I reached for my water bottle, but right before I grabbed it, another hand pulled it just out of reach into the shadows. I was immediately on guard, my knife in my hand, fist pulled back to my chin, warrior stance, knees bent.
Aimer stepped into the flashing, lightning shine and handed my water to me.
“Jase would like to see you.”
“He can’t just demand my presence.” I jerked the water from her alabaster hand, squirting some into my mouth.
Her green eyes laughed into mine as the lightning struck something remarkably close by and thunder split our eardrums.
“He is your warlord now.”
“He won no war to lead me.”
“Then let me battle you now, to win the right to take you to this meeting.”
I swished water around in my mouth as I thought about it, my heart beating quickly. I wanted to scream: absolutely! I had been dying to battle one of the Trio. Maybe not the best one, right away. Not Aimer. But, I wanted my chance to shine. Here it was. Not right at the risk of a line being drawn that said Jase could order me around any time he wanted, but, he was, technically, I guess, my Commander. I was forced to have one on this planet that I now called home…
“Fine.”
Before I could even set the bottle down, she had lunged against me, and we were wrapped in the wetness of the rain, sheathed in the pitter-patter of its fall, our feet rising splashes on the training surface. She cleared my feet from under me by dropping down low and sweeping her leg against mine, then one forearm was at my throat as I lost my breath and my back crashed against the puddles, her legs were forced over my body, pinning me down far too easily, winning fully by the justice of surprise, as our wet bodies pressed against each other, faces inches apart, and she whispered into my ear, “I win!”
I struggled to get up, but she clamped down hard on my throat and arms, the knife still in my hand pinned far away, my breasts heaving against hers and I was caught.
“I will meet him,” I grunted out.
Jeering laughter greeted my ears over the crashing thunder as Aimer helped me to my rain-soaked feet.
Aimer picked up my water bottle from where it had been launched away into the sludge and handed it back to me. I set it down next to my training towel and backpack. I was having a hard time focusing back on the present moment, so overwhelmed by Aimer’s supreme force and skill. I had not realized I would be bested by her so easily. It was because she had surprised me, right? She was so incredibly… effective…
“You can come back to your things. No one else will be up here training in this storm. Come with me now.”
I nodded, wiped my gasping mouth on my wrapped hands, then let Jase’s head Trio lead me away, past the other soldiers, as I sheathed my knife, and kept my chin up. I didn't look at them, but just flipped them off with my right middle finger, though they had no idea what that symbol meant. It made me feel only slightly better. It was amusing to reflect that symbols of resistance had to be met by anger or distaste in order to give the same feeling of satisfaction.
Then I followed Aimer to meet with Commander Jase, the brooding, blonde, tyrant of a man who had become, by default, my Alpha Warlord.
Two
Jase
I shifted the papers on the table and sighed. Why couldn’t it just be easy? It seemed like I was going from one battle to the next. Usually, I thrived off the battle, the blood, the drive for conquest, but there was just something about this most recent threat… Tarsine, Rhone’s son was challenging my lands on the Southern Bordash/Curan border, where my Empire of Emerona lay and it was just… full-on offensive. Distasteful. Aggravating. Unnerving. How dare he…? How dare he try to pick up where his father had so gloriously failed?
Granted, he wasn’t directly challenging Kajo, but he was challenging me, and in so doing, challenging Kajo. Kajo, leader of the Curans, Beast King of Farian, had been my friend since grade school. He was a few years older than me, but we had always had each other’s backs. He had granted me the Command over the Southern lands when it was clear I was good at winning battles in his name early on in the wars a decade ago. Now, Tarsine was taking advantage of that connection and trying to weasel his way into Curan land by taking over my throne.
I slammed my fist down on the table and the papers scattered.
No fucking way.
I appreciated that Kajo was leaving this threat to me to deal with, for the time being. It gave me comfort that he had such trust in me, as he should. I didn't doubt that my troops could weed out the Bordash infiltrators, take on the separate fronts, and decimate our enemy. But, it did seem like Tarsine was gathering some pretty strong forces. We needed to go down to the hill country and see just how big his camps were. I was taking a small troop with me, and I wanted the Earthling to come along. I had been hearing of her relentless training and had even spied on her a few times myself. It was time she became part of my Crew.
“Aimer and the Earth girl are here.” Cassala had no contempt in her voice when she said it, but there was also no respect. Of course, I didn’t expect there to be; my respect was not easily given, and I didn’t expect my commanders to give their respect easily, either.
“Her name is Vaneah,” I said.
Cassala barked a short laugh. I looked at her, brow furrowed and smoothed
