“Conquer.” It’s not a question. I don’t have to guess since the outside of the castle is a dead giveaway.
Smiling tightly, Angel leads me away by his hand on the small of my back. His discomfort seeps into me, and it’s clear how uncomfortable he is around here.
My heart hollows when I notice how much his past still affects his present. The way he can’t bear to stand outside what is supposed to be his house and the sadness exuding him makes me itch to storm inside and break a few bones.
They ruined his home for him.
Anxo’s shoulders lose their tension, the farther we get from Conquer. He excitedly shows me his favorite spots and where his most trusted warriors and favorite people live. He goes on to tell me about an old female elf who visits him every month to deliver the most delicious pasta casserole he has ever tasted.
The story boosts his morale to right where it was before we passed the castle built on his pain.
We briefly stop in front of a building split into two parts. The smaller section is a school for kids and the bigger one is where the kids train twice a week. A couple of years ago, Khatri, the Warriorhead for my papa, proposed to the council that every kidshould receive some form of basic training regardless of whether they want to join the ranks in future.
He explained that for selfish reasons, he wanted his daughters to be able to defend themselves should the reason arise. I don’t expect anything less from a man who closely witnessed the aftermath of Grim Reaper’s daughter’s abduction from her own house.
Next, we stop in front of a layered castle. The area cuts down significantly with each floor, creating a giant triangle structure.
Unlike Conquer, this castle is forged with solid black bricks, with every floor railing embellished with dark ruby jewels. The design of the building resembles a warrior fort. Once again, it’s not hard to guess this masterpiece of battle strategy isWar.
“Each floor has a weapon specialization. The top level gives the archers a complete 360-degree view. See how every floor after the top starts expanding? it’s a labyrinth. It’s practically impossible to reach the top, and that’s why Horsemen families are taken there for protection under an attack.”
It’s clever how the stairs attached to the side of the mighty castle are purposely made of uneven steps to make the intruders trip and give our soldiers time to retaliate.
“How long did it take to build all of this?” I’m in awe of everything, and I’m sure Harvey’s shock mirrors my face.
Angel answers, “Well, we had a majority of centaurs and dragons volunteering, so not that long.”
Ex-fucking-cuse me?
“Did you just saycentaursanddragons?What happened to good old demons that lived in our kingdom?”
Grace has to step in when Angel is busy, trying not to laugh at my flabbergasted face. “They still do. Once a separate realm for Horsemen was announced, we received a lot of transfer requests from several species. Most of them were accepted.”
“Tell me we have a few banshees here.” “Sorry, sweetheart, they—”
“—are complete bitches. I’ve never met a more entitled species—other than Heaven-bound Archangels, of course,” Seiji interrupts with a disgusted face.
Nooooo.The one species I want to meet is not here. And to think I’ll have to wait around for a decent one to come along istorture.
Amused by my disappointment, Angel pecks my lips until my pout disappears. And he callsmesweetheart.
Turning back to Harvey, Angel expands on the maze. Harvey hasn’t stopped asking questions in the last hour. My mate has the patience of a saint, but I’m about to deck my best friend.
It’s crystal clear Harvey is nervous about letting his people down. I don’t know why he thinks overcompensating by diving into work immediately is the correct answer. Grace pulls him away when she sees him starting to fret too much for someone who’s been in the kingdom for an hour.
I’m admiring a jewelry store with the door embellished with different shades of sapphires when Grace tells me about the family of dragons who moved here last year and started this store.
Who better to run a business with precious stones than dragons? Dragons have a unique ability to pick out the most precious jewels, and hoarding doesn’t do them any good these days, so opening a jewelry store is the perfect idea.
Seiji jogs over to me and pulls me into his side by his arm over my shoulder. “Oh, you’re going to love Famine. I sketched the design by myself, so expect to be wowed.”
“I thought we were letting her guess.”
“I’m giving a tour Anxo. Stop being so needy.”
I snicker at Angel’s pout, who asks Grace to ‘give him his baby back’ because he misses the little monkey. August happilygoes into his arms, loving not having to exert himself by doing something as menial as walking.
My boy takes full advantage of being the only toddler around and stays off the ground almost all day, every day.
