Page 64 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

As we move to join the others, my heart pounds in my chest, the adrenaline already surging through my veins. I’ve faced danger before, but nothing like this—nothing on this scale. Theweight of the responsibility presses down on me, but I push it aside, focusing on the task at hand. There’s no room for fear, no room for doubt.

The soldiers on the hillside fall into formation, their eyes locked on Aries as he steps forward, his presence commanding, every inch the leader they need him to be. He raises his sword, the blade catching the light, and for a moment, the world holds its breath.

“Today, we fight for Astronia!” he shouts, his voice ringing out across the hillside. “We fight for our families, for our homes, for everything we hold dear. We fight because we will not let these bastards take what is ours!”

A roar rises from the soldiers, their voices a fierce, unified cry that echoes through the valley. The sound sends a shiver down my spine, and I grip the hilt of my dagger tighter, the resolve solidifying in my chest. This is more than just a battle. It’s survival. It’s everything.

As the soldiers take their positions, I find my place beside Aries, my magic thrumming just beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed. I can feel the power coursing through me, the energy coiled and waiting like a spring ready to snap. I’ve never been more aware of it, more in control, and it gives me a sense of calm amid the chaos.

Maintaining our formed lines, we wait on the hillside for what feels like forever. Our army stands in plain sight of the orcs—or we will be the moment they emerge from the narrow pass. But that’s part of the ambush. Thinking we’re all ready and waiting out here in the open. And when the pass is full of orc soldiers, our archers will attack from the cliffs above.

The ground beneath us trembles as the orc army’s front lines emerge from the mist, a dark, seething mass of muscle and steel, their war cries rising like a wave of death. Behind them are large guns mounted to carts, each one dragged along by orc soldierson wooden wheels far more rudimentary than the gleaming weapons are.

My stomach tightens at the sight of them.

Aries assured us the ditches will prevent them from getting within range, but even so, I begin calling on my magic so I can do my part to render them useless. Before I get that far, movement at the front lines draws my eye.

Our soldiers emerge through the mist, ready for battle. The orcs scream angrily at the sight of the Astronian warriors, the bloodthirsty sound of it sending a shudder through me.

“Fire,” Aries roars.

Archers appear along the craggy cliffs, their bows aimed down as they fire their arrows into the crowded pass. Orcs drop by the dozen as the arrows hit their mark.

Up front, the horde charges forward, a tidal force of destruction as our soldiers rush to meet them. The air is suddenly filled with the sound of clashing steel, of screams and shouts, as the two armies collide.

Our vantage point is high enough to remain out of the battle, and I concentrate again on destroying the guns being loaded and aimed. It takes only a moment to awaken the magic inside me. And then only another few to render the first gun into a piece of unformed metal—just as it once had been.

The orcs pulling the weapon stop and scream their shock and outrage.

I turn to Aries, smiling at my victory, but he’s frowning down at the battle itself. I follow the direction of his gaze and see Mag and Blossom below us, surrounded by orcs as they defend our hillside.

My breath catches as I realize how close our enemy has gotten.

“Draw your blade,” Aries says to me.

I do as he says, fumbling for it as fear takes me over.

But his gaze is steady on mine as he turns to me. “Stay here with Leo,” he says, gesturing to where Leo is giving orders to a runner who will deliver them to the archers.

“Be careful,” I say around the lump in my throat.

He doesn’t answer as he turns and races down the hill.

Aries moves like lightning, his sword a blur as he cuts down orcs left and right. Forcing myself to refocus on my own tasks, I unleash my magic on the guns. One by one, each of them melts into a sheet of unmade metal, much to the orc’s outrage.

When those are gone, I scan for Aries and the others, sighing in relief when I see them all spread over the hillside and down into the field below. Aries is covered in blood, but a quick check of the mate bond assures me none of it is his. Mag and Blossom are a force as they cut through orcs together—as if they’re doing some sort of tandem dance.

Our other soldiers, however, are not so lucky. Already, the valley is littered with lost lives. My heart squeezes at the sight of so much destruction and death. Too many of the fallen are Astronian—though, I’m determined to stop that number from rising. Drawing on my magic, I use it to create barriers of stone and wood, protecting soldiers from unseen attacks at their flanks.

Time becomes meaningless as the battle rages on, the hours blending into one another, marked only by the rise and fall of enemies, by the surges of power and exhaustion. I lose count of how many soldiers I’ve protected from a fatal blow—and how many times I wasn’t fast enough, the faces of the fallen already blurring in my memory.

Those losses only push me harder, more determined than ever to make my magic count. Eventually, I begin to notice the orc army dwindling.

Relief, elation—victory—surge inside me.

I catch Leo’s eye, needing to know. “Are they running?” I ask.

“It seems so,” he says, the grimness from earlier replaced by a stark relief. “We’ll catch the ones that try. It’s over, Paige. We’ve won.”

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