The Enemy's Triumph

by Kristen Banet

  “Like you?” Alchan asked, looking up at him again. “Do you think so? You, Mat, and Mave knew him in the pits.”

  “Mave knew him better than the rest of us,” Rain reminded his lover.

  “Mave, as much as I love my wife, is not the person you want to ask for an unbiased opinion on the gladiators as they are now,” Luykas said with a heavy sigh. “She has a lot of years with them that can never be undone. I’m glad to hear the worst didn’t make it here, but even the ones she ignored or ignored her are not Andinna she will ever trust, even if they deserve it or earn it.”

  Rain nodded slowly. He knew that. There was no hope for Mave and the gladiators. Keeping them apart was the best thing they could do. Mave was being good about it, so were the gladiators, and that was exactly what Rain needed…what the rebellion needed.

  “How is Mave doing with the females?” he asked, looking between the two males. “She doesn’t talk much during the meetings.”

  “She plays music for the newer females every couple of days,” Luykas answered. “Sometimes, I’ll go listen. I don’t think anyone considers her in charge of them. Most look to Allaina or Senri for any real help, but it’s good for them to see Mave regularly. She’s more of an icon than their leader. And, in better news, she gets along with all of them right now since we sent Fyren and some of the others to Leria.”

  “It works,” Alchan said, shrugging. “If Mave doesn’t want to be more than what she is, I’m not going to force her into it.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” Luykas agreed. “She has enough on her plate.”

  “With Bryn gone and her recent problems with you, I agree,” Rain said with a small bite. He smiled when Luykas looked up at him.

  “The only male in her household not giving her problems is Matesh,” Luykas fired back. “And we’re going to include your father in that.”

  Alchan lost his composure, looking both shocked and amused. Rain felt shock blanket over him as he absorbed what Luykas had said.

  “Explain,” Rain demanded. “What do you mean about my father? He’s the perfect house guest from what I’ve heard. He does the job of her three husbands by cooking and cleaning up after all of you.” He was insulted. His father, for all his problems, knew exactly how to behave with a female he respected, unlike Luykas.

  “Oh, we’ve noticed,” Luykas snapped back, giving a vicious grin of his own. “Maybe you should talk to your father about how he gets rock hard for my wife.”

  “Okay…” Alchan stood up and moved Rain away from the table. “Why don’t we talk about this like rational males?”

  “He doesn’t—”

  “Bryn picked up on it before he left on his mission. Mat and I have picked up on it as well. Mave has even picked up on it. Though I’m not sure what’s more shocking, my brother and you or Mave and Zayden. I wonder which is going to rattle the Company to its bones?” Luykas huffed. “Yeah, Zayden is the perfect houseguest. He’s also totally in love with Mave and won’t act on it. He smiles for her. He laughs. He’s the same old grouchy prick with the rest of us.” Luykas deflated as if his energy had run out. “I’m not even sure why I’m angry right now.”

  “Neither am I,” Alchan growled. “Don’t…”

  “Sorry, brother,” Luykas said softly. “I would never move on Rain in any way, aggressive or otherwise.”

  “You better not,” Alchan whispered, turning to glare. Rain swallowed a lump in his throat as he realized Alchan had been trying to calm down the near fight, so he didn’t have to choose between his brother and his lover.

  Rain took a moment to consider the idea of his father and Mave. Mave was his adopted sister, but when was the last time they truly acted like it? He looked up to her, but he’d outgrown the need for her. She’d given him the strength to keep fighting and protected him when he needed it. As in all things for the long-lived races, the idea of family could be a fickle thing. Sometimes, Mave treated him more like a fellow warrior and not her brother. Sometimes, he treated her like a mother and not a sister, sometimes neither. Evolving, changing as time moved forward, the way of the long-lived races.

  “If they’re happy, there’s nothing wrong with my father joining her,” he said quietly. “Maybe it’ll be what he needs.”

  “I think it will be exactly what he needs,” Luykas replied, rubbing his face. “I think he’s the glue holding her damn household together right now. Since he’s not on the training rotation as he goes through therapy, he manages all of it while the rest of us are pulled in every direction. She’s going to keep testing the waters and see how it plays out. We’ll see if anything comes of it or if it’s a temporary infatuation.”

  Rain barked a laugh. “My father doesn’t do anything temporarily. If he’s into Mave, then he’s into her. Let me talk to him. He’ll always be honest with me.”

  And maybe this has something to do with the talk we had in Kerit. Maybe he’s trying to live again, and I need him to do that. I won’t watch my father waste away, and maybe she’s the reason he hasn’t been.

  “After we talk to Kenav. It’s the right time of day to catch many of them in the dining hall on that side of the valley,” Alchan said. “Luykas, can we pick this up later?”

  “Certainly. I’ll go check in with Matesh and his work. He’s been saying the untrained males are coming along quickly. He gets more every day, though, and I’m starting to worry he’ll be swamped.”

  “It hasn’t been easy to keep all the training schedules, but when Nevyn, Varon, and Brynec get back, he’ll be able to take a moment off. Help him out if you can.” Alchan sighed at his brother before turning on Rain. “Let’s go.”

  Rain followed him to the door, and they pulled on their boots. They were followed by Luykas outside into the crisp air. It was spring, but there was still a bite to the air and snow patches on the ground in the shadowed areas of the valley. In another week, those would be gone, but Rain had already been warned by Alchan the chilly bite might not leave until mid-summer.

  Luykas took off first, heading for the largest clearing in the valley where a majority of their force trained under Matesh. A lot of green warriors were in that flock and green unit commanders, all listening to Matesh try to guide the masses.

  “Do you think we’ll train everyone in time for a battle?” Rain asked, watching Luykas disappear into the sky.

  “Luckily, major battles are unlikely. Smaller skirmishes will frequently happen as the Elvasi try to punch into the mountains and set up new camps to deploy from. If we can disrupt that, they’ll never get into the mountains, but it’s going to be tricky. We need more information from the scouting team, but they’ve gone dark as they were trained to do. We won’t hear back from them for at least another week.”

  “Of course.”

  Alchan took off, and Rain followed. They made a quick flight directly over the central village, now a booming hub of activity, and landed on the other side of it, where another two barracks had been quickly built and were already brimming with males. Nearly every home in the cliffsides was full.

  “I need Allaina to hurry with the second village,” Rain muttered, shaking his head at the cramped nature of their valley.

  “They’re going as quickly as they can. It’s the village we passed over when we escaped Ellantia but decided to stay in the Spine. It’s a bit rougher than this one, and they started working on it while we were in Kerit. It should be ready by the end of spring. Blackbloods have already sacrificed to the land, so they’re also working the fields,” Alchan explained. “You would know all of this if you weren’t so distracted by the project I didn’t want you to take on.”

  “Someone had to do it who had met many of the gladiators,” Rain countered. “And I didn’t want it to be Mave or Matesh. I didn’t want you or Luykas doing it either, and Skies forbid if my father had done it. It was best I did it, and nothing happened.”

  Alchan snorted and walked through the congregation of males everywhere. Rain stuck to his side as if he
was attached to it, knowing this would make him feel more comfortable. Rain didn’t like how crowded it got around the living quarters, thankful he lived on a cliffside where no one else dared to move. Alchan didn’t touch him, but Rain knew his king could tell Rain was uncomfortable.

  “I don’t like them living like this,” he said softly.

  “I don’t either,” Rain replied, looking around. “Kenav normally hangs out in the dining hall and talks to everyone when they’re off.”

  Alchan nodded.

  Andinna watched them as they passed, bowing and lowering their heads respectfully. Rain had no doubt in his mind about the loyalty of the gladiators to Alchan. They all seemed to accept their king and were glad to see one Andinna rise above them to rule and lead.

  They headed into the community dining hall, another quickly thrown together building. Not that it was shabby, but it wouldn’t last longer than a decade, and something better would have to be built.

  Hopefully, we’re not going to be doing this for an entire decade.

  Rain stepped ahead of Alchan and raised his chin as Andinna began to notice them.

  “Introducing King Alchan Andini,” he called. Alchan nodded once to the room and started walking again. They normally didn’t do the protocol of introducing Alchan to the room, but Rain had felt it was best for this situation. If Alchan had a problem with it, he would mention it later, and they could hash it out.

  Alchan made it to Kenav on the far side of the large space first. Rain followed closely, watching the gladiators inside, making sure they were all perfectly respectful. The noise that had encompassed the room when they walked in was muffled now, as whatever conversations were going on were hushed. Everyone in the room wanted to know why the king had come to their small piece of the village.

  “Cousin,” Alchan greeted politely. “We have much to discuss.”

  “Do we, Your Majesty?” Kenav’s confusion was readable from his voice, and Rain glanced his way to see it plain on his face as well. “Has something happened?”

  “No…” Alchan looked back at Rain, who nodded sharply. Rain trusted his judgment on the matter. Turning back to his cousin, Alchan continued. “We’ve finished our investigation. No gladiators need to report to me for any reason pertaining to their behavior or actions in the pits or during their captivity.”

  Kenav’s face morphed into something between insulted and pissed.

  “You came all this way to tell me something I already knew?” Kenav growled.

  “Watch your tongue with your king,” Rain growled back. “Crimes had been committed in the pits, and we had to make sure those who committed the most grievous of them were punished. None of those we were concerned about made it to Anden.”

  “What crimes?” Kenav snarled down at Rain.

  Alchan stepped carefully between them, taller than his cousin by far. Gladiators whispered around the community hall, but no one else intervened.

  “Crimes including rape and attempted rape,” Alchan whispered as he leaned toward his cousin, to say it so softly, only the closest Andinna could hear. “Crimes I’ve had detailed to me by survivors of such horrors, committed on them by their own people. I’m willing to forgive a lot, but I was never going to forgive that. Don’t be a fool, Kenav. Things happened in those pits, despicable things. I want you to spread word if anyone is being covered for, we’re more than willing to continue hearing reports, but as it stands, we’ve decided to close our active investigation. These warriors will continue working with the units they’ve been assigned to, and nothing else will happen as long as everyone keeps to the ways of our people.”

  “Of course,” Kenav whispered back, looking down at his feet.

  Rain wished he could flick a glance at Alchan because he had an idea. Luckily, Alchan was smart enough to figure out the same idea on his own.

  “Because of your patience in this matter and your strong loyalties to these warriors, I want to bring you in as one of my advisors. We need to cut your teeth on fighting a war after being out of the game for so long. If all goes well, maybe this time next year, I’ll have you in charge of your own units,” Alchan said softly. “You’ll keep working with me, but don’t ever give my nemari an attitude. That will get you killed. If not by me, then by my warriors. He’s a member of the Company and therefore, considered family. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for the honor,” Kenav said, bowing lower.

  “Now, that’s all I had to say. Rainev is taking the rest of the afternoon off, so you can feel free to come with me, and we’ll discuss more.” Alchan patted his cousin’s shoulder. “Including how I’m supposed to get you and my Champion to work together.”

  “We’ve grown good at avoiding each other,” Kenav said with a rueful smile. “I figured it was best for both of us and everyone around us.”

  “You would be right, but if you’re coming into my inner circle, you’ll both need to learn. Rain, you’re dismissed. Go check up on your father.”

  Rain smirked. Alchan was getting nosy, too. Rain bowed and walked out, ignoring the Andinna around him. He was more confident than he once was. If he had been in a room with males like these just a year ago, he wouldn’t have felt secure. While he was uncomfortable, he wasn’t scared.

  He left the overcrowded section of the village and flew across the valley to Mave’s home, landing deftly on her porch, knowing his father would be inside. He knocked twice then entered, knowing he wasn’t required to stay outside and have someone invite him in. The Andinna who lived in this home were as much his family as any of the Company.

  “Who…” Zayden walked into view and smiled. “Rain, my boy. How are you?”

  Rain smiled and went to his father. They shared a brief hug, then moved into the dining area. An afternoon setup was already prepared with small sandwiches and an entire tea arrangement. It wasn’t fancy, but Rain quickly counted the mugs set out. Enough for Mave, her males, and Zayden. Enough sandwiches for them to all snack on if they stopped home between training sessions. The only thing that was off was a mug set out, probably for Bryn, and he wasn’t around. Not a mistake his father would normally make if he had company over.

  “I’m good, baba. Alchan gave me the afternoon off to come see you and relax a little. I just finished a major project for him. How are you?” Rain tried not to sound too curious.

  “What project?” his father countered, raising his eyebrows.

  “Investigating the gladiators for any who needed to stand before him for judgment,” Rain answered, shrugging. “I knew many of their faces and the culture they lived in. It was no problem.”

  “You kept it awfully secret. I hadn’t heard you were put on that.”

  “I didn’t want it getting back to Mave. I knew it would worry her,” Rain explained honestly. “I didn’t want her to worry or feel the need to jump in and protect me, so I kept it quiet.”

  “Ah. She’ll be mad at you, but I understand the thought process.” His father nodded wisely. “I never worried Summer with things she couldn’t change. There’s no need to dump things into a female’s lap she can’t solve.” His father eyed him as he finally sat down. “So, you’ve come to bother me for the afternoon?”

  “You, Mave, the family,” Rain said, smiling. “I’ve heard a little rumor.”

  “Skies, I can only imagine.” Zayden grabbed the kettle from the center of the table and poured tea for both of them. “Tell me. I’m cooped up in here.”

  “I heard you might be…interested in Mave,” Rain said softly.

  His father froze for a moment, then slowly put the kettle down.

  “Did she tell you that?” his father asked quietly.

  “No. I think her males have picked up on it. Luykas mentioned it.”

  Zayden cursed, and Rain scooted back from the table, ready for his father to snap and snarl. Not that his father would really act out, but there was a hot drink on the table. Rain didn’t want to get accidentally splashed with it.

 
“Was he right, baba?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Zayden whispered, standing. His father began to pace. “It doesn’t matter because she already turned me down once before. It doesn’t matter that she makes me laugh and has a charming, free side to her not many see. It doesn’t matter that she takes care of what I need. None of it matters because she’s already made it clear to me my attraction to her is unwanted. The moment I’m cleared to fly, I’m considering moving out before things get more complicated.”

  “Are you even ready for a second wife?” Rain asked gently. “Father—”

  “I’ve moved on from your mother as best as I’ll ever be able. We’ve had this talk. Am I ready for just any female? No. I’m over Summer because…” Zayden waved around at the home they were in. “They make me feel like I belong here, but Mave doesn’t want me.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She’s told me so. A year ago, when you were injured, and we had just given you over to Alchan because you’re his nemari, and he wanted to keep an eye on you. I…I told her I thought her protective nature over you was attractive, and she…” Zayden sighed and rubbed his face. “She laughed, Rain. Mave and I are never going to happen.”

  “Baba—”

  “Drop it. It’s not your business,” Zayden growled. “And I don’t need more salt to rub in that wound. I’m doing my best to keep out of her hair when we’re not training, and when we are, I just try not to be attracted to her. It’s hard enough—”

  The door opened, and his father fell silent, which was for the best. Rain didn’t believe for a minute Mave had meant to completely reject him the way another female Andinna would. Were there lines females had to draw to keep males away? Yes, but Mave wasn’t that type of female. She didn’t draw in strangers who were looking for power because she scared those types of males. His father was a strong, attractive, younger male who was perfect and, from the outside, looked to be working well with her family.