The rocky ground was covered in a thin sheet of ice. Cage knelt and pressed his hand gently on it. The hum of magical energy was obvious. A chill overtook his body and he stood.

The pass was a narrow thing, barely wide enough for three horses to pass through side by side. He was aware that there were places along the path through the mountains where there was only room for one.

In theory, this was the perfect place for an ambush. In reality, any real military advantage would be gained only if a regiment of archers could wait above the pass. The jagged rock edges allowed for no such thing.

The way the pass gave into a small platform and then a steep forested vale also did not encourage organizing a defensive right as the pass ended. Cage knew that, and yet his mind went over all possibilities.

Armies needed large space to unpack and organize. A few skirmish troops did not. Except seeing as Kat had magic, such troops would be dispatched before they could do too much damage.

"What do you think?" Trix joined Cage at the opening of the pass.

"I think they're not too far off."

His friend hummed as he drummed his gloved fingers over his chin. "We can't hear them yet. I don't think they would be silent."

"If Kat made snow fall in their path, it would absorb much of the sounds."

"That would be very intelligent of her." Jazz joined them, his expression stuck in a frown.

"What about of Jinx?" Because even if Kat was not battle savvy, Cage suspected that their former crew mate was.

"Allow me to keep hoping that Jinx wouldn't outright help her like that."

Cage hoped so, too. One magic wielder was dangerous enough, but Kat still didn't have much practice with her magic. Or at least didn't use to have it while they'd been together. But Jinx was another story. She was the only one out of them who had fully embraced her magic, and her control over it was impressive. She was a seasoned fighter as well and would be much more dangerous to face across the battlefield. He didn't even want to imagine what that would be like. But then again, he'd never thought he'd be waging war against Kat either.

"Should we go back?" Trix asked. "I think Rip will have a fit if we linger any longer."

Cage glanced once more in the shadow of the pass and nodded. He couldn't blame the captain of his guard for being so uptight. After all, his charge was a crazy man who left alone and headed for the most dangerous places.

"I wish we knew how to teleport," Jazz mumbled as the three of them climbed back on their horses and headed towards the woods. "Then we could linger longer and see when they actually enter Iride."

"Well, we'll need to make do with what we do have," Cage said.

He too wished he could be here to face the army, but then who would let the rest of his forces know? He'd tried so hard to force his magic to do other things. After all, though useful, lightning wasn't exactly efficient against ice. Fire was. But their fire wielder had left them and now all they had among them was the possibility to lift and throw things around which still exhausted Cage.

He guessed he still had the beast, but there was no way he was unleashing it against Endir. Not after what happened on Wolfbane's ship when he'd killed so many people. When he'd failed to rescue Ferdinand. The memory still sent a shudder through it and he fought to push it away.

His soldiers already feared him. He didn't want them to hate him or be outright terrified of him, too. If he were completely honest, he didn't want to ever subject Kat to anything like that either, no matter their current position.

He just wished he could make fire. But as he raised his hand and forced his magic to morph into flames, it refused. As if to mock him, his breath came in frozen vapors.

"Much too cold," Trix said, his teeth clattering. "It's too early for winter."

"It doesn't matter. Winter is upon us," Jazz said with the same bad humor. "We should take advantage of the little time we have left and train our magic a bit more. I'm giving them another day or two to come out."

Cage fought the impulse to ask him if he'd seen something. Even if he had, Jazz couldn't tell him.

Just as they entered the woods, a weird sound broke through the still air. Cage pulled on the reins of his horse to stop him, and turned.

"What's going on?" Trix asked.

Cage shushed him and moved closer to the trunk of a nearby tree. All was silent again, but he wasn't fooled. A scurrying sound was once again heard.

"I think it might be some animal," Jazz said after a few moments.

"Maybe you guys should go ahead and make sure no beast will attack us."

"We're not leaving you alone, Cage," Trix said, amused. "Rip would kill us."

"I didn't say leave without me. Just move a bit further away."

His two friends glanced at each other, but they finally obeyed and rode off. With the air once again silent, Cage could hear the shuffling again. It wasn't coming from the forest, but the pass. As quietly as possible, he unwrapped his bow from the saddle.

The sound of footsteps became more obvious as he picked an arrow from the quiver strapped to his thigh. He raised the bow and knocked the arrow, slowly pulling the string back.

A lone man stumbled out of the pass, his steps sliding on the sheet of ice. His hair was black, his skin tanned. His breath came out in sharp gasps, filling the air with vapor. He wore simple trousers, and a woolen tunic which didn't seem appropriate for the extreme cold.

Cage lowered the bow. By the looks of it, the man was Iridian. That didn't mean he was on their side and innocent since there were a lot of them in the border villages and their allegiance had always been questionable.

Even if he wasn't wearing armor, it could still be a scout, counting on his appearance not to get killed on the spot. Or it could be a person being driven out by an incoming army.

The man placed his hands on his knees and bent double, panting. Not moving from the entrance. It began to look more and more like a trap. As the seconds ticked by, no other men rose from the shadow of the cliffs.

Cage tightened his hold on the bow and raised it again, keeping the target on the lone man. He straightened, his breathing still labored and, for the first time, looked around. There was a calculating edge to the movement and a sharpness in his gaze which spoke of purpose.

The whistling sound of an arrow broke through the silence. The sharp tip pierced the man's temple, sticking out the other way, covered in blood and brains. For the briefest moment, nothing happened, then the body plummeted to the cold stone with a dull thump.

Cage lowered his bow, frowning. His own arrow was still knocked. It took mere moments for the sound of thundering hooves to announce the arrival of three horsemen. This time, there was no question about their allegiance. They were all fair-haired, wearing light armors with the silver wolf crest of Endir on their chests.

"Fucking useless Iridians," the rider in the middle said in Endirian before he spat down on the body. The bow was still locked in his hand.

The one on his right said something in retort, but it was too low and quick for Cage to catch his words. The soldier in the middle huffed.

"They're useless even when they claim to be on our side. Rats, the lot of them."

The arrow shot out with deadly precision and caught the soldier between the eyes. His gaze widened before he fell off the horse like a sack of rocks. His horse spooked. The other two men instantly retreated back inside the pass, screaming back in panicked Endirian.

Cage took out another arrow and knocked it, but he no longer had a clear shot. The other two were also on high alert now, and even if he got one of them, the other would see where the shot had been fired from. Gritting his teeth, he put his bow away and steered his horse in the opposite direction.

He didn't like killing, but this time, it felt deserved. Traitor or not, that man had been Iridian and didn't deserve the scorn. All the hatred was too much. Consuming their kingdoms and killing any chance for peace.

And as he rode to catch up to Jazz and Trix, he wondered if the hatred and prejudice would ever fade. If they would truly ever have peace.

⚜⚜⚜

Things are heating up and war is coming. Now Cage has to handle it. 

I know this chapter is short but the next one will be much longer, pinky promise. Let's get ready for battle!

Thanks so much for reading!