Bonus Chapter Rionan
Rionan
In Savangrad – Xanthia
Rionan sat at his large mahogany desk in the room that was supposed to be his study.
In reality, this room was more of an unofficial council chamber.
He used it to have private discussions with some of his advisors before having to meet with the wider group, or meet with Xanthians from the other territories.
He raked his hand through his dark hair. Through the window opposite him, dappled light illuminated the room, gleaming off of the marbled flooring. In the corner of his eye, his own hand seemed to glow due to the newfound power that resided within him. He hadn’t got used to it yet.
Glancing down, Rionan cast his eyes over the maps of Xanthia that Thallax had laid out here two weeks before.
Thallax had marked the maps with information about the different territories that either he or his captains had gathered whilst scouting the lands.
How badly the territory had been affected by Rannirr’s power, where the most drained areas were, where there were now flat-out wastelands.
Helpfully, they’d also been able to glean information about how many Xanthians still resided within the East and within the South.
It was presumed that many had fled to the North for safe harbour, much like his own people.
One piece of information that neither Thallax nor Korva – who had been writing to the other known scholars and record keepers – had managed to ascertain, is who exactly had inherited Rannirr’s power.
As far as anyone was aware, he had no heir. That does not mean an heir had not been sired, but if they had, nobody knew of power shifting to them. Equally, nobody had reported anyone suddenly rising up from either the East or the South, with the power of the new Lord.
Rionan groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. The pain in his chest over the last four weeks had been nothing but excruciating, and only seemed to be getting worse.
He wasn’t a fool. He knew why this agonised him, and so did those around him. Try as he might to mask his discomfort, the tells were there for those who knew him well enough.
A Xanthian wasn’t supposed to be a realm away from the person they were soul-bonded to. Let alone for weeks at a time.
Alianna. How must she be feeling? Did it hurt this way purely because of the distance between them, or did she despise him for what he had done?
Rionan had already considered the possibility that she might never forgive him for not allowing them to say a proper goodbye. Yet another decision he questioned as selfish. Cowardly. But, a decision he hoped was for the greater good. For Alianna’s safety.
Rionan had tried to ignore the thoughts that continued to creep into his mind regarding when he would see Alianna again.
He continued to try to ignore the desperate urge to draw on his power, jump between realms, and go to her.
Whenever the thought crossed his mind, he reminded himself that Rannirr’s predecessor could be waiting out there.
They may not be able to destroy Rionan, but they could destroy Alianna. If anything happened to her…
Rionan curled his fingers, his hands balling into fists. He would bring down mountains and pull the stars from the sky before anything happened to Alianna.
“Something bothering you?” came a voice from the other side of the room.
Rionan recognised the voice instantly. Casting his eyes towards the door which he had left open, he found Thallax stood within its frame, arms folded. He wore a look of concern.
“No,” Rionan grunted.
“Liar,” retorted Thallax, “I’ve been away from Maryna for long enough to know what it feels like, and she’s only one territory away. Being a whole Realm away? That has to hurt.”
Thallax strode across the room as he spoke, moving towards a cabinet of finely cut glasses and various bottles.
He pulled out three glasses and grabbed a bottle containing a deeply coloured amber liquid.
Sitting opposite Rionan, he set a glass in front of each of them, and one off to their right – for somebody who was not seated there.
“An astute and helpful observation,” Rionan remarked as he watched his friend fill the three glasses before picking up his own and swallowing the liquid in one quick gulp. “And not one I can do anything about until we know if it is safe for her here.”
“You do not think you could keep her safe, Rionan?”
A growl ripped from Rionan’s throat as he narrowed his eyes at his friend. Thallax ignored him and refilled his glass.
“You might scare Korva, Rionan, but you do not scare me. I mean no ill will. I ask as your friend. I watched you clear a battlefield and the sky above us of enemies in a matter of moments. You destroyed another Lord, who had the power of two. Nobody with an ounce of sense will challenge you, Rionan. You do not think that Ali would be safe with you?”
“Not everyone possesses sense. I will not risk it,” Rionan huffed.
“It was luck, Thallax. Sheer fucking luck that meant she didn’t get ripped to pieces when she entered the Well.
I can’t feel fear like that again. We lost so much in the battle,” Rionan paused as his eyes moved to the third glass, which remained untouched.
“I cannot lose her as well, Thallax. She was so brave. I dare not put her through anything further.”
“I understand,” Thallax nodded. “But consider this, Rionan. Alianna asked to help you in this war. Asked to come to Xanthia, where she was at every disadvantage. Asked to enter a battlefield full of your enemies to help us all. I know why you took her home. I do not think it was an unwise decision, or one done in haste. But I do think that you should consider if she wanted to go, and where she would ask to be if you gave her a chance now.”
Rionan winced, knowing that Thallax had left words out of what he truly wanted to say. Alianna asked to come to Xanthia, and you let her. Asked to enter a battlefield full of your enemies, and you let her. But he hadn’t let her stay now.
Thallax’s expression twisted into an apologetic smile.
“I know what you fear, Rionan, but she won’t be so angry with you that she is unable to forgive you.”
Rionan didn’t answer Thallax, but instead threw back his second drink. Thallax followed suit.
“Leave worrying about Ali to me. I need field reports and updates. And I need to know what’s happening in the North.”