Blood Rain (Warrior Class Book 3) Page 11
“She wouldn’t need to, as I am her.” Nakia ate her bread. The jam was delicious, and the sweet taste helped settle her.
The brothers bristled. They understood Ashni considered them one and the same. They were of the same soul, mind, body, heart. The fact that Jay and Asad pretended otherwise was an affront to her, Ashni, and their marriage.
“How long will it be before she returns then?” Asad asked through gritted teeth.
Nakia picked up a bowl of rice, mixing it with some shredded chicken. “She’s not sure. She plans to oversee the building of fortresses and bridges as we get more northern tribes to agree to work with us. Lives are on the line.” She wanted to emphasize that, so they couldn’t claim Ashni had dodged them.
“So, we should just go home?” Jay asked with a tilt of his head, his long braids shifting to the side of his head.
Nakia shrugged as she scooped up the meal with some flat bread. “You could ride to the frontier. I’m sure Ashni would enjoy the company.”
“There’s nothing but misery in the North,” Saffi muttered.
Nakia looked at her sister, pride burning inside her. There was a flash of the old Saffi. She had never been to the North, but she had educated herself. She read up on it and had an opinion. With any luck, this Saffi would show up more often rather than the one who seemed intrigued by Jay and Asad.
Covering her joy, Nakia scoffed. “Believe me, I know. I’ve seen it.”
Saffi nodded. “It was once scouted by the Tyra, hoping to find a new home. It was considered inhospitable, even by them.”
It said something that the Tyra used to live in a dark swamp and even they thought the North was terrible.
“One of the many reasons Ashni doesn’t want the area,” Nakia said, pleased with Saffi’s help. She wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not, but she’d take it.
“Ashni should’ve burned it to the ground then,” Jay said, carelessly waving the chicken leg in his hand. Skin fell from the food and then he tore the rest of the meat from the bone with one big bite.
Asad chuckled. “Only she can’t.” He grabbed a handful of diced venison. He actually put his hand in the dish, as if he was the only one who would eat it. Was that some weird display of dominance?
“Ashni isn’t in the habit of utterly destroying things. Even though she conquers, she respects. Something she learned from your father,” Nakia replied.
“Yes, our father,” Asad said.
More of the “Ashni isn’t Khalid’s daughter” nonsense. Nakia wanted to roll her eyes. Great.
Jay leaned forward, motioning to himself and his brother with one large hand. “You sit in judgment as if you know our father or our beliefs or us.”
Nakia had played this game long enough to know that was a trap. He was angling to get her to admit she didn’t know all she thought she did. He could be trying to trap her into inviting them to stay longer, and she wouldn’t fall for that mess. Taking a breath, she ate a little more and maintained eye contact with Jay.
“I cast no judgment. I’m sure you learned many lessons from your father as Ashni did. Different personalities pick up on different things,” Nakia said. She and her sisters learned plenty of things from their father. Nothing he intended to teach them, but they each picked up their own lessons for their own survival.
“And one of the lessons Ashni missed is family togetherness,” Asad replied before eating more of the venison in his hand.
This from a guy who wants to impress upon me that Ashni’s not his father’s child. Nakia sipped her wine, letting the sweet liquid quell her anger.
Asad grabbed a piece of bread, tearing it in two. “She should leave the frontier to her fisherwoman for a few days.”
Nakia blinked. “Fisherwoman?” Then it dawned on her. “Do you mean General Adira Gyan?” The disrespect!
Asad shrugged. “The fisherwoman.”
Nakia bristled. “I hear that fisherwoman destroyed a whole unit of Roshan warriors with a spear and someone saw such potential in her that they gifted her with a war spear, horses, a sword, and a command.” She wouldn’t let them besmirch the name of the woman who personally carried her from Caligo Mor’s citadel.
Jay waved the whole matter off. “Through the grace of the Amir. Without him, she’s a fisherwoman and, really, he pitied her more than anything else.”
“So, once he died, her status reverted?” Nakia asked.
“She no longer leads a Roshan army, only a branch of it,” Asad replied.
“Then she’s not a fisherwoman,” Nakia said.
Asad glared at her from across the table, but he didn’t have a rebuttal.
Jay interjected. “The Great Amir used her for what he could, but she’s nothing much.”
“Nothing much? She rose from a fisherwoman to a general,” Nakia said.
Jay scowled. “There were much greater sterlings. My father seemed to think the outsiders were special, though, because of our mother. Something else Ashni picked up from the Great Amir.”
An announcement from a nearby guard interrupted their conversation. Layla and Adira were back.
Jay arched his eyebrow again. “Layla, but no Ashni?” he asked as if it wasn’t possible.
“Layla’s back to make sure home base can support the building of the forts on the Northern front,” Nakia replied.
The way Asad’s face twitched meant Nakia had to come up with something better. She sent for Layla and Adira then focused on the skeptical Asad.
“Ashni sent Layla back because Layla can move between both sites the fastest,” Nakia said, when Layla and Adira came over to them.
Layla nodded, sitting down. Adira maintained eye contact with Asad, as if challenging him, but he didn’t take the bait. Jay glared at Adira, though Nakia couldn’t even begin to understand what that glare was about.
***
Tiny-Ashni wanted to ask her father why the gods would give her lightning for a talent and make her so different again. But when he came home, he spent time with Jay. She would’ve joined them, except the moment she came upon them, Jay glowered at her. It was more than enough to freeze her and stop her heart.
“Hey, Ashni, I hear your talent came in,” her father said with a grin. She barely heard the words, too focused on how Jay treated her like some kind of enemy.
“It’s lightning,” Jay said before Ashni could mutter a word. She felt a stab in her chest as he said it with such disdain and as if he were tattling on her.
Her father continued to smile as he nodded. “Nice. I don’t think anyone’s ever had lightning as a talent. The gods really shone on you, huh?”
Jay growled. “No one in our family has that.”
“No, you’re right. But, like I said, I don’t think anyone’s had it before. Lightning is special. It comes only from the sky.”
“Fire’s better. Fire is from Khurshid himself,” Jay said.
Her father nodded. “This is true, but Dima wields lightning, and she can even block Khurshid himself.”
Jay scowled. “Yes, and Dima’s children wield lightning, too. And they like to walk among mortals sometimes.”
Ashni wasn’t sure what her brother meant at the time, but it clicked when she was older. When her lightning came in, he believed she was the daughter of the storm god. She was proof their mother strayed from their father. Beyond that, she was not their father’s child, so she had no claim to anything, not even him.
***
Nakia sat by Ashni’s bedside holding Ashni’s hand in both of hers. Ashni’s hand was squishy, as her body was, like everything inside of her was made of wet mush. Still, she was warm, and she was breathing. There was hope.
Layla sat across from Nakia, with her eyes pinned on Ashni. Nakia wasn’t even sure Layla blinked. Layla refused to touch Ashni, which was worrisome. Was there a problem with touching Ashni? Nakia couldn’t help herself and Samar hadn’t stopped her, so she clutched Ashni whenever she could. Adira paced behind Layla, looking like a caged animal.
“They know something’s up. I don’t think they’re going to leave,” Nakia replied. What should I do? She held off on asking. She was in charge, after all, so she needed to figure it out.
Layla shook her head. “Well, that doesn’t do us any good.”
Adira rubbed her chin. “They have to know something happened to Ashni. They wouldn’t be flaunting their presence otherwise. The question is, how do they know that.”
“A mole.” Layla growled.
“I would think so. We’ll have to check that out. What I don’t understand is why the hell they’re here, even if they know something happened to Ashni. I can’t imagine Jay wants this territory,” Adira said.
“This has to be revenge for Asad, even though he didn’t act like a twin to Amal. He likes to pretend he’s Jay’s sidekick,” Layla replied.
Nakia’s face contorted. “But Jay wouldn’t want revenge.”
“I disagree. Jay probably wouldn’t think of it as revenge, but he’s hardly a fan of… well, any of us really.” Adira motioned around the room. “Saniyah has been avoiding him, yes?”
Nakia nodded. “She’s hardly been around and kept Bashira away.”
“You might want to get Saffi to avoid them. I’ve already heard talk that she’s intrigued by them. Discourage that.” Adira wagged a finger at her.
With a shake of her head, Nakia sighed. “I tried. It only enticed her more.” She was certain Saffi wanted to be around the brothers because Nakia tried to keep her away that first night. She wasn’t sure what she could do about her sister. She probably already messed that up. Like you mess everything up, like you’ll mess up running the kingdom without Ashni, and like you’ll mess up handling her brothers.
“Watch out for her.” Adira leaned forward. “Jay might seem sensible, but he’s the one who taught Asad to bite. Those nobles did a number on them, but Jay truly thinks he’s a god.”
Nakia saw glimpses of Jay’s ego. He spoke as if whatever he said was the only truth.
“Do any of us have the authority to tell them to leave?” Nakia asked. As far as she knew, even Ashni couldn’t do that, but they might know something she didn’t.
Layla snorted. “No, and even if we did, they wouldn’t listen. Jay thinks being the oldest makes him the highest authority outside of the empress, so he’ll pretend that’s true. At the moment, it actually is. We can’t force him out. It’s his decision.”
Nakia sighed. “So, we’ve got nothing.”
“Nothing I can think of, unless there’s trouble in their provinces and we can’t start trouble there without tempting the empress into acting. Jay came along thinking we’d focus on Asad, but I know he’s the true demon here,” Adira replied.
Nakia wasn’t sure if that was true or if Adira was speaking out of Jay’s open interest in her spouse. It didn’t matter either way. The brothers were bad news, but with no information to act on, they were frozen.
“Samar, do you have news?” Nakia asked, and all eyes went across the room.
Samar, who had a small laboratory at the other end of the room, didn’t respond. Not a good sign. She had spent about an hour muttering to herself before this. Now, she was bent over a small pot, dripping a dark liquid into it. All of her liquids, powders, and balms gave the room a strange, muddled scent of earth and smoke. Candles heated up several concoctions, adding melted wax and humidity to the room. It was enough to give anyone a headache if they were there too long, but Varaza never left, nor did Samar. Samar might have forsaken sleep at that point.
“Ashni’s a fighter,” Layla said.
Adira nodded. “No way she dies from one arrow by some archer who got lucky. She’s the Chosen One.”
Those words weren’t just for Nakia. Layla and Adira needed to believe it, too. This was so much. And it will break you. Nakia hated that fucking voice.
***
Tiny-Ashni moved her chess piece, checkmating Amal for the third time that day. It wasn’t a surprise when Amal slapped the board away, setting it on fire. Asad had to duck the flaming wreckage without bothering to look up from his book. Amal roared, flames shooting from his nose.
“So, no fourth game?” Ashni asked with a smirk. He was the one who asked her to play. It was raining outside, and their mother encouraged them all to spend time inside together. Jay abandoned them almost immediately, going off with people Ashni didn’t know. At first, Amal asked Asad to play, but Asad brushed him off as being no competition. Asad wasn’t wrong.
“You’re a cheater!” Fire jumped from his finger as he pointed at her.
“No, I’m just better than you,” she replied.
“You’re not! I’m the son of Emperor Khalid Akshay!” He threw out his chest.
“And I’m his daughter. Your point?”
“No, you’re not! You throw stupid lightning.”
The aforementioned lightning popped from her fingers. “Watch your mouth.”
“I don’t have to listen to you! You’re nobody and everybody knows.”
“Take it back,” she said in a low growl.
“Never.”
Lightning jumped from her hand and blasted Amal across the room. He hissed and struggled to his feet, throwing a fireball at her. She shot more lightning and it went through the fire, stopping it. Amal stared at her with wide eyes. She smirked. He released a frustrated wail and ran out of the room. He was going to tell their mother. She turned to Asad.
“You want to play?” Ashni asked.
Asad scoffed. “I have better things to do.” He went back to reading.
Ashni did not think anything of it. Later, she realized Asad never engaged her the way Amal did, but that didn’t mean Asad saw her any differently. His eyes said the same things. Asad never engaged her in general, though. Her lightning was the reason for both.
***
Nakia woke up to news that the brothers had an announcement, and they had the nerve to be doing it in the throne room. Their gall didn’t surprise Nakia. She threw on her nearest robes, barely having them tied, and rushed off to the throne room, met by Adira. Layla and Badar appeared out of a shadow, falling into step with Nakia and Adira as they marched deeper into the room.
“What’s going on?” Adira asked.
“Something terrible,” Nakia replied.
“Of course,” Layla said.
“Thank you all for coming,” Jay said, standing by the throne with Asad at his side. They wore finery a god might descend to the mortal realm in.
“Maybe they’re leaving,” Layla whispered.
“Yes, please,” Nakia said, even though she knew that couldn’t be the case.
“We’ve been here for almost two weeks, but we didn’t make it clear as to why we are here,” Jay said.
“We were investigating if this kingdom was following Empire protocol. Every kingdom is to be headed by one of Empress Chandra’s children. This kingdom is not,” Asad said.
“Excuse me!” Nakia marched up to them. “Ashni is one of Empress Chandra’s children.” What are these bastards playing at? After all the fuss about being Khalid’s child, this was a new argument and one she wasn’t prepared for.
Asad looked her dead in the eye. “We know Ashni’s dead.”
“Now we’re in charge,” Jay followed up.
“Ashni isn’t dead!” Layla stormed over, Adira hot on her heels.
“Then why has no one seen her on the Northern front?” Jay asked.
Nakia’s eyes widened. She didn’t have an answer for that. It wasn’t like they could produce Ashni. It was better for them to assume Ashni was dead than to know she was too out of it to defend herself. If they didn’t think she was dead, they might devote their time to make Ashni dead and Nakia refused to risk that. At least they just confirmed someone was feeding them information. She needed to find out who the mole was, and she certainly couldn’t cede control without a fight.
Chapter E
ight
“THIS IS A COUP!” A man from the Court cried.
Several members of the Court advanced on Jay and Asad. Adira’s hand went to her weapon, as one of the few people allowed the privilege in the throne room. Layla put herself in front of Nakia and raised her hands. Badar stepped to Layla’s side.
Jay merely smiled, calm as could be. “It isn’t a coup. These are the rules. Every kingdom in the Empire is to be ruled by a child of the Empress.”
“Queen Nakia is a child of choice by the Empress,” Layla said.
“That doesn’t hold up any more than her claim that you are Ashni,” Asad replied with a smirk. Cruel delight danced in his pale green eyes, an odd contrast to Chandra’s eyes of similar color. Whenever Nakia saw Chandra her eyes were always filled with love and kindness.
“We are Ashni!” Layla pointed to herself and Nakia. “And my sister is not dead.” Her stern voice didn’t seem to make a dent in the brothers’ facade. Nakia held in a wince. She didn’t want them looking for Ashni.
“Prove it,” Jay replied, chin tilted in the air.
“We aren’t under obligation to prove anything to you,” Nakia replied. She couldn’t believe the insolence of these brothers.
“You are, because unless Ashni’s alive and well, we’re in charge for now.” Asad folded his arms, fabric stretching across his muscles.
Nakia scowled. They had to argue Nakia was acting as regent. Technically, Ashni could appoint anyone she desired in that position. “Ashni appointed me as regent.”
“Which is void if Ashni’s dead. Until the Empress decides who would take over, we’re in charge by virtue of being here,” Jay replied.
Layla scowled. “And your territories just happen to have regents in place with you gone.”
“Of course,” Asad replied. “The only issue here is that Ashni died.”
“And you seem so broken up about it.” Nakia curled her top lip. They probably suspected Ashni was dead as soon as they got here and not once did, they show any signs of mourning. In fact, they had Nakia throw a feast as though they celebrated the death of their sister. Disgusting.