“Kill them.”
That was Andy’s order as he unsheathed his sword. Darius shot forward and killed Matt with one swipe, and Andy blinked in front of Robby, who didn’t even plead before his head dropped to the ground. Then Sara helped them finish off the remainder, doing her fair share. She was a ruler, but when she leveled a judgment, she swung the sword. That’s what Andy admired about her most.
When they finished, Andy closed his eyes and looked to the sky, feeling like a serial killer. [It’s not the same thing,] he thought. [It’s not the same….] He was repeating himself a lot these days. The first time he said it, it was a lie. The second time he said it, he was convincing himself it was true. Whatever it was, he looked to Sara for guidance. “Did we do the right thing?” he asked.
Sara shook her head at the ground. “I don’t know….” She looked up and took a defeated breath. “But you did what I would’ve done.”
The dissidents were a problem until the end of the war and locking them up in Lemora could break up the heroes’ harmony—especially if they could seed doubt in Elizabeth, a topic they’d later agree to never speak of again. The dissidents were liabilities in every sense: Andy was destined to kill them—if not today than tomorrow—and since they were enemy combatants, they hardly qualified as personal or political enemies. That’s why Andy decided to just rip off the band aid—for everyone’s sake.
Helen gripped her forearms and turned to Sara. “I won’t judge you either way, but….” She trailed off, likely wondering if she wanted the answer to the question she planned to ask.
Sara stopped polishing her sword with a rag and looked Helen in the eye. “Does it even matter?” She went back to cleaning Qualth. “Everyone’s unified. Life’s better. If you question blessings, you’ll never be happy,” she said. Then she paused again, seemingly doubting her own words. “Unless someone gives you an option—then question with prejudice.” Seemingly convinced with her words, she continued polishing again.
Helen smiled wryly and sat down, looking east toward the Lemings Capital.
“Sara…” Andy said, not using her title, which had an impact of its own.
Sara stopped polishing again. “Yeah?”
“What happens after all of this?” he asked. “The war, Agronus… all of it?”
Sara thought about it and then shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I never made it that far.” The group sat in silence for a while before Sara paused and added. “But I suppose you’ll get married. Maybe have kids…. Keep living, I guess. Life doesn’t end. It keeps going on.”
Andy and Helen blushed, and Darius chuckled, making a box with his thumbs and indexes and putting the couple into it. “And I’ll come to the wedding,” he said.
“Hey!” Helen yelled.
They all shared a few chuckles, and then Sara stood up. “Let’s bury them and head home.” The others nodded and set to work, digging graves and burying the dissidents’ bodies under the setting sun. By twilight, they had paid respects and left General Tronan (still living but unable to move) and the dead elites on the rocky range, waiting for Lemings Forces to find them. By nightfall, they had flown to a wooded area and made camp, eating dinner as Sara penned a letter to King Lemings by firelight.
2
The next morning, King Lemings smoothed his fingers over an envelope stamped with the Escaran seal. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Rogal, the Head Mage who assessed Matt and the dissidents, said. “This was found in General Tronan’s spatial storage. It said the general was still alive and gave directions on where to find him.”
“She kept him alive?” King Lemings asked, feeling his temples throb from his beating heart. “Why?”
“It didn’t say, Your Majesty. Perhaps the answer is in that letter.”
King Lemings understood that, but he was hesitant to open the letter—afraid of what he might find. Yet he still forced himself to do it, asking Rogal to heat the wax so he could open it without tearing the envelope. Then he pulled out the letter and read.
3
Sara mounted her silver glider and took flight with the others, heading back home. She had all but gotten to the Lemings Capital, so there was over a week’s flight until she made it back to Lemora. She was confident that Raul had staved off Quell’s forces, and Markon’s 15,000 soldiers would not be able to siege Lemora’s defenses and fight 20,000 Escaran troops. Still… she got a sinking feeling that Raul’s demonstrations wouldn’t work. She should’ve given him a path and instructions to follow, but that would defeat the purpose of the training exercise. Ultimately, she planned to leave him in Lemora to defend and make grand demonstrations—that would still happen. Everything else was just a bonus. But if something went wrong…. She was way too far away at this point. Way too far away. She prayed for his safety, only taking solace and satisfaction in what she wrote to King Lemings.
[King Lemings,] she had begun. [Since you’ve refused to address me, we have not formally met. My name is Lady Reece, and I’m the woman who will defeat Agronus, the Demon King. Compared to him, your armies are irrelevant.]
Sara felt anger boiling within her as she wrote those words. That wasn’t fair—she had started the war. But the simple fact was that Jason was destined to deteriorate, King Escar’s paranoia was preordained, and King Lemings’s fate was to attack her later. So, like most things she was doing, she only accelerated the timeline. And even if things were her fault completely—she didn’t care. King Lemings’ forces had killed Wiles and Jennifer—something that was hitting her harder than she imagined—and she was angry. So, she continued scribbling with pressure that blotted the page with obsidian ink.
[I have been merciful by sparing your citizens and troops thus far, but I assure you, King Lemings. If you attack Lemora, I will not be so magnanimous. I’ll bring my entire force and rain fire upon your lands, burn your crops, slaughter your troops, and seize your kingdom in the name of the Escaran Kingdom and the True Blood Hier, Alecov Escar. Act wisely.]
Sara overlooked the Lemings Kingdom’s scenery, which was calm, filled with blue streams and rustling trees. If scenes expressed emotions, it was the polar reflection of the rage-filled wasteland she was feeling. Yet she finished out the last sentence in her head, aware of the stakes of what she had done.
4
King Lemings mumbled the last sentence aloud, torn by a sense of cold expectation and disbelief. “Surrender and pay reparations to our kingdom and reclaim your place as our ally when we finish the Thousand Year War—or perish before humanity’s greatest victory.”