“Your other family, they are well?”
“They are. My brother insisted on escorting me.”
A thin smile grew from the corner of Sooni’s lips. “We’ve heard. He’s a skilled warrior, by all accounts.”
“So he is. I hadn’t realized how skilled until we crossed the border.”
Sooni stiffened slightly at the mention of the border. Alena didn’t miss it. “I saw the weaves. More complex and beautiful than anything I’ve seen before. It’s a soulworking.”
Yes, Sooni signed. “But I can’t answer your questions. Those secrets are not mine to tell.”
Alena had hoped for more, but she wasn’t surprised she’d have to go all the way to a clan elder to find them. Maybe even higher.
“We missed you,” Sooni said.
“And I you.”
“There are questions about whether or not you are Etari enough for what is to come.”
Alena shrugged, then signed indifference, remembering where she was. “There always have been. It’s not for me to worry about anymore.”
Sooni’s gaze ran up and down her. “You’ve grown these last two years.”
“But I still have much to learn.”
“There is little I can tell you directly. I was ordered by the clan elders to summon you. I insisted on meeting you first, but now that you are here, we will continue our journey.”
“To do what?”
Sooni looked uncertain, an appearance she didn’t wear well. As head of the family, Alena had always found Sooni’s decisiveness to be a matter of course. “I don’t know. The elders won’t give me even a hint.”
Alena frowned. The Etari, in her experience, didn’t keep many secrets from one another. For them to hide information from Sooni was concerning.
Sooni must have sensed her concern. “Let us not worry. Today is a reunion. Go, bring your brother. It’s time for your two families to know each other better.”
13
Brandt enjoyed traveling. He always had. Ana, riding next to him, didn’t. She longed for a way to reach their destination moments after departing their origin.
So Brandt’s delight at leaving Estern was Ana’s torment.
She foresaw endless leagues of riding and days filled with little to do.
Brandt basked in the simplicity of a day on the road. Whenever one remained stationary, particularly in a city, a plethora of options demanded consideration. What should he eat? How should he spend his time?
On the road, all those decisions were made. They ate what food they had brought, simple fare designed for the rigors of the road. Their only choice every day was how far to travel.
With nothing to do except ride, Brandt felt an incredible sense of freedom. This, he felt, was how people were supposed to live. Perhaps the Etari had it right, never allowing themselves to settle into cities.
Unfortunately, with little to do, and with Ana’s mood sour due to the long days on the road, it was too easy to fall into disagreements.
Like the one they currently were engaged in.
Ana shrugged again. “I don’t care.”
“Then why come?”
“The emperor gave you an order. And I’d rather remain by your side, so long as I can.”
Brandt believed Ana, but still found her lack of interest difficult to understand. “You don’t have the slightest curiosity about the gate?”
“No. I’ve seen the gate underneath Landow. You say the one under the palace looks the same. I don’t personally care about the power they provide. So why should I be interested?”
“They could change the world!”
“Sure, but that doesn’t matter much to me.”
“You don’t mean that.”
She sighed. “It’s not that I want the world to burn. But I believe in letting the world do as it will. I just want to focus on what matters to me.”
“Which is?”
“You, for one. Starting a family. Building a home.”
The last statement made him pause. “You want to build a home?”
She raised her right eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning on raising our child in the monastery.”
Brandt hadn’t considered that problem. They rode silently for several heartbeats before she laughed. “You really didn’t think this through, did you?”
Another few moments passed. “No, I did not.”
He liked the idea of starting a family. He thought that he would make a good father, and Ana would be a wonderful mother. Obviously it would come with changes, but he realized now those changes would be more substantial than he had thought.
Would being a father mean giving up all of this?
He looked at the endless expanse of prairie surrounding them. They had countless leagues to go before they reached the mountains of Falar, but their journey mattered. It could shape the future of the empire.
How did he choose between that and a family?
“You don’t need to worry yet,” Ana said. “But you should probably figure it out soon.”
“Figure what out soon?” The voice was the prince’s.
“Life,” answered Ana, saving Brandt from having to explain their conversation to Regar.
“No small feat,” Regar remarked dryly.
“He’s got that gleam in his eye again,” Ana noted.
Brandt studied the prince for a moment. Ana was right. Regar had a question that he was dying to ask. Brandt knew the signs by now.
Ana shook her head. “I’ll leave you two to that. Enjoy.” She nudged her horse forward to join a group of female guards that rode off to the side. Ana had grown fond of them over the long days of riding.
“A remarkable woman,” Regar commented.
“She is.”
“You are loyal to the empire, correct?”
Brandt looked over. From anyone else, he might have considered the question offensive. But they’d come to understand Regar better in the course of their travels. The prince possessed an undying curiosity that peeled away assumptions to strike at the heart of problems. He questioned everything, though he meant no offense by any of it.
Ana found the constant questioning annoying, and that was the term she used if she felt charitable. Ana was content. She understood herself, she knew her skills, and she knew what role she had in the world. It wasn’t that she wasn’t curious, but her curiosity had a different flavor than Regar’s, and it didn’t extend
