Tomas listened more intently than he cared to admit. Somehow, he could hear his own voice behind her words, recalling the feelings seared into his mind the day he had been taken from his home to join the army.
At first it had all been excitement to escape the monotonous life he had always had. However, it was quickly replaced with fear and paranoia.
The world was an enormous place, far larger than he had ever comprehended. In that enormous world were people he did not understand, places he did not know, and dangers that he could never have expected.
The memories were powerful, because he came to realise how much he had relied on Rilan so much during that time. He had no experience with the world or the people in it, no one to take care of him anymore.
Only Rilan.
Rilan had been the one constant in Tomas’s life since his childhood. His ray of hope, his shield, his protector, his friend when in need. The one immovable, impenetrable force.
But Rilan was gone, buried somewhere alone in the snow and mud.
Tomas could not deny the familiarity of the anxiety behind Lynn’s words. She was stuck in the same situation as he had been.
She is just like me.
Tomas closed his eyes, nodding his head as he came to accept his realisation. Lynn was alone too, and Lynn needed help, much as he had. Whether or not all of what she said was true, they would be better off sticking together.
“I will accompany you,” Tomas said.
Lynn could not avoid grinning, patting him on the shoulder in appreciation. “Thank you.”
There was a calm relief in her soft voice. Tomas was certain he was making the right decision about where to go from there.
Tomas stood up slowly, his joints still aching from his earlier fall.
“Right now, we need to find help. We need to warn the other settlements in the area of the attacks. They may be next. We need supplies, gear, and transport if we are to inform the king of what is coming.”
Lynn put the tome safely away into her satchel and rose, looking around at the snowy forest and icy ravine from their humble spot beneath the overhang of earth and roots.
Tomas pointed down the frozen river, away from where they had come from.
“If we keep following the river, we will eventually get to Rivendam.”
“Rivendam?” Lynn said.
“It’s a large town towards the coast. I’ve never been there before, but it was where my father was born. I remember him telling me stories about it.”
Father. Tomas shuddered to himself but instantly brushed it aside.
“They will have people there who can help us. And once we are there, you can study that tome of yours.”
“Alright,” Lynn said, sweeping strands of her glowing red hair out from her face. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
The pair nodded in agreement, brushing themselves off from the snow and dirt that had accumulated on their worn clothing and beginning their journey back onto the frozen river.
Tomas questioned if he had made the right decision, thinking back to the past few weeks of horrors he had faced. He looked to Lynn Jhono by his side as they began their trek, watching as the black liquid sloshed in the vial around her neck with each step she took.
He did not know whether to be perplexed by it, or terrified. His concern for Lynn’s health was at the forefront of his anxieties. He had seen the power that Blight had given her when she drank only a sip, and the awful reaction her body suffered with afterward.
Was he safe travelling alone with this girl who was little more than a stranger to him?
Yet, Tomas was able to settle each fear and anxiety that popped up, reminding himself of what he had already faced and survived.
No matter what happens to me, what obstacles I may face, or what pains I must endure, I will make it. I must trust myself.
Each step was another step further from Tomas’s old home. He felt dread, sure, just as he had the first time he had left. But this time it felt quite different.
Unlike his first ever venture away from home, Tomas was feeling confident this time because he was the one making the decision for himself. For once, he was not running away anymore.
And there was a certain fulfilment that came to him in knowing that his path ahead was his own to build.
Chapter 47 - The Man in Shadow
King Emery Blacktree, still in his riding gear and clutching his bandaged, broken arm, stormed into the royal quarters of the Alderhall keep where he had been told his wife was resting.
His eyes were panicked, wide with fear for Queen Sirillia’s wellbeing. He saw a ghostly figure lying in the canopy bed beneath thick layers, surrounded by several healers and physicians.
Emery rushed over with Ser Yelin Mortimer right on his heels.
“My king, we really need to set your arm correctly!” Yelin called out after him. But there was no stopping the man.
After arriving back in Dawnhill, Emery had been met at the gates by a messenger to warn him that Queen Sirillia had become very ill along their journey home.
He didn’t even allow the messenger to finish speaking before he took off galloping up the steep slope that the capital had been built upon, riding straight for Alderhall.
“Your arm needs to be looked at by someone at once, my king,” Yelin urged, following Emery into the royal sleeping quarters.
Emery, again, did not respond, instead rushing
