Page 101 of Queens

Androl and two generals appear. Raum is one of them, and he’s covered in blood. This is the first I’ve seen either of the generals, so I assume they were fighting on the other mountain.

Raum looks around, frowning. “You had more action.” He sounds disappointed.

Aziel licks his lips, ignoring him. “I came here as your father, Cassia, not as your king. I trust your judgment, and I’ll follow your lead.”

The realization of what he’s asking is dizzying. He’s not asking me to give suggestions. He’s asking me to lead Wrath’s military. It’s a responsibility I’ve been begging to have for years.

I take a second to think, wanting to sound level-headed. I feel anythingbutlevel-headed.

“We need a casualty count of both Greed and Wrath soldiers, and we need to notify any affected families.” I clear my throat. “Androl? Can you be in charge of that?”

He nods, and I shift my attention to Raum and the general beside him. “I’d like you two to reposition our troops along the border. There’s an army of fifty thousand Greeds nearby, and we should prepare for the worst.”

The general beside Raum raises a brow. “Do—”

I continue, interrupting him before he takes it upon himself to question me. He’d never do that to Aziel, not publicly.

“I want to know where these Greeds came from,” I say. “Either they found a way to enter Wrath unseen, or one of the other kingdoms allowed them to teleport from their land. Figure out which and report back to me. I also need to know where Prince Nolic vanished to. The last visual we had of him was when he was a few miles from the pass, but he’s disappeared since.”

There’s a tense silence as I wait for the general to respond. Will he question me again? I mentally prepare for it, but to my complete relief, all he does is nod.

I turn toward Raum. “How long do you need?”

He sucks on his teeth, glancing around. “An hour. Androl should have a rough death toll by then.”

“Great.” I nod to myself. “We’ll meet in an hour.”

Aziel shifts his weight. Does he agree with my decision?

“I—” I pause, hesitating. “I’ll check on the injured.”

Raum snorts, his lips curling. “Check on the injured, or check on your mate?”

Aziel straightens up, his narrowed gaze darting between Raum and me. He didn’t know. How doesRaumknow? Word spreads too quickly for my liking.

I shake my head, denying Raum’s accusation. I’m not admitting to anything, and I owe no explanations. I’m my own woman, and my romantic life is of no concern to anybody but myself. And Rexton now, I suppose.

Raum laughs, the noise bouncing off the mountains. It feels inappropriate, considering we’re surrounded by thousands ofcorpses and covered in blood, and I shoot him a pointed look before teleporting to camp. I have a mate to check in on.

Chapter Forty

CASSIA

MY TENSE MUSCLES relax once I arrive in camp, beyond happy to be away from the stench of death and the confused gaze of my father. My new bond grows stronger with proximity, and I follow it to the infirmary. Rexton took it upon himself to seek medical help, and my nerves spike as I step inside the tent and lock eyes with him.

He’s sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, his arms crossed over his exposed chest as he glares at the healers moving about. They’ve done something to piss him off. I don’t care, and I practically trip over my feet in my mad dash to him.

“I’m being held hostage,” he says as I near.

“What?”

“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to leave until you come and retrieve me.”

I cock my head to the side. “You outrank everybody here. You didn’t have to listen.”

“That would set a bad example.”

I shouldn’t laugh. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. It’s common for flight risks to be held in the infirmary. We don’t need weakened Wraths returning to the battlefield and dying. It’s an inconvenience to everybody involved, and we aren’t in a position desperate enough to take unnecessary risks.