Chapter 3 #2
When the firestorm finally abated, the clearing was a blackened wasteland; the ground charred and smoking, the few bodies left unrecognizable heaps of burned bone and cloth.
I pressed a shaking hand to my lips.
Ash rained down like gray snow, settling on the ruined earth.
Katama’s heavy green wings beat the air as she landed hard close to Kaelith, stirring the ash into swirling, choking clouds.
Remy slid from her saddle, boots hitting the scorched earth with a grunt. His eyes swept the ruined clearing, lingering on the smoking piles of what had once been men.
“What the fuck was that?” he demanded, striding toward us, his hand still hovering near the hilt of his blade.
“We were ambushed,” Zander said grimly, brushing ash from his leathers. His tone was clipped, furious.
Remy dragged a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding off him in waves. “You should’ve been more prepared.”
Zander narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here, Saulter?”
Remy exhaled hard. “I was tracking Luther. He deserted First Guild two days ago. Took off with a few others. Word is, he’s got contacts inside the Order.”
I wiped a smear of ash from my cheek, my muscles still burning from the fight. “I didn’t recognize any of the others,” I said, voice rough. “Only Luther.”
Remy’s mouth tightened into a hard line.
“He killed the warders,” I said, stepping closer, anger hardening my voice. “Probably a few guards. It was him.”
“Not all the warders,” Remy said, his voice dropping lower. “Not the ones stationed in the outer kingdoms.”
The implication hit like a blow to the gut.
I squared my shoulders. “How many have died?”
Remy hesitated, jaw flexing.
“About thirty so far,” he admitted, voice low, almost ashamed.
The squad exploded.
“Thirty?” Ferrula growled, her green eyes blazing. “And you haven’t warned anyone how bad it is. There is no way we have enough left to protect all the kingdoms.”
“You knew Luther was a traitor,” Jax said, stepping forward, his fists clenched. “Tracking him isn’t the same as letting him get this close to us. You used us as bait.”
Naia’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Warders are supposed to be protected. That’s the godsdamn oath.”
Tae muttered a string of curses under his breath, kicking at the blackened dirt.
Cade spoke in a voice so cold it cut through the noise. “You let a traitor hunt us, Remy. Don’t expect us to forget that.”
Remy stood there and took it, shoulders squared, face grim.
But there was no excuse good enough to erase the blood that had already been spilled.
Remy reached into the inner pocket of his riding jacket, pulling out a rolled missive sealed with crimson wax.
He held it out toward Zander, his mouth tight with something that might have been guilt, or maybe just exhaustion.
“Luther’s not the only reason I’m here,” he said, voice low.
Zander took the missive without hesitation, breaking the seal with his thumb. His eyes flicked over the parchment, his jaw tightening with every line he read.
He handed it to me next, the parchment still warm from his grip.
I scanned the message before handing it back to him.
Zander blew out a slow, frustrated breath. “Ashe and I have been called to court,” he said, folding the missive neatly before slipping it into his belt.
Behind us, Remy shifted his weight awkwardly.
“In the meantime,” Zander said, glancing at the squad, “Remy has been left in charge of Thrall Squad.”
The silence that followed was colder than ice.
Ferrula crossed her arms, one brow arched high in disbelief.
Naia just stared at Remy like he’d personally offended her existence.
Tae muttered something about bad ideas and idiots under his breath.
Jax’s mouth twitched in a grimace, but he said nothing, only tightened the strap on Koddos’ saddle with unnecessary force.
Riven didn’t even bother hiding the way she rolled her eyes.
Cordelle was the only one not to react.
Remy stood there, taking it all without flinching, his mouth pressed into a thin, unhappy line.
I swung up onto Kaelith’s back, the saddle creaking under the familiar weight of my body.
Across from me, Zander mounted Hein in one fluid, practiced movement, his expression tight with barely restrained fury.
Behind us, the others stayed to finish what needed to be done.
Burying the charred dead.
I watched for a moment as Ferrula and Jax moved among the blackened remains, their faces grim, their movements careful. Naia stood with a shovel in her hand, her jaw clenched so tight it looked painful. Cordelle and Tae scavenged stones from the tree line to mark the graves.
My stomach twisted, but Kaelith’s impatient shift beneath me snapped me back to the present.
Zander and I lifted into the air without another word, soaring over the ruined clearing and leaving the smoke and ash behind.
The flight back to Warriath was short and heavy with the weight of everything we had experienced.
Despite the ache in my limbs, despite the exhaustion dragging at every part of me, we went straight to the castle as soon as we landed.
Straight to Theron.
He waited for us at the far end of the Great Hall, lounging on the throne-like chair reserved for council sessions, his tunic immaculate, his smile sharp and thin.
Inderia stood to his left, draped in deep-crimson, her fan fluttering lazily in front of her smug face.
“You summoned us,” Zander said, striding forward until we stood a few paces from the dais. His voice carried, clipped and cold.
“You didn’t even let us rest,” I muttered under my breath, but Zander heard it.
He stepped forward, his voice rising. “We just came from a battle, Theron.”
Theron’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You care too much for one soldier.” His gaze flicked toward me without an ounce of subtlety.
Inderia smirked behind her fan, her gaze sliding over me with undisguised disdain.
Heat rose in my chest, fury sparking at the edges of my exhaustion.
Theron rose from his chair with fluid ease, descending the few steps to stand in front of Zander.
“You left a mess near the road. You need to rein in your beasts. We still have an image to maintain.”
I bit down hard on the retort, burning my tongue, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“How do you even know about the attack or the dead?” I asked, forcing my tone to remain respectful.
Theron didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “You’ll return to your squad immediately,” he said, voice cutting like glass.
He waved a hand in dismissal, like brushing aside an irritating insect. “Your failures reach the castle faster than you think, rider.”
Dismissed.
He turned his back on us without another word.
Kaelith rumbled low in my mind, her anger a slow, simmering fire.
I caught Zander’s eye.
We didn’t need to speak.
We knew exactly how deep the rot had spread. He had wasted our time on purpose. And dismissed us as soon as I questioned his motives.