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“Maiden,” he said, “we’ve seen today that you are not of the mortal world. So, we present to you our worship. We, B’rei Mira citizens, offer ourselves as sacrifices to your divinity—”

Ryn’s hand flashed out and grabbed his chin, yanking his face back up. “I’m not a god.” The words came out cutting and sharp, whatever exhaustion she felt a moment ago evaporating. “I’m a mortal, and I’m nothing. I simply believe in the God Original, and therefore, I have his power inside me. I don’t want your worship, and I certainly don’t want your sacrifice!” An anger she didn’t recognize coursed through her veins as she jumped to her feet, dropping the man’s startled face. “Get out of here! Forget surrender—go back to your master and tell him that a representative of El Tsebaoth requests that he withdraw his forces from Per-Siana!”

The B’rei Mira commander froze, muscles taut, toes dug into the ground. So, Ryn pointed toward their army and shouted again, “Go!” She kicked sand over his knees when he didn’t move.

A fleck of insult flashed across the man’s face. But he said nothing as he slowly rose to his feet, frowned, stroked a hand down his braided beard, and left. The other two in red kilts followed him, holding tight to spears and scepters as they murmured in the Mira language.

“You’re going to let them leave?” The sharp-eyed Per-Siana commander glared at Ryn with rosy cheeks.

“It’s her choice to make,” Commander Hall stated in a deep, cutting voice. “None of us were brave enough to fight. None of us get to decide!” he said, and the other commander closed his mouth.

Commander Hall tucked his helmet under his arm. “Our camp is nearby, Commander Adassah. Rest with us,” he said, tracing a finger over his burned ear again. Ryn realized she didn’t know what Burn Division Twelve’s next orders were, or if a burn division was even allowed to rest. So, she glanced to Bastone who gave her a small nod.

Her burn division fell into line behind her as she followed, Faro waving the large BURN DIVISION XII flag in front of all the soldiers. Yusuf slapped a hand over his pale face when he walked past the head of the giant lying there powerless in the sand.

The afternoon was quiet. The Per-Siana divisions watched the B’rei Mira army leave until they were nothing more than red specks on the horizon, blending into the waves of heat rolling over the desert. Scurrying back to their master with her message.

Bastone stayed at Ryn’s side like some self-appointed bodyguard as they sat around a fire to eat hot bowls of rice and cooked desert bird. Even though she felt the stares of the camp like a constant pressure on her flesh, Ryn quietly listened to the soldiers tell of everything they knew about the battles across the wastelands for the last four months; the rumours, the desert legends, the nightmares, how much they missed home. She only felt their stares leave when the sky sank to orange and thin clouds partially blotted the sun creeping toward faraway peaks.

“Have… Have any of you ever crossed someone named Kai Electus? Or Mordekai Cahana?” she dared to ask—just once. Heva glanced up from where she ate fruit slices off a knife across the fire. The soldiers all shook their heads, one muttering an apology.

Ryn cast them a weak smile of gratitude anyway. Finding Kai out here was wishful thinking. What would he be doing in the army? If he was caught, he’d be dead.

Throughout the evening, Ryn was offered gifts, words of flattery, and was asked dozens of questions about her life, her armour, and her fight with the giant before she decided she couldn’t take it anymore. She slipped into the tent she was given to share with Heva, hauling her bag of armour along with her. Heva was in there lounging on a cot with her boots still on when Ryn took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. At least in the tent it was quiet. A small candle flickered on a rock between the cots even though the evening was still bright and colourful.

Heva didn’t say anything for several moments. She fiddled with her braids as she watched Ryn, tapping her thumb ring against a silver bead. Then she came out with, “I thought Kai was handsome when I first met him. He’s got a pretty face, you know?”

Ryn looked at Heva like she was crazy, and Heva burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry. His horrifying personality ruined that for me.” She waved a hand through the air. “I feel bad that you still miss him though. It’s hard to watch you suffer as it is, without you bringing him up.”

A smirk found Ryn for a moment, but it faded. She cast her gaze to her bag of armour instead. “I do miss him,” she admitted. “I miss Matthias too. And Theo.” She missed a lot of things. “Life was simple when I had them.”

Pounding hooves lifted in the distance, and Heva sat up in bed, the colour draining from her cheeks. “Did the B’rei Mira army return with reinforcements?”

Ryn pushed out of the tent first, meeting the cool evening air. The sun was a blazing ball of red-orange, half sunken behind the hills now.

“It’s a single rider,” Heva said, squinting. She used her hand to shield her eyes. “It’s a messenger!”

The horse ran at full speed with a slight limp. A dark blue, starry flag rippled behind, held by a young man who teetered like he might pass out. The symbol on the flag was a Weylin one. Ryn couldn’t recall right away where she’d seen it before.

The horse came to a trotting halt at the side of the camp, and the rider slid off. Per-Siana soldiers rushed to catch him before he collapsed, the flag tipping forward into the sand. The rider’s hand came up, holding tight to a square of paper. His lips moved, but Ryn couldn’t hear him from so far away.

“Commanders!” a soldier shouted over the camp. “Assemble immediately!”

Ryn watched Commander Hall rush in and take the note, his soft eyes scanning the words. The other two commanders met him there, reading at his sides as his face fell, his wide cheeks sinking pale. The three commanders whispered amongst themselves as they walked away, leaving the weak messenger to the soldiers.

“Hey!” Heva called. None of them heard her. “What’s going on?”

Commander Hall looked up from the paper this time. Then, noticing Ryn there, he came over and handed her the note. Ryn took the sand-worn paper and studied a collection of Weylin letters, her brows coming together. There were only a few lines.

“Heva, I can’t read it,” she whispered. She turned to find Heva reading over her shoulder, her face as stricken as Commander Hall’s.

“Ryn…” Heva rasped. “It’s…”

“Division One is in ruins,” Commander Hall finished for her. “The King of Per-Siana is in trouble. All nearby divisions are being called to the Helbite Cliffs oasis for a last stand battle.”

Ryn’s gaze fired back down to the Weylin letters on the paper. This was a message from… the King’s division? This was a message from…