Page 74 of Queens

I rise from my seat before Aziel has the opportunity to argue. If I want the generals to take me seriously, I need to fight. I need to become an active participant, not sit behind a desk giving out orders.

Plus, Raum is the only general Aziel would consider letting me work under. He’s by far the most trusted of them, and he oversees the strongest unit.

Aziel turns red, his cheeks flushed. He’s livid with my decision, but he won’t deny me. He can’t. He wouldn’t do that to me. I have to hope he wouldn’t do that to me.

Several seconds pass in tense silence, the room waiting for Aziel’s response.

My heart skips a beat when he turns toward Rexton. “Go with them.”

Chapter Thirty

CASSIA

I HATE WAR camp. I assumed I’d thrive here, but this place fucking sucks. The mountains are too cold, the food is shit, and comforts are nonexistent. I’m also one of the only women.

There are no restrictions against women joining Wrath’s military, but most choose not to do so. After everything they’ve endured, they have no interest in violence. There’s been a slight uptick from women in my generation who were born and raised after the female decline, but men still outnumber us a hundred to one.

Most of the men here have never shared a war camp with a woman, and they don’t know what to do around me. It doesn’t help that I’m Aziel’s daughter.

Or that Rexton has been monitoring my every movement these past several days. He’s a dark cloud looming over my every waking moment. It’s driving me to insanity.

“Rough night?”

I turn, making eye contact with Raum as he exits the leadership tent. Four demons exit after him and break apart once outside. I wasn’t asked to attend this meeting, which isn’t a first. Or a second. Or a third.

We’ve been stationed here for five days, and I haven’t been invited to a single strategy meeting. Rexton has gone to several. Inotice when my dark cloud sneaks away, disappearing for thirty minutes to an hour. He returns smelling of Raum and the other high-powered officials. It’s a dead giveaway.

Raum’s gaze follows mine, and he frowns as he realizes I’m eyeing the strategy tent.

“It’s nothing personal, Cassia,” he says. “This is your first exposure to war, and it’s important for you to take the same journey as the other soldiers. Royals get no special treatment in war camps. That’s the way it’s always been.”

I hum, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. I hate how Raum is treating me, but I’m willing to admit I see the benefits. I despise the low-ranking soldiers I’m surrounded by and the tasks I’m given, but it’s been educational.

Everybody has a role within the camp. Without it, this place wouldn’t be functioning—not as smoothly as it does. If just one person steps out of line, everybody is affected. I’ve been tasked to help with meals. I serve food.

I loathe every second of it.

It’s only made worse by my lack of sleep. My family are the only people I’ve ever allowed inside my bedroom. They’re the only ones I trust to know where I’m most vulnerable. Sleeping in this tent, being out in the open where anybody can come in and find me, is unnerving.

Sleeping quarters are sacred.

Somebody shouts, and a fight breaks out on my left. It’s between three men I faintly recognize, and Raum lets out a long, dramatic sigh before storming over to break it up. This couldn’t have come at a better time, and I don’t hesitate to use the distraction as an excuse to slip away.

I reek of boiled vegetables, cheap meat, and biscuits, and I spilled a shit ton of grease on myself while helping with breakfast. I need to escape, preferably before I lose my ever-loving mind.

Rexton follows me into the woods. He does so every morning.

We don’t speak. There’s no point. We have nothing to say to one another.

There’s a small stream about a half mile from camp, and I’ve grown quite attached to it. The frigid water helps clear my mind and set me right, and I visit it almost every morning. Breakfast duty sets me on edge, and I’ve found the cold stream to be a good way to restart.

My mood feels lighter the moment the stream enters my line of sight, and I let out a happy sigh as I kick off my shoes and socks and step into the water. It’s freezing, and my heart immediately kicks up several notches.

“Fuck!” I hiss, sucking in air through my teeth. “So good.”

“I don’t understand you.”

I ignore Rexton. I don’t need him to understand me. I need him to respect and fear me.