Page 54 of Barbarian Daddies

26

Cynthia

The whole “life flashing before your eyes” concept feels foreign to me. I doubt I’ll have even the blip of a second left if Selina gets close enough to tear my throat open with those claws of hers. Kingo may be dead since he has yet to move after the door blast blew him away. The mercenaries are out of sight, but I can hear their boots nervously shuffling in the hallway. I’m on my own in this room—this one room that was supposed to hold the secret to a better tomorrow.

I would’ve found a way, too, if Selina hadn’t been so driven to destroy everything. That’s her endgame now. To wipe them all out and create a new and evolved species of Sunnaite. The gods were cruel enough to design her without a womb, so Selina is determined to become a god of her own and design a whole new world in response.

“You can’t do this!” I cry out as she closes in.

“Oh, but I can, and you can’t stop me,” Selina replies. “Now, sit still, and it’ll be over quickly. You won’t feel a thing.”

I manage to grab the knife from the tray and point its sharp tip at her. “I can try and stop you,” I hiss, “and I might even succeed, Selina. Don’t fuck with a mother-to-be. You don’t know what we’re capable of!”

The words hit her hard and somewhere so deep that ruby fires erupt in her gaze. Fury unhinged blazes through every pore of her skin as she comes for my throat. A distant boom stops her cold in her tracks—it’s quickly followed by another and another, each closer and louder until I’m able to understand what’s happening. Explosions.

And judging by the confused look on Selina’s face as she stills and listens carefully, it’s not something she had planned. There’s movement in the hallway, too. Murmurs. Growls. Shouting.

“No,” Selina breathes as she whirls around, her nose having already picked up on the incoming heaps of trouble long before I figured it out.

She’s just about to go through the shattered door frame when we both see the Sky Tribe mercenaries getting tossed all the way to the other end of the hallway, their bodies crackling and thudding as they hit the distant wall. The growling intensifies, accompanied by the blood-curdling sounds of swords slashing and guns firing. POP! POP! SLASH! Each followed by wails of sheer agony and terrified screams.

One by one, the mercenaries in Selina’s guard fall. Dead.

She pulls back, suddenly aware of what’s headed our way.

I stand frozen in time, staring and waiting to see who’s going to walk through that doorway, praying to all the gods and the universe and anyone else who might listen that I may survive this yet.

Kai and Maur walk in, tall and proud and covered in Sky Tribe blood. My heart shudders, the adrenaline quickly coursing through my body as relief washes over me at the same time. It’s a strange sensation, a mixed feeling of dread and exhilaration as they see me and I see them.

“Good, you’re right where I thought you’d be,” Kai states matter-of-factly.

I’d laugh if the situation wasn’t so fucking dire. All I can do is nod softly and move farther back, my hand still clutching the knife. Selina gives me a sour look, then shifts her focus to my men.

“How’d you make it this deep into the city, you brazen fools?” she snaps, drawing her laser pistols. They’re the size of an Earthly revolver but able to blow burning holes through pretty much anything. “Don’t take another step,” she adds, pointing one of them at me, “or your human whore will be the first to die.”

“And you were just about to kill me, anyway,” I mutter. “I’m once again useful, huh?”

“All living beings can be useful if one knows how to use them,” she replies without even looking at me. “The Hadana twins, as I live and breathe. I’d hoped my jets had taken care of you as well.”

“We’re resilient,” Maur says, his eyes cold and his expression carved into dark red stone as he beholds this icy-blooded killer. “Besides, she’s the mother of our child. Did you really think we’d simply let you have your way, General Sharuk?”

“What happened to my men?”

“You can see for yourself,” Maur shoots back. “And you can join them in just a moment. My brother has some questions for you first.”

Selina laughs, but it’s a nervous laughter, and I can tell she knows the rules of her own game have just changed against her will. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she says. “I owe you no answer. Only death.”

“We’re taking the city as we speak,” Kai says, stepping forth with his chin up. I couldn’t love my men more than I do in this moment. Selina is a formidable foe, yet I gather they’re about to whoop her ass in every possible way. “Your mercenaries are either dying or surrendering. By nightfall, we’ll have planted the Fire Tribe’s flag atop your palace.”

“Ridiculous. You don’t have the manpower nor the weapons!” Selina snaps. “You’re just bluffing. Stalling. But I will still rip your human whore’s throat out, boys. And you will have the honor of watching before I do away with the two of you, as well.”

Kai grins coldly. “All you have to do is look out the window, General Sharuk. We don’t need that much manpower when the city itself has risen against you.”

A moment passes in eerie silence as Selina begins to question her own reality. She moves away and walks over to one of the windows, nervously looking out. I can see the horror permeating her beautiful, vixen-like features as she realizes what’s happening. I can hear them, too. The people of Sapphire City, shouting and marching in unison. It sends shivers down my spine.

Something is in the air, a tension that thickens with each second that slips by, with each breath that Selina takes and begins to understand that her masterful plan may not become a reality after all. The rage that comes with this thought is so visible upon her features I can barely recognize her as she turns around and faces us, sneering and breathing heavily.

“Since when do the people of Sapphire City know to demand their rights?” Selina asks. “I’ve kept them calm and fed and obedient over the past fifteen years. What lies did you tell them?”

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