Page 70 of Ashes of Honor

Before the words fully left his mouth, my knife was already in my hand, a blur of steel that moved with precision and finality. In one clean, deliberate stroke, the blade sliced deep into his throat. His flesh severed with a force that silenced him mid-taunt. I tilted my head back, releasing a low, orgasmic moan. Blood spilled in a hot rush, staining the air with the metallic tang of death.

I didn’t bother with the mess. Let it rot. That wasn’t my problem. Instead, I crouched by the body, fingers dipping into the still-warm blood pooling around him. They’d wanted everyone to know who had been here, who had done this. Fine. My name would be the first thing they’d see.

With deliberate strokes, I painted it onto the wall:Bloodreina + Bloodhound, finishing it off with a sharp, dripping heart. A cruel grin tugged at my lips. Let them choke on the irony.

Monterey would be ready to fight. The other settlements wouldn’t stand a chance. Amaia didn’t want to catch them off guard, but that wasn’t purely kindness. Their survival meant reinforcements down the line. If they fell, it’d just be fewerpeople left to wipe out Covert—and make no mistake, Covert needed to burn.

When the work was done, I moved to the next names on my list: the top two officers who’d fight to take Victor’s place. Amaia hadn’t asked for this, but she didn’t need to. I knew what had to be done. She could fight me on it later. It wouldn’t change the fact that I’d spared her another reason to hate herself. Her conscience didn’t have room for this—not in a war like this. Hesitation was a luxury none of us could afford, least of all her. I’d make the hard calls if it meant keeping her from breaking under the guilt.

Riley

“Time for a quick game?” I climbed through Amaia’s open window. An old habit I’d hoped made her smile.

She didn’t jump. Didn’t react other than glance up from her paperwork with a stiffened back. I leaned over her to see what she was working on as I moved from behind her desk.Evacuation Plan: E.Plans that, unfortunately, would be coming into play sooner than desired.

“You plan on finishing the alphabet?” I asked, waving up the wooden board I clasped in my hand.

She dropped her pen and reached out in expectation. I smirked, dropping it into her hand, walking toward the door. Myback pressed against it and I watched her open it carefully. Her eyes lit up from across the room. “Where’d you get that?”

“I made it for you,” I said, pretending it was no big deal, though I was anxious as ever. It’d taken two days to find the perfectly round pebbles along the beach, but I wanted them to mean something. That little cove was her place of peace, and this was more than a simple gift. “Travel sized.”

She ran her fingers along the hand-carved, maple colored mancala board. Tears lined her eyes as she inspected it. “Thank you, it’s beautiful.” Amaia’s gaze was intense.

I broke our eye contact, shoving my hands into my pockets, and looked around the room. I’d passed Elie out on her run and Alexiares was still on a mission. Just the two of us.No better time than now man.

“Not gonna offer me some coffee?” I bit my tongue at the wrong words finding their way out.

“Offering implies that you’re a guest,” she scoffed with the roll of her eyes. “Which we both know you are not.”

“Okay, how about some pie for celebration?”

“While you’re quite the artist, Ril, this is hardly something to celebrate.” She laughed a small, quiet chuckle then stood to close the window. I watched as she placed the coffee pot in the fireplace and it ignited without effort.

I moved over to the couch and cleared off the coffee table to make room for the board. Amaia sat across from me on the floor, legs crossed. “Before the game gets going, I have good news and pretty shitty news.”

She stopped setting up the game, and the pebbles clattered against the sides. “Hit me with the shit first.”

“Ronan’s on the move. We have about a day or so before we’re surrounded.”

“That was fast,” she muttered and resumed placing the beads.

“You sentthe Bloodhound.” The heat from the fire warmed the room to an uncomfortable level. Sweat beaded my forehead, and I tugged at my shirt. “It’s hot in here. Don’t tell me you expected slow results.”

“I expected some temporary plausible deniability. Next time I’ll be clearer.” Amaia turned the fire down to a low flame and motioned she was ready to play.

I shoved the board toward her. Partially as a way to tell her to go first, partially because she needed to look closer, or I was going to lose my mind. The small contours along the board were intricate. Complex. A real work of art, according to Yasmin. It was a lot to take in, but she’d notice. She always did.

“Hunter’s back and while Hollis may be stupid, Bietoletti and Tyler are not. The cavalry never made it to Ronan, and you …wesent suspected traitors in their stead. I’d say he was itching for a reason to come after us and was more than happy we finally made our move.”

Amaia sighed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, then made her play. “Okay. We expected this. It’s fine. I thought we’d have until after the meeting, but we can make it work.”

I tilted my head to the left with the downward tug of my lips. “Tell me what you need.”

“I’ve been reading?—”

“Predictably.” I cracked a grin, and she tossed a pillow at me. I caught it, throwing it back with half the effort.

“The Vietnam War is fascinating, you know?”

---