The Solis Oath

Chapter II

Jason didn't have a girlfriend. He had a fiancé.

Luna Siren had black hair and dark blue eyes that held small white points of light like stars, whether they shone in the sky or not. She had a somewhat thin face with an oddly fair complexion for a Dakenian. On this night, she wore a flowing silver dress that slightly obscured her slim built and compared beautifully with her long black hair and faintly glowing eyes.

She also happened to be the ruler of Dakenai.

The door behind her creaked, distracting her from her reverie. She had been waiting for Jason to return, but she hadn't seen him since his squad had returned. It was strange; he never refrained from visiting after a battle. It was almost as if...

No, that was impossible.

"Good evening, Ben," she said, turning around to face Jason's second-in-command. Her voice was naturally soft, but it tended to cut through other sounds, gentle but authoritative.

"Hello, Luna," he said quietly. He looked exhausted.

She waved a hand, and the door closed behind him. "It's a lovely night, but it's not your day to guard me. What's going on?"

Ben shuffled nervously for a moment, then spoke. "Luna, I'm here to deliver the report of today's battle."

"I assume it's more of the same," Luna guessed. "Go ahead, please."

Ever since a particularly bad battle some years ago, Dakenai and Ioka had managed to come to an agreement: Only send one squad into battle at a time, until one of them broke the pact. Since then, every report had been the same. The Iokan squad did something clever, and Jason worked around it and drove the squad back, evading any casualty on either side.

Ben seemed to be holding back some emotion, though. Something was off. "We clashed just off of Border Hill. We quickly gained the upper hand against their squad, but the Iokans are advancing more quickly with their innovation than we thought. They planted a pressure explosive that shattered Border Hill. Jason saved us and drove back their squad singlehandedly."

Luna raised an eyebrow. Border Hill being reduced to a crater was concerning, but everything else... "I don't see why this is so important, Ben; this is exactly what I expected. Why couldn't this wait until I read the written report?"

"Begging your pardon, Luna, but I'm not done..." Benjamin said quietly, his voice pained.

She sighed, softened her expression, and waved for him to continue.

"The only Iokan still standing in the end was their squadleader. Kasai told me his name is Kiro. He set a trap for Jason, another landmine." Ben swallowed. "He almost moved in time, but he... The explosion..."

Benjamin couldn't continue. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a burnt piece of orange cloth. He held it to Luna, who slowly reached out and took it. She stared at it in horror, the realization sinking in. The lights shining in her eyes formed together until her blue eyes had turned a shining silver. This couldn't be right, Jason was... unbeatable.

"I'm sorry," Ben said, his voice tight.

In the face of her incredible grief, Luna lost control over her power. A white light filled the balcony, and Ben was thrown against the door, where he slumped to the ground. Luna flinched; she hadn't lost control that badly since...

Clutching his shoulder where he'd hit it, Ben looked up into her eyes. Tears streaked his face; Luna hadn't even noticed until now. "I understand, Luna; I really do. He was my best friend. Quentin had to hold me back, just in case there were more mines. We can't afford to lose it, Luna. Not if we want to avenge him right."

Luna closed her eyes, desperately pushing her power under control. Her eyes faded back to blue. "Benjamin, send a message to every scout and spy we have in Ioka. Request every bit of information on the Iokan Border Guard, especially the squadleader Kiro. He made a grave mistake in killing my fiancé, and heaven willing, he will be avenged."

"Of course," Ben said, standing up and saluting. "I'll get you any useful information as soon as I can."

Luna watching him leave, noticing that he had a faint limp after striking his back on the wall. She closed her eyes. Mother, Benjamin, Jason, Father...

Why did everyone who got too close to her always get hurt...?