Chapter 6 #2
I meet his gaze across the room and will my voice to be just as strong as his when I say, “So you suggest we throw diplomacy out the window, Your Grace? Clearly, they’re in need and someone is trying to prove a point.
We could work with this competitor to obtain their crown and give them what they need without bloodshed. ”
Kyron steps forward and moves to flank his mother’s chair. He props his wounded arm on the high back with ease, and I’m surprised to see it has already healed. “Blood has already been shed. The shifters killed over three dozen Stigians yesterday. They’re not looking to negotiate with us.”
“Three dozen,” I whisper. The attack was brutal, and Zek said it was quite the fight to regain control. But to hear that they killed so many, it makes me ill.
“Thirty-seven to be exact,” Kyron confirms. “While you were tossing and turning, worrying about those who might be dead, I ventured out to gather their bodies. I scraped their innards from the ground and returned to their families what I could find of them. Pardon me if I don’t believe the Allaji are civilized enough to talk things through. ”
I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes. “Perhaps if the Stigians didn’t flaunt the wealth they possess due to the Cyffreds they hold captive, the Allaji wouldn’t have felt compelled to attack such a lucrative kingdom!”
Kyron clamps his mouth shut and grips the back of his mother’s chair until his knuckles turn white.
My comeback is a cheap shot considering the topic.
It doesn’t matter what brought the Allaji here, the lives they destroyed and future damage they can inflict are what’s important.
But sitting at this table with the Stigian leaders, I can’t help but to remember the hurt they have caused so many.
They may not kill Cyffreds in the street, but they rip away their lives all the same.
My father clears his throat, lowers his gaze, and tilts his head down. It’s the same gesture he does when my siblings and I are getting out of hand and wearing on our mother’s last nerve. Except this time, there’s an approving glint in his eyes.
“Kyron is right. If the Allaji wanted our help, they would have sought a peaceful means. This is war,” Micah says, folding the letter and handing it back to the servant.
The prince slides into the seat next to his mother and leans back in his chair.
I’ve seen this before at the General’s Summit in Lucent.
Military strategy is what he excels in and a topic he knows he can command.
“We need to put forth a united front if this is going to work. They need to believe they’re going against a strong unified army.
Just invoking the slightest doubt in them could be the advantage we need to prevail. ”
“Sounds easy. Perhaps cats and mice will find common ground over cheese,” I mumble.
“You better hope they do, princess, because both of our kingdoms are relying on it.”
I glare at him as he leans back in the obnoxious gilded chair with the ankle of one leg resting on the thigh of the other.
His finger plays with his lip, and a stupid strand of hair brushes his brow, held in place by his fucking crown.
I squeeze my eyes shut, willing my racing heart to slow as a fresh wave of frustration builds inside me.
I roll my wrist with a flourish, mimicking the snobbery of the counsel. “You’re the one with experience as a general. Please enlighten us with one of your strategies. I’m sure it will be just as ingenious as the last one you helped the Lucent army execute.”
One side of Kyron’s lips quirk up, and he cocks an eyebrow. “Lucky for you, things have a way of working out exactly the way I want.”
I scoff and roll my eyes. Why does he have to be so quick-witted and equally handsome? It makes me want to wring his neck.
“You know”—Esmeray leans forward, placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin on the back of her slender fingers—“there is an easier way to prove that our kingdoms are united.” Her onyx gaze darts between Kyron and me, and my heart pounds so loudly that it almost drowns her out when she says, “We could have our heirs marry.”
“I’m already betrothed,” I blurt out.
“Absolutely not,” Micah says, pounding his fist to the tabletop.
My gaze darts to Kyron. He stares at me with his chin resting on his thumb and his index finger stroking his bottom lip.
Gone is the cocky demeanor from moments ago, replaced by what I can only consider calm deliberation.
He can’t honestly be contemplating the absurd notion that we should get married.
We can barely look each other in the face, not to mention that I don’t trust him.
“What better way is there to show an intent to unite our kingdoms than by binding our heirs before the Statera?” Esmeray asks with a wide grin.
The Lucent king shifts in his seat and shakes his head. “We will find another way. Nothing fruitful will come of a marriage between Kyron and Raelle.”
“I disagree,” she says. “If the two wed, they will conceive a child, Statera willing, making one rightful heir to all Pliris. I believe their union would be advantageous to our new unified cause.”
I bite my lip and press my thighs together.
The last thing I want is to bear the Stigian prince’s child, but all the activities that lead up to that point…
I throb with the possibility. How easily my body reacts to him.
It’s proof that I can’t make any sound judgments when he’s close. Our union would be disastrous.
“Although…” Esmeray taps her long red nails on the table. “Pliris already has a legitimate heir with LeFur blood coursing through his veins.”
The Lucent side of the table goes rigid.
There has never been a question that Esmeray would use Kyron’s legitimacy as her son to dismiss my claim to the Lucent crown.
Not only is he the next LeFur in line as the ruler of Stigian, but he’s also the next of kin to Micah.
Taking that into consideration, he could be the one to reunite Pliris.
People would also see him as a powerful ruler with his three gifts.
He is an appealing choice over a Cyffred whose power is artificially gifted to her.
With a snide smile, Esmeray relaxes and sweeps her hand in front of her. “But I suppose the succession of the crown is a discussion for another time.”
Micah’s features soften with dismay. “Perhaps—”
Kyron clears his throat and says, “We can bring our armies together, train them, and face Allaji as one. Our soldiers combined will be nearly unstoppable.”
“I have to side with Raelle on this,” Micah says.
“Our armies have a history of slaughtering one another while fighting for opposing principles. Just last week, your warriors breached our border and burned a village that homed one of our largest wheat fields. My forces reported nine deaths. You can’t expect to place Lucent and Stigian on a battlefield with no contention.
” The king circles his fingers over his temple.
“I don’t see how we can make this work.”
Kyron leans forward and folds his hands atop the table. “Let me lead. My warriors will do as I say or pay the consequences, and I believe I still hold some influence with the Lucent soldiers.”
I choke on the breath I’m inhaling and pat my chest to help it down. “You think our soldiers would follow your command after what you did?”
“I think they knew what we were setting out to achieve. Your father was brought home in one piece, and it’s been reported that your army still uses the armor designed to protect the Cyffreds. I’d say despite what you thought would happen that day, it was a successful mission overseen by me.”
Papa shifts in his seat and says, “Although hurt by the prince’s choice, my soldiers still hold him in high esteem. He has always been a man of his word, and he didn’t fail them that day.”
Kyron lifts a brow and shrugs a shoulder.
I can’t believe after everything he put us through, people still view him as a hero.
Yes, he had a hand in the armor that protects our Cyffreds, and he paid for every soldier at Basecamp to be outfitted in it.
That armor did keep many of our soldiers alive during the conflict that allowed me to save my father.
And it still works in their favor on the battlefield.
He may have abandoned Lucent, but while he was our general, he did everything in his power to keep us safe.
It’s another truth that expands my resentment toward him.
I don’t want him to be our people’s savior. I don’t want to give him the chance to disappoint them the way he did me. He may have an answer to every question presented to him, but one still goes unanswered. It’s a problem that I don’t think can be easily remedied.
My steely gaze meets his, and I fold my hands in my lap.
“So, you miraculously unite our armies, what happens when your warriors go through withdrawals? You can’t siphon from our people, and you don’t allow Cyffreds in your army.
Not to mention if you take the Posseda with you, your court will be in an uproar.
What will happen to your army when they’re withering on the ground in pain and don’t have access to what makes them superior to the Lucent soldiers? ”
The Stigians around the table sneer and whisper with disdain at my blatant show of disgust for their most sacred practice. But Kyron remains unnerved.
“Our warriors will amplify their gifts before they merge with your army.” I sneer at the gentle term the Stigians have adopted to describe the heinous act they practice, and Kyron continues, saying, “Despite what you believe, our warriors are the strongest because they’re the best. They have been trained to go months without partaking from the Posseda.
If our conflict with the Allaji lasts beyond what they can endure, we’ll put in place a plan that won’t involve your kingdom. ”
I flash a sarcastic smile and reply. “How courteous of you, Your Grace.”
Esmeray sighs and shakes her head. “Darling, you can’t dismiss that there is a simpler option. A marriage between you and the Lucent princess would benefit all of Pliris.”
“No,” he says, finality lacing the single word.
“Kyron, she is your parah. You should—”
“Marrying Raelle isn’t an option!” he barks.
Esmeray gasps, covering her ample chest with her palm. Everyone at the table diverts their gaze from the mother and son, pretending like they’ve not witnessed a moment that should take place in private.
I drop my gaze to my hands. His defiant words are like a vise grip on my heart.
How can he feel even a fraction of what I do and brush a future with me aside so quickly.
No matter how much he hurt me, my desire for him still makes me a willing participant in his torture.
And he didn’t so much as hesitate to reject a possibility of forever with me.
Kyron takes a deep breath and quietly says, “She has sacrificed enough for her crown. I won’t be the next person who bends her to my will. We’ll unite the armies and pray to the Statera that it’s enough.” He meets my gaze and gives a slight nod.
My jaw goes slack.
The reason for his refusal is me.
He has always been adamant that I didn’t have to be shackled to the future chosen for me.
During my time with him at Basecamp, he told me I had control over the choices I made.
He even offered to defy Micah and keep me at the camp if that’s what I wanted.
And again, he refuses to force me to conform.
Perhaps not all respect and trust in Kyron is gone. That part of him that wanted to give me freedom is still there. The part of him I first fell for. The part of him I still love.
He relaxes into his chair again, taking on the bored posture he wore before. “If no one has anything else to add, we’ll move on to discussing our military strategy.”
Everyone stays quiet, looking to the others around the table to object. No one will voice their opposition. How can they when he is resolute in his position? They would do better asking a mountain to move.
The prince gives a curt nod. “No? Good. Then let’s plan a war.”