CHAPTER FORTY-ONE #2
As they descended into the small shroud of trees, Kaida’s great claws dug into the dirt with her landing, leaving a trail of tracks behind.
Vesper slid from her back and reached for Kyrith, but she ignored his help and jumped.
And of course, she landed with impressive grace, Stiggy tucked under her arm.
She led Vesper under a shelter of trees with foliage so thick the bloodlace couldn’t survive within it.
Kyrith strode to the cliff’s edge and plunked herself down.
Her legs kicked back and forth as she captured the remaining moments of sunset.
Stiggy curled up at Kyrith’s side, her tail over her eyes as she sought sleep.
Vesper called Kaida back before his fatigue reached new heights, his veins and magic parched. Then he joined Kyrith where she sat.
He wasn’t sure how to handle this interaction between them. This place seemed intimate. And she had been anything but. “Do you come here often?” He tore off his mask to lay it in the grass beside him. The cold wind kissed relief into his skin.
“I do,” she said. The free swing of her legs reminded him of the kind of carefree he used to be, before the world had hurt him.
Vesper hugged his bent knee. “Is it the view?”
“If you look hard enough, you can see Tsillah.” She pointed into the distance. “There.”
He strained his eyes and sure enough, he caught sight of the island. “Is Tsillah special to you?”
“I grew up there. I miss it sometimes and when I come here, it doesn’t seem so far away.” Her voice quieted to a contemplative whisper. “But don’t tell Thorrin. It would only upset him. Rensburrow is his baby.”
“I thought you built it together.”
She shrugged. “It was his idea to bring everyone here and save them from the bloodlace. It was more of a political movement before, but now, it’s a safe haven.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “He’s always wanted to be this big hero. I think he got his wish.”
His gaze slid to her as she stared distantly into the sunset. “How did you two meet?”
She snorted. “I was a kid, barely older than nineteen when I joined the army. Thorrin was my mentor. And there was this new recruit who was a total imbecile. He was always challenging Thorrin, testing him, and getting the other recruits to join in. I set him straight.” She leaned back on her hands. “We’ve been close ever since.”
Vesper narrowed his eyes. “What did you do? Wait, don’t tell me. You tied him to a table and held a blade to their throat.”
“No. That was specially for you. But I may or may not have slipped some yellowtail into his lunch.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. “In my defense I did warn him. And he chose not to listen.”
“So you protected Thorrin by slipping a laxative into some poor bastard's food?” Vesper gaped at her, truly gaped, before he descended into a fit of laughter.
Kyrith’s shoulders even shook with a silent chuckle, too.
“I didn’t think—bloody Hollow.” His cough stifled the remnants of a laugh. “That was unexpected. Or maybe entirely expected. I’m not sure.”
Kyrith shot him a crooked smile. “He asked for it."
“You made someone soil themselves over something petty.” Vesper chuckled again, and laid a hand on his stomach, his ribs and abs still sore from the endless days on Kaida. “Too bad you aren’t running that army now. You could implement laxatives as a battle technique.”
She laughed again, but it was a little sad this time.
And as he caught that furrow in Kyrith’s brow that spoke of homesickness, he asked, “Do you still have family there?”
“My grandparents. I still write to them.” She picked a reed of grass and wove it with another. “My brother left, too. I’m not sure where he is now.”
He assessed her carefully. If she hadn’t spoken to him, it was likely for good reason. “And your parents?”
“Never knew them.” She plucked some grass and piled it beside her. Her mood did a full shift as she spun to face him. “What about you, pretty boy? Tell me about yourself.”
Pretty boy. There was that name again.
“Why would you want to know anything about me?”
She tilted her head. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Because you hate me, he wanted to say. But after she agreed to help him, made him the knife, and brought him to this place, he wasn’t sure anymore.
Vesper cleared his throat as he filtered what he could tell her.
He didn’t know how much she knew of southern politics or how old she was when the barrier closed.
“I was born and raised in Ellynne. My mother passed away giving birth to my twin sister and me. My father raised us.” He shrugged like it meant nothing, but each time he spoke of it, his chest filled with lead. “But they’re all gone now.”
“Quite the tragic backstory.” The lilt to her voice sounded light but the shadows in her eyes sat heavy.
“I need something to win the ladies with. I can’t rely on this face alone.”
When she chuckled, he stored that information away as a reminder to poke fun at himself more just to hear her laugh again.
He chewed on the next question, fearing she’d throat punch him if she didn’t like it. “Why did you leave Tsillah if your family still lives there? Don’t you want to be near them?”
She scrunched her nose and busied herself with the grass. “That’s a boring story. I’m sure you don’t want to hear it.”
“There’s nothing I want more.” He turned to face her but couldn’t see much past her curtain of hair. “I just know if my family was still around, nothing would keep me away.”
Kyrith sighed and stared out at the sunset as it dipped below the shoreline.
Her fingers wove the grass with precision though she didn’t so much as look at it.
His bit of honesty seemed to have opened her up, pried apart a sliver of space, and allowed sunshine through.
“It was a long time ago, but I was young and ambitious. Foolish, too. When the war started, I wanted to fight. To save our people. But the rulers of Tsillah wanted to hide. They felt they owed nothing and thought distance would grant them safety.”
Vesper frowned. “But Tsillah was peaceful, wasn't it? Obviously it wasn’t run by pacifists. I mean, you were in the army.”
“They weren’t pacifists. They were cowards.”
He watched her fingers as she threaded the grass together. They picked up speed, powered by her story or perhaps the anger that burned inside her.
“It’s the only country run by a matriarch,” she said, fire in those words. “And I was proud to serve. Until the war. Until they showed their real colours.”
Anticipation built in his chest. “What happened?”