Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
PHOENIX
Jax’s head whips towards me, and he looks bewildered.
I bet the same look sits on my face right now.
Nix? His voice is in my head.
That deep timbre is unmistakably his.
What. The. Fuck.
Before my mind can spiral, Ezkai Emil approaches me and whispers, “General, Master Oka Oya has arrived. She’s waiting for you and the Taaslord in the war room.”
I blink and look away from Jax.
Kazh is here?
Oh, yeah. That’s right. She was supposed to meet us today right after the trial to discuss the hunt for my dragon.
I clear my throat and nod. “Thanks. We’ll head there now.” I turn to Noire. “We good here?”
Noire smiles and nods.
“Great,” I say, rising. “We must go now.”
I whirl on my heel and, without waiting for Noire or Jax to answer, stride out of the damn auditorium. Thankfully, they follow me into the corridor.
My shoulders are so tense it hurts.
Damn, that’s hot. Jax’s voice comes through that new tether that binds us.
“Jax!” I snap and my steps halt.
I turn to face him. At least he has the decency to look sheepish.
“Sorry, darling,” he says with a shrug. “It’s all so new.”
I glare at him and grind my teeth. This is the last thing I need, to have someone else inside my mind.
The more the merrier. Lorca’s chuckle echoes somewhere far away in my mind.
Noire frowns. “General, what’s happening?”
“The fucking bond, that’s what’s happening!” I snap at my second-in-command. His eyebrows rise. “You didn’t tell me there would be a mind connection, too! I can hear his thoughts and he can hear mine!”
Noire’s face stills for a second. “You can communicate through your minds?”
I blink and snap my mouth shut. Noire asking me this question, the surprise that shines in his eyes, tells me this is so not supposed to be happening.
Oh, fuck me.
Wait. That’s not my thought.
With a groan, I whirl on my heel and stride towards the damn war room. I try everything I know on shielding my senses and attempt to throw it all at the pathway in my mind connecting me and Jax.
I can’t deal with this right now.
When I reach the heavy double door, I open it before my Ezkai can. I push it a little harder than I have to, and it swings all the way on its hinges. The whole castle rattles from the impact when the heavy door hits the stone walls.
Kazh stands by the window, hands neatly folded over the head of her cane. She turns to face me with a quirked eyebrow. “Who took a piss in your coffee this morning, General?”
I pause, locking eyes with her. Something else behind me catches her attention. Her eyes widen, lips parting.
“You didn’t.” She breathes out the words.
I glance over my shoulder to find Jax standing right behind me, still wearing his ragged clothes, blue-and-purple bruises littering his pale skin.
“What?” I ask, turning back to her. “Jax’s free, House Dzuni voted, we just finished the binding ritual.”
Kazh’s eye twitches. The grip on her cane tightens, and she lifts it briefly before setting it down with a clack. The way she glares at me tells me if we were alone, she’d beat me with that cane.
Instead of lashing out at me, she turns her wrath on…Noire. “You call yourself a Taaslord? An advisor?” She clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Un-fucking-believable.”
“Kazh, what’s done is done,” I say with a sigh. “I told you I need Jax’s help. I can’t do this alone.”
You won’t have to. Ever, Jax’s voice tells me in my mind.
Oh fuck. I thought I had a good grip on the shields.
“Jax!” I snap again. “For fuck’s sake. Can you at least try to stay out of my mind?”
He grimaces. “Sorry.” After a pause, he adds, “But just so you know, I can hear you, too. So, you may want to work on that.”
I grind my teeth in silence.
“What?” Kazh’s tone sends a chill down my spine.
“It appears that the General and her Blood Sentineal share a mind connection, too,” Noire explains calmly. “Which is…unusual.”
Kazh looks about ready to give up on being my mentor. For good.
“What went wrong, do you know?” I look between her and Noire. “If this mind communication is not normal, why…why do we have this connection?”
Noire shakes his head, apologetically. Kazh’s mouth twists into a sneer. “The ritual doesn’t create connection. It exploits whatever’s already there.”
My pulse stutters.
“This bond…it was meant to be used on men who are disposable, to preserve the General’s rule. Not to be used on someone the General is emotionally connected to.”
My chest tightens. Fuck.
“I—I don’t—It’s not—” I stutter.
It’s hard to find words. In the end, I give up to try and explain.
“It is what it is,” I say, coldly. “I guess we’ll have to find a way to deal with it. Now, we have something more important to discuss. The hunt for my dragon. We’ve wasted enough time as is; we must leave as soon as possible.”
“I’ve already reached out to the monks of Killygano Monastery. They have agreed to host you, and are expecting your arrival any day,” Kazh says, startling all of us.
For someone who was so against me journeying to find a dragon to bond, this is rather supportive.
“Thank you, Kazh. That’s amazing,” I say and dip my chin. “Then I see no reason why we can’t leave as soon as possible.” I turn to Noire. “As we agreed, you’ll stay here to hold the fort while I’m gone.”
Noire bows his head. “With pleasure and great honor, General.”
I glance at Ezkai Emil and Ezkai Bjorn stationed by the door. “I guess you boys will be going with me.”
Noire chuckles. My guards don’t answer, their gazes don’t even waver from being trained somewhere above my head. Only sign that they’ve heard me is the corner of Ezkai Emil’s lips twitching.
I turn back to Noire. “Obviously, Jax is coming and so is Kazh. I also want to take Ezkai Bloom and Ezkai Fern with me, too. They were my squad mates back at the Ezkai Academy. Unless…they have Caligos affiliations?”
Noire shakes his head. “None we could find.”
I exhale with relief. “Good. Good. That should be enough, no?”
Kazh shrugs, giving my guards a side-eye.
“You need someone from the Mender Unit,” Noire says. “I have someone who’s suitable, a trustworthy soldier with exceptional healer knowledge, just in case you require it.”
I nod. “Okay. Have I met them?”
“I don’t think so, General,” Noire says, thoughtfully. “Ezkai Ravenna.”
The name doesn’t ring a bell.
“No Caligos affiliations?”
“Of course not, General. I’ve personally vetted her.”
“Good. Thank you. She’ll be going with us, then. Let’s leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Ahem, apologies, General.” Jax speaks up for the first time. Our attention snaps to him. “May I request to leave the castle grounds to prepare for the trip?” I frown. He gestures at his appearance. “Fresh clothes, snacks, and all.”
I shrug. “I don’t see why not. As long as you get back in time.”
Jax nods enthusiastically.
“Genera—” Noire starts, but I silence him by raising my palm.
“Noire, please. I trust Jax not to do something stupid. And you can’t expect us to be attached at the hip at all times.”
From the look Noire gives me, it’s clear that’s exactly what he was expecting.
I glare at Noire. “Absolutely the fuck not, Noire. If I have another person trailing me at all times, I’m gonna start murdering people.”
Jax snorts. Kazh purses her lips and rolls her eyes. Lorca stirs at the back of my mind.
You’d repay what I’m owed much quicker, the trickster god purrs.
I flinch at their words.
“Understood, General,” Noire says with a smile. “Your Sentineal doesn’t have to always be with you.”
I wouldn’t be opposed to it… A lone thought of Jax’s glides over the front of my mind.
“Jax. A word,” I say, my tone clipped.
He nods and follows me farther away from prying ears to the window.
“Don’t you dare go fuck someone while you’re getting ready for the trip,” I warn him quietly. “I have no desire to listen in on that through the mind connection.”
Amusement dances in his gaze as he looks down at me.
“Oh, is that the reason why?” He cocks his head to the side. “Or maybe there’s a different reason why you don’t want me finding company tonight?”
I narrow my eyes at him, and instinctively, before I can think about it, my hand wraps around the handle of one of my blades.
Jax’s eyes drop to the blade strapped to my waist and flick back up.
“Care to reenact the first time we met, darling?” he purrs. “I’m all for it.”
“Fuck off,” I sneer.
He barks a laugh and runs a hand through his disheveled hair.
Hesitantly I add, “I know you must have…needs after staying so long in prison. I’m not inhumane. But wait until we figure out a way to shield ourselves from each other before you go looking for ways to satiate those needs.”
Without saying anything, Jax winks and prowls away.
Over his shoulder, he says casually, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “Don’t worry, General. There’s only one woman I desire in my sheets helping me satisfy those needs. And she’s currently preoccupied. I’ll be back by dawn.”
Noire and Kazh remain silent. But they don’t have to say it. I can read all they’re thinking from their faces.
If I were to murder my Sentineal myself, would that be against the law?
Both Jax’s and Lorca’s laughs echo at the back of my mind.