Chapter Thirty
CASSIA
I HATE WAR camp. I assumed I’d thrive here, but this place fucking sucks. The mountains are too cold, the food is shit, and comforts are nonexistent. I’m also one of the only women.
There are no restrictions against women joining Wrath’s military, but most choose not to do so.
After everything they’ve endured, they have no interest in violence.
There’s been a slight uptick from women in my generation who were born and raised after the female decline, but men still outnumber us a hundred to one.
Most of the men here have never shared a war camp with a woman, and they don’t know what to do around me. It doesn’t help that I’m Aziel’s daughter.
Or that Rexton has been monitoring my every movement these past several days. He’s a dark cloud looming over my every waking moment. It’s driving me to insanity.
“Rough night?”
I turn, making eye contact with Raum as he exits the leadership tent. Four demons exit after him and break apart once outside. I wasn’t asked to attend this meeting, which isn’t a first. Or a second. Or a third.
We’ve been stationed here for five days, and I haven’t been invited to a single strategy meeting. Rexton has gone to several. I notice when my dark cloud sneaks away, disappearing for thirty minutes to an hour. He returns smelling of Raum and the other high-powered officials. It’s a dead giveaway.
Raum’s gaze follows mine, and he frowns as he realizes I’m eyeing the strategy tent.
“It’s nothing personal, Cassia,” he says. “This is your first exposure to war, and it’s important for you to take the same journey as the other soldiers. Royals get no special treatment in war camps. That’s the way it’s always been.”
I hum, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. I hate how Raum is treating me, but I’m willing to admit I see the benefits. I despise the low-ranking soldiers I’m surrounded by and the tasks I’m given, but it’s been educational.
Everybody has a role within the camp. Without it, this place wouldn’t be functioning—not as smoothly as it does. If just one person steps out of line, everybody is affected. I’ve been tasked to help with meals. I serve food.
I loathe every second of it.
It’s only made worse by my lack of sleep. My family are the only people I’ve ever allowed inside my bedroom. They’re the only ones I trust to know where I’m most vulnerable. Sleeping in this tent, being out in the open where anybody can come in and find me, is unnerving.
Sleeping quarters are sacred.
Somebody shouts, and a fight breaks out on my left. It’s between three men I faintly recognize, and Raum lets out a long, dramatic sigh before storming over to break it up. This couldn’t have come at a better time, and I don’t hesitate to use the distraction as an excuse to slip away.
I reek of boiled vegetables, cheap meat, and biscuits, and I spilled a shit ton of grease on myself while helping with breakfast. I need to escape, preferably before I lose my ever-loving mind.
Rexton follows me into the woods. He does so every morning.
We don’t speak. There’s no point. We have nothing to say to one another.
There’s a small stream about a half mile from camp, and I’ve grown quite attached to it. The frigid water helps clear my mind and set me right, and I visit it almost every morning. Breakfast duty sets me on edge, and I’ve found the cold stream to be a good way to restart.
My mood feels lighter the moment the stream enters my line of sight, and I let out a happy sigh as I kick off my shoes and socks and step into the water. It’s freezing, and my heart immediately kicks up several notches.
“Fuck!” I hiss, sucking in air through my teeth. “So good.”
“I don’t understand you.”
I ignore Rexton. I don’t need him to understand me. I need him to respect and fear me.
The stream is beautiful, and I peer up at the snow-capped mountain where the water flows from. If I follow the river downstream, I’ll run into one of Wrath’s rare freshwater lakes.
I curl my toes as Rexton patters around behind me.
“What, exactly, did Raum and Aziel tell you?” I ask. “Did they order you not to let me out of your sight?”
Rexton’s clothing rustles with every movement, so I know he’s close. I can smell him, too. Soldiers aren’t encouraged to hold back the power their bodies naturally emit during times of war, and Rexton has become a beacon. I suppose I have, too.
Maybe that’s why the soldiers have been so weird around me.
“I’ve not been given any direct orders,” Rexton says. “But it’s been implied.”
Yeah. I’m not the least bit surprised to hear that. The men in my life have never trusted me, not in the way I deserve. They see me as a vulnerable, little thing who needs to be protected. They don’t see me as the powerful Wrath I am.
I’m strong, but never strong enough to be respected.
I doubt this would be my experience if I had a dick. In fact, I know it wouldn’t be. If I weren’t a woman, nobody would bat an eye at me joining a war camp. It would be expected of me, just as I assume it was expected of Aziel.
The coddling is exhausting.
I haven’t even been put in charge of Wrath’s military. Rexton has been given that honor, and Raum has me acting as a regular foot soldier.
The river water laps at my toes, and I inch forward until it’s at my ankles. I’d kill for a warm bath right about now, or even a warm shower. Anything warm. I refuse to use the communal showers in camp, and I don’t have the means to warm the water I use for my secret baths.
I tried hard to resist the temptation, but I failed. Soldiers aren’t allowed to leave camp, but I chose to sneak into Wrath’s capital and purchase a small, porcelain tub for my tent. It was a bitch to teleport back here, but it’s well worth it.
I attempted the communal showers once, and I didn’t even get my shirt off before a group of men interrupted me.
I stalked the showers the day before and intentionally found a time when they were the least busy, so I know it wasn’t a coincidence.
Those men were hoping to get an eyeful of my naked body.
I wouldn’t have minded showering with them if it were a genuine coincidence, but it wasn’t. I’m no fool, and it took every bit of mental resolve I had not to leave seven corpses in the showers that evening.
Somebody took care of the problem for me, though. I haven’t seen the men since the incident, and after a bit of investigating, it seems they’ve been sent on a mission they’re very unlikely to return alive from.
I’m not sure if the order came from Aziel, Raum, or Rexton, and I’m not going to ask. Those soldiers knew better, and their punishment is fitting. I hate it when the men in my life take it upon themselves to defend me, but I allow it in rare circumstances. This is one of them.
Rexton clears his throat. “I don’t agree with their decision.”
His admission makes me pause. He disagrees with what? Aziel and Raum’s unspoken orders to follow me around camp? Why? Does he think he’s too important for such tasks? Probably.
I’m inclined to believe that Rexton thinks the sun shines out of his asshole.
“Explain,” I order.
A quiet chuckle follows my demand, which I don’t appreciate.
Rexton doesn’t deserve to laugh at me. He hasn’t earned the right.
We might have fallen into a tentative truce after my comments about his childhood and my subsequent apology, but this doesn’t make us friends. We’re enemies with a shared cause.
We’ll resume our battle once Mammon’s overeager son and his army are gone.
“Well?” I urge. “You don’t agree with what?”
“I don’t agree with Aziel and Raum’s insistence on sheltering you,” Rexton admits. “Raum claims he’s treating you the same as the other soldiers, but that’s not true. You’re beyond powerful, and you’re a valuable asset to Wrath. If he were truly unbiased, he’d send you to the front lines.”
The front lines? I snort. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I bet Rexton fantasizes about me being sent to the front lines. He dreams of the day I die, leaving Aziel with no heirs. David already rules over Lust, and Valeria can’t hold a position of power. The fates won’t allow it.
My death puts Rexton in the perfect position to lead Wrath.
“Again, Cassia, I’m not your enemy.” Rexton sounds exhausted. “I’m not out to get you, and I’m not secretly hoping for your downfall.”
I shrug. “Everybody else is, so I don’t see why you’d be any different.”
I regret the words the second they slip from my lips. It’s too pathetic to admit out loud, and I’m anything but pathetic. These are thoughts I keep to myself and ruminate over late at night, not share with my greatest enemies.
“Who do you think is secretly hoping for your downfall?” Rexton asks.
I turn, shooting him a blank look over my shoulder. I’m not engaging in this conversation. I regret saying anything in the first place.
Rexton hums. “I disagree with the way they shelter you because I don’t think you need it. You’re a strong, capable demon, and they’re letting their fear hold you back. It does nothing but hurt you in the long run.”
I turn away from Rexton, not wanting him to see my reddening cheeks. He’s embarrassing me, and I wish he’d stop talking. I’ve been waiting my entire life for somebody to say that, to confirm that I’m not crazy for hating my father’s coddling.
Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what Rexton thinks of Aziel and Raum’s treatment of me. I’ve tried to change it. I’ve wanted to prove I’m not the vulnerable person they seem inclined to believe I am, but it leads nowhere.
My will to fight is dying, as is my soul and spirit. It’s being replaced with anger, which only seems to worsen things. Whatever.
My feet are growing numb, the cold stream penetrating. I already feel better, my simmering frustration and anger calming to a manageable level. Rexton is leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest, as I step out of the water and wait for my feet to dry.
He’s scanning our surroundings, searching for any hint of danger. There isn’t any. It may not appear so, but I’m paying attention. I’m always on guard, always ready to defend myself. If it makes Rexton feel better to double-check my work, then so be it.
Prince Nolic’s army is closing in on the mountain, rapidly approaching the border separating Greed and Wrath. Due to the magic Mammon put over her kingdom, they can’t teleport. They have to travel across Greed, using up resources and energy before even reaching us.
We’ve been here for days, preparing.
Prince Nolic doesn’t stand a chance.
I slip on my socks and shoes once my feet have dried, then gesture toward camp.
“Ladies first.”
I enjoy using this human expression with men. They rarely appreciate it, but it brings me great joy. Men don’t enjoy being compared to women.
Rexton raises a brow, the corners of his lips twitching as he pushes away from his tree and saunters ahead. “Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.”
He’s not offended, which ruins some of my enjoyment, but not all of it. I hang on to a tiny thread, but it dies out as we re-enter camp. Raum gives instructions every morning shortly after breakfast. He and the officers will divide us into small groups and send us out on missions.
I was placed in my first scouting group yesterday. It was exciting, and I hope to be placed in another today.
Raum will be giving out today’s orders any minute now, and I don’t want to miss them.
I’m eager to prove to the Wraths that I’m worth something, that I’m willing to fight for them. They’ll see how strong and capable I am, and their support and love will quickly follow.