Shock

KILLIAN’S POV
“This is wrong, your highnesses, you cannot lead a war from the frontlines. It is never done. As the only offsprings of your father, you are the heirs to the throne. It is just too risky!”
Councilman Gordon kept on whining like a baby.
“And if we refuse to heed your advice, are any of you going to stop us from fighting for our pack?”
The silent murmurs came to a stop. The councilmen in the Great Hall, devoured by their selfish interests, were looking for a way to stop Cillian and I from leading the battle. Typical fools.
“My prince, you just need to understand,” Arthur began in his sweet tongue.
“I know that both of you are seasoned warriors and your prowess remains a thing of awe in Southern Paw, your father made sure of that. But if anything should happen to the heirs of the throne while fighting, even for the right cause, it will pose an enormous problem for the pack. That is what my councilmen are looking to avoid. Unless maybe one of you has a child that we are not aware of?” He bowed and returned to his seat.
Arthur was always playing politics. No matter how decent he sounded, I knew his heart. He was a greedy man.
Cillian stood up after staying quiet all of this while.
“With all due respect, councilmen, we are not here to argue about what is right and wrong but to discuss the matter in front of us. The deed has been done, our soldiers are prepared for battle, we will march by dawn. I do not expect any of you to be on the field with us. If that is all, then I see no reason why this meeting should continue.” He gave me a glance.
I smiled, “Alright then, my lords. We will see you in a while. For now, we have important things to discuss with the soldiers. Thank you for your time.” We left them to their thoughts.
The high priestess was in the corridor. It seemed like she had been waiting for us. When she saw us, she came forward immediately.
“My princes. I wanted to give you one last thing before you left for the battle.”
She held up two necklaces.
“It is a talisman. I fortified it myself, it is powerful. It will keep you safe today and guide you. Always listen to the tiny voice. That is the guide.” She said and put it round our necks.
I looked down at mine, it glowed momentarily and returned to normal.
“Thank you for this, high priestess.” Cillian said.
“There’s more to this than just guidance isn’t there?” I asked, raising a brow at her
She gave me a blank gaze and smiled.
“I thought you’d want to see someone.” She said and turned her gaze.
Rosalind.
I hadn’t seen her for days but it was for the best, she needed time to digest all that had happened.
She must be relieved at least. Now that Bast was back with her. It was a rough couple of days for her. Even with the swollen eyes and red nose, she was still pretty and besides that, the spark in her eyes was back.
She walked up to us and pulled me into a big hug.
Her body was warm and soft and welcoming. It eased the tension of the fact that we would be heading into battle in the next minutes.
We said nothing.
A few moments later, she pulled Cillian as well into the hugging envelope.
We stayed together like that for a while. She smelled like a blend of roses and oranges. Our breaths were disoriented and deep but it didn’t matter.
“Don’t die.” She whispered and let go of us. She looked to Cillian and then to me and for a moment, it looked like she was going to say something but she just turned back to her chambers without another word.
“Be safe, your highnesses.” The high priestess said to us, and left.
At the square, our battalion stood at attention waiting for the next command. When I climbed the podium, they all saluted in unison.
“Soldiers! This is the day you were born for. To fight for your people, to eliminate any enemy of the Southern Paw pack, to crush your foes!”
“Aye!” They chanted.
“I’m not going to play around with words and tell you that it’s going to be easy, because it won’t. The enemy is not a normal one. As despicable as they are, they are strong and they will not falter. You must be like steel, unbreakable! You must be quick like the wind, decisive like your wolf. Follow your gut and attain Victory!
“Aye!”
“Fight, not just for your lives, fight for your family, fight for your pack, fight for your honour!”
“Aye!”
“We are soldiers. Some of us will not come back the same, some will not come back at all. I know this and you know this as well. If today is your last, then you will go with honour and shall go swinging. The world doesn’t end today. Seize your victory, for the love of the pack!”
“For the love of the pack!”
And we charged. Some on horses, some on foot, some transformed to their wolf form.
I saw the enemy camp not far away, they were in line, waiting for us. A lady was at the forefront and I guess that was Estella. She wore no armour, there was a determination on her face that I had never seen before. She said something to her people, and they charged as well.
“Cillian!” I called over the growing noise.
He looked I’m my direction and nodded. We both turned to our primal wolf form. It was time.
It was a bloody battle. The enemy soldiers were incredibly fast but in my form, I was one step ahead. I clawed my way through. Decapitating them where necessary. Soon I was facing four at once. With my speed I took three down in a second but I couldn’t dodge a spell thrown my way by the fourth.
It hit me. But it felt nothing like that. It was like a cloud just bounced off me.
We both froze for a millisecond. Equally surprised by what just happened. I looked and saw the necklace I was wearing glowing brightly. It must have shielded me. I smiled and just as he was to throw another strike, I buried a dagger in his neck.
I sliced through the crowd, their spells weren’t penetrating because of the necklace, this brought the battle down to just skills and they lacked it immensely. One of them wanted to come at me from above but my senses detected him immediately. I chewed his neck away. He died before he hit the ground.
I looked around. We were winning.
CILLIAN’S POV
The fight was going in our favour. The fact that the high priestess’ talisman was also a shock absorber was a very pleasant surprise.
One of them charged at me on horseback. I dodged his blade, grabbed him by the neck and pulled him off the horse. He tried to do something else but I broke off his windpipe before he could.
Then a big guy appeared in front of me. Dressed in full armour. I looked at him and I recognized him immediately. He was the same fighter from the moon festival, the one that was behind the whole earthquake.
My blood boiled at the sight of him. He didn’t use magic but drew his longsword, and pointed it at me. I drew mine and charged.
He was faster than any of the ones I had fought today. He blocked every attack and had unconventional moves, unlike the other fighters he was very strong and had an iron grip.
It was as though everything else faded out and it was just the both of us. I slashed him on the arm and he began to bleed but it was not a lethal blow. He kept striking, he was not slowing down. I used an old skill and feinted. He fell for it and left himself open. Just as I was about to finish it off, an incredibly bright light shone on my eyes, blinding me for a second.
I quickly regained my composure but it was too late. He stabbed me in the midsection.
ROSALIND’S POV
After the princes had left, the high priestess called me.
I bowed in curtsey.
“You are betrothed to the prince. You deserve to see what is actually going on.” She said when I walked in.
I was puzzled by what she meant by ‘see’.
She smiled when I said nothing.
“Come. I’ll show you.”
I went to where she stood. There was a big basin there filled with water. It looked strange because the water was not moving, it was almost like it was frozen but it clearly wasn’t. I had seen something like this before.
“You mean I can see them fighting right now?”
“It is your choice, princess. That is the tradition, unless you do not want to see…”
“I want to see them.” I didn’t mean to cut in but I wanted to know how it was was going.
The high Priestess gazed at me. It was as though she wanted to tell me something, then she just put her hand into the bowl and turned it round.
I saw Cillian immediately and I gasped involuntarily.
He was fighting with River.
It was a heated one. Then it looked like Cillian was about to win but something happened and he staggered.
I screamed loudly when he stabbed Cillian. The magical bowl cracked and the vision ended.
CILLIAN’S POV
The stab was so powerful that it passed through my armour. He smiled at me, knowing he had won.
I looked around and saw the witch killing my men two at a time. The narrative was changing.
Blood was dripping from my body. Then I looked him in the eye, fueled by a mad rage. With his blade stilI inside me, I sank my fist into his belly and pulled his insides out. I saw the life leave his eyes and he dropped to the floor. Dead.
A shrill scream filled the air. Every single soul stopped fighting because of how loud of a sound it was.
Estella glared furiously at me and in a heartbeat, she threw a mighty spell my way.
Before I could deflect it, Killian pushed me out of the way and it hit him instead. The necklace didn’t absorb the shock. He fell face down on the earth and he didn’t get up.