-BOOOM!!

The sound of collision rang strongly splitting through the air.

Trees shook. Monstrous Birds scattered in panicked waves. The ground trembled with the aftershocks of sheer power meeting at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible.

Three figures blurred through the endless green expanse of Xenithia’s forest, though calling it a blur was generous. They moved faster than that, faster than the eye could comfortably track, weaving between and above the ancient trees in patterns that looked almost choreographed except for the very real destruction trailing in their wake.

Two against one. Always two against one.

Lisandra and Alphonse had formed an instinctive, wordless partnership over the years of sparring, moving in coordinated strikes that would have overwhelmed most opponents through sheer combined pressure.

And yet Amael intercepted them. Every time. Every angle. Every clever feint and genuine attack alike, he read them, countered them, turned them back with the movements of someone who was several steps ahead and content to let them catch up in their own time.

Lisandra shot forward with explosive speed, her rapier igniting as she moved, dark blue flames wrapping around the blade with hungry intensity, superheating the air until it shimmered and distorted. She swung in a wide arc that sent a massive wave of that blue fire roaring toward Amael like a living thing, incinerating everything in its path.

Amael’s response was clean and fast. His silver sword came down in a single motion, the blade cutting straight through the center of the flame wave and splitting it cleanly in half. The two halves peeled away from him harmlessly, scorching the trees to either side but leaving him untouched in the gap between.

Before the flames had even finished dissipating, the sound of crackling mana announced Alphonse’s arrival.

Golden lightning wrapped around her as she materialized directly behind him, her approach masked by Lisandra’s attack, her long golden sword already mid-swing toward his exposed back—

But Amael vanished.

Alphonse’s eyes went wide, her blade cutting through empty air where he’d been standing a fraction of a second ago. Her momentum carried her forward past the space he’d occupied, and she twisted mid-air trying to locate him, her head whipping around—

"Where did he go?!" Lisandra shouted from her position, spinning in place, scanning the sky and treeline with her single eye, rapier held defensively.

"Looking for me?"

The voice came from directly behind her.

Chill ran down her spine and pure instinct took over. She spun and unleashed everything she had in one explosive burst, her rapier trailing a massive torrent of blue fire that carved through the forest behind her, incinerating trees, leaving a path of destruction and scattered flames across dozens of meters.

The devastation was considerable. Smoke rose. Embers drifted. Several trees toppled with groaning crashes.

"Was that really necessary?"

The voice came from behind her again.

"You—!"

Lisandra’s head whipped around, embarrassment burning hot on her face, and she found him standing there, perfectly relaxed, sword resting casually at his side, looking at her like she’d just done something mildly entertaining.

Her body moved before her mind caught up, spinning into a defensive posture as Amael’s leg blurred.

The kick came in low and fast at her side. Lisandra managed to bring her arm down to shield herself, blocking the worst of it, but the force behind the strike was ridiculous and it sent her flying backward like. Her body tore through the air, crashed through the ground with bone-jarring impact, and carved a trench through the dirt before she finally skidded to a stop.

Alphonse was already moving.

She appeared behind Amael at even greater speed than before, her entire form wrapped in crackling golden lightning, her sword coming down in a blurring crackling arc.

"Good timing," Amael said, truly praising.

His sword came up and caught hers.

-BOOOOOM!!!

The collision released a shockwave that was part sound, part force, part raw lightning that spread outward in a visible sphere of destruction. Trees directly below them were uprooted by the pressure wave alone, torn from the earth and sent tumbling.

Alphonse gritted her teeth, pouring more strength into the clash, trying to overwhelm him through sheer force but she paused seeing his free hand moving.

Her eyes tracked left and the strike came from the right.

-BAM!

The impact caught her completely off-guard, slamming into her side and sending her spinning through the sky, disoriented, her vision swimming.

She was trying to quickly move but Amael had caught her suddenly.

His arm was wrapped around her back with surprising gentleness, supporting her weight, holding her steady. For just a moment she registered the warmth of it, the security of being held rather than struck, and her cheeks flushed involuntarily as the battle temporarily fell away from her awareness...

Then she felt his other hand press flat against her stomach, also gentle...

Understanding arrived exactly one second too late.

-BOOOM!!

Mana detonated at point-blank range. Alphonse coughed violently, blood spraying from her lips, and was sent hurtling backward through the air in an dangerous trajectory—

Directly into Lisandra, who had just launched herself back into the fight from below.

"Wha—!"

Lisandra barely had time to process what was happening before Alphonse crashed into her at full speed. They tangled together mid-air—limbs and weapons and cloaks all mixing into one confused mass, and plummeted.

-BOOOM!!

They hit the ground together strongly, the impact cratering the earth and sending up a cloud of dust and debris that momentarily obscured everything.

When the dust began to settle, two groaning figures became visible in the newly formed crater.

"Damn it, Syl!" Lisandra’s voice emerged first, annoyed. She pushed herself up on her elbows, one hand coming up to her face where blood was streaming from her nose. "You hurt me!"

"You were the one standing in my flight path," Alphonse replied with her usual dryness, though the grunt of pain that followed somewhat undermined the effect. She pressed a hand gingerly to her stomach where Amael’s strike had landed, wincing at the contact.

She’d lowered her guard.

Amateur mistake if not very embarrassing mistake.

Amael descended from above, landing lightly at the edge of the crater and looking down at the two of them with an expression that managed to be both sympathetic and deeply amused.

"Well," he said, resting his sword across his shoulders, "that was another truly miserable showing from the two legendary Queens of the Second Holy War."

Both women glared up at him though Alphonse’s glare was somewhat compromised by the redness spreading across her cheeks, the heat of embarrassment mixing with the lingering sensation of having been held and then immediately, ruthlessly, exploited.

"This is your fault, Alphonse!" Lisandra pointed an accusing finger, her voice rising. "If you hadn’t just, just stopped and started blushing like some kind of....! If you’d kept your head in the fight, we could have actually won that exchange!"

"You are literally the last person I want to hear about maintaining focus!" Alphonse’s voice actually rose to match Lisandra’s volume, which was rare enough to be notable. She sat up fully, turning to face her properly. "Do you have any idea how many times he’s distracted you with some sweet comment or gentle touch and then immediately struck while you were processing it?!"

Lisandra’s face went scarlet. "That is...that’s completely different!"

"It’s exactly the same thing!" Alphonse shot back. "He does it more to you than to me because it works every single time, Lisa!"

"It does not—"

"Yesterday he brushed hair from your face and you froze for three full seconds!"

"I was...! There was wind in my eye!"

"There was no wind."

Lisandra opened her mouth. Closed it and promptly looked away.

"Have you finished already?" Amael asked as he watched from his position at the crater’s edge.

"And you!" Lisandra shot him a glare.

"Me?" Amael blinked at her with wide, innocent silver eyes, the picture of confused innocence.

Which only made it worse.

He knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t stupid, far from it. But he always, always played this same annoying game of feigned ignorance whenever they tried to call him on it. And neither she nor Alphonse were anywhere near ready to actually admit what his little tricks did to them and how and why it was shaking them. That would be tantamount to admitting defeat, and they were both far too proud for that particular humiliation.

So, begrudgingly, with a sound that was almost a growl, Lisandra lowered her hand and said nothing.

"I think that’s enough for today," Amael said, turning to survey the devastation around them with an expression of mild concern. Toppled trees, scorched earth, the crater they were standing in—the damage was considerable. "You’ve both done a wonderful job destroying this section of forest." Then, quieter, almost to himself with a small smile: "Thankfully, nature recovers abnormally fast in Xenithia..."

Both women nodded reluctantly and turned to leave, heading off together without another word to him.

They had a routine now, after three years. After training came the lake, a beautiful, secluded spot not far from their mountain home where they could wash away the dirt and blood and exhaustion of combat.

When they arrived, the lake spread before them in all its pristine glory—crystal blue water reflecting the sky, surrounded by unusual nature that existed nowhere else in the world. Several strange deer-like creatures and oversized rabbits were drinking peacefully at the shore. The moment they registered Lisandra and Alphonse’s presence, they retreated a respectful distance, watching with wary but not panicked eyes.

It was such a great difference from their first visit three years ago. Back then, every creature in this forest had immediately attacked them on sight, viewing them as intruders, as threats, as prey. The learning curve had been steep and violent and occasionally terrifying.

But after three years of fighting, of proving their strength, of earning their place in the hierarchy of this savage wilderness... the beasts had learned. These two were not to be trifled with.

"I cannot believe him!" Lisandra groaned to no one in particular as she began stripping off her training clothes with sharp, frustrated movements. She tossed them aside and walked directly into the water—not bothering with gradual entry, simply plunging forward until she could let herself float, the water line hovering just above her cleavage. "Did you see that, Alphonse?! Acting all innocent like he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing!"

Alphonse took her time, in contrast. She removed her clothes methodically, folded them despite their condition, and only then stepped into the lake with her usual grace.

"It’s not particularly surprising at this point," she said quietly, wading over to join Lisandra in the deeper water.

"Doesn’t it upset you?" Lisandra asked, turning to look at her. "Even a little bit?"

"About what specifically?" Alphonse replied with perfect composure.

Lisandra grimaced slightly, searching for the right words. Then, more directly: "I mean... you love him, right?"

"L—Lisa..." Alphonse’s gaze snapped up, her cheeks immediately flooding with color despite the cool water.

Lisandra grinned at the reaction, pleased to have landed the hit. "You really shouldn’t be that embarrassed about it."

"You’re considerably more embarrassed than I am when it comes to admitting it," Alphonse shot back.

"I could admit it easily," Lisandra replied with false confidence.

"In front of Mael?"

"...Never."

"That’s what I thought." Alphonse shrugged, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips despite herself.

Lisandra made an indignant sound. "I’m not admitting it until he admits it first! He definitely likes us, I mean, there’s absolutely no way he doesn’t, right? We’re both—" she gestured at herself and then at Alphonse with increasing emphasis— "we’re both incredibly attractive, aren’t we? Objectively? What do you think?"

She moved closer, staring at Alphonse with a serious face.

"I... don’t know?" Alphonse said carefully. "I’ve seen men look at me, but I was never entirely certain if it was because of my appearance or because I was the King. Context makes it difficult to assess."

"Well, I definitely had men leering at me," Lisandra said, puffing her chest out in a way that sent water splashing directly into Alphonse’s face, "and it was definitely not just because I was a Princess!"

"Yes," Alphonse said, wiping water from her eyes with exaggerated patience, giving Lisandra’s chest or rather, the substantial portion of it visible above the waterline, a dry look. "Definitely not."

But even as the light teasing continued, Alphonse’s expression grew more serious. She knew Amael better than that. He wasn’t shallow. Physical attraction might be a factor, but it would never be the deciding one. His heart didn’t work that simply.

"He loves that woman though," she said quietly, almost to herself. "Ephera. So maybe he simply doesn’t... consider us that way."

The shift in Lisandra’s expression was quickl to witness.

It was true. Sometimes, often actually, Lisandra would joke with Amael while trying to pry out his feelings. She’d make flirtatious comments, test boundaries, ask leading questions about whether he might be falling for them.

And his answers were always the same two women.

First: his mother. Which was... genuinely uncomfortable and they both chose not to examine too closely.

Second: Ephera.

Ephera, who was clearly and undeniably the love of his life. Whenever he spoke about her, his entire face changed. There was a smile that appeared—genuine, unguarded, soft in a way he rarely was otherwise. He smiled at them too, yes, and those smiles were real. But with Ephera... it was different. Deeper. Like the smile came from somewhere more fundamental.

They’d heard everything over the three years. How she’d changed him. How beautiful she was, not just physically, but in ways that apparently transcended normal description. How amazing, how kind, how impossibly understanding. How she was from another world entirely, which should have sounded like a fairy tale except that Amael spoke about it like established fact.

Her whereabouts were complicated, something to do with circumstances neither of them fully understood but Amael was absolutely certain he would see her again someday.

And when that day came...

What would happen to them?

The thought settled in Lisandra’s chest like a stone. She sank lower in the water, submerging herself until only her eyes and the top of her head were visible, her expression hidden beneath the surface.

He wouldn’t just... discard them, would he? Throw them aside the moment Ephera returned?

Alphonse watched Lisandra sink into the water and felt the same unease moving through her own thoughts. She was just as lost, just as troubled by the question. They’d both been thinking about it more and more lately, privately, never aloud until now.

Because the truth was simple and uncomfortable: Amael had saved both their lives. Given them a new existence when their old ones had been burning away to nothing. Since the day they’d arrived on Xenithia, there hadn’t been a single day where they hadn’t felt happy, freely happy in a way neither of them had experienced in their previous lives of duty and expectation.

The Holy War had ended, just as Amael predicted it would. Their continent was at peace. They were free.

And for two sheltered princesses who had spent their entire lives surrounded by awkward, transparent attempts at seduction from court nobles trying to secure political advantage... someone like Amael had taken root in their hearts with startling speed and in a lovely way. He was nothing like those men. Nothing like anyone they’d known.

Which made the possibility of losing him, of being set aside for the woman he truly loved almost anxious.

Lost in these thoughts, neither of them spoke.

Until—

-BOOOOOM!!!

The explosion was massive, loud enough to make the air itself tremble, powerful enough that they felt the shockwave travel through the water. Every bird in the surrounding trees erupted into panicked flight, darkening the sky briefly with their wings.

"What was that?!" Lisandra shot upright in the water.

Alphonse was already moving toward the shore, her eyes fixed on the distant mountain where their home was.

The sound had come from that direction.