***Cadiz***
Dawn broke over the battlefield with cold, merciless light.
I sat on my horse at the rear of our formation, watching twenty-five thousand soldiers prepare to face thirty-five thousand imperial forces. The poison still worked through my veins, weakened by Cassius's healing sessions throughout the night, but far from gone. Every breath felt like dragging air through wet cloth.
"You're staying back," Raizel said beside me, and it wasn't a question.
"I have to," I admitted, hating the weakness in my voice. "If I burn through what little strength I have in the first hour, we'll have nothing left when it matters most."
Raizel's hand held mine briefly. "Lyris and Carl can handle the magical threats, Camilla's dual nature gives us an advantage they won't expect. And our soldiers..." He looked at the army stretched before us. "They're fighting too, it's going to be okay."
