Chapter Forty The Edges of This World #2
With a nod, he departed so another group could approach. Reya had never seen so many magic-born. They were a kaleidoscope of nature and color. Was this what the world had looked like centuries ago? Would it ever look like this again?
The Pix came forward, fluttering before her in a cloud of color on shimmering membranous wings. Omira snarled at them.
They blinked at Reya with eerie black eyes and quickly bowed their heads before fluttering off into the trees, likely never to be seen again.
“They say thank you as well,” Thance said.
“Why were they even here?” Reya asked. “They have wings. They could have escaped across the river.”
“Oh, they did,” Caelan said. “Pix rarely stick around for a fight. They came back.”
“Why?”
“Probably to dance on our ashes,” Omira said, scowling toward the spots of color that were disappearing. “They’re tiny Fae spies.”
“They wanted to witness for themselves,” Thance said. “To see if Una had finally chosen again.”
Reya winced, wanting no part in this but having nowhere to go.
More magic-born came forward, and Thance translated for those creatures who could not speak the common language. Most asked politely if they could leave, to which she rapidly agreed.
Caelan never left her side. His hand remained in hers, the other on the small of her back.
Omira, All-Gods bless her, finally put an end to the parade. “That’s more than enough scraping and bowing. We need to find cover. Una knows where the hell we’re going to sleep tonight or how we’re all going to eat.”
Reya looked down at the gifts that had been left for her, unsure of how to carry them all.
Caelan’s thumb brushed the back of her hand. “Just pick a few.”
Sighing, Reya pulled on the cloak of wildflowers. At least it would cover her shift. Then she plucked up the scepter and Igraine’s crown, glowering at the amused Alethians who seemed inclined to comment.
“What? They’re the easiest to carry.” Besides, she could use the scepter to beat them if they kept looking at her like that.
In all, one hundred and two people had elected to stay, most of them Sages and Drelids.
They followed Reya and the Alethians due west into the Cleary, though she had no idea where they were headed beyond that.
Within an hour of hiking, her body was begging her to stop and rest. Caelan, who had yet to take his eyes off her, called them all to a halt to save her pride.
Reya laid her cloak of blooms out at the base of a large oak and sat atop it, arms wrapping around her knees. Caelan sat behind her, and she didn’t stop him when he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. Omira and Thance joined them a moment later.
“I told them all they were responsible for finding their own food,” Omira said, crossing her arms. “The rest of the collars are being picked open by the ice elemental. Evidently, we now have two thieves in our company.”
Reya rolled her eyes.
“I assigned a group to dig a pit for them,” Omira continued. “The Drelids are helping to cover our tracks. We’re safe for tonight.”
“For tonight,” Reya echoed. “What are we going to do with all of these people?”
“We can find ways to smuggle them off the continent one group at a time,” Thance suggested.
“You think the Rhiterrans are going to let anything slip through their borders after this?” Omira challenged. “They already have blockades in place. They won’t risk any more magic-born sailing off-continent. They will sink first and ask questions later.”
Thance conceded her point with a dip of his chin. “And sending Caelan to Delthia to parlay with Nivaan is out of the question. At least until these people are safe. We are all needed here.”
“What about the Order of Light?” Reya asked.
As one, the three of them looked away from her. Thance spoke first. “The Order is a military organization. The Elders would take in those Sages willing and strong enough to fight. But they would not aid the rest. They simply don’t have the resources.”
“They have more resources than us,” Reya argued, confounded by the idea that this wasn’t a viable option. “Won’t they at least try?”
Thance hesitated. “Perhaps if you bartered your services to the Order in exchange for their lives.”
Reya shook her head in disbelief. “And these are the people you serve?”
“Careful, thief,” Omira said. “The Order has done more for the magic-born than you have.”
“We’re likely to be paid a visit by the Order regardless,” Thance said. His voice was even, but he sounded worried. “They’ll want answers. From us. From Caelan. And they’ll want to see you for themselves, Reya. Gauge your strength. Find out whether you will be an asset or a hindrance.”
Caelan’s arms tightened at the unspoken threat. Reya weighed it and the implications, considering her next words carefully.
“I set these people free. I’m responsible for them whether I like it or not.” Silence reigned as the hard truth of that and all it meant settled on her. She couldn’t train as a blacksmith and help these people. Nor could she leave the continent without her father’s sword.
I’m sorry, Da.
She told herself it was what he would have done, no matter the cost. But that didn’t make failing him any easier.
She would mourn her apprenticeship and the future it promised later, perhaps when she was no longer trying to outrun an army.
What hope did she have for that future now anyway?
They weren’t chasing Faerie tales with pirates in the middle of the ocean anymore.
She’d effectively declared war on the Rhiterran Empire before one hundred and fifty-four witnesses.
The Guardian was no longer a faceless legend, but a very real threat the king would stop at nothing to eliminate.
“You’re not alone,” Caelan said.
That may have been true, but she was the only one who could solve their other pressing problem.
She needed to get back to Edris. And quickly.
“Lennox Raulin has my father’s sword. If he hasn’t already put together what I am to all of you, he will soon.
The three of you would be in Delthia right now, asking the king for aid, if it weren’t for Lennox.
He’s just as ruthless as Rothmire and has less to lose.
” Reya clenched her teeth together. “So long as Lennox is alive, my brothers will never be safe. He will try to use them as leverage to control the God Power.”
“Once we figure out how to help these people, we’ll handle Raulin,” Caelan said.
She shook her head. “I’m leaving in the morning for the capital. I’ve had plans in motion for days.”
“Like hell,” Caelan spat, gently turning her face to his.
Her tone was cold. “You do not decide what I can and cannot do.”
Caelan didn’t back down. “The Silver Guard will be ready. There will be checkpoints. Traps.”
“I’m trying not to be insulted.”
“You have no clothes, no supplies,” he went on.
“Caelan.”