6. CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

W hen Val headed below deck, it was to find Lucia, Katia, and Atria waiting for her in her small captain's cabin. Most of the other soldiers had to sleep in steerage, with only one or two cabins available for those of the highest rank onboard. Val always made it a point to share her quarters with her unit. She regretted this, however, when all three of them looked up as she walked in. And all three of them could see something was wrong.

"What happened?" Atria asked. They were all seated on the floor around the single bunk in the room. There was barely any space to step around them, but Val managed. She collapsed on the floor, almost squashing Katia, who let out a little yelp of protest.

"Nothing," Val sighed, but her friends rolled their eyes.

Lucia lounged against the wooden wall of the bed frame and raised her patrician eyebrows at her. "Did you run into the general?"

The two other girls' heads whipped around to look at her.

"The general?" Atria cried.

"What about the general?" Katia squawked.

Val turned and glared at Lucia. "Thanks a lot."

Lucia smirked. But the damage was done. Both Katia and Atria would not let it go, and continued to hound Val, jumping on her from all angles.

"What about the general?"

"Did he do something?"

"Is this about what he said that night on Gaia?"

"Is it actually true?"

"For the love of the Mother, okay!" Val cried, waving her arms to silence the interrogation. The girls fell silent immediately. "Aris may not have been . . . exactly lying when he said that on Gaia," Val mumbled.

There was half a beat where it seemed as if Atria and Katia had been struck dumb. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

" What?"

"You and the general?"

"No way!"

"Tell us everything !"

And at that moment, with her sisters clamoring over her, Val suddenly felt . . . normal. Like she wasn't a captain in a military during a bloody war who was caught in a torrid affair with their commanding general, but just another girl. Another girl who could tell her friends about her latest conquest and laugh and gossip. Another girl who would return home to her family after kissing the boy next door. Another girl who could hope for marriage and a future family. A girl whose life was not hers.

"It wasn't all that," Val said, blushing furiously. "It wasn't even nearly that. And I forbid you all from mentioning anything to anyone! Mother knows it's the last thing I need."

Katia and Atria exchanged looks between them, before glancing at Lucia.

"Why does she know and we don't?"

Lucia shrugged. "I was in the right place at the right time," she replied.

They protested more until Val finally called for order again. "Now that's the end of that," Val insisted. And when they complained some more, she relented. "Fine. Maybe after we return home to Light's Tower after this mission. Maybe then I will tell you."

This seemed to satisfy them. Lying backwards on the floor the best they could, Atria rested her head on Katia's shoulder, Katia draped her legs across Val, and Val laid her head on Lucia's lap. They all fell silent, the crackle of the fire in the torch above peaceful with the slosh and slap of water underneath them.

"Tell us the truth, Val," Katia said after a moment. "Is the general really hot naked?"

Val kicked her and the small cabin erupted with giggles.

"I'm serious," Katia gasped through her laughter. "I always felt like he must be huuuuuge ."

Atria gave a shriek of laughter, and Val couldn't help throwing her head back and laughing with her whole body. Even Lucia was laughing beside her.

"Well, if I ever find out I'll be sure to tell you," Val said, knowing she would do no such thing. Their laughter filled the cabin—Katia wheezing, Atria wiping tears from her eyes, and Val gasping to catch her breath. Eventually, they all fell silent again, their laughter petering out.

"Do you reckon we'll see a dragon?" Atria whispered into the silence.

"It's possible," Val whispered back.

Katia shivered. "I couldn't imagine the High King on a dragon. The only thing worse may be Lord Decius on a dragon. How could we stand a chance against a beast like that?"

Lucia tutted. "No more talk like that," she admonished, using the toe of her boot to nudge Katia. "We can conquer anything as long as the four of us are together."

The others murmured in agreement, and Val felt herself smile as she looked up at Lucia. Her golden eyes sparkled in the firelight as she smiled back.

Val had always thought that, between the two of them, Lucia was the better leader. She'd always hoped that one day, she'd be able to rally her unit like Lucia could. It was unfair to think that Val had gotten the title of captain over her purely because she was more powerful. Lucia was always the stronger leader. Full of grace and poise, she was everything Val was not.

But at least she was her best friend.

Without so much as another giggle, Val and her sisters fell asleep.

The trek from the port in Dritus to the Manielian border of Bridah was as long as expected. The only consolation was walking with her unit, and that Aris stayed away. She hated the fact that her heart had the nerve to be upset about this.

"Are we heading to Burningtide?" Atria asked, jogging to keep pace with Val.

Val shook her head. "The general wants us further north. He thinks if Maniel will invade, it won't be anywhere near the Legion's outpost."

Atria mumbled something that seemed like a reluctant agreement.

They walked for miles, the cold coming from the western glaciers in Bridah making her teeth chatter as they marched ahead.

By the time Aris ordered them to halt, it was midafternoon. Val and the three units settled in an abandoned Manielian outpost several leagues north of Burningtide Sanctum. The fort was old and dusty. Crates and barrels were piled up in rotting corners, the inside of the stone fortress reeking of dead rats and stale alcohol.

Lucia's nose wrinkled. "How long are we to stay here?" she asked. Aris was already in the room, clearing the dwelling, his large gold sword drawn.

"Until Bridah reaches a solution to protect themselves against a dragon," he replied, his tone terse, business-like. Val watched him move from room to room, his sharp hazel eyes skimming right over her. "We need an enforced presence on this border. If we can stay quiet and out of sight, we may prove to be an unforeseen obstacle for them."

"And how long are you staying for, General?" Lucia asked, leaning coolly against the dirty brick wall. Val shot her a glare. By the tiny smirk on her lips, Lucia knew exactly what she was doing.

Satisfied with his thorough check of the building, Aris glanced up. His eyes locked with Val's for a split second before shifting over to Lucia.

"As long as necessary," he replied, before excusing himself and sweeping out of the room.

The minute he disappeared around the corner, Val turned to glare at her second in command.

"Subtle."

Lucia gave her a catlike smirk and her friends brushed past her.

Val, Aris, and Saros began immediately delegating posts and duties. Camps were made, and by the time everything was situated, the sun was high in the sky. Val left her unit in their positions by their own camp in the west side of the building to head outside to take the first watch.

The desert air was beginning to heat with the afternoon, and Val breathed in the dry, acrid breeze.

Home .

It had been years since she had been on Manielian soil. She had always been too scared; reluctant to accept reconnaissance missions or excursions to the kingdom. She had expected them to stay on the Bridanian side, but this . . . this was too close to home.

The morning sun twinkled off a glint of gold in the distance. It was the very tip of the Red Citadel. The home of the Peruro family.

"You okay, Captain?" Val turned to see Katia coming into view. She was holding a bundle of supplies, which she had been distributing throughout the Nodarian squadron's ranks.

"Fine," Val replied quickly. "Go back inside."

"But we're helping!" Atria appeared on Katia's other side, her arms filled with heavy jugs of water that shone with the ever-brightening sun.

"Not by much," Lucia remarked, appearing on her other side, holding a spare shield and a few swords.

Val's eyes scanned their ranks, a bead of sweat rolling down her temple. The Nodarian squadron were grouped, Saros at the helm, beginning to set up camp. Val's own squadron was organizing the supplies, settling down within the small fortress.

She ran her hand over the hilts of her dual swords and tried to steady her heart. They were posted up at the border of Maniel now, the desert heat falling over their small numbers like a blanket. Since they had entered Maniel, there was an unbearable flutter in her chest. The hair on the back of her neck was prickling with sweat and something else . . . as though something was coming.

Val spun around, her eyes sweeping the horizon, before turning to the skies.

"What is it?" Lucia whispered to her. The skies were scudded with clouds, covering the sun. This wasn't good. If they were taken by surprise from the air, there wouldn't even be a shadow to warn them of the impending danger. Val's eyes scanned every cloud, looking for a wing or a tail.

"Val—"

"I have to speak to Aris," Val said abruptly. Lucia's brow wrinkled in confusion, but Val didn't have time to explain. The prickle of her skin, the fear licking at her like a flame in her stomach. She couldn't explain it, but she knew she could not ignore it.

Pushing through the soldiers standing around, Val fought her way towards the glint of gold at the front of the pack, her heart pounding in her chest.

It was standard Manielian warfare. A hot day with low humidity, luring the enemy to their homefield. Val had sat in on enough Manielian military strategy meetings to know what a perfect day for an attack looked like to the elite units.

Val shoved through the Nodarian unit—Saros giving her an inquisitive look as she went—until she was stumbling out of the ranks, and right into the general's armored back.

"Valeria," Aris exclaimed, spinning around. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Val could only point at the sky, panting as she struggled to explain the sensation. How she just knew something was wrong . . . The capital city of Ignisis was only a few dozen leagues away, and even the very temperature had been increasing steadily over the last few hours.

Val babbled all of this to Aris, her hands gripping his arms as she attempted to get everything out.

"Slow down, Valeria, slow down ," Aris said, his hands tightening on her wrists, his tone soothing. "I understand what you're saying, but I have spies within Maniel. If the Manielian army has an attack planned, I would have heard it—"

But Val was shaking her head. "This is not infantry," she whispered. "This is a special unit. And unless you have spies within that unit, you will not know this is coming."

Aris's face blanched. "What special unit?" he demanded. "Valeria, what special unit ?"

Val couldn't breathe. The heat of the day pressed down on her, the thrum of the soldiers around her, the look on Aris's face . . . She could hear Lucia calling her name from somewhere behind her, but she felt like a hand was gripping her throat as she shook her head.

" Valeria!" Aris shook her desperately as he cried, " Which unit?"

"The Blood Riders," Val whispered.

All the color left the general's face. She could see his mind racing, see him adding it all up. Then, he whirled around.

" Saros!" he shouted.

The Nodarian captain turned. Val watched in slow motion as his violet eyes darted from Aris, and then towards the sky. His hands shot up and he let out a roar as he stopped a flaming projectile, just inches away from exploding right on top of the Pillar Legion.