Dax jumped on the argument, as if hoping someone might suggest it. “He has a point. I love you, Barrett, but you onlyjustsecured a loyal clan. It’s volatile still, and I don’t come from a noble house.”
With a gentle hand on his arm, Celissia added, “Let’s just consider it, Bare. We can end our ruse without jumping so quickly.”
“Dax never will hold a title, though,” Barrett argued, then looked to his consort. “You and I will always be the prince and general who ran off to aid the enemy.” His desperate tone pulled at my heart. “The fact of your lineage is never going to change, and if that is what the people want of me—if either of those things upset them—I’d rather them know now what they’re getting. Rather be truthful and show them their ruler than build a reign on the premise of lies.”
“I’m not saying never,” Dax clarified. “I’m just proposing that this may not be the most prudent time to perpetuate unrest. We can wait as long as is needed.”
But Barrett shook his head, proudly declaring, “Love is precisely what the world needs right now. And I am fucking tired of letting everyone else decide who I get to be as king.”
Worry warred across Dax’s features. Worry for the man he loved, for their people. He looked to Malakai, who shook his head as if to sayhe’s a stubborn ass, but you’re the one who loves him.
I stepped between them, looping one arm through Barrett’s and another through Dax’s as I dragged them toward the manor, Tolek escorting Celissia ahead. Conceding, Malakai followed.
“I think Barrett is right,” I agreed. “We don’t know what the coming days will bring, but if we can control even a fraction of happiness, I think we have to. Now, Dax, tell us what soldiers you brought, because I know you wouldn’t come all this way without support.”
Resigned, Dax sighed. “We brought as many troops as we had ready to mobilize while still leaving enough to defend Banix.”
My chest inflated as Malakai added, “Cypherion, Mila, and Meridat are already working on lodgings. The city is crowded.”
“Excellent,” I said as satisfied whirls of gold seraph magic curled over my wings. “It’s safest here, and that gives us a perfect opportunity to prepare for the expanding threats.” I forced out a slow breath, calling my light under control as the large front doors closed behind us with a thud. “I don’t know what the Angels are after, but they’re raising the stakes every day. I don’t think we have much time left to uncover Echnid’s weaknesses.”
And if we couldn’t, what fate would that leave Ambrisk to?
Beyond the god, for some unknown reason, the Angels were out for warrior blood, and the question remained: How far would they go to claim it?
Chapter Fifty-Six
Malakai
I slammed backagainst the door, my life flashing before my eyes as I panted. “By the Spirits, I think he’s going to kill me.” I gripped Lucidius’s dagger at my waist just to let the metal cool me down.
“Not enjoying the ceremony planning?” Tolek teased from the armchair he lounged in before the unlit hearth in Cypherion’s room, a glass of liquor in one hand and a weaponry book in the other.
“Not to the extent Barrett is,” I said, crossing to the sideboard and pouring myself a measure of the citrus whiskey Tol must have brought. I knocked it back fast, pouring another. “He just arrived yesterday, yet he managed to gather six different outfit options and made me help him choose.”
“What did you pick?” Cyph asked, striding shirtless out of the dressing chamber off the main room with a tunic in hand. His silver Fatesworn tattoo shone in the bright mystlight, practically swirling.
“I don’t even know.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “They all looked the same. Thank the Angels this ceremony is tonight.”
Tolek laughed loudly, Cypherion shaking his head as if I was the ridiculous one in this situation and not my half-brother who was attempting to plan an elaborate bonding ceremony in the midst of a godly war.
“I think it’s exciting,” Tolek said, taking another sip of his drink and flipping a page. “We need a good festival after Cypherion cheated us out of hosting a Fatesworn celebration.”
“Cheated?” Cyph gasped, tugging on his tunic. “You’re never going to let it go, are you?”
“Never,” Tolek said with a sharp glare.
Cypherion turned questioning eyes on me. “I’m with him. I wanted to be there,” I said flatly, falling into the chair opposite Tol’s.
Cyph tipped his head back as if praying to the Spirits for strength. Then, he poured a drink and propped himself on the foot of the bed. “You two are aware that this bond with Vale wasn’t planned, right?”
“Yes, but the ceremony was! You flew there for it,” Tolek argued.
“I flew there because I couldn’t fucking stand her being away anymore,” Cypherion corrected bracing his elbows on his knees. His half-full glass hung from his fingertips. “The ceremony was a mid-flight decision, and you both had your hands full here.”
Neither of us could argue with that. If it had been our girls, we’d have done nothing different. Absently, I rubbed the heel of my hand over my chest where the Bind was inked and avoided Tolek’s eye as he tracked the movement.
Fuck, were we ever going to be able to get rid of this tattoo? Maybe Vale could read a way how.
