Chapter 45
KALLIE
Laughter filled the room as Emmett and Sylvia went back and forth. But the joy ceased when Kallie and Graeson stepped inside the room, and the attention of those sitting at the table turned to them. Tension ripped through the air as eyes bounced from Kallie to Dani.
Dani stood, her chair screeching as it scratched the floor. "What is she doing here?"
Kallie went rigid as Dani's gaze bore into her. Since the two of them had sparred, they had managed to evade each other. Any time Kallie had turned down a hall and heard Dani's voice, she had turned the other way, even if it meant taking a longer path to her destination.
Kallie was a walking reminder of Fynn's passing, and Kallie did not wish to cause Dani any more stress than she already had.
Yet, when she had told Graeson that it was Sebastian who had been the one to take Fynn's life, he had asked if she would come with him to talk to the others. She had initially denied him despite his reassurance that it would be all right. However, when he looked at her, a plea on his lips, she had relented.
She was wondering if she should have held her ground, though.
"She has a right to eat with us," Graeson argued, placing a gentle hand on Kallie's back, and some of the existing stiffness dissipated. Marginally, anyway.
Dani scoffed. "Fine, but that does not mean I have to sit here, too," she said, scooting her chair further back.
"Sit, Dani," Graeson ordered.
Dani pursed her lips, her nose twitching as she glared at him. "You do not command me."
"We all cannot avoid each other forever," Graeson said, his voice surprisingly even. "We have matters to discuss."
She arched an eyebrow. "What matters?"
A smirk pushed at the corner of Graeson's lips. "Such as what we should do about Domitius and those he has been colluding with. And considering you are a general, I had thought you would like to be a part of that discussion."
Dani's hands curled around the back of her chair, her knuckles draining of color. Everything about her stance gave the impression that she wanted to flee, yet Dani hesitated as her gaze flicked from the door to the table.
"And it would behoove any general to point out that she is not one of us. Whatever plans we need to discuss should not be done within her earshot," she finally said, pointing directly at Kallie.
"You're letting your feelings blindside you, Dani," Graeson snapped, his hand falling from Kallie's back as he stepped toward the general.
"And you're not? She was fucking raised by Domitius!" Dani shouted, her hand pounding against the table. "Or have you forgotten because you two are--"
"Mind your tongue, Danisinia," Graeson hissed.
Dani cackled and began again, "She--"
But before Dani could say anything else and push Graeson even closer to the edge he was already teetering on, Kallie stepped forward. " She is standing right here."
Dani snorted, a sneer curling her lips. "I see you have finally regained your backbone."
Kallie tipped up her chin and squeezed Graeson's arm, gently tugging him back. While she was grateful for his desire to defend her, this was not his battle.
"You are right to be leery of my presence. Domitius did raise me. He taught me almost everything I know. He taught me how to lie and deceive; he gave me the skills to wield a sword; he made me into his perfect weapon. But you are not the only one who wishes to put Domitius in his place once and for all. And with or without you, I will be his undoing."
Dani pursued her lips, and Kallie thought she was still going to leave. Even in their pursuit of vengeance, there would be no common ground between them.
But then Terin spoke for the opposite end of the table, brows drawn together, "Dani."
It was only one word. His tone was not commanding, even though Terin had the authority to demand that Dani sit. He hadn't even begged. But there was something else in his voice, in the unsaid words perhaps, that made Dani unfurl her fingers from the chair and finally sit.
She said nothing, her mouth drawn in a flat line, her ire still swimming on the surface of her irises and spread plainly across her features.
Kallie did not think it was progress, but it was something. A momentary truce, perhaps.
Graeson pulled out a seat and nodded to Kallie. Once she took it, he sat in the chair beside her. He placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands tightly together.
Terin nodded to them, offering them a small smile.
"Domitius has been left unchecked for too long," Graeson said. "We cannot delay any longer. We already know King Rian has fallen ill and Sebastian has taken his place."
"Sebastian is acting as regent?" Kallie asked in surprise.
Graeson looked at her, his attention dropping to her throat. Kallie's hand froze. She hadn't even realized she had placed her hand there. But as Graeson's jaw popped and Kallie recalled Sebastian's hands wrapped around her neck, she could feel his hands burning her skin, her lungs depleting.
Graeson took a deep breath and placed a gentle hand on her thigh. "Yes," he said softly before returning his attention to the rest of the table. "Sebastian is not a man we can dismiss. He's rash and hotheaded."
Kallie nodded beside him, her brows furrowing.
"And he's the one who killed Fynn."
Graeson's words swept across the room, and Kallie peered at Dani from the corner of her eye. The general sat back in her chair, her lips pursed and hands gripping the table's edge as if to steady her.
"He was right there," she whispered. "I could have--" She shook her head as Sylvia lay a hand atop Dani's. But it was as if Dani did not even feel her friend's touch, as if her mind was lost to the past.
Graeson scooted closer to the table. "We must act before it is too late--"
But before Graeson could continue, a loud commotion sounded outside the dining room. Not a second later, Ophelia stormed through the entrance, her gaze quickly flicking across the room.
Her cheeks were flushed as if she had run the entire way to the dining room, and her chest rose rapidly. Wisps of blonde hair had fallen across the warrior's face, but she ignored them as she stepped further into the room.
"Good," Ophelia said, her voice no more than a huff as she tried to regain her breath. "You're all here."
"What is it?" Medenia asked, her hip bumping into the table as she stood. The dishes rattled atop it.
Coming to Medenia's side, Ophelia held out a piece of folded parchment, the wax seal broken. With furrowed brows, Medenia took the letter from her and unfolded it.
"We've received a letter," Ophelia explained. "The queen has already been made aware of it, and I came here right away to deliver it to you all."
"A simple letter has put you in this state?" Emmett asked with an amused snort.
Turning toward Emmett, Ophelia glared at him, her eyes blazing and a sneer curling at her mouth. "Now is not the time for jokes."
"Who is the letter from?" Dani asked hesitantly.
Ophelia glanced at Medenia, who scanned the words. Her eyes darted across the parchment, and her fingers tightened around the letter, crinkling it as the blood rushed from her face.
Ophelia shifted on her feet. "We finally have received a response from Pontia."
Kallie went rigid at the mention of the island. She looked at Graeson, a question she did not dare ask aloud on her lips, but he only offered her a grimace in response as his hand found hers beneath the table.
"And?" Dani pressed, scooting closer to the table.
"She has declined," Ophelia said carefully.
"What do you mean she has declined ?" Dani spat at the same time as Kallie asked, "Declined what?"
Medenia's gaze was far away when she answered, the letter crumpling in her hand. "Esmeray has declined to declare war against Ardentol. She claims that it is not in the kingdom's best interest and that the people must rebuild first."
The blood drained from Kallie's face as the words settled in her stomach. She had known war was coming. By the gods, she had been on the other side before, forcing the pieces to fall into place by order of Domitius. Yet somehow, the true weight of her actions, of everything she had done, did not settle until she had heard those words.
All around her people moved, words were spat, but Kallie barely heard them as her ears rang.
"Typical," Kallie heard Dani say. "This is the exact bullshit Esmeray preached before we left."
"What else has she said?" someone else--Terin, Kallie thought numbly--asked.
"She has demanded your return home," Medenia said, looking at each of them. "Immediately."
Kallie absently felt Graeson squeeze her hand, but she barely registered it. Her pulse was thumping in her ears, louder and louder.
She wasn't ready.
She wasn't--
"And?" Graeson asked, his voice cutting through the noise of her heart ricocheting beneath her ribcage.
"And that upon your return, you shall face the court on the grounds of possible treason."
Kallie didn't know when she had stood, but her legs shook beneath her as she stared at Medenia, her mouth agape as she struggled to understand what was happening. She jumped as Dani's hands smacked against the table.
" Treason? " Dani shouted. "You have got to be kidding."
Kallie heard a noise beside her, but she didn't turn to look. She felt someone's hand brush her own, but she could not take her eyes off the letter that Medenia held out to Dani.
"I am not," Medenia said as Dani took the letter from her. "According to the queen, you all went against her orders, and as a result, a war is on the cusp of breaking out because of your actions."
Before Kallie knew what she was doing, she ran from the room, her heart in her lungs as shouts erupted behind her. But Kallie did not stay to hear what they said, not even when someone called her name.
As the tears ran down her face, she already knew.