All Chapters of The One: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

*​​River*After the revelation that Queen Kimalissa’s magic is gone, everyone disperses to deal with the implications. Brook and Permiton have disappeared to the library to see if they can find any precedent for what’s happening. Akin has disappeared to the barracks to be of service to the other soldiers in any way he can. Once again, I’m left without any real purpose.So, I stand on the balcony of the palace, stone cold beneath my hands, and watch as the enemy armies spread across the distant hills. The blue and silver streamers of the Oceana flags catch the wind, their metallic edges reflecting the sun like blades. They aren’t alone. Direken’s forces from Ambrosia march at their flank, cloaked in crimson.The barrier hums weakly in the distance, stretched thin and ready to break at any moment. It’s holding for now, but barely. One bad blow, and the whole thing could collapse. Maerilee doesn’t think she’s strong enough to fix it. She doesn’t trust herself, and maybe she doesn’t trust

*Brook*The wind tastes like ash, carrying the smoke from the Ambrosian’s attack. They’re assembled behind the Oceanan soldiers, shooting their magic at us with wild abandon. I stand at the back of the Altinnian line, feet planted wide, arms raised, water already swirling at my fingertips. I never received the same training as River, was never taught to be as graceful or powerful as the Oceanan soldiers, but my magic listens to me, and that’s all I can ask of it for now.I pull from the well inside me, deeper than I’ve ever gone before, and send a blast of water arcing through the air. It catches two Oceanan soldiers before they reach the front line. One stumbles. The other skids across the mud, his blade slipping from frozen fingers.Another enemy charges forward. I draw the water back, wrap it around his ankles, and snap it upward into a spear of ice. He doesn’t rise again. I attack man after man, trying to protect as many Altinnian soldiers as I can from the onslaught of Oceanan wa

*Maerilee*Oceanan soldiers are sprawled in unnatural shapes across churned earth and stone, their limbs slack, faces limp with unconsciousness. None of them are dead. I can feel that, somewhere in the strange bond between my magic and the land. But they are incapacitated, stunned by the burst of power that tore out of me moments ago like it had been waiting all along to be freed. No one speaks. No one moves. It feels like the world is holding its breath.But all I can think is that Akin is gone.I stare at the space where he fell, where he reached for me, but it is empty. He was there. I know he was. I saw him. Permiton saw him. Permiton was going to go back for him so we could revive him. Yet now he is gone, and something inside me feels like it has been ripped away at the roots.Somehow, I end up in the courtyard of the palace. I don’t remember moving here, and I have no recollection of leaving my place behind the barrier. My gown is torn, my hands are scraped raw from the ground,

*Brook*I stand at the table in the middle of the war room, the edges of the massive map curling up slightly under my palms, and listen as the generals argue around me. Their voices are low and tense, an overlapping hum of uncertainty and exhaustion that fills the space. At least they aren’t yelling at each other anymore. No one has the energy for that left in them. Instead, they speak in clipped phrases, drawing lines and circles on the map trying to find the best approach to end this war, like any of this can still be planned.Maerilee is a shell of herself now. She sits at the head of the table, a heavy cloak pulled tight around her shoulders, her eyes glassy and distant. Her hands stay folded in her lap. Her mouth never moves. She’s still breathing, but only barely. It’s like I can feel her grief in my own body. I wish I could carry it for her. Her people need her far more than they need me.River enters the room not far behind the king. I don’t know where he’s been all day, but I

*Permiton*It’s been two weeks since the first clash beyond the barrier, and somehow life inside the castle has adjusted to the rhythm of siege and skirmish. Every morning begins with patrol updates and casualty reports. Every evening ends with silence and smoke. And in between, we’ve found some sense of normalcy. The people of the kingdom have transformed from terrified refugees to a brave community. Walking through the crowded halls no longer feels like walking through a graveyard. The people have come back to life in unexpected ways, turning their fear into action. They help in the kitchens, create gifts for the soldiers, tell stories and grow closer than they ever have. While I wasn’t in this kingdom long before the war, I know that there’s a closeness amongst the people that didn’t exist before. They aren’t just neighbors anymore. They’ve become something of a family. It's equal parts encouraging and unsettling. Then again, everything unsettles me lately. For instance, River ha