There were a thousand possibilities of how this could go wrong, and with the way the camp liked to chatter, word would spread like wildfire of a new female living in close proximity to me. But I couldn’t leave her with Xannirin and Kiira at Gyor, where the nobles were even worse about gossiping. I was no stranger to difficult choices with no clear answer, yet this one was the most difficult I’d ever faced.

The fact of the matter was that I didn’t trust anyone to guard her but myself. This protective desire rising within me wasn’t foreign; it was, after all, why I’d joined the army in the first place. Over time it had morphed into defending the Demons from the Angel’s insanity. Yet the emotions attached to the instinct to safeguard Assyria were entirely new and honestly frightening.

We’d see how long my willingness to allow her a modicum of freedom lasted. This Reaper-damned bond forced me to bend to her anger and grief, and every time she sent a wave of utter anguish down it, I had to grit my teeth and block it out. Her mind was an open book, and she gave far too much away without realizing it.

Now, I was fighting a battle on two fronts.

“The moment we return, we need to call the Parancsok and Százados Jaku to the command center to begin damage control,” I ground out, grappling with my urge to turn around and comfort her.

“Aye, the sooner we can contain the rumors, the better,” Rapp agreed.

Grem and Zeec raced ahead of us as we rushed through the city gates and turned onto the thick, dirt road that led to the war camp. A knife dug into my chest, and I slapped a hand over my heart, wincing from the pain. This fucking bond. Not even half a day in, and it was already punishing me for leaving her behind at the palace, even for a little while.

“You okay?” Rapp asked, slowing his horse.

“Fine,” I gritted out through clenched teeth, trying to breathe through it. Assyria and I at least had some common ground—this bond was a joke. Everyone had such romanticized views on the gift, while I had nothing but contempt for it. Especially given the risks it posed to me, to the war, and to all the Demons.

Sometimes the weight of responsibility made me feel like I was being buried alive and I’d never get enough air again. But I couldn’t show it—not even to Rapp and Xannirin. They were all counting on me. I dug my heels into my horse’s side and urged him faster. The sooner my mind was on something else, the better.

As we approached, a line five deep formed along the road leading north. With a start, I realized it was the Parancsok who had volunteered two of his squads to join Hadvezér Trol at the front. He waited on horseback at the head of them, searching.

For us.

Fuck.

In all the commotion, I’d forgotten about his orders to leave at first light. The time was well beyond it. At least the one time my orders weren’t followed to the letter, I was grateful for it. Steering my stallion in his direction, I kicked him into a gallop, flying along the ranks of mounted males until I reached the Parancsok at the front.

“Halálhívó,” he greeted me with a salute, though his voice wavered slightly. Probably because he thought I was going to tear into him. The two Százados on either side of him offered me the same. “Do you have any orders to relay to Hadvezér Trol?”

“If he still holds the line between the Angels and Ustlyak when you arrive, tell him to dig in and hold. Only send those he can spare around to pick off the Angels and ensure they don’t try to fly around him to circumvent the blockade. I will send a raven once our advance begins,” I said in a rush, ticking items off my mental list.

The Százados nodded their confirmation.

“Ride fast and long. Time is of the essence,” I reminded them.

“Yes, sir,” they replied, then turned their mounts to the north. Rapp and I moved out of their way, remaining with the Parancsok while the squads rode out. On horseback and without a load of supplies, their travel would be swift, albeit precarious, especially as they traversed the stretch of the Paks Desert without a stream in sight.

Rapp turned to his officer. “Gather the others and have them meet us in the command center as soon as possible. Fetch Jaku too.”

“Is this about last night’s incident?” he clarified, shifting his weight.

“Yes,” I snapped. “Now get to it before we lose the trust of our new recruits.”

“Aye,” he said, racing off. At least he obeyed, and quickly.

Unlike my fucking mate. ‘Make me’ she had said. She had no idea what that smart mouth did to me. What it made me want to do to her.

Rapp and I entered the camp at a slower pace, listening to every conversation as we rode down the alleys. Silence fell whenever we were noticed, which told me that we were indeed the day’s topic of discussion.

By the time we reached the command center, I was fuming. My chest felt like it was gripped in a vise from the bond, so distracting that it only served to enrage me further. I clawed at it over the black metal armor as if that would relieve the acuteness. Ripping my helmet off, I set it to the side, hoping that would cool me off too.

It didn’t.

Rapp kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as we waited for the Parancsok to trickle in. “Don’t say anything,” I growled, low enough that only he could hear. A tiny dip of his chin told me he heard.

The bond yanked, so hard I nearly fell backward, as if it were personally going to drag me back to Gyor Palace.

“Would you stop that? I can’t focus,” I snapped at Assyria.

“It’s not me, it’s you, asshole,” she shot back. “I can’t focus on anything Kiira is saying.”

This fucking bond.

“Yeah, I couldn’t agree more,” Assyria groused.

Guess I wasn’t as good at keeping my thoughts to myself as I believed.

Using all my willpower to shove her, my anger, and the pain from my mind, I focused on everyone gathered in the command center. “Last night, we burned one of the Vezető from Százados Jaku’s squad.” I dipped my head in his direction. “The male admitted to killing a Kormánzó, which we all know is punishable by death from the laws of the Kral. The female he was caught with admitted that she lied in hopes of sparing him. After taking her to Gyor Palace for questioning this morning, we decided that she should be my personal fallen to produce powerful offspring for the war effort.”

Rapp whipped his head to the side. We hadn’t discussed why Assyria would come with us, but it was at least a somewhat reasonable explanation as to why I was allowed a female when I had explicitly forbidden it for the others.

“We understand, Halálhívó,” Parancsok Olet said slowly, his attention turning pointedly to his Százados.

Jaku had the good sense to nod. “I will ensure my squad knows of Kormánzó Vagach’s demise at the hands of Izgath.” He paused, as if considering his next words. “If I may, two of my other Vezető were close to him. I doubt that they will believe such actions, especially as they held the female while we dealt with Izgath. One has been selected for enhanced training, while the other will remain under my command. Splitting them up is the best option, but I wanted you to be informed nonetheless.”

“Ensure that they both understand the consequences of dissent or spreading rumors about the situation,” I growled. A vein throbbed in my temple.

Too many loose fucking threads in this plan.

The bond seemed to agree, stabbing at me again, while the circle between my shoulder blades seared me. At the very least, only four knew of our mating bond, and after whispers of Assyria swept through the camp and beyond, attention on the situation would die out quickly. The chatter would stick if those speaking of it knew the whole truth.

I merely had to hope it blew over like dust off the dunes in the Paks Desert.