“Thanks. How’s Ana?”
“We’re trying to start a family.”
It took a heartbeat for the words to register, then the fire in the kitchen suddenly bloomed brighter. Alena blushed. If she didn’t keep her emotions controlled they were reflected in the space in small ways. “Congratulations! That’s great news.”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is. You two are wonderful together, and think of how strong your child will be.”
“Thanks. I wish I shared your confidence.” Brandt gestured around the room, taking everything in. “I ask myself all the time—with everything happening now, is bringing a child into this world wise? Look at me. I’m terrified of facing the queen again, even with you and Hanns supporting me. I know I might not return. How can I ask a child to endure that? How can I ask Ana to bear that burden?”
Alena reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Don’t you think Ana knows all this?”
Brandt admitted she did.
“Then trust her. If she’s willing, and you’re willing, you two will find the path. I’m certain of it.”
Brandt breathed out slowly. “Thank you.” Then he changed the subject. “Will you help us?”
“There isn’t much choice, is there? You believe Hanns needs the connection to the gate?”
Brandt nodded.
“Then we need to protect it.”
Brandt looked around the room, as though worried someone might be eavesdropping on them. “I don’t want to go back. Not after last time.”
Alena tried to ignore her own memories of their last encounter. “Neither do I.”
They sat in silence together for a few moments. Then Brandt squeezed her hand. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
“I’ll be ready.”
When Alena was certain that Brandt had said all he needed, she banished the illusion and returned to her own body.
The scene around the campfire had become very quiet. Alena opened her eyes to see everyone staring at her. The Etari, in particular, looked as though they were close to drawing their weapons.
In the intervening years Alena had forgotten how much the Etari despised soulwalkers. It hadn’t occurred to her to hide her actions from them out of respect for their beliefs.
At the same time, her ability to soulwalk was the very reason they had summoned her.
I’m fine, she gestured.
The Etari didn’t look convinced, but they let her be. Jace offered to spar all comers again, even though he looked exhausted from his long day on the road. The riders eagerly took him up on his offer.
The tension around the fire dissipated. After a few rounds, Jace called the sparring to a halt and everyone gathered closer to the fire. Jace sat down next to Alena.
“You look horrible,” she said. He had new bruises on his face and welts on his arm where he’d been hit with a stick.
“They’re tough fighters,” he admitted. “Where were you?”
“With Brandt.” Alena told Jace everything, including her decision to fight again against the Lolani queen. As she spoke, the Etari quieted their conversation to pay closer attention to hers. She addressed them all. “We may need to stop for a bit to allow me to fight, either tomorrow or the day after.”
Ligt signed an affirmative gesture, which was about all Alena expected. The riders spoke quietly among themselves and then announced they would be leaving the party in the morning. They gave no reason, but Alena guessed easily enough.
Jace had been a fun distraction, but they didn’t want to be anywhere near a soulwalker as she fought. Alena wished them well. Their presence meant little this far into Etar. At the moment, there were probably few places safer in the world.
She would miss the company, though. And the look on Jace’s face was almost enough to ask them to stay.
Early the next morning she took Jace away from the camp. The riders were packing up and Jace was eager to see them off, but Alena wanted to ensure one last task was taken care of before she was summoned by Brandt.
When they were well away from the camp, she sat down. Jace followed suit. Hidden in the tall grasses of the prairie, they might as well have been alone in the world. Which was exactly the feeling she was searching for.
Jace followed her without question, though she saw the curiosity in his eyes, and the worry he would miss the riders’ departure. Once they were settled, she spoke. “I’m nervous about what Brandt has asked of me. The queen frightens me, and I don’t fully understand her powers. The place that I’m going—” She hesitated, not quite sure how to say what she meant. “Where I’m going, I want an anchor. Something that I’m tied tightly to.”
“I’ll do it,” Jace said, preempting her question.
“It means wrapping threads tightly around both of us. In some ways, it might feel like compulsion. Do you understand?”
Somehow her brother’s eyes managed to be both hard and welcoming at the same time. “I do.”
“And you’ll still do it?”
His stare was answer enough.
She exhaled deeply. “Thank you.”
Alena hadn’t been certain how he would respond. She’d compelled him once before, and that deed hung over their relationship like a dark cloud. To willingly submit to it again spoke volumes about his trust in her.
Trust she wasn’t sure she deserved.
She closed her eyes. The web of life appeared around her, the thread connecting her to Jace brighter than the rest. As she had with Brandt the night before, she followed the thread until they were together.
In her studies, Alena had discovered that most people possessed some deep-seated and natural defense against soulwalking. It wasn’t enough to deter a trained soulwalker, but some part of the human spirit rejected the interference of others. Souls wanted to be free.
She knew Jace possessed the same innate defense, but she didn’t encounter it today. He left himself completely vulnerable.
She swore to herself she would never abuse that trust. Never again.
Jace appeared before her, but it wasn’t him in the same way it had been Brandt earlier. This was her representation of him, her own mental model. As she willed
