Edric lost track of who was friend or foe. So many of the men he served with now fought him. And so many of those men he used to consider friends. It pained him that they were blinded by greed and led to believe the lies that Winston had spread. Their deaths were ultimately meaningless. Their honor stripped because they followed a corrupt leader.

He couldn’t blame them. Had it been him in their shoes, he probably would’ve done the same. He was such a devoted solider, believing in serving justice and protecting the city—his city—above all else.

But that was before he met Sophia. She changed him. She changed everything.

More men whom he had served with stood toe-to-toe with him. And he cut them down. It was him or them.

Eventually, he pushed his feelings down. He hated the guilt that came with fighting his old comrades. That feeling only increased with each man he knew, practically raised with, and watched the light from their eyes fade away. He had no choice but to move automatically, shutting down feelings and going into full survival mode.

That was until Marlow.

Edric spun around, pulling his sword from another fallen ally to lock blades with him. Marlow’s eyes widened in recognition, and a smile crossed the man’s face.

“I always knew you would fall off your pedestal someday, Commander.”

Edric shrugged off the way he emphasized commander and said, “And I always knew you would be the first in line to try and replace me.”

The man chuckled low and dark. “Oh, I didn’t try. I did. And you will now taste my blade with the other traitors that refused to abandon loyalty to you.”

Edric pushed him off his sword and the man stepped back completely at ease, as though he saw the opportunity to fight him as nothing more than a regular sparring match. But this wasn’t practice. And Marlow knew better than to underestimate Edric’s ability to strategize and exploit weaknesses of his opponents.

Marlow held his sword at the ready, same ridiculous grin on his face. “Just like old times, eh?”

Edric shook his head. “You have no idea what you are getting yourself into.”

Marlow shrugged. “Sure, I do. I kill you, and then the duchess will promote me to commander.”

“You may try to kill me, but I assure you, Marlow, I. Will. Not. Fall.” Edric lunged.

Marlow parried Edric’s sword thrust with an attack of his own, landing the blade nearly in the center of Edric’s forearm. Had he not moved at the right time, he would have lost an arm.

Edric glared at the man who just smiled in return.

“I’ve been practicing,” Marlow said, prideful grin and all. “Can’t you tell?”

Edric didn’t answer, instead he followed Marlow’s steps, carefully watching for each twitch and movement. Marlow never sucked at being a swordsman. Quite the contrary. But when it came to skill versus skill, Edric always stood heads above the rest. He was bred for things like this. Marlow was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and enough money to buy his way into the academy and avoiding the dirty jobs that the rest of the new recruits had to do. His money also bought him the best trainers and tutors.

He almost came close to earning Edric’s respect during a sparring match. The way he held himself was almost like that of a seasoned soldier. It impressed Edric to see the skill. But then he saw through the man. Trying to buy his way through the ranks.

Bile rose in his throat as he lunged for another attack. He missed Marlow. But just barely. He shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like all those training sessions did you any good. You can hold a sword. And your stance is correct. But you lack an inherent concept all soldiers have.”

Marlow parried the next attack and said, “And what would that be, great, fallen commander?”

Edric moved, crossing his sword over Marlow’s and flicking his wrist. Marlow’s sword landed feet from him. His eyes widened in fear. Edric forced down the satisfaction of seeing the apprehension in his eyes as it would never do to let his guard down, even for a show of pride.

As Marlow scrambled to reclaim his blade, Edric said, “Lack of fear for getting hurt.”

Edric attacked, his thrusts, lunges, downward strokes, and slashes came too quick. Marlow struggled to block each hit of the blade but received cuts he had never had the pleasure of experiencing before. With each strike Edric stepped forward, pushing Marlow up against the wall, leaving the coward without an exit.

Marlow’s eyes were wild with fright and his breaths quickened as he desperately searched for a way out of the fight.

Edric shook his head. “You will never command an army. You will never make the sacrifices it takes to lead men to their deaths. You are, and always will be, nothing but a spoiled brat. Your money will never buy loyalty.”

Marlow’s gasps came with little squeaks, and though Edric didn’t look, he was sure the man wet himself just then.

“You wouldn’t dare kill me,” he said. “It would only look worse on you.”

“Care to take a wager on that?” he asked as he pointed the tip of his blade at Marlow’s heart, or where it should’ve been. To add his point further, he put a little pressure, enough to puncture the nice, expensive leather vest he wore.

Marlow tried to press himself even farther into the wall. As he lifted his hands, he released his sword, sending it clanking to the ground.

Edric cocked his head to the side and narrowed his gaze on his old comrade. “Call off the men.”

Marlow’s mouth moved but he didn’t form words.

A little more pressure into the tip of his sword and Edric said, “Call off your men. Now.”

“Retreat,” Marlow’s voice squeaked.

Edric shook his head. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Retreat!” Marlow’s voice came out stronger. “Fall back!”

Edric took a step back from him, removing the sword from Marlow’s chest. “I suggest you figure out just where your loyalties lie before they get you killed.”

Marlow nodded quickly and rushed away, leaving behind his sword and a puddle from where he had stood. Edric shook his head again as he reached over and picked up the sword. He sheathed both of them into his belt around his waist then went to find Andreas, Ezekiel, and Sophia.

Something about that whole interaction told him the fall back was just a temporary thing. He wanted to make sure the use of the time they were just given was enough to get them the hell out of there before they showed up with reinforcements.