A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 78 | October 2nd | War Games "You Bury Me"

Timeline - October 2nd | (4 days later)

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In some cultures, we know death intimately.

In a translated script, the highest expression of love is the phrase;

"ya'aburnee," translated as "you bury me".

It means, "I love you so much, I'd rather sooner die than bury you."

It was used by mothers in lineage, who were used to losing their young in war.

In culture, we cannot speak of love, without speaking death's name.

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"K-Keep ... M-Moving!" Mya's heart pounded within her chest, her palms slick with sweat as she tightened her grip on the sword. Her terrified, high-pitched voice echoed through the surroundings.

She submerged herself into the thick dense forest the soldiers and herself in the war game trials had taken into, running as fast as they all could to escape the Wranglers. It was an unexpected ambush on the cadets, staff, and her medic team, forcing them to split up to ensure survival.

The trials had taken an unforeseen turn for Mya, but she had no alternative except to keep moving. Maneuvering through the trees and grass, she attempted to escape the lethal steel thorns launched by the Wranglers.

Soldiers and cadets were falling around her, and there was no time to halt and assist them. The team leader had inadvertently entered Wrangler territory, prompting a swift defensive response with projectile steel thorns raining down upon them.

Surrounded by the falling bodies of soldiers and cadets, some lifeless and others on the brink of death, Mya pressed onward, grabbing those who had fallen and propelling them forward. There was no room for anything else; her own survival depended on it. The team leader, whose foolishness had led them into a Wrangler nest, would face her wrath when she got her hands on him. The idiot's actions had triggered a rapid defensive response, with projectile steel thorns raining down upon them.

The steel thorns resembled targeted bullets across the fields, aimed at the fleeing bodies.

With increased determination to escape the danger, Mya sensed a steel thorn whizzing perilously close, narrowly avoiding her. Horrified, she witnessed another soldier being impaled by a thorn, the woman's lifeless body crashing to the ground. With no hope of survival for the fallen comrade, Mya had to keep running, leaving the blood to spill onto the earth.

"Mya!" Jasmine's voice pierced through the chaos in search of her. "Don't go left! There's more there!"

Mya's feet threatened to entangle with each other as she fought to maintain momentum amidst the chaos of the battlefield, veering to the right. The cries of the wranglers resonated in her ears, and the sight of the agonized soldiers ahead nearly overwhelmed her. The hive's numerical advantage loomed large, and the inevitability of being overrun haunted them.

Warnings about these creatures had been issued, one of many threats in this hostile terrain, but it was too late. The wranglers, detecting their presence, unleashed a relentless assault. The Queen led the horde in a savage attack, leaving the soldiers desperately scrambling for survival.

Dodging another branch, Mya stumbled and found herself in a muddy clearing, desperately scanning for any sign of Jasmine. Orienting herself toward the distant sound of Jasmine's voice, she pushed her battered and bloodied body in that direction, determined to find her amidst the chaotic battleground.