𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐚 {𝐀 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜} [2] ✔️

26. PRE-BATTLE BONFIRE

AS THE SNOWFLAKES DANCED AROUND US, we set up camp in the heart of the woods. The nomads stood still, their eyes fixed on Jacob as he gathered some wood from the fallen trees and dropped it on the ground. I helped him out by brushing off the snow that clung to the logs.

As I stood up, my eyes caught Ben's index finger, which was now ablaze with a tiny flame. I smirked at him, but my amusement turned to awe as his whole hand burst into a fiery inferno, which he then hurled into the woods.

The flames rose high, casting a warm yellow-orange glow that illuminated the cold winter night. I knew that fire could be dangerous, but at that moment, I couldn't help but admire its beauty.

"That's what I'm talkin' about," Jacob said, grinning at Ben as he settled onto a log. "A little pre-battle bonfire. Time to tell war stories."

I sat down beside Jacob, and he looked across the fire at the other vampires, who stood motionless. Zafrina and Senna held hands, their eyes locked in a silent conversation. Perhaps they were sharing visions to prepare for the impending battle.

"Or just standing there like frickin' statues," Jacob quipped, making Ben chuckle.

I let out a sigh. "We could entertain ourselves while we wait," I suggested.

"Like what?" Ben asked.

Before I could answer, Garrett appeared out of nowhere and plopped down beside us. "Name any American battle," he challenged us. "I was there."

My mind drew a blank. American history was never my strong suit. But Jacob came to the rescue. "Little Bighorn," he said confidently.

Little Bighorn? I racked my brain, trying to recall what that was. Had I learned about it in school? Or was it something I had missed?

"I came this close to biting Custer," Garrett answered, his finger and thumb barely touching each other. "But the Indians got him first."

Just then, Kate spun in and sat on Garrett's knee.

"Try Oleg's assault on Constantinople," Kate added. "He didn't win that one on his own."

"If you're talking battles," I heard Liam speaking and his coven sat next to him. "You're talking about the Eleven Years' war. No one does rebellion like the Irish."

"You lost the Eleven Years' war," Garrett commented.

"Aye. But it was one hell of a rebellion."

"Woah, okay," I said. "I seriously need to know. What happened at Little Bighorn and the Eleven Years' war?"

"It marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War," Jacob explained. "The demise of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty."

"The Eleven Years' war was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland," Siobhan then explained. "All ruled by Charles the First."

A few other vampires - the rest of the Denali and Peter and Charlotte - started to come over to the campfire.

"It has changed Ireland forever," she continued. "The long-term causes of the war were colonisation and religious conflict there but the short-term cause was the destabilisation of English politics. The rebellion saw massacres of both Protestants and Catholic civilians."

"Speak not of that name," Joseph's voice boomed across the room, his eyes flashing with anger. I watched as he strode towards us, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Oliver Cromwell was a tyrant, a despot who brought nothing but misery and destruction to our land."