Page 148 of A Reign of Embers

I’ve heard Aurelia call us a family before, but somehow it never quite hit me until this moment.

What could Sabrelle offer me that’s anything close to this feeling?

The clamor of the battle rushes back through my awareness, reminding me that I’d better get to work if I want to make sure the godlen of war and her dupes don’t steal that family from me.

I swipe my hand across my mouth and stare out at the enemy army, tapping into my gift properly this time.

Where are they weakest—how can we break through their onslaught with what we still have…?

A vision that’s all my own swims up: our people attacking the barrage with all our might, battling so fiercely we draw all the enemy’s focus—until they’re battered from behind and squashed between us.

My pulse stutters. We don’t have enough numbers to send even a small regiment to skirt the battlefield and attempt to carry out that strategy on our own. But my gift has never shown me what’s outright impossible before.

Is it only wishful thinking, or should I trust that the pieces will fall into place?

Just for a moment, my throat chokes up at the thought that I might be calling for our doom. But what else will we face if wedon’tgive this battle our all right now?

If it’s doom one way or the other, we might as well take as many of the enemy down with us while we can.

“Hit them with everything we’ve got!” I shout. “Hard and fast—don’t give them a moment to breathe.”

A few officers’ heads tick my way, probably puzzled to be getting orders from a supposed imperial guard. That’s fine, because Aurelia trusts my judgment.

She raises the Sabrelle-blessed sword she’s drawn so it flashes in the morning sunlight. “We rally now and strike back with all our strength! Don’t hold back. Every weapon, every gift, every bit of strength—now is the time to use it!”

Axius teeters to his feet but manages to echo her commands with a hoarse call of his own. “Soldiers, heed your empress!”

Despite the near-catastrophe we faced, despite the bodies still slumped among us, a ripple of dogged energy washes through our forces. The arrows fly with renewed speed. The catapults hurl projectile after projectile. Someone takes the initiative to set the sacks of rocks aflame and launches them into the midst of the enemy in streaks of fire.

The front line of Valerisse’s army crashes into ours with a chorus of grunts and gurgles, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Darium soldiers fight as valiantly as those on our side down the hill. Propelled by the shift in the atmosphere, they stab and slash with the vigor of twice as many.

They’ll do that to defend the ruler who’s won their loyalty over and over again, far more legitimately than I ever did.

The longing grips me to run down among them and add my own blade to the fray. But my duty, as both guard and husband, is to stay here as the final line of defense if they should reach Aurelia.

Instead, I jab my sword toward the sky like she did. “For the true empress! For Empress Aurelia!”

Raul picks up the chant, and Bastien where he’s braced against a nearby tent, and Neven back by the huge catapult he’s manning. It flows across the hillside through all the soldiers, Darium and Rionian, who haven’t yet reached the thick of the battle, louder with every iteration, vibrating with fervor.

“For the true empress! For Empress Aurelia!”

Let none of us forget why we’re here, why we had the chance to fight for a better world at all.

Aurelia grasps my arm, the urgency in her gaze silencing my own hollers. “Marc, I need you to work with me. It’sgoing to take more than any regular tactic to hold them back.”

I don’t know exactly what she means yet, but the answer falls from my lips automatically. “Whatever you need.”

No doubts remain, no room for hesitation. I’ll follow this woman to the ends of the earth.

And beneath it, if it turns out my gift has actually paved the way to our destruction.

Chapter Fifty-Three

Aurelia

The clang of blades and grunts of pain spur me faster. I yank Marc over to my collection of potion ingredients by the cauldrons already bubbling.

“If we can combine our gifts, we might be able to give our people the edge they need,” I say, squeezing his hand. “Let’s see what kind of potion would be most effective to weaken the enemy. Something that I can actually brew before they overwhelm us.”

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