Page 234 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

I raised my eyebrows at her, letting her know I wouldn’t force her hand even as I resigned myself to a future of bitter looks from every soldier I crossed paths with.

Rowan furrowed her brow, taking a breath before she turned back to Taras with her decision.

“They don’t need to train together,” she said, clenching her jaw like the compromise rankled her. But it was a compromise she was making all the same, one she wouldn’t have considered a few months ago. “These are my men, anyway. Perhaps the Bear soldiers could vacate the training yard for a couple of hours?”

Taras nodded, and I did as well. It was a good plan. My men only did part of their training in the yard to begin with,utilizing the nearby forests and mountains to incorporate more of Captain Finn’s chaotic battle techniques for the rest.

Vacating it entirely in the afternoon would take some maneuvering, but it was a far better option than the alternative.

My lemmikki had always been so quick to react, to make a statement, to stand on principle and damn the consequences. I wasn’t sure when that had changed; if it had been since her time with the Unclanned.

Or if I had only missed the signs of it along the way.

After the meeting, Rowan left to find her men and I went with Taras to speak with mine.

Of the five commanders present, four of them clenched their jaws when we informed them that they would need to schedule their training around the three hours reserved for theBesklanovvyin the afternoon. But they placed their fists over their hearts, nonetheless, saluting before they left to give the orders.

“That could have gone worse,” Taras said.

“Well, they were hardly likely to sign up to join the Unclanned in the same breath they expressed their disdain for them,” I countered.

He raised his eyebrows. “Would you, though?”

Would I unclan someone, knowing my wife would just conscript them into her army? Would I bother, knowing they would be fighting for us either way?

Would I do it even if those things weren’t true, now that the decision was mine?

I supposed it would depend on how badly I needed an example made, and what the risks were of letting the behavior gounchecked. Logically, I would likely choose a different course of action for the time being. Beyond that, things were murkier.

“Probably not,” I acknowledged. “But they don’t know that.”

Once the new schedule was set, I took the time to train with my men. They were always relentless, but the realities of war had spurred each one of them to new heights. They were fixing their mistakes faster, pushing harder at their limits, and looking at me with more respect than fear after the weeks they had fought at my side and under my command.

That would be an edge in and of itself. Defeated soldiers made for uncertain soldiers, men who were twice as likely to falter, while mine were still riding the high of a victory, whatever the price had been.

And Iiro’s brutality might have made the example he wanted, but he would alienate the men who had followed him for his honor. All the tactics he had used to scare us just might weaken him in the end if he lost the trust and respect of his soldiers.

When our time in the training yard was up, I took a moment to remind my men of who they were and what they had accomplished so far. They responded with a perfectly synchronized salute that had my lips tilting into a proud smile.

They might have been my father’s men once, but those remaining belonged to me. And they were more than a match for Iiro’s men.

While Taras went to let my wife know that the yard was free, I walked back to the estate with the commanders, conveying the areas I had noted for improvement.

Once that was done, I found myself right back in the training area, drawn to my lemmikki by the same magnetic force that had made me notice her at the Summit, though she should have been nearly invisible surrounded by men twice her size.

It was that way now, too. Her soldiers were thin, but the shortest one still topped her by a solid foot. That didn’t stop mefrom spotting her immediately, weaving behind the groups of men as she surveyed their sparring techniques.

Where my men were a combined, efficient force, each of hers fought like an army unto themselves. There was an abandon with the way they thrust themselves into even a casual spar. The ragged desperation with which they had survived their lives on the fringes of society had forged them into something just a hair more dangerous than the average soldier.

There were downsides to the scattered set of fighting styles and the independence of their movements, but they were undeniably an asset.

I moved closer to my lemmikki, nodding my approval. “Skilled and brutal. It’s a good combination for war.”

She inclined her head in acceptance of the praise. Then she squared her shoulders, turning to look at me head on. “Spar with me.”

It was an order as much as it was a request. I raised my eyebrows, not surprised in the least by her imperious tone, but decidedly more so at her intentionally placing herself in my proximity when she had barely looked at me all day.

She sighed, not quite meeting my eyes. “I want to get better with both blades. And not to make that giant head of yours any bigger, but we both know that you’re the best person for that job.”

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