I lift my hand with a laugh. “It was her idea.”
Anxo exhales sharply, muttering, ‘Of course it was,’ under his breath.
“We’re not doing that.” He looks at Elijah, who actually seems to be considering it, along with at least half the table. “We’re. not. doing. that.”
“Tiberius is the problem, not his people. We were not going to destroy a city and slaughter who knows how many innocent merfolk, because of one bastard. They deserve a chance to see how the world has evolved while they’ve been stuck under a tyrant, cut off from the rest of the world.”
The Dragon King nods, understanding too well what it means to be judged by the worst of your kind.
He turns to Anxo. “If you need us, don’t hesitate to reach out. The Griari Empire owes Nevaeh.”
When my daughter found out Visha had planned to release a deadly amount of dark magic near the Griari Empire to wipe them off the map, she absorbed that poison into her veins to save them from annihilation.
The Dragon King swore to be our ally for the next three generations as a gesture of gratitude.
Lucifer’s every creation is constantly trying to prove its power over others, which means friendships and loyalties are rare in our world.
The meeting ends, and Elijah leaves the fate of the Eldoris kingdom in our hands before teleporting back to hell. The Dragon King shifts into a massive blood-red beast with black scales and takes to the sky.
One by one, the room empties… but the weight stays. Energy hums through me, excitement tangled with rage because I can feel it in my bones.
This is it. The beginning of the end.
Tiberius doesn’t know it yet, but he’s goingdown.
Once our guests leave, the elders pour in, filling the empty seats. The moment they start talking, I wish they’d hesitated before opening their mouths because with every word, I feel the urge to send a few of them to the fates ahead of schedule.
“Horseman Blackburn, I urge you to reconsider. The kingdom’s future rests on your shoulders. Waging war against a kingdom we know nothing about is awfully reckless.”
I meet his gaze with a blank stare, offering nothing, and the room falls silent.
Elder Fizhale, former head of weapons for War, clears his throat. “There are concerns about a siren as our queen, Grim. She hasn’t been crowned yet, and she’s brought dangers to our doorstep—”
There it is. The prejudice I saw coming.
Anxo cuts in before I can reach for the demon. “I’d like to remind the council what happened the last time a future queen was questioned in this room.”
A surge of memories floods everyone’s mind. Anxo is using his Divine to force visions of the traitors we caught and tortured.
Elder Fizhale, who apparently values his life very little, pushes on. “We understand it would be painful, HorsemanBlackburn, but the right choice isn’t always the easy one. If you rejected her—”
My vision goes red, but before I can turn the man into a pretzel of bones, Anxo invades his mind. The elder drops to his knees, screaming in agony.
Anxo adjusts his cuffs, voice calm like he isn’t melting the demon’s brain. “Elder Fizhale thinks his limbs are being torn apart.” He shakes his head with a humorless chuckle. “At least that’s why he thinks. But who knows, sometimes words have a way of becoming reality.”
He is threatening the council without a hint of remorse or hesitation in their eyes. This is the Horseman of Conquer the world fears. This version of Anxo was once reserved for our enemies, but after he saw the snakes in our own backyard, he stopped giving anyone the benefit of the doubt.
The moment Anxo releases him, the elders scramble out, muttering apologies I don’t care to hear.
“I had it handled,” I grumble, irritation simmering beneath my skin. This would’ve been a good opportunity to purge some of the anger burning inside me.
“You were going to kill him.” I don’t argue. He knows he’s right.
Anxo leans forward, fingers laced together. “Scare them now, they’ll stay afraid for a long time. Kill one, and you plant a seed for betrayal later. Fear controls. Death provokes.”
Huh. Now I see why Hazel says there’s a side to Anxo better left buried.
Anxo pushes off his chair, ready to leave, but turns back at the last second.
