Chapter 19
Arumbling growl ripped my attention into the forest. The shrieks that followed had me whirling my stallion toward the sounds. Recruits sprinted in all directions, the wagons they’d been marching beside forgotten.
“Gather yourselves!” I barked, but none paid me any heed. A male bumped into me, his attention fixed over his shoulder.
I yanked his shirt and forced him to look up. “What is happening?”
“B-b-bears,” he stammered, cerulean eyes wide with fear.
Maelsar rode up beside me, nearly running over a fleeing group of females. “They wouldn’t come this close to so many people.”
Another roar sliced the air. I tore my attention toward the supplies we so desperately needed.
Only to witness a giant white beast swipe its paw straight through the wood.
Oranges we’d managed to gather along the coast the previous day spilled out and squished beneath its feet.
He snapped his jaws around a recruit racing out from under the protection of the wood.
The sickening crunch of his bones churned nausea in my gut.
“Oh, fuck,” Maelsar swore.
A second bear lumbered up beside the first, snuffing at the now-lifeless body. The third rose on its hind legs, towering so high his head almost brushed the canopy. Soldiers scrambled out of his way before he crushed them beneath his paws.
“Why do we keep running into the rare animals of Keleti?” I grumbled, sending a pulse to Ilae to join us. We’d need his help to scare the creatures off. And Ysolthe.
Because these weren’t any bears—they were spirit bears, legends as much as the auravanes were.
Their dens deep in the Skala Mountains were avoided at all cost. But we must have been close enough to one of their late summer hunting paths that they decided an easy meal was worth the risk of approaching such a large group.
Maelsar yelled at former royal sentinels to aid us. None stopped in their panicked flight. “At least keep everyone moving forward if you’re going to run away like cowards!” he called out to them.
I tapped into my bond, needing to know that Sylaira was far, far away from the three. I sensed her some distance away, in the throng of people pressing toward the ocean once again.
“That food is essential,” I told Maelsar, scanning the other abandoned wagons. At least they’d only knocked over one filled with fruit. Two more held dried meat—far more essential to feeding our battalion.
The male on his hind legs dropped to the ground and tromped toward them.
Maelsar leaped off his mount and raced forward, the air in front of his hands shimmering as he called on his power. I sprinted after him, hoping our horses wouldn’t run off.
The bear stopped in its tracks, shaking its head like he’d been stung by a bee. Then, it swung toward us. His lips lifted, revealing long, sharp canines.
“I think you pissed him off,” I warned Maelsar, hand flying to the dagger strapped to my thigh. It wouldn’t be enough to stop the massive beast if he decided to surge in our direction.
A hum reverberated in the air, and Ilae and Ysolthe appeared in a flash of crystalline feathers. They clicked and dove together toward the spirit bears.
One roared as Ilae sliced into his side, staining his white fur ruby. Claws swiped through the air, narrowly missing my bird. A second leaped for Ysolthe.
“Now they’re pissed off,” Maelsar commented, drawing a weapon of his own.
“But they’re not interested in the food any longer.” I crept forward, keeping the wagons between us. If only everyone else hadn’t fled, along with the horses pulling them. We could combine their magic to haul the food into safety and distribute it among packs and carts.
“Form a wall of white in front of them,” I told Maelar. “I’m going to sneak around the side and try to force them back toward the mountains.”
How I wanted to slip into Sylaira’s mind and feel her soul tangled with mine. To hear her melodic voice telling me to be safe.
Instead, I jogged forward, determined to save our battalion. Because their loyalty would be essential once I stole the throne out from under the Koron’s ass.
A presence brushed up against the fringes of my consciousness. I savored that small connection as I snuck around the rear of the wagon. But I had to shut out my mate and focus.
The three bears batted the oranges around, piling them up. One snapped at another for swiping a bundle from its stack. None seemed to mind the undulating shield cutting them off from the meat.
With a cry, I leaped forward, banging my hands and the hilt of my dagger on the wood, trying to make as much noise as possible. The male growled, rising to his hind legs again. The other two skittered toward the trees, the fruit forgotten.
Either this one was starving or furious. His dark eyes glinted as he charged toward me.
“Dive,” I ordered Ilae. Heart hammering against my sternum, I waited until the last possible moment to leap to the side.
With a shrieking click, my bird landed atop the spirit bear’s head, talons digging into fur.
He roared, paws swiping at his face. Ysolthe let out a cry and attacked too, razor sharp feathers slicing into skin. All I could do was watch as the creatures of legend battled.
Until the bear collapsed to the ground with a groan. The auravanes released him, soaring to the canopy and circling. One of his eyes was gone, and a chunk had been carved from his ear. No longer was his hair white.
He called out to his companions, who peeked out from the trees. Their answering rumble sounded more like a beckon of retreat than an encouragement of fight.
I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do.
With a huff, he dragged himself to his feet, glaring at me from his one good socket as he did so.
Luminosity blasted him from the side. He gnashed his teeth at the magic, then turned and lumbered back toward the rocks at the base of the mountains.
Air whooshed out of my lungs. I sent a pulse of thanks to Ilae. Maelsar raced up, taking in the sight of the broken wagon and dead soldiers.
“At least they didn’t get the meat. We have fewer mouths to feed now too.”
I shot Maelsar a glare. “We need every body we can get.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “I know. Was only trying to lighten the mood.”
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Think you can drag these wagons toward the rest of the battalion?”
Maelsar shook his head. “We can ride back and get Calrien and those cowards to do it. I don’t think the bears are coming back.”
“If they did and killed him, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
Maelsar elbowed me in the ribs. “I thought you said we needed all the bodies?”
“We can make an exception for him,” I commented, striding back toward the horses. Thankfully, they hadn’t moved.
We dispatched a group to gather our supplies and start a pyre, and then I sought out Sylaira.
She hadn’t been anywhere near the bears, but the bond thrashed in my chest, insisting I look at her.
Following the chain that always connected me to her, I found her sitting with Lyriasthe against the wheel of a cart.
But of course, Althirion and Nymirae were there. The male stepped between me and my mate. I almost swiped at him like the bear that had overturned the wagon of oranges.
“What a frightening encounter,” he said, the corner of his mouth turning up.
“To some. I didn’t see you racing toward the danger to save your people,” I replied, lifting an accusatory brow.
“I couldn’t leave my post. What if the Seraelth had a vision?” he retorted.
Sylaira’s rage trickled down our bond. She glared daggers into Althirion’s back.
“Nymirae is here,” I pointed out, tilting my head to the side and studying her.
She shifted her weight and flicked her attention between her companion and me. “The Korona wishes for us to thank our Radiant Mother for a swift resolution to the encounter. And to pray for our continued safety on our journey to Eloi.”
“Does my sister prefer us to slow our approach then? Because every message I receive from Ishim urges us forward. We do not have time to stop and spend an hour in prayer,” I said, my tone ice cold.
Althirion grinned like he’d won the greatest victory. “It is not a good sign that we’ve now been attacked by two different beasts. She believes we must be offending Her.”
Fuck all of these collars around my throat.
“Fine.” I ground my molars and shoved past him.
Sylaira rose to meet me.
“Will you stand beside me as I lead prayers? I cannot put them off any longer without risking further wrath from Iaoth.” It would have more impact if the group thought we were a united front, especially after the rare creatures attacked our convoy.
I wanted her there to ground me too. Because praying to our deity would hurt a lot less if I thought She truly had a plan for us.
But I told my mate none of that.
“What if I have a vision in front of everyone?”
“Keep Lyriasthe beside you in case you need her to create an Illusion for you.”
She was silent again, but her eyes flicked between mine like she was trying to calculate her odds.
“My Sight has been…odd the last few days. I’m afraid if I open myself up to prayer, that when I try to See after, I won’t be able to silence myself in front of Nymirae and Althirion. They can’t know the truth of my visions.”
I didn’t want them to either. All these weeks, Sylaira had kept me out of them for the most part too. All I received was her terror flooding our bond—and the occasional flash of what the Goddess had shown her.
But the way she spoke pricked at my senses. Like there was something else she wasn’t saying.
“Do you want me to sit with you while you See?”
Her tongue dug into the side of her cheek, and I knew her well enough that she was weighing how she wanted to respond. A small, broken part of me wished to fall to my knees and beg her to let me be her silent sentry.
“Yes.”
That one word punched air from my lungs. It wasn’t surrender, but it was an inch toward reconciliation.
“I will always protect you, mate. Even if it kills me.”
Maelsar and I already had this battalion ready to follow us into battle. Our protection of them today would amplify that. We simply needed to reach Eloi, sway the rest of the recruits, and have them speak of us when we reunited with the rest.
“Let’s get this over with,” I grumbled, striding forward. Bitterness coated my tongue as I prepared to call the group to gather around me for prayer.
Climbing atop a covered wagon, I ensured I was visible to all. Sylaira joined me, her arms crossed and hip popped out. Everything in her posture screamed that she didn’t want to be there. But I wasn’t going to ask her to straighten up and risk her leaving me.
“Soldiers!” I shouted, though the volume was nothing compared to how I had once wielded my Command.
The hive of activity halted, all attention falling over me. In my periphery, Althirion and Nymirae smirked.
My nostrils flared as I tried to rein myself in when all I wanted to do was punch them in the face.
Soon.
“Our Radiant Mother has protected us this day. But the attack was a warning. We must remain steadfast in our devotion to Her and Her holy war.” Each word was ash on my tongue. “We must revere Her. So join me in worship before we continue on our march.”
In front of me, the recruits finished what they were doing and then knelt. I waited until each male and female had tucked their chins and a hush held the forest in its clutches. Sylaira, however, did not surrender her standing position.
A thunderous cacophony of heartbeats assaulted my ears. I shook my head ever so slightly, trying to clear out the sensation.
Now was not the time to lose my mind.
I caught Sylaira’s gaze, and she offered me a subtle nod. A brief acknowledgement that, despite the gaping chasm between us, she supported me.
“Radiant Mother, creator of all life, hear our prayer. Cleanse this world with Your holy light. We walk in Your truth, illuminated by Your divine will. Let Your justice flow through our hands.”
Everyone gathered crossed their arms over their chests, hooking their thumbs together. As I intoned the next words to the traditional prayer, they fluttered their hands like wings.
“Sanctify us with Your grace. Let no doubt about Your path poison our hearts. Let no mercy be given to the wicked.”
I brought my joined hands to my forehead. “Burn away all falsehood. Leave only Your holy order behind.”
Inhaling a deep breath, I prepared the addition.
“Goddess, we ask You to guide our way, both now and on the battlefield. Let us fight in Your name and bring peace to this land at last. Save every soul so that we need not ask more of our brothers and sisters to leave their homes. We are Your guardians, Your warriors, Your weapon on this earth.”
A long moment passed while the soldiers spoke their silent pleas. I counted to sixty, then spoke again. “Honored by our divine creator.”
“Goddess save you, Issaraeth,” they replied, lifting their heads at last.
A chill rolled down my spine at the haunting way my title echoed through the clearing.
“Grab your packs and let’s move out.”
The battalion rose and gathered their belongings, falling back into the familiar formation. Sylaira and I leaped to the ground just in time for Althirion and Nymirae to corner us.
“Well done, Issaraeth,” Althirion purred. “Your sister is pleased.”
Because of course he wasted no time in conveying how her obedient pet was behaving.
“My order included the two of you.” I rolled my shoulders back and stepped forward, towering over both of them. “Now go. We have no time to waste.”
They dragged themselves away, their heartbeats echoing in my ears with every step. Sylaira touched my arm, and I faced her, the strange sensation finally ebbing. Energy crackled under my skin from where we were connected.
Those icy blues captured me, sucking me into their depths. “I hate that you can’t defy Iaoth. I’m sorry for whatever she has over you that keeps you leashed, even this far away from her.”
The words struck a deep, wounded part of me. I kept my expression neutral. “Where is your mare?” Because even though she knew scraps of my history, she didn’t know the whole truth. And I wasn’t ready to give it to her yet. Not when she might turn around and call me a monster.
“Just ahead.”
My hand drifted to her lower back on instinct as I guided her toward the horse. And when the procession started again, Sylaira rode by my side.