Page 106 of Rising

“Then we’ll give them information,” I cooed. “Perhaps it would be advantageous for me to inform you that there’s a way to become more powerful.Withouthaving to resort to unethical experiments.”

Her wildfire hair fell in front of her face as she considered my offer before angling her head back up, her face brightening. “I’m listening.”

I am too, and now I know I’ve got your interest.

“Oh, no. It doesn’t work like that. You see, now you know that I have information that can change the game. You also know me well enough to know that you’re not getting it out of me unless I so choose to. Meaning, let us out.” I said, face hard with determination, “In order for this to work, we’ll have to work together, as true allies. You need me if you give a shit about your people. Yeah, you know me from before, but my reputation precedes me now. That war wouldn’t have been won without me.”

There had been others, people possessing greater knowledge than me, more expertise in warfare and battle tactics. But there was value in those with a fresh perspective and the unwavering determination to protect what’s yours. They knew more than me, but my ideas saved thousands of lives. Two things could be true at once.

“I need more than just an empty promise of more power, Amaia. There’s lives at risk. You have to give me something tangible, something to work with.”

I studied her for a moment, ready to call her bluff. This was the one leg up we had, I needed it to work.

“You’d be a fool to pass up what we’re offering,” Alexiares said, his head tilted to the side, danger seeping off him. “What other option do you have besides offering yourselves up on a silver platter? If that’s your idea of helping your people, you’re an ill-matched ally to have anyway. Weak.” The last word ground out, repulsed.

“You think I don’t know who you are, Alexiares? What you’ve done in this life and the past,Bloodhound. What you deem as weak, would likely be acting in my best interest.” Sloan’s hand went up, eyes assessing him.

It was an effort to keep the surprise off my face at the name, another connection I’d failed to make. He’d told me he’d had a past, had acted of sorts of an assassin. Their settlements weren’t too far apart, and he’d noted he’d been here in the past.

Sloan’s gazes locked on my own, challenging each other, my intensity driving her to drop her stare in submission and I smirked.

I win.

“How many soldiers are in your command?” I asked.

She looked at me skeptically, trying to decide whether she wanted to answer, knowing a response would seal the deal. “Down to eight-hundred,” she replied.

“That’ll do. And how many citizens are also trained to fight?”

Alexiares watched me intently. I struggled not to smirk at the smug grin of respect plastered on his face. His eyes slowly tracing each of my movements.If only I could snap a photo and show him.

“None,” she answered, expression confused at the given option.

Stupid. There were fifty-thousand of them, and they relied on eight-hundred men. “I can fix that.”

“General’s not the brightest either,” she added, reflecting my thoughts.Negligence and small-mindedness also come to mind.

“Can fix that too,” I assured, “We’ll worktogether. I can get the word out through Salem discreetly. They won’t stand for this. I’ll head our army, work with other allies, whatever you need. Between the both of us, we can rally the power to fight back.”

We’d named Salem in hopes its meaning would be enough to start over. It meant peace, security, safety. Free. While that was the goal, every leader and general within would burn shit to the ground to keep their freedom, to protect their vision of the future.

“That’ll be a hard sell for some, especially those who have already lost so much,” Sloan responded tentatively.

“It won’t be, because it’s our only option for sovereignty. We’ve all lost a lot. Tell them to get over it. This doesn’t stop with you. With us. You know that, right? This is headed towards war.”

Seth shifted on his heels, the action drawing attention causing him to settle at once.

Sloan’s eyes tore from Seth, the warning of further action against him at the tip of her tongue. “Go on.”

“It’ll take time. We’ll need to set up a base location, allocate resources accordingly, but if we all work together and organize correctly, we can do this. I know we can, and you know what I’m capable of. He has no idea that we know. It’s an advantage. Imagine what we can accomplish together.” I saw an old spark flicker in my lost friend’s eyes—the rebel that lay beneath all the sadness.

It made sense that she and Reina were cousins. Sloan was simply just a darker, grittier version, but that base layer of them was the same. That passion for life, to live and to love, to enjoy the moments given, that still remained. It’d just been buried deep down.

“It would be nice to not lose men to your ranks.” She smirked, contemplating for a moment. “We’ll need more than that though. If we’re caught, my men will die. I’ll bear the weight of that, not you.”

“If we fail, my people die, too. If we fail, we fail together, Sloan. Is your freedom not worth your death?”

Sloan groaned, remembering the saying I used to say to her, convincing her whatever protest we were organizing was worth the overall risk of trouble. For all great empires were founded on pillaging, violence, and conquering.

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