Strong arms embraced her.
Azaleth.
She tried to push him away. She didn’t deserve his affection.
Her efforts were in vain, and she surrendered, sinking into his embrace and returning it with one of her own. She buried her face in his chest, holding on to him as though he was the only thing keeping her alive.
Time lost meaning. The two of them might have remained in that position for a few heartbeats or the rest of the late afternoon. Alena didn’t know.
Eventually, the tumult inside her faded, leaving behind something solid and stable, a mountain of determination.
When she let go of him, he also released her. Their eyes met, and Alena felt understood. He nodded, the imperial gesture somehow seeming out of place.
It made her crack a smile.
She knew what she needed to do.
Alena searched the camp for Sooni, who was already beginning the celebration of the warriors’ lives that had been lost. She and most of the rest of the family were gathered around a fire, swapping stories and drinks. Alena was glad she found her family head before the celebration had gotten too far.
“May I speak with you for a moment?” Alena asked.
Sooni cast her a wary look, but agreed.
Together they stepped away from the fire. Azaleth followed, and Alena found she didn’t mind.
Once they had some privacy, Alena began. “Will Rotger send anyone after the women?” She kept her voice even, unwilling to start the conversation on the wrong foot.
“Unlikely.” Sooni knew Alena was building to her real request.
“I would like to ride to Landow and warn them if I can.”
Sooni’s gaze was cool. “You wish to leave the family?”
Alena saw the hurt in Sooni’s eyes. Whatever grief Alena felt in regards to the loss of family today was a single drop of water compared to the oceans of grief Sooni felt. Sooni had been born into this family and had been responsible for it for over a decade. The fallen weren’t just her family, they were hers.
For the first time, Alena realized Sooni didn’t look on her as an adopted child, or an alliance of some sort. Their initial bargain had been a trade, but now Alena was as much Sooni’s family as anyone that lay buried under the dark earth. The new understanding filled her with a rush of belonging. Sooni would take her loss just as hard as those she mourned tonight.
Still, Alena couldn’t waver. Sooni was family, but she had another, and she couldn’t ignore them either. She’d run long enough. It was time to face every mistake she had made. And it started here.
Alena stepped forward and held Sooni’s hands. “I will never abandon this family.” She’d never made such a promise before, but she intended to keep it. “But I must warn my first one.”
She wondered if Sooni heard the determination in her voice, because the head of the family put up less of a fight than she expected. “I would bring the entire family to accompany you, if I could.”
“You would start a war.”
Yes, Sooni gestured. And she meant it, too. Sooni would go that far to protect her, if she could.
Alena’s heart broke at that. She pulled the older woman into an embrace. “I will return.”
Sooni returned the embrace.
When they broke apart, Sooni glanced at Azaleth. “I imagine you will join her?”
Yes.
“He’s all the protection I can offer,” Sooni said. “I hope that he is enough. Stay and celebrate our fallen tonight. In the morning, we shall see you off.”
Just like that, it was done.
In the morning, she would begin her return to Landow.
53
Brandt woke up well before the sun. He and Ana had slept within a depression the night before. It was slim protection, but it kept them out of sight. The caution was probably unwarranted. They hadn’t seen a single sign of the invaders since they had entered the cave several days before.
That fact alone made him uneasy. He didn’t know if the invaders were using the roads or if they avoided notice by traveling any of the trails that cut through the mountains. But he struggled to believe they had just given up their pursuit after the effort they’d expended. He struggled to believe a lot these days.
For all the answers his vision had provided, it had left him with more questions. The first, and perhaps the most important, was whether or not he should trust the vision at all. When he had woken, he told Ana all that he had seen. Her skepticism reinforced his own.
Still, he felt acutely aware of just how little he understood. What he had assumed was true ten years ago he now knew was false. He wouldn’t follow the guidance of his vision blindly, but he didn’t see any compelling reason not to accept the information. Someone in Landow sought to aid an enemy of the empire.
While Ana slept, Brandt trained.
In the monastery, his skills had improved. He possessed a basic affinity in each of the elements, a talent he wouldn’t have believed possible as a youth. Fire remained his native element, but the vision had promised something else, a harmony between the elements he had yet to discover.
And he remained stymied by the cost. For all his new talents, he still wasn’t stronger. The memories unveiled to him in the cave were yet another confirmation. Somehow, there had to be a way to escape the fundamental rules of affinities.
He just didn’t know how yet.
So he trained, listening to the songs of each of the elements. He threw stones as high in the air as he could, catching them before they landed and woke Ana. He spun air in tighter and tighter circles until the dust caught within stung his hand. Fire blossomed and diminished within his gaze.
The elements obeyed his every command until his body felt spent.
The cost had been paid.
He finished his training as the sun rose, moving through his various sword forms.
Today they returned to Landow.
Finding Kye was the priority. He needed to be told
