Chapter Thirty-one
WILDER
T hey had their horses saddled within the half hour, and Wilder only paused at the city gates to talk to the commander of the Harenth army.
‘Tell the king and send word to Thezmarr that Warswords Hawthorne and Elderbrock ride ahead. We’ll send reports to the travelling forces when we can, understand?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘We’ll have units of Guardians from all over the midrealms joining at Notos,’ he told the bewildered-looking man. ‘Tell the king we’ll need as much support as possible. Tver’s army is small and isolated. Do you have a sea unit stationed at Settlers’ Port?’
‘Yes, sir. Though they won’t be ready to set sail until nightfall with cavalry, supplies and weapons to —’
‘We could buy passage on a trade ship and go ahead of the official forces?’ Kipp cut in. ‘If we can do part of the journey by sea and catch the wind, we’ll get there sooner.’
‘Exactly.’ Wilder was already moving, urging his stallion south, Torj at his side.
‘You want to tell me what the fuck all that was about back on the hill?’ his fellow Warsword said as they pressed into a canter.
‘Depends on what you saw,’ Wilder replied, the wind picking up around them.
‘I saw two women in the eye of a storm. I saw it answer them… Wilder, what the fuck was that?’
Wilder glanced over his shoulder, where Thea, Wren, Cal and Kipp rode a few feet behind, none of them speaking. He turned back to Torj. ‘You know what it was.’
Torj’s eyes widened in understanding. ‘The heirs of Delmira… They’re alive.’
Wilder gave him a nod.
‘And they’ve been in Thezmarr this whole time?’
‘Yes.’
‘Gods, Hawthorne. How long have you known? How long have you been hiding this from Osiris? It’s fucking treason .’
‘I know,’ Wilder said slowly.
‘That’s all the explanation I get? You’re roping me into this now. I’ve actively participated in…’ Torj looked around warily. ‘In removing one of the fucking Delmirian heirs from Thezmarr. Away from the Guild Master, who explicitly told us to bring them to him. What the fuck, Hawthorne?’
‘I didn’t mean for you to get involved…’
‘Well, I am now. At least tell me I’m on the right side of this.’
Wilder braced himself. ‘I don’t know yet. All I know is that I’m trying to keep Thea safe, trying to get her ready for the Great Rite. We need her.’
Torj shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re mad. Raving fucking mad.’
‘Very possibly.’ He met his fellow Warsword’s gaze. ‘You won’t send word back to Osiris?’
Torj glanced across at the two sisters, his expression softening for a moment. ‘No,’ he murmured. ‘But I’ll deny the shit out of everything if it comes to light.’
‘Fair,’ Wilder allowed.
‘And you owe me a much better explanation than this. Once we’ve figured out getting to Tver, I expect the truth,’ the Bear Slayer warned.
Guilt festered in Wilder’s gut. ‘You’ll have it.’
Torj’s nostrils flared, as though he could scent the lie on him. ‘I assume you trust Cal and Kipp with the information?’
The two male Guardians in tow hadn’t said a word about it, yet. Judging from their colour-drained faces, the lads were both in shock.
‘Thea trusts them, therefore I trust them,’ Wilder replied. ‘Was it true there was a threat to Wren at Thezmarr?’ he asked.
Torj gave a grim nod. ‘Obviously I didn’t know what Audra was on about at the time, but it sure seems like that was the case now. She could have bloody told me.’
‘The fewer people who knew, the better.’
‘Well, that pool just grew by three… And judging from what I saw, the sun is setting on time for secrecy, fast. There’s no hiding that kind of power for long.’
Wilder didn’t reply, not when he knew Torj was right. Instead, he urged his horse into a gallop. They’d deal with it once they’d found a ship. There would be time enough then.
* * *
It was late afternoon by the time they reached the south-east dock of Settlers’ Port.
Wilder left the group to buy passage for them and the horses to Tver.
The young strategist had all but read his mind: they could sail from Harenth to the next kingdom in a matter of days if the wind was right, and by the gods, Wilder hoped it was right.
The black mass that had swarmed the sky gave no indication of the size of the enemy’s forces.
The thought of it ravaging the beautiful lands of Tver was enough to make Wilder’s blood run cold.
He hadn’t yet had the chance to speak to Thea, but he got the distinct impression that both she and her sister had seen something in the heart of that storm, something that he needed to know.
Wilder made quick work of obtaining passage, though he had to argue and barter to ensure that the horses remained above deck, rather than in the stuffy confines below. He would never force a Tverrian stallion down into the stocks, nor any horse, for that matter.
The ruddy-faced captain was not impressed. ‘We’re not scheduled to depart for another two hours,’ he said gruffly.
‘You’ll leave when I say so,’ Wilder replied with a pointed glance at his Warsword totem.
He found the others exactly where he’d left them. No one was speaking, but Thea and Wren kept exchanging worried glances, as though they could engage in an entire conversation with a look, a silent language that only siblings could speak.
‘We’re to board The Furies’ Will in thirty minutes,’ Wilder told them all. ‘There are markets just by the gates, if you need provisions. Don’t stray too far. Be back with time to spare. If you’re not here, you get left behind.’
He wanted to go to Thea, but she and Wren darted away to the stalls together, leaving the young men looking more bewildered than ever.
Wilder went to the pier, his horse in tow.
Resting against a thick post, he looked out at the port, breathing in the briny air, tasting salt on his tongue.
He’d been a fool, allowing himself a moment of happiness amid all the chaos.
He should have known better than to forget his duty, his sole purpose – fighting the darkness, defeating the monsters.
Instead, he’d been swept up in Thea, in the bliss they had shared.
For a brief pocket of time, he’d glimpsed what he might have had, were he someone else, were she someone else.
No cares in the world, just the two of them, laughing, fucking and drinking each other in.
He would have spent his whole life getting to know her, her body, her mind, her soul…
Even at the Laughing Fox he’d been kidding himself, pretending that sitting with comrades, that enjoying their company , was a reality for him.
He had even imagined a time where he might call them friends.
Friends . He’d kept the word at arm’s length since Talemir had left the guild.
‘I can hear you thinking from over there, brother,’ Torj said, coming to stand beside Wilder and following his gaze out to the sapphire waters.
‘There’s lots to think about,’ he replied.
‘I’ll say.’
Wilder shifted against the post, the swords strapped to his back digging in uncomfortably. ‘About what you saw this morning…’
His fellow Warsword offered an amused smile. ‘What about it?’
‘I…’ But Wilder suddenly didn’t know what he wanted to say.
That it had been a moment of weakness? That it would never happen again?
That it meant nothing? He didn’t have the energy to lie, and furthermore, Torj would never believe him.
The Bear Slayer had known there was something between him and Thea from the beginning, and he had never judged.
Wilder tipped his head to the sky and sighed hard, bracing himself against the roiling sensation in his gut, the tightness in his chest. ‘I don’t know,’ he said at last.
Torj hummed in understanding. ‘I always figured you’d struggle with any sort of relationship, but to find out she’s a royal… Well, you’re fucked, aren’t you?’
Wilder gave a dark laugh, passing a hand over his weary face. ‘Is that your professional assessment?’
‘Something like that.’ Torj shook his head in disbelief. ‘That’s why you went to Delmira.’
Wilder nodded. ‘I thought it might trigger a memory, a clue as to what happened to her and her sister.’
‘And did it?’
‘Not exactly.’
Torj shifted on his feet. ‘Does she know that the Daughter of Darkness hunts her?’
‘No.’ The word came out clipped and cold.
But Torj was undeterred. ‘Does her sister?’
‘Not to my knowledge.’
‘Are you going to tell them?’
‘I had planned to… At some point.’
‘Oh?’ Torj scoffed. ‘And how do you think that’s going to go down? Keeping a secret like that?’
‘I’m used to keeping secrets.’
‘Of that I have no doubt, brother.’ Torj elbowed him. ‘As I keep telling you… You’re gonna have to open up sometime. Let people in again, you know?’
‘I was doing that, with her. Or starting to, at least.’
‘She’s not the only one around, is she?’
‘I don’t feel that way about you, Torj,’ Wilder quipped.
Torj chuckled. ‘You know what I mean. Talemir is gone. Malik is… Malik. But… I’ve been here. This whole time. Since before you were even a Warsword.’
Wilder ran a hand through his hair. The warrior next to him had been as close to a friend as he’d had over the years. No matter how angry, how unpleasant Wilder had been, he’d never strayed. Wilder had often likened the Bear Slayer to a thorn in his side, but now…
‘You have,’ he allowed.
‘So maybe it’s time to step outside those walls.’
Wilder spotted Thea and Wren returning from the markets, several packages in their hands. What were they up to?
‘Maybe,’ he heard himself say.
Torj was watching him watch Thea, that smile still on his face. ‘Perhaps you understand Talemir’s actions a little better now?’ he said quietly.
‘That was different,’ Wilder replied tersely.
But Torj simply raised a brow. ‘If there’s one thing that transcends time and distance and all else, it’s love.’
Then he strode back to the others, leaving his words to sink deep into Wilder, and settle around his scarred heart.
* * *