Vespera was silent, bubbling with charged anticipation. UnAwakened cadets and full-fledged soldiers alike fiddled absently with bracers and crystals. The fresher-faced Mages jumped at every sound, eyes wide and brows sweaty, relaxing briefly when they realized there was no attack.
Yet.
We could all feel it coming—the promise of battle hung heavy in the warming spring air, constricting our lungs and making it difficult to breathe.
Ilyas’ heavy hand landed on my shoulder, squeezing once.
“It will all be okay, Lex,” he said with a small, tense smile, one I couldn’t find the energy to return.
Either we would leave here victorious and join Rohak and Torin in the mountains south of Alvor, or we would fall here together, leaving our quad in shambles.
Was it selfish of me to think of my lovers in a time like this? Probably. But it wasn’t something I could prevent. We were all separated—by choice—and now had to live, or die, with the consequences.
“Mage d’Talionis. Ilyas,” Sol said, her softly accented voice cutting through the silence of the courtyard. Ilyas and I positioned ourselves as the first line of defense should an army come crashing through our gates. There were some unAwakened cadets at the wall—young boys who were as fast as the wind—who would alert us to an incoming force. But I refused to sit idle, waiting for something to happen.
If I was to wait, I would do so in a place I could defend my home.
“Sol. Thandi,” I said back, quickly nodding to them.
“Much different than our mock battles on the training grounds, hmm?” she said, hands resting lightly on her belt.
It was the first time she and Thandi would see true action since that fateful day in Isrun. Rohak had wisely removed her from active combat in an attempt to help her mind and body recover. Now, I simply hoped she was mentally prepared enough to command our troops.
“Stop looking at me like that, Lex. I’m not going to have a flashback right here, right now,” she admonished.
I shrugged my shoulders loosely.
“They happen when you least expect, Sol,” I muttered quietly, Ilyas’ hand squeezing my shoulder in comfort once more.
“Still?” she asked, her wide brown eyes finding mine.
“Always. I’m not sure how you witness or survive what we did and not continually have a trauma response from it. That shit sticks with you whether you want it to or not.”
Sol’s dark eyebrows quirked in surprise. She opened her mouth, but her words were drowned out by an earth-shattering, bone-shaking roar.
The sound had the soldiers behind us shouting in alarm as Sol, Thandi, Ilyas, and I ducked down, hands covering our ears.
With the noise muffled, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as the ground reverberated beneath my feet.
They’re here.
“Fuck,” Sol cursed loudly, spinning around to immediately bark orders to the Mages and Vessels stationed outside.
The attack came too quickly for our scouts to sound the alarm. My heart ached for the deaths of those boys, but I knew they’d only be the first of many.
Residual booms and cracks echoed throughout the mostly empty courtyard as rocks and stones fell from the stone wall to the streets below.
As the tumbling rocks began to settle, my heart rate calmed once more, though I knew this was far from over. Ilyas’ hand rested against my neck, allowing me to pull my magic through him. Pleasure wasn’t the greatest weapon, but it could incapacitate long enough for others to finish the job for me. In his other hand, Ilyas clutched a wicked-looking blade. Serrated and wider on the end, it was made for hacking and pulling muscle from bone. Months spent training with Folami and the others gave Ilyas an edge over other Vessels, or so I hoped.
Boots shuffled behind me as soldiers moved into their positions, prayers and hopes muttered as the air grew heavy with magic.
Seconds later, the unmistakable sound of horses echoed through the empty streets. Hooves pounded against stone, loud whinnies carrying down abandoned streets. An occasional man’s snarl or whoop of delight accompanied their charge.
“Steady!” I called to the soldiers behind me, briefly overriding Sol’s authority. Once our adversaries crossed the invisible line into the courtyard, all pretense of command would be forgotten.
Let them come, I thought, guarding my heart and preparing to hurl my magic at whoever appeared around the bend first.
Pleasure built in my palm, a giant gold ball of light nearly rivaling that of the sun. Sweat coated my brow from holding so much at once, and, just as I thought I could hold it no longer, the first horse came into view.
