ATHENA

SEVENTEEN

"If you want peace, prepare for war." ~ Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus

~🌹~

"He will come back, Edward. And we will all die. There is only one possible option that gives us a chance against him."

"Which is?"

"A unity treaty."

First, it was silence. Absolute silence. Just the muffled sound of an ongoing disarray in the city. Just the beating hearts of both kings.

When Edward did not speak a word, Jason's brows creased. "Edward."

Edward's mouth produced a short, chocked, laugh.

Jason's lips tightened as he looked away.

Edward looked extremely amused. "Unity." He laughed again. "Oh, unity!" He turned to Jordan, who was behind him. "Do you see the wit of this man?" Sarcasm dripped from his tone. "Quite witty, isn't he?"

"You agree or not?" Jason snapped.

"You animal!" Edward snapped back. "You foolish brutal hypocritical conniving animal." He laughed again. "Oh, I see. This is all it takes, isn't it? All it takes for you to drop the racial discrimination and injustice is for a bigger animal than yourself to put your entire kingdom at stake!"

"At the sight of a destruction like this, choices are very limited." He shook his head, angry, too. "Not that I forgive you, Edward! Not that I forgive you all for what you did to my wife!"

A knock came in then.

Already exasperated, Jason barked. "Who is it?"

The double doors gently opened up. An old man around the age of sixty stepped in. He was holding sheets of papers as he bowed his head. "My lord."

Jason gestured to the man. "This is Councilman Raymond Johnson. If you are ready, Edward, he will be reciting the terms and conditions pertaining to the unity treaty."

"If you for one second think I will sign this-"

"Then we all perish then." Jason crossed his legs.

"What makes you think such agreement would stand a chance against Cypher?"

"A very powerful kingdom attacks a territory of two kingdoms. The most foolish thing to do is if those kingdoms fight apart. If there's unison, it is a great match against Cypher's kingdom."

"I am not stupid, Jason. You use us to fight Cypher. Then when we gain victory, which there is not a likely chance to, then you go back to slaying us one by one? You said it yourself! You cannot forgive what happened to your wife! You keep some of my people here as bait to bring more of us here, so you can have the satisfaction of dwindling our numbers!"

"We sign this treaty, Edward, and I release every Black person in my custody." Time felt like it stood still then and there. "Including your daughter. But after this war, the border law still stands. If we cross each other's borders, it will attract an immediate execution."

"I don't trust you."

"We don't have the time to trust each other, Edward. Let's just do what needs to be done so we all can make it out of this incoming tragedy. Raymond?" He called for the councilman to step closer.

Edward began to see the stakes as clear as Jason. "Where's my daughter? I want to see her."

Jason snapped his fingers to Theodore. "Tell Leonard to bring the girl in. And gather all members of the council in here. We have an urgent treaty to sign."