Page 167 of Scarlet Wars
Even the most powerful Offensives in the world were still only fifteen people, and we had just raised almost three full-grown armies, under two minutes.
The High Chief spoke first. “You dare raise your weapons to your own Chiefs?”
“You dare raise your weapons to an innocent woman?” Sean snapped back with venom dripping off every word.
The High Chief stepped forward with a snarl, but Petru raised his sword to the Chief’s chin, his dark eyes gleaming beneath the shadows of the woods.
“You raise your weapons to Crown,” he said in a low and cutting voice. “You raise your weapons to Slava.” His mouth curled into another extremely unsettling smile. “You threaten Ms. Thompson?” He rolled his shoulders once. “You declare uswar.”
Wow. Uhm. Very sweet… Little less prudent.
The High Chief smiled without warmth, like a man holding a royal flush no one at the table had seen coming.
And then he played it.
“Though your loyalty to each other is admirable, I have to wonder whether it is not built on false information.”
My brows furrowed. What the hell was he getting at?
His focus locked onto Petru like a predator scenting blood. “Has Miss Thompson revealed the role her son will play in the future?”
It took everything in me not to snort aloud.Gods, men really are the less intelligent half.
Petru’s expression remained unreadable. “You mean, do I know her son, Alek, is destined to save our race from extinction against humans?”
The High Chief's jaw tensed, clearly caught off guard I’d already shared that little bombshell. Unlike him, I understood what loyalty truly meant, and how to earn it.
“Yes,” he continued, his tone steady. “She told me that interesting story when she came to visit us last year.”
“Did she tell you about his father?”
Petru shifted. Barely. A subtle weight change, a flicker of hesitation most wouldn’t have noticed. But the Chief wasn’t most. And he pounced.
“Ah,” he said, tone triumphant. “She omitted that small but not insignificant detail. Then let me inform you: James Walker is to father our so-called savior, and as it stands, Miss Thompson has yet to form the True Bond with him, even though she has assured us of that intention.”
“Nothing’s set in stone,” James muttered under his breath, so low it might’ve been for himself more than anyone else.
Meanwhile, I ran my options quickly through my mind.
Because now I knew. I knew it was a lie. And I could call them on their lie, tell everyone what I’d seen when I’d jumped through the blue portal.
Or I could keep that for later.
Information is power.
Thus, I went for something in between.
“The United Chiefs are convinced James Walker is the father of my child,” I explained evenly as I raised my voice for all to hear. “But I am not.”
Caden’s head turned toward me, but I kept my focus locked on James.
“I do not believe the similarities between the Krait’s first name and mister Walker’s real first name, prove James is his father,” I continued, the words clear. “And my feelings no longer allow me to change that opinion.”
“What you believe or feel at present is not of value,” the High Chief snarled back. “You do not know what we have seen.”
“Then by all means,” Caden interjected, voice cool and edged with challenge, “enlighten us. What information do the United Chiefs possess that makes them so certain of the Krait’s heritage?”
I almost smiled; victory burning at the back of my throat. We’d cornered them.
