Chapter 44
Derian
Idon’t waste any time in getting us back on the road towards Springhallow. We’ve already wasted most of the day dealing with the Velkai, and I don’t relish the idea of extending the number of nights we need to sleep unprotected like this.
This whole situation has gone to shit.
I’m pissed off enough about it that I continue pushing us well past the time the sun has gone down. I’m perfectly content to ride through the night, though, to ride until we reach Springhallow and I can sit with a stiff drink and consider everything that has happened.
If what those creatures said is true, if the Velkai queen really is alive, then we’re all fucked.
I’d been suspecting it already, but now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I can’t deny the fact that they’re organizing. They’re coming together again in groups after all these years. Initially, I thought it was possible a new leader had come to power, but if the Mother is still alive somehow…
I cannot allow her to rise.
And if all that isn't concerning enough, there is then the matter of my Huntress to consider.
I stopped feeling true terror decades ago. I have no need to fear death, nothing to lose really. If you don’t fear death itself, then you have absolutely nothing to fear in life.
I've felt terror twice recently, though.
Terror consumed me when she collapsed after Seraphina hit her in the final trial. Then terror found me again today, when those three Velkai had all looked towards her in perfect synchrony.
What the fuck is she and why the fuck do they want her?
At some point, I’ll have to figure out how exactly she managed to kill that one without beheading it.
I’ve only ever seen them killed through beheading.
Although, in my two-hundred years, I’ve also never met a Fae who could wield light.
I suppose it’s possible it could be a rather rare gift, but if that’s going to make her desirable to the Velkai, we’ll need to figure out why.
“Derian,” Cal clears his throat next to me. “We’ve ridden far enough.”
“We can keep going.”
There’s sympathy in his eyes, and pain. Roland had been his friend too. Another friend lost too soon from an enemy who is far too unpredictable.
“The horses are tired, brother. As am I. And Huntyr—”
“I know what Huntyr can take.”
She hasn’t spoken to me since I came back to the village. She hasn’t spoken to anyone. Not even Ulna, who had her wrapped in an embrace when I finally returned. Her face has been carefully detached, her eyes distant and unfocused.
Gods, I hate it when she goes silent.
“We need to rest, Derian. Please trust me on this.”
I sigh, swallowing down the urge to insist we keep going. He means no harm though, and he’s right. Exhausting the horses isn’t going to get us there any faster.
Slowing my pace, I pull us over to a wooded area and slide off my horse. I instruct Taric and Cal to check the area. Now that we know the Velkai are traveling past the Wastelands, we really can't be too careful.
Ulna readies herself, making a fire, while I begin pitching my tent. I don’t bother with Huntyr’s, she’ll be staying in mine tonight whether she likes it or not.
The woman in question just sinks to the ground and rests her head on the Eshari next to her.
Taric and Cal find a small pool of water at the bottom of the hill while investigating. Close enough that we can easily get back to camp if there’s danger, but private enough that people can bathe without feeling too exposed.
After a few days of traveling and a bloody fight, everyone could use a bath.
Cal goes first, then Taric, then Ulna, then Huntyr. I wait to go last, knowing I won’t enjoy it. My mind is still spinning too quickly, anxiety rushing through me that would only be made worse by a private bath.
“We need to send a missive to the King,” Taric says, picking at the roasted rabbit meat in front of him. “He needs to know to be on his guard while traveling.”
“He’s been traveling far longer than we have,” I grumble. “Chances are he already knows.”
“Still,” Cal agrees. “We can arrange for it at the next town we pass through. There should still be one more between here and Springhallow.”
The night air is cool. I’ve stripped away most of my leathers, still too heated from the battle and the fire in front of me, and now wear nothing more than my pants and boots.
Taric and Cal have similarly made themselves comfortable. Taric wears his leather armor pants and cotton undershirt while Cal has already fully abandoned his armor for his sleeping clothes.
Ulna went into her tent nearly half an hour ago without a single word of goodnight.
It wasn’t a good night. Not for any of us. Not when we are missing a tent tonight.
I stare aimlessly at the space between my tent and Cal’s, where Roland typically would have set up his. The emptiness there is oppressive, and I force myself to look away. I learned a long time ago to bury down grief.
“She really said the Mother is alive?” Taric repeats. It’s the third time he’s asked, as if I was somehow mistaken in hearing that the most powerful, most evil being in history was still here, waiting to rise up once more.
I shift forward, adjusting the logs in the fire, watching the sparks lift and dance into the night sky.
“There is another matter we need to discuss.” Cal’s voice is tentative and uneasy.
Taric looks up at him in confusion, but I don’t bother. I’m well aware of what he wants to talk about, and I most definitely do not want to talk about that.
“It’s out of the question,” I tell him, voice laced with threat.
“What is?” Taric asked, glancing between the two of us even as I carefully avoid looking at my best friend.
If he continues pushing this topic, I’m liable to kill him.
“Lachlan killed one of them.”
Taric pauses, as if he doesn’t quite understand why Cal is so serious. “And that’s bad because?”
Silently, I roll out my neck, tension building in my locked shoulders. There are no adequate words to describe what she looked like in that moment. A shudder threatens to work its way through me as I picture it. Picture her.
Glowing. Golden.
That light traveling throughout her body, shimmering down her arms and through her fingers. Those blue eyes that I’d come to seek out, to rely on, brilliantly golden.
Beautiful.
And utterly terrifying.
For exactly the reason Cal was about to point out.
“She killed them with her magic,” he says.
Taric’s brows raise slowly as his eyes bounce between us. “No kidding?”
I feel Cal’s attention on me as he continues, his voice soft and cautious. “If Lachlan’s magic can kill them with a simple touch, then she could be a huge asset.”
“It’s not happening.” I don’t leave any room for negotiation.
Taric sighs, inclining his head to the side. “She is a Conclave winner. A warrior. It wouldn’t be unheard of for her to fight along the borders. It might even be expected.”
I grind my teeth together, hard enough that I’m sure my jaw will ache later. “I don’t give a fuck what anyone expects. She just learned she has this power. I’m not throwing her onto a battlefield.”
Cal shifts his weight next to me, the secret of her background burning through him. “She’s more than capable of defending herself.”
“Against Mortals,” I remind him. “This is different.”
His exhale is sharp. “Derian, think clearly.”
My chest vibrates with a growl. “Mind your tone, Caldren.”
“No.” If he were anyone other than my best friend, I would verbally eviscerate him for this kind of insolence. “If this was you, if your power could kill them, would you wait around on the sidelines?”
I meet his glare, leveling him with one of my own.
He knows the answer to that question as well as I do.
“My decision is final.”
Silence falls over our trio as we all stare at the orange and yellow flames flickering up around the fire. It’s abundantly clear neither of them is finished with the conversation, though, judging by the way they keep looking awkwardly at each other.
“What?” I finally bark.
“Well,” Taric clears his throat before resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together. “Have you thought about asking her what her opinion is?”
I open my mouth to respond, but the words don't come out. In fact, I’m not quite sure what to say to that question, or the insinuation beneath it. I pause just as Cal starts chuckling beside me.
“What?” I ask, turning towards him. “What are you laughing at?”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “She just doesn’t seem that appreciative when you make decisions for her.”
Taric nods his agreement. “She’s a wild one, that girl, and you seem to be trying to tame her when she isn’t interested in being domesticated.”
I wasn’t—
I hadn’t been—
Had I been doing that?
Had I been trying to chain up a woman who clearly neither needed nor wanted me to hold on to her so tightly?
My friends watch my realization, amusement dancing in their eyes as they do. The fire cracks sharply between us, and Cal tosses a burnt piece of rabbit hide into the flames.
“So,” I hate myself as the words come out of my mouth. “What would you suggest?”
Taric stifles a laugh behind the back of his hand, and I level one of my darkest glares on him. He lifts a hand apologetically and gestures for Cal to take over.
“Why not start with telling her everything she needs to know?” Cal suggests. “Give her whatever time she needs to come to terms with that and then let her tell you what she wants to do.”
“I suppose that’s not a terrible idea.”
"Yes, well then you need to accept her decision," Taric reminds me.
That sounds, admittedly, more challenging since she has a tendency to completely disregard her own safety.
I stiffen as something wet and warm presses against my back, and turn to see the Eshari pushing her snout into me. The beast looks up at me with its golden eyes. No snarl. No growl. Just a flick of a tail towards that pool where Huntyr went to bathe.
Where she’d gone to bathe twenty minutes ago.
The panther in front of me doesn’t seem panicked or rushed, which tells me everything I need to know.
She’s not in danger, at least not from anyone but herself.
And apparently, the Eshari has decided Huntyr needs me.
I don’t waste another second.
“Where are you going?” Taric questions as I turn and start marching down the hill.
I don’t bother responding, but I hear Cal’s answer as I go.
“To her. He’s going to her.”