Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3)

by Auryn Hadley

  Sal hooked her own helm on her pommel. She wanted the enemy to see her face. The Terran leader would overlook the King behind her because of her iliri skin.

  They're coming, Hwa said. Sal could hear the sound of hooves through his ears.

  She nodded and felt seventeen men check their weapons one last time. When the enemy came into view, they sat silently, calm as statues. A group of Terrans broke away and headed toward them. Sal counted twenty-five. Officers called orders, and the leader gestured for them to halt with a raise of his hand. It was almost amusing. Humans always assumed they were better, yet Sal had no need of orders. With a thought, she asked her men to adjust the line to compensate for the additional Terrans.

  When the posturing was finished, the Terran leader unbuckled his helm and glared at her. "I assume there's no need for me to explain the threat of iliri."

  She refused to acknowledge the taunt. "I am Kaisae Salryc Luxx, leader of the Anglian army, and who exactly are you?"

  In his dark eyes, his hatred showing clearly. "I am Judoc Geirr, Archduke of Terric and the son of Makiel Geirr, the Holy Emperor."

  "Ah, his whelp, then. I see. Does your daddy really think this will work?"

  "You stupid bitch. Don't you know you're outnumbered? Surrender the King – I can see him there behind you – and we'll gladly leave."

  Sal laughed dramatically. "You really believe we're that stupid, don't you? No, whelp, I think we'll keep Anglia. Obviously, you didn't get my message."

  Judoc's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You mean the confused soldier you sent back raving about the beasts that attacked. I admit, I didn't know you had that many iliri here, or was it the hounds?" he gestured to Hwa as he spoke.

  Hwa glanced up at her, but Sal shook her head. "I can't say I expected you to believe us. You couldn't even believe what your own histories told you. White beasts came down from the north. They enjoyed the taste of human flesh and fought like nothing humans had encountered before," Sal quoted. "Impressed with their strength, the men of Star Fall decided to improve them, to tame them, and to use them to colonize the continent. Does that sound familiar at all?"

  "How dare you quote our histories!" Judoc yelled.

  "It's my history too. What you don't understand is that Anglia is the north. You're sitting in the heart of those white beasts. This is my last warning. Call your men off – all of them – and return to Terric, or I'll call those white beasts down on you." Sal raised her voice so the Terrans behind him could hear. "Any man who surrenders to us will not be harmed. Any man who refuses to fight for Terric and the so-called Holy Emperor shall be spared."

  "Stupid beast," the Archduke grumbled. "You think that any of these men would trust the word of an iliri?"

  "I do," Sal said, "because you don't really have a better option."

  A demented smile flickered across Judoc's face as he gestured. The man just behind him shook his head as if disappointed. Another rubbed at his clenched jaw. Sal's eyes flicked across the soldiers and saw nothing but shame and disappointment. Maybe her offer to convert them was better than she'd initially thought.

  Then the scream of a boy cut through the air. Dag glanced toward the sound, and through his eyes, Sal saw a Terran horseman riding their way. An Anglian page was held across the saddle, his green tunic flapping against the horse's shoulder. Her eyes never left the face of the man before her, and she fought to keep her expression calm. She knew that kid!

  "Oh, I think we have something of yours," the Archduke sneered. "King Dominik Jens, isn't this your page?"

  Jarl! Ilija screamed in their heads as the rider pulled up beside the Archduke.

  The page that had spent so many hours in the palace, assisting the King with his armor and running errands for them, writhed to get free. Ilija's concern for the teenager pounded at her head. His fear poured his deepest secret across the link to all of the elite soldiers. Dominik's page was his oldest child, one he didn't dare claim as his own. Neither the King nor the boy was aware of it, but every soldier in their link could feel his love for the kid clearly.

  Control that, she begged Blaec, and her lover smothered Ilija's worry from her mind, reaching out to reassure him that the teen would come to no harm.

  "Yes, that's my page," Dominik said from behind her, his voice stoic.

  "So, you're resorting to stealing civilians?" Sal snarled. "Are you aware that's against the conventions of war?"

  "Oh no, Iliri," Judoc gloated. "The conventions only apply to humans. We found that alone, pissing in the woods, so we just thought we'd bring him back. And now I'm going to cut his throat in front of you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. If King Jens wants to be treated like a human, then he needs to stop crawling in bed with the animals."

  Audgan? Sal asked.

  Got it, he assured her.

  Hwa? Can you get the boy?

  Yes, Kaisae, but he may get marred.

  We have healers. Shift?

  Ready, Shift assured her.

  Sal nodded. "So, let me get this straight," she called out to the Terrans. "You think one human is worth more than the combat prowess of an entire species? Never mind that you've just set the precedent! If you want to ignore the conventions, then we can, too. It doesn't make what you're doing right. It certainly doesn't prove that the Terran Empire is a place anyone would want to live! That boy is a non-combatant, but go ahead. I do love the smell of human blood." She made a dismissive gesture at them.

  Judoc glared at the King. "Do you not believe us?"

  Sal didn't give him the chance to answer. "No, I really don't. Kill him... if you can. The King has given me – a purebred iliri Kaisae – full control of all military decisions. You really think he'd throw away thousands of lives for one? You honestly think your little show will convince him to send his best soldiers packing, all but granting you victory? He's not stupid. Besides, you don't have the balls."

  Sal watched the Terran soldiers shifting awkwardly in their saddles. From the smell of them, few were happy with what the Archduke proposed. Evidently, threatening someone close to the King was all the imbecile had left. That meant he was desperate. Blaec, you got Ilija locked down?

  Yeah, love. He's not moving.

  "Fine!" Judoc said. "Kill the boy."

  Through the link, Sal could feel Audgan focus on the soldier. The man holding Jarl tried to raise his sword to the kid's throat, but his hand shook in fear. She just smiled. The harder he tried to obey the order, the more Audgan focused on him, until the soldier began to lean away from the teen. Suddenly, he released his grip and began shoving at the boy as if he was covered in spiders. Jarl teetered on the saddle and pushed himself away from the horse, landing hard on the ground under its feet, but Hwa was already in motion. The grauori darted forward. Just before his jaws could close on Jarl's shoulder, the kid reached for the grauori's neck, twining his fingers in the fur. Like a white streak, Hwa darted back between the Anglians, dragging the page.

  "Thank you, Hwa, thank you!" Jarl whispered, hugging the beast tightly.

  Get that boy up behind Dom, Sal ordered, then sneered, "Nice try, Terran." When she gestured behind her, Hwa stood up, lifting the boy toward the King.

  Dominik pulled his page behind him, whispering, "Hang on tight."

  "Yes, sire," Jarl answered out of habit.

  The Terrans stared at Hwa in fascination. "White beasts," Sal said, referencing the histories. "Not iliri. Grauori." She grinned, showing off her pointed teeth. "Your war just got a whole lot bigger, I think."

  "Humans will destroy you all, bitch," Judoc yelled, gesturing with his hand.

  Vanja saw the crossbow, but there wasn't time. Before Sal could move, the bolt slammed into her shoulder, piercing her armor. She gasped, the pain flooding her, and her desire flowed to the men around her.

  Jase kneed Raven close and steadied her. He glanced at the men across from him, meeting their eyes. "Yer fucked now," he snarled, leaning toward Sal.

  With one hand on her sho
ulder, he grasped the bolt with the other and pulled. It came free. Sal's head tilted to the sky, and she roared, the maast overtaking her. Panting against the pain, with her left arm clutched tightly to her body, she pinned her ears at the Archduke. Across the line, her men reacted. Their hands moved closer to their weapons. Their bodies prepared to attack, but none broke. Risk abandoned his position, pulling off his glove, and shoved Phoenix between Scorch and Arden.

  "With your leader wounded, what are you going to do now?" Judoc asked the King snidely.

  Risk's bare hand touched Sal's neck, and she grabbed her pommel, knowing what was coming. The flash of pure agony burned across her shoulder, but she couldn't stop the scream. Her back arched against the pain. Her fingers dented the leather of her saddle, but she stayed mounted. Jase's hand on her shoulder gave her support. When the burning faded, Sal nodded, and Risk moved back to his place in the line.

  Probing the former wound, she laughed. "And you think you're gods?" she asked, stretching her shoulder. "This is your last chance. You just tried to kill a civilian, and we stopped you. You tried to wound me under auspices of negotiations, and I've been healed. Then you say that the conventions of war don't apply to me and my kind? Now you're going to see what defiance really looks like. Leave now and take your army, or we will kill you all."

  "You stupid cunt!" the Archduke screamed at her. "I have fifteen hundred men behind me to your twenty! How can you hope to win?"

  An Anglian horn sounded in the distance, and Sal grinned. "You have almost six thousand men, all of whom just rode into my trap. I didn't sit here because you amuse me. We wanted to be sure the rest of your army was truly fucked before we kill you." Rragri, it's time.

  "Your trap? Stupid, iliri. My men are taking your entire base right now. We'll have Anglia – and her wealth of natural resources – thanking us when all this is over."

  Sal gestured to the hills around them. "No, you won't. You woke the beasts, you fool, and now they want to get revenge for what you did to us."

  Packs of grauori moved into view, all in shades of white, grey and gold. As a group, they raised their heads to the sky and called out, the sound like a thousand souls screaming in pain. The Terran horses spooked and shifted. Men grabbed at the reins.

  In the chaos, Sal's high-pitched voice carried clearly. "Last chance! Surrender, or die. Which will it be, Terrans? Any man who surrenders will be spared!"

  "Kill them, sound the horns!" the Archduke screamed, spinning his horse, and racing to the center of his army. "Attack!"

  Two men, one in black, one in white, raised their bows and loosed. The Archduke fell from the saddle, an arrow through his spine and one lodged beside it.

  Someone get that man's body and take Dom and his page to safety. The rest of you, kill them all, Sal sent, as she shoved her helm on her head. Fucking kill them all.

  She put her heels to Arden, Jase and Blaec on her sides, and the elites rushed forward as one. The grauori poured from the hills and men screamed as they died in the onslaught. Sal and her men charged in to meet their desire for death.

  Dag made the first kill, and they drank in the need for more. Sal slashed at a soldier, but only wounded the man before he fell from his horse. Razor made the second kill – and through the link, Sal could feel Jase's need rising to meet her own. The Shields reached for the euphoria of the maast, and the iliri fed it to them. Their fear fled, their anger grew, and the mixed unit became a whole. A glance from Blaec warned Tebio of a pike headed at him, and Zep countered the attack. A thought from Caein told Arctic of a soldier fleeing the field so he could shoot the man from his horse.

  The deeper they waded into the battle, the more aware they became of the grauori around them, the senses of those near them mingling with their own. They all hacked, slashed, shot, and tore at the Terran soldiers. The smell of human blood drove them for more. Hwa saw a man behind her and Sal turned to cut him down, but Ricown heard the cry of surrender.

  Ilija! Sal snapped across the link. I need someone to collect the soldiers that surrender. Dom needs to deal with them.

  Yes, Kaisae. Sal, I'm sorry.

  Don't be sorry, just deal with them before I kill them, she growled.

  She turned Arden and raced to her next victim, Jase following close behind. When Sal swung her blade at a pikeman, slicing the man's hand off at the wrist, she felt a flare of shock from her partner then he hit the ground hard. Spinning Arden back, she saw a Terran soldier, lance in hand, poised over her mate. Jase snarled behind his helm, but Sal's heart froze in her throat. The Terran stabbed. Jase lunged to the side, and Sal reached for her crossbow. The pikeman tried again. Time crawled, the lance thrusting toward the ground while Sal pulled the release. Jase's sweet rush of pain filled her mind a split second before her bolt hit, and she pushed Arden into the fray. The human grasped at his arm. Desperate to make the man pay, Sal threw the useless crossbow at him, the wood smashing against his helm.

  "Die, iliri!" he yelled, kicking his horse as he reached for his sword.

  Sal waited, Arden jigging beneath her until the man was almost on her. He swung. She ducked, caught his forearm, and pulled, shoving her heel into Arden. The mare jerked away from the enemy horse. With nothing to support him, the human fell, crumpling onto the ground with a groan. Sal dropped from her horse and stormed toward the idiot.

  "Killer?" she asked, his pain still coursing through her mind.

  "I'm hit, kitten," he told her.

  Sal kicked the man on the ground. "Get up." He shielded himself with his arms, crawling through the dirt. "I said, get up, human," she snarled again.

  "I surrender!" the man called out.

  Grabbing his pauldron, she pulled his body toward her, wrenching his helm from his head to find the face of a young man, no more than twenty. He looked scared. Wide eyes stared back into hers, and she could smell it even over the carnage.

  "You just impaled my lover. Do you think you can surrender now?" she yelled in his face before releasing him, letting his body crash back into the dirt. Ripping her own helm from her head, she threw it at him. "Get up, and fight like a man!"

  "No, I surrender!" the guy cried again, cowering away from her.

  "You thought it sounded like fun to kill us a second ago." Hooking her fingers in his armor, she dragged him toward Jase. The Terran screamed in fear, struggling to get free, but Sal's maast lent her strength. She dropped him beside her lover and grabbed his head, forcing him to look at what he'd done. The wound bled freely, the lance pinning him to the ground. "What changed, human? Why was that so enticing and now you want to become my pet?"

  "Don't kill me!" the guy begged.

  Sal! Jase warned, and she turned, lashing out at the rider he'd seen bearing down on her. Her blade hit the horse across the knees, and the beast tried to run another stride with its legs cut nearly out from under it. The rider tumbled over its shoulder. Sal pounced on him, snapping the man's neck before he too could beg for surrender. When she turned back, the Terran was staring.

  "You really can't kill us if we surrender?"

  "I would na push my luck," Jase grumbled, reaching up to the lance impaling his shoulder.

  Risk! Sal summoned, knowing that if Jase pulled the lance out, he'd likely bleed to death. "Jase, leave it." Then she looked at the young man. "You touch my mate, and I'll rip your throat out with my teeth."

  "Yes, Kaisae," Jase breathed, letting his hand fall to his side.

  The boy shook his head as if to clear it. "They said we had to fight. We had to fight, or they'd kill our families! Ma said you couldn't kill us if we surrendered, but they said you were just beasts."

  "Sit the fuck down," Sal growled at him. "This stupid battle's almost done, just shut up."

  He nodded and sat down in the dirt.

  Feeling Risk heading their way, she knelt beside Jase. "Love?"

  He chuckled. "Wrong man, kitten."

  The lance pinned him awkwardly to the ground. He couldn't lay on his side nor his back with
out it pulling at the wound, so Sal lowered herself next to him, leaning his back against her legs. "You'll just have to accept that I do love you as much as him. You just kill better."

  Jase nodded, the pain making him clench his teeth, and the emotions of her fellow soldiers began to fade from her awareness. Roo had removed them from the main link.

  The kid shifted his position, and her eyes darted to him.

  "I'm not moving!" he said.

  "You are, and you have no idea how much I want to kill you."

  "Do na hurt the kid, Sal," Jase whispered.

  "He surrendered. I can't."

  Jase looked up at her. I touched him, kitten. He's scared to death.

  She nodded.

  Risk finally made it there. "Damn, Cyno, you're fucked," he said by way of greeting, hopping off his horse. "Sal, I'm gonna need you to pull the lance out."

  I'm going to need you to grab my prisoner. Unless you want to deal with Jase in the maast?

  No, Risk thought back. I'll get the kid; you get him. The grauori are cleaning up. Who's in charge until you get back?

  Blaec and Ilija. Tell them to work it out.

  Risk nodded. "Ready?"

  Jase let his head fall back onto the ground. "Yeah."

  Sal looked at the Terran soldier. "You move, and we'll kill you. You run, and we'll kill you. Understand?"

  The boy nodded, fear written across his face.

  Then she turned back to Jase. He met her eyes, holding them. She grabbed the shaft and waited for Risk to kneel beside him, holding Jase tightly. With a nod from the healer, Sal pulled, and felt the spiked tip rip as it slowly tore from her lover's body. Jase clenched his jaw and held her eyes, his body straining against the pain. When the tip came free, Sal staggered back before throwing it aside. Jase gasped for air, his back arching away from the ground. Sal dropped to his side, pressing against the wound to stop the free flowing blood. That's when Risk began to exhale, and Jase screamed.