Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
“So, why did you bring Kaelith back again?” Calli slipped her arm through Rynna’s as they walked through the camp toward Elara’s healing tent. “And explain it like I’m five this time.”
The air around the camp was thick with the scent of metal, damp earth, and the faint aroma of unfamiliar herbs from Tide Reach’s healers. In the distance, the towering tree spires of Pulse Reach loomed, their branches casting long shadows over the sprawling camp.
“Calli,” Rynna sighed, “we’ve already been through this a thousand times, and you know Elara’s going to want to dissect it another thousand more. Can we just drop it? At least for the next two seconds.”
Calli was one of the Novices they’d all come up with over the last eight years, and Elara’s best friend since early childhood.
She was on a different Unit, one that often rivaled Fang Unit in its missions and exploits, but Rynna genuinely liked her.
Sure, the Taren obsession had been exhausting that first year, but what else could you expect from teenage girls when a cute, brooding guy with a tragic backstory was involved? Thank goodness it hadn’t lasted long.
As if you weren’t just as obsessed with Fenn, that annoying voice in her head chimed in. And you weren’t even technically a teenage girl at the time. What was your excuse?
“Sorry, friend,” Calli continued, completely unfazed by Rynna’s inner monologue. “I just don’t get it.”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that,” Rynna said again. “Look, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if I made the right call. Either way, we’ve got more pressing things to focus on.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Calli frowned as they approached the large medical tent that Elara ran for Ember Reach. “We’re all moving out soon, huh?”
“Yep, looks that way.” She hadn’t yet found the courage to tell her friend she was being forced to stay behind.
“As if Commander Fenn doesn’t tell you everything.” Calli shivered for dramatic effect. “Still weird, by the way.”
“Calli!” Rynna laughed. The teasing about her relationship with the Fenn had evolved from initial shock at its revelation into something of a running joke between them.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s gorgeous and all,” Calli continued, undeterred. “But so old! You’ll be pushing him around in a wheelchair soon!”
“He’s not that old!” Rynna protested, giving the girl a light shove.
“He is, too! Besides, blonde hair is way hotter. The dark and red tips just make him look strange.”
“I happen to love his hair.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Calli whispered, her voice dropping conspiratorially as she leaned closer. “But, you know...is it all red like that? Like...everywhere?”
“CALLI!” Rynna shrieked, shoving her friend harder this time, causing her to stumble directly into Elara, who had just stepped out of the tent.
“Hey! Watch it!” Elara laughed, catching her before she could fall.
“You watch it!” Calli shot back, steadying herself. “I was just asking Rynna about the...uh...extent of Guide Fenn’s Source-tainted hair.”
“Extent?” Elara blinked, her face scrunching in confusion before the realization hit. Her cheeks flushed bright pink as the meaning sank in. “Oh—OH! Calli, really?!”
“What!?” She pushed Elara away. “As if you haven’t thought about it!”
“Thought about Guide Fenn’s…uh… red hair?! NO! I have not!”
“Ahem.” A loud cough broke through their chatter. The three young women froze as a wrinkled elder from Ember Reach stepped up behind them. “I’d suggest if you wish to continue discussing the Commander of the Third Regiment, you take it somewhere private. Perhaps another planet entirely.”
“So sorry, Granny!” Elara stammered, immediately bowing and shoving Calli and Rynna out of the woman’s path as she hurried to usher her toward the tent. “Your daily tea is ready. Please see Rafael when you get inside.”
“Mongrel. We should have never let her in the village,” the elder muttered as she passed. “And that Vessel carrying on with her like that out in the open. Unthinkable.”
And I should have let Taren kill you, you old bitch. Rynna’s fists clenched as she resisted the overwhelming urge to wipe the decrepit old bag from existence. Even though the elders of Ember Reach demanded the utmost respect, she knew many of them had done little to deserve it.
Calli gave Rynna a worried glance, her brow creasing as she hesitated before speaking.
“It’s fine.” Rynna crossed her arms and lifted her chin once the old woman was out of sight. “Are we getting lunch, or what?”
“Yes, let’s go.” Calli and Elara spoke almost in unison, quickly stepping to either side of Rynna to loop their arms through hers.
Walking in silence, the noise of the camp swelled around them in a cacophony of shouts, clanging metal, and hurried footsteps as Hollow-born prepared for war.
They loaded their belts with small pouches and scrolls, and stashed weapons in accessible places as the faint jingle of chainmail and knives blended into the noise.
Tents were being collapsed and swords handed out while the air buzzed with a sense of impending battle.
As they neared the stew stall, the rich aroma of simmering broth and grilled meat filled the air, momentarily masking the stress of the camp. Steam rose from large pots, the sound of potatoes and sizzling vegetables offering a brief distraction.
“I guess everyone wants a good meal before we leave,” Elara remarked, taking her place in the long line next to Rynna and Calli behind three Hollow-born from Gale Reach.
As they waited, Rynna’s ears picked up the low murmur of voices around her, the anxious chatter of an untested army on the eve of battle.
This wasn’t new to her. She had seen it, lived it, hundreds, maybe even thousands of times.
And she knew the grim truth that many, perhaps most, of these men and women would not survive the coming days, no matter what she did.
It never gets any easier, she thought, glancing at her friends. They both wore expressions of dawning recognition, likely coming to the same conclusion she had.
“Order’s up!” a voice called from the stall.
“Come on,” Rynna nudged them, breaking through their growing panic. “Let’s get our food and sit down.”
It took some wandering to find an open table, but once they finally sat down, Elara and Calli just stared at their untouched bowls.
“I don’t think I can eat,” Elara muttered.
“That’d be a first.” Calli’s fingers gripped the edge of the table.
“Still jealous?” Elara teased, her spoon hovering over the food.
Rynna watched the familiar banter, hoping it would help divert them from the battles looming ahead.
In truth, Calli was a little jealous and had been ever since Elara changed her focus to healing and cut back on the intense physical training and constant missions.
In the time Calli had spent pushing herself through grueling workouts to keep up with her male counterparts, Elara had filled out beautifully, building a serene confidence with her newfound curves.
“It’s really happening, though, isn’t it?” Calli exhaled, moving on. “This isn’t just some mission with a Vessel watching over us. It’s war. People are going to die. We might die. For real.”
There wasn’t much Rynna could say to ease their minds. What was coming would be brutal, and they would have to face it head-on or choose to run. But she had to try something.
“Elara,” she said, drawing the girl’s attention. “Do you remember what Guide Fenn told us after our first test?”
“Huh?” Elara looked up, her eyes dull. “The stupid rope game?”
“Yeah.” Rynna tapped her spoon lightly on the table. “Why do we fight?”
“Well, as I understand it,” Calli interjected, “we’re fighting to save the whole world from whatever Skarn and his allies are planning.”
And she was right. The enemy army had already swallowed most of the unaffiliated lands west of Pulse Reach—whole villages erased overnight, there one day and gone the next, leaving only blood spattered across every surface.
The Reaches finally united when the food tithes from the non-Hollow-born villages ceased, and the tenth scouting party sent to locate the enemy vanished without a trace.
“No,” Elara whispered, shaking her head. “That’s just why we have to fight.”
Rynna smiled softly. “So, why do we fight, then?”
“We fight for the men and women beside us. We fight for the Hollow-born battling on either side. We fight for our…family,” Elara answered, straightening her spine and pushing her shoulders back.
“Our family,” Calli echoed, raising her gaze to meet Rynna’s.
“Yes,” Rynna nodded. “Now eat your damn food.”
As they dug in, she worried for her friends.
She wouldn’t be out there with them. Elara would be commanding one of the forward medical bases near the southern front, while Calli would be with the Second Regiment on the northern front, her ability to see slivers into the future a vital asset.
And at some point, Bran would inevitably join the battle, despite all efforts to keep him hidden and protect the Great Phoenix.
All while Fenn drives a spear right up the middle through the mountains. She nearly quaked at the thought of not being there to watch his back.
As if sensing her thoughts, Elara spoke up, “If it were anyone else, I’d think you were looking for an excuse to stay back.”
“Stay back?” Calli asked, still focused on her food.
“I have to interrogate Kaelith,” Rynna grumbled, then glanced at Elara. “How’d you know?”
“Lady Takara.”
“Ah, well, that makes sense, I guess.”
“It’s a solid plan,” Elara continued. “Who knows what he knows? Plus, he’s always had a soft spot for you. That’s probably widened since you saved his life.”
She huffed. “Not killing me isn’t the same thing as ‘having a soft spot for me.’” She had already heard that same line from Fenn earlier that morning.
“In our world, it kinda is,” Calli chimed in, pointing her spoon in Rynna’s direction. “Exactly how many times has he not killed you, anyway?”
“A couple, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve been keeping track.”
“Plus, that time you went to his lair looking for Taren, and he just let you go.”
“Goddamn it, Elara. Does the Ember Warden tell you everything?” Rynna groaned.
“No,” Elara said, raising an eyebrow, “but now you just confirmed it.”
Rynna opened her mouth to retort, then froze. Damn it. She got me. “Fuck, Elara, maybe you should interrogate him. You’re obviously better at this than me.”
“Wait, hold on.” Calli waved her utensils in the air. “Back it up a step. You went to Kaelith’s lair? Found it? And the snake just...what...let you go? And you never told anyone?”
“I told the Ember Warden! Eventually. And it didn’t matter because he moved after I left, and Taren wasn’t there, anyway. There was no point in bringing it up.”
“But you told Elara something.”
Damn.
“Just that he wasn’t coming home anytime soon. That he was on his own path, and the best thing we could do was make sure there was a home for him when he returned.”
“We have to trust him.” Elara’s voice was heavy with resignation.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Calli took her hand, letting the subject drop.
The blonde girl took a deep breath, her sadness momentarily visible before her usual strength reasserted itself.
“So, you’re staying back to question one of the most dangerous foes Ember Reach has ever seen, while we go to battle against an enemy we barely understand. Sounds like a walk in the park.”
The three of them exchanged glances, and then, as if on cue, burst into laughter.
“Just a casual stroll, huh?” Calli managed between giggles.
“Totally,” Rynna agreed, choking back her own laughter. “Piece of cake.”
Still smiling, she reached out and took each of their hands, forming a small circle between them. Their fingers intertwined, holding on tight in a quiet moment of connection.
“Just be careful, Rynna.” Calli gave Rynna’s hand a squeeze. “Our part is straightforward—fight, heal, survive. But Kaelith...he might be even more dangerous. My dad’s told me some stories from back in the day, from when he was an Awakened, and they are...dark.”
Rynna nodded, not surprised. She’d made Fenn tell her everything Ember Reach knew of his crimes since he defected, and it’d left her curled in a ball on the floor for days, nearly overwhelmed by guilt and anger.
“He might be the most cunning, manipulative Hollow-born Ember Reach has ever produced. Don’t let him get under your skin,” Calli added.
“I won’t,” Rynna whispered, her head dropping slightly, knowing that some part of him had already burrowed deep inside her.
She lifted her head again, then, and looked at her friends with a bittersweet smile. “Thank you, Calli. And Elara. For being such good friends.” Her voice wavered. “Keep looking out for each other. And please...don’t die.”