The trees became a blur as I ran.
Green and brown smudges streaked past my vision, branches and trunks flashing at the edges of my sight. Ahead of me, I could see the man clearly. A long green and gold overcoat, gold trimming catching the light. The green looked like freshly cut grass.
He was tall and lean.
At this pace, he was outpacing me. I could not gain ground on him, and a bullet would not work with that phase barrier active. As I continued the chase, I realized the guards who had followed me had fallen behind at some point.
Even if I caught him, I would have to fight him alone. That thought did not sit well with me. We burst out of the thin tree line, and I saw it.
A sleek, low to the ground ship hovered just above the sand. Bright green, with razor sharp designs traced in gold. It looked like an arrowhead poised to strike.
"Damn it. A scout ship," I shouted, hoping anyone behind me could hear.
Scout ships had almost no weapon systems, only weak plasma rifles mounted at the front. What made them dangerous was that scout ships were galaxy class vessels. They could reach light speed and escape our space entirely, returning to their house territory where warships would be waiting.
If that happened, we would lose him. Something cold brushed my cheek. I did not slow down.
Another cold flick grazed my face. Then another, across my hands. The edges of my vision blurred until only the man ahead of me remained. He was twelve steps from his ship. I was nearly thirty behind. I blinked. My body felt light. In that single blink, I was suddenly inches from him.
Small red sparks flared around me like embers before vanishing as I slammed into him from the side. He hit the ground hard, shock written across his face, but rolled and regained his footing quickly. His sword was already drawn. A gladius. Trained. Ready.
Both of us were confused by how I had closed the distance so fast, but confusion did not stop him from attacking. He lunged for my neck with the tip of his blade.
I sidestepped and drew my own blade, blocking the silver arc as metal met metal. Our cloaks flared and twisted around our legs as we moved.
I could not stop. One mistake and it would be over. And then it happened. I thought I had him.
His blade scraped against my overcoat sleeve. The metallic black strings held, but I felt the bruise bloom beneath the fabric. Still, I swung. Most people stepped back when they were hit. That was what he expected. I did not step back.
He was forced onto his back foot, leaning awkwardly into a rushed block. Our swords clashed again, and his grip slipped. The blade flew from his hand, and he stumbled, losing balance and falling to his side.
"Kill him."
The voice whispered right beside my ear. I froze. I stepped back. Rifles snapped up around me. Five of our house guards had caught up, weapons aimed at the man on the ground.
None of them could have spoken. None were close enough. And none could have sounded so cold, so flat, so real. Voices of the mind were never good. But that voice had not been in my mind. It came from outside. Too real to ignore.
The man wore the overcoat colors of House Cavlar. The ship beside him confirmed it, bearing the symbol of a golden lion crossed by burning green spears.
House Cavlar. The other Praetor house in our sector.
My father, Lazinus Justinian Margrave, controlled three solar systems. House Cavlar controlled five. There was only one other Praetor in the sector, and he barely held a single system on the edge of known space.
The man stared at me like I was a monster. The guards muttered quietly around us.
"You're a damn True Blood," the Cavlar man screamed as he crawled backward toward his ship.
"As if," I said, tightening my grip on my sword. "You were just slow."
A True Blood was someone with more spellblood than human blood. It allowed them to alter their own matter. Freeze lakes. Burn forests with a snap of their fingers. Walk as living flame, moving faster than the eye could follow. The embers! Were those the embers around me?
True Bloods were above normal Solrein. Faster. Stronger. Mentally superior. Priests in their own right. They commanded legions and fleets under the Emperor himself. Even the Empress was a True Blood. And she could challenge the Emperor. They were rare. They belonged to the Truth Order. And this man thought I was one of them. That thought terrified me.
"Take him alive," I said, lowering my blade. "We will question him."
Two guards moved forward and cuffed the Cavlar man's hands behind his back.
As I walked back toward the trader ship, one of the guards stayed beside me. His black overcoat was torn and smeared with dirt and leaves.
"My lord," he said carefully. "Not to be impolite, but even from far back, I saw you vanish. One moment you were behind him. The next, you were beside him."
"You saw nothing," I muttered. "Do you understand. No one knows. Not even my father. I did nothing more than move faster."
We continued walking. The average Solrein could run twenty five miles per hour. With training, some reached forty. What I had done was not that.
I reached the ship and saw several guards badly injured. White foam coated their wounds. Nano foam. Capsules that expanded on contact with blood, sealing wounds instantly. Useful, but temporary.
Sir Rickon sat on the ramp of the trader ship with his helmet removed. His black and gold armor gleamed, red undertones catching the light. My brother stood beside him, nano foam wrapped around his arm.
"Where have you been, idiot," my brother shouted as he stood.
Sir Rickon's green eyes met mine. There was pity there. I did not have time to question it. My brother swung.
I should have dodged. I had fought a Cavlar scout, yet I could not avoid a slow punch from my brother. The impact sent me to one knee.
"You were supposed to stay with Venula and the snipers," he ranted. "Instead you ran off like an idiot. Thanks only to Venula, the ambush failed. Two of their men nearly wiped them out. A human listens better than you."
"I'm sorry," I said as I rose. The bruise under my sleeve throbbed. The fabric there was torn, metal threads loose like a sweater caught on wire.
"But there were two men from House Cavlar. One had a phase barrier. They have a scout ship."
"So what," he snapped. "You needed to command. Be a leader, not a soldier. I saw that human beat you. Yes, she's a ranger. But you cannot fight."
I said nothing. I never could. It always ended the same. I turned and walked into the forest.
"Where do you think you're going," my brother shouted. "I'm not done." My posture straightened. My feet planted firmly in the sand. My shoulders did not slump.
Slowly, I turned my head. My black hair stirred in the breeze. My ruby red eyes met his blue ones. A calm settled over me, and for a moment I understood what my father must feel. And so, I smiled.
"Oh yes, dear brother," I said quietly. "I decide when I am done. Not you."
His face fell as I turned and walked away. How often did we call each other brother or sister in our family. Never. No titles. No names. Just brother. To drag someone down to your level with a single word. That was power.