CHAPTER TEN
“I’d forgotten what a joy it is to have your own horse,” Ilain said, patting the newly purchased mare.
Rain sleeted through the tree cover. They’d taken to traveling the roads, the forests too densely grown to allow for travel on horseback. Deckard and Auden had returned from Vaulley that morning with two more mares, one for each woman.
Thom reached over and took her hand playfully. “Just when I thought we were closer than ever.”
Evylin spurred her speckled gray horse to ride through the gap between Ilain and Thom, forcing him to release her. “The day you two start getting along is the day I’ll relinquish my sword,” she said.
Settling back into his saddle, Thom smirked. “You may have to give it up sooner than you’d think.”
“Hogwash,” she replied. “Whatever nonsense this is, it isn’t real.”
Ilain twirled a lock of her red curls thoughtfully under her heavy gray hood. “She’s awfully insightful, isn’t she?”
A curious frown came to Thom’s face, cast in shadow from his own cloak.
“What can we say, Evylin?” Ilain said. “You’ve caught us.”
“I knew it,” Evylin declared. Then she tapped her saddle hesitantly. “What exactly have I caught you in?”
Sharing a look with Thom, the fire-haired highlady smiled. “For the betterment of the troop, we’ve called a truce. No more nasty remarks on either side.”
Thom sighed. “It’s a difficult burden, but I’m man enough to bear it.”
“Hm.” Evylin questioned their sincerity, yet they had been quite civil to one another. In fact, she’d almost call their behavior flirtatious. The scruples of such actions she’d yet to determine, but she’d not heard a cross word between them since they left Blacklion.
“You doubt me?” Thom asked.
“I doubt most of what you say,” Evylin replied. The Day Relic warmed around her neck, adding to her sunny disposition. Even in the rainy, endless travel, she found herself uncomprehendingly happy. “Though I am inclined to believe Ilain.”
“You believe a Mage over your own friend?” Thom tutted. “I thought you had better judgment than that.”
Ilain snorted on Evylin’s other side. “Those words veer dangerously close to an insult, darling.”
“Forgive me, milady,” he returned.
“I’ll consider it.”
For the rest of the day, rain continued to pour, and they traveled on.
Evylin took comfort in the banter of her companions.
They spoke of nothing consequential and of many things silly, and it filled her head with memories of what life was like at the start of their journey.
This was what she and Ryen had always hoped to experience—blissful moments of friendship with exciting battles on the horizon.
“I’ve been wondering something,” Thom said.
“How you got so lucky as to win my companionship?” Ilain jibed.
“No. Though only Allore knows how I came to deserve such a . . . blessing.” Thom gave her a sly grin before continuing, “I’m curious as to how you and your brother came across the Fire Relic.”
Evylin perked up even more, having wondered the same thing herself.
“We didn’t come across it,” Ilain replied casually. “We retrieved it in the same manner as the Relics we’re seeking out now.”
“You went through the Fire Keep, then,” Thom said.
“Obviously.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Even with all my impressive abilities, not even Auden and I could make it through alone.” Ilain flicked a leaf off her skirt. “The Alliance sent us help.”
“Why didn’t they come with you to Ephria in that case?” Evylin asked.
“They had other tasks,” Ilain explained. “Both were Warriors. You’ll meet them eventually, I’m sure.”
This statement drew Evylin’s mouth to fall into a gape.
Thom leaned forward in his saddle to get a better look at Ilain. “I thought you said that Warriors were eradicated.”
“Did I?” Ilain furrowed her brow, considered it, then said, “Ah, yes, I did, didn’t I? Well, that was a lie.”
“Splendid,” Thom grumbled.
“Don’t be upset. We lied about whatever we thought was necessary. If the wrong people learned that Warriors still existed, they’d want to hunt them down. Either to kill them or to enslave them. And at the time, we still didn’t trust you.”
“Your past secrecy makes sense,” Evylin said judiciously. “Why didn’t they come here with you? We could have used their help with the rest of our journey.”
“Our entrance into Ephria was difficult enough with two,” Ilain explained.
“And while I did lie when I said that Warriors are eradicated, it isn’t far from the truth.
There are very few in the world these days, and even fewer still in the Alliance.
With our limited numbers, we couldn’t risk them accompanying us on the rest of our journey. ”
Remembering the simple tale of how the Calder siblings snuck into their country, Evylin didn’t bother asking more about it.
From all accounts, it sounded rather dull, the brother and sister often traveling in a similar state to their current situation, only with even less excitement as they dashed for the border.
“And what was it like?” Evylin asked instead. “The Fire Keep, I mean.”
“It was a desert,” Ilain replied.
“A what?” Thom said.
“Desert,” the highlady repeated. “A sandy place with little water. Have you never heard of the red sands of Rhazim?”
Thom and Evylin shared a glance. “No,” they said in unison.
“Ah, well.” Ilain sighed in disappointment.
“Rhazim is just below Jal’Khoyan, on Giyda.
While it runs along the shore, most of the land is one great desert.
In fact, I believe that’s its namesake. Its sands are crimson red, almost like blood.
And they’re only populated by the lehavran.
Or flamehorns, as said in the Allundan tongue. ”
That last name sparked a memory in Evylin. “I think I read about those in a novel once. They have literal flaming horns, don’t they?”
“They did,” Ilain corrected. “Before the Ateri Relics were locked away. Now, they’re just red-horned, and though they do still spit, it isn’t fire any longer either. Though I’ve heard their saliva is acidic enough to burn through flesh.”
“That sounds terrifying,” Thom said.
“Yes, though I took care of the flamehorn fairly easily in the Keep, so I can’t say that I fear them overmuch.”
“You fought one?” Thom gasped.
“The Guardian,” Evylin realized. “They all take different forms of mythical creatures.”
“They’re not mythical,” Ilain returned. “Like I said, flamehorns live in Rhazim. They used to populate more of Giyda, but they’ve been driven back to the desert by the loss of their magic.
They’re not nearly as effective at fighting off hunters anymore.
Did you know they have some of the most tender meat? Even more than lamb.”
“People eat flamehorns?” Thom said incredulously.
“Not much anymore,” Ilain replied.
Bemused by this information about a country she’d never heard of before, Evylin focused on the part of the conversation she most cared about. “What else was in the Keep? What were the Shades like?”
“Fire and clay,” Ilain said, and Evylin supposed she should have guessed that.
“You know how the Day Shades burst into flares of light, the Water Shades into spurts of water, and the Night Shades into shadow? The Fire Shades, aptly, became great plumes of flame. Olsen almost lost his eyebrows at one point.” Ilain chortled at the memory.
Evylin presumed that Olsen was one of the Warriors she’d mentioned but didn’t interrupt, eager to hear more of the story.
“We had to run through great red dunes to get to the obelisk,” Ilain continued.
“It was rather harrowing. We hadn’t known what to expect, any of us.
And while Olsen and Breata defended us well, they struggled to fight the Guardian flamehorn.
Their weapons could hardly damage the beast. And though they managed to get in a slice or two, it emitted sloughs of flame-hot blood with each wound.
Auden had to heal several burns on them both. ”
Ilain took a deep breath. “But we all came out alive, and that’s all that matters.”
Thom blew a raspberry. “I’m glad I wasn’t there.”
“How chivalrous of you.”
“I’m no Mage or Warrior,” he returned. “My life is constantly in far greater danger than yours. Besides, sand is the worst.”
Evylin laughed at his brooding. After the story, her muscles suddenly ached for the chance to work themselves. “How far is it to the next Keep?” she asked hopefully.
Ilain wrinkled her nose. “Are you already antsy? It’s another week and a half, at a minimum. And that’s if we’re careful about our number of stops.”
“So long?”
“It is on the other side of the country, after all.”
Evylin sighed. She stared at the muddy path ahead. The rest of their troop spread out before them in comfortable pairs on the narrow road.
Thom nudged her elbow. “Is our company not entertaining enough for you?”
She gave him a disparaging smirk, but Ilain replied before she got a chance. “It’s the plight of a Warrior,” she said, absentmindedly braiding her horse’s black mane. “They can’t help but seek out the next thrill.”
Though it more than adequately described how Evylin was feeling, she pursed her lips. “And how do you know that?”
“I just told you.” Ilain grinned. “I’m well acquainted with Warriors.”
The thought gave Evylin a strange sense of hope. Ilain knew Warriors. That meant she could help her better understand herself and her magic. “What else do you know about them?”
“Not much.” A few copper strands drifted free from Ilain’s hood. “There are only fourteen within the Alliance, including you.”
“But you know them all?”
“Oh, no.” The woman’s jade eyes were bright even in the dim light. “Most of them are on secret assignments throughout the continent. One is even in Schon, working to develop allies in the empire. Many of the others, I’ve never met.”
“How many do you know?” Thom asked.
Ilain did a quick count in her head. “Six.”
“Including me?” Evylin asked.
“Including you.”
“So few?”
“As I said, they’re spread throughout the continent. And fourteen isn’t a great number in itself.”
Evylin supposed that was true. “Are you friends with any of them?”