Page 48 of Deadly Rival

Fuck. Does she know? She didn’t act as though she knew the Brotherhood, but why the hell would she? I’m sure she’s hiding what she knows.

The poison dwarf chimes in again. He’s not even a real dwarf, but now I can’t get the name out of my head. His loud voice batters my eardrums. “And everyone the Calders target in the meantime will have suffered for nothing.” He gets to his feet. “I call a vote. Red to end this charade and hand the idiot over.”

My blood freezes as the Brothers reach under the table and pull out smooth, flat stones. White covers one side, vivid blood red the other. Appropriate. Kendrick sets his down immediately, white side up. “Three for white. Anyone who chooses red is choosing a path of utmost cowardice. To sacrifice the life of a Brother…”

His pale face and the tight set of his lips scream true rage. I’m not sure even he believed it would actually come to this.

The two Brothers who already spoke set down their stones, blood-red side to the roof. The color sears my retinas, burning a path to my brain. Another Brother sets his stone down, red side up, without a word.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

The man on the end, small and mousey with wire-rimmed glasses, slaps the table. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. Kendrick is right. You’re pathetic cowards.” He slams his stone down, brilliant white side showing.

Kendrick bangs his hammer. “Four for white. The motion can’t carry. Dismissed.”

The relief is icy water on burned skin, tracking through my veins. I want to run over and hug the little man, spin him round and round like we’re in a yogurt commercial. I catch Jacob’s eye, and don’t miss the way his muscles relax as if he’s backing down from a fight. If this had gone against me, would he have done something stupid?

It’s a sobering thought. I shouldn’t have placed him or Kendrick or anyone else into this position. And what about the fifth councilman? Kendrick didn’t wait to see his vote before dismissing the motion. Did he want my head in a box, too?

The brave little man, my new bestie, gets to his feet. “I call a new vote. Red for immediate retaliation against the Calders. Full force. Everything we have. Scorch them off the planet.”

Holy shit. Dramatic music should be playing in the background. I love this man. He slams his stone to red and takes his seat.

I hold my breath. This is it. What I’ve wanted for years. The entire reason I set this insane plan in motion. Can it really be this easy? Dice roll in my mind. Please, let them land on six.

Kendrick flips his stone. “Three for red. Full force is the only option.”

The three who wanted me dead flip their stones to white. Poison dwarf, their fucking spokesman, opens his stupid mouth yet again.

“And what if it’s not that easy? We don’t know their full capability. They’ve surprised us before. Our families will pay the price if they retaliate, and for what? Olwani is correct. The girl won’t submit. It’s too much to go to war for an idiot who’ll die at initiation.”

Everyone falls silent, staring at the one Brother who didn’t vote in the previous round. He’s tall, skeletally thin, and older than all the rest. Easily in his seventies. “I have sympathy for theyoung man, but I can’t support taking such a risk for someone whose initiation is far from settled.”

My heart drops to my boots as he lays his stone down, white face upright.

Fuck.

Kendrick’s hammer thumps down. “Motion dismissed.”

Skeletor isn’t done, though. “I propose we let the lad go through initiation and make a call. If he fails, as you say, the problem is solved. If he succeeds, we go to war.”

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Not quite as good as striking right now, but not far off either.

Kendrick sets his hammer down. “Are you calling a motion?”

“Not quite yet.” Skeletor turns to me. “You’re confident you can get this girl of yours to behave?”

I clear my throat and try my best to project all the confidence I don’t feel. “Yes. Absolutely.”

He graces me with a single brief nod, then addresses Kendrick. “The Calders can do a great deal of damage in a month.”

A rumble of assent ripples through the room.

“I propose we bring initiation forward. Five days should suffice.”

My stomach drops again. Five days? Jacob and I speak together. “That’s not…”

“No, he can’t…”

---