A Court of War and Sacrifice

1. From Day to Day

    Sweat ran down her forehead despite the cool afternoon air. Seren lifted her sword, Elysian, and nodded to her pupils. The Illyrian females fell into position and waited for her instructions. "Begin!" Seren ordered.

    Steel clashed as the females attacked one another. Seren's sword met her opponent's. Jorah's hazelnut eyes gleamed with delight. They began trading blows rapidly, throwing in a few fancy maneuvers. Seren ducked beneath Jorah's blade and jabbed Elysian's pommel into her side.

    Jorah grunted, but did not falter. Her crippled wings flared out as she balanced herself. She lunged at Seren. Seren dodged again, but Jorah dug the tip of her blade into the soil and swung herself around it. Her foot collided with Seren's chest, knocking her backwards. Seren grimaced as she sat up.

    Jorah leaned against her sword, smirking. "Well? How was that?"

    "Great. Did Cassian teach you that move?" Seren took Jorah's extended hand. She winced at the sight of the horrible scars marring her own skin. Jorah pulled her to her feet.

    "No. Cassian would be biting my head off for digging my blade into the dirt," Jorah chuckled.

    "It's a good move to use with a staff," Seren thought aloud. "Why don't you take over this next lesson and show the females how to do that?"

    "Sure!" Jorah clapped her hands, drawing the females' attention.

    Seren retreated to the fence that surrounded the training ring. It took a few minutes for Jorah to pass around staffs and help everyone get situated. Seren smiled to herself as the females laughed and talked with one another.

    The Ironcrest war camp was a different place than it had been a year ago. The first time Seren had come, the females were all downtrodden and wouldn't even lift their eyes. Seren did her best to convince the Illyrian females to train, but Erebus, Ironcrest's warlord, had done everything possible to prevent that.

    Seren wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The mountains were somewhat cold year round, but especially so in the winter and early spring. Luckily, the snow had melted before Calanmai this year.

    A few males walked past the ring and spat, giving Seren mocking sneers. She rolled her eyes with a sigh. Despite the progress being made in Ironcrest, there was still a lot of work to be done.

    At least they haven't been abusing the females so much, she thought. And the females can now defend themselves.

    The sound of steel scraping against a grinding wheel reached Seren's pointed ears. She tensed with fear, the sound dredging up horrible memories. Something squeezed her arm. She looked down and saw her shadow situated around her left bicep as usual.

    She managed a small smile. The shadow had first become attached to her a year ago, when she'd arrived in the Night Court. Seren had been commissioned as a spy for Beron Vanserra, High Lord of the Autumn Court, after her father was killed. Trestwyn Marzena foolishly told Beron about Seren's daemati abilities. In anger, Beron killed him and threatened Seren until she agreed to spy for him.

    The longer Seren stayed in the Night Court, though, the more her resolve faltered, until she finally made the choice to betray Beron. Of course, Beron learned of her betrayal soon enough and gave her one final choice to make. When Seren's original agenda was revealed to her newfound family, she'd been ordered to leave the Night Court or be taken to the Prison.

    Seren had fled back to the Autumn Court, where Beron was waiting for her. She refused to tell him anything about the members of the Night Court, resulting in several weeks of torture. During those long weeks, Seren had done everything in her power to weaken herself, hoping for death. However, when death finally came, she was not ready.