Page 82 of Shadow Master
“I’m honored you accepted my invitation,” Laramir said. His voice, despite his savage appearance, was cultured and smooth.
“I’m told it’s the polite thing to do.” My smile was close-lipped and mirthless.
He returned it. “Yes. It is.” His gaze flicked to Orion. “You have excellent counsel, it seems.”
The fir bolg next to him mumbled something.
Laramir smiled. “Yes, the mortal realm is progressive to allow females into positions of military power.”
I returned the smile. “No, we just happen to be enlightened, that’s all. What did you want to talk about, Laramir?”
“I wish to offer you an opportunity to surrender.”
I shot Orion a glance.
His mouth was tight. “What are your terms?” Orion asked.
Heck, no. I opened my mouth to tell Laramir where to shove it, but Lugh reached out to grab my arm. We were far enough from Laramir, with Athos’s bulk in the way, for the action to be hidden.
“Wait,” Lugh said from the corner of his mouth. “There is a protocol to this.”
Laramir flicked his wrist, and one of his wingmen spoke. “You will lay down your arms and surrender, and we will spare your lives. The militia will join our ranks, and together, we will claim back our home.”
Home? “Weren’t you born in Fomoria?”
The fir bolg who’d spoken blinked in surprise.
“I would have thought that was your home.” I smiled sweetly.
“Yes,” he replied. “But the mortal world is our homeland. Our roots lie there.”
Laramir’s smile was smug. “You will give us back what belongs to us, and we will permit you to live alongside us, under our protection. In peace.”
“Peace?” Anger licked at my chest. “What do you know about peace? You pillage and conquer and kill. And what do you know about a home? Fomoria has been your home for centuries. The fomorians took you in, and how did you repay them? How did you repay your home? By attacking it. By razing it to the ground.” I shook my head. “Fuck surrender.”
Laramir’s expression closed off and hardened. “I wished to avoid bloodshed today. I wished to set foot onto my motherland without trailing crimson across the pure earth, but I see now you will not permit me to do that. I see that my entrance must be paved in death. So be it.”
The huge bird perched on Laramir’s shoulder flew up into the air, cawing like a mad thing.
This was where he’d tell us when the war would begin. This was where we’d head back and prepare to fight. But the ground was rumbling, and a wave of darkness was sweeping across the horizon toward us.
“No,” Lugh groaned.
“What is the meaning of this,” Orion cried.
Laramir’s lips curled in a wicked smile. “If it’s a war you want, then why wait?”
My brain clicked into gear, and adrenaline coursed through me as realization bloomed.
It was happening right now.
Laramir’s fucked-up bird had given the word.
We were at war, and there was no time to get a message to base.
Twenty-Six
KASH
