by Chloe Cullen
Anger. Wrath. Fury. She was all of it.
Cori barely spared a second to think, aim or breathe, she just threw. The knife soared through the bars and lodged itself cleanly just to the right of centre of the man’s chest with a thud. He made a small sound before he stumbled backwards and then tumbled to the ground, and she knew she had punctured the man’s heart, exactly as she had wanted in her moment of emotional fury.
Cori stood, staring at the dead man, and felt the tremors start throughout her body. She had never killed someone before. She couldn’t quite believe how easy it had been.
Cori didn’t know how long she stood there, but she wondered if she was in shock, in the way her limbs had locked up and her brain couldn’t seem to string anything logical together. Her eyes had started to focus on a red symbol across the front of the black clothing the man wore. It looked just like…
“Cori!”
She started, her eyes finally moving away from the dead man to look up. Thoren was sprinting down the hill towards her, three other Legionnaires behind him.
Cori could have cried at seeing him, alive and safe running towards her. She stumbled forward until she gripped the metal bars again. “Thoren! What is happening? The guards are all dead.”
Thoren looked to the man in black on the ground as he ran towards her and leaped over his sprawled figure until he was at the gates.
“Open them,” Thoren ordered the other Legionnaires with him before he focussed back on Cori. His hands gripped onto her fingers around the bars. “The Legion is under attack. We think they’ve come in through the tunnels.”
Cori shook her head. “No, but – only a Legionnaire can open the tunnels—”
“Cori… they’re inside, and they came in through the tunnel entrance in the cellars. I just checked that all the other entrances and exits are shut. I was coming from the tunnels next to the stables when I saw you.”
They stared at each other, and Cori could imagine that her face matched the pale colour of Thoren’s.
The gates finally opened, the locks being disengaged, and Cori squeezed through at the first moment she could.
Thoren spoke to the Legionnaires. “Close them again and get back to the main building.”
Then together they ran up the hill.
As they reached the statues of the Gods and Goddesses, Thoren stopped them, and they hid their bodies from the building behind the statue of Sibella.
“I’m going to go around the back to get into the training halls. I don’t know if they’ll know yet that we’re under attack,” Thoren said quickly.
Cori nodded. “Where should I go?”
“It started in the back halls maybe ten minutes ago, and a few of us had met them in the entrance hall. They were fighting there when I left.”
“You… you should come with me. We can head them off—”
“I’ll get the others, and be right back, okay?” Thoren said, gripping her shoulders, then he frowned down at her with an anxious look on his face, “if… Cori, if I asked you to stay here… would you do it?”
Cori was taken aback by his request. “Thoren… no, I wouldn’t do that, and you know I wouldn’t.”
He let out a breath of air. “No, I know… I’m sorry. Cori, I—”
“We need to move,” Cori said hurriedly, feeling the adrenaline course through her, preparing her body for a fight. She could hear her pulse thumping in her ears and her breathing quickened.
He searched her eyes, hands still gripping her shoulders almost painfully.
“Fight well.”
Cori nodded. “You too – please hurry.”
“I’ll be back soon, I promise,” he said.
“I’ll see you soon,” Cori said, and they parted ways, both running towards their own fight.
***
Cori sat with Thoren under the statue of Nixos in the front courtyard of the Compound. She basked in the midday sun, some semblance of contentedness settling inside. It had been almost a week since they had heard anything more about the Shadow Legion and the Assassin had not been seen again. So, even though there was no complacency among the Legion, people did start to relax a little more with no news.
Cori had also been spending a little more time with Thoren. Ever since he had found her spying on Adeline giving those children gifts in penance for her actions, they seemed to have relaxed around each other again. They had found pockets of time to spend with each other outside of their training and patrols. More than anything, they were joking with each other which felt reminiscent in a calming way.
It felt like it was before, even if still a little strained, but Cori was glad to have him back in her life. She felt as though she could talk to him again and go to him with problems or ask for advice. Even over the past few nights, Thorin had been with her in her new bedroom and lounging on her bed while they talked and flicked through books about the old war without really paying attention to it. Cori had told him about her concerns with the Faction, and Thoren had placated her by telling her the Five would deal with it. Thoren had told her that there was an initiate who wasn’t picking things up quickly enough, so Cori offered him some advice on different techniques. They listened to each other again. It was that kind of close relationship Cori realised she had missed without even knowing it while she had been away. Because even while she’d had a great friend in Adeline, Thoren was the person she wanted to spend that time with.
She also noticed that while they had returned to spending most of their time with each other, Cori had noticed something different to what their relationship had been before.
She found herself noticing him more.
The way he moved seemed so graceful and powerful, and Cori caught herself more than once staring at him during training sessions, or even when they were simply hanging out in her room. Even the way he lay back on her pillows had her mind dancing away against her will.
As they patrolled the day before, Cori found herself feeling lost in him during their easy conversations. Something just felt different, which she found difficult to consolidate. Thoren had always been attractive. But she had never really noticed that particular fact until now.
Cori squashed those thoughts down and focused back on Thoren as he looked up from his book to her, his silvery gaze meeting hers.
“Do you think you would have become a Diviner?” he asked.
Cori set down the book she had been reading about an old Flame-Render from a Damerdale village, which she had not been paying much attention to.
She considered the question. “I’m not sure. Mother was a Terraformer, and my father said she was rather good at it… so maybe I might have been one, too I guess.”
Her father had told her stories about her mother, Veralind, who had loved to place her hand into the soil just to feel the earth breathe. He’d said that she could move a mountain from a mile away, and while Cori didn’t entirely believe that, she had still marvelled at the thought of wielding such power.
“Hm, there wasn’t any magic in my family line as far as I know, so I don’t think I would have,’ Thoren said, looking back to his book, where there was a sketch of the Goddess Sibella, a peaceful look upon on her face and her arms opened wide. There was light coming from her open palms, and Cori knew it would be a healing light. Sibella had been the Goddess of life, and her bloodline of Diviners had been blessed with the ability to heal. The lands had been scattered with healers, and then there were the few truly blessed who could also manipulate water, the Undavolo Healers, whose healing abilities were almost so powerful you could raise someone from the brink of death.
Cori could hardly imagine a time when there had been people who could just as easily throw fire at you or create a tunnel through the earth, as they would breathe.
“Which would you have liked?” Cori asked, curious. If she had inherited any magic, she would have been a Terraformer because she was descended from Andromeda, but she had secretly always thought that being a Flame-render would have been incredible.
Thoren looked up to the Gods’ faces towering above them. He looked between each of them. Andromeda, Goddess of earth; Nixos, God of flame; Sibella, Goddess of life; Madecai, God of fate; and Shereen, Goddess of spirit.
Shereen and Madecai had been siblings, and it seemed their bloodline had rarely created Diviners. Their magic was more secretive, no one really knew what they had been capable of beyond Shereen’s apparent ability to influence others beyond their will.
“I think I would have liked to be a healer. Really help people,” Thoren said, a thoughtful look on his face.
“You already do help people.”
He looked back down at her and smiled warmly. “So do you.”
Cori snorted. “Yeah, with my two years of encouraging terrible drinking habits.”
He lost his smile and nudged her with his foot. “Hey, you came back to us… that’s what matters.”
Cori closed the book and tossed it aside, and turned her body to face him, her heart suddenly beating harder. “Do you forgive me? For leaving?”
Thoren stared at her for a long moment, and she wished he would hurry up and answer her.
“I don’t… blame you for leaving. I guess I wished you had given me a chance to talk to you before you did. We had been… I mean, we talked to each other about everything. I felt like I lost almost everyone that mattered to me most.”
Cori looked to the ground, guilt building inside. “I’m so sorry for leaving you.”
He reached out and took her hand, the warmth sending a tingle up her arm. “You don’t need to apologise. I understand why you did it… and not that there is anything to forgive, but for what it’s worth, I do forgive you.”
She swallowed through a lump that had developed in her throat and nodded gratefully.
Still holding her hand, Thoren shifted a little uncomfortably. “And do you? Forgive me?”
Cori frowned. “What am I supposed to be forgiving you for?”
“For… that day. For not being there to fight out the front with you. I know I promised I would be coming back, but then my father gave me other orders and I…”
“Stop,” Cori said, ashamed that she felt a surge of anger roil through her again at the mention of it. She shook her head at him, because of course she knew, none of that day had been his fault, and yet she had used him as someone to blame when there was no one else. “You did nothing wrong, Thoren. I’m sorry that I ever made you feel that way.”
They stared at each other, and again Cori felt those feelings rising again. It was a new sensation, one that hadn’t been there before the Massacre. It was…
“Hey, guys,” Soraya said, bouncing over to them and taking a seat on the stones in front of them.
Thoren and Cori let go of the other’s hand and faced away from each other.
“Hey,” Cori said softly, and picked her book back up again, holding it up to her face as she pretended to read it.
“Gryffin was looking for you, Cori,” Soraya said, and Cori looked over the top of her book to see her eyes flicking between the two of them.
Cori looked over at Thoren and saw that he was resolutely looking back down at his book. She had a strange feeling, like she didn’t want to leave them alone together, but swallowed that thought and shrugged.
“Okay, where is he?” Cori asked, gathering her things, and standing.
“He was in the dining hall when he asked. Said he was heading for the training hall.”
She smiled at Soraya, who beamed back at her. “Thanks.”
Cori toed at Thoren’s leg. “I might see you later for dinner?”
He looked up at her, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
Cori nodded and then waved as she walked away and up the slight slopes of the grass to the main building. She was halfway up the steps when she saw Sam sitting on the top step, looking miserable.
“Sam?” He looked up at her approach, gave a half-hearted smile and looked back down at his knees again. “Is everything okay?”
“I guess,” he said sullenly, and then sighed, “I’ve been positioned in the Damerdale outpost, and I… well, I don’t want to leave the capital.”
Cori groaned, taking a seat next to him. “When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow,” Sam said, cradling his head in his hands, “I thought I was good enough to be placed here… with you guys.”
Cori tutted. “No - that’s not how it works, Sam. We have the Legion Five here, so we already have a strong defence for the Capital. That means our most promising Legionnaires need to be scattered around Holmfirth, because each hold deserves a strong Legion to protect them.”
Sam looked at Cori with a disbelieving look on his face. “But then wouldn’t you or Thoren be sent away?”
Cori smiled sadly at him. “I was positioned here before so I could work at the Palace, plus being the President’s daughter, I was expected to remain in the Capital with him. Same goes for Thoren now – but he’s here as well because he’s the best trainer the Legion has.”
Sam sighed again. “I guess you’re right. I just don’t want to leave my friends.”
Cori punched him lightly on the arm. “You’ll have no trouble making new friends, got that?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “I hope so. Thanks Cori.”
“Any time, you take care.” Cori patted him on the shoulder. “And make sure you go and say goodbye to Thoren, I know he’ll miss you.”
Cori pointed to where he still sat with Soraya, and his face lit up at the thought of being missed by one of the greats, making her laugh.
They both stood, and Cori nodded to him as he waved and walked away and across the courtyard towards the statues.
Cori smiled, watching him walk away for a moment, and suddenly sad that his infectious smiling face wouldn’t be around anymore.
She turned and walked into the foyer and towards the training hall and started to wonder what Gryffin could want. They’d seen each other regularly over the past few weeks in the training hall, but Cori had been spending so much time with Thoren that they hadn’t spoken in a while.
Cori soon located him at the end of the training hall and walked the length at a quick pace. She passed initiates and Legionnaires alike sparring and hitting each other with practice blades. She called out her encouragement every now and again and received a few grins in return.
“Hey, Gryffin,” Cori said, walking up to him while he threw daggers at the targets ahead of them.
He looked over at her and when he spotted Cori he grinned. “Hey, gorgeous. What’s up?” He threw another, and it struck just off centre on the target.
“That’s what I came to ask you,” Cori said, puzzled.
He was poised to throw again, but paused, and turned towards her fully. “Come again?”
“I was just outside with Thoren and Soraya came over and… said you were looking for me?”
When Gryffin stared at her blankly, Cori closed her eyes with frustration. Gryffin started to laugh, and she opened her eyes to glare at him.
“I’m sorry, but… I think she’s jealous,” Gryffin said, and turned back to the targets. He threw again, this time not even close to the target. He swore and bent to pick up another dagger from the ground.
“Jealous?”
“Well yeah.” Another throw and another miss. “She had Thoren all to herself while you were gone, and now… you’re back together again. The dream-team.”
Cori scoffed, but then remembered her own feelings of jealousy at leaving Soraya alone with Thoren and knew she was no better. “Well, I don’t care – she’s sent me on a wasted errand.”
Gryffin turned his blue eyes back to her and gave her a lopsided smile as he winked. “It’s never a waste to see your pretty face.”
Cori had to laugh at his easy charm before she shook her head and plucked the dagger out of Gryffin’s hand and turned towards his target. She set her stance, breathed in deep, and exhaled as she threw.
Cori
didn’t need to look, or hear Gryffin’s exclamation, to know she had struck dead centre as she walked away.
29
The next day Cori sat down in the dining hall for her evening meal after spending the day at the Palace and found herself sitting across from Romy, Thoren and Soraya.
Cori hadn’t seen Soraya since she’d sent her on the ridiculous fake errand the day before, so she sent Soraya a snide grin. “Thanks for the tip to find Gryffin yesterday. He had something very interesting to tell me.”
Soraya’s eyes widened for a moment, before Thoren looked over at her, and she gathered her expression back to nonchalance.
“Great,” she said, with a bright smile, “happy to help.”
Cori’s grin widened by a notch. “Yes, well – if you needed advice about a nasty rash, I suggest you go to the Legion healer instead of asking Gryffin or myself about it. I don’t know much about that sort of thing, you see.”
Thoren choked on his food as Soraya’s grin slipped off her face and a deep flush rose up her neck, cheeks as red as her hair.
Cori spooned a helping of broth into her mouth, meeting Soraya’s flabbergasted gaze innocently. Thoren was still coughing, and Romy, sitting next to him, reached out and gave him a few thumps on his back.
Soraya, red in the face, tore her gaze away from Cori’s and huffed before she stood and walked resolutely away from their table, her food mostly untouched.
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Cori said, swirling her spoon around her bowl, her lips twitching uncontrollably with the need to laugh, “I bet it was getting too uncomfortable to sit.”
She looked up to see Thoren and Romy staring at her, both looking like they wanted to laugh but also confused as to the exchange that had just occurred. Cori shrugged and went back to her food.
Alas, the peace and quiet only lasted a few moments, and Soraya was back, sitting with a roll of bread in her hand. Cori could see she was still flushed but seemed to have regained her composure.
The silence that descended was awkward as Soraya ripped her bread roll apart, glaring daggers at Cori.