Chapter 53 Dante
Dante
The Argora Vale citizens were in danger in Solei, and now anyone Jasper led to Rahana would be brought to a graveyard and potential war zone.
I’d departed Highcrest before the convoys had readied, unable to shake the unnerving beat in my chest over it all.
My beast form travelled faster than they would have, anyway.
The destruction was greater than I could have imagined as I took in the massacred scene. Though my beastly instincts roared at me to remain with Mira, I felt reassured of my decision to leave her within the confines of a protected castle seeing the destruction Windguard had left behind.
Besides, Mira had readily agreed after spending a night in one of the castle’s guest beds.
Her body had grown sore and worn out after weeks of travel.
Out of the two of us, I’d been the hesitant one over her return to the last place she’d been held captive for her magic.
She’d swiftly delivered the reminder that technically Jasper’s manor had been the last place, and at least Nicholas had never kept bars on her room.
I’d effectively shut up after that. That regret stayed with me to this day, but anytime despair over our pasts threatened to swallow me whole, she pulled me out.
My chest currently ached having her so far away, but I pressed on, tracking down Ravinder by the trail of his scent nearly buried by blood and decay and loose soil.
“Ravinder,” I called, finding him crouched before a freshly upheaved mound of dirt. My nostrils flared, and I understood what lay before him. A mass grave. I shifted into my human form then.
He rose, turning to face me. “Dante. I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.” Exhaustion shadowed his face. That, and something heavier in his countenance.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” I paid a moment of respect to the pile of dirt, knowing he’d buried his brother somewhere beneath the land they’d cultivated with peace.
Radhak had been a good man. He’d accepted me and my people when I first proposed establishing a partnership during the height of our famine, and continued aiding us by giving them safe harbor and escort to Solei.
This world needed more men like him, not less.
Ravinder glanced at the still pile and whispered, “Me too.” With all the strength he could muster, he worked his shoulders into an upright pose, no doubt physically strained from days of digging graves, and cleared his throat, returning his attention to me.
“What can I help you with? If you’re here to ask for supplies…
” He motioned to the starkly barren land devoid of wielders.
“No, it’s not that. There’s been an attack.”
“On Solei?” If it were possible, his face became even more grim.
“No, on King Nicholas. He traveled with a convoy and on his final stop in Point Hollow he and his men were ambushed. I found him half dead in a supply shed. We tracked down the man who did it and apprehended him. They’re interrogating him for information at the castle.”
“Gods above, give us strength,” Ravinder muttered, shaking his head toward the ground. “Do we know the motivation?”
I bristled. “Magic wielders and the king’s acceptance of them.”
Ravinder gave a harsh sniff of derision, his body tense. “What the fuck is wrong with the world?” He stared out over the sprawling camp that was hauntingly quiet compared to the last time I’d seen it.
“How many?” I asked lightly.
“More than half.” His dark eyes took on a glossy sheen. “Gardens have been destroyed. Tents burned. Rebuilding seems…”
The hollow edge in his voice struck my heart. I’d carried around that same hopelessness for a long time. “There’s a convoy on the way. Wagons of supplies and two battalions of the king’s army. One to be stationed along the Splits.”
Ravinder couldn’t bring himself to look at me. He nodded repeatedly, a tear skimming his cheek. “Melody and Tio arrived at the castle?”
“Yeah.”
“And Ro’s with her sister?” he asked.
I furrowed my brow. “Not that I’m aware.” I hadn’t interacted with Ro much, but knew who she was. She often slipped into meetings I had with Radhak. Mira liked her, and her odd little pet dragon.
He leveled me with a look of concern. “I can’t even recall the last time I saw her…”
I made a conscious effort not to glance at the fresh dirt mounds spread across the field. “I’m sure she’ll turn up,” I offered half-heartedly.
“She better, or I’ll kick her ass,” he said, aggressively pressing his thumb into his nearly shaking palm.
With nothing to console him, I said, “I came to suggest that the rest of the camp relocate to Solei. You saw how empty that village was, there’s plenty of room.
And I think we could all use strength in numbers right about now.
Not to mention, you have a few dozen capable soldiers with you in case things sour with the locals. ”
Ravinder’s throat bobbed. “Rahana was Radhak’s legacy. He named it for our people, a place they could stay. Live. Rest without worry or fear.”
Asking him to abandon this patch of land was like asking him to abandon his brother, even if it was for the best. “The legacy was the people he saved. That you both saved.”
“I should have been here.” His voice cracked, betraying the weight of his guilt.
I stepped forward, pulling him into an embrace, delivering hard slaps against his back.
“Don’t put that on yourself. You couldn’t have known.
” My own eyes welled, recognizing the pain he felt.
How the lashing guilt over lives you couldn’t save never stopped bleeding.
I carried that shit for decades until it’d rotted away parts of my soul.
Ravinder was on his own journey now, a treacherous one that would lead him down dark paths and steep cliffs. All I could do was let him know he had support.
He returned a few claps to my back before we stepped apart. “Thanks. I’ll think about it. See what they want to do.” He gazed over the camp that lay in ruins, a few dozen people out and about hobbling things together.
I was about to ask him to send Jasper to the castle when he next saw him, but as if my thoughts conjured that stony gargoyle, he appeared over the treetops.
I threw my hand up to flag him down. He cut through the air, landing in a run until he caught up with us, surveying the bloody, battered field.
“Gods,” he muttered. “What happened?”
“Windguard soldiers crossed the river,” I volunteered so Rav wouldn’t have to.
“Those assholes did this?!” He dragged his gray hands over his bald head.
Ravinder nodded, jaw flexing, no doubt biting down his anger.
“I’m glad I caught you. There’s been trouble near Solei, too,” I said.
“The girls?!” Fear flashed across his face, his wings tensing as if he were preparing to fly directly to them.
“They’re fine. Mira’s at the castle and Calista’s in Solei. There’s just some folks not too keen on magically blessed outsiders moving into their territory. Even shanked the king to prove their point.” I dragged a hand down my face.
“What the fuuuck. Is he okay?” Jasper asked.
“I got to him in time. He’s back at the castle now. What’s the situation at home?” I crossed my arms, shifting on my feet, waiting to hear the report.
He stretched his hand over his shoulder, rubbing at his neck. “There isn’t anywhere things aren’t fucked right up, is there?”
“I guess not.” I shrugged.
“A few are still stubborn enough to stay behind. Others are too concerned about the ogres to move across the border, but another hundred or so have at least moved further down.”
“And the curse?”
“Hasn’t changed, so that’s one thing working in our favor. Still dark and angry where it lives, though. Surprisingly, the twinklers don’t seem scared of it. Fearless little light bugs.”
I exhaled a deep breath, considering how difficult it would be to convince citizens of Argora Vale to flee to Highcrest if the threat of war and social persecution seemed imminent, when my thoughts snagged on something Jasper said.
“The twinklers aren’t scared of it?”
“Nope. Must not hurt ‘em.”
The expression on my face must have shifted drastically, for both men gave me inquisitive looks. “I have an idea.”