Chapter 21
“Mate-intended.” Gnuz smiled, and that alone would have been enough to alert me that they were up to no good.
How would they use me? I wondered.
I sat opposite Carmine and met his gaze, then glanced around the table. “So? How can I help?”
Dris leaped into discussion with too much glee. “We will take battle to the Luthers again tomorrow night. The plan is to attack the pack lands with our full force.”
I waited. “So what is it you wanted help with?”
Tsee cleared his throat. “What are the best ways to use the Luthers’ loyalties against them?”
This was a half-ass effort at best. I leaned back. “Target the weak and elderly. Explore whether there’s a way to interrupt their pack bond.”
Carmine said, “You believe they share a bond?”
“I seem to recall so. But from what I saw while there, they have a means of silent communication. They all appeared at once, without any call going up. If there’s a way to magically access that pack bond, then you could potentially control them, or at least stop them from communicating any of our strategies to one another over a distance.
Though, I assume my sister has already thought about that. ”
I’d send smoke through the pipeline tonight, then send a warning through to protect the pack bond too. That information could get by undetected.
Not information about who they planned to attack and how.
“I see value in that,” said Deut.
Carmine tapped the table, staring at the map of the pack lands. They’d added labels like Army and Carmine.
“Is there anything more you can offer?” Tsee asked.
“I can let you know if I think of anything. Luthers have shown themselves to be alert and stealthy. They respond quickly. Nothing that you aren’t already aware of.”
The demon king looked up. “How would you attack a Luther with your Magus powers?”
I tilted my head. “I haven’t considered that. My Magus magic isn’t strong enough to offer much in battle. Divination magic in particular isn’t often used directly.”
“You used it directly enough in the arena,” Dris replied.
“True. I can’t imagine the pack lands dead ancestors would be eager to kill their descendants though.”
Though now Carmine had raised the topic, I had a feeling that divination affinities were the perfect way to interrupt the pack bond due to the affinity operating through ancestral and home connections. If there was another supernatural race who lived by those values, then Luthers were it.
But Magus with battle affinities were usually the ones who engaged in direct battle with the best results. Not that apothecaries and grimoires didn’t have their own tricks to whip out.
“Please consider this today, and bring any ideas to the council tomorrow,” said the demon king.
Yes, sir!
His tone made it clear that I’d been dismissed.
I remained seated. “Last night I killed the desert wardens in a fit of rage.”
The councilors had launched into discussion, but one by one, they trailed into silence.
“I burned the mansion down,” I added.
Might as well get it all out.
Carmine had stilled, and his gaze burned into mine. “Talk.”
I was assuming he meant about the subject at hand. “I learned that they’d purchased my father’s sword. I have… history with them from my time away from the fortress. When I saw the sword in their possession, I decided they shouldn’t live any longer.”
“Did you know that they had the sword before you left the fortress?” he asked next.
I could lie. He wasn’t touching me.
“Yes,” I said.
I blinked at the grip on my arm. His grip. Warmth surged through us at my truth. Phew.
Carmine released me and stood behind my chair, resting his hands close to my shoulders. Right. This was going to get complicated.
“What is the history you held with them?” he asked next.
I did have history with them via Owu and his parents. “That they are demons who value nothing except power and status, and they’ll sacrifice anything and anyone who stands in the way.”
Warmth swam between us. Not filled with comfort, but warmth nevertheless.
“You lost your temper,” he asked next.
I nodded.
Cold.
Damn, I’d hoped that a gesture would get me through the truth touch. Carmine growled, and I said, “My plan was set before I left the fortress, though that altered when I arrived.”
“Why?”
The councilors weren’t making a sound. Their eyes ping-ponged between their king and his mate-intended. But I wouldn’t laugh until I got through this. “Because they were waiting.”
Dead.
Carmine returned to his seat. “You were aware that the desert outpost is a difficult position to fill.”
“I am also aware of how the desert wardens are perceived by those in the realm. If you are the king of the realm, then they are the rulers out there.”
He replied, “As they are meant to be.”
“They operate outside the scope of warden. There are no restrictions on desert access for any demon willing to pay the right price.”
Right price. The words rang between us, and I could see the king wondering what price I’d paid the wardens. The answer was no price. I’d never met them before seeing their hacked-up corpses. But he could assume the worst.
“You allowed them more tether because the post is unwanted by others, but they knew that weakness and exploited it. You could have enforced far more out there, and they would have accepted the rules because of all they were reaping from the demons in the realm.”
“Your mistake was in eradicating them yourself, mate,” he said. “You are not king. I have offered before to exterminate them. You did not wish me to.”
“I wanted to do it myself.”
Carmine smelled a lie. He just didn’t know where because he didn’t know about Owu. It would take a very powerful demon to take out two reds. I wasn’t friends with any crimsons, who may have done the task for me. I certainly wouldn’t cover for anyone else. He didn’t question that I’d killed them.
But he sensed my words weren’t true.
If the councilors weren’t here, he wouldn’t be this calm. But their perception of me mattered. Their perception of how he treated me mattered.
“Bring in the Luther boy,” he said at last.
Gnuz, the lowest in ranking, scraped back his chair and left the chamber.
Fuck.
I’d taken Axel from his pack and mother days ago. He owed me nothing. I just hoped he’d perceived that I was his safety in this place. And I hoped he didn’t perceive how I might be controlled using this information.
The silence in the chamber heightened as time ticked by. I spent the time drawing in my magic in a bid to remained as centered and calm as possible.
Axel walked in with Gnuz close behind.
He shot me a look and lingered uncertainly.
“Boy,” said Carmine. “Tell me what happened to the desert wardens.”
Axel stared. “Who?”
“In the mansion, Axel,” I said.
“Oh. Syera went in and killed them,” the boy answered. “There was blood everywhere. She was covered in it.”
Yes!
Deut said, “You saw this?”
“I saw her covered in blood. She didn’t let me watch the killing part, and she didn’t let me go in after. But I stole a peek even though she said not to—before she burned the place down.”
Carmine leaned forward. “Who else was there?”
Oh, shit. He’d decided this was a group kill. Did he suspect my lover?
“Tsan. After she’d killed them. He went in and she said that she’d lost her temper and that you’d be pissed. The desert wardens would be hard to replace. Then Tsan left.”
“Where did he go?” Carmine shot the question my way.
My mind blanked. I wasn’t prepared for that one. “To check whether I’d raised anyone’s suspicions. Before he returned, I’d already decided to burn down the mansion in case any demons chanced upon the scene and noticed my presence.”
I’d hesitated a second too long.
“What happened after?” Carmine had returned to interrogating Axel.
The Luther trembled under his focus. “We came back here. Her hand was bloody, and I had some on me after. She washed it off and told me not to worry. They were bad people who did bad things to her.”
Carmine stiffened.
I’d neither washed blood off the Luther or said anything to him about bad people doing bad things to me. Nice touch.
“You may go,” he told Axel.
The Luther shot me another glance, then slipped out the door. I owed him big time.
“It seems that the desert wardens were deserving of their fate,” the demon king said at last. “However, that leaves the realm in a predicament. One that you will solve, Syera, considering that you wanted to play king in this matter. We require desert wardens with urgency. I leave the solution to you.”
Not ideal. And far better than how this might have gone.
I nodded. “Understood.”
“That is all,” he said after, not looking at me. “The council has much to discuss.”
Didn’t need to tell me twice.