Warrior of the Moon

16

Vice clasped Vex's hand with all of her strength, both of them reaching out for their magic and throwing all they had at the attempt at a projection.

When they finally broke apart, they were gasping.

Birches had his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed them. "Well?" he asked gruffly. He had not been in a good mood the past few days, unsurprisingly. They had had very little rest as they rushed back toward Reave, and though the wound the Infernals had dealt him had closed over, she knew he was still recovering from the pain.

They knew that going straight to Estrell in their current condition was not wise, and if an entire Infernal host was converging on one of the largest cities in the Realm, they would need backup. Vice just hoped Aymon and his troops had shown up in Reave by now. She did not want to leave that city defenseless, either, especially without the general's say-so.

"Still can't get through," Vice confessed, even as her twin glared at her hands as though they had failed her.

"How is that possible?" Birches basically spat, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as if he was holding himself back from jumping at them - at them. "You two are the most talented magicians in the Realm, General Wulf chose you because of that--"

"We haven't slept for nearly five days, and haven't had a proper meal since Reave," Vex growled at him. "Once we've rested I'm sure we can navigate around it."

"Just bust through--"

"If we do that, it could kill us," Vice explained, more patiently than her twin would have, judging by the fire in Vex's eyes. They all needed to sleep. "The most powerful spells are intricately woven over time. To properly get to the general, we'll have to remove the shield around him the same way. Magic is a touchy thing."

Birches pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. She knew that he thought he was failing as their leader, and that none of them would be able to convince him otherwise. He was not the only one who had failed to foresee the trap laid out before them. Even the general had missed it, though Vice had learned over the years that while sometimes the princess - the queen - could impressively sharpen his mind and focus, other times the all-consuming way he fixated on any mention of her could detract from the same thing. She did not think she had to point it out to the general. He seemed well aware that the queen was a weakness of his. Perhaps the only one.

"Let's just... get to Reave. We'll figure something out there," he said bitterly. The other Wolves nodded and shoved their food back into their packs as they set off again. Birches outran them all, surely in the hopes that he would see Elodi and Theo soon.

They reached Reave at midday and impatiently waited for the guards to lift the gate. It took every last ounce of Vice's energy out of her to jog through the city up to the manor. Her thighs burned as the hill never seemed to end.

Iefyr himself was outside to meet them, obviously having been warned by his guards and attendants that they had returned to the city ahead of schedule. Vice had met him for the first time at his party the night they left, and she had been unimpressed with him. He drank what must have been a barrel of mead all on his own and slung his arm around whatever girl was nearest him, be she warrior, guest, or servant. It made her wonder how such a man had been assigned to the most important defensive city in the Realm, besides Azure itself.

However, seeing the way he held himself now made her realize he could be grave when he needed to be. His dark eyes scanned their company as they walked to meet him, and she could only just make out his frown past his red-tinted beard. She could tell just from looking at him that he was itching to reach for the ax at his hip. He knew something was wrong. She was sure it was written all over their faces.