The Enemy's Triumph

by Kristen Banet

  Life has been so fucking busy with training and missions and meetings. We should have all set some time aside for him.

  “Have you spoken to him?” she asked.

  “No. We should both fix that.”

  “Me, you, and Rain,” she agreed. “Let’s go get this done.”

  Mat smiled and followed her away from camp. Nevyn and Kian were right there with them, patient and quiet. They each had several loops of rope, divided evenly between the group.

  “Mave, you want to play bait?” Nevyn asked. “You’re the smallest of us and still weak. It’ll pick up on that.”

  “Yup.” She stepped away from them, leaving them for a clearing near their campsite. He watched as she found a seat and pulled out a little flute and began to play.

  “I didn’t know she brought that on the mission,” Kian whispered, his voice thick with emotion. Mat knew the flute had been a gift from Senri, and in turn, Kian, Willem, and Gentrin.

  “She takes it everywhere,” Mat explained. “She never leaves home without it.”

  They waited, spreading out around the clearing. Finally, the gryphon came out, screeching as it launched for Mave, looking half-starved. Mave dodged easily, mainly because the gryphon was so starved and weak on its legs. Mat ran out and looped his rope around a front leg as it reared up. Nevyn threw his and got the loop around its head down to its neck. Kian was last, catching a back leg. Mat and Kian moved away from each other, pulling the gryphon off balance. Nevyn ran forward and looped his rope several times over the beast’s mouth.

  “It’s about to drop dead,” Mave whispered, getting closer again. “It hasn’t eaten in so long.”

  “The chances he’s ever learned to hunt properly in the wild are slim,” Nevyn said with a grunt, tying off the rope. “It’s good he’s so starved, though. It made him weak enough we could rope him without a problem. Hopefully, he’ll make it to the village.”

  “Is it a male?” she asked. Mat chuckled as Nevyn and Kian gave her blank stares. “I was never taught how…” She walked around and leaned over, putting her hands on her knees. “Ah, yeah. Definitely a male.”

  Mat snickered. Kian looked like it was causing him physical pain not to laugh.

  “I didn’t get the chance to check his package,” Mave muttered, shaking her head as she walked away. “Now, how do we get it to calm down?”

  “Feed it,” Nevyn answered. “It would be easy to go to a stream and catch a couple of fish. I bet if we start feeding it, it’ll begin realizing we’re not prey or threats. Kian, Mat, hold it. Mave, do you know how to catch a fish?”

  “Yes.”

  Mat watched them walk away. The gryphon lost the will to struggle soon after, too weak to fight and move with both of its legs bound. Mat had never seen a gryphon so starved and powerless. If it had been wild, it would be dead within the season, and spring was moving fast. Summer was going to be on them in another couple of weeks if that. There was no defined date, but by the recent heat during the days, it was nearly there.

  “Should mercy kill it,” Kian muttered. “It might make it back to the village, but it’s going to need a fucking horse to get enough food to start rebuilding muscle.”

  “Trevan can use that time to bond with it,” Mat said gently. He wished he could go up and pet it, but it wasn’t safe.

  Mave and Nevyn came back with five fish. Mave was the one who went forward and put one of them in front of the gryphon’s face while Nevyn worked on opening the rope enough for the beast to eat.

  “There you go,” she whispered as it grabbed the fish and swallowed it whole. It clicked its beak, looking up at Mave, knowing she was the source of food.

  “It’s like a horse,” Nevyn pointed out. “They must have been breeding these beasts for centuries to get it docile like this for food. There’s an understanding there.”

  “Well, the Elvasi aren’t stupid,” Kian grumbled as Mave put down another fish that was quickly devoured, then another.

  “Try letting it stand,” she called out.

  Mat and Kian walked closer, giving the gryphon slack to stand. It did, but barely, its legs shaky.

  “It must have been trained that finding Andinna meant food,” Nevyn murmured, still thoughtful. “This is good. We’re able to learn more about these mounts as well. If they don’t see us as a food source, they must be tracking us to get their food.”

  “Like hunting dogs,” Kian said in agreement. Mat only nodded. Andinna never used hunting dogs, but a long time ago, they had agreements to let humans, Elvasi, and dwarves hunt in the Dragon Spine. They saw the use of hunting dogs frequently, and knowing about them became standard Andinna education.

  Mave gave it another fish, then started to walk away. It followed like a horse, trying to get an apple. Smiling, she turned, and it turned as well, walking around her, forcing Mat and Kian to take a wide loop around the clearing, so they could keep control.

  “I don’t think it hates us,” she said softly.

  “No, it doesn’t. It found us; therefore, it gets food,” Nevyn said softly. “Let’s get it back to camp and feed it more. It has a few days of walking, then Trevan can nurse it back to health. He can even name it if he wants.”

  Everyone chuckled. The Andinna weren’t in the practice of naming their horses. They had names from those who owned them before or bred them and kept records, but none of them got attached to the horses. They were great animals, but they didn’t last. They were respected, but no one treated them like pets, as some humans were prone to do.

  “Let’s go,” Mave said, then clicked her tongue. The gryphon followed, hoping for the fish. Nevyn used the rope as a lead. Mat and Kian released the gryphon’s feet from their binds.

  Mat nearly wanted to laugh until he cried. His wife nearly killed herself trying to kill someone else, and three days later, she had new tatua and was capturing an enemy mount for someone.

  He wasn’t sure what he expected when he fell in love with her. It hadn’t been this.

  29

  Mave

  Mave was road-weary as they rode into the village—road-weary and something else. She couldn’t put her finger on it—rage that she missed the chance to kill Lothen, gratefulness at surviving the encounter, and something else.

  She felt better about something, and as Andinna crowded around the returning unit, she caught a glimpse of Dave and that Elvasi, Trevan.

  “I see your heart, Maevana Lorren Amori. You don’t believe in a world that is black and white.”

  No, she didn’t. She had never believed all Elvasi were evil like Brynec did, and the last couple years of her life had taught her no one was as they seemed. The Andinna weren’t cruel barbarians. They were warriors, but loving, with a special appreciation for rustic yet beautiful things. Alchan was a great ruler. Zayden was a good male. Rain was her adopted brother, her friend, and sometimes, even her child when he leaned on her, looking for support of a female he loved. She did the same thing with Senri, her best friend, and the woman she looked to as a mother figure, and she had never expected that relationship.

  The world wasn’t black and white.

  Alchan walked through the crowd, along with the rest of the Company, but Mave kept her gaze on the Elvasi. She hadn’t known what to do with him for weeks. Since he stepped off that boat, she had been at a loss what she expected out of either of them. She had wanted him here, and now, it was time to tell him.

  She swung off her horse and led the gryphon to him. Everyone was giving it a wide berth, but Trevan didn’t move, even as Dave backed away quickly, his brown human eyes wide.

  “Is there something I can do for you, Champion?” he asked, lowering his gaze. Something seemed dark about him, his pale gold eyes were shadowed, and unhappiness was in every line of his face.

  Unacceptable. Anden shouldn’t be hell to him the way the Empire was hell to me.

  “We captured this trained gryphon from the enemy,” she declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. “We share the skies wi
th many things, as my husband Matesh was so kind to remind me. We don’t rule it, but we protect it. The Elvasi have bred and trained these beasts to try to take a place in our skies, but we all know they will never respect it the way we do.” She smiled as Trevan looked up. “But I think you might.”

  Stricken—that was how she wanted to describe his face.

  “You risked your life for my freedom. In that time, I’ve learned to fly. I’ve soared above treetops and even mountains. I have let my wings graze over the vast seas. I’ve found my people and been reunited with the culture I should have had for a thousand years. I don’t know you, Trevan of Elliar. I don’t know the Elvasi who would turn his back on his own people to give me that, but I want to. Consider this gryphon and my friendship a gift for everything you’ve done for me.” She held out the lead rope they had used on the road. He took it slowly, his pale gold eyes now much wider than Dave’s. “I want to know you. I know I have barely glanced your way since you’ve arrived, but I think if anything, we can get to know each other.”

  “I would like that. Thank you for the gift, Champion.”

  “Call me Mave,” she said. Then she turned on Alchan and bowed her head ever so slightly. “My King.”

  “My Champion,” he greeted, smiling a little. “What do you report for us upon your arrival?”

  “We lost seven warriors. We defeated roughly two dozen gryphon riders of the Empire’s forces, and we met Prince Lothen in battle. He survived the incident wounded, just as I did. He’s fighting with his men, and we believe it can be taken advantage of.”

  Alchan nodded then looked to Nevyn, who also nodded. A lot of silent communication passed between them, and Mave knew she should have been insulted, but she wasn’t. Nevyn was the near-general. He would be before this was all over. She was the Champion. Her words carried a lot of weight, but at the end of the day, she was glad to be just a warrior with a special title and a bit of respect. If Alchan felt the need to check with Nevyn, that was what would happen, and she was okay with it.

  “Then we’ll speak of this in the war room. Would you call the mission a success?”

  “We would,” Nevyn answered for her. She wouldn’t go so far, but if that was the official declaration, she would live with it. She just wouldn’t publicly say it.

  “Then we’ll get back to work,” Alchan said with a vicious grin. “Disperse! Injured warriors, there are healers standing by to attend you if needed. Commanders of the mission, meet me in the war room as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sir!” they all called out from behind her.

  She turned back to Trevan and pointed to the gryphon.

  “It was separated from its Elvasi rider during the attack on the scouting group weeks ago and has been slowly starving since. It’s going to need food and care. It’s trained to fly with a rider and to track Andinna. It was docile enough for us once it realized we can feed it. With a season, you should be able to get it back to flying strength. It’ll give you easy access around the mountains and maybe let you haul Dave around. Do you want to talk tomorrow?”

  “I’m available at your convenience,” he said softly, rubbing the gryphon’s beak. It already seemed more comfortable being near an Elvasi, the race that had raised it.

  “I’ll call on you then.” She gave a jerky nod and walked away before she completely lost her courage to keep talking. Public speaking wasn’t easy. She was drained and wanted to get out of the crowd.

  She went directly to the war room, knowing everyone would eventually get there as well. Some would want to tend their own horses, but Mave was used to someone else grabbing hers and dealing with it.

  She stopped by the door and waited for others to catch up, seeing Luykas and Alchan first, both with deep, matching frowns. Bryn came next. She laughed as he picked her up and swung her around.

  “Now I know how ya feel when I’m gone,” he said as he let her back down to her feet.

  “Yeah, it’s not pleasant, is it?” She kissed his cheek. “I probably stink. I bathed in a stream a couple of days ago, but…”

  “It’s fine, love,” he said, smiling. His eyes went down to her arms, then back up. “Did Mat do those while ya were gone?”

  She looked down at the tatua, a chill running down her spine. How was she supposed to avoid all of them? She didn’t want them to think she was insane, dreaming about a wingless female with an attitude, constantly killing her in her dreams. She had an entire conversation this time.

  They can’t know. Something in her bones vibrated with that knowledge. It had every time Nevyn, Mat, and Kian had asked about it on the road. They couldn’t know about this.

  “I was going to ask the same thing,” Alchan said evenly as he stepped up, his eyes locked on her closest arm. “Doing tatua rituals out on a mission isn’t particularly a smart idea. I can’t stop you, but I would prefer if you didn’t.”

  “I’m more jealous he got to do it again,” Luykas mumbled, giving her a look. She looked between the royal brothers and saw Mat and Nevyn walking up. Varon didn’t bother landing, flying directly into Nevyn’s arms. Kian and Senri walked over together, smiling at each other.

  “Are you talking about her new tatua? I didn’t do it,” Mat said, drawing closer. He looked at both of them, then at her, giving a hard stare. He wanted her to tell them exactly what happened, but she couldn’t since she didn’t understand it herself.

  “I was severely injured. I used a lot of power from my blood to keep going. I woke up with them,” she explained, looking away. “No, I don’t know how they got there. Let’s move on.”

  “No, let’s not move on,” Nevyn growled.

  “We made a decision on the matter,” Kian interjected. “We would prefer to keep you out of it, for now, Alchan, so you and Mave don’t get into a thing over it.”

  She turned back to him, realizing he was still staring only at her, not bothering to even glance at the others. Their eyes met for a moment, then he nodded.

  “You’ll tell me if something is wrong, but I’ll leave the oddities and strangeness to all of you. I have a rebellion to manage and people to rule,” he said, stepping out of the group and heading inside.

  Once he was out of sight, Senri stomped up to her.

  “You’re going to talk to me,” she said in a low voice as the males went inside. “What happened on that mission?”

  “We fought Lothen, and I nearly died—”

  “There’s more, and we both know it,” Senri growled. “No one in the history of the Andinna has ever just woken up with tatua. Is there a possibility you performed the ritual on yourself? And if you did, do I need to explain how dangerous that is? There’s a reason a separate Blackblood—”

  “I don’t know the ritual, so if I had accidentally done it, I don’t know how,” Mave answered. “Senri, if I knew what was going on, I would tell you. I don’t.”

  The truth. Mave was telling the truth, even though she didn’t tell Senri the entire story.

  “Kian mumbled about you having dreams,” Senri said evenly. “Would you like to explain those?”

  “I…” Mave swallowed. It was easier telling the males to back off, but the chokehold was tighter when she tried to find a way to avoid it with Senri. She couldn’t say anything. If she was insane, they would never let her fight again. “They’re just dreams, Senri. Nothing more. I have them. Sometimes, they wake me up. Sometimes, they trouble my sleep. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Sometimes, things will happen, and the dreams are more likely. That’s all.”

  Mave wasn’t just trying to convince Senri, who seemed unbelieving, she also wanted to convince herself. The dreams didn’t scare her like they used to, but they were changing, and that was troublesome. Now, the wingless female was talking. Mave had an entire conversation with the strange manifestation.

  “If that’s all you have to say, so be it,” Senri whispered. “Let’s go inside and find out what disasters the males are planning now.”

  Mave smirked and went in first
, surprised by the hush that fell over the bustling room of warriors the moment she walked through the door. Yenni was already inside, and the long low whistle she gave made Mave nearly sigh.

  “Well, well. Someone has done something silly,” the female muttered.

  “Leave it,” Mave ordered. “It’s no one’s business but my own.” She walked around the room and took her spot beside Alchan. “What did Senri and I miss?”

  “Not much. Nevyn, Matesh, and Kian were giving me a more detailed rendition of the mission. It’s giving me some ideas,” Alchan answered, looking down at papers filled with numbers. “Luykas?”

  “If Lothen is willing to fight, then yes, we can use that against him. We’ve already prepared two other teams to go out and perform similar strikes against their forces. We can easily pull together a third. If we keep striking them hard and fast, they won’t have the time to push into the mountains and make a closer camp. If we continue to deliver blows to the gryphon riders, we can whittle away their threat.” Luykas pointed at a few locations on the large map on the table. “Here are a few places where Lothen could be scouting for a forward base. If we can stop him from moving into those, we can keep him from finding a path directly to us.”

  “Agreed,” Alchan said softly. “Let’s send the two teams here…and here.” Alchan pointed those out. Mave recognized one by its drawn geography as the valley where they had left the horses. “Was this valley as safe as we planned?” he asked, looking up at her, then at the other Company members who had gone on the mission.

  “Yeah. Our horses were as safe as they could be, but we were barely away from them for a day. We didn’t need much time to bait out an attack from the Elvasi.” Nevyn pointed at another valley. “We had the gryphon follow us until here, and Mave decided to capture it. We need to be careful others don’t follow us and bring their riders. It was easy enough to make docile. They aren’t out to attack us, it seems. They think finding us means food, so we got ropes on it, fed it some fish, then it calmed down. It didn’t try to attack us again after that.”