Chapter Sixty-Nine
Rohak
Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhhh.
My brush moved in soothing strokes down Balios’ back and hindquarters, slowly and methodically brushing out his coat after a long and grueling ride through the fields that surrounded Vespera.
Ever since Faylinn left, my mind and heart were in turmoil. Nothing was as it should be; a piece of my very soul was missing, and my body was reacting accordingly.
I had trouble sleeping and eating, and my concentration was absolute shit. The world was in muted greys and blacks, even though I knew it was supposed to be filled with color.
Everything was shit without Faylinn.
I’d leaned heavily on Sol’s and Felix’s council over the past few weeks, interjecting and assisting where I could, but knew I was of very little help inside the city.
Which is why, when the opportunity arose to take a trip outside Vespera’s walls and visit with the farmers and villagers that lived in the province’s outskirts, I took it immediately.
The wind in my face as I pushed Balios hard down the cobbled streets that turned to gravel and then dirt helped clear my mind, even with the pang of loss and sharpness of missing Faylinn a constant stabbing.
I immersed myself in work, connecting with families concerned about another attack from Solace and those dealing with Mage Sickness.
The collapse of the mines hit our rural and poor populations the hardest; it was only a matter of time before the crystal stores we had in the city ran dry, and then we would all be fucked.
One problem at a time.
Hopefully, Faylinn would find something in her research that would help ease that burden. Otherwise, the sickness would kill us all if Solace didn’t do the job first.
I grunted at my quickly darkening thoughts, the previous joy of the day flitting away like wisps on the wind.
Balios snickered and shook his mane, reacting to my foul mood.
“I’m sorry,” I rumbled quietly, stroking his coat with both my brush and hand. “I just miss her.”
Balios whickered softly, agreeing with my statement or calling me an idiot. I wasn’t sure which.
The sky was slowly bleeding to black as night quickly approached, the last vestiges of day hanging by a thread as pinks and oranges turned to deep violet.
Balios chuffed again, and I sighed, throwing the brush into the bucket at my feet before reaching into my heavy cloak for a sugar cube.
“You did well today, boy,” I whispered quietly, stroking his soft nose as his velvet lips mouthed at my open hand, gobbling the small treat in seconds. Balios blew hot air from his snout, his lips ruffling with the motion as he tried to search my cloak for further treats.
I laughed lightly at his antics, enjoying the smell of horse and straw as I leaned my forehead against his.
“What a pathetic excuse for a General I’ve become,” I lamented with a shake of my head. “Forty-four and I’m pining for a woman like I’ve never gotten my dick wet before.”
The problem was I’d never felt like this for another person—this all-consuming love and devotion, the need to protect, need to be close to her. It was debilitating and liberating in the same breath.
The air in the stables suddenly grew heavy, putting intense pressure on my chest. Balios threw his head in agitation, clearly feeling the same change.
“Whoa, boy, whoa!” I said, reaching up to grab his neck and pull him back down into waiting, comforting hands. “Easy, Balios, easy.”
“What a magnificent beast,” a deep voice like a rumble of summer thunder sounded behind me, and I froze at the sound, all of my muscles locking tight at once.
The pressure abated on my chest, but I still felt the looming, all-encompassing presence of a powerful individual to my rear.
Fear ticked my heart as sweat beaded against my brow. I refused to give in to it, refused to let it take root fully.
Slowly, I forced my body back under my command as I turned to regard the newcomer’s presence. I knew before even laying eyes upon him that Kaos was in the stables.
It was hard to see him in the darkness of the stables, the shadows engulfing and disguising his obsidian form nearly completely.
I squinted as my eyes adjusted, searching for the edges of his body.
He leaned against the wooden wall, arms crossed and one leg propped as if he had not a care in the world.
The tightness in his face and rigidity of his posture told a different story.
“Kaos,” I greeted, proud that my voice held none of the tremble that wanted to work its way out.
“General,” Kaos said in return. It was unnerving not being able to see where his eyes were looking, but I felt his gaze, nonetheless.
“I have a . . . mission for you.”
I was shaking my head before the words were even fully out of his mouth.
“No. I’m done playing the gods’ games.” My voice was a harsh whip in the quiet night, and I felt rather than saw Kaos raise his eyebrows.
“Is that so? What happened, Rohak d’Alvey? You were once so . . . pious.” The teasing lilt to his tone had fire racing in my veins, and I reached for magic that I knew wasn’t there.
Nearly a year later, and I’m still reaching for my magic.
“Not anymore,” I said, turning back to Balios.
“Come now, you haven’t even heard what my request entails.”
My hand froze on Balios’ nose, and I clenched my jaw in irritation.
“Nothing you have to say would interest me in helping the gods.”
“Hmm, pity,” he said, that telltale pressure returning once more as his voice began to fade. “It had to do with your Rune Master . . .”
“WAIT!” I yelled, whirling in place so my cloak whipped Balios in the chest. My hand was outstretched and eyes wild as I searched for the god that just disappeared into the night. “No! I take it back!”
I was panicked, calling for a god who could no longer hear me as I thought about the potential danger that awaited Faylinn.
She needs me.
The Bond thrashed wildly in my chest as my heart threatened to beat through my throat as I scanned the dark stables for the even darker god.
“I thought so,” he said straight into my ear. I hollered as I jumped straight in the air, scrambling backward until my back hit the wall of Balios’ stable.
My heart thumped so loud I could hear it.
“What the fuck?” I screamed as Kaos chuckled.
“What’s the point of being a god that can walk through realms if I can’t have a bit of fun every now and then?” he practically pouted, and I blinked incredulously at him.
“Fun? That was fun?”
Kaos waved away my question with one extremely large hand.
“Not important. You accept, then?” the god asked, seriousness returning to both his tone and posture.
“I—I, yes. If it has to do with Faylinn, then yes,” I stuttered, utterly bewildered at the turn of events.
“Fantastic. Saddle that horse. You’re going to need him,” Kaos said with a nod in Balios’ direction.
“Where am I going?” I asked, already moving back to the tack wall.
Kaos was silent for a moment, watching me place the saddle blanket and saddle on Balios before strapping him with an urgent efficiency I’d honed for years in the army.
“Do you remember the words the Matriarch spoke to you before her death?”
I frowned and shook my head. “She said nothing to me.”
Kaos grunted before procuring a blade from somewhere on his person and quickly slicing his skin. The knife disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, and I jolted as Kaos drew a rune on my cheek with his blood.
“What the f—” I started, but my words were cut off as pain lanced through my skull, images flashing at lightning speed as I recalled the Matriarch’s final moments in the Valley.
“When she leaves, you must be the one to find her.”
The visions subsided as her words echoed ominously. My hands shook, and muscles clenched involuntarily as I continued to saddle Balios.
“Do you remember now?” the god asked.
I grunted as I cinched the saddle tight.
“Where am I going?” I repeated.
Kaos turned his dark eyes to me and speared me with a look that felt like he could see the very depths of my soul.
“The woods north of Isrun. Your Rune Master will be there soon and will need you.”
My mouth gaped, words sputtering as Kaos lunged toward me, grabbing my arm and Balios’ reins at the same time. A large, swirling vortex of black opened to my left.
“You must be the one to find her, or Elyria will fall . . . I hope you know how to read runes,” Kaos said with a dark chuckle as he half-led, half-dragged my horse and I into the portal.