Veridia

Chapter 24

The Land In-Between, present

"FIRE!"

All hell broke loose at a simple word. Sizzling electricity crackled over Aleksander's head as the soldiers from both sides moved forward.

Four seasons manifested themselves in one moment. His fire blazed over the grass, leaving nothing but stone and ashes before it was drowned by torrents of rain, blown back by gales of wind flashing with lightning as it stormed.

Clouds rolled over the sun, swathing the field in gray and darkness. The cold rain turned the ground into mud, soldiers on Aethiria's side walking on dry land while Terramore's slogged through the thick slush.

The curtain of rain hid most of the horrors, but what was directly in front of him couldn't. There were bodies, so many of them, dressed in Red and plain clothes alike. Blood stained the horse's hooves scarlet, the sounds of screams drowning in the thunder of the rain.

All Aleksander could think and hear was red.

Red like blood, screams, and pain.

Red like fire, defiance, and triumph.

From across the downpour, a single purple flare went up.

Purple.

King Romanov was here.

Aleksander urged his horse towards the flare, sending flames out towards the side of his steed to clear a path for them.

He could barely see, but through the smoke and rain he could just barely make out the blurry image of a carriage sparkling with gold. It was swathed by what looked like blue cloth, folds of fabric surrounding the door and even the horses pulling it.

Romanov has a taste for audacity.

All those days spent in boredom seemed hazy and distant. Something wild and exhilarating flooded his veins, but that wasn't even the best part. Aleksander felt control. Everything he did was deliberate. Nothing else was behind his choices, not Kirigan, and certainly not his father.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled and Aleksander barely managed to steer right before an arrow zipped past his left shoulder.

He turned his horse around, trying to track the direction. Another arrow barely clipped him, bouncing off the gold armor on his forearm.

Two more quickly came in quick succession, but he sliced them out of the air before they could hit.

Is it just me, or do I seem a lot more targeted?

Aleksander spared a second to figure out the general direction of the attack before returning fire, literally.

All of a sudden, someone barreled into him, knocking from his horse and knocking the wind out of him.

A knife pressed into his throat, and in a blind panic Aleksander set his body ablaze.

The pressure instantly released, the screams of his opponent drowning in the buzzing of his ears.

He heaved the body off of him, gasping for air.

Aleksander almost threw up at the sight of the blackened, mud-caked body in front of him. He could barely make out a tuft of brown hair underneath the soot. The man, no, boy, had brown eyes, now lifeless. There was no question that he was dead.

I killed somebody.

Dear lord, I was the one who took his life.

"ALEKSANDER!"