Chapter 46 Azahara
Azahara
She was keenly aware that Kaed had held her close throughout the entire night because not a single second of sleep had graced her.
Her mind raced through countless scenarios, none of which ended with them leaving together.
Every fiber of her being was gripped by fear, and nothing could alleviate that overwhelming sensation.
Everything had happened so quickly that morning. Kaed was up before the sun had even begun to rise over the horizon. Karver was stationed at the front of her tent as if he hadn’t slept a wink either. Neither of them had said a word to her, and she could tell it was because of their focus.
She had no idea what to say to them anyway. “Good luck; let’s have a great fight.”
It didn’t matter now because she was face to face with open fields and soldiers surrounding her.
To her right, Kaed stood, his armor light and airy, easy to move in, and he flexed his shoulders for the massive bow that wrapped around his torso.
Several dozen arrows were in the quiver, each with feathers from blackbirds at their hilt.
On her other side was Karver, adorned with white armor but forgoing the long cloak that was the signature of the King’s White Cloak guards.
He had jewelry hanging from his ears, which she had asked about weeks ago, and he said they were a gift he never took off.
Seeing that sentiment still held even in the looming battle was comforting.
Across his waist was a sheath with a golden handle marked with the king’s symbol. Stupid dove… She thought.
She had been gifted her own armor set, but she could only wear shoulder and hip plates because of some extra-large features.
She wore leather gloves and boots that matched her black tunic, and around her tiny waist were several belts with holsters to carry four throwing daggers.
At her hip was a sword perfectly sized for her frame, gifted by Jayce.
It had been waiting for her in Karver’s hands when she emerged that morning with a note:
The sword’s grip was adorned with a blue emerald, which shone in the rising sun. She appreciated the gesture and had to fight back the tears that welled from it.
Kaed stepped before her. “Hey, Red, how’re you doing?”
She rolled her head around her shoulders, her body feeling like a thousand bees were swarming through it. “I’m okay. How’re you feeling?”
“Petrified,” he confessed, his smile soft as he lifted her gaze to him. “I can’t lose you.”
Karver took a step away, giving them a moment to themselves.
“You know you can’t lose me.” Her hand was on his as she leaned in.
With a resounding sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She instantly melted into him. “You don’t know that.” Pressing his lips to the top of her head, he tightened his hold. “Please, just don’t be reckless. Run if you need to. I beg of you.”
Swallowing roughly, she nodded her head. “And you? Don’t you go doing anything heroic. I need you more than this battle needs a single ranger.”
He released a hearty laugh. “I promise—”
“Swear it,” she interjected. “Swear that you won’t do anything stupid. That you will put coming back to me above anything else. Above being a hero. Above them; that I come first.” Her eyes burned as she leaned into him. Her entire body was trembling. This fear is going to be too much… “Please.”
He leaned her back ever so slightly to look into her eyes. “I swear on my love for you.” He kissed her with both hands on her cheeks, and she took a deep breath, taking him in before she knew that they would go their separate ways. “We will go home together.”
With one more strong embrace, he released her. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt, threatening to break through. “I love you, Azahara.”
“I love you too, Kaedwynn.” That drew a big smile from him, and she returned a weary one.
He looked at Karver. “Take care of her.”
With a decisive nod, Kaed reluctantly released her hand and ran toward the north, where the Eagles would be.
Her hand trembled when Karver stepped to her side and put out his hand. She took it without hesitation, his fingers lacing between hers. “Do you pray?” He placed his other hand over hers, cupping it.
“Not typically.” She had prayed for Zhal’s recovery, but she saw what that effort gave her. “I’m not really a believer in the gods, especially when it comes to them giving in any way.”
He moved in front of her, and she looked up at him. “Then let us pray to the Mother, hmm?”
Nodding her head, she looked at their hands that were intertwined as he began to hum a soft, throaty melody.
She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against their hands.
It was the same thing Illyan would do when they prayed to the Mother.
They rarely spoke words but instead sang to her for protection.
To no surprise, Karver’s voice was as beautiful as he was. The gentle cadence, transitioning seamlessly from velvety softness to resonant depth, bestowed upon her a soothing and euphoric sensation. It gave her something she hadn’t felt since she could remember: hope.
“To the Mother, I ask not for care of me but for Kaed. He is the light in my darkness. I fear if it burns out, the world will feel the consequences of it. I do not know why you have blessed me in the ways that you have, but please grant me this. Keep him safe. Keep Karver safe.”
His hand rested against her cheek, and she opened her eyes. “All I ask of you is that you trust and listen to me. If I say run, you run. If I say hide, you hide. If I say to leave me, you leave me.”
Her jaw clenched, and she sucked in a deep breath. “Only if you do me a favor.”
He gave her a nod. “Anything that is within my power.”
Releasing her breath slowly, she stared deep into his rosy eyes. “If we see Thall, you help me get to him, and we kill him.” This was completely opposite to what both Kaed and Jayce had told her, and it contradicted her feelings about doing something foolish and not being a hero.
This wasn’t about being a hero to her. This was for revenge and to sedate her rage.
Whatever Karver saw in her eyes made him smile. “I knew I liked you.”
The ground rumbled as if the very realm trembled in fear.
Azahara and Karver stood upon a vast expanse of flatland, making it arduous to discern anything beyond a mere hundred yards ahead.
However, she sensed it deep within her being: that vibration heralded their arrival.
The monsters, once concealed within the crevices of Helgum, now unleashed upon the command of Thall to assail the kingdom, had arrived.
She quickly turned towards a gathering of trees and rushed to them. She appreciated that Karver had critical thinking; she was running in the opposite direction of danger, to which he neither questioned nor gave chase.
Swiftly, she ascended one of the towering trees, seeking a vantage point high above the battleground.
A shudder coursed through her veins as she gazed upon the harrowing scene that unfolded across the flatland.
Countless creatures, ranging from hulking Gorruk to the twisted forms of the undead, sprawled across the landscape in a fearsome horde.
Her boots dug into the bark as she leaned outward, precisely as she had feared.
Thall had brought them all without hesitation and unleashed them onto the realm.
They would tear it down stone by stone, leaving nothing left.
What did Thall want so badly that he would bring this down upon them, and why hadn’t she been able to stop him right then before it got to this point?
While she could see that their side was just as powerful, with soldiers charging in without reservation, she knew that a single Gorruk would need at least two good soldiers to take it down. They didn’t have the luxury of fighting one-on-one.
When both sides clashed in the distance, she turned her head and closed her eyes.
They would arrive sooner than she anticipated; there was no way the front line could withstand their onslaught.
Given the overwhelming number of Gorruk on the enemy’s front line, she suspected that the second line of defense, composed of a few thousand soldiers standing in a formal formation several dozen feet back, would soon be thrust into battle. That would include both her and Karver.
Making her way down to Karver, he met her as her feet planted firmly back on the ground.
“What is the situation?” Her expression must have triggered a worry in him.
“It’s just as bad as I said it would be. I—” She wanted to be optimistic. The last thing she wanted was to put out that she didn’t believe they could win. “I need your thoughts.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want you to freak out. I want your opinion.
” He nodded, seemingly intrigued. “Thall, he was very dramatic when we encountered him. I suspect that he will be on the battlefield with his army. These creatures aren’t like us.
They don’t just sign up for a battle or follow orders.
What if, and again, this is just speculation, Thall is controlling them through Magic?
I don’t know, but if we severed the thread between them and him, these monsters wouldn’t hesitate to turn on themselves.
Seeing Gorruk, Trolls, and Ghouls fighting side by side is not normal. ”
Karver looked away as he began to seemingly ponder her words.
“Let’s find Thall, move around the battle untouched, and use these lands you are familiar with to our advantage.
” He looked back at her then, a weary expression on his face.
“I want to kill him; it is my drive to live, to see him die. This doesn’t stem from that, though.
We aren’t going to win this battle, Karver, with sheer force alone. ”
He took a deep breath and looked down at the middle of her chest. It was right where the patch that Illyan had made for them was sewn into the tunic. The top point of the star was finished, a crown hanging at its tip.