“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lennox Adair.” King Leone extended a hand.
“You as well,” Lennox spoke for the two of us. “This is our emissary, Nico Elsher.”
“Yes, it has been a long time since I’ve seen you, you as well.” He looked at me and then Nico. “You two have grown into fine males.” I gave him a tight smile. Even if my few interactions with him during our visits had been pleasant, I would keep my walls up for the way he treated Declan. Thelackof treatment.
“Please have a seat.”
We took up residence in the sitting area, Lennox wasted no time diving into why we were here, giving them the bare details of our journey that led us here before asking the Twilight Court to aid us in this looming war.
Except it wasn’t looming anymore, was it?
It was right on the fucking forefront.
“This is quite the trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.” Leone leaned back on the couch, stretching his arms over the top. “Lethenia heading into war isn’t something I anticipated experiencing in my lifetime.”
“Neither did we, but we have no other choice.” I sat forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “The Vanir and Panateia have given us no other option.”
Leone opened his mouth, but before he could sayanything, he was interrupted by the door to the sitting room bursting open.
I reached for my blade with one hand, the other reaching for Lennox, as the intruder spoke.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Some of those trainees don’t know their ass from their sword.”
My blood turned cold as I took in the male heading toward us.
Leone rumbled out a laugh. “Captain Hale, we’re glad you could make it. The High King and Queen were telling us of this war they’re edging into. They’ve asked if we will aid them.”
Lennox stiffened at my side as she realized who the male was. The pommel of my blade bit into my skin as I held it tighter.
Bergan Hale looked cruel; there was no other way to put it. The harsh lines of his face in combination with his expression that was perpetually stuck in a state of apprehension and the scar running across the left side of his mouth, there was no other way to describe him, but cruel.
And I hated that Declan looked like him.
Everything from their build, their bone structure, the color of their hair. Bergen’s hair was even long now like Declan wore his.
The only true physical difference was their eyes. Declan’s golden shade was a sharp contrast to his father’s pitiless black.
Bergan Hale took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of Nico, popping a grape into his mouth as Lennox relayed our mission once again.
“How do we know this is true?” Bergan asked when she was finished. “What if this is all a hoax to get us to aid you so Luka can get revenge on his uncle?”
“Have you not heard everything I’ve just said?” Lennox countered, red traveling up her neck. “Of the torture Iendured, endured at the hands of the Panateia? That my brother has been held captive for years? That Luka received his grandfather’s head in a box?”
“We do not know you, we have no reason to believe this is true.” Leone’s gaze bounced between Lennox and Bergan, but he remained silent. “Why should I give over my army for a cause I do not support?”
“You support the elimination of an entire species?” I said, my voice low.
“No, we do not,” Leone added quickly.
“So you do have an opinion,” Lennox snapped. “I thought you were letting your Captain make all the decisions for you.”
Leone’s mouth opened and closed several times before he finally spoke. “I make the final say, but I take into great account the opinion of my Captain, as I’m sure you do too.”
“Where is your Captain?” Bergan interjected, a cruel smile creeping up his face.
“He’s with our army, training them and planning with the Aquatic Kings while we take this meeting.”
“He’s doing his duty that was assigned to him,” Lennox added, her tone sharp.
