The Rogue King {18+} (Book 2)

60. We Follow the original Plan

I hope everyone's having a great New year so far! Let's hope January doesn't drag for too long Lol!

-&-

Enjoy!

✨🌘✨

- Torben

"Tell me, do you really think this is a good idea?"

I considered the question as I stared at the expanse of my territory, as much as I could see from my office window.

Felice was outside, storming through the ranks of soldiers who were systematically standing across the field. He spat harsh commands and the soldiers listened and stood straight, not an arm or leg out of place. At this point they were just waiting until the next battle with Draven's army. None of them had slept or had time to bath, par dunking a cloth in a bucket of stale water to clean the mud and blood from their faces and hands.

Last night after the battle, they spent hours searching the battlefield for anyone injured to take them to our healers. Hundreds had been injured but there was no fatal injury. Any rogue, wolven or vampire that had died, had found their death on the battlefield, and died with nobility and respect. The dead had been carried back home, waiting there until we could give them a proper burial.

Ezlyn had the worst job of us all today, but she took it without a word of complaint. She walked the families of the soldiers who had not returned home to them, to the dead bodies who were covered in cloth, out of respect. She helped them identify every single body to see if it was their mate, friend, brother, or sister and when it turned out their loved one had in fact died, she comforted them as they mourned.

Between my army and Adrenous' army, we had lost a hundred soldiers in total. Tristan had lost more than a dozen vampires.

So many lives lost and yet I felt numb.

I hadn't slept. I hadn't eaten. Not since I discovered my mate had been taken to the one monster, she had feared her whole life. My soul shattered with my failure and my heart cracked. Detaching myself from the reality around me was the only way I could function just to get her back home.

Desmond's betrayal cut deep, and I hated myself for not seeing his true intentions from the beginning. This entire time he'd been spying on us, storing away intel for Draven to use. He fed that fucking bastard our secrets and I wanted to rip out his fucking throat for that betrayal.

How had I not sensed his deceit?

How had I not smelt his lies?

I inhaled slowly, taming my wolf who waged his own war on the inside. Then exhaled, willing the rage to disappear.

I turned and fully faced Adrenous. He hadn't slept either and he wouldn't. Neither of us would until we could get Asmara back.

I answered his question with another. "Do you have a better one that will get her back?"

Adrenous' eyes darken and his face is showing an emotion only a father could ever express. "I put my faith in you to keep her safe..." He trails off and shakes his head like trusting me was the worst thing he could have ever done. "I should have kept her as far away from that battlefield as possible."

"Yes, I failed" I didn't need him to fucking tell me. I knew I'd fucked up. "I didn't see Desmond's betrayal coming and he was able to take her because of it. So yeah, we both regret our errors in judgment when it came to her safety but you, as well as I, know Asmara would have found a way onto that battlefield despite anything we did to prevent it."