Laying in our shared bed alone with the constant threat of the loneliness being my forever had my stomach in knots. My heart pounded a mile a minute and I could feel it in my throat as if any second it would break past the confines of my ribs. Pulling the cover off of me I trained my eyes on a meaningless spot in the ceiling I reached out with my sensory abilities and found four guards in critical defense positions around the compound and one downstairs.
"Whoever is downstairs, come here please," I called. Ot more than a minute later a man with almost porcelain skin tone was standing to at my door, a gun strapped to his vest. I noticed he wore his hat low so that his eyes weren't visible and he shuffled uncomfortably, probably not comfortable leaving his post. I knew a sensory soldier when I saw one. The service trained them to remain hidden, always looking out for danger. "May I help you, Sir?"
"Do any of you have eyes on what's going on with my husband right now?" It was going to be impossible for me to lie down, oblivious to what was happening. Good or bad, I needed to see for myself. The guard hesitant but moved forward, presenting me a holographic pad that had a compiled view of what was happening from all the guards' contact videos. I nodded my head and waved him back to his post.
All my focus was on the screen as I pulled the covers over my legs. The screen was like a rudimentary version of my spell. Bernardo was in the lead as they moved at a tactical pace. Meaning they were going slow and methodical as to keep the element of surprise. The only building around was a makeshift shack formed from discarded wood. The darkness was suffocating, and the intensity of the moment from a spectators' view felt like an action movie. I wished I was watching a movie where the stakes were fictional and the lives lost would be fake.
"Surround the building in a circular formation. I will handle most of them with a spell, and the rest of you take care of anyone who slips past me," Bernardo whispered his orders. The soldiers complied immediately and began falling into a circular pattern while they drew their guns. Common sense told me that there had to be at least one lookout or sensor in the building they were targeting. As if on cue, a man with deep skin ran out of the building with his hands in the air.
The feed shook causing me to go to the drone footage as gunshots rang out. Bernardo was the only thing I could focus on. He didn't seem bothered by the man, the only reaction he had was flicking his hand causing several iron spikes to jut out violently from the ground impaling the man. Blood splattered the ground, and I closed my eyes from the shock. The finality of the action and the way Bernardo remained calm while doing it was something I would always remember.
When I opened my eyes again, the shack was unloading with vicious looking men and women. I knew what they were in for and felt this deepness in my chest. Bullets and magic flowed as the soldiers and terrorist began a deadly dance. Bernardo had a calm to the way he moved, the battlefield was a home for him. His fingers stretched out as his hands raised in the shack's direction. Not understanding what was happening, I watched as the chipped paint darkened. I switched through feed and saw that the darkness was growing around the structure. "He's turning everything into iron without touching it."
Transmutation of that level without physically touching the material you wanted to change was an expert level skill. Yet, Bernardo did it with what looked to be little effort. His next move was making a fist, causing the house to explode in a cloud of iron dust, much like how he did in the restaurant ambush. With his hand moving around, the dust gathered around some terrorist like a swarm of bees and covered their bodies in iron, entombing their bodies. Their faces forever cast in horrified expressions.
This was personal for Bernardo. It was clear in the way he made them suffer before they died. I never wanted an insight on how it felt to take a life before, but in that moment I wanted to know so I could understand what Bernardo was and had gone through. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have that weighing on my conscience. The thought would torture me forever, and the guilt would take years to wear off.
In fear, I watched as a man ran towards Bernardo with a broken piece of glass in his hand. Bernardo steadied himself while weaving the iron dust floating around his fist, which formed a spike. The man swiped at Bernardo with the glass that shattered when it contacted his iron spike. A punch from Bernardo almost killed the man, but his reflexes saved him. That luck ran out as Bernardo turned the spike to needles that killed him. Bernardo then encapsulated him in iron like the other terrorist.
Everything was happening fast. I was not battle hardened, so there would be no way I could keep up the way Bernardo was. He weaved in and out of danger until there were only four scared looking people standing in opposition. Three of them were triplets, and the other was the Bomber. The triplets, all men who looked unremarkable, had frustrated looks on their face. The suppressors were doing their jobs well, and they had cornered the escape artists. None of them looked to be skilled in direct combat. "I don't want anyone to intervene," Bernardo said. I switched primarily to his lens feed directly to see what he was seeing.
He waved his hand, which gathered all the iron into a pillar that might have been around thirty feet high. "I call this spell the Throne of Ogun, God of Iron." His voice was even as if he was talking to a room of his friends. He dropped his hands, and the dust began swirling around in a dome of clashing metal. The sound struck fear into my heart, even though I was tens of kilometers away.
The Bombers face morphed from concern into a snarl, and I found for the first time I felt nothing about what was going to happen.
Bernardo's spell must have caused the wind to pick up because her clothes were billowing in the wind as she raised her hands. The air around her fingers smoked and with a loud bang, an explosion of fire rushed forward towards Bernardo who didn't even blink as the dust contained the blast. With a knowing smile he pushed the molten metal towards the triplet to his right that screamed as the ball of burning metal covered him in a split second and the screams stopped.
Before the others had time to react, Bernardo turned his attention to the triplet in the middle who he engulfed in powder for a few seconds. The screams he made the blood drain from my face. It didn't last long though, and the powder dissipated, leaving nothing behind but a few teeth. The last of the brother's face contorted with fear and he fell to ground. In what I would call an act of kindness, Bernardo formed a long thin needle as the man sobbed openly and shot it forward. I didn't see it enter or exit the man but knew it had since a trickle of blood fell from his forehead and he dropped dead.
"It's just me and you now. I could kill you without breaking much of a sweat, but my husband is watching and I would feel horrible if I didn't at least try to arrest you. You can either give up now by placing your hands on your head, or I can end you slowly," Bernardo said and looked into the camera of a drone, somehow knowing I was looking.
"Fuck you and that prince," she said with a sinister smile. I could see by the look in her eyes and hear in how she talked that something was off. She gave off the feeling of instability which made me feel sorry for her but, I wouldn't let any of that to cloud what she had done. There were many ill people who had killed no one with or without the help she needed.
"You made your choice," Bernardo said as he began spinning a finger in a circle. The Bomber smiled and tucked her body into itself like a baby in the womb. Smoke began emanating from her skin and I watched as her ratty blond dyed hair caught fire. A second later there was the sound of an explosion. I couldn't help but scream as the feed went to static. My heart felt like it was on fire as the screen went black.
"Sir, are you okay," the deep voice of my guard sounded from the door sounding concerned. I kicked the blankets off and could feel the tears rolling down my face. "My husband," I said as I felt my body shake. Not long after saying the words, a panic attack overtook me. I found it hard to breathe, I could feel my heart race as fast as a greyhound on a track chasing after a fake rabbit. Every movement slowed like my blood had become syrup. I couldn't believe I just lost Bernardo. We had just built something, and that bitch blew him away. I cried out in pain while the guard came over and grabbed me to soothe me.
I don't know how much time had passed, but I was out of tears to cry and my voice was raw from screaming. I could feel a familiar headache as the blood pumped back to my brain normally. For the first time in my life, I felt a genuine loss. "Why are you in bed with my husband?" I looked over and saw Bernardo wearing a singed uniform and scratches around his face.
"Sorry your highness, he was having a panic attack, and I wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself. I wasn't able to get him to listen that you were alright." The guard said all of that while trying to make as much distance between us as possible. After staring for a moment, Bernardo tipped his head and pointed for the door. The guard practically flew out of the room, causing Bernardo to chuckle when the door shut.
"Baby boy, he said as he looked down at. I reached for him and pulled him into a hug. I could smell the acrid smoke that clung to his skin. He hugged me back causing my to sob in relief." Never do something as stupid as that again. "My mana flowed over him and began healing his minor wounds." They're gone, baby. I promise you I won't make you worry like that again" he said, as he held me tight to his chest. Both of us not moving a muscle and eventually falling asleep.