Violence still buzzed in the air, and everyone stared at one another with distrust.
I was too tired for this bullshit.
I felt like the twins looked—their olive skin had an ashen hue, and their eyes were ringed in dark circles. Were they sick?
Worry turned my stomach.
I made a mental note to ask them about it later. They were always taking care of me, but who was taking care of them?
Rina made another sound of annoyance.
As champions, we technically outranked them, but the High Court made it clear that we had to make decisions together, and the lines of leadership were blurry. I’d thought the war structure made sense.
I’d been a fool.
Rina slapped her palms on the table for emphasis. Her voice went up a decibel as she said, “We need to find a solution. We can’t fight like this.” The angels nodded behind her like they were all in agreement.
Knox stood behind them with his arms crossed, but even he nodded in agreement.
Everything out of the angels’ mouths was garbage. A child’s fairy tale. Their emotional breakdown was useless in the grand scheme of war strategy.
They’d lost their minds.
If I’d wanted to make dumb decisions, I’d have asked Sadie for strategy advice. I loved her with all my heart, but the woman made bizarre choices in the heat of the moment.
She’d voluntarily mated to Cobra.
Enough said.
Rina let out a pitchy laugh and tapped her foot.
Beside me Jinx let out a long rattling sigh, and I agreed with the sentiment. Across the board, richly colored flames danced along Malum’s shaved head, and chalk snapped between his fingers.
Forty-one soldiers had not died fighting against the ungodly for the angels to have a crisis of consciousness. Only fifty-nine of us were left standing between the realms and the destruction of civilization as we knew it.
If I was going to be forced to lead a war, I wasn’t going to make stupid decisions to pander to emotional people.
I’d lost too much of myself to stop now.
Sweat dripped down my temple, and my skin tightened as it froze. I scrubbed at the side of my face to wipe it away.
Neither Jinx nor Malum had responded to Rina’s inane statement. Everyone was waiting for someone to take charge.
I swallowed down a scream because I wasn’t paid enough for this—actually, I wasn’t sure I was being paid at all.
Why was I doing this?
Inhaling enchanted smoke, I blew out my emotional support Horse. He settled onto my shoulder with a soft caw, and his long smoke feathers whispered against my skin.
His neck was longer and plumage more dramatic than ever before, which was strange because every time I conjured him, I imagined the same bird.
He was changing.
I would have been interested in solving the puzzle of his evolution if my cortisol levels weren’t spiking through the roof. I mindlessly petted the crow on my shoulder and focused on the mess in front of me.
Rina’s scowl darkened as she waited with growing impatience.
“I don’t understand your position,” I said slowly, enunciating each word to make sure my tone was moderate and noninflammatory.
My lips curled up in a soft smile.
I gave off nonconfrontational, peaceful vibes.
Rina put her hands on her hips and shouted, “We refuse to fight like we’ve been! There has to be another way. We need to work on finding a cure for the infected. There are thousands of innocent people in these compounds.”
It felt like I was falling.
Rina’s voice rose as she continued, “I refuse to put myself in a position where I have to harm this many civilians. Come up with a new strategy.”
She waved her fingers like she was shooing me.
Jinx muttered something scathing under her breath, and I held myself back from leaping across the table.
You know what we needed to bring back?
Scalping.
How self-absorbed were the angels? Did they think I wasn’t haunted every second of my life with the screams of the dying?
“Do it,” Sadie mouthed at me from her seat in the front row like she could read my mind.
I closed my eyes and inhaled. I was the champion of the gods in a war and I was going to be mature and respectful.
“Thank you for sharing your opinion,” I said, overenunciating each word.
“It’s also wrong,” Knox said righteously from the back of the group. “We can’t afford to make mistakes and murder innocent civilians. There could be far-reaching repercussions for the High Court. We need to come up with a new strategy. Is anyone working on a cure?”
My eye twitched.
Knox crossed his arms over his chest and stated, “We need a change of plans.”