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Now, as he looked at all the faces of those who’d join in this day’s reckoning, he simply chose to go with his gut. Beside him stood Mari, every bit the Queen Alpha. These last few weeks he had dropped his resentment of his father’s true children, knowing none of that man’s actions had been their fault. It was freeing, letting that resentment go. And he owed it all to Sierra.
He watched Mari now. From afar, Lucius had to admit that, secretly, he had always admired the beautiful alpha, the tenacious woman she was. He couldn’t say that he knew her well, but he did know people, the way they ticked. Mari was a good queen in a time when a queen was mostly an icon, a figurehead to align with, and for the past twenty years it had been enough. But times were changing—had changed, he corrected himself.
A new leadership needed to be had, and he hoped that with the both of them, side-by-side, the traditional and the progressive, the old reign and the new, would be enough to see this day through.
The Owl were going down.
“Today we ride out,” Lucius said, his voice carrying clear and loud. “As you all know, our plan is to first assess, then carry out our planned operation. Unless we need to retreat and regroup, we are in this until it’s done. Let us let the Owl Order know who the Ongahri really are. Let us show them that Ongar’s children are the true servants, lest they forget again. No more will our people let centuries pass us by until we are nothing but a collective memory. We are the Ongahri! Oni Ongar Veldos Ma!”
“Oni Ongar Veldos Ma,” they cried. Once they’d quieted, Mari stepped forward.
“People of the Ongarhi, Lucius Dega said it best. Those bastards tried to best us, tried to end us. Today we will show them what true power looks like! Oni Ongar Veldos Ma!”
He felt it then, the True Alpha’s call, the element in Mari’s blood singing through his, through the whole of the warriors around them, and no doubt throughout Titus. The pull had his head bowing forward, as if a cable were around his neck, dragging him to the ground. His nature was to resist it, and he did, but it was difficult.
You are the true king, a voice inside him whispered. Fight for it, Lucius.
But he didn’t want to be king, not of House Trajan. He was his own man, and remembering that, he merely bowed his head in honor as he watched those attending get to their knees, showing submission. At least, those who were Ongahri. Demos, Phobius, and Sierra remained standing, politely looking on.
“Now we fight!” Mari said, then released them of her thrall.
“What was that?” Sierra asked a few minutes later, stepping up to Lucius’ side. Around them the others were finding their groups, readying their mounts. “I felt a… pull, a surge through the bond.”
Lucius swept aside a wayward lock of white hair that had escaped her covered head. He tucked it back into the wool, near her ear, then palmed her cheek. Gods, how he wished they were home right now, Owl be damned. “That was probably the queen’s Alpha blood you felt, calling us.”
“Really? How does that work?”
He smiled at her curiosity. “I’ll tell you some other time. Now, kiss me and go find Fadon. I want us to ride out together.”
“How are you two now?” She lowered her voice. “And will you, you know, let Mari know—”
“No. Maybe one day. But it changes nothing. I’m happy the way I am, and unless Fadon wishes to say something… Well, I’ll leave it to him.”
“Fadon will never share your secret, Lucius. But I’m glad you two seem to be civil toward each other. Thank you for that.”
He kissed her, a slow, deep kiss. Her nose was cold, but her lips were warm. “I love you.”
Her eyes widened, and she started to smile, but then something passed over her face. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say there was a trace of guilt painted there. “I love you, too. But you better not be saying that because you’re worried. Are you worried?”
“About you? Always.”
She let out an impatient huff and he laughed. “Sierra, all will be fine. Now, go get Fadon for me. I need to speak to Jaris about the mounts over there.” He pointed behind him.
He watched her go, staring after her, until she blended into the crowd of warriors and huffing cervos. She would be riding with Ander, in the center with Jon. Fadon and Demos needed to be up front with Lucius and Mari. He prayed his words were true, that all really would be fine, but as he looked around at the many men who were about to go into battle, he somehow felt that it wouldn’t be enough. That there was something he hadn’t considered. But for the life of him, he couldn’t see it.
The Basilica stood tall and ethereal behind the white gates, its turrets spiraling into the gray clouds above. The structure was a sight to behold, a rendering of white granite and some other kind of stone that Lucius had never seen before. The effect was breath-stealing: shimmering alabaster accents that bled into the granite like jewels, like a giant bride for a god.
Lucius could see plainly that there wasn’t a soul to be found outside on the Owl’s grounds. Behind the gate the Basilica looked abandoned, as if history had wiped out every trace of the Order’s Servants, leaving only the housing which couldn’t be taken with them.
He looked beside him, at Mari, who had ridden by his side for hours.
“Check the gate,” she said, her feminine voice crisp and clear.
They watched as Fadon dismounted and walked over to the tall bars. A screech of metal rang through the silence. He turned around and nodded. The gates were not only unmanned but unlocked.
“Could be a trap,” Lucius said.
“Or they are ignorant and too pompous to believe anyone would come to them in threat,” Mari said. “We’ll proceed.”
