Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ama
Despite the seriousness of our current situation and the atmosphere in the throne room, my eyes continuously tracked to Finias, my heart aching at the memory of his words.
At the pain that had haunted his eyes before it was once again buried in a practiced way that told me this was far from the first time he’d had to hide his emotions.
I knew now was not the time, but I desperately wanted to comfort him. I wanted to run my fingers along his scars and kiss each one before seeking vengeance, not for what his parents had done to the realm, but for what they had done to my mate.
I wanted them to suffer, unapologetically. Maybe I really was bloodthirsty.
"Ama." Adrien's voice was soft and quiet, pulling me from my thoughts as I looked up at him.
Instead of saying anything else, he interlaced our fingers, making me relax slightly.
I felt like the man was so attuned to me, and it didn't surprise me that he was trying to keep me calm.
I wasn't trying to hide how angry Finias' words had made me.
Instead of focusing on that, I made myself watch the castle workers bring in a large, round table. King Cyrus had decided that doing a strategy meeting here would be best because of the number of people involved, and I didn't disagree.
Plus, the table they were assembling was not only massive, but also featured a map of the realm that became apparent as they fit the pieces together.
I rose up on my toes, recognizing that the map was a bit outdated and missing a lot of detail when it came to the Kingdom of Pura.
That would need to change, for sure. Luckily, I had no doubt we would be able to fill in the gaps as needed.
"The troops have been notified," Jace walked back through the main door, followed by five individuals in what I had to assume were military uniforms. They were simple and clearly not made for battle, which didn't surprise me, considering they hadn't faced conflict as a kingdom—not to my knowledge, anyway.
The pants were made of dark material that matched their boots in color, but each of their tops was completely different in color, making me wonder what the distinction was.
More so, I was curious who the woman right behind Jace was.
Where the other four men were large and built like warriors, their tunics covered in military accolades and pins, she seemed almost unassuming.
I didn't believe it for a second. She was watching the room with a far too clinical eye to be someone unimportant to this operation.
"Pandora!" Safiya seemed thrilled to see her, "I wasn't sure you would be able to make it."
The woman—Pandora—offered Safiya a small smile and motioned to the men behind her, "I'm certain they could have handled things, but this seemed like an exception to my normal procedure. After all, it's not every day we go to war for a kingdom that exiled us."
My jaw clenched at that, and her eyes met mine in an almost challenging way. Well, at least she was caught up on everything that was occurring. That was good, right?
"Oh, let me introduce everyone," Safiya attempted to smooth over her words and looked towards me. "Ama, this is Pandora, she is—"
The queen's words were cut off as the woman appeared right in front of me, tilting her head and examining me with a dark look that had Adrien letting out a sound that wasn't very friendly, but which she ignored entirely.
Honestly, Pandora and I were as opposite as two people could be, except when it came to our height and that we seemed around the same age.
Her golden hair was pulled up into a long ponytail and complemented the tunic she wore, her gold-tipped white wings making her look almost like a beam of light.
Unintimidating and not threatening in the least...
which was complete bullshit. This woman was absolutely dangerous, and I just wanted to know why she was trying to hide it.
I also recognized from her appearance that she was Fallen, and the way her golden eyes narrowed on me with clinical interest had me guessing that her other half was Hellhound.
"Ama," her voice was accusatory. "So, you are the woman putting my men on the line? Forcing us to fight a war for a bunch of pure-bloods that hate us? Am I reading the situation correctly?"
My first reaction was to get defensive because it was very clear that she was pissed at me, but then I reminded myself of the position she was being put in, from her perspective.
Her men, whatever that meant to her, were being put on the line—not to defend their own kingdom, but to help the enemy.
I understood why she didn't think this was a good idea, so I did my best to answer honestly.
"Yes." I fixed her with a serious look. "I understand why this situation might not sit well with you, but I also assume you realize that this won't stop with the Kingdom of Pura.
If you don't go to the fight, it will come to you, and then it won't only be your 'men' at risk—it will be everyone in the Kingdom of Impurus. "
Her eyes softened slightly, so I continued, "I have been mistreated by pure-bloods my entire life, but I also recognize that this isn't about me anymore. This is about the realm. I hope you can see that as well."
Pandora regarded me for a minute before finally offering me a small smile and turning on her heel to walk towards the completed table without a word.
I had a feeling I’d passed whatever weird little test she'd been attempting to give me, so I went to grab a seat at the table, eyeing her.
Where everyone else took seats, she stood, and the other uniformed men seemed to be waiting on something as she examined the table in front of her thoughtfully.
"Before we leave here, you need to understand that the culture of our military is not going to be one that is welcoming to your cause.
They will follow orders, but the idea of fighting to aid the Kingdom of Pura doesn't just sit poorly with me.
The Lieutenants here will do their best to squash that type of conversation and animosity within their respective branches, but you can't go into this blind.
Even with explaining the external threat, you will find there is massive opposition to our mission going forward. "
"How do you suggest we fix that?" I hedged before asking my final question, "What purpose do you serve in this entire situation?"
Her smile grew as she put her hands on the back of one of the Lieutenant's chairs. "I'm General Pandora, the head of the military whose help you are requesting. As I said, these are my men you are putting on the line. Which reminds me...let's do some introductions. Maxton, you want to go first?"
The fucking general? Of the entire military? Shit. That was so badass. I couldn't even be upset. Wait, were we just going to skim over that? I felt like that required more conversation.
The man who was watching her like a hawk offered a nod and stood, his gaze running over us before speaking. "I'm Lieutenant Maxton, and I lead the Infantry division of our military. Most of my soldiers consist of hybrids who are predominantly using their Reaper or Hellhound sides."
I was almost positive Maxton was a hybrid of both because he had silver hair and dark eyes like most of those from my house, but his size and build indicated that he was also a Hellhound.
Honestly, it was hard to tell with some people, but I supposed that was the point.
Unlike in the Kingdom of Pura, it wasn't about what someone was, but who they were.
He continued motioning to his purple top, which was covered in a myriad of pins over his right pectoral like the other men, "Each branch has a uniform of different color, and infantry will always be in purple.
Additionally, I don't disagree with Pandora—I think you will find, even with my men, who are willing to be on the front line, a level of push back.
With that being said, they will follow orders at the end of the day. "
His black eyes moved over to the man next to him, lighting up with humor as he sat down, "I'm not sure the same could be said about the other foot soldiers."
The man next to him offered him a dry expression before standing, "They will follow orders just fine."
Pandora offered a small head shake, looking down as if what he was saying was amusing, and my attention was drawn back to the man speaking.
"I'm Lieutenant Collin of the Swordsmen and Spearmen.
All of my men will be marked by navy uniforms. You won't miss most of us, though, because the majority of my men are Wraith or Fallen.
Like the Infantry, who rely on their natural strength and combat style with scythes to defeat the enemy, Swordsmen and Spearmen use their Wraith and Fallen natures for combat.
The first allows us to move in and out of spaces easily, and obviously, Fallen, have the aerial advantage.
" His wings moved on the last part of his sentence, their navy shade obviously due to his hybrid nature, the ends of them tipped in a light blue that contrasted with his dark hair.
I didn't miss how he looked towards Pandora once he was done, his apparent relief to be done explaining how this worked to us amplified when she nodded slightly.
Obviously, because of Cyrus not telling them about the battle or the results of it, they were just getting this thrown on them, so I could hardly blame them for being a little uncomfortable with this entire situation.
"Lieutenant Cason?" Pandora prompted the next man, whose gaze was completely focused on...
Finias with an amused and challenging gaze.
And Finias was staring right back? That couldn't be good.
Challenging looks were bad when it came to deadly men, and my Fin was very much that.
Although, I had a feeling that Cason was the same, considering the number of runes on his skin.