He'd maneuvered and manipulated events to ensure as much.
Covath smirked as he finally found a chink in Eva's defenses. "My brother has overstepped in his position as liaison to the humans. These prisoners were simply an unexpected boon."
Eva held still as she fought the urge to fidget, knowing she couldn't give away any weakness right now. "What does my position as the Kyren's Caller have to do with the Tenrin?"
Yes, Ajari helped guide the way, but the Kyren were the ones who made the decision. The Tenrin should have no say in matters.
Covath's smile deepened, his eyes still wintry. "Not all Callers have proven themselves worthy of their position. The Tenrin have no intention of watching history repeat itself."
"What does that mean?" Eva asked.
Covath's head lifted as he looked over their heads. Eva twisted to find Polaris standing a short distance away.
"Tell your herd lord I expect an explanation," Covath told him.
The Kyren have never been accountable to the Tenrin. We are your allies when it suits us. Never your followers.
Covath looked dissatisfied with that response. "Your actions affect us all. The crimes of the last Caller have not been forgotten by us."
Nor by the Kyren.
"And yet you've appointed thismouseto that position." The way Covath said mouse sounded like a curse. "She stinks of fear and desperation. She will crumble the first time her people ask her to compromise us."
"I didn't last time," Eva defended. "I could have died. Caden almost did. Does that not prove my commitment?"
Eva ignored Roscoe as he leaned toward Ghost.
"Is anyone else curious about the part of the conversation we can't hear?" Roscoe asked in a low voice.
Ghost and Fiona nodded.
Gawain glanced at them but didn't comment.
Caden shifted so his shoulder brushed Eva's, providing silent support.
"You faced death but what happens when your people ask you to betray the Kyren? They'll say it's necessary. They'll argue that less mythologicals make the world a safer place." Covath's expression was coldly dismissive. "You'll side with them just like the last one did. It's already been written."
"Bullshit," Eva burst out.
Covath paused in the act of turning away. "What was that?"
"I said bullshit," Eva repeated.
She didn't care about diplomacy anymore or keeping the peace.
These people were all the same. Kyren, Tenrin, human. Every last one of them. Always making assumptions about what she was capable of. How far she could go.
"Yeah, humans are capable of betrayal, but so are you."
It was a grim truth. Human intelligence meant human weakness. Moreover, she'd already tasted betrayal from both humans and Kyren.
She knew the pain of that blow.
When Sebastian broke her trust prior to revealing his mate was enslaved, it was understandable, but it still stung. Despite that, they found a way forward and repaired what he'd broken.
It wasn't easy and took concentrated effort on her part. What she didn't do was go into the relationship anticipating a future betrayal. Otherwise, she might as well not have made the attempt in the first place.
"Everyone keeps saying they want an alliance, that they want a different future than what has come before, but none of you do. Not really. None of you are willing to set aside your own egos to move forward. You're so caught up in preventing yourself from being hurt that you're missing a chance to truly stop this cycle."
