In the morning, we met again at the coastal temple for our first talk since the summit.

  Jakob remained hidden until we were ready to begin. Our people successfully extricated him, and we didn't even need to ask him to speak. He demanded the opportunity.

  When he stepped out to the center of the room, the horror that washed over Theus's face stole all the color from his cheeks.

  "I want all of Skia Hellig to know the truth." Jakob's strong voice rang out clearly. "Theus wanted to steal Eclipse's land so badly that he brought war into the valley. He never intended to honor the treaty. He met with Cleo and Malach the very morning we departed for the coast and planned for the interruption." Jakob looked at me now with deep shame in his eyes. "He's been working with the cult for a decade now in preparation for this war. He was the one who said to kill the children."

  "He lies," Theus roared.

  "Everyone knows the truth." Jakob did not raise his voice or his ire. "I am only affirming it."

  Sloane did not look at me still, but she glanced in the direction of my people. "Theus has broken the trust of everyone gathered here."

  Fury shook Theus's voice, but I suspected it only glazed over his fear. "That treaty only set Eclipse up with an excuse to retaliate against me."

  "You think I need an excuse to slaughter you after you killed our children." I shoved the table so hard it slammed into the one in front of it and knocked them both against the ground. Steps heavy, I marched into the center of the room where my husband only recently battled Jakob, and I spoke face-to-face with Malach. "I need no excuse."

  "I never told them to kill children," Theus said.

  "Shut your lying mouth. You knew I'd kill you and you thought you'd save yourself by killing me first." I raised my hands at my side. "But you failed."

  "If you start killing fellow Prophets, you'll unleash a war far greater than any over land or even the one against Malach. Everyone within a two week's horse ride will want to kill you before you kill them."

  "That I didn't kill you sooner proves to the world that I am not looking to destroy any leaders. In fact, I'm quite certain that you all realize I'm not going to kill you unless you give me good reason to." I turned my glare to Sloane. "That's why one Prophet didn't raise a hand to finish me, even after leaving my daughter to die. She's that confident I'm going to impulsively murder the leaders of Skia Hellig for my own personal reasons."

  Sloane held my stare, looking neither contrite nor angry. And certainly not remorseful.

  "Maybe I should kill her so that you'll be afraid to even think about hurting us, but she's been good to her people, and they want her as leader. She didn't break our treaty. Even if I want to kill her for not helping my daughter, I won't. I've been told this behavior makes me predictable. I've never pretended not to be." I turned slowly, my words unrushed, my voice deep and commanding. "No one here should be surprised, just as no one should believe my predictability undermines my threat. The moon is predictable and yet who has ever cast it from the sky? Don't throw yourself upon the moon's shadow and ask for mercy."

  "We agreed that we would not shed blood in this hall," Theus said.

  "I don't intend to shed blood in this hall." I wheeled around to face the Flatlander Prophet. "I urge you to run and hide. Try to save your life." My eyes narrowed in a deadly glare. "No matter what you do, you won't escape me. I will kill you in your own lands to the cheering of your own people." Shouts and murmurs, of approval and dissent, broke out among the people, and I raised my voice to shout over them. "No one touches my kingdom." My finger raised to point directly at him. He stumbled back against his chief disciple, trembling. "War against my people and you war against me." I turned in a circle once again and raised my arms up. "Who else wants to fight me?"

  The crowd began to quiet until finally everyone was silent. I breathed heavily, looking all around at the people. My body ached but I didn't let it stop me.

  The Flatlander Prophet spoke once more with the kind of wild fear of a man who knew he had little time left to live. "I told you all, the stories were true. You let her bewitch you into thinking her a Prophet. This is the same demon Eclipse who slaughtered her own village. She stole the gods’ power. She tried to steal our sun away. Now you've given all of Skia Hellig to her vile hands. This is a demon, not a Prophet!"

  My people jumped to their feet, but I raised a hand to stop them.

  "Accusations are the weapons of a powerless man. Call me whatever meaningless words you want. I'm not hiding who I am. I offered peace and instead you chose war. So, we will have our war." My glare cut to the other two Prophets. "Will you fight with him?"

  Sloane subtly raised both brows. "You do as you wish, Prophet Eclipse. He attacked you and broke the treaty. We have no qualms with you killing him."

  "Agreed. I wish you had killed him sooner," the Fjellfolk Prophet set.

  "You'll all regret this. Malach will protect me." He laughed wildly. "You fools. You fools!"

  With my power still dimmed, I only vaguely sensed energy, but couldn't discern where it came from.

  "Do not speak for me." Malach's voice reverberated through the room. He ambled down to the center, looking far too cavalier.

  How did he get in here? Warriors carefully guarded every entrance and exit. I'd personally looked at the face of every person gathered out of caution and didn't see him.

  Terror gripped my spine.

  "Prophet Malach," Theus said. "You've come to save me."

  "Why would I save you?" Malach sneered. "You attacked your neighbor in cold blood."

  "On your orders! With your warriors?"

  "I ordered no such thing. Any warriors partnering with you against my authorization will be executed."

  I ground my teeth down. So Malach wanted to continue this lie and leave Theus for dead?

  "You see what happens when you partner with the wrong person?" I cast a look at Theus. "I warned you many years ago of what would happen if you didn't fight with me. Instead, you fought against me with someone who is only using you."

  Malach was a true bastard, abandoning Theus for dead.

  "Why aren't you protecting him?" I asked Malach. "Do you hope that his kingdom will fall into turmoil as the valley once did when I killed Eskel? Or are you just wanting to distract me?"

  "Those do sound like wonderful plans. I wish I'd thought of them. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate that you'd attack my people in my own territory. I told you. I didn't attack your kingdom, and I have no motivation for letting you kill the man who did. Why would I save him?"

  "Save your lies for someone willing to listen."

  Sloane watched Theus. "Look at who you've allowed into Skia Hellig. It will be your ruin."

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  "I won't let this happen." Theus leapt over his table and sprinted toward me with a speed only possible with power. "You're still weakened!" A black swirl of energy wrapped around his hand, pulsing as he reared back.

  As fast as Theus moved, Jakob threw himself to the side much faster. The disciple blocked my body with his own and raised his sword against his own Prophet. Muscles bulging as he shifted to strike, Jakob halted with his blade reared back.

  Nash stabbed a blade through Theus's hand and drove it through his chest, skewering the man's own palm to his body. The energy in the Prophet's hand dissipated immediately. With a swift arc of his other sword, Nash sliced the back of Theus's knees and watched him collapse onto the ground.

  A panicked cry unleashed from Theus's mouth as he looked down in horror to the blood squirting from his hand and chest. He teetered and finally collapsed onto his side, crying so hard it made him bleed faster.

  Nash planted his feet on either side of Theus and slowly knelt down over the man, studying him.

  "Does it hurt badly?" Nash took the hilt of the sword still sticking through Theus's body and slowly twisted it.

  The man's ghastly scream quieted the entire room.

  "You deserve far worse." Another twist. More shrieking peeling from our enemy's lips. "Do you know how many beads of ashes we placed for children?" Nash ripped his sword free and plunged it for Theus's throat, stopping right at the point to only prick his neck.

  None of his people intervened or even begged for his life. His most loyal, who always defended him, remained silent in their seats.

  I almost told Nash enough, but Elsie's sobbing screamed in the quiet of the temple. How many more children screamed that night? Torturing Theus did nothing to bring them back, but it showed our enemies how our War Chief responded. So, I remained silent. This Prophet, after all, created the culture which led to Nash being banished as just a boy and abandoned to die in the wilderness. His twin blades had long thirsted for this blood.

  Nash stood up and twisted around, yelling in a full-throated roar. "If you attack our people, you will pay the price." He raised his bloodied twin blades. "And if you're fool enough to hurt my wife and children, then there will be no mercy." Tossing his blades up, he caught both in fists at a downward angle and stabbed them through either side of Theus's chest. While these were certainly lethal wounds, it may take the Prophet minutes to bleed out and die. His people made no attempt to heal him.

  "H-help… me…" Theus's good hand crawled across the ground toward Jakob. "Please…"

  I'd never seen Nash angry like this before. Every life our people lost, every shred of pain I'd suffered this week, every tear our daughter shed seemed to have coalesced into pure vengeance. He abandoned Theus on the ground and stalked directly to Malach, stopping so close their chests nearly touched.

  The two men stared at one another for several seconds. Malach's expression was impossible to read, but Nash wore his threat clearly on his face.

  "I don't know why you want war," Nash said in a throaty growl. "But you have it."

  "I am not as easy to kill as Theus." A distinct look of interest sparkled in the faint smile that shifted on Malach's face. "Our army isn't either. This is not a war against the Flatlanders."

  Garbled cries interrupted the men's conversation from where Theus continued to bleed on the ground.

  Nash watched Malach for several more seconds and then shifted his glare to Sloane. The woman straightened slightly, posture tense. When he looked back to Malach, he smirked as well, but it looked nothing like the one I loved so much. "You think you're the first person to convince themselves they can kill us?"

  I joined Nash at his side, watching our enemy closely. "Why are you here?" I asked. "Did you want to watch Theus die after you betrayed him?"

  "You slaughtered an entire camp," Malach said. "I wanted to know why."

  "I'm not playing this game with you."

  "Maybe you are more interested in asking your War Chief to slaughter me like he did to Theus."

  "We agreed not to fight in this temple," Sloane called from her seat. "He's goading you into violating our agreement. Defending a Prophet from a sudden attack is one thing. If you start this fight, you're the one bringing blood into a place of peace. Our word is the only thing that protects all of Skia Hellig from our peace talks becoming bloodbaths. If you want to fight, leave this temple."

  "We should take this elsewhere then," Nash said. "Unless you fear for your life, Malach."

  "Quite the opposite. I look forward to fighting you, War Chief. It would be a shame to spoil any surprises before Eclipse is ready to battle." He smirked at me. "When you're well, I will show you how hopeless this war is."

  Oh, how badly I wanted my power right now to teleport him away and make him eat his words, especially when the amusement died, and he whispered in a cold voice to me.

  "You will suffer personally for every single life you steal from my kingdom. One day, I'll kill him." Malach's gaze shifted to Nash. "And I'll leave you alive to suffer his death."

  He vanished without leaving a trace just like Cleo did.

  Nash returned to the man he'd butchered, ripped his twin blades free, and sliced one across Theus's throat without ceremony or celebration.

  The Flatlander Prophet died alone in the center of the temple while Nash walked away from him.

  I took his arm when he returned to me. He looked stoic now, but he felt hard as a rock beneath my hand, as tense as I'd ever felt him. "Breathe," I whispered.

  A flicker of the Nash I knew warmed his eyes when he looked at me. "I want to kill the others involved in this."

  "It's enough for one day. We can't break our agreement not to shed blood here." I looked at Theus's advisors and disciples left staring in shock at their dead leader. "All of you who helped him will share his fate."

  "Let's not be hasty," one advisor said. "Many tried to stop him. He went mad with this obsession of his. You know that our people wanted to replace him. We can help keep the Flatlands united."

  "You think I trust anyone who encouraged him to kill so many innocent people?" I scoffed. "Those of you who resisted his plan can help us bring stability to your land. The rest will die."

  The Flatlander leaders started to argue with one another, a few raising their voice to shouts. I saw some flee the temple but ignored them and walked to Jakob.

  "Thank you for your testimony and for stepping in to defend me from Theus while I'm injured."

  "There's no honor in killing a wounded warrior."

  Nash dipped his head. "I'm indebted to you for your willingness to help my wife."

  "Consider your debt paid. I decided Theus needed to die several months ago. It's been a long time coming, but I don't need to explain to either of you the difficulty in killing a Prophet."

  "I'm sorry we didn't give you more time to prepare," I said. "I'll enforce whoever your people choose as leader. I encourage you to try to take the position. You're the only one who stood in the temple before all of Skia Hellig and told the truth. You're a fierce warrior and an honorable man."

  Jakob sighed. "You should discuss this with your advisors. They may not have wanted to break the reality to you in the midst of this challenging time, but they are aware of what's inevitable."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Your people cried out for you to lead because you saved them. You protected them every day for a year. If no one manages to seize control, there won't be time for us to wander through the darkness and wait for a leader to emerge. Malach will occupy our lands before then."

  I felt like a fool for not realizing this sooner. Of course, Malach didn't mind turning on Theus and letting us kill him. We made it easier for him to steal the Flatlands, which also made it easier to defeat us.

  "So, I just need to back whoever is chosen like I said."

  "You don't have time to fight multiple wars." Jakob gave me a pitying look. "The Flatlands are yours now, Prophet. If you don't take them, Malach surely will."

  I choked on air. "Oh, no, no–"

  "We will select leaders, but you need to take control this week and choose someone to govern rather than rule as Prophet."

  "I did not sign up to take on another kingdom."

  Nash ran his hand through his hair. "Fuck."

  I jerked around to see Markus watching me with that distinct look I recognized all too well. The guilty look he got when he needed to force me to do something I hated.

  The only thing that kept me from screaming was how badly it would hurt my abdomen.

  "Will you please step in as a leader?" I forced calmness into my voice, but it only made me sound more crazy.

  Jakob nodded. "Of course. Markus has already drawn up preliminary plans for our army to fight against Malach with you. I suggest you talk to your advisors. I know from trusted sources that they've already come to the same inevitable conclusion as me and begun preparing."

  "They should have said something." Nash cast a glare at Markus and Piercey.

  "Your family has had a difficult few days. I'm sure they planned to talk with you soon."

  I wasn't so sure. I trusted Markus and Piercey to always do what was best for the kingdom, but that didn't mean I accepted their secrecy. If they did this because of what Nash and I had been through this week, then that made me even more angry. We needed all the information before we made decisions, like killing Theus. They either assumed we couldn't handle all the stress, were too cowardly to give us bad news when already were raging, or they were manipulating me into doing this by hiding it from me.

  "I'm going to kill them," I said with narrowed eyes.