Iride was evacuating from her path, but it didn't give Kat any satisfaction.

From the moment she'd set foot into the enemy kingdom with a force she believed to be inferior, she knew there was no way to win an outright battle. Not with three magic wielders on the opposing side and only one on hers who couldn't be counted on. So she decided to split her forces and take small victories.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the king of Iride was quick to grasp her plan and had his own skirmish forces running through the woods, engaging with her soldiers, evacuating the towns and villages in her way.

It was a war unlike any other. Even if it entailed many clashes of forces, it still felt like raids. Like rebels seeking an advantage. Not like war.

And yet... Her skin crawled whenever she reached a village or passed by a spot where a battle between the opposing forces took place.

If her soldiers won, she would be met with hanged corpses and heads on spikes. If Iride won, she would have to witness the desecration of the bodies of her people. It filled her with disgust and rage. There was no love lost between the two kingdoms, that much was obvious, but that didn't turn Endirians into savages. For Iride, it appeared that the hatred ran deeper.

It was obvious in the abandoned villages as well, where the walls were filled with crude messages and threats.

Kill the Bitch Queen

Death to the savages

May the gods smite you into oblivion

You will be destroyed

Fuck the Bitch Queen

Die, Endirian scum!

The deeper into Iride they marched, the more aggressive and distasteful the messages got. The hatred was unreal, as if those Iridian peasants couldn't comprehend that this was not a war brought on by Endir's greed, but their own. And Kat's rage only bubbled under her skin as she tried to keep a cool front and act as if she didn't care, as if the venom didn't touch her.

"You have to understand that you've attacked them and thrown them out of their homes," Jinx said to her as they passed another wall scribbled in malice. Like every time they discussed anything, she chose Iridian.

Kat wasn't sure how to feel about that. She appreciated the privacy, since her men couldn't understand Iridian at all, but she also felt like a traitor. Or that she could be perceived as a traitor for speaking the language of the enemy. Fortunately, Jinx rarely spoke to her when they weren't alone.

She gritted her teeth. "And they have to understand that I'm not doing this because I enjoy invading."

"You could have fooled me. Anyway, you're forgetting who was king before Cage," Jinx said with a huff. She paused and turned narrowed eyes to Kat. "I think you may have literally forgotten what you've been taught all your life."

"I remember I was always much more open minded than this." She waved her hand in the direction of a wall filled with death threats and rape threats directed her way.

Jinx scanned the wall, and took in a deep breath. "I must admit that I'm a bit baffled by the intensity of all this. By..."

"By all those bodies that are barely recognizable?" Kat asked. "Because I understand that we are at war, but nothing justifies what those men do to our soldiers."

Jinx nibbled on her lower lip. "I don't think Cage knows about this. He wouldn't let it happen."

"Oh, but he would if he's not an idiot."

Jinx turned to her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

The only good part about the savagery is that it motivated Kat's troops more than any pep talk she could have given. She believed it was the same on Iride's side. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I mean that whatever this is they're doing is building morale for their scattered forces."

"Cage still wouldn't let it happen. Even if I agree with you and in the grander scheme of the war, it would make him an idiot. So he most likely doesn't know."

"Maybe he's actually doing some of these things himself," she muttered.

"Look," Jinx said, her tone harsh. "I chose to stay with you because I believe Endir can do better, that you can help it. That it deserves better and it's not my kingdom's fault that things are as bad as they are. But that doesn't mean it isn't the same for Iride as well."

"Iride is vain," she said in Endirian. "Iride is savage." Her eyes drifted to the corpses of two soldiers who had been cut from neck to crotch, their insides ripped out and strewn in their laps. "Iride is greedy and entitled and ignorant."

"Iride is not one person, Kat," Jinx said, sticking to Iridian. "Iride is made out of loads of people. Some good, some bad. As I said. I stayed with you for Endir. Just like I would have stayed in Iride for Cage. That's what you must understand." And she spurred her horse forward.

Kat wanted to smite her, but she had long since learned she couldn't. With all her huffines, Jinx had agreed to train with her, at least in swordplay. It wasn't of great use because Kat would have much rather learned more about her magic, but it was obvious Jinx didn't want to give her more of an advantage. Kat often wondered if, when they came face to face with the true Iridian army, Jinx would do anything.

So far, she defended herself if attacked, but didn't initiate or participate in any incursions. It irked Keith to no end and Kat could feel her general growing restless. He protested fiercely when Kat put him in charge of a different division and sent him away, leaving her alone with Jinx.

But Kat wasn't afraid of Jinx. She didn't think the redhead woman would hurt her. Maybe just abandon her in the middle of battle, but it became pretty clear that she wouldn't do that either.

Despite her grumpiness and her many flaws, Jinx was loyal. And Kat reminded herself that she'd left her husband to help her kingdom. But her sullen attitude wasn't helping Kat's own growing rage.

With every hateful message and eviscerated body she encountered, the anger inside her only grew and it became hard not to lash out and do damage to the kingdom with her magic.

It was at least until she reached a small village not far from the town of Darkwood. This one had smoke rising from some of the buildings. Due to the freezing weather and snow, the fire hadn't caught properly, so the wooden buildings only smoked pathetically in the humid air.

Endir suffered from drought, and here they were, having rain. Snow. Water. Plenty for their crops. She wished she would have come a few months earlier, during harvest season, to freeze their crops and show them what hunger felt like.

But she was distracted when she saw the writing on the walls. Circles crossed out, next to the words You don't scare us, bitch!

We are not afraid of you!

Burn, Witch, Burn!

These were bolder than usual. As was burning down their own village to keep resources from her approaching army. She had to admit that at times like this she was grateful that her men couldn't understand Iridian. It would affect their morale.

"Your Majesty!"

The call came from a group of soldiers which had wandered off further into the village. Kat maneuvered her horse in that direction. A part of her expected to see more fallen soldiers. What she didn't expect was to see a group of people who had nothing to do with the conflict.

Men, women and children, all fair skinned and blonde, strewn in the main square of the village, stripped naked. Their hands and feet were tied together, forcing them into a kneeling position. Their eyes were gouged out, their stomachs cut open and their innards left to dangle.

All of them.

Even the children.

"Kat..." Jinx said, her voice wary.

Kat didn't care. She kept her gaze trained on the tiny bodies. Someone had carved Monsters on their flesh.

They. Were. Children!

The rage she'd been trying so hard to hold back exploded inside her and her vision darkened. Everything was in shades of blood.

"Kat!"

She ignored the screams and glanced at the sky. It was still snowing, but now the flash of lightning snuck through the clouds. It only added to her anger, so she surged closer, wanting to snuff it out. The clouds felt chilly as they touched her skin.

Why were they touching her skin?

She blinked and found herself surrounded by snow and frost. The subtle buzzing of lightning was also there, but she ignored it this time. She'd never tried to levitate before, never felt this need to escape her body and her fate so badly. At least lost among the clouds, she didn't have to see. She couldn't be seen.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, and for a few moments she just let herself cry. Drown the anger with salty tears for those poor people. It was one thing to kill soldiers during a war. It was an entirely different matter to kill children.

Pure, innocent children.

Refugees.

Because somehow she knew that was what they were. Those people were far from the border and not soldiers. Either they had been initially received into Iride and were now paying the price, or they'd been dragged out of their homes. That was less likely.

She couldn't let this go unpunished. This masacre, the taunting messages on the walls, starving her people even now by being wasteful.

They weren't afraid of her? Well, they should be. And she would make sure they regretted every bit of anguish they provoked. Every hateful word. They would pay for their war crimes.

⚜⚜⚜

Yes, I forgot to update again. The week was so funky, I missed that it was Friday. And it was such a short chapter, too.

All this animosity between the parties is getting out of hand. Neither Cage nor Kat like it, but it makes it clear that there's no room for peace.

Onward to war then! Thanks for reading!