* * *
The next day they began to see small tufts of grass and scraggly trees, signs of life. By the time the sun was setting, they were again on level ground with the mountain at their backs. It wasn’t warm but compared to the heights of the pass, it may as well have been a summer day.
As usual, Lana and Nym wandered off to explore their surroundings and Clay tended to the horses. Once he was done, he started a fire and then sat, contemplating the path ahead. He still didn’t know exactly what was in store for them in Thelsamel and he feared that his time with Lana was coming to an end. Whatever they wanted with her probably had nothing to do with him and he knew he might never see her again.
He heard footsteps and turned to see Nym returning to camp.
“Where is Rowan?” he asked her sharply, rising to his feet.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine,” Nym assured him but then she frowned and looked over her shoulder in the direction she had come from. “Well, she’s not exactly fine but she’s safe. She wanted to be alone for a time but I think that you should go to her. Something troubles her and she won’t speak to me of it.”
Nodding, Clay grabbed his quarterstaff and walked away in the direction Nym had indicated. He’d noticed that Lana had been especially quiet but thought perhaps Nym could cheer her up.
He found her sitting with her back against a young tree, looking out at the mountain they had just descended, tear streaks on her cheeks. He knelt down beside her and carefully wiped the tears away. She barely seemed to register his presence so he sat beside her and waited, knowing that she would talk when she was ready.
Finally she seemed to rouse herself and looked up into his eyes.
“I have left it behind me,” she told him, her eyes full of sorrow. “Everything that I was is done. I’m leaving behind my station in life. I’m leaving behind my dead family. I’m leaving behind my humanity. All that I was is behind me, on the other side of that mountain, and I’m fearful of what is ahead.”
He gathered her in his arms and cradled her to his chest as she wept, as she cut the last ties that bound her to the lands of the humans, as she gave herself over to whatever fate had in store for her in Eva.
When it seemed like she had run out of tears, she tilted her face up to his and there was nothing he could do but kiss her. There was no holding it back anymore, it was as if nature itself was pulling them together, binding them so closely that neither could pull away even if they wanted to. And he knew he didn’t want to do any such thing.
Her lips were warm under his and tasted of the salt of her tears. At first she didn’t respond - likely she was as shocked as he was - but then he felt the pressure of her lips returning the kiss, her hands clutching at his shirt. She wasn’t pushing him away, she was pulling him closer.
He could feel the land around them rejoicing, reaching up through the earth and holding them as they held each other. He cradled her face as he kissed the last tears from her cheeks, gazing into her green eyes, marveling at the strength and beauty of this woman in his arms. He tried to imagine what it would be like to leave Eva behind him forever and it evoked an almost physical pain. She laid her head back on his chest and he held her for a time. Then, without a word spoken, they made their way back to camp, leaving a circle of new growth where they had embraced as if spring had come to that single spot and left the rest of the earth untouched.
* * *
Clay had been thinking about his mission. For a while now, he had been torn between following orders and protecting Lana, but the balance had finally tipped and he knew what he had to do. After they ate dinner, he told Nym that she could take second watch and he would take first. Lana settled down to sleep and she seemed to have no trouble this night. Perhaps her thoughts were peaceful for once or perhaps the emotional turmoil of the day had exhausted her. He spent a long time just watching her as she slept, trying to understand his feelings for her. Was it love? He had no way of knowing. I may never know, he thought sadly.
He made his preparations as quietly as he could, dividing up the food and packing his things away. When it came time to wake Nym up, he was very careful to make sure that Lana didn’t stir. She couldn’t know what he was about to do.
He gestured for Nym to follow him away from the camp, out of elven earshot.
“I have to leave,” he told her. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing, merely waited for him to explain himself, a habit she had picked up from Lana. “I’m going to tell you the truth now and I need you to swear to me that you will do what I ask of you. Will you swear?”
She studied him in the dim light, which wasn’t so dim to an elf. After a time, she nodded. “I will swear. I have learned that you’re a good man and any reason you have to leave must be important. I cannot promise that I will tell you the truth of me, however.”
He figured that would be the case and he didn’t care. He trusted this woman completely and she had grown very close to Lana so
