Chapter 29
VALANCE
I didn’t sleep much that night in the chair beside Kormac. From his odd muttering and constant shifting, neither did he. So much to consider, so many thoughts crashing into one another. But also the solid certainty of my focus now.
To go north. Possibly break this curse of berserker rage. Undo this soul bond I didn’t want undone because the bond told me so.
When I did manage to doze off for small moments, I dreamed of ruins in a strange place. Nothing else came to me in the dream, just me wandering the endless crumbling structures under a mysterious sky that could have been night or some other form of darkness.
Dark caress… Those two words rolled in my head. Full of mystery. I craved cracking them open, spilling their meanings and secrets.
“Dark caress,” I whispered.
As birdsong rang from outside, I got up to open the front door of the cottage.
Dawn had come again. I called to my magic, stirring the trees around the building.
A branch came to me, softening, coiling around my right arm.
I stroked it with my free hand, enjoying our closeness and the return of my magic.
Danu help my enemies now. The next encounters would end in so much pain for her.
My tears had dried up. I’d shed some in the twilight dark before dawn, grieving for my losses.
But I’d avenge my fallen friends, even my father.
He’d betrayed me, yes, but he’d also been betrayed by Spring.
I didn’t care that he planned to do the same, to go into war.
He was my father. Even if he didn’t love me, I loved him.
Claiming revenge in his name, in the name of Boyd and Maeve, was my duty now.
I would not fail.
Sending the branch back, happy to know I wasn’t completely useless, I watched the sun rise through the trees in a display of broken colors, Kormac moving to stand beside me.
A united force facing the future. I tensed at his presence, then relaxed at it.
“They’ll hunt us,” I said, “the seelie.”
“I know.” He held out his hand. A small wooden compass sat in his hand. It pointed in a specific direction. To the other old woman.
I still couldn’t come to grips with the many parts. But it was one of many things to come to grips with.
“Looks like there're some supplies on the table,” he said. “Weapons, some food.”
I turned around, not having noticed the two big packs, swords, and water skins sitting there. Even some tiny blades.
“Oh.”
Then I noticed the hallway filled with thorny vines. So thick it’d take a day to clear them.
“I gather she’s gone,” Kormac said, noticing it himself.
We both seemed unbothered, not as bemused as we should.
He went over to check the bags. “Food inside. Blankets. Potion. Salves. There’s also a bottle of poison. There’s also some bread and jam here for breakfast. A jar of cold milk.”
“Helpful,” I said, facing the outdoors again. “The sooner we set off, the better.”
I wanted to enjoy these few moments with the sunrise before the real challenge began. Before the drama.
“Then we’d better eat first,” the human said. “Best to get our energy up. Eat. Drink.
There he went, caring for my energy. My forced companion.
I… I liked it.
All part of being cursed, I suppose.