Page 28 of Stars May Burn

“Oh.” My eyes widened as I turned the knife. “Callum makes them?”

She nodded with a slight smirk. “Hundreds of them, far more than are needed in the war. Mostly, I think to wind up the general, but they’ve taken on a deeper meaning to the people here. People ask Callum for one when they swear to give the general their loyalty for the rest of their lives, whether they are fighting or not. The soldiers take them with them into battle against Kollenstar and mark the hilt every time they kill a soulless.”

I shivered, then realized I was leaning so far in to hear Meena’s words that my hair was draping in the food. I hurriedly sat back into a more ladylike posture. “The soulless? Are those the monsters we hear of in the campaigns?”

Meena nodded, her eyes on the knife. “It’s the nickname soldiers have given to the Kollen warriors. Our enemy. Those that have been twisted so much by illegal kryalcomy, they’re indeed little more than monsters. Sure, Kollenstar sends normal soldiers, too, but now more and more are soulless.”

My breaths no longer seemed to contain air as I leaned forward again. “Have you seen one? A soulless?”

The tall guard nodded and handed me her own freisk knife. Dozens of marks were engraved on the metal hilt. My mouth dried.

“You’ve killed that many?”

She nodded as she took it back, slipping it back into her boot. “Nothing can prepare you for the shock of them—the wrongness of them. If it weren’t for the general, I would have been killed long ago in this war. Instead, they have fallen to my blades.”

I frowned. “How has he helped you?”

Her eyes met mine, suddenly fierce. “That man is a military genius who actually cares about his soldiers. He will do whatever it takes to keep them safe. He is the only man who can win this war. And instead, the king is determined to ruin him. If General Batton is removed from the war, this whole country will be doomed.”

I rocked back in my chair in shock at the passion behind her words.

Meena looked down to one side, her face becoming hard and withdrawn. “Forgive me, my lady. When you’re ready, we can return to the castle. You must be tired.” Her words sounded restrained.

I swallowed down my half-chewed food and nodded. If what Meena said was true, I needed to help Kasten however I could. As far as things stood, it didn’t seem like he needed me at all. But these people clearly expected me to do great things. Joy and hope were written all over their faces, while I couldn’t even meet them without feeling dizzy. I needed to do better.

I had to become something…more.

SOPHIE

Iwandered through the garden with my face tilted toward the sun, feeling its warm embrace and willing it to melt away the stress caused by the morning’s chaos. I’d limited my time in the garden to one hour a day so it wouldn’t become an unhelpful distraction from my work. I didn’t want to be self-indulgent when people needed me. But today I was more grateful for the break than ever. In the quiet, I could hear myself think.

My thoughts kept circling back to the vastness of what these people had lost and the soulless monsters that so many of them had fought. In the capital, I’d been shielded from the horrors of war. Father had always said it was an unladylike topic of conversation. Yes, I’d heard men boasting of their military prowess, but none of them had been missing limbs or telling me about their lost loved ones.

The general protected these people, and now they looked to me to protect them too. If he was away often, surely there was much I could do during his long absences. But what? I felt like it should be more obvious. I would ask to meet with somebody who could advise me on the matter. Mistress Rose, who managed the castle staff, seemed to be humoring me, rather than giving me a true role. I wondered if she had also been instructed to hide the true goings on in the castle from me.

We turned a corner, passing manicured hedges, and I pointed to the workshop in the corner of the garden. Smoke curled from its wonky chimney, and its tiled roof sagged in the middle, giving it a charming appearance. A fenced-off yard around it contained piles of junk and broken wheelbarrows. The path to and from the door appeared well trodden, and blue kryalcomy lamps glowed inside, despite the sun still being high.

I turned to Lucy. “Who works there?”

She followed my gaze. “Callum, my lady.”

I almost misstepped in surprise. “Callum? What does he do in there?” I remembered what Meena had said about him making the ceremonial daggers.

She looked uneasy, and I wondered if his role had something to do with the forbidden topic everyone seemed to be skirting around. “I don’t really understand it, my lady.”

I pursed my lips, but my desire to understand was becoming more and more overpowering. I turned to Lucy and Meena. “Would you mind waiting here? I wish to speak to Callum alone.”

Meena looked uneasy, her eyes scanning the workshop and its surroundings, but bowed. “Shout if you need us, my lady. Even if it’s just to kick Callum’s backside.”

I half laughed. “Thank you, Meena. One day I may ask you to do just that.”

I walked to the single-story building before I overthought this and my courage faded. I knocked on the door. I heard cursing and a heavy thud. Footsteps made the rickety walls vibrate, and the door swung open. “What?”

I stepped back, surprised at his informality. Callum wasn’t wearing his jacket, his white shirt was untied around the neck, and smudges of soot and ink marred the material and covered his hands.

He looked me up and down. “Oh, it’s you.” He sighed. “Can I help?” His tone indicated I was interrupting something very important and that the last thing he wanted to do was help me.

I straightened. If he was allowed to get away with being rude, so would I. “May I come in?” I pushed past him without waiting for a reply while he spluttered beside me.

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