Chapter 2
The venison steak sizzled on the skillet behind her while she cut up the potatoes and carrots from her garden. She had learned to grow her own food shortly after settling in this home, the large garden outside currently thriving in the spring climate.
Sometimes she would donate to the Charity Kitchen in the neighboring town a few miles the opposite of Helen, one without a large market or much money. They got hit harder by thieves than her village due to lack of any protection and it made her sick that she couldn’t do more.
She heard hooves on the compact road outside a few yards down from her house. She was expecting the sound of only one horse, but she could detect two sets approaching in unison.
She set down her kitchen knife and made her way to the door grabbing her bearded axe off the table just in case a random stranger had wandered down her path. She could never be too careful.
Through the small window in her door she could see the horses come into view, but only one rider could be seen. It was Silas, accompanied by a second horse he was leading next to him.
She relaxed her shoulders and set the axe down before opening the door. Her eyes watching the red-haired Fae dismounting off his black horse, another grey one next to it. Both equines were dressed in Royal garments and a slight feeling of anxiety sparked in her.
She smiled when his eyes met hers, his lips curving into the same welcoming grin he gave her every year.
Her legs moved towards him, gaining speed till she was in a run just a few steps away.
He had just finished tying the horses before catching her in a tight hug, her head burrowing into the curve of his neck.
He was the only one she could let touch her, the only one she trusted enough to never harm her.
“Hello Alyra.” His voice soft as her real name rolled off his tongue.
“Silas,” she mumbled.
She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent of vanilla she loved so much. She remembered that smell from him carrying her out of the cell in Mavros’s dungeon, the smell of freedom that soaked all the way down to her bones.
She pulled away from him and kept her hands on his sides not wanting to let him go just yet.
“You look beautiful as always.” His yellow eyes scanning over her face, his finger grazing along her hairline scar before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“And you look handsome as ever.” She chuckled, her eyes looking over him slowly.
He had changed since last year, which was odd for him. His hair was not its usual shoulder length she was used to, now cut short just above his pointed ears. His tight leather under his armor showed off more muscles and his body was more lean now than she remembered. “Your new look suits you.”
“Yeah, I've been training a lot more than normal.” Hesitation lined his voice.
Her heart sank.
“The hair though, that was just for a change of scenery. Ladies seem to like it,” he said, his grin widening.
“I don’t know, I miss the long hair.” She smirked while finally removing her hands and took a step back. “But that could just be because I loved braiding it for you.” she teased.
“Never tell anyone I let you do that.” He laughed.
“Who would I tell?”
“Actually,” his hand rubbed the back of his neck while averting his eyes, “we need to talk.”
She could see his body tense and her gut started to twist with anxiety. He never showed up in Royal attire and hardly ever brought up things happening in the castle.
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Let’s get inside and talk.” He grabbed her hand and started to pull her towards the house. “Plus I’m hungry and can smell that delicious food you are making.”
After a while of eating and catching up with short conversation topics, she could feel the tension start to fill the air and her heart started racing in anticipation of what he was putting off telling her.
Silas glanced at her every so often, a look of unease filling his eyes and it made her stomach twist. There must have been something bad happening in the capital for him to be this on edge.
“So, want me to tell you the good news or the bad news first?” Silas asked hesitantly and set his fork down on his now empty plate.
“Always the bad first.” She sighed.
“War is coming again, Alyra.” His eyes watched her carefully and she felt her shoulders tense. “Mavros has built an army behind his borders again and from what our spies have told us, his numbers are staggering.”
Her mind went quiet for a moment, the reality of his words crashing down on her like a cold tidal wave of water. Another war so soon and the same two kingdoms fighting again. Why?
“How did he get an army that size so quickly?” she whispered, her eyes not leaving his.
“He found The Book of Trenches, we still don’t know how, and has now formed an army of new creatures. The spies said he has reanimated the dead he lost in the war and mutated them in the process. We have just been calling them Trenchers and they are not pretty.”
Her blood went cold, the thought of such a thing being possible made her want to throw up all the food she just ate.
The Book of Trenches was an ancient text made by the old Fae gods so long ago the people thought it a myth. Fae and Valkyrie alike had looked for it before but it could never be found. She wondered how Mavros was able to get a hold of it.
Fae magic was powerful, she would know because she was the most powerful born in the last millennia when she had her powers, but bringing back the dead was never an option.
There must be a spell in the book that enhances the powers of the wielder that broke magical laws, it was the only explanation.
“The good news, not that you asked yet, is that we think we know a way to kill them easier. As of now we have to cut their heads off to make sure they stay dead and the enemy has been sending them out in small groups testing for weaknesses and mutating them differently each wave.” His voice had hesitation in it and she clasped her hands on the table to keep them from shaking.
“We need you Alyra, no one else can help us.”
Her breathing stopped for a few seconds while her mind tried to process his request. They needed her, which meant they needed the Ivory Flame, her magic that she inherited which she no longer had full access to. She was the only one that was born with it which was why Mavros wanted it so badly.
“You need the Ivory flame, not me,” she mumbled. “You know I can’t help you.”
“Your magic isn’t gone,” he tried to reassure her.
“I’ve tried for a century to break that wall down to get it back Silas, what makes you think I can get it back now?” She pulled her hands from the table and ran them down her thighs a few times to try and calm herself.
“I have a theory, but you would have to come back to Elnora with me. Please Alyra, you know if Mavros wins, we will all be doomed.”
Mavros.
The Veiled King, or at least that is what he called himself. He was the brother of Emris, the King of Ambros, and was scorned by an old feud from dozens of centuries ago.
The Dissension was the climax of their feud and both sides lost many needless lives due to their rivalry. No one could find the reason for the feud, just that it had been going on since the beginning of Emris’s rule.
It was said Emris gave Mavros his own part of the kingdom to try and reconcile, but that ended up being a huge mistake he now couldn’t fix.
Mavros closed it off and claimed it as his own, which only fueled Emris’s rage.
She knew just how cruel Mavros could be from being his prisoner for three months after the war. Nightmares of that time spent on his stone carving slab haunted her almost every night, and he was the reason she lost her magic.
“My people were betrayed by someone in Emris’s command. I can’t trust that won’t happen again.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
“Then don’t trust anyone, but if we got your magic back then we would stand a chance of this kingdom surviving.
Maybe we can even get you back to Mydalsa and you can rebuild your own kingdom.
” He leaned forward and his face fell into a sympathetic glance.
“If we don’t win then even little towns like yours will be destroyed and the people enslaved. ”
She let the faces of Victor and Elias pass through her mind and she felt her heart suddenly feel heavier. She was great with a sword and mediocre with a bow, but if Mavros’s army came to this town she could not protect it without her magic.
“What is your theory on getting my magic back?” she asked calmly and studied him closely.
“We know Mavros didn’t take it and that you buried it inside yourself somehow right?” he asked with his eyebrow raised.
“I was scared I would break and finally give it to him, so I concentrated on building a wall around it to protect it until eventually Mavros couldn’t sense it anymore.
” She closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath to keep the horrific memories at bay.
No one could take another’s magic, but you could give it to someone willingly.
Mavros tortured her everyday to try and get her to give it up to him. Everyday she would refuse, but towards the end she was getting tired of fighting and was terrified of him breaking her. It was when death came knocking she realized she needed to do something before he succeeded.
“Emotions.” Silas spoke quietly. “I think we can break your wall down that you built around it by enhancing them as you train or maybe go see a healer for advice.”
She cleared her throat and again leaned on the table narrowing her eyes on him. It was hard to be mad at him for asking such a thing, but she also knew he wouldn’t ask unless it was the last option.
“So let me get this straight.” An exasperated breath escaped her. “You need me to come back into society hoping that you can emotionally torture me into getting my powers back and on top of that, fight for a king that betrayed my people.”
Silas eyed her carefully and leaned back in his chair with his shoulders square.
“Yes,” he replied in a sympathetic tone.
She shook her head and placed it in her hands trying to wrap her mind around what he was asking. There would be no going back after this, and she would constantly have to look over her shoulder until the war was over.
“I know this isn’t an easy decision for you and it’s unfair for me to ask with such a short time for considering it. Regardless, I do have to leave in the morning,” he whispered.
“So soon?” she questioned in a whisper.
She could feel her heart lurch in her chest as her eyes met his. He usually stayed a few days at a time to keep her company, but it seemed that was not happening this time.
“I’m needed at home, Emris is on high alert and needs all his generals. I had to fight just to make this trip.” His eyes softened and he reached his arm out to her, her hand taking his gently. “Even if it's only for a day, even if you don't come back with me, I will always fight to come see you.”
He pressed a soft kiss on the top of her hand. She took a deep breath, her eyes scanning his now relaxed face and she could see a small smile form on the corner of his cheek.
“Care to take a walk?” He asked and she rose from the table with him.
Her eyes watched his face soften as she joined him closer to the door, his hand reaching out for hers effortlessly like so many times in the past.
She didn’t hesitate to grab it, their hands intertwining. She could feel her mind trying to take her attention away from him. All the information he had given her was pushing to the front of her mind, but she fought the anxiety to try and be in the moment with him.
She could stay and hide like she had in the last century, or leave to fight to try and save what little part of the world was left even if her people were dead. Right now she didn’t know if she wanted to do either.