The Rebel's Vision Read online

  And it wasn’t any type of wound that should down an Andinna.

  “Is she new?” Mave pointed to the one pouting and rubbing her thigh. The female pointed an accusatory finger at the one who hit her, who only shrugged in response.

  “How’d you guess?” Senri chuckled dryly.

  “She’s bitching. No one from our village in Olost ever bitched about a bruise once we started training.”

  “Because they know freedom can be lost as easily as it’s gained.”

  “Easier. It’s easier to lose than it is to win,” Mave corrected. “Is she one of your complainers?”

  “Yeah. A couple of newer females would rather use their normal skills to help the rebellion. Three of them, all under seven hundred. They aren’t all the new females, but they are the most vocal. One of them is particularly dominant, and I’m beginning to worry she’ll challenge Allaina.”

  “Any of them have children?” Mave asked softly, crossing her arms. She liked what she saw from the females she knew, but she was beginning to see more of the problem ones—softer like the others used to be. The idea of one of them challenging Allaina was a concern. Mave hated politics, despised them, but if there was an issue, Alchan would expect her and Senri to step in and deal with it.

  “One. A ten-year-old boy.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Being watched over by those who cannot fight or perform heavy labor. There’s a rotation of elders and disabled that handle the education of the children while their parents work.”

  “Husbands?” Mave wanted more. She didn’t make it a point to know everything about every male wandering the camp, but she felt the need to protect the females. Allaina and Senri were the same way, memorizing every name and their loved ones’ names. Together, they were the three most powerful females, and if they stayed united, the rest would fall in line.

  That was the theory, anyway.

  “She told me her husband was sold shortly after the birth of their son. None of the others have lovers among the Andinna or have chosen a lover of their own free will.”

  “Damn. We could never find him if that’s the case.” Mave rubbed her jaw in thought. “Is that female more dominant than Allaina?”

  “Oh, absolutely not, but she’s young, and she’s gotten the support of her friends from the farms. She’s a big head that needs to learn she’s no longer in slavery where it’s everyone against everyone. We mean the best for her, and she doesn’t understand that. She’s had a taste of freedom and wants to use it to do what she pleases.”

  “It makes sense,” Mave said, giving the female the benefit of understanding. “Freedom is a big thing. At least she has the balls to jump into it with both feet. She’ll learn.”

  “Are we going to step in now? I think we’re being noticed.” Senri nodded toward Allaina, and Mave waved at the mativa, who glared in return.

  “I’ve been fucking waiting on you two!” Allaina yelled at them. When females began to stop and stare, Allaina’s snarl was impressive enough to make Mave chuckle. “Keep practicing! I didn’t tell you to stop!”

  Wooden swords were clashing against each other as the beautiful, ruby-eyed bitch stomped Mave’s way.

  “You better not be hurt,” Allaina snapped, looking her over. “Senri, you were supposed to get her over here as soon as possible, not take your sweet ass time.”

  “Missed you too, Allaina,” Mave said, still chuckling. “How’re things?”

  “Terrible! Senri is so skies damned busy with the guards and keeping the village safe, I’m left with the females literally every day alone. You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I need you to beat the sense into a few of these bitches, and I need to get back to the job I’m supposed to do.” Allaina didn’t smile, her hard glare never abating. “And since you aren’t injured, you can start right now. I swear, some of these females just want to get themselves killed!”

  Allaina turned and started stomping off, ringing the bell at her waist for the groups to rotate again. Mave didn’t follow her yet, leaning over to Senri.

  “Is she really my friend?”

  “I think you’re the only person she likes anymore. And she doesn’t like you much,” Senri mumbled. “She’s lost her damn mind, I’m sure of it.”

  “Being captured changed her. It changes everyone…except you. You just keep going along, chin up, and ready to fight a little harder.”

  “My guards think I’ve changed. The ones from Olost? They call me a hard bitch now.” Senri sighed heavily.

  “You two better not be gossiping! Get over here!” Allaina roared from the center of the field. Mave started moving, not wanting Allaina to have to come get her. Senri followed behind, not commenting further on her own changes since what happened in Olost and Ellantia. Mave hadn’t noticed those changes, but she never interfered with Senri’s work with the guards.

  Once at centerfield, Mave crossed her arms as females drew closer, forming a semi-circle in front of her, Senri, and Allaina.

  “Hello, everyone. As many of you know, I’m Mave Lorren, King’s Champion and member of the Royal Guard, though many of you know it as the Ivory Shadow Mercenary Company.”

  “Everyone calls you the Ivory Shadows,” Allaina explained. “No longer mercenaries, but still the warriors directly working for Luykas and Alchan. The best of the best.”

  “Don’t care,” Mave replied, leaning over to Allaina to say it quietly. The mativa bared her teeth, but there was no heat in her gaze. Turning her attention back on the females, Mave continued loudly. “Now, I’ve been away on a mission the last several weeks, but for as long as I’m in this village, I’m in charge of your training. Allaina kindly stepped in because I trust her work with a blade—”

  “Why don’t any of the male warriors train us?” one asked loudly. Mave searched out the one who spoke and found blazing eyes, yellow-orange, not like a warm campfire, but the blazes that burned down Mave’s last home. There was indignant anger in them, annoyance. Mave didn’t let them get to her. She knew there was going to be at least one who pushed her boundaries. In the end, Mave understood. Freedom was enticing, and the idea of spending it following more orders didn’t appeal to everyone.

  “Because I’m the most dominant female of the Andinna, and the only male more dominant than me is the King. You’ll learn from me or someone I choose. On top of that, I want you taught by another female.”

  “But—”

  “You can question me all you want, but it’s not going to change. If it’s not me or Allaina, it’ll be Senri, and she’ll put you on guard duty for talking back,” Mave said sharply. This was definitely the female Senri and Allaina were worried about—enough mouth and dominance to get into trouble, but probably nothing to back it up. The males dealt with it every day as they bickered and found their pecking orders. Now it was Mave’s turn to handle an upstart. “Your name, female?”

  “Fyren. I thought we were free. Shouldn’t we be able to decide if we want to do this all day, every day, and with whom? I don’t know about anyone else, but the idea of being on the battlefield isn’t something that brings me joy. I definitely don’t want to be listening to some high-and-mighty females telling me what to do all the time.”

  “It’s not about being on the battlefield. I’ll never make you fight against Elvasi soldiers or make you join a war group and go looking for fights, but I will expect you to be able to defend yourself. We’re a warrior people. We’re built to fight and win. I would know, I’ve done it against other Andinna for over nine hundred years. I won’t tolerate a good male warrior dying because you are too soft-hearted or defiant to pick up a blade and fight to defend what we’re building here. Ask any of the females here before you. Ask them the consequences of relying on others to defend them when we’re supposed to be warriors in our own right.”

  The silence after her words was deafening, weighing heavily on the crowd. Some of the females looked victorious, a few looked bored—Mave knew they had heard this speech before. O
nly a small handful looked downright pissed off. Fyren’s eyes were blazing. She didn’t want to be a warrior, and that was okay, but she had to understand freedom didn’t come without responsibilities. Mave, needing to loosen up after long days on the road, drew her swords.

  There are a hundred better things I could be doing on my first day back, but fine, I’ll do this instead.

  “Fyren, if you can blood me, you can leave,” she offered, stepping into the space between them. She flipped one sword and carefully caught the blade, holding out the hilt to the disgruntled female. “This is your only chance until I’m in the mood again, and that could be awhile. I have better people to spar against than weak-armed slaves. I don’t like beating up the powerless.” The words were harsh, but they got her point across. Fyren stomped forward and took the sword. “Senri, call time.”

  “Positions,” Senri ordered from the side. “Females, step back and give them space!”

  The crowd pushed out. Mave spun her remaining sword in her right hand. It wouldn’t stay there. This young female had no idea what she was about to try to beat. Maybe it would push the girl to get better.

  “Here are the rules. If I draw blood on you three times, I win. If you draw blood on me once, you are free to stop coming to these trainings. If you draw blood on me three times, I’ll lower my eyes to you.”

  Allaina, Senri, and every female who knew Mave gasped or coughed to try to cover up their reactions.

  It’s never going to happen, but I have to give the girl something to work for.

  “Begin!” Senri called.

  Mave didn’t launch into an attack. As she thought, the girl and her temper charged first, screaming as she tried to cleave Mave open. She deflected it easily, noticing how weak the attack actually was.

  She didn’t do much physical labor as a slave, then. This amount of exercise must be uncomfortable, and that could fuel her dislike for it. Training a soft body from scratch can’t be pleasant.

  Even the females from Olost weren’t truly soft or untrained. They were inexperienced, but they did physical things—helping with the fields and the harvest, building if they needed—and they had all known how to use their swords. Mave was now encountering her first female who truly had no idea what she was doing. Raised and weakened by the Elvasi—this was what they did to the Andinna—weakened them, made them soft.

  She sidestepped and let Fyren run past her, her deflected sword leading the way as she couldn’t stop her own momentum. As gently as she could, Mave poked the back of her thigh and brought a spot of blood through the leather.

  “One for Mave!” Senri called.

  “This is child’s play,” Allaina said, loud enough to be heard.

  Fyren growled, and Mave was impressed by the rage in it, but that was the fatal flaw of the young female. Mave knew rage. She knew its pros and cons in battle. An experienced warrior knew how to channel the rage. An inexperienced warrior let it rule them.

  Fyren turned and took a wide, wild swing, again going for devastating damage instead of realizing what her objective really was. A single blood draw didn’t need to be a debilitating injury. It could have been a nick for all Mave cared.

  Mave blocked the swing and decided her point was proven. In two heartbeats, she disarmed the young female with a simple kick and lashed out with two quick strikes, drawing blood twice on the girl’s arm, one at the elbow and one at the shoulder.

  “Two and three for Mave! We have a winner!” Senri yelled. “Sheath your weapons and step back!”

  Mave wasted no time in putting both her swords away while Fyren stood in shock, her eyes welling up with tears as she held one of the cuts Mave gave her.

  “Y-y-you…”

  “I what?” Mave snapped.

  “If you wanted to beat me up, you could have just—”

  Mave snarled, cutting off the words. Once there was silence for a minute, she continued.

  “Beat you up? I don’t beat up anyone I know I can beat. It’s a waste of my time and energy. Now, someone is going to have to tend to you, wasting their time and energy. You think I want to be here, dealing with you when I’ve only just gotten home? You think I wouldn’t rather spend the afternoon catching up with friends or spending some alone time with my family? You couldn’t even keep your mouth shut for one afternoon. You just had to go and ruin it, thinking you know what’s what.”

  “I…” Fyren took a step back, looking hurt.

  “You have a backbone, and I can respect that. Most would have just cowered at the idea of sparring against me, but don’t mistake a bit of dominance for real power. I worked for hundreds of years to be the warrior I am. King Alchan recognized that, and when he needs someone to fight in his stead, he can count on me. Senri is a warrior from before the war, and her ability to lead warriors and manage defensive tactics put her in the position she’s in, not just her dominance. Allaina was trained for centuries to become a mativa and lead the community. When any of us give you an order, we’re not doing it to flex our strength. We’re doing it because we know better. We’re trying to keep all of you alive for another day.”

  “Yes, Champion,” Fyren mumbled.

  “Train. Every day will get easier. One day, you’ll need the skills we’re teaching you. One day, the sword you just held might be the only thing between you and living the rest of your life in peace. You have to know how to use it.” Mave turned to her friends, sighing. “I’m done here. Allaina, if any of them gives you more trouble, let me know.”

  This was the second time since she got off her horse that Mave was angry, breathing hard. Exhaustion rode her as she stepped away from the crowd. She had been excited to get home, but she’d forgotten the true work was done here. In the end, a war group was a retreat from this.

  “Mave,” Senri whispered, stepping next to her, their backs to the rest of the females. Allaina started up the drills again, and they listened for a moment before Senri started speaking. “You didn’t have to deal with her today. It could have waited.”

  “No, it couldn’t have,” Mave replied, sighing. “We can’t let that kind of behavior fester and become too deeply rooted to deal with.”

  “It could have waited a day,” Senri said, not budging from her stance.

  Mave only shook her head.

  4

  Mave

  “Behave for our King, please,” Senri said sternly as Mave pulled her boots back on.

  “I always do,” Mave said, drawing it out as if she were a child, to tease Senri a little. Her best friend ran a hand over Mave’s hair, right between her horns. Kian chuckled at the sight of them as he leaned on the far wall of the hallway. Matesh elbowed him and dodged as Kian tried to get him back. She could hear Zayden still talking to Gentrin and Willem in the main room, something about the durability of swords versus hunting knives, and why they were so different. She had already tuned out the conversation.

  “Don’t lie to me,” Senri ordered, but Mave wasn’t worried by the hard tone because the smile betrayed Senri’s real feelings. “And tell me if there’s anything we can do since Brynec is gone. I know he managed a lot of the little things for your household because Matesh is incapable.”

  “I’m capable. He’s just better at it. He likes handling supply counts and budgets and the like. He did it for the Company for a couple hundred years.”

  Everyone looked up at her arrogant, gorgeous husband, his pride wounded. Mave laughed as she stood up and kissed him.

  “I know you can do it,” she told him, running her hand over his chest. For a moment, she soaked in his dazzling emerald eyes.

  “Stop being disgusting, you two, and go to your damn meeting,” Zayden said, shattering her moment of peace. She growled in his direction.

  “Stop being a jealous, lonely shit,” she snapped.

  “Nothing to be jealous of.” She watched the bulky man shrug and wondered how someone as wonderful as Rainev ever came from someone as grouchy as Zayden.

  “If you want somewhere to sl
eep tonight, you’ll be nice,” Matesh reminded him. “We’re still okay with him using our guest room, right?”

  Mave sighed, looking between her husband and his best friend. “Yes, we’re still okay with that. I’m not going to abandon a Company friend to living in the communal male barracks.”

  “I’m so glad I have you looking out for me,” Zayden said loudly, his back to her.

  “Maybe I should tell Alchan you’re sleeping outside on your ass!” she yelled, no real heat to her threat. “I don’t know what stick has gotten up your ass today, but remove it!”

  “All right…” Matesh grabbed her arm and began to gently pull. “Why don’t we head out and leave Zayden here?”

  “I like that idea. Senri, he’s your problem now.”

  “I thought you two were friends now…” Senri furrowed her brows, looking back-and-forth. “I thought…”

  “Oh, we are,” Mave said, a small smile forming. “I mean, since his own son abandoned him to work with Alchan, someone has to tolerate him.”

  “I fucking heard that.”

  “I should definitely go,” Mave said quickly, leaving faster than Matesh. They were both laughing as they walked through the dark village. After a couple of moments, they quieted down, and she let him hold her arm as an escort. She missed the peaceful nights of their new home. She barely got to enjoy them before a five-week mission with a war group took her away from it.

  Much of the private family quarters were built into a sheer cliff like their last village, but it was no longer the centerpiece of the village. There were at least four different cliffs around the valley that had dozens of small homes built into them. The village encompassed them all, and several clearings were used for farming and training. A large river cut through the valley, and everyone got their fresh mountain water from it. The mountains surrounding the valley were peppered with hot springs open to anyone to use for bathing, far more than the handful they had access to in Olost.

  “What are you looking at?” Mat asked softly.

  “Just the mountains. They’re different from the mountains in Olost, aren’t they?”