The Unwilling Queen

The smell of war

"Get the right flank to move closer and pinch them in!" Tobias cried. He spun his horse and galloped up the rise again to call to the air force. Below the battle was fully engaged, primes blasting power and rattling his foot soldiers as they struggled to hold their ground.

A bolt of electricity came down from the darkening sky, snaking its fiery fingers across the field. When the blinding light cleared both Gallenese soldiers and Collectors were strewn about. Dead or unconscious, it was hard to tell.

The prime with electrical magic stood at the centre, arms outstretched gathering more power. Tobias gestured to an Odonata and pointed to the prime, indicating she should deal with him. The dragonfly sped down the slope to take him out before he could do more damage.

"Alpha prime! We are almost at the drainage gate but the Collectors have earth-magic. They might collapse the wall!" an officer shouted.

"I'm not alpha!" Tobias snarled, but looked to the gate regardless. Saphira was alive, he knew it. If he could free her they could retake the city together. But the soldiers had abandoned their alpha in favour of their commander, someone they knew and trusted. Safira had kept herself too high, too aloof to secure their loyalty. Sub-prime sapiens were quick to turn to Tobias when it looked like Safira had betrayed them.

Collectors wearing blue-on-blue uniforms gathered on the ramparts watching the Gallenese push towards the city wall. His officers shouted orders and redirected soldiers to maintain their ground, capitalising on the terrain surrounding the city to their advantage. The earth shook and his horse stumbled to the side. Across the field a huge crevasse opened forcing the Gallenese to squeeze into the centre. They were too close, there was no room to maneuver.

"We're almost there! We need more soldiers!" a captain shouted. "Where is Corinth?"

"They're coming! They said they would!" Tobias looked over his shoulder back towards the camp tucked in trees. The supplies had arrived by slipstream but no soldiers to back them up. Weapons with no one to wield them.

His soldiers continued their push to the city walls, trying to get to the water gate where it was weakest. He had overseen the reconstruction of the city's defense systems himself, he knew it had few weaknesses. Not for the first time he cursed his own diligence and thoroughness. Pushing his horse into a full gallop Tobias raced for the gate to keep the soldiers advancing when a flash of dark hair caught his eye. He pulled up suddenly causing his horse to buck and rear.

"Robbie!" Tobias screamed. He slipped off the horse and ran into the duel between his mate and a Collector. Robert was weezing, barely able to swing his sword and the Collector took advantage of his poor technique and lack of practice. In three swings Tobias took out the big prime, kicking the body off his sword, disgusted that they dared wear the colours of Gallen.

Robert was on his knees in exhaustion.

"What are you doing here?" Tobias barked, grabbing this mate by the shoulders.

"Fighting bad guys. What are you doing here?" Robert tried to joke. He panted heavily and was so splattered with blood Tobias didn't know if it was leaking from his body or from someone else's.

"I told you to stay at the camp! I can't focus with you out here, knowing you're in danger!" Tobias growled.

"That's why I didn't tell you." Robert tried to smile but his eyes were full of pain and fear. He was terrified. Fighting was not how he was raised. There was no conscription in Corinth, a city of art and beauty. He only learned to swing a sword to make Tobias happy. But nothing about having his mate this close to so much death made Tobias happy. He wanted to shield Robert from this. Let him stay innocent, clean. But here he was, shaking and scared, seeing the worst in the world.