The war horns screamed across the valley as our forces collided with Fenric’s army like two storms meeting in the night.
“Hold the line !” Astrid’s voice cut through the chaos as she carved through enemy ranks, her sword painting silver arcs in the moonlight. “Make them bleed for every inch!”
“Eastern flank is breaking!” a soldier screamed, blood streaming down his face.
“No it’s not!” Nyx’s voice cracked like thunder as she appeared with reinforcements, her blade already dripping crimson. “Stormcaller wolves, advance!”
I drove my sword through a traitor’s chest, spinning to find Astrid at my back, our movements synchronized like a deadly dance.
“Still think this Triple Bond was a bad idea?” I shouted over the clash of steel.
“Ask me when we’re not about to die!” she snarled back, her blade taking down two enemies in one sweeping strike. “Though I admit, having backup isn’t terrible!”
“Backup?” I ducked under a swinging axe, retaliating with a thrust that dropped my attacker. “I thought you called us dead weight!”
“That was before you proved useful!” She spun, her sword meeting mine as we moved back-to-back against a circle of advancing rogues. “Don’t let it go to your head!”
“Kieran!” Lilith’s voice rang across the battlefield, power crackling in every syllable. “We’ve got wounded!”
I cut down the last rogue in our immediate area, blood spraying across the snow. “How many?”
“Too many!” She knelt beside a fallen warrior, her hands glowing with silver fire as she pressed them to his chest. “But none that can’t be saved if you keep them off me!”
“Sir!” A young warrior stumbled toward us, clutching a gaping wound in his side. “The enemy’s regrouping! They’re massing for another charge!”
“Then we’ll break them again,” Astrid snarled, wiping blood from her face. “How many times do we have to kill these bastards before they stay dead?”
“However many it takes,” Nyx said, appearing with a fresh company of soldiers. “Western approach is secure. Northern ridge is ours. We’re winning.”
“Are we?” I gestured to the bodies littering the snow. “Because it doesn’t feel like winning.”
“It will,” she said with cold certainty, “when we’re the only ones left standing.”
A new horn sounded—not ours, not the general advance. Something else. Something that made every warrior on the field pause and turn toward the sound.
“What is that?” Lilith demanded, still channeling healing energy into the wounded.
“Trouble,” I said, recognizing the pattern. “That’s Fenric’s personal signal.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning he’s done hiding behind his army.” I straightened, scanning the battlefield. “He’s coming for me personally.”
“Let him come,” Astrid said, raising her sword. “We’ll be ready.”
“No.” I caught her arm as she moved to flank me. “This is between him and me.”
“Like hell it is!” She jerked free, fury blazing in her green eyes. “We don’t fight alone anymore, remember? That was the whole point of this bond!”
“She’s right,” Nyx said, moving to my other side. “Whatever grudge he has with you, he declared war on all of us.”
“And we finish it together,” Lilith added, her healing light fading as she stood. “All of us.”
Before I could argue, the enemy ranks parted like a curtain drawn back. Fenric strode through the gap, his armor black as midnight, his sword gleaming with fresh blood. Behind him marched his personal guard—twenty of the most vicious killers I’d ever seen.
“Kieran!” His voice boomed across the battlefield, carrying enough rage to silence the dying. “Face me coward!”
“Coward?” I stepped forward, my three mates flanking me. “I’m right here, Fenric. Same as always.”
“Are you?” He stopped fifty yards away, close enough that I could see the madness burning in his eyes. “Because the Kieran I knew would never hide behind women’s skirts!”
“The Kieran you knew trusted you with his life,” I shot back. “Look how that turned out.”
“I died for you!” Spittle flew from his lips as he screamed. “I bled in your father’s war! And this is how you repay my loyalty?”
“By believing you were dead when you faked your own death?” Astrid’s voice dripped with contempt. “Poor baby. Did the prince hurt your feelings?”
“Silence whore!”
The word had barely left his mouth when Astrid launched herself forward, her sword singing through the air. Fenric caught the blade on his own weapon, the impact sending shockwaves through both their frames.
“Call me that again!” she snarled, pressing her advantage with a series of brutal strikes.
“Gladly!” He threw her back, his guard rushing forward to support him.
“Now!” Nyx commanded, and our own warriors surged forward to meet them.
The battlefield exploded into chaos once more, but this time it was personal. Fenric’s guard crashed into our elite forces while he and I circled each other like wolves preparing for the final kill.
“You were my brother,” I said, my voice carrying across the melee. “I mourned you. I honored your memory.”
“Your memory of a lie!” He lunged, his blade seeking my heart. “I was never your brother! I was your tool!”
I parried, spun, and struck back with everything I had. “You were my friend!”
“I was your slave!” Our swords locked, bringing us face to face. “And now I’m your executioner!”
“No,” I said, driving my knee into his ribs. “You’re my mistake. And I’m going to fix it.”
We broke apart, circling again. Around us, the battle raged on—Astrid carving through his guards like they were training dummies, Nyx coordinating our forces with deadly precision, Lilith keeping our wounded alive through sheer force of will.
“Look at them” Fenric pointed his sword at my mates. “Three queens for one crown! It’s obscene!”
“It’s love,” I said simply.
“It’s weakeness!”
“Then why are you losing?”
He roared and came at me again, but this time I was ready. I caught his blade, twisted, and drove my sword deep into his chest. His eyes went wide with shock and pain.
“You… you can’t…” he gasped.
“I can,” I said, twisting the blade. “Because I’m not fighting alone anymore.”
He looked past me to where my three mates stood victorious over his fallen guards, their weapons dripping with the blood of traitors.
“This… isn’t… over…” he whispered.
“Yes,” I said, pulling my sword free and watching him fall. “It is.”
The battlefield fell silent except for the moans of the wounded and the harsh breathing of the survivors. Fenric’s army, seeing their leader dead, threw down their weapons and fled into the night.
“Is it over?” Lilith asked, her voice hoarse from calling out healing commands.
“For now,” Nyx said, wiping blood from her blade. “But there will be others.”
“Let them come,” Astrid said, grinning despite the exhaustion clear in her face. “We’ll be ready.”
I looked at my three mates, these incredible women who’d just helped me win the most important battle of my life.
“Next time,” I said, “let’s try to avoid the part where we almost die.”