Chapter 33
Dean
I request a meeting with the Diablo Towers to let them know that the Tetrad kingdom is officially going to war with Eldoris.
After Tiberius had the gall to breach our portal and hurt my family, retaliation isn’t optional… it’s inevitable.
To simplify things, Elias, head of the Diablo Tower, invited our allies and anyone willing to step in if the King of Hell asked.
We’re making arrangements in case we need backup since we have almost no information on Eldoris or the size of their army. And after what we’ve heard about Tiberius, the War could potentially extend beyond our two kingdoms.
Harvey and Khatri stand at my sides as our guests enter the Horsemen castle’s conference room, while Seiji and Jackson patrol the perimeter, making sure no one gets clever.
The newcomers cannot be fully trusted. Not today.
The doors open, and Akihiko and Anxo lead our guests inside, pointing out the changes we’ve made over the years.
Anxo is mainly doing the whole show pony dance for the pixie and bear shifter leaders. We have business relations with both, but they haven’t decided about a potential alliance yet.
Anxo gestures for them to sit, but their attention drifts upward to the glass dome ceiling overlooking the kingdom. A quiet reminder of what’s at stake.
When Elijah clears his throat, the room settles. It’s time.
By the time I finish explaining how Tiberius breached our kingdom in his astral form, the King of Hell is already seething, and I’m counting on that anger.
If Tiberius is too much of a coward to face me head-on, then I’ll play his game. I’ll hit him where it hurts… when he least expects it.
And honestly, fuck honor. Fuck waiting. I’m done sitting around, waiting for him to show his face. I’d rather drag the fight to his doorstep and end it myself.
The longer we sit here making plans, the more anxious Hazel gets, and I can’t take it anymore. She’s spent too long looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to come back for her.
It’s time to end this. For her. For us. For good.
Tiberius might be only a threat to us, but the merfolk have been a mystery to everyone since the original King of Hell, Lucifer, gave his creatures free rein.
Eldoris took advantage of that freedom no one anticipated and vanished, never to be found again.
If Tiberius wins, Eldoris won’t stay hidden. From what I know of him, the Crab King will emerge from the shadows. Maybe even set eyes on other kingdoms. Unchecked power always finds a way to rot.
Elijah is outlining a rehabilitation plan for Eldoris when Harvey cuts in. “Wait, Uncle, does that mean you’d take over the Eldoris?”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Elijah says with a sigh.
“It disgusts me to know how they’ve been running things.
My father believed in distance and that worked out well enough in his time, but things have changed.
Tiberius has crossed too many lines. It’s time he answers for it, and he won’t go quietly. ”
Elijah turns to me, his gaze steady. “Once you deal with Tiberius, I’ll handle his kingdom.”
“Meaning what exactly?” Anxo questions, his brows pulling together in suspicion.
Always the perceptive one. He never lets anything slide without dissecting it first.
“A complete overhaul of their governing system,” Lucifer states, his mind already made up. “The residents are welcome to stay in the depths of the ocean, but the Diablo Towers will be keeping an eye on them from here on out.”
“I have a better idea.” I lean forward, flattening my palms on the table, then mimic an explosion.
Anxo looks at me incredulously. “Seriously? Hazel would agree to bombing the only home her kind has?”
I lift my hand with a laugh. “It was her idea.”
Anxo exhales sharply, muttering, ‘Of course it was,’ under his breath.
“We’re not doing that.” He looks at Elijah, who actually seems to be considering it, along with at least half the table. “We’re. not. doing. that.”
“Tiberius is the problem, not his people. We were not going to destroy a city and slaughter who knows how many innocent merfolk, because of one bastard. They deserve a chance to see how the world has evolved while they’ve been stuck under a tyrant, cut off from the rest of the world.”
The Dragon King nods, understanding too well what it means to be judged by the worst of your kind.
He turns to Anxo. “If you need us, don’t hesitate to reach out. The Griari Empire owes Nevaeh.”
When my daughter found out Visha had planned to release a deadly amount of dark magic near the Griari Empire to wipe them off the map, she absorbed that poison into her veins to save them from annihilation.
The Dragon King swore to be our ally for the next three generations as a gesture of gratitude.
Lucifer’s every creation is constantly trying to prove its power over others, which means friendships and loyalties are rare in our world.
The meeting ends, and Elijah leaves the fate of the Eldoris kingdom in our hands before teleporting back to hell. The Dragon King shifts into a massive blood-red beast with black scales and takes to the sky.
One by one, the room empties… but the weight stays. Energy hums through me, excitement tangled with rage because I can feel it in my bones.
This is it. The beginning of the end.
Tiberius doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going down.
Once our guests leave, the elders pour in, filling the empty seats. The moment they start talking, I wish they’d hesitated before opening their mouths because with every word, I feel the urge to send a few of them to the fates ahead of schedule.
“Horseman Blackburn, I urge you to reconsider. The kingdom’s future rests on your shoulders. Waging war against a kingdom we know nothing about is awfully reckless.”
I meet his gaze with a blank stare, offering nothing, and the room falls silent.
Elder Fizhale, former head of weapons for War, clears his throat. “There are concerns about a siren as our queen, Grim. She hasn’t been crowned yet, and she’s brought dangers to our doorstep—”
There it is. The prejudice I saw coming.
Anxo cuts in before I can reach for the demon. “I’d like to remind the council what happened the last time a future queen was questioned in this room.”
A surge of memories floods everyone’s mind. Anxo is using his Divine to force visions of the traitors we caught and tortured.
Elder Fizhale, who apparently values his life very little, pushes on. “We understand it would be painful, Horseman Blackburn, but the right choice isn’t always the easy one. If you rejected her—”
My vision goes red, but before I can turn the man into a pretzel of bones, Anxo invades his mind. The elder drops to his knees, screaming in agony.
Anxo adjusts his cuffs, voice calm like he isn’t melting the demon’s brain. “Elder Fizhale thinks his limbs are being torn apart.” He shakes his head with a humorless chuckle. “At least that’s why he thinks. But who knows, sometimes words have a way of becoming reality.”
He is threatening the council without a hint of remorse or hesitation in their eyes. This is the Horseman of Conquer the world fears. This version of Anxo was once reserved for our enemies, but after he saw the snakes in our own backyard, he stopped giving anyone the benefit of the doubt.
The moment Anxo releases him, the elders scramble out, muttering apologies I don’t care to hear.
“I had it handled,” I grumble, irritation simmering beneath my skin. This would’ve been a good opportunity to purge some of the anger burning inside me.
“You were going to kill him.” I don’t argue. He knows he’s right.
Anxo leans forward, fingers laced together. “Scare them now, they’ll stay afraid for a long time. Kill one, and you plant a seed for betrayal later. Fear controls. Death provokes.”
Huh. Now I see why Hazel says there’s a side to Anxo better left buried.
Anxo pushes off his chair, ready to leave, but turns back at the last second.
“Oh, almost forgot… here.” He hands me an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“A list of every kingdom, species, and leader Hazel has pissed off in the last three years. Some are annoyed. Most want revenge.”
What the fuck.
I rip the envelope open and scan the names. The page is full. Two rows deep.
“Check the back.”
No. Absolutely not.
I stare at him wide-eyed, and the asshole laughs in my face. I flip the page, and there’s another list here. Two more rows. What the actual fuck?
“How is it even possible to piss off this many people. I was gone for three years. You guys have outdone yourselves.”
The smug look drops from Anxo’s face. “Dean… you know we need to fix this, right? Make amends.”
“Why the fuck would we do that? She’s your Warriorhead. My mate. And a fiery siren. I don’t care what she did, I’m on her side.”
Anxo sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “At least get the full story from her. If they wronged her, fine, we’ll let them rot in their hair. But I’m not destroying alliances with the whole supernatural world over something petty like they use a weapon she hates.”
He catches my expression and gives me a look that screams pity. “Dean, she added the entire fairy clan because Nevaeh called her a water fairy once.”
Okay, that’s not exactly sane. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
He sounds way too relieved. Does this mean I’m going to piss Hazel off today?
Anxo slips his hands into his pockets, suddenly looking uneasy. “Hey, uh, there’s something that’s been bothering me. About my parents.”
I nod for him to continue.
“They... they never used their Divine on me. Their Hands, sure, but not their power.”
I snort. “Yeah. Because they were weak.”
“What?”
“We haven’t had many Horsemen in our history to compare, but I can say with absolute certainty that your father was the weakest Conquer ever crowned. You had a better grasp of your Divine at eight than he did at forty.”
Anxo looks stunned. I honestly thought he knew. But he tends to put himself down when it comes to his Luke and Kiara.