No one sitting at this table around me expected this to happen. But here it is. The shouting of guards, the thundering of boots through the halls of the castle, the slamming of the two large doors that lock us in here with guards on the other side.

Chairs scrape along the floors when our entire rebellion stands at once, looking to the king of Saebia for questions and answers. This is his land, not our own, and the threat that we initially thought was safe across waters has made its way here. They followed us. The only ships at the docks were small fishing boats and the occasional merchant ship. Nothing from Esaria and nothing that posed as a threat.

They were hours out, but here all the same. Esaria is here. And their target is standing before me, at the head of the table, looking to the doors in hopes to not see the Marron king breaking through. He won't, not if we have anything to say about it.

Saebia has dreaded this since their surrender on the battlefield. They knew it would come eventually when their king didn't have over the land willingly. If they can fight to take down as many of the king's men as possible, it'll be a small number carved in their forces and less for Esaria to use to steal other lands.

One is not always prepared for what comes next. It's clear that the king before us is not certain what he should be doing. I imagine he laid awake many nights and tried to figure this out; what he would do when the time comes to fight with his people and sacrifice his life while they gave their own. But the fear in his dark eyes reveals he isn't ready to die.

The people screaming outside; the guards going down in the fight—they're not ready to die either. They're willing to for their king, for their land, for the future of life in this world, but they don't realize the strong immortal forces inside this palace. We are allies now, and as allies, we must protect each other from the inevitable death and destruction.

"Permission to use my power?" I blurt as the screaming becomes louder. At that moment, an arrow shatters the glass windows on the other side of the room, someone screams, and we're shoved to the other side of the room. Esaria is in the royal courtyard and guards—soldiers—are dying. The black and red wave leading to the palace is more blood than anything.

"Excuse me?" The king asks once he regains his ground on the other side of the room.

I step before him and block his vision from the terror taking place in the room. Renit is readying his storm whether the king is willing to allow us this chance or not. Thunder claps across the sky and lightning swirls in those dark clouds. Tesha is ordering three quivers of arrows and the finest bow they have, Citlali is shading herself in the corner of the window to view the battle. "We have less than five minutes!" She shouts.

I whirl back to the king. His eyes dart between me and the impending doom. Another arrow flies in and he ducks, but it smacks against the wall and narrowly misses his portrait. "Why—why do you wish to do this?" He stutters.

"We're allies now. We protect each other. You're doing it for us, so we'll do the same for you. We have two witches of ground here and an entire array of strengths. Give us permission and we won't hold back." I strongly point towards those windows once more.

Buildings in the city are on fire and although the clashing of swords rings out, screams and guttered sounds ring out a second later. Saebia is fighting, but they're not winning.

"My palace...it's been in the family for generations. I can't—"

"If you survive this, we'll build you another one. Courtesy of Esaria. Throw it in the deal." Terror is louder, louder by the second. My boots are angled towards the doors in preparation to run as fast as I can to the courtyard as the king of Saebia gives one final consideration.

Finally, he nods. "I'll ready my snipers."

Before he's done speaking, I whirl to Citlali. "Let's go!" I shout.

She nods, and it's not just her that tags along. It's Binx, Renit, and Silas, too. I don't care who comes, as long as they can protect themselves from the disaster that is about to unfold. The guards throw the doors open and we rush out, leaving half of us behind and the others to thunder down the stairs towards the courtyard.

Every palace resident is unaware of what they should be doing. They stare out the windows, hands clasped over their mouths and the few have broken through windows to shoot arrows down at the king's men. I don't give myself the chance to look out the window and view what we're up against. That's best saved for later when I've decided there's nothing else to do than fight what is before me. No going back. He'll pay for what he's done.

Make him pay for what he's done.

My mother's request was so simple. At the time, it had been for destroying Arego and killing them, all the while forcing me into a marriage I did not want. So much has changed. Now I will make the king of Esaria pay for destroying a once beautiful kingdom. Although the land was never perfect under the reign of him and his fathers, it was still Esaria. Terror was present, but it wasn't the main nightmare. Citizens actually had a life. They'll get that life back soon.

"We station ourselves on either side of the courtyard," I order to Citlali. "Renit is with me, you take Silas. Binx, I want you to patrol the middle."

No one acknowledges my order, but no one rejects it either. I don't know which is worse and why it hurts me so when I don't hear their voices. Since the king's control, I never know when something will be for the last time. We're in our last few seconds of not fighting as we reach the ground floor of the castle to find guards have barricaded the doors.

Renit quickly orders them to open up and although the guards don't move at first, they reluctantly remove that barricade. We stand before the closed doors, a wall of guards before us, and take one final deep breath.

"Silas, do whatever you can. Use whatever power you wish," I tell him. He stands behind me and his only response is a shuddered breath. "We aim to kill. Leave no one alive."

As if those words had to be said.

We're given one final warning, supposedly our last chance to turn back, but I plant my boots firmly onto the fine marble floors of this palace and remind myself that they will not be stained with blood. No one makes their way into this palace and lives a second beyond their first step. Snipers are already positioning themselves on the second level mezzanines, arrows drawn and pointed directly at the doors in fear of what might be on the other side. A wall of enemies, possibly.

The guards clutch their hands tighter onto the handles. A few more seconds. "Make him pay for what he's done," Renit whispers.

My heart clenches and my stomachs tighten. He was there that day; he remembers what my mother said. I imagine the three of them at my side. My mother, my father, Celestine. She'd be fighting this battle with us if she wasn't killed in Esaria's first desperate attempt to level the playing field. But she's not here today, and that's one item on the long list of things I'll make the king pay for.

For Renit's beatings, I'll kill his soldiers. For Celestine's murder, I'll destroy them and come for him next. For every moment of terror in this land of Esaria, I'll end his reign.

The doors are thrust open and what is supposed to be the blinding sunlight from the courtyard is replaced by billowing smoke blocking out the sky's beautiful blue. But I'm rushing forward against that wall of guards, their shields raised, to notice. As we planned, I rush left with Renit at my back and Citlali takes the opposite direction.

Two guards run in front of us, their shields raised to block any arrow fire, but shields leave holes. That's evident as one guard goes down with a groan, slamming against the white cobblestone now painted red. The other guard breaks away, whether in fear or realization that he can't do much, I don't bother asking.

Renit and I are left out in the open and just as arrows soar, we dive behind a stone planter filled with bushes and flowers. Immediately, I throw a shield over us and wait out the arrows. They slam against the outside of the shield—not titanium—but arrows all the same. One striking in the right spot can disable us for good. We must prepare ourselves for anything and everything.

"Are you ready?" I pant.

"That depends," Renit says. "If you're ready, then I'm ready."

Another arrow slams against the top of the shield and breaks through, but I close the hole to my power and break that arrow in half. Poor make, but plenty of them.

"You know, I was thinking that once this is over, we take a vacation. Maybe sunbathe on the shores of Flitsea, what do you think?"

Renit rolls his eyes, but the corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. "This isn't the time, spitfire, and you know it."

The arrows stop flying and I don't give Renit any initial warning before I drop the shield, whirl, and unleash the entirety of my power without knowing what is before me. Over the bushes and flowers, I spot the entire army of black and red. I can't see past it; the bodies carry all the way into the city as one block. How has the king's army grown to be this large?

All the same—they die today.

A clean cut of stone rips away by my power and I use that, along with the base of the world, to create a solid beam that takes out the left flank. It cuts through and slams into solid bodies, shields, and weapons. They fly into the air, and just as they realize there's a witch of ground on the field, I send another blast.

Lightning strikes from the sky and takes down each soldier individually. From where I'm standing, I can hardly see Citlali's white hair but she's there, clear by the force of her power rising into the air as a solid wave and then slamming down, taking bodies with it.

I need to get closer. I round the planter, Renit following closely behind, and we bind our powers together as one. The force of wind takes my beam of dirt and stone to a new level and it crashes through. With my hand directing where I wish to lay that destruction, I force left, then right, and my power moves like a snake along the surface. Soldiers are knocked off their feet, and when I raise that power over their heads, they're crushed underneath.

The entire world is shaking underneath my feet. I've never witnessed something so...complicated. There are so many moving parts. Renit's storm striking down from the sky, a tornado planting its feet in the middle of the king's fleet, Citlali's solid waves of stone that move like the ocean. My own, taking them out one by one.

This is only the beginning of what we're to face. We'll face battles like this again, and I can imagine that the destruction of Esaria's courtyard will be everything compared to this. Already, I've cleaved through a large chunk of stone and solid ground, leaving craters in my wake. I was granted permission to do this, and just as I think that, the king arrives from outside the front doors of his palace. An entire legion of guards is behind him as if he just created them inside the palace walls.

I don't care. They're here all the same.

His battle cry cleaves apart the world. It's then I spot Silas, using anything other than his power to cleave through the king's men. He's rushing towards the front lines of those black and red soldiers with only a sword and shield in his hands as protection. Before I can stop myself and before Renit can grab the back of my tunic, I'm running in his direction. The future king of Esaria needs his own fortification and I'll be the one to provide it.