Chapter 24 #2
They left Solas and me standing beneath the decaying husks of trees to set up camp.
With every step the Commander took into the gloom, questions unfurled through my chest. I needed answers.
I busied myself watering the horses, but the silence pressed in, heavy and unnatural.
Solas crouched by the fire, stirring grains in a metal pot over the open flame.
He hummed to himself like we weren’t surrounded by rot and the crawling sensation of eyes watching from the depths of the woods.
Apparently, nothing lived here, not even woodland animals for Solas to cook.
The Mourning Woods were utterly dead. His nonchalance grated against the eerie stillness.
Every step I took sounded too loud, and every crackle of the fire made me flinch.
We ate in the eerie silence. Solas didn’t seem to mind, and I was too scared the sound of my voice would alert whatever lingered in the depth of the woods to our location.
The late afternoon sun shone lazily through the jagged branches, refusing to grace my skin with its warmth as if the Mourning Woods repelled even that.
Solas sat beside me on the log, the fire crackling between us.
“What are they looking for out there?” I whispered.
He gave me a sidelong glance. “Ah, you can speak. Thank the heavens, I thought the Commander stole your voice again.” He laughed at his own comment before shovelling another spoonful of grains into his mouth.
“The Commander is seeking the Fire Fates. They are dangerous creatures who know everything. If they don’t burn you to a crisp and you can understand their riddles, that is. ”
I tucked that information away. A being that held every answer to every unanswered question I had was more than alluring.
A part of me worried for Cerilla, the other hoped the Commander would come back with scorch marks on his stupidly handsome face.
A monster should have the face of a monster, not one carved by the Gods.
“And he left me here with you? What if I run? What if I kill you?” I asked seriously.
“I am not worried. You risked your life to save mine already.” He huffed a quiet laugh and gave me a knowing smile. “You do not want to admit it, but you like us.”
A scoff escaped me. “Oh, how could I not like you all? I’ve been dragged into foreign lands as a prisoner to play a part in a war no one’s explained against an unknown enemy.”
He sighed before lowering his voice. “The enemy is the Seven Hells and the Gods themselves.”
A shiver tore up my spine and I lowered my voice. “How is that possible? The realms were sealed when the Sea Goddess died.”
He studied me, jaw tight. “Yeah, one thousand years ago. Her magic has faded, and her Relics are impossible to find to see if we can reinforce them.”
I blinked, caught off guard. I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat. Had I weakened the veil by taking the power from the axe?
“We are fighting the monsters made by the Gods. They spill from the Mourning Woods like rot during the dark hours. That’s where the Skathari come from. There are other monsters, too. Some from the Hells. But they aren’t just hunting the Soul Relics. They are hunting you.”
I couldn’t breathe. “You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
The fire snapped between us. The trees loomed darker now, as if they, too, were listening.
I stared at the coals, my heart pounding as the silence pressed in uncomfortably.
“Were you allowed to tell me any of this?” I asked softly.
Solas chuckled. “Absolutely not. But you saved my life and I take debts very seriously.”
I stared into the fire as fear settled like ash in my lungs. It was the same reason my own people wanted me dead. The same reason the sea had sung to me. The same reason I didn’t die as a girl when I’d walked into the Dead Sea.
My father and the priest, did they know? Rage twisted hot in my gut as I realised, they would have known I was connected to the Gods somehow. But beneath the hurt, something fiercer stirred. A heat I hadn’t felt since Ascension when I plunged a knife through the priest’s heart. I needed revenge.
My treatments. The endless blood lettings. Someone was using my blood. Just like they had bled the Sirens. Except, I wasn’t sure I was a Siren.
The dream flashed inside my mind, the woman’s face morphing and turning into mine. What did it mean? I stood, hands shaking as the anger flooding my veins had nowhere to go.
I lifted my chin, voice steady. “I want to spar.”
His brow lifted and a grin tugged at his lips.
“Sure, that’s my favourite way to pass the time.” He stood, drawing the sword from his back and passing me the hilt.
The last traces of sunlight bled through the skeletal branches like veins of dying gold.
Our breaths misted in the cooling air as we circled each other in our bare campsite.
It seemed summer didn’t touch the Mourning Woods.
And with our tents left behind, if it weren’t for the flickering fire in the small clearing and Solas’s cooking gear, it would look empty.
“Keep your stance wide,” he said with lazy confidence. “I’d hate to see you fall before you’ve even managed to lift my blade.”
I exhaled through my nose and lunged. His sword was larger and heavier than the Iron Guard’s, but I managed to swing it. He dodged easily, stepping back to avoid his own blade. The steel met the ground with a hard thud, vibrating up my arms. I gritted my teeth, turning to strike him again.
“Again,” he said. “But breathe before you strike.”
I struck harder. Faster. Each blow sharper than the last. Anger lent me speed, and for a moment, I caught the flicker of surprise in his eyes before he twisted, grabbing my forearm and disarming me. The sword clattered to the ground.
I kicked him in the shin. He laughed, the sound loud in the silence. “Dirty move.”
I snatched his sword from the ground, jaw tight. “Why did you tell me about the Relics and the monsters when it could get you in trouble?” I asked, each word bitten out between gritted teeth as I swung again.
He stepped back, missing the strike before he pressed forwards, his strikes quick and testing. “I would follow the Commander anywhere, but that doesn’t mean I agree with him keeping you in the dark. You should know the danger you’re in. Why we’re asking for your help.”
I ducked and spun and shoved the blade towards him. “I’m not being asked.” I thrust my hand between us, the blood-bargain mark gleamed faintly in the dying light and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’m being forced.”
“You chose to enter into that,” he said, gesturing for me to swing the sword again.
“Before I knew what it meant!” My voice cracked, raw and trembling. But I didn’t stop. The next swing of my sword was clumsy, desperate. He caught my wrist mid-strike, and the pain throbbed like an old bruise from the healed break. He held it still, his grip firm but not cruel.
His gaze softened, the humour gone. “Then learn what it means now,” he said quietly. “Before it kills you, or him. Or both.”
I dropped the sword, breath coming hard. Why was he trying to help me?
“That’ll do for the night. The sun is setting,” he said, nodding towards the deepening shadows.
I eyed the woods, my mouth drying. What sort of horrific monsters lurked nearby?
“Do not worry, I will be patrolling and using my magic to keep the monsters out.”
I looked at him questioningly, and he shrugged.
“I can create a magical barrier, as long as I am patrolling, monsters cannot get through,” he said confidently as he walked away.
And I’d be left alone. Either to drown in my thoughts, or—
I watched the darkness creep through the gnarled branches of the Mourning Woods and felt something inside me settle. I would find the Fire Fates, and learn the truth, whatever it cost me.