Page 1 of Echoes of War

Riley

Everything was lost. Our safe place, our haven, our place of peace, was no more.

I had yet to receive word from Amaia. The reality of our situation was my sister would not be returning for some time. My family that I had grown to love were gone, and the fate of our home was up to me. Amaia, Reina, Tomoe, and Alexiares would do what they could from Duluth, and Prescott and I would do our best to hold down the fort.

Seth would meet his own fate, soon enough. The universe did not reward evil. I had to believe that. Had to have faith in something larger, or what else was any of this for?

If we played our cards right, and the stars aligned in our favor, then we’d have a fighting chance of coming out of this with at least half of our people alive. This family of mine was full ofsacrificial lambs. The life we had created was worth the risk. Amaia would always be my priority, but I could not protect her from here.

So I would focus on protecting the place and people she loved the most—The Compound.

“Your stance needs to remain adaptive, Eleanor. Leave your neck exposed, and you die.”

We were in The Pit practicing among others. It’d been that way a lot lately, everyone using most of their spare time to brush up on their skills. Civilians and soldiers alike, doing their best to stay ready. Our people didn’t have the luxury of getting ready anymore. It was stay ready or be caught off guard when they try to take down our walls,again. Wrong place at the wrong time and being surprised could mean your death.

Elie’s golden curls bounced as she weaved out of my reach. “It’s Elie, and you know that,” she said, her endurance waning.

I’d come to find I had another sister to look out for, to take under my protection. After Amaia left, Elie had appeared lost, on edge. Nervous. And nervous energy was never good.

Amaia had spent a lot of time wrestling with the idea of Elie receiving substantial training. She’d been dead set on keeping her from being involved with her troops, discouraging her aspirations of being a soldier. Doing her best to keep Elie from becomingher. The way Amaia saw things, sixteen was far too young to understand what being a soldier meant, what doing the job consisted of. In Elie’s best interest, Amaia had kept her away from everything except the basics.

I’d understood, but this wasn’t The Before. The time for hand-holding was over. Not that I’d ever believed in that anyway. It was a point of contention for us in the past, but I figured Amaia would forgive me for training her if it meant Elie stayed alive.

Sure, I’d been training her physically, mentally. But I’d also respected Amaia’s decisions. Decided to delegate her specialty in a way that gave the perception that she was involved, but kept heraway from danger. I’d chosen to challenge her Tinkerer gene, using her to help build weapons that could be beneficial. And damn, did she have a knack for explosives.

Elie glanced down at her feet, checking her stance. I grabbed her fist before she had the chance to throw a successful jab, taking advantage of the hesitation. The weakness.

“In here”—I swung my right arm, the movement purposely slow enough for her to predict—“it’s Eleanor. I am your teacher, not your friend. You know what Amaia once told me? That invisible feeling? In your gut? That’s your primal instinct keeping you alive. That is the most innate survival tool us humans have. Follow that feeling. Fear is a gift. Always trust your gut.”

I flipped her on her back, careful to avoid her head slamming into the ground but rough enough to prove my point. “Because had you listened to yours, you wouldn’t be in this position right now.”

Brown eyes stared up at me, tears welling up at the mention of Amaia. I’d told her the truth of the betrayal. The rest of The Compound had yet to be made aware. Prescott, The Council, and I had discussed it for hours. Ultimately, determining that without the general here, the revelation of Seth’s act of terrorism would be the stick that broke the dam.

Elie had been furious. In her time around Jax and Amaia, she’d grown familiar with Seth too. Had at least trusted him, and he’d betrayed her by failing her favorite person.

She smacked my hand away. “Don’t baby me, I can stand on my own. Again.”

Her eyes were hard, focused, though the slack in her posture gave her away. She needed rest, yet here she was, ready to go. Relentless when it came to a fight. A soldier first, a person second. Except she wasn’t a soldier, she was a kid, I reminded myself, promising not to cross thatbarrier again.

“You two are so alike, it’s terrifying.” I chuckled, grabbing her by the shoulder and guiding her toward a bench on the outer part of The Pit. “Take a breath. Get some water.”

“Is there time to take a breath and get water in the middle of a battlefield, Riley?”

My eyes narrowed, glaring in her direction. She ducked her head, turning to follow directions. Elie plopped down onto the bench with a huff, rolling her eyes.

Over the course of the last few weeks, there'd been an attack at our gate twice. Our borders had known no peace, but we’d held steady. For now. I wasn’t sure how much longer our soldiers could hold on. Every morning, our gates were greeted with flocks of people from beyond the walls across Monterey territory. The reason they arrived varied. Some came in search of sanctuary and safety, others were determined to have a base location to put up a fight. Thankfully, with Seth’s departing words, I’d known to debrief Prescott without having to wait on hearing back from Amaia. Her instructions for the worst-case scenario had been vague, but enough to work with in getting things ramped up back home.

It was no longer a secret that war was headed our way. On our doorstep, one knock away. Under normal circumstances, I’d welcome any newcomers with open arms. The more bodies, the more work that would be done, the more solid of a settlement we’d become. Now though, they were just extra untrained bodies that would be in the way. More bodies that needed protection.

Elie gulped down her last sip of water, wiping her mouth and kicking her feet, watching the others sparring around us. The smell of sweat and tangy scent of blood filled the air as she sprang to her feet. I laughed at her attempt to catch me off guard. She lowered into position, a smirk passed over her lips, her throwing knife now in hand. Elie tilted her head, challenging me to take it from her.

Amaia had gifted it to her, leaving it at her doorstep the morning she’d left for Duluth. She’d sought me out right after, demandingI teach her how to use it, stating that if I didn’t help her, she’d simply have to learn herself. The knife never left her side, her most prized possession.

“Let’s do knives next,” she teased.

I scoffed. This kid was a piece of work, truly. Saying nothing, I turned on my heels, leading the way toward one of the target rooms in the underground portion of The Pit.

Shrill screams rang out in the direction of the North Gate.Not again. Elie glanced toward me, eyes glimmering with mischief.

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