“Maximilian, can you come with me to the central barracks?”
Maxi had been watching the snow flurries with a heavy heart when Princess Agnes called to her. Upon turning, she spotted the princess crossing the camp with her royal guards, dressed in a green tunic and silver armor. Maxi’s gaze shifted to the princess’s slim rapier and small battle ax hanging from her waist.
Princess Agnes occasionally donned a helmet and led her men into mock battle, appearing more a warrior than a mage while bellowing orders and swinging her sword from atop her warhorse. Every time Maxi saw her, she felt a strange mix of envy and jealousy for getting to share the same world as Riftan.
Burying her emotions, Maxi asked politely, “Is something the matter?”
“We have finalized the placement of the battalions. The mages should also acquaint themselves with the arrangement to make assisting during the battle easier.” The princess tilted her chin toward the large barracks behind a rock face. “Come with me.”
Maxi pulled her hood over her head and hurried after the princess, who regarded her with a warm smile. “We haven’t had much time to talk. Is the work manageable?”
“My work is insignificant… compared to what you must do, Your Highness.”
“Once again with the formalities,” sighed the princess. “I wish you wouldn’t be so stiff with me. I feel as if I’ve been walking on ice since the start of this campaign because of Riftan.”
Maxi eyed her with suspicion. Without thinking, she replied curtly, “You seemed to get along just fine… for that to be the case.”
Agnes’s eyes widened, and Maxi felt her cheeks burning. Trying to make up for it, she stuttered, “Y-You were always together… as thick as thieves.”
“Well, Riftan is my chief aide,” Agnes replied, scratching her check with an ambiguous expression. “But any friendship we had was lost a long time ago. He has resented me ever since I took you away to the Mage Tower. You have no idea how furious he was.” The princess hugged herself, shuddering lightly. “I thought he would have softened after your return, but I was wrong. Frankly, I’ve been on edge this entire time.”
Maxi scowled as the memory of the two whispering during strategy meetings flashed in her mind. An intense mistrust surged within her. Despite this, she did not wish to argue over such petty matters with war on the horizon, and she gave the princess a placid smile. It was a relief when they reached the barracks, putting an end to the embarrassing conversation.
Inside the large, brazier-warmed tent, many of the coalition’s key members had already gathered. The commanders and vice commanders stood around a long table with the high priests on one side, while the mages sat in a small circle on the other. Maxi walked past the pile of weapons and cargo boxes to join them.
Celric was muttering something in Elvish while stroking his thick beard, but he looked up when he noticed her approaching.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said.
Sensing that something had happened, Maxi hurried up to him. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Anton replied from his seat beside Celric. “Everything is fine. Miriam sent word that they have successfully found a hideout near the basilisk farm.”
He pointed to the copper birdcage next to the brazier where two fairies sat on a perch, nibbling on sugar cubes the size of acorns.
Celric heaved a sigh. “They have carried out the first phase of your husband’s plan. Now—”
“Now we wait for the signal to begin the siege.”
As Princess Agnes proceeded to explain how the siege would be carried out, Maxi felt her stomach shriveling in on itself. Her eyes shifted around the table as she listened. Sitting at the end was Kuahel Leon, conversing with the clerics. To his left sat the northern knights, fiddling with their weapons and drinking liquor, and to his right were the Remdragon Knights and the soldiers of Arex.
It was beyond her how they were all able to tolerate such fraught tension. Maxi nervously wet her lips as she strove not to miss any of the details being discussed around the table. If the burden of leading twenty mages was this heavy, she could not imagine having the lives of thousands in her hands. The thought alone terrified her.
Eventually, Maxi excused herself and left the tent with Agnes’s sketch of the army’s battle formations clutched in hand. As always, the pounding of hammers filled the camp. Maxi looked up at the jagged mountains past the line of catapults. Somewhere over those peaks, Riftan was riding into the freezing wind. Her heart ached at the thought. Though they had only been apart a day, she missed him terribly. How many more times would she have to endure such anguish in the future? She quickened her steps in an effort to shake off the depressing thought.
The days passed in suffocating tension. When the appointed date came and went without word from Riftan, the knights grew visibly anxious. The fear that something terrible had happened held Maxi in a vice grip. The monsters could have discovered them, or Miriam’s fairies might have escaped during the mission. The awful possibilities had Maxi gnawing her nails and pacing anxiously in front of a tent.
Noticing her distress, a Wedonian soldier cautiously approached her. “Lady Calypse, we have lit braziers in the shared barracks. Why not rest there a moment?”
Knowing he only meant well, Maxi forced a smile. The soldier’s face brightened when she allowed him to lead her to a tent on the fringe of the encampment.
Just then, a sharp cry rang through the air. Maxi whipped her head around to see black smoke rising from a siege tower behind the rock face. Her blood ran cold. For a moment, she became a statue, unmoving as she stared at the dancing flames.
Returning to her senses, she scrambled into action. She saw soldiers pouring dirt and water over the beams of the burning siege tower as she approached. Despite putting out the fire quickly, the damage was done; an entire side of the tower was charred.
Maxi pushed through the soldiers and inspected the blackened wood with her fingers. There was no way the structure would be able to bear any weight. “H-How did this happen?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Goblins snuck into the camp.”
Maxi whirled around at the voice. Kuahel Leon was striding over to them, his dark robe billowing in the wind.
“G-Goblins?” Maxi echoed, her face blanching.
“Yes, six in total. Five were dealt with quickly, but one got away after starting the fire. It escaped through a small tunnel in the ground.”
“Th-That means…”
“It means your husband’s first plan has failed.”
Richard Breston’s sneering tone reached them, and Maxi turned to see him roughly pushing his way through the troops. She regarded him grimly as he inspected the half-burnt siege tower, his lips pursed in a silent whistle.
“We have no choice now,” said Breston. “We must strike before the goblin informs the monster army of our presence.”
“B-But we have yet to receive any word from—”
“This is no time to sit idly waiting for that bastard.”
Breston looked down at Maxi, a vicious glint in his red eyes…
