What is going on between them?

“I’m not certain, but I sense it too,” Assyria spoke into my mind. I hadn’t realized I’d broadcasted the thought down our bond.

In two lithe strides, the High Priestess was parallel with the Kral. “We’ve had a long journey, and you deserve a rest. Halálhívó,” she kept her attention on Xannirin but spoke to me, “would you please show us the way to our quarters?”

Clearing my throat, I gestured for Olet to step forward. “This is Parancsok Olet. He will ensure you are all settled and assigned bunks in the barracks. Afterward, he will show you the way to the dining hall.”

Xannirin and Kiira returned to Rapp, Assyria, and me as Olet dismissed some of the males and requested others help with the unloading of supplies. Soon, the entrance to the military academy was a flurry of activity.

“I’d like to freshen up before dinner,” Xannirin pronounced, staring me down. I held his gaze with equal animosity.

Had this tension lay between us for longer than Assyria and I had been mated? I truly didn’t know what to make of this open hostility toward me.

“You know where your rooms are.” My voice was all hard gravel. Assyria shifted closer to me. Without thinking, I rested my hand on her lower back, needing to ground myself in something before I lost my temper in front of everyone.

“I’ll help with Hadvezér Rapp back into the fortress,” Kiira announced, settling herself against his bad side. With tender care, she looped an arm around his waist to support him.

“I really don’t need help,” he protested, but she silenced him with a look.

Like Assyria, Kiira would set someone on fire if it suited her. She had a depth of strength that had always impressed me. I supposed we all did, after the abuse we suffered at the hands of our fathers.

The Kral’s Guard formed around them as they entered the fray, leaving Assyria and I standing at the head of the road. Grem and Zeec rose, trotting among the priestesses as they streamed past us. Many paused, even for a brief moment, to study my mate.

Ebony dripped from her and pooled at her feet like it too knew the moment was essential to our future. Assyria was made for me—made for this—and yet, I couldn’t shake the truth gnawing at my gut.

The real battle was only beginning. And this time, I might have to bleed for more than victory.

I might have to bleed for what we believed in.

OceanofPDF.com

23

Grem nudged my thigh, demanding affection like the greedy hound he was. I obliged, fingers raking through his soft black fur as I surveyed the flurry of activity outside the academy. Priestesses swept by, their whispers about my helmet planting seeds of pride in my chest. Still more spoke of my honorific. I mirrored Rokath’s stoicism, but really, I wanted to race forward and hug them all.

Thousands of them.

Hope hitched my breath. They were in Fured because of me. But did they know that? Had the Fates offered Kiira another vision? Did she prepare them for what was to come?

Tears burned the backs of my eyes. This would make an enormous difference—not only for the war, but for Demon society as a whole.

Once we convinced the detractors, that was. Given the expressions on many males’ faces, Xannirin’s overt disdain, and Rokath’s fury, we were only a few steps down this long, winding path.

Rokath stroked his thumb across my lower back. “What’s bothering you?” I asked down our bond.

“The way Kiira and Xannirin were acting…” he trailed off, his thoughts a violent storm.

“All is not well between them. Or between Xannirin and you,” I added, hoping that would anchor him.

“That is an understatement. The question is why and when it began,” he grumbled. With a gentle nudge, we began our trek back into the academy.

“Well, they’re not fucking like I thought Banand and Araquiel might have been,” I teased, attempting to pull him from his dark mood.

His flat expression told me he was unamused by my joke.

I rolled my eyes. “I only really met with Xannirin once before. Any other time, it was mostly in passing. Though he seemed far colder to me earlier than he did when I was living in the adjacent room. As for Kiira…”

The High Priestess had greeted me with enthusiasm and kindness. Rapp too. But when it came to Rokath and Xannirin, her behavior had been entirely different. Less with my mate than their cousin, though.

“She seems more guarded with you than before.”

He nodded, acknowledging my response. “If your perceptiveness reveals anything else to you, do let me know.”

“Guess we’ve found what else I can help you with. Since you have the emotional capacity of a drop of Grem’s drool, I can be your people-interpreter,” I quipped, grinning up at him.

“Just because you might be more perceptive than me does not mean I am incapable of it,” he growled, a warning in his tone I didn’t heed. Grem and Zeec disappeared into the crowded courtyard. Most were used to their presence and paid them no mind as they sniffed.

“Sure. Let’s go eat dinner before you try to convince yourself you are the prettier one too,” I teased, tugging on his hands to lead him toward the commons. While the gong hadn’t yet sounded, it would soon, judging by the angle of the sun.

Rather than allow me to direct our path, he yanked me into an alcove, out of sight. Grabbing his helmet by the horns, he tugged it over his head, revealing a dark expression that made my thighs press together. “I’ve seen the way you look at me. Heard the things you think about me.”

He set his skull-shaped helm off to one side before reaching for mine, his eyes blazing with primal intent. I offered him a saccharine smile as he braced his hands on either side of my head. “You’re a male. Your attention is far more overt than mine could ever be. Those lustful thoughts you hear from me? Just an echo of your own.”

Then, I patted the center of his chest with as much condescension as I could muster and slipped out from under his arms. Dipping to the ground, I found the rose-decorated metal and tucked it beneath my arm. He muttered under his breath, then his heavy footsteps followed me down the open air hall. Our hounds rejoined us as we joined the crowd streaming toward the scent of garlic and rosemary.

Three times we had to stop short as males crossed our path, carrying bags, crates, and other supplies toward the eastern barracks. Priestesses accompanied them, keeping their distance. Mistrustful looks were as common as lustful ones.

When the gong sounded, the academy was still a hive of activity. Rokath shouted over the noise. “At ease. The dining hall will remain open and the cooks will feed you. Finish what you are doing.”

The soldiers and priestesses carried on.

We entered the commons side by side, striding purposefully toward the high table. Olet, Rapp, and Kiira were already seated and waiting for us. The long ones for the soldiers were barely half-full and yet the females who had settled on the benches whispered about my bare face.

Had they expected me to don a veil when I removed my helmet?

I kept my chin high and let them see what happened when we challenged the males who controlled us and won.

The High Priestess’s expression brightened as we approached, and she waved me into a chair beside her. Without a second thought, I slid into it, placing my armor on the ground beneath me. Kiira and I had grown close during the time I’d spent locked in Gyor Palace, and other than the one note she’d sent me about Olrus, I hadn’t spoken to her since.

Rokath took a seat beside Olet, and a moment later, Xannirin appeared in the hall. Salutes and curtseys greeted him as he passed by soldiers and priestesses alike. Yet he didn’t deign to give them an ounce of attention. No one spoke at our table as he sat.