“Casualties are estimated at one hundred today, Halálhívó,” one said. Behind him, the bodies were already being piled and wood stacked around them for a pyre. We always offered our warriors a quick sendoff into their next life in gratitude for dying for the cause. The Angels, on the other hand, were left to rot and have their bones picked apart by vultures.

“And the injured?” I asked, tucking the horns under my arm.

“Only a few, sir, and they should all make a full recovery,” another told me.

“Very good,” I commented. “See to it that everyone is well-fed after a thorough prayer thanking the Fates for our victory.”

We’d spilled enough blood for them today that another sacrifice was unnecessary, but I didn’t want to press our luck without at least some level of veneration for them.

A young male jogged up, carrying a rolled parchment. “Pardon me, Halálhívó, but this is for you.” He knelt, resting his forehead on his forearm, and offered me the scroll.

I accepted it, unrolling it and reading. A message from Rapp, relaying his current location, and estimating his arrival in Lutsk. He was perhaps a day ahead of us, and judging by the morning’s message from Trol, the two would meet before my battalions caught up. The landscape closer to the Skala Mountains was more difficult to navigate, but offered plenty of opportunities which I had used to my advantage. There was a reason I chose this side over the others.

“Write back and relay our location,” I told the male, waving him on.

“Yes, sir,” he said, offering me a salute before hurrying away.

Then I returned my attention to the metal-clad Parancsok. “We will need to march again tomorrow.”

Around the jagged hills in the distance, a salt flat stretched over a great distance, which would force the Angels to narrow their ranks and make fighting more difficult. I hoped they’d retreat through the night to the other side of it and dig in there instead. It would be a much better place to fight for them, with a few high vantage points for long range attacks. We’d have to send scouts ahead to see what their position was before engaging again.

“Aye, then it will be good to give the soldiers extra time to rest,” one said.

The sun was barely past its zenith, which meant nearly a half-day recovery time. For as hard as they had been fighting the past few weeks, it was earned. “Anything else?”

“No, Halálhívó,” they replied in unison.

“You know where to find me if you need something,” I said, then strode off in the direction of the camp half a mile back. We were winning so handily that I’d shortened the normal distance. With the healers in closer proximity as well, the injured were more easily treatable.

And Assyria was closer too.

With as much free time as we would have tonight, there was plenty of time to resume her fighting lessons. I found her pacing at the edge of the camp, sticking to the shadows with a spyglass in her hand. Despite my better judgment, I had allowed her a modicum of freedom and a chance to help us since she couldn’t step onto the battlefield. And with the way she had excelled at spotting things in the distance while we were riding, I figured she could do the same from within the camp and alert me if she spotted a company approaching from a different direction.

“Halálhívó,” she exhaled when she saw me approaching. She wouldn’t admit it, but she worried about me every time I stepped onto the battlefield. There was so much unsaid between us, so much we intuitively knew about one another but didn’t dare give voice to.

That would make it real.

Grem and Zeec bounded forward, greeting her with a bark and a lick. Her nose crinkled as they painted her palm red. “We’re staying in place tonight. I need to wash off and then we can practice some fighting maneuvers,” I told her as she found a clean spot on Zeec’s harness to wipe her hand.

She snapped the spyglass shut against her hip so as not to dirty it, then tucked it into a small bag at her hip. “Okay,” she beamed up at me. The easy way the expression bloomed on her face made me want to lean down and kiss her.

I jerked my head at her to follow me, and she quickly fell in step, though her legs had to move at nearly twice the speed of mine to keep up. “You won quickly today,” she commented, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her pointed ear.

“We did, and if they move as I expect they will, we’ll reunite with Rapp in a few days,” I told her. Relief danced in those devious burgundy eyes.

“So you’ve heard from him then?” she asked.

“He sent a raven earlier, as did Trol. We’re very close to Lutsk now.”

Grief swept down our bond before Assyria clamped down on her feelings. She returned her attention ahead of us, but the way she pressed and rolled her lips told me that her earlier happiness had vanished.

We’d come so close to moving past all the hatred between us, and I cursed myself for reminding her of that male who sacrificed himself for her. From the times she lost herself in the past and let the barrier around her mind slip, I’d learned that he was from Lutsk, that he’d promised to marry her right before he burned, and that he was the first male with whom she’d ever felt truly safe. Basically, I’d taken her first bite of happiness and thrown it on the pyre.

She’d thanked me for protecting her, and I knew that she felt that way around me now. In spite of the rocky start to our relationship, things had changed. As disconcerting as it was, I wanted to be the one to bring smiles to her face. To pull laughs from her chest. To comfort her when she was sad. Despite my better judgment, she’d become important to me.

It was time I told her that. Maybe then, she’d finally surrender that last bit of anger she held toward me over her family and Izgath. And Olrus now too.

“Come, let’s go train. We can have a lengthy session today to make up for all the nights we’ve missed,” I murmured, changing course. She followed without saying anything, a glassy, faraway look in her eyes.

The camp was a hive of activity, males swarming about as they cleaned their weapons and themselves, tended to their injuries, or sought food to fill their bellies. Assyria and I wove through it until we reached the outskirts, where there was just enough room to train without straying too far should anyone need me.

I hoped no one did. I wanted, needed, to show Assyria how much she meant to me, and if someone interrupted us, she’d see she was second to the war and my words would fall flat. I dropped my helmet off to one side, then removed all of my upper body armor. I debated about taking my shirt off too, with the way the sweat made it cling to me.

I did, immediately grateful as a cool breeze caressed my overheated skin. Besides, Assyria needed to feel what it was like to strike flesh, and I didn’t want her injuring her hand on the hard metal.

Blinking, she returned to herself, tracking my movements as I strapped metal cuffs over my wrists once again. Heat licked at her eyes as she swept them over my bare torso.

Planting one foot slightly behind me, I raised my fists. She mirrored me, so tiny compared to my bulk. “Attack me,” I told her. My little imposter wasted no time leaping forward with a well aimed strike to my ribs. I dodged it easily, then unhurriedly tossed out a punch to her face, giving her plenty of time to see it coming.

She ducked under it and circled away from me. A line formed between her brows as she thought through her next attack. I waited for it, moving slowly enough that I let it collide with my stomach. With a flex of my abs, I absorbed the blow. The strike was nothing compared to the hits I’d taken earlier that day, but since we’d last sparred, Assyria’s power had improved.

“Good girl,” I praised, nearly smiling down at her.

A rosy flush rose to her cheeks and lust pulsed down our bond. She liked being praised, and fuck if I didn’t love giving it to her.