With a report in hand, Lev frowned. Things had been well set up, he had to admit. Nevertheless, nothing could stop the investigators sent in. Unlike the traitor who had pushed Flavia through the portal, he had complete confidence in the men sent into the field.

Unfortunately, the tracks had been too well covered to confuse the enemy. There was not enough evidence for a judgment. Should he just execute them? No... He remembered Cara too well to do that.

The Hammer of Gentem had told him so clearly, a few days earlier. "Don't make the same mistake I did, Lev. I didn't have any other alternatives, back then. But... you, you can still do things differently. "

Behind her sweet smile, Cara had been through so much... Her advice was not to be taken lightly. However, he knew that if the situation happened again here and now, she would do the same thing again. Even if it would turn her into a monster in her son's eyes.

Did Tamir know about the Purge? No, he doubted it. It had happened before he was born...

What was he going to do? The easiest way would clearly be to kill them. But would he regret it later? What would his wife think? If she had managed Vera's affairs during all these years, she had still been protected from this kind of situation by her sister.

Sensing Eleazar's call through his collar, Lev shed his frock coat, before snapping his fingers to have his armor come to rest on him. Intermittent fighting was a problem. It always delayed him a little more on his decisions, which he could not make in a hurry.

As he reached the courtyard of the gate, he was surprised that his men asked him where the Duchess was. Usually she was there for his departure. It was crazy how quickly one took to pleasant things. He smiled wryly as he thought of his wife, working in her sister's duchy.

His expression did not improve when, just before leaving, Gaston joined him to deliver a precious and unexpected green letter.

*

A few moments earlier, Flavia had managed to get hold of her sister. Plunged in the reading of an important missive, Vera was frowning. Her hair tied in a high ponytail, she wore a dark blue frock coat over white pants. Her eyes were slanted and she often looked stern, but she hid her kindness well.

She often told him that being a female soldier often meant being tougher than others.

Was Cara like that, too? She who smiled all the time...

-Vera?

His sister looked up. She was not fazed by the coldness he read in them, for it was quickly replaced by a warmth she knew well.

-Flavia. It's good to see you, she said, putting the letter down.

-You are hard to find, laughs the bride. It feels strange not seeing you every day, Vera.

-Yes... The house is empty without your cheerfulness.

These words touched Flavia. Settling down with her eldest daughter, she told her that she had planned to hire a secretary to help her with the affairs of the Duchy of Gladia. Vera admitted that she hadn't thought about it, but it was a good idea. She had noticed that her butler's hair was getting whiter and whiter since Flavia's unexpected departure.

- So, tell me... Everything is going well with Lev? That big jerk is unbearable, but he's transformed once he's by your side.

She couldn't help but smile.

Vera had known Lev since they were about ten years old. They had almost no secrets from each other, and his difficulty in opening his heart to another person was obvious. Nevertheless, the Protectors could only be there for him, forming a family that he lacked. They were all missing. But this family did not advocate blind love. They knew each other too well to ignore the many flaws in each other.

Who would have thought that the person likely to make yield the heart of this big idiot would be Flavia? thought the Duchess of Gladia.

-Actually, I have to tell you something, Vera. It's... Actually, I've been corresponding with Lev for five years.

For the blow, the Sword of Gentem almost fell from his chair. Flavia burst out laughing at his stunned expression, before explaining. The letters they had exchanged over the years. Their discussions on paper that they were the only ones to share, their difficulties that they only talked about with each other. They had become each other's confidant, without ever meeting. And until recently, Flavia had been convinced that Lev thought the author of the letters was Vera.

The latter burst out laughing, because Lev had never spoken to her about all this. For good reason. He knew that she would put an end to this correspondence, because she would have judged that he was not made for her beloved sister. Besides, Lev was awfully perceptive when he wanted to be.

But why, in five years, had he not sought to see her? Flavia shrugged her shoulders. She didn't care. Because now they were married.

-Vera?

-Yes?

- What did Eleazar mean about his suspicions of the approaching peril?

Flavia observed her sister's attitude. The eyes lowered on her desk, she had just closed herself like an oyster.

-Why did you react like that at the meeting with the King?

Vera looked up at her. If a look could pierce to the heart, it was the case of that of the Duchess of Gladia. Nevertheless, Flavia supported it without weakening. What could shake such a rock?

-Flavia, do you know the function of the Magician?

-Mmh... Yes. The Mage is one of the five Protectors of Gentem. He protects and supplies the Tower with magic, so that the shield surrounding the kingdom doesn't fall.

-That, plus the fact that it's the same magic that attracts those fucking demons. Eleazar runs all the shields, portals, communications, as well as training the next generation of mages and fucking everything in sight.

-This last point is part of its functions? ironized Flavia.

-In a way, yes, sighed Vera. It's more a direct consequence of his duties.

They remained silent for a moment. Her sister's sadness was so obvious that she felt her heart clench. What...

-Vera, attack in the East, sighed Eleazar by the collar around his neck. Are you ready?

- Always, she answered immediately in a neutral voice. I'll see you soon.

Quickly rising to her feet, Vera snapped her fingers to put on her dark blue armor as she walked to the door. On the way, she put her hand on her sister's head.

-We'll talk when I get back.

Something was wrong. But at least now she knew it had something to do with Eleazar. She wanted to ask Lev about their relationship. Unfortunately, on the way home, she remembered that if Vera had left, so had her husband.

She would have been lonely if Dana and the children had not arrived at that moment. Glad to see them, she was surprised to learn that it was Tamir who had asked to be there. The red-eyed boy told her with a sorry pout that he was afraid for his mother.

A son who trembled for his mother. Even if she was a Protector. Flavia could only understand, she who had often been in the same state for her sister, and now her husband.

They all tried to reassure him. The afternoon passed in a flash. If Autem claimed that their parents were the strongest, Tamir did not waver. And when evening fell, with one hand clinging to Flavia's dress, he asked her if he could stay with her that night.

With pleading eyes and an adorable face.

Flavia relented. Although Dana had to take Rainier's three children home, she promised to leave a note at Cara's house saying that her son was at the Clypeus'.

Not being used to little ones, Flavia was still happy to have Tamir with her. He never let her out of his sight, even when Tild and Teld, the cook's children, wanted to play with him. He shook his head, saying only that he should stay with Flavia.

This intrigued her. Nevertheless, given the tension that seemed to grip the boy, she did not insist. And so she found herself with Tamir in bed. Dressed in Lev's white shirt, which made him a long nightgown, the child looked at her with his big red eyes. The thick brown hair, the chocolate skin, he was to crunch.

-Tamir, there's more to your fear than your mommy, isn't there?

Lying under the covers, Flavia watched the child. Sitting against the big pillow, he nodded.

-I'm not afraid for my mother, she's the strong one. It was just an excuse.

-Oh... But then, what's going on?

He considered her for a moment, with a look that didn't fit a ten-year-old. Then he nodded, as if his mind was made up.

-I have hunches, he admitted.

-Any insights?

-Yes. And my intuition tells me that I have to stay with you tonight.

She frowned. Tamir looked terribly serious.

-Why?

-Something serious is going to happen.

This worried her. But not for herself. She thought of Lev, in the wastelands, fighting an army of demons. With a heavy heart, she fell asleep with Tamir in her arms.

Not for long, in theory.

Screams woke her up suddenly. The light of the moon dimly illuminated the room. Yet she clearly saw the door to the room fly open. She didn't have time to get up, let alone bring out her bow. The man lunged at her with a dagger in his hand. She wanted to push Tamir away, to keep him safe.

But nothing happened as planned.

For the child suddenly appeared between her and the assassin.

Blood splashed on the bed, the wall. Flavia.

Wide-eyed, covered in a red, viscous liquid, she saw the man collapse onto the sheets.

Cut in half.

Stunned, she looked up at Tamir.

Only her red irises shone in the darkness of the night. As bright as the blade of the bloody sword in his small hand.

-My intuition is never wrong.