She reached out to brush a lone tear off my cheek, smiling gently as waves of emotion crashed into me with relentless force. “You won’t be alone. Your three men will follow you, and you will forever have my support, even with an ocean between us. We can mend the divide between the lands and heal those within them. But I need you to stay safe until Malakai is dead and his loyal followers are in the grave. Without you, I don’t know how else we can make that dream come true.”
She wanted me to rule after the war. To be an Empress, like herself.
I’d never had aspirations to be anything in this life except for happy. An Empress? Surely that wasn’t in the cards for me. Tears pricked at my eyes as my face heated. When I stormed to her private suite, this was the last conversation I expected us to have. I didn’t feel worthy of the honor she would bestow upon me.
Sniffling back my tears, I swallowed around the thick lump in my throat as I turned my head to look away from her. I drew a deep, steadying breath before saying, “When I was a prisoner on that ship, I kept reminding myself of your strength and wondered what you would do if you were in my position. I had to think of you because I do not have that sort of strength or tenacity. Your words are kind, but they simply are not true, Myrin. I don’t have what it takes to accomplish such an insurmountable task.”
Taking out Malakai was one thing, but leading in his stead and trying to be the one to change the Thaician Empire? My spine wasn’t made of steel like Myrin’s.
“Oh, sweet girl,” she murmured, placing her hands on my cheeks and pulling me to face her fully. “I know that I am asking a lot of you, but it is very rare that I come across someone who leaves me feeling awestruck. You could move mountains if you set your mind to it. All I ask is that you consider moving this one looming before us.”
Flashbacks of my life in the Thaician Empire as a child sprang to mind. I’d been desperate for change back then, even before I knew how corrupt the empire was. I’d always wanted to make a difference, and now the opportunity to make the greatest change was being offered to me.
Could I do it?
Doubt tingled in the back of my mind. “Why would they follow me? I was a known Thrall to Malakai.”
“Why would they follow someone who was abused and held captive, yet managed to find the strength to break free and bring an army to their aid? To free them?” she rebutted, raising a single brow at me. “You’re right, I can’t imagine why they would look up to you, Kyella."
I inhaled sharply. When she said it like that…It made me realize that maybe Iwasstronger than I gave myself credit for. Maybe I did have what it would take to heal a land full of broken people, people who had suffered in a society that was led with a cruel fist.
Undeniably, I wanted to show everyone else who had faced pain in the Thaician Empire that they didn’t need to suffer any longer. That they didn’t have to accept that the rest of their lives would be that way.
I wanted to show them it was possible to heal—that there was joy and love just beyond the brink of our biggest fears.
Hell, I couldn’t believe I was even considering doing this, but if I didn’t, I would never be able to live with myself. Not if real, impactful change didn’t happen after Malakai’s death. If someone more qualified stepped up to take that on, I would bow out gracefully and still offer my assistance. But if no one thought they could do it, I would work every day to fight for our joint mission.
“If I’m to lead them into a new era of peace and healing, I want to be able to stand before them and tell them I fought for them and those lands. I will accept your offer to help establish me as ruler of the Thaician Empire, but only if you do not stop me from crossing that sea and fighting next to the brave men and women doing the same.”
Chills broke out over my body as Myrin smiled at me. A hint of something like pride saturated her tone as she said, “You speak like a true leader already. You have yourself a deal.”
We were going to do this.
We were two powerful women, and we were going to change the world.
Chapter Seventeen
Kyella
“Where are we going?” I asked, curiosity tinting my tone.
Part of me was excited to see what they had planned, but another part of me was done with surprises for the day. I was exhausted, physically and mentally.
Today had already been a rollercoaster of emotions—experiencing everything from the awe on the shoreline of my new home, at the Tridian Empire’s naval strength, to the betrayal and hurt at the idea of Myrin not wanting me to go across the Cursed Divide to fight in this war.
None of those moments compared to the intensity of emotion that hit me when Myrin revealed her plan. Even now, strength and determination seemed to pulse under my skin. I didn’t have the proper words to explain how much her words affected me…Although, I had tried my best when I explained the proposal to my three vampyres.
Myrin was right. Not only were they willing to follow me, but I had their unwavering support as well. I had watched their reactions closely when I told them of Myrin’s plan—what she wanted from me and what I had demanded in return—and they hadn’t questioned any of it. They spoke about what we needed to happen moving forward, not about whether I was fit to be a leader. Their belief filled me with a reserve of strength I planned to cling to for the moments I doubted myself. I was certain there would be plenty of those.
If my powerful vampyre lords and the Empress herself were willing to believe in me, then I could believe in myself as well, even in the moments where I might wonder if I had what it took.
“We want to show you something special,” Dakath answered my question, his fingers squeezing gently where they were intertwined with my own.
Elijah was ahead of us, leading us through a lush, forested landscape located beyond the walls near the back of the castle. We’d been walking for nearly twenty minutes and had yet to come across any person or thing, leading me to believe the land was possibly owned and maintained by the castle. A million little questions raced through my mind, but instead of asking them, I tried to relax into the moment, realizing that it was rare that the three of us were completely alone like this.
Kolvar walked next to us, humming lightly as the early evening light began to push through the trees, shadows decorating the space. There were so many things I’d come to love about the Tridian Empire, but what I appreciated most was that everywhere my eyes roamed, there was evidence oflife.Lush farmland interspersed with trees surrounded the castle, and the wood we walked through was flush with trees.
“Do you spend much time here?” I asked curiously, looking around and trying to get an idea of where they could possibly be taking me.
