War had a different vibe. It was different than fear—stranger than anxiety. It was cold and distant and present, burrowing deep into a person’s soul. People could see war because they watched soldiers practicing magic and mages working on barriers. They could hear war: it was in the striking of anvils and in the undertone of every conversation, laced like doubt and mistrust after someone cheated. They could smell it in the air, thick with the acrid stench of sulfur from burning bodies in the summer air.
Sara liked war—but not for the same reason that warrior conqueror types liked war. She liked war because of its simplicity. In war, it didn’t matter who was right or wrong or who started what. If someone didn’t fight and win, their wives would be sold off, and their children would be killed. Black and white, good and evil. It was a strict contrast to the agonizing feelings of moral ambiguity that made her question if she was a terrible person or not. Compared to normal life, she felt free.
The heroes didn’t feel the same. They ate in relative silence unless they were sharing information they learned about King Lemings’ troop movements. They coped with shallow jokes told around the fire, huddling together for warmth, even when the room was too hot. And during practice, they worked harder, but their souls weren’t in it. They didn’t understand the urgency or implications of war. Only Sara, Raul, and Emma understood—and all three saw it differently.
Emma ran about, giving moral support, telling people it would be alright, and awkwardly half-lying to everyone she spoke to about what battles were like. As for Raul, he grieved first instead of last, a deliberate approach now that he had already experienced war. Perhaps because of that, he saw things differently, and that difference led to the wake-up call that changed Sara’s life. Until that point, Sara had no clue just how close she was to the edge—just how little it would’ve taken before her life was guaranteed to end in tragedy. Yet he was there at the right place at the right time to give her the slightest chance of pulling it all together—no matter how slim the chances were by then.
That moment happened during practice. Andy’s crew had constructed and reinforced a massive stone wall, and the heroes took turns hitting it with the highest-level spells that they could. Meteor strikes. Wind slashes. Earthquake spells. The results ranged from minor damage to impacts that devastated the area around the blasts. Yet no one could destroy the wall itself, a testament to the remarkable improvement of the engineering team. That was until Raul stood on the pit. He was the anchor, the person who people expected to turn impossible situations around when Sara was away. Raul didn’t like that role, but he accepted it, and his eyes were resolute. He lifted Halkon’s Executioner high, and the blade wrapped in flames before he slammed it into the ground directly in front of the wall. He hadn’t fed blood to the blade, so the strike didn’t affect the wall directly, but the ground it was on exploded in a massive rain of shrapnel, and the ground underneath the stone wall collapsed, causing the wall to topple. It didn’t stop there. The fissure from the impact tore past the area, and the splitting and reverberations caused trees behind it to collapse. Raul frowned when he saw the impact, and with each tree that fell, it became graver.
Sara could tell what he was thinking:
People. Those trees are people.
That look scared her. Raul was her anchor, too, and if he wasn’t able to do what needed to be done, then the whole operation would fall apart. So she decided to confront him head-on about what she needed with a blunt order and gauge his reaction.
Sara walked up to him. “I need you to lead the heroes.”
Raul’s body stiffened, and he looked at her slowly. “Wait. What? What about you?”
Sara’s face turned stern. “I’m going to pay King Lemings a visit.”
Raul’s eyes took on a strange twinge of dread and confusion that slowly turned into a look of madness. “Alone?” he asked.
“Correct,” Sara confirmed. “It’s a hundred thousand versus a small army and a group of heroes. We need to end this war. That’s the fastest way.”
Raul developed a wide smile, and he bobbed his head a few times before laughing and shaking his head. “I finally get it now.”
Sara froze and crossed her arms. “Get what?”
“Why all of your plans seem so reckless.” He looked into her eyes, and his smile turned cold. “It’s because they are.”
Sara’s eyes narrowed. “King Lemings has sent all his forces to attack us. He’s undefended. It’s the perfect chance to strike.”
“No, it’s not.” Raul sat on a boulder, staring at the grass as if it were a pond with coy fish. “Sara. Don’t do this.”
“Have some confidence, Raul,” Sara said. “The heroes are nuclear weapons, and the second they become desperate, they’ll strike. We have twenty thousand troops and one highly fortified stronghold. Their siege will take at least a week. You can hold out for a day or two until I get back."
“You don’t get it, do you?” Raul looked at her with a contemptuous glare. “What if Emma dies?”
Sara’s arms rippled with goosebumps, and her brain tingled with cold electricity.
“Your motivations are all fucked up,” Raul said. “You’re trying to get everything you lost back, but you’re destroying it instead. It’s not because you’re not capable—god knows you are. But it’s because you’re impatient. Throwing yourself in prison? Rushing to fight alone?” He turned around to see if anyone was listening. They weren’t. The heroes knew better than to eavesdrop on Sara’s discussions. Raul looked back at her. “Not securing your family before you did all of… this.”
Sara’s body trembled, and she felt true anger. Not because he was wrong, but because people just get real fucking angry when their family’s involved. They get angry when they’re called out. They get angry at themselves. And most importantly, Sara just had an anger problem—but she didn’t act upon it. She kept silent.
“You’ve succeeded every time,” Raul said. “You’ve nailed a kill shot. You’ve taken over a goddamn kingdom in two years. Congrats. But if you keep doing this, you’re going to lose Emma, your family, hell, everyone that matters to you. Stop acting like a fucking machine and make a plan that considers the people you love. Then give me an order. I’m not going to help you fuck up your life—even if you kill me for it.” Raul stood and walked away as if she was just a normal friend instead of a queen. For whatever reason, that just made her feel worse. It made her feel like a person that was being criticized instead of a leader. That burned deep. Yet Mary’s words echoed in her head, telling her she was worse, and Raul’s words gave them credence.
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Sara swallowed and thought of Kyritus and Tiber and…. She clenched her fists. She needed to take protection into her own hands—and she decided it would start immediately.
2
Sara flew a silver glider twenty miles west out of Lemora, lowering in a small serf town called Selene, which connected the trade routes between the Quell and Escaran Kingdoms. Selene was a commercial town, busy with inns and caravan campsites but sparse with buildings outside of the commercial district. It was strange yet natural since few stayed there longer than to eat and get some rest before the trip out. Only the people who catered to the merchants lived there, and the homes were pricey.
Despite how small the town was, it was technologically advanced. There were water purification systems that didn’t rely upon water magic systems and roadways that were paved with a smooth concrete alternative. The buildings were lavish for Reemada, and the red-light district and gambling dens were still in the open, untouched by Lemora’s crackdowns but nervous and unflaunting. Even during the daytime, people were selling grains and buying spices and metal works, making deals for goods before they got to Lemora so they could sell them at a premium.
Once Sara tied up her silver glider and presented false paperwork, she walked through the town under the cloak of invisibility, weaving in and out of crowds. She quickly turned down a side street, jumped onto a building, and took a bird’s-eye-shortcut to the largest brothel in the city. It was a luxurious building called the Elanam, with mana crystals illuminating a rainbow assortment of colors on its sign. Inside, women walked around in robes, showing their cleavage and thighs, giving the illusion that they were naked underneath as men got drinks and food and discussed matters other than their wives.
Sara weaved through the area, silently passing like a ghost. Then, she ascended a double staircase that curved to the second floor. Once she reached the end of the hall, she made her way up a third staircase and down a hall. Ten ranked adventurers—the best she could find—stood in the hallway, guarding her guests, and when they noticed her presence, they immediately grabbed their swords and prepared ice spells.
Sara released her invisibility, and they paled, taking a knee.
“My lady!”
“I’m pleased that you noticed me,” Sara said. “But I’ll praise you another time. I’m in a hurry.”
“You honor us, My Lady. Right this way.”
The adventurers opened the door to the penthouse suite and led Sara inside, exposing a luxurious space that made the royal bedroom feel bare and tasteless. It had golden furniture upholstered with red cushions, tapestries above the main bed, a full kitchen in the back, and two bedrooms on the side. It was a full apartment.
A woman and her child sat in the seating area, playing a game. They were remarkably plain in appearance. The woman was a brunette with braided hair and a conservative blue dress, and the boy, despite being six, had calloused hands and a skeptical face.
“Who… are you?” Elima Jomther, Rokus’s wife, asked.
“My name is Sara Reece,” Sara answered.
Elima’s face paled and she grabbed her child, pulling him close. “W-What do you want?”
“You needn’t be alarmed,” Sara said, sitting down. “I’m acting queen of the Escaran Kingdom. I’m not a wanted criminal.”
Sara’s people had kidnapped Elima and Rono after Rokus agreed to leave. She imagined Tyran explained the situation, but it didn’t change the fact that Sara was imprisoned when the adventurers took her away or the fact that they were locked in a room for half a year.
Elima swallowed hard and looked at the adventurers with a new light. “W-What do you want with us?”
“I promised your husband that I would protect you,” Sara said. “So that’s what I’ve been doing.”
“By kidnapping us?!” Elima asked, gripping Rono, her son, to her bosom. “Why haven’t you told us?”
“It wasn’t safe,” Sara said. “But now it is. That’s why I’m here to take you back to Lemora. You can live in the castle with guards—”
“Where’s my husband?” Elima’s eyes welled with tears.
“I want Daddy,” Rono said, clutching her.
Sara stared at her with anguish. In their last life, Sara had been there on the day Rokus’s second child was born—a child that hadn’t been born and would never live. Sara was close to Elima then. Now, she was a stranger and a monster to all of them. That hurt. But what hurt the most is that Sara’s idea of protecting this woman was to pay high-ranking adventurers to guard her in a safehouse people wouldn’t expect and never check in again.
“He’s not dead,” Sara said. “He’s on a mission and boarded up for the winter. He should be on his way back. Don’t worry. I’ve taken precautions to ensure his safe passage.” She grimaced under Elima’s distrustful glare. “Now please, allow me to fulfill my promise to protect you. Not for me—but for him.”
Sara felt shivers down her spine when she realized that she had to beg someone to let her protect them. She wondered how Kyritus felt about getting visited by soldiers, being ripped from his prized tavern—the only thing he owned—and then shipped into a desert by some woman he barely knew. It occurred to her then that she probably had no chance of ever marrying Kyritus now—
—but she swore to put him and Tiber and her loved ones before her decisions from now on. Not for her fantasy but out of love for her family.
3
Sara knocked on Raul’s door that night. “It’s me.”
Raul sighed and grunted, getting off his bed. “One minute.” It took less than a minute. When he opened the door, he was wearing a pair of tied shorts and a muscle shirt (both custom-made), proving that he hadn’t changed since he left Earth. “Yeah?” he asked bluntly.
“I have another strategy.”
4
Raul stood before the heroes to make the most gruesome announcement of his life. Calling it gruesome was both dramatic and accurate. Sara’s plan wasn’t cold or cruel or callous, and it wasn’t unreasonable—but it required killing. And since Raul had agreed to lead the heroes, it fell on him to give the command. Sara had already instilled in the heroes the requirement to kill—but it hit different when it was time to act. Still, this is what he requested, and he agreed with the plan. So, he took a deep breath and gave the order:
“Three kingdoms are marching on Lemora,” Raul said. “They have armies in the tens of thousands. To prevent them from overwhelming Lemora, we are going out to meet them head-on—and thin out their numbers.”
No words had struck so much fear into the heroes’ hearts, and Raul could tell that the reality of war had reached them for the first time.
“Lady Reece will be leading Emma and the engineering corps; I will be leading Emily and the mages. If you’re with me, it’s an honor. It means that Lady Reece trusts in your strength. If you’re with her, it means that you’re critical personnel or you have room for growth.” Raul panned their gazes. “We will all be going. So be ready by morning light.”
5
It was 1 a.m. when Sara completed light etching a fifth barrier ring (similar to the one she gave Emma). Combined with the ones she had made for Emily and Rena in the beginning (which she never gave to them out of fear of rejected friendship), she had seven. It wasn’t enough for all the heroes—but it was a start. They would face their first battle tomorrow, and she wanted Raul and his team to be protected. This gesture wasn’t the same as Sara hovering over Raul and Emma in the beginning. Far from it. Somehow, Sara had suffered a complete reversal and put too much confidence in the heroes. Now, she was compromising. Sara wouldn’t hover, but she vowed that if she could do something passive to protect the people she cared about—she would. Kyritus. Tiber. Elima. Rono. Raul. Emma. Edico. The heroes. This time around, she would make this world a better place for the people she lost along the way.
Sara finished the final touches on the rings and looked at the bottle of helshma on her desk. It was still corked, and she hadn’t had a drop. It tempted her—but she didn’t drink it. Instead, she snuggled up with Tilly and Reck and let her emotional fatigue ferry her off to sleep.