Impossible to Love (Book 1 of The Starlite Heart)

The Battle of Xeo

Sophie was disappointed with the battle. She had been thwarted even an inkling of the glamour that she had always yearned from a war. The starlite king Suffle had led them towards an easy victory at Fort Plier- the highest mountain peak in the area. Sophie did not stand out; she had no claim on fame, nor any stories to tell.

King Suffle however, had a consolation prize for her. She was to deliver the news if their victory to the Chief Commander Neal. He was camped at Xeo with one of the human troops. Sophie tied her shoelaces and started the hour-long journey.

On reaching Xeo, all her glee vanished. The gloomy human faces told her that the position at Xeo was not as pretty as at Fort Plier. She had assumed being on higher grounds would have given them an advantage, but the case seemed to be contrary.

Unlike the walls at Fort Plier, there was nothing protecting them from the weather at Xeo. The camp had cloth tents and the soldiers were visibly cold. There was nothing but the snowy slopes as far as eyes would go. The humans wore grey uniforms with heavy metallic armour. Sophie felt it to be a poor choice in the snow-covered mountains. She, like all other starlite soldiers, was wearing a white fur uniform. The only armour she wore was the helmet that protected her favourite body part.

Sophie gave her name and office to the soldier guarding Neal's tent. She was let in immediately. Almost everybody was surrounding a table invisible to her, with their shoulders hunched and eyes focused on the centre.

"We are outnumbered," a blonde blob of hair said. The fear was apparent in his quivering voice.

Another one chimed in, "Our scouts said that the enemy could be here in less than an hour."

"We'll think of something," a composed voice said. "I believe we have some good news." Sophie couldn't see him, but she instinctively knew that his eyes aimed towards her.

The group dispersed a little and the owner of the voice became visible to Sophie. She walked forward and greeted Neal in the starlite fashion, by crossing her fluttering palms on her chest. He looked at her, took a deep breath and asked, "Fort Plier?"

"We have captured it. Sir," Sophie said looking at her feet. "The enemy is either dead or captured. Sir."

The nervousness in her voice was easy to comprehend. Most starlites felt uneasy around humans. And this was no common man. This was the crown prince, the Chief Commander of all forces. She had seen his tall, thick-necked figure in the past during some parade or the other. However, it was her debut in front of those almond eyes embedded in the diamond-shaped face.

"Splendid," he said but did not look the part. He looked tired. His eyes had bags underneath, his hair was matted and the stubble was not helping his looks. "We need more people here," he said, more to himself than to her, and everybody nodded in agreement.

"Fly right now and send as many starlites as can be spared," Neal ordered her and added a 'thank you' as an afterthought.

Sophie departed immediately. Just as she had taken altitude, she heard an ear-deafening blast from the campsite. When she looked down she saw smoke coming from the campsite. She returned. To her utter horror, the camp had turned into a pit of fire. There was nothing of the camp that she could see which was not engulfed in flames.

Sophie hovered around the fire, trying to find a way in. There was no way she could douse it herself. The smell of the fire burned her nose. She could smell wood, cloth, and a strange chemical, but the most devastating was the smell of burning flesh.