that order.
“I’ll be there.” Emerian jumped into the air, flying away.
“What are you thinking?” Bryn asked softly.
“I’m thinking I’m going to ride you, then wait to kill Luykas for letting this blindside me,” she answered, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go.”
Bryn offered no complaint to her plan, stripping the moment they were in the door. Zayden popped his head around the corner, laughing as Mave pushed Bryn into the bedroom. She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Care to join?”
“I would love to, but I’ve got something cooking on the fire,” he said, smiling. “I don’t want to set our things on fire by leaving it unattended.”
“Tell Luykas to come in if you see him,” she said, closing the bedroom door.
Bryn went to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist. His mouth played games with her body, worshipping her. She growled as the first orgasm rolled through her. Bryn was a smart male, lying back for her to climb on top of once she was ready.
“Do you know how sexy it is to hear you talk about killing people for me?” she asked softly, lowering herself on him. She moaned as she took all of him, resting into one of her favorite positions.
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