Chapter 63

“Hold the line! Hold!”, I cried as our centre was about to collapse.

“Rina!”

Karim turned to me, shaking his head. I ignored him and called out again, but in vain, and I saw yet another banner falling to the ground, trampled by the feet of the Imperial soldiers.

“My lady…”, Manelia urged, not daring to meet my eyes. “We need to leave while we can.”

“No...”

I glanced back.

“Karim, deploy the reserves!”, I ordered.

“They will cover our retreat…”, Manelia continued.

“No..”

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“No.. Send the reserves”, I pleaded as yet another banner fell to the ground.

“Rina, we need to go”, he said firmly.

How could I leave them… How could I be safe when so many had already died…? It wasn’t fair. I turned to our guards, but they averted their gaze. Only Manelia met my eyes.

“Tomorrow the sun will rise again, my lady”, he said, and I heard the others echoing his words.

“He is right, Rina,” Karim said. “We may lose a battle, but with you, we still have hope.”

“We will retreat to Zarion and hold them there, my lady”, Manelia added. “Tomorrow the sun will rise again…”

He put his hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off.

“No, the sun will rise now!”

I pulled my banner from the hands of the bearer. I would not let them die so I could live.

“Forth!”

I kicked the horse as I raised my banner high in the air. I didn’t look back, but I could hear the sound of countless hooves following me behind.

“Rina!”

Karim cried out as he overtook me, lowering his spear. Our eyes met, and he gave me a quick nod. I smiled as other troops passed me, forming a spearhead in front of me, before we crashed into enemy lines.

My guards shielded me from the upcoming blows. Only when one of them fell to the ground with a spear sticking from his chest, did I realise what I had actually done, but it was too late.

“Forth!”, I cried, lifting my banner.

A spear bounced off my breastplate, and its impact almost knocked me off the horse, sending chills down my spine.

“To the banner!”, Manelia cried, and his voice reverberated in the air.

I saw our reserves rushing towards us, but it was too late. Before I had time to react, the Imperial troops broke our formation. Something hit me hard, and I fell from the horse, screaming in pain. I hit the ground with a thud that added to the cacophony of chaos surrounding me. I tried to get up, but every move brought an overwhelming wave of pain that shot through my body.

A guard, desperately trying to defend their Goddess, fell to the ground, and an Imperial soldier stepped forth, his smile hidden behind his helmet as he raised his sword. Not like this…. Pain shot through me as I pulled my dagger and jammed it into his foot.

“Die!”

My scream melted with his as he fell to the ground, but it didn’t matter. Another soldier rushed towards me, and my vision went black.

“Please… Let them live… Let them be happy,” I whispered as the image of Cat flashed before my eyes, but she only watched me with her golden eyes. “They deserve better than me… Please…”

She smiled and shook her head.

“You deserve to be happy too, Rina..”

Her voice echoed in my heart, and I opened my eyes. I was still on the battlefield, surrounded by guards forming a shield around me. Lanard was kneeling next to me, and our eyes met.

“I don’t regret…walking this path…”, I whispered.

“Bring the priest! She’s alive!”, he cried out, and I saw someone running to me.

“No…”

Manelia knelt down beside me, his face covered in blood.

“The line is holding my lady… Rest now…”

A blue robe flashed at the edge of my vision.

“No…”

Ignoring my pain, I put my hand on his.

“I.. I made my choice…”

He glanced at Lanard, who nodded, and I braced myself for the upcoming pain.

I must have passed out again because the next thing I remembered was sitting on a horse, leaning against Manelia. Tarnis loomed in front of us as he called out,

“Forth! The sun will rise today!”