The council gathered at sunset.
The house was stiflingly hot — packed with commanders, elders, and leaders of small detachments who had flocked to Kaelan after the victory over the khan’s forces in the steppe. Candles burned, and in the corner a large map smoked faintly, covered in arrows and circles.
Amanda sat to Kaelan’s right. Mia was beside her, her hand resting familiarly on his knee. Black armor gleamed in the firelight, red lenses staring straight ahead.
Kaelan stood up.
“We won the battle,” he said, “but the war is far from over. The khan will raise a new army. We need to know what’s happening in the world. Who is our enemy? Who might become our ally?”
He nodded to the man in the corner — a sharp-eyed merchant who had arrived with a caravan of refugees.
“Tell us what you’ve heard.”
The merchant stepped into the center and bowed.
“They say the Empire won’t help the khan,” he began. “They have their own problems. The north is restless. Aichenwald… have you heard of the Duchy of Aichenwald?”
“We’ve heard,” Björn grunted. “Humans. Cold. Nothing interesting.”
“It used to be that way,” the merchant nodded. “But things have changed there. Something new has appeared. Her.”
“Her?” one of the commanders echoed.
“The Great Guardian,” the merchant spoke the name with clear reverence. “They say she is not human. Or perhaps she is, but blessed with the power of the ancient gods.”
Whispers spread through the hall. The beastfolk exchanged glances — some skeptical, others openly curious.
“What kind of power?” Björn asked.
The merchant looked at him.
“They say she can burn an entire army with a single wave of her hand,” he said. “And it happened. A couple of months ago, a horde of nomads marched on Aichenwald. Thousands of riders. No one expected them.”
He paused, letting the words sink in.
“And?” Björn pressed.
“And nothing,” the merchant spread his hands. “The horde vanished. Burned to ash in a single night. All that remained were charred stakes and blackened bones. And she… she walked out of the fire as if nothing had happened. Not even a hair singed.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
“Liar,” someone called out from the back rows.
“I’m not lying,” the merchant shook his head. “Ask the merchants from Aichenwald. Ask those who saw it with their own eyes. She is a living weapon. And she is the right hand of Crown Prince Randel.”
“Prince?” Kaelan repeated. “Aichenwald is not a kingdom.”
“Duchy,” the merchant corrected himself. “Heir to the duchy. They say she saved his life. In the forest. From assassins. And then… then she became his woman.”
Mia, sitting beside Amanda, suddenly tensed. Her tail went still, and her ears flattened against her head.
“His woman?” she echoed.
“So they say,” the merchant shrugged. “Cold, dangerous, cunning. A real bitch, if you ask me. But loyal. For him, she’d burn the entire world.”
Mia turned to look at Amanda. The red lenses stared straight ahead.
“So,” Mia said, trying to keep her voice casual, “this… Guardian. Is she beautiful?”
The merchant smirked.
“They say she is,” he replied. “Golden hair. Eyes like rubies. And cold as the winter wind. Men fall at her feet. But she only has eyes for her prince.”
Mia squeezed Amanda’s (the Reaper’s) hand. Harder than necessary.
“Mia,” Amanda said quietly.
“What?” the wolf girl whispered, refusing to loosen her grip.
“You’re hurting me.”
Mia released her hand, but didn’t look away.
“Do you know this woman?” Mia asked.
Amanda stayed silent for a moment.
“I’ve heard of her,” she said. “We’ve never met.”
“You’re lying,” Mia whispered, barely moving her lips.
But Amanda was already looking at the merchant.
“What else?” she asked. “What about the Empire?”
The merchant nodded, visibly relieved by the change of topic.
“The Empire has formed an alliance with Aichenwald,” he said. “Unexpectedly for everyone. The Empire doesn’t make alliances — it conquers. But this… this is different.”
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“Why?” Kaelan asked.
“Because of her,” the merchant nodded toward the map where Aichenwald was marked. “Because of the Guardian. And because of her letter.”
“What letter?”
“Before she disappeared, she sent a message,” the merchant lowered his voice. “She said that ancient creatures have awakened underground. That they will soon rise to the surface. And that she is the only one who can hold them back.”
“Did the Empire believe her?”
“The Empire got scared,” the merchant smirked. “They have their own mages. Their own seers. They confirmed it — something is indeed stirring beneath the earth. And if the Guardian falls… everyone will feel it.”
“So they formed an alliance,” Kaelan said. “To have a chance at mutual survival.”
“Exactly,” the merchant nodded. Whispers rippled through the hall once again.
“Enough,” Kaelan said. “We’ve gotten sidetracked. What else have you heard about the khanate?”
The merchant continued, speaking of troop movements, the mood in the steppe, and the chieftains who were still wavering.
Kaelan sat in the command room, hunched over the map, when the door opened.
Amanda entered alone.
“You’re not sleeping,” she said.
“I can’t,” Kaelan raised his head. His face was pale, dark shadows heavy under his eyes. “My mind is a mess. Your words. Your face. All of it…”
He gestured vaguely around the room, unable to find the right words.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Amanda said. “Sit down.”
Kaelan looked at her, then slowly lowered himself onto the bench.
Amanda sat across from him. She held her helmet in her hands — golden hair spilling over her shoulders, ruby eyes looking straight at her brother.
“I’ll start with the most important part,” she said. “I am the Great Guardian of Aichenwald.”
Kaelan froze.
“The one who burned the nomad army?” His voice trembled.
“Yes.”
“The one who became the crown prince’s woman?”
“Yes.”
“The one who disappeared and left a letter about the creatures underground?”
“Yes.”
Kaelan opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His face grew even paler. He tried to stand — and couldn’t. His legs refused to hold him.
“You…” he whispered. “You’re that Guardian?”
“I am,” Amanda said. “That entire legend — it’s about me. Golden hair, ruby eyes, magic that can burn entire armies. It’s all true. But not the whole truth.”
“What do you mean ‘not the whole truth’?” Kaelan stared at her, disbelief written across his face.
Amanda was silent for a moment.
“I’m not alone,” she said. “I have helpers. They’re always with me. Even now.”
She turned her head.
“Torglin. Leo. Come out.”
The air behind her shimmered.
Two figures materialized from nothingness.
The first was short and stocky, with a thick red beard and sharp, gleaming eyes. A dwarf in black armor, two daggers hanging at his belt. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Kaelan with open curiosity through the slits of his helmet.
The second was tall and lean. A human in the same black armor, sword held ready in his hand. He remained silent, but his gaze said everything.
Kaelan recoiled.
“Holy shit!” burst out of him.
He jumped to his feet — this time his legs obeyed, flooded with adrenaline. His hand flew to his sword.
“Stop,” Amanda said quickly. “They’re on our side. They’ve always been on our side.”
“Our side?” Kaelan’s eyes darted between the dwarf and the human. “They were here? This whole time?”
“From the first day I became the Reaper,” Amanda replied. “They’ve always been nearby. Invisible. Silent.”
“Invisible?” Kaelan swallowed hard. “How?”
“The armor,” Amanda touched her pauldron. “Mithril fused with orichalcum. Special treatment. It makes not only the metal invisible, but the person wearing it too.”
She glanced at Torglin.
“Show him.”
The dwarf nodded, put on his helmet — and began to disappear. First his hands, then his body, then his head. A second later, only empty air remained where he had stood.
Kaelan blinked. Then blinked again.
“He… he…”
“Come back,” Amanda ordered.
Torglin reappeared, grinning into his beard.
“Like the trick?” he asked. “Expensive as hell, I’ll tell you that. Mithril isn’t exactly easy to find these days.”
“Shut up, Torglin,” Amanda said wearily.
“Shutting up,” the dwarf raised his hands and took a step back.
Kaelan stared at him, then back at Amanda.
“So that’s how you did it,” he said. “People thought you were cutting enemies down from a distance with a wave of your sword. But in reality…”
“In reality, Torglin and Leo would approach with invisible blades and do the real work,” Amanda finished. “I just waved my fingers and made a scary face.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, girl,” the dwarf grumbled. “You can cut throats just fine. But yes, we handled most of the dirty work.”
Kaelan sank back onto the bench. His face was as white as chalk.
“All this time,” he whispered. “Your entire legend… it was fake?”
“Not entirely,” Amanda said. “I really did kill. With my own hands. But not by waving a sword from afar. The normal way — up close, with a blade, risking my own neck.”
She looked down at her hands.
“And the legend… the legend was necessary to survive. So people would fear me. So no one would question me too closely. So I could look for you without drawing too much attention.”
“And you found me,” Kaelan said quietly.
“Yes.”
He was silent for a long time. Then he shook his head.
“You… you’re not the person you used to be.”
“No,” Amanda agreed. “I’m not.”
“And you’re not going back to Aichenwald,” he said. “I can see it. You don’t want to return to your prince.”
“I do,” Amanda said. “And I don’t. It’s complicated, brother.”
“Then why did you suggest going there during the council?”
“To survive,” Amanda answered simply. “We have no resources. No proper weapons. No allies. Randel has all of that. I thought… I thought I could ask him for help. Not for myself. For all of you.”
Kaelan stared at her.
“You’re willing to beg help from the man you ran away from?”
“Yes,” she said. “Because here is my family. There… there was only work and lies.”
“Did you love him?”
Amanda froze.
“Yes,” she answered honestly. “I thought I did. But when I had to choose between him and you… I chose you.”
Kaelan covered his face with his hands.
“I don’t know what to do with all this,” he said hoarsely. “You’re my sister. But you’re also a stranger. You’re a woman I don’t know. And you’ve been lying to everyone for so long that I can’t tell anymore where the truth ends and the lies begin.”
“I never lied to you,” Amanda said. “Not once. I didn’t tell you everything — yes. But I never lied.”
“And now?” He lifted his head. “Are you telling the truth now?”
“All of it,” Amanda said. “As much as I know.”
He looked at her for a long moment. Then his gaze shifted to Torglin and Leo, who stood silently on either side, watchful and alert.
“And they…” he said. “They knew? This whole time?”
“Yes,” Amanda nodded. “They’ve been with me from the very beginning. Torglin is an old friend. Leo is my bodyguard. They’ve risked their lives for me. And they would for you too, if needed.”
Kaelan looked at the dwarf.
“You… you’re a dwarf?” he asked.
“Sharp eyes, lad,” Torglin chuckled. “Yes, a dwarf. From the under-mountain halls. But that’s a long story.”
“We have time,” Kaelan said.
“No,” Amanda shook her head. “Not now. Right now we need to decide what to do next.”
Kaelan nodded.
“What do you suggest?”
“We leave,” Amanda said. “Into the forests. Into the mountains. Somewhere the khan can’t reach us. We can’t win in open battle. But we can survive. And while we survive — we look for weak points. We turn chieftains to our side. We wait until the Empire gets distracted.”
“And if they don’t get distracted?”
“Then we go further north,” Amanda replied. “Away from both the khan and the Empire. Into the wild lands. We start a new life.”
Kaelan looked at her.
“You’re ready to abandon everything we’ve fought for? The city? The walls? The people?”
“I’m ready to abandon anything that will get us killed if we stay,” Amanda said. “The walls won’t save us from another thirty thousand. And the people who believe in us deserve a chance to live.”
Kaelan fell silent.