Page 11 of The Heir's Bargain

"Indeed, Commander," Major Kentos said with a nod.

Flutters filled my stomach. This was it. This was the moment that would change the rest of my life. After this, I would be one step closer to becoming the youngest general in Pontian history.

My father's gaze fell upon me, and a small smile flashed across his face. As it disappeared, though, my brows quivered, and a cold sweat broke out over my skin.

"Captain Torian, please step forward."

My heart fell to the bottom of my feet as Quint stepped out of line and headed for the stage.

"I—I don't understand," I whispered as Quint shook Major Kentos' hand. Quint's wife stood beside him with a big smile as she rocked a newborn with bright, rosy cheeks on her hip.

I had no complaints about Quint as a person. He was even a good soldier, but his heart was with his family. Everyone knew that.

Which made this decision that much harder to bear.

"Don't understand what, Captain?" my father asked. After the ceremony was finished, he had come down the stage. A black silk ribbon pulled back his long, dark braids. He brushed back a braid that was too short to pull back, which kept falling in front of his face.

My mother, who had been waiting off to the side like she did every pinning ceremony, now stood beside him, her hand wrapped around his arm. Her small round face bunched up, crow's feet forming on the outer corner of her hazel eyes. Next to my father, their height difference was even more dramatic. Despite the elegant heels she wore, my mother was still shorter than him by at least a foot.

"This—" I said, waving a hand in Quint's direction. Then quieter, I added, "The promotion. The lack of promotion. I have done everything. I have excelled at everything."

Since the announcement, I had swallowed the frustration, but now it was building, threatening to boil over. I steeled myself, my nails digging into the pad of my palms. "It's because I'm too young, isn't it? For years, you have said that we value the youth, but that's not true, is it?"

My father sighed, but his gaze remained earnest. "It is not your age, Captain."

"Then what is it? You're the commander. You should—" I gasped, eyes widening. "That's the real reason! It's because you're my father. I thought we were past this, but I can see that I was wrong."

He rubbed a hand across his face, the skin growing taut. My father said something—a disagreement perhaps—but I wasn't listening anymore. My mind was spiraling as I tried to make sense of the promotion.

I wrung my hands together, my gaze becoming unfocused as I stared out beyond my parents to the sea of bodies. "If I were promoted, the soldiers would believe I had gained the position because of you. That I didn't earn it, that it was simply handed to me." I crossed my arms over my chest as I tapped my foot. "Well, that's utter bullshit. I've worked my ass off. Every day, every night. I have fought harder than anyone. I have trained nonstop since I could walk. The fight is in my blood; the military is in my blood. It's who I am. It's what I was born to do. How dare the other leaders think?—"

"Captain Ferrios!"

My heels clicked together, my posture straightening at the shift in my father's tone.

"Menides!" my mother chided beside him, her pale cheeks turning pink. She glanced around us at the nearby families who continued their cheerful conversions.

My father sighed. As he exhaled, his eyes briefly closed shut, and his age showed across his face in the deepening wrinkles. "Listen to me, Dani. It's not because of who I am or how old you are."

"Then what—" I snapped my mouth shut as he quirked a brow.

"You have done everything right. None of the leaders question your strength, loyalty, or drive." Reaching out, he squeezed one of my shoulders. "However, there is more to leading than rising in the ranks. Pontia is our home. We fight to protect it. We fight, train, and lead to protect the people within it. But more than that, you and your mother are my home. Every day, I do what I do for the two of you. I come home every day for you."

My gaze bounced between my parents. My mother looked up longingly at her soul bond, her grip around his arm tightening as a warm smile spread across her face.

"And?" I asked, my eyebrows drawing together.

My father surveyed Quint, who was holding up his baby, giggles spewing from the child's mouth. I tried to recall the child's name, but it was lost on my tongue.

"Captain Torian has a family. He has a goal outside of the military."

"Exactly, so why should?—"

My father squeezed my shoulder again, halting me. "The soldiers need to know that their lives outside of the military—outside of their squad—are equally important as their life in uniform. While the military is their family, it is not the only family they must care about. If they do not have strong ties at home, they are bound to lose hope when war comes." His hand fell from my shoulder, yet the weight of it remained. "Because war is coming, my dear. Rebellions are rising throughout the seven kingdoms. It is only a matter of time before it reaches us."

My brows twisted together. "I do have people. I have you and Mother."

"Mhm. And?"

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