Page 4 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)

Those around him took healthy steps back. His jaw clenched as he advanced. “I knew that fallen would only bring us trouble.”

Heat licked its way up my spine. I snapped at the closest Százados. “Bring him here.”

Without hesitation, the officer dragged him out of the crowd. As the male fought him, another Százados jumped in, and together they hauled him onto the platform.

“Secure him to the post.” He wasn’t the only dissenter, of that I was certain. But he would be the first to suffer.

Rapp, Trol, and Assyria stepped to one side while I grabbed the cane. Normally, I’d start with the nine-tailed whip, but I was going to put a stop to this here and now.

The Százados stripped him, leaving his back bare. Like a predator stalking its prey, I approached him. “That,” I paused two steps from him, returning my attention to the spectators, “is my fucking mate.”

A collective intake of breath swept through the camp.

I twisted back, letting the cane whistle through the air. Sweat broke out on the soldier’s back. Then, I swung.

The crack resounded through the quiet. A red mark bloomed immediately. To his credit, the male didn’t cry out or beg for a reprieve.

“And anyone who dares to speak ill of her will receive this same punishment.”

The second blow landed with as much force as the first. Another welt appeared. More salt slicked off him as he tightened his grip on the leather straps. Assyria watched on, unflinching, as I delivered the blows.

“I apologize, Halálhívó. Had I known, I would not have made such an insinuation,” he gritted out after the third strike.

“No, you wouldn’t have.” I landed two more blows in quick succession, and then motioned for the Százados to release him. He slumped in their arms as they dragged him back into formation.

I faced the crowd again, and Assyria returned to my side, arms crossed casually over her chest. “Does anyone else wish to speak?”

Only cold, stoic expressions greeted me.

“Good. Then I shall continue.”

Keeping the cane in hand, I resumed my slow circle of the platform. “They took Assyria and offered me an exchange. Her life or theirs.”

A moment passed. Then another. The males stared at me, and I started to think that the revelation was landing more like a dusting of sand and less like the strike of a hammer.

My delusion shattered a moment later, along with the silence.

Anger, like an unstoppable wildfire, blazed in all directions.

Shouts rang out, fingers pointed accusingly in my direction.

Százados and Vezet? yanked soldiers out of formation while Parancsok screamed at the remainder, trying to quell the unrest.

One male broke through the madness and stomped toward the platform. Instinctively, I surged closer to Assyria, magic coiling tight around my fists. Her expression never changed, but the darkness pooling around her tensed.

“Fifty thousand? Are you fucking serious? And you let them get away? What kind of leader are you?”

Obsidian threads shot forward and gripped his arms, dragging him to kneel at my feet .

“Who am I?” I bellowed, my voice ringing louder than the chaos and bringing it to heel.

“I am your master , and I make the decisions for the entire army. The Fates chose me as the savior of the Demon race, blessing me with the power to call upon the dead to do my bidding. In fact, I am the only person to have been given such a gift in all our written history.”

I let the words linger like smoke in the air. Through the slits in my helmet, I glared at each male restrained by his superior officers.

“I am the fucking Halálhívó.”

The words fell like heavy blows, and the male trembled beneath my wrath. Staring at him, I threw a pointed question to those gathered. “Should I kill him now and call upon his dead body to remind you all what exactly I can do? Of who the fuck I am?”

“No, Halálhívó,” voices rang out. Many more audibly swallowed.

This time, Rapp and Trol marched forward and secured the vocal oppositionist to the post. I let him wait there, wanting to finish my fucking proclamation before ensuring everyone was left with a searing memory of what would happen if they rebelled again.

“Should my mate have died, it would have crippled me for some time. While many of you appear to be incapable of thinking more than five minutes into the future, I am not. Saving our race from extermination is paramount. Those fifty thousand would have made a difference, certainly. It was why we’d worked so hard to swell the army’s numbers.

But without proper leadership, they could not have been used to the utmost effectiveness. ”

I dragged in a breath, preparing for yet another reaction.

“I shouldn’t have to remind you all of the ambush that started this conflict.

Of how I was the sole survivor. Because of the Angel’s escalating attacks on our realm, their fervent desire to exterminate our race from this continent, we had no choice but to fight back.

Winning the war is imperative to our collective survival.

Which is why, going forward, we will allow females to join our ranks. ”

A single scoff reached my ears before I reacted. As more rose, so too did my shadows, whipping in all directions and yanking detractors forward. Thick ropes assisted me in pinning them to the ground as Rapp tossed his Binding magic like lassos.

I raised a single hand, darkness dripping from it, and all went still. “The decision has been made. I need no input from you. Furthermore,” I held onto the silence, ensuring my words were sinking in, “my mate will be regarded with the same level of respect you would give me.”

Assyria lifted her chin as the weight of thousands of stares settled on her. “She has demonstrated resilience and tenacity in equal measure to many soldiers. Should you treat her as less than…well you’re about to witness what will happen.”

This time, I switched the cane for the whip. The motherfucker needed to bleed .

The metal studs in the leather glinted in the sunlight as I brought my arm back. When the tails landed, they did so with a satisfying crack. Ruby welts bloomed on his skin as I dragged them away, though the shade wasn’t close to the crimson one I sought.

Assyria’s gaze burned into me, along with a heady sweep of lust down our bond. The same feeling ignited in me. Blood ran hot through my veins, spurred on by the knowledge that she loved how I defended her.

The lash whistled through the air as the second strike landed cleanly.

The muscles in the male’s neck bulged as he gritted his teeth around the pain.

Tension eased from my shoulders as I offered him two more strikes, painting his back like an artist. Though there was nothing creative about my work; it was merely an expression of how fucking serious I was about maintaining order and control.

When his back flayed open on the sixth strike, I relented. Chest heaving, I lifted my gaze to all the watching soldiers, flicking slowly through the crowd. “Have I made myself clear?”

Thousands of salutes answered me. Though some were less enthusiastic than others, and many eyes still burned with fury. The lower ranking officers would see to those dissenters and ensure they complied.

I tossed the whip aside, and two Százados raced forward, removing the offender from my presence. Silence hung like a heavy fog as I continued to wield control over the army. To show them exactly who ruled here. No one dared speak. They barely dared breathe .

“Officers, ensure your units fully understand our new reality, and then report to the command center. You are dismissed.”

Hushed whispers kindled like I’d struck a match. Assyria materialized beside me as we watched them depart, while Rapp and Trol trudged into the crowd, barking orders and roughing up naysayers. They ensured the soldiers knew we were a united front.

Many males passed by us, some narrowing their eyes on her, others looking like they wanted to spit at her feet. I took a half-step forward, and they flinched away as if I’d struck them. Satisfaction curled through me at the sight. The same emotion echoed down our bond.

“Who would have thought that you’d enjoy me punishing others in your name, little imposter?”

“Not me,” she replied, her voice threaded with a hint of breathiness. “I’d probably like it much better if they boasted white wings, though. ”

“Shall I rip them from our enemies’ backs and lay them at your feet?”

A heady wave of lust coursed down our bond. “I think that would start to ease the pain of their actions.”

“Then I shall make you a throne of white feathers, mate. So you can sit alongside me while we taunt them with their failures.”

We faced each other then, lightning crackling between us. But then the darkness under her eyes and the paleness to her lips were undeniable. She was still far too weak for what I wanted to do to her.

“Come, let me take care of you,” I murmured. “You need to rest.”

“So do you,” she replied, closing her mouth to suppress a yawn.

“You’re right. I’ll leave the officers for tomorrow. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon, not with the soldiers only a moment away from exploding.”

She nodded, and then we left the platform for the command center. Most of the males had dispersed back to their squads’ section of camp, leaving the center at its normal volume of passing males.

I spoke briefly with Rapp, directing him to send the Százados and Vezet? back out once they reported to him with instructions to return in the morning.

Then, I took Assyria back to our quarters and curled around her, listening to the steady ebb and flow of her breathing as she fell asleep again.

The worst part was done, but we were still a long way from where I envisioned us going.

And Assyria, my tiny, fiery, brilliant mate, was at the center of it all.