“This crater–” I said pointedly. “Has protected you. You have been safe for generations, without a care in the world, until the plague. Even after, you managed to rebuild. It must have been hard, to have to live on after your younglings were taken away, in ways I cannot imagine.”
The crowd still murmured, still bitter.
“How would you know?” a bold voice resounded. “You’ve only been here a few months.”
I could have reminded them of my own losses.
Pain was universal, after all. And none of them had woken up without their family or Clan in a foreign land.
But they indeed only saw their own problems.
“Yet I still risked my life to protect yours,” I said.
Silence.
“She did.” Ryker stepped next to me, as stoic as ever. “Like the warriors you’re shouting at. Like me. So you could sleep better at night. And I don’t regret it. It’s my duty and I will keep doing it, as long as you allow me to.”
His voice thundered through the night.
“I am treating her the same way I would any of you, if you had committed her crimes. Her trial will be fair,” he said gravely. “It brings me no joy, I admit, but it must be done.”
He took my hand in his, gaze never leaving the crowd.
We stood together in front of so much animosity, some fair, most not, facing all of the city.
“The Huntress speaks the truth,” he went on. “We managed to rise after the plague. That does not mean the deaths we’d endured will be forgotten. But we found the strength to go on and we will again. And I was there to witness it. Guide you through it.”
His grip on my hand hardened.
“So now I ask you, why are you so eager to destroy that balance we have worked so hard for?” he asked. “This is what Nadya wanted. To unbalance us. To sow dissension and make this crater more vulnerable to attacks. Why are you letting her win? Your fury, which is earned and shall be avenged, only rewards her if you act on it now. We don’t become what we hate.”
More silence.
“I will not lie–troubling times are coming.” He tilted his chin up. “We need to stand together against our true enemies or crumble under our own fear. Just as I led the Blood Brotherhood army, I will lead you to victory when the time comes.”
Just as a sigh of relief bubbled in my throat, Ryker went on, shocking me and the crowd. “If you don’t believe me, youare free to leave. The Capital will receive you with open arms, though I’d caution against joining any of the Northern Clans. We know very well how they operate and I’d hate for any of you to be used as cannon fodder.”
I inhaled sharply, pressing against that wall of energy between us. His caressed mine back, but didn’t give any hint of what truly bubbled underneath the surface other than a restlessness that felt so strange on him.
The civilians gasped in surprise, watching him with wide eyes.
“No takers?” he asked coldly. “Anyone else want to take the mantle of Commander and go to war or face the Northern Clans?”
Only stunned silence followed.
“Thought so.” He narrowed his gaze, unflinching. “If you don’t want to believe or follow, you’re free to leave. If you stay, let me do my duty. Now go home, mourn your lost loved ones. Let them go to our ancestors in peace, not chaos.”
Chapter 71
Allie
Only after the crowd had mercifully dissipated in a haze of stupor and the fortress doors had banged closed behind us did I look at Ryker.
“What was that?” I asked.
“A different approach.” He still hadn’t let go of my hand. “I’ve tried to be patient and calm and understanding. I lost Geryll. Nadya’s in my dungeons. That’s proof it doesn’t always work.”
“Don’t let this harden you,” I said.
