This time, the magic came faster, aware of what it needed to do, happy to be released from its prison. Flames spread between Cage's fingers, but he guided them between the tents. There was a large flurry as the men realized something was happening and rushed away. A few of them picked up weapons, others retreated into tents, while most of them just stood and watched the frost disappearing from under their feet. In some spots, autumn flowers bloomed in reds and yellows.

The silence died down, and Cage couldn't be sure if the camp had quieted down or his hearing had become impaired due to the whooshing of blood in his ears. His vision became hazy and he could feel the magic wavering in a questioning way, as if inquiring how much longer he could keep it up.

It turned out that not much longer. His knees buckled and his hands hit the ground. His breaths came out hitched and uneven and he could feel sweat dripping down the sides of his face. His heartbeat still thundered in his ears and bile rose to his mouth. He spit it out before it could cause retching.

There were voices around him, he knew that. But he couldn't look away from the perfect patch of ground in front of him, the flowers growing there as if to thank him for his effort.

That was the problem. Too much effort. The magic had sipped out of him, draining him as it spread. How could Kat do that without collapsing? Cover so much space, freeze everything much faster than he could counter it?

You've only just begun.

He hadn't mastered fire yet. It was a first attempt at countering her. He should be proud. Instead, he felt inadequate. Would this be enough?

Hands grabbed him under the arms and he knew his body left the ground. His vision was still hazy, and when it refocused, he found himself staring at the purple canopy of his tent. His hearing was still fuzzy, but his senses told him there were guards there with him.

"I'm not dying," he said. "Just overexerted myself a little."

The sound of movement preceded the appearance of Rip. His face was pale and his dark eyes wide with something that looked like both fear and awe.

"You melted the ice."

"I tried to melt the ice." Cage eased himself to his elbows. He was still dressed in the same trousers and tunic and his boots were still on, so he guessed he hadn't been laying there for too long. "Big difference."

"No. You didn't try. You did melt it. The soldiers... They're no longer cold. The blooms."

"Yeah, I have no idea what those have to do with anything." His entire body ached, but he was used to that type of pain. It happened too often when the beast came out while he was cursed.

"Don't you see?" Rip's words tripped as he tried to get them out. "You fought back against the oppressing magic."

That was his intention, but he wasn't sure if it was as efficient as he would have liked it to be. He sat up, moved to the edge of the cot, pressed a hand on his shoulder and rolled his other arm, trying to relax his muscles.

"How long was I out?"

"About two hours."

That wasn't so bad if he'd truly managed to clear the entire camp of frost. Two hours seemed more than worth it. Though falling unconscious on the battlefield could prove a lot more problematic.

I'll be throwing fireballs there. No need to melt, just attack. He shivered at the thought. Rip was still staring at him as if he'd grown horns or something.

"Stop staring. I'm not doing anything."

"You don't--" The man hesitated and stepped back, but the look of awe mingled with fear was still on his face. "Magic is uncommon."

"No shit," he mumbled, standing. The tent swayed only for a moment before righting himself.

"Maybe you should eat something," the guard offered.

Cage wanted to refuse, but realized that he was actually famished, so he accepted the bread roll and munched on it. He instantly felt better.

"But, you have shown us it can do good things," Rip continued. "It's hard to fear that which helps you."

"That's good to hear." He finished the roll and headed to the table near his cot to grab another.

"Your Majesty..."

"Oh, for the sake of all that is holy, speak up, Rip. You know you don't have to coddle me or lick my boots."

"You have no idea how much we admire you," Rip said, his words stumbling in their hurry to get out. "And now that everyone is getting used to your magic--"

"Wait." Cage raised his hands. "You were shitting your pants over telling me something positive?"

The guard laughed. "You're not one to accept compliments."

That was true. Even now he thought this conversation was a waste of time, but he didn't want to shoot Rip down.

"That's not the point of me. I'm not looking for people to like me. The point of me is to get you out of this mess as smoothly as possible."

The man grinned. "Yeah, we know. No offense taken for you implying I'm shitting my pants."

This made Cage laugh and it felt nice after all the worry of the previous days. There was movement at the entrance of the tent, and they both stiffened. Cage half-expected General Harkiss to march in and chastise him for overexerting himself. Fortunately, he was met with far more pleasant company. Trix and Jazz strode in, their armors covered in both dirt and blood.

"What the hell happened here?" Jazz asked without any introduction. "We were freezing our asses off, and the moment we get here, it's warm and there are fucking flowers in camp? Are you looking to start a pleasure garden or what?"

Rip was far too used to Trix and Jazz not giving a shit about Cage's status because he didn't comment that the two didn't even nod their heads, let alone bow. "The King melted some of the frost and the flowers just... popped out of the ground."

"I think they were there to begin with," Cage pointed out. He didn't want to think his magic had decided to grow flowers without being told so.

"Don't ignore your gardening skills," Trix said. But his grin wasn't easy, like it usually was.

"You're back early. I wasn't expecting you for another three days, at least."

Jazz threw Rip a glance over his shoulder, and the worry on his face was evident.

"Should I get General Harkiss?" the guard asked.

"Give us ten minutes and then yes, you need to fetch him."

"What's going on?" Cage asked, the moment the man was out through the flap.

"Something happened with Kat," Trix said. "I started getting a really uneasy feeling some time back, but I always assumed it was me, not her."

"The spark still inside him," Jazz provided as if Cage could ever forget that Trix hadn't fully recovered from touching Kat.

"So what is it exactly?"

"I'm not sure and I still can't untangle it, as much as I try. But they're advancing. And I'm not talking about the Endirian army in general, but Kat herself. There's something inside her, like a raw, primal anger..."

"Things are getting bad," Jazz said, his voice flat. "All those atrocities we told you about? Well, Endir has apparently had enough."

Cage blinked. "Wait, I ordered those stopped."

"And are you surprised they didn't listen? Hard to punish someone when you don't see them doing it." Jazz now sounded disgusted and he dropped his helmet on the table with the maps.

"We found people frozen solid," Trix said. "Like ice statues. And no matter how we tried, the ice didn't melt."

"So it's Kat herself?" The thought made Cage shudder, that the sweet, kind woman he used to know had resorted to such methods.

"I don't blame her, to be honest," Jazz said. "We've run through some of the evacuated villages. They left a lot of messages for her, some written in the blood of slaughtered Endirian refugees."

"No! What the fuck?" Cage turned towards the entrance, but Jazz grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Cage, you can't micromanage an army."

"Watch me! Those people were refugees! They were here to feel safe."

"Yes, we know--"

"This keeps happening and you all insist on keeping me here so that I'm safe! While Kat herself is out there combating this. Combating something that I'm supposed to prevent from happening in the first place."

"Cage, we know this is not your fault," Trix said.

"Bullshit!" He whipped out of Jazz' hold and turned to face them. "If you didn't know me. If you marched into Endir and faced this. If this was happening to our people, would you find excuses for Kat?"

His two friends exchanged a look and he had his answer. Of course not. They knew it wasn't his fault, but only because they were in his inner circle and could see how much this ate at his conscience. They wouldn't give two shits if they were strangers.

"I'm done." He glanced towards the door, expecting Harkiss to walk through, but he didn't.

"No, you're not. This doesn't change anything with respect to your safety."

"What's the point of my safety? What's the point of me as king if I can't stop this madness?"

"He has a point," Trix mumbled.

"I hope your soldiers are less savage," he spat out.

"Of course," Jazz said. "Just like most of the soldiers here are. But some... And it's not just them. It's the people. You can't put a leash on your people."

"Tell that to Fherras," Cage mumbled. But that didn't matter anymore. He could no longer stay out of it.

Right on cue, General Harkiss entered the tent, dressed in his full armor. As if he was actually going to war.

"What--? Oh. You're back." He had no love for Jazz in particular and Trix as a close second.

"Yes, we are," Jazz said, his tone just as cold. "And we have troubling news."

"They're not listening," Cage said, clenching his fists. "They're killing refugees."

Harkiss turned to him, his eyes cold. "That's barbaric."

"He's talking about our guys," Trix pointed out.

"War is barbaric in nature."

"If you can't make them stop, I will!"

"And how will you do that, your Majesty?"

Anger flared inside Cage and with it, the magic inside him. It came out in a burst of light. Almost instantly, his knees buckled. Jazz wrapped his arm around his middle and held him on his feet. Apparently he wasn't as recovered as he'd thought.

"I don't think smiting your soldiers with magic is the way to go," Jazz whispered.

"Get this, General," Cage said, ignoring his friend. "I'm not a nice trophy you get to guard. I'm not someone who will be used to justify the orders you know are necessary and don't like giving out. I am not king in name." He straightened. "I'm the king in actions as well. If you can't keep the men under control, I don't have a problem with sending them back to Valona to fill the cells."

"We can't afford to lose soldiers," General Harkiss said between his teeth. "Their support is flimsy as it is."

"Do you think the population will be against me punishing atrocities? Do you think the soldiers won't understand that their behavior is what led to Endir striking back?"

"No, they won't. They're simple people."

"I'm sure that if Fherras could manipulate them into this mindset, you can manipulate them out of it." Cage narrowed his eyes as the man opened his mouth. "Even if we are no longer at odds, I do not forget, General."

Harkiss swelled like a bullfrog. Cage straightened, some of his energy returning, but he knew he couldn't throw magic around anymore. He turned to Jazz and Trix instead.

"What of Kat's position?"

"As you know, her army is all over the place," Trix said. "But she seems to be heading towards Darkwood."

Of course, she was going home. It made sense.

"Then I'll be going to Darkwood as well." Cage turned to the general. "We should mobilize the army and head in that direction. I'd be faster with a smaller unit for the moment."

"Cage..." Jazz said.

"Stop protecting me! I'm not going to get killed."

"Your Majesty, what if it's a diversion? What if the Endirian army will head for Valona instead? We can't leave the capital uncovered and we don't know--"

"Trust me, the bulk of the army won't go anywhere without Kat."

Harkiss squinted. "What makes you so sure?"

Cage clenched his fist and raised it. A tendril of lightning coiled around his forearm. "She's the only one who has magic. She's not going to send out her forces to battle three magic wielders on their own."

"It's still risky..."

"War is risky, General. You know that better than I do." He turned to Jazz and Trix. "I hope you're not going to try and stop me."

The two shook their heads, and if he wasn't mistaken, there was a proud smirk in the corner of Jazz's mouth. Cage wondered if he'd seen anything regarding the war, something beyond the constant image of death and destruction that still haunted his nightmares.

"No, we agree," Trix said. "We can't just wait. The more we do, the worse it gets."

"Good. Then rest. We leave in the morning."

⚜⚜⚜

War is coming. And Cage is so pissed. Can anyone blame him? Things are getting out of control. All the barbarity and the people he can't really trust. At least he has Jazz and Trix. For now...

Thanks for reading!