The argument would hold no sway this time. He started toward Lomar, but Delphi stepped in front of him and pressed a hand to his chest. “Let me.”
It went against every fiber of his being to allow his sister to put herself in danger, yet she’d done so her entire life, neither of them having a choice. It was as much her fight as his.
“Do you think I can’t take out an old man?”
He bit his tongue and shook his head. If he disparaged her skills, she’d make him pay.
“Good answer. Watch him,” she told Jamaeh.
“If you are too cowardly to fight Zaxe in combat, then face me.” Delphi slid two knives from hidden sheaths in her pants. What had looked like decorative metal circles were in reality finger grips for her blades.
“If I hurt you, your husband will kill me.”
He couldn’t let her do this. Delphi had trained as an assassin, as he had, but beneath her tough outer core was a soft heart. This would hurt her. “Delphi,” he began.
A blast struck Lomar in the center of his forehead. He toppled back. All eyes were on the big dark figure holding the blaster. “By order of the king of Gravas, I have killed the traitor Lomar. It is done.” Spear had killed Lomar. It was a brilliant solution. As an assassin of Gravas and a prince, no one would dare gainsay him for fear of bringing the wrath of Gravas down upon them.
It was anticlimactic and left Zaxe with a sick sensation inside. Zaxus had brought him nothing but pain and death. A soft brush of a hand against his chest brought a ray of light into the darkness. For as much as it had taken, his journey had brought him here and given him Jamaeh.
“Do you want to leave here?” he asked.
Her mouth dropped. “You can’t be serious. This is your birthright.”
“Money I have plenty of and can make more.” Whenever he’d been on assignments, he’d managed to find ways to gather resources, knowing his sisters and he would need the cushion if they somehow managed to escape Artemis’s clutches. It was easy to steal from crooks and thieves and invest. “Power means nothing to me. I want you to be happy. Nothing means more to me.” He found Esau on the edge of the crowd and waved him over. Her brother was pale but steady when he joined them. “Stay or go?” Zaxe asked. “It’s up to you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Stay or go. It’s up to you.
The few simple words echoed in her head. This was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? To get away from here, to make a new and better life?
It was on the tip of her tongue to agree when she focused on the crowd. There were so many faces she recognized. Some had berated her, put her down, or tormented her. But others had been kind, offering a smile and a helping hand. All of them were watching and waiting, fearful for their futures. It permeated the crowd, burning her nostrils.
What would become of them if Zaxe did not assume the role of leadership?
“What of Samar?”
Zaxe frowned at the young man who was on his knees by his father’s body, silently weeping. Giving a sigh, Zaxe nodded. He took her hand, keeping her beside him. And honestly, she was happy to be there. She was unsettled, not sure which way was up or down anymore. All she knew was she needed to be with Zaxe.
“Samar, I’m sorry for your loss, but he could not escape justice.” The honest regret touched something deep inside her. He understood what it was like to lose a parent, as did she.
“What will happen to me?” Stripped of his bravado, Samar appeared young. Had he had any more choice than she’d had in how he’d turned out? His mother had passed during childbirth, leaving him with only Lomar to raise him. He’d had no male role model. Still, he was a bully who was used to taking, not working for what he wanted. Her sympathy only went so far.
“You are banished. Take your father’s horse and the purse from his pocket. Make what you will of yourself. Know that if you ever plot against me or show up in the Northern Territory again, I will bring the full force of all I have down on you and all who plot with you.” The promise rang out. It was both fair and generous.
Samar scrambled for the money, mounted the horse, and headed out into the desert. His survival and future were up to himself.
“What have you decided?” he asked her.
Jamaeh was very aware of his family listening and watching their every word and move, not to mention the population of Badwa. She had no doubt word was rippling back, even to those blocking the streets far from where they stood.
Esau gave her a nod. He would support her choice. Leaving would be easy, would be the best thing for her, but whether he knew it or not, Zaxe needed to assume his birthright.
“I’ll give it a year.” That seemed fair.
He tilted his head to one side and cupped her face in his large hands. Those same hands had fought and killed all those who had come against him, but they were always gentle with her. “A year?”
“Assume leadership for a galactic year. If in that time, the people accept you, accept us, we’ll stay. If not, we’ll leave them to their own devices. One of the leaders from the other territories will send their armies or sons to claim it.”
He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, sending a rush of pleasure pulsing through her. “Are you sure?”
It took her a second to remember what it was he was talking about. “Yes. You need this.” She gripped his wrists and squeezed. “It’s what your parents would have wanted.” There was no doubt of it in her heart.
He closed his eyes, huffed out a breath, and nodded.
Delphi and her husband joined them. “You’re staying?”
Zaxe nodded. “We’re giving it a year.”
We. The word had a lovely ring to it.
Delphi glanced at Ivar, who nodded. “We can hang around for a while, if that’s okay?” She gazed toward the city. “I’d like to see more of the place where I was born.”
And having his sister close would be good for him. Jamaeh offered her a smile, the two of them connected by their love of Zaxe. And she did love him. No matter that she’d said it far sooner than she’d thought she ever would and under intense circumstances.
Zaxe held up his hands for silence. “I will stay.” Before the cheer grew too loud, he silenced them. “For a year. If you accept me, if you accept Jamaeh as my wife, we will stay. If at the end of the year you find you cannot, I will leave and you will have to face whatever consequences arise.” Fear and hope, tears and laughter mixed with jubilant cheers.
Shocked silent, all Jamaeh could do was stare. Did he just announce we are getting married?
The captain of the guards chose that moment to approach them. “My lord, if you’re ready, I’ll guide you to the palace.”
“What is your name, captain? After all we’ve been through together, I should know it.”
The captain gave a brisk nod. “Captain Gera Radar, my lord.”
“Call me Zaxe.” He turned to speak to his sister, missing the flash of surprise in the captain’s eyes, followed by a quick burst of pleasure. Zaxe would win the people over simply by being himself. She was the only thing that might hold him back. “Are you ready?” he asked her. “Delphi and Ivar are coming with us, along with a contingency of Gravasian guards. My sisters worry. Sass and her husband will join us later.”