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The next day began the same.
After she’d drank her tmae juice and practiced her combat sequences, Meiro dressed her and encouraged her to drink the potent gold liquid she called kkermo. Then Prillu took her to meet Akoro and his council in the strategy room.
Today he wore his hair back and braided into one long tail again. Without his hair framing his face, his jaw seemed sharper, his eyes even darker and his body thicker. Naya’s skin tightened, heat flushing over her and lifting her center with a fierce rush. None of it was true. It was just their true mate connection that made him always seem so savagely beautiful, but the attraction cut through her, brutal and deep. He was also wearing more layers of leather than yesterday, leaning into a style that was more warrior than regal king. The result was breathtaking. But it didn’t matter. That mouth and those hands were never touching her again.
Naya dragged her eyes from him and breathed deeply, focusing instead on the table between them as she walked to stand opposite him. Calm, considered, and careful.
As she approached the table, he pointed to a piece of parchment. "Is this correct?"
Naya leaned over to look at it. It was a hierarchy of the Lox army. At the top was her father, Emperor Drocco. Directly underneath him, her uncle, Commander Torin. Then were all the generals that ruled over the various countries and territories of the Lox Empire. Then their second-in-command’s, and then the massive army which was written down as five thousand soldiers.
"The structure is correct," Naya said. "But the amount of soldiers isn't."
"How many do you have?" Nrommo asked.
“Twenty-five thousand."
“That’s impossible,” he said immediately. “That many cannot fit in the palace. It is said by all official channels that the army live in the palace.”
“They used to all live in the palace.” She lifted her gaze to his. “They grew.”
“Where are they if they’re not in the palace?” Nrommo asked.
“All over the empire. They are in every country.” She watched the council murmur thoughts to each other in their own language. She understood now why they needed to take someone who would give them information. While they knew a reasonable amount about the Known Lands and the Lox Empire, their knowledge about specific security measures was old. Papa and Uncle Torin had kept it that way, despite the exasperation about their carefulness by almost everyone. Uncle Torin had specifically moved the army around through deployment and restructuring so they were never gathered all together at the same time. No one would know how many there were… unless they were told.
Naya turned to Akoro, whose eyes she could feel on her. “You said you had more soldiers than my father’s army?—“
“He does,” Nrommo interrupted, his eyes dark with pride and annoyance. “Do not assume that because your army is bigger than expected, that our army is unable to overwhelm them.”
Naya angled toward him. He already knew what she was going to say and he was already irritated by it. Good. This Alpha was emotional enough to give her information without realizing it.
“Our warriors are five times the size of your tiny Lox, Omega. It will be easy to subdue?—“
“Nrommo.”
Nrommo’s words died at the utterance of his name from Akoro’s mouth.
“Out,” Akoro ordered. “All of you.”
They started moving toward the door but Prillu and Nrommo moved toward him.
“I request to stay, zmola,” Prillu said, her head bowed. “I believe I can?—“
“No.”
“I should be present if there is any discussion about the army, zmola,” Nrommo said. “I think I should stay to?—“
“No.”
Prillu bowed and turned on her heel to the door. Nrommo’s mouth tightened and he glanced at Naya, anger embedded in his face. For a moment, Naya thought he was going to say something more, but he blazed out of the room.
Akoro leaned over the table, looking at the hierarchy of the Lox army and Naya watched him closely. He seemed to be a completely different person from the Alpha who kept coming to her cart in the desert. Although he had intimidated her and pushed her to the ground yesterday, today he was solely focused on his invasion. That would make things much easier for her.
"Your father values his army more than any other defensive or attack strategy or method, doesn't he?" he finally asked.
Naya considered his words for a long moment.
"Doesn't he?" Akoro repeated forcefully, straightening to his full height.
