Praetorian Rising, стр. 88

The cannon fire that had momentarily ceased picked up its cadence and Vesyon snapped back into his surroundings with a roar of frustration. His heart crumbled beneath his chest plate, a fierce stab of desolation crashing into him with a force he hadn't felt since losing Jesabelle.

Phillip placed a slick, blood-soaked hand on the back of Vesyon's neck and leaned into him, his legs barely able to hold him upright. "She's gone," Phillip repeated. "And I will be too, Captain. Please, I need you to stay with me here."

Vesyon nodded, uncertain of what else to do. He had to continue, he had to fight back—Vesyon would slowly and methodically kill LeMarc. The satisfaction of watching him perish would be the only salve to the heartache and anger surging through his body.

"Captain?" one of the Rogues screamed into his ear.

Vesyon looked at the brown-haired soldier, his chocolate eyes wide with sharp attention. The young man didn't seem afraid or worried, only determined to continue with the orders he'd been given.

"Yes?" Vesyon replied, his stare returning to the bursting explosions within the village.

"The General has given me orders to take the remaining men and head out. We are to relocate to White Wall, sir."

Vesyon nodded his entire body numb.

"Are you coming with us, Captain?" The Rogue screamed impatiently.

Vesyon turned to see Charlie administering another injection of antidote into Phillip's chest. Phillip had a single pack left, and once the venom finished its course through Phillip's veins there would be no stopping the outcome. Staying behind would do nothing to help the rebel cause; Romeo was gone and so was Camille.

"Head out with the remaining Rogues," Vesyon said to the young man eager to move, "I will catch up with you as soon as I can." The young man wavered for a mere moment, his eyes flitting to the General before nodding agreement to Vesyon's orders.

Vesyon should leave—he knew he should—but following through with the logical plan felt impossible. His boots remained glued to the spot, staring at the village square and begging to see her face just one last time.

***

She felt the soft tufts of Neeko's fur against her forearm, his body limp and unmoving. Theo had landed a few yards away, his hunched form groaning in pain. Another blast rang out on the opposite side of Romeo Village, causing her to duck her head, pressing her body over Neeko's. Constant, ringing deafness clouded her head like wads of cotton had been shoved into her ear cavity.

Fire and stone catapulted through the sky, raining debris and chunks of rock throughout the village square around them. She felt the blazing heat of fire close to her skin, almost as though her skin were melting like beeswax off her bones.

Hunching over the lifeless cat’s body, Camille cradled his tiny head in her hands. "Neeko?" Camille asked, her voice a stuttering quiver. She felt the lax give of flesh beneath his blood-soaked fur, and her heart almost stopped. Her hand came away red and sticky; his head was bleeding profusely. "Neeko, please stay with me. Please don't go!"

Theo twitched upright, and Camille’s head swam viciously as she turned to assess his wounds. He swore loudly, a grunting objection to the apparent pains in his head. Theo clutched the backside of his skull, wincing as he touched the swell of his hairline. He crawled on his hands and knees across the desecrated ground, his eyes never leaving hers. Shrapnel had split his cheek with a jagged line, and he had gashes along his neck and the back of his scalp, but he was breathing. He was alive.

"You all right?" he said brokenly, his voice box raspy and tight.

"Yeah," Camille replied, her words surprisingly strong despite the bitter smoke filling her lungs. "Neeko's not."

She bent to gather the small animal to her chest before Theo pulled himself up and leaned down to help her to her feet. With an arm around her waist, he led them through the rubble to the outskirts of the village.

"We need to move faster!" Theo said as they jogged, dodging smoking ruins and fallen Chimera. "This way!"

Another blast shot into the sky as they crossed into the dense grass surrounding the village. Camille glanced back to where the final soldier in chains had been, a man unwaveringly calm in the face of death. His body, still shackled to the wall, was now smoldering ash.

Anger flooded into her bloodstream, and her resulting cry was so savage it sounded more bestial than Asperian. She didn't care what it took to defeat the High King; she wouldn't let him do this again. Even if she died in the process, she was going to fight for Aspera—to fight for their freedom as much as her own.

Cannon fire zoomed loudly in the distance, but the clinking sounds of swords had died off almost entirely. The battle was over, yet neither side had won.

Glancing down at the tiny, fluffy ball in her arms, Camille began to understand why Vesyon had been so focused on keeping her away from the frontlines of battle. She loved Neeko; he'd been her only companion through many lonely days living in Sierra Village, and seeing him so lifeless in her arms made her insides squirm with molten frustration.

"Do you think they evacuated?" She asked as a cannonball zipped over their heads into the village grounds at their back.

"Yes, we need to get out of here."

Camille crunched through the tufts of dead grass, hand on her sword as she watched the shapes of Chimera move toward them in the distance. "We can't go that way!"

"No, we need to—" Theo stopped suddenly at the sound of Neeko mewling in her arms. His furry head swayed upward as though waking from a drug-induced sleep. Bright, yellowed eyes, glassy from the haze of confusion, blinked up at her face but didn't appear to see her at all.

"Hi little guy," she murmured in a rush of relief, looking down into his blood-slicked features. Neeko