Chapter 64 #2
Trembling, Kienna bowed, heaving her shoulders over the sword she drove into the ground. When everyone else found themselves in the soil, Kienna’s tears flooded from her soul. All she could hope for was that the water would help Danek’s tree grow.
When the rest of the world retreated, Kienna sat in the dirt by the freshly planted tree. Ruva hovered, gently licking her hand to make sure she knew she wasn’t alone.
Kienna’s heart anchored with such weight.
All she wanted was to see Danek’s face again.
Her soul howled longingly in the night, but not even the moon dared to come out and face her anguish.
Moira tried to say goodbye after the funeral.
Kienna forgot to embrace her, though she sat wondering if she’d ever see Moira again.
There was no guarantee for any of them anymore.
Her fear erupted, and regret spilled into her mind.
Ruva pushed further over Kienna, a weight holding her down in case she decided to float away with Danek’s spirit. Broan’s footsteps gave him away before his towering silhouette appeared. He stopped a few steps from her, adjusting the leather strap of his gear before sitting.
Be nice to him, Ruva pleaded.
“I want you to come back with me to the mountains,” Broan said, shifting awkwardly. “Alliances or not, you belong with me.”
“I can’t leave him.” It was all she could muster to say, though she didn’t want to stay there anymore. So many people had betrayed her. “I need more time.”
Broan cleared his throat. “I need to take the Vikings home, and then I will come back for you. Two weeks enough time?”
Her voice cracked. “Okay.”
“We’ll find a way around these alliances—”
Kienna held up her hand, shaking her head. She didn’t care anymore about alliances or the Ashborn prophecies. What did it matter when she couldn’t make any of it right? None of it would bring Danek back. None of it would end the tormented curse King Vaerin put on her.
“Before I head out.” Broan moved closer, his shoulder connecting to hers.
They stared at the same horizon together, an endless sea of darkness.
“Danek loved you. More than anything I’ve ever seen in this fucking world.
That makes you my sister now. No matter what happens.
I’ve got your fucking back from here on out. ”
Kienna stiffened. She struggled to take in more loyalty when she deserved none. It would only get them killed in the end. She dropped her head. “I miss him.”
“Aye,” Broan agreed.
They sat in silence together for a long time. The forest quietly mourned as it soaked in the body Danek offered. Kienna took solace in knowing he’d be there, not buried in casing or burned to ashes. She had a tree to go back to every time she needed his presence.
“When Danek was a boy,” Broan broke the silence, his own voice aching and cracked, “right after Vaerin chose us to protect his city, he would steal bread and fruit from the castle halls. He drove the chefs mad with how much he would sneak out every day.”
Kienna rested her weary head on Broan’s shoulder, a motion that startled them both until they settled into the comfort of each other’s sorrow. “Vaerin fed us. Why would Danek need to steal food?” She closed her eyes and consumed the darkness around her.
“We were fed well, but the other children in the orphanage were not as fortunate. Too many mouths to feed off the rations. You know what he said to me? Said it’s better they eat than we get fat.”
Kienna let out a pained laugh. She remembered a time when Danek got whipped early in their training. She never knew why, yet her gut told her that was it. Even in captivity, he fought for those at risk of being forgotten.
Her sigh lapped with constant waves of sorrow. If she let herself, she would lie down across the soil and stay there forever.
As if he could read her thoughts, Broan adjusted. “Don’t lose yourself in this, little sister. Danek didn’t die so you could break apart. He wanted you to carry the fire forward. Don’t let it die with him.”
Broan didn’t reach for her. Ruva licked his hand as he gave a hard and final nod.
In the clearing stood an Elvish woman with black hair pulled tight in a bun.
She strapped a bow against her back. Broan gruffed and walked toward her.
They disappeared into the path. Kienna watched him go, the wind pulling at the edges of her tunic as ashes swirled around her body.
Every time Kienna tried to close her eyes, Danek’s face appeared, fading from life to death. The images curled her stomach, so she forced herself awake.
Ruva’s whine shrieked in the forest. You’ll go mad. We can find you some herbs.
No, Kienna sighed. I’m… I don’t know how to let go.
Time, Ruva assured her, but Kienna didn’t think so.
She rested her head against the trunk. The tree, growing strong, pulsed with magic and life. It would have inspired Kienna had she not known who fed the tree underneath.
“How do I let you go when you have my heart?” She brushed the soil beneath her, wishing he could talk her through it.
You should sleep, Connak’s voice rang in her mind.
Kienna sighed, uncertain whether to push him out or let him stay.
She was pissed that he didn’t slay the king.
Pissed that he didn’t tell her the full story about their bonds.
Pissed over so many things she couldn’t name anymore.
Her bones ached, the exhaustion of magic weighing heavily on her.
It stole her hunger. Her thirst. Her sleep.
We can’t keep doing this, Connak.
I agree. He sat next to her. His presence sparked her first, then the smell of sweetness on his breath.
Did you at least bring some for me? Kienna opened her eyes and peered at the bag of wine. Connak handed it over, and she took a long drink.
Ruva sniffed at it and moved away. The wolf sat, watching the trees.
“I blame you,” Kienna said, looking down at her hands. She picked at her fingers, tearing the skin from her cuticles. “Danek didn’t deserve to die, and I hate you for it.”
“Do we? Deserve to die?” Connak asked.
Kienna’s rage boiled over. If she didn’t do anything about it, she would risk burning the entire forest. She stood quickly. “I’m tired of things being taken from me while I stand defenseless. These bonds. People I love. I can’t let it stop me.”
“So, what now?”
Kienna lost the will to care what Connak thought or felt. Or Ruva. She loved her wolf, but Ruva let her down, too. Love couldn’t blind her. Correcting the world meant one thing: The king had to fall. And if taking him down meant burning every bond she had, if she had to die for it, so be it.
She huffed, leaving her words trailing as she walked. “I’m going to kill the King of River Storm.”