Chapter 2 #2
“Why were the Astraea attacking the Peregrinians?” Aelia’s hands froze, the rolling pin stilling in her hands at the mention of the Astraea.
They were cold-hearted and merciless; a band of artemians who were convinced that humans should be wiped from existence.
Sure, a lot of artemians viewed the humans as the weaker species, but the Astraea took their contempt to a whole new level. One that often involved bloodshed.
“It’s not just humans they’re targeting anymore, it’s anyone who supports them. Apparently, some of the vendors were beaten black and blue just for selling to them.”
Aelia felt the world shift under her feet, her mind whirling to a whole new perspective.
“One of the vendors refused to serve Mirra last night.” She stared wide-eyed at Otis, the ramifications of what he’d said still hitting home.
The armourer’s actions may not have been solely out of prejudice, but out of fear.
And if she had been scared into behaving that way, how many others would be too?
Otis’ eyes snapped to Aelia’s face. “I didn’t see anything like that?”
“I only saw it at her stall.”
“Well, that’s something at least. It’s surprising more haven’t been frightened into similar behaviour, especially after they got hit so badly near Drias. We should be more worried that if they’re acting that way, it probably won’t be long until the same mentality creeps into the village."
“There were Astraea in Drias?” Aelia's heart dropped all the way to the forest floor. “That's only a day’s walk from here!"
“I know, they’ve gained support more quickly than I would have ever thought possible.”
“I thought they were just a small band of outcasts?” Aelia’s hand went clammy around the rolling pin. She set it down, the meal forgotten as the threat of change hovered over them.
“Not anymore.” Otis shook his head. “They may have started as a bunch of troublemakers, but with Demuto struggling the way it is I’m not surprised people are looking for someone to blame, and the Astraea are pointing the finger firmly at the humans.
Every year the Peregrinians bring rumours of them becoming more aggressively active, but this year is particularly disturbing. ”
Aelia blinked as she processed all that he was saying. “I can’t believe they were so close.” She shuddered at the thought.
“I know. Try not to worry though, Aelia. Even if they did come all the way out here, which is unlikely, they can see the magic in your eyes as clear as any artemians.”
The jet-black circle in his own eyes was a stark contrast against the blue of his irises, almost as obvious as her green ones, but his words did nothing to ease the fear coiling inside her. They might be safe, but what of all the humans? What of Mirra?
As if his thoughts had jumped in the same direction as her own, he asked, “Was Mirra upset about the vendor?”
“Yeah, of course, but she hides it well. Doesn’t like any fuss.”
It had always been the way with Mirra, ever since they were young, she just wanted to pretend that incidents like that never happened.
On the whole, the two of them had been left alone.
Aelia had always been freakishly strong, even for an artemian, and she’d made the other children eat their words, alongside a fair amount of dirt, if they tried to pick on them.
But there had come an age when smushing someone’s face into a mud pie wasn’t an appropriate way to deal with their attitude problems, and Aelia had long since passed it.
“After what they were saying last night, I suppose we’re lucky it wasn’t worse.
” Otis scraped his strips of vegetables into a bowl and started adding pinches of seasoning, the smell of thyme and lemon adding a zing to the fresh scent of the red onions and purple aubergine.
Aelia snapped back into the present and started trying to wrestle the sheet of pastry into the tin.
“Why, what else were they saying?”
“That the trouble in the North is leaking into Demuto. It sounds like we might finally be dragged into their war. Gods knows how the King has kept us out of it for as long as he has.”
Aelia immediately regretted asking.
War. There had been whispers of it on the wind for as long as she could remember.
Their dark allies in Ideolanthea, the country to the North of Demuto, had invaded the continent across the sea decades ago.
Since then, Ideolanthea had sunk its claws into one province after another.
The ones left standing were still fighting its dark magic, and they’d been at a stalemate for a few years now.
Roping Demuto into their fight might be enough to tip the scales in their favour, but humans and artemians alike would be reluctant to fight alongside the ideolan.
It might be a disadvantage to be human, but Aelia would rather have no magic at all than touch the darkness that fuelled Ideolanthea.
“Did the Peregrinians have anything to say that wasn’t absolutely fucking terrifying?” Aelia pushed a loose strand of hair off her face with the back of her arm, keeping her flour-covered hand at a safe distance.
Otis huffed a laugh, placing the baking cloth over the pastry before pouring some ceramic beads on top and chucking it in the oven. He added a few logs to the heat compartment for good measure and went back to his filling.
“I take your silence as a no.” She washed her hands, noticing the water pressure in the tap was a little low. She’d need to check the water when she checked the flues; they’d had plenty of rain so their supply couldn’t be running out. Another thing to add to her bottomless list of things to do.
“Not my end at least.” He smiled at her. “How about you? Did you manage to sell any of your pelts?”
Aelia couldn’t help but smile. She put her hands into her pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, placing them on the table in front of him.
"They took all of them."
She couldn’t sell the pelts to anyone in Callodosis without people wondering where the hell she’d got them from, so she had to sneak them to a Peregrinian who was sketchy enough to keep his mouth shut every year in return for a low price.
The money she made from the pelts was nearly as much as she made all year logging in the forest. Her strength had helped her negotiate a little more than the humans, but nowhere near what a normal artemian could earn working the forest. Prejudiced bastards.
“Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.” Otis grinned down at the coins, relief easing the lines of tension from his brow. “Go on, you go wash up and I’ll finish this.”
“You sure?” Aelia eyed the jagged fragments of crockery stacked on the worktop. “We’re running dangerously low on plates as it is.”
He grabbed at the cloth and whipped it at her, making it snap at her thigh with a painful cracking sound. Aelia yelped and skittered across the room. Sometimes she forgot how wickedly fast he could be.
“Cheeky git. Get out of here before I change my mind and let you finish up instead,” he said, grinning.
She didn’t need to be told a third time.
The paths running between the trees flickered with dappled green light as the sun streamed through the dense cover of leaves.
Birdsong and the gentle caress of the breeze helped to dispel her sense of unease as they walked to the village centre with arms full of the various dishes Otis had prepared for the feast.
Aelia had been trying not to catastrophise, but if Otis was concerned, she couldn’t help worrying about what might be headed their way.
She mentally shook herself; there was no point in dwelling on such unlikely scenarios.
Such an insignificant village tucked away in the middle of nowhere would surely escape all notice, even if these rumours were true.
Truth be told, it was a wonder the Peregrinians visited such an isolated place at all.
The forest was busy with people rushing to prepare themselves for the upcoming event, not showing any sign that they shared the apprehension that she felt. So, she pushed such matters out of her mind and focused on the plans for that evening.
Every year, before the Peregrinian’s left, the villagers threw them a celebration.
Everyone brought something, the spread becoming increasingly impressive year on year as the wealthier artemians tried to outdo themselves.
Otis’s contribution would be lost amongst their dishes, but that wasn’t the point.
Everyone brought something, and everyone got to dig in.
In return, the Peregrinians brought the forest to life, transforming their sleepy village centre into a dancefloor that would be full and heaving until dawn.
Aelia dropped off the dishes with Otis and was quickly roped into helping with the set up.
She was all too happy to do as she was told, replacing the candles in the lanterns from the night before, and setting up the huge table laden with so much food she couldn’t fathom how they’d get through it all in one night.
At least, that’s how she made herself feel better about sneaking the odd taste here and there.
The excitement was almost tangible as half the village turned up to help, everyone bustling around trying to get everything ready.
Aelia was just finishing arranging a platter full of sweet treats when something caught the corner of her eye.
She whipped her head around and came face-to-face with a lithe man with white-beige hair, despite being only a few years older than her.
That and the fact that his black ringed eyes lifted slightly at the corners were the main indicators of his second form, one he was all too proud of.
He put a hand on her shoulder and reached past her to steal one of the treats she’d just put in a pretty pattern, ruining the symmetry of it completely.
“Shiva,” she said through gritted teeth, shrugging off his hand.