The Lion’s ears twitched as he listeo the… the… He had never seen anything like what just stood on his nose. She smelled like human and like animal at the same time, and she talked so softly to the little box in her hands. “Don’t worry Helenna. You should retreat, that city is not worth your life.” Then she would listen to a reply. Those replies were frantid filled with tears at the start. Now, they were mere sniffles, as if it was a cub oher side that had been g for its mother. “Really Helenna, don’t cry. It’ll be fine.” It was good whealked, trating on the sound of her words allowed the Lion to ighe Jungle’s screaming threatening to split his head.

  The woman rolled her eyes at whatever the little device replied. “Helenna.” She growled harder this time. “You’re a Goddess. We are busy here. We will get to you as soon as possible. But until then, you’re on your own.” And then she made her tone softer. “Kassie always says this, the wait’s the worst part.” She ughed.

  “Alright, see you ter,” she said finally, l the devid turning her full attention to the Lion. His golden eyes were enormous, rge enough to swallow her whole if he wished—but there wasn’t a trace of fear in her st. Instead, she radiated a calm sunshihat split storms, or a balm against the Jungle’s maddened screams threatening to split his skull.

  Somehow though, through whatever crazed magics the woman was using, she did uand. “You want to talk?” The Lion purred again. He did not, he only wao listen. Her voice was sweet. “Oh.” The woman sat down and started rubbing the Lion’s nose. “Well then I’ll you about myself. How about that?” She didn’t wait for the Lion to purr a reply as she stood up, pnted her fists on her hips, and procimed her name. “I am Fer! And I am the Goddess of Beasthood!”

  The Lion blinked slowly, his tail flig zily behind him. What a lovely little Goddess indeed.

  “We…” Kassandora raised an eyebrow at the two men who had drawn rifles oheir voices lost all strength and their arms were shaking. “We ot allow you to pass.” The taller man said, his voice quaking. Kassandora smiled, crossed her arms and turned back to show off her men to Essa.

  “See that?” Kassandora said, her voice thick with smug pride. “You know you have an eye for mehey stand up to Divines.” Essa did not reply verbally, but her eyes jealously running in disbelief over the two humans dressed in biforms said everything. Kassandora knew before, but in positions like this, when she was dealing with Divines so much more powerful than herself, it was satisfying to rub things in. And she knew Essa could take it too. There was no one who despised magis more than Essa.

  Kassandora turned and looked down the wooden hallways of tral Requisitions. Iniri had grown them, so each hallway was Divine sized. Whereas Kassandora was too big in most pces, here, it was the two humans that were too small. “I am Goddess Kassandora, Of War. Here is the proof.” Kassandora tapped into War’s Orchestra, she felt the men’s strength flow into her, she saw herself through her eyes, she let them see themselves through hers. Essa stood silently in the corridor, the only one of the four to not hear the slow drums that were Kassandora’s power.

  The Orchestra sted for a mere few notes, a sed, if not two. Immediately after it ceased, the two men stood up straight, saluted and slung their rifles over their backs once again. The taller one promptly started expining. “ologize profusely Goddess Kassandora. We…” He took a breath. “The orders were no one is to pass with the prisoner, even if they are Divine. Shapeshifters were also mentioned so we…”

  Kassandora smiled and waved her hand to stop the man’s stammering. “Do not worry, I am impressed you stood up to me.” Men always liked praise, especially if it was rare. But more than praise, men liked rewards. Rewards had to be real things, not sweets. Children got sweets food behaviour and if there was ohing men hated, it was being treated like children. “You expect promotions by the end of the week.” Both men tried to tain their smiles, both men failed as Kassandora walked past with Essa trailing to her side.

  One in a dirty HAUPT uniformed, torn in pces from the expedition underground when Kassandora had donned her armour, then tinged red with the red Kirinyaan soil. The other in a pristine blue dress that only a prisoner of luxury could achieve. “Are you actually going to promote them?” Essa asked.

  “I’ll send strong reendations.” That was an assured promotion. Kassandora could send nothing but a name and that would be enough to achieve a better rank.

  “Why?”

  “Hoeople do you knoill stand up to me like that?” Kassandora asked as they turned a er a dow another windi of stairs. All wooden, grown into position by Iniri’s power rather than built. On the inside of the spiral was ahis one made of steps only a third the size. For the mortals who worked here so that they didn’t have to cmber up the staircase for Divines.

  “Mmh.” Essa said. “I don’t hahings that loosely.” Kassandora took the lead as they headed downwards. More people walked past them, muards and servants running around with papers. ow was serving as a supply base. Whereas ammunition was no longer being delivered here, so much had been built up during the White Pantheon’s first invasion that the ste was still beiied. Three more times they were stopped, but by the time they had made it outside, they were simply sauntering through CR.

  “That’s our ride.” Kassandora said as she poio Raptor One and Two. Massive bck jets with huge blocky engines built into the chassis and wings rather than fixed to them, their tips painted yellow and with red eyes as if they really were the birds of prey that their names professed them to be. Captains Dougs and Erik were sat on two crates, drinking coffee and having a smoke as they watched the engineers fill up their pnes.

  Some eighty or so sorcerers were lied separated into their own teams. Anassa had awakened a few more after the White Pantheon invasion cluded, but it hadn’t been a lot. The four children who were the best at sorcery were still a long way off from being able to awaken others themselves. Kassandora stopped, Essa stopped with her. “That’s them?” Essa asked.

  “That’s hty sorcerers. There were a hundred before the invasion started.”

  “And is there an anisation?” Essa asked. Should Kassandora expin? Essa would probably work it out anyway, even from here, it was obvious that there was a hierarchy.

  “Eliza’s team.” Kassandora poio the shortest girl with brown hair. Her team of twenty was sitting on the ground, whisperiween themselves as Eliza sat on a crate and watched Essa and Kassandora. “Lyca’s.” Twenty men in torn clothes, each man lean and muscled. They were separated into groups and talked loudly. Lyca was talking and ughing with a few of his owoo. “Edmonton’s.” Twenty who stood at soldierly attention. “Fleur’s.” Twenty who stood at terrified attention, not moving so much as a muscle.

  “That’s it?”

  “The four I mentioned by name are the only ones I would rank as a sorcerer Essa.” Kassandora expined. “Everyone ieams would be a trainee by Great War standards.” Essa stretched her hands.

  “They don’t need knowledge, they just o know how to une. I’ll hahe rest.” The Goddess of Magic said. Kassandora made a stupid smile. She didn’t feel particurly bad about it, she simply khat a stupid smile like that would lessen the blow of just how thhly g they were in magis and sorcerers. Essa saw the smile. She made an unimpressed face, her eyebrows falling just like her hands. “They don’t know how to une.”

  “You know how Anassa teaches sorcerers.”

  “She doesn’t.” Essa snapped back quickly.

  “Well.” Kassandora had no issue with pying the fool. If Essa got mad, then it would only add fuel to her drive to succeed. “To each their own.”

  “Would you say there’s anyone who knows War better than you?” Essa asked.

  What a stupid question. Someone who was more revolutionary in warfare than Kassandora? That simply did. “Should I even bother to ahat Essa?”

  “You’re the Goddess of War, I’m the Goddess of Magic. If I say Anassa doesn’t teach, she doesn’t teach.” Essa decred and sighed as she looked over the sorcerers again. Fleur’s had turo face the two Goddesses as if they were a ptoon of soldiers standing at attention. “It’s just them?”

  “It’s just them.” Kassandora replied.

  “Not a lot.” Essa said dryly.

  “Is that a problem for you?”

  “Do you know hoeople Worldbreak themselves?”

  “Throughout my life ht now?” Kassandora asked then answered her owion. “Throughout my life, about two dozen. Right now, it’s just you and Anassa.”

  “Anassa ’t do it.” Essa quickly added.

  The Goddess of War made her tone annoying and doubtful on purpose. “ she not?”

  “If you have Anassa on the list, then Olephia and Alsaria are on it too. Hell, add Alkom to it. Sceo as well.” Kassandave ion. Essa had always been like this. She needed someoerrible like Alsaria to smack her down or she would simply be the most unbearable smart-ass of a Goddess who had everything to prove.

  “Just you then.” Kassandora said ftly. Onassa came back, then Essa could once be handed off to the Goddess of Sorcery. These two were truly made for each other. “Sorcerers! Form ranks!” She shouted. Immediately, the sorcerers formed ranks. Even those who were sitting and chatting in Eliza’s team got into position so quickly as to make Kassandora’s soldiers blush. Fleur, Lyca, Edmonton and Eliza stood a step in front of their squads, and Kassandora waved them over.

  “I reise these four.” Essa said quietly.

  “They were students in Arcadia.” Kassandora said. “They probably know you.” The four ex-magis, now sorcerers came forwards. Eae dressed slightly differently, but eae fit to Anassa’s standards. Edmonton in a suit, it was torn in pces from bat. Ly a white shirt and brown shorts, as if he had been trekking through the jungle, but the clothes reeked of wealth and his belt buckle was adorned with gold. Eliza was dressed in a simir fashion, the only difference was that she wore a skirt instead of shorts. Fleur came in like a proper sorcerer, dht inspired by Anassa, in a dress that ended around her calves. Terrible, if she was Kassandora’s to and, then she would be forced to wear a potato sack for a day in order to learn how to dress properly.

  “Well well well.” Essa said before Kassandora could introduce them. “So you’re the four. Fleur Ambelee. Edmonton Weaver.” She said, looking at those two. “Lyca Myklos” She said. Eliza raised an eyebrow. “And your name?”

  “Eliza Grinhoff.” Eliza sounded embarrassed that Essa did not know her.

  “You all already know who I am.” Essa said.

  “Anassa is stu the Jungle.” Kassandora said louder. This was her mission. It was ohing to let Essa talk to them, it was ao let her take and of the situation. Essa backed off, for all her o prove her own intelligence, she did respoo hierarchy. Although mages usually did. “We are going to rescue her. You have beeed to rescue the Goddess who awakened sorcery within you. I’m not here to ask you whether you want to do it or not. I am the Goddess of War, Essa is the Goddess of Magic. You are simply going to do it. Uood?” Naming the titles was on purpose, it screamed an implication about what would happen if they refused.

  “Yes! Of course!” Edmonton said first. He pulled a salute, Anassa’s variety, with two fingers by the forehead, rather than Kassandora’s. Fleur, Lyd Eliza were all only a moment behind him. They did know how to pull one, she had to give them that.

  “I will now expiion Ashnds.” That sounded like a good name, although Kassandora had made it up moments before. “I will use my blessing you and the sorcerer-novices under your and. Then on Essa. The reins will then be handed off to Essa. Raptor One and Raptor Two will drop us at the Jungle’s Stomach, I know where it is.” Kassandora had been there once, and that was enough. “I will also be dropped off and need prote from yic as the pnes won’t fly the moment there’s any ash in the air. From that point, Essa will use all of you to el enough magic to destroy the Jungle in one blow.” Kassandora smiled at them as she finished. “Any questions?”

  “None.” Lyca said. The rest of the sorcerers looked excited too. That was good news. Sorcerers usually fared better when they felt good about themselves.

  “I have one.” Essa spoke up.

  “Oh?” Kassandora asked. “What?”

  Essa turo look mirthlessly at Kassandora. “So let me sum this up.” She said ftly. “You want me, who has never used your ability, to use it to guide these sorcerers through you into a perfeunion, when most of them don’t even know what a union is, in order to forough power through them to crack this ti open? And while doing that, we’ll also o keep you alive?” The four young sorcerer’s smiles dropped when Essa rephrased it like that.

  “ it not be done?”

  Essa’s tone was a satisfied, deep rumble. “Of course it be done.”