Blood of Gods - Prologue
"We don't need their help, Heda. We are perfectly capable of doing this on our own. The Graecus will only slow us down," Indra insisted indignantly, rushing forward to speak as soon as Lexa finished talking.
"I agree with Senator Indra," Gustus cut in, his distaste of Lexa's latest proposal dripping in his tone. "The Greeks are unpredictable and untamable. I do not like the idea of inviting them into our homes again." His eyes narrowed at the mention of last time. "We cannot trust them."
Lexa sighed to herself as the Senate seemed to lose any and all semblance of order after that. The Senators scrambled to talk over each other, all yelling some variation of how the Graecus could not be trusted.
Lexa turned her attention to the person who sat closest to her right. Anya, her long time friend and mentor as well as the oldest serving member of the Senate present, had stayed quiet throughout this entire ordeal and for that Lexa was grateful. She could see it in the hard lines set in her friend's face that though she didn't necessarily like the idea Lexa had proposed, she understood it was a smart move, maybe the only move that would lead them to victory.
With that in mind, Lexa stood up, slamming her palms onto the table in front of her and effectively quieting the forum.
"En pleni."
The Senators, to their credit, stilled in their protests and slowly lowered their bottoms back onto their seats. Lexa let her gaze land on each Senator firmly, just to make sure they all understood that she was the one talking now and they would do their best to listen.
"I understand your distrust and dislike of our Greek counterparts," she started and hardened her glare as several Senators shifted in their seats as if about to voice their complaints again. "However," her voice rang out clear and strong in the forum. "We. Can. Not. Defeat. The. Mountain. Alone."
She watched, waiting to see if anyone would protest her previous statement. There were none. Good.
"We have tried, and we have failed." She paused, letting the gravity of the statement sink in. They'd lost more than hundreds of their brothers and sisters throughout their history to the dreaded Mountain.
"We have worked with the Greeks before, and we can do it again."
Lexa wanted to say that there had been no problems working with the Greeks previously, but that would be a blatant lie. They had so many problems at the beginning of their newfound co-existence. Just thinking about the amount of effort and patience it took to get the two camps to cooperate was giving Lexa a headache.
"We have to work together, if only for the sake of your brothers and sisters who have been captured, tortured, and experimented on in the Mountain. The Mountain has tormented us for too long! We will no longer hide from it. Down with the mountain!" Lexa declared.
There was only a second of silence.
"Down with the mountain! Down with the mountain! Down with the mountain!"
Taking a deep breath, Lexa relaxed into her seat. The chants inside the forum only got louder and louder. Her eyes raked across the room, before landing on Anya. They met grim stares. Anya gave her the slightest of nods which Lexa returned with a slight tilt of her head.
The decision was made. They would contact the Greeks for help.
