Page 39 of Kingdom of Darkness and Dragons
He suffers, Sirrax’s thought was a low growl in my mind.This is cage for him, as for us.
The thought offered no comfort, only a deeper twist of the knife. We were all trapped in the gears of the Emperor’s war machine, grinding forward toward an unimaginable horror. As we passed through the city’s northern gate, leaving the familiar stone walls behind, the drums beat a steady, relentless rhythm. It was a funeral dirge for the people we were marching to destroy, and for the man I was afraid I had already lost.
As we passed under the final triumphal arch and onto the northern road, a single red petal, thrown from the crowd, landed on his silver shoulder guard. He didn't brush it away. He didn't even seem to notice it. He just kept riding, a hollow man leading a hollow army toward an unforgivable sin.
14
The promotion came at dawn, delivered with all the ceremonial weight the Empire loved to attach to such moments. Legate Cassius himself handed me the commander's sash, his weathered face unreadable as he spoke the ritual words that elevated me above my peers.
"His Imperial Majesty has seen fit to recognize exceptional leadership among our recruits. By imperial decree, Jalend of Thessia is hereby promoted to Wing Commander and will lead the North Dragon Wing in the coming campaign."
The words felt like lead weights settling on my shoulders. Around me, my fellow recruits offered congratulations, but I could see the questions in their eyes, the barely concealed resentment. I'd been among them just yesterday; now I stood apart, marked by authority I'd never asked for and didn't want.
But I knew why it had happened. My father's invisible hand, reaching out to position his pieces exactly where he needed them. Even here, hundreds of miles from the capital, I couldn't escape the web of his manipulations. I couldn’t bear to look over to where Livia sat astride Sirrax. I didn’t feel worthy to meet hereyes, and see the disappointment waiting for me there. She knew how I felt about the Empire’s treatment of the Talfen. What must she think about my accepting the promotion? I should have told her who I was, then she might have understood, but now it felt too late. How could she ever trust me again, knowing what I kept from her.
The ceremony concluded, and I found myself alone with my new responsibilities, staring at the crisp parchment that outlined my duties. Fourth Cohort—two hundred recruits fresh from the Academy, most of them barely older than myself. Two hundred young lives that were now my responsibility to preserve or sacrifice as the campaign demanded. More than that. I looked across the crowd again, this time not at the faces of my recent peers, but at the eyes of their dragons. Creatures I now knew to have human sides. Creatures forced into slavery so vile they weren’t even allowed to control their own bodies. I felt sick with the shame of what we had done to them. And what I was about to make them do.
I thought of the dungeons beneath the palace, of the woman holding her baby, of the toddler clinging to her ragged dress. Every order I gave, every decision I made, would be weighed against their lives. My father had made sure of that.
"Well, well. Look who's risen in the world."
I turned to find Valeria approaching, her usually perfect uniform slightly dishevelled from the morning's preparations. Her dark eyes glittered with poorly concealed fury, and I could practically feel the anger radiating from her like heat from a forge.
"Valeria," I said carefully. "I know this must be—"
"Disappointing?" she cut me off, her voice sharp enough to cut stone. "Try insulting. I've been here longer than you, trained harder than you, scored higher than you in half our evaluations.But somehow, Lord Jalend of bumfuck Thessia gets handed a command while I'm left following orders."
Her words stung because they weren't entirely wrong. Valeria had been here longer, had thrown herself into training with a dedication that bordered on obsession. She came from one of the great senatorial families of the core provinces, old blood that traced its lineage back to the Empire's founding. By every measure of merit and breeding, she should have been chosen over a minor lord from a frontier province.
If only she knew the truth.
"I didn't ask for this," I said quietly. "I don't want it any more than you want to see me have it."
"Don't." Her voice was dangerously low. "Don't you dare try to play the reluctant hero with me. You think I don't see what this is? You think I don't recognize political manoeuvring when it slaps me in the face?"
She stepped closer, and I could see the intelligence burning in her eyes, the quick mind that had made her such a formidable opponent in our tactical exercises. "Someone wanted you in this position. Someone with enough influence to override merit, experience, and common sense. The question is why."
My blood turned to ice. If Valeria started digging, started asking the right questions, how long would it take her to uncover the truth? And if she did, what would she do with that knowledge?
"Sometimes promotions aren't about merit," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Sometimes they're about connections, about family influence. You know how the Empire works."
"Oh, I know exactly how it works," she spat. "I know that mediocrities get handed commands while people who've earned them get passed over. I know that birth matters more than ability, politics more than competence. What I don't know iswhy a backwater nobody like you suddenly has friends in high places."
She was circling closer to the truth than I could afford to let her get. I forced myself to meet her gaze, to project the confidence of a minor noble who'd simply gotten lucky with his connections.
"Maybe you should be more concerned with proving yourself in the field than questioning decisions that have already been made," I said, letting a hint of aristocratic arrogance creep into my voice. "Unless you'd prefer to explain to the Legate why you're more interested in politics than preparing for battle."
Her face flushed with rage, but she stepped back. We both knew that challenging a superior officer too openly could result in disciplinary action she couldn't afford. Not when we were about to march to war.
"This isn't over," she said quietly. "When we get back from this campaign—if we get back—I'm going to find out exactly who's been pulling strings for you. And when I do..."
She left the threat hanging and walked away, her spine rigid with suppressed fury. I watched her go and felt a cold certainty settle in my gut. Valeria was dangerous—intelligent, ambitious, and now suspicious. If she started investigating my background too thoroughly, she might uncover more than either of us could handle.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, I had more immediate concerns.
The drums thundered, a deafening beat that seemed to drown out all thought. The massive formation began to move as one, thousands of soldiers and hundreds of dragons stirring to life with mechanical precision. I took my place at the head of my wing, trying to project the confidence of a leader who knew what he was doing. Behind me, two hundred young soldiers followedin perfect formation, their armour gleaming, their weapons sharp, their faces bright with the anticipation of glory.
They trusted me to lead them well. They trusted me to keep them alive.
