Page 46 of The Lands Defying
Slowly, the male lowers himself to the stone floor. He pauses for a moment, and he tilts his head,justenough that others would be satisfied with.
But not Darius.
He walks swiftly over to him, then, without hesitation, a booted foot lands on the side of Sean’s face. He presses down until the male’s head cracks off the floor.
“Now, this is how far you should go when baring your neck to her,” Darius growls, his rage palpable in the air.
He looks back at me as the male scrambles with his hands to try and get up, but he must know he can’t.
“Is this low enough, Vihnarn?”
The room breaks out in gasped shock, words and murmurs after Darius’s revealing of what I am to him.
I look down at the male, watching his struggle, then my eyes lift back to Darius in answer.
His eyes flash black.
“So be it,” he smirks, and without even looking, he pours some of his magic out to wrap around his neck, then the knowingcrackfollows.
Darius takes his foot away from the dead male’s head and comes back to me.
He lifts me up and puts me back on his lap like nothing had happened.
“Anyone else have issues who have come back from a location search?” Silence. “Good. See that it stays that way, for you now know how it ends. I will not tolerate the disrespect. Clear?”
“Rah!” The thunderous reply comes instantly, and I see Maverick smiling. He clearly enjoyed that.
Eventually, Darius speaks up, gaining his Elite’s attention.
“We leave for The Drylands,” he tells them, looking at them all. “You know war will come knocking on our gates at any moment, especially after Maize’s death.” Guilt runs through me at that. I sped up the timeline. Darius squeezes my thigh, his magic forming under his fingertips. “While some of us are in The Drylands, I need you all to be vigilant, listen when you are out in the lands, protect our home. The people.”
The Elites nod their heads, not once moving their gaze from their Alpha.
“We need to make sure papers are ready to distribute across the towns of the Highers deeds. It will cause much unrest, but hopefully, it will cause the people to fight back against theHigher guards in their towns. That they will fight with us when it’s needed to gain back some control.”
“What if they don’t?” A male on the far right asks, and Darius’s eyes swing to him.
“Then we protect them, like we have always tried to do.” He nods at that, the others following suit.
Silence fills the room, and my head turns to look at Darius.
Underneath his rough exterior, at his core, Darius is full of protection. For his men, for his brothers…
He looks down and peers into my eyes, and I know that protection extends to me.
“Maverick,” he says, not moving his gaze away. “Keep patrol alert for any more rogures, and you will devise a plan to get those that need sanctuary to Colhelm, we have a large farmstead there.”
“Why can’t we use the keep, there is plenty of room.” You can hear the confusion in his tone. Darius finally moves his gaze away from me then.
“Because the keep will be one of the first things under attack when Charles finds out about killing those that were under him. When he finds out that we are no longer with him, but against him.”
He’s right, they will hit here first, and it could be at any moment.
“Be ready,” he tells his men, “And say goodbye to your loved ones. We never know when the chance will arise again. If ever.”
Thirteen
Darius
