To take Galenor and leave this life far, far behind.
“What is happening?” I innocently asked, shifting my attention from one side of the desk to the other to observe the two men.
“Nothing of importance,” Milosh replied with a harsh tone while Valeyan turned to me and started ordering his offences.
“What is happening is that even though we are working towards a peaceful future, we travel to find out that one of our nobles was held captive under this very roof and, even after he was executed, we are not allowed to see his body and perform the rites,” he snapped his hand on the desk for emphasis, redirecting his attention back to Milosh.
“As I already advised,” the general’s voice turned thick, fully aware of the uncomfortable situation he was trapping me in, “an escort is not available at this moment to accompany you to the border. We expect a convoy to return in three days, after which you are free to perform the appropriate rites.”
Valeyan’s face turned grave, and he risked a shift of his head to gaze at me, his eyes widening for a second as if to announce we were screwed. The potion he gave Galenor wouldn’t last that long, which meant that the fae would wake up still under the supervision of the cameras or in a dark room somewhere, where we had absolutely no control over his escape.
“Is it just the body that needs to be transported to the border?” I kept my face blank, allowing a part of my regret to seep through so the guilt became recognisable on my face.
Valeyan nodded, and by Milosh’s furrowed brows, he must have already known what I was about to offer.
“No,” he replied before my mouth opened. “I will not allow a newly appointed senior member of my unit to travel unaccompanied with unknown fae officers,” the general snorted.
“Very well,” Valeyan replied and made a show of standing and towering over the desk, his movement regal and his stance imposing. “My name is Valeyan Brebod, I am the commander of the Northern Legion of the Wind Kingdom, and I am the head of the Annual Convoy of Peace. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Major Harrow.” he bent at the waist in my direction. Then, as if his words would sort out the situation, he turned back to Milosh. “How about now?”
“As I said, commander,” Milosh pressed his words, becoming tired and pissed off. “An escort is not available.”
“General,” I stopped him. “I believe my new rank comes with a duty towards the Wind Realm. And to the male I…cared about,” I bit my tongue to stop the word ‘love’ coming out in front of an insensitive old man. “If you would allow me this, I would take it as payment for my ascent in rank.”
I knew I had captured his attention. “You would ask for this instead of the cabin you’ve been rambling about for years?” His eyes turned into slits, surprised and offended by my words. Seeing how I cared more about a faerie I knew for three weeks than a dream that spent almost two decades in the making.
I dipped my chin and gained myself a heavy sigh from my superior officer.
“You have forty-eight hours to report back, major.”
Taking the win, both Valeyan and I headed towards the door but before I opened it, I turned to the decrepit old man in the chair.
“General Milosh,” I captured back his attention. He looked so tired and sickly, I doubted he would last more than a few years, but he seemed to be determined to become one of those officers who occupied their rank until the very end. Unable to let go of the ghosts of their dreams. “Thank you, sir,” I dipped my chin, the only goodbye I could say to the only authority figure I had in the past twenty-years.
At five thirty, with a new official rank and a tonne of guilt hanging around my shoulders, I met the Wind delegation in the unit parking lot. They had to pass various security measures which lasted over an hour, so I took the opportunity to take one last trip around the unit, sensing that, one way or another, this would be the last time I would walk the hallways.
I strolled through memories and realised that even though I had called this place my home for the past two decades, it was nothing of the sort. I did not have friends that I could say my goodbyes to, apart from Michael, the only other outsider in this part of the unit. I walked around the training rings, the stables, the menagerie, remembering days and nights throughout my life, where these walls seemed the only refuge I had. But they were just that, walls. Layered bricks covered in tainted yellow that never could become a home.
I felt more at home these three weeks with Galenor in a small bedroom and a tiny kitchen than I had since my arrival in the military and none of the dreams I had forced myself to draw managed to push back my determination. My desire to escape and start a new life.
With him.
“Are we ready?” I asked in the form of a greeting while I made my way down the stairs and into the parking lot, where four guards scanned a silver crew van with tinted windows. The back doors were opened, and one guard was inside, pushing in a white body bag.
I bit my tongue and tensed my shoulders at the sight of it, forcing my body to remain still and planting my legs firmly on the soil beneath my boots, struggling to keep myself from passing out.
Valeyan’s eyes darted to me for a mere moment before returning to the array of documents he had to present to the chief guard, showing various signatures and stamps, which I assumed, allowed us to leave the unit.
“Are we ready?” I asked again, forcing my voice even, uncaring. As if the man I loved wasn’t shoved in a plastic bag. As if my hands weren’t the ones who drove the decisive blow. As if the new epaulettes that got delivered to my room that night, carrying my new rank, had been worth the slaughter of an innocent.
The guard lifted his attention to me and for the first time, dipped his chin in greeting. “Almost ready, Major Harrow.”
That was it, that’s all it took. An extra star on my shoulder to merit the respect of men who kicked me, mocked me and made me cry myself to sleep night after night. I didn’t know the name of this particular guard, but he had been in one of the upper classes, one of the group of boys who had always taken pleasure in kicking our lunch trays or spitting in our food. Now he found himself bowing to me and listening to the orders of the very girl he spat on.
“How long?” I pressed, my features annoyed that I was made to wait.
“Two minutes at the most, major,” the man dipped his chin again and I nodded, leaving him to complete the checks on Valeyan’s documents while I headed towards the van.
My heart jolted, palpitations increased severely, making me feel like blood was about to gush down my face instead of tears. Galenor was in that bag, and I needed to get him out.
