Chapter 105 Female Courage
VALENTINA
My body is still broken from Mordaunt's captivity. Silver burns on my wrists. Psychological scars from watching my mother's execution footage. Trauma that will take years to heal.
But I'm not sitting this out.
I strap on weapons. Silver knife. Stakes. UV flashlight. Everything I need to kill vampires.
Around me, other female fighters are arming. We're not the majority but we're not insignificant either. Fifteen women out of fifty-two fighters. Almost a third.
Marie's loading a shotgun with silver pellets. She's nineteen. Turned wolf six months ago. Still learning control but determined.
Sarah's sharpening stakes. Former blood club performer. The one who sent us intelligence. Except she died in the building collapse during our rescue.
Wait. Different Sarah. This Sarah is different person. Young. Angry. Ready to fight.
I shake off the confusion. Focus.
"How are you feeling?" Danny asks. He's coordinating fighters. Arm still in sling from the rescue mission.
"Like I've been tortured for two days then rescued forty-eight hours ago. So, terrible." I check my weapons. "But functional. I can fight."
"Callum thinks you should sit out. Too soon after captivity."
"Callum's overprotective." I load silver bullets into my gun. "I've been running from Parliament my whole life. Hiding. Surviving. Playing it safe. Not today."
"Today you stand and fight."
"Today I stand and fight." I holster the gun. "Where do you need me?"
"West flank. With the other ranged fighters. You're good with a gun. Use that."
I nod. Move toward my position.
As I pass, I see the other female fighters gathering. Not coordinating. Just existing in proximity. Finding solidarity in shared presence.
Young wolves who were turned against their will. Former thralls who escaped vampire control. Packless survivors who built new lives here.
All of them armed. All of them ready.
I stop. Look at them.
"They think we're weak," I say. Not loud. Just conversational. But everyone hears. "Parliament. Mordaunt. Cormac. They think packless wolves are easy targets. They think women are vulnerable. They think we'll run or surrender or die quietly."
Marie looks up. "What do we do?"
"We prove them wrong." I raise my gun. "Every vampire we kill. Every hunter we drive back. Every second we survive. That's proof we're not weak. Not victims. Not prey."
Sarah grips her stakes. "What if we die anyway?"
"Then we die proving we fought. That's more than most get." I meet each of their eyes. "I was in Mordaunt's cell. He tortured me. Showed me my mother's death. Promised me the same execution stake. Wanted me broken."
"Are you broken?" Marie asks.
"Yes. Completely." I don't lie. "But broken doesn't mean defeated. I'm standing here. Armed. Ready to kill the people who tried to destroy me. That's not defeat."
The women nod. Understanding.
We're all broken. All damaged. All carrying trauma that will never fully heal.
But we're standing anyway.
Callum appears beside me. He's armed for war. Silver everywhere. Determination and fear mixing on his face.
"Valentina, can I talk to you?" he asks quietly.
I follow him away from the group.
"You don't have to fight," he says. "Not today. Not after what Mordaunt did to you."
"I'm fighting."
"You could coordinate from command. Stay safe. Help strategically instead of physically."
"I'm fighting."
"Valentina, you almost died three days ago. Your body's still recovering. Your mind's still processing trauma. It's okay to sit out."
"It's not okay." I grip his arm. "I've been running my whole life. Eight years old when Parliament killed my mother. Eight years of hiding. Surviving. Never standing. Never fighting back. Always running."
"Running kept you alive."
"Running kept me scared. Kept me controlled. Kept me exactly where they wanted me." I release him. "Not today. Today I stand. Today I fight. Today I stop running."
"What if you die?"
"Then I die on my feet. Fighting. That's better than running."
He searches my face. Sees the determination. The finality.
"I can't change your mind."
"No."
"Then at least take this." He hands me extra silver ammunition. "And stay near Tom's position. He'll have your back."
"Thank you."
We stand in silence. Dawn is minutes away. The battle's about to start.
"If I don't survive," I say quietly, "know that you made running worth stopping. You gave me something worth fighting for."
"Don't talk like you're going to die."
"Someone has to." I cup his face. "Just know. These last few weeks. Building this. Being with you. It was worth everything."
I kiss him. Deep. Desperate. Final.
When we break apart, both of us are crying.
"When we survive," Callum says, "we're building that future. Together."
"When we survive," I agree. "But first we fight."
I return to the west flank. Take my position. Check my weapons one last time.
The female fighters are spread throughout the defensive line. Marie to my left. Sarah thirty yards right. Others scattered strategically.
Not a formal unit. Just women who refuse to be victims.
Across the battlefield, I can see Parliamentary hunters positioning. Sixty vampires in tactical formation. Ten dragons in human form. Ten Hermetic Order mages.
And Cormac's pack. Thirty wolves. All armed. All ready to kill their own kind.
The numbers are overwhelming. Even with fae help. Even with desperation.
We're probably going to lose.
But we're fighting anyway.
Because losing while fighting is better than surrendering.
Because broken doesn't mean defeated.
Because some things are worth dying for.
The sun breaks the horizon. Dawn arrives.
And with it, hell.