Chapter 31
The music stopped, and the dancing demons paused mid-grind.
Athira walked into the ballroom, and I lifted my cheek off my fist where I’d been slumped.
She walked up to Carmine, still wearing blood-streaked battle attire. She looked awful. As if she’d been through around two days of torture.
Gratia pushed through the crowd but stopped short at the sight of her mother alone.
“My son, my king,” Athira said, bowing in front of him.
“Mother, did they release you, or did you escape?” Tyran asked.
“They have released me, and kept the mate of my daughter. They send me with a message.”
Tyran stood. “And I will hear it. Syera, Gu, join us.”
Gu hurried to join us, his chest puffed with pride. I didn’t look at Athira as we walked from the ballroom and toward the war room.
When we reached the room, she sat heavily, and all of us stared. Athira was exhausted. Never would’ve thought I’d see the day.
“What do you require?” Tyran asked her.
“Food and water,” she answered.
Gu didn’t wait to be asked before disappearing to procure her requests.
Tyran leaned back on his high-backed chair. “Why did they release you?”
“To deliver their threat,” Athira said. “Surrender, or they will kill a third of your army tomorrow.”
“How does my army fare?”
“Not well,” she said. “Some better than others, but the trap has weakened all of us. It appears to attack our nature. Now that I have been freed from the trap, I can see as much, but in there… the mind can only scream.”
Tyran didn’t react. “They could have released any demon to deliver this message. Why you? I would be more likely to surrender to save you than any other demon there.”
I said, “Because they wished you to see a powerful demon reduced.”
Tyran glanced my way. His expression was one of polite disbelief. I had to be careful about how much I helped her out of this hole. I couldn’t risk that disbelief becoming suspicion.
Athira snapped, “I’ll be back to full strength in a day or two.”
Tyran reached for her hand, and the moment they made contact, Athira summoned a tiny ball and threw it at her son.
The ball exploded, and the curse within was revealed. I sat back as Tyran released smoke in a mindless wall to protect his skin from what appeared to be acid.
The droplets of acid sizzled against the black-tinged crimson and fell to the floor. When the smoke cleared, Tyran was left staring at the back of his hand. A tiny tendril of smoke rose from a scale there.
“M-my son,” Athira choked. “That was not me. I had no control.”
Tyran stared at the damaged scale again. “A good thing that more of the curse did not touch me.” He lifted his focus to Athira.
Her fear seemed real. She hadn’t known about the curse upon her or that she’d been used to attack the king.
He said, “They released you knowing that you could get close to me to release the curse.”
That seemed to convince him of her innocence where my words hadn’t.
Clever move, sister.
Though if the attack had been successful in damaging more of Carmine’s scales, I may have felt otherwise.
Gu returned with fruit and meats and a goblet of pli but stopped short at the sight of the king’s escaping smoke. “My king!”
“Sit,” Tyran said. “We have matters to discuss. Syera, my mother needs rest. Take her to her chamber and return.”
He didn’t want me to hear the plan.
I grabbed the tray from Gu, then waited at the door for Athira to join me. She batted me away when I attempted to support her under the elbow.
I blew out a breath and followed her out of the war room and through the halls. “What else do you need?”
“Sleep,” she answered. “Obviously.”
“Torture has made you more pleasant than usual.” My brows drew together as Carmine sent me a forceful warning through our bond.
Athira pushed into her room, then waited as I closed the door. I turned and held a finger to my lips, shaking my head.
She snapped her mouth shut.
Carmine was sending wave after wave of “shut up” vibes.
“I’ll leave your food and water next to the bed,” I said, walking into the room. “You could do with a shower.”
“Does the stench of dead Vissimo offend you?” she sneered, while also scanning the chamber. She jerked, then pointed to the shadows along the opposite wall.
Ah.
I sensed it there—Carmine’s power. Driven by Tyran. He hadn’t completely trusted the nature of Athira’s return after all. This was a final test of her allegiance.
I replied, “No, but the stench of your piss does. That must rankle, dear Mother—that our enemy frightened you so much.”
“We do not share an enemy,” she hissed. “You could have ended the suffering of everyone in that magus trap with your undead army. Yet we remained within the trap. Why did you not wield your power for the good of the demon realm?
“Perhaps because they held a third of our army in their trap, Athira. I couldn’t be sure of the trap parameters, and whether interference from me would make things worse.”
“Lies,” she hissed. “You are no queen of mine. You are no mate to my son. And in time, every demon will know it.”
I laughed. “You can try to convince them. Do your best. They won’t listen.” I lowered my voice. “Haven’t you heard? I suppose you were in the midst of agony. Demons adore me.”
“They will see the truth of you eventually,” she said.
I straightened. “They will see what they are told to see.”
I swept from her chamber, and released a shaking exhale when I was partway down the hall. Thank you. Balling up my gratitude, I cast the feeling at Carmine, who sent back a wave of relief.
Athira and I would need to be more careful than ever. If Tyran had gone so far as to send smoke after us, then suspicions over Athira had taken root in his mind.
Gu was exiting the war room when I arrived. He bowed, then continued on his march—expression grim.
I entered the room. “She should be fine. I wish they’d sent Raes back instead.”
Tyran didn’t answer. “You’re dismissed.”
“What’s the plan to get the army back?”
“There’s none,” he answered, staring at the map of the pack lands.
I raised both brows. “A third of your army. You can’t afford to lose that many.”
“I have a realm of demons, my queen,” he answered. “It is time they earn their keep and protect their realm.”
“Conscription?” I said incredulously. “That’s your plan? Just replace a honed and skilled weapon squadron with factory workers, trades demons, and market vendors?”
“Exactly. Surrender is not an option. Their sacrifice will not be in vain.”
He lifted his head, and I glanced between his eyes.
Mother be. “You’re going to go along with it and use their deaths for your own ends.”
“Well done, young demon. You do delight on rare occasions. I cannot let such an opportunity pass by. The mass death will evoke rage in my subjects, and I can attempt the first pass at creating the future of our kind.”
His elite demon race. “That is seriously fucked up. Why bother trying to create a future for demons when you think so little of their lives?”
Tyran smiled, then returned his focus to the map. “Every machine must have its small cogs. They must play their part in the grand scheme of things. To attempt to build a future for my subjects and race, I must be strong enough to sacrifice enough.”
“Except you’re not sacrificing anything. A third of your army is going to do that for you, without agreeing to it either.”
“They agreed to die for their race. And they will.”
If that wasn’t a demon interpretation of a soldier’s oath, I didn’t know what was. The contents of my stomach threatened to revolt. Around one thousand soldiers made up that squadron. One thousand lives. Not those of his enemy either. “Your lunacy has no end.”
“I prefer to think of it as genius. Now get out. You have no use to me here.”
I left the room, a hand over my mouth. Tyran’s agenda had always sickened me, but for the first time, I felt in danger of becoming physically ill as the image of thousands of dead demons rose in my mind. Raes would be one of them.
I found my room, then slid down the other side of the door once inside. I had to get word to Tempest not to kill the army.
I— Wait. What was I thinking? Tempest wouldn’t kill one thousand people. Sascha wouldn’t. Kyros… I didn’t think he would.
This was a bluff, and nothing more.
I leaped at a frantic knock. I cast out magical feelers. Gratia.
Pausing first, I sent an inquiry to Carmine through our bond. He sent back reassurance. Tyran wasn’t following me right now.
Gratia entered, and I drew my ghost circle forth.
Her eyes widened, but she fixed them on me. “What did Mother say about Raes?”
I crossed to the armchair and sank into it. It had to be the early hours of the morning. “He is still in the trap. The alliance has sent an ultimatum. They will kill those in their trap tomorrow unless Carmine surrenders.”
She waited.
“He won’t surrender, Gratia,” I said softly. That had to be why Gu had looked so grim. He’d been tasked with announcing the conscription of the realm’s demons.
Gratia sank into a heap on the floor. “He cannot sacrifice so many.”
“He has already made the choice to. He will replace them with demons from the realm.”
“How can one such as Raes be replaced? He cannot!” she cried out.
I agreed with that. “Carmine cannot deny the power of being king. He cannot surrender.”
Gratia looked up, her face streaked with tears. “So I’m supposed to sit by and let those humans kill my mate?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t say that. Your mother will have a message for me. I need to hear that, but Carmine is suspicious of our relationship after your interference.”
Gratia blanched. “I can get the message.”
“You can bring Athira here,” I said instead. “And you can prove yourself by doing something else for me while I hear the message.”
“Raes is my mate.” She pushed to her feet and stepped my way. “I will do anything to save him.”
“I know. And what I’m going to ask you to do is just as important.” I leaned forward. “I need you to go to the dungeon. Tonight, once Carmine is asleep. Go all the way to the cells, then cast your magic deep underground, as far as you can. Speak my name.”