Chapter 27: War Zone

I clutched on Kieran’s wolf’s silver hair as it galloped through the woods.  His armor felt cold against my skin, and I know he was tired, just by feeling the breathing of his wolf Trigger.

Yet, he insisted on carrying me, mainly because he knew that Augustus would be watching closely.  And second, as he claimed, was because I had been up since the sun had set in the sky.

Performative jackass.

“Kieran, be careful,” I warned as the path grew steeper and narrower. The Nightfall Alpha led us to a quicker path leading to the base through the mountains, but he had forewarned of the dangers we might face.

“Fuck!” I heard one of the Nightfall’s warriors trailing us cussed.  “It’s the Reds!”

I glanced up as soon as the sickening sweet scent hit my nose.  My pistol flared as one winged Red dived down and tried to push me and Kieran off the trail.

I swallowed hard.  To our left was a sheer fifty-meter drop into the rocks below,while the right face of the mountain was a home to dangerous and deadly beasts. I might not be too enthusiastic or optimistic about life, but I still want to live.

“Don’t let any of them grab you or push you off trail!” I screamed as I reloaded my gun.  “Archers, get into position!”

“You’re not the boss of me, woman!” I heard another scream again from the back.  Not a second later, he was being tossed in the air by a pair of winged Reds, his guts flailing around from his broken body.

“Serves him right,” I heard Kieran chuckled.

I glanced at the people behind me, visibly surprised.  “Now, is anyone still going to protest?”

“Listen to Her Highness,” the Nightfall Alpha commanded.  He sped up in front of us, and lunged at a winged Red’s neck.  His fangs buried deep into its jugular, before he threw it off the cliff.

Platinum-tipped arrows rained as five of the archers the Nightfall Alpha brought with him began to use the crossbow pistols we obtained from the mercenaries.

I raised my hand, casting a spell to ignite the arrowtips.  While platinum was enough to repel the Reds, they won’t be enough to put them down.

My stomach dropped.  In terms of magic and our current terrain, they have a greater advantage than us.

“Hestia, do not hesitate,” I heard Kieran say.  “I can feel your wolf, my Queen.”

The night sky lit up as the arrows began to burn.  Augustus transformed into his deep-black wolf, Onyx, and began to barrel through the incoming line of Reds that blocked our path.

“Kieran, help Augustus,” I commanded him, patting his back as I tried to go down.  Kieran’s wolf whimpered.

“Are you insane? I need to protect you!”

“You won’t have anyone to protect if these damn Reds kill everyone,” I argued before sliding down his wolf.  “Go.  I can handle myself!”

Faced with no choice, he galloped towards one of the Reds up front and bit it by the wing, tearing through the thin skin.  The Red fell on the ground, and was instantly hit by a flaming arrow.

I watched as the Red bursted into flames.  Three more followed suit.

But with each Red we killed, four more replaced them.  The Divine Link between me and Kieran immediately manifested as I saw a gigantic Red approach our way, pushing a few of its own off trail.

The giant carried a huge mace that he swung around.  With the Divine Link, I pulled Kieran away from its path.

The blunt end of the mace hit the ground, creating a crater on it.  Kieran immediately took over and pulled out his axe and sickle, ready to rush forward, when another thin violet line manifested between me and…

Augustus?

I pulled him away when he got almost stepped on by the giant, while he was distracted on the line.  While we had managed to form a Divine Link between us before, he had become a Vassal to another.

The Link should’ve been between him and Medea now. Not with me.  He had taken the Vassal’s oath.

Medea, as a soon-to-be Queen, won’t sit still until she forms a link with him.  Their link would be a symbol of their union.  The colors determine prosperity.

So why was he forming a goddamn link with me?

My knees immediately buckled as I tried to control both of them, each having their own movements and state of mind.  Especially Augustus.  His link felt… heavy.

Is it because he’s not my Vassal anymore?

“Hestia!”

I felt something trickle down my nose, followed by the scent of iron.  I tried to brush it off.  Kieran’s energy grew panicked, as he hastily cut the Achilles’ tendons of the giant’s feet and  pushed it off into the ravine.

The giant belted an ear-deafening roar as it plunged, its voice growing fainter until only echo remained.

Augustus, on the other hand, fought a few more Reds to prevent them from reaching Kieran.  The Divine Links began to fade, until they snapped right before my eyes.

I fell on my knees, about to lose consciousness, when a Red riding a black horse galloped through the wreckage, hitting both Lycans and Reds with his long spear.  His face was covered with an intricate golden mask that glistened under the moonlight.

His clothes spoke of high status, immediately reminding me of the Stranger.  I tried to cast a protective barrier around me, but the Divine Links must’ve consumed all of my energy that I couldn’t even produce a spark of magic.

Kieran’s axe flew into the direction of the Red in a desperate attempt to injure him, but the Red caught the axe’s blade, before melting it with his bare hands.  I watched as the metal poured into the ground, now of molten liquid…

The Stranger could do that too…

My breath hitched as he raised his spear, the sharp end of it aimed at my heart.