44. Chapter 44 #2
By the time the women and children from the clans arrived outside the city a week later, I felt nearly human again.
Despite the hard days of helping the citizens of Kelvadan repair the damage to their homes and helping the healers with the many who were injured in the siege of Kelvadan, I felt lighter.
Perhaps it was because, for the first time since leaving my oasis, the shadow of war did not loom over my head.
Or perhaps it was the difference in the very air now that the desert was pleased once more.
The feeling of storm clouds lingering just over the horizon or constantly being watched by a predator was gone.
Watching Erix’s power bloom in new ways was one of the most beautiful changes of all.
I sat beside him in the healing halls, watching his brow scrunch as he slowly but surely used his magic to knit together gruesome wounds left on the riders we had led into battle.
Carefully, he grabbed my hand and guided me toward a quiet well I hadn’t even known existed in myself and taught me what Alyx had shown him.
Destruction was loud, drowning out all else, but both of us carried the power to heal. Together, we did as much as we could.
Despite the damage that still needed to be repaired—the homes that had been destroyed and the lives forever scarred by Viltov’s occupation—I witnessed countless moments of joy and relief as I worked alongside the people of Kelvadan.
Not the least of which when Neven galloped into the city at full tilt minutes before dawn the morning after the battle.
We had sent word to Dhara and the clans via eagle that the battle was won and told Dhara to tell Neven that he had a healthy son.
While the clans would move slowly to a camp outside the city where they could both help and be helped with the many wounded from weeks of battle, Neven could not wait to meet his child.
For the past week, it had been a common sight to see Neven following Aderyn around with a baby strapped to his chest as she ordered the riders around in the rebuilding efforts.
None seemed to oppose her taking charge, even with an infant in tow.
In fact, any doubts that she was the right person to take charge of the Great City had been dispelled by her leading the charge for its freedom while just hours away from giving birth.
Now, the rest of the clans had arrived, and the city spilled out onto the plains to meet them—both riders reuniting with their families and city-dwellers who were suddenly curious about the clans who had come to their aid after so much enmity.
The men of Doran milled among them, somehow blending into the mix of clans and citizens of Kelvadan.
I strode through the encampment side by side with Erix as dusk fell.
As we walked, many stopped and tapped their brow to us in respect and greeting.
Where so often, the gesture had felt like laying a weight across my shoulders—the weight of so many lives and so many people that I might fail—now I accepted them happily and smiled in return.
Even Erix grinned as the sound of drums began to fill the air and braziers were lit, making the encampment dance with flickering light. The desert had seen enough solemnity and war, and a frenetic, buzzing joy seemed to permeate the air, drifting on the smoke cast off by the many campfires.
The smell of roasting meat made my mouth water even as barrels of laka were rolled out of store tents.
As we reached the center of the encampment, we were greeted by the sight of all nine lords reuniting with their people.
Lord Vidar clasped forearms with several of his riders who had been wounded in the battle at the oasis, one walking with the aid of a makeshift crutch while another’s arm was held to his side with a sling of bandages.
Lord Demir sat near a fire next to his wife and gave me a brief nod as we made eye contact.
Dhara sat next to Elion, still slightly hunched over from her wound, but much less pale than the last time I had seen her. A smile banished the perpetual line between her brows as Elion whispered something into her ear and a barking laugh filled the air.
A glass of laka was shoved into my hands, and I looked up to find Neven, smiling over the top of his son’s head, who was currently sleeping while strapped to his chest. He pressed another cup into Erix’s hand, who looked at it dubiously. I raised my eyebrows at Neven.
“Drink up,” he commanded. “I may have tapped into the good stores under the palace for the occasion, and nobody was of a mind to stop me. I don’t know how much longer Aderyn will allow me such liberties.”
She appeared at his side as if summoned by his mention of her, but her scowl wasn’t entirely serious. “This occasion is more special than most, but don’t get used to it.”
Neven shrugged. “I’ll be making sure there are plenty of parties in the palace if I have anything to say about how the city is run from here on out.”
At that moment, their baby woke and started to fuss, and Neven drifted off, swaying to the beat of the drums in an effort to calm him.
I cocked my head at Aderyn as she lingered behind. “Speaking of running the city…”
She sighed. “It seems you may have been right about a few things. But we’ll leave that until the morning. Tonight, let’s just celebrate getting to this point alive.”
Aderyn raised her own glass of laka to Erix and me, and we all took a long sip.
Maybe it was the fragrant nuttiness of the drink, or maybe it was the warmth of the night, but I found myself agreeing with her.
Politics would still be here tomorrow. But tonight, all the people of the desert were gathered in victory.
It likely hadn’t happened since the first time the desert had been crossed.
As Aderyn drifted off to join Neven, who was now happily bouncing their baby in an odd little dance, others seemed to be infected with the music as well.
To my surprise, Badha stood first and dragged Izumi into the center of the circle of tents.
Once they began swaying and dancing, everybody seemed to join in until the camp was full of movement and laughter.
I bumped my hip against Erix’s. “Care to join them?”
He grimaced. “I’ve never been one for dancing.”
I laughed. As graceful as he was on horseback and with a sword, he seemed mildly offended by the idea.
“I seem to remember that you’ve interrupted my revelry at not one but two celebrations. I think you owe me a dance.”
I took a long sip of my laka, letting the warmth fill my chest. I almost choked on it, though, as Erix leaned down and whispered right into the shell of my ear.
“I interrupted because watching another man put his hands on your hips made me think of far less virtuous things that I’d rather be doing with you. Things I don’t think you’d appreciate me doing in the middle of a crowded dance floor.”
I turned to look up at him, finding a hint of mischief in the quirk of his lips. The familiarity of the expression caused a pang in my chest—almost identical to the one Kelvar wore on his statue in the courtyard. With the burden of the desert’s fate lifted, Erix looked more like him than ever.
The thought was instantly burned away by a wave of fire washing over my skin as Erix’s fingers traced a light path over my spine, in the gap between my loose pants and belted vest.
I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “Maybe you should demonstrate to me what could possibly be so much better than dancing.”
His fingers curled around my hip pulling me back into the shadows of the tent, but my eyes fixed on the dancers, wondering if anybody would notice us slip away. Everybody seemed too busy with their own revelry, though, throwing their hands in the air and swaying their hips with abandon.
By the heat in several sets of gazes, we weren’t the only ones who would be slipping away for more private celebrations in the near future. So, I let Erix lead me into the shadows. I turned toward the small tent we had erected for ourselves, but he shook his head.
“I don’t want anybody but the desert to hear your screams. Tonight, they’re just for me.”
A shiver ran up my spine at his words, even as fire filled my veins. But mischief seemed to be contagious. I pulled out of his grasp and grinned at him. “If you are going to make me scream, then you’ll have to catch me first.”
I turned and bolted, weaving through the tents.
He swore behind me, but I just laughed as I maneuvered through the tight quarters of the encampment more easily, ducking around canvas corners and even hopping over a fence to cut through a horse enclosure.
Then, I was hurtling past the outer ring of storage tents and into the velvety darkness of the desert at night.
My feet churned up powdery sand as I ran, and another laugh tore from me as I heard Erix break free of the encampment behind me.
I knew that he could catch me now that we were in the open with his longer legs, but I didn’t care.
It reminded me of the night I had first escaped Clan Katal’s encampment on Daiti’s back, letting out a broken laugh of freedom for the first time in a decade.