Page 48 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)

She swallowed hard, burgundy eyes growing glassy. She looked up to the ceiling and dragged in a serrated breath. “It was so much easier to ignore it, you know? ”

“Kiira…” I breathed, my voice softening with sorrow.

“I haven’t told Rokath and Xannirin yet, and I don’t know, I just…can’t. They’d look at me differently.” She finally met my gaze, and the tears had already fallen. I wiped them gently from her face.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I asked, closing the distance between us.

“I think I need to talk about it with someone who understands,” she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“I’m here,” I promised her, rubbing soothing strokes over her forearm with my thumb.

“You won’t know him, but he’s one of the more prominent nobles in the realm.

He holds a lot of sway with the others, and he produces much of what we need in the realm.

” She paused, fingers digging into the tops of her thighs.

“Why did I drink what he offered me?” Her voice cracked on that question, and she folded in on herself, burying her face in her hands.

Sobs wracked her frame, and I moved my ministrations to her back.

Letting her know I was there. That I saw her pain.

“I thought Xannirin would blame me,” she choked out. “If he believed me at all.”

“Why would he not?” I asked.

“The male who raped me helped us build all of this,” she replied. “We couldn’t have done it without him, Assyria. We knew it was a risk…”

She straightened, but I didn’t release her. She needed to know that there was nothing wrong with her. That I didn’t view her differently for what had happened to her. To me. “And you’re worried that Xannirin will deny it happened because of how important he is to the realm.”

“Yes,” Kiira breathed, her voice haunted.

I let out a long sigh. “From what I know of Rokath, he’d believe you. In fact, he’d probably decide to ride to Uzzhorod and slit that fuckers throat the moment you told him.”

A watery laugh escaped Kiira. “That sounds exactly like something he’d do.”

“Males,” I said, expression softening with love and understanding. I hoped Kiira saw it all.

“Males,” she echoed, a soft smile rising to her lips.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kiira.”

“Then why do I feel like I do?” she asked softly.

“Because that’s what they’d done to us for centuries.

Made us feel like we’re beneath them. Like we deserve whatever we get.

Like we are powerless.” The sentences burst out of me with all the anger I’d suppressed trying to be someone I was not.

“And that is why I’m here, you’re here, now. We’re ready for this change.”

“We have to stick together. All of us,” Kiira croaked, and I knew she meant the priestesses she’d brought with her, despite what the fucking Kral wanted.

“We will. United, we can stand against what the males think we should be. We will fucking show them,” I promised her. “Plus, we have Rokath and Rapp on our sides too. My mate can be pretty frightening when he wants to be.”

Kiira snorted. “In only a few days, I’ve seen a side to him that he hasn’t shown since he was so, so young. That’s all because of you.”

“I know. I can be relentless when I want to be. Which is pretty much all the time,” I laughed, flicking my braid over my shoulder.

“That is a quality we need right now,” Kiira stated. “Thank you, Assyria. For helping me see.”

“Thank you, Kiira, for sharing with me. For believing me when I told you,” I said, pulling her in for a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry you had to go through it too.”

“Just tell me I’ll get through it,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder.

“You will. Anytime you need to talk, I’m here. And I won’t tell anyone either,” I swore. “But I do think you should speak to your cousins about this. It might be what Xannirin needs to hear to crack. Or for Rokath to kill him. One of the two.”

Kiira wiped her nose, holding back a glimmer of amusement. “Fates, Rokath would be a terrible Kral.”

“There’s nothing he’d hate more,” I agreed. “But to protect us, he’d do it.”

We remained like that for a moment, me studying Kiira, and Kiira soaking in whatever assurance she needed from me. “I should go before Rokath worries.”

“Yes, please go if you need to. I’ll be fine,” she replied, smoothing her hair.

“Are you certain? I can stay if you need me to.”

She shook her head. “I might check on Rapp one last time before bed. Make sure he didn’t overdo it today.”

At that, we both giggled. “Oh, he definitely did.”

As she slipped into the bathing chamber to splash some water on her face, I sat in silent reflection.

My heart broke for Kiira and all she’d endured too.

Her story renewed my convictions, fueled my fury at our mistreatment.

For her, for the others, for every female in the Demon Realm, I’d see these changes through to the end.

After all, I’d been blessed by the Giver with this unique power, with a bond that transcended all others, and an unbreakable will. I was the fucking Szélhámos, and the world would come to know exactly who I was by the end of this war.