Chapter Sixteen Liars and Killers #2
Surprise and rage and grief shone in Omira’s eyes.
They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, their gazes locked in silent battle, until finally Omira blew out a breath, shook her head, and said through her perfect teeth, “She’ll be the death of us all,” before marching out of camp, ignoring her brother’s calls after her.
When Caelan nudged Reya awake the next morning, she hissed without opening her eyes, “If you think I’m training with you, you’re out of your All-Gods-damned mind.”
“You can’t run from this.”
Her eyes opened in a glare. “We’re almost to Port Talluah. In just a few days, we’re never going to see each other again. So what is the damn point? Besides, we’re clearly being hunted. We need to keep moving.”
“The point is that you are still a danger to yourself and others, and so you will get your ass off that bedroll. Omira and Thance are keeping watch. If anything gets close, they’ll let us know. Besides, there’s no greater threat in this world than you.”
“I trust them even less than I trust you,” Reya grunted.
“I’ll drag you if I have to, thief. And I’ll enjoy it.”
She ground her teeth, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the moss and stay there. But he was right. She could not put off training. Especially not after what happened, and not when her magic was already buzzing beneath her skin, demanding release. But she didn’t have to be pleasant about it.
Omira glared at her as she and Caelan passed.
“I apologize for yesterday,” Caelan said without halting his pace, taking her by surprise. “I wouldn’t have chosen for you to find out that way.” He was moving slower than usual, and looked more tired than she’d ever seen him, likely thanks to her.
Reya slung her braid over one shoulder. “I don’t care, Caelan.
” They were quiet for another minute before she caved.
“Sorry I nearly killed you,” she said flatly.
And told your friends that you’re cursed, she didn’t add.
Reya could have sworn she saw his lips twitch.
But there was hardly any humor in the small movement.
“I suppose that’s why you’re escorting me out into the middle of nowhere. So you can exact your revenge?”
“Not quite.”
“Let me be clear.” Reya stepped into his path, forcing him to halt. “This is a business arrangement. You need the Kraken blood to not die and I need it to keep my brothers safe. The only reason I am training with you is because I want to learn control. But I do not trust you.”
“Ask me anything,” he said, closing the space between them so she was forced to tilt her head back to hold eye contact. There wasn’t an ounce of remorse in his face. “And I will tell you the truth.”
A thousand questions echoed in her head, and she was sure he could see them all written across her face, but she voiced none of them.
“You’re not the least bit curious what it means to be a Guardian?” he prompted.
“Don’t,” she said. “I am nothing of the sort.” She might have the God Power, but she was no one’s Guardian. She was not about to start leading armies. It was bad enough that if the world found out what she was, she was sure to be hunted for the rest of her life.
“You are everything.”
Her swallow was audible. “Were you going to tell me any of it?”
“I told you it was something you needed to realize on your own, and I meant it.”
“So no,” she deadpanned. “What are you to the Order of Light? What do you all want from me?”
Reya knew how frustrated she sounded. But there was no judgement in Caelan’s eyes.
“The Order of Light was founded so that when the next Guardian rose to power, they would have an army to ride behind them against Alethia’s enemies.
But centuries came and went, Daranathius kings lived and conquered and died, and we wondered if the prophecy of the Guardian was somehow misinterpreted.
Prophecies are tricky; the harder you chase them, the more they work against you.
Eventually our efforts turned more toward protecting the Sages we had left as opposed to war.
I provided strategic military leadership.
Up until a year ago.” Memories darkened his irises.
“But through it all, I searched for you. It figures that I finally found you by accident. I think wearing the Kellstone necklace… stalled your growth. That would explain why your Ire never changed and how you were able to hide for so long.” His voice turned grave.
“In the absence of a Guardian, the darkest creatures of this world have been allowed to fester and breed. The Order has been monitoring these threats since the Fall of Alethia.” He looked at her then like he saw the future in her eyes.
“Judging by what happened yesterday, those creatures know there is powerful magic in the world again—enough to inspire hope in a dying people. They will never stop coming for you. And neither will Rothmire, and his descendants after him.”
A shiver went down her spine, and Caelan stepped closer, as if to share his heat.
“I can’t hold a knife to your throat and force you to fight.
No one can. None of this will work if you don’t choose it.
” He exhaled through his nose. “I don’t make pretty speeches.
I rain fire down on those who would kill me and those I care about.
But you—you were made for so much more than picking pockets.
Deny it all you like, Reyanwyn of the Mountain, but your soul is not nearly as black as you make it seem.
I’m gambling that you will choose this, whether or not I’m around to see it.
And when you do, I will have finally done something more for my people than bathe the ashes of what they’ve lost in blood. ”
The words got trapped in her throat, but she forced them out.
“You’re wrong. What your Order is looking for, they won’t find in me.
” He opened his mouth but she held up a hand.
“I don’t lead armies. And I don’t want to be a weapon anymore.
I want to put my father’s sword on a mantel and spend the rest of my days in a smithy.
I will get you your cure, and you can lead your people yourself.
Or your friend Omira can step up; she seems like she’d be very popular. ”
This lightened the mood and earned her his signature almost-smile. “I suppose we’ll see.”
With that, he continued walking.
Had he forgotten that he’d given her an opening to ask whatever she wanted? Because she hadn’t. “I take it your friends were part of your legion?”
“In another life, Thance was my second and Omira my third-in-command. There’ll be no getting rid of them for the foreseeable future. Pains though they are, you’ll find no finer warriors anywhere.”
“And now they’re here to arrest you.”
Caelan grunted. “The Elders of our Order like to feel like they’re still in control.”
“They’re not?”
He stopped walking to face her. “Sages follow strength. They have never appreciated the loyalty our soldiers have shown me. Even when I have shunned it.”
She clicked her tongue. “You threaten their authority.”
“Yes,” he said simply, and kept walking.
By the time she was ready to demand to know where the hell they were going, she heard it.
They’d reached a stream—an offshoot of the one they’d stopped at yesterday to refill their waterskins.
Overflowing from the many days of rain, it thundered down over a steep-sided gorge into a frothy plunge pool that eddied out into a rocky shore.
She might have thought it was a painting had the sound and smell of it not proved it real.
“This is where we’re training?” she shouted over the rushing water.
The mist of the falls hit her like a cold breeze, chasing away the midges and bloodsuckers, and they stepped over the bank.
“We’re going to move on to shielding,” Caelan said. “And until you know what you’re doing, you will need to stand in there.”
“Why the rotting hell would I have to stand in there?”
A flame the shade of her hair sizzled to life in Caelan’s hand.