Page 5 of Ashes of Honor

My eyes glazed over as the memory tugged at the corner of my mouth, a small smile beginning to form. “A few years ago, Monterey Day. He made Jax and I give the closing speech.”

“A speech …”

“Not just any speech.” I glared at him. I needed to get this story out, to reflect. It helped me process things, thinking back on all the little moments where he’d shown me he believed in me. Thought the world of me. “He said that the day would come, that he wouldn’t be here and?—”

“You’d be there to pick up the pieces?”

“Essentially,” I said.

Alexiares sighed, his head tilting slightly as his gaze dragged over me. I hated it—those moments when I became the prey and he, the predator, already closing in. Usually a direct read came to follow. The only thing that pissed me off more was that he was usually right. “For as long as you’ve been a pain in my ass, you’ve been a rule follower, Princess—despite my best efforts.”

“I am not,” I scoffed at the thought.

“I mean,youthink you’re not. It may not be the rules everyone else adheres to, but you have another set of rules. Ones you don’t hold anyone else accountable for when shit hits the fan. All you’ve ever cared about is what was expected of you. Maybe it’s time you set your own expectations of yourselffor yourself.”

The idea was ridiculous. I hadto hold myself to a different standard. That’s what a leader did, lead by example, exemplified strength. “Yeah, I don’t appreciate where this is going.”

I turned my back to him at the same time Elie’s bedroom door cracked open. She strolled out, Harley and Suckerpunch in tow. Her cinnamon-colored curls were tied up into a bun. Theknife I’d left as a parting gift last year was holstered into the side of some cross body bag Reina had crocheted, which didn’t match the burgundy work out set she had on. Those items were for two different events.

I stood up, pushing the chair away from the desk. “Where are you going?” I asked.

“And what’s in the bag?” Alexiares followed up, noting the same oddities that I had.

“Out.” Elie didn’t break her stride as she passed by us, the scent of coffee and eucalyptus from her morning shift at The Kitchens following her on the way out. “You gonna stop me?”

“Behave yourself,” Alexiares warned, his voice more relaxed than I cared for.

“Always do.” She tossed up a peace sign behind her and slammed the door on her way out. Suckerpunch and Harley let out clipped howls that faded quickly into the distance as they ran off.Traitors.

I looked at Alexiares at a loss, then groaned again, this time making sure to effectively slam my head against the hardwood. Alexiares chuckled. “Hear me out, we can control The Compound or we can control Elie, but even together, we don’t possess the skills to do both.”

“And yet she still needs stability,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead. “With Rex leaving with the navy again, making her my official ward was the best option.”

Alexiares hummed in agreement, stretching out on the couch. Elie’s brother wasn’t either of our biggest fans—there were … disagreements when it came to her care. “We gave her space when she needed it. Now we remind her she has a home.”

“Yeah. If she actually stays in it.” I flipped back through the ledger, biting down the chirped laugh he was aiming to get. He grabbed the stack from me. “Hey!”

“We’re asking Luna for help.”

“No,” I insisted. “She’s working on an updated trade agreement for Ronan to sign off on. Luna has enough to worry about.”

She’d been head of emissaries before she and Prescott had ever become a couple. It was her idealism that had brought them together in the first place. He respected her, trusted her innately.

“And you don’t?” His forehead pinched, another arrogant smirk forming from his perfect lips.

“If we ask Luna to step in,” I relented, the rest of my statement coming out as a whisper. “… everything can fall apart.”

“That’s not on you.”

“Compound first. One unit, one compound.” The voice of a general found me again. In this, I would hold steady.

Alexiares’s light brown eyes widened in mock horror. “That will never not sound dystopian.”

“That’s how things work here.” I snatched the hours and hours of work back from him. “I thought you were on board.”

The ledger plopped against the desk with a soft thud, knocking over some weird wooden carving filled with Prescott’s coin collection. I picked up the spilled coins, switching them between my palms. He’d collected them over the years as we sifted through houses within our territory. Another oddity to his collection of gadgets and gizmos.I suppose they’re yours now.

“I am on board, just not at the detriment of your health.”

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