earth interrupted the steady cadence of Rhyne’s war drums. Angered bellows answered our attack, and they broke formation to charge.
Thaleus signaled for another round of arrows before yanking his own sword out of its sheath. Turning to the men at our backs, he raised his weapon high. “Infantry with me. Riders with Prince Aleksander. We will not fall!”
The company of horsemen to my left waited with bated breath, their mounts pawing anxiously at the ground. Among them were three imposing figures clad in mercury armor. Sentinels. Wilheim’s elite force of soldiers tasked with protecting the city and the royal family. An army of them would have destroyed Rhyne’s men in a matter of days. Instead, thousands of men and women, soldiers I’d grown to love over the years, were forced to give up their lives so that my home could be protected.
Despite the war, despite my arguments with Father, the Sentinels of Wilheim remained stationed atop the gleaming diamond and marble walls—save these three. My royal guard.
Frustration brewed in my chest, but I bottled the anger tight and focused on Rhyne’s forces. Father might be able to deny our troops the aid of Sentinels, but he’d never stop me from leading the charge.
“For Lendria!” My war cry burned my throat at the same moment I dug my heels into my mare’s sides. She rocketed forward, and my riders followed. Spears and swords glinted in the sun as we charged toward the thick of the enemy ranks. With every pounding beat of my horse’s hooves, my pulse jumped higher. We rode without fear. We rode without hesitation. We rode without thinking of anything except what lay before us. Our horses crashed into the first wave of men, and soldiers crumpled to the ground as we effortlessly broke the line.
Spears shook and splintered against shields, swords clashed against armor and men. Blood sprayed all around us, and the earthy scent of the marsh was soon coated with an iron tang. And still we rode. I arced my sword high and crashed it against a soldier, meeting the soft spot between neck and shoulder. He fell to the earth only to be replaced by another, and another. Swinging to my left, I caught sight of the morning sky aglow with something other than pale sunlight. Enemy arrows soaked in oil and licking flames careened toward my brigade.
“Shields!” With my free hand, I stripped a shield from my horse’s side and flung it over my head. Arrows thumped into the soft wood, cooking the iron holds and heating my skin. I winced with every hit as each vibration shook through my bones. Once the rain of arrows died, I lowered my arm and continued to push my mare forward. The jarring clatter of armor meeting metal filled the air, and I swiped my blade at an advancing jade-clad soldier. His head hit the ground.
Part of me felt sick. The spray of blood against my horse’s legs turned her snowy-white coat a speckled red, and the sound of death was everywhere. But war was never pretty, and I’d be damned if I left my men to fight a battle I’d started, intentionally or not.
Beside me, the Sentinels were making easy work of our enemies. They’d dismounted and were cleaving through the ranks. Bodies fell in heaps around them, but they did not flinch.
Stomach churning, I stared out over the blood-soaked expanse. The muddy banks and shallow pools of water had turned a murky reddish brown, and the lifeless eyes of many, so many, stared up at me as I passed. It didn’t matter if their armor was jade or steel, their expressions were the same: lost. I hated it. This was a useless war with no end, but one side had to win eventually. One side had to cave.
No, we would persevere. We would win.
An enemy rider bolted toward me, and our swords met with a harsh clang. The scrape of metal rang through my ears as I thrust my blade against his thigh, knocking him off-balance. He slid in his saddle, and his horse veered. I was about to lunge after him when a brilliant orb of sparking magic careened between us. It singed the air with electricity and cooked everything it passed until it crashed into the ground. My gaze snapped to the enemy forces and the singular woman standing clear in their midst. She’d opted for leather armor that mirrored the drab browns and sage greens of our surroundings, keeping her position