Mylis narrowed his eyes at Zane. “I’ll be right around the corner.”
The burning in his chest took the edge off the brutal sting, but after weeks of shifts together and fencing on breaks, Mylis’s distrust cut deep. Zane bit the inside of his cheek. He deserved it. He’d lashed out at the wrong person, and he would have to pay the price.
Mylis rounded the corner, and Hannover fixed a devastating glare on him.
“You,” she said, in a deadly low voice, “had better give me a good reason not to fire you right this second.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“By firing you?” She let out a disbelieving laugh. “I’d say that’s me coming to my senses.”
“You know damn well I’m talking about the war.”
“It’s my decision to make.” Hannover drew herself up to full height. With her short stature, the attempt was comical. “I know it’s dangerous, but this is the right choice. Carik needs to be stopped. Azura’s on our side, wewillsucceed?—”
“Yeah? How’d that work out for Pool and your family?”
Hannover’s jaw flapped soundlessly.
He didn’t care.
“You don’t know anything about war.” Spit flew from Zane’smouth, and his muscles quaked with rage. “Everyone you love will die.That’swhat war means.”
Hannover’s face reddened. “If I don’t go to war, the people I love will continue to die. His persecutions are already starting. Senators are vanishing. Any day, he could come for me, or any of my friends!”
“Stop thinking about yourself. Just stop.” Zane marched towards the sparkling glass window and flung his arm out. “Look at your city. Your people.”
She glared at him, and he wanted to shake her.
He wanted to grab her and steer her towards the window, tomake her see, but he balled his hands into fists to stop himself. Instead, he jabbed a finger towards the glass. At the foot of the mountain, gold domes crowned gleaming buildings in the lively marble capital.
“All that’ll be left is ash. The schools, the houses, everything. It’ll be destroyed. Your people will be left in the rubble of their homes, assuming they survive the bombings. You’ll have to draft the men. When they die out, you’ll arm the boys. They will fight, and they will die. All for a cause they don’t give a damn about?—”
“You’re out of line!”
“The families won’t have anywhere to go,” Zane said, raising his voice. “You’ll be able to run away from it all, but your people will be stranded as their cities are bombed?—”
“Leave her al?—”
“I’llrun away?” Hannover snarled, cutting Mylis off as he rushed around the corner. She stomped into the window’s golden light, glaring at him, never sparing a glance for her people below. “Me? I could’ve run away after my fleet was attacked, but I came back!”
Zane laughed darkly. “For a throne. For yourself. Not for them.”
“And you think you’re so much better? Tell me, why aren’t you on Oppalli asyourpeople die?”
The words landed like a punch to the gut. Zane’s muscles seized up. His mouth froze open, and his voice died in his throat.
“I’ll tell you what I think: you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“And why do you think that is?”
“Because you’re a greedy, self-absorbed coward!”
Zane clenched his fists. “I amnota coward.”
“Oh, really? You could’ve fooled me. Uncle Jerran took a deeper look into your background. He told me you’re a deserter. All this time, I thought you had some shred of honor, but really, you’re just a coward who abandoned his squad!”
Blood rushed in Zane’s ears, drowning out her voice. The blazing fires from his nightmares crept into the edges of his vision. He clenched his fists to shut them out, but screams rang in his ears. Phantom blood clung to his skin.
