❛power isn't everything. it's the only thing.❜
[complete]
wattys 2018 winner ❧
Lin is a hunter, one of the magically enhanced witch slayers that roam a flooded world. Under the laws of four Kings and Greymark, who rules them all, Lin is unto...
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Raina wrinkled her nose as a cloud of golden dust fell from the ceiling. She gave a little cough and waved the air with a piece of paper.
Ealy snatched it from her a moment later, hissing through her teeth.
"They're awfully loud," Ophelia said. She rocked her head against Shabina's thigh, squinting up. "Are they fighting our guards?"
Shabina shrugged. Her wives were all sprawled across the nest of pillows and clothes, most of them in casual clothing. The bedroom was long and narrow, with barred windows that allowed sunlight in slits. "She's training her apprentice, it's important."
Ealy set down her papers and scowled. "It's a waste of resources."
Shabina untangled her fingers from Ophelia's hair to sign. "I'm building trust."
"She'll never trust anyone. Especially not us."
"You don't know that," Shabina signed, "we have to accommodate her as a valuable ally."
Raina waggled her fingers in their line of sight. "You mean we have to accommodate Hadrian. He's capable and far more agreeable than the huntress. The smart thing would be to make him our ally. She will follow."
Shabina hummed and looked to Ealy. "What do you think I should do, then?"
Ealy sighed, looking back over her papers. Most of them were spy reports, from plants within the hierarchies of the major powers. None of them had eyes inside Greymark's operations. "It would be an oversight to abandon them. But we can't forget the moral disadvantage of recruiting her. The huntress has too much blood on her hands and no remorse. We should have an alliance, yes, but keeping her so close will not reflect well on you."
"Do you know how young she is? Lin was raised a witch huntress, indoctrinated and trained by Greymark. She's no more guilty than any other slave soldier."
"The Nuremburg defense?" Raina butted in. "Do you even think that applies here? I think she has a bit more agency than they do."
Shabina leaned back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling. Lin was sparring only a floor above them. "Every conversation with you lot involves a debate somewhere."
"That's why you love us so much," Ophelia chirped, finally lifting her head from Shabina's leg to peck a swift kiss across Shabina's lips and swing her body over to lay on Raina's lap. Raina immediately sank her fingers into Ophelia's hair, stroking the braids Shabina had woven in. Shabina propped herself up on her elbows and cocked her head at her wives. Raina leaned down and dropped a kiss across Ophelia's brow.
