Chapter 41
I looked behind us as our horses followed the path out of the city. I couldn’t help but think this might be the last time I would lay eyes on the place that I had called home for most of my life.
The sun was still high in the sky, breaching just behind the tallest towers. We would follow the river through the Reyanthe Valley and set up camp within the hills of Aedenvale. Laryk told me it would be a six-hour ride.
The woods had changed since the last time I’d ventured to the clearing. Half of the trees were bare now, twisting up as if reaching towards the sky. Leaves created a golden blanket across the forest floor.
The General and I rode side by side a few paces behind five members of the Base Guard.
We sat in a somewhat comfortable silence before the questions began to burn in my mind. I shifted, patting down my pocket to make sure I had a vial of Ma’s potion easily accessible.
“Why am I here?” I asked, clearing my throat.
“I thought it would be obvious.” Laryk stared straight ahead.
“So, you still don’t trust me,” I said flatly .
He finally deigned a glance in my direction. “Trust you?” He raised an eyebrow, that near permanent smirk playing at his lips.
“Not to blow someone up with my mind.” I rolled my eyes.
His smirk turned into a grin.
“No, Fia. I think we’re past that.” He laughed, turning his attention back to the road ahead.
“Then why?” I urged, annoyance brewing.
“Would you believe me if I said I simply enjoyed your company?” he asked, shrugging his shoulders.
“Absolutely not.”
“You’re a valuable asset, Fia. I will need your protection if we come across any stray Wraiths.” He snorted.
I bit back a grin, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.“I’m sure you will, considering you still haven’t told me what your focus is. I’m starting to think it doesn’t exist.”
His grin widened. “Is that so?” He glanced over at me again, a new wickedness gleaming in his eyes.
“You’re great on road trips,” I said flatly.
He paused for a moment, looking over the valley that surrounded us.
“It’s not the easiest to explain,” he finally said. “It has a kind of duality.”
“I’m intrigued.” I looked away as the wind picked up, blowing his hair back and revealing his chiseled jawline.
“My perception is unnaturally strong. I can see details other people can't. It makes me a master of strategy and invaluable to the Guard,” he said, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
“That sounds a bit like Osta,” I realized.
“I thought so too. Fascinating how focuses manifest differently in people. However, I believe Osta’s is limited to inanimate things, like her designs.
I have a way with… people. I think I’ve mentioned this to you before.
I can sense what makes them tick. I know how to get what I want out of them.
I am who I need to be given the circumstance,” he continued .
“And the other part?”
“I can always see one step ahead. In a fight, I can sense my opponent's intention before he makes his move. I can’t be surprised. I’m the best combat fighter in a generation,” he said casually.
His words sank in. It all made so much sense now. He was a military’s dream. No wonder he was promoted to General so young.
“So that’s how you knew you could train my focus?” I eyed him, finally understanding.
“Not exactly. We’ll have to attribute that to my overwhelming confidence.” He shot me a smile that caused my breath to catch in my throat. “For some reason or another, my focus doesn’t seem to work on you.”
“Why?” I asked, scrunching my forehead.
“Well, there’s something clearly wrong with you. It’s the only viable possibility. It works perfectly on everyone else.”
“It sounds like there’s something wrong with you, ” I shot back, hiding another smile. He was oddly playful in the face of near-certain death.
“Maybe so.” He shrugged.
“When we first met, you seemed erratic, like I couldn’t get a read on who you were,” I said, a new realization seeping in. “Is it because you couldn’t see what made me tick?”
“I couldn’t sense what motivated you whatsoever, so I had to go about it the old-fashioned way, figuring out what your greatest fears were and how to exploit them.
It was beyond frustrating,” he said, furrowing his eyebrows.
“But I figured you out enough. Anytime I mentioned Osta, you fell into place quite easily.”
I stayed silent for a moment, trying to push away the discomfort that his words brought. After so much time, it was hard to recall the beginning of our relationship. So much had changed.
“ Now you know all of my secrets.” His words broke through my thoughts .
“I highly doubt that. You’re about as mysterious and conniving as they come.”
Our horses veered left, trotting down the decline of a hill.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but first, you have to tell me how you beat me in Mercer’s class. I know you didn’t do it on your own merit as a fighter.” Laryk scoffed.
The wind had picked up, and he pushed his hair behind the points of his ear.
“I tried something. I didn’t know if it would work.
But it was just this inkling. Because my focus is so tied to the mind, I was curious if I could sense someone within range of me.
And it worked. I could see you burning bright as you approached me.
It’s like having a second sight,” I admitted, pleased with myself.
“It makes sense. How can you grip a mind if you can’t see it? It’s intuitive. The thought never occurred to me. As frustrating as that is.”
“That's why my focus was useless during the simulation,” I added. “Not that we know for sure that Wraith's even have minds.”
“They have some sort of cognitive function.” He glanced down, adjusting the straps of his saddle.
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
“My ability is also highly tied to the mind. I don’t know what the wind is going to do. I don’t know if it’s going to rain. But I can read them . That tells me there has to be something behind the shadows,” he said, rubbing his scar.
“Anyway, was there something specific you wanted to know about me?” he questioned, changing the subject.
I paused, wondering what the best approach would be. I wanted to ask him about the scar and how exactly he received it, but I got the feeling he wanted to end this portion of the conversation.
“Your father is a famous General right?”
“I guess you could say that.” He clenched his jaw, and I wondered if I had stumbled into another sensitive subject.
“We don’t have to talk about it.”
“My father was a glorious prick, and there’s not much else to know about him. My mother is a socialite who only cares about her status and the next event. Does this suffice for my family history?”
“They sound great. I see why you turned out the way–”
“There was someone who cared for me. Who I also cared for. She’s gone now.” His eyes were intensely focused on the road ahead. The smirk had disappeared, and his lips formed into a straight line.
I wanted to press further but I didn’t know what to say. I stayed quiet, giving him the space to elaborate if he wanted.
“Joline, my caretaker.” He swallowed hard, “That’s the woman who raised me. She died when I reached my twentieth year.” The words came out through a clenched jaw.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I replied softly, looking away. I had never seen him like this. His facade was normally impenetrable.
“And you, you were raised in the House of Unity,” he stated. I was unsure whether it was a question.
“You already know everything about me.” I reached down to adjust the reigns of my horse.
“I know the facts. I don’t know what your experience there was like.” I felt his eyes on me again.
“About like you would expect.”
“Coyness doesn’t suit you, Fia.”
I shot Laryk a scowl, hesitating before recalling the past. “I was able to form my own semblance of a family with the other Riftborne children. There were a lot of sleepless nights in the beginning. Kids missing their parents. I was too young to remember mine. The older orphans had a much harder time adjusting.” I took a deep breath.
“The people who took care of us were cold and distant and they never tried to explain to us what happened to our families or why we were there. We didn’t learn about that until we got to school and were taught about the uprising along with all the other kids in Luminaria.
You can imagine how that went. Back then, we didn’t know to hide these .
” I held up my branding, and it reflected the fading sunlight.
Laryk was silent for a few moments before shifting in his saddle.
“Our leadership missed the mark with certain situations in the wake of the war. I didn’t understand a lot of what was going on at the time, seeing how I was only ten years old.
But in hindsight, I think it’s clear that mistakes were made,” he said in a lowered tone.
His answer shocked me into silence.
It seemed like an eternity had passed. I stole a glance in his direction to find him chewing on his bottom lip, brow furrowed. His hair had fallen back into his face, catching in the breeze. I didn’t want to break his concentration, but the silence was finally starting to get to me.
“I haven’t seen your red-headed shadow recently. Did you reassign her to something other than following you around and shooting me dirty looks?”
“Riftborne, you are vicious.” He smirked, eyeing me from behind his lashes. “Narissa is always on her best behavior.”
“Maybe you should remind her about the whole camaraderie portion of your spiel.”
Laryk snickered, shaking his head.
“You seem to be implying that we’re together. We’re not.” he said plainly.
“Have you told her that?” I mumbled under my breath.
“It’s common knowledge that my priorities lie with my role as General. Commitment is out of the question. I don’t know how Mercer does it.”
I pushed down the unwelcome feeling forming in my gut. “Perhaps your problem is less about commitment and more about fidelity.”
“Monogamy is only gifted to those with little responsibility.”
Bursting into a fit of laughter, I had to steady myself. A few of the guardsmen looked back at us. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, General Ashford.”
“I’m surprised you’re using my proper title. Happy to see you falling in line.”
I searched for the right insult, but one never came. The back and forth had become tiring.
Nudging my horse with my heel, I trotted a few feet ahead of him. I stayed there for the remainder of the journey.
The guards set up our fire quickly once we found the campground in the foothills of southern Aedenvale.
This was the General’s typical respite, being the perfect midpoint between Luminaria and the Western strongholds.
The placement was tactical. With the rocky incline protecting us from the rear, we only had the defense of one side to worry about.
Dinner was quiet as we heated the pre-cooked meals sent along with us from the Compound. Roasted fish with root vegetables—a delicacy I still hadn’t become accustomed to.
The Base Guards would be switching out night watch and were placed strategically around the perimeter of the camp.
I found the sleeping arrangements maddeningly awkward. Seeing how the General usually traveled alone, there was a single tent for both of us to share. Praise the Esprithe the guards brought an extra bed for me.
When the General mentioned a tent, I was expecting the ones typical for hunters during the winter season, but that was not what I walked into after we finished eating.
In no world would this ever be considered a tent. The space inside was huge, and the roof was at least double the size of a standard dwelling. A small fire burned in the middle of the room, helping to fight the winter chill. Animal hides insulated the walls, and rugs covered the ground.
There were two beds on either side–raised cots with fur blankets layered atop. I walked over, dropping my belongings onto one before sitting down and chucking off my boots. I stretched my legs all the way down to my toes. I knew I would be sore tomorrow from the extended time on horseback.
I dug through my bag, searching for my night clothes, eager to crawl into bed and fall asleep. My eyes were heavy, and I knew we would have an early morning.
I looked for a place to change, but there seemed to be no privacy. It was a giant, open space.
I eyed Laryk, who was reclined, sorting through some parchment. I took the opportunity to unbutton my vest and yank my blouse and trousers off, quickly replacing them with my nightgown. I brushed through my hair, collecting it in a braid before tying it back.
I turned around and nearly jumped. Laryk was standing now, bare chested as he adjusted the coals in the fire. The light cast perfect shadows across his sculpted abdomen. His trousers hung low on his hips, exposing a defined v. The sight heated me more than the fire.
“We’re sparring tomorrow morning before we leave, by the way. I want to test your new ability,” he mused, extinguishing the candle on his bedside table.
“Got it,” I mumbled, rolling over. I could sense his eyes burning a hole in my back as I drifted off to sleep.