Hana gasped and hopped backwards in her seat, but Marten watched with a blank expression. After a long moment of silence, he slowly nodded his head. “Continue.”
“The collapsed scaffolding will definitely take out some of the ground forces as well, but Lia and I will make sure that your road forward is clear. Once you make it through the Gate, Lia stays with you to make sure nobody tries to ambush you, while I fall behind and take out anyone who might try to follow.” I waited for a moment to make eye contact with Marten and Hana. “After that, we just...go. Far enough into Lybesa that we never have to think about Kaldan again.”
Marten’s eyes hardened as he looked me over. “I trust you, Lux. I don’t understand you, but I trust you.” He placed his hand on Hana’s knee and held it tightly. “We’re in your hands now.”
“Thank you. I won’t let you down,” I said, bowing my head deeply. “If things go as planned, you should never be in any danger, but there’s no reason we can’t take extra precautions. We’ll line the outside of the wagon with crates to give you protection from any stray arrows.” As I explained my plans, I pulled a handful of orbs from my bandolier and began to fill them with glowing orange liquid.
“If things go wrong and somebody gets hurt, use one of these. They’ll close up any wounds until I can get back.” I saw the question coming in Marten’s face, so I sliced a small cut in my thumb with the mana needle to give a demonstration. Hana reached out momentarily, shocked at the sudden appearance of blood, but she quickly sat back in awe as the healing salve closed the wound. “Understand?” I asked, offering out a trio of the silver orbs.
They both nodded quietly as Hana took the globes and set them carefully in her lap. I handed the remaining two orbs to Lia, which she stowed in a bag on her hip. Leaning back on my hands, I sighed. “Now comes the hard part.”
Lia cocked her head to the side. “We’re still a few hours from the wall, Lux.”
“I know. Now, we wait.” Silence fell over our group as my statement sank in. We rearranged the crates into a two-high wall, leaving a small space in the middle where the four of us could comfortably sit on the floor. There were no pleasant stories of Lia’s childhood from Hana, and Marten was uncharacteristically stoic and quiet as our ride continued.
Lia and I sat together in deep meditation, keeping a close eye on any movement within a few miles of our position. A few wagons had fallen in behind us as our journey continued, but a quick scan revealed they were simply trading caravans on their way back to Lybesa. While my unprecedented level of confidence had yet to falter, I could feel Lia’s anxiety through her extended mana. I pressed my consciousness against hers, and her barriers fell away a moment later, flooding me with her feelings of pre-battle fear and uncertainty.
Calm. Strength. Confidence. I pushed back with my own feelings as the lines defining our separate minds began to blur. After all of the times her warm, loving aura had steadied my panicked mind on our trip to Attetsia, I knew the thoughts would help in some small way.
I felt her fingers rest gently on top of mine, and her voice suddenly echoed in my head, more clearly than if she had spoken the words directly into my ear. I love you. A warmth spread out from my stomach to the tips of my extremities, tingling all along the way.
I love you. While I couldn’t put the process into words, it felt natural and effortless to impart the message back to her. I would have normally been intrigued by the new discovery, but I simply logged the thoughts away for later investigation as I basked in our shared love. Whatever worries she had felt burned away, and we sat with our minds blissfully connected as the wall came ever closer.
When the time came, I begrudgingly separated myself from her, feeling a deep sense of loneliness as I became the sole resident inside my head. “It’s time,” I intoned, climbing to my feet. “Marten, Hana, stay safe. This will all be behind us soon enough.” I opened the crate I had been leaning against and retrieved the gauntlets of the King’s Strength, sliding them down over my arms with an almost religious reverence.
They stood in unison with me and gave Lia a tight, lingering hug. Hana stepped forward and embraced me as well when they had finished, holding me firmly around the waist. “Primes watch over you,” she whispered in my ear in an unsteady voice. When she moved away, Marten offered out his hand.
“Keep our family safe,” he said, giving my hand a firm shake even through the plated gauntlets, “and make sure you both come back alive.”
“We will,” I promised. Lia moved to my side, and we both turned and stepped down from the wagon.
The world around us glowed a fiery orange as the sun began to set behind the distant walls of Atsal, setting the Mountain Gate aflame ahead of us. Our wagon was stopped behind two dozen others, all patiently waiting for their turn to pass through the multiple inspection points. I unhitched our horse’s reins from the wagon and handed them to Lia. “Are you ready?”
She jumped lithely up into the saddle, then turned to me with a smile. “Ready.” I climbed up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, then drew my hood as far over my head as I could. When
