Chapter 30
—Kienna—
Early morning mist dripped from the vines that clung to the walls in between the alleys.
Kienna took her time walking to the workshop, having barely slept the night before.
Ruva nuzzled her shoulder. They walked in silence, for which Kienna was grateful.
She needed the quiet to process her thoughts—to figure out when she started noticing Danek as anything more than a friend.
She traced it all the way back to when he healed Ash, giving everything he had to make sure she kept the man she was unaware was her grandfather.
With the hints that Connak laid in front of her, frustration gnawed at her.
Could any part of herself be her own?
Kienna turned the corner and stared at the front door.
She needed to go in and apologize to Ash.
To tell him she was sorry for disappearing and almost dying.
They had deadlines. She had to finish painting the table, and they had the ship’s planks to engrave.
He’d crumble if anything happened to her.
The weight of it all struck her chest with lightning.
Kienna clutched it and pushed her back against the door as she slid to the ground.
Breathe, Little Flame, Ruva whined, pancaking toward her. The wolf pressed her head into Kienna’s lap, her weight calming the sudden aches.
It was easier being alone.
Ruva licked Kienna’s hand. The smell of morning lilies wafted in the air as their petals opened with the sun’s rays. A cool breeze drifted by, blowing Kienna’s hair over her face. Ruva stood and nudged the strands out of the way. It was never easier being alone. You grew used to it.
What if I can’t be more than Vaerin’s pawn?
Ruva growled, her lips foaming around the edges. He is evil. You are not.
How do I know?
What do you mean, how do you know? You choose.
Kienna closed her eyes, letting Ruva’s body plop on her again.
She could have stayed like that forever, but the sound of hinges creaked against the silence as the door to the workshop opened.
Kienna fell backward, her head hitting a boot.
Her heart surged through her throat. Ruva gnawed at the leather corset around her waist to keep her steady.
Ash stood above her, an amused smirk playing on his face. “You look like shit.”
“That’s fitting,” Kienna admitted, closing her eyes a moment to catch her breath.
“Let’s take a walk, granddaughter.”
Kienna opened her eyes again. Ash knelt beside her. He was well-groomed, his gray beard trimmed. Even his hair was neatly combed. He wore new clothes. Black pants, a clean white shirt, and a navy, suede vest. His appearance was far nicer than she was used to seeing.
Ash pulled Kienna from the ground. She dusted off her own clothes, drab compared to the woodcarver in front of her. This was the man who had been revered in the stories she heard. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve had a rough few nights. I was trying to reset.”
“Your Elvish friend—that Connak fellow—he explained.” Ash studied her again. She was sure he could see the bags under her eyes, the fine lines of exhaustion and strain. At least she stopped picking her hands. She had Danek to thank for that. “I’m surprised you’ve come today.”
Kienna embraced Ash in a hug. Now that she had a moment to herself, she was grateful to be back in his presence and away from the chaos imposed on her by Elvish men. The warmth of his presence soaked into her heart. When she pulled away, she said, “Maybe I do need that walk.”
Ash reached for a cloak and a bowl of berries.
He handed a strawberry to Kienna and then ate one himself.
Kienna bit into the fruit, the sweetest she’d ever tasted.
Ash tossed the stem out into the grass as they passed the outer ring of Dove Port.
“They’re in full bloom now. The reddest you’ll ever see a strawberry in these parts. ”
Strawberries were the least of Kienna’s concerns.
Ruva nipped at her fingers when she started picking near her cuticles, a reminder to calm down and breathe.
They walked straight toward the Silver Span bridge, where memories of Tislin’s lifeless body sinking in the river paralyzed her mind.
Her hands tensed, and a sudden crick in her neck tugged at her.
There are no shadows here, Little Flame. Did you hear Ash?
Kienna glanced over and noticed Ash talking. “—spine of Alistile.”
“What?” Kienna asked, leaning in to hear him better through the heartbeat pulsing in her ears. She took a deep breath to steady herself.
Ash laughed. “I said the Goldmere is the spine of Alistile. The bridge was built to be the heart of the realm.”
“A bridge?” Kienna tilted her head to the side, studying the structure. It was just a bridge that no one ever crossed, heavily guarded from both sides.
“Avenna and Vaerin helped lay its very stones for that reason.” Ash’s voice crept lowly. He watched Kienna carefully, gleaning her reaction.
She tried not to give one, but Vaerin’s name always slithered its way around her heart and forced a scowl.
Kienna didn’t want the king to taint any of this for her.
She was already fighting against the position he instilled in her.
“Why did they build the bridge, GranAsh?” she asked after a period of silence.
She would have called him Grandfather, but she’d grown fond of the name Ash, and it only felt right for them.
He shrugged through his smile. “Connection. Avenna, your mother, had a spirit of fire and believed the bridge would unite the humans, giving them more power over the threat of the Elvish.”
Despite herself, Kienna stepped toward the water.
The steady rush of the river muffled the world behind her.
The mist jumped off its surface, cool against her cheeks.
The bridge stood tall next to her. Its pillars sank deep into the water like roots gripping the riverbed.
The soldiers flanking the path didn’t so much as blink.
Their eyes remained fixed on the horizon.
Kienna swallowed and reached out a trembling hand.
Her fingers hovered above the cold stone.
She didn’t know what drove her to touch it.
Maybe knowing her mother led the charge to build the bridge brought her hope of connection.
Something that was touched by her could then be touched by Kienna.
She glanced back at Ash, then the bridge.
Finally, she pressed her fingers against it.
Her mind shifted as rapidly as the flowing water.
She saw flashes of her mother leading people at the river, charging them with instructions to put up posts.
The bridge, not yet built, was meant to bring the people together.
Avenna was beautiful. Freckles littered the skin beneath her honey brown eyes.
She must have been nearly seventeen at the time.
A young Vaerin stood next to her. His face paled in comparison to the king Kienna grew used to seeing in River Storm.
This version of him was unwell, a sunken man fighting to stay alive.
And the look in his eye… There was something there now.
Avenna kept looking at him, asking him if he was alright.
The scene shifted swiftly, and Kienna found herself at Elowen’s door with Avenna.
Her mother knocked furiously until a young woman who Kienna recognized as Elowen opened.
Soft, blonde curls framed her face, though she still held the urgency of never leaving a guest standing at her door for too long. She waved Avenna inside.
“I’m pregnant, El,” Avenna said quickly. “I haven’t told anyone, not even Gal, but I’ve been seeing things… Visions.”
“Your child must have the gift then…” Elowen trailed off, glancing out the window. “Maybe magic, too, like little Moira.”
Avenna gasped. “You see how my brother looks at that child.”
Before Kienna could gather what was happening, the scenes shifted again. Avenna had grown, still sitting with Elowen. They were combing through books together. Avenna had tears brimming down her face.
Galric stood next to her, rubbing her shoulders. “We should not fear this,” he said. “If our daughter is meant for this, we should embrace it as such. An oracle is a blessing.”
Avenna sobbed. “I thought we would have a normal life.”
“Your brother tried to kill you, Ave,” Galric said. “To take your magic. By the grace of that baby, you’re alive. Because she’s special. We need to admit that, now.”
Kienna’s mind hurled back. Ash called her name frantically, and the soldiers were abandoning their posts. Everyone stared at Kienna as she acclimated to reality.
Your eyes were glowing, Ruva explained.
“I’m okay,” Kienna said, embracing Ash. She leaned in and whispered, “A vision. I’ll explain later, but I think I need to go see Elowen.”
He nodded, and Kienna left immediately to find the eccentric woman who seemed to know way more than she ever let on.
—Tristian—
Tristian called his commanding officers to the highest island in the sky.
The Shardborn Island was a flat training ground with grueling obstacles, meant only for the most elite fighters.
It left no room for error. Talon flanked his left, Connak his right—the two men he would have to rely on to get the rest of his commanders on their side.
He picked them for a reason. The strongest warriors he’d ever seen, but also the most humane.
Every single one of them would give all they had for their own battalion, protecting each soldier as if they were family.
Tristian needed that. He needed them to care, but in this moment, he needed them to prepare.
“What’s the plan, High Commander?” Talon asked. His stone-gray eyes studied the other nine commanders taking formation in the field, hands behind their backs while they waited for their address.