Soldiers opened fire, firmly standing their ground against the raging storm of the aethril, covering each other when they needed to reload. They hoped that they would eventually wear down the cover that the destruction provided for Thillan, Asher and Kamille. The three of them crouched behind fallen debris, holding rifles from unfortunate soldiers that were in the way of the destruction, and surrounded by other citizens that had picked up weapons and joined them in the fight. They only shot at knees, arms, and anywhere else that wouldn’t lead to death, but the citizens that fought beside them didn’t care whether the enemy lived or died.

  They were bitter, and rightfully so.

  “Keep pushing!” Asher shouted as they peaked around the debris and continued to open fire. There were women and children hiding farther back, but there were still more citizens that weren’t dead, trapped in the buildings behind the enemy line. They needed to fight for them. They needed to get as many survivors as possible. They needed to tell the people how the empire descended down upon them when the aethrils attacked, and offered them up like sacrifices.

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  In that moment, the three of them were the heroes they fought their whole lives to be. They pushed back the empire, showed that the tyrants could be beaten. They showed that the ones who stuck to oppressive traditions didn’t have the power they thought they did, and that skin colors and statuses didn’t determine who got to be the good ones in this historic moment.

  Kamille knew that Ayela was giving that witch absolute hell, and she didn’t care if Tallie made it out alive or not – she just hoped that they kicked her ass to the deepest pits of hell that she belonged in. In that moment, they were the ones fighting for the people.

  “Let’s get them!” She screamed, standing to her feet and opening fire. The shouts of the others joined her voice, and their line erupted in gunfire against the soldiers, taking them out in rows. Their confidence was boosted, and they emerged from behind their cover. They pushed forward, filling the skies with thunderous war cries louder than the storm could ever hope to match, and when the soldiers stopped shooting and started running, they charged after them in the heat of emotion and newfound energy.

  The three of them were there in the front, leading the charge and showing that the darklings weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty once in a while. It was a scene to be told in the epics of history, and Kamille told herself she would never back down from an oppressor or a fight ever again if they survived that moment. She would let this victory fuel her…

  …When she led a charge that sent the empire running for their lives.