I’m the Ezkai General. I must act like one even if I desire nothing more than to bury my blade in Axel’s heart and watch as he bleeds out.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I don’t feel.
I don’t think.
I simply am.
A steady mountain.
Noire pauses when we approach the door before he pushes them open. He steps to the side, allowing me to enter first.
With my head held high, heart beating steadily, I enter the war room. Whatever I expected, it wasn’t silence.
Axel Dukas stands by the table with the Ekios map, hands folded behind his back. My fingers find the handle of my blade on instinct.
But it’s the figures by the window that stop me cold.
“General.” Axel acknowledges me with the official Ekiosh greeting. “Thank you for seeing us.”
My gaze wanders away from him, to the four strangers. One man, three women. All human. Not Royal Guards, dressed in simple brown leathers. A little worn, but tidy.
My mind reels as it tries to process what I’m seeing.
WhoI’m seeing.
When I meet the familiar hazel eyes, it hits me like a ton of bricks.
Startled, I take a step back.
No—
It can’t be.
The woman steps forward, her eyes soft and full of unshed tears. “Phoenix?—”
I stare at her in horror.
“General—” Noire says but my brain doesn’t register his words.
I can’t stop staring at the four people who look just likemyfamily.
I shake my head. “No. You’re dead. You died.” I throw Axel a glare. “You set our home on fire.”
Axel is calm and collected as he keeps my gaze, but says nothing.
My father’s familiar voice cutting through the silence makes me flinch. “Phoenix, he didn’t kill us. He saved us.”
This can’t be happening.
I—I watched Axel order his men to burn the house.
My family—they were inside. I heard their screams as they burned. Didn’t I?
The scent of burning flesh is lodged in my throat to this day?—
