I pressed into the scratchy bark of a pine as I peered into the windows of the gas-lamp-lit barracks. A few people moved about inside. It was only a matter of time before they took note of the fact that no one was on the Rise.
Kieran joined me, his hand landing on the tree above mine. “We probably have around twenty minutes before dawn arrives,” he said. “The Ascended should already be retiring for the night.”
I nodded. There were no Temples in Massene, or a Radiant Row like in Masadonia, where the wealthy mortals lived side by side with the Ascended. In Massene, all the vamprys lived within Cauldra Manor.
“Remember,” I said, tightening my grip on the sword. “We harm no mortal who lowers their weapon. We harm no Ascended who surrenders.”
There were murmurs and soft snarls of agreement. Kieran turned to Naill and nodded. The Atlantian slipped forward and then moved with blinding speed, reaching the side of the barracks. He dragged the edge of his sword along the building, creating an ear-aching grinding sound against the stone.
“Well,” Emil drawled. “That’s one way of doing it.”
A door flung open, and a guard stepped out, blade in hand. His head whipped from side to side, but Naill had already disappeared into the pines.
“Who goes there?” the guard demanded as several more spilled out from the barracks. The man squinted into the darkness. “Who’s out here?”
I pulled away from the pine.
“Does it really have to be you?” Kieran questioned in a low voice.
“Yes.”
“The actual answer is no.”
“No, it’s not.” I eased past him.
Kieran sighed but made no move to stop me. “One of these days, you will realize you’re a Queen,” he hissed.
“Not likely,” Emil remarked.
I walked out of the pines, my senses open. The men turned to me, not having realized yet that no one was on the Rise.
“Who I am is not important,” I said, feeling the ripple of surprise that came with their realization that a female stood before them. “What is, is that your city has been breached, and you’re surrounded. We are not here to take from you. We’re here to end the Blood Crown. Lay down your weapons, and you will not be harmed.”
“And if we don’t lay down our swords to some Atlantian bitch?” the man demanded, and tart unease and anxiety radiated from a few of the men behind him. “What then?”
My brows rose. These guards were aware that a small portion of the Atlantian armies had been camped out at the edges of Pompay. They weren’t, however, aware that a draken was among us.
Or that the Atlantian Queen was also with the encampment and currently the bitch they were speaking to.
The words burned to say, but I spoke them. “You die.”
“Is that so?” The man laughed, and I stifled the rising disappointment, reminding myself that many mortals had no idea who they served. Who the real enemy was. “Am I or my men supposed to be afraid of a pitiful army that sends overgrown dogs and bitches to fight their battles?” He looked over his shoulder. “Looks like we’ll have another head to put on the pike.” He faced me. “But first, we’ll make real good use of that mouth and whatever is under that cloak, won’t we, boys?”
There were a few rough laughs, but that tartness increased from others.
I tilted my head. “This is your last chance. Lay down your swords and surrender.”
The silly mortal swaggered forward. “How about you lay down on your back and spread them legs?”
Hot anger pressed against my back as I turned my gaze to him. “No, thank you.”
“Wasn’t really asking.” He took one more step. That was as far as he made it.
Vonetta sprang out of the darkness, landing on the guard. His shout ended with a vicious clamp of her jaws on his throat as she took him down.
Another charged forward, raising his sword at Vonetta as she dragged the foul-mouthed man across the ground. I shot forward, catching his arm as I thrust my blade deep into his belly. Blue eyes set in a far-too-young face widened as I yanked the sword back out.
“Sorry,” I murmured, shoving him away.
Several of the guards lurched toward Vonetta and me, only to realize that we were not who they should be worried about—a moment too late.
The wolven came out of the pines, swarming the guards in a matter of seconds. The crunch of bone and sharp, too-short screams echoed in my head as Kieran drew his blade across a guard’s throat.
“When will mortals stop referring to us as overgrown dogs?” he asked, pushing the fallen guard aside. “Do they not know the difference between a dog and a wolf?”
“I’m going to say no.” Emil stalked past the one who’d gone at Vonetta, spitting on the dead man. He looked up at me. “What? He was going to knife Netta in the back. I’m not about that.”
I couldn’t really argue against that as I turned to the soldiers near the back, the ones I’d felt the unease from. Five of them. Their swords lay at their feet. The sickly bitterness of fear coated my skin as Delano stalked forward, blood-streaked teeth bared. The stench of urine hit the air.
“W-we surrender,” one chattered, shaking.
“Delano,” I called softly, and the wolven halted, growling at the men. “How many Ascended are here?”
“There are t-ten,” the man answered, his skin as pale as the waning moonlight.
“Would they be returning to Cauldra Manor?” Kieran asked, coming to stand beside me.
“They should already be there,” another said. “They’ll be under guard. They have been since the Duke became aware of your encampment.”
I glanced at Naill, who led Setti and the other horses forward. “Did all of them take part in what was done to those on the gates?”
The third one—an older man than most on the Rise, in his third or fourth decade of life—said, “None of them resisted Duke Silvan when he gave the orders.”
“Who were those they chose to kill?” Kieran asked.
Another wave of disappointment swelled, weighing heavily on my chest. I wanted to—no, I needed to—believe that there were other Ascended like…like Ian, my brother, even if we shared no blood. There had to be.
“They did it at will,” the first guard, the one who’d spoken his surrender, shared. He looked close to vomiting. “They just picked people out. Young. Old. Didn’t matter. Ain’t no one who was causing trouble. No one causes trouble.”
“The same with the others,” another younger guard said. “Those, they led out beyond the Rise.”
Kieran focused on the mortal, his jaw clenched. “You know what was done to them?”
“I do,” the eldest of them said after the others spoke. “They led them out there. Fed from them. Left them to turn. No one believed me when I said that was what happened.” He jerked his chin at the ones beside him. “They said I was crazy, but I know what I saw. I just didn’t think…” His gaze went to the gates. “I thought maybe I was crazy.”
He just hadn’t considered what all the Ascended were capable of.
“You were right,” Kieran replied. “If it brings you any relief to know that.”