Vren throws his hands in the air in frustration. “I told you I can’t work with this cunt,” he grumbles to Ronyn.
Ronyn’s brows furrow for a heartbeat, taking in Lara and every inch of unflinching confidence she emanates. “You actually said ‘those cunts.’Plural. Sounded like you meantallthe witches.” He wags his finger around the space gesturing to The Dreaded, and winces. “Just thought I’d make it abundantly clear.”
He shrugs nonchalantly, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. Seren has seen this trick countless times.
Then Ronyn’s mouth stretches wide. “I won’t lie to you, Vren—this one,” he points to Lara, “seems… like a good time if you ask me. Not cunty at all.”
Gods.
Marin snorts under her breath. “I thought the same thing,” she agrees.
Vren mutters something inaudible under his breath about being the only sane one here.
Teddy drags his hand through his hair. “Gods fucking save me,” he grumbles to no one in particular.
But the room falls silent in an instant. No one breathes. No one speaks. Steady boot steps thud across the slick stone of the cavern. Unhurried. Slow. Certain. The gait of a person who does not doubt themselves.
“Enough.”
The words are undeniable. Final.
Elyssara steps into the center of the space, her piercing jade-green eyes scanning the group with a calculating stare. Her mouth parts slightly, baring her teeth.
The message is clear: Elyssara is in charge.
And just like that, the room rearranges itself around her.
Her honed body is fitted in fresh leathers with perfectly shaped panels and fine craftsmanship.Lara’s doing, obviously. Her blades hang from her hips, gleam from sheaths at her thighs, glint from her boot, and catch the lanternlight in the hidden sheath at her wrists. She’s armed to the teeth and not hiding it. And no one misses the insinuation.
Her waves of auburn hair, light licking at the tips, whip behind her like a goddess made flesh.
She stands before the realms’ most powerful, and she looks like she’s born to command them. Born to lead them into battle.
Nothing about her looks out of place. No hint of hesitation. Just a cold, penetrating stare that unsettles the room.
“Alliances aren’t about friendship. They’re about a common enemy… and we all have two. Take your places. And stop the petty bullshit,” she says, and the words are pure command.
Eyes land on her in recognition. Predators sizing one another up. She does not flinch. She simply moves like a woman too powerful to bother with such irrelevance.
A breath hisses between Lara’s teeth, all venom. She is not a woman who takes kindly to being told what to do. Daphinia steps up beside her, one hand hovering over her weapon, the other poised for magic.
Where in the Stars is Caev?
Elyssara turns at the sound of Lara’s insubordination, and then cocks her head to the side in curiosity.
Lara bares her teeth, and a wicked smile takes form on Elyssara’s face. A smile that says she’s enjoying this.
“You think I’m scared of fangs, Lara?” Elyssara taunts, stalking toward her without an ounce of fear. “Every person here knows how to bite. We are all animals, after all. But I do like knowing which of us are predators.”
Lara tries to still her mouth, but it twitches. Agitated.
“I agreed to listen, not to blindly fall in line,” Lara snarls, and the entire room teeters on a knife’s edge. Hands fly to weapons, knees soften into crouches.
Seren’s hands go rigid, ready to draw magic from all that lives in a heartbeat.
Elyssara closes the gap to Lara, leaving only a step between them. “Blind obedience is the game of fearful dictators, Lara. I am playing a different game entirely,” she growls, her voice pure threat. “You’re all standing here arguing about pride, about history, about who wronged who.” Her lip curls. “While the world breaks.”
Silence.
