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Story: Blood Rains Down

“Yes, I can make that happen,” she said, her back straightening as everyone turned to look at her.

I eyed her cautiously.

Cin and Landers trusted her enough to invite her to this meeting, but that did not meanItrusted her. I knew nothing about her, and until she proved that she could hold her own, that she could do what needed to be done in a bind, I would not risk any of our lives for hers.

“Have you ever killed anyone?” I asked, leaning onto my forearms.

Her eyes shot to mine. “I have not.”

“Are you prepared to? Because that is what this mission is. We will kill hundreds, if not more clearing this camp. This won’t be a battle, this will be a massacre. Are you prepared to live with that?” I asked as her eyes flashed to Cin before falling back to mine. “If you’re not prepared, if you’re not willing to have that blood on your conscience, then tell us now. We need to be able to trust with absolute certainty that you will kill to keep us alive, that you will die protecting us if you expect us to do the same for you.”

Her shoulders straightened as she nodded.

“I am prepared to do whatever I must to keep my people safe. If I must get blood on my hands—if I mustbathein it—I will do it.”

I dipped my chin, an impressed smile sliding onto my lips as I leaned back in my chair.

That was a good fucking answer.

Maybe I would like her after all.

“My kind of woman,” I said, looking back to Landers as I pulled the tarot deck from my jacket pocket and began shuffling.

“Asrai, you will stay in Ithia to keep the Yaldrin protected if—for any reason—there is a counter attack while we are gone, and to minimize any suspicion of our whereabouts. And Pri, you will be going back to Locdragoon to help Elric do the same there.”

Pri’s brows creased. “Elric is capable of managing that on his own, I am going with you.”

“No, Pri. You are going home,” Landers said, his voice calm but filled with a hint of warning.

“No. I should be there with you. Ineedto be there with you.”

Silence swallowed up the room as Landers ran a hand down his face, his jaw tensing as he leaned forward. “I know you want to be there, but after what happened on your last assignment, I cannot risk having you back in Ammord. We do not know who saw your face.”

I could see the struggle in her eyes as she stared back at him, her lips pursing like she was holding back the words she wanted to say. Landers wasn’t wrong for not bringing her, it was no small mistake she’d made and we had yet to feel the consequences of it.

Pri leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping against the table as Wren shifted in his seat beside her.

Asrai cleared her throat, breaking through the tense air as I flipped a card between my fingers. Again, the seven of swords. I would need to ask Yenne what it meant when we returned to Locdragoon.

“These Fallen Gods, what is your plan for them?” Asrai asked.

“Nothing,” Cin answered, “We have no use for them other than fighting in this war beside us. Until that happens, they do nothing. They’re forbidden to leave Ithia or speak to anyone outside of our party and the Yaldrin leaders.”

Asrai leaned forward, her eyes narrowing on Cin. “How, pray tell, did you get five fallen Gods and their dragons to agree to this?”

“I made a deal with them,” Cin said, pushing a curl behind her ear as her back straightened. “A branded deal.”

Asrai’s eyes widened and shot to Landers. “How could you let this happen?” she hissed.

“Don’t look at him, look at me,” Cin snapped and I pressed my lips together to stop a proud smile from forming on my face. “I chose to make it, not him. So if you want to be angry, be angry at me. I made a deal that once this war is over—once they help us win it—I will help them remove my grandparents from power.”

Asrai’s scowl slowly faded as she leaned back into her chair, the corners of her lips curling up. “Thatdoesseem like a fair trade.”

“I will worry about my side of the deal when or if we get that far. For now, my only focus is the next forty-eight hours,” Cin said as she stood. “It’s late, we should all rest and conserve our energy.”

Slowly, everyone stood, the quiet scraping of chairs against wood and chatter echoing through the room as it emptied. I stayed seated, pushing my chair onto its back legs and lifting my boots onto the table as Cin let out a heavy sigh beside me.

“I could watch you scold Asrai all fucking day,” I said, finally letting amusement flood my features as I looked up at her.

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