Page 192 of Stars in Umbra
‘Mo, I’ve worked with generals my whole life. Good, bad, tyrants, martyrs, each one of them had the same tell. The moment a man in authority needs to demand loyalty, it means he’s already losing it. Sulfiqar is no different. If he were so powerful, he wouldn’t have to co-opt you. The fact that he’s clawing for your strength tells me he’s fractured, weakened, and incomplete. His dominion has crumbled, which means he’s weak and isolated.’
Her eyes narrowed, her voice a fierce murmur.
‘I suspect the reason he craves you is that your divine potency has outgrown his own. His threats are smoke and shadow, Mo. Because if he were invincible, he wouldn’t need you to fight his war.’
Mo’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t look away. ‘You think so?’
Her fingers traced the hard line of his throat, grounding him.
‘Don’t you see, honey?’ she pressed, softer now. ‘His demand is not proof of his strength, it’s evidence of his weakness. You, Molan, are not his pawn. You’re the weapon he can’t wield. You’re your own man, and you might have the power to overcome him when the time comes.’
Silence stretched. The fire in her eyes held him still until finally, he gave a nod.
‘Your argument is sound,mi kaya,’ he admitted. ‘But hear me too. A cornered supreme being is still a god. A weakened deity can still burn worlds if he wills it. Sulfiqar may need me, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to break me, use me, crush me if I falter. That’s his way. That’s the way of power.’
‘Huh,’ she scoffed.
His hand came up, cupping her face, his thumb dragging along her cheekbone. ‘Maybe, you’re right. Perhaps the reasonhe wants me so bad is because I’ve already become the force he can’t be anymore. Stronger, freer, not chained to a throne, but to you, and that’s what terrifies him most.’
Rina’s breath hitched, but she smiled, a luminous beam. ‘So let him be terrified.’
She glanced at the gentle curve of her belly, at the life they were building, a life that was now tied to a forgotten god’s war.
‘For now,’ she continued, ‘we wait. Let’s focus on our family. We’ll face whatever may come at its appointed time.’
He nodded, the simple act of shared purpose calming the storm within him.
Leaning in, he gave her a long, lingering kiss.
He had her, and their baby, and that was all that mattered.
32
Flames at Daybreak
MOLAN
The months leading up to the birth tested them in ways neither a battlefield nor a council chamber ever had.
Rina, who once commanded fleets and quelled warlords, now fought a quieter war with her own body.
For a few weeks, nausea stalked her from dawn till dusk.
Meals that formerly gave her comfort turned traitor; the spiced lentils and grilled fish she’d chowed down without flinching while on duty, now had her gagging.
Mo kept ginger biscuits and mint tea within arm’s reach wherever she went.
All the while muttering darkly about how he’d rather fight a squad of Stygian mercs than see her retch again.
By the second trimester, her cravings came hard, fast, and tinged with a touch of oddity.
One day, she wanted salted dried fruits from Tansinia; the next, it was doughnuts dipped in chili honey, and the day after that, pickled vegetables at three in the morning.
Mo indulged every request without complaint.
However, he did grumble once when he found himself standing inThe Osirian’skitchens at midnight, bartering with a bewildered cook for the last jar of cured lotus root.
Sleep became a fickle ally as the months wore on.
