Page 152 of Ashes of Honor

“He demanded to speak with you,” one of the scouts said, shoving the soldier to his knees in front of me. Nothing but complete disgust shone back in his beady eyes when he looked at me.

“I wasn’t aware we took demands from the barbarians?” I straightened my stance, putting the face of the general back on.

Alexiares scoffed, now closed in behind me. “Don’t insult the barbarians.”

The man spat blood onto the ground, then peered up, his lips curling into something too smug for someone in his position. I aimed to change that.

“Ronan has an ultimatum. Hand yourself over by dawn, or he’ll start withthe Bloodhound.” His gaze went over myshoulder. “Then Riley—Malachai says welcome, by the way.” He stared Riley down then trickled his line of sight over to me. “He’ll go down the line. One by one.”

The camp erupted—protests, shouts, the harsh ring of steel as weapons cleared their sheaths. I raised a hand, and the noise died, swallowed by a tense, crackling silence. I was done with his threats. Done with all the death. I feared for Ronan this was becoming less about the territories he desired to own, the bodies he wanted to control, and more about punishing me. For putting up a fight, daring not to submit or admit defeat, challenging him and meeting him on a level playing field.

I was the greatest opponent he would ever face and even though I thought I was losing—it was clear by his desperation to single me out that I had already won.He’d seen it. Which only meant one thing, the only plan I had allowed my brain to settle on, the one no one else knew.

“I’m sure he will. How long did it take you to get here?” I asked, devoid of emotion.

His confidence faltered, “If you’re asking how long it will take them to realize I’m not making it back, forty-five minutes.”

“Forty-five minutes from the time you left?” I asked a necessary, clarifying question, my fingers tapping against my jaw.

“Does it matter, Amaia?” Serenity asked, and I could immediately tell the trip Riley’s group had made, had been haunted by the tales of our own. They hadn’t fared much better in the face of Ronan’s brutality.

The soldier’s teeth ground together, his snarl nasty as he said nothing.

I reached down, palms landing on what were now my last two blades—the rest had been given to my family, to my soldiers, they needed the protection more than myself.

“If you kill me,” he sneered, but the panic was there, “they’ll still storm this camp come dawn.”

“Kill you?” I crouched down to meet his eyes. “Why would I do that? No. I’m just going to make every last second of the next forty-five minutes, the mostexcruciatingcrawl of your life. My soldiers will meet you there to finish the job. Have fun.”

My boot connected with his chest, slamming him to the ground. Alexiares was on him before he could recover, flipping him over as my blades sliced deep into the back of his knees. The scream of a banshee tore through camp.

The jeers and chants of my soldiers were white noise as I stood over him, watching the blood pool beneath his leg. “Tell Ronan to give it his best shot. By the time he gets here, we’ll be gone.”

Without another glance, I sheathed my knives and walked away. The others fell in line behind me, their protests dying on their lips.

This wasn’t a warning. It was a reckoning.

Time had run out—andso had my mercy.

“It’s been an honor, General Bennett.” Hell had frozen over as General Clayton Harper extended such a pleasantry as he turned on his heels with pity in his eyes, headed to lead the charge of my troops.

I offered him and Trevan a tense nod at their departure. It was up to them now. We would not all face each other again. The alliance had been tense, a disastrous effort that resulted in a powerful, brutal force when it mattered most.

“One unit!” I called out, head held high as I watched the backs of every single soldier stiffen as they came to a halt, and swiveled into a salute.

“One compound!”

The roar of unity was thunderous. Swallowing became difficult in the attempt of choking down tears. They could do this.They will make it. I believed in them—each and every soldier. We hadn’t come this far to lose it all.

We would engage Ronan from north and south of the capital and push our way in. This he expected. This he knew. It was a distraction but also ensured we would be able to hold the city in the outcome of a victory. With the cavalry units focused on dividing and conquering, citizens on the outskirts of the capital would be evacuated.

Unfortunately I couldn’t say the same for the ones that resided within. Reina and Millie’s unit would prioritize getting anyone under sixteen to safety. I held no remorse for what happened to anyone else. The accounts fromOutsidersin The Outskirts painted the picture of the mentality those within the capital held with such vividness, I found myself personally insulted by the atrocities that went on.

I refused to let their way of thinking survive. We would break this cycle in history—for good.

Ronan being aware of our initial plan had required some adjustments. I wanted him to see them—every recalibration, every pivot. I wanted him to react, to flail. Which now meant Lola and her coven would be left near destitute from the sheer amount of individuals that needed to be portaled in.

I needed an extra ground unit to accompany the cavalry and a tactical team with … specialized weaponry—complimentary collaboration of Tomás and the late and great Finley Thomas.

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