Page 69 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

Tilting her head back, she looked at me with those stunning golden-flecked green eyes. Caught off-guard by the surge of emotion I felt for her as she looked at me with such trust and love. That was something I never thought I’d witness in my life, especially from her. Each time I saw that expression, it served as a reminder that I owed her everything.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I looked up at the council. “Your son needs someone outside of his own relationships to guide him. I truly wish I’d had someone stepping in to make me think about the choices I was planning to make. Trust me when I say right now, he’s drowning but is too prideful to say anything about it to a person he pushed away for doing the same thing he did. Don’t take no for an answer when you talk to him. Make him listen. Then when he starts to talk, because he’s going to, just listen and allow him to own what he’s been feeling yet ignoring. You’re the only one he can talk to, Councilwoman. You knew his father, the life you had with him, and have experienced the same pain he did. No one can relate more to a person than their mother.”

The tears welling up in Nadeja’s eyes told me I’d gotten through to her in a way that others couldn’t have.

“Thank you,” Nadeja whispered, her voice rough with emotion. She paused to clear it and took a sip of water from a metal cup on the table. “While this topic was unexpected and not at all the direction we planned to take this interview, I believe it answered our questions. More profoundly than I could’ve anticipated, if I’m being honest.”

Libor surreptitiously wiped at his eye as he nodded. “I would agree with that statement. You see, Branko was very adamant that we needed to help you in this cause, because you were probably the only people who could pull it off. Now I can see why he believed that and have to agree with his assessment. That being said, we'd like to offer you our assistance with the understanding that we would like input or representation in whatever new leadership you decide to implement.”

I left that for Sorin to answer, knowing he’d handle a question like that better than I would.

“Currently, we have not addressed those details. We felt it was best to deal with tasks one step at a time,” Sorin admitted. “That being said, I don’t have a problem being open to the idea of representation. Summit Stronghold should be treated as an autonomous group in all this.”

“Well then,” Filip said with a clap of his hands as he stood. “I believe the next step should be to see what plans you have in mind and share with you what we already have in place. Things are the worst they’ve ever been, and it’s time to end this era. Follow me, and I will take you to the map room, otherwise known as the strategy room. With your combined knowledge of not only the military procedure but of the country itself, we’ll finally be able to fill in some of the gaps.”

“We’ve wanted to bring the fight to General Rasvan’s doorstep for some time. The problem was without better knowledge of the bases and Stalhold City as a whole, we lost every time. Then we stopped making frontal attacks and tried other ways to get our shots in, but nothing seemed to faze the bastard,” Libor grumbled as he shoved open a door, revealing the room.

Calling it the map room was a literal name for the space, but in the middle was a massive table inset with a relatively comprehensive map of the North. The rest pinned to the wall were detailed drawings of all the major bases. I had a feeling that’s what men like Branko were doing while pretending to be Northern soldiers.

“Now begins the real work, men,” Nadeja announced as she joined us. “I just asked one of my guards to gather the rest of your unit so we might get their input on this as well. It seems you have a rather specialized group of men under your command, Major Sorin.”

“When I started out, I wanted to be the best. So I recruited the best my military had to offer, even if they didn’t see it in themselves,” Sorin shared with a shrug. “I will admit though, we truly became the best when we bonded as a family. Those men are my brothers and I would do anything for them, which they would do in return for me. It’s easy to become the best when you trust those watching your back.”

Surprising me, Sorin slapped me on the back and grabbed my shoulder companionably. “Lucian has some catching up to do, but he’s finding his way just as they all did when I brought them into the unit. No family is without arguments or getting on each other's nerves. It’s how the matter is resolved that’s the most important.”

The compliment hit me harder than I thought it would, but over the past two weeks, Sorin and I had been working to build trust and respect with each other. We both knew if we could figure it out and lead by example then the others would follow. Now getting ready to gear up for war, that trust was going to be put to the test. Even still, I had confidence we’d come out of this a stronger pack that no one could come between, giving us the honor of showing our people it could be done.