Chapter 57 #4
Connak’s eyes traced the horizon. “I’m taking you all to M’Ran tomorrow.” He looked at Danek. “That’s our home, you and me. It was the heart of our people.”
“Where are the people now?” Kienna asked, though she knew the answer.
“Most are dead,” he said, the smoldering fire burning in his irises. He let the words hang for a moment.
“How did they die?” Danek’s muscles were rigid.
Connak’s chest released again, as if they were finally getting somewhere with the right questions.
“When Vaerin’s forces pushed from the Deadlands, the Council made a choice.
They could hold the barrier around M’Ran and risk open war, or they could sacrifice the city to keep Trinity hidden. They chose to keep their wards up.”
This.
This was why her parents needed a rebellion against the Elvish. Kienna’s face grew taut. Danek’s body rose and fell frantically with breaths, fists digging into a ball. “What did the Elvish do to M’Ran?”
“They opened the gates to our world and let the magic fall. They didn’t fight. Queen Elira and the council gave him everything. Every child. All our magic. Every name we carved into the stones for a thousand years.”
Danek scoffed. “Why would they do that?”
“For themselves,” Connak said. He turned to Kienna. “Tristian’s father ran rescue missions on his own that night, along with Prince Galric. That’s how they got me out. I was two… That was the night your parents bound us all.”
Kienna stole a glance at Danek to see if the mention of bonds would spark anything out of the ordinary.
His body remained stiff. She could feel a quick nod in her direction, but he didn’t indicate whether this conversation would come up later.
She knew it would. Even if he chose to ignore it, the knife in her gut told her that she couldn’t be all in with Danek if she didn’t tell him the truth. She wanted to.
Cricking her neck, she returned to Connak. “That’s why we fight then.”
“Yes.” He lowered his head. “That’s what the council thinks of the people it claims to protect. We fight so no one else gets thrown to the wolves when it’s convenient.”
Ruva growled. I don’t appreciate him comparing us to those vultures.
Connak cleared his throat. “Sorry, Ruva.”
“So, M’Ran?” Danek asked, glancing now between Kienna, the wolf, and Connak.
“If you are going to stand with us in this rebellion, I need you to see it to understand. We can’t protect these walls anymore.”
“Rebellion?” Broan stood, angry. He scowled at Kienna. “I just fought to put you on the fucking throne, dammit!”
Kienna grabbed his arm instinctively. She rose to meet him where he was.
Whether he liked it or not, he heard enough, and she would need him on her side.
He worked hard to form this alliance with the Elvish, pushing Queen Elira and the rest of the council to accept the terms and work to understand them.
His sticking his neck out for her didn’t go unnoticed.
If he could get on board, he would be their strongest ally, especially if his people could break wards as the queen had indicated.
Her grip tightened around his burly arm, anchoring him there with the weight of her gaze. “I know you’ve put a stake in this world, and you’re fighting for a chance to build something better—”
“You don’t know me, princess.”
Broan tried to look away, but she stepped closer and warmed her hand under the charm on her wrist. “I know you, Broan. I know the effort you went through to do this, and I’m not asking you to turn your back on your people. I’m asking you to help protect them the way the council never will.”
For a moment, Broan’s jaw worked, fighting between rage and reason. His eyes intensified around her, sending pointed glances toward Danek, and then floods of new emotions appeared.
Kienna held steady. “Believe it or not, you’re already on our side. You seek a purpose that’s greater than following commands. This is it.”
A crack of anger rose in Broan, indicated through the way his chest rose.
Then, a wedge of consideration. His attention went to Kienna’s hand on his arm, the radiating K on her thumb, the warmth of her grasp pouring into his skin.
She steadied herself for sarcasm, maybe even a fist fight, but he didn’t have a snarky rebuttal this time. Only silence.
This was the Broan who would join her. He shifted his weight and nodded once in approval.
“So, you’ll go with us?” Danek asked, rising to meet them.
“You are my brother,” Broan said. “If you trust them, then I trust you.”
Kienna released her grip on him. The fire cast each of their shadows long against the trees, separate, but reaching toward each other like they were always meant to find the same flame.
It was in that moment, with the flames dancing around them and the hushed whispers of their purpose, that she knew they were meant to meet each other in River Storm.
The path to get there brought perils to the world, but each of them brought a new sort of strength to the other.
Yes, she said, looking back to Ruva. We love Broan.