Chapter 34
—Kienna—
“I’m trying to wrap my head around why you would do this.” Connak shook his head.
“Scold me later,” Kienna demanded. “I’ll own my mistakes when it’s time, but Vaerin caught me in there, and I’m certain he’s coming.”
Kienna sensed the way the smoke around Vaerin’s aura lit up and curled when he realized Moira had a baby. He mentioned power, which Kienna didn’t ask about, though she felt it, too. It possessed pure power, and Vaerin wouldn’t live in a world where he couldn’t have that.
Connak grunted, pushing the palm of his hand into a tree.
He stood at the edge of the barrier forest between Dove Port and Trinity Forest, moonlight dancing at his feet.
Kienna pushed past the guilt eating her soul and focused on making sure the people of Dove Port did not suffer for her misuse of magic.
“I can’t protect you from Elira, nor Tristian, this time,” Connak urged, concern lacing his tone as he kept his back to her.
Kienna steadily placed her hand on his shoulder. “Now is not the time for emotion. We need a plan.”
“No,” Connak scowled, pushing her hand from him. “You need to return to Dove Port. I will formulate a plan.”
Connak turned to leave, the set of his shoulders betraying his disappointment.
Kienna knew it wasn’t the right time to ask about Rhior.
Her gut told her no, and Ruva confirmed, but Kienna couldn’t help it.
She knew too much about Moira. She’d grown too close to her.
Rhior being taken to the worst place she could imagine would hurt her. “One more thing,” she prodded.
Leave well enough alone, Ruva howled.
“Were you able to send someone for Moira’s husband?”
It’s a wonder you even keep me around anymore.
Connak peered at Kienna longer than she liked, the discomfort of his anger burning a hole through her.
His jaw shifted, biting back words he didn’t want to say.
His stance faltered, and Kienna caught a tremble in his breath before he spoke.
Her favor with him was wearing thin; even he had a line. She clearly crossed it.
He softened anyway, though the tightness in his shoulders didn’t fully leave. “River Storm’s barrier is strong and constantly guarded unless soldiers are leaving. I have three of my men watching. When the time is right, they will go in and find Rhior.”
“Oh, Connak, thank you!” Kienna rejoiced.
Connak did not celebrate with her. His back remained stiff as he turned. He gripped the bark of a nearby tree, almost like he needed grounding. Then he disappeared into the forest, moonlight swallowing his path.
Kienna didn’t waste any time. She ran to the Great Hall to find the Captain General. He would need to prepare his own armies to sustain against an attack from the King of River Storm.
—Connak—
Connak sped through the forest with the wind at his back.
He didn’t allow himself to rest. They had plenty of time before the threat materialized with marching soldiers, but they’d need it this time.
They had to react in Dalelry, too late to the city to save the people.
Tristian wanted the time this go-around.
On Connak’s way to find the High Commander, he stopped in the shadows.
Queen Elira strolled by with Seredai, both wearing regal draping gowns that dragged across the forest floor. It was nearly too late for her to be wandering away from her palaces on the southside. “What do you think of Danek?” Elira asked Seredai.
“The boy shows promise,” Seredai responded. “He’s a tactful healer, but he seems to be too heavily involved with his heart.”
Elira hummed in agreement. “Like another M’Ran I know.”
“Yes, Connak, too. M’Rans were not known for their great emotional composure.”
Connak huffed silently. His clan’s name didn’t belong in their mouths.
Not after they sacrificed that same clan for their benefit.
Seredai and Elira paused near a village anchored in a colossal, fat tree.
The forest trees swayed in the evening light, allowing tiny glimmers of the moon through in spurts.
Pine mixed with the herbs of Elvish tinctures wafted through the windows of the villages.
“Perhaps we could find more use for Danek. He’s a good enough fighter,” Seredai suggested.
Elira sighed. “I wonder if the path with the Blades is a good one.”
“We could preserve him,” Seredai said, a whisper floating in the wind.
Connak stretched to ease the tension in his neck as Seredai continued.
“He carries more power than usual, a strong enough reason for Silverthorne.”
Elira gazed at her, lips parted. “You would take an able-bodied man out of the battle?”
“You did the same with Kienna and Moira for much less.”
“We have no use for a tainted Ashfell. The king took care of her for us,” Elira scoffed. “And Moira was never useful.”
“Connak and Danek are the only two left of the M’Ran clan. We need safety precautions, if you may, to ensure this line continues.”
Connak’s hands trembled as he inched forward. A branch cracked, pulling Elira and Seredai out of their hushed conversation. Connak shook his head and descended from the shadows.
A cold exhale escaped Elira’s breath. Her back stiffened, fingers curling at her sides. “Lurking elsewhere may be acceptable, but it will get you hanged if you don’t watch yourself.”
An empty threat. The reign of Queen Elira’s true power was dwindling every day that Tristian gained alliances and the Ael’ven Accords held strong. Connak simply blinked as his jaw grew tight. “Kienna projected today.”
“With her charm on?” Seredai asked.
“Without her charm,” Connak clarified.
“That’s fairly advanced.” Elira raised her brow. “What was she doing?”
“I’ll save the briefing for Tristian,” Connak said, voice clipped and sharp as a blade.
He pushed his luck talking to her like that.
The Accords were the only thing protecting him from her.
Should they ever be disbanded, he’d be dead.
Until then, he pressed on. “We’ll be going to war in Dove Port.
He’ll need the council’s decree of approval. You will give it.”
Elira released a heavy sigh, staring at Connak with the chill of a glacier.
Connak wondered if she could feel the slow-tempered slip of power that Tristian stole so illusively.
Little by little, the soldiers stopped listening to her, waiting for Tristian’s confirmation.
Now, they had Talon. And Dove Port. Soon, they’d have the Vikings, too.
The queen squinted, then waved her hand, turning from them as she wove up the bridge and through the branches where the moon threaded through pine.
Seredai trailed. “Perhaps we should discuss Kienna further… Preservations…” Her voice trailed away, but in the distance, Connak heard an echo of Silverthorne.
He relaxed and rolled his head back. He had to tell himself this was all worth it. That even when he sat alone at night, fighting for a woman who would probably never choose him if she wanted to, it had to be worth it.
“Can we stop them in the desert?” Tristian asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. The forest was dark, the sigils hushed by Tristian’s presence. Trees swayed in the wind.
“I’ll take Danek to scope it out, but my gut says no. We’d be picked off by sandwraiths before the storms get us. We’d be working against it all,” Connak explained.
“So, we let them go to Dove Port? And have another destroyed city on our hands?”
Connak considered the cost of the war and how it impacted Dalelry. They’d be putting a whole city, much bigger than Dalelry, at risk. He bit his cheek. “They can beat us in the desert. At least in Dove Port, we’ll have more resources, and we have time to prepare.”
“We’ll have to evacuate parts of the city. We’ll also need traps.”
“We like traps.” Connak smirked, thinking about the damage the Blades could do with a few enchanted bombs.
He’d need access to the entire city, and he’d want to ensure as little damage as possible in the process.
Dove Port was strong; their buildings were revamped to withstand the test of most magic, but he didn’t want to be the one to try it out.
Tristian rubbed his face, stopping at his eyes. “Do you think we’ll ever get to rest?”
Connak looked at the forest floor. He and Tristian knew the aches of exhaustion. Tristian trained and commanded the highest-ranking army in the realm. Connak fought in River Storm. They had worked their whole lives for this war.
“I think you and I aren’t destined to rest,” he replied. He tried to be subtle. Tristian never truly owned the myths of his path, though he had a scar on his collarbone as proof.
Tristian eyed him carefully. “So, you do think my path is predestined?”
Connak stepped forward. “Yes. You know we were chosen for this cause.”
“Which cause is it that you speak of?”
They’d been working toward so many, but Tristian knew what Connak meant. He wasn’t one to run from things, but this… He ran from this and cast it onto Connak’s shoulders instead.
Connak only shook his head. “The dying of the realm. The cause that is Kienna’s to bear.”
Tristian tensed, gaze drifting over Connak’s shoulder, like something unseen called him. “There is no cause that girl rallies behind,” he said, voice low.
“She knows who the woodcarver is,” Connak said, stepping closer so the wind couldn’t carry his words where they didn’t belong.
Calder Ashfell was the closest thing to Kienna’s mother—and to Vaerin—there could have been.
He was a man who created the rebels and the world that stood then.
He funded their attempts to aid the world outside the Elvish community, training themselves to fight back when the Elvish held them down.
They built the Silver Span Bridge to unite Dove Port and Alverton together.
Everything that kept Dove Port secluded, they fought against.
“And?” Tristian motioned his hands around in a circle to coax more out of Connak.
“And what?” Connak shrugged. “I meant what I said. This is Kienna’s cause now.”
Tristian shook his head. “She makes foolish mistakes. Ones that cost us good people.”
Connak caught a glimmer of the moon in his eyes. He couldn’t quite argue with that sentiment, but he knew Kienna. He could feel her shift. Her purpose. “I wish you lived in her head, or, at the very least, lived where you’re supposed to. You’d have more faith.”
“Don’t tell me what I’m supposed to be doing, Commander.
I’m fighting for the realm and getting her path started as you asked.
Let it be enough.” Tristian’s tone was clipped.
Connak knew not to push further if he wanted to remain in good graces.
Tristian would have to get there on his own.
The right time would present itself to truly share with Kienna what he’d been trying to share all along.
“All I’m asking is that you have more faith,” Connak said. “She may do things that are incredibly frustrating, but she’s much stronger than even I anticipated.”
“Maybe,” Tristian grunted, “but we’re still going to Dove Port to fight another battle because of her mistakes. So, that’s on my shoulders tonight.”
“Understood,” Connak agreed. “I’ll report back with Danek when I have intel.”
He stepped away from Tristian and left him to handle the other commanders. Connak, on the other hand, had a date with the desert. He’d been wanting to test Danek’s strength for some time now, and this presented a perfect opportunity.
In the distance, steel clanged against steel, a quiet rehearsal for the coming storm.