Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BEFORE
“There you go, girl, nice and smooth.”
Elsie bobbed her head as Helaina gave her one last brush through.
“Should I braid your tail today? Would you like that?”
Of course the mare didn’t answer, but Helaina took Elsie’s whinny while she dug at the ground with her front hoof as an affirmative gesture.
“Please don’t braid her, they look so silly when you do that.”
Helaina turned to see her brother there, and her entire face lit up.
“You’re home!” Helaina tossed aside her grooming tools and wrapped her arms around her big brother.
“You act as if I’ve been gone a year, kid,” Adriel chuckled.
“It felt like a year! Did you bring me anything?” Helaina rubbed her hands together to shake away the debris she’d accumulated from being in the stables all morning.
“Vrasta is a lavish kingdom, Laina. You can’t expect me to squander good coin on such gemstones.”
“I see.” She didn’t attempt to hide her disappointment as she turned to continue her task. She felt a gentle tug. She looked down. Adriel was fastening a bracelet made of the most stunning blue she had ever seen to her wrist.
“They’re called tempest tears. They are very rare, buried so deep in the earth, they only come across small clusters every decade or so.”
“Tempest tears,” Helaina repeated in awe. She had never seen such beauty.
She squealed with joy. “Oh, Adriel, thank you! Thank you! It’s beautiful. How did you get these?”
“It was very . . . expensive. Promise you won’t take it off—ever. I mean it, I don’t want to hear about you losing it.”
His request was oddly serious. She barely registered it through her excitement.
“Never, I swear!” She beamed. Then paused, gathering her courage. “Do you think . . . I can go there one day with you? Perhaps if I snuck in the back wagons, Father wouldn’t see and I—”
“No.”
She shrank back at his firm tone.
Adriel closed his eyes and shook his head, immediately regretting his abrupt tone.
Never. She would never get to leave here. The only way she could explore foreign lands would be in the pages of her books. Age had not changed things like she had hoped.
“Why? Why am I only permitted outside for so long before I’m dragged back in? Why do I never get to go anywhere?”
Adriel contemplated the question. “You know I’d do anything to protect you, right?”
Helaina nodded.
“These attacks aren’t stopping. It’s not like war among men. There’s no reasoning with beasts. They won’t take mercy upon you because you’re a young girl. We keep stationing soldiers near Ash Cliff’s border, but the disappearances . . . they show no sign of stopping.”
She shuddered. Never had her brother been so open and honest.
“I know we bring Krysta, but we need every bit of help we can get. She holds the potential to create bonds with another kingdom. We’re so close to those mountains. Our people need more soldiers, more protection.”
“I would marry to help my kingdom,” Helaina declared proudly.
“I would never ask that of you. Our sister is different . . . She understands her role in things. Your place is here.”
She couldn’t shake the juvenile thoughts that crept into her head. You are an embarrassment to the Ironblood name. You have no beauty. No benefit to your kingdom. You are needed by no one, and you are nothing.
That is why they leave and you stay.
Those thoughts echoed in her brain over and over.
She was starting to believe them.