Chapter 10 #2
“High Commander.” Talon’s boots thudded near Tristian. Zephyr picked at his feathers, his black eyes blinking toward Tristian as his claw twitched on Talon’s shoulders.
Tristian loosened his grip on his blade. “Your recruits aren’t being pushed hard enough if they can still whisper.”
“Noted. I’ll adjust.” Talon slipped his hands behind his back and straightened. “Zephyr is worried about the wards. The barrier of River Storm has been flickering often as of late. No indications of armies in the realm yet, but King Vaerin is up to something.”
“And the other wards?” Tristian asked. “Near Silverthorne? Or Trinity?”
Talon tilted his head; his face etched with confusion. Zephyr soared into the sky overhead. Talon followed him, locked in apparent conversation, before he returned to Tristian. “The wards remain in place.”
Tristian nodded and went through his mental calculations to decipher what else he should prepare for.
Connak held his secrets close to him. Tristian worried his Blades Commander held them in to keep the panic at bay, and the only reason for that was due to the wards.
They protected more than Trinity alone. They pressed against River Storm’s borders, locking Vaerin behind defenses of his own making, and held darker forces at the edge of Alistile.
They would endure only as long as Tristian did, which meant he needed to remain in Trinity for as long as possible.
Years of pressure pressed against him, forming a low ache beneath his ribs as if the light itself leaned on his spine.
The scar on his collarbone grew from an ache to a burn.
He simply shook his head. “I have Connak focused on the wards. In the meantime, I need you to run a few missions for me.”
Talon’s lip twitched as he stood in formal command. His sharp, regal features mirrored the falcon on his shoulders. “What sort of missions?”
He was a good man. Tristian was sure he could trust his Shardborn Commander, but he had to tread lightly. “Routine missions,” he said. “Bridge patrols. Battalion visits. Supply checks.”
Talon frowned.
Tristian’s voice lowered. “Pay attention while you’re out there. I want to know which soldiers would follow their commander…and which hold loyalty to their queen.”
Talon squinted his steel-gray eyes, tilting his chin upward. The last hint of true light glared against his long hair. His shoulders slumped. “That’s not routine.”
“I know.” Tristian faced the setting sun with Talon, watching as the recruits continued their final lap of training.
“She binds us in silence because of the Accords, but we can still have an impact on this realm. People shouldn’t suffer when we can help them.
We can ride to battle in aid of allies because the Accords deem it so.
What we do afterwards is out of my supposed reach by decree of the damned document. ”
He remained formal, but Talon’s brows knitted together, and his muscles flexed and twitched as if he were fighting the urge to walk away. Tristian’s gut still said Talon could be trusted, so he blocked his path.
“Commander, I know what I ask defies your view on the hierarchy of rule and very well might defy the queen in the process…and others.” Tristian studied him. Talon kept his gaze on the clouds. “We owe it to the people that are dying in a war we started.”
“Connak started,” Talon said.
Tristian let out a low laugh. “I assure you, this war was only paused until Connak retrieved Kienna.”
Talon grunted at that. Tristian could understand.
Talon was, indeed, many generations older than him and Connak.
In his perspective, they lived in peace for twenty-five years, disposed of the Dark Priestess, then two young men joined and climbed their ranks, took hold of the Accords, and found themselves in war again.
The Accords were a sensitive topic for most Elvish as well. Some thought they took power and simply shifted it to the army. Others believed them necessary. Talon was on the first side of the story for a time. With Tristian’s command, he’d since been convinced otherwise.
Time dwindled as the recruits neared the last corner of their session.
“I’ll be blunt, Commander. Do you believe the Belok family should continue their rule?”
Talon broke formation, his forehead creasing with the tension above his wild eyes. “Surely you aren’t talking of an uprising here, High Commander. With all due respect, sir—”
“Answer the question.”
Talon took a step backward. “The Elvish have always been more than okay under the Belok reign.”
Tristian eyed him carefully. “And the rest of the world?”
His Shardborn Commander paused. Talon’s eyes shifted from one place to another until defeat took over, and he slumped his shoulders once again. “No, the rest of the world has not had a fair share.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
Another wave of silence passed through the air.
Talon shook his head. “I feel that our conversation could get us thrown under the trees.”
“Do you trust me, Commander?”
He straightened. “I wouldn’t follow you into battle if I didn’t feel the Elvish council actually made a good decision for once.”
Tristian nodded, slow but sure. It was exactly what he needed to hear, whether Talon intended to be so revealing.
“Good.” He placed his hand on Talon’s shoulder.
“Commander Talon, you are under my protection as High Commander of the Trinity army and of Trinity itself under the pretenses of the Accords. You will be granted full immunity for any actions that you and I take. Will you stand with me?”
Talon exhaled and peeked behind him as his recruits neared. “Are you looking to take over the throne?” he whispered.
“I am only looking to help those who can’t help themselves. People like my mother.” He twirled the flower in his hands again as the breeze carried the sweet scent into the air. “And those in Dalelry. I have no intention of being a king, but we are going to save our world.”
“Well, I’ve lived a long enough life, I suppose. Yes, High Commander, I will stand with you. Tell me where to go.”
—Kienna—
Kienna watched the gentle waves of the Lysiria lap over each other onto the rocky shore of the beach.
Her mind drifted to Connak. She wanted to call him.
Despite her conflicting feelings about Danek, Connak reserved more than enough space in her head.
He hadn’t reached out since he and Danek left for the Malintale.
She worried he’d seen the near kiss she and Danek almost shared.
Or worse—perhaps the threats were growing, and he was too busy.
She sighed. Timing was never right for her and Connak, and now served as another reminder.
Her thoughts wandered to the present, and other worries took Connak’s place, like how she should be taking measurements for Master Calder to plan the new ship.
She knew nothing about shipbuilding, but it was better than sweeping the workshop.
With one more glance at the sea, Kienna returned to mapping the distance between the points Calder indicated would be the start and the end. He required the number of planks it would take to get started, and the grunt work fell to her to complete.
“You can’t call a man and then yank yourself away like that.
” Connak appeared in front of her, sitting on the rocky shore.
His forest-green eyes glinted in the sun, and the wind swept his hair.
He picked up some seaweed, observed it, and tossed it into the water.
Kienna glanced at the shipyard workers, but they couldn’t see it.
In fact, the seaweed hadn’t even truly moved.
“Sorry.” She smiled. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Bother me?” Connak pressed his hand to his chest as if he’d received a fatal wound. “You can call me, Kienna. You should know that by now, and I mean it. Because you haven’t.”
He was referring to yet another string of nightmares. The last one took her back to River Storm to watch the woman die in front of her. It ended nearly as soon as it started, so she didn’t bother calling Connak afterwards. She wanted to stare into nothing and forget anything about River Storm.
“Some nightmares I need to process on my own,” she said. With the news that King Vaerin held power over her, anything regarding him was its own nightmare, one that Connak couldn’t help her with.
Connak’s shoulders slumped. “If you don’t call me next time, I’m shoving my way in.”
Kienna moved the rods down and noted the length. Her hair drifted over her face, and Connak brushed it behind her ears. The gleam in his eyes brightened at the subtle change to them. “Danek’s doing well, by the way.”
Kienna blew air from her mouth as her skin blared with warmth. “Oh, I wasn’t asking about—I think—Connak…”