Page 130 of Echoes of War

He caught his bearings, rolling me over, hands squeezing my neck. I choked out air, not pleased to be in the position I’d imposed on him. My feet found his chest, kicking him back and creating space between us once more. Seth reached for the knife, mirroring my movements as I scrambled into a low crouch.

“Amaia,” he gasped out, “please just listen.”

I swung, ready for him to stop talking. “The sound of your voice hurts my ears,” I said between labored breaths. “I don’t need to hear about how you hated what we’ve built here. I couldn’t care less about your disapproval of what we’ve built here. I’ve seen the company you keep.”

Dodging a blow that would have had me pissing blood for a month, I kept light on my toes. I leaned back, throwing him off guard with where my true kick was coming from. “Every day I keep my life, each day that this place thrives despite your father’s sorry attempts, becomes the best day of my fucking existence. Starting with the one that ends with you dead.”

Sweeping him off his feet, I grinned, dislodging the knife he held in his hand, replacing it in mine. I grabbed the hilt with my other palm, holding it over his chest.On second thought, I teased it through the air, settling over the center of his neck.

Seth wasn’t even fighting back. He sat beneath me, a defeated look on his face, accepting this fate. That made things slightly less fun. He took my hesitation as a cue, “Just listen okay? If you kill me, if you don’t do what he says, then everyone outside the walls will die, which means the people inside will die too when the walls fall. You may not care about what I have to say, but I know you care about them.”

“What are you talking about?”

He pushed against my chest, shoving me off him. Seth sat across from me, like we were two friends having a chat in the park.A park covered in dead bodies. Memories with Jax and Prescott flashed before my eyes, centering me back in the here and now.

“The last thing I wanted was for anyone to die, Amaia. But shit happened, and then more shit happened, and I couldn’t keep up. The lies ran too deep, and then I was in the middle of a mess. I didn’t even know where to start cleaning. We may be on opposite sides of things, but it doesn’t gotta stay that way forever,” he explained.

I sat staring at him, mouth agape. This sure as shit couldn’t be what he’d stopped me from killing him over. “What does your half-assed non-apology have to do with saving the lives ofmypeople?”

Impulse fought to take over. Years of discipline being the only thing keeping me rooted to the ground when everything in me wanted to tackle him, drive my knife into his body. And claw. And bite. Anything that made him die slowly.

“It doesn’t,” Seth said, eyes landing on mine, holding my intense stare. “My dad wants to make a deal. I’m explaining why I need you to take it. Monterey was never meant to be my home. That doesn’t negate the fact that there are good people here that I didn’t do the best job at protecting. You trusted me to have your back, and I was weak. Always have been. I would like to change that now so I needed you to know … I never knew Jax would die, and I wasn’t the one who killed Prescott. Let’s face it, for a place meant for all, it took me some time to rightfully adjust. I’m not sure if I made a mistake leaving. Regardless, my actions changed the course of everything and there’s no going back now.”

“The deal?” I pressed, not giving a shit about what poor excuses he chose to offer. It was far too late for that now.

“A life for thousands of lives. My dad has agreed to Monterey’s sovereignty under some … conditions in exchange for your support.” Seth cleared his throat, staring at me out the side of his eye, nervous his next words would cause me to hit him. “There’s someone he wants you to take out. Shut down … for good. They’re on the run through Transient right now, hard to track, but dad trusts that between you and the others, you’ll get the job done soon enough. He’s received word that even if Monterey falls, they’ll keep on the path of rebellion. End up causing more trouble. When he looks at the future, it’s you on our side, and them dead. It works out in everyone’s favor.”

“Except for the dead guy and his people,” I mumbled. “Who is he?”

Seth smirked through his swollen ass face. “You assume ahe?”

“She?”

“Does it matter?” he asked. “It’s in exchange for Monterey’s independence. This place stays untouched. Youguysstay untouched.”

“Ifhewants it done, then it matters. When the bad guy wants someone dead, it always matters. Look around, Seth.” I gestured to the gruesome scene beyond where we were standing. “No one’s coming out of this untouched. Not a single soul.”

“You have to take the deal. This ain’t athis or thatsituation,” Seth pressed.

“Why me?” I paused, then chuckled. “Because I can get a meeting, lure them into my trap? Because if it’s me, that makes everybody under my control bow down too? What’s next, putting a fucking crown on his head while taking a knee?”

“Don’t you get it? You inspire these people. They speak of you even in Covert. You’re a symbol to them. Monterey. Salem. All of y’all are a symbol of what can be. But all of them follow three. Prescott. Jax. You, Amaia.” Seth shifted on the ground, no longer wanting to meet my gaze. Something told me at the end of this all, a crown on his head wasn’t a far-fetched idea.

“No,” I said simply.

Seth winced as he shot to his feet, towering over me. I paid him no mind, dismissing his stature as if he weren’t a threat.

His freckled features hardened, fists curling tight. “No?” he asked, his voice a lethal calm.

I crossed my arms, unimpressed with this blackmail over my people and everyone I was now responsible for, disguised as some pleasant offer. The conditions to which I’d even have to meet before taking out this random, not even factoring into my decision. I didn’t need to hear the conditions of peace, because whatever they were, they weren’t the conditions of my people.

Their right to determine their own futures was one of the main things I’d sworn to protect. There was no negotiating what was a place meant for the ever-changing, ever-evolvingCovert Province’s values would never align with that, so neither would I. There were people counting on me, places fighting for their freedom under my command.

I would not let them down. Who was to even say Ronan wouldn’t go back on his word? Because that’s all they were when it came to Covert Province, meaningless words. A treaty was only as strong as the honor of the more powerful force. That wasn’t us, that clearly wasn’t us. Not yet. But it could be soon.

Digging my heels into the ground, I found my footing, raising my chin to down my nose at him. “Yeah, tell your father I said he can go fuck himself. My home, my freedom, and my values are not up for negotiation. Never have been, never will be. Then make sure he sends your sorry ass back here so I can finish the job he’s likely to start at your failure. Only then will you know how truly unwanted you are.”

Seth’s face fell, my words striking a nerve. The Earth shook beneath us, and I watched flames light up the sky in the reflection of his eyes. An echoing boom popped my eardrums. I didn’t need to turn around to know where it had come from. The last shield. It was too early.

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