Page 128 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to appeal the war. We can’t—hecan’t declare war oneveryone.”

“He’s not?” Blake absentmindedly brushed the length of the branch with his hand. “He’s being proactive. Taking the war to our enemies.”

“And who are our enemies?”

“Galen, of course,” he shrugged, and relief flooded through her. Perhaps she’d been wrong. Maybe it was only Galen that Barron considered a threat and—

“And Prince Eli,” Blake said it so formally that Kora had to really look at him to make sure the words were coming from his mouth. “He’s our enemy, too, and we need to protect ourselves from all threats.”

It was an echo of Barron’s speech, and a blow to her rising emotions—that he considered Theron his enemy. They’d been chummy together a matter of days ago.

“What . . . you . . .” she exhaled, steadying herself. “How can you think that?”

Blake nodded, his obsidian hair falling across his eyes. “He infiltrated our islands under false pretences. He wants to continue the tyranny of the Stagharts. He’s one ofthem.He’s a clear spy, his skills in the desert prove that.”

She gaped.What in the gods was happening?

“Now isourtime,” he continued. “We need to show the admiral what we can do. If we win this war . . . we could geteverythingwe want. No more forbidden relationships. No more hiding in cabins and forests.”

She hesitantly stepped away from the branches. “You want the war,” she whispered.

“And you don’t?” He followed her, his face downright petrifying. Pale and sharp, and his eyes ablaze against the dark green backdrop of the forest. “You said so yourself, you want to eradicateallpirates from our lands. This is how to do it.”

Not a shred of his familiar persona remained, and the scorching heat that’d burned between them frosted. His tonewas so . . . cold. So detached, and she struggled to comprehend the stranger before her, her heart and mind at war with each other.What the fuck was going on?

“I don’t want a war against Azaria—against all the islands. Wewilllose. We can’t fight a continent that large, not with Galen at our backs.”

“You’re thinking too small,” he waved a hand, dismissing her fear. She glared at him. “Barron has his weapon, and with it, we candoanything.Beanything.”

Kora took a step back for every advancement Blake made, until the sharpness of a boulder in the clearing scraped her leg. The groans of the trees echoed around them, and she closed her eyes blocking out how they sounded like the moans of the dead.

“Do you even know what this weapon is?”

“No. But I have full faith in our leader to restore the lands.”

She was going to be sick. “This isn’t right. A war won’t winme.” She edged around the boulder. “Do you even hear yourself?”

“You’re wrong,” he snarled, and Kora startled at his venom, tripping against the flat edge of the boulder. Blake grabbed her arm, dragging her to him until their bodies collided, his arm snaking around her waist. “I’ve worked so hard to get us to this point, Kora. And I will not let you jeopardise it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The ground rumbled beneath her, and his grip moved to her shoulders to steady her as trees creaked, their leaves falling, coating the clearing in a suffocating wave of nature.

“You’re impulsive. You can’t control your emotions, and you let them get in the way. Today was a prime example, attacking the guards to rescue a traitor. We aresoclose to the end now, and I want you there beside me.”

“The end ofwhat?” she snapped, pushing against his hands. His body was immovable, rooted to the spot as she resisted his grip. “You’re not making any sense! This war will destroy us!”

“There you go, with the emotions again.” He leaned in so close that she stilled. “Listen, myasterya,” he placed a kiss on her neck. This time, she didn’t shiver. Hot flames didn’t lick her skin. She was repulsed. “You will do as I say moving forward,” his tongue followed. “We will rule these islands, and the scum will weep at our feet as we destroy them. Together.”

Revulsion roiled through Kora. She wasnota mindless killer. She refused. She may have committed a heinous act in the desert, her soul marked by their deaths. But she wouldn’t destroy her home. Apparently, Blake had no issue doing that.

Her mind won the war within. Despite those dregs offeelingsclutching onto his image, this was not the same male. And she wouldn’t lose the home she’d so carefully curated, over Barron’s stupid war.

“Get fucked. I want nothing to do with this, or you.”

Rage consumed his face, and regret filled her as the groundshook. The Emerald Forestscreamed, and she plummeted to her knees, covering her ears as the cries of the dead roared, ravaging her hearing.