The smell of hay and oiled leather filled the stables, thick and grounding. We stood amidst the restless shifting of horses, everything finally prepared for the long road ahead. The Legions looked different today—transformed. They had spent the morning sharpening steel until it hummed, but it was their attire that held my gaze. The King and Queen of Erindale had gifted them a new set of armor, reconstructed from the ancient designs of the Thera army. The metal was reinforced, catching the low light, and embroidered over every chest was the symbol of my home. The crest of Thera.
Seeing them pledge their loyalty in the sacred grove of Erindale had done something to my heart. They weren't just mercenaries or Aevum defectors anymore; they were the first embers of a rising kingdom. Evander had bowed his head in a rare moment of visible emotion as he thanked them.
I turned to the rulers of Erindale, my voice steadier than I felt. "Your Majesties, thank you for having us here. For everything."
The Queen's smile was soft, layered with a mother's understanding. "We are the ones who are glad, Solace," she replied.
"May the heavens guide your path," the King added, his voice resonant. "Take care of yourself, Solace of Thera."
The title still made my skin prickle. We mounted our horses, offering one final, deep sign of respect before we spurred them forward. The Great Stallion beneath me lunged, and soon we were a blur of motion, kicking up a storm of dust as we thundered toward the edge of the Erindale fortress.
But as the gates loomed, the horizon changed. A wall of steel and color blocked our exit. Dozens of soldiers sat atop their mounts, their formation perfect and suffocating. My blood went cold the moment I saw the flag snapping in the wind. The black and gold of the Aevum Empire.
"How did they know we were here?" I hissed, pulling my horse to a hard halt.
Evander looked as though he'd been struck. "I... I don't know, Your Majesty. The King of Erindale gave his word, and Erindale does not break its vows."
I closed my eyes for a fleeting second, fighting the intrusive thought of betrayal. I didn't want to believe one of our own had sold us out, but the timing was too perfect. Beside me, Alaric was a statue of suppressed rage. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping, and his knuckles were white against the hilt of his sword. He was looking at his father's men—men he had once led—and I knew the pain of it was cutting him deeper than any blade.
The Aevum Captain stepped forward, his voice booming across the clearing. "BY THE KING'S ORDER, ALL WHO SIDE WITH THE LADY NAMED SOLACE AND THE PRINCE WILL BE BEHEADED! SURRENDER NOW, AND YOU SHALL BE GRANTED MERCY!"
A ripple of disgust went through me. Mercy was a word the King of Aevum didn't understand.
"WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!" our Captain roared back, surging to the front of our line. Evander was right beside him, his blade singing as it left the sheath.
"THEN YOU HAVE CHOSEN DEATH!" the Aevum Captain bellowed, signaling the charge.
The ground began to shake as they lunged for us, but before the first strike could land, a horn blasted from the fortress walls behind us. The heavy gates of Erindale swung wide once more, and a sea of ivory-clad soldiers poured out. They didn't just join the fray; they engulfed it.
The Aevum legions were instantly, hopelessly outnumbered. It wasn't a battle; it was a slaughter.
The Erindale soldiers met the Aevum steel with a ferocity that spoke of years of stifled resentment. Within minutes, the air was thick with the copper tang of blood and the screams of the dying. The Aevum line broke, men throwing down their weapons as they realized that to fight was to be erased from existence.
Through the chaos, the King of Erindale emerged, flanked by his personal guard. He rode through the carnage, his face grim as he took in the bodies of the Aevum soldiers scattered like broken dolls across the road. He spurred his horse toward me, his eyes searching my face. I sat frozen in my saddle, a whirlwind of confusion, fury, and a strange, hollow relief rushing through me so fast I couldn't find my breath.
I looked down at the blood staining the dirt of a kingdom that had tried to protect us, and I knew the war hadn't just begun. It had finally found us.