Beks’ head shot up. Her eyes were wide. “The head of Great Aunt’s cane is a pearl?” She thought back to when she grabbed the cane. The hard wood was carved so well and wrapped around the pearl to create a kraken, that it seemed like one whole piece.

“It’s a bit worn and covered with some dirt now, after being exposed to the elements and held all the time,” her mother told her as she cut through her meat. “But it used to be as bright as yours.”

Beks looked back at the ring on her hand. It no longer felt simply warm, but like fire against her has her heart jumped.

She stood up, nearly knocking her chair back. Her mother raised her eyes and gave her a curious look. “I’m going to try something!”

“Oh? Did you figure it out already-”

Beks was already rushing to the exit. “Get some rest, Mommy! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Sybil raised her hand towards her daughter. “You also get some rest....” Her voice trailed off, helpless as Beks rushed out of the tent.

For a moment, Beks didn’t know where to run to. Excitement coursed through her, making her shake as she clutched her hand with the ring against her chest and looked from left to right. Before she took another step, she stopped herself and took a deep breath.

She had been through this before. She’d got her hopes up and was faced with failure.

Don’t expect too much.... She told herself three times in order to try to curb her likely disappointment later, but despite her words, she still couldn’t help but anticipate success.

She needed to test out the ring and she couldn’t wait until dawn to do so.

In fact, for Beks, it was better to do it now, while it was night so no one would see her trying an array of different biha techniques for nothing.

She glanced around and began to walk towards the edge of the camp. There were still plenty of people around the camp and with the warm weather, a good portion of the Wild Dogs opted to sleep outside, under the stars.

When she was recognized, Beks greeted them and gave them some praise for their loyalty and gratitude for coming. The closer she got to the edge of the camp, the more Wild Dogs told her not to go too far away or asked if she needed an escort.

“I’ll be fine. By the way, do you know where the rokhs are?” she said, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

“You went the wrong direction, Your Highness.”

Beks knit her brows just a bit. Your Highness? Did news of her marrying the twins in Langshe already spread? Her mother would not be happy to know that the entire battalion of Wild Dogs knew that her daughter got married while her husband forgot to tell her.

“The rokhs are on the other side. Do you want us to escort you, Your Highness?”

“No, no. Just rest while you can for now. I will find them.” Beks assured them with a wave of her hand and turned around. The rokhs were likely in an open area which would allow them to spread their wings and take flight, so it would be an ideal place for her to try her ring.

The question was what biha she would try.

Water was out of the question, as they weren’t near a sizable water source. When she was experimenting with random sticks and various other objects after using Great Aunt’s cane to jettison herself out of the sea, she was close enough to a large water source to use. She didn’t have the proficiency to gather water from the air at the moment.

Fire was also out of the question, as the last thing she needed was to burn down the entire camp. Fire needed a lot of control, and considering that she couldn’t control the force of water or wind biha the last time, it was best she didn’t try it with fire.

Wind biha was a good choice, but the concern about control was the same. Beks shuddered remembering how she flew over the ocean, screaming in panic because she couldn’t control it.

She looked around and frowned. They were in an open area, but if wind biha sent her reeling further, she’d hit something. She also didn’t know where she’d land.

Earth biha also required control so as not to do too much damage to her surroundings.

The other choices were life or healing biha, which would only be measurable if someone were injured and she wasn’t going to injure herself to test it out.

Light biha could possibly blind her or, if it came out too strong, set someone on fire, which would once more lead to the problem of fire biha.

“Shadow biha it is,” Beks muttered to herself. She looked around once more to make sure no one saw her doing anything strange. She was far away from the campfires that no one could tell what she was really doing, but close enough to see the rokhs eating a few paces from her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gathering biha from around her body to concentrate at her left hand. The faint tingling sensation meant it was working.

She could feel the density of biha in her left hand and she tried to imagine it coming out the way she’d seen Laz’s shadow biha seem to seep out of him.

She opened her eyes. Saw that a dark shadow seemed to have coated her left hand and was coming up her arm. Her eyes widened and she let out a breathy laugh.

“I did it!” She almost couldn’t restrain herself from screaming. Her concentration broke and the shadow around her hand faded quickly. Beks pouted. “I should’ve expected that....”

She looked at her hand once more. She had worried that when she released biha, there would be too much at once due to her inability to control it. She was pleasantly surprised to find that while the shadow appeared fast, it wasn’t overpowering and consumed her in darkness.

Beks looked at the pearl once more. While large against her slender fingers, it was several times smaller than the pearl on her Great Aunt’s cane, which was roughly the size of Wrath’s little fist.

She tilted her head to the size. Did the size of the pearl influence how strong the biha channeled through it became?

She let out a heavy sigh. If only her Great Aunt had been the one to give her the ring, then she could ask questions about it and get more guidance on how to use it and practice with it. She had many questions, from what could be done with the pearl to where her Great Aunt got it, not to mention how she found out it could be used to channel biha.

And why would her Great Aunt need the aid of a pearl? Her Great Aunt was a strong water biha user.

Beks shook herself out of dwelling on questions. The next time she saw the old woman, she would ask. For now, she had to do her best to try to master using the ring as quickly as possible.

Once more, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, gathering her biha. The process seemed to become easier the second time. A cool feeling spread from her hand to her arm and she opened her eyes. Despite the giddiness watching the dark, cool shadow move up her arm, Beks forced herself to focus on willing it to move.

She looked down at the ground and squinted to see if shadow biha could come from more than just her hand. She collected biha down her legs and with the same train of thought, a dark mass seemed to grow at her feet.

It doesn’t just need to be my hand! This was good news. Beks theorized that just having the pearl could help her focus her biha.

She turned to the encampment and the numerous fires burning not so far away. She narrowed her eyes and lifted her arm, gathering her biha once more and this time, envisioning the shadow coming from her hand like an umbrella before spreading to create a dome over her.

The lights in the camp seemed to have a darkening filter applied over them and Beks took in a sharp breath. She could do it! She could use shadow biha!

She bit her lower lip to keep from screaming out loud. She began to walk towards the camp with the small, domed shadow keeping her protected. Her heart slammed in her chest as a bit of excitement coursed through her.

Did anyone notice the shadow?

Did anyone notice her? Perhaps on the outside, they could make out her figure, but couldn’t see her features with the shadow cast over her.

Beks began to weave past the small groups who were huddled together to chat and eat. Unlike earlier, no one looked up and greeted her. No one asked if she needed an escort. No one asked if she needed anything.

She’d never been so excited to be ignored in her life.

Beks turned her attention towards the center of the camp. She wondered if Laz would notice as a shadow biha user.

She approached the center of the camp and looked around. Beks had rushed out of her father’s tent earlier in her excitement and didn’t know where to find her husbands. Lucian had probably found their tent by now, but Laz had gone to speak to his battalion leaders.

She scanned the area around the center of the camp and recognized some of the men who were officers under Laz. She approached three men who were standing in a circle and stopped behind one of them. “Where is your Battalion Commander?”

Her voice was recognizable. The two men standing in front of them looked in her direction. Their calm, respectful faces immediately dropped. The man whose back was turned to Beks turned around, already talking.

“The Battalion Commander has returned to his quarters, Your High-” His eyes went wide and he stopped abruptly, almost taking a step back at the same time. He looked right at her, but at the same time, seemed to look right through her.

“You heard it, too, right?” one of the other men said. “I swore I heard Her Highness’ voice.”

“I did, too!” the third man agreed. They looked around warily. There was a large campfire just a few paces from them. Beks could almost feel its heat against her.

Beks raised a brow. Were they trying to be funny? “What are you doing? I’m right here.”

The second man who spoke grabbed the third’s shoulder. “I heard her again!”

“Your Highness?” The first man stumbled back, getting closer to his companions as his eyes darted around. “Where are you?”

Beks squinted. Do they...do they not see me? She opened her mouth once more. “I said I’m right here.”

“Gordon, go and find the Battalion Commander! Something’s happened to Her Highness!” the first man ordered at once despite his shaken appearance.

Her brows shot up. They really can’t see me! Joy and anticipation filled her as she thought of surprising her husbands. Before she could turn around to find them, a hand clamped on her shoulder.

“How long are you going to keep hiding behind shadow biha?”

A prang of guilt reached her as Laz’s spoke up. Beks turned around and saw her husband standing there, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at her. She didn’t notice the confused looks of the three soldiers behind her.

“Is the Battalion Commander all right?” One whispered as he leaned closer to the others. The first one elbowed him to shut him up.

Beks bit her lips and held her breath. She didn’t even realize she wasn’t moving.

“Beks, I know you’re there,” Laz said with a knowing look.

She sighed. It seemed the only disappointment she’d had that night was not having the chance to surprise her husbands. “You can see me?”

“No,” Laz replied. His answer confused her at once. Before she could ask how he knew she was there, he continued. “But I can sense my own wife’s biha.”

“Why is Beks covered with shadow biha?” Lucian arrived a few steps away and seemed to squint.

Beks almost choked. “You can sense me, too?”

“Of course, I can,” Lucian said in a calm voice despite his eyes going up and down her figure, looking at something between them. “I know my wife’s biha. I’ve known it since your biha explosion.”

Defeated, Beks lowered her arm. The filter that seemed to go over the firelight vanished and she blinked, turning her head away from the large campfire to her left. “I was going to surprise you.”

“You have surprised us,” Laz told her with a dumbfounded look. “Beks, how did you use shadow biha?”

“And can you use any other?” Lucian asked. He lifted his hand and it began to let out a faint glow. “Can you do this?”

Laz seemed to want to silence his brother so they could get answers, but Beks lifted her hand, mirroring Lucian’s stance. Her hand began to glow.

And grow brighter.

And brighter.

Laz lifted his hands over his face as he turned his head away. “All right, that’s enough!”

“Beks, dim your hand,” Lucian told her, also turning his head away.

Beks had already shut her eyes as the light coming from her hand started to blind her as well. Even with closed lids, she could see the light. She tried to retract the biha, but the light wasn’t dimming, so she stopped releasing biha altogether.

Her hand dimmed, as if extinguished.

Laz rubbed his eyes. “No wonder the shadow biha was so strong that we couldn’t see you standing there in the dark. Is all your released biha like this?”

Beks looked at her hand, almost helpless. “I don’t know.” I hope not. If she couldn’t control it, she could do more harm than good.

“I’m sure she just has to learn to control it,” Lucian said. “We all have to start somewhere.”

“But where did Beks start?”

Beks sighed and looked at her snake ring once more. “Let’s go inside first, then we can talk,” she told them.

The twins looked at each other, but nodded, and escorted her to a small, round tent just beside her father’s. Beks dug out her leviathan scale and put it down before turning to her husbands. She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers, drawing their attention to the ring.

Both men frowned at once. “Beks, who gave you that ring?” Laz said with a slight frown.

“You weren’t wearing any jewelry when we left Langhse,” Lucian added.

Beks rolled her eyes. Did she detect a little jealousy? “It’s a gift from my Great Aunt.” The two let out breaths of relief.

“It’s from her Great Aunt...good, good....”

“We haven’t even bought her proper jewelry we’ve picked out for her yet.” Laz complained out loud.

“You gave me plenty from your vault.”

“Those were prepared by Adah, not us. It’s different,” Laz replied with stubbornness.

Lucian had closed the gap between them and gently held Beks’ hand in his. He turned her hand from side to side looking at the ring. He squinted. “Is this Snowflake?”

Beks’ face lit up at once. “Yes! You noticed! Do you see the little red eyes? Isn’t it cute? Just like my Snowflake!”

Lucian looked at the ring with some helplessness while Laz pursed her lips. “Your Great Aunt...she has good taste.” For a moment, she could almost hear them thinking that any attempt to get her a better ring would be in vain.

Beks let out a small snort. “That’s not the most important part. The pearl helps me manifest my biha as elemental biha.”

“What?” Laz jerked his head back.

Lucian looked at her, still holding her hand. “Is there such an item?”

“I didn’t know either and I’ve read so much,” Beks said. “My Great Aunt has another similar pearl, only it’s larger. It’s on the handle of my Great Aunt’s cane forming the head of the kraken design. When we were sailing back to the island, we had a confrontation with a Kadmus naval vessel.

“I fell off the boat holding my Great Aunt’s cane. In a panic, I released a lot of biha. I was suddenly pushed upwards, towards the surface. I broke through and was thrown quite high into the air,” Beks told them, gesticulating with her hands to try to help them visualize. “The cane was allowing me to release biha as water biha, but with no water around me to keep me up, I plummeted to the ground. I began waving the cane around trying get it to use my biha again.”

“And it worked,” Laz deduced. Beks nodded.

“Wind biha was channeled through and I was thrown over the sea, further than the ship’s length. Thad’s biha master had to catch me because I couldn’t control the biha.”

Lucian looked back at the pearl on her hand. “And the pearl is what helps you channel biha as a force.”

Beks nodded. “It seems like it. I had tried other objects after my Great Aunt’s cane, but nothing worked.”

Lucian rubbed his chin with one hand, a both interested and distracted look on his face, as if his mind was elsewhere. “I’m not surprised.”

Laz raised a brow. “You’re not?”

Lucian lowered his hands and looked at them. “Remember when we were n Aceria and we went to the Wealth Vaults? Light pearls weren’t the only pearls there. To check our identity and register, we also used a pearl.”

Laz nodded. “The one that Beks broke.”

Beks frowned at him. “It was an accident and the Grand Duke said it was fine.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I think that pearls, especially in ancient Gurani, could be activated and used for a variety of things with biha,” Lucian said. He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know how, but I think it’s possible.”

“But not all pearls can be light pearls, so perhaps only specific pearls are suitable?” Laz asked.

“That may be the case.” Lucian looked back at Beks’ ring. “This particular pearl has a luster, but it won’t glow like a light pearl. It’s possible that the pearl has to be from a specific region. Maybe from a specific type of oyster.”

Beks looked at the luster on her pearl and narrowed her eyes. “It might not be the round pearl itself, but what it’s made of.”

“Isn’t it made of pearl?” Laz asked.

Lucian shook his head. “Pearls can be farmed by putting in a tiny round object inside. The oyster secretes something around it and over time, the luster is formed.”

“At the top of each tablet there is a thin sliver of mother-of-pearl,” Beks said. “It must do something.”

“But why pearls?” Laz asked.

Beks looked at him and sighed. “Laz, I am figuring this out as I go along, too. I haven’t read anything about it.”

“It might have been so prevalently used that not much is written about it. How it as utilized was taken for granted,” Lucian said. “Not much is written about how a candle flame can create light, after all.”

Laz shook his head. “Every time I find out more about that civilization, I’m both in awe and confused as to how it could disappear as it did. Aceria exists; certainly, there were survivors.”

Beks looked at her ring and nodded. “We can think about that later. For now, I need to learn how to use this.”

“You have a large biha well. A limitless one, Beks,” Lucian said. “But you’ll still need to practice to get control.”

She frowned. “I know. That’s why you need to teach me. I only know the foundations of the elemental biha, but not the rarer ones like light and shadow. Furthermore, after being tossed around the last time I used water and wind biha, I don’t want to use elemental biha until I can control something like shadow biha. It feels the safest to use. At the very least, fewer people will get hurt.”

Laz let out a low sigh, but nodded. “All right. When we have some time, we’ll work on your control.” He put his hands on her shoulders and met her eyes. “But don’t expect it to happen overnight.”

Beks gave him a dull look. “I’m not crazy, Laz. I know I won’t master it overnight.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

She knew she wouldn’t master it overnight, but a small part of her still hoped she could. After all, she had a limitless biha well. That had to mean she had some special ability, didn’t it?

Once more, she was disappointed.

Laz showed her some exercises to try to control the density of her shadow biha for another hour before he told her they should rest, as they’d been traveling non-stop. Despite wanted to stay up and continue practicing, she forced herself to stop and go to bed.

With how excited she was at this newfound tool, she thought she would be too excited to sleep, but as soon as her head sank into her straw pillow, she slept until well past sunrise.

When she woke up, Laz had left to convene with the leaders of Laurence’s army who were present. Lucian was awake, but still laying and reading from a small, tattered notebook. Beks had seen it before; it was given to Lucian from Sister Levina and had notes on what she’d learned about light biha while hiding out in the Great Temple Complex.

She’d proudly shown it to Beks and Lucian, patting her chest and beaming before pointing to Lucian and tapping the notebook aggressively as a way of telling him he had to read it. Lucian was learning things little by little, with much trial and error, but he was still advancing.

Beks lifted her head from his bare chest and the arm she was using as a pillow shifted.

“Is breakfast over?” Meals consisted of dried and stale food while they were flying. Lately, the only food that Beks had been able to eat that was hot was when she was on the ground.

“You can eat whenever you like,” Lucian said as he lowered his notebook. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Are you hungry now?”

Beks yawned as she nodded. “I should get up.”

“I’ll call someone to bring you something to eat,” Lucian said. He carefully moved his arm out from under her head. He rose to his feet and stretched out. “Do you want to read Sister Levina’s book? It’s a bit more advanced, but some of the technical explanations may help when you try to use light biha.”

“The more information I have the better.” Her voice was a bit distracted as she watched his arms raise over his head.

Lucian turned and placed the book beside her. “Take as long as you need. I’ll be back in a bit.” He gathered his dusty travel clothes and put them on before exiting the tent. Beks rolled over on her stomach and buried her face in the pillow. It had been a while since she could sleep, though yet another battle was looming.

She turned her head and looked towards the door, still on her stomach with her arms out like a starfish on a beach. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They were so close to regaining the throne for Laurence, she could almost see Kadmium when she opened her eyes.

They just had to go a little bit further.

Beks laid in the sleeping mats for a while longer before telling herself that she had things do that morning and forcing herself to sit up and change. She folded the sleeping mats and then sat on the stack to read before Lucian returned with breakfast.

Her meal was warm and filling, but she ate it quickly. She returned the book to Lucian before setting off to find her father.

She didn’t have to go far. Robert was already up, in his tent with her mother.

“Mommy, Daddy, can I come in?” Beks asked.

“Of course, Snowflower,” Robert’s voice came from within. Beks pushed aside the tent flap and walked in. Her parents were sitting around the table with Laz, Laurence, and Marquis von Glasser.

Beks gave the rest of them a nod as Laz stood up and pulled out a chair for her. Her mother looked at her with some expectation in her eyes. “Did you figure out what your Great Aunt’s gift is for.”

A wide smile filled Beks’ face. “I can manifest biha.” She held up her hand and a dark shadow began to coat her hand. Her father’s eyes went wide while her mother rose from her feet.

“Shadow biha?” Her father began to laugh as he also stood up. “Of course, my daughter would choose the rarest of all to manifest first!”

“Congratulations, Beks,” Sybil said with a small smile as she reached forward to hug her daughter. Beks squeezed her mother.

“I can finally do it. I waited so long....”

“I know, I know,” Sybil replied softly, stroking her daughter’s hair back.

“Don’t worry about learning fire biha, Snowflower!” Her father said as he puffed out his chest. “Daddy will teach you all you need to know! Come on, let’s try right now!”

Sybil shot him a silencing look. “Perhaps it would be better to try when there is an open area without so many flammable materials nearby. Don’t forget what happened on the ship the last time she was able to use a volcanic pearl.”

Robert’s excited smile faltered a bit. He seemed to take a moment to imagine the chaos of his daughter trying to use fire biha and overloading it would limitless biha.

“The frozen tundra may be a safe place to try,” Robert said in a quiet voice.

Sybil nodded and looked back at Beks. “It’s good that you can use biha now, but you must be careful. Just like with a sword, those who are just learning can be the most dangerous.”

Beks nodded. “That’s why I started with shadow biha last night.”

“She scared some of the Wild Dogs,” Laz said with a lopsided smile.

“All right, that shows some proficiency,” Robert said with a nod. He looked at the others around the table. “You all continue. I will take Beks to the earth biha users.”

He patted Beks’ shoulder and herded her outside. Robert gave out an order and within a matter of moments, about two dozen men and women in familiar uniforms she’d seen in Sagittate arrived.

She looked towards the group. “Good morning, everyone.” She was pleased to see that Rid Callan was with the group.

“Beks, these are our earth biha users. How many of them do you need?” Robert asked.

“I estimate that the barrier we need to create will be significant, as according to Laz, we will be surrounding an entire legion battalion,” Beks said. She shuffled through her satchel and took out a folded map.

Someone brought a table closer and she laid it out. She laid out the map. She began to circle the area she’d seen the night before, which was nestled to one side of the route leading out of the hills.

Rid Callan furrowed his brows. “How high and thick do you want the barrier?”

“Twice my height and as thick as my forearm is long,” Beks replied as she looked up. “How difficult will this be?”

Several of the earth biha users looked at each other and spoke for a bit. After a while, they turned to look at her.

“My lady, considering the length you need us to make, it shouldn’t take too long with all of us. It’s just that the rumbling of the earth as we move it will not be quiet,” one of the biha users told her.

Beks was worried about that. Having been close to earth biha while it was being used, aside from the trembling around the area, there was the crunch and rumble of rocks and dirt as it was moved around. If they did it slowly, they could minimize the volume, but they needed it done quickly.

A small cough came from behind her. She turned around and saw her brother standing there with Sunny on his shoulder. “Do you need a distraction?”

Beks’ lips pulled into a smile. “Actually, yes.”

A few paces behind the two smiling siblings, Laurence’s lips formed a tight line. “Please don’t kill everyone if you can help it....”

“You’re overthinking this, Brother,” Beks said as she put her arm around Thad’s shoulder and looked at Laurence. “We’re doing this to avoid a battle. Even when we raid, we’ll try for as little injury as possible to both sides.”

Laurence’s eyes crinkled up. “You planned a raid?”

“How else are we going to put pressure on a sieged group in a short amount of time if we don’t take away their food and resources?” Thad asked, as if the very idea of not doing so was ridiculous.

Laurence stared at the two of them, looked at Robert, and then looked back at them. He let out a heavy sigh. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

“Brother Laurence, you needn’t do much at this point,” Beks told him. “Just stand there and make it known that the rightful king is alive and returning.”

She hoped that would ease his mind on her plan to lay siege to an entire battalion, but as the thick fog crawled from the hill and down into the valley where the battalion was located, Beks wasn’t sure Laurence was completely convinced.

She knew he had his doubts. After all, he had only heard about her latest escapades through urapearl and hadn’t seen them. Laurence also didn’t seem to think too much about her being the Inheritor. Considering everything else weighting on his mind, she didn’t blame him. In all honesty, she preferred he focused on regaining the throne.

As both a member of his council and his foster sister, Beks didn’t want to add additional stress to him. Her job had always been to support him.

Beks sat on a borrowed horse that was taller and lighter than Patches, making her miss her cavalry horse. She told herself that Efran and Wrath would take care of Patches well. Beside her Laz and Lucian fixed their gazes on the valley with intensity. She couldn’t do much other than the specks of torch lights in the darkness, and as the fog sank over the camp, those lights grew fuzzy and less distinct.

“Even we can’t see the torches much through the fog,” Laz said as he seemed to relax a bit.

“From how thick it is, it’s probably comparable to the fog around the island,” Lucian replied.

“You couldn’t see your hand in that fog,” Laurence told them.

“All right, it should’ve reached the edges of the camp by now,” Beks said. “Let’s go around on the hillside. Rid Callan and the others are waiting.”

Laz led the way and Beks gave her horse a gentle kick to follow. With the battalion watching the entrance into the pass, those who were part of the quasi-siege took double the time to go through the forest and the hills. They left before sunset, following the trajectory established.

Her mother was on one of the rokhs, keeping the fog steady. It would be kept for some time in order to appear somewhat natural as well as to buy time for their people to get into place. On the other rokh were Thad and Sunny. When Lucian gave the signal, Thad would use his wind biha to start.

Using the twins, she found the earth biha users waiting on horseback. Laz and Lucian kept them together and guided them along the outer edges of the camp, a good distance from where the edge of the dense fog was. Based on each user’s earlier assessed ability, Beks placed them at different lengths from each other. In the center, covering the largest stretch of the barrier was Rid Callan.

When he had his biha well assessed by his peers, several of them had gone quiet before double checking. Increasing one’s biha well was unheard of once a biha-user reached mastery. He couldn’t explain how his biha well increased, but those who had traveled with her also guessed it had something to do with the biha she gave them.

Rid Callan didn’t say a word about Beks’ involvement, only shrugging that he’d just been ‘practicing more’.

Once all the earth biha users were in place, Beks and Laz returned to the center. She gave Lucian a nod, and he looked in the direction of the mountain. He narrowed his eyes and pulled his hand back. Light gathered in his hand before he threw it forward.

For a bit, the light seemed to disappear into the darkness above the battalion camp, but after a few counts, there was a burst of white light above the tree line in the mountains.

At first, they couldn’t see or hear anything, but then the clear rustling of trees could be heard in the distance. There was a howl of wind, yet from where she was standing, the air was still. The fog also wasn’t moving.

Laz sat up straight on his horse. “He toppled some trees.”

“Trees?” Laurence asked in a tight voice.

“I can only see the tops, but at least a few parts of the trees have broken off and crashed down,” Lucian replied. He squinted. “Actually, the tree should’ve fallen. They’re swaying violently.”

In the distance, they heard yelling and Beks assumed it had to do with falling trees. However, yelling meant noise. She patted Rid Callan’s shoulder, sending him some biha before stepping back.

She felt the familiar movement beneath her as the ground began to adjust. She stood by her horse and patted his neck to try to keep him calm as the earth-packed barrier began to rise from the ground. Rid Callan’s eyes were narrowed as he focused on the space directly in front of them, raising it higher than the rest.

This close to the barrier, she could hear the rumbling and splitting of the earth. She looked towards Lucian and gave him another nod.

Another light flare was sent up. If the battalion didn’t see the first one, they should’ve noticed the second one.

And the ball of fire collecting above them.

The slow, steady controlled wind carried the flames down and within moments, the tops of the trees had caught on fire.

Laz squinted. “The fire is larger than when we were at the palace.”

Beks pursed her lips. “Daddy is with Thad.”

Laurence let out a heavy breath. “That entire hill is going to catch on fire....”

“My father has excellent control,” Beks told him. A loud crash sounded and she snapped her head towards the hillside just in time to watch several trees crumple over and fall. The glow of the fire had somehow spread across the entire length of the base of the hill, filling the sky with smoke as the silhouettes of burning trees could be seen. Embers began flying through the air.

Several pairs of eyes looked towards Beks. “Excellent control?” Laurence asked.

“Yes,” Beks replied. “Look at how hot it’s burning. I can feel it here.”

“My lady, I will go and check the other users,” Rid Callan said. Beks gave him a nod and got back on his horse.

“Do we wait?” Laurence asked.

Beks pointed to a set of stairs against the side of the wall that was taller than she had ordered. This section of the barrier was about the same height as the canopy road in the Forbidden Valley.

“Let’s go up. Rid Callan has created a rampart at the top of this section,” she said. “But stay close to the wall, there isn’t a railing.”

Laurence swallowed hard and followed behind them, climbing up the three stories of wall to get to an open space with a waist high hall to keep them from falling over. Beks leaned over the side.

From the way the torches were glowing, her mother had kept the dense fog in place despite the wind to one side and then the fire. The fog was still most dense closest to the earthen barrier, and they could all see where the fire line was across the camp. Beks could hear panicked yelling coming from around the camp as they dealt with an encroaching fire.

Compared to how quickly the fire had spread along the hill side, it almost came to a stop at the edge of the camp, but the threat of fire spreading throughout was still there and it seemed to have the entire camp’s attention.

Beks looked on either side of her. Rid Callan’s barrier sloped down as it went away from the center where they stood, so as to connect with the others. It faded into the darkness, so all Beks could do was wait until Rid Callan returned and confirmed the barrier was connected, leaving just the openings on either end.

Below, the entire camp seemed to have woken up and were trying to get away from the fire.

“What is this?” Someone cried out below them, but due to the thickness of the fog and the lack of light, she couldn’t see who was talking. “There is a wall!” The voice grew more panicked as he spoke. “There is a wall here!”

“Ah,” Beks said as she looked over the edge once more. “They’ve found us.”

Lucian stepped forward. “Should we send the raid flare?”

She held up her hand. “Not yet. Wait until Rid Callan returns and the completion of the barrier is confirmed.”

Everyone nodded and Beks listened carefully. More and more people began to discover the wall, voicing their confusion and alarm: it wasn’t there earlier, they didn’t hear it, and they couldn’t see it with the fog.

“My lady!” Rid Callan reached them. “The barrier is complete except for the openings by the raid point on one side and the route on the other. The other users have split to close the openings when the signal is given.”

Beks nodded. “Good. Lucian. Third flare.”

Lucian raised his arms and gathered biha. His hands and arms began to glow before shooting up white light into the sky. For a moment, there was only a thin stream of white cutting through the dark before it fizzled out.

Laz raised a brow. “That’s it?”

“Wait for it,” Lucian replied. A flash of light illuminated the sky like lightning, causing all five of them on the ramparts to cover their eyes at the flash. “How was that?”

Laz blinked, as if trying to get the white flash out of his eyes. “I can see spots.”

“You’ve...improved....” Laurence said, also rubbing his eyes.

The signal was given and Beks turned her head in the direction of the raiders. They were mainly wild dogs, less than a hundred who had climbed over the hills earlier with them. Shouting filled the air as flames appeared towards one side of the camp.

“For efficiency's sake, battalion camps are always set up in the same way. If one transfers battalions, they will transition quickly. They will know where the medics are located, where to get feed for their animals, where the smiths are, and where the food is kept,” Laz told them. “On the other hand, this also means that every member of the legion will know where the food is kept.”

The fog in the far corner was lifted in order to allow the raiders to see their target clearly. Yelling, screaming, and the thunderous sounds of alarm drums were echoing around. Fire was seen rising up from the camp as the Wild Dog were escorted by members of the Caroline army.

For those on the camp, the raid was just another problem like the fire, the mysterious fog, and the wall. Those who were inspecting the wall abandoned it and began rushing towards the various resource points.

Beks saw three flames shoot up from the corner of her left eye. “The side with the route has been abandoned. Laz, the fourth flare.”

Another light was shot, but this time towards the opening of the hillside pass. That flare had two purposes. First, to have the biha users seal that section. The second was to signal the vanguard waiting that the path was clear and to begin moving the army under the leadership of Marquis von Glasser.

“How long do you think it will take for them to get the food?” Lucian asked his brother.

“It depends on how much they have and if they’ve received any supplies recently,” Laz answered. “It shouldn’t take long with the empty supply wagons they’re using.”

“The biha users will make sure they have plenty of coverage and time to gather everything.” Beks looked up at the sky. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“The fog is moving back in,” Laz told her as he craned his neck. “How is Mother-in-law able to see?”

“She’s not that high off the ground,” Beks said. “The shadow biha I put on her is doing its job. I’m surprised you don’t see her. You saw me yesterday.”

“I was looking up at the sky. I thought she’d be high up like your brother and Father-in-law,” Laz replied. He squinted and leaned closer to the right. “She’s hovering just above the fog; I didn’t even notice.”

Another three flares shot up into the sky, this time on the right. “That’s the signal to close the barrier,” Laurence said. “They’re done!”

“Once the barrier is closed, they’re trapped between the wall and the fire,” Beks said.

“Will they be able to see us if it’s this dark?” Laurence asked.

“Don’t worry, Brother, that’s why I’m here,” Lucian said. “I will make sure everyone sees you.”

“Where is Thad?” Beks said more to herself than others as she looked up. “I want him here to deflect arrows.” She pursed her lips. It was likely that Thad didn’t know where to land “Lucian, go down and use your light biha to signal Thad to land.”

“All right.” Her younger husband turned around and rushed back down the steps .

Beks looked over her shoulder. “Rid Callan, make a railing against the stairs so Thad doesn’t fall.”

Rid Callan chuckled and nodded. “Of course, my lady.”

Beks then turned her attention back to the battalion camp. There was a lot of yelling and panic coming from below, but with the thick fog shielding them, the soldiers on the ground couldn’t see how high the actual barrier was.

“It’ll probably be best to demand to speak to their battalion commander first,” Laz said. “If we can get them to join us, we can send them to contact the other battalions.”

“If they agree and recognize Brother Laurence,” Beks said in a low voice. She narrowed her eyes. “We should still watch them. Remember those armies that followed the Red Iron Cavalry?”

Laz took a deep breath and released it. “If they won’t join us, we will just leave them here and proceed to Kadmium.” He looked towards Laurence. “What do you think?”

“I think the same,” Laurence said with a serious expression. “I know that right now, we are enemies, but I don’t want to have to fight my own people.”

Laz raised his hand and patted Laurence on the shoulder. “We’ll try, Brother. That’s all we can do.”

“Sister!” A voice panted behind them and Thad rushed up. Beks turned around and reached out to touch her brother’s head.

“Good job, Thad.” The lizard on Thad’s shoulder stuck his tongue out and Beks smiled. “You, too, Sunny.”

“Daddy is going to continue covering us from above,” Thad told her. He walked towards the edge of the ramparts and peered down. “I can’t see anything.”

“And that’s the point,” Beks replied. “I need you to be ready to deflect arrows. Battalions usually have at least two companies of archers.”

Thad nodded his head and stood up straight. “I’m ready now, Sister. I’ll keep a headwind.”

“Then we’re ready. Lucian.” She looked past her brother to her younger husband. “Send the signal to my mother.”

Lucian sent three streams of light into the air, but none of them burst. Laz and Beks kept an eye out over the edge of the ramparts as the fog began to fade.

A roar of fire sounded to their sides and Laurence almost jumped at the sound. Above the wall, balls of fire appeared, as if to let everyone know just how much the wall encompassed. Shouting was heard below as the fog vanished and barrier was revealed by the fires.

“Lucian. Now,” Laz said. Lucian stood to the back corner, protected by Rid Callan in case of arrows, and furrowed his brows. Biha collected in his hands creating a ball of light. The ramparts they were standing on were illuminated at once.

“Up there!”

“What is that!”

Beks frowned. What do they mean ‘what’? It should be ‘who’.

Laurence took a deep breath and prepared to step forward. Before he reached the edge of the rampart, Laz’s arms shot out. One handheld back his brother and the other held back Beks.

Thad narrowed his eyes and threw his arms out.

Arrows fell to the ground and Beks frowned at once. “Thad, keep the head wind up to move arrows away,” Laz ordered. “Brother-”

“Put down your weapons!” Beks stepped around Laz and stood at the very edge of the ramparts, looking down at the army below as the wind from her brother threw her hair around her face.

“Beks!” Laz almost choked out. He wanted to reach for her, but she ignored him.

“Put down your weapons!” Her voice seemed to echo across the camp as she took a deep breath. “Surrender now or else this entire camp will be incinerated before sunrise!”

Laurence balked. “Beks!” He rushed forward. “This isn’t what we discussed!”

Without taking her eyes off the camp, she answered him in a quieter voice. “I’m just scaring them, Brother.” She glowered as she made out the soldiers below, looking up with their weapons still in hand. “Or am I?”

Laz sighed and stepped forward to stand beside her. “I am Battalion Commander and the Second Prince, Lazarus von Kadmus. I demand to speak to your battalion commander!”

The soldiers didn’t lower their weapons, nor was there any movement below. Rid Callan frowned. “Stubborn.”

Beks grumbled and yelled once more. “You have until fifty counts, then I will have the camp set on fire!”

Laurence ran a hand down his face.

“Someone is moving, at least,” Laz said. “I knew it would have to come to a threat.”

Beks counted out loud, as if to ensure that everyone knew that the deadline was approaching. As she reached ten, shouting was heard below them.

“Battalion Commander von Kadmus!” someone shouted. A man in a uniform with ash on his face and disheveled hair waved his arms.

Laz narrowed his eyes. “Battalion Commander Gaitlin! This is a direct order from His Majesty, the King! You are to lower your weapons and surrender!”

“Battalion Commander, do you think yourself the King of Kadmus?” Battalion Commander Gaitlin asked in a mocking voice.

Laurence frowned at once hearing the disrespect in the man’s voice for his brother. He stepped forward, standing between Laz and Beks.

“No,” he said in a low, authoritative voice. “But I do, Commander Gaitlin.” He narrowed his eyes. “Tell me. How long do you plan to support my brother, the usurper who tried to have me killed?”