chapter fourty #2
Dareth clears his throat as he finishes up the introductions and gestures to the long table.
“Gear up, you depart in one hour. Runes are fully powered; healers have provided spelled wraps and tonics. Take what you need.”
Everyone moves at once, packing rations of food and healing supplies, through the muffled murmurs of conversation and the ruffle of fabric, I hear Sirena speaking to Thane, complaining about the lack of sugary options, the sound makes a small chuckle escape me.
Fighting leathers are handed out, each marked with a rank.
Squad leaders like Kaden and Brynn bear a crescent moon with three stars.
Seconds-in-command have the crescent, two stars, and a smaller one between them.
Experienced warrior mages have the crescent, two stars.
Graduated warrior mages: crescent with one star.
Cadets… like me, bear only the crescent circled by a ring of star-iron.
The insignia makes my pulse quicken.
This uniform, this insignia… this makes it real.
Heart lodged in my throat; I follow the others’ footsteps and begin dressing in my leathers. They’re cool against my skin, fitting my form impeccably.
The collar ends below my collarbone and the sleeves cover the expanse of my arms. The leather is reinforced across the chest, and my rank is stitched above my heart.
Detachable black armour rests over my shoulders, and plated, fingerless gloves that encase my forearms echo the shoulder armour.
The black leather pants are tight yet flexible, reinforced at the joints and stitched with deep, practical pockets.
Once dressed, I finish by strapping my dagger sheath tight around my thigh.
I’m tightening the last buckle when a familiar warmth approaches from behind, cedar wood and cinnamon wrapping around me like a soothing balm. When I turn, he’s holding something in his hands.
A corseted piece of armour, midnight blue and unmistakably made for me.
It’s tailored to end just beneath my breasts, shaped to my form with deliberate precision. The surface is layered in overlapping plates that resemble dragon scales, each one catching the rune-light as if alive, different hues of blue shifting with every movement.
For a heartbeat, I almost believe they are scales. Almost forget that dragons have been extinct for centuries. Moonshade cerulium is inlaid along the boning, fine veins of azure threading through the armour.
My breath catches. “Kaden… what is—?”
“Armoured corset. Reinforced, made custom, and before you say anything… yes. It’s for you.”
I swallow. Hard.
This isn’t standard gear. Not even close.
This is the kind of armour warriors earn over years. The kind forged for heroes, not newly minted cadets.
“Kaden,” I murmur, guilt tightening my chest, “I haven’t earned anything like this. I’m not—”
“I don’t give a fuck.” His voice is a low warning, leaving no room for argument.
He lifts the corset between us, his eyes fixed on me with that fierce, unwavering intensity that always steals my breath.
“You are my equal in everything,” he says quietly. “Rank won’t change that. Rules won’t change that. You will wear this, and if anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with me.”
Heat flushes through me, and my pulse stutters.
He nods toward the corset. “Turn.”
My body obeys him before my mind catches up.
I turn and lift my hair, feeling the cool brush of leather settle against my stomach as he positions the armour around me.
His fingers move with slow precision, threading the laces, drawing them tighter, each pull sending a warm ripple down my spine.
“I read somewhere that crystals like moonshade cerulium were believed to enhance fae magic. Enabling them to be faster, stronger and harder to break.” He pauses, fingers tugging a little harder as he wrestles a stubborn lace into place.
“I had it inlaid into the boning. I don’t know if it’s true; it could hold no validity at all. But on the chance it is…”
His hands still. Just for a breath.
“I want you to have every advantage,” a pause. “And I want you safe.”
A shaky breath slips past my lips as I fidget with my ring.
“Kaden… I—Thank you.” I say, meaning far more than the words can carry.
His grip tightens for just a second as he finishes lacing my back up, “You’re welcome.”
A pulse later, he leans in and presses a soft, lingering kiss against the base of my neck, and the room around us fades into a distant hum.
“I know you don’t need me or anyone else to protect you, you could wipe the floor with half the mages on this damn squad… but for the sake of my sanity, love. Please stay close to me out there.”
“I will,” I whisper, taking in a steadying breath.
He squeezes his hand at my waist for a brief second before spinning me to face him. His eyes roam over me, darkening as a simmer of desire brushes against me through the bond before he can smother it.
“Next time I get on my knees for you, I want you in nothing but the sheath at your thigh and this corset,” He places two fingers under my chin, tilting my head up so I’m forced to look into his burning mismatched eyes, “Understand?”
My heart picks up, heat flushing beneath my skin until it’s all I can feel.
“Yes.” My voice comes out in a breath.
His lips claim mine, desperate, reverent and brief, “Good girl.”
He saunters away, raising his voice across the supply hall. “Everyone out! We leave in twenty!”
Throwing my satchel over my shoulder, I walk out of the hall, moving at a jog to catch up to Brynn.
She looks me up and down, a knowing smirk tugging at her mouth. She tosses a heating rune in her hand before attaching it to the star-iron band encasing my upper arm. Magic ripples over me, instantly keeping me warm against the bite of winter.
My eyebrow raises in silent question as I look down at the rune.
“It’s easier to fight without getting caught up in a cloak, and the standard fighting jackets are great, but not made for cold weather.
These runes keep us warm during the winter; they’re similar to the ones we use to heat our tents…
just these need to stay attached to us, otherwise they’re useless.
” She explains, pointing to her own arm, which sure enough is adorned with a small rune.
I nod, smiling gently, “Right. Makes sense as to why there were no winter cloaks with the uniform.” I clear my throat, “Do you think we’ll come across the lacwyvern straight away?”
She shakes her head, “No. If they spot us before we spot them, they’ll track us for a while. They don’t strike out of pure hunger alone. They communicate and plan attacks. I can imagine it’ll be a couple of hours, maybe even a day before we need to fight.”
“Gods,” I whisper. “I knew they hunted in flocks, but I didn’t know it was at that level.”
Ronan swoops in then, slinging an arm around me. “Yeah, they’re smart. Almost human-smart. But don’t worry, they’ve got nothing on you.”
I smile, his words easing that growing worry just a little.
The closer we trek toward the border outpost, the more the air hums, threaded with the kind of magic you feel in your bones.
The ‘border’ itself isn’t a wall at all, not the towering barrier many imagine.
It’s a thin shimmer of power stretched taut between ward towers, a silvery membrane of light that ripples like heat.
We gather tents, blankets and travel hearths, loading everything into a floating supply cart guided by a simple motion rune. The magicked wheels glide across the snow without sound.
I’m about to reach for my canteen to fill it with water when a voice slices through the frosted air.
“Sparks?”
My heart stumbles, and I turn. “Cole?”
He’s striding toward me, breath visible in the cold, hair wind-tossed, and leathers ruffled like he sprinted all the way here. Before I can speak, he pulls me into a crushing hug.
And gods, I melt.
Mandarin and rain. Home and safety. Memories of training sessions and late-night conversations and his obnoxious laugh.
For a second, I let myself rest in it, then I pull back.
His hands skim my armoured corset, eyes roaming over the leathers and cadet insignia just below my collar, then his eyes freeze. “They’re sending you out there, aren’t they?”
I open my mouth to speak, but I don’t get the chance as he storms past me.
“Cole… fuck. Cole, wait—”
He’s already crossing the clearing toward Commander Dareth and Kaden, fury rolling off him like heat.
“What the fuck is this?!” he shouts, voice echoing off stone. “You’re sending her out there? Why? Because she’s soul-bound to him?” He jabs a finger at Kaden.
“Cole, stop—” I rush forward, trying to wedge myself between him and the impending disaster.
“No, no. Don’t ‘Cole’ me, Elysia. Not right now.” His attention snaps back to Kaden, eyes sharp and accusing. “You’re squad leader. You could’ve stopped this.” Then he rounds on Commander Dareth. “And you. You’re allowing this?”
Kaden’s voice cuts through the tension like a blade. “Stand down, Sanchez. This does not concern you.”
Cole whirls on him. “The fuck it doesn’t. You’re sending an untrained mage into the field—”
“I’m not untrained,” I snap, stepping between them.
“I don’t give a fuck how trained you think you are… you’ve never faced these things. Never trained to kill them.” Cole fires back, voice cracking on the edges. “You’re my sister in everything but blood, I will not stand by while you become some lacwyvern’s fucking dinner.”
Silence swallows the clearing for one strangled heartbeat.
Then Cole speaks again, slower and much colder. “Only lightning can fully take them down. Right?”
No one answers.
He huffs a humourless laugh. “If the intel’s right, there are at least twenty-five out there. Sirena can’t take out that many on her own. She’ll burn out. But I—” He lifts his hand as lightning crackles over his skin. “I can help. You need me.”
“Absolutely not, Cole—” I try, voice furious and terrified all at once.
“I’m not asking you, Elysia.” He looks past me to Commander Dareth. “Commander. Deploy me with them. We can take out the lacwyvern twice as fast.”
I step directly into his line of sight. “Denied,” I bite out.
Cole ignores me completely.
Commander Dareth’s expression flickers as something like sympathy laces his eyes, faint but present.
He shifts around me, addressing Cole directly. “You are an exceptional warrior mage, Sanchez. And in this instance, you’re absolutely right.” He clears his throat, “But it is not my squad, so it’s not my decision. Reinheart, it’s your call.”
Kaden’s jaw tightens as his emotions flicker across the tether… irritation, fury, annoyance, all simmering beneath reluctant understanding. It bleeds through the bond like storm clouds gathering.
He exhales sharply through his nose. “He’s right, we’ll benefit from a second lightning wielder if the count is accurate.”
“Kaden!” I snap, the betrayal hitting sharp.
His eyes meet mine, laced with an unspoken apology.
Dareth nods once. “Agreed. Deployment approved.”
Cole releases a shaky breath—half relief, half triumph. “Thank you.”
Something inside me snaps. “Am I fucking invisible?”
Kaden’s gaze slides to me. “Never, love. But I will not risk Sirena burning out if it isn’t necessary.” He turns to Cole. “Gear up, Sanchez. Ten minutes.”
Cole flashes a small, almost apologetic smile my way before turning to sprint toward the supply hall.
White-hot anger floods my veins so fast it’s dizzying, sparking beneath my skin like wildfire. Shadows ripple up my bare arms on instinct, swallowing the flames before they can flare.
Kaden steps closer and slips his fingers beneath my chin, tilting my face up to his. But whatever tender apology he thinks he’s about to give dies the moment I shove him… hard, breaking his hold.
“Whatever you were going to say,” I hiss, swinging my satchel over my shoulder, “Save it. I don’t want to hear it.”
He exhales slowly, the sound scraped and raw.
“Moonfire,” he begins, “We all have a better—”
“I really and truly don’t want to hear your excuses right now.” My voice shakes with the force of my fury. “If anything, and I mean anything, happens to him out there… I will never forgive you.”
The words land like a blade between us, and his expression shutters.
But I don’t wait for whatever comes next.
I turn on my heel and storm towards my awaiting squad, boots crunching over frost, breath fogging in sharp white clouds.
They stand at the shimmering threshold of the border. Odette shifting restlessly, Enzo checking the straps on his pack, Ronan watching me with quiet concern, Brynn standing tall and unreadable.
As I reach them, Ronan opens his mouth, but he never gets to speak as Kaden’s voice cuts through the chatter.
“Everyone ready? If you’re not too bad, you had plenty of time to be.
” His eyes roam over everyone, carefully slow before lingering on me a heartbeat too long.
“I want everyone to stick together. If we must split, always try to keep someone at your side. Never find yourself alone. Do I make myself clear?”
Everyone replies with a unified yes, and my heart drops as the world closes in around me at his next words.
“Then let’s move.”