Chapter 31 Leaves of Autumn
Leaves of Autumn
Night had already fallen when Alissa, Freyah, and Eldric walked back to Breno’s place, a dreadful silence falling between them as they processed the conversation with Eldric’s teacher.
The truth behind Senectus Subita was so despicable that it overshadowed any sense of triumph.
After months stuck in what seemed an endless, pointless quest, Alissa finally knew what she had to do to save her child.
Yet, of all the revelations that day—the curse, the genocide of all mages, the magic coursing through her veins—nothing terrified her as much as knowing what it would take to break the curse on Dhalia.
The price was too high.
Having no time to waste in Golheim, they had all agreed to discuss the matter once they were back on the road to Bryniard.
“Don’t worry about this now, darling. We’ll find a way.
No one is going to die,” Eldric had said, and Alissa believed him.
She could not start delving into the possibility of sacrificing someone she loved to save her child, especially not when they were in so much danger walking the streets of Golheim.
This time, they were overcautious on their way home, moving slowly and carefully. After weeks of navigating the bustling city in disguise, they had mastered the art of moving like shadows.
Eldric tried to hide his unease, but the fact that the Iron Claws were conducting a house-to-house search for a fugitive was unprecedented in Heldraine.
Mrs. Ilden was right; if the Crown had spent so much of their efforts and resources in hunting them down, then they must have known Alissa and Freyah escaped from Bryniard, and there was no line they wouldn’t cross to end their threat.
Eldric did not fear his death, but the horrifying image of Alissa and Freyah’s lifeless bodies flashed through his mind, triggering overwhelming terror.
He needed to get them out fast. Every minute counted when their lives were at greater risk than ever before.
The journey back wouldn’t be easy. Eldric suspected that relying on his horse or carriage was no longer an option.
The Iron Claws could have discovered them on the outskirts of Golheim by then.
Upon arrival at Breno’s, he quickly commanded Alissa and Freyah to pack their belongings. The plan to steal horses was still forming in his mind, not yet solid, but he would figure it out. He had to.
“Have you seen my notebook, Freyah?” Alissa frantically turned everything over in her search for her precious little notes.
“I already put it in your satchel, Lissa.”
Alissa cupped her friend’s face to give her a loud kiss on the cheek. “What would I do without you?”
“You certainly would not have a collection of notebooks. That I can tell you,” Freyah answered in sarcasm, but her dimpled smile was there.
As Alissa packed her things, she saw her friends, both moving exasperatedly to set everything in order for their departure.
Despite the urgency, she was overcome by a brief sense of certainty that they would make it back in time.
Though challenges still lie ahead, things could finally be working out for them.
She felt a flicker of optimism. After all, there was no point in worrying or overthinking when she had finally found what she had been searching for, right?
Alissa picked up her bag. Her dagger was stowed in her boots, her bow and quiver of arrows hung by the door, along with her possessions, as she prepared to leave.
She glanced down at herself, her nose crinkling at the sight of the uniform she was sick of wearing, hoping soon she could be back to wearing her own clothes.
Her arms encircled Breno in a farewell hug. “Thank you so much for having us. I am so grateful for your kindness.”
The man who had been so hesitant to welcome them felt a tinge of emotion as they left.
Alissa approached Olga next, intending to offer a hug, but the strong woman extended her hand instead. It was no surprise—Olga didn’t seem the affectionate type. Alissa clasped her hand firmly. “I am forever in your family’s debt. If you ever need me, call for me, and I’ll be there,” she promised.
A moment later, an unexpected guest walked through the door. Desi’s face was etched with a tension they had never seen in her. Alissa, caught up in her own enthusiasm, spoke before fully grasping the situation. “Desi! You’re just in time. We’re about to leave, and I wanted to say goodbye—”
Her words were interrupted by the heavy stomps of armored men. Five Iron Claws followed Desi inside, swords in hand as they surrounded the group.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Alissa Kriegen, Freyah Weller, and Eldric Van Myr,” a blue-eyed man with a rugged beard declared, his gaze locking onto them with recognition.
Alissa’s fear surged at the sight of him. The way he said their names as if they had been long-time enemies made the situation even more ominous, especially when Alissa had no idea who he was.
“Let me tell you, I’ve been searching for you everywhere.”
His smile might have seemed like amusement, but Keilan recognized it all too well. It was the same twisted grin Ranier wore when his sadistic side emerged, before he made people suffer and took pleasure in it. The general’s anticipation was palpable; he could barely stand still.
“Not everyone gets under my skin like that, but you three were really starting to irritate me.”
“Desi, what is this?” Freyah asked, her brows twitching.
“You need to surrender.” Desi’s answer was firm, but her hands trembled slightly.
“Why are you doing this?” Alissa cried. The betrayal felt like a stab in the chest.
“I’m insulted,” Ranier continued, his voice dripping with disdain as his hand moved to his chest, faking a wound.
“All this time I’ve been chasing you like a cat on a hunt, and you don’t even have the decency to acknowledge me?
” He snorted. “You’re only concerned about your healer friend, I see.
She’s not the good ally you thought she was, is she?
” His palm rested on top of Desi’s head, patting her condescendingly, as he would do to a dog.
Ranier was not accustomed to this sort of reaction from the people around him.
He was used to drawing all eyes to him, his presence filling the entire room, to people bending at his will, shattering before his influence.
But in this room, the healer was the center of attention.
Apparently, a friend’s betrayal held more sway over these people’s attention than the power he so often boasted about.
“It’s nothing personal. I just… had no other choice.” Desi continued repeating those words more to herself than to the others, until she was fully convinced that what she had done was acceptable. Her head tilted, purposely avoiding meeting their gaze.
“That’s bullshit!” Eldric called. He had been opposed to Desi’s journeying with them to the capital from the beginning. Alissa should have listened to him.
“Did you plan this all along?” Freyah was tearful.
Of the three of them, she had been the one to grow more attached to Desi. To her, this was a soul-breaking event.
“No! It was never my intention. But the bounty on your heads is my only way out of this. It will pay off my debt and clear my name.” Her posture displayed no signs of remorse, although her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
Alissa had invited Desi to join them because she felt sympathy for her being away from her family, and that was the exact same reason she stabbed them in the back. She had been so worried about threats from the outside that she had overlooked those from the inside, within her inner circle of trust.
The irony was marvelous.
Alissa chuckled. Desi, like herself, was a desperate mother. Alissa wondered if she would have had the guts to do the same given the chance.
Olga and Breno witnessed it all from the back, cornered in their own living room, unsure how to act, trying not to get involved in the mess forced into their home.
While for Ranier, being ignored by people whose importance to the kingdom was akin to that of a fly was a blow straight to his ego.
A vein throbbed in his neck, and his fists clenched at his sides.
His next words were not meant to be strategic; they were intended purely to inflict pain, to make them shudder in fear.
He would wound them with words before resorting to physical force.
“Perhaps if I mention that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting your charming little town, you might finally give me the respect I deserve,” he growled impatiently, drawing all eyes to him for the first time.
The look of shock on Alissa and Freyah’s faces was almost aphrodisiac to him.
“If you’ve hurt anyone…” Alissa’s threat reverberated through the room, her gaze piercing right through him.
“It seems you’ve covered your tracks with surprising grace, ladies. All your neighbors could talk about was some nonsense about Ishlor, whatever that is. Useless, all of them. I should have burned the whole place down when I had the chance.”
“Who are you?” Freyah whispered, rarely ever this somber.
“I must say, your family’s tavern is far more decent than I expected for a place at the edge of the world, Miss Weller.”
Freyah stood frozen, her breath catching in her throat at the mention of her family’s business.
General Uldor continued, “Though I must say, Dane was quite obstinate. He refused to give you up, even at the end. A strong man, I’ll give him that. He held firm until his last breath.”
Freyah’s knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor, breaking into sobs. Alissa lunged at the man, but Eldric’s firm grip restrained her.
“He’s bluffing, Freyah!” she shouted, trying to offer some semblance of hope.