64. Stand and See
SOUNDTRACK: Uprising by Damned Anthem
~ MELEK ~
As the sun dropped towards the mountains, we broke out of the fog and started a wide semi-circle around the Nephilim camp for reconnaissance. Half a mile from its edge, we crawled up the back face of a spit of land to overlook the terrain so that I could choose where to begin.
But throughout the quiet slog to that point, I muttered under my breath. The fact that a group our size had made it that close to the camp without being stopped only proved how erratic and ill-disciplined the Neph had become.
It would never have happened under my watch.
Yilan lay in the grass beside me, our wrists bound together in a parody of the bonding that made my heart pinch.
But it was important for Rayan and Norg to have no reason to question her presence.
Or Istral’s. Or Diadre, who was pale and quiet on the other side of Jann.
I glanced at my brother-in-arms and the woman beyond him, but he was squinting at the terrain.
Diadre caught my glance, but said nothing.
She was clearly seething. Jann had been pulling her around by her hair quite a bit.
I didn’t think he had hurt her, but she looked furious anyway, which made Jann smile .
Putting aside the puzzle of our friends and why they were so hostile to each other, I turned back to the view below.
“See that outcropping of rock?” Jann whispered. I nodded. “If you stand there, there’s room for most of the camp to gather in the hollow below to see you and hear you. Even if their view is obscured, they won’t miss what you have to say.”
I nodded. “I’ll fly to it.”
Jann shrugged. “There’s an argument for simply walking in. Let them make an uproar.”
“But what about our prizes?” I said through my teeth.
“I’ll watch over yours. Have Gall stay here with his. He can keep the birds-eye view and alert us if he sees a faction forming. I’ll watch the other two, keep them on the outskirts.”
I nodded again, already knowing that what Jann really meant was that he’d keep the girls out of Rayan and Norg’s view so they could walk the shadows when no one was paying attention.
“I still prefer to fly—let them see me coming,” I said quietly. “Let’s get this done.”
A few minutes later we crawled back down below the view of the camp, and I was coaching Gall.
“Keep an eye out from up here. Watch. Blow the horn if you see any gathering, or the signs of a frenzy on the edges.”
Gall nodded, but his brow was furrowed. I knew he’d be worried that he wasn’t following our strategy.
He understood that we were hiding the true nature of our relationships with the girls from the others.
But now he’d be worried that I was expecting him to read between the lines. Something he wasn’t good at.
I clapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Son. We’re about to claim the throne. This is going to be a day to remember forever,” I said with a smile as predatory as I could make it.
Gall nodded and smiled back, but his nerves were plain.
I turned away to get the others’ attention off of him. Yanking Yilan to walk with me, I tipped my head at the others. “Let’s go. I want to be speaking by sunset.”
We needed to circle half the camp undetected, so it would take a while to get down, and longer to reach that outcropping.
A jolt of nerves came at me through the bond. I gritted my teeth. God, I wanted to pull Yilan close and hold her and remind her that this would all work out for the best.
Instead I was forced to drag her in my wake by the leash the Neph thought I’d put on her .
God, bring the day quickly in which I could claim her as emphatically as I was about to claim this throne.
When we’d circled the camp to the area where I wanted to reveal myself, I stopped creeping through the brush and turned to address the others.
“Rayan, who was the strongest contender when Jann left?”
Rayan scowled. “After Jann left, here were three. Lern and Zebe have been gathering followers and putting Gron down. But neither has formally challenged the other. They’re both clearing the rest of the competition first.”
So, neither was confident they could take the other? I could defeat both.
“There were no other warriors stepping forward?”
“Everyone assumed Jann would lay claim… but when he didn’t return quickly, it was assumed he had fallen to whoever took you. There are fights and challenges between Neph every day. But those two have support. And rank.”
It was true both were officers, but I was surprised that some of the other ranked peers weren’t fighting harder to take the crown.
“Well, here’s your chance to prove your loyalty to your future King: Go find those two and get among their men. When I start talking, if you hear anything suspect, bring it to me.”
Rayan and Norg both nodded, then melted into the trees and undergrowth on their way into the camp.
The rest of us took an easier breath with them out of sight, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe those two were truly loyal, so we kept up the facade even in their absence, just in case. Besides, we were here now. It was time. We had to maintain the appearance of brutality until this was done.
“Jann, you follow me with the girls. I’ll take mine to the claim—they need to know what a prize I’ve taken. But once things start moving, I’m releasing her to you.”
Jann nodded. Diadre stood at his side, her arms folded and face sullen. He’d tied one end of a rope around his waist and the other around hers, yet she somehow managed to make it look as if she didn’t even know he was there.
Then I turned to Hever and the other two.
“You’ll be celebrated when others realize you’re here. I am relying on you to support my claim and urge others to do the same.”
Drek and Kran nodded immediately. Hever took a deep breath, but then nodded too. He’d donned his cloak when we drew close to the camp and his eyes shone out from under the hood. The man’s gaze was unnerving.
“I’ll add what influence I can to nudge any minds that are on the fence towards your side,” he muttered.
“Kran, we’ll need a tent tonight, preferably near Jann’s. Can you make that happen?”
“Definitely.” He looked eager, which meant he planned to oust some of the lower ranking Neph, but it would benefit me to have others observe that I’d walked in and taken control, so I didn’t stop him.
“Good. Drek, as things progress, please keep an eye on the spit. I don’t want Gall coming into camp until I’ve successfully made my claim, or there’s an actual need for his strength to bolster our numbers. Intercept him if you see him moving sooner.”
Drek nodded. And then we were done. I looked towards the mountains where the sky was turning a rosy color.
It was time.
I looked at Yilan, and prayed no outsiders could see her expression when she met my gaze, pride and fear swimming in her eyes.
“Ready yourself to fly,” I told her gruffly, just in case Rayan or Norg had hung back.
She nodded and dropped her chin. I wanted so badly to lift it, to kiss her, to promise her that I could handle this.
But we couldn’t risk it. So, instead, I turned her around so her back was to my chest and my arm tied to hers was crossed over her body.
Then I looked at Jann. When he’d gathered a bristling Diadre to his chest, he nodded to me, and we both manifested our wings and took off.
Yilan gasped as the earth dropped away beneath us and it occurred to me for the first time that I hadn’t really flown with her.
Something I needed to rectify when life settled down.
Holding her tightly, I was careful not to take her too high.
I wanted the Neph to see us. Sure enough, as we rose over the camp, murmurs below among the tents turned into calls and shouts, and then a wave of agitation gathering momentum.
Whether I’d been recognized, or the Neph just anticipated a challenge, all I knew was that the noise below rose as I flapped over the camp and bodies shifted, following my flight path.
“Melek,” Yilan breathed. I took the opportunity to squeeze her and sent a rush of love through the bond. “Please be careful.”
“There is no careful in this, Love,” I murmured to her. “This is dominance. There can be no question in my mind, and I can leave none in theirs. I cannot falter.”
She squeezed my arm, the airflow fluttering her hair back against my chest. “I love you. And I believe in you. I know you can do this.”
“I would kiss you if I could,” I said.
“I know.”
“Are you ready?” I asked her as I circled over the outcropping and the rush of bodies among the tents surged towards it.
“I’ve been ready since I first saw you,” she whispered.
Squeezing her tightly to my chest, I let my legs drop and back-flapped to slow my progress, then lower us to the rock.
There would be no more whispered love. As we landed, I let my face go hard and whipped her away from my body, wrenching her around so that she was forced to stand next to me, her arm extended high above her head. And then I roared.
“HEAR ME, NEPHILIM! COME SEE! THE TIME OF UNCERTAINTY IS OVER.”
I’d timed my arrival perfectly. Behind me the sky glowed gold and rose. I knew I’d stand out starkly black against its golden light, holding Yilan and glaring down at the men who were rushing through the camp, some cheering, others protesting, but all watching.
“Melek! It’s the General!”
“He’s alive?!”
“Holy shit.”
“Is that the Fetch?”
“It’s Melek! Melek is alive!”
The cries and growls of the Nephilim bounced through the air as more and more of my brothers rushed to get closer. I remained stern and waited until a substantial crowd had gathered and more were rolling in before I raised my voice again .
“Do you see me, Neph? Do you hear me? Lay down your weapons and use your ears: I am General Melek Handras, great-grandson of the Fallen, and your dominant!”
In a symbolic show, because challengers for dominance weren’t supposed to use weapons, I threw each of my spears down to the base of the rocks behind me so they pierced the dirt and stuck straight up, wavering.
The males below shouted a muddy mix of approval and disgust, but I ignored my detractors and continued.
“I was taken from you, but I have returned—and I have a prize . The Fetch who attempted to thwart my claim is here,” I bellowed, shaking Yilan’s arm.
“She is my prisoner, my servant… and she is a Queen!”
The roar that met that declaration was loud enough to beat my ribs. Yilan flinched, and I wasn’t sure if the movement was intentional, or reflex.
But then, as the uproar died down, one voice raised from somewhere below me.
“Were you taken or did you flee? You disappeared at the same time as Gault!”
I looked, but couldn’t find the owner of the voice. “I did not shed a drop of Gault’s blood,” I growled—sincerely. “I was taken… and I have returned triumphant over our enemies, and ready to make my claim.” Another roar from the crowd.
“I stand before you in possession of a Queen. I led you in battle. I won you the continent. I claim Epitome. Who has the balls to stand in my way? Speak now—I claim the throne and I will not relent until it is mine!”
The crowd of Nephilim lost their minds. Wings were released, beating the air. Roars and growls, shouts—some protesting, others urging me forward—rose in a great cloud of noise. I felt a scrape on the rock behind me and quickly untied Yilan, passing her off to Jann when he reached my side.
As the men below discussed the challenge and considered who might step forward, Jann stepped up to my side and raised his voice too.
“I am Jannus the Halfling, descended from the purest Nephilim blood. If you follow me, join me in allegiance to our General!”
There were pockets of activity east and south of where I stood. A rush of admiration and encouragement reached me through the bond, and it was an effort not to turn and look at Yilan, but I made myself stand before the Nephilim with chin high and wearing my strength.
Finally, moments later, a shout went up from the east. “I challenge Melek Handras,” a voice growled. The male named Lern.
“As do I!” a second voice snarled. I assumed that was Zebe, though the male was so closely circled, I could only make out the arm he raised, not his face.
The crowd nearby rippled with excitement.
Praying that Rayan and Norg supported me as they had claimed, I opened my mouth to recognize both challengers. But just then…
“I also challenge.” The voice was calmer than the other two, and more ragged. I turned, frowning, to look for its owner because it sounded familiar.
To my shock, Hever had climbed one of the guard platforms off to my right. When he reached the top, he threw back his hood and stared at me down his nose. “I carry the seal of the former King. I will assess the challenge and determine his approval… or not.”
I frowned. In tradition, a former King’s seal only came into play when a succession was claimed by blood—but that was for use when the Heir was too young or weak, or there were sticky ties between siblings, or cousins and no clear challenger for the throne.
What was Hever playing at?
But there was nothing to be done—I shot the man a warning glare, then turned to the others.
“The challenge has been called and I will answer it.”
Then I turned my back to them in a sign of disdain, walking back down the outcropping with Jann in my wake.
Behind me, chanting began, a babble of names, mostly mine.
There was a moment when the four of us—me, Yilan, Diadre, and Jann were out of sight of the crowd. Yilan grabbed my hand. “Be careful. For me.”
Slipping a hand to the back of her head, I pulled her into a quick, desperate kiss. When we broke apart, Diadre scowled and Jann rolled his eyes.
But Yilan stared at me with love and fear. I wiped a single tear from her cheek with my thumb, then I looked grimly at Jann.
“Are you ready?”
His brows rose and he gave that wicked grin. “Most definitely. Are you? ”
I looked at my mate, then my friends, and then to the camp beyond and the people I had always fought for, always defended… and always defended against. I nodded.
“Yes,” I growled. “Yes, I am.”