Chapter 176 - 176 Seeking Freedom – Part 2

176 Seeking Freedom – Part ~ SASHA ~

Sasha gaped at the warrior on his knees before her clearly—strategically—offering himself. And for a moment his wisdom and cunning stole her breath. He’d measured correctly that his respect for her would recommend him to the others…

Or would it.

She glanced at Zev to find him quivering with anger. But he was fighting it. Maybe Lhars had been right to give him a chance to get rid of some of that rage in a fight.

But she didn’t have time to figure that out. Whether that had helped or not, the truth was she stood there torn between her mate’s feelings of fear and rage, and her own deep desire for peace.

And that was when she remembered the conversation she and Elreth had had at the “peace table” before Zev had woken and everything had gone to shit.

They’d sat together in that room, facing each other, and Elreth had sat back in her chair…

“I don’t want another war,” the red-haired Queen had said, as if she was conceding something.

Sasha had wanted to cheer, but she’d stayed very still. “Neither do I.”

.....

And there in that moment both of them had relaxed slightly. Sasha had had to fight a smile when the Queen gave a slow grin and said, very dryly, “You know, if the males were here no one would have admitted that. They’d all be too busy beating their chests and telling each other how they’d drag them into hell.”

Sasha had snorted, imagining the moment clearly. “True. Though, my second is a female, so…”

Elreth had been surprised. “The males follow two females?”

Sasha had shrugged. “Like I said, until now, Zev and I have… kind of done it together. He submits to me, though. I wish he wouldn’t.”

“Why would you wish that?”

“Because none of us would be here—including me—without him.”

“So?”

“So, he earned his strength the hardest way. It should be acknowledged—and it is. I just… look, it doesn’t matter. The point is, I agree with you. The guys… they have a tendency to jump into fighting. I prefer… negotiation.”

Elreth had measured her then. “If you and I barter peace… will your males follow you?”

“They will,” Sasha had said confidently. “But if you remove me? My mate…” she’d trailed off, swallowing. If she was killed, Zev would be too because of their Ardent bond, but she’d been unwilling to share that at the time knowing how vulnerable it made both of them to the malice of others. So she’d continued the conversation.

“As you’ve observed, the men are much more willing to fight. I fear if you harm me, or Zev, they might jump into aggression before there’s a chance to achieve anything else. The difference between us is that I don’t have that luxury. I’m fully aware that I can’t compete physically, so I don’t fight with my body, I fight with my mind.”

Elreth had nodded like she agreed, though she seemed as fierce as the men to Sasha’s eyes. Then Elreth went still. “So, if neither of us wants war, and if both our peoples will jump to it if we are harmed… how do we avoid it?”

Sasha blinked and came back to the present, suddenly very aware that Tarkyn waited on her response, and Zev still trembled next to her, clearly trying to figure out how to respond to this development.

But those words echoed in Sasha’s head.

If neither of us wants war, and if both our peoples will jump to it if we are harmed… how do we avoid it?

She looked at Zev and Lhars, both bruised and still panting from their fight. Skhal next to her, more settled than the younger males, but still humming with his own tension and fear. And Tarkyn… on his knees… pleading.

But very, very clearly equipped to fight.

“Let me handle the prisoner,” she blurted suddenly. “You focus on the… the rest of it.”

Zev snapped his gaze from Tarkyn, to look at her. Sasha swallowed. She had to walk so carefully so he knew she wasn’t trying to undermine him. “I don’t know combat, Zev.” The males around her tensed at the word, but she kept her gaze on her mate. “I pray it won’t come to that, but you all need to do the planning and… positioning for that. So, let me focus on our… visitor. I’ll talk to him and figure out if he’s going to be useful or we need to… contain him.”

Zev’s eyes flashed. “He can’t be left to just run loose when he’s not—”

“I won’t. Not unless you and I agree. But I need to feed Zan again soon and you need to deal with the packs… this makes sense, Zev. You know it does. And it keeps Harth safe, too.”

He searched her eyes for a moment and she felt the flash of fear in him—worry for her motive, or for her safety? But whatever it was, he stifled it quickly. Lifting a hand to her face, he nodded slowly. “Fine. You deal with… him. I’ll figure out the rest.”

Sasha almost laughed with relief.

“What’s happened? What’s going on? Lhars?!” Kyelle darted into the tent then, rushing towards them, her eyes wide and face tight with fear for her mate.

Lhars moved past Zev, towards her, to reassure her and Sasha took a deep breath, using the interruption to turn to Skhal.

“Can I have Skhal for an hour—then send him back to you? I want to get a feel for… the bond between the peoples and—”

“There’s no time,” Kyelle said, holding Lhar’s hand, but turning quickly to Sasha. “I only took this long to reach you because there’s two more prisoners coming in.”

“What?”

“The Anima, they’ve sent emissaries. They came surrendered. No weapons. But they’re asking for you… specifically,” Kyelle said, her eyes flickering to Zev.

“Who?”

“A mated pair. They’re older and—”

“Lerrin and Suhle,” Tarkyn breathed.

“Yes,” Kyelle said, her eyes sharpening on him. “You knew?”

“I asked for them, but I wasn’t sure—”

“You asked for more of yours to invade—” Zev tensed, pulling Sasha aside, away from Tarkyn.

“No,” Tarkyn growled. “Their situation is… unique. They’ll empathize with you.”

“How?”

Tarkyn gave her mate a flat look. “Because years ago they were banished by the Queen’s father. They have recently rejoined our people after decades of isolation. Trust me… of the Anima their ties to Elreth are the… loosest.”

Zev blinked and Tarkyn sighed.

“I was true when I told you that I came for peace—to help you. I know my mate’s heart. I saw yours when we… connected. I am not here to thwart you, Zev. I am submitted and working my ass off to keep all of us safe.”

Zev’s upper lip curled back and Sasha felt his anger fire again. It was instinct then to step between them. The male on the ground—humbled and pleading—had submitted to her. Zev needed to remember that.

“I’ll handle this,” she said quickly. Too quickly. It sounded like an order, more than the insistence she’d intended.

Zev blinked, then frowned at her.

Everyone in the tent went still.

Sasha prayed that Zev would feel the ache in her chest, her pleading with him to trust her. “Let me handle the… emissaries. Let me figure out if they can be trusted. You need to meet with the hunters. Figure out how we do this if things go wrong.”

Zev’s eyes narrowed. “Is that an order?”

Sasha sighed, but she didn’t look away. “Yes.”