“MJ, there’s been a change of plans.” His pleasant tone only made my dread worse.
Oh no.
“Yes?” Her suspicious gaze cataloged his face and posture.
“Lucille is going to lead the Tormentors.”
No.
Dusty and Matt scoffed as Zera and Valarus groaned. Rissa and the new female gazed at me with equal parts skepticism and curiosity. Suffice it to say, besides my inner group, no one wanted me to be their leader.
MJ grabbed my arm and Ronen’s, dragging us away from everyone else.
“Lucille, do you want to lead?” she asked point-blank.
“I don’t know the first thing about leading.”
Ronen’s smile, if that was what you’d call it, widened. “Like all the squadron leaders, she made her choice when she fought Moira. These are our rules.”
Hell’s rules were absurd and needed to change.
“MJ, I’m pulling you from the Tormentors. She can find her council another way.”
The amber in MJ’s eyes melted into bright flames. “Do you not remember what I told you last night?”
“Oh, I remember.”
“Your decision doesn’t show it.”
He shrugged.Shrugged. The nonchalant movement seemed so out of place—not only in this setting, but with the tension strangling his muscles. “Those are my orders.” Then he strode toward the dais, where he kept an eye on the matches.
“Utterly impossible,” MJ muttered. Those weren’t the words I’d use at the moment. Mine were more aggressive. She turned to me. “This will be similar to your fight with Moira, but more chaotic. Play on your squad’s strengths, trust they know what they’re doing, but also don’t be afraid to keep them in line.”
MJ dragged me back to my squad, cutting off my question. “Lucille will be your leader as ordered by General Ronen and proven by her match with Moira. Listen to her or find an arrow in your back later.” She grinned, keeping her taunting gaze on Dusty and Matt like she knew they’d be the most trouble.
Then she left, and I officially regretted ever fighting Moira.
Dusty and Matt’s attention taunted me with an unspoken challenge. Like pointed blades, it drove into my thoughts and weakened me. I wasn’t ready to lead. I understood I earned the position, but that’d never been my intention. I just wanted Moira to stop bullying me. I wanted to be more. Not—lead a squadron with zero experience—more, but more like… prove to myself and the other Tormentors that I could be in their squad as an equal, not in charge!
I eyed our squad, hearing Ronen state the results of the last match and knowing we had moments before we were up. “What powers do you have?” I asked, hoping they didn’t hear the wobble in my voice. MJ said to play on their strengths. Well, I didn’t know what four of them could do.
Dusty and Matt only stared. Did they want to win? Or were they so petty they’d rather see our squad lose than ever follow me?
Labeling them as liabilities, I turned to Rissa and the blonde.
Rissa shrugged. It matched her defensive, haughty glare. “None. I’m a human soul who has no pain receptors left. That’s my power,” she said with a challenge, as if I’d question her capability.
“Okay, that’s good.” Was it, though? She clearly didn’t wear any weapons, so that meant all her fights would be hand-to-hand. Up against a demon with powers, that seemed suicidal. I pulled out one of my daggers and held it out to her. She lifted a brow on the side of her face that still had skin and hair and refused to take it. That got a few snorts out of the squad. I guess I should be grateful she didn’t slap it out of my hand.
I turned to the blonde. “What’s your name and power?”
“Enora. Blood-banded Archangel. I can sing you to sleep.” She twirled a loose strand of hair that had fallen from her tight bun, gazing at me like I was a peculiar insect she either wanted to squash or keep in a cage.
“Anyone? Do you have to be close for it to work?”
She crossed her arms, pressing her lips into a pucker. If I weren’t stress-sweating through my temperature-regulated uniform, I might’ve found her incredibly annoying.
“My limit is ten people at a time, and they’d need to be within acouple yards of me.” She made it sound like she was top dog and everyone should be on her level. I wouldn’t admit that I found her power unique and impressive. Dusty and Matt were already stroking her ego enough with the desire in their faces.
