Zaki moves closer. Her ridge spikes upward, the calcified blades vibrating with that bone-deep hum that precedescommand, and she opens her mouth and lets her sovereign cackle loose at a frequency aimed directly at me. The sound hits my nervous system and my body responds against my will, my back curving, my head dropping, the Bouda inside me recognizing the royal command and obeying it before I can resist. My knees tremble. I grit my teeth and stay standing, but barely, and the effort of resisting her command sends pain radiating through my temples like hot needles.
“Remember your place in the hierarchy, brother.” She closes the distance until her face is inches from mine, and the snarl that accompanies the words vibrates through my chest. I lower my gaze. She is right. I am not her equal.
“Are you done?” The commander’s voice cuts across the lot, tight with disbelief. He has been standing there with his rifle aimed at my sister’s back for the entire conversation, and she has not acknowledged him once.
Zaki holds up one finger toward the poachers without turning her head. “I am speaking to my brother.”
The commander’s mouth opens and nothing comes out. Kade snorts so hard she has to cover her mouth with her hand.
Zaki finishes her point, holding my gaze for two more seconds before she releases me from the frequency and turns toward the twelve men who have been waiting to die.
“Now.” She rolls her shoulders and her ridge spikes to full height. “I am done.”