24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Keera
Tension hung thick in the air, almost tangible, like walking through spiderwebs, as Erix and I approached the clearing at the center of the encampment.
Five large tents formed the edges, each bearing the sigil of the clan lord who resided within: The jackrabbit, the red wolf, the horned lizard, the snake, and the scorpion.
The sight of the last made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
My former lord lived within, although I did not know if she would even recognize me.
I had avoided thinking about it as much as possible, but staring down the maroon emblem of Clan Padra, I could no longer escape the thought that my parents were in this very encampment.
My skin burned hot even as my blood ran cold.
Thinking about facing them made me feel like the young girl I had been when they left me, angry and scared.
But I was approaching this confrontation as a warrior and a leader.
Erix’s shoulder bumped mine, drawing me from my thoughts, and I knew the touch was intentional. Dhara, Elion, and Aderyn walked at our backs as we marched into the clearing. I lifted my chin as we stopped in the center of the circle.
“We seek an audience with the lords of this encampment,” Erix shouted, loud enough to be heard inside the tents.
Izumi emerged first, Badha following hot on her heels.
Normally, a warlord would stand at their lord’s back, signifying their fealty and protecting them from attacks from behind.
Instead, though, Badha stood to Izumi’s left, and I didn’t miss the way their pinkies just barely brushed even as Izumi kept her right hand on her sword.
It seemed many traditions of the Ballan Desert were being challenged today.
The Lords of Ratan, Caillte, and Miran followed, all standing in various wary postures, with arms folded or hands resting on pommels. I tried not to let my eyes flick nervously to the flap of the tent bearing the banner of Clan Padra. But then it rippled and Lord Nathaira emerged.
My spine straightened involuntarily, as her dark eyes flicked appraisingly over the scene. She wore the same calculating expression, devoid of emotion, that I remembered. If she recognized me, though, she gave no sign, resting her fists on her hips.
“What is the meaning of this?” Nathaira demanded. “You ride against us with your sword drawn yesterday, and now expect us to meet with you in peace?”
“Erix only did so because we attacked first, taking one of his party hostage.” Izumi raised her chin. “And as the leader of this encampment, I have made peace with him.”
Nathaira’s lips pressed together in a thin line, and the other three lords looked between themselves. Lord Vidar of Clan Caillte spoke first, “My clan tore itself in two because you promised war instead of the illusion of peace. Now you put down your arms so easily?”
“I did not come for peace,” Erix declared. “Only to ask you to turn your swords on a common enemy once more.”
“You would ask us to free Kelvadan from its captors when it deserved to fall for the softness it bred into its people,” Nathaira scoffed. “We only allowed Clan Katal to lead because they promised a return to the old ways of bloodshed and battle.”
Anger bubbled up in my chest at her callousness in the face of Kelvadan’s suffering, but I clamped down. My voice came out firmer than I felt as I spoke. “We are here to herald in a return to the old ways—the oldest ways, when the desert was first crossed.”
The gazes of everybody present fell on me, and goosebumps covered my skin, but I squared my shoulders.
Before, I had borne responsibility as a burden, hopeful it would bring me the belonging I craved if I forced myself into the role of a perfect queen.
But now, I picked it up like a sword, because I was ready to fight once again.
I took a deep breath and launched into the tale that was etched on the temple walls.
The lords’ faces were unreadable, except for Izumi, who gave me the tiniest of nods as I reached the end of my story.
“Erix and I come before you today to offer to fight for all the people of the desert. Together, we will lead the clans across the desert to heal her magic and make it safe and inhabitable again, just as the first High Lords of the Ballan Desert did.”
“And the lords are expected to just accept this blatant claim of leadership?” Lord Vidar argued.
“Clan Katal accepts this offer,” Izumi spoke first. The others looked at her incredulously as she continued. “Erix has proven his loyalty to the people of this desert, and the riders of Clan Katal will pledge their swords to his cause.”
“Clan Otush will follow these high lords as well,” Dhara spoke from over my shoulder.
“As will Clan Tibel,” Elion chimed in.
“Erix, as he calls himself now, has failed us once before,” Lord Vidar still argued. “And you are but a fallen queen, grasping at the straws of your faded power. Do you expect any of us to kneel to you?”
“We do not expect anybody to kneel,” Erix declared. “Only lead your clans into battle at our back. I do not plan to lead as Lord Alasdar did, subjugating all the clans beneath Clan Katal. I only expect you to ride at our backs as we fight for the freedom and safety of our home.”
“And why should we ride against the same city that you abandoned us for before?” The Lord of Clan Ratan demanded.
“If you truly wish to return to the old ways, you would do well to oppose the occupation of Kelvadan. They saddle and bridle horses. And Calix already demands that we kneel to him. We seek to end the enmity between Kelvadan and the Clans. As high lords, we will fight for all the people of the desert,” I promised.
“The fallen queen of the city does not care for the people of the clans, only restoring her own rule,” Lord Nathaira spoke to the others as if I were not even present.
I tensed, bracing for the wave of shame and guilt that would follow her accusations, but it never came.
Instead, the steel of resolve snaked up my spine.
I would protect the people of the desert, as I had promised.
My legs carried me two large steps forward before I commanded them to, but I pulled up short.
“I am not of the city,” I declared. “Your people are my people. All the people of the desert are my people, even those without a clan or a city to call home.”
Lord Nathaira’s brows knit together, as if in confusion, as she stared at me.
Two more measured steps forward, and I was just feet away from her. My voice was low as I challenged her. “Look into my eyes. Meet my gaze and tell me you do not remember who I am.”
Nathaira’s narrow brown eyes were flinty and unreadable as I stared into their depths, waiting like a predator might wait for its prey to come within reach. Silence stretched, and while Erix did not speak, the tether in my belly shivered, reassuring me that he was at my back.
Finally, Nathaira looked at me—really looked into my golden eyes—and understanding sparked. For just a moment, fear followed in the wake of surprise. “You. You should be dead.”
“It’s what you wanted. It would have been easier for you to be rid of me, but I refused to let death take me. Survival made me strong, and now you will know that strength,” I assured her.
Nathaira’s nostrils flared in anger, but I thought I saw a flash of apprehension in her eyes.
She hid it quickly—Lords of the Ballan Desert could not show fear—but Dhara had warned me that Nathaira feared any who might usurp her power more than anything.
The dark, twisted well of anger in my stomach roiled in satisfaction from knowing I could inspire that fear.
She raised her chin, speaking loudly so all could hear. “I will not follow this dangerous woman. She has so little control over her emotions that she leveled half of my encampment once, costing several clansmen and horses their lives.”
I swallowed, feeling like glass was stuck in my throat. I had faced down these terrors just yesterday in Erix’s arms. They would not defeat me, even if they were given more venom when they were spoken from Nathaira’s lips.
“I was a child whose pain cost people their lives in a terrible accident. And you were a powerful lord who left that child to die on purpose. Control can be learned—and learned it I have. But cruelty is a wound that cannot be healed,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I have made difficult decisions to protect Clan Padra,” Lord Nathaira said, seemingly unperturbed. “The fact that you don’t respect those realities of leadership show me that you are too na?ve to fulfill the role of high lord.”
“And perhaps you have been in power too long to remember what it is to care about anything but your own rule,” I hissed.
Lord Nathaira’s hand fell to the pommel of her sword.
A flash of red glimmered brightly there in the morning sun, confirming the presence of blood glass in the handle of her saber.
“How dare you question me? The two of you say you will not subjugate the clans, but here you stand, insulting my leadership. I will make you bleed for questioning my honor.”
I put my hand on the handle of my own sword. “Perhaps we should see which of us makes the other bleed first.”
Tension hung thick in the air as we looked each other up and down.
“I am willing to stake my clans allegiance on the outcome of a duel of honor.” The Lord of Clan Ratan broke the silence.
“The prowess of The Viper—Erix—is known to us, and I would follow his command in battle. If Keera can prove herself equal in skill to a lord, I will accept their right to lead us into battle together.”
“She has already bested me on several occasions, and I am as strong as any lord,” Dhara scoffed. I looked over my shoulder to find her crossing her arms and glaring down the others.
“Given that you are alive, it was clearly training, and not a true duel of honor,” Lord Vidar chimed in.
Elion opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “I accept.”