A little smile curled at the corner of Jesmine’s mouth.
“I’m well aware of the tunnels,” she said. “Probably smart of you to use the most unpleasant one.”
I didn’t want to admit to her that the real reason we had picked the “unpleasant one” was because Vincent hadn’t trusted me enough to show me any others.
“We made it here alive,” I said. “That counts for something.”
“I’d say it counts for everything.” She leaned forward, her violet eyes like Nightsteel in the darkness. Her face was such a perfect mask of deadly beauty that it stunned me.
“Now please, Highness,” she said, “tell me we’re about to take back our damned kingdom.”
In response, I found myself smirking.
“Why else would we come all this way?”
I had told Jesmine some of what had happened when I contacted her before the rescue, and her own sources—still extensive, and still very effective, despite her current circumstances—had apparently filled in more. But I briefed her on all of it just the same. She listened in silence, expression growing harder and hatred sharper. By the end, her fury was palpable.
“And now a Bloodborn prince and a Rishan imposter sit on the throne of the House of Night,” she spat. “Vincent would be appalled.”
Vincent would also be appalled to see me standing here alongside the Rishan Heir. Actually, a lot of my behavior these last few weeks would have appalled Vincent. But I tried not to think about that at this particular moment.
“Not for much longer,” I said. “How many men do you have here? How many more could you call back?”
Jesmine’s lips thinned. It took her a moment to answer, like it pained her to admit this. “We’ve lost many. I don’t have enough to retake Sivrinaj directly. Not with the Bloodborn there.” Her gaze fell to Vale. “Though if you wanted me to get rid of the Rishan, that would be another thing.”
Vale made a wordless sound of disgust, his nose wrinkling, and Jesmine laughed softly.
“Vale Atruro,” she purred. “What an honor to meet a legend. What were you, Neculai’s… third-best general?”
“First best, now,” he said tightly. “Others are dead.”
“Such a shame,” she muttered.
I wasn’t sure who would get my bet if the two of them lunged at each other.
“Trust me, you’ll be grateful to have him.” Raihn gave her a wolfish grin—the kind designed to expose fangs. “Vale, how many Rishan men can you get? Loyal ones, I mean. Simon doesn’t have them all.”
Vale gave Jesmine a chilling smile. “Enough to take what little remains of the Hiaj.”
Jesmine practically hissed, and Raihn sighed.
“You know what I’m asking,” he said.
Vale’s gaze slipped back to Raihn, slipping into serious thought. After a long moment, he said, “A thousand. Maybe more.”
Raihn looked back to Jesmine, brows arched. “Well look at that. A thousand here. A thousand there. Sounds like an army to me. Maybe even a good enough one to take back Sivrinaj.”
Ketura looked sickened by this idea. “An army of Hiaj and Rishan?”
“An army of whoever the hell is willing to help us get the Bloodborn out of this kingdom and the crown out of Simon’s hands,” Raihn said. “Does anyone here object to that?”
A long silence. No one voiced it, but we could all feel plenty of objection in the air.
“Of course,” I said, “there’s option two. Which is to simply let them have the crown and wait for them to inevitably come root us out. If that sounds more appealing to anyone.”
“Them?” Jesmine said. Her eyes narrowed at Raihn. “What about him? What you describe is exactly what we have been living these last months. Why should I put my soldiers’ lives on the line for his throne?”
“I never considered the Hiaj my enemy,” he said, and she scoffed.
“You considered us an enemy even before you killed our king. You destroyed the Moon Palace. You ask for my help to fight against usurpers, but you’re a usurper yourself.”
Raihn’s jaw tightened. “I told you many times, Jesmine, that I had nothing to do with the attack on the Moon Palace. And you’re such a damned effective torturer, how could I lie?”
This wasn’t going anywhere good.
“Enough,” I said. “This is an order, Jesmine. It isn’t just Raihn’s throne that we’re reclaiming. It’s mine, and I don’t want Simon or the Bloodborn anywhere near it.”