Alena knew the thoughts she’d inserted didn’t make sense, but they didn’t have to. Emotions alone mattered, and the justifications came later. Such was always the way of humans, though they didn’t realize it.
She only held onto the soulwalk long enough to make sure the shot was released.
Then she returned to the physical world, connecting to the gatestone near her navel. Her strongest affinity, by far, was mental. But second was air. She summoned a gust as a second volley of arrows was launched at them.
Alena put everything into her affinity, but the effect was pitifully weak. One arrow embedded itself in the dirt next to her, its flight barely affected.
But then confusion fell upon the Falari.
The woman Alena soulwalked into might have believed no one would notice, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Falari realized what had happened in a moment, though they knew not the reason why.
From the outcropping in front of them came a strangled cry of grief, and Alena saw a young man fall to his knees.
In the next heartbeat the same young man stood tall, an arrow nocked and aimed at the outcropping above Alena.
He released, and Alena knew their moment had come. “Follow me!” she yelled.
She made herself light and dashed toward the outcropping ahead of them. A single arrow passed behind her, but the attention of the attackers had been torn.
Alena launched herself at an archer, both feet aimed at his unprotected chest.
She wasn’t nearly the martial artist her brother was, but she wasn’t completely useless, either. Her kick landed solidly, knocking the archer back into a sharp boulder behind him.
Alena landed on her side, groaning as sharp rocks cut her hip. She looked up to see another archer bringing his drawn bow down so the arrowhead was aimed at her chest. At this distance she had no hope of evasion.
Then Jace was there, his sword cutting through the drawn arrow.
Alena couldn’t convince her body to move. Jace drew every bit of her attention, his strength finally brought to bear against an enemy he could fight.
His sword was an extension of his hand, and when it moved it brought death with it.
Alena almost felt sorry for the archers. At a distance, they’d had Jace at a disadvantage. But up close, he finished them in two heartbeats, done before the first body had even hit the ground.
She adored her younger brother.
But she felt a fear of him, too. A fear she hadn’t felt for years.
An arrow skipping off a boulder beside her focused her attention on their current predicament.
Where was Toren?
Alena forced herself to hands and knees, keeping her body behind a boulder. Her eyes found Toren.
He had not followed the siblings, but instead stood his ground. Focused on him, Alena saw the spinning stones before he launched them into the outcropping above.
Toren’s assault was methodical. He launched whenever he saw any exposed Falari. By himself, he had pinned down the rest of the ambushers.
Jace realized the same, and a moment later he was sprinting up the hill. Alena felt a small sense of satisfaction that she was still faster than her brother, but that satisfaction vanished when his sword went to work.
Alena turned her eyes away from the scene that followed. As soon as her brother safely reached the last of the Falari, the outcome was never in doubt, and she struggled to reconcile the warrior her brother was with the boy he had been. Jace had always loved to fight, but there had been something endearing about it when he’d been a boy.
His skill held no such attraction for her anymore.
Her eyes traveled to the Falari who had fallen among this outcropping. There were four men and two women, but only one of the dead had an arrow through her chest.
Alena recognized her.
Soulwalking unveiled memories, and those memories carried an emotional weight.
Alena’s first reaction when she saw the body was a cold satisfaction. The woman had betrayed her and earned her just reward.
She grimaced.
No. This woman had never wronged her. Those thoughts weren’t Alena’s, but a nameless Falari warrior now falling to her brother’s blade, or to Toren’s stones.
A chill settled over her bones, causing her to shiver. Who was she to judge Jace for his ability? He’d met bow with sword, and on this occasion had emerged triumphant. But there was an honor, at least, to that. Alena might not have released the arrow, but she’d killed this woman all the same.
And she’d done it through the hands of a former friend.
Jace wasn’t the monster here.
She was.
31
Three long days passed without incident. Regar met with a constant stream of guests, but rarely left his quarters to do so. It left Brandt and Ana with little to do.
They didn’t leave their own rooms much. Food was provided for them and neither felt particularly comfortable wandering Faldun on their own. They spent most of their time in bed, making up for the time lost on the road.
As pleasant as the time was, Brandt welcomed the eventual knock against their door. He rose and answered, his hand at his sword. Ren stood framed in their doorway, the early afternoon sun bright in the valley beyond. He appeared solemn. “It’s time.”
“The elders?”
“They request your presence as well.”
Brandt looked down at his clothes. They were those he had traveled in, and although they’d been washed, they were still tattered and well-worn. “Am I presentable?”
A hint of a smile played across Ren’s face. “The elders will not judge you based on your clothing. Of that, you can rest easy.”
“May I carry my sword?”
Ren frowned. “Of course. Why would you not?”
Brandt smiled. “If there is ever true peace between our lands, Ren, I’ll have to introduce you to imperial customs.”
“I am not certain such an education would be enjoyable.”
Brandt and Ana followed Ren through the city. Brandt
