Equito
The air still smelled of burnt flesh. The wind carried it across the ridge in slow waves, heavy with smoke and iron. Equito stood on the slope overlooking the valley where the ambush had taken place. The ground was blackened, littered with charred armor and melted weapons. Crows circled above the corpses like patient priests waiting to begin a sermon.
She had not slept. Her armor was cracked along the shoulder, her hands still red from blood that was not her own. The healers moved among the wounded, murmuring soft prayers, their faces pale. The fires had been extinguished, but the land still breathed heat from beneath the soil.
Kael had done this.
Equito could still see him standing in the storm, his silhouette outlined in red light, the air vibrating with something that should not exist in a human body. She remembered the sound his blade made when it cut through flesh and spell alike, the steady rhythm of his steps, the silence in his eyes. He had fought until nothing moved, and when the last of the Rhaegis lay dying, he had simply stood there, staring at the sky as if waiting for it to collapse.
She closed her eyes and tried to forget, but the image burned brighter in her mind each time she blinked.
A squire approached, bowing low. "Commander, the king has received your report. He requests an update on our status before sunset."
Equito nodded, her voice quiet. "Tell him the ridge is secure. And tell him the dead will not be counted. It would take too long."
The boy hesitated, then saluted and left.
She knelt beside one of the enemy corpses. A Rhaegis mage, young, face frozen in terror. The woman's hands were still clenched around a shattered talisman. Equito pried it loose and turned it over in her palm. It was scorched, but faint inscriptions still shimmered beneath the soot. Words of protection. Words that had failed.
Her stomach turned.
She rose and walked through the wreckage until she reached the center of the battlefield, where the earth was cracked open in a perfect circle. At its heart, a crater smoked faintly. She could feel it pulsing, slow and steady, like a heart buried beneath the ash.
Kael stood at the edge, staring into it. His armor was splattered with blood, his sword driven into the ground beside him. The wind tugged at his cloak, lifting it in waves.
"You should rest," she said.
He did not answer.
"Kael," she repeated, stepping closer.
His head turned slightly. His eyes met hers, pale and distant, empty of recognition. There was no rage, no grief, no pride. Only stillness.
She wanted to speak again, but the words felt small.
He finally looked back at the crater. "They called me a monster," he said. His voice was calm, quiet, but the tone carried something hollow.
"You saved the ridge," she said, though even as she said it, the words felt wrong.
He pulled his sword free, the sound of steel scraping against stone breaking the silence. "I did what I was told."
Equito stepped beside him. "And what if they tell you to do it again?"
Kael did not look at her. "Then I will."
She felt a chill pass through her chest. The sun was rising, but the light seemed weak against the valley's smoke.
When she looked at him again, he was already walking away, heading toward the command tents. Soldiers moved aside as he passed, their eyes lowered, their faces tight with fear.
Equito remained where she was, staring at the crater, watching the faint embers flicker within. The pulse beneath the earth had grown stronger.
By the time she returned to camp, a messenger was waiting. "The king sends new orders," he said, handing her a sealed scroll.
She broke the wax and read. The handwriting was unmistakable. The words were cold.
'Advance east. Do not delay. Manipulate the boy if necessary.'
She folded the message and slipped it into her armor. Her throat tightened, and for the first time in years, she felt something close to dread.
She looked to the horizon where Kael's silhouette stood against the light of the dying sun.
The war had only just begun, and she already feared they had lost something they could never reclaim.