The two bodies were still at the entrance of the pass. Kat crouched next to the fallen Endirian soldier, analyzing the arrow protruding out of his forehead. The plumes were black and purple.

The colors of the royal house of Iride.

The voice whispering in her head provided the necessary details.

"Cage," she muttered in Irdian.

"I beg your pardon, your Majesty?"

Keith was by her side, attentive as ever. She got the feeling he was afraid she would be killed, completely oblivious to the fact that she could protect herself with magic and he couldn't. The least likely of all of them to be killed.

"The king of Iride. This is his arrow." She grabbed hold of it and pulled it out.

Warmth filled her palm, as if he'd just let go of it and passed it to her. A shiver ran through her body and she had to force herself not to drop the object. Instead, she turned it over. The head was still attached, its tiny metal edges jagged to cause more damage. The wood was dark and sturdy, but just wood, not steel like in Endirian arrows.

"The king's?" Keith sounded shocked by the development.

Kat was not for some reasons. She glanced around, wondering if he was still there, watching from the shade of the trees. The bodies were still warm, so the skirmish couldn't have happened too long ago. Would she even feel him if he were? To her shock, she knew that at some point, she could. That being away from him would cause her pain.

A curse. It was nothing but a curse.

The words brought tension to her muscles. There was something odd about being there, something beyond the two men with arrows sticking from their heads. Her gaze fleeted to the other man. That arrow was obviously Endirian. She gritted her teeth.

"Why has our scout been shot?"

"What?" Keith turned to the other man and the surprise on his face morphed into a frown. "You two!" He signaled for the men who had accompanied the fallen soldier.

The two dragged their feet towards their general, both of them hanging their heads. Kat was unpleasantly reminded of naughty children.

"What happened here?" Keith demanded. "Why is this man shot?"

The two soldiers glanced at each other, and then past Keith and into the woods. She hoped they weren't stupid enough to blame Cage for this.

"The truth!" She stressed the last word to make sure they understood the gravity of the situation.

"The sergeant was not pleased," one of the men whispered. "He thought the Iridian--"

"The scout," Kat cut in. Their scout. A man who, despite his ethnicity, believed in Endir and wanted to help them rather than the kingdom he could be considered closer related to.

"The scout," the man repeated, "was not doing his job properly. That he was thinking of betraying us."

"Why would he think something like that?" Keith asked.

There was no answer. Kat didn't expect one, because it was obvious and yet something neither of the two men dared to say.

"Because he is Iridian and Iridians can't be trusted?"

"Yes, your Majesty," one of them whispered.

Kat growled and turned away, walking towards the forest. Keith called after her but she ignored him, caught in a whirlwind of anger, sadness and hatred. She was a second away from screaming that she too was Iridian, even if she didn't look like it. She was born there, had an Iridian father, and had been raised there. Did that make her untrustworthy?

But she couldn't say that. She'd just stepped into Iride with an army, planning to invade, so it was definitely not the time to raise questions regarding her intentions and loyalties. But the bigotry got to her. It reminded her of what the king of Iride said regarding the hatred between their countries, of how this mentality will destroy any real possibility for long-term peace.

You can't think of that now. You have work to do.

She hated that voice. She needed it, but she hated it.

The chill spread out from her muscles to the ground, and the dying grass at her feet froze. Yes, she could do that. She could send chill and frost into the rich forests of Iride, freeze their fields, starve them to death. But why would she when her goal was to feed her people, not starve others?

Your goal is to win the war.

That had sounded so much like Leila. She'd left her friend behind once the army departed. Someone needed to stay in charge of the kingdom, and Kat had no one else she could trust. She both did and didn't miss Leila, because while she felt like she needed a friend, Leila was exhaustingly against Iride and supported conquering it by any means necessary.

"You are not to kill people without a direct order." Her voice was crisp and certain as she turned back to her army. "Least of all people who are on our side. Now bring the prisoner forth."

It took mere seconds for Jinx to appear between the gathered soldiers, her hands tied together. She glanced at the two bodies, disgust on her face, but she wasn't allowed to linger as Keith shoved her towards Kat.

Even if her hands were tied, it was for show. Ropes couldn't survive the flames. It was the only solution she had found to making this weird relationship between her and the other woman work. Pretend to hold her prisoner so the others wouldn't question Kat's actions.

In return, Jinx was in the loop regarding everything happening. Kat was torn because Jinx was both an ally and an enemy at the same time. She was a problem. And yet, Kat had few people she could talk to freely and even fewer people who knew her before she became queen of Endir.

It frightened Kat that Jinx knew her better than she did.

"What happened?" she mumbled, the moment she reached Kat. "Did our idiots kill the scout because he was Iridian?"

"Don't talk like that about our people," Kat snapped.

"An idiot is an idiot, regardless of the color of his complexion," Jinx said with a shrug. She glanced over her shoulder. "What about the other guy? Since there's no icicle in his throat, I'm guessing it wasn't you."

Kat held out the arrow she'd picked up. Jinx took it and studied it.

"Is it him?"

"I don't know much about the Iridian court," she said, giving it back. "But I do know their colors are black and purple. I also know Cage well enough to assume that he would come in person to see when and where you show up. After all, you come with magic, so who better to greet you than the only magic wielders in Iride?"

The only magic wielders... Kat hadn't given it much thought because, after all, magic was infinite. But being the only person with magic in Endir suddenly felt very lonely.

Her gaze moved to Jinx who was analyzing the forest before them as if looking for her friends. She had magic. She was Endirian. But her loyalty didn't lie with Kat. She wasn't someone Kat could share her burden with. She was someone looking for her enemies with hope.

"Why are we still here?" Jinx asked, her shoulders slumping.

"We just came out of the pass," Kat said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"The entire army won't fit at the mouth of the pass. We need to move."

Kat knew that. She looked down the forested hill again. Shadows lingered behind every tree, hiding any potential foes from view. Their initial scouts had long confirmed that there was no place to mass an army right after the pass. If there was, surely the forces of Iride would have met them there. The lack of appropriate terrain was part of the reason she and Keith had decided this was the best place to cross the border.

What she hadn't expected was to be discovered so quickly.

No matter. We are here. We can still make this work to our advantage.

She glanced at the sky. Heavy clouds twisted above them, laden with rain. It was a stroke of luck. She couldn't manipulate the weather, but she could twist her powers to ensure that the already existing water became flakes and fell from the skies. Shutting her eyes, she directed her magic and once it wrapped around the millions of tiny drops, she recalled it. It was a delicate process. She couldn't pull too hard. She had to invite the snow to fall.

And it did. Tiny flakes began to swirl in the air before it turned into a heavy snowfall. In a matter of minutes, it was impossible to see more than a couple of feet in front. The thick snowflakes felt like refreshing drops on her face and she couldn't keep back a smile.

Jinx scrunched her nose, but every flake melted before it could touch her and Kat could feel the heat radiating off her body. She didn't comment on the snow, aware just like she had been within the pass, that they needed it for cover.

"Should we go, your Majesty?" Keith asked, coming behind them.

Kat just nodded and accepted the reins of her horse from the general. As she mounted, her mind went over the maps she'd studied and the geography of Iride she already knew.

A chilly echo ran through her mind and it had something to do with how she'd come to be so proficient in map reading and geography in general. The echo raged through tall, empty rooms. Cold and dark. Walls upon walls filled with books.

Are you trying to indoctrinate me?

Merely opening your mind.

A husky voice shrouded in mystery. White dead eyes.

Kat shuddered, gritting her teeth as her hollow chest ached.

"Are you alright?" Jinx's voice was a whisper in the wind.

"Of course," she snapped and straightened in the saddle. "Keep your eyes out. The snow covers our sound and our approach, but it works in their favor as well."

"Do you truly think they're waiting to ambush us?" Keith asked, forcing his horse into step with hers and Jinx's.

Kat glanced at Jinx for an answer. The redheaded woman kept her gaze trained forward, a crease between her eyebrows, obviously torn between divided loyalties.

"I don't think they are," she finally said. "What would be the point?"

"To assassinate the queen, obviously." Keith's tone brought Jinx's intelligence into question.

Surprisingly enough, Jinx didn't outright set him on fire but continued to stare into the forest. "He won't assassinate Kat. I'd be surprised if he can do anything to hurt her."

Despite herself, heat rose to Kat's cheeks. It was definitely a strategic advantage if it was true, since she had no problem swinging a sword at his head.

Fury and fire. A blade biting into a giant wolf head. A mask.

Kat was forced to shake her head again to drive the images back. What was happening to her? But she couldn't let the others sense there was anything wrong, so she spurred her horse forward, through the snow.

Even with the muted sound, she could hear the army starting off behind her. Their pace was slower than it had been in the pass and Keith dispatched scouts to make sure they wouldn't be surrounded, even if the terrain didn't allow for it.

Kat rode a bit further, keeping an eye out for any shadows. The forest was eerily silent and it appeared that her magic had even driven the beasts in their lairs. They had a long way to go, and if they were lucky, it would all be uneventful for a few days until they would be out into the open and meet Iride's army.

If the king knew they'd come through, she was convinced he would meet them as soon as the forest gave way to a large enough space. Unless his army was in the capital, but she doubted that. He was definitely not an idiot.

I guess he's not just handsome. The thought came quickly and uninvited, something the old her would say. But as much as she hated him for what he represented, she wasn't blind. The only reason she hadn't been shocked about his appearance was that she had seen him before, even if she couldn't exactly remember the circumstances.

He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. And the fact that he might not want to hurt her, lay down his sword at her feet... It came with a giddiness that she despised because it was nothing but weakness.

It doesn't matter what he looks like. He's the enemy.

And because of that, she should stop thinking about him outside of what he was. The ruler of the opposing faction. Someone who would do anything to stop her from achieving her goal. As she steeled her heart against the king, her gaze drifted to Jinx. Her face was blank, but Kat couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. It was no mystery that she loved Jazz, and yet she was riding out to meet him in battle.

"That should be enough of a clue for you," Jinx suddenly said in Iridian.

"What?" Kat tried not to sound startled that the other woman had read her mind.

"You're thinking about Cage, trying to pretend like he doesn't matter," she said. "It's easy to spot. I've seen the same amount of confusion and pain on his face whenever he thinks about you. And then, of course, you started thinking about me. Because my feelings for Jazz are no secret, and yet here I am, with you. So that should be enough proof that I believe that Endir deserves better."

"You should stop speaking Iridian."

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do you want to air your feelings out to your general? He's getting very frustrated."

That was obvious from the look on Keith's face, but Kat had to agree with Jinx, as much as she hated it. She definitely didn't want her army knowing that she might have had a tryst with the king of Iride.

"What do you mean that he gets the same look when he thinks about me?"

Jinx glanced at her as if she were a lesser life form and only the knowledge that she would melt any ice thrown her way had Kat refraining from trying to stab her with an icicle. "Lucille is manipulating you," she said. "Like I've said before. But that doesn't mean that Cage doesn't have his own fairy pulling strings. How hard would it be for him to love you when you don't even want to remember him?"

Kat huffed. "He didn't love me. He lied about it and abandoned me."

"You destroyed our ship and got whisked away by Lucille," Jinx said between her teeth, making the words hard to understand.

"What?"

Danger, danger. There is danger ahead.

Cold slipped through Kat's veins and her focus shifted, pulled by magical hands in a different direction. For a moment, she tried to fight it, stay in the conversation and clear the misunderstanding, but the attempt was meant with a sharp pain that took her breath away.

"Let me guess--" Jinx started, her tone snide, but stopped when Kat raised her palms.

Cool calculation replaced the turmoil of feelings inside her. Once the movement of the army halted, she could indeed hear other sounds. After a few moments, she caught sight of a shadow.

"Stay," she instructed, before hopping off her horse and taking a few more steps in the direction of the intruder.

She could feel that Keith wanted to say something, but Jinx's harsh tone stopped him. Kat could no longer pick up on their words, and it took mere moments to lose sight of them as well. She wasn't afraid. Whatever lurked in these woods was not more dangerous than her.

The shadow appeared again, moving with calm and purpose among the trees. For a moment, she was convinced it was merely a deer, but it was too bulky. A few steps closer and she could see it was a giant white wolf. A cusith.

Images flooded her so fast, she couldn't even attempt to keep them away. Another dark forest, but less snow. The creature attacking her. Being surrounded by wolves. So much fear.

And then Cage. Striding towards her, cloak billowing in the wind, twisting two swords in his hands. The giant wolf attacking him. Blood. Blue blood.

Everything swirled in a maddening dance.

The cold. The pain. The heat of Cage's body, the heavy breathing in her ear as she did her best to move him, to take him to safety.

"Aaah."

Kat's knees hit the floor and she clutched her hair with her hands, pulling at the roots. There was the sound of footsteps, too quick to be human, the cadence wrong. Without even looking up, she reached out her hand and threw a flurry of ice in the direction of the movement. A yelp preceded the sound of running animals.

But the pain in her head wouldn't go away. She hugged herself as cold and heat battled inside her. Memories and the dam holding them away, leaving her clear headed and equipped to deal with the current situation.

You can't remember him, can't think about it.

Why not? What is so dangerous about my memories?

The heat, the smell, the fluttering in her stomach, the song of her heart.

He betrayed you. He abandoned you.

Lucille is brainwashing you.

Alone in a foreign land that used to be hers, Kat wept.

⚜⚜⚜

Well, Kat's not having a great time. She stepped into the place she used to live and now all the confusion about... EVERYTHING.

But yes, Endir officially invaded Iride and that can't be a good thing. Also, would you look at that? No space for outright battle. I'm sure no one would think to apply guerilla tactics...

Thanks so much for reading! I have no idea if the story still makes sense at this point but ONWARD!