Page 28 of The Last Strike

Abi put her phone on the charger on her bedside table, pulled the blanket up, and closed her eyes. Asher’s rhythmic breathing pulled her into a deep sleep before she saw Samuel’s next message.

Queen Alila was also “mugged.” Her injuries were worse, including two broken ribs and a fractured wrist.

Asher

“We’re ready when you are,” James said from beside him.

Asher nodded. He was more than ready. He looked to Reed, who looked like he’d just returned from a health retreat compared to the state he’d been in last night. What a difference a few hours of hydration, medication, and sleep could make.

The media anchor stepped in front of the camera and began the live stream. They had made an exception for the media because Asher wanted this live. He wanted to make a point.

“Good morning, Santina. This is Carla from GHSD, on location with King Asher, who is preparing to address you on the recent developments with Adani. Let’s cross over now,” she said. Asher and Reed stepped behind the desk, taking a seat in front of the Santina flag.

“Santina, it is with great pride that I am able to come before you today to tell you the truth regarding the events in Adani. It is true that one of my guards was taken hostage by King Khalil in Adani. However”—Asher looked deep into the camera—“what you saw—the horrific live-streamed assassination that should be condemned by the world—was not one of my men. Look carefully, the very man King Khalil said he assassinated sits beside me, alive and well.”

Asher gave the cameras a moment to pause on Reed before he continued, his voice strong. “Santina, that makes King Khalil both a liar and the murderer of a likely innocent man. I do not know who he killed, but we will demand an inquiry. Being king does not give you the power to assassinate innocent people. It does not give you the power to perform an assassination on live television, when children are watching. I would call him a leader, but he is not,” Asher said firmly. His eyes narrowed like King Khalil was sitting opposite him.

“I make you one promise, Santina: Whatever happens from here on, Santina will never end up like Adani. We will never mercilessly kill on live television. How could you ever respect me after that? Santina is strong in faith, and we hold our values close to our hearts. It’s no good to fight a war if we cannot live with ourselves afterward, and so we will win, and we will do it in a way that makes Santina proud! Santina is not weak, and I am no fool. This will be a long fight, there is no doubt, but fight we will! No one will stop us, not even King Khalil. He is out of control—a madman—and I plan to stop him before he takes any more innocent lives.”

He drew a breath.

“Stay strong in your faith, Santina. There will be retaliation, there will be bloodshed. But we will fight for the values we uphold, for our people, and for Santina’s future. And We. Will. Win!”

“Cut,” James said, giving Asher an approving nod.

Asher had meant every word, but it still made him nervous. It was difficult to do these speeches in front of the camera. In front of a crowd he could gauge people’s feedback. Now he had nothing to go on except the media that would follow and the next political polls.

His father had never given the political polls any attention, but he’d also never gone to war. Asher knew how critical it would be to keep Santina’s morale high. People were scared—scared for their loved ones, for their future, for the economy. He needed to nurture them through this; he needed to be a beacon of light in the darkness.

He needed to give Santina hope.

When the camera angled away from him, he stood and walked toward his future father-in-law.

“You’re going to pay for calling him out and demanding he be held accountable. No one before you has ever done that publicly,” William Bennett said.

Asher sighed. “I’m going to pay regardless, so I’m going to take every shot I can. If he’s smart, he won’t give me more opportunities.”

William tilted his head, thoughtfully. “What is your next move?”

“Our soldiers are moving in on the east border of Adani. The terrain is rugged and almost impossible to get through, so Khalil won’t expect us there. The soldiers will be in position by nightfall,” Asher said, the closeness of the timeline hitting him all at once. He suddenly felt sick, and his throat felt tight.

“Walk with me. I want to show you something,” William said, before he turned and walked out of the room.

Asher nodded and security teams followed them both.

They walked down a long hallway and Asher realized he’d never been in this part of the house. He almost fell on his knees when he saw the floor-to-ceiling aquarium built into the wall.

“It looks familiar, doesn’t it?” William asked, his eyes on the aquarium. “I built this with spite,” he said, seemingly unable to look at Asher. “When I heard Santina was in financial trouble and your father had emptied his beloved aquarium, I built my own.” He looked at Asher. “That is the thing about revenge: it feels good for a moment, but it taints your soul and makes you bitter. This stupid thing costs me a fortune to run every month, and every time I look at it, I’m reminded of how I lost focus—of all the mistakes I made, of what fools we both were.” He met Asher’s gaze. “Don’t lose focus, Asher. This war is not to avenge your father. This war is to overtake Adani, control their kingdom, and give Santina the prosperity it deserves. Don’t lose your way trying to make Khalil pay. That might temporarily feel like you’ve won—it might feel good—but it will be a bitter pill for years to come. The best way to punish King Khalil is to take away his power, to end him, not to wound him.” He looked to the aquarium once more, then waved his hand dismissively. “If you lose focus, Asher, you’ll end up like me ... an old man staring at some monstrosity embedded in your wall, wondering how you ever let it get to that point. I don’t even like fish!”

Asher couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his lips. It wasn’t about the aquarium or the revenge, but the tone of William’s voice. He truly sounded irritated at himself, and it was a side of William Asher had never seen before.

“Why don’t you empty it?” Asher asked.

William gave a sad smile. “I had people booked to do just that and build an indoor water feature and garden instead. They were scheduled to come the day after your father was killed. When I heard that he’d died, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. In some way, it seemed like one last way to hurt him. I know that makes no sense at all given our long feud and the fact that he’d never seen this aquarium, but I couldn’t do it. So here it stands, reminding me of my mistakes.”

Asher peered at his own reflection, wondering how many mistakes he was going to have to learn to live with.

“I like it,” Asher said, grinning as his gaze followed the fish. “You have quite a nice collection of fish. I’ve never seen some of these before.”

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