Chapter 33
Cahir
The group continued through the Heath Forest until twilight, discovering a small, lush grove with waterfalls of fading light filtering through a mix of giant ferns, oaks, and pines.
The bloody oaks thinned as they moved further north, giving way to vibrant, verdant landscapes.
Seda refused any more help from anyone as she traveled throughout the day, leaving Cahir angry with himself.
He offered to help her multiple times, but she rejected his offers each time.
A large, glittering pond sat at the center of the grove, with fireflies dancing above it, their glowing rays of light reflecting off the water. Their peaceful radiance reminded him of the home he wished to share with Seda someday.
“What a great spot,” Seren said, setting his pack against the trunk of a giant pine tree.
“Plus, we can all bathe.” He pulled out a bar of soap from his pack and showed everyone.
“I would say ladies first,” he said, as he looked toward Seda.
“But I’m selfish. If no one wants to see, you’d better look away now. ”
Kalon, Seren, Askold, and Benny all walked to the shoreline and removed their clothing. Cahir stayed behind with Seda as Roya, Ferona, and Feich took to the sky. Seda sat behind a large oak, and Cahir sat next to her.
“No bath for you?” she asked him as she played with a bit of moss in her palm that she picked off the tree.
“I will a bit later,” he shrugged.
They both gazed down at the moss, unsure of what to say next. Cahir felt ashamed about what he’d done earlier. Not because he’d wanted to kill Kalon, but because he’d missed the opportunity to help her and had only added to her confusion instead.
Fuck Kalon.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from the Wyrd,” he admitted to her. “I came for you as quickly as I could. I couldn’t even think straight. I just had to get to you.”
“I know, and it isn’t your fault.” She dropped the moss from her hand. She watched it fall softly to the ground, then looked back at him. “It was horrible there, Cahir, truly horrible.”
“Were you hurt?” He felt his heart start racing as he waited anxiously for her response.
She drew a deep breath and glanced down at her nails, dirty from her time in the Camp and the journey north. “Not in the way you’d expect. I was locked up in a dark cell and…” She fought back a sob. “Esper was locked up right next to me.”
Cahir looked at her in shock. “Esper? Was Diantha there?”
She shook her head. “Diantha had been killed before I arrived. But Esper was pregnant, Cahir. And the cell was so dark and so lonely and so cold, I couldn’t see her.
She gave birth while I was there. Her baby was stillborn.
I will forever be haunted by her screams and the sound of her praying and rocking her baby.
The guards came in and saw that she had given birth, and that the baby had died.
” Tears streamed down her face, and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“They beat her, Cahir. They beat her after she went through that. And then they dragged her out of the cell and killed her.”
She gazed up at him with a fury that Cahir had never seen in her before, and her palms and eyes started to glow.
“The Rozzers raped her into pregnancy, did not feed her well, kept her in that cold, dark cell, and when she finally gave birth, they hurt her again. That is what Joro’s society is about.
I’m so upset that I was an unknowing supporter of it! ”
A wave of disgust and horror roiled through him. The thought of what went on at the Camp, with Seda there to see it, and the fate of Esper and Diantha, made his stomach churn and his head spin.
Her eyes were flaring the brightest amethyst he had ever seen. He hesitantly asked, “How did you?” He paused, unsure how to ask. “How did you not receive the same treatment?”
She laughed angrily and focused on her glowing palms. “Lord Mordred wanted to see me. He had me meet with him. I tried to ask him about this ‘dark stone’ Elco told me about, but he did not answer. He told me that I was there for a reason. And you want to know what he said?” She looked over at him with her burning eyes and runny nose.
“He said I was there for ‘redemption’. Whatever that means. He gave an order that no one was allowed to touch or hurt me. That didn’t stop Alexi, the Rozzer who dragged me away from you at the Wyrd, from trying, though. ”
Cahir’s growl rumbled low in his throat, and Seda looked up to him and whispered with a devious smile, “I killed him, Cahir. I killed him with these.” She held up her purple palms for him to see.
“It came out of nowhere. I was so mad, SO MAD!” She shouted the last two words as she slammed her palms on her knees, releasing a small spark that did not affect her.
“He wanted to hurt me again, so mad at that place and hearing and seeing the pain of those innocent people, all I could think about was hurting him like how you killed Michael at the Wyrd, and how good it felt to see you rip his heart out, and then all of the sudden he was lying on the opposite side of my cell convulsing.”
She did not show any signs of remorse for killing Alexi.
That confused him, not in the sense that this change of character was bad, but rather that it was so vastly different from how she had been in Joro.
He was glad that she got her revenge, thrilled even, but she didn’t seem to mind taking the life of another, even if they deserved it.
What does she know about the dark stone?
“An eye for an eye,” she said with a malevolent grin.
The purple in her arms and hands began to fade, and her eyes returned to their regular shade. “Does this scare you?” she asked about her magic.
He responded immediately, not needing to consider his answer.
“Not at all. I’m not sure what kind of magic it is, but the fact that you could protect yourself, Seda…
that you DID? I’m so impressed and so proud of you.
You have no idea.” He smiled, and he knew it showed in his eyes. “So fucking proud, Sed.”
“Ladies are up,” Askold announced as he circled the tree, his blond, damp hair plastered to his scalp. He stared down at them. “Where are Roya and Ferona?”
They both shrugged their shoulders, and Cahir replied, “Maybe hunting for mice or something.”
Askold laughed. “Between us, I think Benny wants to kiss the mouse breath.”
Seda laughed. “I saw him watching her. He really does have the hots.” She stood up and stretched her legs. “How will I know no one is watching?”
Cahir stood with her.
Askold raised his palm over his heart. “I, Askold Gardner, solemnly swear not to piss off Cahir.” Cahir looked at him impatiently. “Now we just need to get Kalon to swear the same thing.”
“I make no guarantees,” Kalon said as he walked around the tree, shaking out his long hair and sporting a serpentine smile. He looked at Seda and winked.
This fucking man.
“Dude, stop trying to start fucking fights,” Askold scolded.
“Nah, I won’t look, Seda,” he responded. “I’m not a desperate puppy dog.” He fixed his gaze on Cahir, and Cahir’s nostrils flared.
He was going to take this man’s fucking life slowly and savor every gods-damned moment.
“I’m going to find Roya and Ferona first,” Seda ignored them and walked around the tree, leaving the men alone.
Seren and Benny approached them.
“How long do we give them?” Benny asked.
“Until they say they’re done,” Cahir said as he sat back down on the ground. The others sat down next to him.
“What about Feich?” Benny asked as he played with the same piece of moss Seda had earlier.
“That guy is more bird than man,” Seren said with a laugh.
Cahir waited with the others while the women bathed in the pond. He half listened as the other men bickered and joked with each other. He thought about what Seda had been through, what she had discovered, and Lord Mordred’s meeting with her.
He knew she was special, but how did Mordred?
He has the stone.
He thought about the lack of desire he felt to finish his journey of finding the stone.
He thought about how he failed at retrieving it for Umbrea, despite all of the ‘meetings’ he had spent looking.
It was something he had been after for the last few years, but instead of spending time finding the stone, he spent his time with her.
He didn’t care anymore. Let Mordred and the monsters keep the fucking thing.
He thought about Seda showing anger toward those who hurt her and others, and how her magic flared to life when she talked about it.
She’s absolutely stunning.
She would want the stone, but would it also benefit Umbrea’s cause? All of this was intertwined, and he didn’t know how the pieces fit together. His emotions for Seda kept getting in the way, and now, as a result, he gave no fucks about finishing his tasks.
He just wanted to get her to Umbrea, where she could live her life safely… with him.
“All done, boys,” Ferona said as she walked around the tree, chewing on a crunchy bug.
“How do you keep finding those?” Askold asked her with a shiver. “So gross.”
“This is the forest, Askold,” Ferona said as she rolled her eyes. “What’s gross is the sludgy part of the pond you left behind when you bathed,” she retorted and threw the last of the bug in her mouth, purposely crunching it louder.
He raised his arm, sniffed his armpit, made a face, and then shrugged. “I personally think the pond appreciated my manly musk.”
Ferona rolled her eyes again and walked back down to the pond. Cahir got up and followed the others. They finished setting up their campsite for the night and stayed up chatting until the stars were reflecting across the water and the fireflies had vanished.
Once the others fell asleep, except for Ferona and Roya, who kept watch, Cahir got up and walked to the pond, where the soft waters reflected the glow of the campfire.
He looked around to ensure no one was watching, undressed, and walked into the cool water, making sure to grab the bar of soap from the shore.
He washed himself and went in deeper, diving in and swimming around.
The water lifted his anxiety away, like plumes of smoke escaping a volcano.
He floated on his back and stared up at the sparkling stars.
Seda was his best friend, but his heart longed for more. How long could he truly avoid these feelings?
He heard Seda’s voice and turned to see her sleeping form. Seda called his name again from another direction, and he let out a groan.
Not again.
He swam toward the shore and carefully grabbed his sword.
“Cahir…” the voice called.
As Roya descended, he nodded toward the dark woods ahead and slowly walked into the trees with his sword drawn. Through the trees, he spotted the figure of Seda standing naked, his eyes flicked off guard for a moment, but he resisted the urge to be entranced.
Roya and Ferona let out loud caws, rousing the others.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, pretending to believe the creature while holding the sword.
“I missed you so much,” it said in a voice that was a direct replica of Seda’s.
“I’m sure you have,” he replied.
The Hailec’s enchantment wasn’t working on him, and its illusion flickered, showcasing its wretched form for a split moment.
It lunged for him, dropping the illusion. Cahir brought down the sword and sliced off its head. He bent down and picked it up from its scraggly hair, noting its sharp teeth and melting skin on its face. He carried it back through the trees.
Everyone was up, looking in his direction.
He hurled the Hailec’s head to the ground and drove the sword through the top, impaling it into the earth. The sword shook back and forth as Cahir released it.
“Someone’s got a horse,” Askold said, and the others chuckled.
Cahir looked down and remembered he was naked.