My eyes follow up the blade till they reach Gabriel's angered face.
It's a complete bluff. A charade.
There's a pause. Then, in the blink of an eye, Cossa jolts to his feet. Fastlike. Angered. It's a combat movement that scares me in hindsight because I could barely perceive it.
"Enough!" he takes hold of Gabriel's wrist, who has calmed down unnaturally quickly.
"But—" Gabriel pretends to squeak out, shaking off Cossa's grasp and sheathing his sword.
It's almost like he's lost the facade's heart. A monotone reading of his lines.
"Take a walk!" Cossa yells.
Gabriel obeys with a nod. He walks out fully composed. No theatrics. It's as if nothing happened.
Valeria hasn't moved. She simply observes my unmoved behavior and acts accordingly. She's a far better guard dog, disloyal to me or not.
My only issue is that I can't understand what he gains from this… overreach.
I'm missing big chunks of the bigger picture. Everything is unclear and obfuscated, and the more I try and maneuver through the haze, the deeper and uncertain it all becomes.
I initially thought Gabriel served Cossa to eat up resources. Cossa seems to like to provide for his allies, whom he holds in high regard, so it's a good situation to be in.
But that's the crux of it; compromising his comfortable position in this manner is an oddity. I can't do anything definitive but mark it down and hold it for later. All I know is that he's changing something. Dangerous, to say the least.
It takes a moment or two for the air to cool. Taking charge feels right.
"You didn't answer."
Cossa eyes me. He's soured a bit. "It wasn't a hypothetical."
I snort. "You're right. It wasn't. Still care to answer?"
"Get to the point."
"The point depends on your answer."
Cossa sighs. "My loyalties are to Humanity and the Free Empire."
Of course. Because to Humanity, the cumulative sovereign rights of millions of non-Humans are seen as less than that of a bunch of rich nobles playing pretend-slave in a controlled game environment.
I can feel my face darken. All Humans must die. They are unforgivable monsters. I slip ever-so-slightly.
"Not the answer you were hoping for?" Cossa raises a lighthearted brow.
"The contrary, actually," I light back up and play it off. "My point is that morality is better off bending rather than breaking. The world is ever-changing, and a better existence is found in changing with it."
"That's the beauty in it," he replies. "Your interpretation of the world is different from mine, and it's impossible to define which is greater."
"I suppose." I didn't expect to shatter his world with that tangent. It was to soften him up.
"But you didn't come here to rabble," Cossa's tone turns steely as he leans forward. "And I've begun to doubt that you came just to start friendly diplomatic relations."
"It's quite simple." Beating around the bush won't help any longer. "My question is whether you understand the severity of your position."
"What do you mean?"
"That the Landeskogs are about to go to war against the Mateikos."
"Is that so?" Cossa leans backwards, his eyes gliding toward the lingering Valeria. "Huh…"
My god, he's as dumb as I thought. That 'huh' just now was him piecing the puzzle together. He seriously believed that the Landeskogs solely wanted to poach him for their Guild and nothing else. Do I even want this guy on my side? To be fair, he isn't as dumb as Valeria.
"I'm assuming the Landeskogs didn't make that part clear."
Cossa shakes his head. "They didn't. But if it's how you say, then this all becomes a bit more complicated."
"Indeed," I nod. "But now you see why Leara would benefit from an alliance within this Exam. Your aid could tilt the Exam in both of our favor at the expense of Alexander Landeskog."
"I appreciate your transparency. But still, there's no rush, rhyme, or reason to choose either side."
"I can think of several."
"By all means," he waves me on like I'm some business intern giving a pitch to his boss. Prick.
"Your mere existence is enough to involve you," I argue. "You have power. Even now, in this Exam, you rival both factions. Tell me, should you choose the third, neutral option, would either side see you as a friendly, neutral entity, or would they see you as the dangerous unknown variable that you are?"
Cossa stares at me in silence, contemplating my words.
"You know you cannot refuse Alexander. Neutrality would mean opposing him. Hells, you'd become the enemy of our enemy, so by all means," I lean back and smirk.
"Sounds like a pretty good pitch in the Landeskogs' favor, then," Cossa scoffs. He's a bit stupefied at the moment.
"That wouldn't be the moral choice," I prod at his flimsy argument. "I know that personally I value flexible meritocrats over oligarchical hedonists."
"Well, recently I was told that bending my morality held merit," Cossa turns smug.
"Touche," I acknowledge his quip. "But you get the point. If you're forced to choose, it's better to choose the side more receptive to your moral qualms."
"Am I truly forced?" Cossa somewhat perceives that as a threat.
"Yes." Realistically, there's no escaping the gravitational pull of this war. "After all, your loyalties lie with Humanity and the Free Empire. Ignoring this conflict wouldn't be an option, should that be the case."
Cossa doesn't say 'touche' out loud—of which I am hurt by through his demonstration of a lack of mutual respect—but I can see it on his face. Better yet, he seems to give this some real thought.
"No. No, I am not forced."
What? Is he serious? I'm really sick of people telling me no when I have them by the balls.
"I am by no means a pragmatist," Cossa stands. "I will not jeopardize my ideals, no matter how small, solely to take the path of least resistance. Leara and Alexander are birds of a feather."
Right when things go well, they always seem to grind to a halt. Bastard.
A new voice chimes in for the first time.
"So you won't join us?" Valeria calls out from the side.
Cossa and I look over. She's inched quite close to our table.
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. That's when I begin to catch on to the trail.
Maximillian and Gabriel are gone. It's just us—two to one.
Cossa faces Valeria, his head proudly high, his hand naturally drifting to his side where his sword is, subconsciously.
"No, not today," Cossa affirms. "But I am open to—"
THUD. CRASH.
The Bloody Wolf viciously runs over the Black Horse like a freight train.