The Enemy's Triumph

by Kristen Banet

  “Why?” Trevan asked, covering up just how curious he was but barely. It was there, an intense need to know more.

  “Senri and her males had a warrior child who died during the War. Senri saw something in Mave and wanted her to be close—to be her friend, her mother, her mentor. They relate, those two. Kian always wanted a daughter and saw his chance to pretend like he had one.” Luykas shrugged. “So, she got all of us to say goodbye earlier and went to visit her family before they rode out. It’s fine.”

  The drums continued, pounding loud enough Emerian could feel them in his bones. It took a long time for them to fade away again.

  Luykas nodded appreciatively at the end.

  “That’s the sendoff they deserve. May they bring glory to our cause and fly swiftly on the blessed black wings of Kristanya.”

  “Kristanya?” Emerian had heard the name before. “She’s one of our, uh, goddesses, isn’t she?”

  “She is. The twin of Lariana, goddess of light and leader of our pantheon. Lariana brought us into existence and gave us order, but Kristanya gives us our purpose. She gave us her wings,” Luykas answered, nodding slowly. “Maybe…maybe you should meet Varon. He’s been injured and won’t be back in fighting shape for weeks, if not more. He’ll probably like a moment to devote himself to a more priestly task. He is one, you see.”

  “He’s one of the…males who are together,” Emerian said carefully. He’d had attractions to other males but had never been with one. The idea of committing himself for eternity to some other cock was foreign to him.

  “Oh, you really are more bent to the Elvasi side,” Luykas said with a chuckle. “Their marriage is just as valid as mine with Mave. They’re what every marriage should want to be, honestly. They’re perfect together.”

  “Of course!” Emerian felt terrible. “I didn’t mean to…I just never…”

  “I get it. I had some culture shock when I moved to Anden, too,” Luykas said, laughing. “Lighten up, Emerian. You’re in Anden, and unless you’re holding a weapon, we’re not nearly as serious as the Elvasi. We’re like the trees, the mountains, and the wind. We know how to coexist and remain who and what we are as individuals. We followed the rules that are instinctive to us, but we don’t make unnecessary ones to bend others to something unnatural. It’s why mutts do better in Anden than they do in the Empire.”

  “Neither accepted me in the Empire,” Emerian reminded him. “And you train us because you know there are some who will kill us if they get the chance.”

  “You stick close to me or anyone from the Company, and you’ll learn what Anden really represents,” Luykas said softly. “You’ll keep learning, and so will those who are too burned by their time in captivity to understand what you bring to the table. One day, there won’t be any animosity, because it’s not natural for us. You have wings, and therefore, you are Andinna, born to claim the skies.”

  Emerian nodded. He always appreciated this. Even when he remembered how tenuous his position in the world was, Luykas reminded him how far a mutt could go, even one who’s half-Elvasi. And there was the blue mutt, Rainev. He was small but powerful. He wasn’t even truly long-lived, but he commanded respect from those who looked at him. No mutt could ever achieve that in the Empire—Emerian had tried his entire life.

  But these respected Andinna look at me and see something of them in me. That’s something worth holding on to.

  “I think we’re done with training today,” Luykas declared, clapping his hands together. “Trevan, I think Dave will be needed at the evening meetings, thanks to Mave’s absence, and he’s good at crunching numbers. If you don’t mind—”

  “I’ll escort him,” Trevan said with a snappy bite. “See you later in the war room.” The Elvasi walked off quickly, wiping sweat from his forehead.

  Emerian frowned at his friend’s back, but Luykas only sighed sadly, grabbing Emerian before he could follow.

  “Leave him. He’s obviously going through something neither of us can help with unless he talks to us. Sometimes, a man needs time to figure out something for himself.”

  “But—”

  “We’re going to talk to Varon and maybe my brother. I think we need to expand your education about our people. It’ll help you fit in better. We’ll start with my brother, actually.”

  “I don’t like your brother. Well, I don’t know him. He’s just…” Emerian didn’t know how to stop shoving his tail in his own mouth.

  “I know. When I first met him, I didn’t much like him either. He’s imposing, formidable, dangerous, and fills up a room with his very presence. When Mave is standing next to him, I’m amazed any of us know how to breathe. They’re too much.” Luykas released him and thumped his shoulder in one fluid moment. “Let’s go.”

  Emerian launched into the air beside him, and they flew hard for a cliffside. They landed together, and Emerian looked around, seeing only one home in view on this cliff. He tilted his head back and saw another high above. With further inspection, he saw dark holes in the sides of the cliff. Maybe they were homes that hadn’t been refurbished yet.

  “Brother!” Luykas called out. He tapped Emerian and nodded his head to the door, and Emerian followed him up the stairs, swallowing a hard, terrified lump in his throat as Luykas threw open the door and walked in without knocking. “Alchan!”

  “What?” Alchan snarled back from a back room.

  “Present yourself, I have company with me,” Luykas called, now with more patience and some worry in his voice.

  Alchan strolled into the room, his hair somewhat a mess.

  “There was nothing happening.” Alchan lifted his chin and gave a hard stare at his brother, baring his teeth.

  “Yet,” Luykas muttered. “Doesn’t matter. I was hoping you and I could have a talk with Emerian. He’s still having a hard time with some of the instincts of being Andinna and embracing them. And I think it might just be good for him. You helped me adjust, and Rain lives here, another mutt.”

  “Ah…” Alchan nodded slowly and waved for them to come in further. “Come have a seat. I know it’s troubling times, but I don’t like hearing how any of my people aren’t feeling their best. Please.”

  Emerian noticed the change and saw something soften in the king’s face. Was it because he had done a lot of this for Luykas as the white-winged mutt had mentioned?

  “Luykas, for his royal blood, might seem like he had it easy,” Alchan said blandly as he went into the kitchen. Emerian sat down at the table when Luykas pulled out a seat for him. “But in reality, it wasn’t easy and never will be. He was raised by his Elvasi mother with all the Elvasi rules and standards. She also refused to teach him any of the arts of war, including those of her people.”

  “Mind you, I wasn’t betrayed by either side of my blood until much later, unlike you. What you went through must have made you want to stomp down your Andinna side for a long time. My wife recently mentioned to me, she wants you to get your tatua, but I’ve been hesitant to ask.”

  “For good reason. I’m with Mave. The sooner he has it, the sooner he stops seeming like an outcast among the valley, and the target on his back gets smaller,” Alchan said, bringing in two drinks. “Tatua is our mark of Andinna adulthood, the first of it, anyway. Then, as we go through major life events and feel it’s time, we’ll reach out to a Blackblood for more. I’ve been getting the itch.”

  “I don’t…” Emerian looked away. “I don’t want it. I’ve turned people down before. I thought…it makes us look so dangerous and aggressive, and I never wanted to be associated with that.”

  “It can seem that way when an angry Andinna is confronting you,” Alchan agreed. He smiled as he sat down. “Our father wore his like armor, and he was a vicious, brutal male who wanted everyone around him to submit in fear. Imagine Luykas, growing up with Elvasi sensibilities, meeting such a man. Our grandmother was the Queen at the time, the very definition of what our people represent and bestowed with great power and fearsome dominance non
e could match.”

  “Yeah, he was awful,” Luykas muttered. “And she was terrifying. See, Emerian, for most mutts, it’s a hard adjustment, and things can happen that turn off a mutt to their Andinna heritage. I was lucky. I met a good male, Mave’s father, before I met my own. He taught me what Andinna are before I was given the bad impression my father was bound to give me. Each taught me something—what to be and what not to be.”

  “And those are lessons we carry with us for the rest of our days,” Alchan added. “You were given a bad impression first, and it will carry with you for the rest of your life, but Luykas wants to show you what we can be from a perspective you can relate to. I can show you how an Andinna ruler is dominant and in charge—”

  “But kind and patient,” Rain said, walking in. “He’s not a bad king, so don’t let him try to convince you that he is. He’s intelligent, wise, and understands the needs of his people, even though he’s unafraid to put them in the dirt on their asses for challenging him. He holds strong convictions of what is tolerable in Andinna society, and one of those convictions is a mutt is Andinna.”

  Emerian looked up at the blue mutt, small in stature compared to other males. He stood proud, though, just as Emerian always saw him.

  “Thank you,” he said honestly, looking at the young male considered Alchan’s most trusted hand, his assistant, and probably, his confidant. There was an ease Rain had, standing so near the king that gave away more familiarity and friendship than just their working relationship. “It’s not that I don’t think I can make this work. I just need more time adjusting and learning. There’s so much I don’t really know, and I’m ashamed to say, it’s because I spent most of my life not respecting it.”

  “You had a reason not to respect it,” Alchan said sadly and also forgiving. “Like Mave. She didn’t know anything, robbed of her place in our society because of the way other Andinna treated her. She, however, craved it when she got the chance to embrace it. I think that’s why Luykas brought you to me because I’m not scared to ask. Do you crave it? Are you willing to put in the time to fully absorb every little detail and become a member of my people in full, or will you always float between two worlds, unable to find a place? I will be your final judge, Emerian. Until I think you’re ready, there may never be a place for you in this valley. It’s a harsh judgment but a necessary one.”

  Emerian thought of the family this morning—Mave and her males, one of her friends, happy, ready to go to war, proud—a unit when they were together or leagues apart. It was more special and believable than any ‘happy’ Elvasi family he had ever seen. In some way, it reminded him of his parents. He hadn’t seen a love like theirs his entire life until he saw that family all together.

  The Elvasi were cold and never had to say a word to make him feel like an outcast. Even the one Elvasi who did like him readily admitted the Elvasi hated ones like him.

  But these Andinna were working to repair his impression of this other side of his heritage, and he was already learning every day, every asked and answered question with Luykas during training.

  “I want more,” he decided. “I want to learn it all.”

  “Good, and when we’ve all decided you’re ready, I’ll do your tatua,” Luykas said with a smile. “I knew it was time. I just knew it.”

  Emerian smiled back, in full agreement. It was really time for him to commit to this.

  He was Andinna in his blood, and he craved the skies. It was time to fully embrace it.

  Me and my fucking sickle.

  26

  Mave

  Mave finished unbuckling her horse from its reins and saddle, then hid the items in a makeshift shack her crew had put together.

  “Are they going to be safe here while we’re gone?” she asked, frowning as her mare ran off to play with the other horses. No longer a beast of burden, it kicked and pranced, happy to have the space. They had ridden hard for nearly a week and a half, needing the animals to help carry food and other items.

  “Well, probably, but I would rather the wilds claim them than the Elvasi,” Nevyn answered pragmatically. “I know it’s harsh, but they have a better chance being allowed to roam free for a little while than being with us. We can shoulder what we need, and we’re only going to be half a day away by flight. We’ll camp here and check in on them. It should be fine.”

  Mave nodded slowly, a smile breaking out as her mare bit a gelding on the rump and made it nicker then run away.

  “Good girl,” Mave whispered. “You teach them who’s in charge.”

  “Well, with horses, a stallion is in charge,” Mat reminded her. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. There was a sly, arrogant smirk on his face.

  “Stallions are for riding,” she retorted, looking down at his body. “And they better know how to be ridden well. My mare is a smart one, and she has no patience for males who can’t perform.”

  “We both know that has never been a problem,” Mat crooned. He was right. If there was ever a time when she was in the mood, he was the first to be ready for her. He let her explore and try new things, teaching her as they went. It was special in its own way, even if it wasn’t the explosive blood bond connection she had with Luykas. Mat was her first husband, and she had a feeling he would be the hardest to chase away if it ever came to it.

  No, his performance wasn’t a problem, and by the sparkle in his emerald eyes, it never would be.

  “No sex on the mission,” Nevyn called in a singsong voice. “Especially when I can’t have any.”

  “Well, you can,” Kian teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Nevyn started to laugh. Mave looked around to see how all of their warriors were now giving the Company members weird looks.

  “It’s been…over three thousand years since we’ve been together, hasn’t it? You just can’t live up to Varon, I’m sorry,” Nevyn said, chuckling as he patted Kian on the shoulder.

  “You’ll never live up to Senri, so it’s okay.” Kian only shrugged. “I just figured old friends and whatnot, I could offer.” Then he started to laugh, too.

  “Wait, really?” Mave felt like she was the last one to really understand they were serious. Mat shrugged when she looked at him.

  “Who knows what the old men get up to when no one is looking. They’ve lived a long time. I wouldn’t doubt they’ve done things we haven’t even thought of yet,” he said pragmatically.

  “Yeah, it was a couple hundred years before we both hooked up. Lonely, young males. Most of us hook up with other males at some point or another before settling down.” Kian smiled over at her, and Mave could only shake her head in bemusement. It wasn’t the first time she had heard a story of that nature. She saw Andinna in the valley hook up for similar reasons when they weren’t pining after the few females in their community.

  “Have you ever told her the story of how you and Senri got together?” Nevyn asked, looking between her and Kian. “I’m certain she would love to hear the story of her parents.”

  “Yeah, Senri and I told her about it. Spring festival will always be the best day of my life every year, except this year. We had to call it off because we’re too close to the fighting for that sort of fun.”

  “Shouldn’t we get moving?” someone asked.

  “What he asked,” Mave said patiently. “Who knows how long we’re going to be safe in this valley. We don’t know how big their patrol ring is.”

  “I’m feeling pretty confident,” Nevyn said, humming softly at the end as if he were in deep thought. “We’re half a day by air, which would be the same for them, but I bet they have to go back to their camp to keep those gryphons fed regularly. They probably aren’t as easy to care for as horses. They would keep a tight perimeter around the main camp.”

  “Who knows if they’re setting up a second camp somewhere, though.” Mat was on her side. “We should move and find our camping zone. Well, our ambush spot. You said they caught you in the middle of the night, which means they must do evening patrols
, yeah?”

  “It would make military sense. During the day, they would see us coming if we tried an attack.” Nevyn nodded. “We’ll walk and talk. No reason to rush in there. We have our plan, we just need to stick to it.”

  “Walk and talk it is,” Kian declared. “Everyone packed and ready? Yeah? Let’s go. And back to the topic at hand, she knows about Senri and me, but have we ever told her about you and Varon?”

  “I’ve never heard that story.” Mave perked up, walking to stand between them, Mat chuckling behind her. Once, she had craved stories of her blood family, but now she had Seanev, she was moving on from any attachment she had for the dead. She didn’t know them, and no matter how many stories, she never would, but she knew Nevyn and Varon, males she liked most of the time and respected all the time. Their stories intrigued her, and she wanted more of them. Mat had made an interesting point earlier. They were over three thousand years old, and the stories they had were probably as vast as the skies.

  Nevyn sighed, smiling. “Well, it was the summer after Senri and Kian got together. They were shacking up, and I was the odd man out. I adore Senri, but she and I never clicked that way. There was no intention on either of our parts to ever be anything more. Truthfully, I had little interest in anyone from our community.”

  “Why?” He seemed too carefree for that.

  “I was a lonely, seaside soldier who spent his days raiding pirate ships trying to port in Kerit while my mother watched like a hawk, hoping I would be the best,” he explained. “So, I took the season off for leave. From the first official day of summer to the last, I was free to do as I pleased, go wherever I wanted, and leave behind the pressure. That led me to the Dragon Spine and a temple of Amonora.”