I ducked one spell and another landed. The missile that missed me hit one of their own, and I swept through with my axe, ending another life. At some point, enhanced paladins had tried to hold me down, but they hadn’t gotten far.

Despite my flagging magic… I was winning.

I was every bit the monster they’d hoped for me to be, and I hated it.

A flash of crimson and a plume of snow and dirt sent me reeling, and I barely caught myself with my tail. From the crater, Seyari rose, clawed hands dripping fire as a maelstrom spun up around her.

For a moment, the battle faltered, and then the Church broke.

“Retreat!” came the cry; “Covering fire” followed it.

I could taste Seyari’s raw fury, and it flickered at the call. But she, like I, stopped and waited. The force split; some ran, most began moving away.

And in the center of it all, a loud voice boomed out “Never!”

Dhias, please…

“Stop!” That was my voice. I swallowed, then continued, “I’ll honor your retreat. Once you’re through the pass, I won’t pursue you at all.”

“Lies!” that same voice shouted.

“Lies!?” I roared, throwing an arm back to the battlefield behind me. “Is this a lie? Is all this pointless death just another one of my illusions?”

“Form up! We will slay the traitor and the demon in the name of Dhias!”

Next to me, Seyari laid a hand on my shoulder. I hadn’t realized how much I was shaking. Her magic was working into something, and I lent her what little power I could.

“You’re insane,” I shouted, long beyond pleading as I watched the bulk of the remaining forces march away up the hill. “I don’t want you to kill yourselves—I don’t care that you want to kill me; I don't want to kill you. Leave!”

“You do not get a choice!” the voice fired back, and I finally saw an older man in the back of the group. “You will fight us to the last, and we will find a way to kill you.”

He’s going to send them all to die first. Coward.

“No,” Seyari said. Her voice was soft, but bolstered by wind.

I felt her spell forming, and she ceded the floor to me.

“No!” I shouted.

“Charge!” came the reply.

And a wall of warm wind blew forth. Snow, dirt, and rocks showered the remaining zealots, before the gale swept them off their feet like leaves off an autumn tree. Some screamed, others were silent as they tumbled up through the air toward the retreating troops.

Seyari and I weathered the few spells that successfully came our way, and more than a few others landed as friendly fire. Amidst shouts of confusion, the Church forces who’d refused retreat landed in scattered piles in front of their comrades. Alive.

And I wasn’t about to give them a chance to change that. “Leave, now.” My voice boomed, amplified by wind. “Tell whoever sent you, noble or High Priest, what happened here. I expect you to lie; please disappoint me.”

The militia, mercenaries, whatever they were continued up the hill, flags waving, while the Church forces argued, facing me and Seyari in a defensive stance. The emblem the other group had was familiar…

Norgath! It was the emblem of Norgath. Which meant that Duke Ludwig Reynard was tangled up in all this somehow. But… I presumed he hated the Church. Duchess Arina Kapel had said as much, and what I’d learned of him demonstrated it.

Allies of convenience perhaps? A coincidence? Envy’s meddling?

I didn’t know, and they weren’t about to talk. Nor was I about to go back on my word and make them.

Syeari, meanwhile, pulled me into a half hug. She leaned up, then thought better of it and rested her head against one of my shoulders. “You’re too tall sometimes.”

“Doors keep telling me that.” I joked, but my heart wasn’t in it.

Nor did I have the luxury of staring into her eyes. We both looked straight ahead until the “retreat” argument seemed to win and the Church forces beat a hasty retreat. Some of them seemed surprised I was letting them go.

Thankfully, my body and mind were one with the decision; battered and bruised, I needed rest. Dhias, so many dead to bury. I hoped none would be our own, but I knew that was perilously unlikely.

“So are you really going to just let them leave?” Seyari asked, incredulous.

“You didn’t presume I would.” I smiled down at her, showing many sharp teeth.

“What’s the plan, then?”

“My idea is to follow them and make sure they don’t harass anyone on the pass. Especially a certain aid caravan. Once they leave Astrye, they’re Carvalon’s problem.”

“As far as I’m concerned, they’re his problem here too, Renna.” Seyari huffed. “Unless you already consider yourself independent.”

“Already?”

“Well the people here are barely Edathan, there’s a giant mountain range between us and the rest of that sorry excuse for a kingdom, and we just proved capable of defending against an army.”

“But I don’t want more death.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She pulled me down, into a kiss. Quick and chaste. “Neither do I, love. But if this leads to war with Ordia, are you going to fight for a piece of shit human king and slaughter in his name?”

“Of course not!” I held her, just feeling her warmth against the chill winter wind. This battlefield was behind me… literally. But it wouldn’t be the last, and its consequences would likely mean much more blood to come.

“What if he demands it?”

“He’d… he absolutely would. Will, even.” The realization hit me like a brick. “I’m his ace up the sleeve, so to speak. But I’m also a demon, and the reason the Church has broken the Treaty of Gedon on Ordia’s behalf.”

Seyari pulled apart and grabbed two of my hands with her own. “And?”

“And what?”

“Think, Renna! You’re good at it, even when you think too highly of others.”

I blinked, then scratched at a horn only to have my hand buffeted away by wind.

“I know you’re trying not to do that.”

“Thanks.” I stared down at my black claws, Blood had crusted under them and I burned it away with a thought. Each finger had a weapon worth a year’s income for a skilled artisan, maybe more. I was worth a whole heck of a lot to people who thought they could wield me.

“You know,” I started, already realizing what Seyari was getting at. “You could’ve told me this earlier.”

“I didn’t put it together until just now, you know.”

“Wanted to look cool?”

“Something like that.” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Do you know, or are you fishing for an answer?”

“I know. Damn it, I know. I wish I didn’t know.” I dragged my tail through the mud behind me, drawing a furrow with the tip.

“Then spit it out.” She winced and pulled her wings closer. “Sorry—that came out harsher than I wanted.”

“He…” I struggled for a moment to contain a flash of raw fury. “He did this for another war, didn’t he? Figured someone willing to cross half the world, someone naive and just-minded, would fight for her homeland.”

“Yes, that’s part of it.”

“I’m getting to the rest.” I didn’t snap at her. No point—we were both tired. How long had it been since I’d slept? Felt like one long, long day. A long hiss of air escaped between my teeth, sputtering flames following it. “If he sheltered a demon, and a demon who was a known quantity in good standing with society and law, the Church would take issue with it. Should that demon then challenge their dogma, they’d try to remove the demon.

“Thus, by technicality, the Church would cause Ordia to break the Treaty of Gedon. Since no one wants to fight a war, morale for Ordia would be low, as they would be the aggressors should Edath take the chance for a bid at true independence.

“And all King Carvalon has to do is call upon this demon as a soldier, trust that the border regions will fall in line for him, perhaps even on the Ordian side, and hold out long enough for an exhausted peasantry to bring about an Ordia’s cessation of claim to Edath.

“How’s that?”

Seyari was looking up at me with wide eyes and a growing smile. She laughed hollowly. “Perfect! Brilliant, even! So, are you going to be the king’s patsy?”

“No,” I growled. “But I’m not going to just let Ordia win either.”

“Oh? Have any plans?”

“Besides getting Duchess Kapel to keep her border region neutral? No, not at all. I’m desperately trying not to turn around in the hope that it’ll all have been a bad dream. I need a nap, a bath, a meal, and a good, hard cry.”

Seyari looked down at her feet and wrapped her wings around us. “I’m glad I can look at you instead right now. We’ll get through this. The people here either believe in you for you, or see you as their only chance.”

I winced. “That last one sucks.”

“Want me to lie?” She looked up and our eyes met.

“No.” I leaned down and rested my forehead on hers.

“Good, because your plan for following them has a lot of problems.”

“My… oh. What about it?”

She tilted her head up and whispered, “They need you here. They need the way you can comfort people, assuage worries. They need that affable, easy sort of charisma and they need their leader.”

I offered her a quick kiss. “So…”

She took the gesture, then pulled away. “I’ll go with Shyll. She can get in close while invisible, and I can fly above the clouds or in the mountains’ shadows. If anything happens, the two of us should be able to deal with it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“You didn’t see the battle at the wall, did you?”

I shook my head.

“I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. Plus, I know how to run away.”

“Alright,” I nodded. “I… sorry for doubting you.”

She waved my concern off. “Don’t be. I’m fucking exhausted and if I don’t wash my wings soon, it’ll take half a day to get them sorted.”

I pushed power toward her, and she took it readily. “Just in case,” I whispered, leaning down to place my forehead against hers.

“I don’t think they have any tricks left, but come back in one piece. Because if you don’t, I don’t know that I could stop myself from flying to wherever their leaders congregate and torching the place.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she answered with her own fierce, sharp-toothed smile. “I’m going to head back to the castle with you first so they don’t see me take off and I can find Shyll. You get to the comforting and all that you do so well.” She pulled me in for a brief hug, wings included.

I leaned into it, feeling her warmth before stepping back and letting her stretch her wings. “Alright. I just wish I had something better than this armor—it doesn’t exactly scream ‘friendly.’”

At my words, I felt a twinge of something. Like when I first made my glamour all those years ago on my island. It took some of my remaining magic, but the blood burned off my armor and it shifted. Moments later, I felt even air on more skin and I looked down.

Right into cleavage constrained in a very familiar purple dress. Underneath me, my narrow heels sank awkwardly into the mud.

Seyari gaped, then laughed, earnestly this time and hard enough to bring a tear to her eye. “I don’t see what you see in dresses at all, Renna. But dear, try not to break a heel on the walk back.”

Were the occasion a brighter one, I’d crack a joke or sweep her off her feet. As it were, I simply changed back to my armor. “For another time.” The dress I may have remembered the most, but I could also feel my Gelles Company uniform, and the comfortable traveling clothes I’d long since lost. Just about every outfit I cared about and destroyed could be made out of the same magic that destroyed it. There was something else, too. Something dormant and familiar and strong. But I knew I didn’t have enough magic to try it just yet.

Halfway back to the castle, Shyll dropped out of the sky next to us, in her lust demon form rather than her usual attire. Her armor, some ceremonial suit I had no idea the origin of, looked battered and dinged, and she was half covered in soot, but her eyes gleamed.

“Saw you out on the field. Guess I know why mom believes in you.”

“Mom?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

She’s Lillith’s child? “Did she…”

“Yep! The old fashioned way, right out between the legs. Said she wanted to give it a try and—”

“That’s quite enough,” Seyari interjected, cheeks surprisingly red.

“Didn’t you—”

“Enough.”

“Taava told me—”

“Shyll,” I warned.

She shut up. “Right. So… I’ll explain later, and I’m not gonna apologize, but it’s pretty damn clear you’re not actually some total chump softie.”

“Gee, thanks.”

She huffed. “You want me to tail them, or not?”

“Yes, please.”

Shyll nodded.

“I’ll be flying out of sight and nearby if something does happen,” Seyari added.

Shyll looked her up and down. “Sounds good. I might need the backup.”

Right as she jumped into the air, I couldn’t hold the thought any longer. “Does this mean you’re actually going to do your job?”

She stopped midair and hovered. “Totally. Just as much as Taava does.”

Damn it, there’s two of them.

Seyari squeezed my hand. “It’s an improvement, right?”

“Yes… it is, I just… never mind.” I let go of her hand. Go, before she flies too far ahead.”

Already, Shyll’s form was flickering, bending light and blending against the darkening sky. Seyari took off after her, rising from sight until she was just a red smudge before passing into a cloud.

I looked from her over to the wall. Atop it, I recognized my sister, Nelys, and Taava, all waving. They’re okay. I knew Nelys was, and I had a hunch Joisse was too—probably off tending to the wounded. But seeing my sister and Taava… I was crying before I reached the wall.

Without words, we pulled into a hug, and I trapped them all with my tail until Taava yelled for mercy.