Chapter 21
Hannelore Mountain, Realm of Eldridge
R odric clenched and released the muscles in his arms. He was ready to defend them if necessary. Celina was giving an emotional appeal, but he’d known the moment Connor shifted into a rigid stance that her pleas would do no good. Connor’s mind was elsewhere, his primary goal to defend and protect whoever was in the barn.
“You know me, Connor,” Celina continued in a pleading voice. “I took over our family after Mom died. You helped me raise our baby sister, Cat. You came here on an important mission and got injured.”
“Celina.” Rodric sharpened his voice to remind her of hidden dangers, and she abruptly cut off her words.
His eyes moved over the barn, looking for other access points. There was definitely someone else in there, listening.
A whinny from Rogue broke a tiny bit of tension. Rodric could feel the horse’s excited desire to greet his master, but he had impressively kept still, waiting for a command to move from one of them. He doubted Zora would have shown as much restraint.
Connor’s eyes flicked to Rogue for what must have been the tenth time, emotions darkening in their depths. A good soldier, his eyes never stayed locked in one place, but the number of times they’d settled on the horse was a clear indication of where his mind was at.
“This is Rogue.” Celina gestured at the horse. “You trained him yourself to be your partner. To be a warhorse.”
Rodric’s heart hurt for both of them. It must be a twist of the knife that Connor knew his horse on some level more than he recognized his sister. A heavy breath blown from Zora’s nostrils made him check that thought. He’d probably be the same in such a situation. And wouldn’t Sev get a kick out of that?
Celina gave a soft command to Rogue, permitting him to move. He jumped forward in enthusiasm and trotted straight to Connor, nearly pushing him over with an affectionate head butt to the chest. Connor stroked Rogue’s face and neck with his free hand, murmuring softly to him. A fine tremor was visible in the movement of his fingers over the gray coat.
“I know you don’t remember me right now, but I need to know you’re safe, and that your injuries are healing. I felt them all the way from,”—Celina caught herself and cleared her throat—“home… and knew you were alive, even when they declared you dead.”
Connor gave no indication that he heard or believed a word she said, but Rodric caught the small movement as he flexed the hand of his bad arm—his sword arm. Something in her statement resonated with him.
Deciding it was time to end the standoff, Rodric addressed her brother. “You’re a warrior, Connor. Trust your instincts. We’ve traveled a long way to find you, brought you your horse, and we need your help. So, either fight me or we’ll call a truce and talk. Innocent lives are at stake.”
Regardless of what else could be said, Calderre’s warrior training seemed deeply ingrained. The need for action to save other lives sharpened the situation, and Connor assessed him with the penetrating eyes of a seasoned warrior. Jaw clenched tight, he met Rodric’s gaze for a long moment, searching for truth, before nodding his assent.
Sheathing his knife, Connor turned and held his hand out toward the barn. “Daya, it’s alright.”
Unsurprisingly, a woman stepped outside. Of equal height with Connor, she had long dark hair pulled back from her face. Her typical Eldrin outfit was marred by thick black leather covering her, almost akin to arm shields. The heavy material was custom made to wrap loosely but securely from wrist to elbow on both her arms. It seemed they had found their wing huntress.
Turning toward the woman, Connor spoke quietly into her ear before handing her Rogue’s reins. She nodded, moving to take the horse inside. As she gave them her back, Rodric saw a flash of deep turmoil churning in her eyes. They weren’t the only ones deeply affected by this situation. Although, if he had to guess, he’d say her feelings opposed theirs—she was not pleased at the prospect of Connor’s rescue. She’d have to get over it. He followed her progress until she disappeared into the barn.
Connor was eyeing him fiercely when Rodric returned his gaze, a clear message to leave the woman alone. Connor gestured meaningfully toward the house, waiting obstinately for Rodric to move in front of him. Under other circumstances, he might have laughed. Something told him the huntress wouldn’t tolerate that overly protective behavior for long. Something in her posture reminded him of Cass.
After giving Zora the command to stay and guard, Rodric approached Celina, who was standing very still and silent. Reaching out, he ran his fingers down the side of her face in a gentle caress. Blinking back tears, she looked at him desolately.
“One thing at a time. It will be okay,” he said quietly so that only she would hear.
Sucking in a deep breath, she nodded, the vulnerable look disappearing. The professional healer’s look replaced it, and her shoulders stiffened as she turned in the direction Connor had indicated. Rodric followed, wishing he could pull her back and hold her while she processed the emotional maelstrom.
A slightly offset shadow in the tree line on the cliffside caught his eye as he walked, causing a few of the knots lingering in his gut to loosen. Seeing evidence that Sev and Cass were nearby as planned lightened the weight he still felt to a more bearable level. He made a near invisible gesture as he passed the shadow, asking them to continue guarding a while longer.
Pausing outside the house, Rodric shifted so that Connor’s focus would be on them, in the opposite direction of the tree line. Though he was ready to make peace with the warrior, he wasn’t about to let his guard down completely.
S eated in a well-crafted chair near a warm fire, Rodric assessed the living space of the mountain home. Rock walls rose much higher than he would have expected from looking at the outside.
There was a surprising amount of light filtering in from slanted, crosshatched openings in the ceiling and huge windowed spaces in the side walls. It was an oddly appealing design, with almost everything highlighting the natural form of the mountain.
No amount of soothing natural elements could dispel the tension in the room.
Celina’s fingers were curled tightly into the palms of her hands. Connor sat across from them, back rigid and jaw tense.
He looked at his sister for a moment before shifting his focus to Rodric. “Start talking.”
“Is it safe to discuss things openly?”
“There are no other people here, and I trust Daya completely, for what that’s worth to you.”
No people , but there were predatory threats. More than the hawks? Did the huntress control any other animals? He glanced at Celina, who nodded her assessment that they should continue the conversation. Even with his mind injured, she believed in Connor’s strength of character. It was enough for him to go on.
Rodric briefly explained the situation, emphasizing the need for Connor’s unique knowledge and skill set to find and rescue Brenna.
“If what Celina says is true, then it is likely I could have helped you, before. Now though…” Connor gave them a pained look and shook his head. “I’m injured, weak, and have very few memories. The ones I have are mere shadows. Anything I learned or knew that could help you is buried. Even then, I’m not much use in combat at present.”
“I can help you with that.” Celina sat forward earnestly. “I can speed up your healing. A few days and you’ll be back to normal.”
“And my memories?” Connor asked.
“Boosting your natural ability should catapult you the rest of the way and enable your mind to recover fully. At least, that’s my hope. What happened, exactly? Do you remember any of it?”
“Not really, no,” Connor said. Exhaustion lined his features and weighted his voice. “Loud noises, fighting. Thinking I needed to save… someone. Daya found me, brought me here. I’ve been recovering, but it's been slow. Well… normal, not slow, I guess.” He frowned, looking at Celina. Probably wondering why he thought normal healing was so slow.
Celina grasped Rodric’s hand, twining their fingers together. Declaring his mission as her own. As theirs. His heart beat faster, a light, airy feeling weaving through him, warming him from the inside.
“We need your help. Rodric’s soul-daughter is in danger. We can’t wait for you to heal naturally. Please, let me try?”
Connor nodded. “What should I do?”
Rodric breathed a silent sigh of relief and squeezed Celina’s hand. The first of their unexpected challenges—getting Connor to agree to the healing—was overcome. Now, they needed his memories back.
“Nothing, just sit there and relax.” She held out her hand across the space between them, and he took it.
She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. He could swear he felt her pushing her magic out to Connor. His magic stirred in response to her actions, swirling vividly. Rodric hovered with her like a shadow, not really seeing, but feeling her magic build and release. It was entrancing, really. Time slowed.
Green, gold, and brown trees blurred as he ran past them, stumbling over roots that grew above ground. He had to get a little farther. It was the only way. Shouts and screams echoed in his head as footsteps echoed behind him. He tightened his grip on his sword, but the blood leaking down his arm made it too slick to get a good purchase. Cursing, he moved the weapon to his other hand.
The scene broke apart as Celina jolted, and Connor gave a ravaged cry. Rodric shook his head, blinking to clear the imagery from his mind.
“Connor!” Celina gasped, reaching forward to help her brother.
“No!” The word was choked out as he flinched back from her touch.
Rodric rose with Celina immediately, then paused, not sure how to help the man in such severe pain before him.
Connor’s breathing heightened into a frenzied state, skin paling rapidly. He continued to clutch at his head, eyes squeezed shut against the light.
Daya’s quiet rage whipped through the air, silent lightning lashing out brightly in the dark of night as she stormed into the room. Rodric fought the sudden urge to take a step back out of striking range.
A screech alerted him a second before a hawk careened through the open window. Landing in front of them, it expanded its wings in a threatening motion, clearly telling them to back off. Pulling Celina under his shoulder, Rodric pivoted his body between her and their winged attacker—the same one from the road if he wasn’t mistaken. The hawk let off more hostile energy than its mistress, glaring at them viciously. Connor was not lacking in protectors.
Daya dropped to her knees in front of Connor and clasped his shaking hands, speaking quietly to him. Connor’s head dipped to her chest, his breathing still erratic, voice mumbled.
Celina trembled within his hold, but he wasn’t sure if it stemmed from the fact that she’d inadvertently hurt her brother or general shock that the healing had gone completely wrong. She’d yet to acknowledge the hawk, focusing solely on Connor.
Eventually Connor’s breathing calmed. Daya stood and physically pulled him up, rubbing his back as she propelled him down the hall and around the corner, out of sight.
“I don’t… I didn’t mean…” Celina stammered.
“I know.” He tucked her into a tight hug, keeping an eye on the angry hawk as he did so.
Emotions spinning, he couldn’t decide what he wanted to say, or ask. Magic still terrified him, and this was partially why—havoc wreaked with the best of intentions. He released Celina just as Daya returned.
Her tone was surprisingly quiet for the amount of intensity pouring off of her. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. All I did was try to heal him,” Celina said. “Nothing like that has ever happened before.”
“He’s in pain, and he says his mind feels shattered.”
“He must not be handling the return of his memories well. I’m so sorry.”
“Healing his mind is not the same as helping his body heal. You were supposed to boost his natural ability, not bring all his memory back at once.”
“You’re right, that was what should have happened, but magic can be unpredictable.” Celina’s hand clenched his tightly.
“His mind was keeping his memories shadowed for a reason. It was protecting him. We have no idea the kinds of things he’s done and seen that just got unleashed before his mind was ready to remember them.”
“I would never hurt him.”
“I believe you,” Daya said. “But while your intentions were good, he is hurting right now and needs to rest and recover at his own pace. Please let him.” She gestured toward the back of her house. “Make yourselves at home for the night. He’ll come to you tomorrow when he is ready.”
“Of course,” Celina agreed. “Thank you for letting us stay.”
“You’re his family, so you are welcome here, as are your companions,” Daya told Celina before shifting her attention to Rodric. “But I would appreciate it if you proceed with honesty. If they are still hiding in my trees or sneaking around when I get back, I’ll let my birds treat them as intruders, family or not. This one in particular is not as forgiving as I am.”
The hawk in question gave them a beady-eyed stare as Daya left the house.