“I’m not stupid enough to take it away from Mave, so it falls to her,” Rain said nonchalantly. “Are you ready?”
“I’m always ready,” she answered softly. Bryn felt her fingers weave through his hair. Once done with his hair, she ran her fingers on his horns, her nails catching the bony ridges. He felt that vibrate through his horns to his scalp, and the sensation was pleasant. “I’m going to rest. Will you three be joining me early, or do you want to help Nevyn?”
She seemed too calm, distant. It was better than her fury with Nevyn and barely restrained need to kill their hostage. Bryn looked up and grabbed her hand, kissing the back softly.
“Mayhap ya should get some rest tonight without us humpin’ yer leg.”
She gave him a small smile before standing. Her hand drifted away, and he watched her leave.
“We’ll find somewhere else to sleep, so she can rest tonight,” Mat said, also staring in the direction their wife went. “Let’s go. I want to look at that leg before we lie down.”
“I already cleaned it,” Bryn said, but Zayden was already reaching down for him.
“That’s too bad. We’re going to look at that leg before you sleep.” Bryn couldn’t stop as Zayden pulled him up and grabbed the walking stick in the same movement. Bryn took it and followed him, Mat close on their heels.
The three of them hunkered down after checking Bryn’s leg. His eyes closed quickly, begging to go back into another deep healing sleep, and he went quickly.
Bryn wasn’t up first. Mat shook him gently.
“It’s almost dawn. We need to be up for Alchan’s arrival.”
Bryn nodded, trying to open his eyes. He yawned and pushed himself up, hearing Zayden’s grunt.
“Ya should have been awake,” he mumbled. “With Mat.”
Zayden growled and pulled away. Bryn growled back as Zayden’s stumpy tail accidentally whacked his wing.
It was a struggle, but they got up and moving, walking toward the center of the abandoned village. Bryn nodded to Nevyn and Kian as they drew close. Rain landed last, looking around.
“Mave not up yet?”
“I think she’s still considering what today is,” Mat said softly.
“There!” Nevyn said, pointing into the sky.
Bryn turned in the glowing dawn light to see a tidal wave of Andinna fly over the ridge and sweep down into the valley. They landed all over the small valley, but they stayed behind the leaders.
Alchan and Luykas landed closest. Varon was the third, just behind them, then Senri, without Willem and Gentrin. Unit captains and Kenav were next. Seeing who landed nearby, Bryn quickly stomped down disgust at the sight of Trevan on a gryphon with Dave. Emerian stood at the side of them, looking around with watchful eyes.
Yeah, protect ‘em because they’re idiots. Someone needs to tell that fucking Elvasi just to go to Olost. I’m beginnin’ to wonder why Mave gave him that fucking beast after seeing what his people fuckin’ do with them.
He tried not to be enraged at their presence, but it was hard. The Elvasi was his wife’s friend now, and he needed to respect that, but it was so hard.
Focus on what matters, Bryn. Ya can’t do anything about him.
“Alchan!”
Bryn stepped aside as the younger male walked through the Company toward his king. Alchan’s hard face softened as the mutt approached him. In front of the entire entourage, the king reached out and touched Rain’s cheeks before pulling him into a slow, leisurely kiss.
“I’m glad to see you unharmed. We’ll catch up later,” the king whispered, just loud enough for the closest of the Andinna to hear. Rain nodded, pulling Alchan’s hands off him and stepping to the side, taking his place as either consort or nemari. Bryn wasn’t sure what the young male was going for, but Alchan made his intentions very clear. He put an arm over Rain’s shoulders and wrapped a wing protectively around him, staking a claim bolder than any kiss ever would. Alchan was a bedru, telling the world Rain belonged to him, and he would die for him.
“Your reports stated you had the prisoner,” Alchan said loudly, looking up from his lover. “We’re going to do this quickly. Have him brought forward and let the warriors settle in with decent views. I want this to make a statement.”
“Are we expecting other guests?” Mat asked, frowning.
“We might, and I want everything ready,” Alchan answered enigmatically. He began walking, holding up a hand to signal those behind him to stay in place. The Company, Bryn included, made a semi-circle around him, wondering what he wished to say privately. “Luykas reached out to Shadra two nights ago. We’re hoping she’ll visit.”
“She’s down in Elliar,” Nevyn said, frowning. “How…”
“She and Luykas both know how to astral project. It’s how he’s been getting in touch with our spy in Elliar. Shadra has done it to him before, shortly after we came back to the Empire and were headed for the Dragon Spine. We know she can reach these distances. She can’t, however, project herself too deep into Anden soil. We’re just south of what Luykas believes to be the limit of her power. It’s more complicated than I wish to explain, so if you want to bother him about it, you can.” Alchan seemed tired of the conversation. “We’re going to give her a choice—her son in return for the freedom of our people or his execution, for which he’ll have a choice.”
“We’ve kept him fed.” Nevyn was always the one with the least fear talking to Alchan, and Bryn was glad he was the most natural leader of their group.
“Good. I won’t have it said this wasn’t done right.” Alchan looked up, glancing around the semi-circle and beyond. “Where is she?”
“Readying herself,” Mat answered.
“Here,” she called out, landed behind Bryn. He turned to see his wife walking toward them.
“Do you understand what you might need to do today?” Alchan asked.
“Yes.”
Bryn feared the fury blazing in her eyes—borderline insanity—but he knew it was justified. She was about to get the chance to kill one of the greatest enemies from her time as a slave—a man who had done unspeakable things to her. She was in a killing mood, which Bryn had seen before, but he never liked it when he saw his wife so…angry. There was something disturbing about her projecting so much pure, unadulterated hate and fury.
“Good. You’ll know when I need you.” It was the softest dismissal Bryn had ever heard from Alchan but a dismissal, nonetheless. She turned and walked away, growling at an Andinna who landed too close to her. The Andinna smartly stepped back, giving her the space she obviously needed.
“What don’t I know?” Luykas asked sharply, watching her leave.
“She’s been riding that killing mood since we captured Lothen,” Zayden said. “We need to get this done before she loses her patience and lashes out.”
“Good thing we’re moving fast,” Alchan said softly.
“Everyone! Prepare yourselves for the trial of Lothen, Crowned Prince of the Empire and enemy of the Andinna!”
Andinna cheered.
41
Mave
Mave paced through the crowd as the trial was prepared. She couldn’t stop moving once Alchan and the entire entourage arrived, her feet taking her all over the abandoned village in the small valley, but she kept coming back to one spot. She kept coming back to the edge of a circle where they had cleared a space.
“Bring me Prince Lothen of the Elvasi Empire!” Alchan roared. Everyone cheered.
Memories haunted her and her every step—the circle, the cheering, the prince.
Since the night he had the gall to laugh, she was chased by visions of her past. She slept, and she saw them. She remembered the state of her body, time and time again, unable to fight back, unable to save herself.
Time and time again.
The rage grew. Every night she couldn’t kill him and erase his existence from the mortal plane, her fury compounded.
Mave couldn’t even begin to understand why. Today was the day
. Today she would have his head. Today, she would make him suffer for everything and pay for his crimes with a pound of his flesh.
Today, she was going to end him.
And still, she was enraged.
She waited, pacing through the crowd, her eyes on the empty space between Alchan and the rest of his closest advisors and the Company. Trevan, Emerian, and Dave were behind Luykas. She wished she could take a moment to say hello to them, but she knew she wasn’t fit for such pleasantries. Her other males were close as well, forming a line, shoulder to shoulder, with Luykas to the right of Alchan. On Alchan’s other side, Nevyn, Varon, Kian, and Senri. Kenav waited there as well, his eyes blazing victoriously.
A path cleared, and two warriors walked on each side of the prince.
She was glad for Andinna tradition. They had kept him fed, let his injuries heal, and kept him as close to his full fighting strength as they could.
Lothen wanted to meet them in war, so they would execute him as a warrior, which gave her the opportunity to fight him one last time and end it. He didn’t deserve the honor of being called a warrior, but she wanted his blood on her swords, and she would tolerate nearly anything to have it.
He stopped and stared at Alchan once he was in the center of the empty circle.
“Prince Lothen, we’re just giving one last guest a chance—”
The crowd gasped. Mave moved for a better angle and nearly paused.
Beside Luykas, a specter formed, becoming more opaque every moment until it was clear it was Shadra, Empress of the Elvasi Empire.
“And here she is,” Alchan said, turning to her. “Empress Shadra. I’m glad you heeded our summons.”
“What do you want?” she asked immediately, looking down at her pureblood son, the heir to her Empire.
Mave stalked, her hands tight on the hilts of her moroks. She wasn’t in the mood for the formalities. She didn’t care about peace. Lothen wasn’t leaving the Dragon Spine alive. Mave would make sure of it.
“Free the Andinna, swear to never invade Anden again…” Alchan smiled. “There’s probably a list somewhere, but you understand what the terms are. We can have them officially written and sent back with him.”
“Do it,” she snapped.
“No,” Luykas said softly, looking down at his mother. “We won’t.”
Shadra’s eyes went wide. Mave wanted to celebrate the terror shining from her eyes.
“We have begged for freedom. We have asked nicely. We have pleaded, bargained, and fought. Shadra, you are a cunning woman. You have betrayed us more times than I think anyone could count. Why would we ever believe you would trade Lothen for our freedom and peace between our people?” Alchan chuckled. “The fact you tried does surprise me.”
“I’m serious,” she hissed. “Give me my son back, Alchan Andini, or I will expose the dark secret of your family.”
“Yes, Mother, let’s have that conversation,” Luykas snarled. Several Andinna gasped. “There, nothing to expose. I am the brother of King Alchan Andini. I am the son of Behron. I am also your son. However, my loyalties are clear. The King’s Champion is my wife. I have bled and fought for the Andinna every moment for over a thousand years.”
Shadra turned around slowly. None of the Andinna moved as her eyes scanned the crowds, falling on her son.
“Lothen—”
“You fucked one of these beasts and bred with it?” Lothen said, his face twisting in disgust. “That is my brother?” He pointed at Luykas, obviously furious Luykas could be in any way related to him.
The pain that lanced through Shadra’s expression was one Mave could almost relate to—almost. She had raised this monster, and now, he was turning his sharp and poisoned tongue on her.
“Yes.” She made no attempts to deny it. Mave was almost impressed by the bravery that took.
“Then I don’t want your protection, your deals, or trades. King Alchan Andini, I demand Trial by Combat. I will defeat whoever you consider your best and free myself.” He glared at his mother. “Then, I will take the throne.”
Shadra stepped back, realizing the terrible mistake she had made.
“So be it,” Alchan said softly.
Nevyn stepped up and threw down Lothen’s equipment, his sword and secondary dagger, at least. No Andinna wore plate armor, so it wasn’t offered to him. Everyone waited silently as Lothen buckled his belt to his waist. Alchan watched him carefully as Luykas moved closer to his brother.
“Who among you is my best?” Alchan finally asked the crowd.
No one stepped forward, but one. Mave slid between two of the Andinna and made her way into the circle.
“Your Champion is your best,” she declared. She looked at Alchan, and the Andinna around them created an uproar as she bowed low to her king—a gift she had never willingly given to anyone. She bowed with a flourish, her arms wide, her head low.
When Mave rose back up, her king’s amber eyes glittered in amusement. He knew the stories.
She had never bowed to Shadra.
Alchan smiled. “Yes, she is.”
“No,” Shadra gasped. “No…Mave…”
“Don’t bother asking,” Mave snarled at the empress.
“Really?” Lothen snorted. “I’m not worried. I used to keep this bitch on her knees.”
Rage consumed her. Before Alchan called for the battle to begin, she roared. Unsheathing her swords, she rushed to attack him. Steel hit steel as Lothen blocked her attack. She tried to shove her blade down, testing his strength and felt something else slide between her ribs and looked down.
He yanked the dagger out and kicked her back, sending her to the dirt. She pushed a hand over the hole, gritting her teeth as blood poured between her fingers.
No. I can’t lose to him. Not here. Not now.
The Andinna around her roared in fury. Boots stomped the dirt and caused the ground to shake as Lothen looked down at her.
Memories—every beating mixed with every battle she had fought on the sands. Conflicting emotions over who and what she was, collided. Was she the slave who had to keep silent and let it happen? Or was she the warrior who never lost?
Was she in the opulent chambers of the prince, in a dark corner of the palace, or was she in the Colosseum?
I’m in Anden.
Mave dodged Lothen’s downward swing and jumped backward, pulling power from her spilled blood to begin closing the dangerous wound, slow the bleeding, encourage skin and muscles to reform.
She circled him while her blood magic did its work. It wasn’t perfect, and she wasn’t out of the woods, but it would keep her fighting. She took more power and fed herself, feeling it course through her muscles and expand her lungs, even as one filled with blood.
He attacked. She countered, back and forth. Now she met Lothen as her mind cleared, realizing she was none of the things she once was, and she was also all of them.
Another piece of advice hovered in the back of her mind.
Rage makes the heart weak. Rage creates mistakes and gets warriors killed. Mave had let her rage and her hate for the prince cloud her mind. Once, she had been the Champion of the Colosseum and had been undefeated on the sands. She had never let rage cloud her mind. It wasn’t something she had fallen prey to, yet now, she had to overcome the fatal mistake. She knew its cause. She had spent years fearing this man and what he would do to her, dreading every moment she knew she would have to spend in his presence. He had made her feel powerless and weak, and those feelings drove her to lash out in rage.
Now, Mave understood. She knew what to do.
She didn’t bottle it away as she had for centuries.
Mave let it go.
Lothen was a surprisingly strong swordsman, faster than most Andinna males, thanks to his size. He knew her more than she knew him. He had watched her fight for her life. She realized he remembered all of it as he dodged her classic attacks, knowing how to meet them.
Her thighs bled, and her arms were covered in a myriad of cuts wh
en they both stepped back, panting.
“I never realized you were so adept at the sword,” she said, keeping her voice even and patient.
“There’re many things you didn’t know. It didn’t help that you kept your head in the pillow,” he jeered.
The barbed comment hurt, but Mave didn’t take the bait, and that’s what it was. He wanted her off-balance and angry. He wanted her to be weak and ashamed of all the things he had done to her, things he had done to make himself feel powerful.
Mave retreated and found a comfortable, cold place in her heart, devoid of emotion—a place where his insults would fall on deaf ears, and her heart was encased in an impenetrable cold darkness. She had to approach him like any enemy without a face. He had tells. He would make mistakes. She needed to take the emotion out of the equation. Her skills had only grown sharper since she left the Empire, but the shield she had formed around herself and the coldness that guided her had faltered. Laughter, love, anger, all good for moments at home with her family, but they couldn’t be here, not if she wanted to defeat her enemy—not if she wanted to return to all the wonderful things she had gained in the last two years.
Today, Mave was the Champion, just as she was two years ago. Of what? That had changed, but in the end, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t just about Lothen and Mave, prince and slave. It was the Empire and the Andinna. She was fighting this battle, not only for her own satisfaction, her own revenge, but for them to see one of their own overcome one of the Empire’s best.
She blocked his next attack, staring him down as they forced each other to a standstill. Her tail swiped for his legs. He jumped away and swung, this time slicing open her wing several handspans. She pulled them to her body, unworried it was an injury that would stop her from flying.
I’ve spent a thousand years fighting on my two feet. I don’t need to fly.
She held them as she had as a slave, a lesson she learned on the sands—keep them as close as she could, even with the bindings, or they would be vulnerable.
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