A Call for Brighter Days: Aeriel Trilogy #2
Chapter 31

Coughing and panting for air, Janak laughed. “I knew it! You’re just like her. Hell, you’re even better!” His eyes gleamed with delight. “Reivaa wasn’t easy to subdue, either. No matter what you did to her, she’d keep coming back, fighting harder, each time more vicious than the last. I don’t think she knew what it meant to give up, to surrender. That’s what made her so interesting!”

“I’m not Reivaa!” He snarled, wrapping his fingers around Janak’s throat once again. Kaheen whimpered. “She’s dead, goddammit. Sooner or later, you’ll have to come to terms with that. She slipped through your fingers, Janak. And she’s never coming back again, no matter what delusions you harbor about me. Reivaa’s gone.”

“Oh yes, I know that. I know you’re not her.” Teeth bared in a manic grin, he grabbed Shwaan’s wrist. “I told you, you’re better. If you were Reivaa, I’d be dead by now. She wouldn’t have hesitated; certainly not for some silly, lovelorn girl. She’d have killed me. And where’s the fun in that?

“After Reivaa escaped, I did some research on Aeriel physiology, semiotics, and hierarchies. Not like I had much else to do. I’d just lost my job – the only job I’d ever had, the only one I’d ever been trained for. My partner was dead. I had more free time than I’d ever wanted. So I read, and I learned.

“Those two red marks on her wings, and on yours – they denote the second-in-command to the reigning Aeriel queen. But if the news of Tauheen’s death is to be believed, then there’s a new queen in Vaan. And you’re her most prized lieutenant.

“So I knew you wouldn’t be easy to tame. Reivaa certainly wasn’t, and if you had half her power…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “But I noticed something about you. Something strange. At first, I didn’t believe the reports. They didn’t sound like the Reivaa I’d once known. But of course, that’s because it wasn’t her. It was you–”

“Stop talking in riddles,” Shwaan snapped, as pain and dizziness clawed at him, obliterating his ability to focus. “Just tell me what you want. And let Kaheen go.”

Janak chuckled, coughing harder. “See? That’s what I love about you. That’s what makes you so unique, so different from Reivaa. It’s fascinating, you know? If the Hunter Corps hadn’t kicked me out, I’d never have learned there was so much variety among the Aeriels. That they could have personalities, almost like people. They certainly never taught us that in class.” He sighed, voice tinged with awe and regret. “Hunting is so much more exciting when you know they can really feel it. Not just the pain, but also the fear and the loss and the grief.

“You intentionally avoided hurting Kaheen during the ambush outside Ragah, and then again at the mines in Ghorib. You could’ve killed her half a dozen times, by now. And you’ve had every reason to try. But you went out of your way not to do so. So she must be important to you. The question is, is she important enough for you to choose her life over your own?”

His tone sent a chill down Shwaan’s spine. “What do you mean? Kaheen is loyal to you, she trusts you. She’s risked her life for you time and again. You repay her for everything she’s done by threatening her life and using her as bait?”

“She’s done nothing for me that wasn’t born of her twisted desire to get back at her mother. And as a man who’s held a few grudges over the years, I can appreciate that. It’s an art, holding a good grudge. And someone who’s done it for over six centuries certainly deserves some credit.” He snorted. “But did you really think I had a soft spot for Reivaa’s daughter?

“The only reason I kept her around – instead of killing her outright the day I set eyes on her – was because I thought her presence would help me draw her mother out. Plus, I couldn’t wait to see how Reivaa would react when she learned I had her daughter – had her in every sense of the word, you understand. There’s a delicious irony to it, isn’t there?

“Of course, this was before I knew she was dead. Kaheen outlived her usefulness the day her mother died. So, if you so much as think about hurting me, or trying to escape, or disobeying me in any way, my men will slice her to bits without a second thought.” His eyes flicked over to Kaheen, held immobile against the pillar by two beefy, sif-wielding guards. “And you can traverse eternity with the knowledge that it was your doing. That you caused her death to save your own hide.”

Slowly, shakily, Shwaan rose to his feet, setting Janak free.

Had Kaheen told him about her history with Shwaan? Or was it just pure luck that the man had divined his one weakness – his all-consuming guilt for having abandoned her after the Rebellion? Was he telling the truth, or were he and Kaheen in on this together, staging an elaborate show for Shwaan’s benefit?

The truth was, it didn’t matter. So long as there was the shadow of a possibility that Kaheen was in danger – and there was something he could do to protect her – he would do it. No matter what the cost.

Because Janak was right. No amount of physical suffering would exceed the pain of living through eternity, knowing he’d betrayed her not once, but twice.

As soon as Shwaan moved away, a few of Janak’s men rushed forward to pull him off the floor.

Leering at Shwaan, he stumbled to his feet. A manic grin split his face in two.

“You really are unique.” Janak’s voice was soft, almost reverent. “Never thought you Aeriels had it in you. Or maybe you’re one of those half-breeds I’ve heard so much about, the vankrai–”

“Let her go.” Shwaan glanced at Kaheen, who was still pinned to the pillar by her captors.

“I will, I will. Once I’m done with you, I’ll let her go. You could kill me and half the people in this room, if you really put your mind to it. You wouldn’t survive it if you did, but perhaps you’re spiteful enough to try, anyway.

“Kaheen’s the only thing holding you back, I do realize that. And I’m not stupid enough to jeopardize this by killing her. I don’t care if she lives or dies. It’s you I want.”

“You have me. Now let her go.”

Janak reached for the shaft of the branding iron and pulled it out of the makeshift stove, the sif-plated symbol at its head glowing red. “I will. As soon as you let me do what we gathered here for – mark you as mine.”

Reaching forward with his free hand, he grabbed Shwaan’s tattered cloak and pulled it off his left shoulder. Within seconds, twenty men surrounded Shwaan, seizing his arms, legs, and wings, the tips of their sifblades scratching his skin.

Clutching the branding iron, Janak stepped closer. His eyes gleamed, exhilaration painted across his features. “Don’t worry,” he cooed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Shwaan’s ear. “It’ll be over soon. You’ll see.”

Shwaan forced himself not to flinch. The tips of his fingers burned with energy. He clenched his hands into fists to keep himself from forming an energy shell instinctively and lashing out with the power thrumming under his skin, chafing to be released.

With a hiss, the blistering head of the branding iron made contact with his shoulder.

A shrill, anguished scream rent the air.

Shwaan barely recognized the sound of his own voice.

Multiple hands pressed down on his shoulders, forcing him to his knees. Weak and exhausted, his skin burning with unfathomable agony, Shwaan allowed himself to fall.

Rough fingers seized his wings and pulled them back. Something long, dull, and rigid was thrust into his right wing, then his left; puncturing skin and tissue as it passed through.

With no more energy left to scream, he sobbed quietly. Pain shot through his wings and his shoulder, his body racked with tremors.

Janak’s voice cooed comfortingly in his ear, grating at his frayed nerves. He was saying something about Reivaa, but Shwaan couldn’t bring himself to care.

For the first time since Janak had slid that damned necklace around his throat, Shwaan wondered if he’d ever be free again. If he’d ever feel sunlight against his skin, unencumbered by the scorching caress of reinforced sif.

Perhaps not. But if he couldn’t help himself, there was still a way he could help Safaa and the Hunters.

Production of reinforced sif had stopped last year, since Ruban burned the formula along with Tauheen’s corpse. So there had to be a limit to the amount of enhanced ores in the Qawirsin’s stock.

If he could get Janak to use all of it on him, Shwaan might be able to prevent any more of his sister’s scouts from being Hunted and killed by the mafia. It would also leave the Qawirsin vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by Aeriels not aligned with the mafia, making it a little easier for the Hunters to do their job.

Shwaan closed his eyes, savoring the newfound sense of purpose. If he died here, he’d bring the whole place crashing down with him. It was the least he could do to repay Janak’s hospitality.