Page 21 of Sins of His Wrath

Prillu’s lips pressed together.

“I understand things are difficult right now, but your disrespect is unacceptable at any time.”

Prillu lowered her head, her breath uneven. “Today may not have been the best day for me to be here, my king.”

Her voice was steady, but he could hear the tremor beneath it.

“But I know we have limited time.” She inhaled slowly. “I apologize for my behavior. I am struggling to contain what I feel.”

Akoro watched her closely. This was not the Prillu he was used to. She had always been controlled, sharp, reliable. And yet now—now, she trembled with the weight of something more than anger. More than grief.

It unnerved him.

“And you feel my Omega—the one that belongs specifically to me—should pay for the deaths she caused trying to escape?”

Prillu was silent, her whole body tense.

“Speak!”

Prillu said nothing for a long moment and then rose slowly from her seat, meeting Akoro’s eyes for the first time. “The recent history of the ssukku?rian people is one of unrest and violence, my king. We are historically used to attacks and death and blood. For a time we couldn’t expect to live to see the city ever resemble the great powerhouse it used to be, or even expect to see our children past the age of ten. But then you won the Battle of Sy. We entrusted you to protect us, believed you could take us back to the glory of riches that we once had as a people, trusted you’d correct the mistakes of your dynasty. You promised you would lead us to better lives and better enriching opportunities. But what you have done is facilitate the worst attack on Onn Kkulma city in thirty years.”

Akoro’s hands clenched on the table, but he said nothing.

“While my sons lay hurt and dying, I had to beg, plead, and send some money to our allies across the region to ensure they would send help. I told them we were investigating, but it was likely a freak accident caused by a faulty boulder that we were repairing. But now you are telling me that the dangerous prisoner that you insisted on taking against all of our judgment is the one that caused it? And even worse, she is your mate?”

“It was always a risk, Prillu?—”

“Then why didn’t you keep her outside of the city? Why didn’t you have the buildings surrounding the palace evacuated? Why didn’t you?—”

“We all did the risk analysis together,” Akoro thundered, annoyed. “It was the council, including you, that thought it would be quicker and easier to keep her here rather than in the Sands, likeIsuggested.”

Prillu froze. Her breath hitched, as if she had forgotten that fact in her grief.

Akoro’s voice steadied. “I understand how it looks that my mate did this, but that is incidental. She was a prisoner who took a chance to escape,” he added.

“How did she manipulate thennin-eellithi, my king?” Prillu held his gaze, though her lip was shaking. “How did she know one of thennin-boulders were damaged?”

Akoro’s eyes narrowed. “If you are making an accusation, then make it.”

She held his gaze, her expression taut, raw—the moments blurred into one long, weightless breath of time—and then she looked away. Of course, she was accusing him of giving the princess the tools to escape, but what had happened couldn’t have been expected, especially considering Naya’s personal aversion to thennin-eellithi. She had, in fact, shown incredible bravery and insight by finding a way to use it against all odds.

But that wasn’t Prillu’s business, and he would not defend himself. For Prillu to even think that was treason, let alone to voice it aloud to his face. She had gone too fucking far.

“Your sons will both live, Prillu,” he said firmly. “I will make sure of it. But any more sedition from you will have to be dealt with. If you’re harboring resentment, it is inappropriate for you to be in this post.”

Prillu shook her head, her voice lowering to a whisper. “No. I don’t resent you, my king. I just thought things would be different. You promised us it would be.”

For some reason, the despair in her voice grated on him worse than her indirect treason. “And I will make good on that promise. You have no reason to doubt that I will lead our people to greatness. I didn’t know what she was when I took her, Prillu. Now I do. This is a minor setback, but nothing has changed.”

“Everything has changed,” Prillu said, her voice shaking. Her water-filled eyes lifted to meet his again. “I will do anything and everything you ask, whenever you ask, my king. I will give my life if you ask me to, but my sons.… I didn’t think I’d have to worry about my family in this way. Not again. And that will be the case for every ssukku?rian who is forced to face their families’ injuries or death because of this event.”

“What did you think was going to happen when we went to war, Prillu? You knew there would be deaths, you all knew. We all considered what would happen if the Lox people found a way to transport here, and the danger we would be in if it happened. We even considered what would happen if the princess could somehow interfere with our magical tools and use them against us. These scenarios were discussed, and we all decided it was an acceptable risk. None of that was role play. This was unexpected, but shouldn’t be a surprise. I told you all to transfer your families to the outskirts of the city while she was here. I know it’s not glamorous, but your boys would have been safer.”

He straightened. This had gone on long enough. Prillu needed to decide. “What I need to know is if you will uphold your oath and continue your service because I won’t tolerate this kind of attitude or behavior by my closest adviser. Your sons are strong, and they will live into old age, I will make sure of it. But nothing has changed. As per your oath, your highest priority is to me and the Sy Dynasty. If you can’t do that anymore, if you need to be with your sons, then resign now. There will always be a role for you in city work, but on my council, I need unwavering loyalty and dedication.”

Prillu’s mouth trembled for a moment, but she leaned forward on the table and took a deep breath. “I know, my king, and I will always be loyal to you and the Sy Dynasty. My oath is important to me and stand by it, I assure you. I took those words seriously and will never renounce them. I do not want to resign and don’t want to give you any reason to reject my service to the Sy Dynasty. Please accept my deep apology for today. It won’t happen again.”

Akoro watched her closely. “You and the city have paid a high price, I know. But I didn’t make empty promises to you or the people. These deaths and injuries are not meaningless. By the voice of the Sands, they won’t be.”

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