Page 160 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“And you think we’re the answer to that liability,” I observed.

“I think that people talk.”

“And what are they saying?”

“That the queen in the south will come for us next. That even Adrastos fears her, and with good reason.”

“Better to add that feather to your cap than leave an unpredictable variable loose? Better to stand beneath the threat than weather it alone?”

“Something like that.” He pulled out the chair beside us and gestured for me to sit. I perched on the edge of the table instead. Atreus shook his head, smug smile intact, and took the chair himself—voluntarily putting himself below me.

“Why not just take me out of play?”

“Didn’t know that was an option,” he said much too quickly. I arched one disbelieving brow.

“You are the assassins of the north.”

He mirrored my sly smile. “Okay. Maybe it was discussed.”

“And?”

“And ruled a risk not worth taking without direct provocation.”

“Didn’t want to rattle the butcher queen’s cage?” I prodded, flashing my wickedest smile.

He returned it, a devilish glint in his eyes. “Something like that.”

“Tell your king I have no interest in conquering another hierarchy. Putting Reagan down was justice, not pleasure. I’m not a goddamn colonizer.”

“Duly noted.” Atreus leaned back, ankle crossing over one knee. “But I doubt he’ll believe me unless I better understand how you came to claim the throne.”

“My name was Valora Lamb. I was Reagan’s second-in-command—briefly. I had my first calling, and while she pretended to help me find him, he turned up dead. I confronted her, got my throat slit, and got kicked into the fucking river. This time around, I learned she’d done it in service to Adrastos Balaskas, calling himself Lonan. Long story short, the Bellatons dredged me out and sent my body to Aren.”

“Your true Commander?”

“He was.”

“So, you were a double agent.”

“I was on assignment.”

“I fail to see the difference.”

“I didn’t come here intending to turn Paladin. That was just a natural consequence for feeling more at home here than anywhere else.”

“Nothing says home like brutality in the name of balance.”

“Something like that,” I parroted. “I ascended this time with perfect recall. Great for me⁠—”

“Shitty for Reagan.”

“Precisely.”

“And your calling?”

“Reincarnated as well.”

“You found each other, then?”