Chapter 28 Ariana #2
The door to the temple creaked open with the thrust of my hand. Fresh air and light rushed in, and I suddenly found myself again disoriented. I took a step, but the ground was not where it was expected. Stumbling forward, I fell.
Willis moved, grabbing hold of me before I hit the ground.
“I got you,” he said, pulling me against him.
After a moment, I felt my feet beneath me and regained my bearings once more.
“I am prepared for this new beginning, Willis,” I said to him, and by the look in his eyes, I knew he received the message that I would be ready for the power to be returned to the Bavadrins.
“I will rule, unlike my predecessor. No harm will come to Bavadrins or any others if it can be helped,” I said, answering the other question of what to do with the Lysians once we took back control. They were not to be harmed.
“It is my honor to serve you,” he replied, his lip curling up ever so slightly with an otherwise hidden excitement.
“I’m okay,” I said, gently pushing away from him.
Willis hesitated but reluctantly released me.
After taking two steps on my own, I found myself again uncoordinated. This time it was Erik who stopped my fall. Without a word, he scooped me up into his arms.
“How are you feeling?” Erik asked while Willis ground his teeth, hating that a Lysian was holding me.
“Better than I seem,” I answered, offering him a weak smile.
“You are a terrible liar,” he said without a shred of anger. Instead, in his sapphire eyes, I found a tinge of concern.
I smiled, turning to Willis. “Where is Edda?”
“She went to gather the people so that you could address them as soon as you woke.”
“Now?” Erik seemed surprised.
“Yes. Ariana is now the Leader Superior. It is customary to address the people after the ceremony and share parts of what the Spirit said.” Willis stepped forward, holding his arms out. “I will take her.”
Erik stepped back. “I don’t think she is in a condition to be giving a speech.”
“It is tradition,” I said, silencing the needless dispute, and turned to Willis. “It’s fine. Show Erik the way.”
As we began moving, I found my eyelids closing for brief moments, which stretched for a longer and longer time. My head leaned against the Lysian King’s shoulder, and he briefly tensed in response to the movement.
“Did you actually see the Spirit?” Erik asked in a hushed tone.
“Yes,” I mumbled, and he did not ask anymore.
My eyes slid open once more when we stopped moving. Willis was silently watching us.
“This is far enough. I must walk now. Please put me down,” I said to Erik.
Erik did what was asked without complaint. Once I felt the ground beneath my feet, I looped my arm through his and felt him stiffen to offer me better support.
“Walk out with me?” I asked.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Willis spoke before Erik had a chance to answer.
Erik’s gaze moved past me to Willis before returning to me.
“Are you sure you don’t want a Bavadrin to help you?
” They both feared the implication of how it would be taken by the Bavadrin people to see their new Leader Superior being helped by a Lysian.
Perhaps I would have worried about the same; however, the Spirit essentially told me to trust my choices and to follow my gut without fear.
And my heart was telling me that the Lysians were not evil, that in the end, we would stand on the same side.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I answered them both.
Erik smiled softly and nodded.
He walked with me a couple of steps before turning the corner to the courtyard area where a large gathering of Bavadrins stood; we appeared on the steps above them.
Murmurs moved through the crowd when they caught sight of me.
“My people,” I began addressing them, my voice loud as it carried across the space between us.
The particular spot where Erik and I stood thankfully had good acoustics so that all could hear me without my needing to yell.
“I stand before you, exhausted from my journey last night and excited to share that I spoke with the Spirit.”
Again, murmurs moved through the crowd.
“I asked questions, but the Spirit only offered a glimpse of answers for a few. During that time, the Spirit answered one key question.” I paused, and the purest form of silence settled between all around. “We, the Bavadrins, are not cursed due to the breaking of the treaty.”
There were some audible sighs of relief.
“But then, what of the Lysians?” a voice rose above all the whispers.
Erik tensed beside me.
“I asked the Spirit of the Lysians.” The Spirit did not tell me anything about them other than for me to follow my gut.
“They are not our enemy,” I announced. Erik’s gaze turned, boring into me while I remained focused on the Bavadrins before me.
“I do not yet understand the path we have been set on, but the Spirit confirmed that there is a good reason the Lysians are in our lives, and we are in theirs.”
“Will you stay in the city?” another voice asked, and I felt myself weakening.
“No. I am leaving now, but I will return in twelve days, and when I do, I hope that more of your questions can be answered. I wish to leave with a vow that I will bring us back to the lives we were always meant to live. For far too long, we have been burned by the world, by those who wished to harm us, and even by those who had promised to protect us.” I alluded to Fraser without saying his name.
My gaze found Landin in the crowd. “Some of us had to hide parts of ourselves to survive. I will not support the notion of causing my people more pain and difficulty when life is hard enough. Love does not have bounds, and we will no longer try to bind it.” Landin’s eyes glazed over.
My attention shifted, moving over the crowd of people. “It is time for us to rise from the ash. We will take our lives back, and the land will recognize the Bavadrins as people of character, strength, and compassion. I must leave today, but I promise that I am coming for you all.”
Cheers erupted through the crowd.
“Let’s go,” I whispered to Erik, who reacted at once, taking me away from the mass, and sheltering me from the excitement, which only further drained my energy.