Page 20 of Conflicted Fate
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. I wished he saw what I did when I looked at him. The simple, innate drive to begoodand show the rest of our people what that looked like by freeing them from the grip of tyrants they didn’t even know were bad.
There was no need for him to be so hard on himself, but he was trying to shoulder generations’ worth of guilt all by himself. I simply needed to find a way to convince him that he didn’thaveto.
“Kiel …”
“No,” he said. “You need to relax, Jada. We’re not as pressed for time as you think.”
I stayed silent as he misinterpreted what I was speaking up about. If his mind was still wrapped up in our current plan, then I didn’t want to add another distraction by bringing up “us” again. Even if I wanted nothing more than to feel his handselsewhereon my body already.
“There’s risk, I know,” he continued, thinking he was anticipating my comments. “And I know you want to get moving, that you think we’re losing by staying here, but we can’t force time. If we rush it, move too fast, then we risk screwing things up or even flat out losing.”
“We risk that by taking too long as well,” I pointed out.
“And sometimes, you have to slow it down and take in the full picture,” he countered.
“But—”
“No buts,” he said, his fingers digging deep into the left side of my back. “If we did it your way, we would have to fight our way out of this place. Every inch of our escape would be contested by guards. Not just shifter guards, either. I’m sure you noticed the variety of those who captured us. Are you ready and trained to fight centaurs or the Fae? I’m pretty sure I even saw a dragon in the throne room. Could you handle one of them?”
I remained quiet. He damn well knew the answer to those questions.
“Don’t forget,” he added in a completely different voice, one lower pitched, less analytical, more emotional, “you can die now, Jada.”
“I know,” I whispered.
“Which is why we have to think this through. If the prince lends us his soldiers, those who can blend in, at least, we can storm Teagan. It will be thoroughly unexpected. We take down Teagetes; that’s a second Alpha dead.”
“You already told me that.”
“But if we do it fast and get out, then we keep marching south,” Kiel said, a hint of energy slicing into his voice. “We could get to Onetra before word about the attack reaches them. Onetrus isn’t any stronger. Perhaps even Macreus would be in reach if we hurried. Taking him out would eliminate fullyhalfthe Alphas.”
“That’s … ambitious doesn’t even begin to cover it,” I said, trying to sit up.
A firm hand pushed me back into the bed, pinning me so Kiel could start to work on the other side of my back, evening me out. I thought about resisting but swiftly face-planted once more as his thumbs moved in slow swirls across my skin.
“Maybe,” he agreed. “Maybe not. They won’t be expecting it, that’s for sure. Think about it. We’ve been active in the northwest of the empire. In Lycaon. Spotted in Nycitum. The mountain. All attention is up there. Striking to the southeast without warning at the head of a column of warriors? We could get in real deep. They wouldn’t be ready for us. The surprise would totally blindside them.”
“Perhaps,” I said, still trying to decide whether I should temper his boldness, and if so, how to go about it.
“Even just taking out Teagetes will be huge,” he said, showing he could focus on the primary objective. “A second Alpha removed would send ripples through everyone, even if he’s a minor compared to someone like Lycaon. We’ve taken out one near the top, and if we take out one near the bottom, people will notice. They’ll begin to wake up.”
“And if they don’t?”
“They will,” he said firmly, his fingers digging in deeper as if to emphasize his point.
I groaned in delight as he found another tight spot I hadn’t realized existed just under my shoulder blade. Something released strongly enough that both of us felt it go.
“How can you be so sure?” I finally was able to get out.
“Because I know Lycaonus. The death of another Alpha—or two or three—will provoke him. Each time he will respond, and it will be over the top, and he will lose more control and more supporters because of it. Word will spread.”
“Might not spread fast enough,” I pointed out.
“I know. Which is why we aren’t going to operate on the assumption that we’ll reach critical mass in rebel supporters anytime soon. We have to take what support we can, where we can.”
“Like accepting the prince’s warriors,” I said, filling in his plan.
“Exactly,” he said. “Which is why we’re going to be the perfect little ‘house guests’ of our lovely host, right up until he decides one way or another. I suspect the lure of killing one of the Alphas will be too much, even for him to resist. But if he says no, then we’ll find another way.”
