El’s boots skimmed a hair’s breadth above the floor while her hands stretched out. Oril’s blade fell like a headsman’s axe.

Which of them would get to Sol first?

Goooooo, she urged herself as she corkscrewed in the air, bringing her arm in and igniting her shield.

SHWAAA, sparks flew as Oril’s downward slash met El’s shield-uppercut, the force of the impact careening El out of control to skid along the floor until she slammed into the far wall hard enough to see stars.

Got to get up; Sol is defenseless.

El pushed herself to her feet and shook her head to chase the stars away. Where was Oril? There!

The man sat on the floor, twenty feet away from Sol, and clearly trying to figure out how he’d gotten there. His electrum hilt was nowhere to be seen.

Loaker and Bills, well, they weren’t even in the room anymore. The charred, conical burn on the floor went from where El was standing straight out the main entrance, where the two soldiers sat dazed against the wall. Their Spark and flame armor would’ve protected them from the worst of it, but El wouldn’t shed any tears if they came away a little bruised or broken.

“You okay?” El asked Sol, the dangerous aura in the air dispersed.

“Yes, thank you,” Sol said, then coughed, blood flecking his lips.

A broken rib? Without a Spark, how long would it take him to heal from something like that? For El, it’d just be a few days, but she’d heard of people with weaker Sparks taking weeks.

“You burning bitch,” Oril said, standing. “When I…”

“Tell somebody you attacked a defenseless man? Yeah, I’m sure that will go well for you. Get to it, would you?” El interrupted, and made a shooing gesture toward the door.

Oril narrowed his eyes at her, but didn’t advance on Sol again.

“Just stand down. It doesn’t have to escalate from here,” El said. Loaker and Bills were finally pulling themselves to their feet, and protecting Sol from all three of them would be a challenge.

“It’s already escalated,” Oril said and half turned. “Oh, and just a word of advice. Your wing is small, not a lot of people to watch your back. Be careful in Guld. Never know what might happen…”

“Are you threatening me?” El asked.

“Of course not,” Oril said. “Just a… friendly… warning.” He smiled, like a snake would, and walked out of the room without looking back at El or Sol, then disappeared around the corner with his two flunkies in tow.

“You… made an enemy,” Sol said, and shifted with a grimace.

“I’m not scared of him,” El said.

“You should be,” Sol said. “He holds grudges.”

“That’s not for you to worry about right now. We need to get you to a doctor.”

Sol shook his head. “No point. Without a Spark, they won’t know how to treat me.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“They must be able to do something. At least for the pain?”

“It’s fine. Pain isn’t something new for me. This is manageable, though…” he trailed off.

“Though what?” El asked.

“The floors will have to wait,” he finished with a shake of his head.

“Did… you… just make a joke?”

Sol turned to her, his face completely neutral. “I just stated a fact.”

El took a breath, but couldn’t stop a chuckle. “I guess you did. Let me at least take you to your quarters.” It wasn’t a request, and Sol nodded. “You’re in the temporary quarters wing?”

“Yes,” Sol said as El gently put her shoulder under his arm and helped him to his feet. His face clenched in pain, but he didn’t make a sound.

Maybe the pain wasn’t that bad?

El slid out from under his arm, but stayed close as Sol took a step on his own. He faltered almost immediately, and only El’s quick reflexes kept him from hitting the ground again.

“Really, a doctor might be a good idea,” she suggested.

“No,” Sol said. “I’ll be fine on my own. I just need to rest.”

Things looked a little beyond “rest,” but El just shrugged. It wasn’t her place to make him do anything. “If you change your mind…” she trailed off as she supported him while they left the sparring room and slowly walked the halls.

“This is it,” Sol said, twenty minutes later, twice as long as it would’ve taken El to walk there by herself. “It’s not locked.”

El tested the door handle, and like he said, it swung in easily. “Why isn’t it locked?” she asked and brought him into the… empty… room. Just a bed, a small nightstand with what looked like a locket on it, and a plain set of clothes on a single chair.

“No Spark to open the lock,” Sol said. “Help me to the bed.”

“Sure. Here you go,” El said, and lowered Sol gently to sit on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Sol held his ribs and took a slow, shuddering breath. “Like a member of the Firestorm just kicked me across the room. I’ve been worse.”

“If you say so,” El said. “Not much of a room they gave you. At least you have a private bathroom, I guess,” El said and poked her head through the only other door in the room. “I hated the shared showers back in the academy.”

“I don’t need anything more. I won’t be here for very long, anyway,” Sol said.

“Oh? Where are you going?” El asked absently, and walked over to the nightstand, her hand reaching out for the pendant. So pretty, like a locket of some kind of metal so blue it was almost black.

“Don’t touch that,” Sol snapped, his hand snaking out and grabbing her wrist. His skin, without the Spark flowing through his veins, was shockingly cold on her flesh.

“I… I’m so sorry,” El said and shook her head. What was she doing? How could she just ignore his privacy so blatantly? “I shouldn’t have done that,” she said, gently pulling her hand out of his grasp, and met his eyes.

There was a new expression on his face. Actually, it was the first expression other than neutrality she’d seen. What was that? Curiosity?

“It’s fine,” Sol said. “It’s just that it’s the only thing I have from home, and it’s very fragile,” he explained.

“Of course. I understand. So, you’re leaving soon?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ll be going home as soon as I can. Shouldn’t be much longer.”

“I… don’t know if you’ll be able to,” El said. Sure, the lizards had probably already moved on, but there was still the storm. How would he get through that? Actually, he probably didn’t even know about it.

“I will,” Sol said. “There is no place for me here. I have to go back to where there is.”

“I can’t really argue with that,” El said. “But, I should get going. Apparently, I’m deploying tomorrow. Thanks for giving me your honest opinion earlier. It’s given me a lot to think about.”

“Be careful out there. Really. Oril won’t hesitate to get even with you if he sees an opportunity,” Sol warned.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” El said. “Can I come talk to you again when I get back?”

“Of course,” Sol said. “I look forward to it.”

“Me too. Good night,” El said, and showed herself out, closing the door behind her. No lock, really. Not having a Spark was inconvenient in more ways than one. But, if what Sol said was true, maybe it was also more freeing? A leash, he’d called it.

More like a noose, if Scin had his way. Wouldn’t it be convenient if something happened to her in the upcoming battle? Nobody to talk about the blue newts then.

El stopped in her tracks. Could Oril be connected to Scin? If he did do something to her, would it be sanctioned? She really would need to watch her back. And her wing’s. She couldn’t let Oril go after them to get to her.

Burn it, when had things gotten so complicated?

The week’s worth of fatigue finally settled cleanly on El’s shoulders, and she slumped against the wall. An army of near-unstoppable golems backed into a corner ahead of her, a hot-headed soldier with a bone to pick at her back, and armies of blue bloodthirsty newts all around.

This wasn’t going to be the deployment she’d dreamed of.