by Rosie Scott
“Well, first of all, sending armies of men to fight a necromancer never ends well. We know it feeds them, so why do we do it?”
“Because we have to,” Terran replied. “Necromancers are too powerful in battle. Assassinations rarely work. They overwhelm mercenary parties. Armies are the only option available to us.”
“Because we refuse to consider other possibilities,” I argued. “How successful could we be if we had necromancers on our side?”
Terran scoffed. “Sister—”
“Think about it, Terran! Remove your irrational emotional response to the idea and use your mind! Necromancy counters necromancy. By using necromancers in our armies, we would no longer have to fear them. We could—”
“Kai, stop!” Terran glared at me, his chest rising and falling with a mixture of frustration and anger. “Don't tell me to use my mind when you have lost yours. You are talking about letting evil people into our armies to spread fear and death.”
“Evil?” I laughed sarcastically. “Is there such a thing?”
“What would you call people who use the bodies of our loved ones like pets?” Terran retorted. “What would you call people who take the energy straight out of living bodies for their own gain?”
“Practical,” I replied. “Resourceful.”
Terran shook his head with a mixture of distaste and disbelief. “By the gods, you are insane.”
“I'm insane for wanting to strengthen our military? For thinking up ways to remove threats without causing mass casualties to our armies? For daring to consider that there are six elements, not five, and wanting to wield them all?”
Terran was silent a moment. “You forgot that death spell they taught you, sister. Did you not?”
“I did,” I lied. I knew the plague spell by heart. I'd specifically remembered that one most of all.
“Good.” Terran appeared shaken with anger, but he managed to calm himself. “You were scaring me. We may argue and disagree, Kai, but I love you. Do not be lured in by necromancy. If you ever come across the magic, report it. Do not learn it. I would be forced to consider you an enemy if you fell into its clutches.”
“Even if necromancy could expand my lifespan?” I questioned, my voice breaking with emotion.
Terran frowned with concern and looked away. “Even so.” As a wave of sadness flooded through me at his admission, he went on, “Perhaps your worry over your lifespan is becoming an obsession. I understand your pain, but sometimes we have to accept our lot in life.”
“You want me to accept having to die young,” I protested.
Terran blew a breath through his lips and found my eyes again. “You said earlier that we refuse to consider other possibilities in our fights against necromancers. In the same way, you refuse options available to you. I want you to live, sister. You want to live. If you don't wield your magic, you will be able to.”
“But I won't be happy. I was born for warfare, Terran. It's all I look forward to.”
“Kai. Listen to me.” Terran scooted closer to the table and reached out for my hands. I let him have them, watching as he squeezed them lovingly. “When I become regent, I will hire you into my court. I don't care if you're not trained for it. I will train you or find someone who can. We'll find something for you to do that isn't wielding magic in battle. I promise you this. I'll keep you safe and give you the tools to work in government like you thirst for. Will this make you happy?”
“I...” I stared into my brother's beautiful green eyes, overwhelming sadness clouding my chest. Terran's offer wouldn't make me happy, but the fact he suggested it meant so much to me. Though my brother and I disagreed often, his care and concern for me was all too evident in his gaze. He didn't know how to fix my situation, but he tried nonetheless.
“I don't know, brother,” I finally said, looking away to hide the indecision in my eyes. “Perhaps. I suppose I won't know until the day comes.”
“Then we'll wait for the day to come.” Terran squeezed my hands again fondly. “Say nothing of this to father. He would call this decision of mine foolhardy. He believes you too hardheaded for politics, sister, and sometimes I have a mind to agree.”
When I found Terran's gaze again, he smiled. The tense air from our argument dissipated just as quickly as it arrived, but it still felt like little was settled at all. When my brother finally left to tend to the responsibilities he so loathed, I found myself alone in the study as I often did. Alone and with a book about one of the most infamous necromancers of our world.
Alone and with a book of endless possibilities.
*
Pleasurable tingles darted across my scalp following the movement of someone finger-combing my hair. My head rose and fell as the lungs in the body beneath it filled with air and released a breath. Opening my eyes, I saw only the lower half of a man's body lying on a bed. I moved my hand under the blanket, finding the bottom edge of the shirt beneath my face and lifting it to see the trail of dark hair that led from Cerin's navel to under his trousers.
My lover chuckled roughly from where he watched. “Are you checking to see if it's me?”
I turned my face toward his stomach and kissed it once through the fabric. “Yes.”
Cerin brushed through my hair again. “There are easier ways to tell. You could turn around and look at me.”
“But this feels good,” I replied, pointing at my hair as he played with it.
He huffed and tugged on my shoulders. “Come up here. I'll keep doing it.”
I pulled myself off of him and noted my surroundings as the events of the previous day came back to me. Azazel had taken Cerin to the hospital nearest the castle, and considering the battle, it was likely overflowing. I could hear nothing but a dull murmur for now, however, because my lover had his own private area and the door was closed. The room was fairly small but well-lit with windows on two walls and lamps sitting on tables and hanging from hooks. Two prepared potions sat on the beside table in capped bottles.
I readjusted to lay next to him, finding it hard to do since the bed was so tiny. Cerin scooted over to give me more space and kept brushing through my hair as promised when we laid together.
“These beds are too small,” I commented.
“They aren't meant for two,” Cerin replied. Such relief flooded through me just to see his silver eyes wide and alert. “Azazel was in earlier. Said no one could get you to agree to wait in a chair and that you insisted on climbing up here with me.”
“I own this city. No one's telling me what to do,” I jested dryly.
“You don't have to own the city for that,” he murmured, working through a tangle in my hair as I shivered. “I could strangle you.”
“For failing you?” I questioned softly, avoiding his gaze.
Cerin exhaled heavily. “No. For forging ahead alone. I respected your decision yesterday, only to then have Terran in my face taunting me about how he'd killed you as the castle crumbled behind him. It felt like the ground ripped out from under me, Kai. My whole world was crashing down around me and I could do nothing.” His jaw tensed with regret and he continued, “The hardest part about being with you is realizing my power doesn't hold a candle to yours. You protect me and the others with these grand displays of prowess, and there I was, unable to do the same. I was enraged and brokenhearted thinking he'd killed you, but that rage couldn't help me defeat him. I felt worthless.”
“You are powerful,” I told him, trailing a finger down his glistening neck. “Far more than most. In an even fight between you both, you would best Terran easily. He relies on the gods for the upper hand. Don't feel worthless because you couldn't defeat them. It took me, Hades, and Rek to make any headway into their protections. That you lasted in battle against them for as long as you did is a testament to your skill.”
“You give me advice like I am your soldier,” Cerin said, his eyebrows dipping together, “but I am coming to you with the concerns of a man in love.”
I was quiet for a moment as
I pondered this. “My compliments of your skill stem from my admiration of you and my love for you. I don't care that you couldn't defeat him because you tried. Multiple blades impaled you, yet you still stood to fight Terran when you thought I was dead. That matters to me.”
Cerin stopped brushing through my hair and instead moved his hand to my face, trailing fingers over my jawline. “Would you believe me if I said the same to you?”
“Said what?” I inquired, thinking back through my words.
“That I care most about your efforts to kill Terran. Not your so-called failure.”
I sighed heavily and looked away. “How do you know of this failure at all?”
“Azazel told me this morning,” Cerin admitted. As I cursed, he went on, “You're too hard on yourself. Azazel knows that. We all know it. Your actions over the years are already legendary, and yet you get caught up on one failure. Terran knows your strengths and weaknesses and how to exploit them. Yesterday was proof of that. I am so happy you were levelheaded enough to know when to stop fighting. I want Terran dead, but not if it means losing you.”
I scooted closer to Cerin and buried my head in the crook of his neck. He chuckled softly as I wrapped both arms around his until he couldn't move.
“Usually I'm the lovable one and you scold me for it,” Cerin mused.
“I'm sorry,” I blurted, the words muffled in his neck.
“...what?”
I pulled my face back from his neck so my words were clear. “I'm sorry.”
Cerin was quiet for a moment. He brought his free arm over to hold on to me since I refused to let go of the other one. “That was the most remorseful apology I've ever heard you give.”
“I won't go alone in Sera,” I promised him. “No matter what happens or where I go, I want you with me.”
Cerin exhaled heavily with relief and kissed my hair. “Okay.”
“Do you understand why I've been so against it?”
“You don't want me walking into danger just like I hate letting you walk into it,” Cerin replied. “Of course I understand. But look at where that got you, Kai.”
“No decisions are foolproof,” I said. “I made that decision for the right reason. It simply didn't work. By allowing you and the others into the fray with me, I'm not just letting you all walk into danger, I'm openly inviting it. If something goes wrong, it will fall on me.”
“No, it won't,” Cerin argued lightly. “Because we make the choice to follow you. We invite that danger upon ourselves. Just because you are our leader doesn't mean that everything falls on you. Our fates aren't up to you. They're up to us.”
Knock-knock-knock.
“Come in,” Cerin called. I loosened up my cuddles as the door opened. Azazel walked in, his satchel so heavy and overstuffed it appeared to be hurting his shoulder. He smiled with relief at me and let the bag drop on a chair next to the door. “You know you don't have to knock,” Cerin pointed out.
“I figured I should,” Azazel replied. “Kai was in here and she refused to leave your bed.”
Cerin chuckled roughly. “Do you honestly believe that we would try—”
“Yes,” Azazel interrupted, a charming smirk brightening his face as he emptied his bag. “I do. You two are sexually insane.”
I laughed and readjusted to sit on the bed. “Thank you so much for taking care of Cerin.”
“Caring for people is what he's best at,” Cerin complimented. He grinned as he went on, “Azazel was a nervous wreck last night. He wanted to go out on that battlefield with you so badly.”
Azazel settled down in a chair, the open bag on the seat to his right and alchemy ingredients on a table to his left. “As did you,” he retorted lightly, grinding a dried leaf with his mortar and pestle. “Cerin was so worried about you he caused a scene. I had to give him something to knock him out.”
I raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Cerin. “Truly?”
Cerin chuckled and shook his head. “No, I had to be put out for surgery.”
Azazel gave the necromancer a dry stare. “Is that what I told you?” After Cerin and I laughed, Azazel sobered and said, “In all seriousness, I was worried sick. But we all were, Kai. Your victory last night should not be understated. I heard from Rek that both Varian and Raphael were killed. They recovered Raphael's corpse, but not Varian's.”
“I suppose Rek didn't tell you that he ate it,” I surmised.
Azazel lifted an eyebrow as he combined two ingredients in a mug. “No, but I doubt he would find any reason to. It's an everyday occurrence for him.”
“It better not be anymore,” I commented. “Rek lost all his men yesterday, so I paid for him to stay at the inn on the corner of Caravaneer and North Sunset. I told the innkeeper to alert the guards if he tries anything.”
Azazel stood and brought the mug over to me. “Water, please.” After I filled the glass at his request, he stirred the concoction rapidly and offered it to Cerin.
“I already took my medicine this morning,” Cerin protested, motioning to the potions beside the bed.
“Those are for inflammation. This is for infection,” Azazel replied, nodding toward the potion again. “You need it. They cleaned out that bile as best as they could, but you never know if some slipped through.”
Cerin took the mug and sat up straight to drink it. “That one didn't taste half bad,” he said afterward, handing the glass back to Azazel. “Thank you.”
“Have you seen the others?” I asked Azazel as he sat again.
“Maggie is feigning anger at the loss of her prosthetic leg,” he informed me. “In reality, I think she likes having an excuse to build a new one. She's at her workshop tinkering. Nyx is actually angry about Terran's retreat. She came earlier when you both were sleeping. I can never keep track of where she goes, but I know she's fine. As for Holter, I gave him command of our army yesterday when I had to get Cerin to the hospital. Want to guess how he did?”
“I'm assuming he did really well,” I replied. “You seem impressed.”
“Calder's men were on the frontlines in the northwest giving Cyrus's army relief,” Azazel began, holding up one finger as if to display their direction northward from the exterior western wall. “Holter led our men over the rubble and flanked Chairel's western army from the east.” Another finger raised alongside the first before he brought the two together in a curve. “When Chairel retreated, the two of them managed to cut off and capture a whole unit of their army.”
“Wow.” I raised my eyebrows, impressed with both generals. “How many prisoners are there?”
“A few thousand. Over three, less than five,” Azazel estimated.
“A few thousand less to worry about fighting in Sera,” Cerin commented.
“Exactly,” Azazel agreed. “Our casualties aren't as bad as they could have been, but they're still extensive. I recommend sending Holter to French to recruit people to travel to Kilgor, Kai. We can collect them as we pass it. Both settlements are partial to you.”
“I'll do just that,” I agreed.
“This may be a premature question to ask,” Azazel began, “but have you put any thought into when you'll want to move north to Sera? I'd like to have a date so I can prioritize my work.”
“We'll leave on the new year,” I replied. “Do you think that will realistically work?”
“I do,” Azazel conceded. “It gives us a moon and a half to rest and recover. We can't rebuild the castle by then, but we'll recover what we can from the rubble and set up a temporary hub. It will flatter Chance if you put him in charge.”
“Did Chance make it through the battle?” Cerin asked.
“He's fine,” I replied. “Chance is the reason Azazel and I made it out of the castle alive.”
Cerin squeezed me close. “Then I suppose I'll have to pay him a visit to thank him.”
Forty-one
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Maggie pounded at scalding metal with a hammer, forming it into shape. Below her stump sat a
wooden table keeping her upright. The table was of average height, but given the engineer's taller stature, it perfectly filled the space her recently destroyed prosthetic leg left behind.
Maggie kept the door of her workshop open, allowing the cool breezes of Red Moon to swirl by and steal the heat exuding from the forge. When I stopped in the doorway to alert the engineer to my presence, she noticed due to the shadow that rose within the sliver of light on the opposite wall.
Maggie glanced back and wiped her sweaty brow with a glove. “Hey, love. Ya need somethin'?”
“Just your company,” I replied. When she smiled, I motioned to the table beneath her stump. “I don't think that will work for very long.”
Maggie chuckled joyously and shook her leg, causing the table to rattle against the floor. “Nah, I guess not. Shame, though. This would give a helluva kick.”
I walked into the workshop, sticking close to the wall and opening one window at a time to help air it out. As I did so, Maggie said, “Thank ya. I would'a opened the windows earlier if I could, but Marcus left me at the door so I hobbled right to work. Thought it'd be real funny-like if I fell on my ass openin' windows and had to call for help. Marcus wouldn't be around no longer and it'd take a village to lift me.”
“I could help you up with the aid of alleviate,” I replied.
Maggie sighed as I opened another window. “Ya know, I've been followin' ya for a decade, and magic still never occurs to me.”
“Because you don't wield it,” I suggested, grabbing a chair from beside the wall and pulling it to be closer to her.
“Can't say I feel like I'm missin' out,” Maggie mused, wrinkling up her nose when a trickle of sweat rolled down one side of it. “I like workin' with things I can feel. Takin' the gifts the earth gives me and ticklin' 'em just right so they turn into other things. Useful things.”
I smirked and dug around in my satchel for a hair tie. “Cerin's right. Whenever you talk about your work, it sounds oddly erotic.”
Maggie chuckled. “Maybe that's my subconscious talkin'. I'm hungerin' for some lovin'. The well is dry for somebody like me, Kai. I'm too little for the giants and too big for most everybody else. My parents loved me, but I kinda wanna go back in time and ask 'em if they know they doomed me at birth. There ain't never been a half-breed like me before as far as I know. For good reason, too. Nature knows what it's doin'. With me, it just fucked up.”
