“We don’t have time to discuss this right now. You need to come with me! By the gods Erina, please don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” I grabbed her arm again and dragged her from the room, fighting her every step of the way. You’d think that I was dragging her to her execution. I didn’t understand why she was pushing me on this, either. She could be mad at me, fine, but it was our father that wanted her with him.
I whipped around and noticed how close we were standing to each other, our noses touching. My dominant nature kept bubbling to the surface. No one had ever defied me like this before, and certainly not Erina. “Why are you fighting me right now?”
“Because unlike you, I want to help our people!” she screamed and ripped her arm from my grasp again. I was too slow to dodge the punch she threw my way, hitting my jaw. I landed right on my ass and stared up at her in surprise.
“What the hell, Erina?” But she was gone. Whether she had fled back to the medical wing or somewhere else, I had no clue. I should have followed her, but my head was already aching from the explosion earlier and now from her punch. Today wasnotmy day.
I made my way to the palace gates instead of returning to face my father. I couldn’t let him know that had I failed. I didn’t want to see the disappointment written on his face when I’d already seemed to alienate myself from everyone that I loved. That blow would be too much for me to recover from. My father was all I had left, and now he would hate me, too. Such little time had passed from when we were happy to today, but everything had gone to hell in a hand basket. I was a stranger in my home.
Fuck, I was a stranger to myself.
The corridors had cleared out in the time since the attack launched. I could still hear the fight raging outside, though, just as strong as it was when it began, so I knew it wasn’t even close to being over. I’d make myself useful though, if I couldn’t do anything else. And I’d die for my people if necessary.
Perhaps Erina was right. Maybe I was a catalyst for the destruction that erupted around me. Maybe I deserved everything that happened to me. If I died today, it was one less thing for my family to be concerned with.
The destruction surrounding the grounds was intense, bringing back waves upon waves of wicked memories that danced in my head. The only sight that eased my anxiety was that we actually had the upper hand in this situation. Our forces were doing well in driving back our enemies, but we were spread out too much and therefore enemies continued to slip through.
Those were the fae that I sought, determined to strike them down where they stood. I took my time, relying on my elemental powers to counter against attacks, and when that failed… then I’d bring out my sword. It was easy to call upon my magic, especially given the panic in the air. It was a calling card for my destruction, and I vowed to make them pay with their own blood.
To me, fighting was like a dance; full of moves and countermoves. It was all the same. You had to expect what your partner was going to do, or you die. It was simple, really. It wasn’t always graceful, but therewasa certain aspect of grace to it.
I’d been trained in combat from a young age, but training was far different from fighting a true enemy face-to-face. It wasn’t something that anyone could prepare you for, either. Taking a life, or even causing someone harm, was hard on your body and I could feel a small piece of my soul chip away each time it happened. Perhaps that was why Erina and I were truly so different. Her soul was intact and mine was in pieces; shattered by the things I had to do.
It was hard to tell who was friend or foe on the battlefield sometimes. Everyone was covered in blood, dirt, and gore, that they blended together like a painting. A painting of pure destruction and pain.
My muscles and head were aching from the earlier explosion, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from fighting. No, I pushed forward and didn’t look back.
As I came over a hill, I noticed a familiar group of sentries. I had fought with the man who led them before. He was a skilled warrior. I realized I didn’t even know his name as I joined in with them, attempting to push the enemy lines back further, slaughtering those in our way. As we cleared the area, I gave a small nod in acknowledgment to the warrior, receiving one in return. It was a silent understanding that we had both done what needed to be done to keep our kingdom safe, and we’d do it as many times as we needed until the job was complete.
I pushed forward, leaving the sentries behind, as I wanted to check the surrounding houses for survivors that might have been overlooked in an initial search. If they were knocked unconscious, they wouldn’t have been able to call for help. They still might be out, but I refused to abandon anyone who might be in need.
I stepped into the first cottage on a ruined but cleared street. Smoke was thick in the air as fires raged around me. It was in a poorer part of town, and my heart broke for the ones that had lost everything and had so little to begin with. The darkening sky seemed like a promise of something ominous to come, and I shivered as a gust of icy wind seemed to blow through me.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
Silence greeted me in answer as I continued to walk through the cottages. I looked around and noted all the repairs that would need to be completed. The repair process after the last war had taken so long to coordinate. The damage had been so widespread that putting repair efforts into action took even longer. In some regard, I guess I was thankful that the destruction here was minimal and located to a single area.That should speed up the timeline, at least.I refused to let these people go without longer than necessary.
There was a clatter that came from behind me, catching my attention. The sky had continued to grow increasingly dark since I had been searching, but it was still far too early for nightfall. There was an uneasy feeling crawling into the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. It was far too silent, almost as if all the air had been sucked out of the surrounding area. Every fall of my footstep echoed around me. Adrenaline poured into my body, and I fought to keep it contained. Every instinct I had was telling me to run.
Just breathe, Eva…
I turned around, but the darkness had become overwhelming. This wasn’t nightfall but was something else. I called to the flames, allowing them to flow freely through my fingers as I tried to get a better view of the room that I was in. It was simple, much like all the others, with a double bed pushed to the far corner of the room and a battered table that lay on its side. But there was a door to what was either a pantry or closet that was closed. I could have sworn I heard something move. Perhaps something was trapped inside.
I approached the door. Surely, I was being silly. Just an overactive imagination from a really shitty day. The flames receded in one hand so that I could reach out and touch the door. I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe to feel a presence of some sort? I slid my palm down to the handle and twisted it, opening the door ever so slightly before allowing it to fully open. A sharp meow sounded below me as the animal darted past me. I let out a breathy laugh and ran my hand through my hair.
It was just a cat, for gods’ sake.
Outside, I heard familiar voices – guards doing a secondary sweep of the rubble. Damien and Luka were with them. My stomach clenched in knots. I was glad that he was safe, although our friendship was in ruins. I don’t think there was anything I could do to ever wish harm on Damien or Luka, but I wasn’t naïve to believe that we could be where we once were. I don’t even think I wanted that, either.
“Eva…”
My body stilled at the sound of his voice.Matthew was here. I didn’t turn around yet. I stayed exactly where I was, staring into the dark closet. There was a strange comfort in knowing that he had been the one to conjure the darkness. He had demonstrated his ability in the forest, after all.
“Are you alright, Eva?” His voice was tinged with concern. My heart was pounding furiously. The stupid thing just wouldn’t calm down.
I could raise the alarm. Luka and Damien would come for him, but the instinct I was fighting wasn’t to runawayfrom him, but to runtohim instead.
“You shouldn’t be here. If they find you, they’ll kill you,” I whispered. His presence consumed me as he walked closer, his body standing next to mine. My mind couldn’t focus on anything but him, regardless of the situation we found ourselves in. Heat was radiating off of him, and I wanted to wrap myself up in it. “They know about the letters, Matthew. I don’t know how…” I was rambling now, but it all came tumbling out of me before I could stop it. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how they know but they do.” Tears fell easily with how shitty life had been, but I felt so at ease in his company that I didn’t realize how badly I needed an outlet for my emotions.
