2. CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

T he next morning, Val wanted nothing more than to have the day off. Her body ached from fighting and sleeping on the hard forest floor, and her bed felt so warm and comfortable. Instead, she was midway through a dream when her door crashed open and Lucia strode in.

"Lucia, for the love of the Mother—" Val cried, sitting upright in bed, an explosion of smoke and spark shooting out of her involuntarily.

Lucia stamped out the covers that had caught flame with an expressionless face, and jerked back the sheets.

"You're late for training," she said. "That is no way for a captain to behave."

Val let out a tiny groan as Lucia flapped her sheets against her impatiently. Lucia was always stern and a little commandeering, but she had never ripped Val out of bed with such force before. And as Val blinked the sleep out of her eyes and peered up at her friend, it was to see the furrow of her brow and the set of her shoulders. Val knew that look—had seen it before when someone whispered something derogatory about her to one of the Fireflies. Judging by the hard set to Lucia's jaw, it was clear the naysayers must have grown in strength and volume since she had been away.

With a twisting feeling in her gut, Val rose from the bed. And although every muscle in her body protested, she ignored it as she dragged herself towards her wardrobe.

She knew Lucia was right—knew that her insistence that Val put on a show of strength at all times was the only way to silence the vitriol buzzing around Light's Towers like a swarm of angry hornets. But she could not deny that she hated having to yield to it.

When she and Lucia finally arrived at Light's Tower's training arena in the back courtyard, it was to find the Laenimorian captain Elric, and Lycas already training their own units. Water and fire flashed within the ring and Val resisted the urge to smirk at the weak, pathetic sparks Lycas sent from the end of his tarnished sword.

They both looked up as Val arrived, clad in her brown leather armor with her hair tied back in a braided ponytail. Elric merely scoffed when he saw her. The Sea Fae did not like her, that much was obvious, but he was never outright vindictive to her. Not like Lycas.

"Good of you to join us, Lady Augusta ," the runt sneered at her as she passed. Val let out a low growl and made towards him, but Lucia caught her around the middle, jerking her subtly back to her side.

"Ignore him," she hissed out of the corner of her mouth. "After all, what's a sheep to a lion, Val?" Val bit her tongue, seething, but knew she was right. She had plenty of practice ignoring Lycas's snide remarks. But still . . . the thought of lighting him up like a piece of kindling made her smile inside, just a little. With that image firmly in her mind, it was easier.

Already, Val's unit was in the large circular training ring towards the far end of the clearing. The small, rounded enclosure was shaded by the cliffs surrounding them, filtering in a light breeze that whipped through Val's hair as she approached her two senior officers. While Katia and Atria had not been traditionally trained in swordplay, like she had, Val had personally honed each of the Fireflies' skills for the last several years. She felt a spark of pride as she watched her two sergeants spar, their movements like a dance, mirroring the other with impeccable precision.

Both girls stopped and looked up as Lucia and Val arrived, Atria glaring at Lycas, crackling with anger.

"Don't bother," Val told her, holding her head high as she drew her golden dual swords from their sheaths. They twinkled in the light, the etchings of her family's legacy illuminated in the early morning sun. A reminder every time she fought of what she had lost. Of what she fought to destroy. To erase.

Val and Lucia squared off within the ring, both holding their swords out towards each other—a custom in Manielian dueling before beginning to spar, their swords coming together in bursts of spark and flame.

Since she was a child, Val had been taught to feel the blades as an extension of herself, an aspect of the Manielian swordplay that was drilled into each of them at birth. And although it was something she had worked endlessly to perfect, as each blade slashed and scissored in perfect synchronicity, today she felt disconnected from her whole body. Her muscles and bones ached with each movement; the fatigue of the battle still fresh in every sinew.

Meanwhile, Lucia's magic was strong and steady—almost annoyingly so. Ember Magic was tied so tightly to her feelings —to her own personal emotional state. The exhaustion from the days before meant that, today, Val's bursts of fire were sputtering and flickering like a waning candle, barely able to keep up with Lucia's stable, unwavering flame.

"You are not concentrating," Lucia hissed as her double blades spun around her, her flames expanding out in a ferocious wave, causing Val to curse and leap back. "Channel your magic, Captain. Focus."

Val grit her teeth, attempting to imbue as much of her fury into the flames licking her own golden swords as she could. They blew up, shooting into the air like an inferno, causing Lucia to smirk.

"That's more like it," she murmured, and then lunged for her again.

Val and Lucia battled across the arena, Lucia's orange flames and Val's bright white ones dueling and flickering. As the two Manielian females scorched the dirt of the training ring around them with sheer heat, Val could feel the scrutinizing glares of Elric, Lycas, and their units, but she didn't let it faze her. Not this time.

Sparks shot from her golden blades—which were burning, white-hot—as steam began to rise from her ankles. She whirled and danced with her second in command, grinning as she met each of Lucia's flaming blades with her own. Lucia's family magic was strong, but not as strong as the Augusta's. Her white flames were billowing with it, overwhelming her blades with heat and light.

Val breathed out a hot gust of air, then, with a swirling slash, she sent both Lucia's blades flying. They spun in the air before landing, points down, with a sizzling thud in the ground in front of her.

Lucia stood, stunned for a second. She could sense Katia, Atria, Lycas, Elric, and their collective units all watch as the swords fell. And then the Fireflies and the rest of Val's regiment were erupting into whoops, catcalls, and whistles. A wide grin spread over Lucia's face as she gave her captain an appreciative nod, while Katia and Atria flocked to her, thumping her hard on the shoulder. Val was enveloped by the cheers and laughter of her unit until a snide, sneering voice cut through the din.

"What in the Mother was that?"

Val's smile and those of her unit's faded as Lycas approached, an evil, mocking glint in his brown eyes.

"Are you supposed to be a captain or a circus performer, Lady Augusta? "

Val sensed her unit stiffen. Atria was crackling with anger, but Val laid a hand on her hot wrist.

"If I am a circus performer what does that make you, Lycas?" Val sneered. "A clown?"

Katia sniggered beside her, but Lycas just gave her a hateful, jeering look. "Very funny, my Lady . Does your husband find that funny?"

All the air seemed to seep out of the training ring, and a warm, melting feeling began to trickle down Val's chest. Her unit all turned to look at her—Atria and Katia's stunned faces were confused, questioning. Lucia, however, remained stoic.

"I do not have a husband," Val snapped quickly, but her voice wavered as her lungs constricted. The training ring shrunk around her, the edges of her vision going fuzzy. In the end, she knew it was useless, knew that nothing short of killing Lycas would shut him up now.

The little runt moved closer to her, that pale, freckled face leering as he drawled, " Really ? Is that so? I got some interesting information the other day from one of our spies still in the Ember Court. Do they know? Does your precious unit know that you were betrothed to none other than Prince Lynos of the Ember Throne?"

Blood pounded in Val's ears. She could feel the weight of everyone's stare on her, could feel her breath coming in short gasps as Lycas moved closer to her, his sneer growing wider.

"So, who is the clown now, my Lady? Did your parents sell you to him? Like some trussed up concubine? Every circus needs a whore to put on display," he snarled.

It happened all at once. Val barely had time to blink at the insult, before all around her, the Fireflies had their swords drawn and were advancing towards Lycas like rabid dogs. Lycas let out a terrified yell, drawing his own sword just in time to deflect that of Lucia's, Katia's, and Atria's, who advanced on the squealing captain with murderous rage in their eyes.

The force of their collective blow knocked his weapon flying, and all three of Val's most trusted soldiers held their swords against the captain's throat. Lucia stood at the helm, her golden eyes flashing with such hatred and disgust that she was amazed Lycas wasn't reduced to ash where he trembled.

"No, Lucia! Katia, Atria! Wait!" Val cried, moving forward her hands outstretched, but she froze as Lucia jabbed her sword towards the quivering captain's throat.

"Apologize," Lucia growled, her sword pressing into the soft flesh of his jugular, causing Lycas to whimper. From the edge of the arena, Elric and his unit were converging on them, swords drawn.

Flames were beginning to creep down Lucia's blade as she shoved the steel even harder into Lycas's throat.

" Apologize!" she shouted again.

"Lucia!" Val rushed to put herself between her unit and the cowering captain, but it was as if her commanding officers did not hear her.

"Get them off me!" Lycas was shrieking from the floor. " Elric! Elric, get the general! Get these vicious harpies off—"

But Val silenced him with an explosion of white-hot flames. The wall of fire erupted from her, rippling across the arena, so hot and vicious that even the fire resistance all Manielians had was overwhelmed as Lucia, Katia, Atria, and Lycas all let out a yell of pain and sprang apart.

" Enough!" Val roared over her flames. Her body hummed with anger, but the small twinge of panic caused her fire to billow to tantamount heights, threatening to overwhelm the entire arena. It knocked all three of her commanding officers to the ground, the flames rippling from her like a blazing fence as she stood between her furious unit and Lycas. With a breath, she extinguished them.

Lycas got up, trembling, covered in dirt and soot and spitting in fury. Shoulders shaking with barely suppressed rage, Elric hurried to his side.

"Fiend!" Elric shouted at her, his eyes wide. "You cannot even control your own soldiers! You are not fit to be a captain!"

Val, who turned to help her fallen officers up off the ground, bristled at this.

"Shut up!" Atria yelled from behind Val. "Captain Augusta is a stronger fighter than either one of you, and you just hate—"

But the captain whirled and suddenly struck the small female so hard that she went flying to the ground again. Val moved in a blink of an eye. Fire claimed her vision, a burning, flickering, fury that made her draw both of her blades and move straight for the captain. Her swords scissored in midair . . . only to crash down onto a large, gold broadsword.

Aris stood between her and the Sea Fae captain, the large weapon glittering in the low afternoon sun, his peridot eyes blazing as he looked at her over the locked blades.

" Get out of my way," she growled.

Aris did not move an inch as she pushed furiously down on his blade, fire beginning to roar from the hilt of her sword.

" Valeria!" he yelled. " Stop! Stand down this instant!"

Val snarled, her gaze still locked onto Elric over Aris's gold armored shoulder.

"Valeria!"

Finally, Val's eyes moved from the quivering Laenimorian captain to the golden green irises of the Pillar Legion's general. Their gazes locked. Val felt the fire extinguish in her and her sword dropped. She stepped back.

Aris lowered his own sword slowly, still eyeing her with a look of leery disappointment. He leaned past her and offered his hand to Atria.

"Are you okay?"

Atria nodded, her cheek a bright red from where Elric had hit her. The mark made the fire start bubbling inside of her again.

"Valeria, my office now ," Aris said through gritted teeth, and for once, his tone was not cool and collected. Head bowed, Val sheathed her swords. Aris turned to Elric, and this time there was no questioning the rage in his expression.

"I will deal with you later," he snarled, and then, grabbing Val by the elbow, he marched her back towards Light's Tower.

They took the long walk to Aris's office in a tense silence. Val was still breathing hard, waves of her Ember Magic steaming off her body. Her heart pounded in her ears, angry staccato rhythms that echoed with their footsteps in the empty corridor of Light's Tower's commanding offices.

Aris opened the door to his office for her, still not looking her in the face. Val marched in and threw herself into the same chair she had vacated the night before; arms crossed, face set. Aris shut the door with a gentle snap and walked briskly back to his desk and sank into his chair.

They sat there, rigid in their chairs, anger filling the space between them. Val was nearly vibrating with fury, Lycas's words still echoing in her ears.

Did your parents sell you to him like some trussed up concubine?

A chill of rage wrapped itself around the flame in her chest and her throat burned with unshed tears of embarrassment. Lycas had well and truly hit a nerve.

Finally, she heard Aris draw in a deep, steadying breath.

"What were you thinking, Valeria?"

Val huffed but did not answer. She was too angry to think straight—to even see straight. Aris was a golden blur in her vision as he rose from behind the desk and walked around it to stand in front of her, forcing her to have to stare at his boots. She refused to look up.

"Valeria," he said again. When she didn't answer, his hand reached out and grasped her chin, jerking her gaze up to his. Val's breath caught. For a second, they just looked at each other, his fingers still firmly on her jaw. As she looked into those hazel eyes, something in her seemed to sizzle.

She took a deep breath. The flames inside her began to dim, her blood pressure simmering down. Aris seemed to note this, and his fingers relaxed on her as she released a steaming breath that she had been holding. Her body finally cooled.

"Better?" he asked. She realized she was still gazing up at him, his fingers now softly holding her steady, before she coughed and looked away, nodding.

Aris released her and moved back to his desk, sitting down, and studying her quietly. The anger that was in his eyes back at the training arena was gone, replaced now with only concern.

"I know it is unfair of me to ask this of you," Aris said after a moment, "but I feel I must. Some say I took a risk appointing you as a captain."

Val stiffened, her heart giving a feeble tremble at this.

"But I do not regret it," Aris continued. "Not for a second. You are one of the strongest magic wielders we have in the Legion, Valeria. After our last battle against Maniel on our shores, there was no question in my mind that you deserve this position."

Val looked up at him, an image of the battle he mentioned flashing through her mind. It had been the scariest day of her life . . . The day a small battalion from her wretched kingdom had found her new home five years ago. How they had attempted to destroy it . . . burn it. Taking in a deep breath, she fought back the memory of Light's Tower in flames. And even though her chest ached at the thought, she would not let the tears fall. She could not. She was a captain, after all.

"Thank you," she whispered finally.

Aris gave her a small smile. "I know the others give you a hard time," he said. "And trust me, Elric and Lycas will be dealt with. But I have to ask you this favor, Valeria. Please try to comport yourself as a captain should. Do not stoop to their level. If not for my sake, then for your own."

"They do not respect me," Val said finally. It came out in a whisper, pained, and choked. "I do not know how I can act like a captain if they will not allow me to do so."

"Your unit does not believe that," he said. "If today was anything to go by, you have earned their utmost respect and loyalty. And that is what matters."

Val bit her lip, staring down at the floor. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she thought about her soldiers . . . her sisters. Aris was right. She knew they would protect her until the bitter end. And while the thought warmed her heart, it was far from a comforting one.

She looked up at the general. "I am sorry for my officers' reactions today. I did not think that they would—"

"Defend you?" Aris smirked. "Those girls would die for you, Valeria. You should have known that. However, . . ." He paused, his brow furrowing slightly, looking troubled. "As general, I cannot allow soldiers attacking a Legion captain to go unanswered. I will have to discipline them."

Val had expected this, had been braced for it. In Maniel, insubordination on that level warranted an extreme punishment. Flogging, beating, imprisonment . . . The thought of Lucia, Atria, and Katia being punished in that way just for defending her . . .

Aris saw the fear in her eyes, and he gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I am chalking this situation up to mutual combatants, so they will most likely get clean up duty and maybe extra laps at training. There will be no corporal punishment for them."

Val let out a relieved sigh, but felt a squirm of anxiety needle through her. "But won't Lycas and Elric be angry at your decision?"

Aris snorted. "Let them. I am their general. If they have a problem with it, I would like to see them try and challenge it."

Val gave a dry laugh. "I promise you, General, it will be me they try to challenge, not you."

Aris studied her. Gods, he always seemed to be studying her. At least this kind of long, scrutinizing stare wasn't nearly as discomforting as his all-consuming, lingering gazes that never failed to make her heart race like some mad horse.

"Well, we will see to that," he said finally. "And besides, while I have you here, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Val's heart did the weird, annoying flutter it always did around the general. She wanted to rip it out and throw it across the room out of pure spite.

"I am attempting to do a full reconnaissance on the High King of Maniel and his family," Aris said, much to Val's shock. "I think the Peruro family are our biggest worries when it comes to Bridah's safety."

"I agree," Val said quietly.

"And since you so kindly offered your assistance to me last night," Aris added with a sultry, knowing grin that made her face flush and her eyes roll simultaneously, "I thought you might be the best person to work with on this."

Val glanced up at him, her long curtain of hair falling into her face. "Is that the only reason you think I'd be the best person for this?" she found herself asking in a soft voice. "Or for another reason?"

Aris hesitated. That piercing, searching look appeared in his eyes again as they seemed to sweep every inch of her face. When he didn't respond for a beat too long, Val knew.

"You overheard."

He bowed his head. "Lycas's voice may have . . . carried a bit."

Val let out an indignant huff, her arms tightening over her chest. "Of course it did. He wanted you to hear it. Wanted everyone to hear."

Aris's gaze was still hard and firm, but a flicker of sympathy glimmered in those hazel eyes.

"Why did you not tell us?"

Val scoffed. "It's not exactly something you'd want to advertise, is it? They hate me enough already for being Manielian nobility. But to be betrothed to—" Val broke off, a chill running down her spine at the memory of the High Prince of Maniel. How wicked the spark was in his red eyes when they had run down her body. How they had looked at her as if she were an offering on an altar.

She shifted in her seat and lifted her chin higher, attempting to regain control of her now pounding heart as Aris watched her closely. "The prince was and still is a bloodthirsty brute. I had no choice in the arrangement, but I am ashamed even so."

"I thought the Peruro's were your cousins?" Aris inquired.

Val looked away, her face flushing. "They are. Intermarriage within powerful bloodlines is common within noble families. The older the family, the stronger the magic is. So the families tend to marry each other to strengthen it even more."

Aris nodded, his face still neutral, placid. "Yes, this happens in Ganiea as well," he murmured thoughtfully.

"My parents thought it would be the most advantageous match," Val scoffed. "I was inordinately powerful for a female in my line, though you wouldn't know it by how my brothers treated me. But because of this, I was something of a hot commodity."

Her resentment reverberated through every syllable, remembering how her parents had attempted to trade her like chattel. She had been paraded from lord to lord, from noble family to noble family like a prized chicken. When they had finally settled on the most prestigious family they could find, it had been a negotiation. The Peruro family had bestowed their son's hand to the Augusta's as if it were some holy blessing from Calida Herself. And even then, their betrothal came with conditions.

Val could not be seen in armor or with weapons. As the princess of the Ember Throne, she had to be a lady. While the Manielians prided themselves on being ferocious warmongers, the traditional role of the Princess of the Ember Throne was to be just that. A princess.

Val was not a princess.

"What happened to the wedding?" Aris asked.

Val's arms tightened across her chest. "It never happened. One of the conditions for my hand was that my brothers were to join the king's most elite, deadly unit." Val fought a shiver at the thought of the Blood Riders. The small unit was responsible for more than half the deaths in the war alone. "Of course, they joined gladly. That was when Maniel began their conquests at Praiton's side. When I did not agree with my family's stance, my brothers made me choose. Join them—join Praiton —or be banished from the family and Maniel forever." The thought of her brothers made cold fear prick her chest. Before the image of her middle brother, Leo, could overwhelm her, she shook him from her mind.

He cannot touch you here.

She looked up at Aris and she saw understanding in those hazel eyes, the colors so like that of a peridot stone. Always seeming to say so much while not revealing anything at all.

"You chose banishment," he finished for her.

She nodded. "I did."

She had lost her family, her home, her name. Every time Lycas called her Lady Augusta it sent an agonizing flame of pain through her core. She had discarded that name and all that it came with.

"I remember the day you came here," Aris mused. "You were bruised, beaten. Barely alive."

Val closed her eyes, mostly so she did not have to look at the general across from her. She didn't think she could stand to see his sympathy. She breathed deeply, the burning pain she felt in her chest intensifying as she fought for words.

It had been twenty years since she had come here. Since Nodaria had fallen. Since she been forced to choose. She could still feel the burns on her face, the ache in her body as her brothers held her down and . . . Val swallowed.

"My older brothers attempted to beat me into submission," she whispered after a long while. "Lorenzo and Leonidus were staunch supporters of the war. And they made it their mission to make sure I was, as well. By force."

Her brothers had beaten her within an inch of her life. Both extraordinarily strong Ember Magic wielders, they took turns beating and burning her, attempting to sway her position on the war. Leo, the younger brother, was more bloodthirsty than Lorenzo. He did most of the damage. And when she was one more hit from death, her oldest brother stepped in. Lorenzo had taken pity on her, given her a choice: yield or be banished. She had made her decision.

When she recounted this to Aris, she saw his eyes close, his long, calloused fingers rubbing his chin.

"I'm so sorry, Valeria," he murmured finally.

The feeling of Leo's hot hands on her made a cold shiver roll up her spine. Tears and panic overtook her before Val shook her head vehemently, pushing it all back. "They can say what they want about me," she said. "But I have sacrificed for this cause. I am steadfast in my mission to you, General."

Aris looked at her for a long moment, before the corner of his mouth lifted slightly in that same, heart-racing smile. "I do not have a single doubt about that," he said. "So, will you join me? Will you help me in learning more about the nobility of Maniel?"

Val did not hesitate. "I will tell you everything I know."