Текст книги "Horns of Wicked Ebony"
Автор книги: Lacey Lehotzky
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 43 страниц)
Rokath shook his head. “Help Assyria,” he croaked. Rapp did as he was told, like a good soldier, and swept my tiny, exhausted body into his arms. Despite the water, I barely had the energy to clamp my legs over his stallion’s back. I swayed wildly, and my mate leaped to my side.
“I’m fine,” I told him, even though I clearly was not. “You should ride.”
He stepped closer and brushed the backs of his knuckles across my cheek. “I’ve endured worse hardships. Rest up there.”
I didn’t protest. Sinking down, I draped myself over the horse’s neck for added support. Rokath took the reins, then tugged him forward. I nearly groaned as his back swayed from side to side, forcing my muscles to work.
Rapp did the same for Blaeze, assisting him in rolling the cart onward with more obsidian tendrils that blended with the night.
Once again, the only sound passed between our group was the crunch of dirt beneath the horses’ hooves and the hounds’ panted breaths.
Yet down our bond, Rokath’s trepidation rose—louder than the cawing of the three crows that flew overhead—with each step closer we took to the Demon army’s encampment.
Because Rokath, the infamous Halálhívó with the power to call upon the dead to fight for him, would soon have to explain how fifty thousand of his males had perished under his command when he was supposed to be the most feared warrior in all of Keleti.
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2
The throne of angel bones dug into my backside as I waited for the moment I’d retake command of my forces. Yet I couldn’t wrestle my attention away from my mate, still resting in our bed. Our return journey to the army had been a trying one, and yet she hadn’t protested for a single moment.
She almost fucking died, and I hated myself for letting it come that close. My abhorrence for the Angels, my thirst for their blood had increased tenfold during our trek through the Paks Desert.
For days, we’d recuperated in secret—returning under the cover of darkness had been a blessing. In that time, I’d debriefed Rapp and Trol on what had occurred after we parted ways.
I’d told them of my plan to include females in the army too. I meant what I said to Assyria before we departed: the army needed to change. We could easily increase our numbers, and besides that, they could focus on fighting the Angel females while the males saved their energy for the bigger fighters. With our newly trained magic-focused units too, our force would be unstoppable.
And I was ready for Assyria to be my true equal.
Rapp had an immediate friendship with my mate and had witnessed our relationship from the very beginning, so the changes were unsurprising to him. Trol had taken a little convincing, but after the heavy losses we’d suffered, he’d come around quickly.
My initial idea had been to return to Uzhhorod, the capital of the Demon Realm, with a handful of squads and speak with High Priestess Kiira and Kral Xannirin, my cousins and co-conspirators, about another conscription. Together, we’d shaped Demon society into a devoted, faithful, and obedient flock. As much as I wanted to have the conversation about the future of our military in person, time was currently our enemy as much as those white-winged insects.
Rapp had suggested that we ask Kiira to pull exclusively from the priestesses, since they wouldn’t question her command. Her storytelling was divine, and whatever she proclaimed was taken as fact—whether or not it was true. Trol solidified our plan when he proposed that we seek out only the high-powered ones and send them to Fured for training, along with the others we’d gathered months before.
Trol managed the masses of soldiers like a seasoned shepherd—fair, firm, and calculating, though he could be ruthless when necessary. He was more familiar with the lower-level grievances and politics that emerged from having such a large company. His opinion was that integrating a smaller group first would have a trickle down effect once the entire army was reunited.
Yet I still had some atoning to do, and I didn’t want Assyria here to witness it. She was still so weak, even after days of rest. The pallor of her tan skin worried me as she continued to lay in our new bed. The dryness of her lips. Her cheekbones, sharpened by lack of food.
Shame like I’d never felt weighed heavily on me.
Whispers of my presence had grown like thorny weeds in a well-tended garden. Especially after no one else rejoined the larger group from the west. The questions had sharpened into why Assyria and I were the only ones to return and where the remainder of the males had gone.
Distracting them hadn’t quelled the growing unrest.
Especially as the Angels—dug in on the opposite side of Lutsk—had kept to themselves since we’d reunited with the army.
Which was why we’d planned this gathering, so all the soldiers could hear me speak. So the rumors would dissipate. I drummed my fingers over the skull at the end of the arm of the throne, mentally rehearsing the speech I was set to give. Never had I feared addressing my soldiers, and yet this moment was the closest the emotion had come to breaking through my hardened walls.
A riot of voices outside tore me from my thoughts.
It is time.
I rose, plucking my helmet from the ground and securing it on my head. Horns of wicked ebony speared toward the sky, and two sockets in the black skull mask over my face allowed everyone to see my burgundy eyes.
I was dressed for battle, because this address would certainly require the full force of my presence. For centuries, I’d drilled certain beliefs into the army—namely that females didn’t belong. Yet the revelation of fifty thousand soldiers’ deaths would elicit the worst response. Especially when they learned why they would never return.
As I rolled my shoulders and blew out a long breath, movement in my periphery caught my attention. From the rear room, Assyria emerged, wearing the leather armor I’d procured for her when she’d requested something more comfortable to ride in other than dresses.
Upon our return, I’d had all our clothing thoroughly cleaned, ensuring that not a single grain of sand remained in the fabric. Yet seeing her in something so standard issue gave me pause.
She needed more. She needed to be more if any of this was going to work.
Now was not the time to plan for that, though.
“What are you doing out of bed?” I asked her, though my tone was more concerned than chastising.
She strode forward, tucking her long hair behind her pointed ears. The rest tumbled freely to her waist, shiny and clean. Yet under her eyes, dark circles clung like purple reminders of her exhaustion.
“I’m here to stand beside you, as your mate. You don’t have to face anything alone anymore, remember?” she quipped. Despite her fatigue, that snark remained.
The corners of my mouth twitched. I didn’t know if I wanted to send her away to rest or to kiss her for choosing to join me.
Assyria must have sensed my internal battle because she huffed. “I think we’re past the point of pretending that you can’t let anyone in, that you can’t show weakness to anyone. Maybe you don’t show it to them, but you show it to me.” Her voice remained strong and steady, and she offered me a fierce look that said she wasn’t backing down.
Not like she ever did when it came to me.
A memory of our first meeting flashed through my mind. How she’d crossed her arms and refused to give me her name. Threatened to kill me or herself to end the situation the Fates had forced us into.
I fucking loved that fire in her.
My hands flexed at my sides as I weighed her words. Despite my instincts telling me to squash what I was feeling and hold the burden of everything onto my own, I peeled my fingers off the hilt of control and accepted what she was offering.
Because she was right.
“Keep doing this.” I’d need her help to continue to correct this defensive behavior. To learn how to feel again.
“Deal,” she said, stepping forward and flattening her palms on the metal plates covering my chest. “Just tell me what you need me to do, and I will do it.”
“Stand by my side. Harsh words will fly, but don’t let them affect you. Try your best to watch that smart mouth of yours,” I told her, amusement threading my tone.
Her answering grin was full of mischief. “You know I’ve never been good at that.”
“Precisely why I should send you back to our tent,” I growled. Draping an arm around her shoulders, I steered her toward the map room.
“Don’t you think it’s funny you have such a temper, and I can’t swallow my words?” she asked, a lightness to her tone aimed at soothing my fears.
“I don’t think ‘funny’ is the word I’d use to describe it,” I grumbled as we entered together. Rapp and Trol looked up from their conversation.
“Ready?” Rapp asked me, attention flickering to Assyria at my side.
“As I’ll ever be.” I tugged at the underside of my helmet, ensuring it was perfectly in place.
Nodding, he and Trol slipped outside, both releasing sharp whistles. The cacophony of noise died down instantly.
Beside me, Assyria squared her shoulders. She gave a small dip of her chin, letting me know she was ready. Dragging in a breath, I straightened, towering above the ground. Then, I flung back the flap and stomped into the light.
To add an extra level of intimidation, I dove into the well of ebony shadows in my chest and pulled inky tendrils to my arms and feet. Assyria did the same, and together we settled onto the platform that always stood in the center of the war camp, demonstrating the depths of our Giver-blessed power together.
Rapp and Trol came to stand a few paces behind the two of us. All around, soldiers knelt in deference, though more than a few pairs of eyes bored into me, hints of distrust and hostility peeking through.
I noted their positions. They’d be the most difficult to convince and might require additional persuasion.
“Rise,” I commanded, and like a wave, the males crested.
“This gossip about why I returned without my battalions stops now.”
Furious whispers crackled through the crowd. I let out a low growl, magic tightening at my feet. “Anyone who dares speak again before I am finished will find themselves tied to the pole and preparing for a lashing.”
Silence reigned.
I inhaled deeply, chest expanding against the metal plates, as I prepared to report what had occurred. “Your brothers fought bravely, beating those fucking fanatics back day by day and slaughtering them by the thousands. Until we reached a salt flat where the path narrowed.”
The knock of my boots against the wood echoed in the space between my words as I walked a slow circle around the platform. Each section received equal measures of my attention.
And equal measures of my scrutiny.
“What I did not know was that the Angels have been taking prisoners for a long time. These prisoners shared with the Angel leadership that I had brought a female along with me.”
A voice caught my attention, and I tilted my head to the side, eyes narrowing on the offender. “Do you have something you wish to say?” I snarled in his direction.
Those around him took healthy steps back. His jaw clenched as he advanced. “I knew that fallen would only bring us trouble.”
Heat licked its way up my spine. I snapped at the closest Százados. “Bring him here.”
Without hesitation, the officer dragged him out of the crowd. As the male fought him, another Százados jumped in, and together they hauled him onto the platform.
“Secure him to the post.” He wasn’t the only dissenter, of that I was certain. But he would be the first to suffer.
Rapp, Trol, and Assyria stepped to one side while I grabbed the cane. Normally, I’d start with the nine-tailed whip, but I was going to put a stop to this here and now.
The Százados stripped him, leaving his back bare. Like a predator stalking its prey, I approached him. “That,” I paused two steps from him, returning my attention to the spectators, “is my fucking mate.”
A collective intake of breath swept through the camp.
I twisted back, letting the cane whistle through the air. Sweat broke out on the soldier’s back. Then, I swung.
The crack resounded through the quiet. A red mark bloomed immediately. To his credit, the male didn’t cry out or beg for a reprieve.
“And anyone who dares to speak ill of her will receive this same punishment.”
The second blow landed with as much force as the first. Another welt appeared. More salt slicked off him as he tightened his grip on the leather straps. Assyria watched on, unflinching, as I delivered the blows.
“I apologize, Halálhívó. Had I known, I would not have made such an insinuation,” he gritted out after the third strike.
“No, you wouldn’t have.” I landed two more blows in quick succession, and then motioned for the Százados to release him. He slumped in their arms as they dragged him back into formation.
I faced the crowd again, and Assyria returned to my side, arms crossed casually over her chest. “Does anyone else wish to speak?”
Only cold, stoic expressions greeted me.
“Good. Then I shall continue.”
Keeping the cane in hand, I resumed my slow circle of the platform. “They took Assyria and offered me an exchange. Her life or theirs.”
A moment passed. Then another. The males stared at me, and I started to think that the revelation was landing more like a dusting of sand and less like the strike of a hammer.
My delusion shattered a moment later, along with the silence. Anger, like an unstoppable wildfire, blazed in all directions. Shouts rang out, fingers pointed accusingly in my direction. Százados and Vezető yanked soldiers out of formation while Parancsok screamed at the remainder, trying to quell the unrest.
One male broke through the madness and stomped toward the platform. Instinctively, I surged closer to Assyria, magic coiling tight around my fists. Her expression never changed, but the darkness pooling around her tensed.
“Fifty thousand? Are you fucking serious? And you let them get away? What kind of leader are you?”
Obsidian threads shot forward and gripped his arms, dragging him to kneel at my feet.
“Who am I?” I bellowed, my voice ringing louder than the chaos and bringing it to heel. “I am your master, and I make the decisions for the entire army. The Fates chose me as the savior of the Demon race, blessing me with the power to call upon the dead to do my bidding. In fact, I am the only person to have been given such a gift in all our written history.”
I let the words linger like smoke in the air. Through the slits in my helmet, I glared at each male restrained by his superior officers.
“I am the fucking Halálhívó.”
The words fell like heavy blows, and the male trembled beneath my wrath. Staring at him, I threw a pointed question to those gathered. “Should I kill him now and call upon his dead body to remind you all what exactly I can do? Of who the fuck I am?”
“No, Halálhívó,” voices rang out. Many more audibly swallowed.
This time, Rapp and Trol marched forward and secured the vocal oppositionist to the post. I let him wait there, wanting to finish my fucking proclamation before ensuring everyone was left with a searing memory of what would happen if they rebelled again.
“Should my mate have died, it would have crippled me for some time. While many of you appear to be incapable of thinking more than five minutes into the future, I am not. Saving our race from extermination is paramount. Those fifty thousand would have made a difference, certainly. It was why we’d worked so hard to swell the army’s numbers. But without proper leadership, they could not have been used to the utmost effectiveness.”
I dragged in a breath, preparing for yet another reaction.
“I shouldn’t have to remind you all of the ambush that started this conflict. Of how I was the sole survivor. Because of the Angel’s escalating attacks on our realm, their fervent desire to exterminate our race from this continent, we had no choice but to fight back. Winning the war is imperative to our collective survival. Which is why, going forward, we will allow females to join our ranks.”
A single scoff reached my ears before I reacted. As more rose, so too did my shadows, whipping in all directions and yanking detractors forward. Thick ropes assisted me in pinning them to the ground as Rapp tossed his Binding magic like lassos.
I raised a single hand, darkness dripping from it, and all went still. “The decision has been made. I need no input from you. Furthermore,” I held onto the silence, ensuring my words were sinking in, “my mate will be regarded with the same level of respect you would give me.”
Assyria lifted her chin as the weight of thousands of stares settled on her. “She has demonstrated resilience and tenacity in equal measure to many soldiers. Should you treat her as less than…well you’re about to witness what will happen.”
This time, I switched the cane for the whip. The motherfucker needed to bleed.
The metal studs in the leather glinted in the sunlight as I brought my arm back. When the tails landed, they did so with a satisfying crack. Ruby welts bloomed on his skin as I dragged them away, though the shade wasn’t close to the crimson one I sought.
Assyria’s gaze burned into me, along with a heady sweep of lust down our bond. The same feeling ignited in me. Blood ran hot through my veins, spurred on by the knowledge that she loved how I defended her.
The lash whistled through the air as the second strike landed cleanly. The muscles in the male’s neck bulged as he gritted his teeth around the pain. Tension eased from my shoulders as I offered him two more strikes, painting his back like an artist. Though there was nothing creative about my work; it was merely an expression of how fucking serious I was about maintaining order and control.
When his back flayed open on the sixth strike, I relented. Chest heaving, I lifted my gaze to all the watching soldiers, flicking slowly through the crowd. “Have I made myself clear?”
Thousands of salutes answered me. Though some were less enthusiastic than others, and many eyes still burned with fury. The lower ranking officers would see to those dissenters and ensure they complied.
I tossed the whip aside, and two Százados raced forward, removing the offender from my presence. Silence hung like a heavy fog as I continued to wield control over the army. To show them exactly who ruled here. No one dared speak. They barely dared breathe.
“Officers, ensure your units fully understand our new reality, and then report to the command center. You are dismissed.”
Hushed whispers kindled like I’d struck a match. Assyria materialized beside me as we watched them depart, while Rapp and Trol trudged into the crowd, barking orders and roughing up naysayers. They ensured the soldiers knew we were a united front.
Many males passed by us, some narrowing their eyes on her, others looking like they wanted to spit at her feet. I took a half-step forward, and they flinched away as if I’d struck them. Satisfaction curled through me at the sight. The same emotion echoed down our bond.
“Who would have thought that you’d enjoy me punishing others in your name, little imposter?”
“Not me,” she replied, her voice threaded with a hint of breathiness. “I’d probably like it much better if they boasted white wings, though.”
“Shall I rip them from our enemies’ backs and lay them at your feet?”
A heady wave of lust coursed down our bond. “I think that would start to ease the pain of their actions.”
“Then I shall make you a throne of white feathers, mate. So you can sit alongside me while we taunt them with their failures.”
We faced each other then, lightning crackling between us. But then the darkness under her eyes and the paleness to her lips were undeniable. She was still far too weak for what I wanted to do to her.
“Come, let me take care of you,” I murmured. “You need to rest.”
“So do you,” she replied, closing her mouth to suppress a yawn.
“You’re right. I’ll leave the officers for tomorrow. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon, not with the soldiers only a moment away from exploding.”
She nodded, and then we left the platform for the command center. Most of the males had dispersed back to their squads’ section of camp, leaving the center at its normal volume of passing males.
I spoke briefly with Rapp, directing him to send the Százados and Vezető back out once they reported to him with instructions to return in the morning.
Then, I took Assyria back to our quarters and curled around her, listening to the steady ebb and flow of her breathing as she fell asleep again. The worst part was done, but we were still a long way from where I envisioned us going. And Assyria, my tiny, fiery, brilliant mate, was at the center of it all.
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