Ariadne shook her head. “I put myself there. I was a fool to think I could get in and out of there without trouble.”
“Stop it.” Azriel sat back then, peeling his body from hers so he could look her in the eye. “You did what any great Queen would do. You put your people before yourself and did everything in your power to uphold your promises.”
Tears slid down her cheeks. “But I almost failed and—”
“Failed?” Azriel brushed them away with his thumbs. “My love, you did no such thing.”
“How can you say that?” Ariadne’s lip trembled. “I almost justlethim…”
Gaping at her, his heart cracked. “Let? Loren Gard’s actions are not a reflection of yours. What you did or did not do in that moment was your subconscious way of protecting yourself. I would never gauge my impression of you and your brilliance on whathedid.”
At that, the torrent broke free. Ariadne let out a sob and nodded, falling back into his arms. “I thought…since we hadn’t been intimate, that you were still angry with me.”
“Fuck, Ariadne.” Azriel held her tight and planted a kiss on top of her head, choking back his own emotions to stay focused on hers. It burned his throat and had each breath feeling like fire. “Never. I could never. If I’d known any of this…”
What? What would he have done? There would have been nothing aside from what they were doing at that moment: talking about it.
“I’m sorry, my love.” He shook his head as she cried, the tears silently slipping from his eyes and his heart breaking for her. “You did nothing wrong. I was wrong for being angry. I was wrong for making you feel alone while you were there. I was wrong for letting this fucked up bond get the better of me. I was wrong for not being there when you needed me. But you…you could never do anything wrong. Not in my eyes.”
They sat in silence together for a long time, each of them riding the waves of their emotions. Though neither of them said a word when they finally stood and made their way down the steps to the great hall, Azriel knew that although they were once again smiling and ready to face their friends, they had not yet healed from their experiences. That would take much longer than a few moments alone in a war room.
A good thing, then, that he planned to spend millennia by her side.
Chapter 15
Nightfall arrived faster than Madan anticipated—the deadline for Azriel to be given the names of those who would be stepping up to take Kall’s place as the lead forAuhla’s soldiers. Though their late friend had regularly delegated tasks and drills to others—Whelan for flying, Gavrhil for grappling, and Lhuka for sword work—he’d taken on everything from schedules to overseeing the training to ensuring those he trusted were expecting the high quality he desired.
Now the schedules landed on Madan’s shoulders, and with Gavrhil dead and Lhuka stepping down from his position, he hoped that the newcomers had as much discipline as his friends. Though Jakhov had been a top candidate for working with the clans’ soldiers, Madan had a feeling the dhemon wouldn’t hesitate to instruct them to cut down any vampire they laid their eyes on, soldier or civilian. His hate for them ran deep, and keeping him from holding too much power was as strategic asit was self-preservation. After all, Jakhov was one broken bond away from stumbling down the same path as Ehrun and Azriel.
And with Ehrun struggling to master the new fae powers he now possessed after the successful ritual connecting him to Keon, along with his more-than-questionable past, he would never be a candidate.
Yawning, Madan made his way down the valley slope fromAuhlawith Whelan toward the expanding encampment created by the steadily growing number of dhemons, high fae, and lycans. Azriel had given him four names total. The first two came from Thorin, who split the responsibilities of grappling and swordsmanship in half. A wise choice to be sure with the number of dhemons they now commanded. The others were chosen by Edira and Luce.
“A one-armed vampire sent to give us orders,” a dhemon grumbled in his language near the edge of the makeshift village. “I volunteered to kill them, not join them.”
Madan’s steps faltered, and he slowed to a halt before turning back just in time to grab Whelan’s wrist. His partner had been on edge since Kall’s death and Azriel’s spiral. The last thing they needed was for him to cause more problems by confronting their soldiers in a bond-blind fury.
“The goal of this army isnotto wipe out all vampires,” Madan said in the dhemon tongue, surveying the pair of dhemon men sitting together near a fire. Both were young, the spiral of their horns hardly tucking behind their pointed ears. “If you cannot fathom brokering a truce with them, perhaps you should return home.”
This was far from the first time dhemons treated him as such. After five centuries as the only vampire inAuhlaprotected by the Crowe, he’d grown more than accustomed to listening to dhemons attempt to get a rise out of him. Usually, such things didn’t bother Whelan, but something overprotective hadwormed its way under his skin. Something not unlike Azriel’s own initial descent into darkness—and didn’t that frighten Madan even more?
“The Valleyismy home, leech.” The first dhemon glared at him.
“And our goal is to return you there,” Madan said in as even a tone as he could muster. “But running out vampires who’ve also made it their home for five thousand years isn’t the solution.”
The second dhemon spat at Madan’s feet, drawing a loud growl from Whelan. He smirked. “Had to keep yourself safe amongst us with your guard dog, bloodsucker?”
“He is mymate,” Whelan snarled, “the King’s brother, andyoursuperior so long as your clan is under oath.”
Sharing a glance, the dhemons’ cobalt faces paled a shade. The first sucked on his sharp teeth as though contemplating what to say, but it was his companion who made a face and leaned forward to ask, “Youbondedto a leech?”
“Lies,” the first hissed despite his obvious uncertainty. “Dhemons bond to dhemons only.”
Whelan lifted his lip in a snarl, his beautiful face twisting with hate. “Would you like to test your theory?”
“Calm, my love.” Madan gave Whelan’s arm a firm tug, dragging his attention away from the pair of dhemons. “We have a job to do down here. They will learn.”
With a grunt of affirmation, Whelan turned stiffly away from the two antagonizers. Madan breathed a sigh of relief, and they started off again. They weren’t worth the trouble of trying to change their minds just then. They’d come around eventually.
