The Rebel's Vision
Date: 2020-02-12T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Romance
Description: One declaration was all it took. The Andinna Rebellion has begun. Knowing that the fight will be hard, Mave has taken back the title of Champion. King’s Champion. She’s resolved to stand tall beside King Alchan Andini and fight for him, and to fight for her people. But it’s off to a troubling start. Not enough manpower and no way to get their remaining warriors out of hiding, the leaders of the rebellion have found themselves battling against their own inevitable failure. If they don’t find solutions to their many problems and fast, the Rebellion is doomed before it even begins. Mave is hamstr

The Rebel’s Vision

Age of the Andinna

Kristen Banet

Copyright © 2020 by Kristen Banet

All rights reserved.

Cover Illustration by Merilliza Chan

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Created with Vellum

Acknowledgments

Let’s get started with the obvious. My husband, who supports me through every book, even if he’s never read them. He believes in me and I love him for it.

To Leigh and Becca, whose continued friendship helps me stand through storm after storm.

And to my editors, both amazing. Then my beta readers, all fantastic. Without the team behind me, these wonderful people, I would never be able to bring these books to the world.

An last, but not least, you the reader. The reader who keeps coming back reading more and more. You join me my journeys through worlds unknown and stories of strong women and men fighting for what they believe in.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Contents

1. Mave

2. Brynec

3. Mave

4. Mave

5. Alchan

6. Mave

7. Mave

8. Trevan

9. Matesh

10. Mave

11. Rainev

12. Mave

13. Brynec

14. Luykas

15. Mave

16. Zayden

17. Mave

18. Alchan

19. Mave

20. Emerian

21. Trevan

22. Emerian

23. Shadra

24. Mave

25. Mave

26. Mave

27. Matesh

28. Rainev

29. Mave

30. Luykas

31. Mave

32. Mave

33. Zayden

34. Mave

35. Alchan

36. Mave

37. Mave

38. Luykas

39. Mave

40. Zayden

41. Rainev

42. Mave

43. Mave

44. Shadra

Dear Reader,

About the Author

Also by Kristen Banet

Also by K.N. Banet

Andena Glossary

1

Mave

Mave fidgeted uncomfortably, wondering when she would see their target. Lying in wait was a bore but necessary when she was part of an ambush party. Months of planning came down to this moment. If the information was good, they would have their first successful mission since she and Alchan cooked up the insane idea of starting a full rebellion against the Empire.

She didn’t have any doubt the information was good. Nothing Leshaun ever told them was bad, though sometimes it was a little off. That was something she learned to take in stride—apparently, no spy was perfect.

Matesh ran a hand down her back slowly, encouraging her to calm down, but Mave had been waiting for this moment for weeks. It was finally time to see it through and push forward with the rebellion. Without this, they were dead in the water and would have to talk about getting back to Olost, back to relative safety.

It was midafternoon when she caught the first glimpse of soldiers coming around the bend toward their tree line. Her hands twitched with pent-up energy, ready to unsheathe her swords and attack. The gentle hand on her back became a tight grip on her shoulder.

Soon. I just need to wait for them to pass me. Once I see the caravan stop, that’s my signal. That’s when I lead the attack from behind.

Lead—she hated the word. She wasn’t one to lead, didn’t like helping come up with plans. She could see them executed, but she liked the idea of being one of many, not one over many.

Too bad I’m too dominant to be allowed that. No, I just had to refuse to put my eyes down, didn’t I?

The caravan moved slowly. She counted the soldiers as best she could from her position, as they passed, unaware and at ease. This was going to be a slaughter. Three large carriages, made of steel and wood, were at the center of the caravan. Those were the objective. The soldiers could live or die for all anyone cared, but they had to get those carriages.

Mave tensed as the caravan slowed but didn’t stop. After a few moments, the entire thing passed her, and she was looking at it from behind.

Then there was shouting, and everyone stopped. Soldiers bumped into each other, cursing as something held up their slow march south to Elliar.

“Now!” Mave roared, not wanting to give the soldiers any time to collect themselves before the attack. She rushed through the underbrush, drawing her blades. The first three soldiers she dropped had no idea the Andinna were there. The fourth and fifth were scrambling to draw their weapons. The sixth was holding his sword but not yet truly understanding what was happening. Battle cries and roars filled the once silent road and forest as the Andinna cut quick paths through the Elvasi.

“Secure the carriages!” an Elvasi screamed. “Get them out of here! Move, men!”

She turned to the man on horseback and growled, throwing a sword at him. Her blade went into his back as two arrows went into his chest. As he fell from the horse, she caught a glimpse of Varon nocking another arrow as he stood on top of one of the carriages. Nevyn stood next to him, kicking off an Elvasi trying to climb up for them.

Grinning, she turned back to the combat and realized her group was keeping the Elvasi busy enough for her to check the first carriage and free the hostages. She hauled ass to the back carriage and cut through the locks with her sword. Swinging the door open, she saw human and half-Elvasi men she recognized, both young and old.

“Get moving, sailors!” she ordered. “Get into the woods and wait for us there! I don’t have time to stand around and wait on your lazy asses!”

“Yes, ma’am!” one yelled and led the rest to pile out of the carriage. One dared to smile at her as he jumped out. They all looked bruised and beaten, thin from starvation, but she made it a point to talk to them as if nothing was wrong. A little light teasing in the middle of a rescue, she had been told by Nevyn, never hurt anyone.

She watched to make sure they made it into the woods with no followers and ran for the next carriage, ducking through fighting to get there. She would have rather put all her attention into killing every soldier she could, but there were still people who desperately needed her.

At the second carriage, she ran into Nevyn, who jumped down to help her.

“The fighting won’t last long. We’ve already seen some Elvasi jump on horses and get the fuck out of here. Our hit on the front was strong.”

“Has anyone opened the front carriage?” she asked quickly as she worked on the lock of the one in front of her.

“Alchan’s on it,” he explained. Finally, they were able to work it open and ushered everyone out. Mave patted the shoulders of the three dwarves there but didn’t have time to see which ones they were. She knew losses were sustained when the ship went down. More were lost during their captures, but it was still painful to see only three dwarves. She hoped there were more in the last carriage. There was no way to find out until they were done with the ambush.

As their rescued friends ran into the woods, some Elvasi got an idea of what was going on. Mave and Nevyn ran with their injured friends and defended. Mave blocked one particularly nasty axe swing, feeling the power behind it nearly pop her shoulder out of place. With a snarl, she kicked the soldier responsible, disarmed, then gutted him.

She didn’t have time to watch this batch of free prisoners disappear into the woods. She was busy with another Elvasi. She had thought they were all too busy. If some now had time to come after her, that meant someone had gone down, or the soldier was looking for an easier target. The Elvasi outnumbered them, so it would make sense a soldier who was free would go for an Andinna who wasn’t being stopped.

She fought next to Nevyn, matching each other’s speed as they cut through the few Elvasi that had come for them. Arrow after arrow came down on the group. Mave was grateful for the perfect aim of the mute because some cut very close to her and hit the Elvasi she was fighting. The fighting lulled for a moment, and she took the chance to breathe. Right as she started moving to engage another Elvasi soldier, a roar could be heard over the fighting, one different from the standard battle cry of the Andinna. This was victorious.

“We’re ready to move out!” Alchan yelled over the fighting. “Finish up! Elvasi, now’s your chance to run!”

Mave nearly laughed, and Nevyn did as several soldiers ran as the Andinna backed off. Cheering started up as they let the soldiers run for it. Their goal hadn’t been to kill as many of the Elvasi as they could; that was just a bonus. They wanted Elvasi spreading the word about their deeds. Eventually, the whispers of their activities would reach ears that needed to hear them.

As she turned toward the woods, seeing those they just freed walk back out, she knew those whispers would give hope to the ones still waiting on them. That was the entire point of rebellion.

She didn’t cheer with the rest of the warriors, though. She found Matesh and kissed him, glad to see he came out of another battle unscathed. After him, she found Zayden and looked over the male so she could report to Rainev if she saw the young male first. The father’s face turned red as he realized what she was doing, but something kept him from saying anything.

“Good, neither of you is hurt. I’m going to find Alchan. Get the warriors into the woods and begin heading back to camp with as many of the rescues as you can,” she ordered, following the predetermined plan.

“Of course, ilanra. Are you going to help them decide what to bring back with us?” Mat grabbed his friend and pulled him toward the woods as he spoke.

“I am. Get going.” She waved them along and listened to Mat call her warriors to him, relaying her orders. Several of the newly freed hostages ran after him, back into the woods, leaving the carnage behind.

Mave hustled back to Nevyn and Varon, following behind them to find Alchan at the front of the ruined caravan. He was pointing and directing soldiers. Once he caught sight of them, she watched him take a heavy breath.

“The carriages are too big to get through the mountains, but I’m sending soldiers to grab the runaway horses. We can use them as pack animals or for the wounded. I had two males go down. I’ve already got others carrying them back.”

“I didn’t…check for casualties for my group.” Mave felt a pang of guilt.

“They would have reported it to you,” Alchan replied, shrugging. “It’s probably all minor injuries. I don’t bother to know most of those either until I know everyone is in the clear.”

Relief flooded her as she realized Alchan wasn’t going to get onto her. Being accountable for others was still something she was getting used to even after spending the summer with Senri and Allaina leading the females.

“Well, I’ll be damned! There’s my girl!”

Mave turned quickly at the voice and grinned.

“Sen, you fucking bastard! There you are!” She laughed as he jogged over to her, Alchan, Nevyn, and Varon. For the first time since she met the half-Elvasi, they hugged. “How are you?”

“I’m currently having the best day of my life. I told Alchan when he opened up the carriage, I was fucking relieved to see him. When they got the fucking manacles off me, I ran back here to see who was left.”

She looked him over and noticed like the others, he was starved and beaten, but nothing looked permanent. He would recover. He was the main person they had been looking for when it came to the logistics of their rebellion.

“I’m glad you’re alive,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I really am. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“I’m glad too. When I heard they were sending everyone down to Elliar, I thought I was a fucking goner.” He thumped her shoulder, but it wasn’t as strong as she remembered. He definitely needed to put on some weight.

“With reunions done, let’s grab everyone we can and head back to camp,” Alchan cut in. “We have a plan to discuss and a long road back to the Dragon Spine.”

“The Spine?” Sen frowned. “Why are we headed there? Did you arrange some transport home?”

“Oh, my old friend, we have a lot to discuss.” Alchan grabbed the mutt’s shoulder and pulled him along. Mave trailed behind him, listening to Alchan’s retelling of everything since they escaped Ellantia but had lost the ship and him with it.

“We found an abandoned village on the northern edge of the Dragon Spine. It’s given us a prime location to set up our central base of operations. Everyone we’ve freed has gone there to join or support the rebellion in some way, as a warrior once they’re healthy or use any skills they have to feed and clothe everyone. Luykas is managing logistics for me while I’ve been on this mission. Mave is now my Champion, so don’t expect me to be doing this kind of thing very often. I’m here because of some worries about Luykas coming too far south, being the mutt he is.”

“Really? Mave, you took on the title of Champion again? From Colosseum to King, huh?” Sen looked over his shoulder at her, shocked.

“It’s a fun insult to Shadra,” she said with a blandness that didn’t give away her feelings. Every day, she could count ten things about it she liked and ten things about it she despised. It was something she accepted, though, and it gave her a role in a rebellion that wasn’t the boogeyman the Andinna once thought she was as the gladiator who once ruled the sands. “And Alchan needed someone who would back up his idea fully and be able to fight for it when he can’t.”

“And she’s the best for the job,” Alchan finished. “They listen to her, being the dominant female of our kind right now. We haven’t yet met a female who’s willing to stare her down and fight for the position. I doubt we will. I had to give her a role if she wasn’t going to take over as mativa, which she never did in Olost, so I doubted it would happen here.”

“Allaina was more prepared for the role, and I know nothing about it,” she reminded him.

“I had already taken that into account when I offered you the position,” he fired back. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Could have fooled me,” she said lightly, obviously not meaning the comment.

Sen laughed at the exchange. “Well, things certainly have changed. I was wondering why we were such prized captures that the Empress would want us instead of letting one of her nobles or advisors handle us.”

“She knows we’re planning something. She can’t find us, though. We’ve been careful to keep our tracks around the village to a minimum. We don’t suffer for scouts, either. So far, her efforts to find our main base have been in vain, and she can’t mobilize a large force until she does.” Alchan grunted in satisfaction. “It’s probably driving her mad, not being able to find us.”

“So, why rescue us? Sounds like you have everything you need for this to work.”

“That’s the thing, we don’t.”

Mave nodded, stepping to the other side of Sen. “We need a captain who can run sea missions for us. Funneling people back from Olost is also a major priority. We’re putting everything into this rebellion.”

“Oh, hell.” The captain was dismayed for only a moment, then began to laugh harder. “Fine, then. We’ll talk more about this once I’ve checked on my boys and had a meal.”

“Food will be ready by the time we get back to camp,” Alchan promised, a small smile forming.

Mave wiped drying blood off her hands as they walked. Alchan and Sen continued to chat quietly about everything that had happened, but she zoned out. It was good to see him again, and Mave just wanted to revel in the small success they had today.

* * *

Mave sought out the few female warriors on the mission once they were back at camp. None were injured aside from minor cuts and bruises. One had a male who took a nasty injury to the thigh, but Mave wasn’t concerned. He would get well in the long run, and everything would be fine. She wasn’t directly responsible for much, but the females who decided to fight and their males were one of those rare responsibilities she couldn’t avoid.

After she was done with them, she wandered the camp, thinking about nothing. She heard someone curse as another, smaller Andinna ran by. Reaching out, she grabbed Rain, who gave her a small growl before realizing it was her. Once she saw recognition in his eyes, she grabbed both his shoulders and looked him over. She didn’t question his behavior because he took his duties to Alchan seriously. Anyone who got in his way was given a harsh growl, including her, and she respected that dedication.

“You look good. No injuries, and you didn’t have to shift this fight. I’m glad.”

“Yeah, it went pretty well,” he said softly.

There were dark bags under his eyes that upset her, but she didn’t comment on those. Alchan would get a piece of her mind later, but she would leave it until the mission was over. Rain was a young male who needed rest to continue healing his wings, which were progressing slower than she liked. It didn’t help they had to continuously cut the edges of the holes and slowly sew them closed every couple of weeks. They were in a war group, and that probably slowed it down further.

“Have you seen my father?”

“He’s fine. Barely a scratch on him, don’t worry. I checked him myself.” She dared to ask the question plaguing her. “When do you think you’ll be airborne again?”

“I should have been after the last procedure with Leshaun and the healer this week, but with everything going on, Alchan and I decided it would be best to wait for this mission to be over before continuing the process. At this rate, I should be flying a little again by winter.” He shrugged. “We haven’t needed our wings. That was the reason we thought it safe to wait. There’s no reason to risk infection on the road. I can wait to get back to base like so many others with wing injuries.”

She bit back a growl. “I’m glad you know where you are in the healing. Keep me posted, please.”

“Can do, big sister.” He smiled wearily. “Thanks for the information on my father. I’ll find him later. I’ve got to get clean water from the stream and—”

“Go,” she ordered, waving him along. He jogged off, leaving her alone in the camp. Even with all the warriors wandering around, tending small injuries from the day’s events, she was alone. She stood out from the rest, her position and her past keeping her separate, as it always did.

“Um…Champion?” a male called quietly from behind her. She turned to see the young male holding a bandaged arm, but it didn’t seem serious.

“What can I help you with?” she asked, eyeing him with curiosity. She didn’t know his name, and that wasn’t unusual. She knew very few names of the warriors in camp. There were several dozen of them and only one of her.

“Do you know if we’ll be breaking down camp tonight to travel, or tomorrow morning?”

“I don’t know, actually. His Majesty is with some of the rescued hostages right now. I’m sure once he’s done debriefing them, he’ll send word.”

The young warrior nodded and scurried away before she could ask if there was anything else he needed, like a hand with his gear. An injured arm slowed a good warrior down.

“Did he just run away from you?” Mat asked, stepping up to her.

She shrugged indifferently, not betraying the deep sadness she felt. “Yeah, that keeps happening. Honestly, I think our people are more scared of me than they are of Alchan.”

“Possibly. Come on, let’s get something to eat and celebrate how perfectly this mission went.”

“Do you know when we’re packing up to leave?”

“We march out tomorrow morning,” he answered. “Nevyn and Varon took the lead on that when they got back to camp. Most people will be packing non-essentials all night before camp is officially broken down.”

“Good.” Mave crossed her arms and took in the camp around her. Another day, another mission, another blood splattered set of armor, and more Elvasi left dead in their wake. “How many did we free over the last three weeks?”

“Two hundred. Those big farms have a lot of Andinna ready to run if given the opportunity. It was a good couple of hits.” Mat wrapped an arm around her waist. “But it’s only step one.”

“It’s a damn good step.” She smiled to herself as she watched warriors wander around the camp, packing away things they wouldn’t need for one more night of camping. “Now, let’s help them so we can get home. Maybe tonight Leshaun and Alchan will have word from Bryn.”

“Let’s hope,” Mat agreed, kissing her temple.

It took most of the evening, but eventually, Mave felt like she had done enough and found a seat, listening to warriors whoop and holler at their victorious day. The energy of the camp was high, even if they were tired and hungry.

“Are you going to party?” Zayden asked as he sat next to her. “Sen and the boys have been asking for you to join them in celebrating. They’ve convinced Alchan to let them stay up late tonight.”

“I take it you found Rain, and he passed along this news?” She lifted an eyebrow as Matesh sat down on her other side.

“You’re right—”

Suddenly, drums began playing, a loud beating rhythm from the other side of the camp. A second set quickly joined in, then a third.

“Ah, the females are having a good time,” Mat said lightly, elbowing her. “Should teach you the drums.”

“Only if you convince Bryn to dance for me,” she reminded him. That was their deal. Until then, she knew how to play the flute and enjoyed it.

“Kind of hard to convince him since he’s not here,” Mat retorted. “But I’ll get back on him once we see him again.”

“There she is!” Sen yelled over the ruckus going on around the camp. She laughed as the mutt ran over and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve heard one of your men is off on some important mission. Does that mean there’s an opening for a salty sailor who needs some love?”

“That means I miss him, but salty sailors who are going to leave for months on end are not my type,” she answered, hugging him back. “But it’s really good to see you. In the rush of that night, I didn’t even have a chance to consider how to save any of you. None of us did, but I’m glad we have you now.”

“Ah, well, it’s fine,” Sen said, pulling back a little. His hands held her shoulders as he looked her over again.

“How bad is it, really?” she demanded softly.

“Lost half my crew in the water that night. Lost a few others after we were captured. Poor dwarves lost Bodie, the patriarch of their branch. The twins and their mother are still alive.”

“Damn. I’m sorry—”

“No need to apologize. Alchan’s done that enough, and even so, we knew what we were signing up for. I knew who I supported and the possibilities.” Sen patted her cheek. “You look good.”

“You look like shit. Have you eaten?” She smiled as he coughed at her bluntness. “Really, sit down and eat something. Mat, Zayden, do we have anything?”

“I can find someone with some wild stew going. I’ll be back,” Zayden offered and jumped up to find them something to eat.

“So, this rebellion, huh?” Sen sat in the place Zayden left open. Mave took her seat back, leaning into Matesh as the Elvasi-human mutt spoke. “Seriously?”

“Mostly we’ve been setting up in the Spine and preparing for the coming winter,” she explained. “Alchan probably said all of this.”

“No, I didn’t give him a chance. Told him all about what me and the boys went through, then left him to figure it all out. Anyway, you’ll tell me more than he ever will.”

“Yeah.” She chuckled. “So, we’ve been hiding out on the northern edge of the Dragon Spine, making a home. We’ve been on the road for weeks now, preparing for this. We freed around two hundred Andinna east of here, in an effort to distract everyone from our real objective—getting you back. It worked, and here we are.”

“What’s this secret mission Brynec is on? Where’s your little lover?” He frowned at her, and she could see the concern in his eyes. “It’s not often I see the Company split up. Kian ain’t here, either. He still angry with everyone?”

“No, he’s maintained control over home with Luykas, and we decided he needed more time to settle after Senri was taken from him. Even with her back…let’s say, they had some things they needed to work through,” she explained. “I know, we’re completely split up right now. It’s not comfortable, but we have you, and now, we’re heading back.”

“And Bryn?” Sen didn’t drop it.

She’d been trying to skip it, but the captain was beginning to look like a hunting dog on a scent. Her chest tightened painfully as she thought of the weeks since she had last seen her rogue lover—his lean form, bathing in a hot spring, his careful dedication to keeping their home clean, his blue zircon eyes, the same color as the summer sky.

Skies, I miss you, Bryn. Please be safe out there.

“He’s scouting north of us, looking over Anden to see what the best strike locations might be and how to drive the Elvasi out of our homeland,” she finally answered, giving in to his stare. “He’s been gone for six weeks now, and Alchan has banned me from asking for reports from him or Leshaun. He’s got one of Leshaun’s books.”

“Ah. I threw mine into the sea when I realized the ship was going down. A lot of important things are kept in those books.”

“So I’ve heard. Oh, here’s food.” She saw Zayden bringing a large, heavy pot their way. Mat ran over to help him, and they got it settled over the fire. As bowls were filled, she continued. “So, this was the first real thing we’ve done as a rebellion. Without getting you back, we would have been dead in the water.”

“Well, I’m glad to be of service,” he declared, taking his bowl. “Let’s get this rebellion moving!”

“Let’s get back to the village first,” Matesh said, chuckling.

Sen thought about it for a minute and eyed her.

“Please,” she added. “We’ve been on the road at a rough pace for three weeks, and half the unit is wounded to some degree.”

“Fine! Then we’re going to get this rebellion fuckin’ moving!” Sen grinned, all that charming sailor attitude on display.

“Perfect,” she agreed, smiling in return.

2

Brynec

Brynec climbed the side of the cliff, enjoying the physical activity more than flying to his destination, which he had been doing for weeks.. Anden was covered in mountains, most of them long dead volcanos, and towns naturally formed around them and the rivers that flowed from them. He was weeks from home and tired, but he had to keep looking, had to keep learning. He had one mission—to see what was left of their homeland and who was currently living in it.

He’d done the western coastline first, seeing how the Elvasi held a few strongholds on the water, but as he traveled back inland, even small homesteads became rare as the weather turned bitterly cold and the terrain became precarious.

Ain’t nobody livin’ out here. Alchan is goin’ to be happy.

Another village, devoid of anyone. The only thing he saw now when it came to the Elvasi were the irregular military units that patrolled the country and the more frequent but less dangerous hunters. Anden was always a wild country, everyone knew it, but it made Bryn confused to see the emptiness. Even if the Elvasi were having a hard time, they could have used the homes and towns built by the Andinna. Not everything was on a cliffside. There were a number of towns based in valleys along the roads, safer than any of the mountain towns and villages, but even they were deserted.

“Nothin’ makes any sense anymore,” he muttered aloud. “They hold all their strength on the coast, and we could never break through. Every Andinna I’ve ever met had been certain Anden was completely colonized, but…it’s not.” He huffed, shaking his head. “Did they really find it that hard to live here? There’s nah way. Elvasi are a long-lived race. They should have been able to tame and beat the land into submission after a thousand years and have an entire boomin’ culture.”

Every day he asked himself the same questions, and every day, he had no answers. He couldn’t bring himself to send a report in for two weeks because he was confused by the lack of Elvasi in the heart of Anden. He was certain he would find something of worth to report, eventually, and if he found nothing, he could report a large, empty area with few threats. He pulled out the small leather book from his pack and flipped it open.

The last thing Leshaun had to tell him was that they were proceeding with the mission to save Sen and the others lost during their attack on Ellantia. He’d had no word since, but maybe that was just because of their business. Freeing hostages wasn’t an easy mission, but he knew why they were doing it. They needed Sen and his sailors, and they owed it to the Hornbuckles. None of them would have been captured if they hadn’t been friends of the Andinna and helping them. With Sen and the boys back in the fold, they would have transport out of the continent if they needed it. They would just need to capture a new ship, something they had done enough now, it should prove an easy task.

They’re off savin’ friends, and I’m here, dickin’ around in the middle of Anden with no one and no real objective anymore. I was supposed to be finding out the best places to attack to chase them out of our borders, but there ain’t no one to chase off.

Fuck, I just want to get back to the mountains and see them. It’s fuckin’ lonely out here.

He couldn’t report that, so he tucked the book away and started climbing again. This mountain had a village at the base, but he was interested in what lay at the top—a temple to Kristanya, their dragon goddess of war, death, and darkness. For some reason, he wanted to be there, wanted to see it. He’d never had the chance to visit any temples when he was young, before the war was lost. He remembered his childhood, then slavery. This was his first chance to explore something so important to his people, and it felt like the right goddess to pray to. They were trying to find footing to start one of the greatest fights for their people of all time.

He grew tired halfway up, and the sun was beginning to dip. He didn’t want to rely on flying because he was tired of it, but he gave in, knowing he wouldn’t reach the temple before nightfall without it. If he’d flown originally, he would have been up in only moments.

He stopped on a small cliff and jumped, letting his wings catch the wind. With only a few flaps, he was gaining altitude quickly and found a warm updraft, letting it help him soar even higher. Andinna temples were once renowned for their construction. Climbing to them was considered impossible, and most times, it was. As he rose, he saw that he was about to reach a smooth cliffside rising up over three hundred feet. He would have been stopped there, with nowhere to go except down if he didn’t have wings.

He continued up, higher and higher until finally, he saw it.

A large hole was blown out of the mountain and carved into something beautiful. Pillars made of the mountain stone reached to the ceiling and sculptures were carved into the sides. He landed and took in the master work—dragon sculptures, weaving in and out of each other, breathing fire, but not battling each other. The vicious nature of the sculptures was pointed outward, imposing to all who entered the temple. A warning, even a challenge if one was brave enough. To tread in this temple was to tread in the eyes of Kristanya, and she was always ready for war.

He stepped inside, leaving the foreboding landing behind him. As he traveled into the temple, his breath was quiet as he felt like he walked on sacred ground.

He’d taken the scouting mission for a lot of reasons, the most important being only he could do it well and safely. But privately, he remembered thinking about how nice it would be to see Anden and everything in it without the disturbance of others. If Mave and Matesh had come, so would half the Company, believing they needed to be a group to be protected. He was glad he could just stand in the silence of the deserted temple, even though his heart squeezed with longing for his little family.

They’re fine. Mave and Matesh wouldn’t let anything kill them before I could see them again. Hopefully, they’re missing me as much as I’m missing them.

Bryn walked deeper into the temple toward the main altar. For such an extravagant entrance, the main altar was simple in design—a sacrificial table with a clay bowl on it, all covered in a thick layer of dust. It made the black marble seem gray, but he figured that was also because of the light. He frowned and realized he couldn’t go any further until he dealt with it.

Rushing back out of the temple, he found scraps of wood and tinder. He needed a fire if he planned on spending his night in the temple so high on the mountain. Luckily, the vegetation of Anden was used to altitude and snow, and trees grew high up on the mountains with ease, providing him with everything he needed. He approached the main altar again, deciding he would use it as his main room. He could search the numerous backrooms and quarters of the temple later.

He built his fire quickly, letting it grow to a blaze, lighting the entire room. From the main altar, he only had to turn around to see the entrance, a convenient design for those who wished to say their prayers and leave again. It was a large, open space, but it was sheltered from outside light. The fire was definitely needed to see the rest of the temple.

He took a moment to take in the artwork over the altar. Sculpted with a thin layer of paint was a mural of Kristanya, the black dragon, standing on a mountain peak with several Andinna flying around her. Legends said she never took another dragon as her lover, instead showing love and receiving it from the bravest and most true warriors of their people. There was an interesting thing about her design captured on the mural.

She had no wings.

So, the priests took that literally, eh? The reason Andinna have black wings was that Kristanya decided no warrior of hers would ever long for the love of the sky. Ownership of the sky made her great, and she would see her people great. She gave us her wings.

He chuckled as he remembered learning that from his grandmother as a little boy. She drilled him in all the ancient lore of their people and made sure he knew how to show respect for each of their gods and goddesses. Never disrespect the sky, she said. That was where their gods were the most watchful. The Andinna and the wyverns only had the claim of supremacy over the expansive sky thanks to their gods.

Too bad my grandmother never got to see Elvasi riding gryphons. Our claim is being challenged.

It was yet another reason he chose Kristanya’s temple to pray during his mission. He didn’t have the time or resources to get to a temple for every member of the dragon pantheon, but he could make it to one. He had to make it count.

Could have picked Lariana. She’s the true creator of our race. She’s the one who led the dragons and claimed the male elementals as her husbands and…

Bryn shook his head at the idea. He was a warrior. Kristanya was his to pray to. In the end, she had just as much a hand in their people as her twin sister did.

He stared at the altar, pondering what he was going to ask for from the goddess. Victory was too much. The larger the request, the larger the payment. He had learned that lesson from Varon, who had dealt closely with this sort of offering before. He wouldn’t test the priest’s wisdom on the manner.

He couldn’t ask to survive, for it was just as dangerous a request as victory. Who would die in his place if he was meant to die? He couldn’t tolerate the idea of Mave or Matesh or any Andinna dying for him.

Help. He could ask for help. However the goddess decided to answer was her own business. He would take the smallest handout from her if she decided to answer his prayers.

With resolve, he walked to the altar, ignoring the flickering shadows of the temple around him. He pulled out a rag and wiped down the bowl and marble altar, cleaning away the dust, doing his best to purify the sacred ground he stood on. Legend had it that temples were built where the dragons themselves once roosted. That made them precious, and he felt the need to do his part in keeping them maintained, even after so long.

Once it was clean, he knew the ritual, buried deep in his memories, also learned from his grandmother if the time ever came when he felt the need to pray.

There was only one gift their gods truly wanted when official prayers were made. He pulled a dagger from its sheath on his hip and lifted his left hand.

“Kristanya, giver of wings and leader of war, hear me,” he recited, his voice echoing off the mountain stone and marble around him. “Kristanya, bringer of death and master of shadows, hear me.” He sliced a thin line on his palm and squeezed his hand shut, forcing blood to pour from the wound into the bowl. “Kristanya, your warrior needs you. Hear me.”

He continued to squeeze the wound and closed his eyes, bowing his head. If she heard him, his head would be lowered in respect for the dominant female, the dominant being. He could only hope her eyes were turned in his direction.

“I ask, for all the Andinna, help in the coming days. Our King has decided to begin a rebellion against the corrupt forces of the Elvasi. We have just begun this quest, and I hope you will see fit to aid us in any regard.”

A strong wind blew into the temple, knocking him forward, sending him into the altar. Winds so strong weren’t uncommon at the altitude of the temple, and he groaned as he realized his blood was no longer going into the bowl. He felt a certain annoyance as the wind blew out the fire, which he hadn’t properly sheltered.

“Of course,” he grumbled. “One time I try to do somethin’ good and proper, everythin’ is ruined by the wind.” He sighed, looking down at his offering. In the end, it wasn’t much, but he hoped it was heard.

He cleaned himself and wrapped a piece of cloth around his left hand before getting back to his fire and starting it again in a better location behind a pillar. For some reason, he didn’t want to go deeper into the temple. Generally, only the priests and priestesses saw beyond the main altar of a temple, and anyone else had to be invited.

He didn’t want to push his luck and disturb those old laws, even if no one would ever know he broke them.

Later, when the only light he had was the fire, he pulled out the leather book and began to write a small report, only relaying he was safe and had not yet run into any serious threats. He didn’t give a location, in case anyone was compromised. Mave and Matesh deserved to know he was okay. They all did, his friends and family in the Company.

For the first time in weeks, he felt secure enough to try to sleep properly. He’d spent weeks now perched on cliffs, barely getting enough sleep to function properly, but in the temple, he felt like he was protected. There was no way Elvasi, humans, or even wild animals would come for him here.

Much later, his eyes flew open as something came down at him. His fire was out, and his eyes weren’t adjusted, but there was no mistaking steel swinging in the dark. He tried to jump up, only to get grabbed from behind. The sword stopped, angled perfectly to slit his throat in a second.

“Your name?” a gruff male voice asked. It was too dark for him to see anything about his attacker or the blade in front of him. All he had was the dark and the voice.

“Brynec Lorren,” he answered quickly. “Who—” A hand slammed over his mouth, and the blade pressed against his neck, nicking the scar he had from centuries of wearing a collar that wasn’t the proper fit.

“Lorren? There are no Lorrens left,” the voice snarled. “Take him. We’ll question him later at home.”

“Wait—” He tried to talk through the hand. He tried to pull out of the hold on him but couldn’t get free in time to dodge the hilt that slammed down on the back of his head.

3

Mave

They rode into their village to a reception that was more extravagant than deserved. Mave bit back a groan as those they had left behind treated them as if they had just defeated the Empire. She didn’t cheer with the others, feeling dissatisfied. It had been months since they attacked Ellantia, and all they had to show for it was two hundred free Andinna and the friends they had lost during said attacks. She didn’t let her own mood show, though. Her position meant she had to remain optimistic to the crowd, even if she didn’t feel it.

There was one thing that kept her from being completely pessimistic.

They were home. A new home, not the one she loved and lost back in Olost, but home, nonetheless.

“Alchan!” she called out over the cheering. “Do you need me for anything today?” It was only midday. There was always a chance he would want her for some meeting by nightfall.

“No! We’ll get back to it tomorrow, so enjoy the evening off.” He even smiled at her, but she saw the shadow in his eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.

Months since they dramatically told those around them they wanted to start a rebellion, and they were finally getting something to show for it. Others might be impressed, but they had both expected more, faster. Fall was quickly ending, and the only thing any of the Andinna were worried about was surviving the coming winter. She couldn’t blame them, but she wanted more. Freeing Sen and the others was only the beginning. It wasn’t enough to warrant the welcome they were given.

“Wait!” he called as she turned her horse. “I’m going to need you after dinner with Leshaun. Since we’re back, may as well debrief on Bryn. Bring Matesh.”

“I’ll be there!” she yelled back, the crowd now starting to separate them. Any update about Bryn was something she looked forward to. She’d begged and pleaded, even tried to throw rank around to keep him from going on the scouting mission alone. In the end, she lost. Mat, even if he had his worries, was willing to trust Bryn to go on his own, respecting their rogue would come back to them. It was a male thing. Alchan and Luykas believed her rogue to be the best for the task and the most trustworthy with the information he would learn and have to pass along.

She knew all of them were right, but she wanted him back.

“Mave!” someone shouted. “Over here!”

She turned her horse around in two circles, trying to find the source of the voice. She was still scanning the crowd when someone grabbed the reins of her mare and held it, stopping Mave’s spinning.

“Here!” the voice said again, laughing. Mave looked around her mare’s head and grinned.

“Damn it, Senri! I couldn’t see you in this crowd!”

“Let me lead you and this girl out of this mess. There’s got to be a young male around somewhere who’s willing to handle her.”

Mave relinquished control as Senri started walking, forcing her mare to follow calmly. The mare and all of their other horses, were stolen from Elvasi soldiers. They were trained well to handle the bustle of crowds and battlefields, but Mave wasn’t the most confident rider. She preferred flying, but that was impractical for a war group like the one she had been a part of for the last nearly five weeks.

Once they were out of the crowd, Senri whistled. Mave saw a young male guard watching the commotion turn to them in a snap. Everyone knew Senri’s sharp whistle.

“You! Guard! Take this mare for the King’s Champion and see she’s taken care of!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Mave dismounted as the guard ran to them. She didn’t recognize him, giving him what must have been a strange look as he blushed in return.

“I got here three weeks ago. I’m from the—” His warm eyes were a red-brown, bright and honest, and much too eager and excited for her. His black hair was cut short, but not short enough to stop it from falling over his eyes in a boyish way that screamed innocent.

“Ah, a new face. I figured. Welcome.” She smiled but didn’t give him the chance to tell her his name. She had too many names to remember as it was and didn’t need a dozen more with every new group coming into the village. “We freed you at one of the farms. I hope you’re well. Now, Senri and I have much to discuss. Have a wonderful day.”

“T-thank you, Champion,” he stuttered, bowing his head low.

Senri grabbed her and began dragging her along. With no fight in her, Mave followed, sighing heavily.

“I’m so awkward,” she declared as they left the crowd behind.

“Platitudes don’t suit you,” Senri said, a forgiving note to the words. “You don’t do well with the attention. His name is Rydec, by the way. He’s three hundred and grew up in slavery, hearing the whispers across the Empire about what you could do in the Colosseum. Since we’ve arrived here, he and several other young males have talked nonstop about seeing you when you freed them last month. All born and raised on Elvasi farms. They talk about Alchan and Luykas, too, but they always thought you were more real than the Ivory Shadows.”

“How many?” Mave asked softly. “How many of them have never been free a day in their lives?”

“Over half,” Senri answered, shaking her head. “Apparently, young Andinna who have never known freedom are safer to keep on the farms because they don’t really know where to go or who to ask for help if they want to escape. If they were all over a thousand, they would know the taste of freedom and how to fight. It would be easy to escape. Many of them have been tending fields since they could walk and were trained young to fear the lash of a whip. At a young age—”

“A whip can severely damage your wings,” she finished for her friend, cutting off Senri. “It’s a strong repellant to the thought of flying away. There are repercussions to trying beyond that, too.”

Senri nodded. “If they were caught flying without permission or out of bounds, they were shot from the sky by the farm’s human archers. Then they were bound as punishment,” Senri explained further. “Convincing them they can fly here has been an ongoing process. Most, if not all, need exercise and practice. None of them were permanently bound like you or Brynec, but none of them could fly on a regular basis, either.”

“Did you report all of this to Luykas?”

“Of course, and he’ll report it all to Alchan the moment they sit down and get the chance.”

“Then why are you telling me? In the end, I’m just another warrior with a special title to make sure there’s respect being shown to the females. I don’t handle logistics. That’s Alchan and Luykas.”

“This is as much your rebellion as it is Alchan’s. Figured you needed to know more about those you’ve saved so far.”

“You think I don’t know?” she demanded. Something about her friend’s words struck a nerve, giving Mave a nasty rush of red-hot temper. “Shit, Senri, I grew up in slavery just like them. I met farm boys when they came to the pits, strong bodied from days of hard labor but fresh and innocent in their own ways as if slavery hadn’t been so hard on them. Fucked a couple of them. Saw most of them die. Those who didn’t grew hard and cold as the older males, the trained warriors, who beat on them and taught them their place. They were fed stories about how their lives were terrible because of me, and eventually, they were just another gladiator I had to watch my back around.”

She was breathing hard at the end of her rant. Rydec, for all his youthful, nervous stuttering, would have been one of those males. In a different life, she would have been intrigued and maybe needed to scratch an itch.

A life she left behind just over a year ago.

“Fuck. Sorry. I think I’m tired from the road.” She rubbed her temples, trying to forget the images running through her mind. Flashes of faces of young men who were kind to her for a moment until the others convinced them it was bad for their health. Centuries of it, seeing a one-night fling get killed for being with her. Another being beaten because he dared to be kind to her, not understanding the way the pits worked. A relentless cycle that was only broken when two dangerous warriors, better than the rest, walked in and refused to leave her alone because they were also ‘owned’ by Shadra.

“I didn’t think. This is all new to me, hearing some of their stories. You’ve heard them all before.”

Mave could only nod, trying to banish faces from her mind. So many hopeful warriors, young males who showed real promise, lost to the dirty politics and quiet war waged in the pits—her against all of them.

“Why don’t you come check on the things I know you’ll want to see, then head off for a hot meal at the dining hall? Or you can come with me, and I’ll get Kian to cook you dinner.” Senri’s hand was gentle on her shoulder, pulling her to keep walking. “You’ve been on the hard road for a long time.”

“I have been. Sorry for the outburst, Senri. Truly.” Mave wrapped an arm around her friend’s waist, and Senri moved her arm over Mave’s shoulders. Together, they walked in tandem, enjoying the friendly contact again. “How’re you and your males? How’s Kian?”

“He’s less overprotective every day,” Senri answered. “I knew he would get over himself fast. Willem and Gentrin are wonderful, perfect husbands, as always. May they continue to set a good example for my warrior.” Senri chuckled. Mave knew her friend loved all three of her husbands, and they were all equal in her eyes, but the teasing relationship between Senri and Kian was unique to them. “How’re you and Matesh? What’s the news on Bryn?”

“Matesh is great. He’s been my backbone since Bryn has been gone.” Mave sighed. “Alchan promised to tell me more about where Bryn is tonight, once everyone has settled down. I bothered him enough that I was banned from asking until we made it back to the safety of the village. Can you believe that? He asked me to meet him after dinner so I could finally know what was going on with my husband!”

“Yes. I know you. If anything was happening to Bryn, and he needed you, you would have thrown aside all the work the war group was doing to save him. Alchan probably didn’t want you to worry, and you know he would have told you if something terrible happened to Brynec.” Senri squeezed her shoulders. “So, you have nothing to do until after dinner…perfect! You have to come see the females, including the new ones. I’m not going to put them on guard duty until I get your approval of their skills, and Allaina agrees with me. Then Kian and I can feed you and Matesh—”

“And Zayden. Poor man is going to starve now that Rain is too busy for him,” Mave added. She wasn’t comfortable with him eating alone. Again. In a direct parallel to the situation Rain had once found her in, Matesh found Zayden eating alone one night. Now, the tables were turned, and he ate with her family.

“Fine. Zayden too. Then you can go harass Alchan about Bryn, and everything will be fine.”

“It will be,” Mave agreed, only half believing the words. “Let’s go see how the females have improved.” She gestured for Senri to start walking, and together, they wandered out of the village.

Down the path, they took flight into the open air. It was risky to jump into the air in the village. There were many Andinna, and everyone was trying to get somewhere quickly, leading to an increase in collisions. The rule of thumb was to take off outside or in a quiet area of the village and let others land in the busy areas if they needed to be somewhere.

Mave spun in the open sky, enjoying the ability to fly freely again. South of the Dragon Spine flying wasn’t safe, and they only did so in emergencies. Once in the mountains, there were no rules about taking to the sky once the area was cleared of potential Elvasi spies in the nearby hills. Thanks to Senri’s dedication to the protection of their home base, everyone knew it was safe to fly at the village.

They passed over a large river, and Mave looked down to see the training field she had claimed for the females. She didn’t want them to train in the village, keeping them out of the prying eyes of males and away from any potential distractions. She circled once, taking in the exercise they were doing, sparring in groups of four, three on one. When Allaina rang the bell, they rotated, and one of the three became the lone warrior. It was effective training for Andinna since they were so often outnumbered.

She landed away from the training, out of the way, so she didn’t disturb them. Watching the fast, smooth movements of many of the females, she was glad to see the long days of training were paying off.

“Some have complained they have things they need to do in the village, and we need to cut their training time down,” Senri said softly. “What do you think?”

“I think if they want a day off, they need to be able to draw blood on me to prove they’ve learned what I can teach them,” Mave answered, cocking her head to the side. Some of the females weren’t smooth, and one even screamed and dropped her weapon when she was hit in the thigh. It would have been a nasty cut with real steel but would only bruise with wood.

And it wasn’t any type of wound that should down an Andinna.

“Is she new?” Mave pointed to the one pouting and rubbing her thigh. The female pointed an accusatory finger at the one who hit her, who only shrugged in response.

“How’d you guess?” Senri chuckled dryly.

“She’s bitching. No one from our village in Olost ever bitched about a bruise once we started training.”

“Because they know freedom can be lost as easily as it’s gained.”

“Easier. It’s easier to lose than it is to win,” Mave corrected. “Is she one of your complainers?”

“Yeah. A couple of newer females would rather use their normal skills to help the rebellion. Three of them, all under seven hundred. They aren’t all the new females, but they are the most vocal. One of them is particularly dominant, and I’m beginning to worry she’ll challenge Allaina.”

“Any of them have children?” Mave asked softly, crossing her arms. She liked what she saw from the females she knew, but she was beginning to see more of the problem ones—softer like the others used to be. The idea of one of them challenging Allaina was a concern. Mave hated politics, despised them, but if there was an issue, Alchan would expect her and Senri to step in and deal with it.

“One. A ten-year-old boy.”

“Where is he?”

“Being watched over by those who cannot fight or perform heavy labor. There’s a rotation of elders and disabled that handle the education of the children while their parents work.”

“Husbands?” Mave wanted more. She didn’t make it a point to know everything about every male wandering the camp, but she felt the need to protect the females. Allaina and Senri were the same way, memorizing every name and their loved ones’ names. Together, they were the three most powerful females, and if they stayed united, the rest would fall in line.

That was the theory, anyway.

“She told me her husband was sold shortly after the birth of their son. None of the others have lovers among the Andinna or have chosen a lover of their own free will.”

“Damn. We could never find him if that’s the case.” Mave rubbed her jaw in thought. “Is that female more dominant than Allaina?”

“Oh, absolutely not, but she’s young, and she’s gotten the support of her friends from the farms. She’s a big head that needs to learn she’s no longer in slavery where it’s everyone against everyone. We mean the best for her, and she doesn’t understand that. She’s had a taste of freedom and wants to use it to do what she pleases.”

“It makes sense,” Mave said, giving the female the benefit of understanding. “Freedom is a big thing. At least she has the balls to jump into it with both feet. She’ll learn.”

“Are we going to step in now? I think we’re being noticed.” Senri nodded toward Allaina, and Mave waved at the mativa, who glared in return.

“I’ve been fucking waiting on you two!” Allaina yelled at them. When females began to stop and stare, Allaina’s snarl was impressive enough to make Mave chuckle. “Keep practicing! I didn’t tell you to stop!”

Wooden swords were clashing against each other as the beautiful, ruby-eyed bitch stomped Mave’s way.

“You better not be hurt,” Allaina snapped, looking her over. “Senri, you were supposed to get her over here as soon as possible, not take your sweet ass time.”

“Missed you too, Allaina,” Mave said, still chuckling. “How’re things?”

“Terrible! Senri is so skies damned busy with the guards and keeping the village safe, I’m left with the females literally every day alone. You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I need you to beat the sense into a few of these bitches, and I need to get back to the job I’m supposed to do.” Allaina didn’t smile, her hard glare never abating. “And since you aren’t injured, you can start right now. I swear, some of these females just want to get themselves killed!”

Allaina turned and started stomping off, ringing the bell at her waist for the groups to rotate again. Mave didn’t follow her yet, leaning over to Senri.

“Is she really my friend?”

“I think you’re the only person she likes anymore. And she doesn’t like you much,” Senri mumbled. “She’s lost her damn mind, I’m sure of it.”

“Being captured changed her. It changes everyone…except you. You just keep going along, chin up, and ready to fight a little harder.”

“My guards think I’ve changed. The ones from Olost? They call me a hard bitch now.” Senri sighed heavily.

“You two better not be gossiping! Get over here!” Allaina roared from the center of the field. Mave started moving, not wanting Allaina to have to come get her. Senri followed behind, not commenting further on her own changes since what happened in Olost and Ellantia. Mave hadn’t noticed those changes, but she never interfered with Senri’s work with the guards.

Once at centerfield, Mave crossed her arms as females drew closer, forming a semi-circle in front of her, Senri, and Allaina.

“Hello, everyone. As many of you know, I’m Mave Lorren, King’s Champion and member of the Royal Guard, though many of you know it as the Ivory Shadow Mercenary Company.”

“Everyone calls you the Ivory Shadows,” Allaina explained. “No longer mercenaries, but still the warriors directly working for Luykas and Alchan. The best of the best.”

“Don’t care,” Mave replied, leaning over to Allaina to say it quietly. The mativa bared her teeth, but there was no heat in her gaze. Turning her attention back on the females, Mave continued loudly. “Now, I’ve been away on a mission the last several weeks, but for as long as I’m in this village, I’m in charge of your training. Allaina kindly stepped in because I trust her work with a blade—”

“Why don’t any of the male warriors train us?” one asked loudly. Mave searched out the one who spoke and found blazing eyes, yellow-orange, not like a warm campfire, but the blazes that burned down Mave’s last home. There was indignant anger in them, annoyance. Mave didn’t let them get to her. She knew there was going to be at least one who pushed her boundaries. In the end, Mave understood. Freedom was enticing, and the idea of spending it following more orders didn’t appeal to everyone.

“Because I’m the most dominant female of the Andinna, and the only male more dominant than me is the King. You’ll learn from me or someone I choose. On top of that, I want you taught by another female.”

“But—”

“You can question me all you want, but it’s not going to change. If it’s not me or Allaina, it’ll be Senri, and she’ll put you on guard duty for talking back,” Mave said sharply. This was definitely the female Senri and Allaina were worried about—enough mouth and dominance to get into trouble, but probably nothing to back it up. The males dealt with it every day as they bickered and found their pecking orders. Now it was Mave’s turn to handle an upstart. “Your name, female?”

“Fyren. I thought we were free. Shouldn’t we be able to decide if we want to do this all day, every day, and with whom? I don’t know about anyone else, but the idea of being on the battlefield isn’t something that brings me joy. I definitely don’t want to be listening to some high-and-mighty females telling me what to do all the time.”

“It’s not about being on the battlefield. I’ll never make you fight against Elvasi soldiers or make you join a war group and go looking for fights, but I will expect you to be able to defend yourself. We’re a warrior people. We’re built to fight and win. I would know, I’ve done it against other Andinna for over nine hundred years. I won’t tolerate a good male warrior dying because you are too soft-hearted or defiant to pick up a blade and fight to defend what we’re building here. Ask any of the females here before you. Ask them the consequences of relying on others to defend them when we’re supposed to be warriors in our own right.”

The silence after her words was deafening, weighing heavily on the crowd. Some of the females looked victorious, a few looked bored—Mave knew they had heard this speech before. Only a small handful looked downright pissed off. Fyren’s eyes were blazing. She didn’t want to be a warrior, and that was okay, but she had to understand freedom didn’t come without responsibilities. Mave, needing to loosen up after long days on the road, drew her swords.

There are a hundred better things I could be doing on my first day back, but fine, I’ll do this instead.

“Fyren, if you can blood me, you can leave,” she offered, stepping into the space between them. She flipped one sword and carefully caught the blade, holding out the hilt to the disgruntled female. “This is your only chance until I’m in the mood again, and that could be awhile. I have better people to spar against than weak-armed slaves. I don’t like beating up the powerless.” The words were harsh, but they got her point across. Fyren stomped forward and took the sword. “Senri, call time.”

“Positions,” Senri ordered from the side. “Females, step back and give them space!”

The crowd pushed out. Mave spun her remaining sword in her right hand. It wouldn’t stay there. This young female had no idea what she was about to try to beat. Maybe it would push the girl to get better.

“Here are the rules. If I draw blood on you three times, I win. If you draw blood on me once, you are free to stop coming to these trainings. If you draw blood on me three times, I’ll lower my eyes to you.”

Allaina, Senri, and every female who knew Mave gasped or coughed to try to cover up their reactions.

It’s never going to happen, but I have to give the girl something to work for.

“Begin!” Senri called.

Mave didn’t launch into an attack. As she thought, the girl and her temper charged first, screaming as she tried to cleave Mave open. She deflected it easily, noticing how weak the attack actually was.

She didn’t do much physical labor as a slave, then. This amount of exercise must be uncomfortable, and that could fuel her dislike for it. Training a soft body from scratch can’t be pleasant.

Even the females from Olost weren’t truly soft or untrained. They were inexperienced, but they did physical things—helping with the fields and the harvest, building if they needed—and they had all known how to use their swords. Mave was now encountering her first female who truly had no idea what she was doing. Raised and weakened by the Elvasi—this was what they did to the Andinna—weakened them, made them soft.

She sidestepped and let Fyren run past her, her deflected sword leading the way as she couldn’t stop her own momentum. As gently as she could, Mave poked the back of her thigh and brought a spot of blood through the leather.

“One for Mave!” Senri called.

“This is child’s play,” Allaina said, loud enough to be heard.

Fyren growled, and Mave was impressed by the rage in it, but that was the fatal flaw of the young female. Mave knew rage. She knew its pros and cons in battle. An experienced warrior knew how to channel the rage. An inexperienced warrior let it rule them.

Fyren turned and took a wide, wild swing, again going for devastating damage instead of realizing what her objective really was. A single blood draw didn’t need to be a debilitating injury. It could have been a nick for all Mave cared.

Mave blocked the swing and decided her point was proven. In two heartbeats, she disarmed the young female with a simple kick and lashed out with two quick strikes, drawing blood twice on the girl’s arm, one at the elbow and one at the shoulder.

“Two and three for Mave! We have a winner!” Senri yelled. “Sheath your weapons and step back!”

Mave wasted no time in putting both her swords away while Fyren stood in shock, her eyes welling up with tears as she held one of the cuts Mave gave her.

“Y-y-you…”

“I what?” Mave snapped.

“If you wanted to beat me up, you could have just—”

Mave snarled, cutting off the words. Once there was silence for a minute, she continued.

“Beat you up? I don’t beat up anyone I know I can beat. It’s a waste of my time and energy. Now, someone is going to have to tend to you, wasting their time and energy. You think I want to be here, dealing with you when I’ve only just gotten home? You think I wouldn’t rather spend the afternoon catching up with friends or spending some alone time with my family? You couldn’t even keep your mouth shut for one afternoon. You just had to go and ruin it, thinking you know what’s what.”

“I…” Fyren took a step back, looking hurt.

“You have a backbone, and I can respect that. Most would have just cowered at the idea of sparring against me, but don’t mistake a bit of dominance for real power. I worked for hundreds of years to be the warrior I am. King Alchan recognized that, and when he needs someone to fight in his stead, he can count on me. Senri is a warrior from before the war, and her ability to lead warriors and manage defensive tactics put her in the position she’s in, not just her dominance. Allaina was trained for centuries to become a mativa and lead the community. When any of us give you an order, we’re not doing it to flex our strength. We’re doing it because we know better. We’re trying to keep all of you alive for another day.”

“Yes, Champion,” Fyren mumbled.

“Train. Every day will get easier. One day, you’ll need the skills we’re teaching you. One day, the sword you just held might be the only thing between you and living the rest of your life in peace. You have to know how to use it.” Mave turned to her friends, sighing. “I’m done here. Allaina, if any of them gives you more trouble, let me know.”

This was the second time since she got off her horse that Mave was angry, breathing hard. Exhaustion rode her as she stepped away from the crowd. She had been excited to get home, but she’d forgotten the true work was done here. In the end, a war group was a retreat from this.

“Mave,” Senri whispered, stepping next to her, their backs to the rest of the females. Allaina started up the drills again, and they listened for a moment before Senri started speaking. “You didn’t have to deal with her today. It could have waited.”

“No, it couldn’t have,” Mave replied, sighing. “We can’t let that kind of behavior fester and become too deeply rooted to deal with.”

“It could have waited a day,” Senri said, not budging from her stance.

Mave only shook her head.

4

Mave

“Behave for our King, please,” Senri said sternly as Mave pulled her boots back on.

“I always do,” Mave said, drawing it out as if she were a child, to tease Senri a little. Her best friend ran a hand over Mave’s hair, right between her horns. Kian chuckled at the sight of them as he leaned on the far wall of the hallway. Matesh elbowed him and dodged as Kian tried to get him back. She could hear Zayden still talking to Gentrin and Willem in the main room, something about the durability of swords versus hunting knives, and why they were so different. She had already tuned out the conversation.

“Don’t lie to me,” Senri ordered, but Mave wasn’t worried by the hard tone because the smile betrayed Senri’s real feelings. “And tell me if there’s anything we can do since Brynec is gone. I know he managed a lot of the little things for your household because Matesh is incapable.”

“I’m capable. He’s just better at it. He likes handling supply counts and budgets and the like. He did it for the Company for a couple hundred years.”

Everyone looked up at her arrogant, gorgeous husband, his pride wounded. Mave laughed as she stood up and kissed him.

“I know you can do it,” she told him, running her hand over his chest. For a moment, she soaked in his dazzling emerald eyes.

“Stop being disgusting, you two, and go to your damn meeting,” Zayden said, shattering her moment of peace. She growled in his direction.

“Stop being a jealous, lonely shit,” she snapped.

“Nothing to be jealous of.” She watched the bulky man shrug and wondered how someone as wonderful as Rainev ever came from someone as grouchy as Zayden.

“If you want somewhere to sleep tonight, you’ll be nice,” Matesh reminded him. “We’re still okay with him using our guest room, right?”

Mave sighed, looking between her husband and his best friend. “Yes, we’re still okay with that. I’m not going to abandon a Company friend to living in the communal male barracks.”

“I’m so glad I have you looking out for me,” Zayden said loudly, his back to her.

“Maybe I should tell Alchan you’re sleeping outside on your ass!” she yelled, no real heat to her threat. “I don’t know what stick has gotten up your ass today, but remove it!”

“All right…” Matesh grabbed her arm and began to gently pull. “Why don’t we head out and leave Zayden here?”

“I like that idea. Senri, he’s your problem now.”

“I thought you two were friends now…” Senri furrowed her brows, looking back-and-forth. “I thought…”

“Oh, we are,” Mave said, a small smile forming. “I mean, since his own son abandoned him to work with Alchan, someone has to tolerate him.”

“I fucking heard that.”

“I should definitely go,” Mave said quickly, leaving faster than Matesh. They were both laughing as they walked through the dark village. After a couple of moments, they quieted down, and she let him hold her arm as an escort. She missed the peaceful nights of their new home. She barely got to enjoy them before a five-week mission with a war group took her away from it.

Much of the private family quarters were built into a sheer cliff like their last village, but it was no longer the centerpiece of the village. There were at least four different cliffs around the valley that had dozens of small homes built into them. The village encompassed them all, and several clearings were used for farming and training. A large river cut through the valley, and everyone got their fresh mountain water from it. The mountains surrounding the valley were peppered with hot springs open to anyone to use for bathing, far more than the handful they had access to in Olost.

“What are you looking at?” Mat asked softly.

“Just the mountains. They’re different from the mountains in Olost, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are. Our entire culture was based on the mountains of Anden and the Dragon Spine. Taller than the range in Olost, more plentiful in water and game. More cliffsides viable for building and living. We’ve also lived in them for so long, it’s as if the mountains have adapted to us. This is where we’re meant to be.”

“It is,” she agreed.

“Do you want to tell me about what Senri mentioned at dinner? You got home and had to jump straight into work? You disappeared on me, and I got caught to help unload and supply homes for our allies.”

“Senri found me in the crowd, and I went to see how the females were doing…” Mave groaned. “One of them is pretty dominant. Couldn’t challenge Allaina and win but could try to potentially divide some of the females. I decided to stop that shit fast, especially when she started interrupting me while I was trying to meet and talk to the new females.”

“Was she rude?” Matesh’s tone went decidedly bland.

“She was. Angry with the female training schedule. Angry with being free but not being able to do whatever she wants.”

“Some of the males are like that. They don’t understand.”

“They won’t until they see it. Too bad we’re in such a state that even defending this place is going to be hard pressed.” Mave crossed her arms as she walked. “But with Sen, we can finally start getting things moving. We can get him a ship, and from there, we can start flooding these mountains with Andinna from Olost.”

“It’s definitely hopeful,” he agreed. “First, we need Bryn back.”

“Do you miss him?” she asked softly, leaning into him. Their wings brushed, and he wrapped the tip of his tail around hers. She squeezed, glad for the contact. Tonight was going to be the first night she had her male back in her arms with no distractions. They could wait, though, as they had all day.

“I do,” he admitted. “I really do, but he’s doing something important, and it’s the right job for him. He’s probably missing us just as badly.”

“I hope so,” she mumbled. She was insecure about his absence. Since she settled in with Matesh, she barely went a few days at a time without him. The same could be said for Brynec until this mission. He was off in the dangerous Elvasi-held Anden, and there was nothing she could do to protect him. If he got hurt, he was completely on his own, and it could take weeks, if not months, to find and rescue him if they even had a chance. “I hope he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he is. Alchan probably didn’t want us distracted during the mission.”

Mave winced. “He got annoyed with me asking for updates. That’s why I was banned from his briefings with Leshaun.” She hadn’t wanted to admit that during their mission because it would have upset him.

Mat sighed heavily, shaking his head, but he didn’t chastise her. He had every right to because Brynec was as much his family as hers. They were a family, and they all deserved to be together and know what was going on.

They walked in silence to the front door they were looking for. Like his previous home, Alchan chose something low to the ground and had wooden steps built. The hot spring he used was visible from the small clearing in front of his quiet home, and she rolled her eyes to find him in it.

“When you ask someone to come over, you shouldn’t be in the bath when they arrive!” she yelled in his direction. He turned slowly, and she watched his shoulders drop in defeat at the sight of her.

“Sorry, Mave. I just had a moment and thought to claim it. I forgot you were even coming.”

“How was your day?” Mat asked casually. Even if they were king and warriors, Alchan still maintained a semi-casual relationship with everyone in the Company. No other warriors could ask him such a simple question, but any member of the Royal Guard could.

“Terrible. Scuffled with a little shit over a direct order.”

“Really? I had an issue with a female who needed immediate attention. Senri and Allaina didn’t like her attitude toward them, then she gave me one.” Mave and Mat walked closer to the hot spring, and she grabbed Alchan’s towel and held it out. “They’ll learn, though. Don’t let it get to you.”

“Yes, I know. Thank you.” He reached out and grabbed the towel, throwing it over his head. Mave snorted as it didn’t really touch his hair. It sat on his horns, high above his head. As Matesh also started to chuckle, Alchan growled softly. “I don’t want it getting wet before I get out.”

Neither of them moved as Alchan stepped out of the hot spring. She was so desensitized to the nudity of male warriors, she didn’t consider that he didn’t wrap his waist with the towel until Matesh coughed in a very particular way. Alchan grumbled low and wrapped it around himself.

“Luykas was complaining to me at dinner that you didn’t see him when you returned,” Alchan told her as they started walking to his home. “Please see him tomorrow, so he leaves me alone.”

“He knows where I am. He can come find me,” she retorted.

“This is what I get for having blood bonded Andinna of similarly high rank around me all the time,” he growled to himself. “Never listening. Tell him to go see her, and he says no and gets away with it. Tell her to see him and she says no and gets away with it.”

“You told him to come see me, and he said no?” she asked, incredulous. “Really?”

“Happens more often than you think,” Alchan explained to her. “You can take it up with him. Tomorrow.”

“You can’t make me go see him.” She crossed her arms. Matesh ran ahead of them both and got the door. She kissed his cheek as thanks as she walked into Alchan’s home.

“No, but I can make you come to a meeting tomorrow, and he’ll be there.”

“You can do that,” she agreed, nodding her head, admitting he had her backed into a corner to see his brother.

“I don’t understand you two. You genuinely enjoy each other’s company, but you’re too stubborn to admit it and search each other out.”

“He’s an asshole sometimes,” she reminded him. And judging by the speed he was moving from the center of the village toward Alchan’s home, he was going to be one soon enough for her to witness.

“And you’re a bitch sometimes.”

She shrugged. He was right. She had her moments and couldn’t deny her faults. She was a hard ass. That much was proven earlier in the day.

“Don’t call my wife a bitch,” Matesh said casually. Alchan turned on him, raising an eyebrow.

“Or my big sister!” Rainev called from deeper in the home.

Alchan’s face turned red. “I thought you were asleep! I gave you leave to head to bed, Rainev!”

Rain stuck his head around the corner, a grin plastered over his face. “But then who was going to make sure you aren’t up all night and can function tomorrow?”

Alchan’s growl was impressive. Mave felt a swift desire to step back, and Matesh actually did, knowing his rank wasn’t high enough to challenge the ferocious king. Rain looked unfazed.

“I’ll remember this,” Alchan said before stomping down the hall. “Since you’re up, you can get drinks for everyone. Mave, have you tried lyca tea?”

“I haven’t.” She’d never heard of it.

“Matesh, if I remember right, it’s one of your favorites. You haven’t served any to her yet?”

Matesh sighed. “It’s not easy to get ahold of right now. Supply is short, and I don’t want others to go without.”

Alchan nodded but didn’t look at them as he stopped at a table set up in his family room. He shuffled through scrolls and books until he found the one he was looking for. Mave recognized it as one of the spy books Leshaun kept in secret.

“I’ll make sure you have some added to your supply lists. There’s no reason the household of the King’s Champion goes without. Mave, lyca is a plant that only grows north of the Dragon Spine in Anden. It’s one of our more traditional spices for food but also makes a warm tea that helps battle the chill better than anything else. Because the seasons here are generally colder than everywhere else, we’ve developed dozens of ways to use lyca and several other unique herbs of the region to keep us warm through food and drink.”

“I know the spice of Andinna food quite well,” she reminded him. “I’ve been eating it for over a year.”

“You know Olost and Empire spices. We’ve been without lyca for a very long time. Rain—”

“I’m already putting a pot on. It’s going to take time, Alchan.” Rain sounded exasperated, but he was still smiling when he walked out of the kitchen. “So, what are you two doing here?”

“They’re here to get a report on Brynec,” Alchan explained before she could say anything. “Have a seat, and we’ll get this out of the way.”

Mave fell into a soft cushion on the floor, and Matesh pulled another to sit next to her. They didn’t stretch out and get comfortable, even though the look on Alchan’s face told her he wanted them to. He opened the leather-bound book and flipped through several pages.

“Here it is. Brynec’s last contact with us was six days ago, telling us he was safe and unharmed. He provided no location or a mission status, but that probably just means he had nothing to report beyond what he’d already told us. He’s been lying low for the most part. Knowing him, he’s gathering information still and doesn’t want to give me anything inconclusive. Leshaun wrote him back, asking for more information, at least his location, but he never replied. Probably went hunting since he’s on his own for food at this point.”

“That’s it?” Mave huffed. “Really?”

“That’s it. Now, I don’t want to be bothered more about it. If he were really hurt and needed our assistance I would have told you, but he’s managing the mission just fine.”

“The drinks aren’t even done,” Mat pointed out, sounding as confused as she felt.

“I figured we could sit around and chat,” Alchan said gruffly. “It’s not like I have many people to do that with.”

Mave didn’t say anything about the brother of his standing outside. He’d landed only moments before but wasn’t moving anymore. Whatever was on Luykas’ mind, he didn’t let his emotional currents leak through the bond.

“You bribed and tricked us into hanging out with you…” Matesh said.

“I wouldn’t call it a trick,” Alchan snapped. Mave felt Luykas move and turned slightly to eye the door, knowing her piqued curiosity would be something he felt. “But since Rain is up making drinks and…” He trailed off as a soft knocking began at his front door.

“It’s Luykas,” she told him.

“You couldn’t tell me he was on his way?” Alchan snapped, standing up. “One moment. Rain, can you put on something for him?”

“I’ve got enough water going for him to have a glass of tea,” Rain answered from his place in the doorway to the kitchen.

Alchan walked out quickly, shutting the front door behind him when he went outside. Mave frowned as they never came back, moving further away from Alchan’s home. Rain poured their drinks and sat down in the abandoned seat left by him.

“Where are they going?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

“They’ve done this once before. Most of the time, Luykas comes in for late-night talks, but when they left, I was never given an explanation. I know better than to ask.” Rainev sipped his tea and kicked her calf. “Drink your tea. If neither of them is back by the time you’re done, you can head out without getting into trouble, and I’ll get some much-needed sleep.”

“Thank you,” she said, lifting the glass and sipping on the cinnamon-colored liquid. It had a kick, warming her belly quickly. After a moment, sitting in front of Alchan’s hearth and letting the tea settle, she noticed a heaviness to her limbs. “Is it always like this?”

“Yeah. Common winter night drink. Helps with sleep and warmth,” Matesh said, sighing happily after he drank another swallow. “There’s stuff you can add to offset the drowsiness factor, but it’s late. Thank you, Rain.”

“Any time. You know you two can visit without needing business with Alchan, right? I live here just the same as him. He doesn’t deny me visitors.”

“We’ve barely lived in this village for two months and just spent five weeks on a mission. You do remember that, right?” Mave eyed him and saw a blush beginning to form on her little brother’s face.

“Yeah. I just figured I should mention it. Can you tell my dad that? Actually, he was staying in the communal barracks. I asked Alchan if we can get him his own place—”

“He’ll be staying in our guest room now. You don’t need to worry about him,” Matesh explained quickly. “Plus, you know he would hate living in a house alone. He would turn into a shut in or just never go home. He’s never been good with being alone.”

“Yeah…” Rain’s small smile melted her. “Thank you for taking care of him.”

“He’s family,” Mave said softly, taking another sip of tea. This was just what she needed after weeks on the road. Tomorrow, she would get back to work. Tomorrow, she would sit down in a giant meeting with Sen, Alchan, and Luykas to discuss the future of the rebellion.

But for now, it was good to relax.

When their tea was done, Alchan hadn’t returned. She felt the bond tugging her gently in Luykas’ direction but made no move to try to figure out where he was or what he was doing. Whatever it was, it was something he obviously wanted to keep private.

“We’re going to head home,” she announced, forcing her body into action. “It’s been good just sitting around, Rain. Tell Alchan I hope everything is okay, and thanks for the information on Bryn.”

Rain yawned, blinking slowly as she stood up. “Okay. It’s late. I’m going to tuck in.”

“Go,” Matesh ordered softly. Rain nodded slowly and padded out of the room before she could even fix the laces on her boots.

She and Matesh left together, wrapping their arms around themselves. She didn’t feel cold, thanks to the warm feeling of the tea coursing through her system, but it was habit. The mountains were chilly at night.

Once they got home, Mave was eyeing Matesh like a piece of meat. Knowing Bryn had been in contact semi-recently and had been safe, she was able to relax a little. She was reaching to undo Mat’s breeches before they made it through the door. He chuckled as he kicked his boots off, and she scrambled to keep up with him, yanking off her own with her eyes still on the prize—weeks of being unable to take him and own him, her perfect male. Other females wanted him to the point of jealousy, and he belonged to her.

She shoved his breeches down as they reached the family room. Their lips met.

Something clattered to the ground.

“There're rooms for a reason!” Zayden roared.

“Go to yours,” she snapped, turning to glare at him. “This is my fucking house.”

Matesh picked her up in a single motion, turning her, so she couldn’t see her new roommate anymore. “Finish eating, Zayden. I’ve got her.” He carried her back to their bedroom, laughing as he opened the door. Lowering her gently onto their bed, he gave her everything she wanted.

5

Alchan

Alchan watched his brother shuffle uncomfortably, kicking up dirt and rocks from the banks of the river that ran through their valley. Five weeks away had changed nothing. Ever since Shadra had decided to reach out magically to Luykas, his brother had been out of sorts. Alchan didn’t need to know exactly what was said during that conversation, and he never asked, waiting patiently for his brother to finally tell him what was eating him.

“I don’t know why I needed you tonight,” Luykas finally admitted, sitting down on a large boulder. “My skin itched.”

“I thought she couldn’t reach you north of the mountains. Her power fades in the Dragon Spine.”

“Yeah, because the land here has so much magic living in it. Millenia of blood magic done on the land practically makes a wall against outside forces, but I’m still itchy like magic is being used on me.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“Wouldn’t you be? Our greatest enemy had a direct line to me, your advisor, your brother.”

“She’s your mother. She’s always going to be able to get to you even if it isn’t out of malice.” Alchan frowned. “You know, I don’t hate or distrust you because you’re related to her. You’re my brother first. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

“How can you say that? How can you not worry about the giant security risk I am?”

“Because you’ve been tried and tested by this once before. When our own father tried to point the finger at you when the Empire initially invaded, I stood by your side. I always will.” Alchan let those words hang between them before shaking his head. “To think I gave up a night of relaxation and peace to come out here and handle your insecurities.”

“With Mave,” Luykas said softly. “What the hell, Alchan?”

“She and Matesh deserved an update on Brynec. Rainev put on tea for everyone. I thought it would be nice to have a relaxing evening with two people I sometimes like, after the last five weeks on the road. You could have come in and enjoyed a drink with us, but you wanted me to come speak to you. So, here we are.” Alchan spread his hands nonchalantly. “First night I’m back, and you want to make sure I get no sleep for it.”

Luykas looked struck and turned away. With a tinge of guilt, Alchan stood up and moved to the boulder his brother sat on. Settling on it next to him, he rubbed Luykas’ back.

“I didn’t want to see her while I was itchy. I was planning on finding her, then it hit and…” Luykas was talking fast now, and Alchan almost missed the switch to Elvasi. “Why does she do this? Why does she go out of her way to ruin everything I like?”

“What do you mean?” he asked gently. “What has she ruined? We’ve been fighting her for centuries. She’s been trying to ruin the Andinna.”

His brother stiffened, and Alchan knew the answer without it needing to be said. This had to do with Mave.

Skies damn it, he needs to grow some fucking balls.

No…

Alchan didn’t move as he realized exactly what his brother’s problem was, even if he would never hear an admission from Luykas.

He’s related to the woman who abused her for centuries. She must have said something when she projected to him. He wasn’t nearly so hung up on this before.

He’d never been one to meddle in the relationships of the Andinna around him, since he had no experience in the field. He’d never wanted to get into that sort of drama. His aunts, the daughters of the last Queen, were all meddlers. They had tried to work their magic to get all of their children into relationships that would last. When they finally made it to him, he conveniently made himself unreachable. He had been five hundred, and a bedru for every single day of his life. He’d lost hope of changing, and unlike his father, he didn’t have it in him to share even a moment of any potential lover’s time. He was more dominant and aggressive than his father could ever dream.

But he sat next to Luykas, wanting to fix his brother’s problems and heal the broken male from his childhood. Luykas was always as fucked up as he was.

“Is that him? The misbegotten love child Behron decided to leave in the Empire? Poor child.” His mother had been angry with her husband and pitied the boy.

“Yes, and he’s a member of this family. It’s not his fault his father is a lazy, good-for-nothing disgrace upon us.” His grandmother made it clear from day one, Luykas wouldn’t be treated as an outcast. But their kindness could never stop the whispers. The maids talked, so did the mativas of Anden and the noble houses.

“Half-Elvasi. He’s never going to amount to anything within the royal family. He can’t. Only purebloods can claim the mystical royal power and pass on the line.” The maids weren’t kind.

“He’s handsome in his own way, but he’s just as dominant as his brother. Who would ever want to deal with a male who doesn’t understand submission?”

Alchan shoved the memories aside. Neither of them had ever been found suitable as anything except warriors. They had been destined to fight and die like good males of the royal family who had no chance at the throne or passing on their own lines.

And now, look at us. I need to have children and quickly. Luykas is considered one of the greatest military minds of our people and has a blood bond with the most dominant female currently of our generation. Still, both fucking it all up.

“She’s your friend,” Alchan said carefully, not wanting to upset the male leaning on his shoulder. Not because he was scared of Luykas. He didn’t want to hurt his brother with words that weren’t well thought out. “She knows you’re loyal to me and the Andinna. She knows you broke her away from Shadra’s grasp. Trust her to value the friendship.”

Luykas made a noise of derision and stood up, going back to his pacing.

“It’s not just Mave,” he snapped. “It’s everyone. How long have you and I been keeping this secret from everyone? Everyone else who knew is dead. We never told anyone in the Company when we had centuries to do it. Now, it’s dirty.” Luykas was growling as he spoke, a low rumble in his chest that worried Alchan. He needed his brother to remain the calm one. He relied on the level head of the dominant mutt. “Nevyn and Varon deserved to know long ago, so did Leshaun. Hell, all of them deserved to know. How do I tell them now?”

“I don’t know,” Alchan answered, feeling the weight of the problem.

The identity of Luykas’ mother had never been common knowledge. It was told to the highest members of the royal family, and General Lorren was the only one outside of the family who knew. When the War started, it became imperative to keep it a secret to keep Luykas safe.

Since then? He and Luykas had thought it was safer being the last two to know. They didn’t want anyone to attack Luykas in retaliation for the loss of the War. Alchan didn’t want his brother hurt.

“We should have told them sooner,” he declared. “I’m sorry for not thinking of this possibility sooner.”

“She could blackmail me with it. I’m lucky she didn’t when she decided she wanted to talk to me before I made it out of her range.” Luykas began to laugh, a keening, mad laugh, not full of humor but full of despair. “She’ll figure out she can soon enough, though.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Alchan snapped. He hated seeing his brother like this. Something about it was wrong. It felt off and uncomfortable. “You will not let that bitch drive you away from me or anyone else, do you understand me?” Alchan stood up and grabbed his brother by the shoulders. “In the end, I’m the one in charge here, and this is a direct order. You will remain by my side. Forever. You are the last family I have. We will work the rest out.”

Luykas nodded silently.

Alchan wanted to shake his brother.

“How long have you been harboring these feelings?” He gave into the urge. Luykas let his head wobble back and forth, making Alchan more upset. “Answer me, damn it.”

“Since she astral projected to me. She knows she can hurt me. She knows she can use this to hurt us. Why do you think I wanted a home on your cliff? What if she was finally able to get through and others saw? I need to be separated from them, Alchan. I have to be.”

“So, the last time we spoke before I left on the mission, you were feeling like this and didn’t tell me? You’ve been wallowing in this for months and never told me?”

“You knew something was bothering me.”

Alchan snarled at that excuse. Yes, he had known something was eating at his brother but had thought it was something smaller, old childhood wounds reopened, not a full crisis of faith on his brother’s part.

“I’m sorry,” Luykas muttered. “I wanted time to figure out what to do about it. Now, I’m sure she won’t be able to see any secure information from me or make her possible presence known to any other Andinna. I can’t even go on missions south of the Spine. I’m worthless just like he—”

Worthless.

Alchan shoved a fist into his brother’s gut, harder than he should have. Luykas doubled over, groaning as he fell to his knees.

“What the fuck?” his brother demanded.

“If you ever say that word to me again, I’ll fucking chain your ass to me and make you fucking work within an inch of your life, every day until you go gray. Do you fucking understand me? You are not worthless. We aren’t worthless.”

Gold eyes turned up to him, wide and apologetic.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I…”

“You will not use that bastard’s words to hurt yourself,” Alchan snapped, trying to shove down the boy in his heart, screaming to get out. The boy who had a father who didn’t love him, the boy who didn’t know what it meant to have a real family until his brother showed up. His mother loved him. So did her other husbands, even if they never acted as his fathers, the way Andinna culture intended. He was the royal child and couldn’t possibly be theirs. His mother wasn’t a royal, and once it was discovered he was, even she lost the power to make certain decisions in his life.

He was left with his bitter, angry father for most of his childhood.

Worthless.

“You are not worthless. There’s a lot we need to accomplish for this rebellion to work. I can handle things south of the border. It’s dangerous, and eventually, I’ll move to send Mave and Nevyn in my place. Then I’ll be stuck here too. But I’m still the King of the Andinna and you are still my brother and a trusted advisor with an understanding of our enemy. We are not worthless.”

“We’re not worthless,” Luykas repeated back to him.

“Come here,” Alchan ordered, helping his brother back to his feet. Before Luykas could get away, Alchan threw his arms around him and held him. Alchan hated hugs, despised physical contact with that much intimacy, but this was his brother, and he was being hurt by a mother he had no choice in having. “You will tell me if you feel this way again. I am always willing to remind you that you mean something to someone. We’re going to figure this out. She won’t be able to use her relation to you against us.”

“Will you let me decide how to proceed with this?” his brother asked softly, limp in the hug. Luykas always responded that way when he was hugged, never reciprocating the contact but accepting by leaning his head down onto Alchan’s shoulder. A white horn brushed his cheek. There was a time when they couldn’t do this because that white horn threatened to punch a hole in him. As they grew up, their horns had been in a dangerous place, sharp and short, easy to stab someone with.

“Consider it your priority. In the end, it’s your secret,” Alchan reminded him. “Now, are we going to sit out here all night?”

“I like to look at the stars. I forgot how different the sky was between Anden and Olost.”

“In Olost, you can’t see the Dragon,” Alchan agreed. He released his brother and looked up. He hadn’t looked for it in over a thousand years, but he found it easily enough and pointed. “There it is.”

“What dragon do you think they meant for it to be?” his brother asked. “Lariana? One of her husbands, the elemental males? Or Kristanya?”

“Anyone but Amanora, I hope,” Alchan answered with a snort. “Though if you ask Varon, he’ll say it’s Amanora.”

“He was a priest in her name. He’s biased, but then, so are we.”

Alchan sighed. He knew Varon was a priest of their goddess of love, fertility, and the arts. The male had the same posture and walk the rest of them had. Alchan had fucked enough of those types of priests in his life to recognize it immediately when he’d met the male at a camp during the War, working with some of the greatest warriors of their people, of which he was one as well.

“Who do you want it to be?” Alchan asked. “I think of Lariana. She’s my patron goddess, even if my personality is more suited for Kristanya.”

“She’s mine, too,” Luykas reminded him. “I bear her color. There’s no denying that somewhere in my half-breed blood, I’m a royal Andinna.”

Alchan nodded. Legend had it that mutts portrayed the colors of gods or goddesses influential in their families. Every mutt had one of the primary dragon’s colors, which was the source of the myth. Luykas was the only white winged Andinna in history, but he was also the only mutt born with royal blood. Whether it added credence to the myth or was completely unrelated, he didn’t know, but Alchan always liked to think those white wings meant his brother truly belonged with him and in his Andinna family, even if he could never hold the throne or have heirs for it.

“Aside from Varon and his devotion to Amanora, the rest of them probably pray to Kristanya,” Alchan continued, thinking of the members of his guard, his Company. “Which suits them all.”

“Mave doesn’t pray,” Luykas said softly. “Then again, neither do I.”

“Heathens, both of you,” Alchan said in his attempt to tease his brother. “Meant for each other heathens.”

Luykas growled softly.

They sat quietly for a long time, staring up at the stars, just as they had growing up. Alchan had taught Luykas everything about the night sky in the way the Andinna knew it. He had been forced to learn it from his own education. One night, he’d caught Luykas staring at the sky.

“I don’t know the stars here. I pointed out an Elvasi constellation to a teacher, and she whacked me with her stick.”

“I can teach you.”

“Please?”

They had sat for hours, going over the stars important to Andinna legend. It was the first long conversation they’d had.

Luykas gasped suddenly, and Alchan jumped at the sudden noise.

“Mave,” his brother whispered. “She’s scared. Moving.”

“Is she in any real danger?” Alchan demanded. Damn it. If Mave was being attacked, no one in the village was safe.

“No…” Luykas sighed. “This has happened before.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. She never tells me,” his brother said in a faraway voice. He was focused on the bond.

“Go check on her,” Alchan ordered. “Let me know what you learn. And later, you’ll explain to me how this has ‘happened before,’ and I didn’t know.”

“See you. Thank you for tolerating me tonight.”

“Always, brother,” he said as Luykas launched into the sky.

Alchan didn’t worry about Mave knowing Luykas was on his way to check on her. With her background, it could have just been a nightmare that opened old wounds. Every Andinna who lived a warrior’s life had those nights.

He didn’t stay at the river, taking off to head home. Without Luykas, there was no reason to stay up all night.

He landed easily on his front porch and stepped inside, glad to see the only pair of boots by the door were Rainev’s. There were no other unexpected late-night guests for him to deal with. He pulled off his boots and kicked them aside, then unbuckled his belt and hung it up on a convenient hook Rain had installed.

The fire was dead in the family room, leaving his home dark. He padded into the kitchen and proceeded to get himself something light to fill his stomach.

“’Ello?” someone mumbled in the family room. Alchan sighed and looked back out into the room and saw Rain trying to sit up on one of the cushions. “Where’s Alchan? I need to…see the King…”

The deep blue eyes didn’t know what they were seeing. Alchan knew the distant, strange look of a sleepwalker when he saw it. Some Andinna, normally mutts, had a problem with sleep walking when…

Lyca. I let him drink lyca tea and didn’t consider this. Skies damn it, I just want to go to sleep.

Alchan put down the small biscuit he was holding and marched out into the family room, gently lifting Rain to his feet.

“Where’s the King?” the young male asked, his words slurred. “Do you know?”

“I do,” he answered softly. “Follow me.”

He knew from experience with Luykas that trying to reason with a sleepwalker was foolish. Rain didn’t realize he was the King, and there would be no way to convince him otherwise. He mentally filed away that Rainev couldn’t have lyca tea like Luykas. He would have to tell the young male in the morning it was unsafe. Sleepwalking for their people was inherently more dangerous than it was for other races. There was too much of a risk for sleep flying, and that was fatal.

At least he’s here with me instead of stuck in the barracks where the single males would only fuck with him. I can deal with this. I can protect him.

His family had no idea what unique problems mutts faced, but Alchan made sure to learn everything to help his brother know what was and wasn’t safe for him. They weren’t pure Andinna and couldn’t eat or drink certain things grown in Anden, but there was no book on the matter. Most families had to learn on their own, and his had been no exception.

He was able to direct Rainev to his room and helped him lie down.

“He’s here? Alchan is here?” Rainev asked, confused.

“He’ll meet you soon. He’s in an important meeting with his brother, Luykas,” Alchan explained. He brushed Rain’s black hair off the young male’s eyes and was struck by the attractive way they sparkled in his sleepy, half-lidded gaze. “He’ll be back by morning,” he managed to choke out. A fierce, crushing need to protect tried to claim him.

I can protect him.

“That’s right. Luykas. Safe with Luykas.” Rainev nodded, his eyes already drifting closed.

Alchan let those words sit, not answering them as he watched Rainev’s breathing slow, and sleep finally took him again. By the time Alchan made it back to his room, he was exhausted. He fell into his bed and stared at the ceiling. He couldn’t go to sleep, thinking of Rainev’s eyes.

6

Mave

Mave wandered through the forest, surrounded by silence. No birds chirped and sang, no nearby stream filled the air with its own music, and no distant chatter of Andinna could be heard through the trees.

It was both comforting and eerie, both unfamiliar and normal.

Mave found herself locked inside another dream.

Like every time she had this dream, there was only one path for her to follow. Where it led, she never knew, but she continued to walk it. There were no other footprints on the path, no sign of other travelers.

She opened her mouth, trying to speak and nothing came out. She could barely string two words together in her thoughts. All she could do was walk. When she could glimpse over the treetops, she saw mountains—Anden mountains. She was careful not to look ahead as she gazed at the vistas around her. Once she looked ahead, it would end. After seeing this dream so many times, she was tired of it ending before she understood anything about it.

She couldn’t resist for long, though. Something dragged her head to turn and look down the path as she walked until she entered a clearing.

There in the middle stood her worst fear, something that shocked and scared her every time she saw it.

The figure stood in the path, curved morok in hand, the ancient weapon of choice for the Andinna. It had an elegant pair of horns spiraling out from its head. Armor made the sex undefinable. Its tail lashed around in anger or annoyance, which one she could never tell.

But none of that was striking.

This foe had no wings. It stood with pride but had no wings.

It roared and ran for her, sword held high. Mave tried to jump for the sky, realizing she had no weapons of her own.

And realized she had no wings either.

“Fuck,” Mave gasped as she woke up, her eyes flying open. The dream is back. I should have known it would come back the moment I got home. That has to be the fourth time I’ve had it since settling in this village, skies damn it.

It was the number one reason she lost sleep. Even when she wasn’t getting the dream, she went to sleep, and the fear of being grounded, of losing her wings, haunted her. Some nights, she was scared to close her eyes, scared to be confronted by the possibility of seeing it again.

She pushed up, glad she wasn’t too tangled with Matesh to get up and move around. He snored softly, completely oblivious to her activities. She threw on a pair of leather breeches, grabbed a simple chest wrap top, and stumbled out of the room, leaving her lover among the furs and blankets that were their bed. She threw on the wrap in the hall, glad Zayden wasn’t up to see her with her breasts hanging out. She pulled on her boots at the door, grabbed her small bag, and staggered outside in a rush. She nearly went over the edge of her porch but was able to find her feet and make it down the stairs. Like Alchan, she also had a home close to the ground again.

When she questioned him about his home choices, he made it clear they both needed low homes so anyone could come get them, even if the person was disabled, too young, or too old to fly. They were too important to be out of reach to even a small portion of their people.

Mave was breathing hard as she hit the ground and started running, hoping to work off the edge she had from another lost night of sleep. It was well before dawn, and Matesh wouldn’t be up for a long time. No one would be. The only company she had in the village this late were the night guards, and none of them were talkative this close to the end of their shifts.

That’s not right. One person will be up. I can count on one.

She headed for the woods, hoping the life that existed in them would wash away the silence of the forest of her dreams. She flapped her wings, remembering they were still there. She could take off at any time.

And there was no wingless Andinna waiting to kill her.

She didn’t stop until she hit the river that cut through the valley. She found the log she used regularly, sat down, and searched her bag, looking for the one thing that seemed to bring her peace on restless nights—a little wooden flute.

She played softly, a tune she learned from another female, which was commonly played for fun during the harvest. It was celebratory and melancholy, both happy about the grand harvest and sad about the coming winter.

It eased her soul and pushed away the fear. Playing reminded her of friends and happy memories, reasons she was with Alchan on this insane bid to rebel against the Empire.

She wasn’t finished with the song when a thump signaled the landing of another Andinna. Unlike the evening before, she hadn’t been paying attention to his movements. Not that she needed to. He always found her when she wandered off on her own in the middle of the night. She finished the song, glad he didn’t interrupt, and sighed as she brought the flute down to her lap.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” she said loud enough for him to hear but without disturbing the sleeping creatures around them.

“We do, but I have this unnatural urge to check on you when you wake up in sheer panic and run out of your home into the woods. Gets me every time.” She listened to him walk and turned when he sat down on the other end of the log. “Will you talk to me about it this time?”

“No,” she answered shortly. “Just worried dreams. You know how it is. Do you want to tell me what happened last night at Alchan’s?”

“I wouldn’t even if I could,” he replied, chuckling dryly. “And here we find ourselves.”

“I know the bond is strong, but there’s no way it’s waking you up. What’s keeping you up at night?”

“Doesn’t matter.” His nonchalant shrug screamed he was lying, but she didn’t pry. The emotional currents of the bond were once again locked down tightly. The only thing they could read from each other were physical cues. In the dark, she knew he wasn’t in any pain even though there was a new cut on his palm. A common Blackblood injury. She had one of those scars now, one she reopened every time she wanted to practice her magic, which wasn’t often.

“The mission went well.”

“I heard from Alchan. I saw Sen and the others when you rode in. Damn, it was good to see them, but…Where did you run off to?”

“Don’t be stupid. You knew where I was,” she countered. He didn’t say anything, and she could almost imagine him looking at her until she cracked and explained anyway. “I went with Senri to catch up and ended up getting caught up in some female business. Then I spent the day with her and her family before going to my meeting with Alchan. Of course, you could have asked me last night when you showed up and interrupted said meeting.”

“Forgive me. Alchan said the meeting was over when he walked out, and I needed him. Something about letting you enjoy tea with Rainev, so you weren’t always giving him a dirty look when Rain was tired, and you weren’t sure you could say anything about it.”

Mave snorted. “Fantastic cover story. Ignores the part where he wanted to have some company.”

“Alchan tends to ignore his own needs regularly.”

“I’ve figured that out.”

The conversation died. Mave eyed Luykas in the dark, her eyes adjusting, and her vision getting sharper. He looked like he either just woke up or never went to sleep to begin with. His posture was slumped and his face seemed thin. After a second of her gaze, he turned and watched her as well. His gold eyes only seemed to glow brighter, and the white tatua framing them seemed unreal. His wings and horns had the same unearthly feel at night. Too bright to exist, it was like they had their own light.

“You haven’t been sleeping,” she pointed out. “How are you going to survive training with me again if you haven’t been resting properly?”

“How about you? I’m not the only one out here at this time.”

“I’m used to sleepless nights,” she reminded him. “There're some things I’ll always be good at. Fighting on a lack of sleep is one of them.”

“Sure.”

She rolled her eyes, listening to him chuckle at her display. Every time she had the dream, she ran out here, and he showed up and sat next to her, starting bland conversation.

She counted on it. She never told him the nature of the dream, only that worries were keeping her up, but he was there every time, sitting beside her, also looking like something was keeping him up.

“Did you rest well enough while I was gone?” she asked, breaking the silence again. “How’s the village doing? Are we ready for winter?”

“We’ll survive winter,” he said, groaning. “Somehow, but I’m nearly positive we’ll survive. You know, when Alchan and you stood in front of everyone and said, ‘we’re going to begin a rebellion,’ I don’t think any of us stopped and considered the logistics of actually starting and growing a rebellion.”

“You are correct,” she agreed, leaning over and groaning. “Then half of our warriors needed to go into a war group and free Sen. That’s it. That’s all we’ve done in months.”

“You freed two hundred Andinna,” he reminded her softly. “That’s something.”

“It’s not enough. Need to free two thousand Andinna for us to have a chance.”

“We can’t feed two thousand Andinna. We’re damn lucky to be able to feed the four hundred we have here.”

“We still need more if we want to have any hope of actually surviving this. We’re not even a threat to her.”

“You want this to go too fast,” Luykas said, shaking his head. “Things take time. Do I think we can win with what we have? Absolutely not, but it’s a start. It’s the best we can hope for.”

Mave huffed. She disagreed. When they first entered the Dragon Spine and decided on this abandoned village, no missions were run to begin freeing Andinna because everyone was needed to plant the fields. It took two months to get them going, assign roles for those here, and decide who would go out hunting to try to secure enough game for the winter. The only thing they had in their favor was that the land hadn’t been used since the village was abandoned a thousand years ago. Even that was a curse, though. The land was fresh and fertile but had to be cleared. Andinna build structures to last the ages, but everything was in need of repair. Homes were cleaned out, and porches were repaired as needed, but those were reserved for families and groups of females. Many of the single males were in tents since there wasn’t enough space in the communal barracks.

“We have a day of meetings today, right?” She rubbed her hands together, thinking about it. She had figured, but no one had given her any direction on the matter.

“Sort of. Now that you’ve returned, Alchan is going to want to sit down with Sen and the Hornbuckles and talk about the future. What we do next is up to them, honestly.”

“Yeah.” There was a reason they made it a priority to rescue their allies. Being able to free two hundred other Andinna was a bonus to the mission. They’d needed a distraction for the Empire, a redirection off their main objective, and that was an effective way. Mave hadn’t been a part of the planning, but she was glad their small outfit had been able to find some excuse to free other Andinna, along with Sen, the sailors, and the dwarves.

“Do you want to come over and have breakfast with me?”

“Sure. Matesh won’t be up for a little while, and I don’t want to stomp around my house and wake up Zayden, of all people.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were serious about that offer before you left on the mission.”

“He’s a lonely grouch, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to just throw him in with the single males in the barracks,” she reminded him. “Why does everyone keep bringing it up?”

“Because he’s a lonely grouch who gets on your nerves. Does he need help taking his things to your home? I think Rain had been keeping them for him. I could arrange for a few of the single males to handle it.”

“I’m sure he has it figured out.” She patted the mutt’s arm, a silent thank you for the offer. “And he doesn’t get on my nerves all the time. He’s a good male, just…”

“Feisty?”

“Girls who think they rule the world are feisty. He’s…” She still couldn’t think of the right word. Well, not in the right language. She sighed and switched to Elvasi. “He’s boisterous. Opinionated. I can’t recall the Andena words for those.”

“Be careful. Some here might stab you for using Elvasi,” he warned, then said two words she recognized and smiled. “Boisterous and opinionated.”

“Thank you.” She considered what he said about using Elvasi. “They’ll live because it’s important to know. Not everyone knows Andena well enough to use it all the time.” There might be a handful of them like me, sometimes forgetting words or needing a little help, but so what?

“It’s crazy to think how many of the freed slaves know Andena. I thought the language was banned in the Empire.”

“It is, but most places aren’t capable of being strict enough to stop its usage during the nights. Parents and other adults teach the children, and the children know it’s how to talk to other Andinna without the guards' understanding. They just have to be careful not to use it too frequently when guards or slave masters are listening closely.”

The pang of being excluded made her chest tight.

No one taught me, but I wasn’t raised by Andinna, and the pits were hostile. No use in letting it get to me. Why does it still hurt?

She rubbed her chest, wondering if physically trying to stop the hurt would really work. It didn’t. Other slaves, much younger than her, had their tatua and knew the language. They weren’t robbed of everything like she was. She wondered how they did it, getting away with everything Shadra wanted banned.

Even the other gladiators in the pits found ways. Everyone but me.

“So, the rules are laxer the further away from the capital?” She stood up, a clear sign she wanted them to get moving. He stood up as well, a confused look on his face. As she started walking away, his tail hooked with hers, and she didn’t have time to stop the emotional wave from her end.

“Yes,” he answered slowly, “the rules are more lax away from Elliar. Shadra was never going to let you learn, Mave. There’s no reason to feel bad about losing out. Even if the other gladiators were willing to teach you, she would have put a stop to it in some way.”

“How do you know? She threw me down there for killing a man, something she felt was too Andinna. Too violent. Maybe she accepted I was one of them, and that was that. I didn’t know anything, and that was… their fault.”

“You were the poster child of what the Andinna could be in the Empire—strong, obedient, quiet. You didn’t fight back even if you had your own small rebellious tendencies. You speak perfect Elvasi and Common in an Elliar accent, something you still have, by the way. She was never going to let the Andinna fully corrupt you. As long as the other gladiators ostracized you, you were allowed to live with them and get beaten down, but if they had taken you in, she would have removed you to keep you away from their influence.”

“She didn’t stop Mat and Rain.”

“She tried,” he countered, “once she realized they were affecting your behavior.”

That struck a chord. He was right. If she had killed attackers in the pits on her own, Shadra would have never done anything against her—beating and some starvation, but her life wouldn’t have been on the line. It would have just been another game of survival, another battle of wills between her and the Empress.

But she had killed for Mat and Rain, and therefore, they needed to be separated. Shadra had decided to do that by trying to make them kill each other.

“Why are we talking about this? Let’s go,” she ordered. She started walking but realized something crucial. “Wait. Where do you live now? You hadn’t picked a home when we left on mission.”

“Alchan let me take a home on his cliff. Rather, I took one while he was away and told him yesterday and my reasoning why.”

“And you aren’t dead?”

“I explained to him being half-Elvasi and in leadership has put me in some very uncomfortable positions with many of the recently freed Andinna who don’t know me. It’s obvious I’m half-Elvasi, but it’s only obvious I’m his brother when I’m standing right next to him. It’s a little safer for me to live further away from the main buildings, and it’s a sign of trust if I live with or near him as any family member would.”

“And how did he take all that?”

“He growled and got pissy but moved on fast enough,” Luykas smirked. It faded quickly as she tried to drag her tail away from his, and he resisted her efforts. “Does it really upset you that slave born know Andena? It’s the past, Mave. You’re one of the most respected members of our society right now.”

Mave sighed. “Please, Luykas, don’t be nosy right now.”

“Okay. Follow me, and I’ll make us some breakfast.”

He launched into the air. Mave waited a minute, watching his white wings shrink as he climbed higher. He stood out against the black sky when he was high enough, looking like another star in the night, bathed in the red of their moon.

She jumped and followed him, taking pleasure in the blast of cold air against her face.

A nightmare was just a nightmare, and the past would remain in the past.

She needed to worry about the future.

When they landed at his home, he held the door open for her. She made herself comfortable at his table and watched him cook steak and eggs for both of them. He methodically put on tea, and by the time it was done, she was unable to take her eyes off him.

“You know your way around the kitchen,” she said, hoping he took the compliment the way she meant it.

“Thank you.” He gave her what could only be described as a sheepish smile. “Mave…I can tell you anything, right?”

“I think we’re well past the point that everything you say pisses me off,” she answered. “Anything?” Mave chuckled. “Well, I’m sure there're some things you could tell me that would annoy me.”

“You act like you’re the only one who gets annoyed with the other.” He smirked. “I get annoyed with you plenty.”

“We annoy each other,” she said, shrugging. They both started eating, and Mave enjoyed the peaceful, quiet company of Luykas. When they were done, he took the dishes and placed them in the kitchen.

“I’ll clean those up later. Do you want to spar to kill some time?”

She wanted to, but she figured it was time for her to head out. Matesh could be waking up soon, and she was still in simple clothes, not suited for sparring.

“I wish, but I think it’s time for me to go. Thank you for the company, Luykas. And breakfast.”

“Any time,” he answered.

Before she could get out of his dining area, he grabbed her arm. Emotions ran through her, no longer shocking her into stiffness. Even when it came without warning, she was desensitized to it. Luykas didn’t pity her, but he worried about her. It felt like he was worried about a lot of things besides her as well.

“I mean it, Mave. There’s no reason for you to be running off into the woods by yourself when something is bothering you. If you don’t want to weigh Matesh with it, you can always come here and tell me.”

“Thank you.” She nodded and gently pulled away, not wanting to continue the connection. “I’ll see you in the afternoon, right? Alchan won’t want morning meetings.”

“No, he never does,” Luykas agreed, chuckling. Mave finally noticed how dark the bags were under the mutt’s eyes. Did he sleep at all last night, or did he just sit up and wait for anything to do like coming to talk to her? “You’ll have the morning to handle your duties around the village.”

“Fantastic. Get some sleep, Luykas. Exhausted isn’t a good look on you.”

His cheeks turned red, but since they weren’t touching, she couldn’t understand what emotions ran through him.

“I will,” he promised softly, looking away from her.

“Good.” She walked out, ready to start a fresh day.

7

Mave

Mave’s muscles were aching, and her bones felt like they were melting by the time she made it to the meeting. Morning training went well, except for the fact she sparred against Senri and her battle axe. She won, but Senri had a powerful swing that never failed to test Mave’s endurance and brute strength when she dodged and blocked. The other females were quiet and studious, paying attention to their sparring and careful with their exercises and sparring in a way they hadn’t been when Mave had arrived the day before. Her presence and the lesson she taught had made an impression. They could get away with things when it was Allaina and Senri, but they wouldn’t with her.

I don’t waste my time training fools. Never did in the pits, won’t do it now.

She pushed into the headquarters, a small building with only one room, and groaned internally at the sight of everyone else. She was one of the last to arrive.

“Sorry, everyone. I got caught up in training with the females,” she said as she found her place next to Matesh. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she used it to hold herself up until they were given leave to sit down on the stools lining the large meeting table.

“How are they? Do you see any progress with them while we’ve been gone?” Alchan looked up from his papers as he talked. He generally didn’t look at anyone when he was focused on his stacks of plans and numbers, stuff she didn’t understand. He normally tried to look at her, though.

“Lots of progress from the females who came from Olost, the ones we rescued. I don’t know how the new females were when they got here, but if it’s worse than it is now, then skies, I’m amazed they’re alive.” She snorted. “They’ll survive, though. They pay attention, and I bet most of them will be combat ready by the end of winter.”

“Amazing. That falls right in with our plans.” Alchan nodded to himself as he looked back down at his paperwork.

Mave took a chance to see who was missing. Sen was nowhere to be seen, which figured since he was good at disappearing. On the road back from rescuing him, she would go days without seeing him and had no idea what he was up to. Then again, on the road back from rescuing him, she only wanted to spend time with Matesh.

Mave couldn’t find Luykas either. From what she saw that morning, he probably passed out and was either just waking up or going to sleep straight through the meeting.

“What’s the plan?” Nevyn asked, breaking the awkward silence that fell over the room.

“Sen talked to his sailors on the trip home about what they need to recover.” Alchan closed the door. “We’re going to get them back into top shape before they move forward with any plans. He’s also been considering what he needs to help shuttle Andinna from Olost. We need to boost our numbers here if we want to be a real threat against the Empire.”

“Any of the Hornbuckles coming to the meeting?”

Mave frowned. Was there anything the Hornbuckles could do for them now?

“Not this time. They’re going to be surveying the mountains around us for needed materials. We don’t have enough steel to arm everyone, and if we’re talking about adding to our numbers, we need to start catching up and getting ahead.” Alchan looked around, frowning. “Where’s Luykas?”

“I saw him this morning. Told him to get some sleep,” she explained. Alchan’s thoughtful gaze snapped to her, measuring her. They stared each other down for a moment until he nodded.

“Fine. If he doesn’t show up, I expect you to pass on everything discussed today.”

She knew a punishment when she heard one. She was the one who may have caused Luykas to miss the meeting, so she was the one who would have to lose precious time to catch him up if he never showed.

“He needs to get here,” Nevyn commented sternly. “We only got back yesterday, and I bet we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of everything that’s changed here and how things went while we were gone.”

“He and I spoke a little about that yesterday. He’s due to give us a full briefing today. I can always send Rainev to go get him.” Alchan didn’t seem worried. If anything, Mave thought the King was keeping a cool head about the entire thing. It was becoming a trend with Alchan. He was cooler, calmer since she had met him, even more so since they assaulted Ellantia and walked away from it. It was like the idea of another war made him focused, less frazzled and stressed. Everyone else was getting more stressed, but not Alchan Andini.

“I’m here!” Luykas called as the one door of their headquarters swung open. “I’m sorry I’m late. Found Sen eating lunch and decided to wait with him.”

“Hey!” Sen called, stepping around Luykas’ wings. “Lost track of time. Sorry, Alchan.”

“It’s fine,” Alchan said, still maintaining his calm demeanor. “Roll call. Nevyn and Varon, here. Mave and Matesh, here. Luykas, here. Rainev…” Alchan looked over his shoulder at the mutt. “Here. Somehow.”

“I didn’t know lyca was going to do that to me,” Rain mumbled. “Never happened before.”

“Well, you won’t be drinking it anymore,” Alchan replied.

“Ah, you sleepwalk too?” Luykas patted Rain’s shoulder as he walked by. “It happens. There're other teas.”

“Moving on…” Alchan narrowed his eyes on them until Luykas moved away and found his place at the table. “Sen, here. Leshaun?” Alchan looked up, and Mave moved to let Leshaun come closer to the table. He’d been leaning against the back wall, out of sight. “Here. Kian and Senri?”

“Not here yet, it seems.”

Only a second later, they barged through the door, Senri first, running to the edge of the table, Kian following slowly behind. Based on the disarray of their clothing, Mave smirked at her friend. Senri bared her teeth.

“Have a good dip in a hot spring after training?” Mave asked knowingly.

“Damn right,” Kian said immediately. Senri whacked him in the gut.

“That’s everyone,” Alchan said loudly. “Let’s get this started. The first official meeting of the Andinna rebellion has begun. Now, the last few months have been slow, but we’ve freed our allies along with two hundred Andinna, and Leshaun is gathering support through our spies. The village is prepared for the winter, with the exception of a second communal barracks. Luykas?”

“We broke ground on it last week. Another month and we should have housing for all the single males currently here. We’re going to need to branch out, though. This village doesn’t seem like it was originally built to handle more than five hundred Andinna at its best, and it’s not at its best.”

“Senri, do we have the guards to defend a secondary location?”

“No. To keep this village secure and secret, I’ve been sending guards out far and killing any Elvasi scouts we run across all over the Spine. At any time, I have fifty guards in action and another fifty waiting for shift change. The newly freed slaves won’t be able to start taking on guard duty for another couple months. None of them know how to use a sword, and I don’t want to get any of them killed.”

“So, we need more numbers, so we can manage having more numbers,” Luykas said, shaking his head. “This is going to be an endless cycle, Alchan.”

“Then we’ll manage. As long as no one is starving and everyone has a safe place to sleep, we’ll manage and expand from there. Sen, what about your sailors? Is there anything they need right now?”

“Well, thanks to you and Luykas, we all have places to sleep. Feeding them and building up their strength again is mandatory. I can’t have half-starved sailors trying to man the ship.” Sen shoved his hands into his pockets. “Moving forward, I’m going to need more men. Lost half my crew and can’t man a ship big enough to shuttle the type of numbers you need from Olost.”

“We need to get you a ship first,” Alchan reminded him. Mave resisted a yawn. Meetings were the worst.

“Not just a ship. A safe port. It’s a two-month journey from the coast of the Dragon Spine to Blackstone, the closest port in Olost. I’m going to assume Blackstone is offering us their full cooperation after what you did when we were trying to leave, but I have nowhere safe here to port. Any ship big enough to shuttle a hundred or more Andinna will get destroyed trying to port where the Dragon Spine meets the water.”

“The only choices are Ellantia and Kerit,” Alchan mumbled, shuffling through papers. “Obviously, can’t use Ellantia. It’s been part of the Empire for over ten millennia.”

“What’s Kerit?” Mave asked, knowing she was the only person in the room who didn’t know.

“Kerit is Ellantia’s sister city. The Anden port city just north of the Dragon Spine. Part of Bryn’s mission is to take a look at the forces in the city.”

“Right now, Kerit stands as a major vulnerability for us. If Shadra can’t get through the mountains with a majority of her forces, she can spend the time to send forces up to Kerit and try to hit us from behind,” Luykas said, expanding on Alchan. “Leshaun…”

“There’s been word of her trying to gather the naval forces she needs to use Kerit, but we’ve done serious damage to her fleets in the last year, thanks to Rainev. She can’t leave other ports undefended from general threats just to attack us. Her southern fleet was in Myrsten the night we escaped from Elliar, and her northern fleet, while still strong, is missing a few of its ships and can’t shuttle soldiers around as fast as she would probably like. Right now, they’re still in the planning phases. We probably have until spring to secure the city before her soldiers ship out to use it.”

“So, Kerit remains our first target in Anden. Once we secure it, it’ll be like the War, and Shadra will be hard pressed to try to take it again.” Alchan nodded slowly. “Good, but we don’t know what kind of numbers we need to take Kerit.”

“That’s the sticking point,” Nevyn agreed. “Even if we had the sheer numbers right now, we don’t have enough trained warriors. This won’t be like Ellantia, where we strike and withdraw. We need to take the city and keep it. It’s imperative to the future of the rebellion to have a safe port for Andinna to come from Olost and boost our numbers.”

“But we need numbers to take the city and secure,” Luykas reminded him.

Mave’s head was spinning. Everything was going in circles. Numbers were needed to expand, but they couldn’t feed everyone without more working hands. Working hands meant fewer guards and warriors, which meant no force to defend the new areas. They couldn’t bring over Andinna from Olost without taking a city, but they needed the Andinna from Olost to do so.

How in the skies are we going to do this?

“What has Bryn reported?” Varon signed across the table from her.

“That Kerit isn’t a bustling city anymore, but it’s not without protection. It was holding three war ships ready for a fight, and who knows how much of a military force. Much of the city is purely military. Not much for civilians, who are mainly making money off supporting the military there.”

Mave frowned. “The Elvasi always had a hard time colonizing Anden. I would hear Nobles complain about it. The land was too wild, too difficult.”

“The Elvasi weren’t built for this land. There are only two races built for terrain like Anden, and that’s us and the dwarves, whose traditional home is to the east of Anden on the other side of the Dragon Spine’s eastern range.” Alchan sighed. “Does anyone have any ideas about Kerit?”

“Strike teams. A couple real svamor,” Nevyn answered quickly. Mave recognized the word. A svamor was an elite group of Andinna warriors. Her mother once led them. “Knock out their resources, destroy structures, in and out quickly.”

“Possible, but that could leave the village without its defenses,” Kian reminded him. “There are only a handful of us who can perform those missions, and we’re considered the leaders of this whole thing.”

“The Company,” Alchan agreed. “We’re the only Andinna who have run those types of missions in the last thousand years, and there are no other Andinna available. Even at its smallest, a svamor needs five members. That’s everyone—you, Varon, Kian, Mave, and Matesh could be one. Luykas, me, Zayden, Rainev, and Senri?” Alchan hit the table. “We just don’t have the warriors for it. We can’t be divided that way.”

“Of course.” Nevyn looked away, and Mave felt for him. It was a decent idea, and if it were just the Company, it would probably be exactly what they did. With nearly four hundred Andinna relying on them, there was no chance it would work. They couldn’t abandon so many without any leadership.

“What if we dedicate some time to training hopefuls?” Mave suggested. “There have to be some who can step up and go that far in training.”

“There are a few females who might work. They just went with you in their first war group, but generally, a warrior spends years as a grunt before they’re recruited to a svamor as a somaro. They aren’t ready for a small tactical unit. They need direction.”

Mave nodded. It took her years in the pits to get where she was—considered an elite warrior like the others in the room. Asking an Andinna who wasn’t as experienced in battle to suddenly work to be one of the best was asking too much.

“Keep an eye on them. If they continue showing promise, approach them and see how they and their males feel about the possibility,” Alchan ordered, still looking down at his table.

“Yes, sir,” Mave and Senri answered and nodded in unison. A few of the males chuckled at the synergy.

“With that, I think we all know where we stand. Take a few days to settle back in and prepare for the future. We have to find a way to take Kerit this winter. It’s going to be hard, but I know with all of you, I have my best minds on it.” Alchan straightened up and dusted off his hands. “Dismissed.”

Mave let out a long breath, letting others leave before her and Matesh, who stayed by her side quietly the entire meeting. They never even sat down. As the room emptied, Matesh leaned close to her.

“You saw Luykas this morning?” he asked quietly in her ear.

“Yeah. He caught something through the bond. Ended up having breakfast with him, then got back home to wake you up.” She hadn’t brought it up earlier because it didn’t seem like a big deal. Their eyes met, and she wondered if he was going to ask for more. He knew something was wrong, knew she was getting less and less sleep.

“What did he catch?” Emerald eyes narrowed, and she shook her head in dismissal. She didn’t want to answer that. The fewer people who knew she was up and panicked in the middle of the night, the better. “Mave, I just want to know you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, love,” she promised softly. “Just stressed out.”

“Tell me what I can do to help.”

“You two, take it somewhere else,” Alchan ordered, sitting down at the table alone. Not even Rainev was left in the room.

Mave bared her teeth at the king. Alchan bared his in return and added a dangerous growl. He was done playing the calm leader, and it was time to get out of his hair before he got snappy. She acknowledged the warning and pulled Matesh to follow her out.

“I’ll always tell you if there’s something you can do to help me,” she said to Matesh once they were out of hearing range of Alchan. “I’m not…I’m trying not to worry anyone. Luykas only picked up on it through the bond, and you know I’m not sleeping well because we sleep together. It’s not affecting my performance, and it won’t. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Okay, ilanra,” he conceded. “You know I love you more than the moon and stars, right?”

“Yeah, I do, and I love you.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. Before he could say anything further, she kissed him slowly, a promise they would continue to have time together now that they were back in the village. “Now, I have to get back to work.”

“Of course. I’m promised to help Zayden with some of the males. Alchan didn’t ask, but I’m going to be on the lookout for any males who show promise like you are with the females.”

“Why wasn’t Zayden at the meeting?” She felt bad for missing his absence in hindsight.

“He covered for Senri and Kian with guard training to give them the chance to report to Alchan together. Allaina wasn’t there either.”

“She’s with the females, covering for me. Plus, I feel her meeting with Alchan is going to be private. She’s not here to fight a war even if she helps and trains. She’s here to run the community, keep us proper, and listen to grievances about living conditions.”

“You know she can fight, right?”

“Yes, which is why I’m comfortable letting her train the females. I’ve seen her use a morok. She’s skilled, but she’s not someone we’re going to send on missions. She’s needed here.” Mave relied on Allaina more than she wanted to admit. A mativa kept petty complaints from getting to Mave and Senri. She handled the day-to-day lives and functions of the village, leaving the rest of them free to focus on the future of their bid for freedom from the Empire.

“Good point.” Mat shrugged. “See you at home for dinner?”

“Of course,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Be good with those guards. Don’t hurt them too much.”

“I’ll try,” he promised.

She backed away and watched him jump and fly off. Alone, Mave looked back at headquarters and decided to leave Alchan to whatever he was doing. He obviously didn’t want anyone around anymore.

She launched into the air and headed directly for the female training field, landing behind Allaina, who was silently watching the females training.

“How have they been for you today?” Mave asked. “They didn’t give me a problem this morning.”

“Fine. Fyren calmed down, which led to her friends calming down. She’s not happy, but she’ll do,” Allaina answered. “If she were raised by Andinna and educated properly, she would make a strong candidate for a mativa.”

Ah. Well, that’s an idea.

“Do you think it’s possible to begin that type of training for her now?” Mave asked, sitting down on the grass. Allaina’s ruby eyes followed her, narrowing as Mave got comfortable.

“Why?”

“Just some small talk about beginning a second location since this village can’t host many more Andinna,” Mave explained. “Don’t ask me for the logistics, but you mentioned she’s got potential. I don’t think you would want to run two villages.”

“I could, but it would be a disaster in the making. There’s a chance I could begin her training, but she wouldn’t be ready to take over even the smallest of villages for a century.”

“Even if there’s no one else?” Mave raised an eyebrow.

“I would rather work myself to death than let an inexperienced mativa take over a village. I’m not the nicest of leaders, but I know my responsibilities and don’t abuse the power.” Allaina snorted, a very unladylike sound from the gorgeous female.

“I’m not going to give power to a recently freed slave who doesn’t know how our people work when we’re able to function out in the open. An entire generation of Andinna needs to learn and understand how to keep our society functioning on a normal level. Without educating them properly, we’ll have dominance fights breaking out everywhere, and that could cause entire communities to collapse. Mind you, I’m thinking beyond the rebellion.”

“Of course. We need to bring the Andinna from Olost to help us here before we can plan for that, though.”

“Any word on that?”

“All bad news. Need more warriors to take a ship and take Kerit back from the Empire. Can’t get more warriors until Sen has a ship and port to bring Andinna safely to Anden.”

“Ah. That does seem complicated.” Allaina finally sat next to her. “Mave, do we even have a chance?”

“After today’s meeting?” Mave groaned. “I don’t know, Allaina. I just don’t know.”

8

Trevan

Another day and another sparring session against Emerian. The mahogany skinned mutt was fast but unpolished. Trevan was slower, but he had centuries of training and expertise as an Elvasi soldier, even if he had spent those centuries guarding the pits. He had stayed honed.

“You need to work on your form,” Trevan told him. “You’re getting stronger, but you still fight like an amateur.”

“Fuck you,” Emerian snapped. “I grew up using scythes on wheat, not training with the best Elvasi soldiers the Empire had to offer.”

“I didn’t get trained by the best. I just practiced,” Trevan snapped back. “You have everything you need to get better. You’re just a stubborn ass. You’re going to get yourself killed on the sands when they finally pick you to fight.”

Emerian looked away, his face a brutal visage of anger.

“Doesn’t matter, anyway,” he muttered.

Trevan sighed. Over the months since he met the mutt, and they decided to ally, he watched Emerian become more and more bitter, more and more angry with the harsh reality of the pits.

“It does matter,” Trevan said quickly, stepping closer to the mutt. The Andinna training around them didn’t pay them any mind. There were already rumors they were fucking, and getting close to talk didn’t seem out of the ordinary. “If you win, if you survive, the others begin to fear you. They understand you can take care of yourself. That gives you a break. If you do well enough, you earn a prized position as one of the best. You get a private room that will keep you safe at night and during down time. You’ll be allowed to carry steel in case you’re attacked. You just have to keep going.”

“You’ve told me all of that already. I don’t care. I thought…”

“That being a half-breed would get you noticed, and some Elvasi would welcome you into their society. I’m sorry, but I’ve also told you Elvasi don’t take kindly to half-breeds. Other races are more lenient.”

“Not the Andinna,” he mumbled. “Neither of my kind care about mutts like me.”

Trevan didn’t say anything to that. He’d seen a mutt treated with great care once. The pits weren’t exactly a safe place for anyone—Elvasi, Andinna, or mutt—but he remembered how two free Andinna acted, one a pureblood Andinna and one a mutt. They had honor, and they took on the most difficult ally they could. Not all Andinna hated mutts.

But Trevan knew better than to mention those three Andinna. He sighed. It was over a year since he had helped them escape. Other than Dave’s infrequent visits, he was stuck in the pits with no way of knowing what was happening out there…where they were.

Where she was.

He’d given everything for her, and he was stuck in the very hell he freed her from.

“Get back to training, you two!” a lenasti roared over the clash of wooden weapons. Trevan stepped away from Emerian and lifted his gladius.

“Let’s go,” he ordered. “Watch your footwork and pay attention to how I step. Fighting is a dance. You lead, or you follow. A pace is set by the leader, to their benefit or detriment. The point is, it’s their choice. Now, you can use that against an aggressive fighter. Let them burn out while you conserve energy defending but be careful. Many times, aggressive fighters are skilled. They’ll know how to break through defenses.”

“So, it’s hopeless,” the mutt muttered, lifting his gladius as well.

“No. You get better here without dying, and when you clash with real steel, you’re ready.”

Trevan attacked, and Emerian started strong in his defense. He didn’t think the mutt would be the best warrior the pits had ever seen, but he could have a chance at surviving even longer if he worked hard enough. He didn’t fight every month like Trevan did. Trevan now had several kills under his belt, and it only made him stronger, deadlier, and pissed off the Andinna around him more.

He went easy on Emerian, letting the male have time to consider his next moves. Trevan used it as a chance to go through his forms.

In the end, Emerian slipped up and missed an important block by trying to attack boldly. Trevan slammed the wooden gladius into his ribs.

“Damn it!” Emerian leaned over the injured side and rubbed it. “I thought I could get an opening.”

“It wasn’t an opening. I was going in for an attack. If you want to try those types of attacks, you have to jump into the lead and change the pace. Be faster than me and hit me before I can connect. It was a bold, smart move, just executed wrong.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of evening practice. Trevan sighed and grabbed the mutt’s dropped practice gladius to put it away. Together, they walked down and skipped the communal baths. They never went during the rush. There were minimal guards in the baths, and they didn’t wear armor while bathing. It was a common way for Andinna to die in the pits, getting jumped and gored in the baths. Instead, they ducked into one of their multiple hiding rooms. Every couple of days, they picked a different room with a grate overhead, without a pattern. There were ten they rotated through in different ways. Enough so it was hard for the guards to track them efficiently, but not too many that Dave couldn’t check them all in a day or night and risk being out too long.

This particular one was hidden toward the deepest areas of the pits. It sat under the Elliar market, which meant Dave would check it last, well after dark.

“Remember to leave your things here, so Dave knows where to drop his message,” Trevan whispered.

“Yeah,” Emerian mumbled, not looking at him.

“What’s with you?” Trevan asked. “You’re extra angry today.”

“You fought in the Colosseum a few days ago, and the guards jumped me,” he answered. Trevan straightened up as he unstrapped his armor. Confusion ran through him at the mutt’s words.

“They what?”

“They jumped me,” he snapped. “They found me and decided to kick me around.” He growled and turned to Trevan. “My skin is dark enough, so the bruises don’t show up very well at night. They knew that and hit me in places normally covered by my armor. They’re healed now…”

“I thought you were helping them by translating Andena. That normally gives you some leniency.” How had he missed it? There was no hope in finding any of the old bruises now, but he shouldn’t have missed them that day.

It was a fighting day. I came back in injured and tired. Of course, I would miss them. Damn it!

“I was, but I guess I did something to offend them, and that didn’t save me. Let’s say they won’t be getting any more help from me.” Emerian chuckled bitterly. “I can’t fucking believe them. I was fucking risking my neck, giving them that information, and one mistake got me beaten on.”

“And they didn’t tell you what it was?” Trevan had never participated in the guard led beat downs. He didn’t understand the appeal, but he knew it came from anger. Half of the guards were young men trying to find their place in the Empire’s army but also enjoy the perks of living in a city. The pits were the only assignment in Elliar for new soldiers. The other half were soldiers being punished for failures at their previous assignments. In Elliar, they were under the watchful eye of some of the most powerful generals of the Empire. In the pits, their lives were constantly in danger. It stank, it was wet, and no one liked it. The average guard had less power than the lenasti above ground.

He was the only soldier who had ever wanted the duty.

“Just that I needed to learn my place and not feel so confident. Like I was ever confident in their protection,” Emerian said quietly. “Either way, lesson learned. Won’t be helping them if they don’t think they should help me.”

Trevan tried not to say anything. Helping the guards normally provided some protection for a time, but it always ended bitterly. Guards were taught not to have favorites and to make sure any informants didn’t get special treatment after a while. It was easier to find a new informant than it was to keep a spoiled one alive. It normally took a few years before something happened, though, and normally, informants weren’t beaten. They were just cast aside and left to fend for themselves. Guards would stop talking to them for a time, making it clear the slave’s duty to them was over and to expect nothing else.

“It was going to end, eventually. They were never going to give you special treatment or help you get free,” Trevan said finally, unable to contain himself. “They were never going to look at you as half-Elvasi and helpful. You’re always going to be just another barbarian for them to deal with on a daily basis.”

Emerian’s red-orange eyes dimmed with hurt.

Fuck. I could have softened that.

He tried his damnedest not to care about the mutt, but to see someone getting so thoroughly crushed hurt him. He’d seen it for centuries. He was now a part of the system, his own will beaten on every day. He didn’t need to add to the pain Emerian was going through. He was learning that neither of his races cared about him. Not in Elliar, not in the pits.

I’m the only person he has left.

“Let’s stretch, then get to the baths. They should be clear by the time we’re done,” Trevan said gently, reaching out to pat the mutt’s shoulder. Emerian jerked away from the touch but nodded his head. Trevan led them through their nightly stretches, which helped keep them limber. He’d skipped it a few times and found stiffness wasn’t pleasant enough to warrant the extra sleep he got in the end.

Night had fallen completely by the time they were done, and the red moon was beginning to light the night. They left most of their armor in the small room and headed to the communal baths, working fast once they were there to clean the dirt and sweat off themselves. Trying to remain quiet, they ducked back into the night’s safe room, and Trevan watched Emerian struggle against the wing bonds. Chafing was starting up on one of them.

“Let me take a look at that wing,” he ordered.

“What do you know about wing care?” the mutt snapped.

He wasn’t in any kind of mood today.

“Enough to try to help the chafing,” Trevan retorted. “Come on.”

Emerian shifted and showed him the wing. Trevan shifted the bonds lower and freed the area beginning to chafe. He loosened them a little as well, so the leather didn’t constrict too hard.

“That should give you enough room to move your wings a little and keep any one area from getting too abraded.”

Emerian gave him a side-eye. “Thanks.”

Trevan only nodded and settled into a corner, closing his eyes. It had been six days since Dave last came by. He was due any time.

“Trevan,” a whispered voice came from above.

I was right.

He looked up and smiled. “Hey, human.”

“Here.” Dave dropped the envelope and nodded once. “Good luck.”

“You as well,” he replied, watching the hooded human disappear. They didn’t have long talks, but Trevan was able to read, and he could dispose of letters easily. He flipped it open, glad the human never thought to seal the envelopes, and took out the letter within.

T,

There have been some big changes among the Andinna. They recently attacked Ellantia to free some friends, and just two weeks ago, they hit a caravan guarded by Elvasi military on a road in the north. Some say there’s talk of a rebellion beginning. My friends here in Elliar are still working out the logistics of an escape for you and the mutt. We’re considering sending you north to the Dragon Spine. I’ll keep you posted.

Just remember, we’re all rooting for you down there. Don’t give up.

D

Trevan’s eyes widened as he processed the words. Rebellion? Was it a crazy rumor, or was there any truth to the words? Were the Andinna really considering a major fight against the Empire? Did they have the numbers for that? Or the supplies?

Part of him was angry. They were all going to get killed, and everything he’d sacrificed would be in vain. How could they be so stupid to think they had the ability to go against the monster that was the Empire? There weren’t nearly enough free Andinna to fight, and the Empire’s military was the largest ever to ever go to war.

Part of him was glad. They deserved a fighting chance, out of the shadows and in the open against the Empire. If they felt they could do it, he wanted to believe in them. And maybe they wouldn’t forget those who worked with them and were punished for it.

“Damn them,” he muttered, chuckling with happiness and despair.

“What? Bad news?” Emerian looked up, the bags under his eyes getting worse by the hour.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Trevan whispered, crumpling the letter in his hand. He never read the full contents to Emerian. He didn’t know the male that well, and the mutt was anti-everything, especially Andinna. Not like he didn’t have a reason to be angry at his winged side, but it made Trevan tread carefully with the contents of the illegal news.

Even if he didn’t share the specifics, and not all the letters were good, they gave him hope he had lost. He’d been in a dark place when Emerian showed up. It had only gotten worse by the time Dave had revealed himself through the grates above.

Now each letter helped him stay strong a little longer. No one had abandoned him down there. They were trying, and someone up there wanted to free him.

It was something.

“Well, g’night,” Emerian mumbled, already drifting into sleep.

Trevan stared up through the small grate at the night sky for a little while longer.

Someone gives a damn about me, and they’ll get me out of here. Now, I just need to keep this mutt alive since I’m the only person who gives a shit about him.

9

Matesh

Matesh didn’t know why he was awake well before dawn, but he was, staring at the ceiling.

Alone.

Where is she?

For the second time in the last month, she was up and gone long before he woke up. The last time, he hadn’t known she had left until she mentioned it later. This time, he noticed.

I trust her to do whatever she wants, but I figured she would tell me what’s wrong.

It wasn’t just the last two times, either. He’d noticed a trend while they were on missions that she would stay up late and wake up early, leaving him in bed to ‘get extra, deserved sleep,’ she claimed. That was in a war group, though. That was expected of the Champion, who needed to set a good example.

This was at home and their shared bed.

It was serious and strong enough that Luykas was noticing whatever woke her through the bond. Even from across the village.

Mat didn’t want to wait for her to come back and find him in bed. He had no intention of confronting her, but he worried. He worried for her because he loved her, and he wished he understood what was on her mind, what was bothering her.

Whatever I do, I just…can’t get mad at her. She’ll probably tell me what’s wrong when she’s ready.

He threw on pants and walked out of the room, stopping in the hall as he smelled whatever was cooking.

“Who’s cooking breakfast?” he asked as he started walking again.

“Me,” Zayden grunted from the kitchen, muffled, thanks to the walls. “Making enough for everyone, so have a seat if you’re interested.”

“Thanks,” Mat said, sighing happily as he collapsed into a chair.

“Where’s Mave?” his best friend asked as he put down a plate of eggs on the table.

“Off doing Mave things.” Mat pulled the plate closer and sniffed. “These look good. What kind?”

“General, boring chicken. A few of the slaves we rescued? Apparently, they stole some of the farm animals they used to tend.” Zayden snorted. “How they kept them alive getting through the Spine, I’ll never know, but a few have started an entire operation. A few goats, some chickens and a couple roosters, even a dairy cow.”

“Very…human,” Mat mumbled. “Let’s hope they can keep them alive through the winter.”

“Yeah, Luykas apparently tried to warn them of that, but they’re positive they can make it work. Most of them spent centuries breeding and tending these animals, so if anyone knows best, ya know?” Zayden put down a plate of bacon and ham next. “It’s not like Andinna don’t farm. We just pick hardier animals.”

“Do any of them still exist?” Mat raised an eyebrow, the thought bothering him. “We had our own breeds of chickens, pigs, and goats. We hunted fairly and kept our animals from destroying the land.”

“I don’t know, but it’s good to have some stock here, even if it’s not what we’re used to,” Zayden reminded him. “Our people need to eat.”

“Yeah.” Mat started fixing an empty plate with the fares Zayden continued to set down—eggs, ham, and sausage probably made from venison scraps by the smell of them. Biscuits came out last, and Zayden even prepared a thick, white gravy to top it all off. Mat began to sample as Zayden finally sat down and made his own plate.

“My friend, you didn’t have to make all of this but thank you. What’s the occasion?”

“I’ve been living here for nearly a month, and I noticed that you and Mave are much busier than me. I’m Kian’s assistant with training, I have no son to take care of anymore, and there're no missions to prepare for. Since you two are letting me stay here, I can handle some things for you. I know it’s overstepping my bounds, but last week I noticed your food stores were running low when there was no reason for it. I stepped in. I managed my household with Summer and Rain for a century, then had to feed a male who was going to eat me out of house and home.” His friend spoke with a pragmatic nature Matesh didn’t hear very often from him.

This was Zayden, the male who had a family and knew how to take care of it. This was Zayden, the soldier leaders looked to when there was a problem with the health and care of the unit. This was the male who laid beneath a grouchy surface, who was constantly underappreciated and annoyed with the childish antics of others. Mat was speechless for too long, prompting Zayden to begin the familiar grumbling.

“Sorry. I know you’re the male of the household right now. Mave is your female, and this is her home. I won’t—”

“Thank you,” Mat said quickly, cutting off the self-deprecating grouch. “No, you…I didn’t expect you to help us, and you’re right, without Bryn, I’m busy, Mave is busy, and he handled all of this, you know?”

“Any word on him?” Zayden asked, frowning.

“Not since we got back from the mission a month ago,” Mat said softly, looking down at his food. “Alchan hasn’t said anything to us, and I don’t make it a habit to bother him for information he might not be able to give me. It might be sensitive. Mave’s keeping focused on everything else, but I know she misses him. I do.”

“He’s a good male and complements you and her. And he’s not stupid enough to get caught by Elvasi or get eaten by anything.”

“You’re right,” Mat agreed. They both went back to the food. Mat appreciated every bite and how he didn’t need to go into the storage, sort food and count items, and try to guess how much food three adult Andinna needed. Bryn had jumped on that the moment he joined the family, and Mat had only tagged along.

I thought I could handle it, but I guess I can’t. Thank the skies for friends.

“Also.” Zayden pointed his fork across the table at him as he swallowed the food in his mouth. “I won’t tell anyone about how you nearly let your home starve. I’ll manage it, so they don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” Mat muttered. It was a bad look for a male to let the food stores of the home get low. “You know, you don’t have—”

“Yeah, I do,” Zayden growled softly. “I don’t deserve to be living in a house anymore. I should be in the barracks. I’m just a warrior, my wife passed on centuries ago, and my son has grown up and found himself a role and new living arrangements. I should have moved back into the communal barracks and was ready to until you and Mave said I could stay here. I’m a male under the roof of another family and can help you with your duties since Bryn is gone. You’re my oldest friend, Mat. Don’t be stupid and tell me I don’t have to help.”

Mat chuckled dryly, finished his breakfast, and took the dishes into the kitchen.

“Have you been following the mess, trying to figure out how to take Kerit?” Mat asked as he walked back out.

“Of course. I don’t miss every meeting. I’m still a member of the Company.” Zayden leaned back and picked up his plate and held it out. “I cooked. You can clean.”

“Yeah.” Mat grabbed the plate, chuckling. “What do you think?”

“I think we’re fucked. There’s no way to take Kerit without abandoning this village to a possible attack. And if we leave, the guards won’t be patrolling for Elvasi scouts, and Shadra will find it. We could free more slaves down South, but then we’re looking at months of training, not enough space to keep them, not enough food to feed them. It’s a no-win situation.”

“We need warriors from the get-go,” Mat agreed. “More of them. That solves the training issue.”

“But then we’re left with the food problem. Most warriors want to spend their days being warriors. We need civilian Andinna to produce food and craft. And that’s even more mouths to feed. We’re talking about a self-sufficient army, not a few self-sufficient communities that could manage themselves.”

“Yeah…” Everyone was going in circles. Mat’s head hurt every time he tried to find a new idea, a new way of coming at the problem, but nothing seemed to fit, nothing seemed to work. There was no way out except taking the risk of letting some of their people starve or get killed. “You know, we’re so hung up on trying to take Kerit, we haven’t even discussed what sort of losses we can handle in the actual engagement.”

“Yeah, because I think we all know the answer to that.” Zayden’s blue eyes were dark.

None. We can’t handle any losses, or we’re doomed.

“Well, I’m going to head out. If you see Mave, let her know I left early for training. I’ve got a group of young males today who are supposed to be practicing aerial attacks. Who knows if they’ll be able to? Luykas said a lot of the slaves can fly but aren’t the most graceful.”

“And we can’t forget, we aren’t the only warriors in the sky anymore,” Zayden pointed out.

Mat only nodded. There was no forgetting the shock and horror of seeing Elvasi soldiers on gryphon mounts. Just another thing they were going to have to fight against and overcome if they wanted to survive and free their people from the hold of the Empire, once and for all.

“I’ll see you later,” Mat said, walking out of the dining area to get ready for his day.

* * *

“Do it again!” Mat roared, frustrated with what he was seeing from the soldiers in front of him. “I’ve walked you through this a dozen times. There’s no reason you haven’t figured out you can’t dive spear users. You have to outmaneuver them and work together!”

One of the Andinna pulled away from the training unit, rubbing his ribs as he landed. Mat sighed.

“Do you need to see a healer?” he asked the young male.

“No, sir. I just need to stretch it out.”

“You can take five. The rest of you, get together and discuss how to you can breach the guards of this caravan and get to the supplies. This is going to be one of our most important missions. Destroying enemy supply lines starves out their army, and they’re forced to slow their advance or even pull back so they can keep their men fed. If we can’t do this successfully, we’re done before this gets started.”

He watched the group pull together, and the young male stretched as he listened to the others discuss. Mat looked at the objective. He had ten Andinna guarding a pile of logs nearly ten feet tall. They were equipped with wooden weapons that emulated the Elvasi and spears and bows meant for fighting Andinna in the sky. The War had changed the Elvasi fighting style, and the Andinna had to evolve with it. Air tactics became more important as the Elvasi learned to bring them down. He had to train this new batch of males how to handle anything. The sky was safer than the ground, but it wasn’t safe. Beyond that, failure in the sky often meant you were dead once you hit the ground, whether from the impact or the enemy soldiers who would rush you. On the ground, you generally didn’t have a chance to fight.

So, the secret to air missions was finding the right time and place to land. Only the best archers could use a bow in flight. Some Andinna were great spear throwers, but that was a one-shot deal, then they had to land.

For grunts, for the soldiers who only knew how to swing a sword and fly? The entire goal was to take someone out while landing without getting killed in the process. It was the first thing every Andinna learned, alongside basic sword skills once they joined the Andinna forces. Almost every Andinna was raised to know how to wield a morok, so most soldiers went straight into basic aerial tactics.

A couple of thumps behind him made him turn. Alchan and Luykas were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, and Leshaun landed behind them. He smiled, nodding his head respectfully to Alchan and Luykas. His uncle lowered his head while the brothers did nothing.

“How do they look?” Alchan asked, his eyes leaving Mat and going behind him to the soldiers.

“Bad. Some are getting the hang of it. A few are skittish. The problem is that they won’t work together. One tries to go in, and another backs off, leaving the bold one on his own. Needless to say, they all get killed before any of them put their feet down.” Mat sighed, turning back to the soldiers as Alchan stepped up next to him.

“Keep working with them. They’ll get it, or they’ll die.”

“I say put a few in the fields on light training. Use them in a year, not this winter or in the spring.” Mat had to be honest with his commanders even if he wished he had better news.

“We might not have that option,” Alchan reminded him. “As winter rolls in, there’s been less Elvasi scouting activity in the Spine, but we all know that’s going to pick up with vigor in spring. They have to be ready for bigger fights by then.”

Winter—the hardest season, the season that would kill them all if they weren’t ready—was the only time of the year the Andinna had a chance to relax from the Elvasi threat. Mat didn’t need Alchan’s warning. Any Andinna worth their weight knew that.

The longer the silence stretched, the more concerned Mat got with the presence of Alchan, Luykas, and his uncle. His uncle was the spymaster because his blood magic was advanced and powerful enough to manage it. He was well suited to the role and on top of that, well-educated and respected. No one would ever look at him and see a spy. He hid in plain sight.

Because of it, he had no interest in the common soldiers. His entire duty was to maintain regular contact with the spies the Andinna had for over a thousand years, mostly old friends from the Empire. People who had been against the war from the beginning. There were new spies as well, some human, some Elvasi. He managed them all, mostly through blood magic but also through back channels. Some of their spies had to go through others in a vast network since there were only so many books that could relay important information.

It was impressive and useful.

But then why is he here?

“Do you need anything?” Mat asked Alchan, frowning.

“It’s about Brynec,” he said softly. “We haven’t told Mave yet.”

Mat’s gut dropped as his heart jumped into his throat.

“What’s wrong?”

“He hasn’t gotten in touch with us since before we made it back from the mission,” Leshaun explained. “Matesh—”

“That’s over a month ago!” he growled. “Are you saying he’s been missing for a month now?”

“He could have—”

“What? Lost the book? You know Bryn doesn’t lose anything. We need to get a—”

“Stop,” Luykas snapped. “We know this is bad—”

“Bad? Mave is going to kill all three of you if you’ve lost him. I’m going to help her.” Mat stepped back from them. “You couldn’t tell us sooner he wasn’t reporting in anymore?”

“He went two weeks before his last report without saying anything. We figured he was in a hot spot and would get back to us. He also has the habit of waiting until he has something to report.” Leshaun sighed. “A month is too long, though. We’re not just here to tell you that, Matesh.”

“You’re here to tell me not only is he not reporting, meaning he could be dead, but that we can’t do anything about it,” Mat snapped. “I figured that out.” He ran a hand through his hair as he turned away from them.

No. This can’t be it. We can’t lose Bryn far from home and never see him again.

“We can tell Mave or you can,” Alchan said softly. “We’re hoping to get word from him at any time, but we all need to prepare for the possibility that we catch an Elvasi report saying—”

“Don’t,” he snarled. “Don’t say the words.”

Don’t you dare say we might hear that he’s dead. Not out loud.

“Mat—”

“If someone hears that, the entire village will know by sundown,” Mat reminded him. “And you don’t want that. If everyone knows before Mave, she’ll rightfully be pissed.”

“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” Alchan asked again.

“I will,” he answered. “And, king or not, you’re answering to her when she’s furious with you.”

Alchan bowed his head slowly, and Mat felt some of his anger deflate. Alchan had done this before. He’d gone to a family and had to tell them someone was gone, that they lost a loved one. He would do it. He would accept the anger, and he would continue on as a king and commander should. They’d lost people in the Company before, and Alchan was always the one who found the family and explained.

“She’s only had a family for a year, Alchan,” Mat whispered. “She’s only had me and Bryn for a handful of seasons.”

“And we’re at war,” Alchan said calmly. “Where is she?”

“Probably with the females,” he answered. He looked at Luykas, who turned away. “Did she say anything this morning?”

“Why would she…” Luykas sighed as Mat stared at him. “Yes. Said the females were her main priority right now. I would assume she’s there, too.”

“Did she have breakfast with you again?” he asked, feeling cranky and wanting to lash out at the mutt.

“Yes.”

“Care to tell me why my wife is hopping out of bed in the middle of the night, and you visit her?”

“That’s not your business,” Luykas growled, realizing Mat was overstepping his bounds as a husband. A female was allowed dalliances outside the family bed to test the waters with potential lovers and how they might fit into her family. “It’s also not what you think.”

“You’re bonded to her. It’s going to get there, eventually. How long have you known Bryn has been essentially missing while you’ve been moving in on—”

Luykas tackled him. He was bigger, able to take control of the fight before Luykas was able to pin him to the ground. He got the mutt on his back, and ready to punch down at the white tatua on the male’s face.

Someone ripped him off Luykas. He went swinging and met a punch to the gut, forcing him to double over.

“Move along, soldiers!” Alchan roared over his head. “Luykas, get up, you fucking idiot. Mat, if you move, I’ll fucking put you back in the dirt.”

Mat didn’t move. Alchan could do more than put him in the dirt. The bedru king could and would gut him if Mat challenged him now. He could hear Luykas pushing out of the dirt and dusting off.

“How dare you—”

“Luykas, you do realize it looks bad to sneak around with a female while you know one of her husbands could be dead, and not telling her or her family, right?” Alchan suddenly sounded emotionless. His tone was contained, losing the viciousness it just had. It scared Mat more than the anger. Alchan never lost his temper that quickly. A calmness like this from Alchan meant he was willing to kill one of them if he didn’t get his way. “Mat had reason to call you out.”

“I’m not aiming for the mayara. We’re not sexually…” Luykas seemed like he was about to start stuttering. “Fuck. She’s going to kill me for not saying something this morning.”

“Damn right.” Mat growled softly. Something thumped his back hard, and he realized Alchan was still standing over him. By the sharpness of the hit, it was probably his elbow.

“Mat, you overstepped. You’re angry, I understand, but Luykas isn’t preying on Mave. You know she would never allow it, and I would never allow it,” Alchan said patiently. “Now, if you two can compose yourselves, I’m done showing off for the soldiers and want to get this over with.”

“Yes, sir,” Mat mumbled. The elbow left his back, and he was able to straighten up. Disconcertingly, he remembered he was taller than Alchan, but Alchan’s powerful nature made him drop his eyes the moment the king’s amber eyes found him.

“I’m sorry, Matesh,” Alchan said gently. “Luykas didn’t mean to seem…”

“I know. I was speaking in anger,” Mat said quickly. He didn’t think Luykas was a bad male who would position himself like that. He dragged his gaze off Alchan and found the mutt, who now had a long dirt streak across the side of his leather breeches. “Luykas, I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Luykas mumbled. “We should talk later. Me and you.”

Mat lifted his chin in curiosity as he eyed the mutt commander. “Okay. After dinner.”

“Perfect.” Luykas patted down his breeches.

“I’ll meet you all at the females’ training field,” Alchan said sharply and jumped up, leaving them to their dramas. Luykas looked up after him, sighing, and followed him after a moment.

“Uncle?” Mat moved over to Leshaun. “Don’t be angry with me.”

“I’m not. Males get into scuffles sometimes. Plus, he attacked you, and you handled it well. Don’t insult his honor, though. You know he has a lot to prove here, especially with all these new faces that don’t know him. Fighting with a pure Andinna, of which the majority of us are, doesn’t look good for him.”

“I know, Uncle,” Mat agreed. “Mave’s just had me worried and now this with Bryn? Tell me, what do you think?”

“I think Brynec is one of our most intelligent Andinna when it comes to subterfuge, to information gathering, to killing in silence, and getting out of situations most Andinna have no chance to defeat. I think he’s been taken and is looking for a way to escape. I don’t think he’s dead.”

Mat nodded slowly. Yeah, Bryn was all of those things.

If anyone could survive alone, it was him.

10

Mave

Mave’s chest tightened to the point she wondered if she was going to stop breathing. It would be almost preferable to the pain. It would be easier—if she fell and suffocated, the pain would end.

Someone was still talking, but she didn’t hear the words. When was the last time she felt like this?

When my first human died, eight and a half centuries ago.

Did it hurt this bad?

The talking didn’t stop, but she couldn’t follow. She didn’t care to follow. Following meant confronting the painful truth in the words.

“Brynec’s not reporting…”

“A month…”

“Can’t find him…”

“Unable to help…”

She stepped back, her vision blurry. Someone tried to grab her, but a snarl made the hand back away. She blinked several times and realized the male reaching for her was her remaining lover. Oh, Matesh.

Were you keeping this from me?

“How long did you know?” she asked softly.

“They only just told me,” Mat whispered. “They…wanted to know if I wanted to talk to you or if they should. I decided we all should come here.”

“Take the day off,” she ordered. “Go. Let me speak to Alchan, Luykas, and Leshaun for a moment. Please.”

“Ilanra—”

“Go!” she roared. Whatever background chatter there had been silenced immediately. The birds flew out of the trees, and the females behind her in the training field jumped up and followed them. In a matter of seconds, there was only the small handful of Andinna left.

Mave was resisting with all her might to kill them.

“I told you to leave,” she whispered at Mat, breathing hard. “I told you to go.”

“You can’t hurt them,” Mat reminded her. “You can’t—”

“Please go,” she said, trying not to flinch at the plea in her own voice.

He stepped back from her and launched into the air. After a few moments, even he was gone from the sky.

No one left spoke for a moment. She turned her gaze on Alchan, her heart feeling like it was crumbling to pieces.

“There’s no hope of finding him?”

“We haven’t heard anything about his possible location. Anden is so wild, sending out a search party could take years. He could be anywhere. He could be alive and safe, and we just don’t know. If he’s been captured, there’s nothing we can do for him until something passes through one of our spies, and we have an idea of where to start,” Alchan explained. He had probably already said it, but she was having a hard time stringing two thoughts together, much less what others had been saying once the conversation began.

It had been another day of training, another morning of waking up in a cold sweat and running to work off the tension, to dull the edge of her fear, another breakfast with Luykas…

Her eyes fell on the male she was blood bonded to.

“How long have you known?” she hissed.

“Not long, only a couple of days. I couldn’t say anything until Alchan and Leshaun thought it was necessary to pass the information along. Generally, when we lose a scout, one month is the line we draw, and it’s time to tell the family there’s a chance…Mave, I didn’t mean to keep it a secret to hurt you. Information is valuable, and if you found out over morning coffee, it could have spread to Matesh before we had a chance to explain to him. Or vice versa. We came here immediately after telling him.” Luykas looked away from her. “We’re not happy with this either.”

“Is there a chance he could be alive?” She looked between the three males. Alchan, Leshaun, and Luykas had known Bryn longer. They were the better judges of his skills.

“I think so,” Leshaun said, cutting in before Alchan could say anything. It left the king’s mouth hanging open for a second. “I think he’s alive and can’t contact us for whatever reason.”

“Captured?”

“Hard to say,” Alchan answered this time, placing himself between her and the old male. “He’s not one to get captured even in the toughest of situations. Maybe he’s stuck. Maybe he lost the book and is trying to retrieve it. Maybe he’s on his way back because he lost it, which was the deal we had. If he could no longer contact us with the blood spelled journal, he needed to come back to us, and we would have to reoutfit him before he could continue.”

“So, this is just…” She swallowed the pain threatening to take her to her knees. “This is just a warning. This is just preparing me for the idea that…”

“Yes,” he answered gently. “Mave, you know I would risk the entire Empire to save one of you. Any member of the Company is worth twenty of them.” He nodded in the direction of the village center. She understood the meaning. They were worth twenty of the other Andinna. “If I had any idea where he might be, I would send a few of you to get him. There wouldn’t be a question in my mind. It would piss off a lot of people, people who would think they were left undefended because of that decision, but I would do it.”

“We don’t know where he was last,” Leshaun explained. “We have no idea. He didn’t report exact locations to us, which is smart in case either of us ended up compromised, but it’s left us in the dark.”

“Okay.” Mave began to nod, picking up speed as she continued until she felt confident enough to raise her chin. “My husband wouldn’t get himself killed being an idiot near some Elvasi. He would never get himself captured. He’s the stealthiest member of the Company, maybe the stealthiest Andinna of all time. There’s no reason to think he’s been killed. He’s a strong flyer, a better warrior. The moment you get word from him or someone spots him in these mountains, you will let me know.”

“Even if it—”

“Alchan, if you don’t want me to kill you, you’ll let me know,” she restated, adding a threat she knew he would take seriously.

“If you killed me, we’d all be doomed,” he reminded her.

She considered that. She thought of Matesh, and his love for his uncle Leshaun, of Rainev and Zayden.

“I’m not sure I would consider that in time,” she answered honestly. “But I know once the deed was done, I would try to keep the ones I love alive. Now, I’m going to go.” I can’t bear to see the hopelessness on your faces anymore.

“Mave—” Luykas said her name, but she wasn’t in the mood for company anymore.

She launched into the air, sending herself high.

He’s fine. He has to be fine. I have to keep going, so we’re ready for him.

She landed with a thud on her front porch and staggered through the door.

Damn it. Damn this rebellion. Damn the Elvasi.

She fumbled to get her boots off. She was taking the rest of the day off. She didn’t want to put on a face and work with the females. She didn’t want to see Senri and Allaina or anyone else.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw two pairs of boots by the door. Zayden’s was the pair she focused on.

Those should be Bryn’s.

She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts. It wasn’t Zayden's fault Bryn was missing. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, not really. Alchan had made the best decision he could for a critical mission. She hadn’t wanted Bryn to go because she would miss him, not because she thought he would be lost. She didn’t want to lose people she cared about—she didn’t have enough of them.

She was still standing by the door when someone carefully reached around her and grabbed the boots she was staring at.

“Excuse me,” he whispered. Mave looked over her shoulder to see Zayden, trying his best to get his boots without touching her. She stepped aside, watching him slip them on and lace them up.

“You don’t have to…” Sighing, she rubbed her face. “He’s not reporting.”

“Mat told me before he locked himself in your room. I’m going to get out of your way for the rest of the day. I can go bother my son or take over Mat’s training.”

Something made her grab him before he was able to leave.

“How did you do it? In case I need to, how did you survive losing your wife?” The questions rolled off her tongue. Zayden was close to her age, only a little older than Matesh. He had a son, once had a wife, and was still considered young. He’d lost her and was still standing. She had no confirmation either way when it came to Bryn’s fate, and she wanted to fall apart. She wanted to rage and break things and ruin everything they were trying to build.

She looked at his sapphire blue eyes, the ones Rain inherited. They were darker than his son’s, always weighed down with something. Had she never noticed before? Did she always dismiss him as just a grouch and miss the pain he always had in those eyes?

“I didn’t,” he answered. Gently, he took her hand and removed it from his arm. He didn’t release it, leading her deeper into her own home. With his free hand, he pulled out a seat at her table and pushed her to sit down in it. Without saying a word, he went into the kitchen, and she heard shuffling and water being poured. When he came back into view, he was wiping his hands, staring at them. “I’m making tea.”

“You said you didn’t survive.”

“You know how it is. Things happen, and you live through them, yet you aren’t the same as you were. You said that to me once. I was scared for Rainev, still am because he’s different from the young male he was before he went to Elliar. I was a different male before meeting his mother. I became a different male with her.” He sighed, sitting down opposite her. “And I’m a different male now. I was always…stern. Matesh was the wild one, and I was the one who followed the rules and tried to keep him in line. I used to have fun, though. The War destroyed something happy in me, until I met Summer. Then we had Rainev, and I thought my life was perfect.” He chuckled darkly. “I knew she was from one of the short-lived races. I knew, and I fell in love with her, anyway. Even knowing I would lose her so quickly, see her grow old and move on to the afterlife, I wasn’t ready, and I didn’t survive it. I came out angry, overprotective of Rainev, and too difficult for most to deal with. I lost friends. My place in the Company was tenuous, at best, for at least fifty years. You, as you are now, won’t survive it, Mave.”

Mave’s heart dropped, falling into a pit in her stomach.

“He’s not dead yet.”

“Of course,” he whispered. The kettle began to scream, and Zayden went back into the kitchen. When he came back, he had two hot mugs, one he slid in front of her. “Drink that.”

She sipped it, ignoring the heat. It burned her tongue, and she wasn’t sure she cared at that moment.

“What’re you going to do now?”

“Keep going,” she answered. “Tomorrow. I can’t go out there right now.”

“Good. Don’t do what I did. I dug my heels in and let grief mess me up for a long time. My advice?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t forget about the people who care about you. Mat loves you more than life itself. Alchan respects you, something not many can claim. My son loves you. I’m your friend. Nevyn and Varon. Kian and Senri. We’re a family, the Company, devoted to fighting with and for each other and protecting Alchan as he tries to make our world better. Family who fight and die together. I lost sight of that when I lost Summer. Took me a long time to remember it.” He reached out and patted her hand.

“You’re good at this comfort thing.” It almost made her chuckle, and he must have heard it. He was the last person she expected to be good at it, but this wasn’t the first time he’d proved he was good at emotions…as long as his son wasn’t involved. He had held her in Olost after the attack. He didn’t have to, he had just realized she needed it.

“I’m not always bad at everything,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Rainev’s had his heart broken by boys. He’s scraped knees, hit his head, fallen when he was learning to fly. Summer had moments of…despair. She was loved but never fit in.”

“What could she shift into?” Mave asked, purely out of curiosity.

Zayden looked away and never answered. Apparently, Mave’s question was a little too personal for him. They continued drinking their tea until he finally started talking again.

“All I’m saying…it’s really hard to lose someone you love like that. You’re missing something, and I understand why you and Matesh need the day off. Skies, I wouldn’t blame you for taking the week off. I’ll keep helping out here, so you two don’t need to worry about it. It’s the best way to repay your kindness, letting me stay here.”

“Helping out?” She sat up straight.

“Ah…shit. Promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.” Under her stare, he continued. “Matesh has been overloaded, picking up the slack Bryn left managing the household. I took over stocking the food stores. It’s not a big deal.”

“Thank you,” she said quickly. “I know it’s been different with Bryn gone…” She closed her eyes. She was hoping he would come home soon. This wasn’t the news she wanted. This wasn’t what any of them wanted. “Just…thank you. I’m going to go see Mat now.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t feel like you have to leave. You don’t have to leave because of this.”

“I’ll probably be back later or tomorrow morning. You two deserve to have your house.” He smiled and stood up. “Go. He’s heartsore too.”

She nodded and left the dining table. Her footsteps grew faster until she burst into the bedroom to find Matesh organizing their chests. Each one of them had a chest at the back of the room, holding their softer clothing, while armor had to be hung up in a different room, along with their weapons. He was going through Bryn’s, holding one of the scarves.

“I never understood why he wore these,” Mat admitted.

“He didn’t want anyone judging the scar.” She rubbed hers. She rarely thought about it like she rarely thought about any of her scars. Other slaves weren’t having the same issues she and Bryn did with the collar. Apparently, it wasn’t common in some places to have the slave collar on so tight. Another case of things getting worse as you drew closer to Elliar.

“Yeah…we never did, though.”

“You might not have. The Company may never have, but what if humans and Elvasi or mutts saw him in Olost and judged him for it? Or remembered him for it. The Company member with the slave scar. You’re all male, something that makes me stand out as the one female. He’s not the smallest one or blue like Rainev. Bryn’s number one distinctive feature to a crowd is that scar. The one who used to be a slave.” She understood it.

“I think he’s alive,” Mat whispered.

“So do I.”

Lies. They hoped he was alive, and that’s what was hurting them—the not knowing. They hoped and silently prayed he was alive and wouldn’t accept anything else until they had his body.

Mave took long strides across the room, leaning down to swiftly kiss Mat before he could say anything else. He pulled her down to his level onto her knees and held her.

“Can we just do this for a little while?” he asked.

“Yeah, we can do this.”

11

Rainev

It was well past dark when Rainev walked into the family room of his new home. Living with Alchan was a series of careful movements, long nights, and embarrassing moments, but it was something he could claim as his own. He would have never had a place like this if he had moved out from his father on his own, but he liked to believe he earned his position as Alchan’s nemari, and that made him feel proud of the space.

Rain was careful not to disturb Alchan, trying to maintain a quiet presence that didn’t interrupt the other male’s thoughts. Alchan had lived alone for hundreds of years, and while Rain had to adjust to the dominant male, Alchan had to adjust to having someone else around—someone who was supposed to keep an eye on him.

Which was why Rain had stayed up late in his private room, reading, waiting for the right time to tell Alchan he needed to sleep. He didn’t get onto Alchan all the time, telling him to sleep, but they both understood there was a line Rain was required to draw on the matter.

“Sir, it’s time for you to blow out the candles and turn in,” Rain said softly, keeping his eyes down as he stopped in front of the bedru King. He tried to ignore how cold the room had gotten, reminding himself to make sure there was firewood once Alchan was gone.

“How many times do I need to ask you to call me Alchan?”

“It’s not that easy,” Rain reminded him. “I was raised—”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that all before. I’ll get to sleep soon.”

Rain looked up and sighed. Normally, Alchan just headed off to his room. Whether he slept or not was his business once he was there, but he was required to leave work items out of that space where Rain could put them away.

“Sir—”

“Not right now, Rainev,” Alchan growled softly. “Not right now.” Amber eyes turned on him, and Rainev resisted a harsh gasp as he caught a good look at Alchan. He had seemed fine all day, the signs of lack of sleep not yet presenting themselves. Rain had thought he was doing everything right, and it was suddenly clear he wasn’t.

Dark bags had formed under Alchan’s eyes, and his face was sallow and pale. His eyes were bloodshot from staring at papers well into the night with only dim candlelight. Normally, the fire would be going in the hearth, and Alchan tended it himself, but tonight, he’d let it die out.

“When did you last sleep?” Rain demanded, taking a risk. Calling out Alchan was a stupid thing to do, but if their king dropped dead because Rain didn’t force it, everyone would blame Rain. He didn’t want that on his conscience.

“Can’t. Need…” Alchan rubbed his face. “How long has it been since I told Mave and Matesh about Brynec?”

“Two days,” Rain answered, a shake entering his voice.

“Since then,” Alchan mumbled. “Haven’t slept since then. I keep hoping he’s going to send us word, but…” His amber eyes were empty. “I haven’t hated myself so much since I had to tell your father you were being moved to Elliar by Shadra. All for the greater good. Every time we lose someone, I have to tell everyone it's for the greater good. Sometimes, I don’t know if I believe it.”

Rain’s mouth opened and closed several times, unable to string together words into a coherent sentence.

“Go back to sleep, Rainev. That’s an order,” Alchan said softly, looking away from him again.

“No. I’m going to clean this up,” he told his king. “You are going to get some sleep. You can’t function as our king like this. You’re going to fall off your feet at some point and be useless to everyone.”

Something dangerous flashed in Alchan’s face. “Don’t ever disobey an order from me,” he growled.

“It’s my right and duty to protect the health and well-being of the noble warrior to whom I am sworn,” Rain reminded him, gathering all of his courage. “From enemies, from allies…and from himself.”

Alchan rose to his feet slowly, the hard gaze he gave Rain unrelenting.

“I won’t be resting until I get him back,” Alchan explained. Rain could see the very slight wobble he had. That didn’t stop a small shake beginning to take over Rain’s body. It didn’t stop the fear. He wasn’t dominant enough to challenge Alchan. Only Luykas and Mave were.

What do I think I’m doing? Why didn’t I just walk out and find one of them?

“Then when Bryn does get back, you’ll be useless to help him.” Rain lifted his chin, deciding he had to channel both of them. “You have to rest.”

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, Rain was staring down the unmovable eyes of Alchan Andini, king of the Andinna and bedru male too dominant to live politely in their society.

The next, he was against the wall. The eyes were still there, but they were joined by a hand around his throat, holding him in place. Something in Alchan had snapped. The lack of sleep had worn down the male’s patience. Rain saw it all in those amber eyes. They were too wild, too uncontained, too dangerous.

“Don’t ever mistake your place by my side as equality,” Alchan snarled. “I get the final say. Always.”

Rain was shaking hard now. Fear made him nauseous. The room was dark, a male was holding him too hard, and he couldn’t fight back.

No!

He couldn’t stop tears from flooding his eyes as he tried to pry Alchan’s hand off his neck, clawing at it desperately. Something ferocious began to work its way in his chest.

Alchan’s eyes went wide, and he released Rain quickly, stepping back, all the way to the far wall of the room.

Rain panted, holding his neck, trying to pull in the wyvern, trying to keep himself calm. What Alchan had just done wasn’t special. It’s what he would have done to any Andinna foolish enough to test and challenge him while he was in a mood. It was always important to remember that because Alchan wasn’t female, he had to fight a bit harder to maintain power, he had to keep upstarts from trying to take over, had to defend the royal bloodline until he could produce a female heir. The stability of Andinna society depended on a female heir of the royal bloodline.

“Rainev,” Alchan whispered. “I…”

Rain looked up at him, not angry, but still feeling the fear, still feeling the pain he had suffered in the pits. After months of working with Alchan, this was the first time the dominant male had genuinely terrified him.

“I’ll be in my rooms.” The king’s head dropped, and he walked out quickly. Rain heard the king’s door slam shut hard enough, he was going to need to check the hinges in the morning. A few seconds later, something crashed. Alchan was throwing things.

Alchan could easily put Andinna in their place when they pissed him off. He only threw things when he was mad at himself. Rain had learned that early on.

Rain took that thought, that bit of knowledge he had about Alchan, and let it soothe the rest of his fear. They could talk in the morning—they had to. Rain didn’t know if he could continue with this role if that was how the bad nights were going to be. Understanding didn’t equal coping.

There’s only so much I can deal with.

He looked down at his hands, noticing the small blue scales that hadn’t yet receded. He would have done it. If Alchan had gone any further, he would have started shifting in a tiny, confined space and killed both of them.

Eventually, the crashing in the back bedroom stopped. Rain took his chance to start cleaning up the main room, organizing Alchan’s papers and stacking them on the dining table where they could be found in the morning if Alchan wanted to read while having breakfast. Rain then threw some logs on the fire, trying to get it restarted before Alchan decided to come out or he woke up for breakfast. If he could get it going now, he could have a warm home to wake up to.

Lastly, he shuffled around the kitchen and prepped breakfast, knowing Alchan had certain things he liked to make. Rain hadn’t yet cooked a full meal living with the king. Alchan had a pure enjoyment for cooking that Rain tried not to disturb, settling to handle drinks every meal.

When he made it to his bedroom, he fell into his bed and realized his hands had never stopped shaking.

* * *

Rain woke up to the rich smell of Alchan’s cooking and sat up quickly, mentally cursing. He was always up before Alchan. How had the king beaten him to arise when he had so little sleep over the last few days?

I swear to the Skies, if he didn’t sleep last night, I’m leaving. I’m not going to watch this and have the blame for his ill health pushed onto me.

He yanked up pants and stomped out of the room, all of his youthful bluster carrying him to the dining table.

It left him the moment Alchan saw him from the kitchen.

“Good morning, Rainev. Have a seat. Food will be ready shortly.” Alchan pointed at the table with a cooking spoon before turning away to focus on the food over the cooking fire.

Rain pulled out a chair and sat down slowly, his hands shaking again. At some point, Alchan put something into the stove oven over the cooking fire and walked out of the kitchen. He held two glasses and slid one in front of Rain.

“Coffee,” he said blandly. “We should talk while that finishes up. Please let me speak without interrupting. This isn’t going to be a comfortable conversation for either of us.”

Rain nodded, pulling the mug of coffee closer. With a tentative sip, he realized the king had either guessed or already figured out how Rain liked his coffee—an odd thing for someone like Alchan to remember.

“Last night, I crossed a line. I did sleep, eventually, thanks to your persistence. You’ll notice it’s nearly midday. I let you rest as well since if I’m always up, you are too, then we’re both useless.” Alchan sighed, looking away from him. “If you were Luykas, it wouldn’t have gone that far. If you were Nevyn, it might have, but he would have had a response. Matesh…I would do it to Matesh without thinking, and he would understand. Your father, definitely. I’ve had to before.”

“I under—”

“What did I say?” Alchan growled softly. Rain closed his mouth quickly and tried his best to hold it closed as the bedru continued. “But a single response doesn’t work for everyone. In our culture, dominance is a constant battle for those of us, and if a less dominant male challenges a more dominant male, a fight wouldn’t be frowned upon. Females are the same way, but there are other ways to handle dominance problems and conflicts among the unspoken rankings of the Andinna.”

Rain knew all of this. He wasn’t like Mave or some of the slaves who didn’t understand. He’d grown up with the Andinna.

“While violence isn’t unnatural for us, that doesn’t mean we get the right to be heartless or cruel,” Alchan continued. “I’ve never pried or asked you to tell me about what happened to you in the pits. I’ve never had to, and it can remain unspoken for as long as you need or want. But the lack of knowledge on my part doesn’t excuse my behavior because I know the signs you show. I know, Rainev. Not the details, but I’ve seen it all at this point. Just that should have held me back last night. I should never have gotten physical with you. I shouldn’t have treated you like you’re some upstart warrior with a bone to pick with authority. They deserve to meet the wall. You do not.”

Rain’s head spun as the blood left it. Alchan’s eyes narrowed on him, but neither of them moved.

He knows. He’s figured me out. He thinks I’m weak. He’s not going to want me as his nemari anymore.

“If anything, I should be honored you’ve trusted me for so long to tolerate my presence,” Alchan said softly. “And if you want to leave my service, I will permit it and give you rank and title according to what you deserve as a retiring member of the Company and as my nemari. If you can tolerate my hurdle in learning to live with someone and learning to control some of my more dangerous impulses, I would be grateful…no, I would be honored to keep you. You’ve been invaluable to me so far, and I know you would remain so.”

Rain couldn’t answer as he processed those words.

“Rainev?”

“I understand what happened last night,” he blurted out a thought from earlier. “I understand that physicality is accepted among the Andinna, and I know my role in what happened.”

“That doesn’t make my actions excusable, Rainev.” Alchan growled softly after speaking. “If anything, they make them more inexcusable. You understand, and you were raised by our principles, but you’re missing the part where our culture knows how to adjust and help those of us who need uplifting. You should be given power in your rank, not kept there through fear. That’s not…” Alchan visibly swallowed. “I never want to be that king. I never want to be a king who demands fear and obedience. I want respect and warriors who follow me because they believe in me. Last night, I got your obedience through fear, and that is inexcusable.”

“You’re right about me,” Rain whispered. “Mave and Matesh saved me from being gang raped. They, uh, wanted to make sure I knew my place and who put me there, once Mave and Mat were killed.”

Alchan’s eyebrows went up slowly. Whatever the king had been thinking, it hadn’t been as bad as the truth. He’d never seen Alchan go pale before.

“They saw a submissive mutt and wanted…” Rain couldn’t keep going, his lungs failing him.

“I’m sorry, Rainev. I won’t get physical with you anymore.”

He’d never heard Alchan speak in a rushed manner.

“I don’t want to be treated as an invalid,” he snapped at Alchan. “I just want to get stronger. I want to show everyone that just because I’m submissive doesn’t mean I’m a fucking victim they can have whenever they want. And if they don’t fear me in this form, they’ll fear me by the end.” Rain felt the surge of power as his wyvern pushed toward the surface. He felt the way his skin sat differently on his face as scales took over, the temperature of the room feeling different through scales compared to skin. “I couldn’t shift in the pits, and my wyvern was silent through it all. We won’t be silenced anymore, Alchan. If I think you’re a threat to me, you’ll know.”

“As I learned last night,” Alchan murmured. “As one or more of the young males of our rebellion have already learned as well, I believe.”

“He’s an ex-lover. When he’s drunk, he forgets what I am. He plays dominance games in bed. I used to find them fun, enjoyable, but they…they scare me now. I don’t want to lose control anymore. Not after the pits.” Rain leaned over and put his head on the table. “I want to be your nemari, Sire. You’ve honed my fighting skills more than training for decades before joining the Company ever did. The only person who has taught me as well as you was Mave. I never wanted to burden her, though, and she would have told Matesh. Then Mat would have told my father, who would have worried more than I wanted him to. You’ve given me a role that’s more than just my wyvern. Let’s be honest, Alchan. My second form was why you allowed me to join the Company, but you’ve helped me become more than it. I don’t want to lose that growth.”

“And last night?”

“I don’t think I can handle that on a regular basis. Not now, maybe not ever. I hate it. I hate being treated with care. I hate the idea I’m weak—”

“I’ve never called you weak and never will,” Alchan growled. Rain felt a hand wedge itself under his face and grab his chin. With a sharp pull, Alchan forced them to meet eye-to-eye again. “You are not weak, Rainev. You have limits, but within them, you are powerful. You’re a warrior. You’re the child of warriors. You’ll one day train the next generation of warriors. There’s nothing weak about a male who fights gryphons in the air. There’s nothing weak about a male who burns fleets. There’s nothing weak about a male who was unfairly beaten and abused by a group that outnumbered you.”

“Mave and Mat…” It didn’t happen to them.

“Were you armed?” Rain shook his head. “Were they armed? Mave and Matesh?”

“Mave was allowed to carry her steel. She found Mat first and gave him a sword.”

“They had steel. Sharp blades honed to kill in the bloodiest ways on those godforsaken sands I keep hearing about. Were your opponents bigger than you?”

“They were pureblood Andinna.”

“Was there a chance to escape?”

“I was already injured. It was the day I fought the gryphon on my own. They yanked me into a small room in the pits from the dark.”

“Then they took advantage of a convenient moment to attack. They had you on size and strength because that’s what happens to most mutts. Luykas is the exception when it comes to his equal size to me. They outnumbered you, a cowardly move when they knew you were already injured and most likely unable to fight back. They beat you, not because they wanted to prove they were more dominant, but because they wanted to kill the fight in you.” Alchan’s words grew more taut, angrier with every sentence. “And if I ever meet a single one of them, I’ll fucking kill them for you. They don’t deserve what we’re doing here. Do you understand me? The moment I get my hands on them, they will be punished the way any Andinna rapist should be punished. Their wings will be removed, and I’ll hang them on display as part of the King’s Justice, then I’ll let them rot in a cell, unable to cope with the loss. When they’ve lost all hope, I’ll see their heads roll.”

Rage blazed in amber eyes as Rain saw Alchan’s suggested punishment unfold in his mind.

Rain was shaking again. Alchan released him slowly and leaned back in his chair.

“Are you scared of me?” Alchan asked softly.

“Not anymore,” Rain whispered honestly.

This wasn’t a dominant male who had meant to hurt him. He hadn’t meant to scare him. Alchan would raze the earth to protect anyone who belonged to him, to uphold the honor of the Andinna way. He just had a hard time adjusting, and Rain realized ways he could help with that. A bedru almost never found himself a family because of their natures, and Alchan was no different. He didn’t even live with his brother anymore.

“So, how do we proceed forward?” Alchan drummed his fingers on the table.

“I only get on you for one thing, Alchan. Sleeping. Last night, you snapped. You weren’t…” Rain didn’t dare finish that sentence.

“I wasn’t safe to be around. I realized that the moment I saw your scales coming out. And you’re right, lack of sleep was a major factor in my behavior. Doesn’t excuse it, but it was part of it.”

“Stop. Just stop with that inexcusable bullshit. If I were any other male, it would have been your right to knock me upside the head and tell me to back off.”

“You’re not every other male,” Alchan reminded him.

Rain sighed. Back to that. “Just fucking sleep when I tell you it’s time for you to stop. That’s all I’m asking. I’m only here to make sure you don’t run yourself into the ground. My body before yours, remember?”

Alchan frowned, somehow disturbed by something Rain had said.

“I remember. Fine, I’ll admit defeat when it comes to getting a proper amount of sleep, but you must also sleep when I retire. You don’t need to clean up every night or prep food for me in the morning. Speaking of food.” Alchan jumped up and left Rain sitting there. A few moments later, he came back out. “If you let it cool for a moment, a roast is ready for lunch. Why don’t you hit up the hot spring? It’ll be fine to eat when you get back.”

It was such a domestic thing after such a heavy conversation.

It lightened Rain’s heart.

He’s a king who cares.

12

Mave

Mave washed her hands in the river, then splashed her face with the cool water. Three long drinks of the water slaked her thirst and would sustain her for a little while.

Two more weeks without word from Bryn. Two more weeks of hoping on everything that he was safe. Two more weeks of not knowing.

She was getting angry.

When she stood up, she turned to the females she was taking on a hike. They had to build more muscle in their legs, and this was a good way to do it and kill time. They could let the blisters heal on their hands from the swords and instead get blisters on their feet. If they ever wanted to fight against the Elvasi, they had to be accustomed to marching. A simple hike was a good beginning.

“How does everyone feel?” Mave called out. “Feet hurt? Thighs? Calves? Backs?”

“All the above,” the vocal Fyren answered.

“Good. It means you’re getting stronger.” Mave gestured to the water. “Drink. Be careful, though. Too much and you’ll get sick. Too little and you’ll drop out of the hike, and your sisters will have to carry you.”

They rushed around her. She had made them wait to watch what she did, but none of them realized that. She smirked as she realized more than half of them were going to be puking by the end of the hike. She was angry enough at everything to find the idea amusing and not annoying like she would any other day. Half of the new females from their mission were learning and trying their hardest. They weren’t accustomed to the activity levels Mave put them through, but they wanted to be ready. The other half was disappointing, at best. Once Mave felt confident in their abilities to defend themselves and escape if needed, she was going to release them from the majority of the training and send them into the village to find work. If she kept trying to force them to work as hard as she needed, eventually, they would end up bitter. She didn’t need bitter bitches wandering around.

Once they were done, Mave started walking again. There was no Senri or Allaina today, leaving Mave alone with the females. Senri had guards from distant areas of the Spine reporting over the next few days. Allaina was managing the final pieces of construction of the new forge for Gentrin and whoever he decided to train to help him. One of the dwarves wanted to join in, that much Mave knew. Whether they had an Andinna or two willing to pick up the trade was someone else’s problem…Allaina’s, most likely.

Mave led the females up a cliffside trail that had been recently cleared. She couldn’t go too far from the valley but could climb one of the mountains, making the females work for it.

The first one vomited after only a few minutes.

“What’s wrong?” another female asked.

“My stomach is sloshing,” the girl said, doubled over at the waist. Mave stopped everyone to wait, and during that stop, a second female lost the water they had stopped for.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” someone said to her. Mave glanced at Fyren dismissively.

“This is exactly what we should be doing. I warned you about the water.”

“You’re going to make us all sick!” Fyren was glaring at her. The amount of anger in those eyes made Mave frown.

“People get sick when they do physical activity that might be beyond their limits, or they drink too much water, or they eat too much food. Being sick isn’t fatal. It’s a hard lesson to learn.” Mave’s quiet anger grew as Fyren crossed her arms, defiantly raising her chin. “Be careful. I’ll always win a fight for dominance.”

“Females rule the Andinna, yet you bow to a male. If you’re truly the most dominant female, you should be ruling. Not some bedru with a half-breed brother.”

“Alchan Andini is a member of the royal family—”

“And the royal family lost the War,” Fyren reminded her.

“And I’m a Lorren, daughter of the generals who lost the War.” Mave closed the distance between them. “This attitude is wearing my patience thin, Fyren. And if you ever disrespect Alchan or Luykas again, I’ll meet you in a sparring ring and make sure you pay for it. Treason won’t be tolerated. Do you think you could lead us?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be picking a giant fight with the Empire without warriors to back it up. I would protect those already free—”

“What do you think the Company has been doing for the last thousand years?” Mave shoved her anger through the bond. Luykas would come just to find out what was eating her. “Do you think Alchan just sits around, eating and fucking while everyone works? He’s been busting his ass trying to figure out how we’re going to win this time.”

“He’s trying to figure out how to get us all killed or to lose loved ones. Not like you would care about that. You have your position, and you can lord over all of us. You have a husband who our precious king would never risk because he’s friends with you.” Fyren’s words hit a sore spot. Mave lashed out, grabbing the female by the arm and shoving her into the closest tree. There wasn’t much struggle from her. Blazing, angry eyes were now bright with fear. Mave wrapped her free hand around the female’s throat to hold her there.

“I have two husbands,” Mave hissed. “Matesh and Brynec. You’ve never met Bryn and may never meet him because he was sent on a scouting mission in Anden weeks before we rescued you. For a month and a half, we haven’t known if he’s alive or dead. Don’t you ever claim we’re not fighting or making the same sacrifices we’re asking from you. If anything, the Ivory Shadows are more willing to make them first, so you don’t have to.”

“Um…Champion? I don’t think she can breathe?”

Mave snarled, not looking at who was talking. “You have no idea the risks we’ve taken. You have no idea the damage we’ve all had done to us to make sure Andinna, like you, can have one day of freedom or even a fucking chance at it. You have no idea—”

“Mave, let her go,” Luykas ordered sharply as he landed behind her. “She’s not breathing.”

Mave snarled louder and watched as Luykas wrapped a hand around her wrist. Emotions coursed through them. He was so worried about her. He was scared for the female in her grasp. Mave finally looked at Fyren’s face, really looked at it. She was red, her mouth open. She held Mave’s wrist with both hands and had no chance of prying herself free.

Mave removed her hand one finger at a time and stepped back when she was finally able to let go completely. Luykas kept holding her arm but didn’t force her to do anything with it. The hand print on Fyren’s throat would bruise before the day was over. It would heal that night.

But for the rest of the day, everyone would know she had to be put in her place.

“What happened?” Luykas asked softly, leaning in close.

“She’s a little bitch who thinks Alchan shouldn’t be in charge. She doesn’t understand, and she thinks she’s dominant enough to have an opinion,” Mave snarled. “And she fucking dared to say none of the Company would ever sacrifice—”

“Okay. Okay, Mave.” Luykas wrapped his arms around her. All she could see was his chest, bare like every other male in the village. The white lines of his tatua caught her eyes, and she focused on it, trying not to think about Fyren. “I recommend all of you hike back to the village. If I catch one of you flying, I’ll bring your asses back here, and you can go again. Use those feet and think for a minute.”

They started walking away faster than they ever had for Mave. As they left, their silence became gossiping and chatter. Mave and Luykas remained quiet, only listening. For the most part, it seemed like general village rumors and talk, but some were bolder.

“Half-breed telling us what to do now.”

Mave snarled, trying to launch out of Luykas’ grasp. He didn’t relent, keeping her away from the females.

“Is he really the king’s brother? I bet that’s just a story, so we ignore his half-Elvasi look.”

“Let it go, Mave,” Luykas whispered harshly. “Let them go.”

“They shouldn’t be able to talk about you like that,” Mave snapped. “They should—”

“You can’t force them to trust me. You can’t beat them into it. It’s something that has to come on its own time. The new ones who are angry were born after the War. Everyone born before it and who remember, knows me and knows what I’m about. They’ll handle the youth. We can’t.”

“String them up by their fucking heels—”

“Mave, let it go.”

Mave hissed, yanking away from him but not pursuing the females.

“I knew I was too angry to handle this hike today, but I came anyway because I had it scheduled for weeks.”

“Why a hike?” Luykas was so obviously trying to divert the conversation, she snorted.

“Because none of them are strong enough to walk or climb in terrain like this. They were born and raised on the plains in the Empire. I just want them to be ready for what might happen.” Mave ran a hand through her hair. “And when one of them got uppity, I reminded her I would win that fight. She came back with how I’m supposedly the strongest female, but I follow the rule of a male. Her point was almost valid if you ignored Alchan’s bloodline compared to mine. She had some choice words to say about him and me.”

“There’s a reason females of the royal bloodline are the rulers,” Luykas reminded her. “They can trace a bloodline back to Lariana, the goddess who rules our pantheon and bestowed on them a godlike dominance that cuts the arguments of other strong females before they start. Before the royal line was established, the Andinna were much like the clans of Zira. There was lots of infighting and bickering over who would be in charge. This was also during a time when we weren’t truly established as a matriarchal people. Let’s say, the first ten or so generations of the Andinna didn’t have it easy.”

“How do you know all of that?” she asked, trying to take her mind off everything else.

“It’s common education for most Andinna growing up. I learned it as an adult when I moved out of the Empire into Anden. My aunts took special care to make sure my education matched Alchan’s, as per the duties of a male born into the royal bloodline. We’re never supposed to sit on the throne, but we’re supposed to bring honor to the family. Often times, males of the royal line won’t ever have children, which is how branch bloodlines die out so quickly, but we’re perfect diplomats. Mind you, all of that was established for males like Alchan and our father, but I was dominant enough to be a problem and had to learn.”

“You’re educated like an Andinna, you fight like an Andinna, you’re a Blackblood—”

“I’m also educated like an Elvasi, can fight like an Elvasi, and know sorcery. They have their reasons to distrust me.” He seemed ashamed. For the first time since she met him, he seemed genuinely ashamed of what he was. He broke eye contact and was looking at his boots as if they were the most interesting thing in the forest.

“You’re not at fault for your birth or your upbringing, Luykas. Don’t let a bunch of young, stupid fools make you feel that way.”

“Just like the War’s sad ending was never your fault?” He raised an eyebrow. She raised her chin before nodding defiantly.

“Just like that.”

“Do you want to head back now?” he asked, extending an arm. She weaved hers into his, and they started a slow walk down the trail. “You know, it’s good to see the temper I know you have.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ve been changing. In a lot of ways, you’ve mellowed out. You’ve settled into the role of second most powerful Andinna, and something in you has calmed. Then you did this today, and I think I liked the reminder you’re so dangerous.”

“How did you ever forget?”

“You didn’t get very angry with me about Bryn.” He sighed. “I thought you were going to gut me for knowing before you and not saying something. Mat and I came to blows before we headed your way over it. He was furious in your honor.”

“Who broke you up?”

“Alchan. He was pissed. Then we told you, and you questioned me but didn’t get as angry as Mat did. It was strange.” He chuckled dryly. “Then I see this today and…”

“It’s because I know you’re a friend. You and Alchan would never purposefully hurt me or my males because they’re your friends too. Plus…” She sighed deeply. “There’s nothing we can do. We either wait for him to make contact or come home. Or we get word that his body is somewhere…” She rubbed her face with her free hand. “Fyren isn’t a friend, though. She’s a threat until I determine she’s harmless or needs to be taken out. Or she fixes her damn attitude. I thought I made my point when we came back with Sen, but…” She shook her head in anger. “I guess I didn’t. She’s just found new things to insult or be angry about.”

“She’s mativa material. Allaina told Alchan and me during a meeting a few weeks ago. She’s naturally inclined to voice her opinion about the well-being of the Andinna she feels belong to her. She’s protective of the other females who were freed with her. We need to refocus that into what you need from her, and you need to earn her respect. Not her fear, but her respect.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“You have Allaina’s respect. And it’s not uncommon for mativa females and warrior females to have differences in opinion. It’s a different type of dominance, a different way of thinking. Generally, you two wouldn’t mix. Mativas keep a council and report to the royal family through it about civilian affairs. Warriors take positions in the army, letting their dominance and skill help them climb in rank. There’s a third social class, in a sense, when it comes to the priests and priestesses, but we only have one of those, and it’s Varon. He’s male so…”

“Yet all males are the same,” she mumbled.

“We are the uncomplicated sex.”

She narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. He smiled, and she took her chance to thump his stomach playfully.

“I was going to say you’re the simple sex,” she teased. “Simple as in eat, sleep, fuck, and incapable of higher thought.”

He stopped, looking obviously offended. She grinned, her mood growing lighter.

“What? Too close to the truth?” She released him and walked ahead. “I’m just saying, everything you guys do is only to feed those basic needs.”

“Eating and sleeping, I’ll agree with, but I don’t believe I’ve done anything about the third in a long time,” he retorted. She looked over her shoulder and paused at his gaze.

There was something hot and annoyed in his gold eyes.

“That sounds terrible,” she said plainly, unsure of how to proceed while he was staring at her like that. “Is there anyone you’re even interested in? I’m sure even with being half-Elvasi, you’re good looking enough to get their attention.”

“There’s someone.” He started walking again but didn’t offer his arm as he passed.

“Male or female?” She was curious now. Very rarely did she hear about this sort of personal thing from Luykas. There was a lot about his past, a lot about how he lived in the world, but she never heard anything about his feelings.

“Female,” he answered in a curt tone. They were now walking side-by-side but weren’t touching.

Alchan told me to fuck him, but Luykas has his eye on someone. I should tell his brother so there won’t be any more meddling.

She tried to ignore something gnawing at her. She had no business feeling it.

“Well, I hope it works out for you,” she said pragmatically. He raised an eyebrow and glanced her way. She shrugged in return. “You’re my friend, Luykas. You’ve done your best to make sure I have the ability to be happy. You’ve saved my life, we’ve fought side-by-side, and we share a bond. I’m allowed to wish you happiness.”

“You are,” he agreed softly. “Would you like my advice?”

“About?”

“You’ve been spending all of your time with these females. Literally, all of it. The only time anyone sees you is if they visit your training field or you come to a meeting, of which there are several and you have missed a few.”

She winced. She had been hoping her absence hadn’t been noticed for a few of those.

“You need to train you. You’re not working out your temper anymore, and that’s partly why you lashed out today. You know you could kill Fyren in less than ten heartbeats. You never used to let Andinna so much weaker than you bother you. You need to start staying on top of your own exercise. Something your pace, not theirs.”

“Does the Company still train?” she asked, sighing. “I don’t see anyone anymore.”

“After dinner, as the sun goes down. Nevyn, Kian, and Varon are always there in the clearing in front of Alchan’s home. They train with me, Alchan, and Rainev. Sometimes, Zayden shows up. The only two who haven’t are you and Matesh.”

“He’s busy with the basic training of—”

“Yes. Alchan and I have noticed he’s taken the brunt of that on himself like you have with the females. I’m of the mind you two are trying to work yourselves into an early grave so you can sleep easier at night since Bryn isn’t there.”

She winced again. Truer words hadn’t been said in a very long time.

“Come tonight. Drag Matesh along wit you. I’m going to make a rotating schedule. You’re not going to train those females every day, Mave. You’ll accidentally kill one of them, eventually. The same stands true of Matesh and the young males. Nevyn, Varon, and Kian can rotate in. So can I. Even Zayden—”

“Not Zayden. He’s doing too much for us as it is,” she said quickly. “And I still want lead on the females.”

“You’ll still have it. We’ll follow your training regimen and only make suggestions to you. We would never question your authority when it comes to them.” He smiled. “So? Are you going to come tonight and spar?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, smiling back. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Lunch?”

“Let’s go.” She waved a hand to the sky and watched him jump up. This time she followed quickly. They passed over the females, all of whom were still walking, and Mave ignored the gnawing, sick feeling in her chest.

I have no right to be jealous of her, whoever she is.

13

Brynec

Brynec silently sat in the small carriage as his captors drove him who knew where. He was only allowed out at night, and flying wasn’t a possibility. They had chained his ankles together, and landing with them chained could be fatal.

And he had an important mission to fulfill.

Who the hell were the Andinna who had captured him, and where did they come from?

He wished he could ignore all the conversations going on around him, but they gave him vital pieces of information. Every little detail mattered, and he needed to finish the picture in his mind of what was going on.

“Did he really say his last name was Lorren?” a male asked, sounding incredulous.

“Yup. There was no Brynec Lorren, and the Lorren family had no distant relatives. The chance he's truthful is slim.” The gruff leader hated him. Hated him the moment Bryn had told him his name. They didn’t even consider the possibility he had taken his female’s name.

No, they pretended like Maevana Lorren had never existed. They only ever spoke about Javor, her father the great General, at length. They mentioned Kelsiana Lorren, the female whose name they all had. She had been the original Lorren, and the rest came from her. Bryn knew a lot about her from Kian and Nevyn. They loved old war stories about the daring, brutal beauty who was considered one of the most tactically adept warriors of their people. There was also no forgetting Hertesh and Seanev.

They were right. If they ignored Mave’s existence completely, there really wasn’t a Brynec Lorren.

How can they forget about her? She was a famous babe. Royal decrees were made when she was born. Soldiers drank in celebration. How could they forget?

“We’ll get to the bottom of this soon enough,” someone said with a yawn. “Honestly, I’m tired of dragging his mute ass around. He hasn’t spoken in weeks.”

“Maybe we knocked the words out of him.”

“Or he’s smart enough not to try his lies with us,” the angry one snarled. “Be grateful for the silence. He’ll be screaming soon.”

Bryn tried to remain calm. Were they really thinking about torturing him?

Who in the Skies were they? Why did they capture him instead of talking to him? Where were they going?

It was later in the day when Bryn found some answers. Outside the carriage, he began to hear the chatter of females and the high pitched, excited yells of children. Males greeted their families with laughs.

A community. They had taken him back to a community of some sort. A good piece of information to have when he was finally able to escape and steal his things back. He wondered how the Company was taking his extended absence. His chest began to hurt, a feeling he was long accustomed to on this mission.

Mave. Ah, Skies, she’s probably upset. I wish I could tell her I’m alive. And Mat? I wonder if he’s holding it all together. I hope he’s helping her. I hope they’re okay.

The carriage didn’t stop moving, and buildings began to block the sunlight peeking in through the small windows. Bryn never looked out those windows because he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself. There were always Andinna watching the carriage in case he tried anything, so he had to remain as inactive as he could.

When the carriage finally pulled to a stop, he stiffened. This was it.

“How much meat did you bring home?” someone asked. There was no country accent to this one as there was with every other Andinna he had heard so far.

“Not much. You’re going to need to send another party out. We’ve got a prisoner.”

“Elvasi?”

“No. Andinna. Get this. Says his name is Brynec Lorren.”

The chatter stopped around the carriage.

“Get him out and let me have a look at him,” the accentless Andinna ordered.

The back doors of the carriage were unlocked and pulled open. Bryn stood up on weak legs, fighting to keep his chained ankles untangled. The one who hated him reached in and grabbed the chain and yanked. Bryn fell back and was dragged out on his back and wings. He landed on his tail wrong, cursing as pain coursed through him.

“Explain who you are,” someone snapped.

“There’s one Lorren left,” he said, trying to control his breathing so he could control his reaction to the pain. “Her name is Maevana Lorren. Freed last year from the Empire and mah wife. Took her name.”

The silence around him was uncomfortable.

“She’s alive?” someone asked softly. “She was a child…”

“How do you know she’s who she claims to be?” The obvious leader sounded dangerously close to killing him. “How do you know she’s not an imposter?”

“Her name was used against her for a thousand years of slavery. Kind of hard to live down her reputation. A lot of slave Andinna blame her for the way the War ended,” he explained. He didn’t try to find the one who was questioning him. He just answered. If he answered, he wasn’t going to be tortured.

And his picture of what was going on was becoming clearer.

“That’s all?” Someone snorted in derision.

“Alchan and Luykas Andini confirmed her identity. She has her father’s eyes. They say she’s the only one who ever inherited them.”

“Alchan and Luykas Andini? You know them?” Someone reached down and grabbed Bryn by the hair, yanking up. He was met by a surprised yet pissed face. Black tatua framed blood ruby red eyes.

“I’m a member of the Ivory Shadows Mercenary Company, which they are the commanders of. I think the real question is why free Andinna would ever treat another Andinna this way,” Bryn said, pushing his luck now that he had finally seen the leader’s face.

He was released, landing on his back again with a groan, He was stiff and sore, and the treatment wasn’t pleasant. He hadn’t been tossed around like this since he was a slave.

“Damn it,” the leader whispered. “Someone clean him up. It looks like he and I need to have a long discussion.”

“He could be lying!” the hateful shit said. “He could be a slave-spy from the Empire. They’ve been trying to find out how to stop us for a thousand years!”

“No, they’ve been trying to stop the Ivory Shadow Mercenary Company for a thousand years,” the leader said in an annoyed whisper. “Clean him up. For fuck’s sake, feed him, clothe him in something better, and get him his things back.”

“He has a book! He was making reports to someone with blood magic!”

“Give it to me, then. I’m well versed in how to use and read them.” A snap of his fingers and everyone started moving around Bryn. He was pulled off the ground and led into a building.

He had a picture now.

The Company never worked in Anden, but the Elvasi had a hard time settling the land. A group of free Andinna were still hiding in their homeland and defending their livelihood. They never left for Olost and never let the Empire catch them.

Alchan and Luykas had no idea they were even there. None of the Company had any idea they were there. No free Andinna in Olost and no slave Andinna in the Empire knew about this secret society of Andinna.

Survivors. Bryn was in a group of Andinna where the war for their home had never really ended. They were survivors of a thousand-year war.

Alchan is never goin’ to believe me.

He was pushed into a small room with a tub. He rinsed off weeks of dirt and sweat and dodged a pile of clothes that was thrown in later. He dressed fast. He didn’t run or try to escape…not yet. He needed to know more, and the leader had invited him to a conversation.

When he was done, he tentatively knocked on the door. It swung open and revealed the hateful piece of shit.

“Follow me. And just remember, I’m fucking watching you.”

Bryn nodded and gestured for the male to lead the way. He was in a wooden Andinna home, which meant he wasn’t close to the mountains anymore. They went to a flight of stairs, and the male pushed him into a room.

The leader was at a desk with a chair for visitors. Bryn went to the seat and grabbed the back of it. He wanted to sit and relax for a moment but knew a more dominant male when he saw one. He wasn’t willing to tangle with the leader of an Andinna community in his own home.

“You may sit.”

Bryn fell into the seat, still watching the ruby-eyed male.

“Why are you here, Brynec Lorren?”

“I was sent on a scouting mission by King Alchan Andini to survey Anden after his long absence. We thought the Elvasi had colonized it well enough that we would need to decide on the best strategic places to attack.”

“Why does he want that information?”

“We’re currently living in the Dragon Spine and laying the groundwork for a major rebellion against the Empire to release the Andinna from Elvasi control.”

The leader’s eyes narrowed. “Forgive me, but I don’t have spies or sources outside of my community, and what we learn on our patrols, most of our information comes from Elvasi soldiers who probably don’t know what they're talking about. Are you saying Alchan is attempting to start a rebellion?”

“Not attempting. It’s already started, at least on our end.”

“Why?”

“We picked a fight with Empress Shadra that can only be won or lost. There won’t be any surviving Andinna by the time she gets what she wants. At least no free surviving Andinna.”

“And that fight was?”

“Freeing Maevana Lorren from her grasp,” Bryn answered, his heart pounding. “Empress Shadra kept her as a personal slave for a thousand years as a trophy of her victory over the Andinna. When she captured two of the Ivory Shadow mercenaries, we took the chance to free all three of them. Our members and the Champion of the Colosseum.”

“The…Champion?” The leader was breathing harder now, shocked. Bryn knew the look of a man who just had his world turned upside down. “She was a gladiator?”

“For over nine hundred years of her captivity. She wasn’t just a gladiator. She was the best. Now, she’s the King’s Champion and afforded the respect of the position.”

“And you’re her husband.”

“One of them.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“No. I was barely an adult when the war ended, and in all of my youthful nature, I never paid attention to things of importance, like who was who.”

The leader nodded slowly, considering something. He was deep in thought to the point Bryn knew he could kill the male if he had a dagger on him. A sneak attack while the male’s guard was completely down. After his treatment so far, he wondered if such an action would be necessary.

“I need better spies,” the leader mumbled. “This book. Alchan has a Blackblood powerful enough to manage these?”

“An old expert on blood magic. Used to be a soldier, but as he aged, he practiced the old spy techniques and took over as spymaster when the War was lost.” He didn’t out Leshaun’s name because of that. The spy master’s name was something Bryn was willing to die with.

“How is Alchan handling leadership?”

“Why the twenty questions? You know my mission, and I would like to report to them and head home. As it stands, our target will be Kerit and far away from you.” Bryn was once again pushing his luck to try to get more information. The more he had to answer, the more he realized this male, and this community, knew very little about what was going on in the outside world. It was probably how they stayed alive for so long, staying uninvolved and only protecting themselves.

Bryn resisted the urge to call them cowards. Andinna were dying, and they were living a normal life, hiding from the Empire.

“I’m curious. It’s been a long time since I heard those names from an Andinna who knew or knows them,” he answered softly. “A very long time.”

“You know about the Ivory Shadows,” Bryn reminded him.

“Yes. We heard the name used a lot and decided to co-opt it. If we could blame our activities on them, the Elvasi wouldn’t look much deeper at what was really cutting off their chances to further colonize Anden. We needed to defend our homes, and it seemed you mercenaries were more than willing to pick fights with the Empire in the open.” The Andinna flipped through the book, nodding as he saw Bryn’s reports. Luckily, it was a fresh book, made just for this mission, and there was nothing sensitive in it from other spies. Bryn was willing to give up his mission, but no one else’s.

They sat in silence while the leader read, slowly turning the pages as he continued.

“Idiot. He was always brash and bold,” the leader mumbled. “He probably doesn’t have the numbers for what he’s planning, and his fucking brother is going to back him up right to their destruction.”

Bryn stiffened. He was talking about Alchan and Luykas.

“You know ‘em?” Bryn couldn’t stop the question from rolling off his tongue.

“I knew them once. A long time ago,” the male answered. “You haven’t asked for my name, Brynec Lorren.”

“I figured you would introduce yourself when it suited you.” He hadn’t wanted to try for any of their identities because that was information some were willing to kill for…or die for. He didn’t know if this community would consider it a risk if the name of their leader got out, or what their reaction would be if he was found trying to learn it.

“Considerate of you. Interesting…” He smirked. “My father never liked your type. Spies. You have spy and assassin written all over you, which is probably why you were given the mission you have. He didn’t hate your type, but he left them for others to deal with. He would have hated your accent, though. You speak with an accent not typical of our people. I hear sailors with better speech than you.”

“I was a gladiator in Myrsten while a slave of the Empire. Spent six hundred years there, and the accents of the sailors and dock workers rubbed off on me.” He had no reason to talk about the other part. He was those things. He was the rogue, the dangerous one of the Company, who was completely okay with stabbing someone in the back before they even knew he was there.

“You have no shame,” the leader whispered.

“I am who I am because survival demanded it,” Bryn said with a soft growl.

“I mention my father because he would have never wanted his daughter to end up with a male like you.”

Bryn sucked in a harsh breath as that statement worked its way through his mind.

“Do you know who I am?” the leader asked again.

“You’re either Seanev or Hertesh Lorren. Which makes you my brother-in-law.”

“Seanev,” he confirmed, smiling. “Seanev Tynias, actually. I married eight hundred years ago and dropped the Lorren last name.”

“There’re no Lorrens left,” Bryn whispered. Now he knew why the reaction to the last name was so violent.

The free Andinna were hiding one of them, and he was their leader. Like his father before him, he rose to a position of power.

“Well, I guess there’s at least one now,” Seanev said. “Get up. We’ll eat in the dining room, and you can tell me more about what I’ve missed going on outside my little domain. I have a feeling it’s only going to get more interesting, brother.”

14

Luykas

Luykas was the first to arrive that night for Company training, finding Alchan and Rainev sitting on a wooden bench they pulled out for just the occasion.

“Good evening!” he called as he landed. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Alchan answered. “Still don’t know what we’re going to do, but today I didn’t feel like I was going to kill someone.”

“He just had me yell at people while he stayed home,” Rain explained. “He needed the day away from everyone.”

“That’s good. So, you didn’t hear anything?”

“Hear anything about what?” Alchan asked, growling.

“Mave was a hair’s width away from killing one of the females. That little fucking potential mativa.”

“Skies damn it,” Alchan mumbled, covering his face. “What am I going to do with her?”

“Mave or Fyren?” Luykas innocently asked, sitting next to his brother.

“Both of them,” he muttered. “Mave is good, but I don’t think she’s thriving as the lead combat trainer for the females. Fyren needs training as a mativa, but I don’t think she’s earned it yet. What caused it?”

“Mave had to remind her that she was in charge of training. Fyren made some choice, maybe treasonous, comments about you, her, and me.” Luykas shrugged. “The same things some of the males say.”

“I really need to get them to cut the shit, but I’m not sure how. I figured freeing them would make them loyal to me. It never failed before. I didn’t consider the amount of attitude we’ve been getting from the younger ones.”

“You can let me at them as I’ve said before,” Rain suggested. “I’m younger and better than most of them.”

“I’m still considering that option,” Alchan deflected, making Luykas raise an eyebrow.

He stopped caring about Alchan once he felt Mave draw closer. He looked up to the sky, his heart deciding to go a little faster. Their conversation on the path had taken an uncomfortable turn for him. He was always so careful not to tell her much about his feelings or address his maleness with her, but she had finally let go of the anger for a minute, and her smile was something to behold. She had teased him, damn it. Teased him. It was unfair to feel the way he did and have no options to correct it or address it. He would scare her off with just the admission, then there was the secret of his parentage.

Fall in love, his mother had asked of him. That was her only wish for him before she eventually killed him.

Women. I fucking hate them. Why can’t I be more like Alchan or Rainev? Alchan will fuck anyone who lets him in their bed and is willing to ignore his title. Rain likes males. Both of those seem easier.

When she came into sight, the idea of hating her fled his mind. She landed in front of them, Mat close behind her. Both seemed a little uncomfortable, as if they weren’t sure they were welcome anymore among the Company.

“I was wondering if you two would ever catch wind that we were having training for the Company,” Alchan commented. “Who told you?”

“Luykas,” Mave answered. “Why didn’t you get onto us sooner?”

“I feel bad about Bryn and didn’t want to bother you more. I’ve already upset your lives more than enough for a lifetime,” Alchan admitted. “So, I decided to let you avoid us for as long as you needed to.”

“We weren’t avoiding anyone,” Mat grumbled. “You could have just told us.”

Luykas chuckled, looking at his brother, who seemed defeated by the words. His poor brother, who tried so hard to care, yet be separate. He was running out of the ability to have both.

“Fine. You’re here. You can help Luykas set up the table.” Alchan leaned back, and Luykas could see the idiot was trying not to smile.

“Asshole,” he told his brother. “I hate setting up the damn table.”

“Go. Rain, you can stay seated. You deserve the evening off.”

Mave and Mat were both confused, so Luykas grabbed Mave, knowing Mat would follow her, and took them to the small shed they had set up on the side of the clearing.

“Nevyn and Varon threw this up over a week ago in their free time. We’ve got both steel and wood, but we start the evenings out with wood to work the edge off. We’ve been practicing a variety of different weapons, our weakest generally. I’ve been using an axe this last week. Rain was trying a spear the other night.”

“Did we steal all of this from the Elvasi?” Mave asked as they walked into the shed.

“Yeah, and Zayden carved the wooden weapons.”

“He has too much time on his hands,” Mat mumbled.

“No, he’s just not overworking himself the way you two are.”

He chuckled as they both glared at him. They were becoming more alike all the time, the way many couples ended up. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or if it scared him. In the end, it just was.

They set up quickly, and just as the sun was going down, the rest of the Company showed up.

“Look who it is!” Nevyn laughed and ran for Mave. Kian joined. Smartly, the female of their merry band jumped into the air. The males didn’t fly after her, and Luykas tried not to get excited as she landed next to him. He tried to maintain his cool after nearly admitting to his feelings earlier.

He wasn’t even sure where they came from, looking back. It started with a sense of duty—to her father, to her mother, to her brothers, people he had known. And to her, for surviving for so long under the worst of circumstances. Even then, they hadn’t gotten along. He’d overstepped his bounds more than once within the first couple of days, thinking he was helping her. Between the blood bond and their general lack of understanding each other, it seemed impossible he would ever develop feelings beyond a general sexual attraction.

And there was definitely a sexual attraction. A dominant female strong enough to bring him to attention, even if he resisted it. Luykas could stare her down. He could fight it, but it still made him a bit hard to have her growl and force him to look away a lot of the time.

She was beautiful, too. Scars weren’t considered unattractive to Andinna, and for a long time, Luykas didn’t think he would ever get over his Elvasi side to find them ignorable or attractive. Then he met her—with her steel-blue eyes, raised chin, and a body he would die to hold for a minute—and the scars disappeared to him.

Then there was this friend thing. Nevyn and Varon had done the right thing, forcing them to acknowledge and work with the bond. Luykas was able to draw closer to her, and they were closing the gap that had been caused in their first impressions of each other. He wanted more. He wanted nothing between them. He wanted to feel her skin on his, wanted to trace each scar with his tongue, and wanted to feel her reaction to his body in hers.

As Alchan called everyone to start training, Mave started walking off, talking about something. Luykas could only watch.

He wanted it all, and he was being eaten alive by the fact he couldn’t have any of it.

In the end, it was best if he just began bloodletting to try to destroy the blood bond sooner rather than later.

She’ll never have me. Not once she finds out I’m the son of her greatest enemy. Of her most dedicated torturer. My mother destroyed her life completely. How could I ever ask her to consider me when I can never repair what was done to her?

He felt like he was rotten from the core. It didn’t matter how good of a face he put on or how helpful he tried to be. Like every new slave instinctively knew, Mave would one day understand he was rotten. It took Shadra’s little astral visit to remind him of something he had tried for centuries to bury.

“Luykas!” Alchan called. “Are you going to join in or sit over there and think all night?”

He looked up from the dirt and sighed. “What are we doing?”

“Pairs. Rainev and me versus Matesh and Zayden. Then you and Mave against them.” He nodded at Nevyn and Varon.

“We’re leaving poor Kian out?” He frowned.

“Senri’s coming later to join us. We’ll be cycling through with the non-bonded pairs.” Kian seemed unperturbed.

Luykas nodded slowly and moved off the main clearing so his brother and Rain could get into position. Mave ended up next to him again, and he wondered if she would ever reach for his tail, if she would ever try to figure out where his mind went when he wasn’t connected to her. He had grown very good at the self-control needed to protect both of them from his feelings when he was prepared to touch her. He knew she would figure it out if she accidentally touched him and he wasn’t prepared. Luckily, that rarely happened and never happened when he was thinking about her in a romantic light.

Part of him wanted to slip up and let it out. Part of him wanted to crush it and let it die so that it wouldn’t plague him.

“How have you been sleeping?” he asked softly. Anything to get his mind off his tangled problem.

“I work until I can’t stay awake any longer, and my body refuses to move. Then I fuck Matesh for good measure. I’ve been sleeping fine.”

Lucky Matesh.

“You know I’m always around to listen when you get…worrisome dreams,” he reminded her.

“I know. I just haven’t had any in a couple of weeks. They aren’t that frequent.”

He wished he knew what she dreamed about. What did she want for her future? Since they freed her, it had been fighting and the Company, but she took no active role in the village beyond that. Would she always stand by Alchan’s side and fight for him as her king? Would that satisfy her for the rest of her life? Or maybe she would want a hobby. He noticed she was becoming proficient with the flute, but being a musician didn’t fit her. Or maybe it did. That’s what he wanted to know.

And he desperately wanted to know what sort of nightmares would wake the strongest Andinna he’d ever met in a panic that shocked him to the bone every time he felt it, strong enough to send him running to her side.

“When did Rain and Alchan beginning sparring against others?” she asked, catching him off guard. He focused on the fight starting in front of him and shrugged.

“A couple of weeks ago? Alchan decided Rain’s training needed to change. Since they’re always together, it would make sense for them to learn to fight together in tight quarters against their enemies.”

“Ah.” She seemed interested, her curiosity piqued as Rain ducked under Alchan’s arm and spun around the king as the big male swung to attack Matesh. Zayden went around to get Rain, who was too fast for him to catch. It was a dance, and the odd pair was setting the pace. Alchan and Rain, in a very strange way, meshed well on the battlefield, apparent to everyone who watched. Alchan stepped in and kicked back Zayden as Rain went for a vulnerable spot on Matesh, nailing a hit in the chaos of the larger males. Mat nearly dropped his wooden training sword but continued on. Rain stumbled on uneven terrain, probably a gopher hole in the clearing, and Matesh went for a blow that would take the young male out of the fight.

In the blink of an eye, Alchan was blocking Mat before the wooden sword could come down on Rain’s back. Zayden tried to get Alchan from behind, but Rain was able to regain himself and reengage his father before anything more could happen.

Alchan, isn’t Rain supposed to protect you?

Luykas narrowed his eyes as he watched how they defended each other equally, constantly moving around each other. Matesh and Zayden were never able to find a real opening, but Rain and Alchan were able to get easy blows as the other males floundered, trying to find a way in.

“He’s gotten good,” she said softly.

“Rain? He has. He’s flourished under Alchan’s tutelage.” There was no denying the leaps and bounds the young male’s sword work had come.

“He was getting good with me, but I think Alchan trains better than me. He knows technique where I just…”

“Kill things. You just kill things.” Luykas chuckled. “And that’s okay.”

She shrugged. “Nevyn remains a challenge to beat.”

He nearly laughed at that, remembering the last time those two had a real sparring session on the ship to Ellantia. She nearly killed the hardened warrior, who was considered by many a prodigy when it came to war from an early age. He was also quick to remind himself the reason she had nearly killed Nevyn was because the warrior had taken a bit of a cheap shot, not knowing how enraged it would make her. It had been a learning experience for everyone on the ship. Never kick Mave, especially not in the face or while she was down. She would tip over the delicate line they all knew she held and fall into her past.

Her resilience to the trauma she had suffered was another reason he’d fallen for her. That line she drew between then and now was delicate but persistent. Very little pushed her over it, and other warriors had fallen going through less.

Rain and Alchan came out on top, and Luykas glanced down at her, smiling.

“You ready?”

“Are you?” She grinned in return. Luykas took a bit of pride that she fought so closely with him. It was only because of their bond, but she’d willingly paired with him over Matesh or Bryn when it came to fighting. Not that she didn’t watch their backs when it came down to it, but he held a special place, and he knew it.

He tried not to give away to Matesh that it meant so much to him. The male had meddled with Bryn and Mave, but then so had Nevyn and Varon. He didn’t want to be meddled with, and he didn’t want to upset her mayara.

Steeling himself and shoving down his feelings for her, he hooked his tail with hers as they caught swords thrown their way. Mave spun the two she received in her hands, stepping ahead of him. He angled, so his eyes could remain on Nevyn and Varon even though he was in the back. Varon took the back role for Nevyn, which was necessary. Nevyn and Mave were the best in close combat. Varon was an archer at heart, and Luykas could rely on his magic. He had some secret tricks he wanted to try tonight as well. He’d been digging into more sorcery, practicing things he’d let fall to the wayside when he’d moved to Anden.

“Begin!” Alchan roared.

Luykas cut his palm and whispered a word in the ancient tongue of magic. The blood in his hand turned black as he stole power, and heat began to accumulate in his palm. Mave and Nevyn clashed, and Luykas kept his eyes on Varon, wondering what the male had planned.

With the new energy he had, he pushed some into Mave, giving her a boost she used well. Then he whispered a second word, completing his initial spell. A fireball erupted in his palm, and he grinned as he prepared the throw.

Varon was glaring at him and drew his sword. As he rushed forward, Luykas lobbed the fire at his feet. Nevyn snarled and shoved Mave back, who stumbled but didn’t fall. She was good enough to pull her tail from his, use it to hold her up, and get back her balance. She blocked Nevyn’s charge with one sword and threw her second, hitting Varon in the chest. It was hard enough to send the mute priest off his feet and into the dirt.

“All right, you two fucking dirty cheaters!” Nevyn snapped. “What the Skies?”

“Do whatever it takes to win, right?” Mave said innocently before looking over her shoulder at him with a grin. Luykas lived for that grin. It was wild and dangerous, looking for trouble. He almost never saw it, but it was a part of Mave that never had the chance to flourish. He wanted her to have more moments where it could come out and play.

“Blood magic and sorcery. Alchan, we can’t spar against these two if they’re going to do that. Varon and I don’t have those skills. We’re outclassed once magic is involved.” Nevyn sighed.

“I can’t ban them from using it. We need everything we have.” Alchan sounded a little sorry. “Let’s break the pairs up. Nevyn, since Luykas is the prolific magic user, you and Mave can continue to beat each other up. Luykas, you’re going to spar with me. Varon, see if anyone wants archery training. Everyone else, split off and figure out what you want to do.”

Luykas sighed as his brother stomped over to him, grabbing a wooden axe as he came. Luykas shifted into a defensive stance as it was clear his brother wasn’t going to call time. They were just going to fight.

“You can’t piss off Nevyn and Varon,” Alchan growled. “I need them.”

“Didn’t mean to piss them off. Just wanted to show off something I have been working on.” Luykas barely brought his sword up in time to stop Alchan’s first swing.

They were both fast, but Luykas was generally a little quicker, a touch less bulky than his brother. Today, he realized his brother was working on closing that gap. Alchan spared him no moment to stop, to breathe, as he barraged Luykas with an endless assault. Luykas realized he was going to lose if he didn’t work a lot harder.

They clashed, the fight going on longer than any Luykas and Alchan had ever had. He knew his brother was teaching him a lesson—something about not kicking the shit out of friends during training.

They were both panting as Leshaun landed in the clearing. Neither of them paused a fraction, but Luykas knew his brother saw the old male just as well as he did. Being observant of their surroundings was an important lesson they learned as royals during the War.

“Alchan, I’m sorry to interrupt, but the matter is urgent,” Leshaun said boldly, loud enough for them well across the clearing.

They stopped together, Alchan’s eyes finding the old male over Luykas’ shoulder. He turned to see the spy master as well, but silence engulfed the clearing. No one wanted to ask what Leshaun’s news pertained to.

“It’s not about Brynec,” the old male whispered. “I’m sorry, we still haven’t heard from him. This is about…” Leshaun trailed off, looking around the clearing. “This is about Elliar.”

“What did that bitch do?” Luykas snapped immediately. Alchan growled softly behind him, not because of the news, but as a warning to him.

“Pertaining?” Alchan asked once Luykas stepped aside, hoping his brother could see he hadn’t meant to be harsh with the old male.

They both liked Leshaun. When they were wayward and lost right at the end of the war, devoid of their families and support system, Leshaun had stepped up in his own way. He would never be General Lorren, but he was caring and had raised boys for centuries. He allowed the brothers to lead but also sat down with them when they needed it—more so for Luykas than with Alchan.

“I need to speak to…” Leshaun looked around. “Well, I can speak to everyone about this, but privately. We need a secure location.”

“Come inside,” Alchan ordered. Luykas watched his brother march toward his home. “That’s for everyone. Training is over.”

Luykas sighed, his eyes searching out Mave. Of course, the first night she was at training, it was interrupted. It was interrupted every so often, so it wasn’t unusual, but Luykas didn’t like how it had to be her first night. He had wanted her here to work out the underlying rage and anxiety she had, and now she wasn’t going to get that.

Everyone shuffled inside, leaving behind wooden weapons to clean up later. The rebellion came first. It was cramped inside Alchan and Rain’s home, but they managed to squeeze in, wings pulled tight. It wasn’t as roomy as Alchan’s old home in Olost, but it would get there once they had the manpower to expand it. There was no excuse for Alchan not to have the space for his Guard.

“Rainev, will you begin drinks for everyone? Would someone help him?”

Luykas opened his mouth, but Varon was already moving across the room, entering the kitchen before even Rain could. Luykas settled into a chair, realizing he wasn’t needed. Those two could manage everything.

“Can he and Varon hear us from in there?” Leshaun asked, holding one of those damned leather-bound books Luykas knew held secrets from the last ten centuries. Everything they planned, there was information about it in one of those books.

“Yes,” Alchan answered shortly. “Tell us what you have.”

“We’ve long known that there have been groups of humans and Elvasi who have wanted the freedom of the Andinna. From Elliar and Myrsten to Ellantia. Now, we try not to rely on them, but I’ve kept in contact with their longer-lived leaders to keep up with their movements and in case we can work together. Like we did to rescue Matesh and Rainev from the capital and ended up freeing Mave.” Leshaun looked centuries older at that moment than he actually was. Luykas frowned.

What’s bothering the old male so much?

“And we’re hoping to lean heavily on them as the rebellion grows in strength,” Alchan confirmed. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Well, the Elliar group had been particularly talkative with me recently. They’ve been planning something but haven’t wanted to say anything when it was too soon for them to know if it could work.” Leshaun flipped the book open. “I grew attached to one of their members while working to rescue our young males…an Elvasi guard. He had a good heart, strong moral principles, and a guilty conscience that could be exploited a bit. His name was Trevan, a name I hope everyone in this room recognizes.”

There was no ignoring the feminine gasp from the back of the room. Luykas looked over his shoulder to see Mave, her eyes wide.

“Auburn hair,” she whispered. “Pale gold eyes. Tall for his people.”

“You remember him,” Leshaun commented.

Luykas resisted feeling jealous of this pure blood Elvasi as Mave whispered his name.

“Trevan.” She rubbed her face. “He was the only one…I thought he died that night.”

“So did we, until now,” Leshaun said gently.

Luykas spun back around, inhaling sharply.

“He’s not dead?” Incredulous, he stood up. “He was captured after helping one of the most daring escapes of the three most prized Andinna in the city, and he’s not dead?”

“Would you rather he be?” Alchan asked him. Luykas shook his head.

“No, it just doesn’t make any sense. He committed treason against the Empire.” Why didn’t my mother kill him to set an example?

“You’re right,” Leshaun agreed.

“So, why is this important?” Nevyn asked from his seat. Rain and Varon came back into the room with cool drinks for everyone, and Varon took his from his lover. Rain served Alchan first, then Luykas, who couldn’t focus on the young male enough to say thank you.

“They’re planning on rescuing him. He sacrificed a lot to free our people, and they feel they can’t move forward without at least helping him, especially thanks to his current situation.”

“What did she do to him?” Mave asked.

“She…” Leshaun sighed. The pale green eyes of the old male told so many stories. This particular one was despair. “Maevana Lorren. He freed you. What do you think she did to him?”

Luykas had the same realization settling in his gut as everyone

“No,” she whispered. “No, she couldn’t have…”

“She threw him into the pits to fight as a gladiator,” Leshaun confirmed. “He’s been in the pits, fighting for his life on a regular basis since last summer.”

“We left him.” Mave sounded so far away as if she was reliving that night. “Chased by soldiers through alleys we didn’t fit well in. They were going to catch up. He stopped and said he would hold them off for as long as he could. Until that moment, I never knew his name. I saw him so often at the gate, guarding the private rooms, but he had just been another guard. All I asked was for his name. Then we left him.”

“Trevan has always been an honorable man,” Leshaun said to the room. “He knew what he was getting into before the night started. Something about your story, Mave, moved him. He was a member of a pro-Andinna organization for centuries, choosing to be in the pits to watch out. For a very long time, it was considered too dangerous for us to work with the group in Elliar, and they knew that, understood it. When Matesh and Rainev were taken and transported to Elliar, we decided to take the risk. Trevan was the one in the pits and became my lead contact. I had all the false documents I needed to wander the city as a slave when I needed to speak to him directly.”

“We don’t need the history lesson on the mission that kicked off the last year of nightmares,” Alchan said with a sharpness that made Luykas wince. “What are they doing?”

“They’re going to free him and a mutt he’s allied with. Very obviously half-Elvasi like Luykas, but in a different way.”

“What kind of different?” Luykas asked quickly.

“His parents had been married before the War. They’ve dug into him, trying to figure out why Trevan cared about him. He was born after his Elvasi father found and bought his Andinna wife at a slave auction to protect her.”

“That’s heartbreaking,” Kian mumbled. Luykas nodded. It was, and there were other stories of it. Not every Elvasi hated Andinna, and not every Andinna saw the Elvasi as only the enemy.

Luykas was still stumbling over something.

Was his mother really so cruel as to throw an Elvasi into the pits with a bunch of warriors who would kill him the moment they had the chance?

15

Mave

We left him.

The words rang through Mave’s mind, refusing to stop.

We left him.

She didn’t know why it mattered. People were lost during battles all the time.

Why did this Elvasi seem to haunt her?

Was it because he was the only one who ever showed her she mattered in some way? Was it because he had been willing to die for her freedom? They had never exchanged words before that night. The only time she really remembered him doing anything for her was when he let Mat and Rain help her after a bad night, even when she told him she didn’t want company. That night, she realized how much Mat and Rain genuinely cared for her. She hadn’t given the guard a second passing thought until she saw him during the escape.

We left him.

Her mind replayed the night over and over, stopping where she learned his name and left him in the alley. Eventually, it began to go on longer, walking her through the night that flipped her world upside down and gave her the first real hope for freedom. She had to fight for it, but she could finally taste it that night.

So much had changed since then. Over a year had gone by.

She wanted to weep as her mind wandered and remembered another important person from that night, for so long before. She covered her face, hoping to hide her regret and guilt that he hadn’t made it out with her.

They had given her everything, and she was so wrapped up freeing Andinna, she hadn’t thought about them since Olost.

How could she dishonor them like this?

“What about Dave?” she asked the room. She hadn’t been listening to the conversation. She didn’t know what the males around her were planning, and part of her didn’t care. She just wanted to know what happened to her human.

For centuries, the human servants who were sent to handle her had been her only companionship. She watched them come in with young, fresh faces and tried to close her heart to them. She watched them grow old and mourned silently, glad she hadn’t gotten too close. Only once did she let one truly be her friend, and it had broken her heart. Dave hadn’t needed her friendship to break her heart in the end. He just had to give her freedom.

“Dave?” someone asked softly.

“The human servant,” Matesh explained. “His entire job was centered around handling her.”

“Ah, yes. Forgive me for not also giving you an update on him. I have some recent information on him…” Leshaun flipped through his book. “He’s been secure and hiding from those who want him captured since your escape. Luckily, we have an Elvasi noble in Elliar who is for our cause, and she took him in the moment she knew he was wanted. He’s been helping plan the breakout for Trevan and Emerian.”

“Make sure he gets out of Elliar,” she said, wrapping her arms around her core. “Make sure he gets out too.”

“I’ll do my best,” Leshaun promised. “It’ll be challenging. Alchan, are you sure you want me to tell them to try to free every gladiator? The risks involved…”

Mave’s head snapped up, and her focus sharpened. “What?”

“Have you missed everything?” Nevyn walked over and put the back of his hand to her head. “No fever—”

“I’m not sick.” She slapped the hand away, snarling. “Why the hell would we make freeing those fucking monsters a priority? Eventually, yes, but first?”

“Because it could be our only chance,” Alchan answered. “If we don’t free them now, Shadra could easily realize what sort of threat they pose. An angry, deadly group of males living beneath her very city? She would have them exterminated if she thought they could rise up. Right now, she probably thinks she has them under control, and her security measures can’t fail. We need to get them out before it’s too late.”

“But—”

“We need the warriors, Mave,” Luykas said, cutting her off. “And for all their problems, they’re warriors. Maybe with freedom and real control coming from something they understand, they’ll adjust their attitudes and wipe away the disgrace they’ve placed on themselves.”

“And if they committed crimes against any of you, they’ll answer to their king,” Alchan added.

Mave narrowed her eyes on him. He knew something. She saw Rain slink back out of the room from the corner of her eye. She turned to see Rain staring back at her from the kitchen, alone. He nodded slowly. When she looked back at Alchan, the king raised his chin in the Andinna way of asking, ‘do you dare challenge me?’

“I won’t take bullies, abusers, or rapists into my army. Now, there are so many of them, there’s a chance some just lashed out in anger with words and snide comments. Those will have the chance to apologize because, under the circumstances, everyone was pushed to their limits, and they might regret those words. Any that brutalized you, Matesh, or Rainev will be given no such option. They’ll be handled.”

“Why not just leave them in Elliar?” she asked, rage making her words thick.

“Because I want to kill them,” he explained, baring his teeth. “Long have I heard the tales from the three of you about what happened down there. King’s Justice demands I free them because they’re my people and kill them myself, for the same reason.” He tilted his head a little, just a touch, enough to let her know he was considering something. “You can help, Champion, if it’ll put your mind and heart at ease with the plan.”

She grinned in reply. “Then fine. Bring them here. If they harm Dave or Trevan during the escape, they’ll die for it. Is that clear?”

“Of course.” Alchan raised his drink, taking a sip. “Here’s to getting warriors. And killing those who have done too much damage to live on this plane any longer. May they find justice among the gods when we’re through with them.”

Mave nodded and began to walk out. “I’ll let you all figure this out. Matesh, please let me know what’s decided later.” He nodded, and she could see understanding in his eyes. He was fine with her deciding to go. He probably knew what was troubling her. He had been there to witness her old life.

“Aw, you aren’t going to stick around for the one problem this entire idea has going for it?” Nevyn said. Kian began to chuckle.

“I’m not stupid,” she said blandly. “Taking Kerit. We have nowhere to receive them if they get free and get on a ship to get this far north. There’s no way they can safely walk the entire Empire, not with the number of gladiators in Elliar.”

“Do you know their numbers?” Leshaun sounded hopeful. She sighed.

“Roughly. There’s generally about two hundred in the pits at any given time. Between the rest in the city, different private owners, and some just outside the city, you’re looking at close to six or seven hundred Andinna gladiators. Even more in general slaves, probably triple.” She shrugged as everyone stared at her with wide eyes. “These numbers used to get tossed around in front of me. I was the Champion. I was the best of all of them. It’s a big deal when you’re the best out of hundreds, not just the best of a dozen.”

She continued walking out, not wanting any more talk of gladiators and Elliar. Guilt weighed heavily on her as she considered how she left Trevan and Dave there. Dave, hiding from enemies he had no chance of defeating. Trevan, thrown into the very hell he rescued her from, a hell he once had some power in.

Their lives were ruined, thanks to her.

The cool night air burned her lungs in a good way, a bit painful and a small punishment. She left them. She was given only a handful of allies in her life, and she left two of them to Shadra—one directly under her thumb and another running from her wrath.

She left them.

The guilt would kill her long before a battle did. She had never felt so terrible about her actions against another.

She walked to the trail and headed toward the village. She could have flown, could have gone faster, but something about experiencing the freedom of flying while knowing those two were left in captivity put a bad taste in her mouth. She would walk, as she did for centuries, to clear her mind, and hopefully rid herself of the terrible guilt.

It wasn’t so late in the valley that the village wasn’t bustling with activity. As she entered on the small trail from Alchan’s home, she saw males running around, still working on the variety of side projects that needed to be done. The second communal barracks was done, meaning everyone was officially sleeping indoors, even if the quarters were cramped. There was already talk of a third barracks, and Mave wondered if it would get done soon or if it would wait until spring. Not that it was something on her plate of responsibilities, which she was thankful for. She didn’t know a damn thing about managing people, and it wasn’t on her list of things to learn.

For the most part, the Andinna running around the village ignored her. For centuries, her presence had turned heads. Even when she was free, the free Andinna in Olost had only known the legends surrounding her. She had been a killer, the very best of her kind. Gladiators were meant to turn killing into a sport, and while many were good at winning the crowds, she had only gotten good at killing as a means to an end. Surviving had always been her number one priority. It had made her brutal on the sands in a way none of the others ever achieved.

But these Andinna ignored her. There was something oddly comforting about it. She was just one of many, just for a moment. They were all too busy with what they were doing to pay her any mind. None of them stopped and saluted. None of them whispered about her, glancing her way with distrust. None of them talked about her scars, the beatings she had taken, or how she was an Andinna slut to the Elvasi lords and ladies.

Mave kept walking, making sure not to get in anyone’s way. People were shouting about food stores in different buildings and making sure they had enough come winter. Harvest was past, and the haul had been good, or so she’d been told.

I left them.

She couldn’t push the thought from her mind.

I’m here, living the best life I can under the circumstances, and I left them in hell.

Her hands were shaking as she brought them up to her face. It was never supposed to be like this. She was never supposed to be free and where she was. She was supposed to be a gladiator, and they were supposed to be free to do with their lives whatever they pleased.

How had the roles gotten so tangled up? How did she end up here and leave them there after what they did for her? How could she leave Trevan, a poor guard who wanted to help, to the very monstrous life he had helped save her from? How could she sleep at night, knowing she had passed her own nightmares onto someone else?

Here, she was ignored, something she had never been given before—anonymity. For one small moment, she would have given it all away, just to get rid of the guilt.

Can’t let Matesh know that. He’ll strangle me. He’ll tell me how everyone knew the risks and chose their own limits. Dave and Trevan each decided to sacrifice their peace and safety for my freedom.

Looking around, she wondered if she deserved it. She couldn’t even keep one of her husbands safe. Brynec was still out there, lost to them, all because she and Alchan decided a fucking rebellion was the way to go. She couldn’t stop Shadra from attacking their home in Olost, couldn’t save Senri and Allaina and so many others until after they had been brutalized by the Empire.

She started running, ignoring how it made people begin to turn her way. Once she was at top speed, she jumped, opening her wings to catch the air. Moments later, she was high above the village, under the stars, and free.

“What am I doing if I can’t even protect the few people I have?” she asked, staring at the stars that filled the sky around her. The red moon hung low tonight, not showering the world in its glow. It was just her and the stars. “I can’t be so selfish to say they knew what they were getting into. It’s too cold, even for me. They did something for me, and I left them there. I never asked anyone if there was an update. I just wrote them off, believing they were dead. What is wrong with me?”

Why did this hurt so much? Why did it feel like her honor was tarnished, and her confidence was crushed?

She hung there in the sky, staring at the stars, knowing they didn’t have the answers. They never did. The gods never heard her, and she wasn’t sure why she was even trying.

“Mave,” someone called.

She looked down at the white wings coming up. She wasn’t paying attention again, and Luykas had found her.

“Yes?” she asked softly as he flew up beside her.

“I could…feel you. Do you want to talk about it?” He sheepishly looked away from her as she tried to search his face for any clues to how he felt.

“Not yet,” she answered. “But thank you.”

“It’s not your fault they’re still in Elliar. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes…and no,” she admitted. “I don’t want to talk about it, Luykas. Can I just have your company for a minute?”

“I know a good cliffside perch we can land on. Good view of the stars from there.” He held out a hand, and she dared to grab it. She let her guilt and conflicted nature pour into him, showing him what she couldn’t find the words to talk about yet. She felt guilty, but she also knew the logical arguments. She didn’t know how to reconcile the different pieces. He nodded and pulled her to follow him, his wings flapping a little faster to pick up speed. She went with him, and they found the cliffside perch he mentioned. It was high atop the cliffside that was Alchan’s home.

“Where’s your home from here?” she asked, curious.

“I’m two above Alchan, about halfway up the cliff.”

They sat side-by-side, their feet hanging over the edge, dangling in the night air.

She wanted to get her mind off everything, so she decided to continue with the mundane topics.

“About this female you like, do I know her?”

“I would hope so,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Anything but this.”

“I’m curious.”

“I know. It’s frightening.”

“Please. I don’t want to think about Trevan and Dave anymore. I don’t want to think of gladiators and sands. I want something normal.” She hoped he relented. “Pretend like I’m Alchan. I bet you’ve told him all about this female.”

“She’s tough. She’s beautiful and strong. She’s surprisingly vulnerable, though. It’s hidden under shells of power and an aggressive nature,” he said softly. “She’s not what I expected. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand her, but I guess that’s the beautiful part about it.”

Mave suddenly remembered why she shouldn’t have brought this topic up. Jealousy stabbed her like a poisoned knife. She’d never thought she could be jealous of anyone Luykas was with, but there it was. It begged her to ask and answer her own question.

When did I start to think of him as mine? Is this because of the blood bond? The expectation he would just always circle around me because we’re tied together?

She wanted him happy. He’d done a lot for her and continued to be there for her, even if she didn’t want him there. He took her to task, too. He called her out for being a bitch to him, something she deserved. When had she started to appreciate all of that?

But he was never hers, and she didn’t know why she was angry at the unknown female. How dare she take his eyes from Mave? Mave wanted to find her and establish that Luykas was hers. They shared the blood bond. They fought together. They talked about nothing and everything, all in a single touch. He couldn’t have that with someone else.

“Mave?” Luykas said softly. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“You’re growling.”

She turned away from him, stopping the rumbling in her chest.

Damn it.

He seemed just as shocked by her behavior as she was. Neither of them continued the conversation, looking up at the stars.

“I should go,” she finally said. “Was the meeting almost done when you left?”

“No, but maybe it’ll be over soon. I felt you and decided to check on you. The gladiators and Elliar can’t be easy topics for you.”

“They probably never will be. Thank you for coming out. If you see Matesh, I’ll be at home, waiting on him.”

“He’s a good male. I bet he would have liked to be out here with you instead of me.”

“He’s perfect, everything I need him to be and more than I could have ever asked for. He knows when I need to clear my head and see him later. He knows every night, he’ll be sleeping in my bed, and we’ll talk.”

Luykas nodded respectfully at her response. She took that as her time to leave. She had a perfect lover in Matesh. She had a surprisingly careful and tender one in Brynec.

Yet she wanted to rave, scream, and commit murder because Luykas was falling for someone.

At least it distracted her from the guilt…just for a moment.

16

Zayden

Zayden was up earlier than everyone in Mave’s house that morning. He wandered outside, half dressed, to do his business, stumbling in the fresh snow. It was the first major snow of the year. He groaned to find the morning’s supplies were already waiting on the porch, only a dusting of snow on them. He took them back in with him, grumbling about how the young males who were delivering them were getting earlier with each passing day.

“Soon, they’re going to be dropping this off the night before, and I’m going to lose sleep to make sure it’s sorted,” he complained idly, taking the large package into the kitchen. He organized it quickly, only keeping out some of the eggs for breakfast.

Once he was done, he got started with breakfast, glad no one was awake yet. He liked cooking when they weren’t up to bother him. They always ate what he gave them in the end, but Matesh could get picky, just like he’d been as a kid.

Zayden chuckled to himself. They were a couple of centuries apart. Having grown up in the same village Matesh was born in, Zayden had come home to find the neighbors had a little boy, and everyone expected Zayden to babysit him. It was the natural way of things. When Matesh hit adulthood, the babysitting morphed into becoming lifelong friends. It didn’t matter that Zayden spent a century watching him grow up. What was that compared to the over five thousand years they would have to be friends?

So, Zayden knew Matesh’s likes and dislikes like he knew Rainev’s. It had been a long time since they lived together, chatting over breakfast, but Mat had never changed. Whenever Zayden cooked, he had opinions about this and that.

Can never really cook with that male around. At least he’s cuddled up with a female now and doesn’t rush out of bed anymore like he used to.

Zayden was able to get almost finished with cooking by the time he heard their door open. Mave wandered out first, finishing up the blue wrap that was covering her. The wrap was loose, probably because she was tired. Her hair was everywhere in a way that reminded him of things he knew not to consider. Her leather pants weren’t fully tied up, either. It was how she appeared on mornings she was tired from a noisy evening with Matesh. Most mornings, she was put together and jumped out of bed like she was ready for battle at any moment, but sometimes, Zayden saw this—the female who wanted to stretch out like a satisfied wyvern who had eaten her fill. It was a side of her he was certain only Mat and Bryn ever saw until he moved in.

For some reason, these mornings punched him in the gut.

“Morning,” she greeted him. “Thank you for making breakfast.”

“You can stop thanking me. I do it every morning,” he reminded her.

“I don’t want to be rude and not let you know how much I appreciate the help,” she retorted.

“By eating the food, I know you’re appreciative,” he threw back at her.

They stared at each other until she smiled.

“You can go one morning without being an asshole,” she teased.

I wish.

“No, thanks. You might think I actually like you if I did that,” he grumbled.

She laughed as she moved around him in the kitchen…her kitchen. This home was hers. He was the guest.

“What would you like to drink?” she asked behind him near the cold box. “I think I’m going to try milk.”

“Milk with breakfast is for children,” he muttered. “Coffee is for adults.”

“But—”

“Don’t argue with him, ilanra,” Mat said with a yawn as he walked out, wearing only a fucking loincloth. Zayden glared at him, pointedly keeping his eyes up. “It’s warm in the house. I didn’t feel like throwing on pants, but then I remembered your sensitive eyes.”

“Somehow, it’s worse when you wear those fucking things than it is seeing your ass hanging out in the wind,” Zayden explained. “And it’s not about what you are or aren’t wearing. It's how you two behave in different states of undress while I'm trying to eat.”

“Jealous old fart,” Mat poked fun at him. “Honest truth is all my pants are hanging to dry. They were still damp even after a night near the fire. It’s going to take some time for me to get some on. I’m sorry.”

“So why can’t I have milk?” Mave asked, showing how good she was at ignoring the male conversation happening right next to her. Zayden was impressed by that particular skill. Summer used to want to scream at Zayden, Rainev, and whatever male was around when they got onto ‘male tangents and ridiculousness.’

“It’s for children. Once an adult, the milk can be added to coffee or tea, but it’s time to grow up,” Zayden explained. He grabbed the pot of coffee he had started first and three tin cups, pouring them drinks. “Here you go.” He held it out for her until she sighed and took it.

“You’re loving this,” Mat accused, taking his.

“No, just trying to keep you two on track, so you can get on with your busy days.”

Liar.

“Well, thank you, my friend,” Mave said kindly. Zayden was amazed by how easy she could be in the mornings. She would get exhausted through the day, and go to bed ragged, but she didn’t wake up cranky or bitchy, instead waking up most mornings ready to greet the day.

Zayden dished out breakfast once it was ready, trying not to show the joy he had in the food he’d prepared this morning.

“Did you remember the—”

“If you ask me about my cooking this morning, I swear to the Skies, I will fucking gut you with a dull knife,” Zayden whispered harshly into his close friend’s ear as he threw a spoonful of eggs on the male’s plate.

“Okay.” Mat stared at the food. Zayden nodded once and moved on.

Once everyone was dished up, he sat down and started eating. Mave followed, but Mat stared at the food.

“What?” he demanded as Mat didn’t move for too long.

“But seriously, did you remember the—”

Zayden grabbed his knife and stood up, not saying a word as he started walking for the big male. Mat scrambled out of his seat and got ready for a fight, but he was grinning.

Most surprisingly, though, wasn’t the males. Zayden and Matesh did this hundreds if not thousands of times as Mat grew up and for years after. The thing that made Zayden stop moving was the laughter that filled the room. He turned to see Mave covering her face as she looked away from them.

“Mat, stop teasing him,” she ordered, trying to cover her laughter. “I’m sorry about him, Zayden. Sit down. The food is wonderful.”

“There it is. There’s that laugh,” Mat purred, sitting back in his seat. Zayden looked away as the male leaned toward her.

Mat did all of that just to make his female laugh. Zayden put the knife down and retook his seat, trying not to show anything. It was his secret.

He loved this. He loved being around a family again. He loved taking care of them. He was more than willing to be part of a foolish activity to see a female laugh.

How many times did Rain and I pretend to have sword fights while cleaning? How many times did Summer laugh and tell us to get to work?

His heart swelled and ached, full and pained.

He’d missed this. It wasn’t his family, but it was a family. It was people he liked and could take care of. He’d always loved taking care of people. He’d tried to hold on to Rainev for as long as he could, but there was no denying Rain had grown up and moved on. He had important business, and living with Alchan was a requirement for his position. Summer had died centuries before, and he no longer had her to take care of.

But he could take care of these two until their missing male returned. Brynec could step back in and do his part, and Zayden would back off.

Fuck, I love the little rogue, but I’m going to miss making breakfast for these two idiots every morning.

“All right,” he announced. “You get dishes, Mat.” He pushed back his plate, having only eaten half. He had an early meeting, which was why he’d woken up as early as he did this morning.

“Can do,” his old friend agreed. “Thank you again for breakfast.”

“No problem.” Zayden ducked out of the dining area and went to his bedroom, armoring up for the day. He played with the frayed leather at the top of his padded pants, sighing heavily. He was going to need to have someone craft him extra pairs. The question was if he was important enough for them to be done quickly and with quality, or if he was going to be stuck waiting in line behind the guards who didn’t know how to take care of their equipment.

I have rank, thanks to being a member of the Company, but I’m not much better than a good soldier. I’ll try, though. Knowing Alchan, I’ll be on the first mission he feels comfortable trying when spring comes.

Mave and Matesh were still eating when he left, pulling on his boots as he walked out the door.

“Have a good day,” Mat yelled at his back as he walked out the door. Zayden’s heart squeezed. It made him feel like he was part of a family again.

His living situation was a blessing and a curse, that was certain.

He launched himself into the air from the porch and went to the outskirts of the village, to a small cliffside that was a bit more ramshackle than the rest. It was on the north side of the village where the mountains were just a little shorter, and a road left the Spine into Anden, right next to the clearing in front of the cliff. He landed without grace, thudding loudly as his boots hit the ground. His knees even shook a little.

“Good morning!” Sen cried out, standing on the porch of a low home with stairs. “Another day, huh?”

“Another day,” Zayden agreed. “Is everyone still eating breakfast?”

“Aye, but you and I, we can talk. Then we can get them to work.” The half-Elvasi, half-human pirate sat down, his feet hanging off the porch. He was only ten feet up, so falling wouldn’t kill him, something Zayden was grateful for since the Captain and his sailors often got drunk when they could get away with it. Zayden smiled and went to sit next to him. “How’s living with my girl and her man?”

“She’s made it very clear she’s not your girl,” Zayden reminded him, chuckling.

“Ah, but a pirate can dream a little, eh? Imagine the kids. Three races. Wings, horns, and pretty little Elvasi faces.”

“And shorter than normal lifespans, putting them into an awkward middle zone where they’ll outlive you, but Mave will probably have to see them pass on,” Zayden countered. Just the idea of mutt kids with one of the short-lived races made him think of his situation with Rainev. His good mood deflated in an instant as the words weighed heavily.

I shouldn’t have said that.

“Someone thinking about his boy?” Sen was too damn smart for his own good. Zayden growled softly. The pirate had watched the Company change and evolve over the centuries. “You know, I’ve always been amazed you’ve never talked to me about him.”

“What? I talk about him to everyone, all the time. There’s nothing I’m prouder of in life than my Rainev,” Zayden scoffed. “I don’t know—”

“About him having a short life span,” Sen cut in. “I’m half-human, Zayden. I’m in the same boat as him.”

“Ah, I know that…” Zayden shook his head, staring at the trees. “What advice do you have?”

“Let him grow up.”

“I am. I’m alone, thanks to it. Wife passed on of old age. Rain’s grown up and gotten himself an honorable position at the hand of the king. And here I am, just another warrior with no family left.”

“Wow, you are in a mood,” Sen muttered. “Pity is something I never expected you to ask for, and I won’t be giving it to you. Buck up, old man.”

“I’m not even old,” he reminded the pirate. “I’m sixteen hundred with another potentially four and a half thousand years left in me. I’m not even the age Rainev will be when he’s…” When he’s old. That’s what Zayden wanted to say, but it was hard. “He’s only going to live half as long as me.”

“It’s still a long time.” Sen chuckled. “You long-lived races are all the same. If it’s not the five to six thousand years, it’s not long enough. We’re all dying young and never seeing the world. We can’t possibly be happy, you think. You know, nearly three thousand years is still a long time. And don’t think we don’t understand what loss is thanks to the difference in age. We had to watch one of our parents die, probably before we even reached adulthood.”

Zayden leaned over and rubbed his face. Sen had a point. “Yeah.”

“What’s really bothering you this morning?”

“He’s grown up, and that’s not his fault. My living situation is awkward. I’ve been staying with Mave and Mat in their spare room because they didn’t want me living in the communal barracks.”

“Aye, I knew that. What’s wrong?”

“They’re a family, and I don’t have one of those anymore. I’ve been helping them out because of Bryn’s absence, and it…it makes me want it again. It makes me want a female I can hover around and males I can work with. Summer was from Zira. She took only me as a husband, and I thought it was perfect at the time. Sometimes, it got hard, and I got lonely. She knew it too, but it was against her culture to have multiple husbands, and she only loved me. Most Andinna males look forward to the big family. Three to five males to have fun with, a female who’s going to keep them in line. I’m on the outside, looking in now when I used to be the male with the family.”

“Ah, you getting jealous of your friends?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “But I’m enjoying…pretending I’m part of their family when I help out. I miss having a family.”

“That’s hard,” Sen agreed softly. “You can always join my crew, leave this behind, and sail the seas with my family.”

“We’ll see how this rebellion goes.” Zayden laughed softly. “My moods are honestly nothing, Sen. Living with them has just made me think a lot about my life. Wife passed on, son grew up, and I have a lot of life to live. I’m not sure I want to live it alone.”

“Are ya over her?”

“I think…I’m coming to that point,” Zayden said, looking down at his hands. “I never thought I would be, but I think I’m moving on. I still love her, but she’s not here anymore, and I’m lonely.”

“Ah, life tends to do that, doesn’t it? Forces you to move on from things lost. It’s okay, you know. I bet she never expected to be your only wife for your entire lifetime.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. No, she had never expected that. Summer had told him Rain wouldn’t be happy if Zayden was grouchy and heartbroken by her death for both of their long lives. She had wanted them happy, whatever shape that took. It was in her will and part of her last wish for them.

Now, he just needed to come to terms with the new conflicting, swirling feelings that were pressuring him to move on from the loneliness and find a family for himself again.

“You think they’re done eating breakfast?” he asked the captain. “Let’s get the day moving.”

“They’ll get out here, done with breakfast or not, when I tell them to get their asses moving.” Sen jumped up and went inside. Zayden chuckled as the captain yelled at the sailors he lived with. He had to get out of the way for them to leave the cliffside home and run to get the others.

They met in the small clearing, and Zayden clapped his hands to get the attention of the mismatched sailors. Most were pure human, and a handful were unique mixes of human and Elvasi. There was one sailor from Zira, the land of the Clan shifters like Summer, who could change form like Rainev and his late wife. There used to be a few more, but the rest hadn’t survived the attack on Ellantia and captivity afterward. Zayden tried to remember what the Clan member could shift into. It was something water-based. They had all been water- or air-based creatures. One had been an osprey, another a seal.

Zayden had a special bias toward the sailors from Zira, but then, he had always been fascinated by their ability. Less so since his son became a wyvern and all hell broke loose, but not by much.

“How has everyone been feeling?” he asked loudly. “It’s been nearly three months since your rescue, and winter is now full on us as you can probably tell from the two feet of snow you’re standing in.” There was a round of chuckles from the sailors he let fade before continuing. “I want all of you to be strong as you used to be by the end of the year. Come spring, you’re going to be back on the open water.”

The sailors cheered and pumped fists into the air. Sen slid up next to him and leaned over.

“Some of them still need a lot of work. They’re humans.”

“We’re just going to continue with what we’re doing,” Zayden explained. “The training regimen we’re on for them will keep the strong ones strong and help continue building the strength of those who need it. If you’re worried they need special attention, we can start giving them individual work in the afternoons.”

“Thank you,” Sen said, grabbing his shoulder.

Zayden led the sailors through a series of exercises, starting with shoving an area clear for them to actually exercise in. He’d taken the job of getting them healthy right after they were rescued. He didn’t report to anyone, given free rein to do what he felt was necessary. He had more of an understanding of the limits of the short-lived races than the rest of the Company, and Alchan trusted him. So, every morning he came out here after breakfast and he helped them. He made sure they were getting enough to eat, and it was the right stuff. He needed them to put on weight if they wanted to gain muscle.

So far, everything was going according to plan. The worst cases looked better every day, and the ones who had been lucky were nearly back to their peaks.

“I was serious,” Sen whispered to him as they exercised. “You ever want to join the crew, we would all have you. You’ve done a lot to help us.”

“I was serious in my answer. Let’s see how the rebellion goes,” he replied, chuckling.

The morning melted into midday, and Zayden released the sailors. Sen stayed with him, though, letting his men go make themselves lunch before he bothered them about more chores.

“So, what are you going to do now? Head home, or are you going to help out some other group of useless mouths to feed?”

“You’re not useless, Sen,” he growled. “We’re just…stalled. Can’t take Kerit, which we need if we want you helping us. Can’t take Kerit because we don’t have the supplies or manpower to send there. Can’t get the supplies or manpower without it.”

“Yeah, it’s a bad place to be,” the captain agreed.

“We need a fucking miracle,” he mumbled.

They hung out on the front porch of Sen’s residence, just as they had done before training. Zayden watched the sky and frowned when the porch shook a little, just a tiny vibration.

He concentrated on it. Some of the mountains in Anden were still active volcanos. He didn’t know if this village had any around it, but he hoped not. The last thing the rebellion needed was active lava flow where they lived.

The vibration, though, didn’t feel like the rumble of an earthquake or volcano. He’d felt both before, and this wasn’t like those.

It’s following a beat…

He frowned, looking around. It reminded him of an army at march.

“Do you feel that?” he asked Sen softly.

“Aye. What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. I want you to go inside, and I’ll check it out.”

“Aye.” Sen moved indoors without needing to ask anything more. Zayden stood up and sent himself into the air.

Marching. There was only one road coming in from the north, and he had to be the closest member of the Company to it. He had to see if the Elvasi were coming, and they had no idea.

Fear raced through him, and he flew low toward the road and turned onto it.

He was nearly knocked out of the air from the shock of what he saw.

Andinna. There had to be a few hundred of them, going so far back on the road, they disappeared behind a bend.

Faltering, he went to his feet and stood in the middle of the road.

Those in the front stopped at the sight of him, all except one, who kicked his horse into a gallop. Zayden stood shell-shocked as the horse came toward him, and his mind couldn't quite register who it was until the male was off his horse and grabbing his shoulders.

“Zayden!” Brynec said, pulling him into a hug.

“Bryn,” he gasped, squeezing tight on the little rogue. “Skies, what…what is this?”

“Help,” the rogue answered. “I accidentally found us help. I need to see Alchan and Luykas and…and where’s Mave?” The male sounded hopeful and worried, but excitement danced in his eyes.

“Probably training the females,” he answered, staring wide-eyed at the Andinna slowly coming down the road again. “Bryn…”

“They’ve been hiding in Anden this entire time,” Bryn explained. “Zayden…”

Miracles. Zayden had said they needed a miracle. Everyone thought they were doomed from the start.

Bryn had brought home a miracle.

“Why didn’t you…” He tried to form the words. He should have been running back into the village to tell everyone, but he couldn’t manage to move his feet.

“The book was ruined by the time I had it back. Some dumb fool left it in a pouch where the rain could destroy it. It was still legible, but the blood magic Leshaun had done on it had washed away. We need to get into the village. Let’s go.”

Zayden let Bryn pull him. The horse nickered softly, and Bryn grabbed its lead. Zayden didn’t even get a chance to look back at the leaders.

Together, they walked into the village to shocked Andinna faces. The next words Zayden was able to muster were the only ones that were worth saying.

“Someone find the King and the Champion!” he ordered. When the shocked Andinna of the village didn’t move, he snarled. “NOW!”

They all started running.

17

Mave

“Again!” Mave roared. “I don’t care how much snow is out here! We fight no matter the weather. Get used to it!”

“We should have been done by now,” Senri mumbled next to her.

“Maybe if they stopped complaining about the snow and actually got to work, we would be,” she snapped back, not angry with Senri but frustrated with the entire training.

“Oh, I know,” the female agreed. “Can’t make them move faster than they are, though. Maybe we should end the train—”

“What do they learn if we do that?” Mave asked. “What do they learn if we give them breaks because they spent half the morning moving slow and bitching at the first winter snow?”

“Mave…” Senri sighed.

She grumbled, shaking her head. She was tired, annoyed, and ready to send every single one of the damn females to the village to be workers, not warriors. The handful she did like were lost on how to make the ones around them move faster.

Am I going too hard on them?

She didn’t know. She only had one speed, one level of dedication—do it all the way or die. She didn’t understand why people half-assed their way through life or training. Too much was riding on their abilities to hold a sword.

“Mave?”

“Yes?” She looked back at her friend, curious as to the tone Senri said her name. “What’s wrong?”

“I think we’re about to get a messenger.” She pointed up to a group of Andinna headed their way.

“Great.”

They waited, and once the Andinna landed, they ran up to Mave and Senri, talking over each other.

“Zayden needs you—”

“Hundreds of warriors—”

“Andinna—”

“Brynec is—”

Mave’s eyes went wide. She caught some of it, but she couldn’t put it all together. Zayden? Warriors?

Brynec?

“Stop!” Senri snapped. “One person. You.” She pointed at an older male who was a little calmer than the rest. “Tell us what you need to tell us.”

“Brynec Lorren rode in just a moment ago. Zayden found them coming in through the northern road. He’s with nearly four hundred warriors. They’ve brought supplies—”

Mave didn’t care. She heard what she needed to hear. She launched into the air, leaving Senri to deal with the mess of the females and the messengers. Below her, she heard her friend scream a dismissal.

Mave pushed to go faster. She had to see him. She had to see if this was real.

Brynec was home.

The center of the village was a madhouse. Hundreds of Andinna overflowed from it, and more stretched back down the road toward the edge of the large valley. Mave didn’t land, looking for who she needed to see.

“Mave!” Luykas yelled. “Do you see him?”

She turned to see Luykas, Rainev, and Alchan, also searching the crowd from the air.

“Not yet!” she cried back. Just after that, Matesh was also in the air with them. “Mat, he’s back.”

“I heard, but I can’t see him.”

“Neither can we,” Alchan said, growling. More of the Company met them in the sky, which was getting crowded. Nevyn and Varon hovered close. Kian was circling the group, keeping the sky around them clear.

“I’ve got this,” Senri said as she caught up. “Watch this. Love, keep them open up here for a landing.”

“Yes, love,” Kian answered, continuing his pattern.

Everyone watched the female dive for the ground. Andinna looked up and jumped out of the way of her landing.

“CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE KING!” she roared. “GUARDS, TO ME! CLEAR THE WAY!”

Andinna scrambled to get out of the way, moving out of the center of the village. Guards jumped into the air, repeating her words to push the crowds back to side streets so the Company could land in the center and hopefully find who they were looking for.

Alchan landed first, Luykas and Mave following him. Behind her, Matesh’s feet thudded as they hit the ground a little fast. Nevyn and Varon drew their swords and helped the guards push the crowds back. None of them would ever hurt a civilian, but they needed the room to breathe. Kian came down last, leading Leshaun, who must have shown up when she wasn’t looking.

“We need Zayden and Brynec!” Alchan roared over the chattering crowd. “And the leader of these warriors!”

“Here!” Zayden called. “We’re here! Make way!”

Mave turned to his voice and saw the crowd fight to shove back. Some Andinna launched into the air and went to perch on the rooftops, more following them by the moment.

She saw Zayden first, and her heart jumped into her throat. He held the shoulder of someone she had worried she would never see again.

Ignoring the fact that Bryn had to report to Alchan, she ran for him the moment he was out of the crowd.

And for the first time in nearly five months, she wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly and for a moment, only they existed.

“I missed you,” she whispered. “I was so scared we’d lost you.”

“I’m sorry, love. I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her hair.

The moment they started to release each other, she grabbed his horns and yanked him down to her level. Their lips met, and his hands spread over the small of her back. Their tails began to wrap around each other.

Her rogue was home. Her fellow gladiator was back. Her heart felt a little less empty, her world a little less hopeless.

The kiss lasted long enough for someone to cough. She pulled back and snarled at Alchan, who had come closer.

“I need his report,” Alchan said, not unkindly. “Then he’s all yours.”

“Well, I think you need mine more,” someone said.

“And you are?” Alchan turned to see who was speaking, and Mave saw the king’s face go pale.

Mave looked around Bryn, frowning. The Andinna standing there wasn’t anything special, just another male warrior with common ruby red eyes and black tatua and features, a pureblood Andinna like so many of them. He was big, that was certain, but not as big as Matesh, and well-built as any good warrior would be. She could take him if a fight broke out, and it wouldn’t even be a chore. There was a female with him, armored and ready to battle. The female wasn’t looking at Alchan but at Mave. That made her more curious than the male did. There was no challenge in the stare.

Yet.

“Alchan,” the male said with a strange smile on his face. “Rather, Your Majesty.” The male bowed low, and every warrior behind him followed suit. So did the female, turning away from Mave to bow.

Alchan didn’t say anything. Luykas came forward, also looking as if he saw a ghost.

“Rise,” Alchan finally croaked out. “Seanev Lorren.”

Mave’s world dropped out from underneath her. Bryn held onto her as her knees went weak.

I didn’t even recognize him. I have no idea who this male is. He can’t be…my brother?

“It’s Seanev Tynias now. This is my wife, Leria Tynias. She’s the mativa of this outfit, and I serve as her general.”

The female chuckled, her eyes now on Alchan.

“Well, I guess he would be your general now, and I would just be a mativa under your rule. Don’t worry, though. I’ve been making sure all Andinna who live under me have followed the old ways, whether by choice or by blood.” Leria’s smile was sharp and dangerous. “Our Andinna are ready for your cause.”

“Welcome.” Alchan, like Mave, was obviously having a hard time processing what was in front of him. In the end, he turned to her. “Mave…”

“I heard,” she whispered. Seanev and Leria looked at her, both curious, but there was something about Seanev’s stare that made her uncomfortable. “I’ll let you…I’ll let you get on with this. There’s probably…” She took a step back. She didn’t know what to do with the situation. She didn’t know what expectations Seanev had.

I hope none of them remember him because I don’t. All I remember is the knowledge of having brothers. I don’t…I don’t know what to do.

“Wait,” her brother said quickly. “Can…can I at least look at you for a moment?”

The crowd was strangely silent. Her brother took a step closer, and she took another step back, causing the Company to do something surprising.

They closed ranks on her. Bryn turned his chest toward her brother, shifting into a defensive stance. Alchan and Luykas stepped in his way. Mat was at her back, and she felt the growl vibrating his chest. Nevyn and Varon had positioned themselves sneakily behind Seanev and Leria. Kian and Senri flanked them from either side. Zayden took the side opposite Brynec, his stance ready for a fight. Rainev pushed through, and got directly in front of her chest, snarling viciously.

“My big sister will see you when she’s ready,” he said sharply. She looked down to see scales forming on his back and reached out, touching his shoulder. They faded again, the wyvern not needed here today. “Right now, it’s best you go with King Alchan Andini and his brother to report on why you are here and who you have brought with you.”

She didn’t understand why the Company had closed ranks on her the way they had, but she was grateful. Seanev didn’t scare her, but she wasn’t ready for him. She didn’t think there was a way to be ready for him. She had no idea what she was supposed to be feeling, seeing him there.

“And this is?” Seanev asked, glancing at Alchan.

“My nemari, Rainev Yonder, son of Zayden with his wife Summer, a female from the Clans of Zira. He is also the adopted younger brother of Mave Lorren, the King’s Champion.” Alchan sounded like he had started to smile, but Mave couldn’t see his face.

“Listen to me, Seanev. I can’t begin to fathom how you feel, but imagine how this feels to her for a moment. And if anyone in my royal guard thinks she’s uncomfortable, they’ll kill you without a thought, especially Rainev.”

“Can he?” her older brother asked.

“He could kill everyone here,” Alchan said, the words serious, the threat genuine. “He’s half Ziran. He shifts into a wyvern, thanks to his mother’s bloodline.”

“Fine. You and I shall talk tonight.” Her brother’s eyes found her again. “You have his eyes. Brynec told me you did, but I didn’t know if I could believe him. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.” He smiled. “Leria, this is the young sister I thought I had lost.”

Leria only raised her chin, and Mave felt the need to stare the other female down. It was time to get this over with. No one moved as it happened, realizing two dominant females had made eye contact, and it wouldn’t end until one of them won.

Mave met the dominant female much the same way she had Senri and Allaina when they met—coldly. She didn’t bow, and she didn’t submit. Leria bared her teeth.

“I’ve been leading Andinna for over two thousand years,” the mativa said.

“I’ve been killing them for a thousand,” Mave answered. “I don’t submit to anyone. Ask Alchan how it’s turned out for anyone who’s made me try so far.”

Leria’s eyes went wide, then dropped. Mave didn’t know if it was the shock of her statement that did it, or if she had finally won, but she had a feeling it wasn’t over. She had learned games of dominance were never over when Andinna lived together.

“Brynec, report with us tomorrow. Mave, Matesh, feel free to take the rest of the day off,” Luykas ordered. “Nevyn, Varon, I want you both to come with Alchan and me. Leshaun, you can come if you please. Senri and Kian, find Seanev and Leria’s second-in-command and deal with all of this. Zayden, I want you to assist them. Every able male and female are under Company command to help you find homes for everyone and sort through this mess. Tomorrow, I’m going to do a supply check.”

Mave noticed how Luykas never said Rainev, but then, the young male who held a special place in her heart slowly began to move to Alchan’s side but kept his body between Seanev and her. They all knew where Rainev would be in the end.

“Is that sufficient, Alchan?” Luykas looked expectantly at his brother. Alchan turned slowly, giving her a strange look. His head tilted slightly to the side as if he was asking her a question.

She nodded. She didn’t need to be there. She wanted to avoid this lost brother of hers for the moment and go home with her husband and welcome him home.

“Go home, Champion, and enjoy your husband,” he said to her quietly, his normally hard amber eyes softer than ever. “Everyone, fall out! You heard your orders!” he roared afterward, directed at the rest of them.

Mave didn’t wait another moment. She grabbed Bryn’s hand and looked up at his eyes. How she had missed those summer sky eyes.

No words needed to be said. They left together, Matesh with them. He didn’t take her open side, instead moving to the other side of Bryn, throwing an arm over his shoulder. The crowd parted without needing to be told, and once they were clear of the group, her family took off into the air.

They made it home, the silence still strong, unwavering as they made it inside the front door. Boots were kicked off, and Bryn was shoved into a wall. She looked up to see Matesh holding him there.

“You had us scared,” Mat said, his voice thick.

“I’m sorry,” her smaller husband said. “I’m sorry, Mat.”

She watched as her massive male leaned down and put his head on Bryn’s shoulder. The scene made her throat tighten. When Mat lifted it again, she couldn’t miss that his eyes were a little red. The bond between males of the same family—the love might not have been sexual, but they were just as much family to each other as they were to her. She could never forget that.

The males didn’t move, both turning their gazes to her. Slowly, she reached out and ran a hand down Bryn’s bare chest.

“No armor,” she chastised softly. “Why?”

“Once they figured out who I was, and I figured out who they were, there was nah reason for it,” he explained. “Do ya want to talk—”

“About him? No. I’m going to pretend he doesn’t exist until tomorrow.” She didn’t want his name said anymore. It was too big for her to deal with at that moment. Her hand drifted lower to the edges of Bryn’s breeches, something to remind her of everything wonderful.

My husband is home.

“Remind Bryn why he should have worked to come home faster,” Mat whispered huskily.

She fumbled with the leather ties of Bryn’s breeches. She didn’t know why her hands were shaking. Mat reached down and covered her hands with his.

“Let me,” he murmured. Without trouble, he unlaced the breeches and freed Bryn’s cock, holding it out for her. It was already standing erect for them.

She wanted to taste him, wanted him in her body in all ways for the first time in months. And Mat was right. He needed to be reminded he should always try to come home much faster than he had.

Going to her knees, Mave ran her hands up and down Bryn’s thighs through the leather. Mat held the cock for her, and she took the head into her mouth. Above her, Bryn moaned.

“I’m not goin’ to last if ya two—”

“Deal with it,” Matesh snapped. “She doesn’t do this often for us, and damn it, you fucking rogue, we missed you. We missed you.”

“I missed you too,” the rogue struggled to say.

She chuckled on Bryn’s cock as she took more of him into her mouth, working him. Her tongue stroked the sensitive underside. Her hand eventually replaced Mat’s, pumping the lower half she couldn’t fit into her mouth.

He pulsed and twitched at her affection. She wanted him to know how much she’d missed him. She wanted him to feel weak and not want to leave her again, not in this lifetime or the next. She wanted to never let him out of her sight and for him to be perfectly okay with that.

He released fast, groaning. He started to sink down, but Mat must have held him up for her. She pulled back when he was done.

“You’re never doing this to us again,” she whispered, putting her forehead on his lower abdomen. “You can’t leave us like that again.”

“I won’t, love,” he promised. “I won’t.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked softly.

“I want to eat a real meal while I recover,” he said with a chuckle. “Ya didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did,” she cut in. She looked up to see Mat holding Bryn where he was, keeping the rogue exactly where he wanted him. “A meal and to recover? We can make both of those happen. What about afterward? We have all night.”

“Ya know what I want afterward,” he murmured, running a hand through her hair.

Smiling, she stood up. “Mat, start dinner. Bryn, go sit down, and I’ll get a fire going for us.”

“Thank ya,” he whispered. “Thank ya so much for being here when I got back. Thank ya for missin’ me.”

“You’re a loved member of this family, Bryn. Of course, we were going to miss you,” she said, kissing him softly.

The fire was going strong, and dinner was a hearty stew. By the way Bryn ate, she figured it was the best meal he’d had in weeks. He had been hungry.

Once dinner was over, there was still a hungry look in his eyes. Wasting no time, she took his hand and pulled him away from the dinner table.

“We should probably talk about who I brought—”

“Tomorrow,” she reminded him. “Everything else is for tomorrow.” She nearly dragged him into the bedroom, but once they were there, whatever held him back broke.

His hands weren’t soft as they grabbed her hips, yanking her hard against his body. His kiss was rough and needy as he claimed her mouth. Another set of hands roamed her as well as Mat moved to her back. He worked on undressing her, kissing the back of her neck between her wings.

Clothing fell to the floor, and she fell back onto the soft furs of their bed. Finally, she had everyone she wanted there. Her family was whole again. Bryn recovered from her initial treatment of him and wasted no time entering her, growling as he filled her. She gasped at the strength of it, grabbing his shoulders tightly.

He pounded furiously, months of separation coming out in a flurry of energy. It was hard for her to catch her breath as each thrust made her lose it again. Her nails dug into him, but there was nothing she could do to stop him now. She was fine with that. He tangled a hand in her hair and yanked her head back, forcing them to see each other.

“Don’t stop lookin’ at meh,” he begged, his thrusts still overpoweringly strong. “I need to…”

“Hurry,” she whispered. “I’m going to…”

His mouth crashed down on hers for a long kiss. When he pulled back, he leaned further back and grabbed her legs, pulling them up. Her knees drew closer to her chest, and he took her relentlessly. All the while, their eyes were only on each other. From the new position, the thrusts went deeper, taking her further.

She was shaking as the peak came closer and cried out when he shoved her over it. He followed, burying himself deep inside her as he came. She felt every pulse of their bodies as it came to an end. She felt everything.

He relaxed and released her legs. She let them stretch back out and brought him down to kiss her as he continued to come.

“I love you,” she reminded him softly.

“I love ya,” he whispered, their lips grazing gently as they spoke. “I hope ya aren’t done.”

“Why?” she asked, her heart pounding.

“Ya know how much I love watchin’ Matesh take you.”

“Don’t mind me,” Mat said from the side of the room. She rolled her head to see him propped up with a pile of their bed on the side. “You both needed this.”

“Aye, but it’s not family if yer not here,” Bryn countered. “Or are ya giving her to me for the entire night?”

“I wouldn’t object to it.” Mat smiled. “If I have to hold you down for her to take you several times tonight, I will.”

“I figured as much.” Bryn leaned down and nestled his head between her breasts. “I’m okay with it.”

She gestured for Mat to come closer, and he did, crawling on all fours and leaning down to kiss her as Bryn cuddled with her.

“Show him how much you missed him,” she said gently. “You love him, Mat.”

“I’m not into males,” he reminded her.

“But he’s family. I’m not an idiot,” she explained. Bryn tensed on top of her. “I think it’ll make you feel better.”

Mat’s face flushed. It was fast. He pulled Bryn up, grabbed the back of his head, and their mouths met. Mave’s heart pounded as Mat dominated the kiss, his grip tight on Bryn’s hair. Bryn, the smart male he was, didn’t resist. Mave actually felt Bryn growing hard again against her thigh. Mat seemed to devour Bryn, who let his arms gently grab Mat’s large arms. Mat’s free hand wrapped around Bryn’s mid-section, holding him tightly to the kiss.

Mave had expected something, but not this. It didn’t upset her, though. It felt right. When it ended, both of the males were panting.

“Don’t ever leave this family again,” Mat ordered.

“I won’t,” Bryn promised, for probably the tenth time in the evening. “Are ya going to…?”

“No. This is hard for her, not you,” Mat growled, almost teasingly. “Move, please.”

Bryn chuckled and moved off her. She yelped as Mat pulled her up and flipped her over.

“Happy?” he asked in her ear as he positioned himself over her back.

“Yes. You?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I just…”

“He’s never liked males before,” Bryn reminded her. “Ya know that.”

“That’s fine,” she murmured. “But you love him, Mat. I figured you needed to…show it.”

“I do…and I did. You’re right,” her first, wonderful husband said softly. “And I love letting him watch when I do this.” He kneed her thighs again and entered her, not moving once he was deeply seated. Her muscles clenched him, still sensitive from Bryn. “Since it’s come up, did you know that males in the same mayara often love each other in familial, brotherly, or sometimes romantic ways?”

She nearly laughed. It didn’t feel like home unless Mat was giving her a lesson on Andinna culture while buried between her legs.

“Ask Senri about Willem and Gentrin when she’s busy with Kian,” Bryn said, shifting, so his head touched hers. “It’s not really talked about, but it’s acceptable if the female allows. Sometimes, the familial bond turns a little physical, like kissing but nothing more. Sometimes, it becomes romantic or sexual, but I don’t think that’s in the cards for Mat and me.”

“I’ve never liked males. I didn’t think I would ever get to the point of wanting to show much physical love,” Mat said, beginning to thrust slowly, his pace strong and steady. She melted, still trying to listen to them. “But Mave figured me out and I didn’t even know it. You’re important to me, Brynec. If you ever need affection, while I can’t provide you sex, I’ll give you what I can.”

“Aye, you as well, Matesh. I would never ask for more than you’re comfortable with. Now, you have our wife at your disposal, and I think ya’ve broken her.”

Both of them chuckled, and Mat moved over her, each thrust bringing her more pleasure than the last. Her eyes welled up, and she had to bury her face into the furs beneath her as her heart swelled. Her family was back together, and it was better than it had ever been. If she was lost, they would remain strong, bonded together forever thanks to her family. And she wouldn’t hurt alone if one of them was lost. Her body was too sensitive, and her heart was too raw.

“Mave,” Mat leaned down to kiss the back of her head and whispered. “It’s okay.”

“I know. It’s more than okay,” she replied, widening her thighs more for him, so he could go deeper. He took advantage, and her moans echoed off the stone walls. Bryn turned and made her move to lie on one cheek. They kissed as Mat took her.

It was never frenzied. Mat took long, steady, strong strokes and pushed her toward a blissful end where she knew he had her, and all she had to do was stare into the summer sky eyes she missed so much.

When it was over, Mat was the one who went to get washcloths to clean up. He kissed her passionately as her eyes drifted closed, and she was able to catch him patting Bryn’s cheek gently and smiled as the rogue curled up next to her.

In Mave’s world, for that moment, everything was perfect.

18

Alchan

Alchan didn’t know where to start. Brynec was back, and he brought with him a headache—a miracle, but a headache. A vision of the past and all the good and bad that came with it.

Standing in his main room was Seanev Lorren, now Seanev Tynias. Alchan didn’t miss the importance of the new last name. Seanev getting married was new. He had been blissfully single, avoiding the commitment of a wife when the War reached its devastating conclusion. The wife was new.

And she was important.

Leria Tynias, a mativa from a long line of them. Many of them had been so dominant and so good at the role, that they oversaw vast regions of Anden. Mativas were complicated. They were the female centers of communities. A mativa of a small village worked with other mativas in a council of the region. The best of them would then represent and rule the entire region and report directly to a council that spoke to the Queen.

The Tynias family almost always sat on that upper council. Generations of them, all destined for power.

He had a feeling Leria lied to him. She probably wasn’t just the mativa for the outfit they brought. He just didn’t know who else was out there.

Of course, a Lorren would marry a Tynias. There’s no other way, in the end. Two dominant families came together when our people were in tatters. They would be strong enough to rule…for a generation. But only for a generation.

He pondered that as he helped Rainev make drinks. He needed to keep his hands busy and think. He had to think. He left Luykas, Nevyn, and Varon out with the couple. He also needed to address something.

“Rainev,” he whispered, “do not threaten them again.”

“I don’t like him.” Rain glared at a pot over the cooking fire.

“Why?” The venom in his words struck Alchan as important.

“He’s a Lorren. He’s her older brother.”

“Jealous?” Alchan raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t something he expected from the young male.

“Everyone knew, for centuries, Shadra took Mave alive. Yet when he survived the final battle, he never went to try to find his sister.” Rainev pulled out several glasses, slamming each one down harder on the counter than the last. “And now, yes, he’s here, and he’s her real brother. He doesn’t deserve her.” The last cup he slammed on the counter shattered.

Alchan stepped back calmly. He wasn’t going to touch that topic. He couldn’t because it would have been hypocritical of him. Luykas barged into the kitchen.

“Is everything okay?” his brother demanded.

“Rainev just lost control of his strength for a moment,” Alchan answered, keeping his cool. Luykas looked between them, nodded once, and left again. His brother was smart enough to know it wasn’t the truth, but it was a good lie to tell the newcomers who didn’t know any better.

Rainev’s temper was too on edge. It probably had been the moment Alchan said Seanev’s name out loud. Mave’s reaction to her brother had probably sharpened the edge of that temper to the point where Alchan wondered if Rainev and Seanev were safe in the same room.

For a second, Alchan realized their names were similar and didn’t like it.

“Rain, calm down, please.” He made it a request. He wasn’t just dealing with the young male. He was dealing with the beast that probably claimed Mave as thoroughly as Rain did.

Rain noticed the name of choice and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll clean up after I serve these.”

“Don’t fret. None of us are willing to let anything happen that’s outside of Mave’s comfort zone.” Alchan would make sure of it. Her reaction to her brother had been the best anyone could expect, and it hadn’t been good. He wondered if she knew she’d looked terrified at that moment. He had to play this carefully. If anyone pushed Rain or Mave to a place they couldn’t go, the results would each be devastating in their own ways. “Trust me on this, Rain.”

“I do.” Rain gave him a weak smile, loaded up the drinks, and took them out of the kitchen. Alchan could hear apologies for the noise he’d made and reassurances that everything was fine.

Alchan grabbed a new cup and poured himself a drink, walking out as Rain was ducking back into the kitchen.

“You can hide in here or in your room if you’d like,” he told the young male. “Stay close, though.”

“Thank you.” Rain used the chance Alchan gave him and disappeared into his room.

Alchan looked back at his guests, his eyes falling on Seanev. Too many memories of growing up, fighting, laughing, talking about the future. Too many memories, flooding his mind and heart at once.

Why couldn’t it have been Hertesh? Did it have to be Seanev?

Alchan was confronted with being king when all his mind remembered was a younger version of himself. Once, a very long time ago, Alchan had wanted Seanev, the younger of the two attractive as sin sons of General Javon and Kelsiana Lorren. The only male he’d ever even thought of in that way. Nothing ever happened. He’d never admitted the feelings, and he went to a temple and prayed. He fucked a priest, and he cried. He threw away the idea he would ever be with someone, much less Seanev, and closed his heart. He had been just under two hundred years old, and could already see from the destructive life of his father what happened when the bedru royal male was given everything he wanted simply by virtue of his station and his dominance.

Alchan didn’t want to be his father, so he’d closed his heart and crushed the feelings. Only Luykas had known why he went to that temple.

Only Luykas knew why he hesitated to speak now.

“After my men captured him, Brynec asked me if I knew you. I told him I did once. A long time ago.” Seanev looked down at his drink and back up at him. “King Alchan Andini. A place I never thought I would see you.”

“A place no one thought I would see. If it had never happened, I would have been happier,” Alchan replied. “But I’ve been wearing it for a thousand years. It’s settled in, and we all have to make do.”

“How’s trying to produce an heir?” Seanev raised an eyebrow.

“Haven’t tried. Not even two thousand—”

“You’re starting a rebellion against the Empire, and you don’t even have a kid running around—”

“We’re dying, Seanev. The free Andinna in Olost were viciously attacked in the spring. Shadra is hellbent to wipe us off the face of the earth. An heir isn’t important anymore.”

“No, you should have already had one,” Seanev snapped back. “Someone like Rainev’s age. A girl, hopefully. We both know a bedru male, even a royal, can only cling to the throne while a female of the royal blood—”

“If you think I don’t know, then you have forgotten my education was much more extensive than yours when it came to that matter,” Alchan snarled. “You do not come to my village and talk down to me, Seanev. Not now. We’re a thousand years beyond you having that right.” Anger coiled like a dragon in Alchan’s gut. Whatever feelings he once had for Seanev couldn’t be used to allow the other male to talk as if he were in charge. Alchan had to maintain control.

“I think we’ve started on the wrong foot,” Leria said kindly, stepping between them. “Your spy, Brynec, told us what he could. He said when he left, there were issues he could see. You need manpower and supplies. You need to build numbers. So, we came. There are fifty farmers, crafters, and healers among our group. There are three hundred and fifty warriors. We’ve also brought enough supplies to see our group through the winter. There’s another group of one hundred Andinna following us with enough supplies to see a village of this size through to next fall or…supply a war group for an attack. We’re offering you our allegiance as our king, and we’re here to serve. We’re not here to judge. Every Andinna since the end of the War has had to do the best they could with the circumstances they were given.”

“Ever the politicians, your family,” Alchan said, hoping it didn’t sound like an insult. “Welcome to the rebellion.”

“As a mativa,”—Leria bowed low in front of him—“I serve the throne. Whatever you wish for the communities of Andinna under my care, it shall be done, my King. My fealty is yours.”

“As is mine,” Seanev said softer behind her, bowing just as low.

“Rise. I hate formalities,” Alchan grumbled. “We obviously have stories to tell each other.”

“Well, I think the first one I want is an explanation why your royal guard decided to keep me from going to my sister,” Seanev said in that smart, disobedient way Alchan used to love and hate. Alchan tried to not bare his teeth at the behavior. “She’s my sister, and I think I had some right to walk up to her and see her.”

“Sorry, Seanev, but she’s ours now, and you’ll just have to get over it,” Nevyn said with a grin. Alchan pointed at the warrior, agreeing with him.

“That.” Alchan didn’t think Rain was wrong about Seanev, not completely.

“She’s been through enough in her life. The last thing anyone wants to do is push her when she’s obviously in shock,” Luykas said in a more diplomatic way. “She has a way of lashing out when something happens she can’t handle yet. She’s the type of Andinna who kills first and asks questions later.”

“Alchan is the king,” Leria pointed out. “In the end, she has to at least stay calm on his order.”

Alchan started to laugh. Every damn member of the Company in the room started to laugh.

“There’s no…” Alchan waved a hand. He tried to get his brother to continue. Luykas shook his head, trying to cover his face to hide his outrageous smile. “There’s no ordering Mave to do anything she doesn’t want to do. You have to learn how to show her that suggestions are best followed. You know why she’s my Champion? I’m assuming Brynec told you her position as my Champion.”

Seanev nodded. “And another title she once held.”

“Champion of the Colosseum,” Luykas whispered. “I don’t know what sort of information you had wherever you were hiding, but to every free Andinna in Olost, that title was something of nightmares. The female Andinna who probably butchered thousands of Andinna during her reign on the sands as Shadra’s personal Andinna slave.”

“We heard,” Leria said softly. “We would occasionally capture Elvasi soldiers who were patrolling Anden, trying to scout farmable land, and they would tell us things. It’s how we stayed secret for so long. When we had them, they told us about the Ivory Shadow Mercenary Company. We co-opted your name, letting our deeds fall on your shoulders.”

“All the while, we thought the Elvasi had full control over the region and never went back to it,” Alchan muttered. “Well, if you’re wondering, the stories of the Champion were all true, but not in the light everyone thought they were.”

“Explain.” Seanev was focused on them, him and Luykas.

“A quick story,” Luykas said to begin. “She’ll have to tell you the details, of course, but I’ll give you the short version. She was taken from you, used against us, and we all fell for it. She was a child, a captive. Shadra kept her, initially as a handmaiden. Lasted nearly until her adulthood. She killed someone, and as punishment, Shadra threw her into the pits under the Colosseum. Kill or be killed down there. The warriors down there were deprived of women, deprived of freedom, and guess who they blamed for that?”

“If your answer is your father, you’re right,” Nevyn muttered bitterly in the back. “And they took it out on the little girl whose only crime was to be kidnapped after her mother was murdered right in front of her.”

Seanev looked sick already. Alchan didn’t know why he found a small shred of joy in the male’s reaction to his sister’s plight.

Because Rainev was right, a little voice whispered in his head. This male left his sister’s fate unknown, and he deserves the pain this story brings. Just like you and Luykas did.

“A sickness is bred from bitterness,” Varon signed, and Nevyn said out loud for him. “Bitter at losing. Bitter being slaves. They became rotten. And your sister had to survive. Not even the gods could have saved her. She could only save herself.”

“And she did the best she could. For the next nine hundred years, Mave killed. Time and time again, on and off the sands. The things she suffered forged her into a stronger weapon, time and time again. For every beating she took, she killed one or more on the sands or in the underground halls of the pits. For every rape she endured by both Elvasi and Andinna, she killed more.” Luykas let those words drop like stones, his voice hard. Alchan watched as Seanev grew paler. His wife was practically holding him up now. “One day, she stopped being Maevana Lorren, victim and target, and became Mave, Champion of the Colosseum and the most dominant female of the Andinna alive today. She bowed to no one, not even the Empress, and when she was freed, she still refused to bow, even to Alchan.”

“She’s the King’s Champion because she has one purpose and one skill in life,” Nevyn said, toying with his glass. “She’s very, very good at killing people. Our kind, their kind. A year ago, I could beat her. She was proficient at killing with a lot of raw talent, but I had technical skill on her and more experience. That’s no longer the case. She finds an area of fighting that she’s weak in and corrects it. She’s a sponge. She has no leadership skills. She has no mativa inclination. She’s a sword, and only a very few know how to properly wield her. We’re all lucky Alchan figured out how to get her to submit without a fight.”

“So, when we fell in around her, we were making sure you didn’t get yourself cut,” Alchan finished. “She could and would have killed you the moment she thought you were a threat. Then we would have to pick up the pieces of a female who had just killed her last living relative. She rides her instincts hard and is traumatized to the very core of who she is. It was more for her than it was for you, really.”

Seanev was shaking as he sat down. Alchan felt no mercy in him for the pain the male was suffering. Instead, his heart grew hard.

Javon Lorren would have never left the fate of his daughter unknown. Kelsiana battled to the bitter end for her. Seanev deserved every bit of the guilt Alchan tried to hide from behind his mantle as King. The guilt Luykas had let eat him alive when they first found her.

Three males who should have done better by her. Alchan and Luykas were actively working to fix it. Now, it was Seanev’s turn.

Alchan had never felt this way before, but Mave was his Champion. She was his friend, and after everything, including almost losing her husband, he would be damned if he didn’t make sure Seanev knew exactly who his sister had to become and why.

“That’s enough,” Leria said strongly.

“I’ll get her to train with me tomorrow. She’s going to have some shit to work out. You’ll see what we mean,” Nevyn muttered. “We’re protective of her now. She’s ours. I wasn’t joking about that. When we rescued her from Elliar, she was plain faced. Bastards couldn’t even honor her with her tatua when she became an adult. She didn’t know a fucking single bit of our language except what Matesh and Rainev taught her while they were in captivity together. She didn’t know how to read or write in any language.”

“But she could speak fluid Elvasi with an Elliar accent,” Luykas said. “Between the Elvasi and the Andinna, Mave had no identity except what she did on those sands and for who her father was and the decisions he made that lost us the War.”

“We’re her family,” Rain said behind him. Alchan turned and nodded at the young male.

“Yes. We’re her family,” he agreed.

Rain walked out, took Seanev’s drink from him, and placed another in his hand, ignoring the female trying to tend to her husband.

“This will help your stomach and your nerves. It will calm you without making you tired. Drink it fast, or it’ll cool, and the taste is very bitter when it's cold.”

“Who taught you that brew?” Luykas demanded.

“Leshaun. He figured it was good to have someone who could brew it in Alchan’s household because Alchan is usually the bearer of bad news.” Rain walked back out without looking at any of them.

“Well, with Mave…discussed, we should talk about some other things,” Alchan decided. “There’s really only so much we can tell you. Yes, she’s as scary as she sounds. No, she’s not only scary. You’ve met one of her husbands. You’ll meet another soon, I bet. There’s also a lot about her story; we can only give you rough details. You might not want the clear story, and that’s your choice, but just know, you’ll have to ask her for it.”

“Of course,” Seanev whispered, sipping on the tea Rain had given him. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to talk with her, but there’s pressing business. As my wife said, we’re joining your cause, Alchan. We’re in it for the long haul.”

“Good, because we’re going to need you.” Alchan rubbed his jaw. “A small resistance group will try to free several hundred Andinna from Elliar any day now, and we need to secure Kerit if they’re going to have a place to run to.”

“You don’t start small,” Seanev said, chuckling a little. “What have you gotten yourself into, Alchan?”

“My duty. I decided to do my duty.” He was the king of the Andinna and had finally decided to fucking act like it.

19

Mave

Mave took the week off, and no one questioned it. It started when she was running late to female training, and Senri had found her at home.

“Your brother and his wife are already there, hoping to see you train. Possibly talk.”

Mave had frozen, and her best friend understood immediately. Senri went back and took control of the female training. That night, her friend had explained Kian could take over the guards, and she could handle the females until Mave felt like she was ready to leave her home.

She wasn’t scared to leave her home, though. She visited friends. Nevyn came over and trained with her, but he’d noticed she was off that morning, and it ended early. Brynec and Matesh were with her most of the time, and Zayden was there during breakfast and dinner, disappearing during the days to get his own work done and cover for Matesh. On the evening of day six, Luykas stopped by. Mave was waiting on him, standing on her porch. She was too curious about why he was coming her direction to ignore it.

“What do you need?” she asked, smiling.

“I wanted to see how you were doing. You’ve been a bit of a shut in since…”

“I’ve been enjoying my husbands,” she purred, a real excuse, even if it was only partly the reason.

“Yeah, when I saw Bryn during his report, I was wondering if he’d slept at all,” Luykas mentioned, chuckling. “But really, Mave. How’re you?”

“He showed up at my training field, where I deal with the females. Senri warned me,” she explained. “I wasn’t ready for it, so she took over. I haven’t decided if I’m ready yet.”

“You never will be,” Luykas said pragmatically, walking up her steps.

“Do you want to come in for a drink?” she asked, leaning against her front door. She didn’t want to talk about her brother—didn’t want to think about him.

Something flashed in his eyes.

“No,” he said softly. “You have one guest too many living in your home. Male and not your husband. You don’t need a second hanging around and making your husbands potentially uncomfortable.”

She sighed. Zayden. Bryn hadn’t been surprised about the new living arrangements, and she was nearly positive he was glad someone had helped her and Matesh while he was gone. She didn’t know what the males were planning now, but then, she was never really allowed to get involved with household management.

“They don’t mind as long as you don’t come to bed,” she promised. That was true.

Luykas coughed, shaking his head. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere but your front porch. He knows where you live, by the way. It’s been pointed out to him on several occasions, and you’re going to hate me, but we had to get him a home.”

“He’s going to live on this cliffside,” she said, deadpan. “Fantastic.”

“I’m sorry. Everyone in the Company is going to move to this cliff except Alchan and I. Seanev is probably going to step up to be a military advisor for Alchan. That makes him important. He needs a home.”

Mave sighed. Nevyn and Varon already lived on her cliffside. So did Leshaun, in a little home that had stairs like hers. Kian and Senri would have to move, dragging their husbands here.

“And his wife is a mativa. Strong one, too,” she said, leaning back. Luckily, the cliffside she lived on was thick with trees. It wouldn’t be like she had to see them all the time.

“She is. Allaina and her have met, but Alchan decided to step in. Leria is more dominant, but she can’t rule everyone. She has to know when people aren’t hers, so the Company has officially backed Allaina to be mativa of this area, and the decision is final.”

“Leria let that slide?”

“She doesn’t have a choice. She has a community of twenty-five hundred Andinna, all free in Anden. She doesn’t get to have everyone. She took it well.”

“Twenty…Two thousand, five hundred people?” Mave stumbled over that number.

“That’s right. She gave us the broken-down numbers, but you probably aren’t interested. Let’s say she has a small army and leave it at that.”

“And she’s…just going to give it to Alchan?”

“Of course. She knows her place. She’ll still be their mativa, the role she was born for, and everything Alchan wants to do with her people will have to go through her, but in the end, she’s sworn fealty to the throne and the ‘new’ king.” Luykas shrugged. “If Alchan had ever been crowned, there would have been mativas from all over Anden who would have sworn fealty to him, the new ruler, and they would have done so without a fight. They know they can’t rule, and someone has to stand as the center of power if we don’t want infighting. Alchan is who we have.”

Mave rubbed her face. There was too much happening too fast—brothers, mativas, a new dominance structure everyone had to deal with.

“I think we’re going to let Seanev and his people move to a close abandoned village with their people to set up. It’s a little north of the Spine and gives a good position for us and helps secure the supply line—”

“I’m not qualified for any of this,” she cut in.

“You’re the King’s Champion. Doesn’t matter if you’re qualified, only matters that you know.” Luykas sighed. “Let’s go train. The Company has noticed your absence.”

She had been sending Matesh and Brynec to training but hadn’t wanted to go herself.

“Will he be there?”

“Possibly. He’s come by a couple of times since he arrived but not every evening. Don’t worry, though. I think he got the message pretty well that you aren’t ready to see him.”

Mave gritted her teeth in embarrassment. She had essentially run from him. She was still running from him.

“I don’t know what to do, Luykas,” she admitted. “How…how does someone meet their own family?”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“I saw when they arrived. I heard him say something to Alchan, and I looked at him. I didn’t…have any idea. I observed him if that makes any sense. Common ruby red eyes. Normal black tatua, wings, horns, and tail like any pureblood Andinna. Tall, but not as tall as Matesh. Around your height. Fit, but to be expected because he’s obviously a warrior.” She closed her eyes. It was easy to open up to Luykas. They shared so much already, it was easier to talk to him about this deep, unsettling thing she couldn’t bring herself to deal with. “Do you know what I thought after seeing all of that?”

“What?”

“He was nothing special,” she whispered. “I looked at my brother, didn’t even recognize him, and wrote him off as nothing special. A non-threat. I could beat him. I could survive against him.”

“The life you’ve lived has made every new interaction based purely on an instinct to survive,” he said kindly. “And there’s nothing wrong with meeting anyone and judging them based on their threat level to you.”

“He’s my brother. I didn’t even recognize him a little.”

“You were…barely a child when you were taken, Mave. Your father and brothers stayed away from where you and your mother were hiding. They only visited once every few months, for one afternoon. Javon would sometimes get away with staying one night, just to cuddle with the both of you. Sometimes. You would have only seen your brothers a handful of times, probably before you can remember.”

“That’s the problem, though. I’m not excited to meet my brother after so long, and I should be. I should be happy I have family, right?” She was desperate to make him understand. “I saw a male who was nothing special, and when I found out he was my brother, I was shocked, but I didn’t…want to know him. Not because of my feelings but because of my lack of them.”

She reached out and grabbed Luykas’ hand, hoping her emotions would make sense. She watched the mutt frown and sadness take over his eyes.

“Mave, you never knew him. He can’t expect you to love him as you love Rain or…anyone else. It would be unreasonable for those feelings to already exist.”

“They should, right?” She pulled her hand back from him.

“If he had raised you, certainly, but it’s been so long, you two are strangers. Alchan and I recognize that. So do Nevyn and Varon. I’m sure your husbands understand. The blood you and Seanev share can’t make up for a thousand plus years of absence. You are both starting from square one, and there’s nothing wrong with you.” There was a conviction in Luykas’ voice. He believed what he was saying, and she took strength from that. “And there’s nothing wrong with being a bit nervous about this.”

“Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around her chest. “I’ve never felt this…adrift about something. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Have you talked to Bryn about his time with your brother? They spent over a month together.”

“No…” she admitted. “I should.”

“Yes, you should. Let’s go to training. Bryn and Mat already made it there, and when I realized you weren’t coming again, I came to drag you out.” Luykas smirked. “Let’s go, big bad Champion. I promise you, Seanev is nothing to worry about. You’re the female, and the entire thing will only move at the speed you want it to.” He jumped up, hovering for a moment twenty feet off the ground. She rose up after him, and they flew to the clearing in front of Alchan’s home.

As they drew closer, Luykas drifted to her side.

“He’s there. Ignore him. Don’t give him a single moment of acknowledgment. Nevyn will probably jump into sparring with you if you need the edge taken off, or I will,” Luykas advised. “Pretend he’s not there.”

She nodded, and they flew over her brother, landing hard in the middle of the clearing.

“Look who I convinced to end her vacation a little early,” Luykas announced. Mave found Nevyn in the circle around them and smiled. The warrior grinned back.

“I was wondering if my sparring partner would come back.” He grabbed three wooden swords from the table and tossed her two of them. “Let’s get to it and see if you’re feeling better than you were a couple of days ago.”

“Let’s see,” she agreed. The wooden swords were lighter than their steel blades but carried the wicked curve of the morok.

Luykas laughed and jumped out of their way. Nevyn and Mave didn’t need anyone to call time, beginning to circle each other once the area was clear.

“Ya got this, love,” Bryn called.

“What he said,” Mat agreed, laughing. “Varon, too bad you can’t cheer.”

Whatever Varon was thinking, it ended up with Mat getting a thump. Mave and Nevyn chuckled, unable to start their duel.

“Can’t take them anywhere, eh?” He winked at her.

“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t get in trouble with them. I only ever got in trouble with you and Varon.”

He shrugged innocently.

Then attacked.

Wood clashed, and their footwork was fast. They spun and dodged around each other’s blows, trying to find a weak point in the other’s defenses. They fought dirty, always remembering that to fight each other was practice for real war. There was no such thing as fighting dirty when lives were on the line.

She hit his thigh, slowing him down a little. He hit her left arm, causing her to drop the wooden sword. She sent her shoulder into his chest and was small enough to slam her heel into the top of his foot and shoved hard. He threw his sword as he went down, unable to maintain his balance. It flew into her left shoulder, sending her back.

In the end, they were both on their asses, staring at each other.

“Well, I think we’ve finally hit the point where we draw,” Nevyn said softly. “At least before you’re angry. You win every time when you’re mad.”

“I also nearly kill you,” she reminded him, getting to her feet. He held out a hand, and she grabbed it, helping him up. She even took a moment to brush him off. “I don’t want to be that angry when I’m not on a real battlefield with bodies.”

“Understandable,” Nevyn agreed. “Just something to remember.” He looked over her head, but she didn’t turn to see at what. She had a feeling. “He’s talking to Alchan about something or another. Probably the supply route. They have more than they need back in their home village and the surrounding communities. Would be to help feed everyone.”

“How do you feel about this?” she asked. “Free Andinna, just hiding in Anden all this time.”

“A little angry, to be honest. The rest of us were fighting to survive and keep our communities together. They ducked their heads and lived in relative peace. They used our reputation to protect themselves.”

“Brynec told me that much,” she said, sighing. “I haven’t talked to him about my brother, but he told me all about the little world my brother and his mate made.”

“It was mostly Leria, actually. Seanev just followed her orders for centuries, offering whatever advice he could as a warrior. She’s tough as nails, that female. Seanev might be the male in charge, but she’s the leader. The way it should be.”

“What are you trying to say?” She snorted and started walking away. Nevyn followed her, still looking back at her brother.

“This many males in charge is strange. Well, not…very strange. Normally, there’s always a female center of power, though. Females like Leria, Allaina, even Senri. Then there’s the big one at the top, our Queen. We have Alchan, and most of the Company is more dominant than most females alive right now. Leria’s pretty dominant, though. She gave Luykas a run for his money, but in the end, he won.”

“She’s not more dominant than me,” Mave reminded him.

“Mave, until Alchan has a daughter who ascends to the throne, we’ll probably never see a female as dominant as you. Your dominance is different.” Nevyn thumped her back.

“What do you mean?”

“Your dominance, while some of it is inherited, is mostly forged. Most of your power comes from your strength of will, not an inherent want to lead.” Nevyn made it sound so simple.

“You have dwarves?” Seanev yelled, incredulity filling the statement. Mave turned around, frowning.

“No one told him?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

“Well, I mean, the Hornbuckles don’t exactly hang out with any of us. They’re always busy, digging around the mountains. Gentrin sees one regularly, but the others never leave the hole they’ve made.” Nevyn chuckled. “They’re happy to be home, too, you know.”

“Have they found any iron veins to use?” It had been over a month since she heard a report. She needed to start paying more attention.

“Yeah, but not a big one. It’s a start, and since there’s only three of them, it’s really all they can manage. Once we take Kerit, the rest of the family is probably going to come home and begin the first new mining operation of Anden. We owe it to them after everything they’ve done for us over the centuries.”

“When are we taking Kerit?” she asked softly.

“Right after Al Moro Nat,” he answered. The Dead Night. Mave knew the festival but had opted out of celebrating it the previous winter, hiding away in her home to avoid it. “That’s the plan, anyway. That gives the people in Elliar a chance to get their plans in action and get the gladiators out, but still gives us time to take Kerit and have somewhere for them to go.”

“Is it sad that I’m more excited to see an Elvasi and a human than I am to see my own flesh and blood brother?” She crossed her arms, still staring at her brother across the clearing.

“No. He doesn’t know you. He made that abundantly clear his first night here. We told him about you. I don’t know if you’re okay with that or not, but it was the only way we could get him to drop it. None of us wanted him hounding you and suffering the possible consequences.”

“I wouldn’t kill him,” she mumbled.

“Not on purpose,” Nevyn said carefully. “But you’re female, dominant, and skilled with a blade. If you’re pushed too far, those swords come out, and very few people alive today could stop you.”

He would know. I nearly killed him once.

“Nevyn! I need you for a moment!” Alchan called. “Mave, welcome back to training!”

She waved at her king. Nevyn sighed.

“Do you want to come?” he asked.

“No. I’m of half a mind to grill my husband about my brother, right now. He’s here, and I need to start dealing with it.”

“All right, my friend.” Nevyn reached out and ruffled her hair before walking away.

Mave turned herself to the task of finding Bryn to talk to him. He wasn’t hard to find since he and Mat were glued to each other, talking to Zayden about something or another.

“Hey, you three,” she greeted, stepping into their little circle. “What are my males doing over here, avoiding the rest of the Company?”

“Avoiding your brother,” Zayden answered. “Not that I blame them.”

“I meant you, too,” she said, eyeing him. “Are you just trying to keep them company?”

“Yup.” He looked away from her. Mave chuckled and turned to Mat and Bryn.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothin’ love.”

“Seanev spent a month trying to convince Brynec to become a real warrior to be the type of male you deserve,” Mat growled.

Mave let those words sink in. “And what type of male does he think I deserve?”

“Males like Kian and Nevyn. Real warriors, he calls them, compared to our little rogue. Apparently, your father didn’t like spies much.” Mat’s words held a bite.

“And ya. He thinks ya worthy, now that he’s seen ya,” Bryn said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Tell me everything,” she demanded. “Zayden, will you place yourself between my brother and me?”

“And get myself killed? No, thank you.”

“Actually, I’m putting you there because I know I won’t kill you. Rain likes you too much, and you’ve been too damn helpful the last three months.” She smiled, all her teeth showing. Zayden stepped in her line of sight, breaking off her view of her brother. She turned her attention back to her husbands.

“I was actually going to ask you about him. I obviously can’t keep hiding in our home. I need to deal with him eventually. We’ll start with this.” It wasn’t about her. That was what fueled her boldness. These males belonged to her, and no one messed with them without speaking to her.

Not even a brother she was half terrified to deal with.

“He was tryin’ to be an overprotective brother. It’s not a big deal, Mave.” Bryn tried to write it off, but Mave saw he was uncomfortable.

“Okay.” She shrugged.

Then she turned on her heel and slipped around Zayden, heading straight for her brother. She didn’t care if it was nothing. Brynec was hers, and no one was allowed to tell him he wasn’t good enough for her. No one was allowed to make that decision except her. She was going to crush this problem before it grew, and she knew just how to do that.

Alchan saw her approaching first, narrowing his amber eyes. He knew something was wrong. Nevyn turned slowly to follow his gaze. Nevyn’s movement revealed Leria was there. Seanev was the last to see her, looking hopeful at her approach.

Mave snarled as she closed the distance. Nevyn and Alchan shifted at the sound, putting half their bodies between her brother and her. Alchan dared to raise a hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly. Her king was asking her a question. She could challenge him, but she didn’t. She looked straight at her brother. He was the one who needed to know what was wrong.

“I don’t care if you’re my brother. If you ever talk to one of my husbands again and tell them they aren’t good enough for me, I will gut you.” She raised her chin. “You don’t know me. You don’t know them. You haven’t been in my life for a thousand years, and I don’t care what our father would have thought of either of them because he’s dead. You never get to tell one of my husbands he doesn’t deserve to be with me. The only person with that right is me.”

Seanev’s eyes went wide. Alchan dropped his hand, obviously giving up while Nevyn threw his up in exasperation.

“Seanev,” Leria hissed. “You did what?”

“He’s a little spy, and it’s obvious he’s an assassin, either already or in the making. Do you really think—”

“Shut up,” his wife ordered. Seanev’s mouth closed immediately. Leria looked at her, measuring her, judging her. “I won’t ask you to forgive him. He’s a fool sometimes. He’s lived a thousand years only able to dream of having a sister like he was supposed to. It took me centuries to convince him we could be a family. Now, he has you, and I think he’s trying to funnel a thousand years of wanting to be an older brother onto you right now without thinking.”

“I didn’t think he would tell her—”

“Quiet,” Leria snapped. “Is that all, Champion?”

“That’s all,” Mave said, nodding. “Is the message clear?”

“If someone told me Seanev wasn’t good enough for me, I would be where you’re standing, don’t worry. Male family members always like to think they mean the best, but it never works out that way. We’re clear. I’ll make sure he keeps his mouth shut.” Leria had that sharp, dangerous smile again. This was a female who knew her power and how to wield it. Allaina would be like her one day. Mave figured the only difference was age and experience.

“Have a nice day,” Mave said, letting her temper deflate for a moment.

“Wait. Maevana, would you like to come to dinner?” Seanev asked as she turned around.

She stopped, her lip twitching as the name silenced the Andinna in the clearing. Everyone, literally everyone, called her Mave. Is he an idiot?

“No,” she answered, not looking back at him. “And my name is Mave.” She couldn’t stop the growl that ended the sentence.

Marching off, she left them to whatever they had been originally talking about. Her first interaction with her brother since he arrived was to tell him off and threaten him. Something about that seemed wrong, but it was the right thing to do when the honor of one of her husbands was in question.

She stopped in front of her husbands, looking over both of them. After a moment, she was satisfied and nodded.

“You have my full permission to kill him if he insults you again,” she said loud enough everyone could hear her. “You’re my family, and anyone who tries to get in the way of that dies for it.”

“Yes, ilanra,” Mat agreed, grinning. She knew both of her males would fight to the bitter end to protect the family. Bryn was a little red, obviously a touch embarrassed. She kissed his cheek, smiling.

“He won’t be saying anything about you any time soon,” she promised.

“Aye, I bet he won’t be able to look me in the eye for a long time,” Bryn mumbled. “Thank you. He only rode my ass about it a bit when we met and on the road here. It really wasn’t so serious.”

“It makes me upset,” she said, baring her teeth. Since protecting him wasn’t good enough, she changed her tactic. She made it about herself and gave him something to fight for when it came to her. “I didn’t spend a thousand years as a slave only to get free and have a brother tell anyone what sort of lovers I should be taking.”

“Aye, yer point is made,” he agreed, a small smile forming. He kissed her back, a slow sweet thing. Other males might have found Brynec small, but to her, he was a good height. Not so much taller than her she had to crane her neck or pull him down to kiss. The Andinna were big people, bigger than every other race, but females were generally smaller than males and much faster. Brynec was, in her mind, the best of both worlds.

The evening slowly turned dark, and everyone still congregated around Alchan’s home, talking and laughing. Mave ignored her brother through it all, preferring to stay close to her males. Alchan and Luykas divided their attention between her side of things and Seanev’s. Nevyn and Varon were laughing with Kian.

Everything seemed to be settling into something normal until Leshaun landed, using his cane when he started walking.

“Alchan!” he called. “We have news!”

Everyone watched Leshaun closely.

“The group in Elliar…they’re moving tonight.”

Mave’s heart began to race.

“How’re they going to do it?” Alchan asked sharply.

“Fire and blood. Agents they’ve been collecting over the last centuries are going to set Elliar on fire while another group is going to arm and direct the Andinna to safe passage. A convoy is going to help them get to Myrsten. A page out of our book.”

“Passage? How did they get the ships?”

“Well, the leader of the Elliar freedom movement is an Elvasi noblewoman. She owns her own small fleet of merchant ships, and they’re going to stage a fake mutiny to make it seem like she’s a victim as well to keep her safe.”

“Wish them good luck,” Alchan ordered. Leshaun nodded and headed directly for Alchan’s home.

“No one is going home tonight. We’re going to wait until we receive word on how the breakout goes.” Alchan’s tone was final. “Rainev, pick a few people to help you make food for the evening.”

Mave shivered.

This was it. If tonight went well down in Elliar, she would one day get to see the two idiots who had sacrificed everything to free her.

She hated not being there.

20

Emerian

Emerian knew why he couldn’t sleep that night. He was feeling pitiful again, and that feeling was taking deeper root in his chest every day.

He thought he could have won some favor down in the pits, especially once he realized how bad they were. He thought he could use his half-Elvasi nature in his favor, prove he was worthy of being above ground and not below.

His attempts had failed. He was just as stuck in the pits as the murderous barbarians his mother once told him were his people. Not that he wanted them to be his people. They were the ones who killed her and his father.

The Elvasi might have won the blasted War and enslaved the Andinna, but…

No, that reasoning doesn’t work anymore. The Elvasi beat me when I tried to help them and even threw one of their own kind down here.

Trevan was right. The Elvasi were just as bad. Everyone in their world was awful. People like Trevan, holding on to his ridiculous honor, were rare. The only reason he started hanging around Trevan was because the man was Elvasi. He thought they could relate to each other. Little did he know at the time, Trevan was just as fucking lost as he was, only in a different way. He blamed the behavior of the Andinna on the Elvasi without understanding the bloodthirsty violence was inherent to their people.

Idiot.

He stuck around the dumbass because he needed some sort of light in the darkness. Trevan was the only light that existed in their cold, damp hell.

Him and his fucking honor.

“Go to sleep, Emerian,” Trevan said softly.

“How did you know I was awake?”

“Your tail is flopping about, meaning you're thinking too hard about something that’s agitating you. Which means you aren’t sleeping.”

“How—”

“I’ve been around Andinna for a long ass time,” Trevan reminded him.

Emerian sighed heavily and uncomfortably rolled onto his back. His wings couldn’t stretch out or fold properly to sleep on them. Since coming to the pits, sleeping on his stomach was more comfortable but too dangerous. He didn’t exactly want to be stabbed in the back.

And that danger was more apparent every day he was there.

They lay in silence, but Emerian couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. The red moon didn’t appear tonight through the little grate above them. It was just the city rising up and the stars.

A city he thought he could prove himself in, earn his freedom. He thought he would finally be in control of his destiny here, and everything was ruined. He was forever doomed to be hated by everyone except one fucking strange Elvasi and his blasted honor.

Luckily, the night was still young. He had plenty of time to sleep.

Or he thought he did. As he stared at the sky, something began to make the scene above him hazy.

“What is that?” he asked, frowning at the sky.

“What?” Trevan snapped. The Elvasi had fought recently and was tired. Emerian understood the pain even though he hadn’t yet fought on the sands. Trevan fought every time, and he dealt with even more violence from the Andinna than the mutt ever did.

“Look.” Emerian didn’t know how to describe it and didn’t want to waste time trying.

Trevan shuffled around and looked up as well.

“That’s…that’s smoke,” the Elvasi whispered. “I wonder where the fire is. A bad fire above us could cause the tunnels to collapse. The city is fragile like that.”

“Has it ever happened before?”

“No, not since before I was born. It was the original reason the pits and Colosseum were shut down before the War, ages ago. Shadra had them repaired when she married the Emperor before I was born. Or so my parents taught me.”

The smoke above them grew thick, and Emerian could smell it. The fire was close and worried him.

He heard running above him. People started screaming.

“Trevan?” Fear began to grip him. Emerian stood up, staring at the small grate.

“I…” Even the honorable Elvasi couldn’t find words. Even as they saw blazes beginning to enter their sight, neither of them moved.

We should go. We should run. We’re going to die here.

Emerian was shaking. He was never courageous or anything fucking like that. He survived because fuck everyone who told him that he couldn’t, but he didn’t see the purpose of dying just to die or fighting just to lose. He would have been killed centuries ago if he was one of those types.

“I found them!” someone yelled above them. “Trevan!”

Emerian recognized the voice as the face came into view.

It was that little fucking human friend Trevan liked so much. The one who brought letters. Emerian never read them and knew why Trevan didn’t share them. Trust only went so far, and he had tried to get other Andinna in trouble when he came to the pits, helping translate Andena. There was no reason for Trevan to trust him.

“Dave! What the hell is going on?” Trevan called.

“Hold on, and we’ll explain everything!” Dave was grinning in the dark.

An explosion rocked the ground. Emerian leaned on the wall, fear tightening its hold over his heart. He was trapped underground, and things were falling down on them. He heard screaming in the depths of the pits.

“About time!” a woman snapped. “Go to the next room, and you’ll see an opening. Take this!” Something dropped into the grate. Trevan grabbed it first and revealed a dagger. “Cut the mutt’s wings free. Hopefully, he can use them.”

Emerian didn’t move as Trevan cut the bonds on his wings. They ran together into the next room and found the street above had collapsed. Rumbling and explosions told them it was happening other places.

“Can you fly?” Dave asked, looking down from the large hole.

Emerian stretched his wings. He hadn’t had them bound for so long they were incapable. He would need to stretch and exercise them, but flight wasn’t impossible.

“Yes!”

“Grab Trevan, and get up here!”

He didn’t give the Elvasi the chance to say otherwise. This was freedom. They were being broken out, just like that little human kept promising. Of all the damn things to happen, Trevan’s honor leading them to an escape was not on the list of things Emerian thought would happen. Apparently, Trevan had better friends than he gave the Elvasi credit for.

Emerian almost didn’t make it, his wings not appreciating the extra weight of the man he was carrying and the lack of exercise over the last several months. He and Trevan each grabbed the edge. Emerian pulled himself up while Dave helped Trevan.

“What the…” Emerian looked up, and he felt faint.

Elliar was on fire. The white marble itself wasn’t burning, but everything in the buildings, every little piece of fabric and shrubbery was heating up and lighting the city aglow. Guards screamed, and people ran.

“What did you do?” Trevan asked softly.

“We’re staging the greatest breakout in Elliar history,” the woman said. Emerian looked at her. A tight cloak protected her, and the hood was up, covering her face. “Now, while you two come with us, we’ll explain what else is happening. We have to move. I don’t have much time. Grab a weapon.” She dropped the pack on her back and revealed a few short swords and a couple of daggers. Emerian grabbed a dagger as he rose to his feet, shoving it in his belt. Then he grabbed a short sword, holding it a little awkwardly. He had been raised a farmer and used scythes. A sword was still new to his hands and didn’t feel right.

“Of course. But someone is going to try to stop—”

Something collapsed, and more people screamed.

“No one is going to be worried about the Andinna tonight, and if they are, it’s going to be because they blame the fires on you,” the woman said softly. “Be ready to fight. Let’s go.”

“We’re ready,” Trevan said, strapping a sword belt around his waist.

They started jogging, the woman leading the way, Trevan in the back. At the beginning of their run, no one stopped them. Guards were pointing for civilians to get out, and there were Andinna included in the masses.

“Don’t let the crowds separate us!” the woman roared. Emerian reached forward with his free hand and grabbed the back of Dave’s tunic. Trevan latched onto his tail, and Emerian didn’t take it personally. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and it was better than having the Elvasi grab down the back of his pants.

“Turn!” she ordered, and they ducked into an alley, out of the crowd. On the far end of the alley, they reached another street where a blaze was taking a building down. “Right!”

Without letting go, they followed her orders seamlessly. Emerian’s heart pounded—he was escaping Elliar. This city that was supposed to be his dream come true and had become his nightmares. He was leaving, and he had no idea where he was going from here.

“Halt! All civilians must go to the main gates to leave the city!” someone yelled.

“Fight,” the woman snapped. “We have to go through them!”

She jumped back, drawing a small sword from under her cloak. Emerian wondered who trained her because she held it with the grace of a professional. The guards drew their weapons, obviously confused by the sudden escalation to violence. Emerian and Trevan dove into the front of their group.

“We’ve got this,” Trevan said to him. “Their armor is weak under their arms and along the sides. The backs of their knees is also a good place to strike.”

“What?” one of the guards said. “How would you—”

“He’s the damn Elvasi who fights in the Colosseum!” another yelled. “He’s property of the Empress and a criminal! Get him!”

Emerian and Trevan met the guards in the middle of the street. Emerian didn’t have a chance to see what Dave and the woman were doing behind him. He met one of the guards and blocked the bastard’s initial swing. Emerian took a chance and shoved him back. He dodged another’s swing, stumbling back.

“Fight like an Andinna, damn it!” the woman snapped, stepping in front of him and killing the guard about to swing down on his head. “You’re fucking warriors.”

He felt those words like a cut. With a snarl, he engaged with another guard and found himself in a flurry of attacks and parries that felt like it never ended. Just like training with Trevan. He remembered each lesson at that moment.

“Go for weak points.”

“There’s no such thing as fighting dirty when your life is on the line.”

“You have to set the pace or let them set the pace, but either way, you remain in control.”

Emerian set the pace. He spent months training against his will, and now was the only chance he seemed to be able to use it. He could be free from the city that hadn’t brought him happiness or acceptance, but instead, brought him nightmares.

Something sliced down his thigh, making him stagger. He shoved his sword into the side of the guard, roaring as the pain sharpened instincts he hated having. His chest vibrating as the growl in it built, he yanked the sword out and pushed away his fallen opponent. With a roar, he brought it down on another guard fighting against Dave. He cleaved the man’s head off. Blood sprayed everywhere.

“All right, let’s keep moving!” the woman ordered. He turned to her to see her cloak was also covered in blood. As they started running again, the city erupted into violence. Emerian turned to look down streets they passed to see Andinna were now in the streets, carrying weapons and cutting a path to freedom as well.

“By the Skies,” he mumbled.

“Keep moving!” Trevan snapped, grabbing his shoulder. “We don’t have time to watch!”

21

Trevan

It was chaos. Trevan’s feet hurt as he ran in the loose gladiator sandals he’d worn for months. His sword arm was tired from recent fights, not yet prepared for a battle of this magnitude.

But still, he had to keep moving. He couldn’t stop to see the fighting breaking out on other streets. He couldn’t stop moving. He finally got free, and stopping meant maybe losing that opportunity.

“What the Skies is going on?” Emerian demanded as they ran.

“We set fires in multiple locations,” Dave yelled back as he panted hard. “The city is in chaos.”

“Left!” the woman yelled from the front before ducking into a small alley. “We’re going to slow down now. Things are more dangerous over here, but it’s our fastest way out of the city.”

Trevan tried not to think of the last time he was slinking down alleys in Elliar. He tried not to consider how he was doing this again.

If it comes to it, I’ll make the same sacrifice. Dave and Emerian need to get out.

“Do we need to be quiet?” Dave asked, looking around.

“No—”

Stone cracked, and something fell. The screams were close. The woman cursed, and Trevan backed up into a wall as he wondered if any of the buildings around them were going to fall.

“Well, then I’ll keep explaining. We had people waiting at different…uh…locations. The fires were planned with explosives, so once they started to grow a little, they would set off the dynamite. Dwarvish invention used in mining.”

“Not important,” Emerian growled.

“Okay, well, we had other people waiting with weapons caches hidden in carts and other places. When everything started up, we—meaning other people in the movement—opened the gates of different places like the pits and started handing out weapons and instructions. We tried to use Andinna household slaves to pass along the orders to keep people from getting hurt. Everyone had been told to head south to Myrsten. Hopefully, they listen.” Dave’s panting slowed. “Do you think they will, ma’am?”

“I hope so, or all of this is for naught,” she said with a bite.

Roars could be heard echoing through the buildings, screams, and steel clashing.

“They’ll run for freedom,” Trevan said softly. “They’ll do whatever they can to get out of the Empire.”

“That’s what I figured, but you never know what goes through a man’s mind once he has a weapon in his hand.” Something about the words made Trevan shiver. This woman had personal experience.

She stopped at the other end of the alley and held up a hand. He watched as she checked their corners, ducking back.

“Shadows,” she hissed.

Trevan grabbed Emerian by the shoulder and yanked him back. Elvasi soldiers ran by, swords drawn. Andinna battle cries could be heard down the road.

“How many gladiators are in the city?” he asked.

“Several hundred,” she answered, looking back at him. While her hood obscured her face, nothing could hide the white grin. “If they band together outside the walls, nothing will be able to stop them from marching south.”

He didn’t ask why they were told to go south. Myrsten was a very important port city just south of Elliar. If anyone wanted to get out of the Empire fast, it was the only place to go.

“Where are we going?” he asked. “Olost?”

“I can’t confirm that until we’re outside the walls,” she said quickly. “The guards and Andinna are busy. Let’s keep moving.” She slipped out of the alley, and he had to run to keep up with her. Dave was beginning to lag, the poor human, so he grabbed the man’s shirt, hauling him to follow and keep up.

As they rounded another corner, Trevan felt something sink into his shoulder.

“Fuck!” He grabbed the arrow and pulled it out, gasping in pain as he ran. “They’re on us!”

“They realized the fires are diversions,” she yelled back at him. “Keep moving! We don’t have all night!”

Trevan looked over his shoulder to see a group of guards chasing them.

“Shouldn’t they be busy, trying to keep Elliar from burning to the ground?” he said, wondering what the guards were thinking.

“They should but catching escaped prisoners would make them look like heroes,” she reminded him. “Especially you. You have a face they all know since you betrayed their order.”

He winced. That was true.

Arrows flew over their heads and landed at their ankles. One skinned his shoulder, making him grunt in pain.

They kept running, but they were losing their lead.

“They’re gaining!” Trevan yelled to the front. Memories crashed into him. He had to stop and defend. He had to see them out to freedom and hold the defense behind them. He wasn’t going to see them all fail to get free—only himself.

He could make that sacrifice one more time. He just hoped he died this time.

He slowed down and turned on the guards, raising his sword. He was a better swordsman now than he ever was as a guard. He finally had blood on his hands and knew how to fight until there was nothing left, something guard duty in the pits could have never taught him.

“Not this time,” the woman snapped, coming up beside him. Her hands flew outward, and the buildings began to rumble. She chanted ancient words of power, the dead tongue of magic, and threw her hands toward the ground.

The buildings followed them, crumbling under whatever might she had just used and blocked the alley behind them.

“I was warned you like doing stupid things,” she practically growled at him. It wasn’t as impressive as an Andinna growl, but he figured she could back it up just as well. “Not this time.”

“You’re a sorceress,” he said numbly.

“I am a sorcerer, male or female, it doesn’t matter. Sorceress is a dead term, and it’s the only good thing Shadra ever did. Sorceresses learn how to brew potions and try to tell fortunes. I’m much more dangerous.”

He nodded, accepting her harsh words. This was something his rescuer was serious about, and he wasn’t about to tell her otherwise. He wanted to leave Elliar, not die under the rubble of it like those guards did.

She went back to the front of the group, and they kept moving.

They moved away from all the major gates out of the city, and Trevan held his breath as they came to a small maintenance door in the wall around Elliar.

22

Emerian

She brought them to a small door. Emerian wondered if his wings were going to fit through it.

“One would think the Empress would have sealed all of these after her Champion escaped, but they’re too important for the maintenance of the wall. Thank the gods, I convinced her of that.” The woman was practically talking to herself because Emerian didn’t hear anyone ask her a question that would have prompted her talking. “She’s going to be furious if she finds out they were used again.” That one was a mumble, but he just caught it. He wondered if Dave and Trevan had heard it.

“HALT!” someone screamed at them. Emerian turned, his sword held high as Elvasi soldiers came toward them. “Halt in the name of the Empress!”

“Go!” the woman ordered. “Get in!” She grabbed Dave and shoved him through the door. Trevan pushed Emerian and followed him. Emerian could see well enough, following Dave. The woman was in the back, and he could still hear the soldiers yelling for them to stop. Steel and armor were banging against the stone walls of the tunnel.

Dave slammed into something, and Emerian nearly ran into the back of him.

“Get the door!” he yelled. They were in a death trap. Dave fumbled with the latches, and Emerian snarled, pulling the human back. “Move!”

He kicked the wooden door twice, listening to it crack and bend. On the third kick, his leg felt like it was going to fall off, but the door caved, and he was able to shove it open.

Emerian staggered out of the tunnel and found himself falling onto grass. Dave was right behind him, falling over him and madly crawling away. He tried to stand, and Trevan ran into him. Finally, the mysterious woman shoved out last, her hands on fire. She turned toward the broken door and roared out an incantation. The guards trying to leave were set ablaze as a scorching torrent of fire filled the tunnel.

“Keep moving!” she snapped. “Go! We need to get around the bend. There’s a small place we can stop for a moment and get this over with.”

Emerian wasn’t sure he liked the way she phrased that, but he followed her. He didn’t have much choice.

They slid into a ditch, and she called out more of that dead language.

“That will hide us for a moment.”

“I don’t see anything,” he said.

“It’s a concealing spell,” Dave explained. “It’s how I could get around the city for the past year. She’s really good at sorcery.”

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” she said loudly, looking at them. “There're no guards on this side of the wall right now because they should all be in there, trying to keep Elliar standing and keep civilians inside alive. The concealing spell is just in case. We can talk for a moment. Dave and I came to find you two specifically because we were worried about your safety escaping with the rest of the Andinna. I was told under no uncertain terms, we had to free every gladiator we could, and you three needed to live through the night and make it to Anden.”

“Three?” Dave gasped. “Wait—”

“You’re going,” she snapped. “I can’t keep you safe any longer, not after this. I’ll be bereft of all of my resources. I’ve spent centuries building the network that made tonight possible. Now it’s spent, and Dave, there’s no reason for you to be in Elliar anymore. You will be joining Trevan and Emerian to Anden.”

“Anden?” Emerian whispered. “Why?”

“King Alchan Andini has started a rebellion against the Empire. It’s the only safe place for all three of you. And it’s freedom.”

Emerian stepped back. King? There was a king? He thought the Andinna were matriarchal and always ruled by a queen. And why the hell did anyone think he wanted to join some fucking rebellion?

“There has to be somewhere else I can go…” he said.

“Once you’re in Anden, they might be able to book your passage to Olost to hide for the remainder of your life. If the rebellion fails, though, you’re going to die or get recaptured, eventually.” She shook her head. “The only reason you’re in this group is Trevan wanted you freed as well. The request I was given was for Trevan and Dave to make it up there safely. It made this entire thing harder because I could have snuck them out without strange looks, but you have wings and a tail. Makes everything a bit more difficult. Not that it went poorly in the end, so welcome to freedom, Emerian. You might want to help the people who worked so hard to give it to you and go to Anden and stay there.”

Emerian felt those words like a kick to the teeth. Trevan and his damn honor was once again the only thing he had to count on anymore. She was right. Everyone had worked hard to free him, even if it was just because Trevan wanted them to. If his only friend was going to Anden, then he should too. If his friend was going to fight, he should as well.

“Why?” Trevan spoke up. “Why are we going to Anden, not Olost?”

“Because the King’s Champion believes she owes you a debt and wants you brought safely to her,” the woman answered. “You would know her as a different Champion, but I guess Maevana Lorren is very good at what she does and earned even more of a reputation in freedom than she had in the Colosseum. She’s the King’s Champion now, his sword, his ruthless weapon on the battlefield, forged by the very enemy she needs to defeat in the coming war. At least, that’s the propaganda I’ve been charged with helping spread.”

Emerian heard the name and understood the meaning. They were only going free because of the damn Andinna who Trevan freed with Dave over a year ago. Everything about tonight was orchestrated because of this fucker’s damn honor. Emerian didn’t understand. The world was too dirty for honor like Trevan’s, and yet it was finally paying off for the Elvasi. It never paid off for anyone. That wasn’t the way the world worked.

“She’s…alive,” Trevan whispered.

“Hmm.” The woman hummed an acknowledgment, nodding. “Alchan Andini is not only the king of the Andinna, he’s also the leader of the Ivory Shadows. He’s one of the Andinna responsible for freeing her to begin with. She still closely serves him. Now, in four days, five ships are going to leave Myrsten. You three will be hiding on one of them. They’ll all be packed with Andinna as this is the greatest breakout in history. There won’t be any living Andinna in Elliar come dawn…” She looked over to her side.

Emerian followed her gaze and saw crowds running out of the city, Andinna among them.

“They’ll be meeting you there in three days. There're different things I have planned to get them there faster than the Empress can catch them, on top of fixing her city.”

“How will we get there?” Dave asked in a small voice. “You never…told me.”

“Ah, yes, I do have to hurry with this.” She turned away from them and raised her hands. Emerian didn’t understand the words she began to chant. In front of her, magic began to swirl and glow. The winds picked up, and the hood of her cloak finally flew back. Trevan gasped. Emerian frowned.

“What?” he whispered.

“Uh…Dave, did you know…”

“Yes,” Dave whispered. “But don’t…”

“Someone tell me what the fuck is going on,” Emerian demanded. The woman turned around, and her gold eyes practically glowed in the night. Her long blonde hair was nearly the same shade as her eyes, spun gold cascading over her shoulders.

“Trevan is surprised because I’m Crown Princess Nyria of the Elvasi Empire, daughter of Empress Shadra,” she explained coolly. “Emerian, you’re to go first.”

He couldn’t move his feet. She was powerfully beautiful, and the magic glowed around her.

“Why?” he asked softly.

“Because I have a brother like you,” she explained, reaching up to run a hand over his cheek. “Go.”

He stepped around her and lost the choice of talking to her more when she shoved him into the swirling magic. He fell onto a wooden floor, and someone grabbed him, pulling him along.

“Got to move, or the next one will fall on ya,” the burly sailor said. Sure enough, Trevan fell through next and was pulled out of the way. Dave came through last.

Then the portal closed.

“Welcome to the Golden Witch. We set sail in five days. You are going to stay here until we’re on the open water. Don’t worry, people will bring you food, water, and chamber pots.” The sailor walked out, leaving Emerian in a dimly lit room with the other two escapees.

“Did all of that really just happen?” he asked softly.

“Yes. We’re free of Elliar. Now, we just need to survive leaving the Empire,” Dave said, sighing.

“How are the Andinna going to get here?” Trevan asked.

“By killing anyone who tries to stop them,” Dave answered. “And a few boats on the river and some carriages. She was right when she said she was using everything she had to make this work. After tonight, our patron and the leader of the Elliar freedom movement will have nothing left.” He was holding a little book he didn’t have earlier.

Emerian let out a long breath.

Fucking hell, I’m being sent to fight in a rebellion.

“How did we end up here?” he asked.

“At some point, we made the right friends and made the right impression,” Trevan answered. “How are you feeling? I know how you feel about Andinna…”

“If you’re going to fight in the rebellion, then so am I,” Emerian said with finality. “I’m only here because you gave me a chance; that much is clear. I thought honor was dead in the world and here you fucking are, moving the gods damn crown princess of the Elvasi Empire to personally rescue you to send you to the rulers of the free Andinna to be…what? Honored as a hero?” He nearly laughed. “I’m just going to follow you. It seems like a good place to be.”

“That’s a good idea,” Dave agreed. “Though, I have no idea what kind of help I’m going to be to the Andinna rebellion.”

“They’ll find something for you,” Trevan said, leaning back on the wooden wall of their small room. “They’ll find us all something to do. In the end, it’s all better than the Empire.”

“Yeah, let’s hope,” Emerian said, pulling his legs up to his chest. “Let’s hope.”

Later that night, another sailor walked in with a bag. He tended their injuries, and a second sailor brought them food. A third removed their slave collars and tucked them away.

Something about the hearty stew provided made it taste like the best food he had ever eaten. Maybe because it was the first food he had ever eaten truly free. He’d been born into slavery. This was the first time he truly had a chance to live whatever life he wanted to live.

Trevan was talking quietly with Dave on the other side of the room.

And it’s all because of him.

23

Shadra

Shadra watched the fires from her window.

Whoever timed this scheme had timed it well. She was woken when the fires first broke out as she always would be if there was a possible threat to her safety in Elliar. The sizes of the fires and the locations of them pointed to this being a premeditated attack, not a simple accident.

“Where are my children?” she asked loudly to the guards around her room. She pulled her robe over herself tighter, glaring at the scene in the city.

“Our men went looking for them. No one has reported back yet,” her Captain of the Guard answered. “Empress…”

“I understand what the possibilities are. I don’t need you to inform me of them. I don’t need anything from you right now.” She held onto her feelings like a tightly coiled viper—wanting to strike out and hurt people—feelings she hated having to deal with. She wasn’t one of them—the emotional, dangerous Andinna. She was Elvasi. She was the Empress.

She did not submit to feelings. She turned them into weapons and used them to further her plans. Nothing she did was purely for herself. She couldn’t allow it. She had to turn the viper that was her anger into a weapon to further her power and defeat her enemies. Not just for her, but for her Empire, for her people.

As Elliar blazed in front of her, she resisted the urge to say the name of the boy she blamed. She wanted to scream it into the flames and rage, but with her guards in the room, she couldn’t even do that.

Luykas, that insolent boy, was ruining thousands of years of plans. As she stared at Elliar burning, her mind turned to the past, trying to find the chain of events that led her carefully laid plans astray.

Her plans had started ages ago. The Emperor and the rest of nobility knew her as the orphan who refused to marry, refused to give up the House and power her family had garnered for centuries. Left an orphan, her only choices in life had been to sell it all off or marry into another noble house—the only things a girl could do. She could never be powerful in her own right.

Neither of those options was good enough for her, so she worked hard. She rose through the ranks, leaning on both her skill and the prestige of her parents. She whispered in the right ears. She destroyed the right people.

And she was able to begin laying the groundwork she needed. She was chosen as a diplomat to the royal Andinna dignitaries who arrived in the Empire to renegotiate trade agreements. She had met Behron there. He was the perfect target—male, hungry for power, and stuck in a world the direct opposite of her own. Females held all the power among his people while males held all the power in hers. They connected in the perfect way.

She was never supposed to get pregnant. She was already hungry for power when Luykas had been born. She had positioned herself to be selected as part of the diplomats who helped negotiate trade deals with Anden. She was never supposed to have the white-winged boy with his father’s fiery Andinna temper and her grandfather’s eyes. Behron then cut a wound so deep, she could never forgive nor forget. He ignored her and the child, disappearing beyond the Dragon Spine, and never returned. She didn’t know why it had hurt her so terribly. She had been emotional after the birth of her oldest son, something that didn’t happen with the births of her second son or daughter.

Her plans had changed that day, but they continued to move forward. She raised her son, hoping he would mesh with Elvasi society. He was close, but then adulthood came near, and more of the Andinna nature began to show. It didn’t stop or even slow her plans, though. She finally had an offer of marriage she couldn’t refuse.

They said she was an orphan who had to give up her power, so she took all of it. She married the Emperor, lost her son to his father’s people, and rose to become the most powerful woman in the world. To secure that power and have her name written in the annals of history, she had to claim the very prize no Elvasi Emperor had ever taken. The last free nation and people on their continent. She had to defeat the so-called greatest warriors their world had ever seen or ever would see.

She had to conquer the Andinna.

The seeds she had planted in Behron’s mind were ripe. He was willing to help even though he was angry with having the boy in his country. It had ruined his reputation and destroyed his marriage. It hadn’t been hard to convince him that their son wouldn’t be a problem for either of them much longer.

Her plans were always changed and ruined by that son. She could have given him power, and he turned away from her. Now, he went out of his way to ruin what she had.

Damn that insolent boy.

Looking back, there was only one wild factor in any of her plans, and it was him—the son she never meant to have. Her heart clenched. Even when she saw him after his foolish attack on Ellantia, she had loved him.

That love was dying as she watched Elliar burn.

Like the white marble of the ancient city, her heart was cracking and crumbling.

This was all his fault.

“Empress! Your son has been found! He’s on his way here now.”

The words shocked her enough to spin.

No, not that son.

Lothen was coming, not Luykas.

She watched as Lothen ran into the room, eyes wild, covered in soot, and smelling of smoke.

“Mother, you’re safe!” he called out, walking to her. She opened her arms, and for a moment, they held each other. “I was worried. I was outside the city with friends when it began. I had to get back in to see you to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” she said gently, running her hand over his hair. Lothen, her arrogant, young man, still had something close to a heart. He took after his father, though. She couldn’t forget that as she let him go. “Have you seen your sister?”

“She’s not here?” He frowned.

“She enjoys staying at her private residence, and we haven’t gotten word of her safety yet.” Shadra turned away and looked in the direction of her daughter’s home. There was blaze engulfing it. Whatever her qualms with her daughter, she didn’t wish her dead—never that. That feeling was only reserved for one of her children.

“I’ll take my unit and—”

“No,” she snapped. “I want us all here and safe. Her guards will get her here. If they fail, I’ll have them all skinned and burned alive. I won’t risk both of you, though.” She needed an heir and a spare, especially if she was about to begin a full-out war against her son and his damned brother, the fucking King.

Alchan. I wish I had met him more than a handful of times. Maybe he could have been corrupted as easily as his father. Too late now.

Lothen stood next to her, watching the blazes as they waited for Nyria.

“What are we going to do? The Andinna…” He sighed. “This is bad, Mother.”

“We’ll discuss it once the blazes are out. There’s nothing we can do right now except trust the forces in the city and around it to protect our people to the best of their abilities. And hope that a winter rain comes to help.” That struck an idea for her. “Guards. Try to send word to the Sorcerer Guild and have them attempt to bring the rains.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

It was a wild bid, probably taking more power than they had in the city, but they could try.

As the guard went to run out, Shadra smelled something horrendous and looked at the door. Nyria stumbled in, terrified, the poor child.

“Mother? Mother! Look at what they did!” Tears ran down her sweet daughter’s face, and Shadra couldn’t resist marching to her and pulling her close. Her daughter was covered in dust and dirt, still in her nightgown and without a cloak, the poor child. “Mother, look!”

“I see, Nyria. I see,” she murmured. “We’re all safe, though. We’re safe, and we’ll destroy them for this.”

“How?” Gold eyes turned up on her. “We’re going to send our armies, right? We’re going to crush them before they finish escaping, right?”

“No,” Shadra said sadly. “There’s nothing I can do about the escaping Andinna tonight except let them go and hope my people are protected from the violence.”

“What do you mean?” Nyria was stuttering. Shadra ran a hand over the girl’s dirty cheek.

“Our armies marched north weeks ago for training because we know Alchan Andini’s forces are in the Dragon Spine, even though we haven’t found them yet. My Generals foolishly believed Elliar was safe being so far south and convinced me it was fine sending the main strength of our forces north.” Shadra would have all of their fingers for that advice. She had taken it, allowing them to be in charge because they were upset about Ellantia. Now, they would pay for it.

“We can stop them from getting to Anden, then,” her son pointed out.

“They won’t go to Anden,” Shadra said bitterly. “They’re going to go south and take Myrsten and sail away.”

It was obviously the best plan the freed slaves could have, and if Alchan and Luykas were behind this, it would be what they decided on—get the Andinna on ships, leaving destruction in their wake, and send them north to Anden to join the rebellion and bolster numbers. If her armies were still close, she would be able to stop it, but her southern fleet was still being rebuilt after that mutt burned it, and her northern fleet was in Ellantia. She would have to have them block the Andinna from making it past Ellantia and Kerit before finding another port to enter the wasteland that was Anden and joining their king.

“Take Myrsten?” Nyria gasped, her words frantic. “Mother, my ships are down there! There're thousands of our people there! More Andinna!”

Shadra knew all of that. She couldn’t stop the wave of Andinna now. If they banded together and moved south together, there was no force she had in fighting distance that could stop them without being decimated.

“Mother, we have to stop—”

“We can’t. Not yet,” she snapped, cutting Lothen off. “We’re going to evacuate the city. Let the Andinna run their course. Myrsten has a large fishing industry and can recover as long as the Andinna don’t burn it down like they have here.”

“There can’t be—”

“Seven hundred and some,” she said, not allowing him to speak. “That’s how many gladiators were in Elliar and around it. They will find nearly three hundred more in Myrsten. That is not a small upstart group of Andinna, even if you discount the household slaves who have probably also escaped. That is an army, and we don’t have anyone close enough to stop them. As of yesterday, our closest force capable of stopping them is three weeks away. They will be at Myrsten within a week. Do you understand?”

Her children were silent. Shadra worked hard to reel in her anger. She couldn’t lash out at them. They needed her to be cool, collected, ready to make the decisions until either of them was ready to do it on their own. She had to be a good role model to them, no matter which one of them ended up on the throne. Nyria had little to no chance, but Shadra considered her. Maybe tonight would hone her daughter and teach her that important something the girl had always been missing.

“So…we evacuate Myrsten of the Empire citizens and the Andinna—”

“Not the Andinna. We let them stay for their fellows to find. If we take them, guards will have to keep them in line, instead of defending our people.” Shadra hated it. She was giving the Andinna a chance to get out, but she had to always first protect the humans and Elvasi who called the Empire home. “They escape with the others, a thousand Andinna. They will travel along the coasts and move north. The Northern Fleet is weakened, but they can patrol the waters and make sure the free Andinna sink at sea. It’s what they deserve for this.”

“So, instead of chasing them hard now, we lie in wait for them.” Lothen nodded. “And the ones in the Spine? Are you going to give me leave to go after them?”

“Not yet. There are experienced generals who can handle the work in the mountains for now. There’s no reason to risk your life yet, except glory.” She reached out and ran a hand over his cheek. “Glory is an exceptional thing to fight over, and if it comes to it, we’ll go north and be there to crush the Andinna, but if we leave now, we validate them.”

“This didn’t validate them?” Nyria looked off Shadra’s balcony. “Look at this.”

“No, this didn’t validate them. A handful of humans with some torches could have done this. No, we can’t validate the rebels in the north, or our people will be scared. This…this I can write off as an unfortunate accident and a reason we need to bring the Andinna back in line.”

“Always spin it in our favor,” Nyria whispered. “We’re the victims, right? That’s what we’re going to say?”

“Essentially. Now, sweetheart, you’re going to move back in with me. I don’t want you out of the palace where I don’t know if you’re safe. Is that clear?” She wasn’t going to risk her daughter’s life just so the girl could have the privacy she wanted.

“Yes, Mother,” Nyria agreed, bowing to her. “I’ll make the arrangements to have all of my surviving things brought to the palace.”

“Good.” Shadra looked back out on the burning city. The Andinna did this, and she had to focus on how she would start spinning it in her favor. She needed her plan to be perfect by the time the fires were out.

I’ll have every man, woman, and child remembering why they should fear the Andinna and fighting for my cause by the end of winter.

24

Mave

In silence, they waited on word. The entire Company had gathered. Allaina had been called, so had Senri. One of the Hornbuckles was there, and so was Sen.

As time ticked by, they went from waiting tensely around the room, no one seated, to everyone lounging as best they could, trying to find space around Alchan’s home. Mave found her head on Mat’s lap, and her legs tangled with Bryn’s. Wings were rubbing against each other, and no one really knew whose tail was touching whose.

“Gladiators, huh?” Seanev commented late in the night, or maybe it was early in the morning. Mave had no idea anymore. “Andinna who had been using weapons even while in slavery. Should be good to have them.”

“Don’t get excited,” she said, staring at the ceiling. “None of them are good.”

Mat chuckled, running his hand her hair. He knew.

“Based on what measure?” Leria asked.

“Mine,” she answered.

“You were the best warrior down there,” Seanev said, making her sit up. He knew, then.

“I wasn’t always. I didn’t just wake up at ninety-seven, not even an adult, and decide I was the best gladiator in the Colosseum. Kill or die. I got very good at killing. Took centuries to build up the reputation to live safely, though.” She looked across the room at the ruby eyes of her blood brother. “Which means none of those gladiators were good enough to kill a child who didn’t know how to use a sword when I first arrived. And they tried.”

Seanev stared at her for a long time, thoughtful. The silence was heavy again, but Mave couldn’t break the stare between her and her blood brother until a mug was shoved in her face.

“Here. I made coffee for all the females,” Allaina snapped when Mave looked up at her, unable to see her brother any more. “Drink.”

“I thought we were past the bitchiness to just be bitchy,” Mave muttered, taking the mug slowly.

“I could be home. With my husbands. I’m here.” Allaina huffed, shaking her head.

“Why are you here? For that matter, why are so many of us here?” Mat leaned back, pulling Mave with him. She agreed. There was a large crowd just waiting on news.

“I…” Allaina pursed her lips, obviously trying to consider what she was going to say. “I know your history with the gladiators. It just felt like a reason to be here when I got word it was happening tonight.”

“I’m not worried about the gladiators,” Mave promised, struck by the thoughtfulness of Allaina’s words. “I’m not worried.”

“Then why are you staying up?” the mativa asked softly, her head tilting to the side, causing black hair to cascade down like a wave of night. Mave never stopped noticing Allaina was probably the most beautiful Andinna in the room. It was hard to miss.

“There’re two priorities…targets I’m interested in. An Elvasi and a human. They’re being brought here as well.” Mave sipped the coffee, smiling when she realized it was done the way she liked. Allaina found a seat near her, still curious. They were freeing hundreds of Andinna tonight, and it was obviously odd Mave was more interested in two people who probably shouldn’t matter.

“The Elvasi was a guard in the pits, and I only remember noticing him a handful of times the entire time he was down there with me. They all blend together after a century. The human was the servant whose job can best be described as handling me. There was always a human servant assigned to me to make sure I knew where I needed to be and when I needed to be there.”

“Why do you want them here? Did they wrong you?”

“No. They helped free me,” Mave explained, looking down at her drink. “Dave has been running from the law of the Empire since that night. Luckily, he apparently had people helping him, but he needs to get out of the Empire. I want him here.” Dave. Sweet fucking Dave. Throwing himself into the open to distract the guards so she, Matesh, Rainev, and Zayden could slip by. She’d never forget that moment.

“The Elvasi…his name is Trevan, and he was thrown in the pits for helping free me. We were running, and he’d taken the back of the group. We were ducking into alleys, but soldiers were chasing us. He decided to stop and fight them off. I think we were all certain he would die, but that’s the decision people need to make sometimes. We found out he was captured and thrown in the pits instead. Shadra’s way, I think, of having a laugh. She’s inventively cruel.”

“Oh, Mave,” Allaina whispered. “You’re bringing a human and Elvasi here…”

“It’s all I can do, and obviously, I’m not bringing them here. I have to hope they get here on their own with the help of the freedom movement agents in Elliar.”

She didn’t move when Allaina touched her arm.

“When they get here, let me know if there’s any way I can help. It’s not going to be easy for them here in the Dragon Spine, surrounded by Andinna who…”

“I know,” she said, still looking at her drink. “I’ll make it work. I just can’t leave them there. Not after they lost everything getting me out. I was never kind to Dave. I had seen humans come and go in his job for centuries, but he still helped me. Trevan is one of them. He’s Elvasi. He saw the pits, was down there all the time as a guard, yet he helped me. They’ll be safer here than with Shadra.”

“Do you really think so?” Allaina removed her hand.

“Yes.”

Because I can kill anyone who tries to hurt them. They’re…they’re my heroes.

She didn’t need to say that to the room.

They all settled back into their silence, but it didn’t last. Small conversations began as people relaxed, tired of waiting in quiet. They talked about their days, what their plans were.

“Leshaun, have we heard anything?” Alchan asked softly across the room.

“The last update I received was the blazes were started.”

“What kind of contacts do you have Elliar?” Leria asked, leaning on Seanev. “We haven’t had much of a chance to speak on some of these things. Why not now?”

“We have one proper spy in Elliar who relays to me everything going on in the city with the movement,” Leshaun explained. “A noblewoman who finds slavery a blight on their society. She’s most certainly in charge of everything going on in Elliar that’s important to us.”

Mave nearly opened her mouth but didn’t. Once, she believed all Elvasi were perpetrating the crimes committed against her and the Andinna. Trevan had proven otherwise. It was just like the Andinna. Some had treated her terribly, but she had good people around her now, and maybe there was some truth in good Elvasi like there was truth in good Andinna.

“There were always Elvasi citizens of the Empire who disagreed with the War and the slavery of the Andinna afterward,” Alchan said, not directing the comment at her. She assumed he was explaining it to Seanev and Leria, who apparently had lived the last thousand years on scraps of news and in hiding.

“I remember,” Seanev replied. “I sat with Father and Hertesh, reading those reports. Nobles who were upset with the destroyed trade deals, upset with friends who traveled between the two nations, disappearing or dying. We’re the only two races that live so long. It was easy for us to have a small bond with the Elvasi, thanks to that understanding.”

“Emperor Lothen and Shadra disrupted it, and they did it well. For the nobles who didn’t care about the Andinna, she played up our violent natures and the need for Elvasi to secure its borders. She played that we might one day be an invading force. We’re a warrior people with a much-respected goddess who represents death, war, and darkness. It’s easy to incite fear when it comes to the Andinna.” Alchan sighed, stretching out his legs. “Rain, can I get a coffee as well?”

“There’s already another pot on the stove. Allaina felt the females deserved drinks first.”

“Of course. Whenever it might be ready is fine.” The king shrugged. Mave smirked. He was the most powerful Andinna in the room but allowed the females of their matriarchal race to have a drink before him.

“But she wasn’t able to win them all over. Is that what you’re saying?” Leria sipped on her own drink between sentences. She seemed thoughtful, intelligent, and Mave had the small urge to pop her eyes out of their sockets for some reason. Maybe it was because Luykas was sitting beside her, looking tired and bored.

“Yes,” Luykas answered. “That’s what he’s saying. That’s part of the genius of Shadra’s entire scheme, though. She knew there would be dissenters, but she placed the first of thousands of Andinna slaves much further south. The Elvasi who didn’t care suddenly realized they had slaves who lived as long as they did. Enticing since retraining servants for every generation of humans is often a burden on Elvasi noble houses. It’s tiring. Most Elvasi don’t want to do menial work, changing bedsheets and the like. Those are jobs for humans and the young Elvasi who want to get involved in estate management and household service. No Elvasi retires as a maid. It’s unheard of.”

“And suddenly, they had slaves who would be able to do the work for centuries on end,” Alchan said, nodding. “That’s the point and the problem with the Empire right now. If Shadra completely crushes us and every Andinna who remembers being free, she wins. If we keep free Andinna and keep fighting, we have a foothold in this world to try to free more.”

“If we free too many, the Empire collapses, and she knows it,” Luykas said with a small smile. “They’ve spent a thousand years putting Andinna slaves into roles humans once held. It’s left their human population unemployed and in poverty since the humans either don’t have work or don’t want to do the same jobs as a slave. Now, it’s degrading to work fields because the violent barbarian slaves do that sort of work. It’s degrading to be a bedsheet changing maid because some little Andinna child or youth can do that sort of work.”

“All of this has crippled the arguments of Elvasi nobles who want Andinna free and slavery abolished in the Empire. They rely on it too much now for the movement to build much power to have any political traction,” Alchan finished. “Which means if someone wants to work at the effort, they must do so in secret and with us.”

“That gives you a noblewoman who spies and orchestrates breakouts from the heart of the Empire,” Leria concluded. “You two have been considering this for a long time.”

“We were trained not to be stupid,” Luykas said, grinning at her. She smiled in return, and Mave bit her tongue. She wouldn’t growl at Leria. Luykas didn’t belong to Mave, and apparently, he liked a female from the village. Mave still didn’t know who that was, but it couldn’t be Leria because she hadn’t even been around for a full week.

“What about humans? How do they feel about our freedom now that they’re poor?” Seanev stretched out, his black tail flicking around with boredom Mave was certain they all felt.

“It’s important to remember even though the humans of the Empire are suffering, thanks to Andinna slavery, they aren’t on our side, not yet.” Luykas sighed. “Sen, you work with humans the most. You know the answer to this.”

The pirate laughed. “It’s not hard to figure out. It’s been at least ten generations for humans since the War ended. They don’t even remember who their families were five generations ago. They only know Andinna slavery at this point. They don’t know a world otherwise. They believe what the Empire tells them. It’s in their education, their daily lives. After two, three hundred years, Shadra had most of the humans on her side because the ones who remembered otherwise are dead. On top of that, there was a time when humans only knew War. They were born, lived, and died while the Andinna and Elvasi were fighting.” Sen sounded well-educated. Mave frowned. She didn’t know if he was or not. She always knew him for the brash ways of being a pirate.

“So, we have to change their minds in other ways,” Mat said loudly. She didn’t even realize he was following the conversation. “Like Dave. He came to our side on his own after seeing Mave’s day-to-day life and how terrible it—”

“Mat,” she whispered, cutting him off. “Please, don’t.” She didn’t want to get into the details of her life in the pits, not with so many people in the room. She looked across the room again and saw Leria eyeing her. There was worry there, a sense of sadness.

“I’ll stop,” he promised, leaning in to kiss her.

“The point is valid. Humans need to see, hear, and understand the cruelty the Andinna have faced as slaves of the Empire. We need to be the victims in their eyes, not violent people kept under control by the Empire,” Luykas said. “This all comes later, though. We need to secure Kerit as an official foothold and to give validity to the rebellion. It gives us a real vantage point.”

“All of this hinges on success tonight,” Alchan reminded his brother.

That shut down the conversation. Mave leaned into Mat again, and they went back to waiting. Not all talking stopped, a few people continuing their quiet conversations. Mave eyed Kian and Senri murmuring in the corner. Beyond them, Nevyn and Varon were signing to each other, keeping their conversation completely silent and mostly private. She assumed not everyone in the room knew the hand-based language Varon had to use. Rain started whispering to Alchan about something, who leaned his head and smiled as Rain spoke.

It felt like hours, but word finally came

“We have a message,” Leshaun announced. “Priority targets secured. In Myrsten by way of portal. No major injuries. Andinna across Elliar headed South. Myrsten will be evacuated and free for them to pass through.”

“Good,” Alchan said. “Rainev, break out the blood wine, and we’ll have a celebratory toast. Then all of you can get out of my house.”

It took a few moments for it to sink in, then everyone in the room started to cheer…except Bryn. Mave turned to him, concerned as she realized her husband wasn’t excited. He shook his head a little.

“Tell me what’s wrong, now or later,” she whispered to him, still clapping.

“Later,” he promised.

“Wait, we have someone on our side who can use portal magic?” Luykas called out. “Leshaun, who is that?”

“The noblewoman is a high-class sorcerer. She started as my spy and has been developing her skills to become more useful,” the old male explained.

“Only a handful of sorcerers in the world can use portal magic over distances like Elliar and Myrsten. Do you understand how valuable that is?” The mutt laughed incredulously. “She made a portal that was stable enough to send three people to Myrsten. That’s power.”

“Do you know how?” Leria asked. “I’ve been told you know sorcery as well as our blood magic.”

Mave gritted her teeth as Luykas rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly smiling at Leria’s curious gaze.

“No, I don’t. That’s a skill only taught to master-level adults. I left Elliar before I was ready to start portal theory. I’m mostly self-taught in higher levels of sorcery.”

“A shame. I know it’s taboo, but we’re fighting the Empire. There’s no reason our tools should be hamstrung. If you’d like, maybe you can teach some Andinna without blood magic sorcery. It’s a skill anyone can learn, right? You could lead our very own War Sorcerers.”

“The average Andinna can’t learn it. Plus, I’ve got my place on the battlefield. Mave and I fight side-by-side, on the front line.”

At Leria’s raised eyebrow, Mave walked over.

“We’re blood bonded. Like Nevyn and Varon, we fight together.” As she spoke, she wrapped a hand around Luykas’ forearm and slowly pulled. “We’ve been training with it for several months now.”

“They’re two of the best fighters I have,” Alchan added. “And members of the royal guard. If they aren’t on the frontline, they’re with me.”

“Ah, real shame,” Leria whispered, then her eyes fell down to Mave’s hand. When their eyes met again, Leria didn’t hold the stare long.

“Blood wine is ready!” Rain yelled from the kitchen. “Grab a glass off the dining table.”

Mave didn’t move, keeping Luykas beside her. Mat was kind enough to bring her a drink, and Alchan had one for Luykas. Bryn shuffled near her, holding a glass, but she didn’t know if he was going to drink from it. He didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Once everyone had a drink, Alchan raised his in the air.

“To our allies, who decided every Andinna, no matter where they are, deserves a chance at freedom. To the burning of Elliar and, I’m sure, all of our disappointment at not being able to see it.” Everyone chuckled. “And to tomorrow when our plans to take Kerit begin in earnest. Enjoy yourselves, everyone. You have until Al Moro Nat to settle your plans, then we fly to reclaim what’s ours.”

“Here, here!” everyone chanted. Mave sipped the wine, letting it warm her belly. Blood wine—she had never had it before. How Alchan got hold of it, she didn’t know, but it was delicious.

“Now, get out,” Alchan said unceremoniously. The room was full of laughter as they filed out of his home. Mave jumped off with Matesh and Brynec once they were outside and didn’t pause until they were inside, their boots were kicked off, trying to find comfortable spots in their bedroom. Outside the room, they could hear Zayden getting in, and when his door closed, Mave looked at her rogue husband.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

“Saving an Elvasi,” he mumbled. “I don’t like it.”

“He helped free me,” she reminded him.

“Still an Elvasi. I can’t promise I’ll like him, love. I can’t promise that will matter when he’s here. I hope you don’t expect me to.” He refused to look at her as she stepped into his view. He kept his eyes down, ignoring her worried stare.

“Bryn…he helped free me, and I owe him. I know you hate the Elvasi. I hate most of them, but not this one. He doesn’t deserve what’s been done to him, and he’ll be safer here, where we all know he’s on our side.” Mave reached out for him, grabbing his hands. “You don’t have to like it, but please don’t be upset.”

“I’ll try. Let’s go to bed. We’ve got work to do tomorrow.” He kissed her forehead, then found a spot in their room, curling up. Mave nestled between him and Mat, knowing the winds were shifting for the rebellion, tilting slightly in their favor.

They had to use their advantage wisely now.

25

Mave

Mave found herself training the females the next afternoon. Senri and Allaina were with her, helping her keep everyone on track.

“You’re getting better!” Mave called out, seeing improvement in many of the females. It was a boon. She had told them when training started, there was news. When she was finished explaining the breakout in Elliar, many of them had seemed excited, ready to continue fighting. It was something.

“Oh, did we warn you?” Senri asked her softly.

“Obviously not, since I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered, frowning at her friends. Allaina sighed heavily.

“We should have mentioned it last night, but with the thing in Elliar and other discussions…”

“Don’t beat around the bush.”

“Leria is bringing her females later. They’ve been living traditionally, so the females in her community are…good role models, and there are several of them.” Senri crossed her arms as she spoke, looking out at the females they were training. “She didn’t bring any who have young children, but she still has a good fifty females who are fighting strength and warriors. She stopped in on us while you were taking time off and saw what we were working with. When we explained our situation with how females weren’t allowed to fight, and many of them were slaves until recently, she realized we needed more role models. More females like us who will help guide the new ones.”

Mave let that sink in. Her brother’s wife was coming. She was dominant enough to make Mave uncomfortable for some reason, and she was going to be here, in Mave’s space, where Mave trained people, something she wasn’t particularly good at.

“Yeah, maybe you should have told me last night,” she muttered. “How long do we have?”

“Well, she was planning right after lunch, but we all lost the morning because we needed sleep. She’ll be here soon, though.” Allaina stood next to her, staring at the females as well. “We need her. I’m glad to have another trained and experienced mativa. It’s always a hassle when new females come in, and the structure has to be rearranged, but we need her. She saw the females we were working with and knew she had to reach out, but I wasn’t in the position to ask her. Less dominance but with the backing of Alchan—”

“I don’t need to know the politics. If you both think we need her, then we need her. All I want to do is make sure these females are willing and capable of holding and using a sword if the need arises.”

“Of course,” Allaina said, sighing. “You have your priorities.”

“Should I change them?” Mave snapped, turning on her. She regretted it, shaking her head in dismay. “I’m not a leader like both of you. I’m good with a sword and tough enough to force people to get off their asses.”

“I agree with you,” Allaina reminded her. “I agree that every single Andinna needs to be trained to defend themselves. Especially since…especially since we could have defended ourselves in Olost if just half the females of our village were confident in their skills and trained better. We weren’t better trained, so we lost so many people, and a whole community was crushed.”

“And you think we need Leria.”

“I think we need her.”

Mave sighed. “Like I said earlier, if you think we need her, then we need her.”

They continued to run basic exercises and sparring circles. Senri saw the coming group before Mave and Allaina, thumping them to turn around. With a still, emotionless face, Mave watched as Leria landed, and nearly fifty females landed behind her, all wearing their armor, ready for battle. It was an impressive sight.

“Hello! I hope you’ve all had a good day. I was caught up in meetings, so please accept my apologies for being a touch late.” She smiled between them. “None of you were there. Do you mind me being curious as to why?”

“It was a day talking about future attack plans on Kerit.” Senri shrugged. “My husband, Kian, is the soldier. I’m in charge of the defense of this community. I don’t need attack plans. Alchan knows how many trained warriors need to remain behind to keep our home secure, and I’ll rely on him to make sure that happens.”

“And I’m the mativa here, not of the entire rebellion. If Alchan goes somewhere, he needs generals, not me. As long as supplies will survive through the winter and I can take care of those remaining, he can do as he pleases,” Allaina said.

Leria was still smiling as her eyes settled on Mave.

What are you looking for, Leria? Do you want me to be my parents? My brother? And how dare you question any of us?

“He tells me where to go, who to kill, and I do that. No more, no less,” she explained. “Also, I didn’t feel like going.”

“He said similar when I asked him where his Champion was,” she said softly, stepping closer. “Said if you didn’t feel the need to come to the meeting, you wouldn’t.”

“Before you arrived, I sat through enough of them to get annoyed. Everything went in circles, I didn’t have answers, and there were better things to do with my time,” Mave replied, turning away. That prompted a growl from someone. She turned back slowly, an eyebrow raised. “Who was that?”

Leria turned to her group as someone stepped forward. She was tall, taller than any other female in the field. Across her back was a longsword, not the traditional morok. She was bulkier than Mave by a long shot.

She’s a female version of Matesh. Fantastic. Like I really needed to deal with this today.

“The mativa was talking to you—”

“She’s not my mativa. I answer directly to King Alchan. Alchan knows me, and I know him. What decisions we make between the two of us are our business. I didn’t owe your mativa an explanation.”

“She’s my husband’s sister,” Leria added gently. “And, Yenni, she outranks me. Actually, she’s the highest-ranking female Andinna alive, so please, don’t disrespect her trying to protect my honor.”

“But…”

“It’s high time there was a female more dominant than me. Let it go.”

Mave caught something interesting, Leria reaching out and running her hand down Yenni’s arm. It wasn’t friendly, feeling strangely intimate. The intimidating posture of the female relaxed. When Yenni was calm, Leria turned her attention back on us.

“I’m sorry. I’m used to knowing everything, used to being in control. I know my duty to the king, and now, I have to adjust to respecting the boundaries of others. Allaina and Senri answer to Luykas and King Alchan. You answer to him, not me.” She gave them a sheepish smile. “And I was curious. I guess I expected more females in the room.”

“There normally are, but you know, not everyone can get to every meeting or needs to. Extra heads sometimes just make a mess,” Allaina replied, friendly. “Come.” When Leria stepped into the group, Allaina turned them to the females Mave trained.

“Everyone, meet Leria, the mativa of the free Andinna in Anden. For a thousand years, she’s led nearly twenty-five hundred Andinna, keeping them hidden from the Empire while they thrived. She’s brought the females of her war group to us because she and I believe you need to see how free Andinna females train, live their lives, and balance their duties. Leria, anything you would like to say?”

“Yes. I’ve heard many of you are having a hard time with the training regimen. I understand it’s hard. It’s going to be hard until it becomes normal. I’m sure Mave, Senri, and Allaina have all told you this. They’re right. Your main duty, even if you don’t fight in any battles going forward, is to be able to fight. We’re Andinna. We owe our wings to Kristanya, our goddess of war. You will learn to fight even if it hurts.”

Mave watched a few of the females roll their eyes, upset yet another female was telling them this. She growled softly, causing all eyes on her.

“You’ll respect Leria, or you’ll challenge me today for one blood to get out of training. Those are the terms.”

No one spoke up to challenge her, so Mave nodded to Leria, letting her know she could continue.

“Now, many of the females behind me are wives and mothers. They’re healers, farmers, and crafters. They are also warriors. They defend what they have and take pride in doing so. They lead their men. Strong males band around strong females. Strong households are imperative to keeping communities moving and under control. We’re here today, and we’ll be here every day after to help you train. My females are going to spread out among you and help train each of you on a more individual basis. They’re free to answer any questions you may have, but be careful, most of them are blunt and willing to whack someone for being disrespectful.”

Leria waved a hand, and her females spread out, introducing themselves to the females Mave was training. As chatter started up, the groups split off on their own. Leria was smiling when she turned on Mave.

“Should we give them a day or two to get to know each other?”

“That’s fine,” Mave answered. When Leria didn’t stop staring at her, she grew uncomfortable. “Is there something you still need?”

“I have a wine skin if anyone is interested. I figured the four of us could have a seat, watch the training from the shade. How does that sound?”

“I’m fine with that,” Allaina said. “Thank you. Mave? Senri?”

“Why not? We never hang out and just relax.” Senri threw an arm over Mave’s shoulder, giving her a side glance.

I guess I’m not going to be able to duck out of this one.

“What kind of wine do you have? And how have you been settling in?” Allaina took point and guided them to the tree line. There was an area set up where females were able to take a break. She grabbed a blanket off the table and laid it out. Mave bit back a groan as Senri positioned her and sat her down. She took the spot next to her while Leria and Allaina sat in front of them. Mave was resigned to not having a view of the females in the training field anymore.

“I have a red that a small homestead makes in northern Anden,” Leria said, pulling the skin out of her bag. She opened it and sniffed. “Perfect. Here, give it a try.” She held it to Allaina, who sipped cautiously. Whatever it was seemed good because she took a second, longer drink quickly.

“Tastes like home,” Allaina said, holding the skin out. Mave shook her head, not wanting to drink so early in the day. “You know, you can learn how to relax.”

“It’s not a skill I’ve gotten a real chance to develop,” she countered. “And it’s not been proven to be a useful skill. Every time I let my guard down, something happens.”

“We’ll win this rebellion, and I’ll teach you,” Senri whispered, grinning. It wasn’t quiet enough for the other females to miss. Everyone except Mave chuckled.

“First, we need to take Kerit,” she retorted.

Senri laughed a little louder, covering her face. “Oh, Skies, it’s true. Can’t do anything until we take fucking Kerit.”

“Today, we decided to leave for Kerit two days after Al Moro Nat. That way, everyone gets the chance to sleep before getting on the road. It’s three weeks to Kerit at standard marching pace, but we’re hoping to push it in two.” Leria sipped on the wine next. “This is nice.”

“What is?” Mave asked, curious what could possibly be nice about anything happening. She was stuck with a bunch of females, trying to be social. It wasn’t exactly her definition of a good day.

“Being around females who hold the same or higher rank. In my community, I’ve been at the top since the War ended. There’s been no one except Seanev, and he’s my husband. He’ll always defer to me. It’s not easy being…the lonely one.” The female’s eyes seemed to see something far away as she spoke, a deep sadness coming into her expression.

“You sure gave up that power fast enough,” Mave mumbled. When Leria focused on her, Mave explained. “Luykas said you gave up power quickly. You even let Alchan keep Allaina the mativa of this village because he felt you had too much.”

“You don’t understand, do you?” she asked softly.

“Mave doesn’t hold power in the way most Andinna females do,” Senri said quickly. “She’s refused to take over any position of leadership. She just won’t bow to anyone. Her strength of will only bends for Alchan, and it’s not because he’s more dominant. It’s because she respects him enough to let him give her orders.”

Mave pointed at Senri with a nod.

“Your father was one of the greatest—”

“I know who my father was, Leria. I don’t need a history lesson. The fact of the matter is, I’m dominant, but I’m not trained. When I met Allaina and Senri, I had never spent time in the presence of another Andinna female in her prime. Ever. I didn’t know our customs, which makes me ill-suited to be a mativa. I liked Senri and didn’t want her job. I like being a member of the Company. I love it, actually. I don’t need or want anything else.” Mave tried not to get frustrated. “I don’t know if it’s in my future to be like him, Seanev, or any of them. I’ve never had the chance, and I don’t have the education. Training the females here has been my first real taste of leadership. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Ah. I wish you the best, then.” She seemed genuinely sad for Mave, who didn’t know how to react to it. “Let me explain what I was talking about. It’s important, as a dominant female, to relax with others in similar roles. Most of the Andinna around us expect something. We’re the leaders of the community, and it’s hard. It’s lonely. Before the War ended, mativas would travel to meet each other in a region and talk about important problems, then the most dominant would go to an even higher meeting. It was also our chance to have genuine friendships without expectations. When the War ended, I lost that. I’ve been the only mativa of my strength. I have some younger females in training, but they’ll probably all end up in a small village as mativas. There’s nothing wrong with that, but they deferred to me naturally, instead of challenging me naturally. Like Senri and Allaina or me to you. We’re all strong enough to want to fight for it.”

Mave smirked. She was right about that.

“We had plenty of mativas in Olost,” Allaina said softly. “I was still technically in training until this past spring. I was done and could have taken over, but Jesvena was more experienced, and most of the older Andinna wanted her to stay in power.”

“What happened to her?”

“When Shadra attacked our home in Olost, she killed the elderly,” Mave answered, hoping her words weren’t too cold or blunt. Leria’s gaze snapped to her again. When no one said anything more, Mave decided to continue. “The elderly don’t make good new slaves.”

“Skies…Well, in memory of those you lost.” She lifted the skin, took a sip, then passed it around. Mave took a drink this time, thinking of the Andinna they had lost in Olost. Thinking of watching their homes burn. She hoped Shadra understood her pain when Elliar went up in fire.

“This turned morose,” Senri muttered, sipping the wine. “Anything we can gossip about?”

“Males,” Allaina answered. “There are always males to gossip about. My husbands are still upset over what happened to us. They missed my fertility cycle, and that’s apparently offended them. They want me to consider asking a Blackblood to quicken my fertility in hopes it comes again sooner rather than later.”

“Those idiots. Were you going to try for children?” Senri leaned forward, resting her head on her bent knees.

“Yes, we were. We were going to try if my cycle had come. Too bad it did when I was on a ship headed for the Empire.” Allaina leaned back, resting on her hands. “What about you?”

“Kian is being an overprotective monster, but I knew to expect it. It’s funny you mention that, by the way. I haven’t told them, but I plan on asking Leshaun for the fertility ritual come spring. If I’m going to see a second war in my lifetime, I’m going to try to have one more child. I won’t be able to have two, but I can try one more time before it’s too late.”

“What?” Mave didn’t know what her face looked like, but Senri laughed at it, reaching out to touch her cheek.

“If you tell anyone in the Company, they’ll tell Kian. If someone tells Kian, I’ll kill you,” she promised sweetly. “Friend or not. I don’t want him getting Willem and Gentrin riled up. They’ll start nesting and making sure everything is ready. I want to surprise them soon with my plan.”

“Oh, if they’re like any males I’ve ever met, they’ll love that,” Leria said with a laugh.

“They will,” Senri agreed. “What about you? Is Seanev your only husband? Any children in the cards for you?”

“Seanev is my only husband. We’ve tried for children, but so far, nothing has taken root. I have time to continue naturally, but maybe when this rebellion is over, and we’ve won, I’ll look into it. If we lose, it won’t matter.” Leria seemed nice. Mave hated it. She wanted to dislike the dominant mativa, but she was nice.

“How did you meet?” Mave asked softly. What was the story behind this female and her blood brother?

“We met shortly after the War ended, though we had heard of each other over the centuries. We were from prominent families, so it was bound to happen. It took me a long time to convince him to settle down. He was distant. He’d lost everything in a very short time.”

Mave looked away as Leria was once again staring at her. Leria cleared her throat.

“He’s a wonderful male. First one I ever particularly enjoyed. My parents were worried I would be more accustomed to female lovers and refuse to take a male. Too bad they never got to see me finally meet the male I would want for my lifetime. I don’t think there’s going to be a second.”

“Ah. Yenni?” Allaina asked with a cautiousness Mave didn’t understand.

“Yes,” Leria answered.

Mave felt her face heat a bit as she figured out what was going on. Her brother’s wife liked to sleep with other females. There was nothing wrong with that, she had just never met a female who enjoyed that particular activity. Not among the Andinna, any way.

“What about you, Mave? Children?”

Mave’s stomach flipped—a question she dreaded every time it came up. Idiotically, she hadn’t figured the question would come to her when the other females brought it up.

“No, thank you,” she answered. “I’m not interested. Thankfully, my husbands understand my problems with it.”

“Motherhood doesn’t appeal to you? There’s nothing wrong with that. Every race has people who just don’t like children.”

Mave groaned. “It’s nothing. I’ve only gone through my fertility cycle once, and it wasn’t pleasant, and that was that. The longer I go without one, the happier I’ll be. There’s nothing…wrong with children.” Mave never really interacted with many and had no opinion one way or another on actual children.

“Leria,” Senri said with steel when Leria opened her mouth to continue. “Drop it.”

Mave felt a wave of relief as Leria began talking about Al Moro Nat and the preparations needed. The night would have to go smoothly if they wanted to show it proper respect, then head off to War.

“Why can’t we celebrate it on the road?” Mave asked. “The sooner we take Kerit, the better.”

All three females turned to her, wide-eyed and horrified.

“You don’t…that can’t be done. There are very specific rules around committing acts of violence on Al Moro Nat. We can plan up to the day of, and we can plan the day after. On the day of Al Moro Nat, there can be no war planning or any planning for acts of violence. There can’t be any violence unless it’s self-defense. War groups can’t be moving because of their intent to commit violence. To start moving our people now would mean they’re walking for Kerit on Al Moro Nat, and that…that’s too close to a violation of our ways and the respect Al Moro Nat deserves.”

“I didn’t celebrate it last year, so I don’t know what the festival entails. My apologies.” Mave sighed. There were so many rules she didn’t know.

“You’ve never celebrated?” Leria asked.

“Leria, I didn’t have my tatua until I was over a thousand. There’s very little of our culture I know. Why would I have ever celebrated The Dead Night?”

“You’re getting there,” Allaina said, reaching out to tap her in support. “I hear you’re getting better with the flute every day. Come the next spring festival, you and Senri will be able to sit toward the front together instead of hiding in the back.”

“It’s not…” Mave’s face heated. “I do it because it’s soothing,” she admitted. “It started out because Senri was taken, and she had given me the flute but…I like it. I had some other females teach me a little farming tune. It’s pleasant.”

“I’m sorry. I hope I don’t offend when I mention how you don’t know something. I’ve just never experienced someone so…” Leria trailed off, her face betraying guilt.

“Ignorant?” Mave shrugged. “It’s fine. Even Mat and Rain didn’t understand. Even in slavery, there’s a lot of ways Andinna pass down their bits of culture. Everyone knows it. Andinna born three hundred years ago under the thumb of the Empire have their tatua. They wear it with pride. They know we’re matriarchal. They know about our festivals even if they never celebrated them publicly. They know our language. I’m the odd one. I was cut off from all of it. By Shadra, by other Andinna. That’s just the way it was. I only began learning Andena last year.”

“You speak it very well. You have an accent, but that will fade over the centuries.” Leria reached out. “Mave, I have a confession to make. It’s about Seanev and—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Mave said stiffly, stopping the mativa from voicing whatever personal guilt she was feeling. “I don’t want to know.”

“But—”

“Leria, I find myself liking you, and I don’t want that spoiled. Whatever it is can wait.” Her chest tightened. She didn’t want to know why this female looked so guilty or sad. She really didn’t. She didn’t want to address the uncomfortable questions.

I’m not ready.

“Okay…”

Mave, in an effort to change the conversation, searched her mind for anything she could possibly need help with from the three females. There had to be something she could use to divert the conversation from her brother, his wife, and a thousand years of slavery. Only one thing came to mind.

Skies, why not? I have everyone who could possibly offer me any advice on it right here, right now.

“Can I ask a very off topic question? I have male problems.” Mave looked around to see Allaina and Senri both staring at her, mouths gaping in shock. Leria’s shoulders sagged in relief, and she was the first to compose herself to answer.

“What’s the problem? I know Seanev wasn’t kind to your husband, Brynec. I hope he hasn’t caused some rift.”

“No, nothing to do with that. It’s about…A male I know has developed feelings for a female, and I don’t know who she is. The…problem is, I don’t…I’ve never been jealous before.”

“Oh. Oh, I really need to hear this,” Allaina said with a perverse glee that scared Mave to her core. “Who is it?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“Damn. Well, if you’re jealous, you need to deal with how you actually feel about the male. If he’s a friend, you have to understand your jealousy is unwarranted because he’s allowed to find himself a mayara to join and belong to a female. It’s his ultimate goal as a male.” Allaina tilted her head, looking away from them. “Or your problem could be unresolved feelings on your part you never gave voice to. You should voice them soon, or you’ll regret it. He might not feel the same way about you, but you can’t fight for him if he doesn’t realize you’re part of the fight.”

“Saying something could get her hurt,” Senri pointed out. “Leria?”

“Not saying something could hurt everyone,” the dominant mativa replied. “Someone is going to get hurt here either way. You, him, or the other female. Someone is going to end up not getting what they want.”

“What if the other female doesn’t know he feels for her?” Mave frowned, crossing her arms. “And I know I have no right to be jealous. He’s not mine. Well, he is, in a sense—”

“You are jealous of Luykas finding a female?” Allaina declared, sucking in a deep breath. “Mave!”

Heat. Mave’s face had to have been red. Even her ears felt like they were on fire.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” she whispered. “I…I don’t talk about these things with people. I was just trying to change the topic.”

“Mave,” Senri said gently. “Luykas is never going to go be in another mayara.”

“He’s interested in a female—”

“No female will take him while he’s blood bonded with you,” Senri said. “None. He’s not in your mayara. He’s not even a lover unless you’ve been lying to me, but he’s yours. There’s nothing you or he can do about that.”

“The blood bond isn’t important—”

“Oh, yes, it is.” Leria exhaled, shaking her head. “How in the Skies did you end up blood bonded to a male who wasn’t already one of your husbands? I wanted to ask earlier, but it didn’t seem like the right place or time.”

“It’s a complicated story, and Shadra was involved. Magics. He was saving me from something,” Mave explained, opting for the shortest version she could give. “We’ve had to work through a lot since then. We fight together and fight very well. He’s my friend—”

“He’s your male,” Leria snapped. “He’s never going to be with another female.”

“The bond fades—”

“Yes, for most Andinna who aren’t Blackbloods. Their blood doesn’t have the strength to make a permanent bond. You’re both Blackbloods. The very power in you, the way it can be manipulated…Mave, you’ll be lucky if it fades before you die.” Leria looked between the other females.

“Blood bonds are rare, and neither of us has them. I didn’t know that.” Allaina shrugged.

“Seanev and I are blood bonded. We also have access to many of the old tomes. It’s not common, so many of the small intricacies of it get forgotten.” Leria rubbed her face. “Mave, you don’t know the identity of the female he’s interested in?”

“No, and he gets uncomfortable when I try to ask him about it. I shouldn’t ask him, but I’m too fucking curious. I don’t even know who this female is, and I want to strangle her.”

“Interesting. Well, there’s no reason to be jealous. Half-Elvasi or not, he’s always going to be yours. Friend, partner, or whatever you two might be in the future, he’ll always be yours.” Leria reached out and patted her hand. “Good luck. He seems to be a complicated male.”

“You have no idea,” Mave mumbled, her face still warm.

“Consider what I said. Maybe you should evaluate why you’re jealous. It’s possibly more than the bond.” Allaina shrugged. “Or it could just be the bond, but that’s something you need to figure out. Even if no female will accept him in her mayara, he’ll want to fuck, eventually. He’s Andinna. Sex helps ease the temper just as well as fighting.”

“He’s half-Elvasi. I bet he doesn’t have as much of an urge, but that’s a fair point to consider. Even without wanting to ease his temper, he’s not going to be celibate for the rest of your lives.” Senri patted Mave’s back. “You’ll figure this out.”

The wine was passed around again, and they shifted around, getting more comfortable. Senri leaned on Mave as they talked about other things. Mave had no idea there was so much for females to talk about. With the conversation about Luykas over, they launched into their own males, telling stories about how they wooed or were wooed by each one. Mave sighed as they looked at her to explain Matesh and Brynec. She gave them what they wanted, telling them how in the pits, Mat had been the first male to respect her boundaries, even though they were attracted to each other. He’d taught her, become her friend, and the moment they had time on the ship to Olost, they went forward with their attraction. They ate up the sweet romance with Bryn and how he kissed her on their first mission.

Everything was going well until there was a commotion, snarls, and yelling breaking out behind Mave. All four of them dropped the conversation and turned to see what was wrong. Mave was the first on her feet, growling as she realized it was Fyren again.

26

Mave

I’m going to kill that fucking female, I swear.

“What’s going on?” Leria demanded, second on her feet, Senri and Allaina right behind her in a fraction of a moment. They all started walking out to the middle of the field. Two of Leria’s females stood, chests puffed, swords in hand while Fyren had her teeth bared at them.

“She was being disrespectful,” one of them snapped, pointing at the little dominant troublemaker.

“We sit out here, and it’s nearly evening while they sit on a blanket and drink wine like they’re having a picnic!”

“You have an untrained mativa,” Leria whispered to them. Fyren and the other females lost focus of Leria, Mave, Senri, and Allaina, going back to their argument. “It’s her posture. You can tell she wants others to back her up, and she’s willing to fight for it.”

“I told you we were having some trouble. She’s not mature enough to lead. She wants the females who hate this training to be able to get out of it. She’s one of those females.” Allaina groaned softly. “She’s willing to fight for it, but she’s terrible at fighting.”

“Let’s see if we can fix that. I’ve encountered ones like her before.”

“How did you deal with it?” Allaina seemed curious, looking for instruction. Mave knew the look and tone of voice. She had been curious like that more than once in her life—eager for information unavailable otherwise.

“Once, just once, I had to kill her,” Leria answered softly. “Others learn.”

Mave jerked to look at her. “Kill her?”

“We don’t allow females to lead if they do it for self-serving purposes. The cases are extraordinarily rare, but yes, if a mativa crosses the line—abusing her people, beginning wars with other communities without justification—others are expected to put her down. You can rile up your husbands to violence. Mativas can rile up entire villages, entire regions. I did it just before coming here. Gave a huge speech to everyone in my community. Got them ready for war. A bad mativa makes that dangerous.”

“I can’t get many of the newer females to follow me,” Allaina admitted. Oddly, their little group was just watching the drama in front of them as they talked.

“Because they don’t belong to you. I can see who they belong to.” Leria nodded to the angry Fyren, who was wildly pointing at them. “She can keep them, honestly. The secret is bringing her in line.”

“Yes, but not even Mave can get her to follow orders for more than a few days at a time.” Allaina huffed. “I’m going to break that finger.”

“It’s within your rights,” Leria reminded her. “Want some advice?”

“Please.” Allaina’s word was a bite.

“Don’t break the finger. It won’t help you.”

Mave snorted, and Senri started chuckling. Allaina’s eye roll was so obvious, other females started to turn to them again, expecting them to break up the disaster. There were three groups—Leria’s females, the females from Olost, and the recently freed slaves. Mave sighed and stepped forward, but Leria grabbed her arm.

“This is for Allaina to do.”

Mave glared at Fyren but didn’t move. The arguing was growing quieter by the moment. Allaina stepped forward and headed directly to Fyren.

“What exactly is your problem today?” she asked softly.

“We’re out here in the sun, busting our asses because you think we have to, yet you’re drinking wine in the shade. The Elvasi and humans used to do that shit. We had to bite our tongue then, but I’m not going to when it’s another damn Andinna.” Fyren spat. Mave didn’t get the chance to see where it landed.

Allaina had her on the ground within a single breath, Fyren hitting the dirt so hard, they all heard her grunt of pain and the hollow thump of her upper body slamming down onto the ground.

“I’m the mativa of this community. If you want to challenge me for the role, do it. As mativa, I have trained hard my entire life. I have studied hard to be the best leader I can be for this community. The job keeps me up late at night, has me sitting with the most important people of our race, and I’m done being disrespected by you. I took one afternoon off while these kind females have volunteered to help educate you. I spent the afternoon with other females of equal or higher rank than my own.” Allaina leaned down, meeting Fyren eye-to-eye as the other sat up. “If you have a problem with anything I do, you can take it up with our king.”

Fyren swallowed. “Is this how we solve problems? Just knock down the other—”

“You spit in my face,” Allaina growled. “If I were Elvasi, I would have taken your tongue. Take that into consideration when you build up this overblown outrage in your mind and decide to voice it. Dominance and leadership are important, but you don’t have the training to matter. You don’t respect the elders who have been doing this for centuries. You don’t respect the rank. We’re not trying to be assholes to you, so stop being assholes to us.”

“I never see you do anything more than training exercises. I don’t think you’ve ever broken a sweat out here with us.”

Mave crossed her arms, sighing.

“She’s right, Allaina. They haven’t seen you with a sword.” Maybe seeing Allaina’s skills would help. It had helped Mave understand the other female.

“Of course, we haven’t. She’s a pretty bitch who probably fucked—”

Allaina’s sword was drawn and at Fyren’s neck before Mave could blink. Leria and Senri stepped forward, probably thinking they needed to stop it before the younger female died, but Mave didn’t move. She waited, hoping Allaina knew what the next step was.

“Get up.” Fyren stumbled to her feet, while Allaina kept the sword level with her neck. “You know why I don’t practice here? I’m up before dawn every morning and train with my husbands. When the sun rises, I do rounds, wandering the community. I see if the young males delivering food supplies have finished. If not, I help them. I talk to our crafters, our healers, our teachers. I make sure everyone has what they need every day. By the time I get here, my training is done. I’m focused on you. Sometimes, I’m caught up in meetings all day with Alchan or Luykas or any number of the leaders of the rebellion. And guess what? I don’t draw my sword for the rest of the day because it’s the first thing I handled. It will always be the first thing. Do you want to know why?”

Fyren looked away, and Mave smirked as the young female realized she had vastly misjudged the beautiful, vicious mativa Allaina was.

“Why?” she asked in a small voice.

“Because I need it to defend the rest,” Allaina whispered. Without missing a beat, she sheathed her sword. “You’re going to spend the next week shadowing me. Every single day, you’ll be at my home before dawn. If you don’t show up, I’ll send someone to get you. If you argue, I’ll request a member of the royal guard to escort you to our king for his justice. You don’t know dominance or anger until you try to buck up to a bedru male, and he has the throne to back him up. You’re going to do my rounds with me, and I’m going to show you what real responsibility looks like. We’re not ever going to have this petty nonsense again, is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Fyren whispered.

“Good.” Allaina turned on her heel and began walking back to the blanket. Mave followed her, grabbing her elbow.

“Good job, not killing her,” she whispered in her ear.

Allaina chuckled weakly. “It took all of my self-control.”

“I might have cut her,” Leria said. “She’s got a mouth. Good idea, though, with your punishment.”

“Thanks. I wish I’d thought of it sooner. Force her into training while she’s not mature enough to handle it and see if she understands what it is she’s asking for.” Allaina sat down unceremoniously on the blanket. “Thanks for the back up.”

“Give her to me if you think she needs real punishment. I have a few females beginning guard duty. She can join them,” Senri offered, smiling. “Jesvena would have been proud of you just now.”

“Thank you,” Allaina whispered, looking at her hands.

Mave looked back at the females as the wine skin was passed around again. They went back to training, and some of the females who once stood with Fyren were now standing some distance away.

“How did that put Fyren in her place, but nothing else we tried did?” she asked, curious why Fyren suddenly seemed on the outs when before, she seemed like a martyr to the other new females.

“I can think of some theories, but none are important. I want to discuss something with the three of you.”

“What’s that, Leria?” Senri yawned. “There’s been a lot of excitement and very little sleep. I’m sorry.”

“I think a few of the females should be sent north to my community, and I’ll offer others in their place. I don’t think they should be in the Spine, which is going to become a war zone sooner rather than later.” Leria gestured to the training females. “This will continue for them up there, but to a lesser degree. They’ll be able to find careers that make them happy and support the cause from afar. Females with young children should probably go first unless they choose otherwise.”

“That’s a tempting offer,” Allaina said softly. “I’ll consider it. I have to keep in mind that my community is the home of the rebellion, and not everyone is going to be suited for it.”

“Exactly. As it stands, my community is nearly two thousand Andinna stronger than yours. You give me ten to twenty, and I’ll give you a hundred.”

“Will they go for it? Are there any who would leave your service for a less dominant, less experienced mativa?”

Mave wanted to check out as they descended into politics, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to. Something about this felt like something she needed to hear, learn, and understand. Allaina’s point was valid. She had growing to do, less than two thousand years old. Leria was definitely the stronger of the two. Who would go for the perceived weaker leader? How did an Andinna decide?

“Yes, I do. They’ll do it because they want to fight, and I’ve held them back from going on the offensive for centuries. Some even resent me for it. They’ll come here willingly, see you leading the home of our King during the rebellion, and throw themselves at your feet…as long as you let them fight. I actually kept back twenty or so females who are like that. I was worried they would jump ship from my community the moment we arrived. Or get themselves killed. But we can trade. I’m more than willing to trade.”

“We’ll take it to Alchan. He can be mediator.”

“Of course.”

Mave glanced at Senri, who was on her back, eyes closed. Mave tapped her foot with a hand, making Senri lift her head.

“Are you following any of this?”

“Yes. They lose you?”

“I’m a little uncomfortable with the idea of trading Andinna,” Mave admitted.

“Oh, this is normal for mativas who work closely together. It helps Andinna who want to move around, find new lands, and new communities. For the most part, an Andinna can’t pack up and move somewhere without their mativas being involved. They could never find a place where they’re needed. Or they could accidentally insult another Andinna without legal backing. Or just be seen as an act of war from another mativa.”

“Do…do mativas often fight?”

Leria and Allaina looked at each other, then at Mave.

“We used to,” Leria answered. “There wasn’t always a royal family. You can say our creation by our gods wasn’t a perfect one. They based us on a budding life form, humans. Gods were being chased off this plane, and they wanted to leave something behind, have children—us and wyverns—but we weren’t perfect like them. Our males were violent. Females died often in childbirth, causing other females to fight not to have children, and our population was decimated. And mativas? We went to war over anything—resources, land, imagined and real slights. Then a female was born. No one really knew where she came from. She ruled. She was so dominant, mativas couldn’t lift their eyes to even consider challenging her.”

“She was the first queen,” Allaina said. “Lariana, the White Dragon and the ruler of our pantheon, created the unknown female to lead with a touch of her own blood. We needed a leader. We still do. It’s why Alchan fights so hard to remain in control, and we allow him to hold the position without a fight, even though he’s male. Without him, we will fall apart again, and I don’t think our goddess is going to help us a second time. He has to have a daughter one day.”

“Yeah, it’s why I’m his Champion,” Mave reminded her. “So he stops going on the front line and trying to get himself killed. So, it’s true? He’s descended from the leader of our pantheon.”

“Same as Luykas, but half-Elvasi? He can’t sit on the throne, and neither could any of his children.” Leria smiled. “So yes, mativas do fight. Not so much in the last hundred thousand years or more, but we once fought against each other more than anyone else.”

Mave laid back next to Senri, her head throbbing. More than a year since her freedom and she was still learning. Every time she heard about something, a little more would be explained, a little more of the mystery of her people would be unraveled, another legend, another piece of history. Alchan and Luykas could trace their Andinna lineage back to a single female who came out of nowhere with the blood of a goddess in her. The throne was built for her and passed down to her children.

“Curious question about the queen. How aren’t there several dozen different lines who could be royal?” Mave frowned as she stared at the sky. “The Elvasi deal with it. If nobles have two children, who inherits the noble house? Who inherits the land?”

“The blood dies out,” Leria answered. “Say Alchan never had to become king. He probably wouldn’t have children because he’s a bedru. Every single bloodline of the Andinna royal family ends in a bedru. There’s also a hierarchy in the family. The queen is the most dominant. Her daughters bow to her. When she dies, the oldest daughter…there’s a ceremony, you see. There’s something…special. A passing on of power with the death of the queen to the next queen. No one has ever witnessed it. When a male is required to sit on the throne, he must have children. His first daughter will inherit this something their females had, once she’s an adult. She won’t ascend to the throne immediately, but history always said it will grow until she is ready. Then the male will step down for his daughter, allowing her to be queen.”

“You’re well versed in the royal family,” Allaina commented.

“My family is a long line of powerful mativas. My mother and grandmother worked closely with the royal family, and it stretches back several generations. It was considered part of my core education to know and understand the royal family. Ignorance about the family who rules was unacceptable in my family. We dug deep into all the lore, except for more personal family stories. Like Luykas’ mother. No one ever knew who she was, but it also doesn’t matter to the public. She was Elvasi, and his father was an ass who betrayed the core of our beliefs by straying from his female.”

“No one knows who his mother is?” Mave was still frowning, that little fact sticking with her. “She was…Elvasi nobility, right? I think he mentioned that.”

“That’s all anyone has ever known.” Leria shrugged. “I was just pointing to an example of royal history I wouldn’t know. They were a very private family, and what happened behind closed doors was anyone’s guess.”

“Yeah…” Mave was still thinking about Luykas. Did he ever see his mother again? He said he left for Anden at the behest of her father. The vague history she didn’t really understand. It made her realize she didn’t know much about him. Did anyone? He was different, not as temperamental as other Andinna. He was more violent than other Elvasi. He took his duties seriously, and he was a loyal friend, willing to do anything to help those around him. His mother was an unnamed Elvasi noble woman. His father was a prince of the Andinna, and his brother was now the king.

He knows how to paint. I know that. He made those beautiful cards for Zayden when Rainev was born.

“Looks like we have company!” Leria said with a laugh. Mave turned her head to see what Leria was looking at. Three Andinna were flying their way, and Mave felt her gut twist as they drew close enough for her to see who they were.

Alchan landed first with Luykas and Seanev on his heels. He didn’t ask them to rise, so she didn’t even though Leria, Senri, and Allaina all got to their feet. While they bowed, Mave waved. She thought the smirk on Alchan’s face and the grin on Luykas’ was worth it even while Seanev gave her the same contemplative expression he had the night before. He looked at her like a puzzle.

“How’re you all doing? We came because it was pointed out to me I hadn’t yet seen the females training.”

“It’s going well—”

“It’s a mess, but today, we may have made progress,” Mave cut in, stopping Allaina from trying to brush off their problems. “It’s nothing to worry about. We have hot tempers.”

“That’s good to hear,” Alchan said, walking closer. He stopped at the edge of the blanket. “Were you taking the afternoon off?”

“We were having some female time while my warriors met the ones being trained here. They needed some time to mingle and get to know each other, so we stepped back,” Leria explained. “Would you like to try the wine?”

“Did you bring wine to training?” Seanev asked. “My wife, everyone.”

“I’m not training. I’ve done my hours with the morok already today. What have you males been doing? Planning a war?”

“As a matter of fact,” Luykas said, still grinning. He looked down at Mave, kicking her foot. “I need to talk to you.”

“About?”

“Alchan’s protection. He’s adamant about going to Kerit.”

“You’re an idiot,” she directed at the king. Looking back at Luykas, she did her best to shrug, trying not to feel vulnerable with her position versus his. He was standing over her, not a place she liked males. She was lounging around, something she never did. She wasn’t going to let the males who showed up ruin a moment of deserved relaxation.

And my view of Luykas from here isn’t that bad.

Her face felt a little warmer as she looked up at him, realizing he was attractive with the sun behind him, glowing off his black hair, the same color as his eyes.

“Yes, so I’ve been told by you and Luykas now. You two will be staying with me for the entire siege.” Alchan chuckled. “This is what I deal with, Seanev. These two don’t respect my authority at all. I’m lucky they follow orders.”

“You’re glad to have us,” Luykas reminded him. “Mave and I keep your head from getting too big.”

“I have Rain now—”

“Rain makes sure you sleep at night and eat three meals a day. He also keeps you from breaking everything you own. He doesn’t keep you from developing an ego,” Luykas fired at him, still grinning as if he was the funniest male in the world. He enjoyed screwing with Alchan. Mave was enjoying it too.

“Be nice to me, or I’ll tell Mave—”

She lifted her head as Luykas growled at Alchan, cutting off whatever was about to be said.

“Tell me what?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” Luykas said quickly.

“I’ll find out eventually,” she told him, laying her head back down.

“I know you will, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you any time soon. Now, get up. We need to work on Alchan’s protection detail. And be careful, I have a few secrets about you.” He gave her a look. He was talking about how she didn’t sleep enough anymore. She had only had the dream a handful of times, but she was getting half the amount of sleep she did before coming to Anden. The very idea of facing that dream kept her awake. She didn’t want the world to know she was scared of going to sleep.

“Do they always behave like this?” Leria asked Alchan.

“Luykas and Mave? This is better than the phase when Mave was always trying to stab him or thinking about stabbing him. They didn’t start off on the right foot.”

“I distinctly remember being nice to her, at least. You were an asshole.” Luykas threw his hands up in exasperation.

“I had a lot to deal with. We were running a mission in fucking Elliar of all places. I was stressed, and you were convinced we had to free the most infamous Andinna in the Empire. I’ll just point out, I was right in the end.” Alchan crossed his arms, looking between her and Luykas.

“I’m not wading into this,” she said carefully. “It was over a year ago. Luykas, do you need me right now?”

“No, just sometime this evening. We can talk tonight at training.”

She got to her feet, ignoring how he held out a hand to her. She didn’t want him to feel whatever she was feeling. Her brother was still watching her, still too thoughtful and silent.

“Do you still need me today, or will it be okay if I head out?” she asked the females next to her. Senri shrugged.

“I don’t see us needing you. We can handle the rest of the day.” Her friend smiled. “We can handle these males for you, too.”

“Much appreciated,” Mave said. “I’ll see you at training tonight or tomorrow then. Luykas, Alchan.” She nodded respectfully to them since they were the only two Andinna who outranked her. She didn’t say anything to her brother. She didn’t care what was on his mind, but the longer he stared at her, the more her own uncomfortable questions began to arise.

Why didn’t you ever come to save me, brother?

She jumped into the air, trying to leave him and the questions behind. She wanted somewhere quiet, aiming for the hot spring her mayara had claimed, knowing it would be empty at this point in the day. Bryn was helping Matesh with his training of newer males.

She landed with a thump on a large rock that overlooked her little hot spring and stripped. Sighing happily as she sank into the water, she held the flute above and rested on a stone in the water.

Quietly, she played, trying to outrun her own thoughts. Trying to outrun the hurt slowly building in her chest every time she saw her brother and the confusion she was beginning to feel around Luykas.

She played, and it soothed her—for a moment.

27

Matesh

“Bryn, do you want to talk to me?” Mat asked, unable to focus on the males they were training. “You’ve been quiet all morning.”

“I’m…I’m tryin’ to get over this Elvasi thing. I don’t want Mave to think I’m hateful just to be hateful. What’s-his-name obviously left an impression on her, and I should respect that,” Bryn answered, watching the warriors Mat didn’t bother to look at. “But there were hundreds of Andinna escapin’ last night, and she didn’t care about ‘em.”

“The hundreds of Andinna who escaped Elliar last night were Andinna she was mostly hostile with. Ones she would have to kill eventually, either in the pits or on the sands.”

“And the Elvasi isn’t going to…” Bryn shook his head. Mat watched as his lips pursed, angry. “How can she think of him? Or a human for that matter? Over her own people? I love her, and I’m goin’ to respect her decision, I just…I need to get over it.”

“She cares about people who showed her a shred of kindness in a world that gave her little, if any. Bryn, you weren’t there. You lived a hard life in Myrsten, but the Andinna banded around you for the most part. There were bad apples, but the majority was—”

“A community,” Bryn finished, nodding. “Bad apples died fast. I made sure of that. I was never part of a big group, but the shitty Andinna never outweighed the better ones, just trying to survive like me. The Elvasi were all bad. They always—”

“Bryn, her world was different from yours. Similar, but different. The Andinna didn’t want her. The Elvasi owned and abused her. She had no one in her corner. When I first saw her, I realized she was trouble. Everyone hated her, Bryn. Everyone. Except me. Except Rain. Except one Elvasi soldier who let us into her room when she didn’t want us there, so we could treat her injuries. Except the human servant who walked her to and from all the cruel things done to her and had to see her stagger, trying to keep her head held high. I’m positive if any other Andinna in the pits had seen her the way I did that night when Trevan helped me get to her, they would have taken advantage of it.”

Bryn’s head fell. “I know,” he whispered. “That’s why I’m tryin’ to respect her course with this. I love her, Mat. I worked really fuckin’ hard to convince Seanev to get fuckin’ movin’ so I could come home to her. To our family. This just…it’s not even her. I hate Elvasi. Humans are so-so, but I…I fuckin’ hate Elvasi, and there’s going to be one here, in our space, in our community, and I’m goin’ to have to tolerate it.”

“Have you considered if anything does happen, you’re the best person to kill a threat without anyone knowing where the body went?” Mat asked, coughing at the end. “No one will ever have to know, and we can just say he left. We’d tell Alchan, of course, because there’s no way we wouldn’t do it without running it by—”

“Why would we run it by Alchan?” Bryn growled. “I’ll kill anyone who threatens her, without his permission.”

“He’s the king, and any Elvasi or human in this camp would be like the Hornbuckles, reporting directly to him and under his direct safety. He wouldn’t care about Mave getting in his way if you killed someone he’s protecting. You’ll have committed treason, in a sense.”

“Fuck. That’s right. Mave would die for us. Alchan would have to tangle with her, and it would be a mess.” Bryn rubbed his face. “Ya don’t think I’m goin’ to get the chance to kill him, do ya?”

“No. Trevan tried to die for her freedom, as well as Rain’s and mine. I don’t think he’ll betray us once he’s here. I think he’s just going to want to lie low, wait for the rebellion to end. Maybe he’ll find a home back in the Empire once this is all over. Who knows? We could ship him to Olost to live a long life. All of that is between him, Mave, and Alchan.”

“Yeah…so, when were you going to tell me about Mave’s sleepin’ problem?”

Mat resisted cursing, looking away from his friend as guilt struck him.

“You’ve barely been back a week. I didn’t want you worried, and there’s been a lot happening.”

“Has she talked to ya? She must have, right?”

“No,” he whispered, looking down. He kicked a rock, sighing. “She makes it pretty clear she’s not interested in talking about it.” With a growl, he went for it, deciding to tell Bryn everything. “She’s having nightmares. So bad, she wakes up in a panic. So bad, it pulls Luykas awake through the blood bond, across the damn village. She doesn’t wake me up, though. She just leaves and come breakfast, she might be back, she might not. She’ll have spent half the night with Luykas, who woke up and went to check on her. He’s not her male. The fucking blood bond—”

“He could be,” Bryn said quietly.

Mat stopped, letting those words sink in. “You think Luykas?”

“I think they’d become good friends even before I left on my mission. They fight together. They revolve around Alchan, one as an advisor and one as his sword, right hand and left hand. They’re bound to grow close.” Bryn shrugged. “He’s not the worst male. They’re bonded. I think if it comes up, we just let it happen.”

Mat was still thinking about it.

“I think it’s physical, and once they scratch the itch, it’ll be over. If there’s an itch at all. You might need to get in a word with her about it if you want to.”

“Yer a meddler,” Bryn accused, chuckling. “Always meddlin’ in her love life.”

“I want her to be happy. I’ll do anything to make sure she is. If she wants a male, I’ll drag his ass home for her.”

“And kiss him while you’re at it...” Bryn mumbled.

His face heated. “Damn it. I’m never going to live that down. It was the heat of the moment. I missed you. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I’m not attracted to you.” He wasn’t. He felt the need to defend that. His balls shrank at the idea of doing anything sexual with another male. He wanted curves and softness, even if there wasn’t a lot of soft when it came to Mave. Well, her chest was soft.

“I know. Ya shouldn’t feel embarrassed. I’m goin’ to tease ya for a while. I wasn’t expecting you to miss me. I figured you would have been lovin’ some alone time with her.”

“Zayden had to take over the home while you were gone, and he’s just a roommate,” Mat reminded him. “Have you worked out the rest of that with him?”

“I’m going to partner up with him. I don’t want him to feel like he’s freeloadin’, and I don’t want him to do it all on his own. An extra pair of hands is nice.”

“That’s good. Thank you for not taking it hard that he’s around. I was worried about him, and Mave—”

“It’s fine, Mat. He’s your oldest friend. He’s alone now, I get it. He’s a good male. If Mave is okay, I’m okay. Skies, I don’t even need Mave to be okay. I’ve been in the Company for a few centuries. I know Zayden. He’s not some stranger.” Bryn began to chuckle again. “Ya really that worried?”

“I was, but you just crushed that worry.” Mat was chuckling now, too, glad his new close friend was fine with his old close friend.

“Where is he right now?”

“He’s taken point helping the sailors get back in shape after the ordeal they went through at the hands of the Empire. He floats other than that, helping cover for people as meetings come up, or they’re pulled away. He’s covered for me with the new soldiers and Senri and Kian with the guards. If we didn’t have Senri or Allaina, he would probably go out and argue with the females for Mave. He’s keeping himself busy. Too busy.”

“Ah, now I see why you were worried,” Bryn said, nodding slowly.

Mat knew what his friend was doing. He was a caretaker. Zayden, at the core of his grouchy exterior, needed to care for people. He needed to help, needed to be useful in someone’s life—anyone’s. He was going to work himself to death in that goal, trying to hide the pain of being alone. His son moved out, his wife was dead. His friend was going to drive himself to a very early grave.

“Yeah. So, really, thank you for being okay he’s with us. I didn’t know if I could handle the idea of him living alone or in the barracks with people he didn’t know.”

“How does he act with Mave? They seem to get along, but you’ve been watching it.”

“They’re funny,” Mat admitted. “Always teasingly bickering with each other. Rain told me once, those two at dinner was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. It’s really funny, Bryn. He’s been a little absent since you got home, giving us some space, but I really hope you get to see it soon. It’s…it’s really nice. Those two have a friendship I never saw coming.”

Before Bryn could say anything, someone landed behind them. Mat turned to find Seanev and stiffened. Next to him, Bryn growled softly. The male raised his hands in peace.

“I’m not here for a fight. I just wanted to see the males you’ve been working with.”

“Good, because you would lose the fight,” Mat told him.

“Against the two of you?”

“Against our wife,” Mat corrected. “But you’re right, also against the two of us.”

“My sister,” Seanev countered. “You think I would lose against my sister.”

“I don’t think anything. I know,” Mat snapped. “Unless you’ve single handedly killed a chimera, which I doubt.”

“The tales about her keep getting taller, Matesh. I’m not sure whether to be proud of her, scared of her, or disappointed in the life she’s had to live.”

“Just as long as you feel guilty for missing her life, I don’t really care how else you feel,” he growled. The words had taunted him all week, and now that they were out there, he felt better. The unexpected anger he had for the male surprised him the day Seanev showed up, but it didn’t take him long to figure out what his problem was. He hated that Seanev was alive for the sole fact Mave had been a slave for a thousand years, and her brother did nothing to help her.

“You’re the…fourth, maybe fifth person, to say something along those lines. I’m tired of hearing it. Between you, Luykas, Alchan, fuck, even Nevyn and Varon, I’m tired of being told I failed as a brother. The message from the Ivory Shadows Mercenary Company is clear,” Seanev snarled back.

“You have a problem that we were mercenaries for a thousand years?” Mat demanded, straightening up. “At least we stuck it to the Empire. You hid in the corner.”

“I protected my mativa and her people,” he hissed. “Don’t cast stones. You don’t know how we lived for the last thousand years, trying desperately to live free and stay out of the Empire’s sight. We protected Anden from colonization. My wife and I are the reason the Elvasi never made it very long in Anden, and you’re welcome for that. You won’t be fighting a war on two fronts, thanks to it.”

“He’s right, Mat.” Bryn sounded like he hated those words even if they were true.

“I don’t care. You captured Bryn—”

“I’ve captured every Andinna, Elvasi, human, or dwarf I’ve seen in the last thousand years. The Elvasi, we kill the moment we get the information we need. The dwarves and humans, we turned around. The Andinna, we made sure were runaway slaves and not spies who flipped to the Empire’s side. So yes, my males captured Brynec. They were doing the very job that kept us alive for a thousand years.”

“Good for them, but you didn’t let me finish. You captured him, and instead of doing anything important, you gave him a hard time about being Mave’s husband. You didn’t even know her.”

“Leria already shredded my ear over that. I don’t need to hear it again,” Seanev snapped. “I don’t deserve it held against me. Any brother would want to protect a sister from a male he’s unsure about.”

“Any brother would have gone into the Empire to save his sister,” Mat retorted.

Seanev’s snarl was impressive. Mat needed to remember he was arguing with the son of a general, and Seanev was a general in his own right. He’d learned at his father’s knee, just like Alchan and Luykas.

“You don’t know anything about that. Don’t presume to think I knew she was there and just left her. I get it. She went through hell. I don’t need tall tales—”

“They aren’t tall tales, you son of…” Mat took a deep breath. “I was there. I saw her kill that chimera. I saw how the other Andinna treated her. I was there the night she came crawling back with broken bones from being bought and used by Elvasi royalty. I might know nothing about the life you’ve had for a thousand years, but I know Mave’s life.”

“Why won’t she talk to me? Do you know that?”

Mat looked at Bryn. He didn’t know how to answer that question and hoped the rogue would have a response.

“Mave is socially…” Bryn shook his head. “Not the right way to put it. She doesn’t have a lot of experience dealin’ with things we all find normal—family, friends. She only learned how to be normal in the last year. Ya’ve thrown her for a loop. She’s not sure how to react to ya, how to talk to ya, and we’ve got a lot happenin’ right now. You’ll take this at her pace, or you’ll get the sharp end of her swords. She won’t be pressured.” As Bryn finished, Mat had an idea. There could be something on his wife’s mind she wasn’t sharing.

“There’s a chance she doesn’t want to ask the same questions of you we’ve been,” Mat whispered. “And I don’t blame her. If I found out one of my brothers was alive and left me to slavery for a thousand years, I wouldn’t know what to do either.”

Seanev growled again, and Mat ignored it.

“I’m gettin’ back to work,” Bryn said. Shaking his head at their brother-in-law, he turned and started walking away. Mat heard him offering help to a male, something about his form.

“You should go,” Mat said softly. “I’m not in the mood for this. I’m always going to be on her side, and trying to win us over to win her over isn’t going to work. You won’t answer the simplest question. Why didn’t you try to save her?”

Seanev looked away, dismissing him, and took off. Mat watched the male practically run for it. Why he had shown up was completely forgotten, and in the back of his mind, Mat wondered if he was going to report to Alchan about them being assholes to the General. He could complain to Alchan, Luykas, and Leria all he wanted, but Seanev wasn’t going to get anything out of Matesh except open hostility. It was all he deserved.

“We’re cutting it short today!” Mat roared. “Everyone get out of here. Give your bodies the rest of the day off.”

“Yes, sir!” they chanted back. He smirked. At least one thing was going right for him. While he had some problem males at the beginning, Senri and Kian took those off his hands to let him train those who wanted to go and fight. It left him with a group of dedicated warriors who just needed time to hone their skills. They also respected his authority as one of the Company. That was something.

“What are we goin’ to do?” Bryn asked, coming up beside him again.

“About what problem?”

“All of them. She’s not sleepin’ right. Her brother is an ass who refuses to accept he fucked up. We’ve got to take Kerit in the dead of winter right after Al Moro Nat—”

“We don’t worry about Kerit until after Al Moro Nat. That’s Alchan’s problem.” Mat sighed. “We remain by her side until she’s willing to talk. It could take time.”

“Aye. It could,” Bryn agreed. “If she doesn’t talk to us by Al Moro Nat, I’m goin’ to bring it up to her.”

“That’s perfect. That gives us a time frame to work in.” Mat threw an arm around Bryn’s shoulders. “I’m glad to have you back.”

“I’m glad to be back. We’re stronger together.”

“And she needs all the strength behind her she can get,” Mat finished.

28

Rainev

Rainev ran into the main room of his home and growled.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, glaring at Alchan holding a pack in his hands.

“I was thinking about going camping,” Alchan answered, shoving a sheathed dagger into the pack without looking up.

“What?” Rain jerked back in shock. “Camping? Alchan, you have meetings—”

“I know, but we’re killing time until Al Moro Nat, and I saw the females taking some time off a few days ago. I figured it would be nice to try the same.”

“I’m lost, sir. Please go back and explain to me what you’re talking about.” Rain stepped forward, moving to a cushion and sitting down since he realized he was in for a longer conversation than he planned when he’d heard Alchan packing.

“A few days ago, Mave, Senri, Allaina, and Leria were letting their females train unsupervised. They put down a blanket over some hard-packed snow and relaxed like they were having a quiet afternoon. Drank some wine, lounged around. They deserved it, everyone knows it, so I didn’t give them a hard time when I happened to stop by and check on how the females were doing. It’s had me thinking maybe I should take a night off. Go camping tonight, come back tomorrow afternoon, hungover and feeling a little better.”

Rain let that sink in. “Sir, are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Alchan answered, the honesty and worry clear. His king was worried about himself. “I’m a bedru. I like being alone, and I’m more stable when I get some alone time. I haven’t had a moment to myself for months, except when I’m asleep. I figured I could take some time now to do this, so I don’t have to later.”

“You can’t go alone, Alchan. I have to go with you.”

Alchan’s responding growl was impressive, and Rain had the intelligence to look away from the king before it escalated.

“I know,” Alchan finally mumbled. “But I was hoping you would let me do this without getting in the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can come, but you won’t help me. Let me handle everything. I want the work, and it’ll help me get some peace of mind. I can pretend you aren’t there if you don’t talk to me or bother me.”

“There are people I need to tell—”

“It’s not even a full day, Rain.”

Rain didn’t reply for a moment, looking at Alchan’s face. He seemed desperate to get out and go on this insane camping trip. Desperate. He wanted to run. Rain was used to seeing Alchan differently than everyone else. He had two faces, the one he wore with those he trusted and the one he put on for everyone else. The first face was the male who was stressed, tired, and cared too much but had no way to express it. The second was the cold warrior who had to protect his people and butt heads with the most dominant Andinna and find a way to outsmart their cunning enemy.

He saw the first face—the bedru male who was never supposed to sit on the throne, and it was making him tired.

“I’ll make sure to let Luykas know it’s only for one day. We can resume normal activities tomorrow after dinner.”

Alchan’s eyes widened a little. Rain had purposefully put more time. It was midday, and he was giving Alchan until tomorrow sundown to get this out of his system, more than Alchan had asked for.

“Thank you,” Alchan whispered. “I’ll pack you a bag while you run that information to Luykas. He’ll pass it along to everyone else.”

“Of course.” Rain walked quickly to the door and pulled his boots on. The sooner he got Alchan out into the countryside, the sooner he would be in the right mind again, and the better the rebellion would go. This was his responsibility as a nemari—to keep Alchan healthy and alive—and if that meant they were going on a camping trip, that’s what they would do.

Rain jumped off the porch outside and went straight up, looking for Luykas’ home. He didn’t know if he was home but always tried his home first. It was better than running around the village, looking for the other mutt.

He was knocking on Luykas’ door before his feet touched the porch outside the door. Without waiting for an answer, he opened it and walked in.

“What?” Luykas demanded as they met in the entry hallway. “Is there an emergency?”

“Alchan is hoping to take the night off. He’s packing for a short camping trip and will be back tomorrow after dinner. I’ll be going with him, and I’m hoping you can pass along the information.”

“How long has he been thinking about this?” Luykas asked, settling down, his gold eyes turning thoughtful.

“Apparently, since he saw Mave and the other females in charge decide to have a snowy picnic together. He’s been under a lot of stress with Brynec going missing the way he did, then coming back with Seanev and Leria. This rebellion is going to—”

“You don’t need to tell me. Be careful with him. If he’s itching to run, he’s probably itching to do a lot of things, like kill people. A bedru male needs his own space, and he doesn’t get to have that anymore. You’re in the most dangerous position of any Andinna on this side of the Dragon Spine.”

“Of course.” He wasn’t worried. He didn’t worry about Alchan, not since that night. If this was going to be as hard, he now knew Alchan would never intentionally hurt him.

“Rain, I’m not kidding,” Luykas said harshly, obviously seeing Rain’s lack of worry. “He could kill you.”

“I know how to handle Alchan. He and I have had the discussion—”

“He could trigger things for you by accident—”

“I told him what happened. He had already guessed, actually, but I gave him the details. He knows. I don’t think I’ll be in any danger.”

Luykas leaned against the wall. “He asked me once, and I didn’t confirm or deny what you had gone through. He already had suspicions by the spring festival, then we interrupted that incident. As long as you two have spoken about it, he’ll do his best to keep himself in control.”

“I know,” Rain said, smiling. “We’ve already had…a small incident between ourselves. We talked through it.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not, and you absolutely can’t tell my father. He would lose his mind.”

“Speaking of your father, when was the last time you spent any time with him?”

Rain looked away, sighing. “It’s been awhile.”

“Yeah. You know who’s picking up the slack? Mave, Matesh, and now Brynec. When you come back, try to have dinner with him every so often. It’s not fair to him to completely ignore him now that you’re an adult.”

“I’m not ignoring him. You used to fight with him to give me some space. So did Mave. I’m finally enjoying some space, and I’m busy with Alchan—”

“I know, and all of that is great, but he’s still family. I have a feeling he’s afraid if he asks to spend time with you, you’ll think he’s smothering you again. Have dinner with him soon.”

“He’s been working with Sen and the sailors, right?” Rain wrung his hands together.

“Yeah, he has. He’s doing rather well with it, but Zayden has a caring heart. It’s what made him a pain in the ass as a father.” Luykas gave him a broad smile. “Just try to find a balance. That’s all I’m saying. Alchan can cook, as we both know. He can spare you for a meal to go see your father.”

“Yeah,” Rain said, chuckling. “He can cook.” He thought about it. “I’ll have dinner at Mave’s home in a couple of days. None of them will mind, and I’ll be able to see all of them.”

“Good. Alchan can’t take over your life, Rain. He’s the king, and you’re his nemari, but you still have the right to spend time with other people and take a moment for yourself.”

But he needs me. “Of course.”

“I’ll let everyone know Alchan will be unreachable for tonight and tomorrow. See you when you come back.”

“Have a nice evening,” Rain said, knowing Luykas was dismissing him, his piece said.

When Rain made it back to his home, Alchan was waiting in the main room, two packed bags at his feet, and their weapon belts ready.

“Are we good?” the king asked. There was a brightness to Alchan’s eyes that made Rain nearly miss a step, and his heart skipped a beat. The amber was glittering.

“Luykas will spread the word,” he said, looking away. Where had that come from?

Together, they left with their things. Alchan took the lead as they launched into the air. Rain didn’t pay attention to how long they were flying, but it was still afternoon when Alchan began a dive near a cliffside that disappeared into the thick trees of the area.

Rain followed and was stunned to find a secluded little cave tucked behind a waterfall, a small lake at the bottom with trees surrounding it. Alchan led the way, and Rain, much to his surprise, saw a blackened spot of dirt and stone where a fire had been lit before. Alchan looked over at him as he dropped his pack and must have read the questions on his face.

“Sometimes, after you’ve gone to sleep, I’ll sneak out to this place and light a fire. I’ll sit around, have a drink. I never get much time, but it’s all I have. I wanted to spend more time out here and now seemed like the best time.” Alchan seemed a little embarrassed.

“Thank you for showing me this,” Rain said, looking out the mouth of the cave. The waterfall obscured the view, but it added to the beauty. The world outside seemed separate, a different place, and the sound of the water pounding on rocks made the other world seem silent. It was isolating, private, and beautiful. “The waterfall is loud. You can’t hear anything out there.”

“It’s nice,” Alchan said, walking up beside him. “I can voice my thoughts aloud, talk to myself, and know no one will hear me. It helps me when I have a lot to think about.”

“Aside from the rebellion, what’s on your mind?” Rain dared to ask. He had heard Alchan talk to himself before through the doors of their shared residence.

“My brother. Mave. Seanev. Leria. Everyone.” He sighed. “You. Mostly with how much I should allow you to shoulder everything with me.”

“Mostly?”

“It’s not important,” Alchan clarified. Rain didn’t believe it for a second. “This is where I come to get away from even you. I’m telling you this and showing you this place because I might be coming out at other times to help deal with it all. You need to be able to find me in case of an emergency. Hiking, it’s only half a day from the village, even shorter flight. Not too far to be out of reach. Not close enough to be something others would have found.”

“Well, that’s good to know. I’m not sure how I feel about you sneaking out at night, but there’s nothing I can do to stop you either.” He was genuinely perturbed Alchan had been able to sneak out without waking him. It was a bit backward to the job he was doing if Alchan was disappearing on him.

“You’ll get over it,” Alchan retorted. “Don’t worry so much. I know what’s stupid and what’s safe. This was safe.”

“Are you going to be doing any thinking tonight?”

“A lot. Remember, don’t help me. Just stand there or sit down and watch. I need to do this and should really be alone, but I understand you have to be here.” Alchan turned away from him and walked deeper into the cave.

Rain leaned on the wall, keeping his gaze on the waterfall. A fire started, the smoky smell invading his nose. Things were shuffled around, and suddenly, meat was cooking. Alchan ran away more often than anyone realized, something to remember. If their king could just disappear, what would stop anyone from just disappearing? What if Elvasi had come too close and picked him off?

“You asked what I think about,” Alchan said from the back of the cave. Rain looked over his shoulder to see Alchan staring at two steaks in a pan on the fire.

“I did. You answered.”

“Can I tell you more? Would you be willing to help me with the burden of secrets?”

Rain tried not to show his shock. Alchan looked up, and Rain saw the weight on the male’s shoulders. It wasn’t uncommon, but this seemed personal. This wasn’t the rebellion. This had to do with something close to home, like Brynec going missing had been.

He needs me.

“I’m willing to take on any burden that will help you,” Rain answered honestly.

“My brother is in love with Mave,” Alchan whispered.

“That’s not much of a secret,” Rain countered, trying to make light of it. “I think half the Company figured that out months ago.”

Alchan chuckled. “Everyone’s figured it out except Mave, I think. Well, I don’t know if Brynec or Matesh have noticed, but they’re distracted by her and having their family back together. They hang out in the early mornings, Luykas and Mave. They have breakfast together, and they’re drawing closer together by the day.”

“And what’s the problem with that?”

“Luykas’ mother.”

Rain’s heart began to race. No one ever spoke about Luykas’ mother unless it was in a passing reference to the mutt’s education. He’d spent most of his childhood in the Empire. This was a current problem. Luykas’ mother was an active problem.

“What do you mean?”

“You will be the fourth person alive to know what I’m about to tell you. I sit in this cave and listen to the waterfall. It’s the only safe place I’ve found where I can voice this and try to figure out what to do. Everyone else who knew is dead. Luykas, me, and his mother—we’re the only ones left who know.”

“Alchan?” Rain stepped closer to the fire.

“Luykas and Mave have more of an obstacle than anyone in the Company could ever imagine.” Alchan chuckled darkly. “We never knew Shadra was going to become what she is now. We had no idea.”

Rain’s stomach dropped.

“His mother…”

“Empress Shadra of the Elvasi Empire is the mother of Luykas Andini. His mother and our father met on a diplomatic trade mission. My father had just gotten my mother pregnant with me. He had an affair with Shadra, a low-ranking noblewoman at the time, who was known for her intelligence and her use of sorcery, better than most Elvasi of her social class. She was rising through the ranks by her own merit, refusing to marry and give up her own titles for the titles of a husband. Until the Emperor proposed to her.”

Rain sat down slowly, absorbing all of it. He couldn’t put together any words and mindlessly took the wineskin Alchan thrust at him. He started drinking, not considering he had nothing in his stomach.

“General Lorren had been on that trade mission. He had known about the affair and watched rumors start for about ninety years. The exact timeline gets fuzzy for me. I was a youth myself. Well, he asked the Queen for permission to investigate and found letters from Shadra to my father, describing their son. My father had ignored them. He kept them but never replied or went back to the Empire. Then news came out that Shadra was going to marry the Emperor, and Javon knew there was a royal blood mutt who was about to be the Emperor’s stepson. The Queen sent him to give congratulations to Shadra since she was part of those negotiations. Javon came back with a white-winged boy who…”

“Looked like you but not you,” Rain finished, his jaw hanging slack. “His mother is…”

“You see the problem?”

Mave will kill him. If she finds out, she’ll kill him.

“Why didn’t the Company know?”

“When the War started, my family decided we had to protect Luykas. We kept it a secret. By the time the War was over, Luykas and I were the last two people of the Andinna who knew. Shadra will never tell anyone. In the Empire, she claimed Luykas was her adopted son. A child one of her maids had given birth to after trade negotiations. Luykas always knew the truth and grew up thinking it was for the best, but it was for her own political reasons. No Emperor would marry a woman who had a child with another man, much less the royal prince of another race.”

He could understand that. Rain could see the logic, but there was a deep, painful ache of betrayal.

“He’s her son. She’s…”

“Luykas is innocent,” Alchan growled. “Rain, do you understand? I will kill anyone who tries to hurt my brother for who his mother is.”

“But—”

“He’s mine,” Alchan snarled. “He doesn’t belong to her; he belongs to me.”

Rain leaned back, taking another long drink from the wine before shoving it back at Alchan.

“He’s yours,” he whispered, nodding. “Yes, he’s yours.” This was a bedru who had made a claim, and there was nothing in this life or the next that would challenge it. Alchan wasn’t joking, he wasn’t kidding, the words weren’t empty. In Alchan’s eyes, after centuries of protecting his brother, Luykas belonged to him.

“She doesn’t get to destroy his life,” Alchan continued, his words accented by a growl that refused to end. “She doesn’t get to do this to him when he’s worked for so much of his life to be good to our people and help us.”

“You know, don’t you?” Rain said carefully. “Mave will never…”

Alchan sighed. Rain watched the heat drain out of him fast, replaced with despair.

“I know. I keep trying to find some way to tell her because Luykas won’t ever act on how he feels if she doesn’t know, but she can’t know if he has any chance of being with the female he’s bonded to. He doesn’t deserve to be so lonely, to be bonded but on the outside with no one. And this isn’t just Mave. He won’t ever settle down. No female would have taken him being Shadra’s son. No female will take him now being bonded to the King’s Champion, a female none of them rank higher than. Mave will be a threat to every relationship he could possibly have, and that’s not her fault.” Alchan rubbed his face. “My brother is going to die alone, just like me, and he doesn't deserve it.”

Rain felt like those words struck him in the chest, taking the wind out of him.

“You won’t die alone,” he said gently. “You have to find a female and have an heir.”

“I have to fuck a woman for the short period she’s in her fertile cycle and hope she has a daughter. I don’t need to be in her mayara. I’ll raise my daughter alone because I have to give her the education a queen needs. Then I’ll die alone after she takes the throne. I know my fate, Rain. I’m a bedru. I’ve always known my fate.”

“You and Luykas don’t have to…” Rain tried to find a way to stop this. Alchan couldn’t die alone. He didn’t deserve that.

“I’m a stud who needs to propagate. Skies, Seanev and Leria showed up and tried to chide me for not already having a child. I’m not even two thousand. And Skies damn Seanev. That piece of shit.” Alchan chugged several swallows of the wine, and Rain realized what Luykas had meant. Alchan needed the time away because his reaction to the small stuff was aggressive and frustrated. For males like Alchan, that combination was deadly to others. And now, he was getting drunk, probably trying to deaden the feelings. “He fucking sat up here, blood bonded with a female and left his own fucking sister to rot in the Empire. I don’t blame her for avoiding him like the plague, but I wish he would stop bitching to me about it every time he catches me without Luykas there to back me up.”

Rain winced. He’d caught that a couple of times. He made it a point to be in the room when Seanev was around to keep Alchan from killing the other male. They needed a strong general and mativa like Seanev and Leria. They just brought other issues to the surface that no one really knew how to fix.

“I can’t fix any of this, Rain. I can’t do it. I know how to lead an army. I know how to quietly rule and handle small affairs. I’ve never been this pulled in before. I tried so hard for centuries to not get attached to the Andinna moving around me. Now, they’re always around, and I keep thinking about them, and I can’t fucking fix it. I’m just going to drag them all down to my level, then we’re all fucked.”

Alchan took another drink. He passed the half-empty wine skin to Rain and reached into one of their packs and pulled out another one. Rain realized he was in over his head.

“Where did the wine come from?” he asked, trying to change the subject to something more mundane.

“Leria,” the king answered. “A gift, made from ardani berries like traditional Anden wine.”

Rain took a sip this time, trying to get more of the flavors. It had a spice to it, of course. It wasn’t like what someone could find in Olost. It screamed Anden—cold, spice, and home.

“She has fine tastes,” he said.

“She does. She’s better than Seanev. I can’t hate her like I do him.” Alchan snorted. “I grew up with him and never suspected he would be the type of male who would leave his sister in the Empire.”

“People aren’t always what we expect,” Rain reminded him. He always thought of Alchan as terrifying and withdrawn. He’d grown up half scared of the male, but that wasn’t the case anymore. Alchan was more than he expected. He cared and bottled everything up, trying to lead the way he was taught, the way that was best for everyone. He had to make hard choices, and that hurt him.

He’s not what anyone would expect out of a bedru male who has to rule. And he needs me.

“No, they aren’t,” Alchan agreed softly. “Thank you for not running out of here. No telling anyone what I told you about Luykas.”

“I’ll take it to my grave,” he promised, meaning every word. Luykas had been his honorary, adoptive uncle for centuries. Considering the earlier conversation he had with the other mutt, he still was. He wouldn’t betray Luykas or Alchan.

“What would you do?”

“Sit Mave down with both of you and explain,” Rain said immediately. “It’s the only way if Luykas wants to pursue something with her. If she finds out after they sleep together, it’ll be a quick stab to the gut, then we’ll be left without a king and his best advisor. Mave would be considered in charge, and you know how that would play out.”

“It would be a disaster. She could kill us when we tell her.”

“When you first said something, I thought the same thing. She’ll just kill him, and you would never let her kill him, so it would spiral out of control. I think if you give her a chance, be honest, up front, you have a chance of swaying her reaction.”

“Valid. She’s come a long way since we freed her from the Empire.” Alchan reached out with a small rag and grabbed the pan on the fire. With a quick movement, he flipped the steaks and rested them on the flames again. The flames reflecting in the king’s amber eyes caught Rain’s attention. He couldn’t stop staring. Alchan didn’t seem to notice, paying more attention to the food. When they were done, Alchan gave Rain one and went to the mouth of the cave with his. Rain followed him, watching Alchan sit on the edge of the cliff, the waterfall spraying him with mist as he held his food in his lap. Rain sat next to him and started eating, just trying to give Alchan company without being company.

“I hate myself,” Alchan whispered. “I come out here because the world can’t know how much I despise what I am. I live away from the community because it’s the curse of being a bedru. We hate ourselves. We hate the world we live in. It rots in us as we are forced to compromise and deal with things that go against our nature. It ruined my father, who married a female. He wanted her, but she already had husbands. She gave him a chance but wouldn’t give up the males she had. It infuriated him that he had to share. It spoiled them in the end, and he hated himself enough to betray everyone in our family.”

“By sleeping with Shadra?” Rain knew he shouldn’t have spoken, but Alchan was talking to him, and he was in the habit of responding when the king said something.

“No. By helping her assassinate the rest of our family. He killed his own mother, our queen, so Shadra would place him on the throne. He killed his sisters and my cousins. He helped kill all of them.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Shadra told Luykas and me the day…the day General Lorren was negotiating with her to get his daughter back. To get Mave back. Then her soldiers around us attacked.”

Rain reached out but thought better of it at the last moment.

“Males like my father and I don’t deserve happiness. We break everything we touch. Look at what I did to you. Look at what he did to my family. The royal family.”

“That’s not true,” Rain said quickly. “You deserve happiness, and you’re a good king. What happened between us was growing pains from working together so much.”

Alchan turned to him, his face showing a vulnerability Rain didn’t know what to do with. Rain’s heart thumped in his chest. Did anyone ever realize Alchan was beautiful? With the sunset glowing through the waterfall, casting lights over his face, making the amber eyes glitter, Rain saw it. Alchan was stunning and lonely…and he cared.

He cared. Rain was bruised and hadn’t trusted any dominant male outside the Company for a year. He was scared to get into bed with anyone, scared to ease his own loneliness. He threw himself into training and work. Alchan didn’t scare him, though. Once was enough for both of them to realize fear wasn’t something they wanted between them. Alchan’s pain over causing it had moved Rain. It had moved him more than he thought.

He needs me, and I need him.

Rain blamed it on the wine. Maybe it really was the wine. He drank on an empty stomach and had only taken a few bites of the steak. He set it to the side. He didn’t want to eat now.

I need him, and I want him.

Before he really considered what he was doing, he reached out and took Alchan’s cheeks. He didn’t stop, didn’t let his courage run from him until their lips touched. Alchan’s mouth accepted it slowly, opening as Rain’s pulse raced faster than the wings of a hummingbird.

When it was over, Rain realized how stupid, how foolish he was. But in the back of his mind, there were memories of Alchan and an escort in that port city. The way Alchan obviously pleased his lover and was pleased by him. Him. Alchan was attracted to males. He had a chance…a small chance.

“Rain,” Alchan whispered against his lips. Rain let his hands fall to Alchan’s shoulders.

“Why do you call me Rain now?” Their lips continued to brush against each other. Rain couldn’t find it in him to back away, not now.

“I hated that Rainev and Seanev were similar,” the king answered.

“I don’t know if this is proper. Tell me to go. Tell me to leave your service if you have to but…” Rain held onto his courage as tightly as he could. “You need me. And I need you.” Swallowing his fear, he said the most important words. “You don’t have to be alone.”

Alchan’s eyes went wide, but he did nothing, said nothing as they stared at each other. After too much of the silent response, Rain knew it was done. He jumped to his feet and started walking back into the cave, knowing he needed to leave. The waterfall was loud, and his pulse beat in his ears. He was nearly done roughly tossing things into a pack when Alchan grabbed his elbow and yanked him to his feet. Rain was spun around and found himself staring at the king’s chest.

“Rain,” Alchan murmured. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“You can tell me no at any time. You can tell me you don’t like something. You can leave whenever you need to,” Alchan whispered.

“I won’t leave,” Rain replied, his voice strong.

Alchan pulled his face up by his chin, and their mouths met again, the wine on their lips mingling, accenting the entire thing with the reminder that they shouldn’t be doing this, they weren’t in their right minds. This time, there was no shock. There was an intent they were going to ease their loneliness together. Tomorrow was going to be different for them from today and every day before, but that was for tomorrow.

Tonight was for them.

I want him.

29

Mave

A silent forest. Why it was so quiet, she didn’t understand, but it always was.

Mave cursed as she found herself in the nightmare. The strange, foreboding, awful nightmare. The path lay in front of her, and she snarled at it. She didn’t want to do this tonight, but the pull to follow the path proved too strong, too much.

She walked down the path, growling every step of the way. She walked quickly, hoping to get it over with. She was lucid enough to be mad, but not enough to wake herself up. Not lucid enough to stop the chain of events.

Once she was at the clearing, she saw the damn Andinna female without wings. Waiting there for her, beckoning her to another fight Mave would lose. Swords were drawn, and Mave lifted her hands. She would try this time. She had to fight back. She couldn’t keep doing this.

The female charged, and Mave ducked, trying to find a way to attack this female. A sword still connected, slicing open her side as the female adjusted her attack to handle Mave’s evasion. Mave, realizing the female was better than her, decided she needed the high ground.

And couldn’t fly as a sword entered her gut.

Mave woke in the same panic. Breathing hard, she tried to get out of the bed, untangling from her males in the bed. She always forgot she couldn’t fly in those dreams. Her feet were always firmly planted to the ground, and she didn’t understand why. It panicked her more than her opponent, though her opponent was terrifying in her own way.

“Love?” Bryn mumbled. “Where ya goin’?”

“For a walk.”

His head came up, and even in the dark, his summer sky eyes seemed light and wonderful.

“Mat said ya won’t talk to him about this.”

“I don’t want either of you to worry,” she explained. “I have nightmares. It happens. Maybe when things settle down, they’ll stop.” He started to get up, but she put a hand on his shoulder. “Please. Sleep.”

“Are you going to see Luykas?” he asked, lying on his back, staring up at her with no suspicion, just curiosity and worry.

“Probably,” she whispered. “Are you okay with that?”

“Are ya sleepin’ with him? It’s okay if ya are, just would like to know.”

“No. He just…he can feel it, you know? He started searching me out, and it just feels right to go to him when…”

“Go,” Bryn told her. “We’ll be here when ya come home. Always are.”

She leaned down to kiss him and left without saying anything else. She was still pulling on her clothing as she went into the family room. Zayden didn’t look up from his book, doing a bit of late-night reading.

“I won’t be here for breakfast,” she told him.

“Okay. Did you know that Alchan and Rainev went camping for the night?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure, in case you were going off to find one of them.”

“Thanks.” She left him there, heading out the front door once her boots were on. She let the tug of the bond pull her in the right direction, heading for Luykas’ home. She normally ran into the forest, but Bryn’s words made her want to cut to the chase and just go see Luykas. He didn’t move as she landed on his porch and pushed through his door. He was yawning, holding a shirt, reaching for the door she had just entered.

“Good morning,” he greeted softly. Mave looked at him, wondering if maybe she should have gone a little slower. He wasn’t in nearly the same rush she had been, his breeches undone.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” she asked, looking down at his pants, unable to pull her eyes up. Was there a female in the back room?

I would know, right? I would have felt something through the bond if he took a female to his bed. Right?

“Interrupting what? There’s nothing going on here. No, I’m just a little slow to get out of bed this morning. Come in. Normally, you make me find you in the woods, but you started heading toward me, so I thought it wasn’t as urgent.” He yawned, moving out of her way so she could come in. “Come sit down. You’re safe here.”

“Why do you think I don’t feel safe?” she asked, moving around him to go to his main room.

“Because you wake up, and you run,” he answered. “Every time. I don’t know what these nightmares are, but they scare you enough to leave your bed with your husbands and run.”

“I don’t think it’s fear,” she retorted.

“Bullshit. You wake up panicked, terrified, and have to work it out of your system. It’s fear. Fear of what, I don’t know because you won’t tell me, but it’s absolutely fear.” Luykas moved behind her, going toward his kitchen. She got to work, bringing his hearth’s fire back to life.

“I don’t know what I’m scared of either,” she whispered. “I don’t know.”

“Are you ready to tell me what the dream is?”

“No.” She didn’t understand it. She wanted to work it out on her own, figure it out, put the pieces together, and understand something about herself someone else didn’t have to explain. “It’s weird, though. I dreamed very little growing up in the Empire. I didn’t dream at all in the pits.”

“Really?”

She nodded, staring as the fire began to eat the wood she threw in. “I think the first dream I had in centuries was on the boat headed for Myrsten.” She realized her mistake. It wasn’t the first dream. There was one before that, of my mother dying. “No, there was one in the pits, too. Just the one.”

“Care to tell me what it was?” Luykas stepped up next to her and offered her a glass. She took it, sipping to see what he’d given her—cool water. At her look, he chuckled. “I’ve got some water boiling for coffee or tea, I promise. You can decide which one you want.”

“Thank you,” she said, thinking about his earlier question. “I’ll tell you about the one on the boat. That dream…it was a memory of the day Shadra put my first slave collar on. The real memory. It wasn’t the first day I knew her, that came earlier, in a camp right after my mother died. But the collar, it came a little while later. I had the dream…right after you took my collar off.” Lifting her hand, she felt the scar left behind. It wasn’t as severe as Bryn’s for some reason, but it was there. It would fade and grow thinner over time, but it would always be there. She didn’t find herself thinking about it very often. She didn’t think about any of her scars often.

“Ah. A recent event triggering thoughts of past events. Common. Normally, the two are related.”

“I dreamed of my first day as a slave on my last day as a slave,” she mumbled. It didn’t help her figure out what was going on with the dream of the Andinna on the path, though. It didn’t help her understand anything. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just odd I’m getting nightmares…”

“Have you talked to Bryn or Mat about this at all?” Luykas demanded gently. His soft voice wasn’t angry or aggressive. It didn’t hold judgment, but it held that demand.

“I told Bryn a little before I left earlier. I don’t want them to be…tainted with this. I don’t want them to think something is wrong—”

“Something is wrong, Mave. It’s probably not a big thing. You’re stressed, you’ve been through a lot. Skies, we all have. Other former slaves have nightmares. Look at Brynec when he’s on a boat. They will be okay, listening to you talk about this.”

But they aren’t you.

She didn’t say that out loud, looking up at his gold eyes. They weren’t Luykas, who had such a different perspective. He blended the two worlds she’d been a part of yet stood separate from both of them. He worked hard to make her feel better, even when she hated him for it. They were her males, who did everything for her, including giving love she had lacked in her living memory. Luykas challenged her. Even at that moment, they were staring at each other, equal in rank. She was socially higher than him. He was militarily higher than her. Somehow, they met in the middle.

“I don’t want to keep them up with this,” she said finally, looking away from him.

“Why me?”

“We’re bonded. You started it. You came to me when these nightmares first started. I…I enjoy your company, and you help me settle down after them.”

“I think you’re running from more than just your nightmares,” he retorted, turning to walk away from her. “Seanev being one of those things.”

Mave winced. “I’m not running from him—”

“We both know that’s bullshit. You didn’t even say hello to him a few days ago when he stopped in with us to see the females train. You didn’t even get up.”

“I’m not required to stand for you.”

“You didn’t want to stand and see your brother.”

“Would you?” she snapped back, growling as she turned to see him finding a seat.

“Considering my brother is Alchan—”

“No, I mean if he ignored your existence for several years. If he ignored you for a thousand years.”

Luykas opened his mouth and closed it again, his face turning thoughtful. He looked down at his mug, sighing.

“I met Alchan at the age of ninety-six. We hadn’t known the other existed until just before then. Your father had told me about him, and his grandmother told him about me right before I arrived. We didn’t know how to deal with each other. We didn’t know each other. It took us time to find some way to connect, and it ended up being how much of an asshole our father was. I know it’s not similar to what Seanev and you have but…” He looked up at her, then patted a cushion next to him. As she sat down, he watched her carefully. “I hate your brother.”

“Really?” For some reason, his plain statement made her both happy and angry, a conflict she didn’t understand.

“Yes. I lived with guilt, knowing you might have been in Elliar, and we never went. Sure enough, we go to save Mat and Rain, and there you were. Exactly like the far-fetched rumors said you were. I hate him because I lived with guilt he put on me. He and Hertesh, your other brother, had asked Alchan and me to protect you as you got older, and we failed. And there he is, blood bonded to some mativa with a small army at his command and enough food to feed everyone. I hate him.”

“Why do I think there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

“There is. I hate him, but he’s your brother, and you deserve family. I hate him, but Alchan and I grew up around him. He and Hertesh were just as important to our training as your father was. And your mother. They were family to the royal house in their own way. I’m…glad to know he’s alive. I just need to find common ground with him again, and that’s hard because—”

“Because he and I haven’t addressed our problems yet.”

“Yes, and the Company will back you every time. For as long as you need, he’s not going to get close to you. He’ll never get through me. Or Brynec and Matesh. He’ll wait until you’re ready, even if it kills him.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know if I hate him. I don’t…”

“You haven’t talked to anyone about this, have you?” Luykas leaned closer to her. “Mave…”

She leaned on him, their skin brushing. For a moment, the free flow of emotions ran between them. Luykas must not have been controlling his because she felt something.

He pulled away quickly, but she reached out and grabbed his hand. His pulse was racing, and so was hers. The conversation they were having was forgotten in the span of two heartbeats.

“There’s no other female, is there?” she asked softly.

“No,” he whispered. “You should go.”

“No. I want to stay—”

“Leave, please, Mave. I don’t want you to—”

“I’ve been insanely jealous for weeks, and there is no other female,” she said, breathing hard. “Luykas?”

She tried to parse all the emotions she felt from him—want, guilt, need. There were so many conflicting feelings. He felt for her, but it was complicated…so complicated.

“Please go,” he said, his voice thick.

“Why didn’t you—”

“Because when they started, you would have hated me. I’ve made my decision not to act on them, and I’ve worked my fucking hardest to keep them from leaking to you. I pushed them down and hoped you never caught scent of them. Please don’t push this. I know you don’t want me, and one day, the bond will fade, and we can both move on.”

“You’re touching me. You know that’s not true. You know I…” She couldn’t say it yet, this admission of her feelings. She was happy it was her. She was happy there was no other female. She wanted to talk to him about it. She wanted to see how far it went. She wanted to know if he would ever want to belong to her.

“You don’t want me,” he whispered, yanking his hand away hard. So hard, in fact, she staggered. His hand was shaking as he pointed to the door. “Go, Mave.”

“Luykas—”

“Get out,” he snarled.

Shocked, Mave walked to the door, unable to understand what had just happened. She didn’t like the feeling in her chest, a squeezing tightness. She didn’t like how tears threatened her eyes. Once she was on the porch, she didn’t move. Inside, she heard him roar, and something shattered.

What just happened?

She tried to figure out where she could go and knew she couldn’t go home. She couldn’t let Bryn and Mat see her like this. They would be furious at who knows what. She had no idea. Rain was gone with Alchan. Where could she go and find help in the middle of the night?

Senri would help me.

She launched into the air, racing fast through the night, the tears freezing on her face. She wasn’t properly dressed to fly at high speeds in the winter night, but she did it anyway, letting the physical pain try to bury the emotional pain.

He wants me, and he threw me out. Is he ashamed? Does he think it’s just the bond? I don’t understand.

Why does this hurt so bad? He isn’t really mine. He owes me nothing. I don’t…

She landed roughly on Senri’s porch and banged on the door, leaning on it as the tears threatened again.

I do. I do care about him. I do want him. I don’t want anyone else to have him, and he just threw me out.

The door opened, and she nearly fell in, landing into a hard chest.

“Whoa, Mave. What’s wrong?” a male asked. She looked up to find Willem. He wasn’t dressed, holding a blanket around his waist. “Why are you here at this time?”

“I need Senri,” she said, swallowing. “Actually, I should go.” She rubbed her eyes, trying to hide the tears. Before she could step away from him, he grabbed her, pulling her into the home, and shut the door with both of them inside. Before she could muster a fight, she was in their main room and gently led to sit down.

“Hold on,” he ordered, stomping out of the room. It struck her as odd. Willem didn’t stomp. He was too sweet, the gentle one of their family. She could hear him and groaned at his words. “It’s Mave. She’s in fucking tears. You find out who did this while I go get her fucking husbands and figure this out.”

“Shit.” That was Senri.

“Let me get my sword,” Kian snarled. Gentrin was also talking, but she missed it.

When Senri rushed out, still yanking up pants, Mave jumped up.

“It’s not Mat or Bryn,” she said quickly. “Stop them before they do something stupid.”

Senri’s eyes were hard, but she nodded. “Stand down, males.” The order was clear. Kian walked out, his shoulders squared for battle. Willem and Gentrin were behind him, all pulling on clothes.

“It’s not…Senri, you were the only person I could think…This was stupid. I’m going to go. Sorry for waking you up.”

Mave tried to get around her friend, who swiftly grabbed her and threw her back into the cushion seat.

“You don’t cry,” Senri growled. “So, you’re going to stay here and explain to me why you are now. Kian, you’re going to go chop firewood and get these fires going. Gentrin, prepare the guest room. Willem, tea, please.”

The males launched into action. Mave knew they would. Bryn and Mat did the same thing when Mave needed things done quickly, though it was rare.

“Tell me what happened.” Senri didn’t move, looking down on her. Mave knew Senri wasn’t angry with her. The violence in her eyes was for whoever hurt Mave because that’s how friends were. Mave was normally the one standing up, trying to find what to kill, but for the first time, she found herself the injured party.

“You can’t hurt him,” Mave mumbled, looking down. “You can’t hurt him, Senri.”

“Who and why not?” Senri demanded. “And Skies, Mave, what male gets you tied up like this? You look like you’ve been broken in two.”

“Luykas,” she choked out, the tears threatening to pour again.

There was a crash of something in the kitchen. Kian, carrying an axe for the firewood, stopped moving.

“Keep moving,” Senri snapped. “This is female business.”

Kian started walking again and left the house to get the wood from a stack at the bottom of the cliff. Mave watched him leave, hoping he would be back soon and wasn’t going to go crazy and hurt the mutt.

“It was me,” Mave said softly. “The female I was jealous of was me. I felt it tonight, and I was so surprised. I was…so happy it was me, but the moment he realized I felt it though the bond…he threw me out.”

Senri gasped, sitting down slowly.

“Mave…”

“And I…” She touched her chest. “I’ve never felt like this before, and I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Come here. Mave, come here.” Senri reached out, and Mave leaned into the embrace, letting Senri wrap her arms around her. Mave closed her eyes as Senri ran a hand through her hair. “My girl, it’s called a broken heart. He broke your heart before you even knew it was in danger.”

Mave’s hands shook as she grabbed at Senri’s shirt.

And she cried.

When the tears finally slowed, there was tea on a small table next to them. Kian sat near the fire, furious and silent. Gentrin was nearby, reading a book. Willem wandered around, picking things up and moving them around like he was trying to stay busy.

“How do you feel?” Senri asked softly.

“Better,” Mave admitted, trying to ignore the dull ache.

“Liar,” Kian whispered. Senri turned a cutting glare on him, snarling viciously. “Whoa there, mother dragon. You know it’s true. He hurt her, and it’s better to admit it’s going to sting for a while.”

“Get out,” Senri ordered. “Go work off the rage. She’s not your daughter to defend.”

“She’s not yours, either,” Kian reminded her. “But it’s not like anyone else is stepping up to be that for her.”

“Kian, go to Nevyn and beat him up. Varon will understand.” Senri was getting annoyed.

“And what do I tell them?”

“Nothing. It’s not your business to tell.” Her tone had a finality to it, and Mave wondered if Kian would dare to test.

Kian nodded and stormed out of the house.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…” Mave covered her face.

“Don’t say those words again. I look at you as a daughter and friend I never had. You are always welcome to come to us when something has bruised you. It’s better you came here because there would have been no stopping Matesh or Brynec from going to Luykas’ home and trying to kill him. He’s gravely wounded you.” Senri sighed, looking at her carefully. “Now it’s time for the rest, honesty. Did you want Luykas?”

“Yes,” Mave whispered. “I never…I never realized it. He was just always mine. Mine to deal with, mine to hate, mine to be bonded to, mine to be friends with…just mine. Then the female thing came up, and I was jealous, then there was what Allaina said about figuring out why I was jealous. Then tonight, I realized there was no other female, and I…it was relieving. He was mine even if we never said the words. He was mine, and he tossed me out, saying I didn’t want him. He could feel how much I wanted him, Senri. We were touching. It was all there. And I was so happy there was some truth in it even though his feelings were so fucking complicated.”

“Do you still want him?” Senri asked, not addressing anything Mave had just said.

Mave heard the question. It registered. Her chest hurt; she ached for him to come in the door and tell her he was sorry or tell her why he did it. The abruptness of his behavior had thrown her like a bad wind in a storm. She had felt like she was free falling, and the landing hurt.

But the idea of Luykas not being hers…

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll have him in the end,” Senri said softly. “You just need to figure out why he did this tonight. Luykas is a complicated male with a history of never fitting in. It’s apparent. Half Andinna while living in the Empire, half Elvasi while living in Anden. There must be something he feels makes him unable to be worthy of you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He said you didn’t want him,” Gentrin answered, looking up from his book. “He didn’t say he doesn’t want you. He said you don’t want him, even though he could feel otherwise. He must be convinced there’s something wrong with him that makes him no good for you. He’s doing what any good male should, protecting you from something, even if neither of you knows exactly what that might be.”

“Himself,” Willem said softly, putting down a little pillow he was holding. “He’s protecting you from being hurt by him later down the road.”

“That works,” Gentrin agreed. “A good male isn’t hard to figure out. If it hurts our female or the female we want, we won’t do it. If being near someone hurts our female, we take out that person. Luykas can’t kill himself or won’t because he’s got things to do. He would never leave his brother alone in this world. But he can make sure you aren’t near him.”

“He never did before…he always hid how he felt for me. He said I would have hated him for it.”

“When you two first came to the village, I’m sure you would have hated him for wanting to be with you,” Senri pointed out pragmatically. “You and him need to have a talk, that much is obvious. You might want a few days to let him cool off. He might be riding his temper.”

“He’s probably tied in knots. Wants a female and doesn’t feel like he’s safe for her. He’s probably falling apart. I don’t think Mave should go near him until Alchan is back. Maybe longer,” Gentrin said, closing the book and putting it aside. “We’ll keep this among the family here. No one here is going to tell Mat or Bryn, but you should, once you calm down. Senri was right. Coming here was the best decision in the heat of the moment, but they’ll need to know Luykas wants you, and you want him, but he won’t go through with it. They might be able to address his fears in ways you can’t.”

“Gentrin and Kian had to help Willem open up to me,” Senri explained softly. “I wanted him so much, but he’s such a peaceful male and didn’t think that made my home of warriors stronger, only weaker. He didn’t want to drag me down and get me hurt. In the end, he realized he was exactly what I needed. Gentrin is much like me, a warrior sometimes. Would rather fight for home than fight for someone else’s. Kian is a wild male, as we all know. Willem doesn’t want to pick up a sword most of the time, and that’s…beautiful to me, but he thought it wasn’t good enough.”

“Thank you,” Mave whispered. “Do you mind if I stick around until morning?”

“You’ll be having breakfast with us,” Willem said, smiling.

Mave felt like her smile was going to wobble off her face but was glad this family cared so much about her. Which brought her back to an earlier statement.

“Mother dragon?” she said, looking at Senri.

The female grinned sheepishly. “It’s like the human saying, mama bear, or whatever it is. We’re protective over our young.”

“I’m not your daughter,” Mave said softly.

“I wish you were,” Senri answered, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. “Let me treat you like one, just for the morning. We can go back to being warriors after breakfast.”

Mave didn’t have any fight in her to argue. She moved on the cushion, finding a comfortable spot, and decided having this family dote on her while her chest pulsed with a dull ache was completely acceptable.

30

Luykas

Luykas watched her leave. He’d tried. He had tried to lead her back to her males, get her to talk to them, yet he couldn’t resist. He’d been thinking about her when he’d leaned in. When she accidentally touched him, he’d been thinking about how much he wanted to fix her problems and all the other problems they had.

To think I wanted this to happen. Now, all I want to do is take it back. She can’t know. How did I let my guard down after so long?

He’d been tired. Tonight, getting up when her nightmares woke them both was harder. He’d barely been dressed when she walked in, and if she were any other female, he would have turned that to his favor, maybe get a good night out of the visit.

But not her…never her. He wanted something serious with Mave and couldn’t have it.

I’m too much of a coward to talk to her. I can't deal with the idea of hurt and betrayal in her eyes when she knows. I can’t do it.

He wandered into his kitchen and pulled out his wineskin from the storage room. It wasn’t even dawn, and he decided on what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He looked at the wineskin and sighed before tossing it into his main room. Then he went into the storage and found the barrel. Leria had set him and Alchan up well with wine.

Now, he was going to use it.

He found a comfortable spot and got to drinking.

He was in for a long day and had no intention of moving from the spot. Two glasses in, and he wanted to rage, to break everything, and scream. He wanted to find her and bring her back, have her.

He drank more, trying to kill that urge, slowly wasting the day away. When someone knocked on the door, he snarled, trying to get to his feet.

“Luykas! I know you’re fucking hiding there!”

It was Matesh. Luykas fell back into his seat. He wasn’t going to test the husband of the female he’d hurt. He wasn’t stupid. If Matesh stayed on that side of the door, nothing bad would happen.

“You hurt her. Skies damn you, I can’t fucking believe you. You sit in there and rot for all I care. She wants you. She’s bonded to you, and you threw her out of your home, you fucking mutt.”

The ranting continued until Matesh lost his heat and slowed. Luykas let the insults pound him, inflicting deep cuts in his mental state. Eventually, Matesh was talking to the door, and Luykas had to listen.

“You…she cares about you, just realized what you mean to her, and you threw her out. She can’t…she’s never done this, Luykas. She and I came naturally. I had to point her and Bryn together, and we all had to help those two realize they’re good together. She was trying to figure you out on her own, and you smacked her down for it.” A fist hit the door again. “You’ll fix this, damn it. Do you understand me? You’re going to fix this.”

How?

“She’s made Bryn and me promise not to hurt you. I want you to think about that. As it stands, I don’t want you coming anywhere near our home. Male-to-male, you’ve been banned from our home unless she gives you a direct invitation. You won’t speak to her, you won’t look at her. Don’t worry, I already told her I’m telling you this. Every contact you have with her will be initiated by her. And if you hurt her one more time, not even she’ll be able to save you. She’s been through too much to be hurt like this.”

Matesh left after that. Luykas felt sick. He kept drinking, even while he knew it wouldn’t settle his stomach, but it would make the guilt go away, just for a moment. None of them understood. He wasn’t good for her. He couldn’t be with her. Shadra had reminded him of the terrible thing in his past—being her son. Just by being born, he was wrong. By breathing the same air as any of them, he was in the wrong. He, and his entire Elvasi family, deserved to rot. All he could do was help free the real Andinna before he died. That was the only redeemable thing he could do.

Later, there was another knock on the door. He ignored it, too drunk to stand up. The female outside tried his name one more time, then left. A female. Someone stupidly had sent a female to get him this time.

Which only brought his thoughts back to Mave. The alcohol blurred the bond, making it less insistent, less noticeable. It was like he was alone in his head for the first time in a year. He kept drinking because he hated the sensation. Thinking about Mave, he remembered what she’d said.

She had been jealous of another female because of him.

Another female. He wanted to laugh. As if there could ever be another female.

I made her jealous of herself. Fun. She doesn’t want me, though. She can’t want me.

He groaned as he reached for the barrel to have another glass, and his head throbbed. He tried to stand and staggered. How long had it been since he was this drunk? He was pretty sure he’d never been this drunk.

He didn’t make it to pour another drink. He went to his knees and fell on the floor, passing out.

* * *

“Skies. Rain, I’m going to need some help,” a gruff, angry male said. “Luykas, you stupid fucking mutt. Let’s get you off the floor.”

“Alchan…I messed up,” Luykas mumbled, trying to pry his eyes open.

“How?” his brother asked softly.

“Mave.”

“Does she know?”

“No,” Luykas was able to say, wincing as a fire began to blaze in his hearth. “Put that out.”

“No. When did you start drinking?” Alchan lifted him further, but Luykas couldn’t get his body to cooperate. A second pair of hands grabbed his legs, and they lifted his sorry ass and dumped it on a long cushion meant for midday naps or something. Luykas never paid attention to most of his furniture. He had a bedroom and a kitchen. Those were all he needed.

“When she left,” he answered.

“When was that?” Alchan’s hand twisted in his hair and forced Luykas to meet his brother eye-to-eye, male-to-male. His brother was worried and angry.

“Before breakfast,” he whimpered as the hair pulling made his headache worse.

“No wonder you’re so fucking pathetic right now. Rain, get something simple ready for him. Bread usually helps him.”

“Okay.”

“You have to tell me what happened, brother,” Alchan whispered, leaning in close.

Luykas groaned, leaning away from his brother as Alchan’s grip on his hair loosened.

“She knows how I feel, and I…I didn’t know she felt the same way, but she does, and I didn’t know what to do. She can’t have feelings for me. She can’t because I can never tell her who I am, and I won’t lie to her to get her into bed. I can’t. I…” He wanted to have another drink as the pain came back—the wanting, the guilt, the despair.

“What did you do?” Alchan asked gently. “Tell me.”

“I threw her out. I told her she can’t want me, that I wanted the bond to fade, so she could move on from me, then I told her to leave. It was all I could think of.”

“You fucking idiot,” Alchan growled. “Really? You think that…”

“Well, that’s bad,” Rain mumbled as he walked back in. “We’re lucky she didn’t kill you for hurting her like that.”

“You have no idea, Rain,” Luykas growled.

“Actually, I do.” Rain shoved a loaf of bread in his hands.

“I told him,” Alchan explained. “About you and…your mother. I needed to let someone know, and he has an idea about telling Mave. If it’s not too late, we can explain to her the one thing that’s holding you back, and maybe you can fix this.”

“I’m the son of her torturer! I don’t deserve her even if she does know!” Luykas snarled, pushing to his feet. He swayed, but he couldn’t stay there and listen to his brother trying to be caring and soft with him. “I’m the son of a monster. Two of them, actually. I don’t get to be happy.”

Alchan straightened up.

Then punched him.

Luykas went back into the wall, groaning in pain as he touched his face. His nose was busted open and bleeding.

“I’m willing to watch the Andinna rot if they turn on you. You’ll have the fucking self-respect to go to Mave and grovel. You love her, Luykas. You—”

“I challenge her authority and piss her off all the time. I know her secrets, and she never wanted me around to begin with.”

“She cares for you! If you’re telling me the truth, she admitted to it this morning!” Alchan roared. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. We’re going to fix this.”

“When? When is a good time to drop a boulder on her head about this? When is a good time to make sure she won’t hate me for the rest of her life?”

“Al Moro Nat,” Rain answered. “I don’t hate you. It’s not my fault I’m a mutt. No one blames me for having half the lifespan any of you will. You can’t be blamed for who your mother is. It’s terrifying to think about, but she is who she is, and we just have to live with it. You and Alchan have had to live with it alone for centuries. It’s time to bring in the people who care about you. Your family in the Company. The family who actually gives a shit about you. Might as well start with Mave.”

“On the day violence is prohibited unless it’s for self-defense. Meaning, if she attacks, I can defend you,” Alchan finished. “Because I’ll kill her before I let her kill you. Without a sword in her hand, because those are banned on The Dead Night, I can take her. I have vastly more experience in hand-to-hand combat.”

“You’re both mad. Al Moro Nat isn’t going to stop—”

“It doesn’t have to stop her. It just has to put her in the losing position, which will make her stop to think about her temper before she acts on it,” Rain snapped. “Have more faith in my sister. She’s not a fool. She’ll be angry she didn’t know. She might feel betrayed by you, but has she ever hated you for being half-Elvasi just because you are? She’s not like that.”

Luykas looked between the two of them, still holding his nose. Damn, they were right. He hated it, but they were right.

Al Moro Nat was the only day they had control to make sure there was no violence.

“You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?” he asked his brother.

“Yes, because I’m tired of seeing you beat yourself up. I’ve never been able to make that guilt go away, Luykas, but she might. And you don’t deserve to die alone.” Alchan reached out and moved Luykas’ hand away from his nose while pulling out a rag. “Here.”

Luykas took the rag while Alchan surveyed the damage. Once his brother was done, Luykas covered his face and held his nose, hoping to stop the bleeding sooner rather than later.

Then he remembered, through his hungover haze, he could do magic. With a bit of power from the blood covering his mouth and hands, he started to repair Alchan’s damage.

“Now he remembers he can fix himself,” Alchan said with a chuckle. “Luykas, it’s not just about you and her. I don’t want this stewing when we have to take Kerit. You two have to be able to fight together, and if you can’t, it has to be because we exhausted every option to fix this and failed, not because you’re terrified of her judgment.”

Luykas could only nod. The King had spoken.

“Why don’t you go for a dip in a hot spring and clear your mind?” Rain suggested gently.

“Yeah…” Luykas walked out, leaving them in his home, not even bothering to put on his boots. He went straight for the hot spring nearby and stripped off the only thing he was wearing, trying to ignore the severe bite of the cold night. He’d lost an entire day to alcohol and despair, unable to face anyone outside.

He hurried into the hot water, glad Rain made the suggestion, sinking in happily. It was heaven after a cold day of pain. It was warmth, something he was missing in a lot of areas of his life.

Why did I send her away, instead of just talking to her? She wants me. I should be jumping for the moon and stars to give them to her, and I chased her away.

He tried not to dwell and growled softly as Alchan and Rain showed up.

“I thought I was going to be able to bathe alone,” he said with a bite.

“I don’t remember Rain suggesting that.” Alchan held out a bundle as he surveyed the area. “Clean clothing for you when you’re done. And there’s plenty of space here for all three of us.”

Luykas didn’t watch them strip, turning away politely.

“How was your little camping trip?”

“Good,” his brother answered from behind him. He heard the water splash soon after. “Taking Rain gave me a chance to talk some problems out and find solutions. Like telling Mave who your mother is. Now, I have a couple of questions. How did you fuck this completely up the one night I was away? The second is, how are you still alive?”

“What? What do you mean alive?” Luykas frowned, spinning to frown at his brother.

“Mat and Bryn should have tried to kill you. From the state we found you in, they would have been able to,” Alchan pointed out as he found a spot to nestle deep into the hot water.

“She asked them not to,” he whispered. “I wasn’t paying attention to where Mave flew off to. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.” He found a seat as Rain got in, holding a water skin. Luykas knew the difference. A darker, thicker leather was used for wine. Rain had brought water for them and held it out to Luykas first. He took it graciously, mouthing a thank you to the young male.

“I don’t know how I fucked it up either. She had a nightmare, so she flew to see me. We got talking, and I got distracted. When she accidentally brushed up against me, everything…flew through the bond before I could push it down and squash the feelings.”

“She must have gone to Senri,” Rain said, sighing as he sank deep into the water, letting it go over his shoulders. “That’s the only explanation.”

“Kian would have come,” Luykas reminded him.

“Senri wouldn’t have allowed it. It makes sense. Kian was waiting on my doorstep when we got home. He told me to find you.” Alchan took the water skin from him.

“Great,” Luykas muttered. If Kian knew, Nevyn and Varon knew. The entire Company was going to hate him if they didn’t already. I was a fucking idiot, so I can’t really blame them.

“We’ll fix it,” Alchan said confidently. Luykas raised an eyebrow. When this had first come up, with Shadra taunting him after they attacked Ellantia, Alchan had been just as fucked up by it as he was. They had talked about it repeatedly. They didn’t let him go south of the Dragon Spine to rescue their allies.

Now, his brother did a full turnaround and changed his position. Now, they were going to fix it, and Alchan didn’t seem very concerned.

“How was your camping trip?” Luykas asked again.

“It went well. I got what I needed out of it. I might make a schedule to get out of the public eye more regularly. It would be healthier for me, and I need to stay in the right state of mind if I’m going to lead.” Alchan shrugged.

Luykas felt like something was off. If it had been six months ago and Luykas had done this, Alchan would have lit him on fire.

He got exactly what he needed out of it. For Alchan, that normally was one of two things—killing someone or fucking someone. Did they go out and find some Elvasi scouts? Was there going to be a report of a missing guard? Did they hunt?

Luykas looked between Rain and Alchan, looking more comfortable.

No. They wouldn’t. Rain doesn’t have the courage to hit on a male like Alchan. Alchan wouldn’t use his position over a nemari to get laid, and I’m sure he would turn Rain down even if the mutt was attracted to him. I bet my balls they hunted something, and that eased my brother.

He felt confident in his guess. Whatever they did, it had been exactly what Alchan needed.

“Well, I wish I could tell you how the day went, but as you saw, I didn’t exactly get any work done.” Luykas raised his hands in defeat. “Because I’m a fucking idiot.”

“You are, sometimes, but you have the best mind out of everyone here. We can fix this.”

“Maybe that’s why he overthinks more than other people,” Rain suggested, looking at Alchan with a small smirk. “He’s too smart.”

“Possible. Actually, extremely likely.” Alchan chuckled before looking back at Luykas. “Leave her alone until Al Moro Nat. It’s only a couple of weeks away, and that might give her time to get over the hurt. I’ll approach her to come talk to us privately during the festivities during the day. You’ll stay out of her way. If she approaches you, you’ll have to decide what to do, but if she doesn’t, leave her be.”

“Considering she’s been running from everything the last few months, I don’t think she’ll be coming to me,” Luykas said softly, looking away from his brother. He gazed into the snow-covered woods—a peaceful, white winter. The Andinna never let the snow slow them down, so most of the time, it went unnoticed, but the white night was a tranquil thing.

Her favorite season is winter. Such a bad time to hurt her the way I did. I hope I can make it up to her, and she understands why we can’t be together.

“What is she running from?” Rain asked.

“Everything. Her nightmares. Her brother. Something has thrown her off, and I don’t think she knows what it is. Maybe it started with the nightmares, but it’s becoming a pattern. Something is scaring her.” He just couldn’t figure out what that something was. “It’ll probably pass, or her husbands will call her out on it.”

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“Unlike her husbands, I’m not afraid to call Mave out when she’s being…” He didn’t finish that. He’d called her a bitch once and asked her to give him a break. “Yeah, I’ve talked to her about it.”

“Alchan told me you were in love with her like it was some secret, and I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard,” Rain said suddenly, coming out of nowhere with it. Luykas blinked, looking at the mutt.

“What?”

“Everyone already figured it out,” Rain finished, shaking his head. “You hurt my sister, by the way. I understand why, but it sounds like you hurt her. You’ll fix this.”

Luykas jerked back, his eyes going to Alchan as Rain got out of the hot spring and dried off. He flew away without either of them.

“Brother…” Luykas said carefully. “What did you do to him?”

“I think he’s finding his power again,” Alchan said, smirking. “Now, we just need to fix you and Mave, and it’ll be like Elliar never happened.”

Luykas laughed, covering his face as his head fell back.

Optimist. He never thought his brother would become an optimist.

31

Mave

Al Moro Nat was upon them. Mave woke up that morning and stared at the ceiling. There were no nightmares, just a restless sleep. She was planning on observing the holiday this year, and for some reason, she was anxious about it.

“Good morning,” Mat murmured, his arm snaking around her waist.

“What should I expect today?” she asked softly.

“During the daylight, we all get together to talk about and remember the dead. We celebrate their lives, we curse their existence, whatever it is we need.” He yawned. “You’ll have to see Luykas. He’s going to be there.”

She groaned. “Yeah.”

“You just need to ask. Bryn and I know what to do,” he reminded her for the thousandth time.

“No,” she whispered. “What happens at night?”

“There’s a drink only made for this night. It’s called draugvin. Everyone has a glass, or anyone who chooses. You can opt out. There are two things you can do after that. You can stay with everyone, support and love, or you can wander off into the woods alone.”

“What do you mean?” she asked softly.

“How do you want to confront your dead, Mave? With your friends and loved ones around to protect you, or alone, strong enough to face them in private. Or maybe too scared for those you love to see you when it happens.” Mat sighed, kissing her neck gently. “You confront the dead. You see them, and they stand witness for whatever you have to say or do to them. Sometimes, you just need to see them.”

“Does the drink, the draugvin, make us hallucinate?” she asked, frowning at the ceiling.

I’m not keen on the idea of confronting my dead, real or not.

“No, the drink keeps us calm. Whether you think any of it is real is your choice, but I’ve always thought it was.”

“What do you see?”

“You’re not supposed to talk about it. Whatever you see, whether you go into the woods alone or sit with loved ones, you can’t talk about what you see. It’s a personal experience, private. I’m sorry, love.” He kissed her shoulder and pushed to get up. She watched him as he stood and stretched out, his massive form twisting and bending in ways that made his muscles bunch and look beautiful. He was a stunning male.

“Why…why do I even want Luykas when I have you?” she asked softly.

“Because you have a heart that recently thawed, and you can finally know how big it is,” he answered. “But that’s me being kind. You’re female, you’re dominant. You were posed with the idea Luykas wanted a different female, and that made you react possessively. Why do you like Bryn and me?”

“You’re different. You offer me different things,” she reminded him.

“What does Luykas offer you?” He turned to her, holding a pair of pants. She watched as they slowly went on, but not all the way. He left the view in the front for her, like the arrogant male he was.

“Not that,” she murmured, raising an eyebrow. She knew it was exactly the response he wanted, watching the smirk form.

“I know,” he taunted, then laced up the breeches, hiding himself away. “But in all seriousness, what does he offer you? How would you describe your friendship with him?”

She considered his question, thinking about Luykas as her head fell back, and she stared at the ceiling again.

“He challenges me. He pushes me to do more, go further. He also makes sure I don’t get myself killed in the process, which I guess is just another way of challenging me. Take my limited training with blood magic. He pushed me to learn and be great at what I was picking up, but he forced me to accept my limits in education and take it slow. He pushes me on a dominance level.”

“You hold strange places for each, adjusting depending on the situation,” her husband reminded.

“We do, and once we found we stand too equally to ever rule one or the other, we found something nice. He talks back more than you and Bryn do. I love that you both support me in anything I do. He’s not afraid to call me a fool.”

“There you have it,” Mat whispered. “That’s what he offers you.”

She closed her eyes, hearing the acceptance in Mat’s voice.

“So, you would be okay with…”

“I won’t pretend I’m not pissed at him. I’m fucking furious with him. I hate that he hurt you, but you didn’t come to Bryn and me when it happened. You ran to Senri. That tells me what I need to know. You want him, you’re willing to fight the hurt and be with him, even if I want to kill him. So, I won’t kill him, and neither will Bryn. We’ll let you figure this out.”

“You told me if he hurt me again, you would kill him anyway,” she reminded him.

“And that stands. He only gets to make that mistake once,” Mat growled. She watched him grab a shirt. It was frigid outside now, and not even the males could wander around with only half their clothes on. She jumped up and helped him button the back, kissing the hard muscle between his wings when she was done.

“I love you,” she murmured against his back. “Thank you for standing by me.”

“Always,” he promised. “Do you think Bryn and Zayden are done with breakfast?”

“Probably, but I can’t go out there without putting on some clothes,” she said, chuckling. She didn’t move to find clothing, though, enjoying the warmth of his body next to hers. He pulled away slowly and went to her chest. He picked out soft black leather breeches and a black fabric top. It was one of the few things she owned with sleeves. Lastly, he pulled out a scarf.

“It’s too cold for what you normally wear,” he said softly as he held out the breeches. She pulled them on, then let him help get the top on. Sleeves weren’t normal for her, used to having bare arms. They were tight, and her muscles felt stiff in them, constricted. He wrapped the black scarf around her neck. She looked him over and noticed he was wearing all black as well.

“Isn’t Bryn wearing black? Are we trying to match?”

“Everyone will be wearing black. Al Moro Nat, the Dead Night. The holiday of Kristanya, our goddess of war, death, and darkness. We wear it in honor of her.” He kissed her forehead. “Which is fine since you look wonderful in black.”

They left the bedroom together and found Bryn and Zayden putting the food on the table.

“I was just about to come get ya,” Bryn said, smiling at them. “How’re ya feelin’? Nervous about yer first time doin’ this?”

“I don’t know yet,” she answered, sitting down at the head of the table. The males took their seats after her. Food was dished onto plates, and everyone settled to eat before she said anything more. “Do I have to have the ritual drink and do all of that?”

“No,” Zayden answered from the far end of the table. “No one is forced to do it.”

Good.

They finished breakfast quickly. Mave noticed an urgency about the males she didn’t feel. The more she could drag her feet, the better. Zayden left first, not waiting on them. She didn’t let that sting. He wasn’t in her mayara and owed them nothing. Mave noted him living with them was mostly positive, though. Not only did he help around the house, his very presence convinced Rain to start coming over for dinner. Any time she got to spend with her little brother was better than nothing.

They were running late when she finally had to let Bryn and Mat drag her out the door. She was forced to leave her swords behind because no weapons could be carried during Al Moro Nat. They went to the clearing in front of Alchan’s home. It was supposed to be a private gathering, several of them happening all over the valley. Alchan’s was for Company members and those considered friend or family.

When she landed in the middle of the clearing, she first found the faces she wanted to avoid. Seanev and Leria were there, of course. They were chatting quietly with Alchan to the side. She knew they would have been invited to share the day. Leria was a powerful mativa, and Seanev was a general in her name and worked directly with Alchan now. Mave was very good at avoiding her brother on a day-to-day basis, but she enjoyed Leria’s company while training the females. She didn’t go say hi to them, not wanting to deal with the brother she didn’t know.

Near them was Luykas, who hadn’t come near her since the day he threw her out. That had been just over two weeks ago. They didn’t train together, they didn’t speak. Sometimes, she would catch him staring, and sometimes, he would catch her, but neither of them tried to bridge the gap. She knew Matesh had warned Luykas away from her, and the mutt was respecting that. If she wanted to deal with him, it would have to be her decision.

She didn’t want to reopen the painful wound he’d inflicted, so she never tried to talk to him, as Senri suggested.

Bryn took her hand and pulled her away from the center of the clearing.

“Let’s find a seat before it gets too crowded,” he suggested, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of it.

“Okay.” She went up on her toes to kiss his cheek without him having to lean down. Sometimes she wondered what cosmically stupid dragon of theirs decided males got to be so much bigger than females. She had to work to kiss her males if they didn’t lean down a little for her, and she wasn’t a particularly short female. She was fairly average.

“Don’t ya tangle with Luykas today,” he said, finding them a table to sit at. “If I kill him, Alchan will have to put me to death because violence ain’t allowed today. Ya hear me? No fightin’. Don’t even consider it.”

“I know,” she reminded him. “You’ve been telling me for a week that there can’t be any fighting today.”

“Just makin’ sure. I don’t like ya lookin’ at him like that. Like you want to eat him. Or kill him.”

She sighed as she sat, then leaned on the table.

“You okay?” Mat asked her, putting a cup of water down in front of her.

“I’m fine.” I just want to get this over with.

He sat down on the other side of her, and she felt secure, a male on each side. They didn’t talk, and Mave had a feeling they were waiting on something.

“Good morning, everyone!” Alchan called out.

Mave turned to see Alchan standing on his porch at the top of the stairs. He stood alone, looking out over them.

“Today is our last sun before Al Moro Nat,” he began solemnly. There was something formal about the way he was talking. Something practiced as if he’d said it thousands of times before. “As is tradition, let me welcome you to my home for this gathering to witness the death of the year and those who are gone. Every year, we watch the world be reborn. We see the grass grow, the crops flourish, and then we watch them go through a long slow death, such short lives. We are a long-lived race, it’s important to always remember that is one inescapable thing we must all face. Our ends. And for this reason, we, the Andinna, come together for Al Moro Nat. Today, talk about those you’ve lost. Celebrate their lives or curse their existence, whatever it is you need. Tonight, confront your dead. Come sunrise tomorrow, we begin a new year. A new cycle of birth, death and rebirth. A new step in our journey that is life. Another step toward the end we all must face. Eat, drink, remember, and witness.”

Andinna around the clearing began to clap politely.

“Every year takes me another year without my parents,” Mat said first. “Leshaun is old. He’s the last of my blood family.”

“Aye. Another year for me is another year without slavery,” Bryn said.

Mave’s throat was tight. She didn’t join in the conversation the males started, talking about the years and the people they had lost. People she had never heard of, people she would never meet.

Sitting in silence, she couldn’t even bring herself to think about the people in her life they would never meet. The day had just begun, and she wished she wasn’t there.

“Mave,” someone said softly. She looked up from her drink to see Seanev. “I know you don’t want to speak to me, but…I figured maybe today, we could talk about our parents and—”

“No, but thank you,” she said, looking away from him.

“Of course. Maybe next year,” he said, bowing to her respectfully. He walked away slowly. When she glanced at him, she saw he was looking at her over his shoulder. He turned away after they stared for just a heartbeat. She watched him go to Leria, who kissed him gently on his cheek. Mave knew a comforting, loving gesture when she saw one. She did the same to Matesh and Brynec all the time.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mat asked her once her brother was long out of ear shot. “That was your chance—”

“I don’t want to do this,” she admitted. “I don’t want to think about the dead. They’re dead. They’re gone. Talking about them now solves nothing.”

He leaned back from her, looking hurt. “Ilanra…”

“Please, don’t push this,” she whispered. “Please just let me be here. Maybe I’ll talk later. The day has just begun.”

“Of course.” He wrapped a gentle hand around the back of her head and kissed her hair. His unbroken horn knocked hers, making them both smile. She reached up and touched the broken one, remembering finding him without it.

“I would rather celebrate the living,” she murmured.

“You can’t today, but I understand.” He took her hand and kissed her palm before releasing her completely. She left the table, waving between them.

“You both talk. Please don’t let me drag you down. Do what you need to do.”

“Love ya,” Bryn said with a small smile. “It gets easier every year, you know.”

“I hope so,” she said, chuckling darkly. “I’ll be wandering around.”

They both nodded, so she took her chance to start moving. She didn’t go talk to others, just wandered, thinking too hard.

An entire day dedicated to talking about the dead. And this thing about confronting them? She had no intention of trying that. Last year, when they had told her it was coming up, she had rejected it out of hand, and they all understood why. A death holiday was hard when her entire life was death. She was finally living her life, so why would she want to confront the awful finality of it ending?

This year, she hadn’t found a reasonable excuse to skip it completely and stay home. She was the King’s Champion, and her presence was expected. There was no way she could just not show up.

Therefore, I just won’t participate.

An arm slunk over her shoulder, and she sighed.

“Hello, Kian,” she said patiently.

“Hey, darling,” he said gently. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she lied for the second time in the day.

He scoffed, and she knew he recognized the lie. “Try again.”

“I don’t want to be here, but I have to be.”

“Ah. You do, don’t you? You’re Alchan’s sword. Got to show off that pretty face of yours.”

“Funny,” she hissed.

“No, it’s not,” he said, pulling her closer. “It sucks, and we all know it. Today sucks. Today is the worst day of the damn year, and we all do it anyway. We all sit around and chat about people we’ve lost and reopen the old pains.”

He was talking about his son. She knew it from the sour look on his face. The lost child of Senri’s mayara. A young male who decided to fight in the Wars like one of his fathers had.

“We can just not talk,” she suggested, leaning into him.

“We can do that,” he agreed, “but I wanted to talk to you. From the looks of it, you haven’t made any progress with—”

“Please don’t go there,” she said, thumping his stomach.

“It would be improper of me to ignore your pain. Senri loves you too much, and I adore you, so be quiet and let me talk. You haven’t tried to fix whatever happened with him—”

“Hey, you two!” Nevyn stepped in front of them, and Mave groaned. Nevyn looked immediately struck by her lack of excitement seeing him. “Are you two talking about the thing I’m not supposed to know about?”

“Damn it, Nevyn. Senri ordered me not to say anything to you. You can’t just…” Kian growled. “I’m trying to talk to her right now.”

“Well, you have to share,” Nevyn declared. Mave rolled her eyes at Varon, who snuck up behind his husband. The mute gave her a small smile as if he thought the entire affair was funny.

Kian grumbled, taking his arm off her shoulder when she finally smiled as well. She didn’t find herself with these males often enough anymore. There was too much for her to do and not enough time. She missed the interplay of an old friendship between Nevyn, Varon, and Kian.

“So, has Senri finally adopted you, or is that also a big hush-hush secret?” Nevyn asked, taking her arm to escort her.

“What?” She was drawing a blank on whatever he was referencing. He winced.

“I guess it was still a big hush-hush secret.”

Mave frowned, trying to parse what he was trying to allude to. Senri had told her more than once that in some ways, Mave was more of her daughter than a friend. With their age difference, Mave could have easily been her daughter, and their lost son would have been closer to Matesh’s age now than hers. It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to think of Senri being motherly to her, and she was on several occasions.

But adopted? Like she and Rain? They considered each other more siblings than friends.

“Kian?” Mave looked at the male, the wild husband of Senri’s family and the comedian of the Company. He rubbed his face, staring at her.

“We’re going to try to have a child come spring,” he said, carefully.

“Senri told me.”

“We want whatever child we have to have a big sister. Someone we trust, someone we know will protect any child we have if we’re unable to. We can’t talk about this today, though. Today is the day of death, not one of life.”

Mave swallowed, nodding.

“At least she now has time to think about it before Senri drops it on her head,” Nevyn said, humor still light in his voice. “That’s good, right?”

“Be quiet,” Kian growled. “You’re just being a spoilsport.”

“No, I think I’m tired of hearing Mave was surprised by something and people nearly died,” Nevyn retorted with a snap of his teeth. “No offense, Mave.”

“None taken,” she said, shrugging. “Though, this last time was all on Kian. He was the one grabbing his sword the moment I showed up at his house.”

“Yeah, the idiot,” Nevyn said over her head, giving Kian a pointed look.

“Like you wouldn’t have!” Kian said, glaring at his oldest friend.

“No, I wouldn’t have,” Nevyn said with a smile that would have cut through bone if it was a sword.

“Why not?” the male demanded.

“If Mave wanted someone dead, she would have done it herself. And that is an appropriate conversation for today. Little female, Varon and I were thinking you might want some time with him, as a priest, to help you with your first Al Moro Nat. It’s uncomfortable, and we understand. You might want to talk some things out with him before you’re ready to talk them out with others.”

“No, thank you,” she said quickly.

“We saw how you turned down Seanev,” he said quietly, leaning in to talk to her as privately as they could get. “Mave, you need to talk to someone. Varon is—”

“No, thank you, Nevyn. Varon, the offer is kind, but I’m not going to talk to anyone.” She pulled away. “I don’t need to.”

“Mave…” Nevyn watched her step away from them. “We’re just trying to help.”

“I don’t need it.” She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

“Now look at what you did,” Kian said in a harsh whisper.

“Oh, shut up,” Nevyn growled back. “You and Senri want a daughter, but you’re probably asking too much of her. She can’t even talk to people about her very obvious problems. You think she’s ready to be formally adopted into a family when she won’t even talk about her dead one? Ever since Seanev showed up, she’s shut down, and we all know it.”

She walked a little faster, her heart pounding. She sat next to her husbands, not talking to them, stewing. She was stewing, and she didn’t need to hear any more about what was wrong with her. She didn’t know what was wrong with her.

It had to be from lack of sleep. Those blasted nightmares chasing her from the one peaceful thing she had. She missed having dreamless nights, the blank place her mind went when she could finally close her eyes. Now, even her sleep was taken over.

She rubbed her face, hoping the day would pass faster. It moved slowly. Morning turned into afternoon. Afternoon turned into evening. She ate and drank when they were offered, but when the sun was about to set, she didn’t get up and get the little drink everyone had if they wanted to confront their dead. Mat went, so did Bryn, each swallowing their cups down in one go. Kian, Senri, Willem, and Gentrin went together, and together, they committed themselves to Al Moro Nat.

“Before the sun goes down, I was hoping I could speak to you,” Alchan said from behind her. She turned and saw him and Luykas standing there.

“About?”

“Something important,” he answered. “Would you come inside with us?”

She eyed Luykas, who seemed ready for battle, at odds with everyone else in the clearing.

“Luykas, I fucking warned you—”

Mave’s eyes went wide as Mat came toward them.

“I need to talk to her,” Alchan growled. “Stand down.”

Mat looked at her, and she nodded, standing.

“It’s fine,” she lied for the third time in the day. “I’ll see what he needs.”

32

Mave

They all knew this had to do with her and Luykas. There was no missing the obvious. The three of them started the long walk across the clearing and up the stairs to Alchan’s home. Everyone watched them, but no one said a word about the procession.

Mave found Rain inside, sipping warm tea.

“Hey, little brother,” she greeted, smiling warmly at him.

“Hey, big sister. How’re you?” He stood up, and she opened her arms. With a hug from him, she felt better than she had all day.

“Terrible,” she answered honestly. “Who thought this holiday was a good idea?”

Rain laughed. “Yeah…It’s easier for the pure Andinna. They can see their dead. My mother never shows up. It’s like being denied the chance to say goodbye to her. Or maybe it’s better because I never have to face her ever again. Who knows?” He shrugged in her arms, and she held him close.

“You’ve got me now, even if you do have bigger, more important things you want to do instead of talking to me.”

“Hey, that’s not fair.” Rain pulled away, pursing his lips.

Alchan coughed behind her, and she let Rain go back to what he was doing.

“What do you two want?” she asked, turning back on the royal brothers. “I’m not ready to deal with Luykas. He made his feelings clear. Well, maybe not clear. He only wants me because of the bond and is convinced I don’t want him, so we’re done, I guess.” She hated every word that came out of her mouth, but it was better than being hurt again.

“You’re going to deal with Luykas under my supervision with Rainev’s help,” Alchan explained. “We’re about to invade a city, and because you two are my guard, I can’t have you letting each other get killed and leaving Rain and myself to handle everything. I need my right and left hands. Without one of you, I’m practically crippled.” Alchan took a drink from Rain, and she watched another offered to Luykas, who declined it. “So, we’re going to deal with it today, tonight. Al Moro Nat, the only day of the year when Andinna are prohibited under the threat of execution to commit violence of any sort.”

“Oh, you planned this?” Mave started to laugh. “You picked the day I won’t kill someone? I wasn’t raised by Andinna culture, Alchan. What makes you think I’m going to follow those rules if this gets ugly?”

“Because I’ll kill you before you ever touch my brother. No weapons, I win in a hand-to-hand fight. I would hate to put you down, but I would. He’s my brother. He’ll be my brother for the rest of our existence, and nothing will ever challenge the place he holds in my life. I’ll kill you without blinking an eye.”

Mave let that sink in and nodded respectfully. The king had her, and she respected his reasoning. She’d worked too hard not to die for a thousand years to throw it away tonight because she was pissy. When she brought her eyes back to his, he nodded in return.

“I knew you were smarter than some give you credit for,” he said, smiling. “You don’t want to rely on violence, it’s just the only answer you’ve ever had.”

“Yeah. It’s the only effective one I’ve ever had, anyway. I can’t kill friends, though. They wouldn’t be my friends anymore.”

“No, we wouldn’t be your friends anymore,” he agreed.

She felt a touch glad. He just called her a friend. Oh, she knew she held some respectable spot in his life—as his Champion, one of his royal guard, and a member of the Ivory Shadows—but she believed this was the first time he ever considered her a friend.

“What needs to be addressed?” she asked finally.

“You and Luykas have feelings for each other, but there’s something complicating it. I once told you to fuck him and get it over with. I hadn’t been thinking clearly about how complicated this is. I hate meddling in love lives. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I have to do this. I have to meddle with what’s going on between the two of you because you are my hands, and I can’t win this rebellion if you’re fighting each other.”

“What makes this complicated? He threw me out of—”

“Empress Shadra is my Elvasi mother,” Luykas said.

Mave’s world dropped out from under her.

Rain grabbed Mave as she sank down onto a seat, making sure she didn’t fall over.

The words were still sinking in. She heard them. She understood them. She just needed a moment to figure out their implications.

“You are…She’s…” She couldn’t string it together.

“Empress Shadra of the Elvasi Empire is my mother. I was the only thing she never planned in her life. When her coming marriage to the Emperor was announced, General Javon Lorren decided to see if rumors held any truth. He knew my mother, a low-ranking noble woman, and my father had an affair once, and after that, my father refused to take missions to the Empire. He found me and took me to Anden. She went on to marry the Emperor. We didn’t see or talk to each other again until sometime during the War for negotiations. After that, we saw each other once more the day she laid the pretty trap of capturing Javon’s daughter, you, and decimated our armies.”

He was talking, and she was trying to follow, she really was.

Slowly, she stood up.

“You are the son of the woman who had me beaten, raped, and tortured for centuries,” she said with clarity.

“Yes. And I made the foolish decision of falling in love with you.”

Run.

The urge was strong. Even while his confession of loving her hung in the air, she felt the building need to go.

I need to leave.

I’m not capable of dealing with this.

She took one step, and Alchan shielded Luykas with his body. She suddenly realized this was more than Alchan protecting his brother if she got petty. They were very legitimately scared of her killing Luykas with her bare hands.

A year ago, I would have.

Now all she wanted was to run.

“I…” She leaned away from the brothers, trying to show she didn’t plan to attack. “I don’t know what to do with this information.” She nearly laughed.

Of all the things…of all the terrible things to find out.

The dreams. Brynec missing. Her brother showing up.

Luykas being the first-born son of Shadra.

She couldn’t deal with this.

She eyed the door.

“Am I correct to assume no one can know about this?” she asked.

“Yes,” Alchan answered. “We’re not ready to make it public knowledge. We don’t know if we ever can.”

“Okay.” She started walking. With her hand on the door, she heard Alchan say something.

“You’re right,” he said, concerned. “She is running.”

She turned back to see Alchan’s worried gaze. He was troubled by her, and Luykas was so broken, she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m not…” She tried to deny it. The words faltered, and she couldn’t finish.

I am running. I’ve been running for months—from my nightmares, from worrying my husbands, from my brother, from memories of the dead, from this.

When did I get so scared? What changed?

“Mave?” Rain looked down the hall at her, so confused. So worried. “Big sister?”

She felt it building. A fire in her gut.

Why am I always running now? I’m the best warrior in this fucking valley. I’m the best warrior in the whole of the fucking Empire.

She was angry with herself.

“I’ll be back,” she promised. “I have to do something.”

One thing at a time. I’m done fucking running.

She left them standing there and jumped off the porch, throwing her wings open to control the fall. Something about her must have been off because Andinna, even ones she knew well, stepped back from her after she landed. She went to the ceremonial little table and grabbed a cup. Without hesitating, she drank the draugvin inside in a single swallow. She snarled when she was done, slamming the cup down on the table. Without missing a beat, she started walking for the woods.

“Maevana,” Seanev called. “Are you okay?”

“My name is Mave!” she roared, whirling around to see him. “Use it!”

“I’m sorry. It’s reflex. Mave.” He stepped back from her.

“Maevana Lorren, the sister you wished you had, is gone, Seanev. I’m what’s left. Get used to it. Stop asking me to talk to you. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to be associated with you. I don’t want anything to do with you.” The rage bubbled and found a victim. Feelings she wanted to ignore rushed to the surface. There was no running now. There was only the truth.

“I—”

“You want me to talk to you? You want the uncomfortable questions? How’s this one sound? Why did you leave me in the Empire to rot for a thousand years? You never came! Everyone thought you were dead! I thought you were dead! It’s better if you had stayed that way! Why would I ever want to be Maevana Lorren when my own fucking brother left me to be brutalized for a thousand years? Don’t ever say that name to me again. I don’t care if it was a mistake! I don’t! I don’t want to be the sister of a male who left me to get hurt for so long!”

Having finally said her piece, she turned away from him and continued heading for the forest. No one tried to stop her. She left them standing in shock and marched into the darkness of the forest down a lonely path with no torches lit.

She didn’t stop walking, diving deeper into the darkness. She didn’t run into anyone, glad that for a moment, she was alone. Perfectly alone. Looking up, she realized not even the moon had come out tonight. There were too many clouds in the sky, blocking her view from even the consistent stars.

“I’m not running from this. The dead are dead. I have nothing to be scared of,” she said out loud to herself.

It only took a moment for her to realize something. The drink was calming, just as she’d been told. It made her temper abate. Her underlying anger with herself was strong, but she didn’t feel the heat.

A wind began to blow through the trees, breaking the silence of the forest. She was in the forest, at night, in the snow. It was still her favorite time of year.

“Come on. Show me what everyone talks about. I’m here to confront my dead,” she dared the dark forest around her.

She blinked, and they started to appear…and appear.

And appear.

Mave wanted to eat her words as she remembered why she’d been so against the idea of confronting her dead.

She had so many.

The first face she recognized was the first Andinna she ever killed on the sands. She never knew his name. She was pushed onto the sands, and a gladius landed next to her. The crowds had booed. The idea of a massive Andinna warrior killing a little female, not even fully grown, wasn’t entertainment. It was a slaughter.

Mave knew Shadra had expected her to win. It was the only thing that made sense. Shadra would have never killed Mave for only one infraction. It had been a test and a punishment. She had killed an Elvasi guard, then she had to kill an Andinna warrior—an eye for an eye in the most dramatic fashion.

And there he was, standing in front of her with a confused look. Behind him, specters stretched out into the darkness until she couldn’t tell one from another.

All her opponents. All her victims in the deadly duel she had to engage in, month after month on those sands. She saw Forty-Nine, one of the most dominant males of the pits. She raised her chin at his specter as he glared at her.

“I killed you and survived,” she said with not a single shred of guilt. “I won.”

He didn’t disappear.

“You made a mockery of what our people are supposed to be,” she roared. “All of you did! For a thousand years, I was your punching bag, and I fought back. It never stopped. It was never my fault! I didn’t lose the damn War, you fucking monster!”

His head lowered in defeat.

She turned to see more of the dead, roaring at them as she hated them. These were her dead—her abusers, her opponents, her enemies.

Her own people.

“I hate all of you!” she screamed.

The first male she ever killed on those blasted sands was lost in the crowd as she turned around and around.

It was when she saw a feminine face, she finally stopped growling, and her feet refused to carry on. She had never killed a female of her kind—never.

“You,” she gasped. “I guess you’re one of my dead, too.”

Her mother stared back, her eyes full of sorrow. She was the embodiment of a broken heart.

“I remember the day you died,” Mave whispered. “I remember screaming for you. I remember hearing your battle cry. I remember you being dead. I was a tiny thing back then. That’s the day Maevana Lorren was no more, wasn’t it? The day I learned firsthand what death really meant.”

Her mother said nothing in return. Mave studied her. Behind her stood a male, staring at her, who Mave could reasonably guess was her oldest brother, Hertesh. And her mother held hands with a male Mave almost didn’t want to see. She didn’t want to look at him, but she gathered the courage, refusing to run from this.

For the first time in her memory, she saw her father’s face.

Her brothers took after their mother.

She was her father’s daughter.

“Baba,” she whispered. Daddy. She had no memory of the man, but she had called him baba. She knew that much. She had no memories of him telling her stories or cuddling with her. She knew those things must have happened, but she didn’t recall them.

She only had his legacy.

The anger in her coiled.

“I spent a thousand years buried under the weight of your failure,” she said, swaying in the hard wind blowing through the trees. “A thousand years of being hated because I was your daughter. And I hate you for it.”

Her father’s sad gaze changed, his eyes going wide as pain seemed to lance him.

Mave felt just as surprised. He’d reacted.

They can hear me.

Oh Skies, are they real, or is this in my head?

“You’re dead,” she said, trying to come to terms with what she had just seen. “You can’t be…”

He lowered his head, hiding his eyes.

“Oh no, you don’t,” she said, emotion overcoming her. “You will look at me while I confront you. You’ll do me that honor.”

He looked up again, and she saw a broken male. The lines of his face showed years of stress but also laughter. He’d loved a female and had three beautiful children with her, two warrior sons and a daughter who had been full of potential. He fought a war to do honor to his people. He’d saved a young male from a life in a world that would never understand him.

He lost the wife. He lost the daughter.

And he lost the Andinna everything.

Mave realized what she was so scared of, what had her running from everything because she didn’t know how to fix it.

“I hate you!” she roared. “I hate you for dying and leaving me to bear the brunt of your failure! I survived for a thousand years without you, carrying the weight of your legacy on my shoulders. I can’t fail the way you did. No one will survive if another Lorren fucks this up.”

There it was. Immediately, she felt lighter. That was the root of her fear, the root of what was riding her was there, and all she had to do was say it.

“I’m scared of losing. I’ve never done it. I live under the legacy you left me. I grew up a slave. The direct outcome of your underestimation of Shadra. You left me this legacy. Seanev is the general. He married the strong female. He leads a small army and knows everything you taught him. He offers them that legacy, and his people love him for it. He’s well respected, along with his wife, among his people. What did I get? Your failure, which I had to mold into this.” She waved her hands at the legion of dead around her—thousands of them. She’d killed thousands of her own people.

He continued to stare, to stand witness to her anger, to take the brunt of her pain and rage. The things she didn’t know how to deal with for months and months—for years.

She thought back and found where her fear started to change her. The disappointment of only having rescued Sen after months of nothing. It was compounded by Bryn going missing. It made dealing with her brother difficult as she couldn’t decipher what was wrong with her at that point. It made her run from addressing a problem she had with a male who belonged to her.

It was all rooted in the legacy her father left for her.

Failure.

“I can’t lose this rebellion. Shadra will see us not back into slavery, but among you, the dead. There will be no more Andinna in the sky if we lose now. I will lose the loves I’ve finally found. I’ll lose the family I’ve finally had the chance to make. I’ll lose friends who have been there for me since they knew I existed. Day in and day out, I see a rebellion that can’t get off the ground. We barely have the warriors to take Kerit. Our people held in slavery don’t know how to use a sword, and somehow, I have to teach them to be what they were meant to be. We could fail this rebellion, and that would be it. I will lose everything, and that scares me,” she whispered. “It’s made me too scared to do anything. I’ve done whatever I could to survive on my own for centuries, and now, the lives of people I care about are at risk, and it’s paralyzed me.” Her next breath was shaky. “Just like it paralyzed you.”

I am my father’s daughter.

He nodded.

The anger faded. She stepped closer to him and her mother, Javon and Kelsiana—great leaders of the Andinna army, amazing tacticians. Well respected, and much loved.

And all it took was the fear of losing one little girl to paralyze them into making stupid, stupid decisions. Kelsiana hid away with her, alone with no back up. She died for that mistake, and Mave was taken. Javon positioned his army in a bad place so he could negotiate fairly with Shadra. He lost the War for it, died for it, and never saw Mave again.

“I won’t let it paralyze me anymore,” she promised.

Her father’s broken, sorrowful gaze changed to something more hopeful. He nodded again.

Then they all began to disappear.

“Goodbye,” she whispered as her family faded.

Mave was left alone in the pitch-black forest. She knew what she had to do next. She turned back down the path and headed for the Andinna who had watched her storm off.

When she came out of the woods, she saw him—her brother. The last of the family who had left her alone once again. She walked to him as Leria pointed her out to him. He turned slowly, looking terrified at her direct path to him.

She stopped in front of him and sighed.

“We can talk tomorrow. We need to settle things before Kerit. Taking the city is more important than whatever this is between us.” Kerit was the key to the rebellion, and she would not be paralyzed by indecision and fear any longer.

“What time would you like me to come over?” he asked softly.

“Lunch. I want to get some sleep tonight.” And keep trying to defeat the bitch who fought her. One day, Mave would win. She always did in the end.

“I’ll see you then.”

Mave nodded, then went to the stairs to Alchan’s home. She climbed up them quickly and didn’t bother to knock. Opening the door calmly, she stopped when she saw Luykas and Alchan talking.

“Are you worried about something, Alchan?” Luykas asked softly. Neither of them was looking toward the door. “Other than the obvious.”

“Thinking about who I’m going to see out there this year,” the king answered softly. “I try my best not to think of the dead until tonight, and it’s always hard, looking back on another year of them. I see them all, every single one. The ones who died of old age or sickness. The ones who died leagues away from me, and I never knew their names. They’re all my dead, and I accepted that years ago, but this year…”

“Arjana.” Luykas said the name in a hushed whisper.

“She…she tutored me for two centuries. You for one. She helped Grandmother raise us.”

“I know,” Luykas said gently.

“She was the High Priestess of Lariana. And she…they cut off her horns. They starved her, and she died for us in Ellantia. One last sacrifice to the crown she served for thousands of years.”

“I know, Alchan, I know.” Luykas rubbed his brother’s back.

Mave, feeling a bit bad for interrupting this, closed the door behind her, letting it make enough noise to draw attention.

At the sound of the door closing, Alchan looked over, and his eyes went wide, seeing her.

“Luykas Andini,” she called as if she was throwing the gauntlet down, making Luykas turn to see her as well. His gold eyes were beautiful. They were also rimmed in red. He’d been upset. “I’m going home, but we’re going to talk. Soon. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with Seanev. I need to settle that. Then we’ll be busy preparing to leave for Kerit, but set aside time for me the evening before we leave. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.”

“Of course.” He seemed terrified.

“Good night, Luykas Andini.” She kept using the last name. It was important. She nodded respectfully to Alchan. She could only fix one thing at a time. She left them there, going back outside and finding her husbands. Mat held out a hand, and she took it.

“If you’re both ready, let’s go home.”

Mat leaned in and kissed her softly. Bryn wrapped an arm around her waist.

“And the nightmares?” her rogue asked.

“I don’t know what to do about those, but I’m feeling better than I have in months. We ride for Kerit in a few days and the first major battle of this rebellion. I’m terrified of losing either of you. I’m terrified one day, I’ll be here, and you’ll be one of the many dead I carry in my soul. Do me a favor? Don’t die.” They were capable warriors, and she had to have faith in them, something she had been sorely lacking while she let the fear paralyze her. She had pretended to have faith in Bryn when they didn’t know where he was, but it had been a lie. It had been an act. Now, she needed to have real faith in them.

Mat chuckled. “We’ll do our very best. You better believe as long as you walk on this earth, we’ll do our very best to come back to you.”

She smiled and kissed them. They went home, and Mave, acknowledging the petrifying fear in her, was able to sleep deeply for the first time in months. She didn’t fear the nightmare anymore. She planned to fight against it until she finally won. As the dead reminded her tonight, it was what she’d done her entire life. There was no reason to give up now.

33

Zayden

Like everyone else in front of Alchan’s home, Zayden witnessed Mave Lorren’s wrath as she eviscerated her brother with words that showed the bottled rage she held and contained behind a calm mask. He’d seen her angry before. He’d seen Mave bordering the line of anger that could barely be contained.

He never thought he would see it against her own brother, no matter what he’d done. Hearing what she had to say at that moment, Zayden realized he’d been wrong. Mave reserved mercy for no one except those she chose to love. She didn’t choose her brother Seanev.

Rain came out of his shared home with Alchan after. Zayden watched his boy come down the steps, watching sadly as he had yet another moment of seeing his boy go from adolescence to adulthood, not just physically, but mentally. There was something more mature about his son in recent months than there ever had been. Gone was the happy boy of his youth, the angry young male after the pits. His son carried himself with respect and dignity. He wasn’t the most dominant male in the area and nowhere close to a dominant Andinna, but his son knew his power, knew what his position afforded.

So, Zayden wasn’t shocked to see Rain walk up to the broken Seanev after Mave stormed off into the woods.

“Seanev, please come inside. Alchan and Luykas would like to talk to you.” Rain’s tone left no room for argument. Seanev nodded silently and headed up the steps, leaving Rain standing there. Once the door closed, Rain looked at him. Zayden smiled at his son, glad to see him. Even on a holiday, his son was busy. Such was the life of a nemari, especially one to a royal family member, even more so for the nemari of a king.

“Good evening,” he said as his son closed the distance between them. “What’s going on?”

“I wish I could tell you,” Rain said, sighing heavily. “A mess, that’s for sure.” His composed expression collapsed. “Mave’s a hair’s breadth away from losing it. I haven’t seen her bottle things in like this since we were in the pits.”

“I would say she just lost it,” Zayden countered. “And better now than later.”

“Did you know she was losing sleep to nightmares?”

Of course he did. He lived with them. He heard Mave as she got up and left the house at a run. He noticed how Bryn and Mat were when she never came back.

“Yes, but it’s not my place to say anything,” he said, tasting the chagrin and regret in his mouth. He wished he had. She was a friend doing him a big favor with their living arrangements. He should have reached out to her.

“Yeah.” Rain sat down beside him finally and leaned on the table. “She’s in the woods right now, isn’t she?”

“Yup. Stormed right into them. Didn’t even offer a prayer.” Zayden chuckled dryly, without any humor. “I can only imagine what she’ll see.”

“From what I heard earlier today, she wasn’t planning on confronting her dead this year,” Rain said carefully.

“I don’t think she was. She asked this morning if she was required to do it, or if she could just skip the whole drinking and the seeing ghosts part of it. I told her it was her choice because it is.” Zayden eyed his son. “I have a guess to her reluctance about it.”

“Really?”

“She’s never celebrated. She’s never come to terms with her dead before. Rain, my son, she has a thousand years of death behind her. Most of them Andinna.”

He watched his son’s face pale. Ah, no one had considered that. Zayden figured people would be watching out for it. If things went the way he thought they would, he had no intention of going into those woods until Mave left them. He wanted to be far away from her the moment her dead came to her.

Kind of.

He also wished she hadn’t decided to face it alone. No one should have to face it alone.

“I should tell Alchan—”

“He’s talking to Seanev, and there’s no saving her now,” Zayden said, grabbing the back of his son’s shirt to stop him from getting up. “She made her choice, as ill-informed or stupid it might be, she made it, and we all have to wait and see what happens.”

Rain relaxed, nodding.

They sat in silence together until his son looked at him again. Zayden waited for it. Every year, his boy asked him the same thing, and every year, Zayden gave him a different answer.

Until this year, but he still waited on his son to ask.

Rain’s eyes narrowed.

Ah, I think he might be on to me.

“Baba, is something different this year for you?”

“Wrong question,” he retorted.

“Are you going to try to find her in the woods?” his son asked, the question his son asked the year his mother died. When a broken-hearted, very young male just wanted to see his mother one more time.

“Not this year,” he answered. It was time to put the ritual to rest. “You’re a grown male now. We’ve well established that. I can’t keep chasing ghosts. I can’t keep hoping maybe one day I’ll see her for both of us.”

Rain nodded. “Good. I mean, we always knew we would never see, right?”

“We did, but we tried anyway,” Zayden reminded him. “That first year, none of us had the heart to tell you she wouldn’t come. She belonged to different gods, will always belong to different gods.”

“You told me the next year,” Rain said, looking past him and into the woods beyond. Zayden turned slowly, hoping not to see anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing wrong with the pitch-black forest.

“I should have told you the first year. Maybe we would have moved on faster if we hadn’t hung on to it and turned it into a ritual.” Zayden looked back on the last two hundred years with a bit of regret. He’d clung to the idea of Summer for so long, hurting his son in the process, holding him back. Now that his son was moving on with his life, Zayden wished he’d let Rain do it ages ago. Maybe Zayden wouldn’t have nearly destroyed their relationship, trying to protect it.

“Are you moving on?” Rain asked softly.

“I am,” Zayden admitted. “I loved your mother, Rainev. Don’t ever think I didn’t, but…”

“But you deserve to be happy,” Rain finished for him. “And holding onto a memory isn’t going to make you happy.”

“When did you grow up?” Zayden smiled at his boy. “When did this happen?”

“I don’t know. I just…I think about it sometimes. Happiness isn’t found in the past, it’s found in the future, right? That’s why we’re starting this rebellion. That’s why we’re trying to fight back. So we can one day have happiness because the Andinna haven’t known it for a thousand years. We’re looking to brighter days, not holding on to ones we lost.”

Zayden reached out and cupped the back of his son’s head. Before Rain could stop him, he leaned forward and gave a kiss on the top of his head. Rain swatted his hand away, his face red.

“I’m not a kid anymore,” Rain mumbled.

“But I’ll always be your father. I haven’t said it yet, but thank you for starting to come over for dinner. It’s nice to see you sometimes.” Zayden chuckled as Rain moved away from him.

“Yeah, Luykas forced me to realize I can’t let Alchan run my life. I asked Alchan about it, and he was more than willing to let me get out of his way a couple nights a week.” Rain chuckled.

The chuckles stopped as a hard wind started to blow. Zayden felt a sense of foreboding. Rain straightened, watching the woods.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” Rain asked softly.

“It could just be a night wind,” Zayden tried to reason, but he knew he was lying to himself.

Mave Lorren, Champion of the Colosseum, was confronting her dead—a thousand years of them.

Unintelligible roaring could be heard, feminine in nature. They all knew Mave’s roar, distinct in its rage and ferocity. They had heard it enough in battle. Zayden’s heart skipped, threatening to stop as both fear and respect washed through him.

She was a proper Andinna female. For all that was wrong with her, for all she didn’t know, she was a damn proper female who knew what their people were about. She embodied all of it.

Neither of them said anything for a long time, waiting for the wind to die down. It refused to quiet, further proving it was no natural current. Power was blowing through the valley as Mave and her dead met.

Does she know they’re real? Does she know they’re the spirits, given leave from the afterlife for one moment to see those they most impacted or impacted them? Does she know whatever she says to them will follow them back to the beyond? I hope so.

Based on her rage, he didn’t know in the end.

The wind quieted down after a time, and he went very still as Mave walked back out of the woods. He grabbed Rain’s shirt again, keeping his boy from going to see her as she walked to her brother.

What she said to the male, he didn’t know, but Seanev seemed strangely relieved when she walked away from him. He watched her go into Alchan’s, then leave shortly after. He didn’t let Rain move until she was gone with her husbands.

“I’m not going home tonight,” he said finally, letting his son go.

“Why didn’t you let me go see her?” he demanded.

“I figured she was seeing who she wanted to see, and I didn’t want anyone, even you, getting in her path. You can talk to her tomorrow. Come visit me or something. Find an excuse, but I would leave her alone tonight.”

Rain nodded slowly. “Good point. Most Andinna don’t want to be bothered after they confront their dead.”

“Exactly. And look, there’s someone you can bother.” He nodded toward the door of Rain’s home to show him Alchan and Luykas were walking out. They didn’t say anything as they each threw back a small cup of the draugvin and went to the edge of the woods. They did this every year. He didn’t know where the tradition came from, but it happened the same way every year. Luykas went in first, followed a few moments later by Alchan. Zayden figured it was so they could be close but not on top of each other.

In the end, it was just another weird quirk of the royal brothers.

“I’ll go in after they’re out,” Rain said softly, staring at the woods.

“Do you want to go in at all?”

“I don’t know yet, but if I do, it’ll be after them.”

“At least you have a plan,” Zayden said with a small chuckle. “How is it really going for you?”

“I love my work. Alchan isn’t what people see out here, you know? He’s…he’s not what anyone really thinks or expects of him.”

“He has to have a public face. Most of the Company know him as commander, king, and sometimes friend. We’ve never been permitted to be close to him. Luykas always held the more personal role.” Zayden shrugged. “So, it would make sense he’s different in private when the world isn’t watching him.”

“Training with him is amazing. I get better every day.”

“You were already one of the best because of your talent and dedication growing up. I wouldn’t put all of your success on him. Claim some of it as your own as well.” Zayden ruffled his boy’s hair, hoping Rain took his words to heart. Alchan didn’t get to take all the praise. Rain deserved just as much of it.

“You can’t deny I have been getting better.”

“I can’t. You and Alchan kick my and Matesh’s asses in training too often for me to deny that. I just don’t want you thinking you didn’t earn it through your own hard work.”

“I don’t think that, promise. I just know Alchan has made me even better. It was exactly what I wanted when I asked to begin training with him last year.”

“Good. Now, I’m off to…I don’t know, wander around. I’m not going in there tonight, but I can’t go home yet.” He didn’t want to walk in on whatever Mave, Matesh, and Brynec were doing. It felt odd. He really wanted to go home, and he considered it home now, but it wasn’t truly his place.

Something about that hurt.

“Good night, baba,” Rain said.

Zayden stood up and stretched, yawning. “Good night, my boy.”

He didn’t know where to go because he couldn’t go home, and that hurt more than he wanted it to, but he needed to go somewhere. So, he started walking. He aimed for home and moved slowly.

Maybe they would be done by the time he got there.

34

Mave

Mave woke up the next morning, ready for the day. The deep sleep had been exactly what she needed, dreamless and perfect. Her males had helped her to that, making sure her body was as exhausted as her mind and emotions.

Now, she had to prepare for a talk that still scared her, but she was going to finally get it done. She figured she would have to live with this new, deep, unsettling, but now-named fear, but as she realized last night, she couldn’t let it paralyze her anymore.

So, she woke up late, leaving her husbands in bed, and went to the nearby hot spring to get clean. She didn’t want to see Seanev sweaty from the night before. Not even she could treat him with that much disrespect.

She was sinking into the hot water when Mat and Bryn landed on the edge of the pool.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t disturb you,” she said, smiling at them.

“Ah, well, ya know how it is. The nice warm body disappeared, and we’re not goin’ to cuddle, so we followed ya here.” Bryn grinned at her, dropping his pants. She watched as he sank into the water near her, Mat right behind him.

“I do know how it is, but I normally cuddle with the one of you left behind,” she murmured as he drew close and kissed her.

“And ya have every right to.”

“What’s the plan for today?” Mat asked, sitting on the other side of her, his arm moving to drape over her shoulder.

“Seanev is coming over for lunch. I want both of you out of the house. Take Zayden with you if you can find him. I need to speak to him alone.”

“After last night, I thought your feelings were made very clear,” Mat said gently. “Mave, are you sure you want to talk to him?”

“I don’t want to,” she said, shaking her head. “But it’s time. We’re leaving for Kerit in only a matter of days, and this is one thing I can no longer run from. Last night, I vented some things at him. He deserves the chance to finally tell me his side of the story. I might forgive him, I might not, but it’s time to make an informed decision. Before we go and start a real war. We’ve been playing rebellion for months. It’s time we all focused and actually went to fight it.”

“Aye. Keep talkin’ like that. I love when ya get battle ready,” Bryn murmured, and she felt him grow hard on her thigh. “I’m with ya. It’s time we showed Shadra we’re serious.”

“I’m pretty sure she knows after someone living in Elliar burned down their city, and hundreds of Andinna escaped,” Mat added.

“Do we have any word on that?” she asked, realizing she hadn’t been paying attention to that either.

“Aye. They made it through Myrsten, picked up more Andinna and humans after Shadra evacuated the Elvasi, and stole several ships. They’re on their way. We need to take Kerit.”

“Then Shadra will understand this was all meant to happen, that we played her and won. And we will win in the end.”

Bryn moaned and rubbed against her.

“By the Skies, Bryn,” Mat said, laughing. “You need to rub that one out.”

“I love it when she’s like this. I missed the bloodthirsty, kill-the-enemy Mave.”

She felt a hand trail between her legs, too big to be Bryn’s. She raised an eyebrow at Matesh, who smirked.

“So do I,” he said mischievously.

Their bath took much longer than it had any right to. By the time Mave was able to leave, both her males wanted to go back to bed, but she needed them to get moving.

“Come on. I want you out of the home by the time he arrives.”

“What did you say to Luykas last night?”

“That I would go see him the night before leaving for Kerit,” she answered Mat as she dried off. Luckily, the spring was hot enough, it left some land snowless around the outside of the water, a good place to put clothing and dry off. “I’m going to settle this once and for all.”

“Not goin’ to tell us yer plans?” Bryn rose out of the water and began drying off next to her.

“No, not yet. I want to see how they play out before I get any idea of what will come after.” Mave didn’t want to get her hopes up before it happened.

“What did he and Alchan want last night before you went into the woods?” Mat came out of the hot spring last. She watched the muscles of his body working, the water accentuating them. For a moment, she wished her brother wasn’t coming, and she could get back in the water with him.

“I can’t tell you that,” she explained. “Only Luykas and Alchan can.”

“They let ya in on somethin’ the rest of the Company can’t know?” Bryn frowned at her as he yanked up his pants.

“You all knew Alchan and Luykas had secrets. I just learned one of them, that’s all.”

She watched her husbands give each other a look, but neither of them continued to pry. She kissed them goodbye.

“Have a good day with training,” she told them, smiling. Then she left, headed back to their home. She had to find Zayden and make sure he was out of the way before Seanev came over. She walked in and found the male preparing a small bite to eat.

“I hate to do this to you, Zayden, but I’m going to need you to step out for the afternoon. My brother is coming over, and we need to have this conversation in private.”

Zayden had been shoving a thin slice of poultry into his mouth and looked up with some of it sticking out. Mave, shaking her head, reached out and pushed the rest of his food into his mouth for him.

“Don’t be gross,” she ordered. “You know better.”

He chewed and swallowed as a red tint covered his cheeks. It was so much like Rainev being embarrassed, Mave wondered how anyone missed that the mutt was his son. Their matching sapphire eyes were just the first clue, not the only one.

“Good luck with that. I was just making a sandwich for lunch, then I’ll get out of your way.” He pointed to the two slices of bread, the small amount of cheese and other morsels. Then while she watched, he put them all together and cut it in half. Looking between her and the sandwiches, he picked one half up and offered it to her. “You’ll need the energy. Emotions are just as draining as physical activity. Considering how long you were at the spring…”

She grabbed it, chuckling. “What can I say? They have stamina.” She took a bite while Zayden chuckled, the red blush still covering his face. She didn’t move as he tried to leave the kitchen, and she watched as he got a little frustrated at her blocking half the door.

“Mave,” he said, waving at the space she had left for him.

“Bryn fits through that,” she reminded him. He would fit, too.

“I’m not the same size as Bryn,” he countered. She looked him over and had to concede that point. He was wide, bulkier than most Andinna, even if he wasn’t the tallest male like Mat. She turned, going sideways to give him more space. It wasn’t just about blocking his path to be funny. She didn’t want to sit down. She was anxious over meeting Seanev, and it was drawing ever closer.

He had to turn sideways as well to get through, refusing to look at her. Before he made it all the way through, she touched his chest with her free hand.

“Thanks for this,” she said, lifting the sandwich.

“Any time,” he said before sliding away. She heard him pull on his boots and disappear out the front door.

With a sigh, she waited on Seanev, staring at the opposite wall. She’d been harsh the night before, said things she maybe shouldn’t have...or maybe she should have. That was what today was for—to finally settle this.

When he knocked, she put the rest of her half of the sandwich down, noticing Zayden never took his half with him.

Males.

She shook her head, heading for the door. When she pulled it open, she was surprised to see not only her brother but Leria.

“Ah…I sent my husbands to do…whatever it is males do when females don’t want them around. I didn’t think you were going to bring…” Already she was thrown off her game. She had thought her brother would come alone. If spouses were going to be involved, she would have at least asked one of her husbands to stay as support.

“He doesn’t want me to be here,” Leria said, smiling sadly. “But I think I need to be since he would never tell you some things you deserve to know.”

“I don’t want to ruin the friendship you two are building,” her brother said softly, looking down at his wife. “I told you, I can—”

“Stop. The decision has been made.” Leria looked up to him, all the power and dominance Mave knew she had pouring off her. “I won’t allow you to hurt yourself so much.”

“Come in,” Mave said, pulling the door open wider. “Boots go by the door. You can hang up cloaks and sword belts on those hooks. There’s a small table for anything else you might want to put down to grab when you leave.”

“Thank you,” Leria said, stepping in first. Mave closed the door once her brother was in and walked to the main room, kicking around the cushions so they could all sit comfortably and see each other.

Maybe we should sit at the dining table. No, I didn’t ask anyone to prepare any food. Damn it, I didn’t think this through.

As they entered the room from the entry hallway, she gestured to the cushions.

“Have a seat, and I’ll make something to drink—”

“No, no, let me,” Leria said suddenly, jumping into action and heading for the kitchen. “You weren’t expecting more than one guest, and if I’ve heard enough about you, it’s that you don’t often have any.”

Mave wondered if that was supposed to be helpful or an insult.

“Rainev comes over for dinner occasionally,” she said. “But my males cook—”

“It’s fine,” Leria said, smiling at the entry to the kitchen. “Who was making sandwiches? And why is only one half eaten? Did one of your males leave this for you?”

“Ah, no. Zayden was making lunch when I told him Seanev was coming over. He gave me half and forgot the other half for himself. He’ll probably come storming back in for his food any minute.” Mave pointed to a cushion, seeing her brother was still on his feet. “Sit.”

He did so without argument, nearly dropping onto the closest one.

“Is Zayden a third husband I don’t know about?” her brother asked softly. “It’s not my business, but I thought you had the two. Brynec never mentioned a third. Is he new?”

Mave’s eyes went wide, her head beginning to shake.

“Oh, no. No, no. Zayden…Zayden just lives here. He’s Rainev’s father, and his wife passed away a long time ago. The Company didn’t want him living in the barracks, so I offered him the extra room here.”

“He’s a member of the Company. Certainly, a home could have been given to him to live alone with no complaints from anyone.” Her brother frowned.

“Forgive him,” Leria called from the kitchen. “He’s a traditionalist when it comes to marriage and the ways of the home. Something your parents taught him. Outside males are normally never permitted to live with a female, especially if she has males of her own.”

“Ah. Well…sure, we could have found him a home, but…” She didn’t want to tell them Zayden’s business, but hopefully, it would put them at ease. “His son moved in with Alchan, and his wife is gone…we didn’t want him living alone and knew he didn’t want to live alone. He’s Matesh’s oldest friend. It was the least we could do for him. He’s not underfoot or anything. He helps around the house in some attempt to make sure we know he’s not freeloading. It’s fine. We’re not…it’s not…like that.” She had never considered Zayden that way. Once, just the once, they had joked about how Zayden found her attractive, but after that, they went back to being friends of a sort, the topic never brought up again.

For a second she thought about it a little more, and wondered, perversely, what his bulky body would be like in private. It wasn’t a terrible thing to think about. Then she banished the thoughts, remembering she had guests.

“And he gave you half of his sandwich,” Leria said softly, walking back in the room. “That’s nice of him. Hopefully, he comes back to get his lunch. It would be a shame to see it go to waste.”

“I’ll probably eat it all if he doesn’t come back by the time you leave.” I’ll run it out to him when they’re gone. I don’t want them looking too closely at Zayden. He doesn’t need my brother breathing down his neck just for living with me.

“There’s coffee brewing,” Leria said, sitting next to Seanev. With both of them seated, Mave found herself a cushion and looked between them. “I think I should start. We all heard what you had to say last night, Mave.”

Mave tried not to feel guilty. She had taken her brother and effectively strung him up for the masses by his balls with her words. There was no coming back from what she had to say last night.

“And I understand. You’re right to be angry at someone for the suffering you went through. We never told Alchan or anyone else we were hiding in Anden. We hid from the world and didn’t move to help anyone outside of my community. That’s not Seanev’s fault, it’s mine.” Leria sighed, wiping her eyes. “My husband, your brother, has taken the brunt of the blame from everyone. You, Alchan, Luykas, your husbands, everyone in the Company. They’re all mad in your name, and it’s not justified because I made him stay with me. You were left in the Empire because I was too afraid to let him go and possibly get killed on the off chance he might find the sister he lost.”

Mave listened, letting the reality sink in.

“You blood bonded him,” she whispered, looking between Leria and Seanev. “Then he could never leave.”

“A male will never reject the honor of being bonded to the female he wants,” Leria said, nodding. “For the first couple of centuries, it was easy for me to keep Seanev. I needed him to protect my people. He and I had danced around each other for years before the War and during it. The romance was already there, brewing. I used it, wanting to keep him with me, wanting him to help me.”

“The need was real,” Seanev added. “Mave, the need was real. They needed a military leader to support their mativa, or they would have never survived.”

Mave nodded slowly.

“Then things settled down, and our system was running itself. Seanev could have taken a dozen warriors and searched down rumors about you.” Leria looked down at her hands, and Mave saw the guilt begin to weigh on the mativa.

“I had seen our father and brother during Al Moro Nat. I had watched them die in the last battle.” Seanev sounded far away, and his gaze was unfocused. “I’ve seen our mother there as well, but I never saw you. They kept coming back to me, and it became more and more obvious there was one missing. You. You were never there. You were still alive somewhere out there. One day, I went to Leria and told her I had to go. I had to try.”

“And I offered him a blood bond with me in return for his staying. The idea of him chasing down a ghost we hadn’t heard about in centuries and getting killed in the process was unacceptable to me. If he had left, I wouldn’t have taken him back, and I made that clear.”

“You made him choose.” Mave felt the squeezing pain in her chest.

“Yes. I made him choose between the sister he lost and the wife he would lose. I was there and alive. For all we knew, you weren’t even in the Empire anymore. We had heard some very small rumors about the Champion of the Colosseum, but we hadn’t heard that it could be you.”

Mave moved her gaze off the female to her brother, wanting to hear it from his mouth.

“I chose the wife I had,” he said softly. “It was a bad gamble. I could have left and lost both of you. I had her, she was real, she was there, and she wanted to keep me forever if I gave her the chance. The idea of finding you faded until it was no more. Every time Leria went into her fertile cycle, I hoped it took root, and we’d have a daughter so I could name her after you, the only thing I could give you because I chose my life and future over yours.”

Mave understood. Closing her eyes, she could see it playing out. She understood even if she didn’t want to. Leria was only defending and protecting her own heart, and she couldn’t leave her people to help Seanev. Seanev was between the two females in his life—the wife he was finally able to be with and the sister who had been missing for centuries.

Mave opened her eyes, looking clearly at both of them.

“Leria, it was an awful choice to give him,” she said, looking at the mativa. “An awful choice.”

“I know.”

“But Seanev made the right decision,” she said before Leria or her brother could jump in again. When her brother looked stricken by her words, Mave went for her classic shrug. “You did. You would have had to go to Elliar to find me. You would have had to infiltrate the city with no allies inside and come to the darkest pits of the entire Empire to get me. That’s if you ever caught wind of where I was. The Empire is massive. I could have been anywhere.”

“I never thought Shadra would keep you as…” Her brother pursed his lips. “I should have, but I was never one for knowing the enemy. Father was always better at understanding those we fought against.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Mave said, shaking her head. Seanev gave her a confused and more than a little angry look. “He underestimated her. He woefully underestimated the dangerous ways Shadra’s mind works.”

“And you don’t?” Leria asked softly, judgment in her words. Mave had just put down her father, considered the greatest General of his age and several before it. He had been well loved and well respected until the very last day of the War.

“I would hope not since I spent ninety something years as her handmaiden, then around nine hundred as the gladiator she showed off. More than that, I spent actual time with her. I would be there when she had meetings with nobles, and I wouldn’t be told to leave until they were gone. I’ve seen all of her faces.”

Except one. I don’t know the Shadra who could possibly be Luykas’ mother.

“It’s not important,” Seanev said, touching his wife’s arm. “She’s right. My father underestimated the Empire.”

“Just Shadra,” Mave whispered. “The Emperor didn’t live long after the end of the War. I wasn’t even an adult yet when he mysteriously died in his sleep.”

“Are you saying…” Leria frowned.

“If everyone here hasn’t figured out that Shadra killed her husband, we’re not going to win this rebellion,” Mave retorted. “But let’s get off the topic of Shadra. We’re talking about this.” She pointed between her and Seanev. “Like I said, Seanev, you made the right choice. I still can’t be the sister you want.”

“But—”

“Leria, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. I don’t know either of you, and as much as I want to say that I love you because you’re my brother, I don’t.”

They were hard words to say, and they left Seanev looking like someone kicked him in the chest.

“You…you have an adopted brother. You don’t seem to mind the idea of having family,” Leria accused. “Is this because you want to hold a grudge?”

“No. It’s because when Rainev and Matesh were captured, and I met them in the pits under Elliar, they…wouldn’t let me ignore them. It’s because when Rainev realized I had no family and no working knowledge of the world I was supposed to be a part of, he declared himself my little brother. His only reason was I needed a brother. I never needed anyone. He earned every bit of love I have for him. He gave me a gift I never thought I deserved or could ever earn. Until I met him, there was nothing and no one in this world for me to feel safe with.”

Mave remembered the day. She had written off the newcomers. Matesh had been a gorgeous specimen, and Rain was just a little, unusual-looking mutt.

“A little mutt like him would have died fast in the pits without the right allies. He picked me because he believed it was the right thing to do. Not out of some sense of blood obligation, but because he was raised to believe females were strong but also needed a support system of males. A support system that was robbed from me, even though I was surrounded by male Andinna, day in and day out.

“I was greedy. I had never had family, and I accepted that. I had a chance to have the one thing I thought was lost to me forever. Now? I have family. I have a lot of family. I have Matesh and Brynec, wonderful husbands. I have Rainev, a brother I have watched go from awkward young male playing warrior to a genuinely strong, capable male who deserves all the power his position affords him. I have Zayden, a grouch but my friend. I have Luykas and Alchan, though both of those are a bit complicated. Nevyn and Varon are weird uncles. Leshaun is my uncle, who loves me because I love his nephew.

“Senri…” Mave took a deep breath, thinking about Senri and what Nevyn had accidentally brought up when Kian had wanted him to be quiet. She thought of everything Senri taught her, female things she never thought she would have. “Senri is the closest thing to a mother figure I’ll ever have, and she’s my closest friend. Her husbands indulge me because I’m hers in a way. When Luykas turned me away, I ran to her, and they banded around me like…”

“Like a mother and fathers would for any heart-bruised child,” Leria whispered.

“Yeah. So, no Leria, this isn’t about holding a grudge. This is about already having a family I love because I’ve had them in my life. They were the Andinna who saw me to freedom. I have memories with them, something I don’t have with you.” she ended, looking at her brother. “I can’t be the sister you want. Not yet.” She bit her tongue before adding the last part. “And I need you to stop trying to be my brother. I don’t need the protectiveness. I don’t need the judgment of my males or my decisions.”

“I would rather you hold a grudge,” Seanev muttered. “Maybe it would be easier to hear those words.”

“I’m sorry.” It was the best thing she could say now.

“Me too,” he replied, looking down. “I’m going to go.”

He was up and leaving before either female could say anything. Mave let him go, listening to her front door open and shut. Leria was staring at her until Mave raised an eyebrow at her.

“He just wants to love you,” Leria whispered. “Why can’t you…”

“Because if he loved me, he would have told you no.”

“You just said he made the right decision.”

“He did, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, or there are no consequences. I’m not going to hold a grudge. That’s just the honest truth. He picked you, and that gave him years to spend with you. He doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him. That’s the consequence of his choice.”

“You have no idea…” Leria huffed. “I have a lot of respect for you. The things you lived through, how they’ve made you strong, but you don’t get to hurt my husband like this. Blame me.”

“Oh, I fucking do,” Mave snapped. “You gave him an unfair ultimatum. You were scared for his life and your happiness and let it blind you. You didn’t trust he would come back to you. I would think any good female would trust her male to do what he has to do. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn. You held one of mine as a captive, and he had no way of reporting to us because one of your fucking warriors destroyed the spy book. I refuse to believe it was an accident.”

“You’re right, it wasn’t. We didn’t know if we could trust who he was spying for, so Seanev and I read through it, then we pretended some foolish male ruined it.”

“I thought he was dead because you were paranoid and scared. My brother and I lost the chance to know each other centuries ago because you were paranoid and scared.”

Leria stood up slowly. “I’ve defended and protected over two thousand Andinna for over a thousand years. You don’t get to call me either of those things.”

“And I’ve killed more,” Mave whispered. “I saw every single one of them last night, but that’s not the point. There’s no going back and pretending it never happened. At one point, my brother wanted to come save me, but he didn’t. Because of you. I’m not going to hold a grudge against Seanev.” Leria’s eyes went wide. Mave smiled coldly. “I liked you. I was worried I wouldn’t sooner or later. Leria, I’m going to hold a grudge against you.”

“You’re being petty,” Leria snapped.

“Petty would be a small slight and hating you for it. I don’t do petty. Maybe my brother could have found me and saved me from centuries of beatings. From centuries of rapes. From centuries of being hated and alone. There’s nothing petty or small about what I went through.”

“You’re talking about a world of what ifs.”

“That may be so, but it doesn’t matter now. He made the right decision. You’re the one who acted badly, and I’m sure as the Skies allowed to dislike you for it.”

The female growled softly, storming out of Mave’s home.

Mave stayed where she was. Would she have done any differently in Leria’s situation? She didn’t know, but she finally knew the truth about her brother’s life. She had finally dared to ask the uncomfortable questions.

Now, they all had to live with the consequences.

35

Alchan

Alchan woke up slowly, growling at something, but he didn’t know what. It was one of those mornings where the bad mood was there, and the reason would remain unknown. He had them often enough. He got up, pulling on whatever he could get his hands on, making sure he had on enough not to freeze outside, and went to do his business. Rain wasn’t up, or at least, he didn’t see the young male anywhere. By the time he was back, he was growling so loudly, he was certain he was going to wake up Rain.

Maybe it’s the fact we’re leaving for Kerit tomorrow. I’m ready for the battle, ready to take the damn city and finally get something done for this fucking rebellion. We need to be able to move forward.

He thought about that the entire time he made breakfast and decided, yes, that was exactly the reason he woke up in a bad mood—a fighting mood. As he put down the last plate, bacon he knew Rain would want, the young male walked in.

And something in Alchan eased. He couldn’t be angry in front of Rain.

“Good morning,” he greeted the young male, hoping it wasn’t strange or awkward. He hoped the same thing every morning since they had shared one stolen unexpected night together.

“Good morning. Today, you have to go over the supplies with Seanev and Luykas to make sure, for the third time, we’re prepared for the journey to Kerit and back.”

“Do we have space in the caravan for supplies to leave in Kerit for the warriors who will be staying and holding the city?” he asked, glad Rain jumped into work before Alchan’s mind went to other places. Places he and Rain hadn’t spoken about. It was always on his mind, on the tip of his tongue, but he held back, waiting for any sign of how to approach the event.

“Do you not trust the city’s supplies? Bryn’s report on it from his scouting mission was detailed. They have enough to survive three years, based on the number of Elvasi there.”

“They could destroy the supplies when we get there or if they find out we’re moving in,” Alchan reminded him.

“We had this discussion yesterday with Seanev and Luykas. We can’t spare anything from this village, and Seanev brought some excess with him, but the amount you want would take longer than we can afford to get to Kerit from Leria’s community.” Rain frowned. “Have you heard, by the way? About Leria and Seanev…and Mave?”

“I heard,” he said, sighing. “There’s nothing we can do to fix it. They’ve talked it out, and Mave told me yesterday they were all just going to have to live with what they have now. Seanev will find some way to build a relationship with Mave, but he’s always going to be stuck between two females. Mave’s not interested in pressuring him, but Leria is.”

“Mean thing for her to do, right? Tell Seanev if he went to find his sister, she wouldn’t accept him back, but if he stayed, she would blood bond with him.”

“Mean? That’s one way of putting it.” Alchan snorted. He had no sympathy for Leria. She needed to deal with being on Mave’s bad side on her own. She had manipulated a male who loved her because she was scared of losing him, which was her right as the female and the mativa of her community. It didn’t mean anyone had to like her for it. Maybe they would forgive her quicker if it wasn’t Mave who ended up being the victim in it all, but it was Mave. She was Company, and they banded together.

“What would you have done? If someone you cared for was leaving on what could have been a suicide mission?” Rain tilted his head at him, and Alchan sighed, shrugging.

“Questioned their judgment. The difference is, I might have to send Andinna on those missions. People I care about. The Company has done dangerous, stupid things, and I’ve had to lead them into every single one of those messes. In the end, I would probably go with them if their reasoning was sound enough. I already have.” Alchan pointed to Rain’s spot at the table. “Sit down, eat breakfast.” He turned back to the kitchen, hoping to clean up the cooking dishes before he was too busy to get to them.

“Yes, sir,” Rain replied, finding his seat.

“Stop calling me sir,” Alchan grumbled with no real heat. “I thought we were past this.”

“Sorry.” The chair screeched on the floor, and he heard Rain fall into his seat.

Alchan chuckled and finished the dishes, sitting down to eat. He didn’t give Rain a hard time for already diving into the food, even though it wasn’t proper to start eating before the royal family. He was never one to care about a lot of those little rules. It drove his grandmother mad, but she had been a good Queen who knew why those rules were important. They established dominance through them in subtle ways.

He didn’t want Rain to sit and wait on him. He didn’t want Rain to feel so beholden to him that those rules mattered.

He stretched his legs, hoping to work out the morning stiffness before he had to get moving. He accidentally kicked Rain. Rain, the little brat, kicked him back. Alchan looked up from his food, glaring, still missing the heat of anger he had when he woke up. Rain only gave him a lopsided, brave smile.

A wonderful smile that warmed his chest and sent a jolt of need to his cock, making Alchan want to reach across the table and give the young male something real to smile about. Suddenly, he realized he hadn’t been cranky about the rebellion, he’d been upset his bed was empty. He’d wanted Rain there again. Fire curled in his belly. His cock was already trying to rise to the occasion as he considered that. His temper fell quiet at just the idea of the small, submissive mutt in his bed.

We have to talk about this now before it gets out of hand. Before I lose control.

“We can’t do this,” Alchan whispered.

“We already have,” Rain countered. “You kicked me first.”

“You kissed me first, but we’re not talking about who did what first. I’m telling you that we can’t…” Alchan ground his teeth. “We can’t do this.”

Rain leaned back, his face losing the happy, wonderful smile. Alchan felt guilty.

“Why not?” the mutt dared to ask.

“For one? I’m too old for you.”

“And?”

“I’m the king, and I’m expected to produce an heir. I can’t do that with another male.”

“Keep going.”

Alchan wished he could read Rain’s face, but the young male had picked up Mave’s habit of shutting down. There was nothing to show him what Rain was thinking, and that bothered him.

“The Company. Our positions. It would look very bad for me if I’m caught sleeping with my nemari. The accusations of me using my position to get you into bed would cause ripples across the rebellion and undermine everything we’ve been working for.” Alchan sighed. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to kill any chance he had with Rain, but it was for the best. “Your father. I knew Zayden would be fine with me training you. He won’t be fine with me taking you to bed.”

“We’ve only fucked once. Things happen, and I started it. I’m not sure how that—”

Alchan growled. The fire burned in his belly. “We should have never done it, to begin with.”

The mask Rain was wearing cracked, and Alchan saw a hint of the emotions Rain was trying to hide.

“You stopped me from leaving,” Rain reminded him.

“We were drunk. You’re right, things happen. I was…” He groaned. He’d let Rain see something he showed no one except Luykas.

“Yeah. I won’t flirt with you. Sorry. I don’t want to make this uncomfortable. We can move on like it never happened,” Rain said quietly, not looking at him anymore.

“Rain…this is complicated. Between your history and all the things going on around us…” Alchan tried to find the best way to help the young male understand. “A one-night stand, I’m certain everyone would forgive, but I’m a bedru. I was exceedingly gentle with you that night, Rain.”

Rain looked up, his eyes wide. “Were you?”

Alchan winced. “As gentle as I can be, and that’s part of the problem. If we toy with the idea of that happening again by flirting around this very small home, you need to understand I will only get rougher. I will only push your limits. I’m a bedru, Rain. If the option is available to me, I will own you. You’ll be mine, and it would take Mave and Luykas killing me to take you from me. I’ll protect you viciously outside of the bed. I’ll use you in bed for my own pleasure and make you scream for more. There would be no other lovers for you. I would kill them because you would belong to me.” Alchan wished more than anything he could change his nature. It was such that no normal female would ever have him, but there was nothing he could do to change the blood that flowed through his veins. This wasn’t a bad attitude or personality problem that could be trained out of him. It was what he was at the very core of his existence.

And he hated it because it was destroying his chance with Rain.

He watched as Rain’s face turned a pleasant shade of red. He’d seen it before, flushed with wine and in the glow of the sunset behind the waterfall. He’d thought about how he always thought Rain was an attractive male. He thought about how if Rain could heal trauma, he would end up with someone who recognized the mutt’s beauty. Then Rain kissed him, and all of those thoughts had disappeared.

If only he’d realized then he couldn’t let it go so far, it would have spared them this conversation.

“And after what you went through? I would hate myself. I have enough reasons to hate myself.” Alchan stabbed his eggs with his fork, his appetite gone.

“I don’t think you…” Rain shook his head. “This all sounds like bullshit to me,” the mutt finally said.

Alchan jerked back, not expecting that response.

“You care to try that again?” he asked the mutt on the other side of the table.

“I think your excuses are bullshit. If you don’t want me, just admit it. Don’t hide behind that shit.” Rain ended that with a growl. “I’ve heard this all before from other people. In the end, it’s always because I’m a mutt, and I’m going to die long before they do. It's why I’ve had lovers but not…relationships. Just admit it, Alchan.”

Alchan snarled and pushed to stand. Rain glared at him, and Alchan was glad to see the young male was getting some good fight in him.

He walked around the table, knowing Rain’s disobedience was as much a turn on as his submissiveness. He grabbed Rain by the shoulder and yanked him to stand up, then shoved the young male on the table, pulled his legs apart, and got between them, pressing his hard cock against him. Their chests touched, and Alchan purposefully pushed himself so into Rain’s space that he could feel the young male’s heartbeat.

“I don’t want you?” Alchan asked, leaning over to say it in Rain’s ear. “Do you care to try that again? The problem is, I do want you. I woke up pissed off this morning because I didn’t have you. Rain, in my mind, you’ve been mine for weeks now. Probably before the camping trip. Maybe it was when I declared I was going to kill every fucking Andinna gladiator that touched you. When you kissed me behind that waterfall, you only shined a light on how much I fucking wanted you underneath me. How much I wanted to protect you and take care of you.” He growled, nipping the young male’s ear. “How much I wanted to own you.”

Rain was breathing hard, and Alchan could feel how his heart thundered in his chest. Alchan’s cock throbbed.

He pulled away, adjusted his pants, and went back to his spot at the table. Sitting down, he stared at Rain’s back, where the young male was still sitting on the table, right where Alchan had put him. He saw how heavy he was breathing, could hear it.

“Now tell me,” Alchan asked softly. “Did you like that? That’s what I do. That’s what I like. I love taking. Don’t worry, I know how to give pleasure too while I do it. I love using someone’s body for my own gain and making them love me for it. I was gentle and easy on you. I eased the need a bit and gave in to what you were offering, but I held back because I knew it was you underneath me. But one day, I’ll push you to go further, then a little further again. If we keep this up, I could very easily push you to a place you can’t go, and it would kill me. I would want you to kill me.”

Rain slid off the table and turned to him, his face flushed. Alchan refused to look down to see if there was any physical reaction. He wanted to look the sapphire-eyed male in the eyes for whatever was about to be said.

“And the rest? With the Company? My father? The rebellion?”

Alchan growled. “I’m the king. Anyone stupid enough to tell me who I can and can’t sleep with is a fucking idiot. They wouldn’t like it, but they couldn’t stop me either. I hold myself on that chain because I want them to like and respect me. I won’t be the king who takes what I want and leaves others in fear, Rain. I won’t be the male who promises you pleasure and only gives you terror.”

“You didn’t scare me that night. It was…it was wonderful.”

“I went easy on you because it’s you—”

“Exactly,” Rain whispered. “Just…think about that from my perspective. I’m going to get cleaned up at the hot spring.”

“You didn’t finish your breakfast,” Alchan growled, mad the male would skip the meal and deprive himself of much-needed energy. Rain reached back, grabbed the plate, and took it with him, leaving Alchan alone in the dining room.

Alchan heard the front door close once Rain had his boots on. He considered what the young male had said.

Of course, I went easy on him. What else would I do? Traumatize him further?

He didn’t understand Rain’s point, but he was certain he could figure it out. Annoyed, he didn’t finish his own breakfast and decided he would busy himself with doing something else. He pulled his boots on and left the house before it became too small for him and launched into the air. Nevyn would let him fight out his temper before he had a day of meetings.

He landed at their home, growling to himself again. He knocked sharply. He could have walked in without announcing himself, but he tried not to do that. He wanted to respect the privacy of his people.

Varon opened the door and smiled. The mute didn’t bother signing a hello, opening the door wider to let Alchan in. He didn’t kick off his boots once he was inside, heading straight for the dining table where he would find Nevyn.

“What can I do for you, Alchan?” Nevyn looked up from his breakfast. Alchan shook his head as he realized the male was still naked.

“Do you have any decency?” he asked, sitting down across from the warrior. He already knew the answer, but he also knew Nevyn loved to talk about his lover. He gave the male that opportunity.

“It’s my house, and I’ll have you know, it makes fucking my husband much easier if we don’t bother putting on clothing when we don’t need it.” Nevyn grinned. Varon walked behind him as he spoke, his hand running over Nevyn’s shoulders. Varon, however, was wearing clothing. He had a shred of decency.

“I need to get some sparring in before I hit up all the meetings today,” he said simply, moving on from the topic of nudity and fucking.

“Don’t you have Rain for that now? I know he’s not as good as me, but he’s probably fast enough to keep you on your toes. Or Luykas?” Nevyn gave him a concerned look. “You only come to me when you want to kill something, and you know you can’t kill me.”

Alchan tightened a fist. Killing or fucking—the two ways Andinna eased their temper. He was eased by Rain, by the very idea of having him again, but it wasn’t going to happen. He had to fight someone safely.

And he couldn’t tell Nevyn any of that.

“Get dressed, please,” Alchan said softly, his eyes half closing. “I need to get some sparring in.”

Nevyn’s gaze sharpened. After a moment, he looked at his husband, who shrugged. Alchan waited for the silent conversation to end. It was something even he knew better than to interrupt. Nevyn and Varon were a love that stood the test of time and the will of the gods. They wouldn’t let a king pull them apart.

He was jealous of it, had always been a little jealous. Today, he was very jealous.

When Nevyn finally looked back at him, he nodded.

“I’ll meet you at your home, in the clearing. Varon will be coming, of course, in case one of us gets sliced up.”

“Thank you.” Alchan got up and left them there. Going home, he grabbed his swords from the entryway and breathed a sigh of relief that Rain was still gone. He didn’t want the young male to see him try to kill someone. He marched back outside, waiting in front of his home, not caring about the knee-deep snow. When Nevyn and Varon showed up, he was ready to work off the storm brewing in him.

Rain’s kiss had woken up a monster inside him—a possessive, controlling monster. Alchan, in eighteen hundred plus years, had only ever let the monster slip the lead in controlled environments with people he knew could handle it. Lovers who were paid and had words of safety. Priests like Varon, trained to please anyone who might walk through the doors of their temple. He’d never had a truly willing partner in the bedroom.

Until Rainev.

Whatever it was that night—the wine or his emotional state—when Rain kissed him, his self-control had fallen apart, and he’d been unable to let him leave. Not after the first round, or the second, or the fifth. Alchan had done what he always did.

He’d fucked someone into oblivion, then went back for more, not caring how tired or used the body underneath him was.

And it was Rain.

He unsheathed his sword as Nevyn walked in front of him, also unbothered by the snow.

“You look like you want to hurt something,” Nevyn said calmly. “Sire, do you understand I will do everything in my power to stay alive this morning?”

“Yes.”

“That includes hurting you.”

“I hereby grant you pardon for violence and injury against the King,” Alchan recited. Nevyn would let Alchan kill him if those words weren’t said. Only for days like this. Most of the time, training was safe, but Alchan needed a real fight, and Nevyn would give it to him, but only if that pardon was given in advance.

The duel began without anyone calling them to start. Steel clashed and rang. Alchan snarled, knowing he had brute strength on Nevyn. He was able to shove the male back, nearly stumbling him into the snow. Alchan pressed the advantage, only to realize too late, Nevyn had played him and sliced him across the ribs as he jumped out of Alchan’s way.

Blood spilled onto the snow, and Alchan’s temper sharpened. It was his blood, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

They danced with steel, going back-and-forth in the deep powder, dueling as if their lives depended on it. They did. Alchan’s temper continued to hone to a deadly point, Nevyn becoming an enemy who needed to be felled. Alchan became the controlling monster he buried and tried to hide, even if they all knew it was his nature. He fought against it and his opponent, trying to kill the one thing he hated about himself.

He cut open Nevyn’s thigh. Nevyn landed one on his arm.

“By the Skies,” someone whispered. Something primal in Alchan’s mind recognized the voice, and he moved.

Nevyn stepped in front of him, real fear in his eyes. Alchan snarled and fought the opponent again.

“Move,” he growled. “He’s mine.”

“Oh, fuck,” Nevyn exclaimed. He moved so fast, Alchan barely saw him. Three sharp hits and Alchan found himself disarmed and on the flat of his back in the snow. He looked up to see Nevyn backing away from him and holding out a hand Varon quickly took. He let his head fall back again and turned it to the person who spoke.

Rain was standing there, wide-eyed.

“Damn me,” Alchan mumbled. He pushed himself to sit up as Rain began to walk toward him. “Don’t come any closer,” he ordered. Rain stopped dead in his tracks. “Go inside. We were training. I needed to work some temper out. I’ll be fine.”

Rain nodded slowly. Alchan breathed a sigh of relief as it became apparent Rain didn’t understand what had just happened. Once the young male was gone, he looked at the lovers.

“I don’t know what happened. I was in control for so long.”

Varon gave him an odd look, and his hands began to move.

“I had suspicions, but I didn’t want to pry. Alchan, was it a good idea for you to take on Rainev as your nemari?”

“I don’t know. He makes me want to protect him. It’s not his fault, but you know…”

“Something in you has already decided he belongs to you,” Nevyn pointed out. “I thought you were moving to him because he caught your attention, and it would get him killed. Once you said he was yours, I realized I was standing between an enraged bedru and an object of affection. Not a good place to be, even at my skill level, so I tried to put you down before it went too far.”

“Does he know?” Varon signed.

Alchan looked the priest in the eye and knew he couldn’t lie, but he couldn’t tell him the truth yet either. He didn’t want to lose the respect of these two males. They were important to everything, to everyone. They were a light of what Andinna could be, could have—unending, enduring partnership. Varon, even more importantly, was one of the few priests who left Anden and made it to Olost. They had to write most of them off as dead centuries ago.

Varon began to nod slowly as if he saw something in Alchan’s expression that told him everything.

“His father will try to kill you,” the mute signed.

“I know. I…I tried to tell Rain this morning it couldn’t go anywhere. Whatever it is.”

“And?”

“He told me to look at things from his perspective. I was hoping sparring it out with Nevyn, getting the anger at myself out, I would be able to think clearly. I’m even more disturbed now than I was when we started.”

Varon walked slowly to him and knelt next to him.

“How many times have we spoken about this, Alchan? You need sex as an outlet. Sparring Nevyn won’t always be good enough. Even more worrisome, one of you could very well die one day. We need a king, and I need Nevyn. What’s holding you back, aside from his father?”

“Everything. You’re not an idiot, so you know what he’s been through. Imagine that, then pair it with a male like me.”

“Then go slow with him. We both know you have the self-control for that.”

“I can’t…I can’t entertain this.”

Varon grabbed him as he tried to stand up. Alchan began a growl but cut it short as Varon’s eyes locked onto his. Something seemed different. There was always something about the quiet Andinna that demanded respect.

This felt like more.

Alchan didn’t look down or submit, but he respected the male who demanded his attention. For just a second, Alchan felt as if they were equals, even though Varon was normally submissive.

Varon released him slowly and started to sign again.

“His perspective. You are a dominant male, and he is a submissive one. He was hurt, very hurt. If it were me, I would slowly expand his boundaries. He’s strong enough to handle it. He’s had rough lovers before, he just needs someone to reintroduce him to the very things he used to enjoy. Now, I should probably tell you not to do it, it doesn’t look good, but I know you are already thinking those things.” Varon gave him a sharp smile. “I’m just a priest of Amanora. I can promise you, from his perspective, this is the best he’ll ever get.”

“What?” Alchan furrowed his brow, trying to understand what Varon meant.

“You are dense.” Varon gave an exaggerated silent sigh. “You hold tight control over what you are. Even a little slip and you fly off and punish yourself. If anyone in the Company knows that better than Luykas, it’s Nevyn and me because we’re here letting you stab one of us. Do I think you’re a danger to Rainev? No, because I know the moment you accidentally go too far, he’s going to have to help you, not the other way around.” Varon stood up and started walking away. Before he made it back to Nevyn, he turned back. “But I have a feeling you’ll be holding so tightly to your control, Rain is going to get bored with you and force you to let it slip. Test the waters, Alchan. Even kings need something to die for.”

“You don’t care that I…I’m the king, and he’s…”

“I’m a priest for the goddess of love and fertility. Politics belong to your goddess, Alchan, not mine. Mine says follow your heart.” Varon smirked. “Or follow your cock. Whatever you decide. She cares naught for the ways of royalty or warriors.”

Alchan stared at Varon and Nevyn until they launched and disappeared from the sky above him.

My goddess. He had a point. Lariana, the patron goddess of the royal family and the leader of the Andinna pantheon, might care. Amanora had no reason to.

Alchan’s mind went back to the idea that he was the best thing Rain could ever get.

It snapped into place, and he felt stupid for missing it in the first place.

I’m a dominant male who will remember it's him beneath me. I would never let my nature hurt him.

And he knows that.

Alchan stood up slowly from the bloody snow and groaned. He would heal by the time they got to Kerit, and so would Nevyn, but it would be a pain to travel like this. He owed Nevyn a horse for the trouble of dealing with him the day before they left for Kerit.

He walked inside slowly, hanging up his sword belt, keeping the sword to clean. He found Rain finishing up the cleaning in the kitchen.

“Do you want me to get bandages for you?” the young male asked.

“No, I’m going to wrap them up in my room,” he answered, staring at the young male. His hair was still wet, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his deep blue tatua were vibrant against his skin. Alchan’s mouth went dry. “What time is our meeting?”

“After lunch.”

“Rain, look at me,” he ordered softly. The mutt turned to him, sapphire eyes worried. “I will never initiate, but if you want to continue…figuring out whatever this is between us, you are always welcome in my room. Just come in. But know, once you cross the threshold, you belong to me. For however long you’re there, you belong to me, and I’ll do what I please with you.” He took a deep breath. “I won’t ever enter your space. Consider it safe from me or a place you can go to get away. If you aren’t willing, you will continue sleeping in your room, and I’ll never trespass.”

“Alchan—”

He held up a hand, and Rain stopped.

“I’ve never done this before. I’ve never been with someone.”

“Um. I distinctly remember you in—”

“I’ve never been with someone I haven’t needed to pay. Either in coin or homage to their goddess. Escorts and priests of Amanora, that’s all I’ve ever had. None of them had to be attracted to me or want me. They just had to spread their legs, and they got what they wanted in the end.” He didn’t mean for it to be crude, he really didn’t, but it was the only way he knew to frame it. “The priests and priestesses of Amanora are trained to handle males like me because we often don’t get it anywhere else. Escorts will do almost anything if you can pay the price. But none of them truly wanted me.”

“I do,” Rain whispered.

“I know, and I don’t know how to do this. So please, don’t argue with my boundaries. In my room, we will explore this. In your room, you’re safe from me. In the kitchen, wherever else, there're no expectations whatsoever. We just do what we’ve always done.” Alchan thought harder on it. “Pick a word.”

“What? You mean…”

“Yes. Pick a word. Even in my room, it will stop everything. I can’t stop myself from testing you, but that will keep you safe.”

“What if…I just want to…cuddle?” Rain blushed, and Alchan growled softly, not angrily but with a lot of pleasure. He couldn’t stop a smile from forming. The idea of cuddling with Rain made the possessive monster in him practically purr—holding something that belonged to him, and it not wanting to get away from him.

“Don’t worry about that,” Alchan promised. “Though if you want it before the sex, you might need to give me a warning.”

Rain nodded.

“I’m going to bandage these up.” Alchan gestured to the slow-bleeding cuts riddling his body. He left Rain standing there and went into his room. Shuffling through his things, he looked for his stock of medicinal bandages and stripped down. He sat down on one of his clothing chests and got to work. He didn’t move fast, not worried about bleeding out.

His door opened slowly, and he looked up as he finished tying off the bandage on his thigh. Rain stood in the doorway, and Alchan watched him with interest.

“I told you. I can bandage myself up.”

Rain stepped in the door, raising his chin.

When did he get so much courage?

“I want this,” the mutt announced.

Alchan leaned back against the wall, his legs open and stretched out. His cock was already hard.

“Prove it,” he dared.

Rain closed the bedroom door and crossed the room in six large steps, stopping between Alchan’s legs.

Then he got on his knees.

36

Mave

“All right, I’m heading out,” Mave announced at the dinner table, her food cleared from her plate. Whatever Zayden had seasoned the meat with tonight had been one of the best things she had eaten in months.

“Do you think you’ll be back for bed?” Bryn asked, looking up from his food. She didn’t sense any jealousy or anger. He was just curious.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’ll definitely come back before we ride out tomorrow or earlier. I’ll finally have something to tell you about what’s going to happen between Luykas and me.”

Mat chuckled, reaching out to take her hand. He kissed the back of it, then her palm.

“Fuck him well,” he murmured against her skin.

“Well, I guess I wasn’t good at keeping that idea to myself,” she mumbled, shaking her head at her big husband.

“No, but it’s okay.” Mat watched her as she pulled her hand away.

“If he turns me down, you can’t kill him. I’m prepared for the possibility.” She touched his cheek. “It’s his choice too.”

“Of course.” Mat shrugged. “I won’t kill him for that.”

Mave didn’t miss the specific wording of that, but she decided to ignore it.

“Have a good evening,” she said, waving at them as she backed away from the table.

“I’m going to need to find a new place to live,” Zayden muttered. “I think three other males might be pushing my limit.”

She listened to them laugh as she made it to the door and pulled her boots on, grabbing a scarf and a pair of gloves. The sun was already down, and she didn’t know how long she was going to be standing out in the cold.

She made it to Luykas’ home as quickly as she could and knocked, hoping he would answer.

She chose to confront him last because he had been the last problem to arise in recent months. She had also needed the time to think.

She had made her decision, though, and she planned to make sure he knew it.

He answered, well dressed and prepared to meet her. Without a word, he held the door open, and she escaped the cold, moving into his main room. The last time she’d been here, he told her to leave, and she had accepted it, running from him instead of confronting him.

“I haven’t had any nightmares since we last spoke.”

“That’s good,” he said softly. “I have tea on. One I like. You may as well.”

“Thank you. You know, the nightmares never really showed up that often. They made me scared to sleep, though.”

“You’re not anymore?”

“I am, but I won’t let it stop me from getting the sleep I deserve.” She shrugged as he brought her a cup. “I’ll probably have another one soon. I’m sorry I waited a few days before coming to talk to you. I wanted to handle some other problems first.”

“I heard about Seanev and Leria. I’m sorry it played out that way. I wish you got some better resolution from it.”

“It is what it is. Now the truth is out there, and we can all live with it and move on. How did you find out, though? Does the entire village know? Leshaun came up to me yesterday morning and mentioned it.”

“Ah well, Alchan told me after you told him,” Luykas admitted sheepishly.

“And you told everyone else?” Alchan, Mat, and Bryn were the only people she had discussed it with. Mat and Bryn were obvious, but she told Alchan so he knew there could possibly be a little trouble, that things weren’t suddenly all better. In some ways, they were worse.

“No, no. Varon overheard you telling Alchan. He told Nevyn, who…”

“Told Kian. Then Senri, Willem, and Gentrin know. And Nevyn probably told Leshaun.”

“Mat probably told Leshaun,” Luykas said, giving her a look.

“Ah, well, like Alchan telling you, I guess he tried to keep it in the family. I never knew Varon to be a gossip.”

“Varon tells Nevyn everything. Nevyn is the gossip.”

“Well, either way, everyone seems to know now.” She sighed, chuckling a little at the end. They fell silent, staring at each other, neither of them moving.

“Can we not dance around this all night?” he asked, finding a seat. She joined him, picking a cushion.

“You’re the son of Behron Andini and Shadra Arien before she married the Emperor. Before all of it.” Mave had asked Alchan for the names. “An affair.”

“Is there anything you want to know?” He sipped his tea, watching her carefully.

“I’m not going to kill you,” she promised. “I’ve thought long about this. A while ago, you mentioned the newly freed Andinna didn’t trust you much because you were half-Elvasi. I know you avoid them, preferring to go through others who do know you. You live here, above Alchan, hoping it comes off as trust from the king, your brother. It also isolates you, doesn’t it?”

“Of course it does. That’s the point. I can’t threaten them out here, and they deserve to feel safe. They’ll build their trust for me as time goes.”

“Do you remember what I told you?” she asked softly.

He frowned, and she sighed.

“You’re not at fault for your birth or your upbringing, Luykas. Don’t let a bunch of young, stupid fools make you feel that way.” She watched his expression change into one a touch more hopeful than it had been when she walked in the door. “Don’t let me or Shadra make you feel that way. She’s a monster, no doubt. I hate her with everything I am. Once, I strongly disliked you. But you aren’t her. You made mistakes, trying to do the right thing. You were at least brave enough to try to do good things, and I was mad those things impacted my life, but…I won’t give up this friendship now. I won’t give up whatever feelings I’ve recently discovered I have for you. And while you might think Shadra is a completely understandable reason for me to walk away, I’m not going to let her take one more thing away from me. She took my parents, my siblings, my ability to have a life, culture, and happiness. She will not take you away from me.”

Luykas put his tea down slowly, looking at Mave with his mouth gaping. She sipped hers, watching him let that sink in.

“You are mine,” she murmured over her cup. “You made that decision the moment you blood bonded with me. It took a while for both of us to figure it out, but it’s here now. Thank you for giving me time to let it sink in. Thank you for not pressuring me with your feelings. Now, I want to spend the night here with you. I want to see if this is possible. If it’s real.” She smiled. “Because the thought of you with another female makes me want to kill all of them and make sure there’s no one out there for you.”

He stood up and walked across the room to her. She watched him go to his knees in front of her and waited as he reached out to her. She wasn’t going to rush him. He was obviously more scared of this than she was. Taking her drink away from her, he put it down on a small table. She followed his eyes, the gold sparkling at her—Elvasi eyes. They were beautiful. She didn’t care where they came from because they were in the face of Luykas Andini.

“I’ll never question your loyalty to the Andinna,” she whispered as his fingers grazed her cheeks. “You’ve had plenty of chances to betray everything, but do you know what really gives away your loyalty? Your name. You had a name before you came to Anden, but you took Andini. You wanted to be here among these people, not in the Empire.”

Those gold eyes were glistening as she stared at him. She watched her shell-shocked, silent male blink, and a tear escaped. Reaching out, she wiped it off.

He dove in to kiss her. She moaned as a small flame turned into a roaring inferno between heartbeats. All of his feelings poured into her—a gorgeous, complicated love, a devotion to her future from the moment he saw her, a base, primal attraction, and so much more.

She wanted all of it and gave back her own crushing wave of feeling—a new love, a sense of togetherness, possessiveness, protectiveness, and so much more. She found him beautiful. She made sure he felt all of that as well.

The kiss ended too soon, but she looked into his now clear golden eyes and knew she needed one more thing.

“Say it,” she whispered against his lips. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” he murmured, “I’ve always been yours. From the first fucking moment I laid eyes on you, I was yours.”

She yanked him by his shirt to reclaim the mouth that belonged to her. He had soft lips, practiced in the way they kissed her. She was learning. As they kissed, she understood what he did and didn’t like. Nibbling on his bottom lip, she knew he loved this, something physical, something with a little pain. It’s what he had been missing in his life when he grew up in Elliar, the physical. He groaned against her mouth, grinding between her legs. She started to work on the buttons of his shirt, giving up quickly and tearing it open, breaking the leather apart at the seams. She was in a rush. She needed to own him, needed to keep him because he belonged to her and no one else would ever have him again.

All mine.

Skilled hands removed her scarf, tossing it aside. As Luykas’ hand wrapped gently to the back of her bare neck, she felt a pulse of guilt. She sent back forgiveness. It wasn’t his fault that it scarred. That was life. The slave collar could have been properly fit, but it wasn’t. She lived with it without a thought, just another of a hundred scars. He had no reason to feel guilty.

He moaned as she leaned back, letting him climb over, the cushions holding them comfortably. He only broke away for a moment to throw away his ruined shirt before descending on her again. She worked on his breeches next, getting them open much easier. She was more experienced with them. The moment the last knot of the laces were undone, his cock sprang free, and she ran her hand across the bottom of it, taking pleasure in how he loved being touched there.

They had seen each other before, knew each other’s bodies, and the aches each felt after training or in the morning. She had no idea how well they knew each other until this moment. When had the bond become equal? When had she started to receive this information about him and not notice?

He chuckled, kissing her jaw, down to her neck.

“Months ago,” he answered her silent question. “The spell didn’t last nearly as long as I had hoped, only for a year.”

“I never noticed,” she said, gasping as he thrust between her legs, rubbing his cock against her through her pants.

“It was slow. Very slow. When you never mentioned it, I figured you didn’t mind. I would have told you if I removed it.” He sat up. “I want us in a bed.”

She loved his hooded stare, hot and needy as it traveled over her still clothed body. The stare told her stories of moments when she would catch him watching her. It told her things like how he would pull away and break their physical connection. He wanted her. He’d always wanted her, and he’d protected her from it.

“How many times?” she asked softly. How many times did you dream of this?

“A thousand times,” he whispered, his hands moving to her hips. “Every night. Every morning. Every moment we were done training, and I lost that vital physical connection to you. I had to push it down, hide it, but I dreamed.”

She unlaced her pants for him as he watched. She didn’t push them down yet, moving to undo the buttons and laces of her top. He helped her sit up and reached behind her, his fingers faster than hers.

The top came off first and was tossed aside.

Since the day they met, they challenged each other. Mave made sure tonight they were coming together as equals. She pushed her pants off while he got rid of his own. Clothing fell aside and disappeared as they slowly walked to his bedroom, kissing and bumping into walls and tables. She laughed at his annoyance with the furniture, an annoyance he didn’t speak or show, but she felt. She felt everything.

By the time they were in his room, nothing was between them—not their clothing, not their histories, not even their own feelings, or the complicated, messy, strange relationship they’d had for a year.

There was only this.

They laid down, and the possessiveness reared its head inside her again. Luykas laid on his back as she sat up to look down at him. She wanted equality with him, but she also wanted to rule him, tame him, and bring him to heel in bed. She had felt this way before with Matesh.

“Take me. It’s completely natural for you to want every one of your males like this,” he said, cupping her cheek. “You need to establish it, and I’m here. Don’t worry, I’ll take you next. We’ll continue to be equals before the end of this.”

She smiled and swung her leg over his waist. Without wasting any time, she sank down on him, moaning as she took every bit of him. He bucked, groaning. She rode him at her own pace, his thrusts timing themselves perfectly with hers. She was under sensory overload and felt all of it. His levels of pleasure, hers, their emotions, the strong sense of coming home. This was where they both belonged tonight and for the rest of their lives. He would be in her family because he was hers.

Together, always together—thanks to their love, their history, to the blood that coursed through their veins.

“Mave,” he growled.

She rode him harder. She rode him well. He grabbed her hips roughly, matching her every movement, her pace and strength. They’d had so much brewing between them until this moment, and it was time.

She let her head fall forward with a cry of pleasure as her climax came. She stopped moving, holding all of him inside of her as she came. He roared as his climax shattered him at the same time, neither of them able to hold on against the storm of sensation.

It swept them both away.

She fell onto his chest as he panted under her.

“Was it to your satisfaction?”

She laughed, nodding into his chest but unable to speak.

“Good. Good. I think we’re both going to need some tea and a moment to collect ourselves. No wonder Nevyn and Varon are always fucking.”

“We need to talk about some things,” she reminded him. Living arrangements, household things, if he wanted to even be a part of her mayara officially.

He caught all the questions through the bond and sent back his own. Why wouldn’t he want to be part of her family? Why would he turn her away now?

“Don’t be like that,” he whispered. “You can’t get rid of me now, and we both know it. We’ve tried to stop whatever this is ages ago, multiple times.”

“You called me a bitch,” she reminded him.

“You hated my guts and were being one,” he countered.

She smiled, kissing his sweaty chest. “Challenging. This is going to be challenging.”

“Would you want anything else from me?”

She looked up to his gold eyes.

“No.”

“Good,” he said again. He rolled out from underneath her. “I’m not good at cuddling. I’ve never done it before. Let me warm up the tea again, and we can talk about those things.”

“And give us time to recover?” She raised an eyebrow as he stood up, his muscles glistening with sweat. Her mouth watered. She wanted to taste every piece of him. Mat was right. Every one of her males gave her something different, and she needed all of them. Staring at Luykas the way she had stared at Matesh days earlier, she realized neither of them was paled by the other. Both large Andinna males, they were different, and it was perfect. She could have them both. Her mind began to think of how her bedroom would change once Luykas was in it.

“You…” Luykas smiled. “Where did your mind go?” They weren’t touching anymore. She reached out and touched his foot, the closest part of him. She sent him images of being between him and Matesh. Black and white. Bryn would be toying with her body, and she would probably find a way to take him too. Even though he had just finished, she saw his cock try to jump to attention. “Skies, Mave. What happened to the female who was unsure about everything?”

“I met all of you.” She felt a wave of pride come from him as she said it. “And you’ve opened my eyes.”

“Most Andinna don’t do that often.”

“I didn’t say we have to do it often, but I do want to try it, just once.”

“I can’t think of any reason we’d tell you no. Now, let me get the tea.”

She laughed and got up slowly as he walked out of the room. She didn’t bother finding clothing or wrapping herself in a blanket. She went into his main room as if it now belonged to her and tended the hearth, throwing more wood on the fire.

“Go back to bed,” Luykas called from the kitchen. “Or at least put on some clothes.”

“I don’t want your home to get cold,” she called back.

“Mave…” There was a warning there, but she tested it.

“I’m almost done!” She used a poker to make sure the flame was going strong again. When she was done, he grabbed her from behind.

“You should have put something on,” he murmured in her ear, leaning over her shoulder. She felt his cock was already hard again. Apparently, he could rise quickly if he was pushed to it.

“The tea is going to get cold, and we have things to talk about.”

“You should have wrapped a blanket around yourself,” he said again. “Seeing you in the firelight like this is going to kill me.” He pushed a foot between hers and was able to wedge his thigh between her legs.

“I didn’t think you would come back so soon.”

“Mave…I’ll always be ready for you.” He bit down on her shoulder as his foot pushed hers further apart. She moaned as she realized it was his turn. His own dominance was pushing him to claim. She had been tending his home instead of lying in his bed where he’d left her, where he’d wanted her. He needed to claim and own her because a very small piece of him was just like Alchan, a bedru. There was equality between her and Luykas, and it was this very small part of his nature that made it so. “You should have stayed in bed,” he whispered and pushed into her from behind.

She leaned against the wall over the hearth, the heat of the flames warming her belly and breasts while Luykas’ heat warmed her back. He went hard and fast, riding something she wasn’t sure she completely understood. She felt it in the bond and accepted it. This male was an equal. He would always challenge her. She could ride it out, or she could fight it. Either would please both of them. He wasn’t so dominant he couldn’t submit, he just didn’t want to always submit.

She rode it out, taking every powerful thrust as he worked out his need. She bent over more, and he was smart enough to back them away from the fire before resuming his hard pace. She could nearly touch the ground as he took her from behind in the firelight.

This time, he groaned and came first, and as that physical sensation rolled through her, coming from him, she went with him.

“Fuck,” he growled. He was still buried inside her, pumping seed deep into her. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“It’s okay,” she murmured back to him. He helped her straighten to a more comfortable position, sliding out of her slowly, easing it. Now, she was tender.

“Let’s have that tea and enjoy the fire.”

“I can do that,” he said quickly, helping her find a seat. She smiled.

Oh yes, he’s definitely mine, even if he had moments of dominance and challenge in him. He knows where he belongs.

“So, moving in with you,” Luykas said, coming back with two new cups with a warm, relaxing, floral tea. He handed her one and sipped his as he sat down. She watched him make a face and laughed.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it.”

“It’s to help us sleep a little. We ride for war tomorrow,” he reminded her.

“Good point and about time.”

That made him laugh. “So…I do want to move in with you. I want to be a part of your life and have a space in your family, but I feel like we both have some hang ups. I bet Bryn and Mat will too.”

“Who your mother is,” she whispered. “I haven’t told them. I wanted to know where you and I stood. If we didn’t go further, they never had to know. They do have to know if you want to be part of the family. I won’t have big secrets like that.”

“Of course. I’ll tell them personally. If you don’t mind, I’ll have Alchan with me and hopefully, you.”

“I’ll be there and would never ask you to expose that about yourself without the support of your brother. He’s our king. He leads us, and he’s good at it. I respect him. The fact he’s held you so close for so long only helps your case, and that needs to be stressed.”

“I’m his,” Luykas whispered. “I’m yours, of course, but I’m also his. Once…when the Empire began their invasion, one of my aunts and her daughter had some words for me. They blamed me. They knew who my mother was because they were next in line for the throne. They had to know. And they knew it was Shadra whispering in the Emperor’s ear to invade, to claim the last piece of this continent for the Empire. The ultimate glory of conquering the wild, brutal Andinna. They tried to play me as a traitor. Alchan had words with them.”

Luykas seemed far away, lost in the past again. Every time he talked about a piece of his childhood or something before the War, she saw him lose focus of the present and go into his memories.

“Grandmother had to break it up because Alchan was quickly riding to a killing rage. He would have had their heads for what they said to me. When Grandmother tried to approach me, to comfort me, he jumped in the way and snarled, ‘He’s mine.’”

“Even in your own family?” she asked softly.

“Even to our queen,” he said softly. “Even to our gods, he claimed me as his. The moment I arrived in Anden and walked into those palace doors to meet them all, Grandmother had told Alchan I was his brother, and he had to watch out for me. No matter the circumstances of our births, we had to be strong together. She knew her son was a piece of shit. It’s why she worked so hard for both of us. Her other grandchildren, my cousins, they were all well-adjusted, but Alchan had been beaten by his father for most of his childhood. I was stunted, a tree looking for the right light. Together, she knew, Alchan and I would flourish.”

“And you did,” Mave pointed out.

“And I was his, and always will be. His brother. Mave, if you had attacked me on Al Moro Nat, he would have killed you. Without hesitation. He would have been sorry for it later when he didn’t have his Champion and he had to explain to your husbands you were dead, but none of those problems would have been able to stop him from doing the deed.”

“I know. And I’m glad for it.”

He smiled, and she leaned forward and kissed him gently.

“I’m going to keep this home,” he said suddenly when she pulled away.

“Why?”

“Because I need a place where I’m in charge. We’re a constantly shifting force, Mave. I need a place where I rule, and I’m not just one of the males. You felt it. There’s a small piece of me that feeds my dominance. I’m half-Elvasi, so it’s always been tempered, subdued compared to other males of my Andinna family, but it’s there. It’s what drives me to stare you down, drives me to be in charge sometimes. I live with dual personalities. One who doesn’t care, who wants to submit and one who must lead. I need a place to go when I can’t reconcile them or need to let the dominant one rule.”

“Keep it. Come here when you need to.”

“You’re always welcome,” he pointed out.

“And I’ll come to you when you need it, and I can handle it,” she promised. “Anything else?”

“Nothing about our training or dominance outside the family changes. I’m the better military commander.”

“Done. I wasn’t going to ask that to change. Luykas, I want you for you. I don’t want you for the same reasons I want Mat or Bryn. I want Luykas Andini, the male who challenges me. That’s all I want from you. Just never turn me away again.”

“Good,” he murmured, kissing her quickly. “I wasn’t planning on ever sending you away again.”

“What else do you want?” she asked against his lips.

“You.”

She put down the tea and gave him that.

37

Mave

They were on the road to Kerit the next morning—five hundred Andinna warriors, seventy-five of them female. Mave was proud so many were ready for this battle. Based on Bryn’s information, five hundred was enough. They had to hope it proved true, but as they left, there was something hopeful in the air.

The rebellion was finally moving, and Mave was ready for it.

She and Luykas didn’t go to Matesh and Brynec immediately. She woke up next to her newest lover, kissed him goodbye, and went to get ready. Now, she was riding next to the king, all her males missing, at the front of the procession.

“I fucked your brother last night,” she said as they rode.

Alchan turned to her, frowning. “Is that why he isn’t up here?”

“He might be talking to Mat and Bryn somewhere. Not telling them the important stuff yet but clearing the air.”

“Ah, the way males do,” Alchan said sagely, nodding. “He needs a moment with them, but don’t discount it as not important the way…other things are. He hurt you. He was an idiot, and he needs to clear that air with them privately.”

“You know a lot about this for a male with no female or any want for a female.”

“I was raised by the most powerful females of our people. I was educated, even if I never understood or felt the attraction other males did because of what I am.” Alchan gave her a funny look. “What do you plan to do with your name?”

“What do you mean?” She hadn’t given it any consideration.

“You’ve taken a male into your mayara who ranks higher than you in a way. He’s a member of the royal family. You have full rights to take Andini as your last name for as long as you’re with him, and so do your males.”

Mave swallowed, shaking her head. “No, I’ll stay a Lorren. It’s not the best legacy to have, but it’s mine, and I intend to keep it.”

“Andini comes with its problems too,” Alchan said with some sadness. “He can’t change his name to Lorren, you understand. He can’t go down.”

“He and I talked about a lot last night. Names never came up, so I’m guessing he didn’t think it was a problem. He’s mine, name or not, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m glad,” Alchan said softly. “So, I was right in the end. Fuck him, and your problems with him go away.”

She had to resist the urge to hit her King for that comment. Based on his small smile, he noticed.

“I’ll grant you a pardon if you really want to hit me, sister,” he said lightly.

She nearly jerked her horse to a stop, hearing the relation he bestowed on her—not Champion, not her name, not even just warrior.

Sister.

“You think so?” she asked.

“I never wanted a sister, and thankfully, I never had one. I never wanted you, but regretfully, here you are. You’re the wife to my brother. Sister is the apt term.”

This time, she did thump him, and he laughed. She rarely heard the king laugh. The bedru was closed off from the world, showing only one face. This wasn’t the face she was used to.

“What’s gotten into you?” she demanded.

“I’m…” He trailed off, shrugging. “Finally on a path I want to be on, I think. We’re going to take Kerit, you and me. And Luykas.”

“Oh no, we can’t forget Luykas,” she said, smiling.

“No, we can’t.” He sighed, the smile falling. “Honestly, Mave, I wanted to hate you the moment we met. I saw your eyes, and I saw your father. I saw a thousand years of pain, suffering, and working so hard just to survive. Not even free our people, just keep the ones I could alive and fed. I was stressed. I had to see the bigger picture, and it stressed me. It weighed heavily on my shoulders that mission. I lashed out at you.”

“It still weighs heavily on you,” she reminded. A blind man couldn’t miss it. “And I’ve long gotten over the attitude you had when we met.”

“But now we ride side-by-side, King and Champion. I think it’s…lightened my mood somewhat.”

“I hate him,” Mave whispered. “My father. I wish I could talk to someone about it, but I was told Al Moro Nat is private.”

“You can choose who you wish to speak to about it,” Alchan explained. “Many choose not to, a decision that shouldn’t be judged because it is private. As private as someone wants it to be.” He gave her a strange look. “You saw all of them, didn’t you?”

“Thousands of them,” she whispered. “Not just my family, but…”

“Every single one from the thousand years you spent a slave,” he guessed. “Ah. Mave. I wondered if there would be anyone who ever understood. I see every single dead Andinna every year. Year in and year out. As king, every one of the dead is my dead. They’re all my failures. The sick, who could have survived if I had the resources to heal them as well as they needed. Warriors, fallen in fights I put them in or killed in places I needed them to defend. The old, who died before they could ever see the homes of their births.”

“You didn’t kill all of them.”

“Yes, I did,” Alchan whispered. “Because I failed in my duty to them. I see hundreds every year, maybe more, but there’s no hope in counting them. I’ve probably seen all the ones you’ve killed, ones I failed to protect from slavery. The first Al Moro Nat after the War ended, I saw…so many. Everyone who fell that day. My family. Males, females, and children. I could have challenged your father and my Grandmother about that last meeting, that last battle. Luykas and I knew something was off, that it was bad positioning. We made the wrong decision. And look where we are now. Every dead, Mave, is mine.” He reached out and tentatively patted her shoulder. “You saw your dead, and I know what it’s like to carry so many. You’re not alone in that.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Thank you, brother.”

The surprised look he gave her made her respect him all the more. He hadn’t been expecting her to take the relationship he teasingly gave her and actually use it.

“We’re the same but different, aren’t we?”

“I think we are,” she agreed.

“We both hate our fathers,” he pointed out as if he was making a list.

“We both really don’t belong where we are,” she said, knowing she would never understand her powerful position among the Andinna, and he hated being King at the end of the day.

“We have a hard time with people, though I think we’re both getting better at that.”

“Agreed.” She nodded, considering that. Every day, she got a little better with people. She was less likely to act rashly and violently. She still had her moments, though. “We’re both warriors first. It’s the most important thing we are. Before King or Champion, before brother or sister, or anything else. We’re warriors.”

“We are.” Alchan nodded. “And we both understood what we had to do when our homes in Olost were attacked.”

“We did. The months since we got here, though, have been hard.”

“I don’t think either of us enjoys sitting around and hoping things can get better. If Seanev and Leria hadn’t shown up, I still don’t think I would have a solution.”

“I know I wouldn’t,” she said.

She always knew she had some strange things in common with Alchan. That had become apparent as they moved toward Ellantia. They had realized an understanding. Now, they looked at each other with new clarity. They were the same but different.

“We’re going to take Kerit,” she whispered. “I can taste it.”

“I can too.”

Together, they rode. Eventually, Luykas rode up beside them. Even though he was her male, they each picked a side of Alchan—his right and left hand. She smiled at him and snaked her tail over the back of Alchan’s horse. Luykas reached out for her, and she shared with him the emotions she had at seeing him and a little about her and Alchan. In return, she got his peace. He had settled something with Bryn and Matesh, male business he wouldn’t outright share with her.

“Stop that,” Alchan snarled, attempting to look behind him. Being unable to, he reached back and slapped both of their tails. “That’s fucking weird, you two.”

“You’re jealous,” Luykas accused.

“No, I’m really happy for both of you, but I don’t need any of that literally happening right behind me,” Alchan snapped back. The males growled at each other, but even Mave could tell there was no real anger in it. “Tell me if you two want to plan an official ceremony. You’re blood bonded, and maybe we can make an event out of it.”

“What?” Mave tilted her head. “I haven’t had ceremonies with Matesh or Bryn. They just moved in, and they’re mine.”

“It’s because we’re blood bonded. Many males ask for a ceremony around it,” Luykas explained. “But I don’t think I need to show off I’ve got the bond with you.”

“Considering how it happened? Maybe not the best idea,” she agreed.

“When do you two want to tell Matesh and Brynec?”

“Tonight,” they both answered.

“The sooner, the better,” Mave clarified, knowing they couldn’t get Alchan whenever they wanted him.

“Tonight, it is.”

* * *

Mave waited in her tent for Alchan and Luykas. Matesh and Brynec were getting out what they needed for the night and making sure it wasn’t too much to pack up for the morning.

“Is Luykas staying with us during this trip, or is moving in after Kerit the plan?” Mat asked, looking up from his task.

“I don’t know yet,” she admitted. “We’ll figure that out soon.”

“Okay.” He went back to what he was doing.

This is the last thing. The very last thing, then we’ll all be focused on the battle. Let’s hope it goes smoothly.

“Love, is somethin’ wrong?” Bryn asked.

“We’re going to have company, and I’m anxious,” she answered honestly. “Luykas and Alchan are coming over.”

“About?” Mat straightened up. Mave heard boots coming toward their tent. The Company was smart enough to camp a bit away from the rest of the army. They all had their secrets and didn’t want rumors spreading about future military plans in case a warrior got captured, one who may have overheard something he or she shouldn’t have.

“You’re about to find out,” she said, going to the flap of their large tent. There was standing room, which felt excessive, but all the Company had tents like theirs. Even Zayden, who was given his own for this trip.

Alchan was the first in, followed by Luykas—the complicated balance of position, dominance, and who was the rightful male to enter first. Luykas, being her male, could have gone first, but Alchan was here for personal reasons pertaining to family as well. He came first to show power.

She hoped he wouldn’t need it.

“We all need to have a discussion,” he said, all the demanding, bedru dominance in his tone. “And you two are going to listen without acting stupid. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” her two wonderful males answered.

Alchan turned on her. The message was clear.

You tell them. They belong to you.

“I want Luykas to be part of this family, but I don’t want secrets in this family. Not big ones, anyway. Small, personal secrets are understandable, but Luykas has a big one you two need to know. And you must keep it a secret with us.”

“Does this have anything to do with Al Moro Nat?” Mat asked, finding a chest to sit on. Bryn didn’t move.

“I found out that night,” she admitted.

“Let’s hear it,” he said, gesturing to her. “In the end, you want him, and we’ll accept him, no matter what, but this is obviously important enough to warrant Alchan’s presence.”

“Luykas Andini is the son of Behron Andini and Shadra Arien,” she said.

Bryn’s snarl scared her—vicious and abrupt, it shook her to her core.

“Bryn,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

Bryn’s hands moved to his sides, where his daggers waited. The clear ringing of steel leaving its sheath didn’t come from her husband, though. It came from Alchan.

“He’s mine,” Alchan snarled. “Pick your battles wisely.”

Bryn looked between Luykas and Alchan, his growls not abating. Mave stepped forward and ignored how he tensed, touching his face.

“Look at me, Bryn,” she whispered. “Look at me.”

His summer sky eyes found her. He was breathing hard. She should have expected this. Bryn hated Elvasi with everything he was, despised them. He could tolerate a mutt, but being Shadra’s son made Luykas another thing entirely. She understood all of that and should have expected this response.

A year ago…Skies, just half a year ago, it probably would have been my response.

“Brynec,” she murmured. “He’s mine. He belongs to me as my male. I’ve felt him to the very deepest parts of who he is through the blood bond. I know him. He is not a threat. You can’t fault him for who he was born to. Even if he weren’t mine, Luykas Andini belongs to his brother, Alchan Andini, our king. A male who has fought against Shadra for over a thousand years. Luykas is loyal to us, and he loves me.”

“But…”

“I said this to Luykas, but I think you should hear it. Shadra took a lot away from me over the scope of my life. She will not take Luykas away from me.”

Slowly, she saw some of the initial rage disappear. He nodded slowly, and she released him.

“Maybe it’s best, love, if he doesn’t stay here while we’re travelin’ to Kerit,” he mumbled.

“That’s fine. He plans on living both with us and in his own residence once we’re back. I hope he told you that.”

“Aye.”

“He’s the same Luykas now as the one you’ve always known,” she reminded him.

“Aye. I just need…”

“It’s okay, Brynec,” Luykas said bravely. “It’s okay. I know it's hard. I’ve let it eat me alive for a long time. It’s why I sent Mave away that night.”

Bryn looked up and over her head, his eyes narrowing, then a smile began to form.

“A good male knows what is and isn’t a threat to his female,” her rogue said. “You considered this a threat and tried to save her from ya.”

“Yes.”

“Aye, we’ll be fine,” Bryn declared, the smile turning into a grin. “We’ll be fine. That’s all I need to know.”

She smiled and looked at Matesh, who was smirking an arrogant smirk.

“What’s that look for?” she demanded.

“I knew there was nothing in this world that could keep you from taking what you wanted. If this isn’t it, then I guess I was right, because there’s nothing bigger than being Shadra’s son.”

“All right.” Alchan sheathed his sword. “I’m leaving before I see asses I don’t want to see.”

“Good night, brother,” she said, looking over to him. “Thank you for being here.”

“Unneeded, but you're welcome.” He left them standing there. Luykas was standing uncomfortably. This was the first time she had them all together as her males.

“Sit down. Let’s have something to eat and talk about how the house will change. Mat and Bryn have male rules for you.”

“I remember you saying something about those last winter,” Luykas said, smirking a little. “Let’s hear them, and I’ll see if there’s anything I want to add.”

Mave smiled. Yes, this was what she wanted. This was what she was fighting for.

For moments like this.

38

Luykas

Luykas was walking through the camp, tired but ready to move out, heading back to his female’s tent. He didn’t share with Mave, Mat, and Bryn yet. They just set up right next to each other until everyone settled in. He wanted to, though. He spent his meals with them. As he walked into their tent, he was struck by the familiar sensation of being right where he belonged. Especially as something came flying at his head.

“Can ya rinse that off in the stream?” Bryn asked him. Luykas pulled off whatever had landed on his horns and sighed.

“Yeah, I can do that for you.”

“I’ll come help,” Mat said quickly. He was carrying a bundle. “We picked a bad spot and found some mud.”

“Shit.” Luykas shook his head and took some of the clothing out of Mat’s arms. “Let’s see what we can do. You know, if these stay wet overnight, they’ll freeze.”

“Yeah, but we realized we can switch some stuff around, and only one of our chests will have frozen shit in it.” Mat huffed. “Do you need anything? We can take it all out at the same time.”

“No.” Luykas was meticulous about his things. Everything he owned was organized and right where he could find it. He didn’t need Matesh or Brynec getting into his things to help him.

He had the terrifying sensation he was about to lose all of that control.

Thank the Skies Mave is willing to let me keep my personal home for when I need it.

“You sure?” Mat smirked at him. “Really, Luykas, it’s no problem.”

“I didn’t accidentally pick a bad spot to camp and get mud on a third of my belongings,” he reminded the large male. Matesh chuckled.

“Point made.”

They found the stream and worked the mud out of the clothing. Other warriors were cleaning themselves or their things as well. Everyone was getting in the last bit of work before they moved on. Tonight, they were going to make it to Kerit. He had a feeling. The scouts were out there, making sure they had the distance right.

“Let me clean off, and I’ll meet you back at the tents to pull them down,” he said as Mat carried their things away.

“See you!”

Luykas was just finished bathing in the stream when the whispers began to run through camp near him. Four weeks on the road and their target was in sight—finally.

He splashed a little more water on his face, tired because they recently switched to traveling at night. They had known they were nearing Kerit and wanted to try to sneak up on the city. Keeping five hundred Andinna quiet and somewhat hidden was difficult. Luykas, Alchan, and Nevyn had argued for the first two weeks of the trip about how to do it. In the end, they added a week of travel by staying in the mountains. Only a few days ago, they left the mountains after two groups went out and caught scouts and Elvasi patrols. That would give the Elvasi in Kerit something to worry about, but there would be no news going back to them that a small Andinna army was on its way.

The whispers meant that tonight, they were finally at their target. After all of that planning. After weeks of travel.

We’re here.

Luykas dried off quickly and dressed, running for his brother’s war tent. By the time he was there, the entire Company had beaten him. A few other Andinna were there, leaders of different sections of their makeshift army. He didn’t know all of their names. They had only been chosen by Nevyn and Alchan a few days ago.

“What did I miss?” he asked, moving to his brother’s side.

Alchan looked him over. Once he seemed pleased by what he saw, he spoke.

“We’ll reach Kerit before dawn, and their defenses are down. From Seanev and Leria’s reports over the last several months, we already knew they regularly lose people wandering away from the city. We sent them back with the same sort of information their people always gave. It won’t alarm those living in the city because it’s normal. The scouts never saw the army, so we’re in the clear.”

“And we avoided the farms by coming up from the mountains near the coast, a little more inland to avoid the worst of the storms we get directly on the coastline,” Nevyn added.

Luykas snorted. Yeah, he knew all about the storms. They were battered by them the first night they left the shelter of the mountains. Icy rain, a little too warm for snow, but freezing the moment it touched the ground made the last few days treacherous.

“Which follows Bryn’s initial report. They stayed near the coast for everything and never broke into Anden’s heart,” Alchan finished. “So, we’re going to march. Once we get to the outside of the city, they’ll know we’re there. There won’t be any more hiding.”

“Are we going to begin a night battle?” someone asked. “We can hit them while they sleep—”

“No,” Alchan answered, not even letting the Captain finish. “We’re going to wait on the outside of their city until dawn. I won’t kill people sleeping in their beds. We have this victory if we do this right and with minimal losses. Five hundred Andinna can take the city without needing to do it at night.”

“Honor for those who don’t deserve it,” someone muttered.

“It’s bigger than that,” Mave said softly from her corner. Luykas didn’t turn to her. He knew she was there the entire time. She didn’t often come to the meetings, but he knew she wouldn’t miss this one. “If we’re killing civilians in their sleep, if we slaughter them, if we show no honor, it will hurt us more in the end.”

Luykas nodded, finally smiling over at her. She had the right of it, but then, she understood the reputation Andinna had in the rest of the world. She understood it better than anyone, he bet.

“Why do we care?” another female asked.

“We need to win favor and be the better, more honorable army,” Alchan said, leaning on the table in the middle of the room. “We need humans and Elvasi in the Empire to see us fighting for our freedom, as we are, without slaughtering the innocent masses.”

“If we just kill them all, we prove them right.” Mave stood up and walked to the table. Pride filled Luykas as she stopped next to his brother. “I was a slave in Elliar, far south. Down there, the vast majority of Elvasi and humans, even some dwarves, believe the troubling tales Shadra weaved about us. Murderers, tribal warfare, a bunch of barbarians. We’re rougher than they are, that’s true, but we don’t have to sink to the reputation they made us. We need to show them who we are. We’re a warrior people who are proud of what we are, but we’re not monsters.”

Luykas didn’t know who started it, but someone in the Company began to clap. He joined in, and soon, nearly everyone was clapping. Alchan raised his hands, and the tent went silent again.

“So, we aren’t attacking at night. There’s more. If a soldier surrenders, you capture him or her. You let civilians run to hide. Don’t scare or hurt them. Tell them to go inside and that we’ll let them know when the city is taken. It should be obvious, but if a child tries to attack you, don’t kill them. Gently disarm them, give them to an Elvasi adult, and tell them to go. If an adult tries to attack you, try to handle it without needless bloodshed. There will be no bloodsport. We’re all angry after the years of being brutalized by the Empire, but I’ve given this a lot of thought. I think if we take Kerit without it being a slaughter, we garner favor and bargaining power. Shadra might be willing to work with us because it would hurt her, in the end, to be the monster too.” Alchan turned around the room. “Any questions?”

“So, you named captains for us to keep everyone in line,” a female said, smiling viciously. “Smart. I’ll keep the females in line, Sire.”

“I did.”

Luykas didn’t miss how his brother didn’t say thank you. They were officially at war now, at least the Andinna were. Alchan wasn’t going to say thank you to a warrior who was supposed to do her job.

“Speaking of, Captains, you’re dismissed. I need to speak to my Company, then I’ll talk to you all privately.”

Luykas watched the nine captains leave, including the only female one. Her name was Yenni, and she had been offered by Leria for the trip. Halfway through the trip, the giant female swore her service to Alchan, and he made her the female captain in return. She wouldn’t be going back to Leria any time soon.

“Company,” Alchan said, looking around at them. “Let’s talk about the mission.”

Luykas grinned. Across the table, Nevyn and Kian both gave whoops. Varon gave an exaggerated sigh at the antics of his husband and his best friend. Mat wrapped his arms around Mave from behind, and Bryn went to her free side, opposite Alchan. Rainev slid up to the table, his father beside him. Leshaun was the one missing. He’d stayed in their home village to continue training a new generation of Blackbloods and educating the children. It was a good place for the spymaster when the war didn’t need him. They would catch up when Kerit was taken, and they made their way home again.

“I will be leading the captains,” Alchan started. “I want to keep an eye on them. I don’t think we have bad warriors, but I know we have bloodthirsty ones. I want to make sure they don’t let the craze of battle fog their judgment.”

“Of course. Mave and I will be at your—”

“No, I changed my mind on that,” Alchan said. “Without Seanev and Leria here to bother me about making sure I’ll be able to procreate, I’m going to let you and Mave lead the Company on a very specific mission.”

As his brother talked, Luykas nodded. That was a good idea. Leaving Leria had been easy since there was no reason to have a mativa in the war group. Seanev had been harder. Luykas would have loved his keen mind helping with the assault, but there also needed to be a strong leader that could fight off a major assault if anything of the sort happened.

“You will rush the city with the main assault like everyone else, but your objective will be to secure political and military leaders. There’s, of course, a lord here who rules the region in Shadra’s name. There’s also a very small portion of her northern fleet here, and there will be at least one person in charge of the sailors and soldiers. You’re going to capture them.”

“Who’s going to protect you? Rain?” Mave frowned. “He can, but—”

“No, Rain will be taking Yenni and the females to take the port itself. Rain, you’ll be in wyvern form. Please don’t get hit. If there are any ships equipped to deal with you, send them to the bottom of the ocean. Other than that, you’re a deterrent. Your job is to keep them in the small bay. They can’t leave so make sure they know that. Yenni and the females will handle the sailors, soldiers, or merchants who are on the ships. We need as many ships to survive this battle as we can get. Sen is itching to get moving. He’s been pestering me every day since we started the trip.”

Everyone chuckled. Zayden had done great work getting those sailors ready for the open ocean again. They were ready to go.

“Company, you get to pick one person who will stay with me as protection.”

“Zayden,” Nevyn said quickly.

“What?” Zayden’s head snapped up as if he hadn’t been paying attention. “I have no training in personal protection.”

“You fit in well with the soldiers Alchan will be leading. The family man, the everyday man. You’re normal, in a sense, compared to the rest of us.”

“If you ignore his grouchy ass disposition,” Kian mumbled and laughed as Zayden tried to hit him. “Look, I get it! Fatherhood is fucking hard! I’m sorry!”

Even Alchan was chuckling. It was always funny, yet not. Zayden was younger than he and his brother, yet he was older in his soul than most of the Company. Luykas wondered what it was like for Mave to live with him. He never really asked her, and when it came up, she brushed it off as no problem.

I’ll find out soon enough.

He was almost looking forward to it—living with Mave, with Matesh and Brynec, a family. He hadn’t lived with anyone since he and Alchan decided they needed their own places at least thirteen hundred years ago.

“Aside from that, he’s more experienced with a sword than Rainev. He’s got years of experience working with soldiers, being one himself,” Nevyn continued professionally. He knew when to be serious.

“Yeah, remind everyone I’m just a grunt,” Zayden mumbled.

“You and Matesh, yes, you were just grunts, but now you’re Company. You’ve had a thousand years of extra training and covert mission experience. I’ll remind you that you went into Elliar alone to get Matesh, Rainev, and Mave out,” Nevyn fired back. “Stop being a shit. You’re the best choice to protect Alchan right now.”

“I can’t take you or Varon because it’s all or nothing with you. Not stupid enough to take any of the males attached to Mave. Rainev will be leading the charge on the bay. Zayden…” Alchan raised an eyebrow. “Think you can work with me?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” Zayden conceded. Luykas chuckled as the male’s chest puffed up with pride even though he obviously hated the assignment. It wasn’t something Zayden did, protection detail. This was also one of the first times they had to dedicate someone to the task, and it seemed like child-sitting. Zayden didn’t want to miss the important Company mission, just to stand at Alchan’s side and make sure no one stabbed the king in the back.

It wasn’t exactly a fun way to go through a battle, but it was protecting the king, so the prestige was there.

If Luykas knew anything, Zayden wasn’t the only person who hated it. Alchan had conceded the need for a Champion without having to be asked. Luykas and Seanev had to convince him to allow someone to stay with him on protection if he was going to send Rain on other missions.

“Everyone has their assignments. When we’re outside the city proper, come to me and wait for my word to move,” Alchan said. “You’re dismissed except Zayden.” The male groaned. “I want you here to get properly introduced to the captains, so they know your role.”

“Yeah…” Zayden found a seat and took it. Luykas patted his shoulder as he left the tent behind Mave.

“You’ll do fine,” he said, stopping before he was completely out.

“I know I will, it’s just a fucking boring assignment,” the grouch mumbled. “Haven’t spent a thousand years with the Company to watch Alchan kill everything. We all know he doesn’t need protection.”

Luykas chuckled. “Well, he might, and that’s why we need you. If there’s one person who absolutely cannot die, it’s him.”

“You don’t need to remind me, but do you really think he’s stupid enough—”

“I hear you two,” Alchan growled. “Luykas, go tell people to get ready to move just after the sun goes down as usual. Zayden, it sucks. We’ll survive. We’ll talk about it and figure out how we want to do this.”

Luykas rushed the rest of the way out of the war tent, leaving them to their misery. Sure enough, the moment the Company was gone, Alchan was bitchy about needing a guard. That was life for them now, though. They could complain as much as they wanted, but Luykas was never letting his brother onto the battlefield. The only royal left would be him if Alchan was killed, and he could never do it. A mutt couldn’t rule, under any circumstance.

Luykas didn’t want to have to deal with that problem.

He gestured for the captains to go in and started telling warriors around the camp to be ready to move by dusk. They were used to the pace now and jumped to it. Most of them were warriors Seanev and Leria provided, but some were from Olost and knew him. Some were those recently freed slaves from late fall.

“There goes the mutt,” someone muttered. Luykas stopped and raised an eyebrow.

“My name, as I’ve told you before, is Luykas Andini, and I’m the brother to the king. Please, remember to respect those who are a higher rank than you.”

“Yes, sir,” the male said, lowering his eyes. Mutt wasn’t a slur. It was just a term. Most Andinna didn’t care one way or another about mutts. Mutts like Luykas happened. So did mutts like Rain. Most of the time, the Andinna in them was stronger, and they were easily accepted by the community. Luykas knew better than to think that was the situation in his case. He was half-Elvasi. Muttered comments like the one he’d just heard were common for him since they started seeing freed Andinna come from the Empire.

“Let me also remind you, the king’s nemari is also a mutt. His name is Rainev, and you’ll do best to show him respect as well. Or I’ll ask Alchan to let Rain eat you.” Luykas continued walking after that, feeling a little better. Most of the time, he didn’t engage. On the few occasions he decided to say something, it was always just that. He was the brother of the king and wouldn’t be disrespected. If his being a mutt was the problem, they would be smart not to say anything about Rain.

Rain might turn into a wyvern, but the entire Company would kill over an insult to him. The protectiveness was fading as the young male grew up, claiming the responsibility and power he’d been born to and had been chosen for as Alchan’s nemari, but it would never completely fade.

He was the only member of the Company who was born to the Company. That made him special.

They were on the road just after dusk, just as Alchan wanted. The Company rode as a unit at the front as they were meant to. Rain had decided to spend the night in wyvern form, walking beside them with large, thundering steps. They were considered the leaders of the rebellion, and they exuded power—from the warrior priest to the Champion, from the king to the wyvern, and everyone between.

Kerit had no idea what was about to hit them.

39

Mave

Mave was at the front of the army when Kerit was seen from the top of their hill. The city was built in a small bay and much like Ellantia, had large cliffs, not beaches, coming out of the water. It was much smaller than Ellantia, though.

She grinned viciously. Yes, they were finally here. It was finally time to make sure Shadra knew the threat of their rebellion was real. Once they took Kerit, they would have a place for the freed Andinna down south to go. They would be able to bring the Andinna over from Olost, warriors, crafters, healers, and so many more, waiting for the chance to finally come home.

“Are you ready?” Alchan asked her.

“Yes,” she answered honestly. He asked no one else.

He turned his horse and looked back at the war group. Mave turned as well. The entire Company fanned out from Alchan as the Andinna bunched up, trying to get closer. Five hundred Andinna, the most Mave saw every day in one place, ready to battle together. The pits were everyone against each other, but this was an impressive sight. And they would only grow stronger.

“We won’t fail,” she whispered to herself, looking at the Andinna who had trained for months, some who had trained for years without an objective, just trying to stay prepared, stay strong. Some were new, had just picked up the morok and took naturally to the traditional blade of the Andinna. Some were old, having fought in the War and were looking to get back what was theirs. They had waited years for a moment like this.

“Andinna!” Alchan roared. He wore his official armor, armor she didn’t see often—black leather with white accents and the crest of the royal family, the white dragon Lariana emblazoned on his chest. “Come dawn, we fly!”

At that moment, he was every bit the king she respected and followed—not her new brother, not the brother of Luykas, not the leader of the Ivory Shadows.

Only the King.

They roared in response. The Company unsheathed their weapons, Mave included. Raising them high, the Company’s battle cry joined the chorus of the Andinna. Behind her, she knew Kerit could hear them. Torches were probably being lit as people realized something was happening. Dawn was close. The very earliest touch of light was beginning to show to the east; to the west, the dark night sky. Here, at this moment, they were on the cusp of change, of new beginnings. Months of planning and this day would usher in a new possibility for the future of the Andinna.

And she was there to take part in it.

We won’t lose.

“Long have we been under the boot of the Empire! Long have we run scared, trying to protect what little we had! No more!”

Alchan’s horse fought against him, terrified of the predatory, dangerous cries of the Andinna. Not even the best trained horse could handle the sound. Mave gripped the reins of her own tighter as it grew nervous.

“Today, we fly to reclaim what we’ve lost! Today, we send the Elvasi back where they belong! South of the Dragon Spine!”

Everyone continued roaring in rage and in celebration, all of them bloodthirsty.

Mave turned to see Kerit and smiled.

The torches were lit now. They knew someone was coming for them.

“May Kristanya bless this day!” Alchan continued his speech. “May the Black Dragon’s wings carry us into battle! We shall bring glory to the gods!”

The roars were so deafening, Mave wondered if she would be able to hear for the next several days. Rain threw his massive blue head in the air, and fire bellowed from his mouth, lighting up the sky. Once he was done, his roar finally joined the Andinna, and Mave’s heart skipped a beat from the sheer power.

No one settled as the sun continued to slowly rise. Drums were played somewhere in the war group. She had known many of the females brought them, playing war beats Mave had never heard before. They were intense, powerful, and her heart raced to match the beat. She was antsy. When Alchan dismounted his horse, he hit its haunches and let it run. The entire Company followed suit. They would run and be found again. Most of the war group didn’t have riding horses, but there were pack animals. They would be secured by now as the Andinna didn’t plan to leave anyone behind to hold a camp. They were all going into battle.

All of Mave’s thoughts were lost as the sun finally broke the horizon. She could see guards and soldiers yelling on the small towers around Kerit, pointing at each other and at the war group about to descend on them.

“FLY!” Alchan ordered, his command echoing in the morning air. The drumbeats silenced, and everyone took to the air. Rain was the fastest up, roaring as he practically led the charge into the air.

Mave climbed. They had already gone over the flying formation, who was to leave the main black wave of Andinna wings when and where. The females, generally faster flyers than males, sped up, trying to get behind and stay with Rain. She let them pass her, keeping her speed to stay with the Company, even though there was a momentary urge to catch the females and fly with them. As she passed the first guard towers, she spun and flew sideways, making herself a harder target for arrows. With a glance back, she saw Andinna dive and take out the guards. Some landed to kill them personally, quick deaths by the sword, while others grabbed the guards and flew off with them, tossing them down to the ground to die.

As she found herself over the city proper, the mass of over four hundred Andinna male warriors descended, following Alchan’s lead, flooding the streets.

Mave opened her wings, using the drag to slow down. Nevyn tore out in front of her and guided the way. Luykas pulled up on her right side, and Mat moved to her left. Looking down, she found Bryn between her and the streets below. They were protecting her from arrows already flying around the city. Every Elvasi and human soldier had woken and was trying to get to their posts. They were being killed in the streets as the wave of Andinna rolled over them.

Nevyn dove, and the Company followed suit. Once they were all on the ground, Mave dared to ask a question she hadn’t the night before.

“How do you know where we need to go?” she called out over the fighting.

“I grew up here!” Nevyn yelled back.

Swords were drawn, and they started running. Mave got up beside Nevyn. Behind them was Varon and Luykas, each waiting for the moment they would fight with the blood bond.

Mave roared, both swords in hand as she saw a group of Empire soldiers. She and Nevyn leapt at the same time, crashing down into the middle of the small unit. They spun and cut open the abdomens and necks of the soldiers closest to them. Blood was already spraying as the Company joined them, crashing into the side of the group. Mave flipped one of her swords to stab a soldier behind her while fighting off another in front of her.

“How far?” someone yelled, Andinna.

“We just need to get around the corner,” Nevyn answered. “That’s where it is.”

It was a building Nevyn said was used to run the city. The Elvasi would probably still be using it because it was the only building in the city built for the purpose. From Bryn’s report, the city looked unchanged from its days of being used by the Andinna. It was always one of the most accessible cities for other races. It was a trade city, so it had to work for everyone. In the center was a building designed to be secured against a siege, where lawmakers, lords and ladies, and commanders could hide and wait it out. It was easy to funnel invaders in and kill them as they tried to breach the inner sanctum.

Luckily, they had Nevyn. From what she had learned over the last few weeks, Alchan and Luykas had visited and decided to live in Kerit ages ago for a few summers, but Nevyn always seemed as if he knew the city like the back of his hand. Now, she knew why.

Killing was a mindless endeavor. Mave’s blades were sharp enough to cut through bone like it was butter, and she had the power to make that happen. Luykas finally made it to her side and their tails hooked. She felt power rush into her, and her swings became faster, blocking became easier, and she felt indestructible.

The soldiers stood no chance.

Sixty heartbeats—that’s how long it took the Company to decimate the unit. Nevyn and Mave took the running lead again. When they rounded the bend, there was a larger group, several archers a part of it. Before any of them could nock their arrows, two flew between Nevyn and Mave. Mave glanced back to see Bryn and Varon, bows up, already nocking their second shots. For every arrow they loosed, a soldier fell. By the time Mave was close enough to attack, the archers were dead.

This was what being the best warriors meant. They worked without needing to give commands or follow orders. They worked together without needing to speak. She had never had to worry about Empire archers because the two at her side were some of the best. Varon probably was the best. She knew they had her back.

We’re going to win.

She and Nevyn roared together as they clashed with the first soldiers in this second group. Mat came up next to her this time, his massive sword cleaving an enemy in half.

Blood was everywhere, and none of them were bothered by it.

Fire flew into the center of the Empire soldiers, and Mave was able to glance up to see Luykas, his wings beating to keep him stable and hovering above the fights. He was raining fire down on them. Whatever private magic training he was doing was paying off. He was going to get as good as the Empire’s War Sorcerers in no time.

Mave kicked away a soldier and sent him back into the flame building on the corpses of the dead. His screams were the clearest thing she had heard yet.

As Empire soldiers fell, she ran for the door of their target building, Nevyn meeting her there. In unison, they threw their shoulders into it and listened to it creak, then crack. With the second go, the double doors were open, and they rushed in.

Mave knew why she and Nevyn were leading the charge. They were the best, and they both had backup with tricks up their sleeves. While it was supposed to be her and Luykas technically in charge, no one was stupid enough to get in front of Nevyn when he was killing.

As they broke into the building, arrows flew at them. Three went through one of Mave’s wings, and another hit her in the thigh. As the rest of the Company stormed the building, she cut the one on her thigh shorter so it wouldn’t get in the way of her fighting. As long as they weren’t poisoned, it wasn’t a serious injury. None of them were so far.

She ducked for cover as the next wave of arrows came down.

“Where are they?” she roared.

“The walkways above! It’s a kill nest!” Nevyn answered. “Varon! Bryn!”

“We’re on it!” Bryn cried back. “There’s got to be two dozen of them up there!”

“Let me,” Luykas snarled. Mat slid up next to her. Where Bryn actually was, she didn’t know, somewhere with Varon, apparently. Luykas was on her other side and looked up from their cover, a large piece of wooden furniture she couldn’t identify. He built a fire in his hand and threw it.

The screams of the soldiers above gave Mave her chance. She jumped up, Mat following, making a direct path to the upper walkways. Instead of fighting with the soldiers on the ornate staircase in the center of the room, she and Mat jumped up for it. When they landed, they went back-to-back, with him blocking archers next to the flames. She kicked an archer over the railing and sliced open the next, moving backward, following Mat. He was driving archers to either jump to their possible deaths, fight him, or back into the fire.

“Done!” Mat said with his back to her. She nodded and started moving forward again. Archers weren’t generally the best with swords, and it was painfully clear. She broke their defenses as they tried to fight her and fell. The last archer between her and the trained soldiers dropped his bow and lifted his hands in surrender.

She nodded, but before he could get out of the way, one of his own men killed him, growling something to him. Mave was certain she heard the word ‘traitor,’ but it didn’t matter.

“That’s not very honorable,” she snarled. Mat tensed behind her and turned in time to join her in clashing with the soldiers on the stairs. She beheaded the one who had stabbed his fellow archer in the back and kicked his body into the others, causing several of them to stumble into each other.

Alchan had asked for them not to make it into a slaughter, but there was no other word for it. As Mave and Mat cleared the stairs, meeting up with Nevyn and Varon in the middle, it was a slaughter. The soldiers weren’t well trained enough to handle the warriors of Anden. Luykas came up the stairs as they realized they had won the room. She could smell the smoke on him.

“You think you have any more of that in you?” she asked.

“Please say no,” Nevyn grumbled. “This place is going to burn down, and we have to move. The safe rooms are deep underground, a few levels below us.”

“How do you know all this?” Mat asked this time. Mave nearly chuckled.

“Grew up here. My mother worked in this building. I ran off to join the army. Had a little sister, too. Died in the War when Kerit was overrun by Elvasi. She and my mother were trying to get all of our people out.” Nevyn growled. “Varon…”

Varon was next to Nevyn in the blink of an eye. He took Nevyn’s hand, and together, they led the way. Back down the stairs, Nevyn showed them a door underneath. It opened to a thin staircase that went down.

“The locals would tell outsiders this staircase was for storage, but it goes down to several secure rooms with supplies and bedding for people to hide for long periods,” Luykas explained to everyone. “This is also where Alchan and I met Nevyn, Varon, and Kian since he and I had the right to use the area, in case there was trouble. Long before the War started. They had already made a name for themselves and worked with Kelsiana.”

“Yeah,” Nevyn snorted. “Let’s go.”

40

Zayden

Zayden was right beside Alchan as they dove into the city. Landing together, they set off against the first soldiers they saw, clashing steel and driving back the parasites who had taken their land.

Zayden loved the rush of battle. He wanted to do this, had always wanted to do this—battle for his people, then go home and enjoy a good life. It was the way of a warrior, to fight for the things he left back home.

Of course, it was Zayden’s personal hell at the same time since the things he wanted to leave at home were always on the battlefield with him now—his friends and his son. They were all there as well, fighting their own fights. He could succeed and walk away, but they might not. He always had to remember that now.

“Civilians! Go inside and lock the doors!” Alchan roared. “Soldiers of the Empire! Lay down your arms if you want to live!”

Zayden smiled as he fought, glad he was fighting for a decent king. Zayden agreed with sparing noncombatants--often women and children, when it came to Elvasi and humans--and soldiers willing to put down their arms. They didn’t teach their women to fight as the Andinna did. Their children weren’t given real swords at a young age. Andinna fought to the death if given the chance, but other races weren’t like them.

Zayden stayed glued to Alchan’s side but out of his way. He followed him down the road between shops and homes and fought. He squared off against soldiers, and steel clashed. Down other streets where he knew the new captains were leading others. They were fanning out through the city and taking it.

“Alchan,” Zayden called. “Do you think we’ll have the city by sundown?”

“I do!” Alchan grunted, pulling his morok from the neck and shoulder of a dead soldier. “They don’t have the numbers to stop us.”

Zayden nodded, then heard a scream. A shrill, child’s scream. It sent a chill to his bones.

“Go!” Alchan snapped.

Zayden ran for it, growling as the screams grew louder. He couldn’t let a child die, no matter the race. There was no way it was an Andinna babe since the Empire didn’t allow Andinna to come back to Anden, not even as house or farm slaves.

He found the little girl at an intersection, ducking and screaming as Empire soldiers and Andinna battled it out around her.

She’s going to be trampled.

Zayden jumped into the fray and reached for her. Her screams only grew in volume when she noticed him, but he was able to get a grab onto her arm and pull her to him. She kicked and clawed at him. Her delicately pointed ears told him she was Elvasi or at least a mutt, which meant her little mind would be a bit more advanced than a human child’s who looked the same age.

“Shh,” he said once he secured her in his arms. “Let me take you somewhere safe.”

“MONSTER!” she screamed. “HELP!”

“Unhand her!” someone else roared. An Empire soldier was over him, sword high and ready to cleave his head off. As it started coming down, Alchan blocked it, snarling.

“We’re not trying to kill her. We’re trying to get her out of the combat zone!” Alchan snapped. Zayden didn’t know why the king was trying to reason with the soldier, he just scrambled away with the screaming child, looking for a door to a shop or home.

He found an open window and lifted her.

“Get in,” he said quickly. “Go. We’re not going to hurt you. I promise.”

She jumped into the window and got inside, but not before kicking Zayden in the face.

He turned back to Alchan, who was holding the soldier to see what he had done. Without looking, he reached up and forced the window closed, knowing the girl wouldn’t be anywhere near him.

“We’re not here to kill children,” Alchan growled to the soldier. “We’re here for our city.”

The soldier nodded, dropping his sword. Alchan pushed him to the ground, kicking the sword away at the same time.

“Keep an eye out for civilians! Make sure they get inside!” Alchan roared over the fighting, turning back to the main clash near them. Zayden ran for the sword the soldier had lost, seeing the Elvasi reach for it.

“Alchan! Watch out!” Zayden snapped.

Alchan turned back and stepped on the blade before the soldier could grab it.

“Bad move,” Alchan snarled, shoving his morok into the back of the idiot.

Zayden sighed and kicked the body away after Alchan freed his sword.

“You tried,” Zayden said, grabbing his own sword again from where he dropped it to help the girl. “Some of them will figure it out.”

“And most of them will die anyway,” Alchan whispered.

“Excuse me?” Zayden frowned.

“Shadra might put them to death for running,” Alchan explained. “But I’m going to send them back because I need to be better than her.”

Zayden didn’t get the chance to continue the conversation as another unit of Empire soldiers ran into the intersection and joined the fray. He and Alchan joined the fight without needing to say anything, shoving back soldiers and dueling with them until they got the kill.

They moved with the large unit of Andinna down the road, none of the warriors realizing Alchan and Zayden were even there. In the thick of battle, it didn’t matter the king was beside you. Everyone was just fighting until it was over, trying to survive the next clash of steel. Zayden was probably the only one in the city acutely aware of Alchan at that point, needing to know where he was in relation to the king at all times.

He’d been working for Alchan for over a thousand years now. He and Matesh had offered themselves to the Ivory Shadows the moment Alchan and Luykas announced they were forming a mercenary company and royal guard for the preservation of the free Andinna. For a long time, it had been half a joke to say they were protecting Alchan, who always joined them in battles, never backing down.

This was the first time the duty was taken seriously, and Zayden didn’t know whether he should have been honored or a bit cranky. He was doing it, but the idea annoyed him. He wanted to be with the Company, doing something a bit more exciting than following Alchan around.

But being on the ground in the city was full of action. He elbowed a soldier who tried to come up behind him and broke the man’s knee with a swift kick before beheading him. He gutted two others with a single swing.

And he blocked the execution an Andinna was about to give to a soldier on his knees with his hands raised.

“If you intend to surrender, remove your armor,” Zayden ordered, not looking at the soldier. The Andinna warrior’s face morphed into rage as the soldier’s steel plate fell to the ground.

“He’s Elvasi.”

“The King’s word is Law. We do not kill surrendering soldiers unless they prove their surrender is a lie.” Zayden held firm. He was stronger and more experienced than the warrior trying to break past him and kill the soldier anyway.

“And I’ll take a hand for every injured civilian I see,” Alchan said, coming closer.

The warrior backed away, nodding. “Yes sir,” he said before moving to continue with the rest of the Andinna going down the street.

Alchan looked down at the soldier, now only wearing a tunic. Wherever his sword was, Zayden didn’t know.

“Go inside and stay there,” Alchan ordered. “We’ll send you home once this is done.”

“O-of c-c-course,” the young man said, eyes wide with both fear and relief. He crawled quickly for several feet before finding his feet and darting into a building.

“He was a boy,” Zayden whispered, his stomach twisting. This was probably the first time the young Elvasi had seen fighting, especially on this scale.

“Most of them are,” Alchan growled. “They’re boys sent here for an easy first location to train and live. Away from home where their parents can save them from trouble. Some probably came up here looking for adventure. Some probably lived south of the Spine and wanted to see the majestic Anden north of the impassable mountains. Zayden…they’re all boys like him, and you’re just going to have to live with that.”

Zayden nodded. He knew and understood, but disagreed with something Alchan said.

“He’s not a boy anymore,” he replied. “Let’s find some fighting to do.”

Alchan grinned, an unusual expression for him, making Zayden a little uncomfortable. “About time you caught up with the rest of us.”

They didn’t follow the large group they had joined, instead ducking down an alley to go to another street.

They dove into an unsuspecting group of Empire soldiers running to do something. Spinning around, they were both trained to fight against higher numbers and used each other as protection for their backs. Zayden hissed as someone cut his thigh. He heard Alchan growl in pain and jumped to get in front of the king and kill the soldier there. Every time they killed one, another showed up.

Zayden figured they should have known better than to run into a group like this, but he had been looking for a real fight and found it. Alchan would have stopped them if the male thought they couldn’t handle it.

At the end, Zayden’s thigh was bleeding, and Alchan had a long laceration on his shoulder, but they were standing in the middle of twelve dead Empire soldiers.

“Andinna children could have defeated them,” Zayden said with pride. Alchan started to chuckle. “I would know, I have one.”

“Rain was never a normal Andinna child,” Alchan muttered. “I’m so glad I didn’t try to be involved with that.”

“Yeah, you were noticeably absent every time Rain was around before he reached adulthood and could control his shifting better.”

“I don’t regret a single minute of it. He came in, and I walked out the back door.” Alchan shook his head. “I didn’t want to get close to him, then send his father to die and have to deal with that. Luykas handles that better than I do. And children in general?” The face Alchan made was almost funny.

“It’s not so bad,” Zayden said, shrugging. “You know, duty and all that. You lead everyone. You see things on the large scale. If five Andinna died today, but we could safely accept five hundred Andinna because of it, you did well. Fatherhood? There’s only one thing that matters. Just one. You would do anything to protect it, anything to keep it happy and healthy. It’s very…”

“I understand,” Alchan whispered. “You don’t need to explain it to me.”

“Are you sure?” Zayden shrugged and looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Alchan said honestly, also taking a moment to realize they were on an empty street. There was fighting on other streets, but it was obvious the Andinna were winning. By the battle cries echoing off the buildings, it was so very obvious.

A woman screamed. Zayden and Alchan turned to it.

“Was that from inside a building?” Alchan demanded.

“I think so,” Zayden said, his heart pounding. “Do you think someone—”

“Move.” Alchan started running before Zayden this time, following the screaming woman, who sounded terrified.

“LET ME GO!”

Alchan and Zayden found a building where the door had been kicked in. Was some idiot Andinna riding the bloodthirst and killing everyone? Or doing something maybe a bit worse?

Alchan ran into the room first, Zayden behind him. They hauled ass up the stairs to try to find the woman screaming. There was a door open at the back of the second-floor hall, and Alchan beat him there.

Zayden didn’t understand what he was seeing when Alchan stopped and looked down.

“No!” he roared, trying to pull Alchan back.

“Die, Andinna monsters!” an Elvasi man screamed, his sword bloody. Zayden roared and attacked, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see how bad Alchan’s injuries were until he cleared the building. He killed the first one before anyone could try to stop him. Once he was in the room, he realized the Elvasi had laid a small trap. There was no way it could have been for Alchan and him specifically. It was probably for any Andinna, trying to get some kills in as the Elvasi lost the city. Maybe they thought the Andinna would come to ravage the woman.

It didn’t matter.

They’d stabbed his king.

He stood over Alchan’s body in the door and defended his charge, angry with the Elvasi, angry with himself. If Alchan died, he was going to meet the sea. He would never be able to live with himself for letting the last member of their royal family die. Rain would understand. They all would.

He roared as he blocked swing after swing, keeping Alchan’s prone body safe.

“Move,” Alchan growled. “Move, I can fight. I’ll be fine!”

Zayden snarled back but stepped clear of Alchan, shouldering an Elvasi soldier away from them. There were too many for such a small room. Several piled on top of him as he tried to fight. Their attacks weren’t effective, small cuts all over him, and he swung into as many of them as he could. A blade sank into his shoulder. He felt a sword hit his tail once, then again. Alchan pulled one of the Elvasi away from him, and Zayden finally had the room to work. He killed another, then another. Whatever the hell had been happening here was over. He was going to see all of them dead.

Pain lanced through him from his tail again, and he screamed, stabbing a soldier in the gut as he fell and landed on the body. Alchan roared over him, chopping off someone’s head.

Finally, the only thing left in the room was a crying Elvasi woman and them.

Alchan showed no mercy now, limping toward her. She fell and bowed low.

“Please! Mercy! They said they would help me escape the city! They needed a hostage!”

“Pity,” Alchan whispered, then chopped her head off. When he turned back to Zayden, Zayden could see the large blood stain beginning to cover the white dragon on Alchan’s black armor. Then his vision doubled. He didn’t understand why. He’d only been hit a few times, but it shouldn’t have been a problem. All of his injuries were minor, or at least he thought they were.

“Zayden, don’t move,” Alchan whispered, limping back to him. “This will hurt, and there’s no way to fix it.”

“Fix what?” Zayden said, surprised at the way his words slurred. Alchan picked something up and showed him.

A length of black Andinna tail, bleeding. It had to be over a third of someone’s tail. Zayden panted, his head feeling light. He tried to stand up, and something felt off. Alchan caught him and grunted.

“Easy,” the king whispered. “You’re missing part of your balance.”

“What?”

“Zayden…that’s your tail,” Alchan explained. Zayden looked up and saw only the truth on Alchan’s face. He looked back, grunting in pain as he moved the end of his tail to where he could see it. Two thirds of the way down, there was a rapidly bleeding stump. No wonder he was getting lightheaded. He was bleeding out.

“How?”

“One of them aimed for it,” Alchan continued to explain. “I saw it as you were moving to let me up. You moved into the circle of them. He had a clear shot and got a few good hacks on it. Don’t move. Get down. I have to find a way to stop the bleeding.”

“Tie…tie it off,” Zayden whispered, staggering as he hit the wall with his shoulder. “Any…any healers around? Maybe—”

“We don’t have healers this powerful anymore. They all died during the war. There’s a few in training, but we won’t get to them in time for them to even consider attempting it,” Alchan said, his voice taut. “Zayden, we can’t fix it. I just need to make sure you don’t bleed out.”

“And you?” Zayden remembered his king was injured. What about him? Was he going to bleed out?

“It’s bleeding, but it’s not like I lost a limb,” Alchan said, but Zayden, even with double vision from blood loss, could see Alchan was pale. Alchan pulled off his own sword belt and wrapped it around Zayden’s tail further up from the part where it had been amputated. He tightened until Zayden roared in pain. “That should stop the bleeding. Let me try to bandage mine up, and we’ll get out of here. I promise. We’re going to live today.”

“I won’t be able to fly,” Zayden whispered.

“Not right now, no,” Alchan agreed. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the streets, and other Andinna will help us. We were stupid to come in here.”

“We were trying to help her…” Zayden hated that trying to help someone had turned out this way.

“Yeah.”

He was fading. Alchan was doing something, then suddenly, Zayden was on his feet, one of his arms over Alchan’s shoulder. He tried to walk on his own, but his head was too light, and his balance was off.

It was funny. Andinna tails were generally ignored. Couples used them to hold ‘hands’ like humans did. They had some small uses to mess with people, but it was considered inappropriate to touch someone’s tail without permission. Where it really came in handy was helping the Andinna find balance. The large wings on their backs were heavy, and the tail helped them maneuver without falling over. Or so Zayden was beginning to realize as his tail tried to help him balance the way it naturally did, and it wasn’t working.

If walking with help was going to be this hard, he could only imagine flying. The tail was incredibly important in the sky as their rudder, their guide. It helped them stay in the air and in control.

“Alchan…” Zayden mumbled. “You take care of my son.”

“You’re not going to die,” Alchan promised him.

They both knew it was a very real possibility that he would.

“Andinna! I need an Andinna warrior!” Alchan roared once they stumbled outside. “Your king needs you! We have a male down!”

41

Rainev

Rainev flew fast over the city, keeping his eyes trained on the water, the port. From a distance, he couldn’t get a good idea of how many ships were there, but as he made it to the water’s edge, he was pleased.

For a long time, Kerit was the hub of the Empire’s effort to take Anden. Between Leria’s community and the harshness of Anden, the Empire never got much further. Bryn’s reports had made it very clear. Kerit was the biggest population of Empire citizens in the region and wouldn’t be hard to take. Some soldiers, hunters, and people tried to live in homesteads and began farming the land to support themselves. That was all there was.

So, there were only seven ships in the port.

He swooped low to the water, letting his tail skim it as he dove between them. Three were still tied to piers, and the other four were still trying to get their sails up, scrambling to get away from the city.

Yenni flew fast behind him, unable to keep up, but she led the females. He made a wide, swooping arc around the bay and breathed fire over the water—hopefully, a clear warning for the sailors and soldiers trying to run.

“Get down!” someone screamed on a ship as he passed. He cut it close, causing a disturbance in the water to knock the boat around.

What really made him happy was none of the ships were outfitted yet. Shadra hadn’t gotten the chance to properly send reinforcements to Kerit, and the Andinna were attacking it before she could. This wasn’t a naval fleet. These were supply ships and merchant ships, there to unload goods for those who lived in the region and take back things to sell in Ellantia or maybe all the way south to Myrsten.

He knew, without a doubt, they were going to take the ships. He knew without a doubt, they were going to take Kerit.

By the time he was doing his second lap around the ships, Yenni and the females were descending on the first two boats. He hadn’t realized he was so much faster over the open water, where the winds were less forgiving. His powerful wings had him back to her and her unit while they screamed orders on the ships, telling everyone to go on their knees. Anyone who tried to fight was killed without mercy. He saw one female go down, stabbed, and sent over the edge of the ship. Rain roared above them, causing the Empire citizens to scream, startling many of them long enough for the females to quickly subdue them.

As the females finished with those first two ships, Rain flew to the next one, swooping in like a giant bird of prey. He plucked two sailors off the deck and tossed them into the ocean. He wasn’t interested in eating them, just killing them, a warning to the rest that defiance would get them all killed, and there would be nothing they could do about it.

He tormented them further by blowing fire around their ship as the females landed on it. The other two ships were cleared, everyone was forced off them, so it was time to move on. Yenni and her females were efficient.

He moved on, looking off to the ships further out. One of them was finally getting its sails up, trying to catch the wind. He saw them flap before going taut as the wind caught them. Sailors on the deck screamed at each other as Rain made for them, grabbing hold of the mainsail and ripping it off.

With some annoyance, he fought to get it off his face as he flew away with it. He did a flip, shaking it away and let it fall into the saltwater below, useless to anyone. Diving back toward the water, he took the smaller sail next, leaving the ship dead in the water. It would have to be pulled to a pier and repaired.

On the other ships, he watched as sailors gave up before the Andinna got to them. They sat on the decks, seeing how Yenni and Rain weren’t slaughtering them. Some got into lifeboats and waited away from main ships, letting the females check them for weapons before moving on.

Rain was proud. They were going to make it away with six working ships and one in need of some minor repairs. A sail or two wasn’t a difficult thing.

When something whizzed by him, Rain realized he wasn’t in the clear.

Turning for the shore, he tried to figure out who had fired the large bolt at him, knowing by the sound exactly what it was. Traditionally, the Elvasi used it to hunt wyverns. More recently, ships were being equipped with them just to deal with Rain after the mess he made in Myrsten. Of course there would be one in Kerit, ready for use by the hunters who came into Anden looking for big game.

He roared and flew for the shore, hunting down the one who tried to take him out of the sky. He remembered the sting of those bolts as they tore through his wings until he couldn’t fly anymore. He wasn’t going to be brought down in Kerit. That wasn’t going to happen. Alchan would kill him.

And I’d let him, honestly. I should have cleared the shores of these before I went for the ships. Stupid move on my part.

He found an Elvasi wearing simple leather armor on the shoreline. He didn’t seem scared but excited as he tried to aim a second bolt at Rain. This man hunted wyverns, but he didn’t know what he was really signing up for with Rain.

“Come on, you stupid beast! Come at me!” the hunter yelled, laughing. Rain knew what he was doing, trying to get a wild wyvern’s attention because it was easy to hit a wyvern coming straight for you. The secret was to hit the wyvern before you were in fire range.

But this hunter had no idea who Rain was.

He was going to learn today.

Rain snarled as he landed and shifted in a blink. He ended up behind the hunter, grinning viciously as the hunter spun in shock.

“Stupid beast?” Rain asked softly. “Draw your sword.”

“What? Are you one of those freaks from Zira?” the hunter asked, stepping back into the giant weapon.

“Half of one.” Rain’s tail flicked in the air, his wings opening and shutting in irritation and excitement. He was naked, but it didn’t matter. He was going to get his fight today. “But the rest of me is Andinna.”

The hunter drew a short sword and attacked. Rain grabbed his wrist and twisted, making him drop it. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the hunter’s short sword and stabbed him deep in his gut.

“That’s for hunting my kind,” Rain growled. “Your time in Anden is over.” He twisted the blade and pulled, letting the hunter drop, bleeding to death on the stone. Rain threw the sword to the side and shifted back into his wyvern form, growling in pleasure as he reached down and ate the hunter before he was completely dead.

That’s going to get me sick…oh, well.

With a single swipe of his tail, he destroyed the weapon, then prowled the equipment around the pier, destroying six more before he was done. He jumped into the air just in time to see Yenni finish securing the last ship, the one he destroyed the sails on. He landed gently on the deck, standing over the prisoners. He couldn’t shift back after eating what he had, so he opened his mouth and spat up the destroyed body of the hunter.

“Really?” Yenni asked him, looking down at it in disgust. He shifted into his Andinna form and smiled.

“It was going to make me sick,” he explained. She was taller, much taller, but the appreciative light that came in her eyes as she looked at him made him want to blush. “No, thank you,” he said quickly.

“Bedin?” she asked.

He nodded, then waved a hand over the sailors. “What do you want to do with them?”

“We have to stay with the ships, but maybe you can go and help those in the city. We don’t need you from here. Good job, mutt.”

“Nemari,” Rain reminded her. “My title is higher than yours, Captain.”

She inclined her head respectfully. She was more dominant, but his title as nemari to the King granted him a safe place toward the top of the food chain, even if he didn’t naturally belong there. He used it as a protection and realized why Alchan had placed him with the females or rather, placed the females with him.

They weren’t possible threats to him in any way. Once they knew he didn’t want them, they dismissed him and only saw his rank, and his rank was above them.

Damn that male. He thinks he’s such a bad fucking king, and he does something like this. I’m going to have a word with him once this is over.

He smiled to himself, thinking about what a world with Alchan was going to be like after everything. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thoughts. He was in the middle of a battle. Daydreaming about the muscular, tall, handsome king wasn’t something he should have time for.

“You know how to find me if you need me,” Rain said quickly. Jumping up, he shifted in the air once he was high enough to not fall back into the boat. He made his way for the city, hoping everyone else was having as easy a time. The females whooped at the sight of him flying toward the city, and he did a spin in the air for them, feeling confident, something he had been sorely missing since the damage he took in Ellantia. This was the first time he was spending time in wyvern form since he had shifted back, battered and broken from the mission. Alchan didn’t talk about it, but Rain knew he felt bad about it, and every time he got the chance, he sat Rain down for healing.

The reason Rain hadn’t shifted wasn’t because he didn’t heal fast enough. He’d been shaken. The ships and the gryphon riders had taken him out of the sky, something he never would have thought possible. Now, he knew it was.

Rain flew over the city and looked down on the fighting. Andinna were flooding the streets, overwhelming the crowds. Civilians stayed inside.

Rain snarled as he watched one Andinna warrior grab a woman and pull her out into the streets. Alchan had told them not to do this, and Rain was going to put a stop to it.

He landed with a massive thud in the narrow street and growled viciously over the woman’s head at the warrior.

The warrior let her go and backed away quickly. Others looked up at him, and Empire soldiers dropped their weapons, thinking Rain was there to kill them.

Nothing needed to be said. The woman ran back inside, and Rain waited to hear her bolt the door. Then he snarled in the face of the Andinna.

“I’m sorry!” the warrior cried. “I’m sorry!”

Rain turned away from him and started walking down the road. Kerit wasn’t the largest city imaginable, but it had winding roads and hundreds of alleyways. He could take days mapping them all out to learn where he needed to go, and he was looking for only one person.

Where was his king?

42

Mave

Mave followed Nevyn down the narrow staircase, noticing the walls were earthy dirt. Trying not to hyperventilate was her first priority. She took controlled breaths and reminded herself going down like this wasn’t the end of the world. She wasn’t walking into the pits. She was taking Kerit with the Andinna. She was winning. This was something she could survive, and it wasn’t the long, dreadful life she had once led.

Luykas’ tail was hooked with hers, and she knew he was picking up on all of her anxiety, all of her fear and worry. She had survived this before. She would survive it again.

As they descended, she felt waves of reassurance and calm from him. He was there for her. He would always be there for her. So would Matesh and Brynec. None of them would abandon her to a place like this. Not today, not tomorrow, not in the thousands of years they were going to share their lives together.

They finally reached a level hallway at the bottom of the terrifying stairs, but Mave still couldn’t breathe easy. The walls were still only dirt, and the doors were wooden and undecorated. It reminded her of the hallway she had lived in as the Champion of the Colosseum.

There were no soldiers in sight, which bothered her. Nevyn lifted a hand, motioning for silence. The hallway was tight for Andinna standards, only letting one of them walk comfortably at a time down the hall. It left them strangely vulnerable, unable to watch the doors on both sides at the same time. If she turned right, her left side was open to anyone who might be hiding.

Now she understood why they would hide down here and use it to protect the leaders of the city. It was a death trap.

Nevyn pointed to the first door, and Mave nodded. He grabbed the handle and yanked it open. He went in first, and she followed, along with most of the Company, leaving Brynec in the hall to guard.

There was no one in the room. Nevyn bared his teeth at them, obviously frustrated with the turn of events. There were several doors, though. Who knew if they might be hiding behind another?

They left the room, Nevyn taking point again. They slowly opened and entered several rooms until Nevyn held up a hand for them to stop. He leaned toward a door and nodded, grinning. She stepped closer, listening as well.

“Are they done up there? Our soldiers are well trained. Shadra’s intel said Alchan couldn’t possibly have the numbers to take the city. Between the Andinna he had and the ones he’s freed, there’s no way. That roaring had to be intimidation. Showing off to scare most of us here. Based on her advisors’ evidence, we have nothing to fear.”

“Aren’t they going to try to get us to the ships? Commander, you said the soldiers would come get us and get us onto ships to leave.”

“Once they’ve established the threat has been neutralized or pushed back, so we have safe passage,” someone said, obviously annoyed with the questions. “I don’t think any of you are taking this seriously enough.”

“Excuse me, Commander?”

“Lord, excuse me, but did you fight in the War? Have you gone through extensive training to understand the Andinna threat or battled them before?”

“No.”

“Then you wouldn’t know anything. Alchan is a smart military commander, the king of the Andinna, and the legacy of two noble houses. He is a queen’s grandson. He fought on the front line of the War every year, day in and day out. We could never defeat him or his half-brother, the white-winged mutt. He was trained personally alongside his brother by General Javon Lorren, who reported directly to the queen. He would never attack Kerit without enough Andinna to take it and defend it afterward. He’s not a fool. He doesn’t need intimidation games. If he thinks he can take this city, he will. If he thought he would fail, he would have never shown up.”

Mave grinned. Nevyn was making them wait to get information and what interesting information it was. She hadn’t really let it sink in that Luykas and Alchan had been notable names during the War. The commander, whoever he was, had a lot of respect and fear for the royal brothers.

“Weren’t you a captain during the War?” a female asked.

“I was. I saw them personally several times during the War. I only took leave around year seventy-five. I was tired and needed to let an injury heal. The Andinna are ferocious, but they aren’t genuinely trying to scare us. That’s just the way they are when they’re free to do as their gods intended.”

“Do you think we’ll make it out alive?” someone asked in a small, terrified voice.

Nevyn pulled the door open.

“Well, that depends on how foolish you are,” he said in Elvasi. Several of them screamed, and a few drew swords. “I would put those away,” Nevyn said softly, a smile in his voice. Mave followed in behind him. Luykas and Varon came next, Varon moving to stand behind Nevyn. Mat and Bryn finished filling the room.

“I don’t think they want to talk to you,” Mave said as none of the Elvasi said anything. Some of them must have recognized her accent, realizing it wasn’t natural to Andinna, but rather a product of a place far away. She turned to them, smiling. “Who is the commander here?”

“I am. My name is Rafer,” a man said, stepping forward bravely. “Execute me and let the others go. Many of them are nobles just here on vacation, wanting to see the land.”

“Who is the Elvasi Lord or Lady of Anden?” she asked, her hand going to her sword’s pommel.

“I am,” a woman said softly. “Um, I’m Lady Chantilly. W-W-Who are you?”

“My name is Mave Lorren, King’s Champion. We’re the Ivory Shadow Mercenary Company, the royal guard of King Alchan Andini of the Andinna,” she answered. “You would maybe know me as the Champion of the Colosseum.”

Someone whimpered.

“We’re here to take you prisoner. You’ll give our king any information he demands, and if he’s satisfied, he’ll send you back to the Empire with the civilians. Anden belongs to the Andinna, and we’re here to take it back,” Luykas said boldly, stepping around her. “Commander, you fought in the war, did you?”

“Luykas Andini, the bastard,” the Commander said, lowering his sword slowly.

“I’m not a bastard,” Luykas said patiently. “I know exactly who both of my parents are, and marriage is different in our culture than it is for the Elvasi.”

“You’re a bastard by our standards, and you are half-Elvasi,” the commander said, glaring.

“Ah, well, fine then. I’m not here to argue with you. My brother wants to see all of you. We can wait a moment, though. Our war group is probably still cleaning up the streets.”

“You know you’re offering a fool’s bargain, right? If we accept and give over information, Shadra will have us killed if she finds out. If we don’t, you kill us.” Rafer was pissed.

Mave didn’t like the look on his face, but his hold on his sword was loose, and its tip was touching the floor. Luykas stepped closer to him, making Mave’s pulse jump. She didn’t trust the signs the commander was putting out.

“Yeah, they’re pretty bad,” Luykas agreed. “You never know, Alchan might be feeling merciful and just kill you after you give him the information he needs.”

The commander roared, lifting his sword, and Mave jumped forward, drawing her blades again.

She didn’t make it in time, but she didn’t need to. Luykas had his sword out and sidestepped the attack while everyone around him screamed in terror. None of the Company followed her, and she realized she was the one being foolish.

Luykas had planned to be attacked. When it came to the prisoners of war, he was in charge. He wanted this.

Luykas easily gutted the man, letting him fall and bleed on the floor.

“You’re right,” Luykas whispered, kneeling down to the commander so the dying man could hear him. “My brother and I don’t pick battles we know we can’t win. Do you really think I was stupid enough to think you weren’t going to attack me at some point?” Luykas stood up again and looked at the others. “You will rise, leaving any weapons on the floor. You will turn to the walls with your hands up where we can see them.”

The scared lords and ladies did just that, and Mave came forward with a leather strap. She pulled Lady Chantilly’s hands behind her back and tied them quickly. Many of the Company followed suit until all the Elvasi nobility were secured. Luykas led the way out of the dark room and up the stairs. Some of the Elvasi stumbled, many of them cried, but none of them were foolish enough to fight back. The best of them, the commander of their men, had just died in front of them. They knew they had lost.

When they exited the building, Mave caught a glimpse of Rain, who was walking past.

“Rain!” she called.

The blue wyvern turned awkwardly in the street and came toward them, sniffing everyone in the line. He couldn’t speak to them, but she could see frustration in his eyes.

“Where’s Alchan?” she asked.

His big head shook.

“You don’t know?” Luykas demanded.

Rain nodded.

“Fuck.” Luykas looked back at her. “Mave, with me. Everyone else, take the prisoners outside the city to the site where we left the pack animals. Keep them there. Kill anyone who tries to stop you or tries to kill the prisoners.

“Good luck,” Mat whispered to her as he walked by, grabbing the lady’s bonds and relieving Mave of the duty. Bryn kissed her cheek and followed. Varon and Nevyn each had two.

“Rain, send fire into the air when you find him. Mave and I will join the search. He’s probably in some fucking out-of-the-way street, killing something.” Luykas jumped into the air, and Mave followed.

“Is this bad?” she asked. “He had Zayden to protect him.”

“If there’s one thing we can never let happen, it’s him dying on us because he’s wandered off. The fucking idiot.” Luykas seemed annoyed, but not overly worried. “He promised me he would stay with a group and not go off and try to fight the entire damn battle by himself.”

“There’s a chance Rain hasn’t searched every group,” she reminded him. She was probably more worried than Luykas was.

“I know, but I need eyes on my brother. Before I do anything, I need to see him.”

“Of course.”

Scanning the streets below, they hoped to see either Zayden or Alchan. They circled and circled the city, hoping to see anyone. Warriors were still fighting in the streets against soldiers, but Mave found there were only pockets of fighting left, and most of the streets were eerily silent. With the civilians hiding inside and the soldiers dying or surrendering, it was ending quickly. She knew taking the city wouldn’t be too difficult with their numbers and would be a devastating blow to Shadra.

“Andinna! I need an Andinna warrior! Your king needs you! We have a male down!”

Mave opened her wings hard, nearly dropping from the air at the distant screaming.

“Luykas,” she gasped. He turned to her wide-eyed, and they waited, hoping Alchan would yell again. She hadn’t caught the direction.

“MALE DOWN!” he roared again. Mave beat her wings hard, cutting through the cold winter air, her heart racing. Rain’s thundering footsteps could be heard heading in the same direction. Luykas was trying to keep up, but her smaller size made her faster.

She landed roughly and gasped, trying to keep her legs moving as she saw them.

They each had small injuries, but none of that worried her. Alchan was pale and washed out, red staining the entire white dragon on his armor.

There was no missing the state of Zayden’s tail.

Luykas moved faster, helping his brother.

“Mave, you get Zayden,” he said urgently. Rain’s thunderous footsteps stopped, and suddenly, there was a naked Andinna with deep blue wings. Mave watched as Rain had to decide.

Alchan made the choice for him.

“Help Mave with your father,” he ordered softly. “Now.”

Rain nodded, and Mave finally got the courage to step forward as Rain moved to his baba. Mave helped him keep his father standing as Luykas took on Alchan’s weight. Zayden groaned, and Mave realized he was going to pass out any moment.

“Rain, you need to shift back and carry them. Where are our healers?”

“We have three, and they’re with our pack animals outside the city,” Luykas explained quickly. Rain seemed unsure of whether to let his father go. Other Andinna began to run on the street, hearing Alchan’s call. Rain shifted, and many of them jumped back. He lowered awkwardly. Luykas helped Alchan on his back first, then helped Mave with the bulky Zayden. They wrapped Zayden’s arms around Alchan, who nodded weakly.

“Fly,” Luykas ordered. “And brother, you better have an explanation for this.”

“Will,” the king mumbled. Rain took to the air before anyone else could speak. Mave and Luykas looked around and saw the Andinna watching them.

“Get back to it!” Luykas roared. “The city is nearly clear. Begin knocking on doors and telling civilians they’ll leave for the Empire tonight and to start packing their shit.”

“Yes, sir!” the Andinna roared back and ran. Some took off into the air, maybe to report this back to other Andinna.

Mave shot a look at Luykas, then took off, heading after Rain. He followed her, and they landed at the same time in the midst of pack animals. Only one tent was set up, and Mave knew that would be where the healers had decided to stay. They had three Blackbloods from Leria who specialized in healing.

“We…we forgot his tail. Maybe they can fix it. We have to get it,” Mave whispered, turning. Luykas grabbed her.

“None of these healers know how to do it,” he told her sadly. “He’s going to have to survive it and learn to do without.”

“How is he going to fly?” she asked, letting him lead her into the tent.

“Practicing. It’s not impossible, just a chore. He just needs to learn what his new balance will be. He’ll take a couple of falls. Even walking is going to be a little hard for a couple of weeks.”

“You…you sound like you’ve seen this before.”

“You haven’t?” He frowned at her, and neither of them dared to look in the direction of the healers, now busily tending Alchan and Zayden.

“I saw a lot of Andinna die of blood loss thanks to losing their tails,” she answered. “No one ever had the chance to survive it.”

“Ah…it’s possible to survive. Actually, most Andinna do fairly well in comparison to losing their sword arm. I saw everything during the War. Some soldiers realize the tail can be an easy target sometimes, and an Andinna will bleed out from it.”

“We did the same thing in the pits,” she admitted softly.

“It is what it is. Zayden isn’t the first and won’t be the last. He’ll be fighting again by the end of winter, I promise.”

She nodded and sighed.

“We’ve won, haven’t we?”

“We’ve won,” he agreed. “We did it. Kerit is ours.”

He finally looked at the healers. Her gaze followed, and they both saw Rain standing between Alchan and Zayden, not moving, not saying anything. He was just standing there.

“Healer, is the king going to live?” Luykas asked, not commenting on Rain.

“Forgive me for saying it, but he was stupid. He’ll live, but please make sure he knows he was stupid. He was in a healing sleep by the time he got here,” the healer answered, looking up angrily. “He took several shallow injuries, which wouldn’t have been a problem, though a few would have scarred. He could have battled with those just fine, even if he shouldn’t have. No, he took a bad hit and decided to keep fighting, slowly bleeding out. He’s going to need to rest probably until tomorrow morning, which means you and the Champion are going to have to handle things. I won’t allow anyone to wake him.”

“Of course,” Luykas muttered, groaning. “What about long-term recovery?”

“Ten days. The deep wound will need time, the shallow ones won’t. It tore up muscle in his abdomen and nicked something inside him.”

“Fuck. And Zayden?” Luykas nodded to their friend. Mave’s heart clenched. She had seen so many warriors die after losing their tails, bleeding out on the sands as they tried to survive.

“I wish I was skilled enough to fix it,” the healer over Zayden said sadly. “I’m sorry none of us are powerful enough.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it. Healing with blood magic is tricky enough,” Luykas said gently. Mave wanted to strangle people, but she knew better than to hurt healers.

“Why?” she asked. “We can do it to ourselves.”

“Exactly. Most blood magic is done on ourselves. It’s the easiest to control and maintain. What we do, I can manage because I know your energy levels, because we’re bonded. I’m drawing power from your blood, and I know when you’re weak. Healing with blood magic for most healers is much different. They can’t blood bond everyone. They could easily kill someone or themselves as they have to draw power from both to make it work.” Luykas crossed his arms, staring at Zayden. “He’s strong. He’ll live, right?”

“Oh, he’ll live. He needs even more sleep than the king. Give him two days, and he’ll be awake and ready to move. I recommend two months of therapy to get up and moving and relearning his balance. If it takes longer than that, it’s him stopping himself from succeeding, not the tail.” The healer sighed. “Now, will you please take the nemari and step outside?”

“Of course,” Luykas agreed. Mave was the one who moved forward and gently touched Rain’s shoulder.

“We have to get out of their way,” she whispered to her little brother. “Come outside.”

“Both of them. They both…” Rain growled. “Stupid males. Damn father. Fucking Alchan. Both of them.”

“Stupid males, indeed,” she said, smiling just a little. They were both going to live. That was all that mattered.

He let her walk him outside while Luykas held the tent flap open for them. Once outside, Mave looked at Kerit. More injured were coming, but it didn’t seem bad. Alchan and Zayden would live, even if Zayden was leaving the battlefield less than he was when he went onto it.

Such was the risk of battle.

“We’ve taken Kerit,” she said. “We did it.”

“And in less than a week, all the Elvasi will be gone, and Sen will be on his way to Olost,” Luykas said, nodding.

Coming out of the city’s front gate was the Company with the prisoners. Mave waved down to them, and Mat waved back.

43

Mave

Three days in Kerit flew by before Mave could really get a grip on it. Things were moving too fast for her. She had never done anything quite like this before. Alchan woke up in a fit the night after the battle, pissed off and scared for Zayden, looking for the male they had assigned as his guard. Once he knew Zayden was just in a deep healing sleep, he jumped into work. Mave and Luykas had been unable to stop him.

Rain, however, did so quite effectively. It had been a sight to see the small mutt yelling at Alchan in front of so many warriors, telling him he was an idiot who needed to get back in bed and heal because no one wanted a king who was going to fall over.

Alchan had listened, for a time, until Rain apparently fell asleep at his father’s bedside. Mave remembered catching him sneaking out and getting to work anyway.

That was two days ago. Zayden woke up the next day and was currently sitting at her table in Kerit, looking tired and in pain. His facial expression had barely changed since he’d woken up.

“Eat something,” she ordered with a snap of her teeth.

He grumbled and pulled the loaf of bread and stew closer. She was on Zayden-watching duty. It was terrible but also not at the same time. He listened to orders, did as she asked, and was generally himself. But it was Zayden, who had just been severely injured. He was a cranky piece of shit.

“Fine,” he growled. “Why are you even here?”

“The healers said you would need some help walking for a couple of days,” she reminded him. “Maybe even a couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, but why you?” he demanded, turning to look at her.

“Mat and Kian are helping the effort to load up the rest of the Empire civilians in Kerit onto ships to leave at sunset. Bryn is with Nevyn and Varon, collecting some remaining farmers and having them spread word to any farmsteads further out that Empire civilians can leave Anden freely with their belongings, but they can’t stay, or they’ll be killed. Rain is with Alchan because it’s his job. You’ve been left with me because Luykas is also with Alchan, writing a letter to Shadra that Lady Chantilly needs to pass along when she leaves tonight.” She didn’t know how to feel about that last one. She had been in talks with Alchan and Luykas the night before and knew what they were going to say officially. She didn’t know if she agreed with it.

“What’s the official ruling from Alchan?” Zayden asked, curious. He wasn’t the first to ask. She and Luykas had already been asked by Mat and Bryn and told them. She was positive someone had told Kian, Nevyn, and Varon. Only Zayden was out of the loop.

“Alchan is suing for peace. If she agrees to let him take Anden and free the Andinna from the Empire, there doesn’t have to be a rebellion or another war,” she said, moving to sit down at the table with him.

“We all know that’s not going to work,” Zayden grumbled, stirring the stew with his spoon.

“We do, but he has to try. He has to seem like the better ruler.”

“The Empire is too dependent on Andinna slavery,” Zayden said, almost mumbling to himself.

“We know that, too,” she reminded him.

“But he has to try,” Zayden whispered, leaning over and letting his head hit the table. “It’s stupid.”

“I agree,” she said with a dry chuckle. “This is why we don’t rule.”

“Yeah. What would you say?”

“What?”

“What would you say to Shadra?” He looked up to her, frowning. “You know her better than anyone here.”

Not quite. I think Luykas has me beat there.

“I don’t know.” The thought struck her, though, and she knew it was going to stick with her now. “I would…tell her…” Mave shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Ah well, I tried,” he mumbled.

“Tried what?” Mave was frowning now.

“To talk to you. Get on and leave me to my food.” He waved the spoon at her, and she laughed, getting up to let him have his peace.

“I’ll take a walk around the neighborhood and be back,” she promised. He shrugged in response.

Stepping out of the small stone house, she found herself on a side street. The first thing the Company did was find homes for everyone, moving Empire civilians closer to the port in temporary residences, so the Andinna could live in homes that had once belonged to them. She didn’t know if Nevyn went to find his childhood home, but she didn’t want to bother him about it either. It had to be hard to see one’s home overrun with outsiders and have to fight to take it back. The warrior was surprisingly close-lipped about it, and she didn’t feel like she could be the one who pried.

There were only Andinna on the street wandering around, none she knew but were staying in homes near her. They talked and laughed, and the city felt alive in its own way. The architecture fit around them, not seeming imposing like it did when Elvasi and humans were on the streets. It felt right.

“Hey, Champion! Do you need anything?” a male called from his door.

“No, thank you,” she answered, smiling. What an odd feeling. She spent years scared of males just like him, ready to fight or run, kill, or be killed. He had an open, friendly face, pleased with their victory and happy to have a home, even if it would only last a couple of weeks at the most.

The Empire had made very few changes to Kerit. It was built by Andinna, and thanks to its nature as a trade city, no one had to sink much money into it. Some things were gone, like rooftop landings for Andinna, but Mave had a feeling those would begin to show back up before she left for home again. She enjoyed the mountains and had no intention of staying in Kerit.

Would Nevyn want to stay? Has anyone asked him?

She put the thought aside. It would come up soon enough, and if no one ended up asking him, she would. If this was his home, he deserved to stay and do Company business here, right? Would they be able to manage things in the Spine without him?

She rounded a corner and waved at Andinna, who were happy to see her. Some were carrying packs of supplies, like wheat. There was one butchering a farm animal outside her home.

“Champion! Fresh kill! Come here and take some home for your family.” The female grinned, lifting a hefty leg. “One of your males will know what to do with it.”

Mave laughed and tried to decline, but the female dumped it into her arms anyway.

“Please,” the female said softly. “Our king is a good one, but it’s good to see a female still up at the top too. One day, he’ll have a daughter, and things will go back to normal, but until then, we have you.”

Mave nodded, unable to speak. She had heard the sentiment before, but at that moment, it felt like it hit home in a new way.

“Have a nice day,” the female told her.

“What’s your name?” Mave finally asked.

“Diedra,” she answered, the smile not fading.

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you. Thank you. I’ll make sure my males know, and I’m sure they’ll make good use of it.”

Mave continued her walk, sighing as she had to turn around to take the leg home. She was nearly at the door when she finally had an answer to Zayden’s question. When she got inside, she dropped the leg onto the table, scaring him.

“This was given to me. Make sure one of my males sees it. I don’t know if Luykas can cook, but he’ll know how to start something, I hope.” She sighed and looked at him as he stared wide-eyed at the leg.

“I know what I would say.” That made him look up.

“Yeah?” Zayden leaned back in his chair. “Do you?”

“I do,” she said and went to her room. Somewhere, they had some bone pens and ink tucked away.

She knew exactly what she wanted to say, and she intended to say it.

* * *

Mave burst into the meeting room they had claimed to find Alchan and Luykas. In her hand was a neatly folded piece of parchment. She was lucky that Luykas had some, which she had stolen from him.

“Mave? Is something wrong?” Luykas asked, frowning at her. “I felt you coming, but no one has brought us—”

“I need this sealed and sent with the letter to Shadra,” she said, holding out her parchment. Luykas took it slowly. “I don’t want either of you reading it. It’s for her eyes only.”

“Why?” he asked softly. When he looked up, she didn’t know what emotions were tumbling around behind his gold eyes. She knew all she had to do was touch him, but she didn’t, not yet.

“I had things I wanted to say to her that didn’t need to go in official correspondence between rulers,” Mave answered honestly. “I have a thousand years of history with her, Luykas. This might be the only chance I ever get to say what I need to say.”

He nodded slowly. “I understand. I’ll seal it with my blood. It’s safer than sealing it with yours or Alchan’s.” He looked at the folded letter again and back at her. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He took it to the large table and cut his thumb open, pressing it to the fold like one would do with wax. She watched the blood well up and turn black, then become hard. It didn’t soak into the paper, becoming like wax itself. “It’s sealed. No one should open it until it gets to her.”

“Are you sure?” Mave asked.

“No one wants to have Shadra kill them for breaking this seal. She’ll know it’s my blood and kill anyone for reading messages I send her. I’ve sealed everything we’re sending her. I can’t trust her with Alchan’s blood.”

“She should have some of mine, though,” Mave reminded him. Certainly, there was some point in her life when Shadra had gotten ahold of her blood.

“She probably used all of it trying to claim your mind when we were freeing you,” Luykas said, swallowing on something. “I won’t allow her to have more.”

“But she can have yours?”

“She and I are already connected. She doesn’t need mine,” he reminded her. “She can’t get to you or Alchan through me, or she’s never found a way before. Mave, what did you say?”

“Nothing terrible. Nothing that goes against what Alchan has decided to say to her.” Mave made sure to word everything very carefully. “Did you write her anything? She’s…”

“No. There’s nothing more for us to say to each other except taunting insults that would get us nowhere. You don’t want me pissing her off more than I already have. You two might not upset her as much,” Luykas smiled sadly. “You know, there was a time when she wasn’t so bad. Of course, she was already plotting her takeover of the Empire, and her manipulation of Behron to crush the Andinna as her claim to power and secure her place in history, but…”

“She was decent to you?” Mave asked softly. Alchan stood silently to the side, and Mave continued to try to ignore him as she reached for Luykas’ face. Gently, she touched her new lover’s face and felt the swirling, complicated mix of love and hate he had for his mother. The love was old, buried under a mountain of pain from her betrayals. Once, he had looked at his mother and loved her. Now, he was ready to be done with it all. He loved his life in Anden, loved his life with the Andinna family he had found, and the culture he had to learn just the same as Mave did. But his mother had been his teacher and had always put on her best face for him.

“She was decent until the day I left,” Luykas answered, leaning into her hand, nuzzling her palm. “Then I learned what a monster she truly was. We all learned.”

“I’m sorry. I wish she had stayed decent if it would save you from the pain,” Mave murmured, going up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

“Sometimes, I wish the same thing,” he said, sighing. “But we’re long past that now. She’s made her decisions, and I’ve made mine. I’m going to free the Andinna because they’re the people I’ve always felt most at home with. Alchan has his issues, but he’s been a better brother to me than she ever was a mother. This is my home.”

“It is,” she agreed. He was colored by an Elvasi upbringing. He knew things no Andinna would ever know, but he was Andinna in his soul. She knew that better than anyone.

Releasing him, she turned to Alchan.

“What’s next, brother?” she asked, raising her chin and looking him in the eye.

Alchan grinned, vicious and triumphant.

“Now, we prepare for the real war, my sister.”

She grinned back. She’d been hoping that was his answer.

44

Shadra

Shadra sat on her throne, unmoving as her generals, admirals, and other advisors stood before her.

“How did this happen?” she demanded softly.

“They had more of a force than we could have ever expected, Your Majesty,” a general said quickly. “We don’t know where they came from, but reports put the Andinna force somewhere around five hundred. That tops even our most generous estimates of their numbers. We thought they had only three hundred Andinna in total, including women and children. This was five hundred warriors, trained, healthy, and ready for battle. In the middle of winter at that. We didn’t expect them to try anything else until spring.”

Her hand curled over her throne as she tried to control the rage inside her. First Elliar, which she was still repairing, then Myrsten, a hit she had to take to keep her people safe, and now Kerit, the only city her people had been able to maintain in Anden.

Alchan was moving fast, and he had allies she didn’t know about. Some in the Empire, which bothered her. She would find the traitors and have their heads for it, eventually.

“Does anyone have any idea if any major breakouts have happened since he took back his fucking pirate?” Shadra demanded.

“None, Your Majesty. We’ve already looked into it as reports of Kerit’s fall came,” one of her noble advisors answered. “We have no idea where he found the extra Andinna. He didn’t bring them with him when he came from Olost.”

“Has any word come?” she asked. “He’ll have sent word.”

“Um…a sorcerer is working on sending them without damaging the seals as we speak.”

“Good. Make sure the Northern Fleet knows I want the Andinna who escaped from Elliar and Myrsten dealt with. Alchan probably took Kerit for them to have a safe harbor. With his pirate back, he’s probably planning on bringing Andinna back from Olost.”

“Should we begin plans on a possible retaking of Kerit?” an admiral asked.

“Yes, but not yet. The Fleets are still weak, and I want to see how the Northern Fleet does against the runaway slaves. Plus, he’s got that…mutt. The blue one, that’s half Ziran.” She tried to remember the little monster’s name. “Rainev. That’s his name. He escaped with my Champion that night. He’s been a problem, and we need another possible solution to him before I’m willing to throw more ships in his path. I can’t believe he’s still alive. You said he went down as they were escaping Ellantia.” Shadra gave a cutting glare to one of her generals.

“That was the report. He had extensive injuries. The fact he survived is nearly a miracle. You’ll be happy to know because of our last run in with him in Ellantia, I’ve been training my gryphon riders to handle beasts like him. They should be ready to face and overwhelm him next time they see each other in battle. If you give me til the spring.”

“Perfect. We might want to see how the gryphons fare on ships. They can help with Kerit if they can take out that damned mutt.” Shadra was glad to hear one of her generals was a step ahead of her. She smiled at him. He was her age and looked good for it, still in his prime. He deserved a reward. “Everyone else is dismissed. You will stay.” She pointed at him. “So we can continue to discuss our future plans for the gryphon riders.”

They all bowed, and he came closer, going to a knee in front of her. His head bowed for a moment, then he looked up.

“Empress,” he murmured, worship in his voice.

“General,” she greeted. They used titles because she liked it. She loved being reminded, even when she bedded someone, she was the most powerful person in the room, in the city, in the Empire, and in the world. “I need a distraction from Kerit and the Andinna. Would you be willing to offer it to me?”

“There’s nothing more we can do tonight on that front. You know I’m always willing to ease your needs, in any way you please,” he said, moving forward, his knees sliding on the marble floor. She knew it was painful for him, but he did it anyway. When he was close enough, he kissed her thigh.

Right at that moment, one of her personal sorcerers ran in.

“Empress, forgive the intrusion. We’ve been able to send the communications from Kerit, and the seals remained unbroken. They are for your eyes only.”

Her general didn’t move. He was the most loyal of them all. He knew what she enjoyed and was willing to give it to her. She wished she had picked him to father her third child instead of Lord Fenoth. She didn’t know if she was willing to go for a fourth possible disappointment, and four children for the Elvasi was nearly unheard of. Even sorcery could fail if she continued to try.

The sorcerer handed her two letters, both with Andinna blood seals. She ran her hand over them, knowing her son’s blood when she felt it. Like could always recognize like. One of the letters had a seal pressed into the blood, and one was just the blood. The seal was a dragon, and she knew it was the official communication. She opened it gently and read the letter, carefully written in three languages, Elvasi, Common, and Andena. Anyone in the Empire would be able to read the letter if she were willing to make it public.

It didn’t surprise her. Alchan asked for freedom and peace. He wanted Anden and wanted his people, with no further aggression from the Empire, and a promise if those two needs were met, there would be no aggression from the Andinna.

Sighing, she put it aside. Her general didn’t reach for it, knowing she would share when she was ready.

The second letter intrigued her. Written in Andena only, it seemed like an inexperienced hand had written it. Like a youth’s writing, unskilled and unpracticed. It needed more refinement. More interestingly was the way the words were put together, like an Elvasi writing in Andena.

Shadra,

Today, I was smiled at by an Andinna standing on the street of Kerit. He waved and asked if I needed anything. Another gave me food for my table, an act of kindness I’ve never been one to receive.

I tell you these things because today, I was asked what I would possibly say to you if I ever had the chance. I spent a thousand years trying not to talk to you. We both probably remember the days passing as you spoke to me, hoping I would break. Hoping one day, I would be yours, through and through. When I finally did ask you one boon, when you had finally broken me, you told me no.

So, what could I possibly say to you now?

Today, I saw free Andinna happy. Happy to see me. Happy to be with each other in a place they had built ages ago. Standing on streets older than any of us will ever be. Today, I kissed all three of my husbands and smiled with them. Matesh, Brynec, and Luykas are their names. Today, I saw the future of the Andinna. A vision of happiness for a warrior people who have known suffering at your hand for a thousand years and more. I saw something worth fighting for.

You’ll try to stop me. You’ll try to destroy everything we’re doing, but I’ll be there at the end, Shadra. Once, I asked you to spare two males I loved. You told me no.

You don’t have that choice anymore.

The Andinna will be free, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Mave Lorren

King’s Champion

Shadra tightened her hand on the letter, crushing it.

“Empress?” Her general rose, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“Get my son,” she hissed.

“And? Should I tell him what you need?”

“Tell him to pack. He’s riding for the Dragon Spine. He’s to take ten thousand of our men and crush them.”

Mave. She had made a weapon of that female. After reading that, Shadra was beginning to understand just how much of one she had accidentally forged.

Bold move, Champion.

Now, let’s see how you do against your nightmares.

Lothen knew how to handle her. Shadra trusted her son to make sure that bitch was well and truly broken this time.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading!

This book takes us past the halfway point for Mave, Alchan, and the rest of the Company. Now, with their eyes on the future, they get to really see this rebellion blossom and the fight against the Empire is only going to get harder. The scale is going to get larger, and we’re in the end game. Freedom for the Andinna or nothing. There’s no going back now. I’m really excited everyone. This is the part of the series I have the most secrets about. Like, Alchan and Rain’s relationship is only the tip of the secret iceberg. There’s much more in store for everyone, Mave included. 3 books worth, actually. Hope everyone is ready.

If you want to read what happens after it fades to black for Alchan and Rainev, you can in my Facebook reader’s group, linked further on. I’ve been planning this couple since I wrote them down in my notes, and their story is also far from over. Angling them to be what the other needs was and is vitally important to future plot points, so I hope you understand as things continue to unfold.

Reviews are always welcome, whether you loved or hated the book. Please consider taking a few moments to leave one and know I appreciate every second of your time and I’m thankful.

And if I still have you…

You can come join me in being a little bit crazy in The Banet Pride, my facebook reader’s group. I have deleted scenes and chapters from different points of view posted for free!

About the Author

KristenBanetAuthor.com

Kristen Banet loves to read books that make people cry. She likes to write books that make people cry (and she wants to hear about it). She’s a firm believer that nothing and no one in this world is perfect, and she enjoys exploring those imperfections—trying to make the characters seem real on the page and not just in her head. Worlds of action, adventure, trying times, and true love are the things that get her writing.

She might be crazy, though. Her characters think so, but this can’t be confirmed. You might want to try asking her husband, two dogs, and cat.

You can join her in being a little bit crazy in The Banet Pride, her facebook reader’s group.

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Also by Kristen Banet

Reverse Harem

Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance

Age of the Andinna

The Gladiator’s Downfall

The Mercenary’s Bounty

The Warrior’s Assault

The Rebel’s Vision

Witch of the Wild West

Bounty Hunters and Black Magic

Werewolves and Wranglers

Complete Series

The Redemption Saga

A Life of Shadows

A Heart of Shame

A Nature of Conflict

An Echo of Darkness

A Night of Redemption

Wild Junction

The Kingson Pride Series

Wild Pride

Wild Fire

Wild Souls

Wild Love

The Wolves of Wild Junction Duet

Prey to the Heart

Heart of the Pack

Also by K.N. Banet

The Tribunal Archives

Urban Fantasy

Jacky Leon

Oath Sworn

Family and Honor

Broken Loyalty

Kaliya Sahni

Bounty

Andena Glossary

Feminine- ‘am’

Amin- Female

Ami- Baby

Amra- Mother

Arra- Mommy/Mom (Informal mother)

Amara- Daughter

Amir- Sister

Amrya- Aunt

Amyra- Neice

Amran- Grandmother

Amanra- Lover/Wife

Masculine- ‘bod’

Bodin- Male

Bodi- Baby

Bodra- Father

Baba- Daddy/Dad (Informal father)

Bodara- Son

Bodyr- Brother

Bodrya- Uncle

Bodyra- Nephew

Bodran- Grandfather

Bodanra- Lover/Husband

Alternative Male and Female

Ahin- A gay female

Ahren- A female that is excessively submissive. Normally isn’t strong enough in personality to attract males.

Ahyara- Committed female-only relationship.

Bedin- A gay male.

Bedru- A male that is excessively dominate and possessive. Normally considered unsuitable to females due to dominance issues.

Bedyara- Committed male-only relationship.

General Terms

Ahea- Hello

Ohea- Goodbye

Al- The

Ut- You

Uta- Them

Et- Me/I

Rai- The term for the Andinna temper. No real translation.

Mativa- A ‘tradition keeper’, or someone, normally female, who passes on important cultural knowledge and leads a community.

Olda- Blood

Oldura- Official Andena word for a ‘Blackblood’. No real translation.

Tatua- The Andinna ‘ink’ normally done by a Blackblood with blood magic.

Mayara- Andinna family unit. The band of males who center on a female to protect serve, and in most cases, love. Generally husbands/lovers, but can also include brothers, fathers, sons, or just close male friends.

Illo- Big, large (Illon- bigger, larger)

Illi- Little, small (Illin- smaller, littler)

Oto- Old (Oton- older)

Oti- Young (Otin- younger)

Ildan- Friend

Ilanra- Beloved

Ildar- Adopted/Adopt/Adoptive in terms of family.

Raki- Mixed blood/mutt.

Ensam- An Andinna without social place. Forced out by the community or by choice.

Mara- Life

Olmara- Birth

Moro- Death

Somaro- Elite warrior

Morok- Classic Andinna curved blade

Svamor- War group of Andinna.

Semara- Soul

Sema- Skies or just the sky.

Sita- Submit/Submissive

Andin- Dragon

Andinno- Wyvern

Vahne- Strong

Nola- King

Lera- Walk (Lerani- run)

Vorha- Mountain

Curses and Sayings

Kak- Shit

Amov/Bodov- Bitch for female and male respectively

Kuk- Ass

Voek- Damn

Linti- Pigeon

Voek al Sema- Damn the Skies

Na al Sema- By the Skies

Skies/Sema- a way Andinna reference their gods without blaspheming. “Damn the Skies.” “By the Skies.”

Anvea et- I’m sorry or ‘forgive me’

Et anvea ut- Apology accepted or ‘I forgive you’