“NO!” I shout.

Crouching down, I cover my head, waiting for the inevitable.

“Emelia!” I hear someone shout, but the voice is too far away or too far to reach me.

A flash of yellow appears before the beast’s maw bites down on me. When I come to my senses, I see a giant wolf has attacked the Manticore.

“Wha... what is happening?” My voice cracks as I return to the situation unfolding before me.

The Wolf has its teeth jammed into the throat of the Manticore. Blood drips from the Wolf’s maw in waves. The Manticore howls as it thrashes around, clawing at the Wolf’s mouth, trying to unhinge the monster on its throat. But the Wolf seems to bite deeper with every thrash. Sitting up, all I can say is I’m dumbfounded. Staring up at the two monsters, the Wolf has now let go of the Manticore’s throat. Black blood drips from the Wolf’s mouth.

On closer inspection, the Wolf is not real but made from raw magical energy. It sparkles with dark yellow magic and has bright grey eyes as fierce as storm clouds. It stares down the Manticore, both beasts circling, waiting for a chance to strike the other. An ear-piercing whistle sounds from somewhere in the distance, and the Manticore’s ears perk up. It bounds off toward the whistle without giving us a second thought.

After it disappears into the woods, the golden and glowing wolf shimmers and slowly shrinks into tiny particles of light. It becomes a tall and stout girl. The girl turns to me, her fierce, misty grey eyes examining me with a fine point. She walks over to me slowly. Her eyes are solid and unmovable, like a mountain. They remind me of Alva’s, but softer.

“What the hell was that? You can’t cower in the face of an enemy!” The girl shouts at me, her voice rough as sandpaper.

“I ugh...I.” The words stick to my throat like flies on paper traps

“You’re lucky I showed up, or you would have been a snack to that monster!” The girl shouts at me as she towers over me.

“Princess, glad of you to show up.” I turn my head and see Alva and Rene have walked over to me.

“Here, take my hand, Emmy.” Rene reaches out her hand.

I grab it, and she pulls me to my feet.

“Y... yes, I’m better than I was just now.” Shaking my head, trying to shake away the eyes of the Manticore baring down on me.

Rene nods.

“Alva, what the hell are you doing here?” The Princess asks.

“We are on a mission to Kukri.” The Princess doesn’t break Alva’s gaze.

I lean over to whisper to Rene.

“How does she look Alva in the eyes like that?” Rene shakes her head.

“I know few people can’t take Alva’s stare like a champ,” Rene says.

“Is the princess that powerful?” I ask Rene.

It’s a stupid thing to ask since I already know the answer. The Princess’s aura is wild, like a hungry predator waiting for its kill.

“This is Princess Victoria, Emelia.” Alva steps up next to me.

Stopping to look at the Princess, I find out that, just like Alva, I can’t look Victoria in the eyes. Her stare is judging me.

Without a word, the Princess walks over to me and grabs my chin. She lifts my head up so she can look me in the eyes directly. Staring into her misty eyes, I can feel myself shrinking from the intensity and rage behind them. She drops her hands from my chin and walks away.

“Bah, why the hell is Father sending you guys to Kukri?” Victoria asks as she walks over to a large rock and sits.

Alva is the one to answer. “We are on a journey to find powerful soldiers to kill the Phoenix Embers.”

Victoria’s eyes grow wide for a split second, a hard thing not to

“The Phoenix Embers are the bastards who attacked the Capital?” Victoria asks.

Alva nods."Yes, they seem to be much stronger than in the past." Levi walks up from behind Alva and whispers in her ear.

“Yes, Victoria, I must tell you an important fact about the Embers.” Alva is about to bring up Jonathan, I’m sure.

“I know Johnathan is alive.” It looks like small crackles of lighting peaking through the grey mist that is her eyes.

“We don’t know how, but he is.” Alva sighs heavily.

“Son of a bitch, I don’t need this. I still need to find Mother and Alicia!” Victoria plops down on a rock.

“Could it be one of the Necromancers?” Victoria asks leaning forward.?

“That I can’t really explain, but I really doubt Lamden let any of them escape Towerfall Castle since it and the entire city it was in is now a crater,” Alva says.

Victoria nods, satisfied with the answer.

“You know what this means, Princess, yes?” Alva looks directly at Victoria, who meets her steely gaze.

“Grah! You want me to join father’s stupid table of nine, yes?” Victoria asks.

Alva nods. “Victoria, you’ve always been a member of the nine.”

Victoria stares at Alva for a second, then looks away, stands up, and walks off a few centimeters. “No, I can’t; I need to find Alicia and Mother,” Victoria says.

Levi chimes in." Princess, why not help us on our quest, and then we can help you with yours?"

Victoria turns away and starts silently pacing as she talks to herself.

“It would be helpful to get a bit of help. I have been traveling alone for four years.” It could help speed up the process of finding them.

Then she sighs. “Fine, dammit, I do not want a thing to do with Father or the kingdom until I’m ready. But I could use the help so fine.” Victoria walks over to Alva, and they shake hands.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“We still look for my sister and mother. If I find any leads, we follow up on them immediately,” Victoria asks, and we all collectively agree.

“Great, now I guess it’s off to Manor then?” Victoria turns on her heels and heads towards the horse tied to a tree a little way off in the distance.

“Well, Vicky is as pleasant as ever.” Rene laughs as she heads off to our horses.

Levi and I then follow suit.

I follow slowly behind, taking tiny breaths to calm my nerves. But the guilt and anxiety are almost too much.

I failed. Why am I such a coward? Stop being scared. Emelia, Janet, and Lucy fought to the death despite their fear. You need to avenge them. This can not keep happening. It, It just can’t. It happened at Bladesfall and the Coliseum, and nowhere, I won’t be able to kill any of the Embers at this rate.

Failure is not an option anymore; I need to stick by that saying. Lucy would have won no sweat. Or she would have taken them with her.

With those words fresh in my mind, I also head off after the group.

We ride silently for about three hours, making our way to Manor. Eventually, we reach a hill, and our horses climb to the top. We look out at the vast city at the entrance to the Kukri mountain. I look over to the others, examining them curiously to see what we do next. They all seem fixated on the city, like they’re watching a fantastic play at its climax.

“Well, whatever the hell is happening, we should find out. Instead of yapping our jaws, let’s ride.” Victoria charges for the city on her horse.

“As brash as ever, let’s chase her down before she gets hurt or someone else.” Alva slaps at her horse’s reins and heads off after Victoria.

“Whelp, let’s go,” Rene says, and we chase off after the group.

Finally, we catch up to Victoria, who has stopped at the city gate. She has gotten off her horse and is now yelling at the guards at the gate.

“What the hell do you mean, you’re not allowing anyone in or out?” Victoria’s face contorts and her eyes go wide. Victoria’s face is right in front of one of the guards.

The guards stand tall with silver armor and the etching of a Hawk, the city’s Symbol.

“Vicky, chillax, girlie, you’ll give yourself a headache.” Rene runs up to Victoria, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Relax! This dude just tried to stab me!” Victoria steps back from the guard, who attempts to stab her again.

Before he can, Alva immediately appears at Victoria’s side, hand gripping the guard’s spear.

“Unacceptable. You will explain to me why you are trying to stab your princess. Also, tell me why the city has been shut down?” Alva stares down the guards, who stand steadfast even with her hardened gaze.The taller of the two guards speaks up from underneath his helmet.

“Because of rising disappearances, King Tylen mandated the city to be placed under quarantine. This was on strict orders by the king.”

King and not Governor? My mind fixates on that and how the guards talk like they’re speaking from a rehearsed script. Are they even aware? The way they sway just slightly tells me they’re affected by something, also how not dangerous their stabs have been; they are just here to distract us.

Victoria shouts. The tip of a spear stops her as she steps toward the guards.

“You will let me into this city so I can go have a word with that bastard Tylen! Or I will break down these gates myself!” Victoria’s gloved hands glow.

I look at Alva and expect her to stop Victoria, but Alva draws her small sword. “Normally, I’d have to stop your antics, Princess, but I agree with you for now. We will need you, gentlemen, to step aside.”

The guards drop their spear points down, but then immediately raise them.

“We sincerely apologize, but we forbid entrance into the city. Please take your leave.” The guards’ eyes glow a burnt orange.

Like I thought, something I am unsure about is possessing the city. Something’s definitely wrong here. A ton of malevolent energy from the city has concentrated on these men. My hyper awareness of subtle magic because of my wind abilities helps me realize it.

“Guys?” I say out loud, but before anyone can stop, the doors to the city open.

Through the doors comes a very tall woman. She has to be close to one hundred and eighty-eight centimeters. Resting on her shoulder is the largest war axe I have ever seen. The woman is crazy, or she definitely looks crazy. With long, messy green hair, practically glowing violet-colored eyes flicked with specs of green and lizard-like pupils, she has a huge smirk on her face. With her animalistic vibe, it seems like she’s hungry for anything and everything. She wears a lovely blue coat buttoned up by three large buttons. She has metal armor plates attached to her shoulders, stretching down to her hands.

She wears a dark-colored set of pants and strapped up sandals. Alva drops the blade to her side, and Victoria’s hands stop glowing. The guards’ eyes stop burning, and they turn to the woman and bow deeply. Or as deep as they can in full plate armor. The woman stops and glares over the entire group and stops at me, and smiles. Then, she moves on to stare down Victoria and Alva.

“How.” Both Alva and Victoria say in unison.

The woman throws her head back and laughs.

“Sweet Mother, you two grew a lot in these past fifteen years, haven’t you?” The woman says.

“Triss, how in the fuck did you survive that fall off the mountain?” Victoria asks.

Once more, the woman howls with laughter, but she cuts herself short this time.

Triss’s smile is...violent is the best way I can describe it. How it curls into a smile but simultaneously frowns is so strange.

“You know why I had to, Triss. Do you know the damage you guys did back during the civil war?” Alva seems angry as her voice raises.

“Oh, Alva I understand. In all honesty, I agree with your decision. But you know what it’s like falling a couple thousand meters and slamming into the ground at terminal velocity?” She smirks.

“Your bones shatter, joints snap, blood everywhere, guts all squished like gelatin. Sure, it’s an instant death, but the pain is unimaginable for that split second before death takes you.” Her murderous eyes go soft.

“Even after death, the pain follows you into the afterlife as a haunting reminder.” Triss breathes in. Then she looks back at Alva with a grin.

“Alva, glad to see the Reaper herself still lives. Few could kill you, so I’m not surprised.” Triss smiles a toothy grin.

Alva does not.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?” Alva just stares Triss down, keeping her in place with her gaze.

“This is Triss Karak, Queen of the Harold Pirates. I do not know how you still live, but you will tell me.” Alva says, fidgeting with the blade in her hands.

Triss claps." Damn, you actually remember me! It figured my best friend and teacher would!"

Alva shakes her head. “Yes, you were the biggest failure of my teaching days.”

Alva’s hard eyes stay locked on Triss.

Triss laughs. “I’m the failure; of course, you’d say that. But I’ve still killed fewer people than you have, and I’ve killed cities chock full of people. Who’s the actual failure teacher?” Triss bows deeply.

“Let’s go over your atrocities, hmm? Darenton was a city full of families of some allegedly evil priests from the Church of The First Human. Alva, you murdered the entire city, including women and children. Two hundred thousand innocents died so the mad king could swallow the Church of the First humans’ resources.”

Then she turns to look at me. Before Triss can repeat anything, Alva grabs Triss’ shoulder. Immediately, the air crackles with power, and the ground shakes.

“Do not ignore me, Triss. Why are you and Jonathan alive?” Alva’s eyes turn murderous.

Her magic rises in strength, and then Triss glows with power. Fates, these two are incredible. Their Aura is unfathomable. They have so much magic power it’s almost beautiful. But it honestly scares me it’s hard not to want to bow down to them and worship their power.

“Oh, and what makes you think you can make me tell you anything about me and the Prince? Just cuz we had a fling doesn’t mean I know his business.” Triss smirks as she towers over the one-hundred-and-fifty-four-centimeter Alva.

“Triss, do not dare me. I will not hesitate.” Alva also starts to glow with power as well.

“Bring it on,” Triss says, glee dancing in her eyes and a growl in her voice.

The ground rumbles as these two powerhouses are ready for fight.

Before either can make an attempt, Victoria steps between them. “Alva, as great as it would be to watch you murder her again, we need to go.”

Victoria takes her hands off the two women. Her hands are steaming from the raw magical energy she just touched.

The ground stops shaking, and the magic disappears.

Without a word, Triss turns to me.

“You. Must be Emelia.” That stops all of us, and we all stare Triss down.

“How the hell would you know that?” Levi asks, eyes wide on his thin face.

I can feel a slight rise in Alva’s magic again, and I can tell the malevolent aura from the city is stirring. No, it’s cackling at us.

“Because Tylen has been waiting for her to arrive. Please follow me.” Triss just disappears into thin air.

“Waiting for me, why!?”

My mind runs like the horses back at Kinz Raceway, and my knees turn to jelly. Then I fall, but hands grip me underneath my arms. The arms put me back onto my feet. Turning to see who had helped me, and it was Victoria.

“I don’t know who you are, but if we’re going to fight and travel together, no more collapsing while I am on this squad, understood?” Before I can answer, she heads off into the city.

Looking at the rest, they nod, and we follow Victoria into the city.