by Rosie Scott
Cerin held his scythe with both hands, looking as if he were thinking of a plan. He wasn't using death magic since he was currently full of a powerful high, his silver eyes tearing up with the agony of it. If he absorbed any more energy, it was possible he'd pass out. On the other hand, however, he could not hope to block an incoming sword hit with his scythe without breaking his arms from the cavalry's momentum.
I hurried through crowds of battling soldiers to get to him. As the knight neared, I realized I didn't have time. The knight lowered his longsword to the side of his mount as it ran, and when he was just feet away from my lover, he started his swing.
Cerin dodged at the last second, using his sharpened senses to estimate when. Nevertheless, he wasn't well-experienced fighting against cavalry, so his timing was off. The knight galloped past, and Cerin hurtled through the air, newly shield-less and surrounded by a red mist of fresh blood. His scythe was forced out of his grasp and whipped over the battlefield with the sound of heavy winds. When it landed, the tip of its blade sunk into the grasses with a metallic shing, its handle sticking up as if begging to be grabbed.
My heart thudded against my chest so hard it was debilitating. I slowed my pace unintentionally, my eyes stuck to Cerin's still form. When he jerked with movement, I released a breath that had been held for a while, for when it was out, I was left light-headed. I rushed forward again, desperate to heal him. The hit had disoriented Cerin, so he sat up slowly, favoring his left side. The longsword made a gash so deep from the top of his chest to the soft flesh between his neck and shoulder that I could see bloody pink muscle between two flaps of torn black armor.
The knight turned his horse and prepared another charge. Though Cerin was on the ground, the longsword would be able to swing low enough to hit him. As the Celd kicked his horse into a run, he screamed within his helmet, a familiar voice rattling against its steel. Firth was one hell of a fighter, and he'd managed to corner Cerin.
Foam trailed out of the horse's mouth as it ground its teeth on the bit, grass and flecks of dirt exploding out from its hooves as it ran. Firth lowered his longsword, preparing to decapitate Cerin as he rode past.
A flash of silver and orange whipped in from the side. Altan's fiery chain lashed across the horse's front knees, the end of the weapon spinning around its outer leg. The Sentinel let go of the chain as the horse ran by, unwilling to be tugged along. The other new loose end twisted around the second knee as it continued running. A few steps after the flaming chain surrounded the horse's front legs, it snapped tight between its knees, abruptly stopping the beast and sending both it and its rider flipping through the air. The horse landed on its back, whinnying in fear as it found itself caught in the still-burning chain. Firth was thrown yards away, his longsword lying beside Cerin's scythe.
“Watch your step!” Altan quipped, holding the horse's leg still as he unraveled the chain. When the animal was freed, it hurried to stand and canter away with newly injured knees.
Firth didn't stay on the ground for long. He scrambled to stand, his eyes on his weapon. Nearby, Cerin stood as well, still favoring his left side which was pouring blood from the gaping wound in his neck. If it weren't for his leeching high, he would be too injured to fight. Cerin rushed to grab his weapon, one hand forcing life magic into his wound for a few moments before he needed it to hold his scythe.
Firth hefted his longsword off the ground, immediately swinging it forward at Cerin's scythe. The clash of steel rang out in the air, and the pressure of blocking the hit pulled open Cerin's wound. My lover grimaced as more blood gushed from his neck, audibly splattering over the grasses. He couldn't leech from Firth without his high becoming too powerful and detrimental. I could not risk using enervat without possibly hurting Cerin, and most other spells would be unable to penetrate Firth's armor. As I hurried up behind Firth, I prepared the leeching funnel in one hand, and an earth spell to disintegrate his armor in the other.
“Brother!” Chameli Galan's voice rose over the battle as she warned Firth of my approach. Firth spun, immediately preparing for a swing. I dispelled the death magic from my right hand and generated a stronger life shield than the one I'd had, for I remembered how easily Firth's strength had broken through Cerin's.
Shing! My life shield held when Firth's sword sliced against it, but the force threw me back. Firth stalked after me, black arrows and Naharan throwing stars both bouncing uselessly off his armor as Azazel and Nyx came to my defense.
“Nyx!” Cerin was screaming at the assassin as she pursued Firth, and she stopped and hurried to my lover's side when he called. Cerin held the charged life spell in one pale hand. He thrust it toward Nyx, and she screamed hoarsely with the overwhelming power of her first high. Nyx was unlikely to overcome Firth's heavy armor and huge weapon, so I knew Cerin had given her a high just to rid himself of excess energy so he could leech again. Even still, Nyx rushed forward, shooting coral-pink energy from her hand to Firth's back. He was charmed in the middle of lifting up his longsword and turned back toward his own army.
I hurried to pull myself off the ground, watching as Firth stalked into the ranks of Celds, using his longsword to cut down his own men. Screams of panic and confusion rose over the army as their general turned against them.
“Brother!” Chameli screamed it again, this time with terror. A pearl white bow was in her hands, but she'd stopped using it. The weapon rattled as the woman tried to come to terms with the turn of events. When her cries of brother went unanswered, she finally settled on yelling desperately, “Firth!”
Firth turned to his sister, finally alerted to her pleas. He pulled his bloody longsword off the ground and marched toward Chameli. Over the clash of steel, I heard Silas cry, “Flee, sister! Firth is not himself!”
The green eyes that matched Silas's looked over to him in fear at his warning. Firth's longsword swung in a mighty arc toward Chameli's throat, separating her head from her body and leaving it to fly over the masses. Blood spurted upward from her exposed spinal cord before she fell over her beautiful bow.
Silas's horrified screams rattled through the air. As if in direct response, Firth suddenly came to from being charmed. Silas's older brother wailed in desperation and mourning as he realized what he'd done. Ignoring the rest of the battle, Firth thrust his longsword down into the ground beside his sister's decapitated body. He then crouched beside her, his body racking with severe sobs and panicked heavy breaths. Within seconds, the general of the Knights of Celendar fell next to his fallen sister, dead of a broken heart.
Thirty-nine
The Celds were panicking. Throughout the raging battlefield, some of them were simply collapsing, victims of their own biology. More of Silas's siblings followed. There were sixteen Galan children, and Silas had spoken of them sparingly during his time with me so I couldn't know all of their names. But I recognized their family emblem, and most of them were already dead. Even if they'd been otherwise uninjured, many of them had seen Firth kill Chameli, and it proved to be too tragic for their hearts.
One of the Galan children was still alive. Tears streaked down Silas's face as he rapidly shot arrows at my allies. When he saw me approaching, multiple pearly white arrows clashed into the front of my shield, bouncing off harmlessly to the ground at my feet. When the magic started to flicker, I only regenerated it. Out of anger and heartbreak, Silas fired more arrows futilely.
“You have ruined me!” Silas screamed, the words desperate and mournful. Hearing those words on his broken voice brought tears of regret to my eyes.
“I'm sorry,” I offered, my voice thick with mourning. More arrows clattered against my shield as Silas continued to fire.
“You have destroyed Sera! You have destroyed my family! This world is in chaos because of you!”
“Actions beget reactions,” I replied, regenerating my shield once more as I finally neared him. Silas dropped his bow to his side, unwilling to waste the energy on firing more arrows.
“Who are you?” The
question was asked out of fear. His sharp green eyes searched mine desperately for answers.
“A product of my environment, Silas. Birthed from Sirius's cruelty and motivated by the desire to end him. To him, I am the personification of vengeance.” I came to stand just before him. “Everything that happened in Sera led to this, and much of what happened in Sera was due to you. Do not treat me like some sort of villain.”
As Silas breathed hard and took in my words, another tear fell from his eye. “Just kill me, Kai. I am nothing.”
Emerald green energy swirled above my palm. Silas swallowed hard as he saw it, waiting for death. The spell hit him in the gut, spreading its magic over his extremities and rendering him paralyzed. As he fell, I hurried to catch him, lowering his body safely to the ground.
I turned back toward my allies. Uriel was nearby, standing up from healing a soldier.
“Uriel,” I called, pointing at Silas. “Take him and tie him up. Silas Galan is my prisoner.”
Uriel nodded and hurried forth to do as I'd asked, using alleviate on Silas's body to carry him away with less effort. I re-focused on the battle still raging in the southern plains, walking forward to rejoin it.
The Knights of Celendar had caused devastation to our frontlines with their initial charge, but now they were lost and leaderless. A few of them died from stress cardiomyopathy after seeing their general and good friend fall in battle. So many Celds all over were dropping dead of this that I found the scene utterly depressing. In most skirmishes, the emotions running through the air were anger, rage, and determination. In this battle, the mood was heavy with tragedy and heartbreak. It felt similar to the aftermath of the Battle of Highland Pass for me. Anto's death was closer to the forefront of my mind now than it had been since it happened, and I found myself fighting back tears as I threw spells into the masses.
Many Celds were fleeing from battle. Altan and I were right; this had turned into a slaughter. Firth had said his family had been tasked with killing Cerin and me, and now that the Galans were all but exterminated, the rest of the army found few reasons to stay and fight. Their loyalties and circumstances were unknown to me. The Galans had been banished, but that didn't mean the other soldiers wouldn't be welcome back in Celendar. I figured that pleading with our foes was worth a shot.
“Retreat!” I yelled into the masses of silver and green. “Retreat, and you will be spared!”
For the first time ever, my pleas for such a compromise were heard. Sounds of battle lessened before they stopped altogether as my message spread. I heard my friends and allies breathing hard around me as they ceased fighting even though they prepared for sudden movements.
“Are there any leaders left among you?” I called out next. “I plea for a word!”
Through the masses of Celds, one woman walked forward. She had long, brown hair that was braided back from her face and matched eyes that were careful and sad in my own. She wore the green and silver armor of an archer, but I saw no emblem on her chest. She was not Celdic royalty.
“I am Saffron Willis,” she announced, coming to a stop just feet before me. She did not offer a hand, but she appeared open to words over actions. “I am not royalty, but I am a general. With the Galans dead, it will fall to me to take these soldiers back to Celendar.”
“Will the rest of you be welcomed?” I questioned.
“Not entirely with news of defeat, but...” Saffron's eyes moved over the bloody battlefield. “We stand no chance here today. Firth was blinded by vengeance. The Galan family has fallen out of favor in Celendar. They were replaced by others. Firth wanted to die in this quest against you, as he has.” She said nothing else, simply staring at me from her distance.
“I understand Celendar has no love for necromancy or my intentions of spreading it,” I told her. “But I promise you, my earlier words to Firth stand true. I have nothing but love and respect for the Celds, regardless of the things you may have heard of me. When I take Chairel, I will offer Celendar peace. I do not wish to claim ownership of a forest your people have tended to for millennia.”
Saffron watched me for a moment, thinking over my words as her eyebrows dipped together. “We have no love for necromancy, Kai Sera, but we also have no love for Chairel. If it were up to me, I would have accepted your offer of peace long ago. It is clear to me that your powers are already beyond us. Personally, I find the idea that Celendar could one day be independent again attractive. Particularly because our retreat today will anger Chairel.”
“I wouldn't worry about angering Chairel,” I replied. “Their main concern in the coming years will be dealing with me. It is only a matter of time before you will no longer have to answer to Chairel. When I venture past that border, Celendar will be my first stop. I will offer independence to you starting on the day I kill the last regent of Chairel. The day I become queen, your people will be free. If you show my advance no resistance, I have a better chance of overthrowing Chairel.”
Saffron's intelligent brown eyes moved past my shoulder and over the massive army on the grasses. “You are asking me to deliver this message to Celendar upon my return?”
“I am.”
“Tell me,” Saffron began, moving her eyes back to mine. “You are a warmonger of the likes that has never been seen before. Why do you offer Celendar peace? I am assuming you will continue on to overthrow every settlement in Chairel. Why spare Celendar?”
“I know history,” I said. “The wars between Chairel and Celendar back when it was independent were bloody and needless. Chairel wanted the land, and the Celds wanted to be left alone. Once Chairel took that land, what did they do with it?” I shrugged. “They started taxing the natives and asking for military support the Celds never wanted to give. The only benefit Celendar got out of the deal was the promise that their people and forest were safe from further wars. And Chairel didn't hold true to that promise.” I waved a hand back at my army. “Because here we are. Celendar's resentment for Chairel is understandable.”
Saffron remained quiet, but she nodded softly in agreement with my words.
“You're right, Saffron. I am a warmonger, and I won't shy away from wars in the future. In that sense, Celendar won't be useful to me. I would not expect you to send your armies out to aid my wars, and I wouldn't want to worry about protecting a settlement that is as far from the center of Chairel as Celendar is. I'm offering Celendar independence because I think it will be beneficial for both of us. I would still like to trade with Celendar, but otherwise, it offers me little, and I look to avoid needless bloodshed. If you allow my armies passage in the coming years with no resistance, I offer you peace and knowledge of any spells in my repertoire.”
“If Celendar allows you passage and you fail in your rebellion, we will have much to answer for.”
“I understand that. That's why I will not fail.” I motioned once more to my army. “This is not the fullest extent of my support. I am allied with Nahara, Eteri, the underground, and the wildlands.”
“I was not aware the wildlands had any civilization,” Saffron commented.
“It does. Thanks to the wildlands, I have thousands of beastmen on my side. Tens of thousands of necromancers. Tens of thousands of elemental mages. Trust me, Saffron, Celendar does not want war with me. Tell them to think sincerely about my request. Celendar has nothing to answer for. Chairel does. These troops are meant for them.”
Saffron exhaled heavily and nodded. “I will deliver your message. I do not agree with your love of necromancy, Kai Sera, but I thank you for the opportunity to retreat in peace. Victory here would have belonged to you no matter how well we fought.”
“And you did,” I told her. “You all fought well.”
Saffron bent forward a bit in a salute before she turned back toward the Celdic Army. “Prepare to retreat!”
As the Celdic Army slowly went through their dead and gathered fallen supplies and weapons, Altan came up beside me. “You know,” he began, “I normally find acts of mercy like th
is quite weak and boring, but you just saved us a hell of a lot of casualties, woman.”
“I'm practicing my diplomacy skills,” I replied. “After years of screaming matches with Tilda, I need the experience.”
Altan chuckled. “Were you serious about giving Celendar independence, or was that all just a ploy to get their guards down before you wipe 'em out?”
“I was serious, but I offered it for more reasons than I let on.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “We will take Hallmar by the end of the year, Altan. Tilda's reinforcements and settlers will arrive not long afterward in New Moon. She will tell you to abandon me. When that theory comes true, I will no longer have Eteri as an ally. When I travel through the Cel Forest, then, I cannot risk the casualties. I am offering Celendar independence now so I have one less hurdle to get through later. After all, the Celds are the most likely race to accept offers of peace as you just saw. I am planning ahead, friend. The day will soon arrive when your queen informs you we are enemies.”
Altan exhaled slowly beside me. I expected him to express frustration over my words like he had so many times before. Instead, he seemed to accept them. “Kai...” he murmured before he glanced back at the others. “Let's say I get a message from Tilda today saying we are foes. You wanna know what I'd do?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, still staring out over the battlefield as the Celdic Army started their march back home.
“Worst-case scenario? I'd keep my men in Hammerton. Give you a shit-ton of supplies and aid. Under Kirek's nose, if I had to. Treat you to one last night in a pub. Then I'd send you on your way.” Altan paused. “I am loyal to Eteri, but you've been a hell of a friend. If I were king, the alliance between us would last through the generations. With you running Chairel, it'll be stronger than ever before. And I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think my ideas for Eteri are far better than Tilda's.”