The fire crackled like dry branches snapping under the weight of someone’s foot. Luka could remember the scorching heat that tugged at the fabric of his cloak. Everything was a haze, and something had happened. Something he couldn’t remember, no, something he didn’t want to remember. But what was it? All he could see was a figure dragging the body of someone he knew towards him.

  He watched the figure’s lips move in a frantic blur. Shouting something he couldn’t hear. Each word was lost in the chaos that engulfed their surroundings. There was desperation in their face, but Luka was frozen. His hands were covered in a pool of crimson. And just before he could make out the features on their face, Luka opened his eyes.

  He tightly clung onto the white bedsheets over his chest with tears streaming down the side of his face as he gazed at the ceiling. His breath came in short, panicked bursts, but soon became grounded as the chants of the militia drifted in through the window. Soothing his racing mind as he leaned up from the top of the bunk bed.

  “Ha… another fucking nightmare.” Luka wiped the small droplets from the corners of his eyes and gazed out the window. Peering into the courtyard as Tucker and Eric led the militiamen. “It’s unbelievable that those crazy bastards are still training, isn’t that right John—”

  Luka bit the bottom of his lip mid-sentence. His fists were curled tight at his sides until his knuckles turned white. A bitter laugh escaped him, one that almost hurt to come out. Weeks had gone by since his childhood friend had died, and the loss was still there. If anything, it had gotten worse. He’d thought that distance might dull the pain, the grief, yet it didn’t. The clear blue skies, the stone cityscape, and the people around him were all so different from what he was used to. Yet it felt like nothing had changed. The emptiness inside him had only grown.

  He had lost someone who was more than a friend. He had lost a brother.

  And now fate had played a cruel joke. Like it had twisted a knife in his guts and brought Tucker of all people to him. It wasn’t enough that he lost one brother before his very eyes, but now the possibility of losing another was right in front of him. One who was walking the same walls and facing the same war.

  He took a deep breath before hopping down from the top of the bunk bed. Luka kept his gaze on the floor and carefully slipped on his boots after putting on his black pants. Tucker still needed his help. He couldn’t just sleep while everyone else was trying their best.

  After getting properly dressed and equipped, Luka left the bedroom and stepped into the halls. The last watchman he had to find was Jess. She could be anywhere within the barracks, but odds are, she was still sleeping in her room. There was no point in bothering her now; it could wait until morning. Yet from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of someone sitting on a bench beneath the moonlight. Her long brown hair was swaying freely in the wind, and her tan skin seemed to catch the glow of the night. But it wasn’t the light or the wind that held him still. It was her eyes. The distant and dim light that seemed to waver with the slightest touch, yet deep inside, it felt like there was a flame.

  “Can’t sleep, huh?” Luka met Jess’s gaze and motioned at the empty space on the bench. “Is it alright if I sit?”

  She nodded while gazing ahead. Luka, curious to see what it was, followed the direction she was looking at and stared beyond the arches of the stone walls. There, under the pale light, the militiamen moved through their drills. All of them acted as one as they carried out the orders from their instructors. Jess didn’t say a single word and just kept watching them. Her tired eyes tracked each motion, searching for something in their drills she couldn’t name.

  “You know, if you want, you could ask Tucker if he has something for you to do,” Luka pointed out.

  Jess remained still and didn’t answer right away. Her gaze remained locked on the militia, but her mind was far from the courtyard. Finally, after a brief moment, she asked. “Would someone like me even be of use?”

  “That’s not something for me to decide,” Luka replied. “But if it’s Tucker, he’ll probably find something for you to do.”

  Jess forced a weak laugh to escape her lips. Her body seemed small, and from how she slumped forward, Luka knew that something was wrong. “Even if I can’t take a life?”

  What?

  Luka kept his composure, masking the disbelief in his mind. She was a watchman, an elite soldier who had been trained to kill. So what was Jess really saying? Yet no matter how much he wanted to question her, he couldn’t. It wasn’t his place to do so. “You’re a watchman. It’s normal for us to kill.”

  Her hands clenched onto the fabric of her pants. Everywhere she went, it was always the same thing. Had they all forgotten that their generation and the previous one mainly dealt with monsters? Not humans? How is it they had all forgotten that the watchmen of new were supposed to target disaster-class monsters? A murky feeling of disgust filled her heart. Clinging to it like a poison. This wasn’t what she wanted.

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  But such a concept would fall on deaf ears to Luka. Jess knew that from their brief exchanges; it was pointless to talk to him. That’s why she usually kept to herself. “Perhaps, but I don’t want to kill anymore.” A cold light surfaced from her eyes. A light that held no warmth and sent shivers down Luka’s spine.

  A single droplet of sweat dripped down the side of Luka’s face. There was no way in hell he wouldn’t remember someone like her in their group. So she had to be from one of the training batches before them. The aura surrounding her was far more refined, and from her demeanor, he knew that Jess was leagues above him.

  “In that case, you should talk to Tucker. I haven’t looked at his master plans, but he will find something for you to do. Something that doesn’t involve killing people.” Luka leaned back on the bench. “He’s also not the type of person to make you do something you don’t want.”

  Jess held her tongue and slowly exhaled. She had been watching Tucker manage the militia for the past few days with curiosity. His methods were extreme but efficient. The amount of care and planning that had to be put into each session must have been immense since financial support for the thirty-first was limited. After all, why would the fortress city invest in common folk instead of their knights?

  “Fine, I’ll hear out what he plans to do,” said Jess.

  “That’s great! I’ll call him over then.” Luka took a deep breath and shouted with all his might. “Tucker! Jess wants to talk to you!”

  Jess clapped her hands over her ears while squinting. The sharp ringing sound that pierced through her skull was awful. She winced while glaring at Luka, but it was already too late. The Captain of the thirty-first was already heading over. “You….” Jess shot a venomous glare at the dimwitted watchman, but before she knew it, Tucker was already standing in front of her.

  “You wanted to talk?” Tucker asked.

  “No, I mean yes, but not right now. This idiot—” Jess turned to Luka, but by the time she turned, he was already gone and around the corner, taking her aback. Not a single trace was left behind, and it had only been a few seconds since he nearly caused her to go deaf.

  “Yeah… he does that. Luka usually just disappears after causing some random bullshit to happen.” Tucker scratched the back of his head and awkwardly laughed. “But if you need some time, you can always find me around here. I don’t really go anywhere else unless I get summoned by the commander.”

  Jess rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt like she would regret asking, but just wanted to get it over with so that Luka wouldn’t bother her anymore. “Is it possible for you to give me a role that doesn’t involve me killing someone?”

  Tucker nodded. “Of course, in fact, I heard you were quite a good healer from the other guys.”

  “I can’t heal. I don’t have divinity.”

  “Well, bandaging and applying potions is practically the same thing when it comes to us.” Tucker shrugged his shoulders and sat down beside Jess. “I don’t know why you don’t want to kill, and I won’t ask. But there’s only one thing I need to know.” He took a pause and waited for her to give some sort of confirmation. Once he saw her nod, Tucker asked, “Can you keep my men alive, and if so, what do you need?”

  Her eyes widened at the sudden question. A straightforward question that went directly to the point wasn’t something she was expecting. At most, she was expecting something like what Luka did where he tried to win her favour. “I probably can, but I would need a team of ten—no, fifteen able-bodied soldiers who can carry one or two full-sized men and run fast.”

  “That can be done. The only problem is you’ll have to train them yourself.” Tucker observed the militiamen in the courtyard. They were carefully following Ray’s instructions down to the bone. When Ray ordered a shieldwall, the men were already prepared. The biggest difference was that they raised their swords and pointed them at the enemy as they entered the shieldwall, with their stances low. “Would that be a problem?”

  “No, it should be fine…” Jess examined Tucker in wonder. “Do you know who I am?”

  “I do. You’re a named watchman that goes by Wayfinder,” Tucker said.

  “Then… you know what I’m capable of and still don’t want me to step onto the battlefield?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I want. I just need your cooperation in keeping my men alive.” Tucker quietly exhaled. The weight of the situation was finally getting to him as the Empire drew closer. He knew they had only two weeks left to prepare. “Whether you choose to fight doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not like I can pull my rank over you as well. Though I doubt you would cooperate if I did.”

  Jess sat there in a daze. It didn’t make any sense to her why he was acting like this. “Do they really mean that much to you?”

  The question caused Tucker to fall silent as he stared at his men. Truth be told, he didn’t know. He tried to pull walls around him and keep his serious demeanour when he was with the militiamen, but it seemed to have failed lately. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t grown attached to his men. They were his brother-in-arms. Yet he knew they were still not strong enough to face what was coming.

  How many would die in the upcoming days?

  How many would he have to bury with his own hands?

  Tucker didn’t know, and a fear had gripped his heart. He was scared of losing those close to him, but this was the best chance they had. Tucker met Jess’s gaze. “They do, which is why I would appreciate it if you helped.”

  Jess could see the determined light in the young man’s eyes. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his words. He truly did care for the people who were following him. “I will need funding then.”

  “That’s fine, make a list and send it to me.” Tucker rose from the bench and took off his hat. Holding it over his heart. “Thanks for stepping forward, Wayfinder.”

  With no need for words, Jess gave a silent nod and closed her eyes as she bowed. The discussion was over, and from her perspective, Tucker was a natural leader, but… she knew that those who were kind always suffered the most. Even as she watched Tucker head back to the courtyard, a familiar ache welled up in her chest. The pain of loss clung tightly around her shoulders. She had carried it ever since her students had died in combat against the Empire. It wasn’t something someone grew used to, but a heavy shackle that followed them for life.