Chapter 173: Squad Seven
Mirella left the room first, without waiting for Victor to ask anything else. She walked as if the entire corridor had to adjust to her rhythm, and Victor followed beside her, still with the impression that the captain had more fun when the people around her were uncomfortable. Eleonora did not come along. She only said she had other matters to resolve and that, from then on, Mirella would handle his integration into the mission.
Victor found that suspicious, but not enough to complain.
"Bramford is a small city," Mirella began, while the two cro ssed another wide corridor of the Palace of Lavender. "Port city, humid, full of old warehouses, lesser families, smugglers, and local officers who pretend not to see half of what happens at the docks. Under normal circumstances, we would send two trackers and one administrative agent to resolve it."
"But there is a Specialist involved."
"Yes. And Ghideon DuskBlood is not the kind of fugitive who appears in a report by accident. If Royal Intelligence placed his name in the order, even as a suspicion, it means someone with access to internal information saw enough of a pattern to activate field personnel."
Victor looked at the narrow windows of the corridor. Outside, the inner area of the Palace of Lavender seemed too calm for a place filled with hunters, interrogators, and disciplinary squads. There were well-kept gardens, low fountains, and pale stone walkways. It was almost beautiful. That made everything more suspicious.
"And where does Squad Six come in?"
Mirella made a small, but clear grimace.
"They will work with us. In theory, that is good. In practice, Squad Six tends to be problematic when those two are involved."
Victor looked at her.
"Those two who?"
Mirella sighed.
"Natasha and Alexa."
Victor stopped for half a second before walking again.
"Natasha?"
Mirella noticed the reaction.
"You know her?"
"Yeah. She is my mother’s best friend."
"Then things are simpler."
"Simpler how?"
"If she likes you, maybe she will not try to kill me when you do something stupid."
Victor smiled.
"She will not try to kill you because of me."
Mirella looked at him from the side.
"How reassuring."
"She would probably try to kill me first."
"Now I believe it."
They descended a short staircase and emerged into an open area of the palace. The courtyard was large, with dark stone flooring, violet light posts, and several smaller training platforms spread along the sides. At the back was an inner gate that gave access to a stable and mission preparation area. Some soldiers passed by carrying boxes, travel cloaks, preserved blood bags, and containment equipment. The movement was not chaotic, but there was urgency. Bramford did not seem like a mission that could wait.
Mirella continued explaining while guiding Victor.
"Natasha is rigid, cold, and very good at keeping people alive. Alexa is fast, irritating, and notices details most people ignore. The two work well together, but they usually clash with any team that does not follow their method."
"And your method?"
"I point at the problem and find out who breaks first."
Victor looked at her.
"That does not sound so different from mine."
"I have better reports."
"Unfair advantage."
"Discipline, Victor."
"That word keeps showing up. I am starting to dislike it."
Mirella gave a short smile.
"You will dislike it more by the end of the week."
They crossed the courtyard and arrived at a reserved training area. The place was surrounded by low walls and protected by violet barriers that trembled every time something struck them from within. Victor heard the sound before he saw it: metal against metal, loud laughter, something heavy cutting through the air, and a childish voice cursing with a creativity that did not match her apparent age.
Mirella stopped at the entrance.
"This is Squad Seven."
Victor looked inside.
The first thing he saw were the twins.
Both had dark hair tied in different ways, one with a high braid and the other with hair loose down to her shoulders, but their faces were practically identical. The problem was that their expressions were too. Both smiled in a way that was too open, too excited, as if they were in the middle of a party while dodging a massive blade that was trying to tear off their heads.
One of them spun two curved daggers between her fingers and jumped over a low strike. The other passed under the same blade laughing, planted a hand on the ground, and kicked the side of the one attacking. The two moved in sync, but not with beautiful discipline. It was more as if they shared the same kind of madness and used it to confuse anyone near them.
"Twins," Victor said.
"Liora and Liria Vane," Mirella replied. "Short-range assassins. Terrible at staying quiet. Excellent at turning an ambush into a slaughter."
"Which is which?"
"The one with the braid is Liora. The other is Liria."
"And if I get it wrong?"
"One of them will correct you with a knife."
"Good to know."
The one attacking the twins looked like a ten-year-old girl.
Looked.
Victor did not believe it for even a second.
She was small, wore dark clothes adapted for fast movement, and held a scythe larger than her own body. The blade was enormous, curved, with red inscriptions along the edge. With each strike, the weapon cut the air with absurd weight, but the girl handled it as if it were a natural extension of her arm. Her face had soft cheeks, large eyes, and the irritated expression of a child being contradicted, which became even stranger when she tried to decapitate the twins without losing her balance.
"Give back my candy!" the girl shouted, spinning the scythe.
Liria laughed while dodging.
"You dropped it!"
"You stole it!"
Liora appeared behind her and showed a small wrapping between her fingers.
"Technically, yes."
The girl made an indignant sound and swept the scythe in an arc so wide that both twins had to jump to opposite sides. The violet barrier around the field trembled when the blade struck too close to the limit.
Victor looked at Mirella.
"Is she really ten?"
"No."
"How old?"
"Do not ask her that."
"Why?"
"The last time someone asked, she broke three of his ribs."
Victor watched the girl try to hit the twins again.
"I like her."
"You like anything dangerous."
"I am starting to notice a pattern."
"Her name is Nera."
"Nera what?"
"Nera."
"Just Nera?"
"If she wants to tell you more, she will. I recommend not insisting."
Near an equipment table, there was a short woman organizing vials, needles, blood threads, and small surgical instruments with almost delicate care. At first glance, she looked like a healer. She had light-brown hair tied in a messy bun, small glasses on the tip of her nose, and a white apron over dark clothes. Her appearance might even inspire some confidence if she were not smiling while watching Nera nearly cut one of the twins in half.
She held a vial filled with red liquid, shook it lightly, and said:
"If you lose an arm, bring the piece quickly. Today I want to test a new suture."
Liora dodged a strike and replied:
"You said the last suture was new!"
"It was. Now I have another."
Liria dropped to the ground, rolled to escape the scythe, and shouted:
"Captain, the medic wants us to lose limbs again!"
The short woman corrected without raising her voice:
"Healer. Medic is a poor term."
Mirella gestured with her chin.
"Dahlia Rehn. Field healer, blood alchemist, specialist in keeping people alive against their will."
Victor watched Dahlia hold the vial against the light, as if evaluating the color.
"She seems insane."
"She is."
"Good healer?"
"The best we have."
"Does that make it worse or better?"
"Yes."
In the farthest corner of the training area, there was another woman seated on a block of stone. She did not take part in the chaos. She did not laugh. She did not complain. She did not touch equipment. She only watched. She had short black hair, simple combat clothes, and a long sword resting at her side, still sheathed. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes were not. They followed every movement of the twins, every spin from Nera, every small adjustment of the barrier. When Victor entered, she looked at him only once.
It was quick.
Enough to measure.
Then she returned to watching the rest.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"And that one?"
Mirella smiled.
"Yvonne."
"She seems normal."
"She is not."
"I imagined that."
"Yvonne speaks little, fights a lot, and has the bad habit of cutting exactly what needs to be cut. Tendon, shadow, bond, seal, throat. Depends on the day."
Victor looked at the silent woman again. She did not seem interested in showing anything. That already said more than the chaos of the others.
"Is she the most dangerous?"
Mirella did not answer immediately.
"Depends on the distance."
"Good answer."
"She heard you."
Victor looked at Yvonne.
Yvonne was still looking at the fight, but one corner of her mouth rose almost imperceptibly.
Mirella clapped twice.
The effect was immediate, but not orderly.
Nera tried to take advantage of the surprise to hit Liora. Liria pulled her sister by the collar, the two fell together, and the scythe passed over them before burying itself in the ground. Dahlia sighed, disappointed that no one had lost an arm. Yvonne finally rose from the block of stone, taking her sword by the sheath.
"Formation," Mirella said.
The twins rose first, still laughing. Nera pulled the scythe from the ground angrily and went to the front, but stopped halfway to take the candy back from Liora’s hand. Dahlia stored the vials in a leather bag and came over without hurry. Yvonne was last, silent, stopping slightly behind the others.
Mirella pointed to Victor.
"This is Victor Valentine. He will accompany the Bramford mission."
The twins looked at him at the same time.
Liora smiled.
"The Divine Blood Dragon."
Liria tilted her head.
"Shirtless."
Nera looked at his chest, then his face.
"Are you strong?"
Victor looked at her scythe.
"Do you want to test it?"
Nera smiled.
Mirella answered before she could take a step.
"No."
Nera pouted.
"Just a little."
"No."
"Boring captain."
"Murderous little girl."
"Thank you."
Dahlia adjusted her glasses and approached Victor, analyzing him as if he were an interesting clinical case.
"Do you regenerate quickly?"
"Yes."
"How quickly?"
"Depends on the damage."
"May I test it?"
"No."
She looked disappointed.
"Everyone says that at first."
Victor looked at Mirella.
"Did you assemble this squad on purpose or was it punishment?"
Mirella folded her arms.
"Both."
The twins laughed.
Yvonne spoke for the first time, her voice low and unhurried:
"He does not seem like a soldier."
Victor looked at her.
"I am not."
Yvonne held his gaze for one second.
"Better."
Mirella seemed satisfied.
"You will have time to feel strange about one another on the road. For now, the summary is simple: we go to Bramford, meet Squad Six at the western gate, and proceed together. Probable target: Ghideon DuskBlood. Specialist. Do not underestimate him, do not trust any face, and do not kill informants before asking questions."
The twins looked offended.
Liria raised her hand.
"And if the informant tries to kill us?"
"Hurt first, ask after."
Liora nodded.
"That is reasonable."
Nera raised the scythe.
"And if I smell a lie?"
Mirella looked at her.
"You call Natasha."
Nera grimaced.
"She is boring."
"She keeps people alive."
"Exactly."
Victor began to laugh.
Mirella looked at him.
"Any comment?"
"Yes. I thought Lavender was more disciplined."
"We are."
Victor looked at the twins, at Nera, at Dahlia, and at Yvonne.
"This is discipline?"
Mirella smiled.
"This is before the mission."
Rowena spoke in his head, her voice full of contempt:
"You walked into a kennel of unstable vampires."
Victor answered mentally:
"Strangely, I liked it."
"Of course you did. You are unstable too."
Victor smiled.
Mirella noticed and narrowed her eyes.
"She spoke again?"
"She did."
"Anything useful?"
"No."
Rowena growled.
"I heard that."
Victor ignored her.
Mirella turned to the squad.
"Prepare yourselves. We leave before nightfall."
Nera threw the scythe over her shoulder as if the weapon weighed nothing. The twins began arguing over who would reach the western gate first. Dahlia returned to the table to collect more vials than any sensible healer would carry, and Yvonne merely passed by Victor in silence, giving a quick look at his arm.
"Your right shoulder is still adjusting," she said.
Victor looked at her.
"You saw that just now?"
"Yes."
"Good eye."
"Good scar."
"Well, I did not regenerate it because it looked cool, right?"
She simply kept walking.
Victor stood still for a few seconds, then looked at Mirella.
"I am definitely going to like Squad Seven."
Mirella placed the cap on her head and smiled.
"Then try to survive long enough to regret it."
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