Fallen City by Adrienne Young - 48

Green flags moved over the hills, snapping in the wind like birds taking flight. The banners of Valshad were coming.

I watched the legion descend the slope, squinting through the burn of smoke in the air. Every few days they came to the camp, delivering grain and water, but this time they’d made the journey with their General.

Beyond the hills, too far from the sea to smell the salt in the air, lay the new Isara. A place for the broken pieces of our people that had been blown to the wind. Tents dotted the rolling land, where rings of dwellings curled around fires that washed the blue sky in a smoky haze. In the twenty-six days that had passed since we’d walked through the gates, the hundreds of Isarians who had traded their medallions for safety outside the walls had ended up here—a two days’ journey from the place we’d once called home.

Théo crouched over the fire, the corner of his cloak pulled up to cover his mouth and nose as he turned the turnips over on the coals. He was watching the commotion at the front of the camp, a subtle tension seeping into him.

I’d been with him long enough now to see it—that reflexive instinct buried deep under his quiet exterior. He was like a bird of prey, watching patiently before he took the effort to unfold his wings.

Théo had barely spoken since we’d walked through the gates, and I was glad for it. I had nothing to say that wouldn’t bring a curse upon me, and it was better for us both if I kept us away from the attention of the gods. Especially when I woke each morning to find their gift still fastened to my arm.

My fingers found the cuff beneath the sleeve of my chiton as I watched the crowd gathering ahead. Valshad’s insignia was driven into the ground where voices lifted in what sounded like a chant.

The only time Théo left me was to give me the courtesy of washing and dressing alone. He’d taken a particular interest in making sure I was fed, even when there was nothing to eat. Everything in the camp tasted like dust. Not the kind that stirred up along the banks of the Sophanes River. This was the kind of dust you found beneath a funeral pyre. All that was left of something once living.

He pulled the turnips from the coals, that uneasiness more visible now. Whatever was happening, he didn’t like it.

I got to my feet, shielding my eyes from the sun so that I could see what they were gathered around. It was the woman. The Valshadi woman who was a legionnaire.

I took an involuntary step in the direction of the crowd as her voice lifted over the others.

“… to take back your city!”

The throng of people gave a collective sound of approval.

Behind me, Théo abandoned the fire, taking me by the arm. “We should stay out of sight.”

But I pulled from his grasp, moving closer. There was something about the woman that I couldn’t tear my gaze from. The sound of her voice was like the fire in the temple, her pale blue eyes glinting in the sun. Her long blond hair caught the wind, making her look like a goddess.

“Any man or woman who joins us will be treated as our own. Rations, training, armor, weapons,” she shouted.

I looked to the faces that surrounded me. There was a kind of awe hanging in the silence. A tenuous quiet that made me stop walking.

“The siege has begun, and with the help of the gods, we will breach the gates. Isara is your birthright! Your home! And when the city is freed of the sickness that has devoured it, you will inherit it all!”

Cheers erupted around me, and my head swam with the words. Valshad wasn’t just cultivating the goodwill of those who’d been cast out. They were recruiting them.

The cuff at my arm burned like fire, the haze that cloaked the blue sky suddenly seeming to clear. This was my way—the only way—to get back into the city. To get back to Luca.

“Who will answer the call of the gods?” she shouted.

My hand lifted in the air before I’d even decided. Before she’d even finished speaking. But it wasn’t the favor of the gods I was after. Not anymore.

“Stop.” Théo pulled it down, trying to lead me away.

But the woman was already looking at me, those blue eyes like crystal. Again, I lifted my hand, and a wry smile played on her lips.

“What are you doing?” Théo hissed

I pushed into the crowd, slipping from his grasp, and when I finally looked back, he was already too far to reach me.

“He made his choice.” My voice lifted over the crowd. “Now I’m making mine.”