The Warlord

by Gena Showalter

  Stomach churning, she hunted for her husband. She found him standing before the altar, simply peering at the stupid thing, his expression dark and brooding.

  The churning worsened as she slipped her hand into his. His posture immediately softened. So did his expression.

  He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed. “I missed you, love.”

  Love. She chewed on her bottom lip. “What are we going to do, Roc?” Worry poured from her. So often lately, she’d felt as if she swung from a pendulum, one side panic, the other hope. Mostly, she’d felt as if the weight of the world balanced on her shoulders.

  No, that wasn’t true anymore. She no longer carried the weight alone. Roc bore the other half.

  “We’re no closer to a solution,” she said. “There’s no way around the curse. For a sacrifice to gain acceptance, someone’s gotta give up something for a better cause. The more the object means to you, the more power your gesture generates.” Before Taliyah, he hadn’t known his brides, and he hadn’t cared for them. He hadn’t longed for their return. “For the first time, the loss of a wife will matter to you. You care, and you’ll long for me after I’m gone. This will be a true sacrifice. That’s why you’ll ascend.”

  Today, she’d thought more about her sacrifice. Willingly dying the last death to aid the Astra. Not just Roc, but all Astra. She was their queen now. As much as she owed the harpies, she owed the warlords. Men who would look after her harpies long after she was gone.

  “I don’t think you understand, Taya.” Night had fallen, a new storm brewing in the distance. Lightning flashed, highlighting sinister features. Thunder rumbled, shaking the whole realm and every dimension in between, she was sure. Leaves gusted about, spiraling this way and that, as if the world reacted to his mood. “If you die, I will follow.”

  “No!” The thought of death repelled her. Die? She loathed the very idea. But she loathed the idea of Roc’s death even more. He’d come to mean so much to her in so little time.

  How could he not? The man cherished and challenged her. He made her feel as though she lived for the first time. If she had a need, he met it. If she had a want, he provided it. If she were injured in any way, he raged, then kissed her to make it all better.

  She feared for anyone who harmed her, anyone who attempted to harm her and anyone who even briefly considered harming her. “You’re not going to die. I’m not going to die.” They weren’t there yet. “What are we missing?”

  A brighter flash of lightning couched his face in an eerie haze of shadow and illumination. When minutes dragged by and he said nothing, she released his hand to pace before him.

  “We must be missing something,” she chattered. “But what?”

  Roc flashed in front of her. She crashed into his chest, unable to stop her momentum, and he banded his strong arms around her. He held her, just held her, and the frantic energy seeped from her, leaving her exhausted.

  She couldn’t fight his embrace and didn’t want to; Taliyah sagged against him, resting her head on his capable shoulder.

  Roc didn’t falter. He held her steady.

  Finally he spoke, his voice rougher than sandpaper. “Nothing will separate us. Not now, not ever.”

  36

  One day until the final ceremony. A mere twenty-four hours. No closer to a solution. Standing on his balcony, peering out at the garden—the altar—Roc pulled at his hair, his frustration razor-sharp. He’d failed his wife.

  He had no one to blame but himself. He alone had put Taliyah in this situation. Now he cursed his arrogance. Too strong to resist temptation? Him? Hardly. He’d lost the war the moment he’d first spied her; he just hadn’t known it.

  He wished Solar were here. He would beg for his Commander’s forgiveness. I’m so sorry, brother. I didn’t know. Forgive me.

  Roc hated Erebus. He disdained Chaos. But Roc despised himself the most.

  All around, wind blustered and lightning flashed. The newest storm had yet to break. He could relate: he struggled to contain the worst of his emotions, even now.

  Erebus had ceased his attacks. But then, he’d had no more phantoms buried in Harpina. They’d all been unearthed and transferred to Taliyah’s control.

  “Like there’s really something I can’t do.” Taliyah crouched atop the desk, wearing her battle gear. Mesh leather halter, pleated skirt and metal shin guards. She was on a video call with her sisters and some of her friends, whom she’d barred from her bedroom, demanding to spend this last day with her husband.

  Last day. He gripped the railing so tightly, the metal bent.

  Taliyah could’ve run from this at any time, saving her life and dooming his. She had the power and means to do so. Yet here she was, fighting for him. Fighting for them. Her courage and loyalty astounded him.

  “Guys, enough. Everything’s going to be all right,” she said with a forced smile, and Roc’s chest clenched. “I never accept a picture of defeat, remember? I always save the day. That won’t change because I’m getting boned on a regular basis.”

  Roc moved to the balcony doors, leaned against the frame and crossed his arms, watching his wife. Strain emanated from her. Though her nightmares had ceased, she wasn’t sleeping. Of course, neither was he.

  “Neeka,” she said, as if barely clinging to hope. The oracle had, apparently, hacked her way into the conversation from an “undisclosed” location. “Let’s say the worst happens and I kick it. Erebus resurrected after the Astra killed him with their superweapons or whatever. Why can’t I?”

  “Because you can’t?” Neeka responded.

  “You aren’t going to die again,” he shouted. Taliyah made his life worth living. When he fueled and stoked her desires, he experienced more satisfaction than he’d ever earned winning a war. Anytime he held her in his arms, he experienced contentment like never before. The too-fleeting moments he fed her his soul, blood or seed, sating her hunger and keeping her strong, his pride knew no bounds.

  He’d chosen a warrior queen. A goddess. A fierce protector to those she loved. A stubborn enchantress Roc would destroy worlds to possess. He wouldn’t give her up.

  She glanced up from the phone as her sisters called out, “Don’t hang up!”

  “I have so much more to say!”

  Taliyah said, “Guys, know that I love you more than life itself. Know that I regret nothing.” She hung up.

  “Come to me,” he said. And she did.

  * * *

  Taliyah lay in bed with Roc, naked and tucked into his side, hysteria teasing the edges of her mind. How had she failed her mission so grandly?

  She croaked, “If Neeka is right, if I die for good—”

  “Taya—”

  “Y-you and your guys will look after my people, right, if necessary?” A lump grew in her throat. “And don’t say you won’t kill me. I’ve been thinking about this, and I know you’re as torn as I am. One part of me wonders what kind of Goddess General can condemn the Astra to five hundred years of loss. They’re my people, too. But the other part of me screams to keep fighting, no matter what.”

  “Taya,” he repeated, misery crackling in his voice.

  “I...I don’t know if I’ll lie down, a willing sacrifice, or if I’ll fight till the end.” Tears welled, clouding her vision. One droplet escaped, sliding down her cheek to drip onto his chest.

  He hissed upon contact, then braced a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes.

  “If we do end up fighting,” she whispered, “I won’t hesitate to take my shot against you. Okay? But you don’t hesitate to take yours, either. Okay? If you can kill me, do it. Our fight will be fair.”

  “Taya,” he repeated yet again, heartbreak in his tone.

  “No, no more talking,” she pleaded. “I just... Help me forget, Roc. Love me all night, and help me forget.”

  “I will love you forever.” With a ho
arse cry, he slanted his mouth over hers. The kiss was as heartbreaking as everything else, their tongues making love slowly.

  He kissed every inch of her body, branding her with more and more and more stardust. From the beginning, his strength and intensity had drawn her. His willingness to do anything to complete a job...his ferocity...his ambitions...his loyalty to his men...his Roc-ness. He’d been made for her, and she’d been made for him.

  Could she bring herself to fight him? Taliyah had no idea what she’d do tomorrow or how she would react. But here and now, in this last stolen moment together, it didn’t matter. Roc mattered. Her guiding star. Her final star.

  When he positioned himself above her, he slid inside her as slowly and carefully as if they were making love for the first time. Her thoughts fractured, shattering on the jagged edge of rapture. Taliyah felt him in every cell of her aching body.

  With his next inward surge, he curled one muscular arm over the top of her head, caging her in the way she loved, holding her too tightly—perfectly. The way she needed.

  They peered into each other’s eyes and rocked together. His irises were luminous, an endless night sky. She lost sight of the bedroom.

  Roc reached between them and pressed his thumb against the heart of her need, ensuring pleasure lashed her with every move. As she erupted with a devastating climax, he twined his free hand with hers and lifted their arms over her head.

  At this angle, she had better access to his throat.

  Inhale... Her nipples grazed up his bare flesh. Exhale... The sensitive buds swept down. The friction was indescribable.

  She knew he wanted her to feed, but she refused. She wouldn’t weaken him the day before the ceremony. Taliyah kissed him instead. For minutes...hours...an eternity, a blip, they continued rocking together, the sense of connection unparalleled.

  Another climax hit, the force of it staggering. She scored Roc’s flesh. He must have liked the sting, because he followed her over, collapsing and rolling to the side.

  Out of nowhere, Taliyah burst into tears, ugly-crying, overcome by the emotion of it all. Always before, she’d felt vulnerable after lovemaking. But this? This was full exposure, something she’d never really experienced. She had no defenses against this, no secrets, no hidden agenda.

  No hope?

  He lifted her to his chest and cradled her tight, giving her the same words he’d given her before. A soothing balm. “Nothing separates us.”

  * * *

  The next morning dawned as any other. Unstoppable and unavoidable. The rainless storm seethed with untold fury, an accurate portrayal of the cyclone raging inside of Roc. Mere hours remained on the clock.

  When the bedroom shook, Taliyah jolted upright, instantly awake.

  “It’s all right, love. It’s all right.” He traced a hand down the ridges of her spine. “The wall came down, that’s all.”

  The beginning of the end, then.

  A curse brewed in his throat as she settled against him.

  “Erebus is free to come and go now?” she asked.

  “Yes. But he and his phantoms aren’t allowed to fight us.”

  “I want to kill him,” she snarled, her little claws sharpening at the tips.

  He fell in love with her all over again.

  As Roc sent orders to his warlords to prepare for the ceremony, he drew Taliyah closer. “We have hours to go. Shall we study? We might find a last-minute save.”

  “No, the time for studying is over.” No emotion laced her tone. “The time for action has come.”

  Always in the past, Roc had left the bride locked in her room alone on this day, to mentally prepare for her end. Her favorite foods. Wine of her choice. Whatever she asked for, within the scope of his abilities, he provided. This time, he refused to let Taliyah out of his sight.

  “H-how is the rest of this day going to go?” She conformed her body to his, her icy blues stark. “I should’ve asked before, but I don’t think I was ready to hear the answer until now.”

  Linking their hands—one or both of them trembled—he told her, “Two hours before the ceremony, my sisters Aurora and Twila will arrive to help you bathe and dress. When they finish, they’ll leave and join Chaos, who will be waiting in the garden. At the altar.” His voice cracked. “At eleven fifty, my men will escort you to the garden, where I, too, will wait.”

  “No. I’ll walk on my own,” she said with firm assurance. “Astra guards will give the appearance of force. I’ll not have anyone thinking the harpy General and wife of the Astra Commander is unwilling. I do what I want, when I want.”

  Killing me. “You’ll come to the garden on your own, then.”

  Inhale, exhale. “What happens next?” she asked softly.

  “You walk to me. To the altar.”

  She averted her gaze for a moment. “Each of your brides was the fiercest of her species. Some ran. Some cried. Some fought. As your gravita, I will prove myself the fiercest of them all. I won’t run. I won’t cry.”

  A terrible choking sound left him. “With my entire being, I wish you would run.”

  “Sorry, baby, but that’s not my style.”

  He cupped her cheek and kissed her brow. “I know that well, love.”

  “Tell me the rest,” she said, though she’d watched it occur to twenty others.

  Roc could deny her nothing, not even this. “Usually I deliver the blow at midnight. The death is to occur in that window of time between the first and last bell.”

  She nodded. “If I die—” A familiar denial sprang from him. She continued anyway. “If I die, know that I meant what I said to my sisters. I have no regrets. I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything.”

  His eyes burned, his line of sight wavering. He pressed his fingers over his lids.

  She kissed his cheek. “There’s one more thing. If I die, you are not to follow me. You are to forever compare every woman you meet with me. And make sure they understand why they’re inferior to me in every way. I mean that. It’s not optional.”

  His heart broke. Right there, in that moment, his heart shattered into too many pieces to ever weld together. She had never accepted a picture of defeat—until Roc.

  From this, he would not recover. Erebus had wanted his misery. The god had gotten it.

  37

  The rest of the day passed in a blur for Taliyah, her emotions chaotic. As Roc predicted, his sisters arrived with a gown and toiletries. They didn’t speak to him, and he didn’t speak to them, but tension arced among the trio.

  Taliyah thought his eyes glinted as he left the room, and she almost broke into another round of humiliating sobs.

  The two females pasted on smiles before introducing themselves and drawing a bath.

  “You won his heart,” Aurora said once Taliyah had stripped and settled in the warm, perfumed water. “That’s good, and that’s bad.”

  “Roc is going to hurt when you’re gone,” Twila added with a sigh.

  A barbed lump grew in her throat. She couldn’t discuss Roc’s feelings right now. Not while her own were such a jumbled mess. “Come on, now. I’m the harpy General. I have skills. Who says I’ve got to lose?”

  The girls made tsking sounds.

  Whatever. “What’s it like, working for Chaos?”

  “He’s...complicated. Complex.” After lathering her hands, Aurora washed Taliyah’s hair. “He seeks power, whatever the cost.”

  “Is that why he keeps you separated from Roc?”

  Twila shrugged. “As acolytes, we owe our loyalty to Chaos.” The words gave off a rehearsed vibe, as if drilled into her head.

  Been there. “Does Chaos deserve your loyalty?”

  “I’m sorry, but we aren’t allowed to discuss our time with him.”

  Silence descended as they completed their task, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Onc
e Taliyah emerged from the bath and dried off, the sisters helped her don the ceremonial gown. An ivory beauty with a deep V, ensuring megacleavage, and a split skirt.

  She strapped on every piece of her armor. The breastplate, the limb guards. The weapons belt.

  Because everyone should look their sexiest on their proposed death day. She laughed, nearing hysteria again as she tugged on a pair of combat boots and sheathed a dagger at her waist.

  The dagger was one of her own creations. The weapon she’d made using the firstone. She’d promised Roc a fight, to give her best. How could she give her best without a proper weapon? Something able to kill a god.

  The moisture in her mouth dried. Would she truly fight him? How could she not? She’d finally found her purpose. To rule as harpy General beside the Astra Commander. The consort she loved.

  Tremors racked her. “Will you guys—” Well. She was alone. When did the sisters leave?

  She glanced at the cell phone her sisters had given her. It was 11:48 p.m. Almost showtime.

  Ignore the tremors. Her family waited outside, forced to stand side by side with the other spectators. Chaos should be in place. Erebus, too. Grandfather and father. The rest of the Astra. Even the harpies had agreed to serve as witnesses without interfering, whatever happened. Of course, they expected her to fight and to win. The only ones missing were her harphantoms. She missed them.

  Her brand heated, and she frowned. The harphantoms misted into the bedroom, rubbing their brands.

  Uh, what just happened?

  “You summoned?” Dove said with a cock of her brow.

  I did? Dove was best known for committing harpykind’s cruelest acts on a battlefield, so she was a true role model. Taliyah had been eyeing the woman as second-in-command. Once Dove could go an hour or so without trying to murder everyone around her, she’d be perfect.

  Taliyah spun in a slow circle, looking over her new army. They’d ditched the widow’s weeds and now sported proper war gear. Malice iced their expressions.