Servitude [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 30

[Soleil]

When we finally drew into the clearing, the remains of the Council of Elders' estate was little more than a far off pile of rubble.  Its mighty towers and expansive wings had all been knocked to the ground during Maelstrom's disorderly attack.  It was the Council's only operating fortress in this part of America.

So where were they?

Where were the foot-soldiers, the trained battle-assassins?  Why were the Council's formidable army in hiding, and what could they have possibly planned after wrecking the massive advantage they had over us.

Now, instead of being trapped like rats in a maze of corridors, the fight had been taken to level ground.

None of it made any sense.

I wasn't the only one pondering this.  Perseus and Jasper were on edge, completely silent as their eyes scanned a line of trees to our right.  They stood close to each other, seemingly comfortable with the situation they had found themselves in.

Of course, Perseus had been his father's highest-ranked General - but how did he know Jasper.  Even if they had fought the same war, hybrids weren't even allowed in the same battalions as pure-bloods.  I had a feeling that their ties came from somewhere far deeper than the battlefield.

Silvian nudged his nose into the back of my neck as we set up a quick base of operations in the clearing.  I felt him rest a forehead on my shoulder and let out a heavy sigh, obviously sulking.

"You're upset that there's no one for you to maul?"  I asked, and he huffed again in agreement.  I laughed shakily, still fairly taken aback by the situation I had found myself in.  The others had quickly adapted to the fight ahead of us, but I didn't have the same luxury as them.

My powers were sub-par, my body was weakened from months of torture and stagnation in a cell.  Fighting a full-blooded vampire head-on during the heat of battle would be like a death wish, but there was no saying it wouldn't come to that.

I would certainly put myself in danger if it meant protecting my newfound family - minus Celeste, who was ripping and tying the material of her dress so that she could move more freely in it during combat.  She hadn't looked at me once since my escape, and something about our entire situation irked me.

Why would she be in a meeting with my captor, a doctor for the Council?  She has the best healing abilities in the country, for crying out loud.  

"You are very tense,"  Luna walked over to me, stating the obvious.  It was odd to see her without her blindfold, or a fashionable hat sat atop her head.  Now, her muted irises gleamed with a strange fire.  I had a feeling that she might have been enjoying herself.  

"I don't feel ready for this fight, I have a feeling something bad is going to happen..."  I admitted.  As I was speaking, somebody shoved a pile of clothes into my hands and I became painfully aware that I had nothing but a blanket wrapped around my body.

"Well, getting dressed might help."  Luna joked, and my lips curled in slight unease.  How does she even do that?  Even so, I pulled the clothes on, grateful for the material against my skin.  I had been naked for so long I was beginning to think I would go feral.  "And as for bad feelings, you're preaching to the choir.  Premonitions never do us any good - I know better than anyone that nothing is set in stone.  No doubt, something unexpected is bound to happen.  Such is war."

Her words made me look down at my feet for a moment, solemn.  How many people had I seen die at the hands of an enemy's blade?  Today felt different, though.  I didn't want anyone here to die, but surely someone would.  Wars without death tolls are just petty disputes.