Chapter 38
Chapter
The next day I woke up in Aidenar’s chambers.
They were much like mine, with a great bed set in the center.
Morning light poured in through the windows, and the gray stones glimmered softly in the dawn.
Aidenar was already gone. He had left a white flower upon the pillow.
I went to see him only after my training with Mina.
He sat over a spread of documents in the office. The moment I entered, I saw that something was wrong. His face was more severe than usual.
“Is everything alright,” I asked quietly.
“A letter from Dricus,” he stated. “He asks for help in the south. Throughout the Dominium they found and destroyed many of the fifth vases. You were right. The Plague spreads from them. But it seems that because of this, the enemy forces have gathered at the desert crossing.”
On the one hand, it was good news—we’d fixed something. On the other…
“If what you saw in the cave is true, they are preparing to storm Emberhold. It’s worse than Dricus thinks. I will go to the south.” he added in a hollow voice. “He is there. Malric.”
I touched my cheek, where the scar of the whip had begun to close. Aidenar rose and came to me, pulling me into a fierce embrace.
“I will kill him,” he whispered. “I will scatter his body across the desert. His and his sister’s.”
I felt his power storm beneath his skin, felt the hurricane rising within him. And for the first time, I didn’t want to calm him down.
“When do we ride?” I asked.
“We?” He drew back and stared at me, eyes wide. “There is no WE. You are not leaving this place until Mina says that you and your mind are safe. You will not ride south.”
“You truly think you will go there alone,” I asked, my voice cold.
“Yes. That is exactly what I think.” His eyes narrowed. “And I know you are stubborn as a mule. That is why I told Mina and Peter not to let you leave Durminas until I deem it safe.”
“Will you keep me here like a prisoner?”
“If necessary. I won’t risk your life unless there is no other choice,” he said firmly, the Lord Cavareth who hands out orders returning within him. “And your nightmares prove it. He still has access to you and only getting stronger.”
I clenched my jaw. I had no answer, for he was right.
I spent the next three days with Aidenar whenever he found a free moment.
He oversaw the preparations for the campaign.
Only a portion of the knights from Durminas would ride south with him.
Leaving the fortress unguarded was not an option, not after the incident with the Dorthals.
Along the route, Aiden intended to join forces with other lords.
But we had no way of knowing how many had answered Dricus’s letters.
How many would unite across the Dominium in the face of attack, and how many would cower behind their castle walls.
When he disappeared into duties, I trained with Minerva. I wanted to be independent as soon as possible. Mina knew perfectly well why I pressed so hard.
“Do not think that when he leaves I will let you slip out of the castle,” she said with a hint of amusement. “Aidenar was very clear that I am to keep you safe. And I already see what you mean to do. Ride alone for two weeks toward the desert. No, my dear. Not on my watch.”
“Will you stop me by force?” I asked challengingly.
“If I must.”
I lifted my hands.
“Fine! You Cavareths are insufferable,” I said louder than I should and left the room.
The bitterness gathered in me like a rising storm. I left the hall and walked toward the library. In the corridor I nearly collided with Tristan, who took one look at my face and smiled with sympathy.
“Mina giving you a rough time? Don’t worry. It’s a shame you didn’t see her fights with Cassandra. People thought the sky was falling on us.”
We walked on together.
“I can imagine.” I took a slow breath. “And your parents? You’re Cavareth. I didn’t know Nicolas had siblings.”
“He had a younger brother, my father. My parents loved each other dearly, but my mother was sickly. She died bearing me. My father… he faded away after that. We moved to Durminas. He died when I was a teenager and I grew up with Aidenar. His father treated me like a son. And Minerva gave me more warmth than Cassandra ever did. She may look crazy and cruel, but underneath she’s a sweetheart. ”
“I don’t know if I shall ever see that side of her.”
“Give her healthy great-grandchildren and you will.”
I stopped dead, staring at him as though at a ghost. Tristan burst into laughter.
“I overdid it. But your face was priceless.”
I rolled my eyes and we walked on. In the library we settled in our usual armchairs by the window.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get a break from me soon,” he said.
“You are riding south?” I asked, raising my brows.
“Of course. I will not leave Aidenar alone. How long can one sit here. I have heard great tales of southern girls. I must see if the legends are worth the sin.”
I snorted.
“Besides,” he added suddenly, and his gaze grew serious, “Aiden wouldn’t leave me alone with you.”
“You hold a very high opinion of your own charm.”
“Oh, darling. I haven’t even begun my efforts with you.”
I grabbed a book and swatted the back of his head.
“Don’t call me a darling. And save your tricks for the southern girls.”
“As you wish, my Lady,” he said with a smile.
While Aidenar was busy with campaign preparations I waged war with myself. I went to the training square and sparred with the brothers. My mind circled endlessly around Malric, the south, my promise to Dricus.
I began fighting with Brenn. I struck him again and again. Sweat trickled down my temples. The wooden swords groaned beneath each blow. I fought without reason, driven purely by aggression.
I had grown sick of waiting and retreating.
Brenn saw my irritation but refused to relent, answering instead with doubled force.
As if he wanted to prove that how I was acting was senseless.
But I was not merely human. He struck with full strength and knocked the sword from my grip, nearly dislocating my wrist. I didn’t wait.
In return, I pulled water from the barrel that stood nearby and swept his legs out from under him.
A second wave crashed into him and tore the sword from his hand.
I approached slowly as the water began circling around me in a forceful ring.
I stepped toward Brenn, placed my boot upon his chest, and gradually drew the water closer to his face. I saw fear flicker in his eyes.
“Nerissa!” I heard Aidenar’s voice cut through the air. “Enough.”
The water spilled across the ground. I blinked as though waking from a dream. I extended my hand to Brenn and helped him to his feet. Shame flooded through me. I should not have done that.
Aidenar approached.
“What is happening?” he asked. “Why are you training like this?”
“You know why.”
He let out a sharp breath, “You cannot be serious. You are not still thinking of riding south?”
I stood with my head lowered.
“I gave my word,” I said quietly. “I told him I would come.”
“You gave your word? To whom?”
“To Dricus.”
Aidenar went still. His eyes darkened.
“Leave us,” he said. Everyone fled the training yard in haste. We remained alone.
“What did you promise Dricus?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“That I would not abandon him. That I would come to his aid. He cannot fight there alone.”
“That’s why I am riding south! He wants to drag you into the heart of the coming war.”
“Do not speak to me like I am some sheltered palace Lady. You seem to forget who trained whom,” my tone turned equally frigid.
“Nerissa, I know what you are capable of. I know the power that sleeps within you. I feel it every day when you are with me. Still, the battlefield is no place for a woman.”
“You want to command me again? There have been others who tried.” I saw both fury and pain flash across his face.
“That is not what I meant… Actually, it is exactly what I meant. But I care only for your safety. You will not be safe in the desert. What will defend you when the water runs dry and they will fight with those black Elementars?”
“You know as well as I that sooner or later, we must all stand together.”
“Exactly. Together. And we do not even have the fourth heir. You worked on this at the Palace with your father. Use Minerva. Perhaps she can help you, and when you find the heir, then we shall consider your journey south. Preferably after I have already slaughtered everyone there,” he smiled.
“Asshole.”
“Ah, we return to insulting me. I thought we had moved past that.”
I pulled water from another barrel to throw at him, but he deflected it without the slightest effort.
“Not so easy with me, is it?” he mocked me.
I snatched a wooden sword from the table and threw it at him. He dodged effortlessly, so I reached for a second. With that unnatural speed of his, he stood beside me in an instant. He pinned my arm to the table, weapon still in hand.
“I had forgotten how much you enjoy throwing things at me.”
I tried to strike him with my elbow, but at the last moment he blocked it with his other hand and spun me around, my back pressed against him.
He held me with his iron strength so I wouldn’t move.
I could have struck his face with the back of my head, but I remembered how much I adored his nose and mouth.
Aidenar brushed his lips along my ear, my cheek, my neck. My body betrayed me. The tension was slowly draining away, leaving heat in its place. I felt his warm breath against my neck.
“You have two choices,” he whispered into my ear. “Either you come with me to my chambers, or I take you here and now. That is the only choice I can offer you.”
He loosened his grip enough that I could turn and meet his gaze. I was still looking at him with fury on my face.
“You know that when you’re angry it only makes me want you more,” he couldn’t stop teasing me.
“I need a bath,” I replied as a sign of defeat.
His eyes blazed with light.