“For those who had family in the outskirt villages along the main road: many of your family have been taken to our ships for safety during the battle. Now that it is over, they will be able to return home. It was imperative to us that we ensured no innocents were injured or killed in the battle to end Malakai’s reign.”
The relief reflected in so many of the faces in the courtyard filled me with a sense of pride. We could have easily ignored the civilians. We could have opted to do nothing to protect them. But as Myrin had once said, this was as much of a rescue mission as it was a war.
The next hour felt like a blur.
I felt like I was on autopilot in a frozen state of numbness as I spoke to humans and vampyres alike. Those from Malakai’s empire seemed to fear asking questions about their families and villages at first, so I did my best to comfort them, wishing nothing more than to provide them with the peace of mind that they were more than likely safe.
That had been the easy part. The hardest part, the part that threatened to shatter my icy walls, was watching how many children were carried away for a proper burial. I stared at the accumulating bodies, forcing myself to come to terms with the price of war.
A shaky breath left me, and I felt my knees going weak with the weight of everything that had happened today.
“Kyella.” Kolvar blocked my view of the courtyard. My men had been aiding in the efforts to organize the chaos, but it didn’t surprise me that one of them appeared the very moment I felt as if I couldn’t go on.
“I’m fine,” I promised, in a soft whisper.
“You aren’t,” Elijah hissed, appearing next to him as Dakath wrapped an arm around my waist. I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head, teeth bared as he emphasized, “You are not. Fucking. Fine.”
The sensation of numbness, the one that had kept me going faded quickly as I stood, surrounded by the men I loved. Images of everything that had occurred flashed through my mind, from the bloodshed and destruction in the capital, the fear in the villager’s expressions, to everything I had learned from Lazarus of what had happened to my mother. Of the fate that had befallen her.
I hadn’t realized I was crying until I was wrapped in Kolvar’s arms. Emotion overwhelmed me, and the world around me began to go hazy through the veil of my tears. I choked down a hiccupping breath as Kolvar began pulling away from the courtyard.
Moments later, I stood in a large communal bathroom, nose stuffy and breaths shaky as Elijah helped me remove my armor. I sniffled and lurched, unsteady on my feet from the demands of the day.
“Dakath went to find us some fresh clothes while we wash up,” he said, fingers working deftly through the buckles and straps holding my armor in place. “Kolvar is standing guard at the door. I need some of this damn blood off you.”
I nodded in understanding, not able to form actual words, as he silently helped clean off the heavy blood from my face and hair. When Dakath returned with simple linen clothing, I helped Elijah wash off our armor as Kolvar and him and cleaned up. I moved on autopilot, mind hazy. With a groan, my body drooped, exhaustion hitting me suddenly.
“Fuck, we need to get her somewhere to feed.” Kolvar’s voice was thick with panic as I swayed on my feet. My head spun, stomach revolting at the idea of consuming blood, despite the necessity.
My body was lifted before I could dispute, and I decided to point them in the only direction I could think of to feed and rest for the night. It was the only place I had been able to call my own for so damn long.
My old bedroom.
The space was as simple as I remembered it, the large window showcasing the view of the sea. With a jolt, I realized it was the very window that had changed everything. The window that Tristan had pushed me from. I shook my head with the realization that, while it felt like Tristan had pushed me to my destiny a very long time ago, it hadn’t truly been that long at all.
I crawled onto the bed, my men joining me, and I didn’t hesitate or bother protesting when Kolvar offered his neck to me. I slid onto his lap and buried my fangs into the crook of his neck, knowing that I needed to replenish my strength from the fights and wounds I sustained.
While the war was over, there was still work to be done. I had to be strong enough to not only lead my people, but to lead those of the Thaician Empire toward their new future as well.
Chapter Twenty
Kolvar
“Lord Hellrick, from the second village to the North, has formally refused the summons. Apparently, he was partial to Malakai as Emperor,” Dakath stated, shaking his head in disbelief as he read through the scroll that had just been delivered to us.
I wasn’t surprised. Beyond himself, Malakai had given vampyre lords ultimate rule in the Thaician Empire. He handed them an entire section of society to use as they pleased, to subject to any of their twisted whims.
So no, it didn’t surprise me that some didn’t want to give that up in favor of a new rule. Not that they had much of an option.
Thankfully, it seemed the lords who would be problematic for us and our goals were few and far between. The rest had agreed to being summoned here to the capital as a show of respect for the new order. We didn’t want to invoke any more unnecessary violence, which is why Lord Hellrick had put us in a difficult position.
Knowing how to deal with lords acting out in a violent nature was easy. Figuring out how to deal with them when they were just being bastards instead took a little more finesse. We couldn't simply harm someone for objecting to a leader, that would make us as bad as Malakai.
At the same time, however, we couldn’t allow lords like Hellrick to be in positions of power when they were still aligned with Malakai’s ideals. Hell, even the lords who had kneeled to the new rule were under suspicion in my mind. I knew many of them pledged fealty merely to save themselves, making it our responsibility to ensure they didn’t continue to treat the humans in the villages surrounding their lands as nothing better than livestock.
“He hasn’t threatened violence,” Elijah pointed out, pulling me from my surly thoughts. I cocked an eyebrow in his direction, but his attention was fixed steadfastly on Kyella. “It’s simply ego and stubbornness leading him. We can remove his lands and titles, but we need to ensure that his family doesn’t suffer for his misgivings if they disagree with him. I have a feeling he will change his tune quickly once he realizes everything he might lose—the old man is trying to call our bluff.”
“Maybe we can move the family to the capital for the time being and put them up somewhere?” Kyella offered, glancing from Elijah’s intense stare at Dakath before turning her attention to me. “He will likely follow them here, and then we can keep a closer eye on him. I’d prefer avoiding the large-scale fight we would have to put up to remove him from the estate.”
