The Warlord (Rise of the Warlords 1)

“That’s it?” Ignore the pain. By strength of will alone, she maintained an uncaring expression. “That’s your big beef with phantoms? They sucked your soul a little too hard? Wow. Sensitive much?”

He ran his tongue over straight pearly whites. “Phantoms are an extension of their master, a god who has overseen the Astra’s suffering for more than twenty thousand years. We’ve endured ambushes, losses, abuses and untold agonies.” He bent down, putting the tip of his nose against hers. “I’m done answering your questions. I’ll tell you about myself instead, for you should know the beast you provoke. I’ll put myself and my men first in all ways, at all times. If that means burning a world and everyone in it to the ground, so be it. I’ve never been a hero. I’ve never wanted to be. I make a better villain. To me, women are receptacles, one the same as another. Sometimes a female isn’t even as good as my hand.”

Unfazed, she told him, “I’m certain bad lovers everywhere agree with you. No wonder you have to pay for it.”

He huffed a breath. “You’ll find it difficult to push me to my limit, but woe to you if ever you near it. I can cause you pain in any way imaginable. I won’t constrain myself to your punishment, either. I’ll visit your crimes upon your loved ones. So, now that you know me better, do explain why you continue to hold a dagger on neutral ground.”

“Because I can.” If he wanted the dagger out of her hand, he’d have to break her wrist and pry it out. And even then he’d have a fight.

“Taliyah—”

“I’d rather die,” she snapped.

With an animalistic snarl, he released her.

Pressure on her bones released all at once, sharper pains rushing up her arm, but Taliyah practically floated on clouds. She’d won a third round with the Commander.

I’ve got this. I’m unstoppable!

He stalked into the closet. In no way, shape or form did he look remotely civilized. No, he looked... Oh, man. She hated to say it, but he looked good. Very, very good. She’d never had a thing for beards but...

I might have a new fetish.

Okay, so maybe Taliyah was high from victory. Which was strange. Usually, her dissatisfaction returned in seconds.

He emerged from the closet with a small crystal in hand. “Anytime you wish to see the harpies in the duplicate realm, hold this.” In the center of the spacious bedroom, he stopped and extended his arm, offering the crystal.

She glanced from the crystal to the calculated smile-not-smile playing at the corners of his lips. His entire being screamed, Come and get it.

Oh, that burned. He knew he held something she wanted, and he was forcing her to close the distance in a willing act of submission. The warlord had her, and they both knew it.

Left with no other choice, she sheathed her dagger and marched across the distance. No use putting off the inevitable. He smirked when she snatched the crystal.

Heavier than she’d expected. She shook it, frowned and shook it again. Uh... “What do I do with it?”

“You must only peer into it.”

Really? Suspicious, she held the crystal to her eye and—Oh, wow! Okay. Taliyah gazed into a whole new world. Forty harpies in different stages of healing slept on cots in a large room. Wait. This room? She seemed to be standing in the middle of a body.

With a yelp, she hopped to the side. Her movement changed the crystal’s angle, blurring the other world and real life together. They were so different, yet exactly the same.

Were they the same? Was she seeing into the duplicate realm from where she stood? Did it matter? A duplicate realm was still just a realm. Anyone with a key possessed the means to enter.

Taliyah tweaked her mission objective. Find a key to save harpykind, kill Alaroc.

Through the crystal, she watched as an Astra strode through her new husband’s body. A warlord she hadn’t seen before. So far, she’d clocked six of the nine her mother had mentioned.

The new guy gently lifted a sleeper and carried her out of the bedroom.

“Hey!” Taliyah shouted, ready to give chase. “What are you doing with her? Put her down!”

“He can’t hear you. I’m sure he’s merely taking her to a healer to speed up her recovery. My men are under strict orders. None will disobey.”

That she kind of believed. Taliyah searched the faces of the remaining harpies, on the hunt for Blythe or Isla. No luck. “Everyone is resting so soundly, despite their injuries.”

“They’re in hibernation.”

“Hibernation?” She seriously needed a better understanding of the man she’d just agreed to battle to the death. “Explain.”

Alaroc turned, silent, presenting her with his back, making it clear he’d meant what he’d said; the guy didn’t fear her in the slightest. Worse, he all but dared her to attack him in the no-go zone.