and Jermayan, and Shalkan—protected me while I destroyed it. No matter what she looks like, she isn’t one of
“There’s a simple way to solve all of this.”
Idalia stepped forward, into the open space between the new arrivals and the Elves of Sentarshadeen.
“If you won’t take the word of an Elven Knight, a unicorn, and a… Knight-Mage… for the fact that Vestakia bears no Taint, it would be good to hear that
Kellen felt a wave of relief wash over him, and saw the tension ease in Andoreniel’s face as well.
“Of course we will trust you, Idalia,” Andoreniel said, bowing slightly. “We are in your debt.”
Andoreniel might feel that way, but Kellen doubted everyone there shared his feelings. Elven expressions were notoriously difficult for mere humans to decipher, but the tension in the pavilion was thick enough to cut with a sword.
“Kellen?” Idalia went on, turning to Kellen and Jermayan. “Will you abide by my judgment as well?”
Though Kellen was the one she asked—for the sake of politeness—the question included both of them, and it was Jermayan who answered first.
“I have no doubt of what you will find, Wildmage,” Jermayan said austerely.
“Well, I, uh… yeah,” Kellen said. He knew Idalia wouldn’t lie, and he knew Vestakia wasn’t Demon-tainted. So how could she be a danger to Sentarshadeen?
“Go with her, child,” Jermayan said softly to Vestakia. “She will do you no harm.”
—«♦«♦»♦»—
THIS was not the grand reunion she had envisioned between herself and Jermayan, Idalia thought with a flash of irritation, as she settled her hat more firmly upon her head and led Vestakia out of the pavilion and into the rain once more.
Trust Kellen to manage to work a few surprises into a simple homecoming— and to come home a Knight- Mage, as well!
He was thinner than he’d been when he’d left. There were shadows and hollows in his face that hadn’t been there even a scant few sennights before. And he’d found his way into his magic—his own magic. What he had become was unmistakable in the sight of any Wildmage.
A Knight-Mage. The rarest kind of Wildmage, only appearing in a time of direst need. If they’d needed any more proof that they were all in deep trouble, Kellen’s manifestation of Knight-Mage powers should provide it. But despite that, she found it in her heart to be happy for him, because for the first time since her little brother had been dropped back on her doorstep through the auspices of an Outlaw Hunt, she sensed that Kellen had a real sense of his place in the world, of who he was and what his purpose was.
It was just too bad it was so very dangerous…
She and Vestakia reached the edge of the Flower Forest, and Idalia led Vestakia beneath its leafy canopy. The force of the rain was muted almost at once, to a gentle patterning on the dense canopy of leaves.
Though it was late autumn, the Flower Forest was in full leaf. Since the destruction of the great Elven forests in the Great War, many of the trees that grew in the Elven Flower Forests no longer grew anywhere else in the world, and the Flower Forests—as had the great Elven forests of which they were the only survivals—paid little heed to the turning of the seasons.
Thick moss cushioned the ground beneath their feet, and the air was appreciably warmer within the forest than it had been outside. The air was filled with the spicy scent of the trees and the rich fragrance of their flowers.
“It’s so beautiful,” Vestakia breathed in wonder, staring about herself in awe. “I never… I was raised in the Wild Hills, you see. I saw forests when we rode south, and Kellen said that there were even larger forests further south, but…”
“Well, nothing could really prepare you for the Flower Forest,” Idalia said kindly. “There isn’t really anything anywhere like a Flower Forest… except maybe another Flower Forest.”
Vestakia giggled nervously. “Are there many of those?”
