“I didn’t really do much.” Ayah sighed as she repeated the same words the third time this early in the morning.

Shoaib grinned. “It wasn't what I heard.” His grin widened. “I heard you faced down a higher demon to get him the cure. I don’t know that many people who would go to such lengths for my uncle.” His smile was conspiratorial as he continued, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Ayah groaned. She was never going to hear the end of it, will she? Her glare softened at the joyous laughter that spilled out his mouth. At least one of them was having fun.

“Why so lively so early in the morning?”

Harith took the empty seat beside her, mumbling thanks as he took the offered plate. The bags under his eyes had darkened over his plaid skin. Ayah frowned. He looked haggard as if he hadn’t gotten a second of rest the night before.

“Have you slept at all?” she asked.

He glanced at her, the spoon pausing midway to his opened mouth. “I had a couple of things to take care of.”

Her frown deepened. “It won’t be long before Nur’s army reaches us. You need to be well-rested for the battle. It won’t do well for the camp’s morale to see their general in such a state.”

He sighed. “I’m fine. I’ve gone longer without sleep.”

“Still–” Her mouth clamped shut at Shoaib’s snicker. She shot him a look.

Shoaib swallowed the food in his mouth. He sent her a grin, then turned to Harith. “She’s right, uncle. You look tired. I can take care of things.”

“I know you can.” Shoaib’s face brightened at his words. “But I’m here now. You should also rest. The upcoming days won’t be easier.”

Ayah swallowed the groan that made its way up her throat. A mother-hen is what he was, a mother-hen and a martyr.

“Rest for a couple of hours tonight. They’ve survived here for days before your arrival. I’m sure they can take care of themselves for another day.”

“I’ll see about that.” His tone told her he would do anything but rest. She huffed, turning her gaze towards two lively soldiers who fought over whose turn it was to wash the dirty dishes.

“We know how busy you are, uncle. But me and Ayah are worried about you. We’re only speaking from concern.” He looked at her. “Isn’t that right?” A slight prickle of irritation made its way to her chest at Shoaib’s innocent smile. Whatever expression she was making only served to widen his irksome grin.

“I know.” The subtle smile that pulled at Harith’s lips made a stop to Ayah’s protests before they could form into thoughts.

[Enemies have appeared!]

Ayah frowned at the message. Her confusion didn’t last for long. Soon, two soldiers hurriedly made their way to Harith, announcing the arrival of envoys from Nur wishing to speak to Shoaib– as he was the head of the army before Harith’s arrival.

She watched Harith and Shoaib’s retreating backs. She frowned. Why now? Shoaib had said Aayan had refused any attempt to end the war peacefully. So why was he sending envoys now?

She wondered how they would receive the news of Harith’s return.

“Did something happen?”

Ayah startled. She glanced at Loaye. “Envoys have arrived from Nur’s army.”

He stilled. “Envoys? Now?”

“You think Aayan is asking for a truce?”

He gnawed at his lower lip, brows furrowed in thought. “I doubt he had changed his mind. If he had wanted to call for a truce, he would have done so before his army had reached the middle of the pass. Moving an entire army is not cheap, you know?” He paused. “If he hadn’t asked for peace talks before, I can’t see why he would initiate ones now.” Loaye nodded to himself. “This must be a trap.”

“You think so?”

Shame. She had hoped they could end this without spilling more blood.

He nodded. “He’s trying to do something. Tell the general not to put too much trust in whatever the envoys are offering. At best, they’re only here to buy some time.”

“At worst?” Ayah asked.

He paused, hesitating. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s nothing good.”

She at down to finish her breakfast. Loaye sat next to her. He sent a nervous smile at the soldier who handed him his plate. The soldier glanced at Ayah, then back to Loaye, before shrugging, a dismissive note in his voice as he answered Loaye’s thanking words.

Ayah glanced at Loaye. It must be hard being stuck in an enemy camp when the army of your country was advancing. But strangely enough, Loaye hadn’t received as much scrutiny as she thought he would.

Not that she wasn’t glad for it, on the contrary.

Sometime nearing midday, strange messages started popping up before her.

[Enemies have appeared!]

[Defeat the enemies to survive!]

“Something is wrong,” she said.

Loaye shot her a confused look.

The warnings kept appearing, clogging the screen and covering her vision. She stumbled back, looking around her. There was nothing. The soldiers loitered around, talking and jesting, their relaxed forms a glaring contrast to the warnings still invading Ayah’s sight. Still, she couldn’t ignore the dread that nagged at her chest, for Hayna had never been wrong before. That only meant one thing.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

They were under attack.

She hurried toward the tent where Harith was meeting the Nur envoys. The guards sent her a curious glance but didn’t stop her as she hurried inside. The two envoys were standing in the middle of the tent, flanked by two of Temsia’s high-ranking soldiers, two of Harith’s captains she had met before.

Harith looked at her, waving a hand at the talking envoy, silencing him mid-sentence.

Ayah ignored the unimpressed look the two Temsian captains sent her. She fixed her gaze on Harith. “Can I have a word with you? It’s a bit urgent.”

He took her aside, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“They’re here,” she whispered. “Nur’s army is here.”

He frowned. “Are you sure?”

She nodded.

“Is it…?” He trailed off.

She knew what he was asking for. Was it the demon who told her?

She nodded. “Yes.”

Harith paused for a moment. Ayah stared back at him, worried that he wouldn’t believe her. She mentally cursed Hayna for the restrictions she had to abide by, not caring if the Anciant listened to her thoughts or not. Once this was over, she would have a serious talk with her.

Ayah let out a breath of relief as Harith turned to the guards. Shoaib hurried towards her, a worried expression on his face.

“Ayah?”

The two envoys shifted, a nervous energy enveloping them. They glanced at her, then back at each other, a hidden message passing between them. Ayah’s chest tightened. She took hold of Shoaib’s hand and pulled him to the side.

“Stay near me,” she instructed.

Before Harith even finished giving his instructions, Ayah saw his shoulders tense.

Hayna’s warning was a second before the two men moved. Their bodies glowed under their garments, and strange scriptings spread over the skin of their hands and faces. Startled, she barely had enough time to cast a shield encasing her, Shoaib, and one of Harith’s captains before fire engulfed the room.

The first explosion blazed the whole tent. As the flames receded, remaining alight in one area, her eyes fell on the remains of the scorched corpse of the unfortunate captain who was flanking the other side of the envoys. She stared, unable to tear her eyes away from the corpse. Only Shoaib’s whimper brought her back from whatever trance she had fallen into. She glanced at him, her eyes roaming over his frame, looking for injuries. His eyes were glued to the still roaring fire, brows furrowed in concern.

Her jaw clenched. Harith was standing in the area that was still lit. But surely, the general was stronger than to be brought down by a single hit.

She glanced at the party window, her shoulders sagging at Harith’s name with his health and mana bar still intact.

Quilt prickled at her insides at the feeling of relief. She glanced back at the corpse, sending a silent prayer to the poor man’s soul.

She wiped the cold sweat that had gathered at her brows. She felt cold, so cold, despite the scorching fire roaring in her ears. She turned to the Temisan soldier she managed to save, pausing at his terrified eyes and too pale face. She grabbed his shoulders. “Go and sound the alarm. We’re under attack.”

The captain dazedly looked at her, still in shock. Ayah shook him and shoved him away, yelling at him to go. He stumbled to his feet and ran toward the chaos outside.

“Hayna, can you give me the location of the enemies?”

[Processing..]

The map sprung in front of her, obscuring the warnings still popping up on the screen.

The forest of lost souls. A massive number of red dots approached the camp from the forest’s side, right behind the rocky wall.

Ayah cursed under her breath.

Shoaib stood up and staggered towards the wall of flames that had engulfed his uncle. His lips wobbled, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. Ayah took hold of his arm, stopping his advance.

“Uncle!” he called.

“He’s fine.”

“Really?” Shoaib’s voice was small.

She pulled him toward her. “He’s fine,” she repeated.

He hesitated, his eyes drawn back to the fire. Ayah grasped his shoulders and forced him to look back at her. “He’s fine.”

“O–okay.” He nodded, brows furrowed.

Ayah glanced at the fire. Its intensity hadn’t waned. If nothing else, it seemed to ignite as time went on.

“Hayna, why is the fire still alight?”

[Party member is currently imprisoned in a fire spell that feeds on the caster’s life.]

Well, shit. That wasn’t something she was expecting.

“It might be a while before your uncle could get out. But he’ll be fine. We should focus on the invading army. The Nur army is at the camp’s doors. We should stop their advances.”

“What should we do?”

“Jamila. You should check on Jamila.”

“... And you…?”

“I’ll be fine.” Ayah’s voice was firm, more confident than she was really feeling.

Shoaib nodded, glad to have something to do other than staring at the flames. He spared a glance at the flames before hurrying away.

Finally alone, Ayah fell to the ground. Now that Shoaib was gone, she could fall apart without fearing that she might further frighten the poor teenager.

She felt hysteria invade her brain. She dug her shaking fingers into the ground, feeling the firm ground beneath her.

No, this wouldn’t do. She had to get a hold of herself. She had a war to fight. Strange that only now her mind seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

She was fighting a war—not just seeing one on TV, thousands of kilometers away from home. No, she was in the middle of one.

“What is going on here? All I did was take a nap. Why is the whole place on fire?” Girra floated in front of her, gaze locked on the roaring flames.

“Is that an eternal flame spell?” He whistled, looking impressed. “Haven’t seen one in a while.”

“Girra!” The relief that crashed into Ayah’s chest nearly drowned her mind. She squeezed him to her chest, ignoring the small dragon’s protest.

“Alright, alright, happy to see you too.”

“We’re under attack!” she said, helpless. Why were the flames still alight? Why hadn’t they died down?

“I figured.”

She shook her head. “We’re under attack!” she hissed.

“I know.”

“What should we do? I never fought in a war!”

Girra looked at her, an almost amused look on his face. Ayha growled. This was war. What did he find amusing about it?

“Grab your sword and swing it at one invader at a time,” he said slowly.

The invaders. Right. She needed to help stop the invading army.

“You’ve done this before, haven’t you? You’ve fought before?”

“Monsters, I’ve killed monsters, not humans. They’re not the same!” she protested.

Girra hummed. “Not from where I’m standing,” he muttered under his breath.

The first wave of attackers reached the camp. Ayah could see the Temsian and Nur armies locked into battle. Fire and wind twisted around each other, battling for dominance.

Shoaib hurried forward, the ever warrior that he was, and drove into the fray.

“Keep an eye on him,” she told the dragon curled around her shoulder. It was funny how a small gesture brought so much comfort.

Girra did a double take. He huffed, his wings frantically flapping around him. “I’m not a babysitter!”

Whatever expression Ayah had on her face made the dragon pause. He snorted, a puff of smoke escaping his snout. “Alright, fine. But you owe me one.” he spread his wings and set off after Shoaib.

Behind her, the fire was still roaring, painting the sky with a reddish hue.