The morning air was crisp and indifferent. I sat by the window, sipping black coffee from a glass mug, the taste was bitter on my tongue. The robe clung damply to my skin, not from any leftover heat or sentiment, but from the sweat of a woman who'd taken what she wanted and had no need for reflection.
Across the room, Elias stood like nothing had happened.
Which was exactly how it should be.
He hadn't looked at me any differently when I passed him in nothing but that barely-there robe, my thighs still sore from being pried open, from the relentless, exquisite precision of his mouth. He hadn't broken posture. Hadn't said a word.
Good. Because I didn't need him to.
The experience had been for me, nothing more. A release of tension, a reclamation of control. I'd used him, and he'd let me, and not because he was weak or enamored, no. Elias was too rigid for infatuation, that made him useful.
I didn't speak, neither did he, silence hung like smoke between us. Not awkward or heavy. Just there.
Eventually, I reached for the tablet on the table beside me, scrolling through the morning reports without bothering to mask my indifference.
"Status report," I said, still reading.
Elias stepped forward, tone perfectly flat. "Borderline is secure. No breach along the north flank. Red Ridge forces have mobilized, but scouts confirm they're spread too thin to make a real move. The decoy intelligence worked; Marcellus pulled two battalions from the valley."
"Idiot," I muttered. Marcellus couldn't truly do much. "And Varek?"
"Intercepted comms suggest he's requesting a summit."
I arched a brow, finally looking up. "A summit?"
That was interesting.
He gave a single nod. "Offering five percent of the borderland in exchange for a ceasefire."
I huffed a dry laugh. "Five percent of land he stole to begin with? Generous." he thought I was a fool, didn't he?
I tossed the tablet down and stood, letting the robe part slightly as I stretched. Elias didn't look. Not even a flicker. He truly was good at his job.
"Council meeting in fifteen," I said, brushing past him.
He obeyed without a word.
~~
The conference room was filled with the usual overcompensating pricks dressed in tailored arrogance.
Old men with blood on their hands and delusions in their heads. Most of them feared me, and the rest tolerated me. But i wasn't here for their affection; I was here to win.
I took my seat at the head of the curved table, Elias remained behind me like the perfect statue.
"Let's begin," I declared.
General Hensley stood first, hands clasped behind his back. "Our scouts intercepted a coded message from Varek's territory. He's requesting a diplomatic summit to discuss ceasefire terms."
"Terms," I echoed, reaching out and pouring myself a glass of water. "What kind of terms?"
I already knew from what Elias had said earlier, but I wanted to know if the cheating fool had decided to propose a better deal.
"He's offering a five percent return of the contested land."
Of course.
I laughed, loud enough for the room to freeze.
"You all hear that?" I said, glancing around. "Varek thinks he can steal from me, bleed half my forces over it, and then buy back my mercy with five percent?"
Chancellor Rowen cleared his throat, he'd always been the fucking snake. "My lady, with all due respect, a temporary ceasefire could give us the breathing room we need to fortify—"
"No."
The word cut through the air like a knife.
"I don't negotiate with men who only come to the table after they've been bled dry."
The whole case about Varek was brought to me the day I ceased control of the empire. Apparently, he stolen a lot from Gideon when he was preoccupied with trying not to be ambushed, not knowing he'd get ambushed within his own empire.
I had ordered for a retaliation which had lead to the whole exchange of fire, and now he was tapping out.
"But we're not prepared for a full assault. Our men have died during this, we can't just throw more lives away like this." Rowen pressed. "Even with our edge—"
"I don't want a full assault," I said coolly. I didn't have the time to point out the fact that those men knew what they were signing up for. "I want him to think I'm preparing for one. I want him terrified, paranoid, and sleep-deprived. Let him call for a summit. We'll accept."
The room looked surprised.
"...On the condition that it's held here. In our territory. Under my security terms. And I want him escorted by my own guards, blindfolded if necessary. He'll walk into the lion's den without teeth."
"That's... risky," Hensley muttered.
"That's strategy," I corrected. "You either control the field, or you beg for crumbs. And I'm not a beggar."
I was done begging men, I was done bootlicking, I was done playing on people's terms.
Silence followed thickly. I looked down the table. "Mobilize a ghost unit to the eastern corridor. Make sure they're seen; I want him to think we're preparing an ambush."
"Yes, my lady," Hensley nodded, a glimmer of renewed confidence breaking through his usual grim demeanor.
Rowen, of course, still looked constipated. "And if he backs out?"
I didn't need to think before responding:
"Then we take the land back without the courtesy of a conversation."
The matter was closed. I stood and they followed immediately. I was the only woman here, and it was thrilling that I ruled all these seemingly untouchable men.
"Have a good day, gentlemen." I said. "I hope our next meeting would be to
discuss having gotten our land back."
And with that, I headed out with Elias following as always.