Fireborn

46 ¦ Medal of Honor

Peter and I held hands in the carriage that took us back to Castle Teufelwald. In the euphoria of our final victory, I'd almost forgotten that we were still tethered to the Fireborn until Father set us free.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Alicia cleared her throat. "The Ministry will be holding an awards ceremony to celebrate our victory. Do you think the Director will keep his word and officially let us go?"

Marcus scoffed. "Yeah, right," he muttered under his breath. "He's got an army in the palm of his hand, and there's now a power vacuum. What do you think he's gonna do, Alicia?"

"Enough!" I said, loud enough to make everyone flinch, including Peter. "Father swore a blood oath."

"Liselle, I didn't mean--"

"If nothing else, he has to abide by the contract to protect himself," I said. "After the war, we're free. That's what he said."

"Define war," Marcus retorted. "Killing the King? Stabilizing Halden and the other territories in the Neutral Zone? Peacekeeping activities in the former Gatál Empire? How long will the war actually be?"

My blood boiled like the lava streaming from the crater of Mount Balaam. Marcus was right, but I couldn't admit it to myself. My body, soul, and mind were just too exhausted.

"I don't know, all right!"

"Hey, Liselle," Peter cooed in my ear. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and I took a deep breath to calm my frayed nerves. "We'll figure it out."

"At least we know we'll always be employed," Alicia said in a facetious tone, eliciting a derisive snort from Marcus.

Bragda and Kaylar exchanged a pointed look. "If that bastard doesn't keep his word, we'll take him to the courts. They'll have to listen. You're not his slaves. You're citizens of the Free World."

"Exactly," Alicia said. "Remember, my father is still Minister of Defense. He will protect us. He won't let your father keep us hostage in that castle forever. He knows where I am now."

Marcus gave her a wistful smile. "I hope you're right."

Father could free us next week when he pinned a medal on our chests. The Prime Minister would give a speech and call us heroes, but all of that would be for naught without our liberty.

Marcus was right. Why wouldn't they use us to protect the country from foreign threats? We Fireborn were the strongest weapons in their arsenal, and we had to fulfill our duty to protect our country.

The Ministry didn't give a crap what we thought any more than they cared about the feelings of their arrows or battering rams. We were no longer citizens in their eyes.

We were inhuman. Deadly. Other.

Father might have turned me into a killing machine. I might have even enjoyed my first kill. But I swore to myself that I would not let his experiment turn me into a monster.

❄️🔥❄️🔥

At the awards ceremony, Prime Minister Adair spoke before the assembly of Fireborn and Minningers with a smug expression and the same disingenuous smile sported by all politicians. She finished her victory speech with a crescendo of lies to be broadcast to every citizen in the Free World.

My thoughts flashed back to the day I'd given my speech before the battle. The Minister had looked the same way when she'd insisted I should lie to rile up my troops.

"How many of your speeches are filled with lies?"

"Oh, honey." She gave my arm a reassuring pat. "You have no idea."

I did now. For all her grandstanding, a casual observer would think she'd killed all seven Wraiths herself with her bare hands.

"So we have gathered here to thank these brave, valiant Warriors," she said, gesturing towards my friends, my sister, and me. "They have risked their lives and sacrificed their souls and humanity so that we can live in peace."

As the arena erupted into a cacophony of cheers and jubilation. The Prime Minister turned toward us and clapped with that same artificial smile. I wanted to slap it right off her face.

Father crossed the stage and pinned a medal on each of our chests, a gold star hanging from a red ribbon. Congratulating us. The smug bastard never said anything about him blackmailing me into this life or risking his own adopted daughter for the sake of a power play.

When he reached Bragda, she grabbed the medal from him and pinned it on herself. My eyes widened in surprise. That was the utmost sign of Dwarvish disrespect.

Father growled under his breath. But he still shook her hand to keep up appearances.

In a rare moment of fine politics, Father pinned the medal on my chest. "I'm proud of you, Captain Alaria." He turned to the audience and raised our conjoined hands in the air. "My daughter single-handedly ended the reign of the Shadow King! All hail!"

"Hail, Alaria!" the audience shouted in reply.

He flashed me a wicked smile. "You are my best Warrior."

Two can play this game.

With a fake smile, I pulled Father into an embrace. I cursed him in a malicious whisper.

"You ripped away my humanity and have the gall to pin a ribbon on my chest?" I patted his back, making it look like a friendly embrace. "Before you reach your fiftieth birthday, Father, I swear to you that I shall carve out your heart like you did mine."

"Within five years, you'll be crawling back to Castle Teufelwald begging for my help," he sneered. "The Free World doesn't have a place for violent demons. They love you now. But soon they'll hate you."

As I pulled away from him, I flashed him a fanged smile. He returned the gesture, but it didn't reach his face. His hazel eyes flared like mine. Full of fire. Anger. Hatred. Accepting the challenge.

What have we become? Where did we go wrong?

After he'd pinned the medal on Peter's chest, he took a page out of my book and embraced him like a brother. I couldn't hear Father's words, but Peter cringed and gave him a curt nod.

Father walked across the stage with confident strides. His talons clacked as he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the podium and waited for the jubilation to subside.

"I hereby grant these brave Warriors their freedom," Father declared to the audience. "They may choose to study at the university for free, start families, or begin a new career. Unfettered. This is the prize that awaits all my Warriors who prove their bravery in battle. Long live Minningen!"

"Long live Minningen!"

Peter gave me a wistful smile and squeezed my hand. Bragda grasped the other one with a fiery look I knew so well. She leaned over and whispered, "When all is said and done, I'll kick his ass."

We raised our clasped hands in a celebration to the ecstatic roars and cheers of the Fireborn.

I would study. I would begin a new career.

But I wouldn't crawl anywhere or bow to anyone.

I'd stand up for my family. My friends. My people. My nation.

That was my newfound purpose.