Page 52 of Empire of Death
“The god of the underworld gives nothing for free, Lily. I’ve witnessed the demonic form of Bahamut with my own eyes.”
“Mom.” I had too many burdens to carry on my own, and I couldn’t afford to carry this too. “Do you trust me?”
Her stare initially sharpened, but then it softened once the wave of affection struck her maternal shores.
“They were given freely. I did not offer my soul in exchange. The burdens I carry are many, and I don’t have the ability to argue about something that has already come to pass, not when there are so many issues at hand. When I spoke with King Ithaca of the Empire Colonies, he met my visit with hostility and demanded our dragons in exchange for his alliance. I traveled to the Brigandine Empire and earned the loyalty of the pirates there by defeating their enemies. They’ll come to our aid when we call for it. The Northern Kingdoms are preparing for the war that is destined to arrive on our doorstep. And I still need to discover the cure that will heal Father before battle arrives, because I don’t think I can do this without him. So please, just let this be.”
With the sheen of unconditional love in her eyes, she continued to stare at me across the bed, my hand still in my father’s.
“I promise my soul is not at risk—and I would never lie about something like that.”
She considered what I said a long time, at one point even parting her lips like she might say something, but then she changed her mind as her eyes shifted away. “I trust you without your word or promise, sweetheart.”
I tensed as I waited for it, waited for her to rush me with her words.
“But we will need to talk about it at some point.”
“Yeah…I know.” And I wouldn’t be able to lie to her. Not my mother. Not when she was the person to whom I confided everything. I would pour my heart out to her, and instead of focusing on all the urgent matters at hand, I would focus on the angst that festered in my heart.
“But you’re wrong about something.”
“What?” I said quietly.
She looked me dead in the eye, the same expression of pride entering her gaze that my father wore almost every time he looked at me. “You can do this without your father, Lily.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never faced anything like this.”
“I know you can do it,” she said calmly. “You’re theonlyperson who can do it.”
17
WRATH
From my place of concealment, I watched her for a while before I revealed myself. Watched her remove the heavy pieces of her armor that she was strong enough to wear all day before she placed them on the mannequin. Then I watched her pace in the sitting room, walking over the rug back and forth in her uniform underneath, her hair free because she only wore it in a braid in anticipation of battle.
I understood Talon’s wisdom because of the years he’d lived on this earth. Almost eighty years old despite his eternally youthful appearance, he’d had the time to become seasoned and grizzled. Lily was young, but she was already twice as smart as he was. I watched her eyes work furiously as she paced, thinking and plotting, carrying the weight of a kingdom on her shoulders.
I could watch her forever because whether she slept or stressed, she was hypnotically beautiful. But it was hard to watch her suffer without doing everything in my power to ease her burden. It’d been a long time since I’d been in this position—one where I would give anything for another person.
And I’d give anything, my soul if I still had it to give, for her.
She eventually stopped pacing and stepped into the bathroom to shower. She wasn’t in the separate villa that she used to call home. Now she took one of the royal chambers so she could be within the castle at all times, accessible to Hawk and the other soldiers who needed her. Guards were posted outside her door every moment of every day.
I built a fire in the hearth then waited for her to return once her shoulders had relaxed from the heat of the warm water. I sat in the armchair and listened for the sound of the door, of the drawers to her dresser as she found something to wear. With her hair slightly damp, she stepped into the sitting room in a long shirt with her knee-high socks like she knew I was there.
I locked eyes with her, mesmerized by the beauty of her appearance the way everyone was hypnotized by dragon scales. She was my rose in the garden, the life that I nurtured with my own hands, ignoring the wounds from her thorns that cut me while I pruned her. I would shield her tender blossoms from the rain in a downpour, provide water if it was too hot, just for the honor of looking at her when she bloomed.
The Covenant may have my soul, but this woman had my heart.
She stared at me in the same pained, loving way then came to me, sitting on the edge of the couch and not in my lap. The grief of her circumstances was enough to keep her distant from me, at least until I consoled her sadness. She looked at the fire I had made and then the rug beneath her feet before she looked at me again. “My mother confronted me. I told her to trust me, and she said she would.”
Talon didn’t have the same sense of calm. He was volatile and emotional, at least when it came to his daughter. I’d observed him many times and noticed the way he treated her differentlyfrom his son. Compensating for his loss by loving her more than his heart could scarcely contain, he gave everything to her. So he couldn’t think clearly or logically. He was all heart, all emotion. He’d lost Lena decades ago, but that wound had never healed, just scabbed over.
Something we had in common.
“I held his hand and felt it move. Khazmuda said he knew it was me.” Her eyes shifted elsewhere, somewhere past me, sharing her thoughts out loud because she didn’t have to filter or restrain herself with me.
“I’m sure he did.”
