“And then what?” Kaden asked. I couldn’t even look at him past Cameron, nor did I wish to. “Samkiel cannot change as we do. How are you going to sneak him away without her noticing or following? She’s been obsessed with him for eons. Do you truly think she’s let him out of her sight?”
“Then you give me an idea since apparently every one I have is worthless,” I said, unable to keep the low growls from reverberating in my throat.
“She might be right about one thing,” Isaiah said.
We all turned to look at him.
Isaiah only shrugged. “We could overload the main ship. Make a statement. Even if we only take down a select few, most of them are pussies who love power. They’ll run with their tails between their legs if we take a little from them.”
I nodded eagerly, hope flaring. “I can do that.”
It took hours, but we finally devised a plan that might work. My gaze locked with Reggie’s. He had been quiet this whole time, just watching us. “Is this crazy?” I asked him, worrying the pad of my thumb against my teeth.
Reggie offered me a small smile. “On the contrary, it’s the opposite.”
“Yeah?”
Reggie nodded, and Cameron looked at him in surprise. “If anyone can pull it off, you can. This may well be a defining moment for you. A way to proclaim you are truly here and your intentions. Sure, the commoners you’ve helped and brought here see it, but these realms are vast. You may need to use a louder voice to spread the word. “
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “If I make a brave proclamation, Nismera will see it as an act of war.”
“She already sees your existence as such,” Kaden said.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t know what to do, and I wished Samkiel were here to tell me. He knew about the realms, the politics of it all, but he was the one I was rushing to save. I wasn’t good at this, and I didn’t know how to protect our people. I could fight, spit words that reduced people to shreds, and I was really good at destroying things. Fuck, I could wield fire and change shape, but I wasn’t sure how to build and nurture. At my core, I was simple and without subtlety, nothing more than a berserker, and never more so than when he was threatened.
“Don’t do that.” Kaden said, and my head jerked toward him. He was looking at the thumb I held between my teeth, and I dropped it.
“What?” I said, exhausted with the back and forth between us. “The plan? We agreed.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t doubt yourself. Not now.”
I blinked, unsure I heard him right.
“You wish to rule these realms beside him? Build a kingdom and have the life you’ve always wanted? Thentakeit. You’re a queen, and not the Queen of Yejedin, but the Queen of Rashearim. You always have been. It is what you were born to be and why you’ve been hunted your entire life. Use it to your advantage,” Kaden said, and I don’t think one person breathed after his proclamation. I had never heard him speak so highly of me, yet … I was no fool.
“And this benefits you how?” I said with a scowl, not believing him for a second. No hate marred his face. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He watched me as if I were the one who had tossed hateful words at him and not the contrary. “What is it you want out of this? We both know you don’t do anything without gaining something in return. So, if this is your master plan, what do you gain?”
Kaden didn’t hesitate as he said, “You alive.”
60
CAMILLA
Hours earlier
Bloodied and bruised, Vincent and I half-limped, half-ran past the scattering crowd. Sirens bellowed above us as warships either hovered or landed, spilling winged adrueth soldiers into the streets. Booming voices told the civilians of Goldpass to either stay still and kneel to be investigated or die.
We ducked down an alley that separated the backs of two rows of bronze-colored houses, stopping outside one of the small homes. Fabric stretched from the corners of each house, meeting at the beam spanning the length of the alley. We stopped outside one of the small homes, and through my attempt to control my breathing, I could hear the family within. Their whispers were laced with fear as the world around us erupted into chaos.
Vincent took a few steps away, peeking between the canopies to monitor the skies. The ships had stopped coming, and from the look of slight relief on his face, it was only the armada and not Nismera’s legion. At least not yet.
“We have to get out of here,” I whispered as the sound of armored boots came from every direction.
Vincent nodded, a lock of his dark hair falling over his brow. “If we can make it, there is a port on the opposite side of the city. My worry is that they have already sealed all the exits. If we’re going to make it out of here, we’re going to need a distraction. Something loud enough to draw their attention—”
As if the universe heard and laughed, it answered with a deep rumble. The roar was so low that I felt more than heard it, building until the homes shook and the ground trembled. It made some primal piece of my brain scream at me to run, and I knew of only one being who could have made that sound. Dianna.
Through the spaces between the houses, we watched as a tornado made of flames formed, spiraling toward the sky.
