“You okay?” Lionel’s calming voice broke through, stilling my inner fires.
I looked up at him, worry filling his eyes and I began to wonder, what did he see when he saw me?
“Yeah,” I murmured, pulling my hands into the inside of my jacket for warmth.
A moment of silence stretched.
“Sorry, for snapping at you,” he whispered, averting his light brown eyes. “We were all on edge.”
I nodded slowly, not finding words to contribute to the conversation.
“It’s tense out here, mages and demons could be anywhere and… there’s just so much killing.“ He became silent.
That caught my attention. “Do you regret it?”
“No,” a quick and firm answer. “They’re mages, we need to keep our people safe.”
“Yeah but…” I muttered. “What if they’re not all bad?”
“I see,” he chuckled dryly. “You feel bad killing humans? Consider them something else then, beasts?”
My gaze sank, I’d never have the guts to tell him, not when I knew how deep his hatred for magic ran.
“Is this about that girl?” he asked, arching a brow at me.
“Yeah,” I lied. “She was different, she didn’t try to attack us. What if there are others like her?”
He let a deep breath go, thinking hard and long about it. “Everyone suffers, the mages not taking responsibility, the people who can’t defend themselves, the ones starving in the villages. The world isn’t fair.”
He was right about that, none of this was fair and it made my heart ache.
“Hey guys!” Ashley’s voice rang with excitement. “I think I found the camp of those mages, so I brought some stuff!”
“You entered their base, all alone!?” Eve barked at her.
“Well… we killed them?” Ashley shrugged. “Besides, I’m never alone, got my bombs.”
I chuckled at her in disbelief. “Ashley, you really need to be more careful.”
“Aww, you worried about me?” she asked, smiling teasingly. “That’s cute, but I found a stash of booze, and it was all worth it.”
She was carrying two large bags, one on each shoulder, and hugging a third one, with the brightest and most carefree smile on her face.
Nate groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face. “Tell me one of those bags has wine. Real wine. Not the swamp water the recruits pass off as drinkable.”
“Wine, rum, something purple that smells like burning hair, take your pick!” Ashley plopped the bags down by the fire and started unpacking bottles with a flourish. “Mages knew how to party. Shame they’re all dead, really. Would’ve been fun to crash itbeforewe blew them up.”
Mey sighed but reached for a bottle anyway, turning it in her hands. “You’re impossible,” she murmured, though there was the faintest smile tugging at her lips.
“You’re welcome,” Ashley shot back, pouring drinks into dented tin cups.
Eve folded her arms, skeptical as ever. “This is reckless. What if the stash was trapped? Or poisoned?”
“Oh, please.” Ashley thrust a cup towards her. “If itispoisoned, then I guess we get to die drunk and happy.”
Lionel chuckled quietly, stepping in before Eve could retort. He accepted a cup, lifting it in a simple toast. “One drink won’t kill us, cheers to surviving the day.”
That was enough to get everyone moving. Soon the campfire was ringed with cups, the sharp scent of liquor carrying on the crackling heat. Mey sipped carefully, savoring hers. Nate downed his too quickly, coughing before grinning lopsidedly. “Ah, that’s the good stuff. Headache’s already gone.”
