Music: The Beginning of the End by Klergy & Valerie Broussard

  "I want her found!" Kade snarled. His voice was thunderous and terrifying, like the roar of a lion.

  Grown men trembled in their boots, their heads lowered. How were they supposed to know a young woman had snuck into the squadron? To make matters worse, it was their frightening Commander's wife!

  "You're the best five trackers I have. You'll escort her home, but don't touch her. If she protests, drag her back to my estate. I'll deal with her," Kade demanded.

  "Yes, Commander!" The team replied in unison, bowing their heads even lower than previously.

  "You're excused."

  The tracker wasted no time. They quickly headed out of the tent, ready to fulfill their Commander's orders to the fullest. Almost every soldier in the Ritan army was strategically trained by the Seventh Prince. Only the toughest survived the gruesome workouts, but they became the best the world had ever seen. It was why Ritan had never been invaded before.

  A single man from their army could take down five or ten, depending on their years of training. The Commander? He could easily handle fifteen or twenty.

  "To think she snuck out from right under my nose," Kade seethed.

  "Well, on the brighter side, she's returning home," Sebastian responded, raising his attention from the letter in his hand.

  "She didn't want to burden you, Commander. She knew you'd send out a mini-army with her return to the palace," Sebastian noted.

  Kade narrowed his eyes. "She stole my map. She's not heading home."

  Sebastian softly frowned. "But the map had directions we took from Ritan to this camp. What is a single woman going to do on a battlefield?"

  Kade supposed Sebastian was right. What could Lina do in the battle? She'd only be a distraction. He hoped she wasn't foolish enough to think Atlan would drop his sword once he saw her.

  "If we spot her in the field, capture her immediately," Kade instructed.

  Sebastian shakily nodded his head. The scariest part about the Commander was his silent anger.

  Sebastian could do nothing but hope and pray the Princess was going to return to the estate. If not, the war could be prolonged. And no one wanted that—not even the military ministers——

  From the open field, Lina could see the beginning of the end. She was going to be the last man standing. If all it took was some blood to prevent the world from burning to the ground, then let it be spilled.

  A Princess for a Princess.

  Lina watched it all happen. She felt it before she saw it. The ground began to shake. The grass blades quivered. The birds flew far and high, fleeing from the frightening people.

  Horses stomped onto the grasslands, kicking up a storm dust. Flags were raised high and proud in the air. Thousands, if not, hundreds of thousands of men were present. They were a blur of steel and stealth, iron and might.

  Soon, these greenlands would be a bloodbath.

  Lina saw Teran's army first. Then, she turned her head. Her breath was caught in her throat. Kade brought his army, but there were many more coming from Ritan. She should've known each Commander would be traveling differently.

  "Atlan."

  Lina saw him. The little orphan boy with a dirtied face was nowhere to be seen. Her gentle mentor was gone. Replacing him was a muscular man sitting haughtily upon his high horse.

  Atlan was arrogant. He wore a blank expression, but even from afar, she could see the charisma oozing from him. He was without a helmet. He wasn't afraid of death. To march into a war without head gear, it showed not only his confidence, but his self-assurance.

  Atlan knew he was going to win the battle.

  But Kade was going to win the war.

  "No…"

  Lina could barely speak. She could see her husband. He was perched on his horse, wearing no armor. He was dressed in his black robes, a sword hung on his waist. Even from afar, she could see the sharp outlines of his muscular body.

  Her eyes flashed with fear. It took a single arrow to bring her husband down. Was he not afraid of dying? A part of her whispered the truth. He knew he'd win this battle, far before it even began.

  Why?

  Kade wasn't fighting to get the prize. He was fighting to keep it. He already had the prize in his possession, in his bed, with a ring on her finger.

  "Ready the archers!" Atlan's voice filled the air, the first to speak. His command traveled far and wide, even reaching Lina's ears, and she was standing far, far away from them.

  Lina watched in horror as the arrows were beginning to be loaded. It was now or never.

  "Let's go!"

  Lina urged her horse. The horse broke out into a thunderous command that not even the fastest animal of the land could match. She pressed her body forward, bracing against the wind that nipped at her. She ignored the red ribbon that flew into the sky and towards the high heavens.

  Lina's hair became undone, flickering behind her like a cape.

  "On my command!" Atlan shouted, completely oblivious to the approaching figure in the distance.

  Then, he saw it. He saw her black hair first, flying wildly in the wind. Next, he saw her white robes, like that of a soldier, but not. He knew it was her. He could be blind and still recognize her.

  And it seemed he was not the only one.

  "LINA!"

  Kade roared, his body lurching forward.

  Kade was horrified at the sight of her. She was a blur of white and black, dashing into the center of war. Nothing could compare to her beauty and grace. Nothing could compare to the hatred on her face. The determination in her eyes. The desperation of her soul.

  "Call off the war," Lina demanded.

  Lina knew they could hear her. Both Kade and Atlan were at the frontline of the battle, leading the army. They were the ultimate Commanders, the one that every single lieutenant and warrior followed.

  Men like them waged the war, women like her ended it.

  "Don't be foolish," Atlan stated, his voice low and calm. "Come here, Lina. Your mother misses you dearly."

  Lina froze. Her mother. Her older sister. In her last moments, she had finally remembered them. She wondered what their faces were like. She wondered what they'd say when they found out news of this.

  "Lina…"

  Lina stopped.

  That voice. That gentleness.

  Lina turned her head. How did she not see it sooner? How could she not have. Her older sister was in the frontline of this battle too, directly beside Atlan.

  "Lina, come here."

  Lina couldn't. Her eyes watered. She slowly shook her head.

  "Call off the war," Lina repeated. "Please."

  Atlan's face was pained by her plea. He had never seen her beg like this. Where was his proud Princess? Where was the girl who swung her sword like an arm?? Where was the little girl that'd laugh and run in the hallways? Where was his Lina?

  "Please!" Lina begged, turning her horse, so she could look Kade in the eyes.

  "We can't do that, Lina," her older sister softly said. "It is the only way to get you back."

  Lina stared at Kade. Her heart felt like it was going to be crushed into more pieces than the soldiers here combined. She couldn't hold back her disappointment. It was written all over her face.

  Kade's gaze met hers. He was furious, but he didn't show it. She saw it. His jaw was clenched. His eyes were set ablaze.

  "Come here."

  It was two words. Two words against the many that came from Atlan and her older sister. Two words that nearly sent her body lurching towards him.

  Everyone was far apart from her. She was at the center of the empty grounds. No one could reach her in time, not even the fastest horse in the world could reach her.

  "If I am the prize of this war," Lina finally said, her voice suddenly emotionless and cold.

  Lina unsheathed the sword that Kade gifted her. He instantly recognized the item.

  "Men at your ready, Commander!" Teran's archers shouted, loading the arrows once again.

  The first rule of war: he who draws the weapon marks the beginning of the battle.

  "Hold fire!" Atlan screamed. His tone was like a wild beast growling in the forest. But it was too late.

  The first arrow accidentally went off.

  "DOVE!"

  "Lina!"

  Atlan and Kade urged their horses forward. No one in the world had ever seen men as frantic as them. Fear was over the Commanders' faces that were pale as paper. They watched in terror as an arrow flew towards the most precious thing in their life.

  And then, it happened. In slow motion.

  FWIP!

  Lina sliced the arrow in half. The pathetic equipment fell to her feet. Her eyes were set ablaze. She wore an unforgiving expression.

  Everyone was stunned. To cut a flying arrow in half with such precision, just who was this woman? And why wasn't she part of the fight?!

  "If the prize for this war is me," Lina repeated, watching as the two most important men in her life rushed at her, from both directions.

  Two nations armies were upon her, and she'd still be the last person standing.

  "Then a prize neither shall get."

  Lina brought the blade to her throat. She felt the coldness of the steel, the race of her heart. Every part of her body was screaming for her to stop.

  "NO, DON'T DO IT!" Atlan snarled, screaming so loud, his throat stung.

  "I'll call it off, we'll call it off!" Kade shouted at the top of his lungs.

  "Stop it, STOP IT!" Her older sister shouted, hurrying her horse.

  It was too late. None of them reached her in time.

  "Let us never reunite," Lina whispered. "Ever again."

  Lina closed her eyes. With the flick of her wrist, she single-handedly ended the war. Blood splattered onto the grass. The first to spill. The last to come.

  In the far distance, Lina heard a demonic scream, like a beast losing the love of its life. The last thing she felt was the soft grass on her face.

  The last thing she thought of was a name.

  Kade.