Chapter 34 #2
“So you prefer we go back to the days when only Descended were allowed in? You’d rather have people from Lumnos City patrolling your streets, instead of your own neighbors?”
The woman bristled. “That’s not what I—”
“Her Majesty repealed the unjust laws. She gave the mortals a voice in running the realm. She gave them equal rank and equal pay in the army. She is doing everything she can to bring us together as one people, one continent.” My voice grew louder, angrier, building to a roar.
“She took on the Crowns to save the Guardians, and it nearly destroyed her. She fights and she sacrifices every gods-damned day, and you push back on her every fucking step of the way.”
The woman stubbornly crossed her arms. “We’re here, aren’t we? We’re fighting her war. I lost friends in that Fortos attack.”
“So did we,” said the Byrnum recruit.
The two women shared a tense look, then they both fell quiet.
I pointed across the grounds to the other camps. “Everyone here wants the same thing: a safe home and a future with the person—people we love.” I rubbed at my aching, incomplete heart. “We’ll never get that if we keep fighting each other.”
I turned my focus back to the recruits. Much as I wanted to shred them for their lack of self-control, I was proud of the way they’d united in Teller’s defense. They’d fought with no regard for Houses or bloodkind, united only by their oath to their Queen.
That, I could not punish.
“Tend to your wounds. We’ll resume training tomorrow.”
I returned to the palace, where Teller was waiting outside on the stairs. His face was still smeared with blood, and a purple bruise had bloomed on his cheek. He was scowling at the ground while an enraged Taran growled in his face.
“Just give me a name,” Taran demanded. “I’ll turn their teeth into a necklace.”
“Teller handled it on his own,” I said, walking up.
Taran cut me a bitter glance. “Stay out of it. This is family business.”
It was a low blow.
A cruel blow, especially from him.
Taran’s easygoing charm was a ruse. His need for loyalty was uncompromising, and it turned nasty when betrayed. It was a side of him I’d seen too often, though rarely directed at me.
“It’s Royal Guard business,” I said.
“Even more reason for you to go away. Teller and I are in the Guard. You quit.”
“I’m training the recruits. That puts him under my command.”
“What a surprise. You, ordering everyone around, even without a title.”
My jaw clenched. “If you don’t like it, take it up with the High General when she returns from Faunos.”
He swerved toward me, chest puffed. “Maybe I will. And maybe I’ll have a little talk with Her Majesty, too.”
“Can I go now?” Teller muttered.
“Her Majesty has enough to deal with,” I snapped. “Keep your petty issues to yourself.”
“Petty?” His face turned a furious red. “Petty?”
A soft gasp rang out as Lily emerged from the palace doors. She ran to Teller’s side, gawking at his blood-streaked face. “Blessed Kindred, what happened?”
Teller straightened. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” She gingerly touched his swelling cheek. He looked like he was fighting to keep from leaning into her hand. Blessed Kindred, I recognized that struggle.
“Lily, why don’t you use your healer training to check on Teller’s wounds?” I suggested.
Teller frowned. “I don’t need—”
“He took a hard blow to the head,” I interrupted. “He needs observation. Take him somewhere private, and sit with him for a few hours. Keep him talking.”
Teller’s mouth clicked shut. Lily nodded vehemently, taking his arm and leading him inside.
Taran glared. “Good to see you still know how to do nice things for some people. Too bad for the half-mortals you find their exile petty.”
I shot him a scathing look. “That’s not what I meant. You of all people should know that.”
“And you of all people should give more of a damn if they live or die.”
My temper began to fray. “Need I remind you that for years, I had to bribe you into helping me save them by promising to have a drink with you after. You didn’t give a damn about their lives then. You didn’t care about anything that wasn’t in a bottle.”
“Well I care now,” he said hotly. “I helped you countless times. You won’t do this one thing for me.”
“It’s not about you.”
His eyes rolled. “Right, I forgot. Diem’s too fragile to make her own decisions.”
Irritation boiled into wrath. I stepped up to him and snarled. “Watch your fucking mouth when you speak about her. That’s your Queen.”
He bumped his chest into mine. “That’s my sister now, asshole.”
“Then act like it.” I shoved him by the shoulders. “Try being a good brother for a change.”
A low blow.
A cruel blow, especially from me.
So, when Taran’s fist came for my face, I didn’t bother to duck. I savored the crack of his knuckles on my jaw, the pain in my flesh finally a match for the agony I’d been steeping in for weeks.
It didn’t stop me from punching back. Stars were still swimming in my vision when I lunged forward with a wild swing that clipped his shoulder and sent him staggering. Seconds later, he was on me, and we were tumbling down the stairs and into the grass, trading insults and blows.
“Fuck you,” Taran shouted, slamming me to the soil. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”
I drove a fist into his side. “I helped you with everything you asked of me since—” I huffed as his elbow knocked the wind from my lungs. “—since we were children. I say no once, and our friendship is over?”
“This isn’t just any ‘no.’” He grabbed my fist mid-throw and knocked it away. “This is the only family Zalaric has.” He bared his teeth as he landed another jab across my face. “And you’re the heartless bastard leaving them in exile.”
I spat out a mouthful of blood. “I wrote letters. I promised them amnesty. I offered to pay for their passage and find them a place here to live. What more do they need?”
“They need Diem,” he bellowed. He leaned over me, sweat and blood dripping from his face. “Your word means nothing to them. She’s the Queen.”
I grabbed his shirt in my fists. “Everyone needs her, Taran. Every damn person on this continent wants something from her. She can only do so much. It’s my job to protect her.”
“Find some other way to do it.”
“I fucking can’t!”
My voice echoed off the palace’s stone facade. Faces began to appear in windows, drawn by our shouts.
“I can’t.” My arms fell limp at my sides, head slumping against the grass. “I don’t know how. The woman I love is being torn apart, and I don’t . . .” I closed my eyes, my voice as ragged as my breath. “I don’t know what to do.”
The heavy silence stretched on, broken only by our huffs for air and Sorae’s distant wingbeats as she circled the grounds, awaiting Diem’s return as restlessly as me.
Taran’s hand clamped around my wrist. “Come on. Too many eyes out here.”
He tugged me to my feet, jerked his chin, and walked away.
I trudged behind him out the palace gate and into the nearby forest. When we were fully hidden from view by a canopy of spring leaves, he leaned his back against a trunk and slid to the ground.
I did the same, hunching over my knees and hanging my head.
“I know Queenie’s going through a hard time,” Taran said gruffly. “We can all see it. But she’s been through worse. Remember when her father died? We thought we’d never see her smile again.”
I shook my head. “This is different. I can feel it.”
He frowned. “And she won’t talk to you?”
“She said she needs space.” I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes until it hurt. “I think I lost her, Taran.”
I’d thought admitting my fear aloud would make it feel too large and unbearably real. Instead, it felt like swimming to the surface and taking a breath.
Taran nudged me with his knee. “Nah. I see how she looks at you. She’s more in love with you than ever.”
I let out a long exhale. “Then why is she so determined to keep me away?”
“A Bellator trait, I think. I tried to talk to Teller about whatever’s bothering him.” He smirked. “Never seen a mortal run so fast. Auralie, too. Did you know she still hasn’t been to Andrei’s grave? I offered to go with her. She said she doesn’t need to go.”
“Bullshit,” I muttered.
He grunted in agreement. “Do you visit your mother’s grave?”
“She doesn’t have one. Father had her body taken away and burned.” My fists clenched. “I’d visit her every day if I could.”
The conversation lulled into silence, and though we said nothing, I could feel the wall between us crumble. We’d been through too much to let one fight divide us.
“I’ll tell Diem about the half-mortals as soon as she’s home,” I said. “You were right. It’s her choice, not mine.”
He flashed a sheepish smile. “I guess I could have been a little less dramatic about it.”
“I’m not sure you’re capable of that,” I teased, and he grinned. “I know you did it for Zal. He deserves someone that passionate about his happiness.”