The moment Korraknoticed the unnatural silence fall over the army, he barked an order in a voice befitting a hellspawn general and commanded them back to work. More than one soldier jumped at the sound of his voice, but they immediately obeyed him, returning to their training.
I marched toward them, determined to supervise their training with my own eyes. They’d just taken an outpost, so clearly, they were ready for combat. But were they ready to faceLucifer?
Vol clocked my approach with a grin bright enough to come with a warning label. He scrambled to his feet, then sprinted toward me, all six inches of pure chaos clad in what looked like his khaki explorer getup. Once in range, he leaped off the wall and landed directly on my shoulder, his little clawed hands gripping my tunic for dear life. It took him a moment to position himself so he wouldn’t fall, but eventually, he tucked himself against my neck, his tail draped over my shoulder.
“Glad you’re here,” he said. “Because you definitely have your work cut out for you. See that one over there?” He jutted a clawed finger toward a hellspawn standing near the edge of my army. “She’s holding her sword like it’s a loaf of bread. And that big bastard over there?” His finger pointed out another. “He’s been swinging at thesamespot on his sparring partner’s armour for like ten minutes. Guess he lacks enough of a brain to realize he needs to choose a different freaking spot.”
I didn’t answer. Responding would only fuel the little monster.
“Okay, check out that one.” He pointed at the front line, nearly losing his balance. “See how he flinches whenever his partner raises his blade? Yeah, that’s exactly who I want guarding my back in battle. Fearless. A natural hero.”
I almost laughed at his sarcastic commentary but caught myself at the last moment.Don’t encourage the pest.
Rathgor appeared behind the hellspawn in question, cuffed him upside the head, then barked at him to get in there and stop shying away from the blade.
“Five stars, Meat Sack. We’re all gonna die. Just saying.”
I rubbed a hand over my jaw and kept walking.
“Oh!” Vol chirped gleefully. “Don’t look now, but that one just fell. Remind me again, how did you guys win the outpost?”
“Vol,” I sighed.
“Ha!” A bark of laughter slipped past his dark lips. “He tripped over his own two feet! Did you see that? Priceless. Okay, that half ain’t so bad. At least they’re holding their blades right.”
“Perhaps I should give them a demonstration using you as a target.”
Vol snapped his mouth shut with an audible click, then threw me a scathing glance. One that quickly morphed into a pointy grin. “There you are. I’ve missed you, you know.”
My brow arched at this rare moment of honesty from him, one he immediately ruined when he followed up with, “It’s not as fun pestering the cat. And your lover-boy takes my insults too personally. You and the siren are really the only true entertainment down here.”
“Happy to assist,” I muttered.
I kept moving. Rathgor caught my eye across the melee and gave the smallest nod before returning his focus to the new technique he was demonstrating: a shield wall. Drek’thar stalked around the formation, barking out orders and corrections, but he paused long enough to bow his head respectfully to me as I passed.
I was about to shout out a correction when someone—rather, two someones—caught my eye. On a rock, off to the side of the army, sat Levi and Eliza. I shot Rathgor and Korrak one last glance, decided they were doing a sufficient job, then angled my way toward my friends. At the sight of them, my lips pulled into a small smile. They were practically snuggling in full view of everyone—including Calyx, who stood a couple dozen feet away, correcting the stance of a few hellspawn.
“Ohhh,” Vol said, gleefully cackling. “Don’t they just look cute? The Siren and the Angel. Sounds like those trashy romance novels you like to read.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like those fanfiction websites you like are any better.”
“Hey!” he barked near my ear. “Fanfiction is thebestof both worlds. Reality plus fiction.”
I ignored his commentary and continued toward Eliza and Levi. Eliza sat with her legs outstretched and one boot hooked over the other. Levi leaned back, propped on both arms, but he said something that had Eliza grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Without warning, he reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her cheek. I swear, Calyx’s glare darkened into a thundercloud, but he didn’t utter a word.
Eliza didn’t lean back. In fact, she bumped Levi’s knee with hers, and he adjusted his position to turn toward her.
Behind us was shouting, weapons clanging, shields bashing, orders bellowing. And in front of us were two people who were completely oblivious to it all. It brought back so many memories of Rathiel and me together during the last rebellion. We would have done anything to find a moment together. Still would.
Levi spoke again. I was too far away to catch the words, but Eliza rolled her eyes and swatted his arm. He took the hit, amused, then caught her hand and turned it palm-up, his thumb tracing over the lines. She didn’t pull away, nor did she even spare a glance to see who was watching. That, more than anything, told me where her head was at.
“Oh, they’ve definitely banged,” Vol whispered, his voice smug. “Bet you my next ration.”
“Your ration isn’t worth anything to me,” I said. “But I’ll take that action.”
At the sound of my approach, Levi lifted his head, finally noticing us. He pushed up onto one elbow and tipped his chin in greeting. Eliza followed his gaze, that grin still welded to her face like she didn’t know any other expression.
