266 Three Hundred and Nine
Lucian
When I returned, Mara was fast asleep, curled around Richard’s small frame like he was her own flesh and
blood.
And in a way-he was. Not by blood, but by heart.
She had promised to love him, to protect him, even though he was the living reminder of the worst mistake I’d ever made. Of Tina. Of everything that came before us.
Yet here she was-showing me every day what love really looked like. Not the kind that demands or forgets, but the kind that chooses to stay.
Fate gave me a rare kind of woman. Strong. Grounded. Soft where it mattered, steel where it counted.
I watched her for a moment, just breathing, grateful. Then I linked Jennifer to come and take Richard to
his room.
When Jennifer entered, she moved carefully, her arms practiced, gentle. Still, Mara stirred the moment she
felt the space beside her grow cold.
Her hand reached out, searching. When she didn’t find him, she tensed.
“Relax, Mara,” I whispered, brushing hair from her cheek. “Jennifer just took him to the nursery.”
She settled, exhaling slowly. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily up at me.
I leaned in and kissed her-soft, slow.
“How was your day?” she murmured, her voice still laced with sleep.
I told her what we’d managed to accomplish, the progress made with the allies.
“Has he replied?” she asked, sitting up slightly.
“Not yet,” I said, pulling off my shirt and folding it neatly. I slipped into bed beside her, leaving on just my
shorts and undershirt.
“We’re still waiting. But he will. He has to.”
She gave me a skeptical look. “You think he’ll accept?”
I placed my hand gently on her thigh, feeling the warmth of her skin. She’d filled out slightly-pregnancy softening her in the most beautiful way. And still, she radiated strength.
“He should,” I said. “If he doesn’t, he’ll look weak. Cowardly. And that’s not something Chase Nighthorn
can afford right now-not in front of his people. He’s out here preaching freedom and justice… what better way to prove it than by facing me in a duel? One man against another.
Winner takes all.”
<266 Three Hundred and Nine
I made air quotes when I said duel, and she giggled, despite herself.
“Since you’re so confident, I guess I can rest easy,” she said. “But we still need a backup plan.”
“I know,” I said, nodding. “And we’ll make one. Together.”
We sat there in the quiet for a moment. No more words. Just her fingers resting over mine. A small weight in the air. The kind that only comes before war.
But whatever came next-I wasn’t afraid.
Because Mara was beside me.
Accepting the duel would be the quickest way to end this. No bloodshed beyond what was necessary. One fight. One victor. But if Chase refused… we’d be stuck picking apart his web piece by piece-tracking allies, intercepting messages, capturing pawns until someone finally led us to him.
It would be slow. Painful. Risky. And we didn’t have the luxury of time-or patience.
I was hoping he’d accept. Praying he would.
Because between me and Darian, we’d break him.
Still, we weren’t fools. Chase wouldn’t fight fair. That was never his style. I was prepared for tricks, poison,
spells-whatever he could conjure. Let him try. I’d planned for it all.
“How was your day?” I asked Mara, pulling my focus back to her.
She smiled, and something soft bloomed in her eyes. “I met some really interesting women today. And
Martha? Out there, she’s a completely different person. People adore her.”
I smiled too, brushing my hand gently across her bump.
“Yeah, she’s always had a gift. That’s how she got away with lying about me for so long. She wasn’t always
bitter, you know. That came later. Over time.”
My voice dropped a little, weighed down by memory.
“I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately,” I said. “Back when I was a kid, she was fun. Wild, sometimes. But
alive. I remember hearing her fight with my father-loud, brutal arguments. Then she’d disappear for days.
Weeks, even. Later, I learned the truth. He was throwing her out. Repeatedly. She’d beg to come back, or
he’d go crawling after her. It was toxic. A cycle.”
I let out a breath. “I hope they figure it out this time. Now that all the secrets are out, maybe there’s a chance. My father’s already taken steps-put away my mother’s pictures. That’s not nothing. But Martha’s pictures? Still not on the walls.”
I glanced at Mara.
“Maybe they’re not getting back together after all.”
“We’ll have to wait and see,” she said gently.
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Then she sat up a little straighter, a spark returning to her voice. “They have underground fight clubs. For women. Four of them. And I met all four leaders today.”
That pulled me out of my thoughts. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Most of the women were academy dropouts or rejected by the military. Apparently, not everyone who comes from a poor clan ends up in prostitution. Some of them come to Mooncrest hoping to serve. To fight. But they’re shut out.”
She paused. “They think there’s a cap. Like only a certain number of women are allowed in, and once that quota’s filled, the rest get rejected, no matter how skilled they are.”
I believed her.
The force was always thin on female ranks. No matter how hard they tried, it was like the doors were
bolted shut behind the first few.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” I said. “The military talks about merit–but the system was built to keep them out.
”
Mara leaned back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “They just wanted a chance. That’s all.”
And I could feel it-this wasn’t just about the war anymore. This was about giving them something they’d
been denied for years.
A reason to fight that was finally theirs.
“Most of them were trained by retired female soldiers,” Mara continued, “They’re eager, Lucian. They want
to fight. Not just to prove something-but because they finally can. Almost all of them jumped at the
opportunity.”
She paused for a moment, then added, “Except one. Olivia. It took a lot to bring her around. She’s Martha’s
childhood friend-and one of the women that were used in Goldenpeak.”
My jaw tightened, but I stayed quiet and let her continue.
“She’s tough. Doesn’t like your father-at all. But Martha convinced her that taking down Chase would hit
Alaric hard, maybe even expose him. And once Olivia realized that, she was in. Fully committed.”
“Why didn’t Martha tell her Chase was Alaric?” I asked and Mara shrugged.
“I didn’t ask her, but it must have been for a good reason. I also doubted Alaric was Olvia’s pimp in Goldenpeak, or she would have recognised his image on the broadcast. Regardless, they are in,” she replied.
I nodded slowly, letting it sink in. “I’m glad she came around. We need every fighter we can get… but this is bigger than that.”
I was already making plans in my head-once this war was over, I was going to gut the system. Rebuild it from the inside out. The military. The academy. Everything. Women had been fighting in the shadows long
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enough. That ended now.
“So, how many warriors do you have?” I asked her.
Mara smiled, clearly proud.
“Three hundred and nine.”
I let out a low whistle. “Three hundred and nine women. All right here in Mooncrest. Hidden in plain sight.”
She nodded, her eyes glowing. “And every one of them ready.”
“An underground fight club, huh?” I asked, still amazed.
“Four,” she corrected. “Four full clubs.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Remind me to visit when this is all over. I want to see them fight.”
She smiled at me, the kind of smile that said we were changing things-maybe not all at once, but one
battle at a time.
And this one? This one was long overdue.
C
