Chapter 24
Alora
The sharp creaking of a bowstring pulling tight forces my head to snap to my left. I’m immediately greeted by the shaft of an arrow pointing right at me.
What in the goddess is happening? I pull Dahla up short, stopping her in her tracks. Kassiel’s grip tightens on my waist, partially concealed under my cloak.
I’m having a hard time rationalizing the scene unfolding before me. Our best archers are all trained on me and The Devourer. I twist my head to the opposite side of the path, directly to my right is a group of people standing with arms crossed and faces stony cold.
Suddenly, Leeson and Caym ride up to me, settling their horses on each side of Dahla, putting themselves between us and the archers as well as the group that’s intently staring at us.
Leeson shouts, loud enough to have me turn my head away from her boisterous yell, “Myrtlewood!”
I look at her, my eyebrows quirking and forming a deep vee. With a whisper, I begin, “Lees, what the shit is this?”
She grins warmly to me, “It’s the codeword to pass. When you were captured we went on high alert. I had sent Kina back with a ravenscroll to notify them.”
I release the tension on the reins and slouch my shoulders, relief flooding.
Almost comically I ask, “I had no idea, you didn’t think to warn me that we would be riding into this?”
Her eyes widen and her brows lift. “Honestly, I admit I forgot. We’ve had a bit of a journey if you don’t remember.” She finishes her statement off with a chuckle.
I turn back to look at The Devourer, he glowers at the group that still hasn’t moved to greet us.
He looks moody the way his green eyes pierce the semi—lit cave.
They’re a perfect hue to match the growing flora that surrounds the perimeter of the expansive cave.
His dark tresses and soiled shirt give him a rustic look.
Combined with his shadowed jawline from being unshaved, he looks devilishly handsome despite the distrust etched into his expression.
Caym clears his throat as a dark bronze skinned man begins to walk out from the back of the now chatting group.
“Nice of you to join us, Alora.” Naaveen speaks to me first. His smile is welcoming, and I couldn’t be more glad that he’s the first one to greet us.
“Naaveen,” I say his name in greeting, “it’s good to see you here, truly.”
He brings his hand up to grasp my forearm and I do the same. He has always been compassionate and eager for collaboration. His smile doesn’t falter as he looks at our guest.
The remaining members of the council saunter over. Though the rest of them could be vultures admittedly, generally I was quite fond of the group.
Consisting of seven, we all worked well together and could share our thoughts despite differences. Some had magic, some had none. I was one of four with magic, but the only one with a rarity, and unfortunately, I had no idea how to use it.
“Who have we here, Ms. Viren?” The mature voice, however grating, belonged to the oldest of the group.
Her creamy skin wrinkled with her slightly upturned lip.
Helena was nearing her sixties and was as sweet as an angry hornet, though she often was much softer when meeting alone or if you were able to get her on the subject of her favorite book.
Which, lucky for me, was quite helpful as I also was an avid reader in my free time.
Dipping my head to her in a courteous nod, I begin what would turn out to be a long conversation.
“It’s good to see you, Helena.” I pause, thinking about how best to word what I’m about to say.
“Council members,” the facade easily slips over my face as I prepare to set out the plan I’ve knitted together the last few days, “I’ve brought you The Devourer, and we have quite the story to tell.”
Quite a few faces remain the same, unshaken by this revelation.
A feminine voice floats across the chamber, “We’re glad to have you home, Alora.
When we received the news from Leeson that you and Caym had been captured, well, we weren’t sure what we were going to do.
” Jessamine’s heart shaped face pops through the bodies and she saunters over to where Naaveen stands next to us.
She speaks again, this time to the council members, “We should really take this reunion back to headquarters instead of keeping our friends in their saddles.”
Murmurs of agreement begin and the group begins to disperse. Jessamine and Naaveen walk with us as I urge Dahla onwards.
Kassiel is ever so quiet. He’s moved his hands off of me and it feels as if he’s a world away. Caym and Leeson ride behind us, the clopping of the horse hooves on the river stone a welcomed cadence as we make our way into the edges of River’s End.
“Why were you all waiting for us?” The question blurts from my lips before I can think.
Naaveen clears his throat but Jessamine cuts him off.
She hurriedly answers, “All we knew from Leeson was that you all had escaped and had taken The Devourer as prisoner. Reports came in from other members across the kingdom that King Orlin had sent The Nightmare to the outskirts of Astoria and neighboring villages looking for you all.”
Her gaze drops as we pass a cobblestone fence that’s used to keep the animals from wandering to the warm pools.
Naaveen lifts his hand to her shoulder and squeezes and my concern begins to build.
Sternly, I ask, “What’s happened?”
The air seems to cool with the notice that The Nightmare is roaming the countryside.
Naaveen answers for her, his smoky voice breaking the chilled silence, “He’s burned villages and murdered far more than that. We thought it was bad before when we were searching for the culling bands, but this is a new level of vitriol.”
“Fuck,” Kassiel whispers behind me and Naaveen glances at him, his expression unreadable.
Caym pipes in, “Perhaps he was kept in check before, is that possible, Devourer?”
Before he can answer, Jessamine asks what I assume is on everyone’s mind, “How can we trust him? He’s been working with the king this whole time.”
She’s right to question this. Coming to River’s End means my whole home is at risk if Kassiel betrays us. If I were in her shoes, I would wonder the same thing.
Leeson replies this time, and I’m grateful it’s her instead of me, “He’s had optimal time to betray us before now. He saved us when it didn’t make sense for him to. We’ve seen things that don’t make sense with him in our company. Alora trusts him and that’s good enough for me.”
My heart swells with her words. She’s always had my back and I’m more thankful for our sisterly bond now more than ever.
“Very well,” Naaveen states, “if that is what you’ve found to be true, then there’s more discussion to be had. But we must do it before the council as a whole. I don’t want any untrusting feelings to form or any possibility that someone thinks we’re being deceitful.”
We pass a garden, ripe with fresh vegetables and berries and my stomach grumbles loudly, enough so that Jessamine gives me a bewildered look.
“We’ll add that to the list of things to do,” Naaveen’s tone is laced with amusement.
Coming to a small building with brightly stained glass depicting the lover moons and numerous constellations, I guide Dahla to the nearby water trough.
I slide off her easily and curse my numb backside.
Caym hops off his horse as well and unbridles his mare, releasing her next to mine.
Kassiel still sits atop Dahla and I watch him curiously.
He looks as if he’s a fish out of water, stunned by this totally new environment.
His eyes study the cavern, which is more so a sinkhole.
His nostrils flare as he breathes in the salty sea breeze that mingles with the lush growth of vegetation.
“It’s rather freeing isn’t it?” Leeson surprises me when she walks beside him and asks him this.
I watch their interaction quietly as she continues, “It’s a wild smell—raw, natural. It’s grounding while also making you feel alive again.”
Kassiel trains his eyes on her, listening intently.
“Many come here, or find The Hidden, when they’ve thought there’s nothing else. They come here to heal. To be. To just exist. Maybe you’ll heal here too.”
She quickly turns, leaving him speechless. He watches her walk through the open door to the building before slowly returning his gaze to me.
The rest of our party has already gone inside. Kassiel and I linger. I offer my hand to him and pull my lips up into a smile, as if I could coax him down off Dahla.
Reassuringly I say,“Let’s get on with it then.”
The lighting in the chamber dims as the candles melt down to stubs. We’ve been discussing Kassiel and what his presence means for us. For the cause.
The deliverance of The Devourer feels rather like divine intervention. Could the fates, the goddess, or another force feel sympathy for the horror that is happening in Noxia?
Back when my family was alive, I was more of a believer, the first one to set the morning offerings. After they were murdered by King Euron’s hand, I decided they couldn’t be bothered to take pity on us, we were all but ants to these primordial beings. Perhaps I was wrong.
Kassiel sits, locked in the room adjacent to us. Despite my protests, he willingly shackled himself in an attempt to prove he wasn’t as devious as they’d thought.
“Why in godsname should we trust him? He has more blood on his hands than most soldiers combined!” Finnian, a man younger than I skilled with strategy, shouts before slamming his hand on the table top.
His blue eyes sharpen, the icy stare challenging me.
“How do we know that you’re not lost to us?” He dares ask and my blood rises rapidly.
I begin to walk around the wooden table, stalking towards him. If he wanted to question my allegiance to The Hidden, he would need to understand that I’d lost too much to only be doubted once giving my entire life to a cause.
“What will happen if King Euron isn’t interested in a bargain with us for him?” Naaveen asks, the question also one I’ve been pondering.