Chapter 1-The O’Baarni

I preferred to spend my early mornings alone.

I awoke at dawn to exercise and stretch as I watched the sun slowly warm the world and wake my troops. Normally, my lieutenants would arrive in my tent for our breakfast and strategy meeting just after I had finished, but we had decided not to meet today. Malek was working with a new batch of recruits, Thayer was doing some survival training with his troops, and I had given leave to Gorbanni and Alexia.

I could let my friends have a day off, but I did not want a break. I studied the map on the table, calculating the various risks to our army against the damage we could do to our enemies. It was somewhat refreshing to do this on my own, and I was so absorbed in it that I only realized the sun had already risen to mid-morning when I heard footsteps approach. A throat cleared at the entrance of my tent and I debated dismissing the visitor.

“Enter.” I changed my mind as I wiped some of the lingering sleep out of my eyes. The footsteps hardly sank into the soft grass outside my tent, so I guessed a female was visiting. It wasn’t Alexia, the blonde woman made absolutely no noise when she walked, and she would have just come into my tent without alerting me to her presence.

A dark-haired young woman, maybe a few inches shorter than my six-foot height, carefully ducked under the canvas flap. She carried a large wooden tray with bowls of steaming gruel, a pot of tea, and two covered dishes that smelled like eggs with beef. The woman’s hair was tied back in a high ponytail and her eyes glittered a bright green.

“Kaiyer?” Her eyes searched my face and I heard her heart thunder in her chest.

“That is me.” I guessed who she was, but I didn’t know why she had entered my tent.

“I’m Shlara.” She smiled confidently, and I understood why Malek had told of her beauty. She was painfully thin though, and I saw the blue network of veins beneath the smooth skin of her arms and neck. She was wearing a set of our dark gray training tunics and pants. It hung tight around her famished body, revealing a pitiful lack of muscle and an emaciated over-emphasis of bone.

“I’ve heard about you.”

“I’ve heard about you as well. I brought you breakfast. Have you eaten?” She seemed to second guess herself; it was past breakfast time for the rest of the army.

“No, actually, I haven’t.”

“Why aren’t there chairs in your tent?” she asked with a frown. She looked for a place to put the food and the only open spot was either my cot or the table where I stood.

“I’ll take that. Thank you.” I grasped the wooden tray and wondered for a second how she had gotten the extra plates. Even though the woman was thin, the meals were carefully rationed by the cooking staff. The tray almost didn’t fit on the side of the small table. I grabbed a bowl of gruel, dipped a wooden spoon in it, and shoved it down my throat. It burned like molten fire, but my mouth healed almost instantly.

“Why are there no guards outside your tent?”

“Why would I need guards?” I didn’t look up at her.

“Couldn’t someone come in here and assassinate you?” she answered with a question.

“Who would want to assassinate me?” Our eyes met and I smiled at her mirthfully.

“The Elvens of course!” Her brows knit and she seemed outraged with the idiocy of my response.

“I doubt they could get through the camp.”

“What if they did?” She folded her arms and bit her lip.

“If an Elven somehow made it through the camp and got to my tent, I’d probably have to kill it. You may find this hard to believe, but I’ve killed them before.” I chuckled.

“What if they send a half dozen?” She didn’t seem to understand my lack of concern.

“I doubt half a dozen could make it through the army. But I’ve killed that many before.” I turned back down to the map and ate another spoonful of the gruel.

Half a minute passed before Shlara cleared her throat again. I looked up at her and noticed she was eyeing the plate of food with one eyebrow raised.

“I forgot to thank you for bringing the food.”

“No. You thanked me. I brought food for both of us. I wanted to have breakfast with you.” She unfolded her arms and smiled confidently, but I heard her heart race with nervousness.

“I see why Malek likes you so much.” Her smile brightened at the mention of Malek. “But I have plans this morning. Perhaps we can have lunch a few months from now, after you begin your training.” Her grin faded.

“I have wanted to meet you for so long. We traveled such a great distance.” She tried to regain her composure.

“Malek mentioned something of that to me.” He had actually been bragging about Shlara for the last week. She had led a group of over two hundred men, women, and children through the wilderness to find us. She had orchestrated the group’s escape and killed four Elvens with various weapons the slaves had crafted.

“We have been searching for your camp for sixteen moon cycles. I’ve heard stories of you and your army. I didn’t want to wait for you to come free us.” She regained her confidence and pushed her pretty chin up into the air boldly.

“Because of this, you think you deserve some of my time?” I stared at her.

“You normally have breakfast with your lieutenants.” She licked her lips nervously and her heart betrayed her poise.

“Yes.”

“Just think of me as your next lieutenant then. Actually, consider me your next general.” She smiled again and I had to force myself not to grin back. Malek was never wrong about people and this girl had already impressed me. She bordered on arrogant, but not without cause.

“You are quite confident.”

“I will be your best general. I am very smart. I have only been in the camp a week and I have twenty ideas to improve your logistics.”

“Logistics is something we need help with. Alexia and Gorbanni will want to hear your ideas.”

“Don’t you want to hear them?” she sat down on my cot and smiled at me again. Her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s. I could not tell her age, but I guessed she was probably a few years older than I was when the Elvens had changed me.

After Iolarathe had killed my father and brother.

“If they are good ideas, I’ll be informed of the changes.” My words pushed through clenched teeth. I wasn’t particularly mad at the girl, but the memory of Iolarathe made me want to crush skulls with my mace.

She shot to her feet. “I’ll be going then.” She took two steps toward the tent flap.

“Wait.” She stopped suddenly and then slowly turned around to face me. I handed her a bowl of gruel and she grinned with surprise. “Did you make an appointment to see Alexia?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Don’t use this method with her. She’ll break your nose and remind you of why we have ranks.”

“I understand.” Shlara’s eyes widened as she nodded. She grabbed the spoon and took a small bite of the mushy oat cereal.

We ate in silence for the next ten minutes. Shlara tested her luck and stepped closer to the map on the table so she could see what I studied. When I didn’t lash out at her again her heart started to beat at a normal rhythm.

“You are different than I thought you would be,” she whispered.

“You are a slow eater.” I smirked at her.

“I thought you would be uglier.” Her pulse skipped into a canter again and she gave me a charming smile.

“Why?” I almost laughed.

“The tales say that you kill dozens of Elvens with a wave of your hand. They also say that you sacrificed your soul and body to gain dark powers from the Dead Gods.”

“Dead Gods? I’ve never heard of such things.” I knew that the Elvens had some sort of religion, but I never felt a desire to learn about it.

“The Elvens worship them. I’m surprised you don’t know more about them. They have a pathos and creation foundation. We weren’t allowed to worship them of course, but I knew of them.” She smiled and I noticed her body relax with the conversation.

“I find it hard to believe that Elvens think anything is more powerful than they are. In the tribe I was raised in, we were expected to worship Elvens. But now I don’t spend any time talking to them. I just kill them.”

“I didn’t think you would be so singleminded either.” She smirked.

“Today I am.”

“What tribe were you raised in?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Are you done with your breakfast?”

“No. You are right, I am a slow eater. Tell me about being changed.” She took a quick series of bites and looked at me over her bowl.

“It hurts. Women say it feels like childbirth, only the pain is in your spine and skull.” Her green eyes grew wide and flashed with worry. “I don’t think you should be concerned though. The pain is temporary and Malek will take good care of you.”

“Can I ask a favor?” She set her dish down on the table. I noticed it was still a quarter full. She probably needed to eat twenty bowls every day for the next four weeks to get her weight up to a healthy level.

Our eyes met and I was struck again by her beauty, even with the malnutrition affecting her body. I knew Malek would have his hands full with her. He had a soft spot for pretty girls and this one would make his head spin. If it wasn’t already.

“I believe you are rather presumptuous, Shlara.”

“I believe you are falling in love with me, Kaiyer,” she said with a cocky grin. I laughed.

“Fine.” I waved my hands at her in surrender and stepped away from the table. “What do you want?”

She waited a few seconds before answering.

“Malek is wonderful, and I enjoy spending time with him,” she paused dramatically and looked at me again. I was about to press her to continue but then she spoke. “After I gain enough weight, he will change me into one of the O’Baarni, we think in about two weeks. But I want you to change me.” Her heart sped up again.

I stared at her a moment, but her resolve held firm and she didn’t balk when our eyes met.

“Why?”

“Kaiyer, your story drove us to leave our enslavers. We wandered for so long, we lost so many,” her eyes drifted away from mine for a few seconds, “but we persisted, because we knew that you would take us in your arms and teach us. We believe in you.” A blush came to her cheeks and she broke our eye contact again to look at the ground.

I felt myself growing angry. This was not how I wanted my brethren to view me. I did not even want them to think of me, but of our cause. I wanted them to devote themselves to our freedom, not to me. I was not a hero. I was not a savior. I was just a boy trying to atone for the death of his family.

“What did your people do?” I asked with a sigh. I needed to change the subject so I might consider the proper response to her request.

“Most of us worked on the farms for the Tulcita tribe.”

I nodded. The Tulcita tribe was more than a few hundred miles southeast of us and too big for my small force to handle. We had disrupted some of their deliveries, but had never confronted them directly. Shlara was probably correct to leave and seek us out; my army was several years away from destroying Tulcita and freeing their human slaves.

“We were afraid to involve too many outside of the field workers. We didn’t want our plans discovered. A few of my people know how to hunt and fish. That was how we survived,” Shlara finished and we stood in silence for a few more moments.

“We need farmers. It is fortunate that you came to us. Are you skilled at growing crops?”

“I am skilled at everything I do.” Her eyes beamed at me and I wondered if there was a hidden promise in the emerald orbs.

“Excellent. I have no lack of warriors, but food is an issue. We’ve got a few bags of wheat and corn seeds, as well as some vegetables. But this is Gorbanni’s realm. You should see him immediately.”

“Will you change me then?” Her visage of confidence broke for a flash.

“I think you have potential. You have proven that you can manage a large group of people against adversity. You’ve gotten special attention from Malek. He is going to take you under his wing and develop you. This is all you will get for the time being.”

“Why won’t you change me?” her voice cracked and I saw the depths of her maturity.

“Malek is going to.”

“I want you to.” She crossed her arms in front of her small breasts and I felt the anger coming off of her.

“I want all the Elvens destroyed. Give me that and you can have whatever you want from me.” I looked down to my map and pulled the lid off of the plate of eggs and beef. The smell of salt, pepper, and protein hit my nose and my stomach reminded me that one small bowl of gruel would not be enough.

“Change me and I will kill all the Elvens you want.” She stepped closer than I would have expected and put her hand lightly on my bicep. The woman definitely had gumption.

“That isn’t how you will build a relationship with me, Shlara.” I looked into her eyes and briefly at her fingers on my arm. She didn’t pull her hand away.

“Why not?”

“Because you earn trust with me by proving yourself consistently.”

“I have proven myself!” Her face became enraged and her grip flew from my shoulder. “I’ve done something no one else has been able to do. No one but you. You know what I endured. Why won’t you honor me?” Her voice was laced with anger.

“It isn’t honor. It doesn’t matter who changes you. Elvens changed me so I could serve in their war machine. Do I owe a debt of gratitude to those fucking bastards? Did they honor me?” She backed away and shook her head. I interrupted her as she opened her mouth to speak again. “But the real reason I’m not going to change you is because you are a self-absorbed brat. This isn’t about you, or your needs. It’s about the future of our race and the death of millions of our enemies. If I tell you to do something, you don’t fucking argue with me. You do it. You don’t come to me asking for boons, you come to me telling me how you can help me, and then you deliver. Everything you have said since you entered my tent has been about you. I don’t give a shit about you until you provide results to me. Do you understand, girl?”

Her heartbeat sprinted again and her face betrayed absolute panic. She hadn’t expected the conversation to go like this.

“Y-y-yes,” she stuttered.

“Good. Thank you for breakfast. Get out.” She turned white and retreated a step. Then the girl turned and dashed out of the tent flap so quickly that I thought she had already been changed into one of the O’Baarni.

I sighed again and looked down at the plate of food. I speared a chunk of beef and eggs and then put it in my mouth. It should have tasted good, but it felt like sand against my tongue.

“I like her,” Entas’s voice drifted from my cot.

“You are worse than Alexia.” I turned to the old man and smiled. I hadn’t even heard his heartbeat, let alone his entrance into my home.

He stretched across my bed with his left foot flat on the padding and his right leg crossed over it. He absently stared at the apex of my tent and chewed the end of a long blade of grass. His bamboo walking stick rested against the bottom of my cot. It was never more than two feet from him.

“Enjoying breakfast?” he asked without looking at me.

“Want any?”

“I already ate, but sure. I need more meat on me bones.” He sat up a little and plucked at his threadbare shirt and pants. His flowing white hair came down to his shoulders and he looked like a cross between a skeleton, ghost, and monkey.

I walked over to him with the spare plate and dished some of the egg and beef mixture onto the dish. He frowned and shook his head, putting more back onto my plate until he only had half of an egg and less than a bite of beef. I shrugged and joined him on my cot. We ate in silence for a few minutes until I finally spoke.

“I’m waiting for you to tell me how badly I mistreated her.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Really? I thought Malek had already convinced you that she was our secret weapon against the Elvens by now.” I laughed at the thought, but my friend spent more time with my old mentor than I currently did.

“Of course not. You have an ability to tell people exactly what they need to hear. When the girl came in here, I believe she was intent on warming your bed.” Entas gave his dry chuckle.

“Humm, I didn’t get that from her.”

“No of course not. You are blissfully ignorant to the ways of women.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“But you are savvy in the ways of leading men and women. Shlara is now intent on proving you wrong and making you appreciate her. She is en route to our gray-haired friend so that he can change her immediately. She’ll probably train twenty hours a day until she earns your respect.” Entas finished the last bite off his plate, set it on the ground, and then leaned back down on my bed. He was so short that his legs didn’t even touch my back when he stretched out.

“That is ridiculous. She won’t survive the change. She is too weak from starvation.” I frowned.

“Ahh my friend. Never underestimate the willpower of a woman who wants something. Malek will try to convince her of your logic, but she’ll get her way.” I nodded and hoped it wasn’t true. Maybe I had been too hard on Shlara, but I didn’t have a place in the army for someone who would not follow my instructions. I hoped she wouldn’t take the risk.

“Was there anything about her conversation that interested you?” Entas said after a few moments of relaxed silence between us. I searched my memory of the conversation and wondered if this was one of the old man’s fancy riddles.

“Not that I can recall.”

“Really? Nothing?” I looked at him and our eyes met. He squinted at me in concentration. I wasn’t passing this logic test.

“Help me out here. What did I miss?” I finally shrugged my shoulders and gave up on the riddle.

Entas glanced up at the ceiling of the tent again and I could tell he was debating giving me the answer.

“She mentioned the ‘Dead Gods’ of the Elvens. Does that interest you at all?” His eyes stared deep into mine and I realized this was the most direct conversation we had experienced in the past year or so. My mentor had let me run the army for the last five summers and only cared to see me if I had a problem. When I did come to him, he normally asked me a series of bizarre questions that gave me the answer I was looking for only after I meditated on them for a few hours.

“No.”

“Why doesn’t it interest you?” The monkey man sat up in his bed and leaned toward me. His voice was just a whisper.

“I don’t really give a shit about their religious beliefs. They didn’t let us have any, so why should I care about theirs? The knowledge won’t help me kill them easier, will it?”

“Oh, no of course not. Do not worry Kaiyer. This isn’t a test. I just wanted to see if you wondered about the topic. You normally seek out knowledge about everything …” his voice trailed off and he raised an eyebrow to look at me.

“Not this time, Entas. I have to plan our next assault.”

“Ahh yes.” He bobbed his head like an old monkey. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

The old man scooted around me on the cot, got to his feet, and then snagged his walking stick with a smooth flip.

“Ahh wait,” he said before he strolled out of the tent. He cupped his right ear dramatically and I heard a distant scream. It was one of complete and total agony and seemed to grow so loud that it became hard to tell if the voice that made it was a mile away or a hundred yards. Then, the woman’s screech cut off suddenly. She had either died or passed out from the pain. It was a scream I had once made many years ago.

“One of these days, you need to teach me how to know everything that is going on in the camp.”

“I don’t know everything that goes on in the camp, Kaiyer. I just know the important things. That’s what you need to learn.” The monkey man smiled at me with his characteristic chuckle and then he walked out of the tent.

I took the last few bites of my eggs and then gathered up the plates. It was a short walk to the dining tent, and from there it was an even shorter walk to see if Shlara had survived.

Chapter 2-Kaiyer

Half a dozen crows rested on the twisted limbs of the tree in front of me. Every few minutes, one of them would caw, leap off of its branch, swing outward, then return to the embrace of the oak and scatter the others. I spent some time studying their behavior until it became clear that there was no hierarchy in their ranks. The birds seemed to change places with no plan or great purpose other than creating distress for each other.

I killed Shlara. Her last panicked scream echoed in my memory, louder than the crows singing their pain.

I took a deep breath and felt it swirl around my lungs. I had grown so accustomed to the Elements that it was difficult to separate the natural feelings of my body from their power. That would need to change soon; I needed to remember how to train the newly changed in harnessing the Elements.

Footsteps approached. I guessed who they belonged to from the heavy falls of the slightly agitated gait. He was still one hundred yards away, so I had time to prepare for our conversation before he reached me.

“Kaiyer?” Runir’s voice sounded timid. I looked down from the crows in the trees to the tall handsome man. Last I saw him he was blonde, but in the two weeks since I had arrived in the camp he explained the situation that forced him to dye his hair black in disguise.

“What do you need?”

“Do you still want to watch her? Gerald’s shift is coming to an end and I think he would like to spend time with his daughter.” Runir crossed his arms and turned his gaze away from the lone oak tree to the camp where Nadea’s army was fortified. The majority of the army was well hidden in a gorge that cut into the side of a cliff face.

“Yes,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I possibly could. Watching over Nadea’s body pointed to my failures with Shlara and the experience was far from pleasant.

I should have been able to save her.

Runir grunted. Then he offered me a hand to assist my rise from the loamy dirt and thick grass in which I knelt. I ignored his offer of help and came to my feet easily. Then I turned to walk back toward the camp with him in tow.

I could have been at her tent in less than five seconds, but that would require startling everyone in the camp. Instead, I took my time and walked slowly through the grass while I observed the morning. The sun clawed its way over the distant Teeth Mountain range and the dawn air was blessed with the taste of wet dew. There was a sandy trail that led up the side wall of the gorge and we made the hike up to the guard post in ten minutes of silence.

Runir told me that the location of the camp was called Fisherman’s Gorge because it formed a net-like grid through the foothills. We were about one hundred and twenty miles northeast of Nia Castle, but still well within the borders of the kingdom.

“You should bring guards with you,” Runir commented absently when we made it to the top of the trail to the south opening of the gorge. It was a narrow passage, only two horses could fit through the gap at once.

“You didn’t bring any.” I looked at him and smirked.

“Fair enough,” he replied before he saluted the guards at the entryway and walked around the gorge wall and into the campsite.

If I could have renamed Fisherman’s Gorge, I would have called it Ladder Gorge or perhaps Step Gorge. Natural rock formations formed impromptu stairways that led to hundreds of small ledges on the sides of the canyon. Some were only large enough for one lone tent. Others were vast enough to fit larger pavilions that could house a dozen soldiers. Tents, makeshift wooden structures, and camouflage-dyed nets blanketed the base of the canyon and were intersected with irregular pathways. At the bottom of the gorge, a deep, quick-moving creek gently drowned out the sounds of the camp, while also providing us with fresh water. It was a strategically perfect location to hide the small army.

Runir followed me up a narrow stone path, across a slender support bridge, and over a ledge where a small group of soldiers trained. I heard a shout below me and turned to see a group of two dozen soldiers unloading a supply wagon that had just been wheeled from deeper in the gorge. The group was about one hundred feet below me and they swarmed over the cart like ants over a corpse.

After ascending a few additional ledges and climbing a ladder, we made it to Nadea’s pavilion. It was colored to blend perfectly with the side of the cliff, and was guarded by four women in chain armor. When they saw Runir and I approach they pulled back the flap to allow us to enter.

“No change.” Gerald was a small man, but he probably outweighed my famished body. His hair was a dark brown and came down almost to his shoulders in straw-like disorder. Runir told me that he had been responsible for saving Nadea’s life when she had been imprisoned in the dungeons.

“Will she ever wake?” the tall man finally asked the question on everyone’s mind. I could sense the sadness in his voice. The loss. He didn’t need to tell me how he felt about her. He reminded me all too much of Malek and his feelings for Shlara.

“I am unsure,” I sighed and took a spare seat next to Nadea’s cot. Her body was covered with a thick gray blanket, but her face was left bare. Her eyes were closed and the dark circles under them accented the drawn and pained pull of the tan skin across her features.

“I thought you said you had done this before?” Runir asked me for the twentieth time.

“This is different.” I shot him a glare and Gerald turned a shade of gray to match the blanket over Nadea. He must have heard stories about me.

“How?” Runir frowned and Gerald stood up from his chair quickly, interrupting my response.

“If you two are going to have this discussion, I’ll just be leaving,” the small man squeaked. Then he seemed to realize the bold words had actually left his mouth. His eyes grew wide and he dashed out of the tent before we might respond.

I turned back to Nadea and stared at her face. Then I looked at the swell of her chest under the thick blanket. Her breaths were so shallow that even with my enhanced senses I could only perceive a slight movement.

“Kaiyer?” Runir pressed me again.

“It’s different because she isn’t human.” I turned to look at him. His eyes were a darker blue than Jessmei’s. They didn’t get wide with disbelief, his heart rate didn’t increase, and he didn’t inhale a breath.

“You knew?” I asked the obvious.

“The king had known for a while, he left a letter for my father.” He looked nervous and his heart beat faster.

“You left that part out of the story you told me,” I growled.

“Would it have mattered? It was her secret to tell. How do you know?” His words cracked and I saw the strife in his eyes.

“When I change someone, I learn everything about their body. I channel the Earth through their spine and into their brain, I see all of their imperfections and injuries. I reshape them to allow their mind and form to accept the Elements.”

“The Earth? The Elements? Is that the magic you use? Explain it to me.” Runir moved across the tent to sit in the medic’s empty seat.

“Yes. It is our magic.” I nodded and countless memories of Entas, my old friends, and screams of battle rode through my tired brain. “I started to change her, but I knew it would be difficult because of the stab wound. Then I realized during the process that her pathways weren’t human.” I was about to go into more detail about the procedure, but the handsome man interrupted me.

“I don’t wish to speak about it anymore. When she wakes up, she can tell the story to you.” Runir sat forward in his chair and looked at Nadea’s face. The cot was in the center of the tent between the two chairs we occupied. On the opposite side was a medical desk where Gerald kept his tools ready in case his duchess awoke and needed his attention.

“You were the one who asked.” I shrugged.

“I asked if she would ever wake. I didn’t want to speak of her heritage,” Runir huffed and got up from his chair, and then he paced around the small space of the tent by the exit.

“You can leave. I don’t need help watching her.” He frowned at my comment and shook his head.

“You have an army to manage.” I pointed toward the campsite. I knew that there were other generals out there that Nadea put in charge, but I needed to get Runir away from me for a few hours. He was fucking bugging me.

“I want to be here when she wakes,” he whined.

“If you are here I don’t need to be.” I got up and prepared to exit. Anything to get away from the sight of Nadea’s motionless body and Runir’s accusing glances.

“No, wait. I’ll leave.” He sighed and stood. Without another word or glance at me he walked out of the tent and into the activity of the early morning.

Then I was alone with Nadea.

I had spent the two weeks by her side, waiting for her to wake up from the near death coma. The wound on her stomach healed when I pushed the Earth through her body, into her spine, and forced it into her brain as I had done hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times before.

The change normally caused intense pain, sometimes people who didn’t possess the constitution or the willpower died from the experience. Nadea had already been unconscious from loss of blood, but she should have woken screaming, or died.

Or anything but this cold, dead slumber.

It must be because she was half-Elven. Changing her had felt different. The Earth flowed through her too easily. The magic adhered to her body in ways I did not expect. By the time I realized, it was too late and the changes were made. I remembered Iolarathe telling me something about her people coming from the world. But that should not have mattered. She was still half-human, and changed humans became more powerful than Elvens. Her human side should have benefitted; her Elven side was already strong. Something about her dual parentage had caused an unusual reaction.

I sat back in my chair and sighed. My hand wiped across my face and came away coated in grease. I hadn’t been able to sleep since we escaped the castle and made it to the remnants of Nia’s army. I needed Nadea to wake so I could take her north to her father, and then get Jessmei. Greykin, the duke, and the queen should have reached the small dairy village of Merrium by now.

I hoped they were safe.

Nadea needed me here, Jessmei needed me up north, this entire world needed me to eliminate the Elven threat, and my memories were becoming more and more painful to endure. In the last month I had blacked out several times, having no recollection of what transpired while my brain slept and my body remained awake. My last memory had mingled strangely with my waking consciousness. I remembered making love to Iolarathe and killing Shlara while fading in and out of my current existence in my room at Castle Nia. I had told Iolarathe we would have a child, which was something I could not have known back then. It had not felt like a dream. It had felt as real and present as everything I was experiencing right now.

I longed for the islands of my dreams. The endless, peaceful sky, the sounds of water and nothing. There was no one there to disappoint, no one to save, no one to choose. Just peace and rest and oblivion. I had never forgotten the islands in the nine months that had passed since Nadea and Paug woke me and ripped me from them, but for the past week, I had journeyed to them every time I closed my eyes. As tempting and soothing as they were, I could not let myself go back there. For as much self-loathing as I now possessed, I could not forget that I had somehow come to terms with my betrayal and pursued Iolarathe. I must have found a purpose and drive beyond the genocide of my enemy. I must have met my daughter. I was desperate to remember her.

If I retreated to the islands and left my friends to their fate, I would become the Betrayer of my memories. I could not let my pain and guilt over Shlara change how I acted now when Nadea and Jessmei needed me.

Outside Nadea’s tent, the camp moved with chaotic life. Thousands of voices blended into the sound of water. The sound of wind. The sound of birds.

I leapt through the sky and over acres of tropical green forest and spider webs of rivers. The massive white birds screeched at my intrusion into their air, but I just laughed. They didn’t rule here. I did.

I floated through the sky and decided to land in a small clearing in the middle of the network of streams and thick green trees. As soon as I landed, I easily flung myself into the air again, spinning slowly in a somersault until I floated again at the apex of my leap.

This island was bigger than the others. Streams became rivers and tumbled off the edge with a roar. The blue sky matched Jessmei’s eyes, interrupted by white brush strokes of thinly stretched clouds. A score of birds spiraled down beneath me with a light cry of mockery.

Gravity was not a finite ruler here as it was on the planets where I had lived. It was gentle and slow, and if I decided I wanted to ignore it for a time, I could. I was still tired, and the river beside me was cool and inviting. In a few small bounds I reached it and scooped some of its clear water into my mouth. I splashed my face and shoulders, the icy water was invigorating, I felt its energy seep through my skin.

Then I noticed the ship.

I had seen them before, but only in the distance. I had often tried to jump to them, but never could get any closer. Here my ambition was easily fatigued. I gave up and watched from afar. They were massive sailboats, painted in bright, garish colors that contrasted painfully with the cool, pale blues and greens of the sky and islands. Through the miles separating us I could see the passengers of these vessels. They were attired as radiantly as their ships, in orange, red, or gold. They did not see me.

This particular vessel was a vibrant teal. It bore three masts, with sails the color of the setting sun. Its orange oars looked like a cross between leaves and feathers. They gracefully spun the clouds into frothy swirls.

There was only one passenger on the deck. A woman. Her dark brown hair streamed back from her shoulders like the turquoise flags flapping on the masts above her. She wore a gray dress cut like the lavender one she wore to the banquet a lifetime ago.

“Nadea!” I shouted in joy. I missed her. I bounded quickly into the air and came crashing down on the shore of my island. The ship swam a few miles away, but they were always a few miles away. I yelled her name again and waved to get her attention. I caught her eye and she raised her hand up in a lazy wave. None of the other passengers had ever noticed me before.

I leapt through the sky toward the brightly painted vessel. It looked like a fish, or a multicolored swan with its head tucked into its belly. I yelled Nadea’s name again and tried to get her attention while I floated. From the distance I saw her smile and curl her fingers in a poor attempt at a wave. She didn’t seem as excited to see me as I was to see her, but I was sure as soon as I held her in my arms again she would share my joy.

I landed on another island and sprinted through the clear path for a few steps before I somersaulted through the clouds, bounced off another island, and flew through a squadron of the big white birds that hung overhead. My eyes found the ship and I observed Nadea standing on the deck, but she no longer looked at me. I yelled her name again and forced Air to push my words out to her. She heard my voice but for some reason she didn’t respond.

I ran, I jumped, I pushed as much Earth through my limbs as I could, but the vessel only moved farther away. My joy turned to dread. Where was this ship taking her? She was supposed to be with me. I needed her with me.

“Nadea!” It wasn’t a shout of joy anymore. I screamed her name in a desperate attempt to make her look at me. I was running as fast as I could and jumping as far as I ever had. Frustration hammered into my chest and I didn’t know what else I could do to reach my friend. The ship continued its slow drift away from me and the distant form of Nadea seemed oblivious to my struggle.

“No!” I screamed again and I felt the island quake beneath me as I pulled Earth into my body. Grass died beneath my feet, the hard dirt and clay beneath it turned into dust, and the whole island seemed to crumble underneath me. My scream grew louder until the only sound I heard was the ringing in my ears.

I fell while I screamed. The impact with the ground below startled me and I realized what I had done. The four islands above me were nothing more than a few scraps of falling rock and dusty sand. I somehow destroyed them by withdrawing too much Earth. I had never seen that happen, but I had never used the Elements here.

If I could pull Earth to me that strongly maybe I could also pull Air?

I should have spent more time thinking about the consequences, but the distant dot on the horizon reminded me that Nadea was almost gone. I felt the Air swirl around me. It was a gentle breeze that I latched onto and yanked toward me like I was pulling a blanket tight around my chest.

Entas taught me that all of the Elements could be drawn into our bodies and harnessed like Earth. The Earth was just the easiest to understand and use. Entas always warned me against using Water, but he had never given me a reason. I had gone against his wishes once and almost killed Shlara with it during a sparring match. I had used the same technique to rip the Water from a dragon that was decimating our army, easily destroying a creature that thousands of my warriors could not hurt. The unbridled power it had given me was terrifying and intoxicating at the same time. But I could not hesitate with Nadea at stake.

The Wind pulled to me and entered my body in a way that was very similar to Water. Earth pulsed like a heartbeat and infused slowly. Air was violent initially, but as soon as I absorbed it, the energy quelled to a gentle lull that would turn into a storm when given the tiniest of outlets.

Sand and dirt flew at me. I held my arm up over my eyes and squinted to see through the storm. Trees folded sideways and leaned toward me. Water from a stream two hundred yards away leapt out of its bed and arched in the air before splashing to the ground at my feet.

I needed to pull harder.

In the distance, the islands began to spin toward me, like rafts pulled into a whirlpool. The trees bent and snapped, limbs and leaves hurtled toward me. Rocks and boulders rolled by, some slammed into my body. My skin was ripped open by sand, tree branches and birds caught in my vortex. I was not moved. My bones were broken tens of thousands of times as rocks and trees bashed against me. As each object collided with my body, I ripped the Earth or Water from it and turned them into the smallest particles of the cosmos and used them to heal my body.

The nearest floating island hit mine with an incredible sound. The impact reduced each island to half its former size, sending tons of loose matter into the air. All of it flew toward me. My pull was stronger than gravity.

Another island slammed into my island. Then one from below and one from above crashed into me. I should have died there, crushed between the huge slabs of land, but there was too much power flowing through me. Almost as soon as the massive floating chunks of earth, water, and vegetation touched me, they split into millions of pieces and channeled their energy into my body.

I couldn’t hear anything but the wind, the sound of islands crashing into me like thunderous rain, and the screaming of the Elements in my body.

Or maybe it was me screaming.

I pulled my arm away from my face. My eyes were gouged out by sand and rocks, blurring my vision momentarily before they healed again. I no longer stood on an island. It was now a landmass stretching for endless miles of broken mountains and ruined trees. Nadea’s ship landed a few hundred yards away and dragged itself across the tortured landscape in a desperate struggle to escape me. Nadea clung to life on the rails of the broken teal deck. Soon she would lose her grip and be flung toward me. If I wasn’t careful, I’d instantly kill her and absorb her into me as I had everything else in this dream world.

I stopped pulling Air and the world was enveloped in a sudden silence.

Then it all became lifeless and crashed.

Islands collided. Some continued to float, others struggled to break away from the packed confines of the continent I had created. They ripped free and fell into the abyss at the bottom of my dream.

Nadea’s vessel quivered on the bare rock like a dying whale. Within half a second I covered the small distance to reach her. Her face remained impassive. She should have been happy to see me. Or shocked by the destruction I had wrought.

“Nadea!” I yelled again as I reached down to pull her into my arms. Her body felt as I remembered: lean and toned. Her small breasts pushed into me when I embraced her. She was warm and smelled like weapon oil and sweat. I brushed her thick brown hair back from her face and stared into her eyes. They were dark and textured like fertile soil, yet they looked glassy and dazed. It seemed as if she was distracted by something. Her body hung against mine limply and her beautiful face showed no expression of recognition.

“Nadea?” Her eyes moved to meet mine. My left hand circled her waist and squeezed her body tighter against my chest. My right hand came up to her neck and cradled her head.

“Nadea?” she echoed my question. Her voice was weak and she slumped against me. I cursed and pulled her head back so she would look at me again.

“Do you remember me?” I noticed she had a small brass key on a leather tie around her neck. The hilt was decorated with a tiny engraved mountain range.

“Kaiyer?” She looked at my face and her lips turned up into a slight smile.

“Yes. Do you remember?”

“Kaiyer.” Her eyes seemed to focus on mine and I saw a spark of recognition.

I woke to her whisper and sat up in my chair in her tent. Sun streamed through the flap in the canvas, the air inside was warm and close. It was midday, which meant I had been asleep for three or four hours. My fatigue had faded. In fact, I could only recall feeling this invigorated once before, when I had drained the Water from the dragon.

“Kaiyer.”

The whisper was so faint, it had to be a remnant from my dream. My brain sought to work through the frustration I felt over my inability to save Nadea.

“Kaiyer.” This time it originated from her comatose form lying next to me.

“I’m here, Nadea.” I almost kicked my chair across the tent in my rush to her side. My hand fished through the blanket that covered her until I found her fingers.

“Am I dead?” her voice was scratchy and pained.

“No. You are alive!” My brain tumbled through a thousand words in my non-native language as my mouth searched for the right ones to express my joy. Then I remembered that she would need me to guide her through the next few days.

“Not so loud.” Her face winced in pain.

“Do not open your eyes,” I said softly and rushed over to the table of medical supplies and grabbed some of the spare towels stored there. I unfolded one and laid it across her brow before taking her hand again.

“Where am I? I feel,” she paused and took a deep breath through her mouth. “I feel and hear too many things. My mind,” she sobbed and her body started to shake. I squeezed her hand again and she overcame the seizure before I continued speaking.

“I am going to guide you through this. Do exactly as I say, or you will be in terrible pain. Understand?”

“Yes. How are you alive?” she croaked out. She turned her head toward my voice.

“We will talk about that later. Take shallow breaths through your nose until I tell you to stop. I will tell you to inhale and exhale. Inhale now.”

Nadea obeyed me and took a deep breath through her nose.

“Too much air. Breathe shallowly through your nose. Exhale slowly through your mouth.” She exhaled through her nose and I counted to fifteen.

“Inhale.” She did and I counted to another fifteen.

“Exhale.”

We repeated this for a half of an hour until I could tell her body relaxed and her mind was more at ease.

“Continue the pace of breathing I have given you. I will no longer tell you to inhale or exhale.” She said nothing but her breathing continued. I waited a few more minutes before I spoke again.

Now we will focus on your hearing. You are hearing everything and it is overwhelming your mind. There are only three things you need to listen to right now: the sound of my voice, the beating of my heart, and the beating of your own heart.”

I waited and watched her concentrate on this until her jaw relaxed. Her breathing remained steady and slow.

“Now you will only hear the beating of your own heart,” I said in a soft whisper. Entas had helped me develop this method initially and Malek had tweaked it to perfection. It was still a painful, trying process, but it was a thousand-fold improvement over what the Elvens had done to their changed humans. They had just locked us into robust cells and waited. After a few weeks of hell, a quarter of us had survived with our sanity, the rest were exterminated.

“Listen to your heart beating. You will also hear the sound of the Earth. You are pulling it into you with every beat of your heart. The Earth bears you no hatred. It simply wants to exist through you. It wants to give you power. Just allow it. Let it grow stronger through you.” I kept my voice calm, soothing, and soft. Entas had told me that presenting the Earth to someone in this way would push the knowledge into the primal part of their brain. The same part that controlled our urges of lust, hatred, love, and survival.

“Now, soften the beating of the Earth,” I said after a few minutes passed. I felt the power surge through her body and into my scarred left hand holding hers. I felt the Earth leave her almost instantly.

“Good. Now, make it beat stronger and louder again. Match its tempo to your own heart.” I could hear her heartbeat and feel the power pulse through her.

“It is your blood now, coursing through your body, feeding your muscles, increasing the acuity of your senses, making your brain work faster. It was doing this before, but now that you know it is there, you can silence it.” My droning voice continued in its gentle tempo.

“Focus it now through your ears. Listen to my heart again. Ignore all other sounds.” I waited until her heartbeat matched the tempo of my own. It was an unconscious effect of tuning the Earth to the sound of someone else’s heartbeat.

“Listen to the sounds outside the tent. There are thousands of voices and noises. It is overwhelming to attempt to discern each one. Choose one voice and follow it. Then, focus on that person’s heartbeat and breath.” I waited. She nodded slightly and I told her to practice the same technique on a different person.

“Bring your hearing back to this room. It will take some time to perfect your ears. Just continue practicing as I have shown you. Try not to get frustrated if it takes some time. That is normal.” Nadea was used to excelling at everything she attempted. I worried she would not have the patience to master this and grow angry when it did not happen immediately.

“I am going to remove the cloth from your face now. Do not open your eyes until I instruct you to do so.” I released her hand and gently pulled the towel from her face. I went to the tent flap and poked my head out.

“No one is to enter. Not even Runir or Gerald. Understand?” The two guardswomen nodded and I returned to my spot next to Nadea. I grasped her hand again and she squeezed hard enough to almost break it.

“Reduce the Earth flowing through you,” I commanded. She took fifteen seconds to get it under control.

“Slowly open your eyes. Look at the apex of your tent, not at me. Keep the Earth silent in your body.” Her lashes parted half a second before her eyelids opened. Her pupils were huge, dilated so far that only a thin sliver of brown iris was visible. I watched her pupils shrink and expand as she focused on the ceiling of her tent.

“Focus on each thread in the cloth. Think about what you want to see and then slowly allow the Earth to come back and beat with your heart.” The Earth was remaking her eyes so she could see like a hunting falcon.

“Don’t think too much about your vision, just think about what you want to see and the Earth will do the rest. Close your eyes.” She complied and I almost wished I had not asked her to. I wanted to look into her eyes again. I had missed her.

“As you inhale, pay careful attention to the scents in the tent. A candle on the dresser behind you is half burned. As you focus the Earth through your body, you will smell its wax, the burned wick, even the lingering smoke, though it hasn’t been lit today.”

“You smell wonderful,” she whispered. “I missed you so much.” It sounded like her throat was made of broken glass.

“Don’t speak. I missed you as well, Nadea.” I took a deep breath and sighed. “We are almost done. You are doing well.” I squeezed her hand again and she returned the clasp.

I spent the next half hour running her through basic Earth exercises. Her senses became tuned to the power and I taught her the basics of how to push the Elements through her body. She had much more to learn, but now she would not be driven insane from the overstimulation of her newly heightened senses.

“I’m going to get you some water. Then we can talk.” I found the guard. Normally attendants came to check on us every few hours but I had lost track of time since I had awoken from my dream.

“I need an abundant amount of water and food,” I told the guards at the door. One nodded and ran into the camp with urgency. I guessed they knew that Nadea had awoken. They probably heard us talking through the thin canvas.

“Do not let anyone else in but the food and water. Announce when it is here,” I reminded the woman standing guard.

“Yes, sir.” She saluted. “No one will enter.”

“Kaiyer,” Nadea’s voice called me and I moved back to her side.

“Continue your breathing. When food and water get here we can talk.”

“Okay.” Her voice was a rasp. “Is my father here?”

“I need you to concentrate on this. No more talking until you drink and eat.” I smiled at her question and thought about how happy she would be when I told her of Beltor.

I listened to Nadea’s breathing continue for ten minutes. Then a sound of rattling utensils and plates pulled me to the entrance of the tent. I made my way there and grabbed the plates of food and water jugs from the guard without a word. Then I returned to my friend’s side and helped her sit up in the bed.

“Drink,” I commanded after I handed her a wooden cup filled with water. She did as I asked while I uncovered the rest of the food. It was eggs, venison, and steamed cabbage. Nadea took a plate from me and dug into the food without speaking. I sat back in my chair, took a few mouthfuls of the eggs, and then swallowed some water before I spoke again.

“What is the last moment you remember?” I started. Nadea didn’t look Elven, but she definitely wasn’t human. The most disturbing thing about changing her had not been this realization, it was that she had not seemed to experience any pain.

She put her fork down and looked at me. Her dark hair was a wonderful mess of sleepy tangles, but her eyes met mine and seemed to reflect what little light danced into the tent. The gray blanket had fallen around her waist when she sat up, but Gerald had changed her out of the servant’s clothes I had originally found her wearing. Now she wore the simple brown garments of the soldiers in her camp.

She closed her eyes and took a long breath. “Nanos. He stabbed me with the knife I wanted to kill him with. Did I kill him?”

“He is still alive.”

“You were there! I thought you had died. How did … how are you here? How am I here?”

“We can get into the details tomorrow after you rest.”

“Last I saw you, we were in your bathroom.” She smiled at me and then covered up her lips with the cup of water.

“We were in the hallways of the castle and I ran after an Elven into the city. It was foolish of me; I should have realized that it was a trap.” Her eyes widened. “They ambushed me in the thick of the streets. I managed to get away and kill most of them. Just as I was about to return to the castle, I heard horses racing out of the west gate. I saw three Elvens on horseback. One of the Elvens was carrying Jessmei.”

“Nanos betrayed us to the empress,” she said as she set down her cup. Her mouth made a hard line.

“I didn’t have time to come back, I just set off after them. Jessmei is safe. She is in Merrium, a small dairy village about a week’s ride north of us.”

“Jessmei is alive?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Greykin and your father should be there, along with the queen. Runir sent a few dozen men north to get them.”

“My father is alive?” Her face cracked and tears streamed from her eyes. I got up from my chair to touch her but she met me halfway, scattering our plates of food across the floor of the tent. My arms circled her shoulders and hers came around my chest. She buried her face in my tunic.

“At Merrium we learned of Nia being sacked. The news was grim, but I didn’t want to believe it. I set off on my own and got back to the castle.” I continued my story when her sobs seemed to ebb, “I found Greykin in a tavern on the south side of the city and we exchanged tales. He intended to travel through the sewers and make his way through the dungeon of the castle. He had a small group of men and planned on saving whomever he could from the royal family.”

“I am glad he is alive. Last time I saw him he was defending Paug and I from half a dozen Losher soldiers.” Nadea pulled her face away from my shoulder and looked into my eyes with a faint smile.

“We got separated under the dungeons and they ended up making it there before me. I put on servant’s clothes and was going to get my feeling for the workings of the castle, but then I met your father. He had taken over as one of the managers.” Nadea laughed and hugged me again.

“That is just like him. Genius.” The sensation of her body laughing against mine made my head spin.

“Beltor’s men found Greykin’s and the three of us discussed what to do next. He had heard no news of your death, so he imagined that you were somewhere in the castle. He knew that Nanos was being kept as a prisoner, but he did not know that the prince had betrayed us.”

“Fucking asshole. After this I am going to rip each of his rib bones out one at a time,” Nadea seethed.

“We’ll discuss that tomorrow.” She was getting agitated and I wanted her to relax. I did not want to tell her that I was the reason Nanos was alive and well inside the castle. I had not wanted to waste time on him when she needed me to save her life.

“Your father left a note for Nanos and had it delivered with his food. There were instructions to meet in the West Wing’s garden about your whereabouts.” Her eyes flashed dangerously and I smiled. “Nanos came to the meeting place but the leader of the Elvens found him and then questioned him about the note.”

“The Elven leader threatened Nanos, I couldn’t hear what he said. Then he left. We caught up with Nanos before he made it back to the castle and told him what we were planning. We had no idea he had betrayed the kingdom.”

“He’s done worse than that.” Her voice tore like she wanted to scream.

“What did he do?” I asked. Runir said that Nadea had been imprisoned by Nanos and the Elvens. He told me that the prince gave us up to the empress, but had he done something worse to Nadea? I felt my blood begin to boil as I imagined the annoying blonde man raping her.

“Finish. Please.” She gritted her teeth and let out a deep breath. I searched her eyes for some hidden message but all I saw was anger.

“Nanos explained that you were in the dungeons. He said he would create a distraction out in the city and then help us free you. Afterward, we planned to leave with the queen and him.”

“Fucking cock sucking piece of shit bastard,” she muttered under her breath.

“We met with him and you can probably guess what happened.” Nadea nodded and frowned.

“I made a deal with the Elvens. They said they really didn’t care about keeping your father, Greykin, or the queen, but they needed you and Nanos here. They wouldn’t show you to me, but they said if I agreed to stay as their prisoner they would keep you alive.” I smirked with Nadea’s chuckle.

“Runir had already broken me out of the dungeon. They had no idea where I was. They played you.” She shook her head in dismay.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt. Their leader’s name is Alatorict and I thought him more of a fool than he is.”

“I understand.” She gave me a faint smile and sniffed a little. “Sorry to interrupt this, but you really do smell amazing. Like wood smoke, lavender, and jasmine.” She inhaled again.

“It is just the Earth playing with your senses.” She frowned again and I could feel her try to reduce the amount of power she pulled.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Please continue,” she said.

“Alatorict threatened to kill you if I didn’t remain locked up in my room. They had guards that left every half hour to report on my obedience. I should have—”

“Wait. You were in your old room?” Nadea interrupted me.

“Yes.”

“Fuck. She was taking me to have dinner with you!” Nadea put her face in her hands and moaned in disappointment.

“Runir told me that Isslata came to get you. I had made a side deal with her and she agreed to let you go if I would make sure that she was in the meetings I would have with the empress.”

“I despise that bitch,” she said with vehemence that seemed more passionate than her loathing of Nanos and I guessed why. Runir hadn’t wanted to give me the details but I pulled enough out of him to guess that Isslata tried to have some sort of twisted fun with Nadea before she was brought to me. I decided to change the subject quickly before my friend lost control of her new powers. Or asked about my relationship with Isslata.

“I’ve been remembering more,” I said. Nadea’s eyes instantly moved back to my face. “I’ve been keeping things from you, but if you want to know, I will tell you everything I remember.”

“I want to know everything about you.” Her hand reached up to my face and her fingertips traced my cheekbone.

“I don’t understand everything yet. But I will tell you what I know. Most of it isn’t pleasant.”

“I don’t care.” Nadea pulled herself to me again and sighed in comfort. Eventually I would have to tell her about Iolarathe, about Shlara, about Jessmei, and about Isslata. But not now. At this moment I just wanted to be close to her.

“I had a memory that was painful and I became angry. I think I destroyed the East Wing of the castle.” The dream of making love to Iolarathe and then killing Shlara flashed through my mind. I had woken up in the ruins of my room and sat at the apex of the destruction. I did not remember it, but I knew I had caused the explosion that left part of the castle in ruins.

“That woman took me up the stairs to your floor,” Nadea whispered against my chest. “Then I was lying on my back, there was dust everywhere, I couldn’t hear and I felt like I was going to die.”

“When I awoke, I knew that I had to find you. I heard your heart beating as you ran away.”

“I knew Nanos would be in the Safe Room. I had to avenge the king and Paug before I died, and since I knew the combinations—“

“What?” I pulled her away from me and stared at her face. I realized my mouth was open and closed it with a hollow clank. “What did Nanos do to his father and Paug?” I demanded. Her eyes opened in shock.

“I thought Runir would have told you.” She gauged my reaction and quickly continued. “Paug tripped while we were fleeing the Loshers, I tried to help him up, but Greykin threw himself at the men. When Paug and I got to the door of the Safe Room, Nanos was standing over his father’s body with a bloody sword. Paug grabbed the king’s blade and tried to defend me. I was too slow and the Losher men caught up to us. Nanos ran Paug through the stomach. He died on the ground next to the king.”

The edges of my vision turned a dark red. I heard my heart thunder in my chest. I tasted blood in my mouth and I didn’t care that I was biting my tongue.

“He’ll pay for what he has done. I’m glad you left him alive. We can have a trial and execute him under the law.” Nadea put her hand on my shoulder and ran her fingertips up to my jaw.

It didn’t make me feel any better.

“Nanos isn’t here,” I sighed.

“What?” She almost screamed in surprise

“You were hurt and I used magic to change you. I didn’t have time to deal with him and I hadn’t realized he killed his father and Paug. I left him in the castle and I fled with you, Runir, your guards, and Greykin’s men.” My heart filled with sadness. Paug was just a boy, no swordsman or warrior. He had been butchered trying to avenge his king and save his friend.

“Shit!” Nadea gasped. “Fuck.” Her hands moved away from me and covered her face, hiding her tears.

“I didn’t know.” There was a lump in my throat. Fuck me; I should have guessed what a snake Nanos was. He betrayed more than his kingdom. I should have killed him when I had the chance.

I’m sorry Paug.

“You couldn’t have known, Kaiyer,” Nadea said after she recovered from the news.

I heard several booted feet approach the tent in unison. Nadea and I looked at each other and she mouthed the name of her blonde friend.

“You cannot enter, sir. Kaiyer left instructions,” the guard said with little authority in her voice. I gave her credit for speaking against him. She didn’t report to me; she reported to Nadea or Runir.

“Move aside!” Runir commanded before he stepped into the tent. “You’re awake!” Runir’s smile filled his face. Four other men followed him into the tent. I knew they were Nadea’s generals, but I not yet interacted with them.

“And you haven’t washed the hair dye out yet?” Nadea said with a smirk before she opened her arms to hug the handsome man.

“When did you awake?” he asked after they parted.

“A few hours ago,” I answered.

“You did not summon me?” He glared at me.

“We had to speak privately,” Nadea answered for me.

Nadea looked to her generals and was about to greet them, but Runir interrupted her.

“I have other news.” His face lost the pleasant smile Nadea’s awakening had given him. He looked to me before he spoke again. “The empress has moved south with her army. They are a week away from the castle, between us and Merrium.”

“Shit,” Nadea and I said in unison.

“The men I sent returned without trying to work around the army. They felt it would have been too risky, and I agree,” Runir continued.

“Is it possible that they didn’t even see the village?” I asked. Merrium was a few miles off of the major road that led north out of Nia.

“I doubt it.” He shook his head. “It looks like she has over twenty thousand soldiers. They would have discovered the village. They have probably captured Jessmei, Greykin, the queen, and your father.” Runir glanced to Nadea.

“We don’t know that for sure,” she tried to sound hopeful, but I saw the fear on her face. Runir nodded and smiled but they both looked to me to see if I agreed.

Hope was a valuable commodity.

“I know how to find out.”

“How?” Nadea asked.

“I know where the village is, and I can slip through the empress’s lines undetected. I’ve had to outmaneuver their enemies many times.”

“No. It is too risky.” Nadea’s face grew angry.

“You’ve said that before.” I smiled at her. “But I am going to go with or without your permission.”

“You’ve said that before, and the answer was still no.” Nadea’s lips drew a hard line that matched her voice. “I need you here with me.” She seemed to realize that Runir and her generals were in the tent and her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

“Julliar, Weatan, Corvan, and Yabar can you excuse us?” Nadea asked the four generals. “I’ll be prepared for our meeting tomorrow morning.” The men nodded and left. Weatan was the oldest of the generals, and the last to leave, he gave me a grateful nod as he walked past me.

“Jessmei, Greykin, and your father need me as well. I had this same conversation with Jess before I left Merrium to come to Nia,” I said as soon as the men exited. The three of us sat in silence for a few minutes. I could see Nadea trying to puzzle out a way to keep me here, but her delay only increased the tension between the three of us.

I expected her to tell Runir to leave, but she didn’t. Perhaps she didn’t want to be alone with me, or maybe she didn’t want the man to know that she wanted to be alone with me. Finally, I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for her to think of more reasons for me to stay.

“I’ll leave in the morning. What I’ve taught you today about the Earth should be enough for you to work on for a few weeks while I try to find them.” I nodded to Runir and he returned the movement. Relief was plain on his face.

“Wait,” Nadea said as I stepped out of the tent. I didn’t want to turn back to her, but I did.

“Do not ask me to stay. I will say yes.”

Her eyes began to tear up and I could not stand it anymore.

I closed the tent flap and swam through the throngs of troops toward the quartermaster’s pavilion. It was after lunch and I still had a few hours to get supplies together before nightfall.

I knew going to Nia would be difficult. One did not simply walk into a conquered city, find the remnants of an overthrown ruling family, and rescue them without any confrontation.

This mission seemed simpler. Circumnavigate an army, determine if Merrium had been sacked, and then return with either news of the royal family or them in tow. There would be no need to interact with the Elvens, beyond butchering any that got in my way.

Or so I hoped.

Chapter 3-Jessmei

I paused for a moment and leaned against one of the many ancient trees that surrounded me. Its bark was soft, brown, and slightly abrasive. Kaiyer had told me the names of these trees a few times. Were they maple? Pine? I knew they weren’t oak, as oak trees dotted the hills around my home, and these looked different. They were straight and upright, dressed with needles that stayed green round the year.

I heard movement behind me and I spun toward the small shrubs that caused the rustle. I didn’t think anyone had followed me, but I had no way of preventing it if someone wished to do so. The noise grew louder and a large gray rabbit bounced out of the bushes, eyed me suspiciously, and softly bounded off to my left.

I sighed and relaxed against the rough bark of the tree. It was mid-morning and my time to be with Kaiyer. I suspected that Greta knew that I came out here to mourn. The older woman gave me a look of pity every time I finished helping her with the breakfast dishes and told her I wanted to take a walk through the trees. She seemed to understand my loss and need to be alone. She never questioned where I went or what I did when I reached my destination. Perhaps that was the way of our sex.

Tira and Jiure were a different story. Tira latched on to me as if I was the sister that she never had. When she wasn’t helping Jiure heard the cattle, or her father Rayat milk, she followed me around like a puppy and asked me hundreds of questions about life in the city. The questions sometimes hit too close to a sensitive topic and I tried to do my best to answer them without revealing my identity. Greta may have guessed that I was someone of importance, as she often told Tira to stop bothering me.

I doubted that any of them could fathom the truth.

Thankfully, Jiure spent little time around the house. He was younger than I, but looked at me the way most men did. I was used to it. Even in Nia, men and boys had been looking at me with lust for years. Whether hidden beneath the elaborate veneer of manners and breeding as with the nobles of the capital, or raw and unchecked as it was with the men of the village, the look was the same. The look was hungry and my mother had taught me that it was my duty as a lady to ignore it and keep it in check with modesty and virtue.

I would have thought that the presence of Kaiyer would have struck some fear into Jiure, or at least a sort of respect for a woman that he knew to be joined. But alas, his stares seemed to have gotten more lecherous since Kaiyer had been away. Yesterday evening, he asked me if I ever thought of re-marrying, since my beloved had not returned to claim me. Rayat yelled at his son for a good ten minutes, but he couldn’t really punish him. His family was probably the wealthiest in the small town, but there was still too much work to do, and he could ill afford an incapacitated son, nor another mouth to feed.

I listened again for any movement and heard nothing. My destination was only a mile from the tree line that opened to the range of fields where the cattle grazed. Then it was another half mile through the grass to the house we all shared. They would expect me back soon, so I set off deeper into the forest.

I had tried to help them with some of the farm chores, but it quickly became obvious that I was more suited to occupations that did not actually involve hard labor. I thought I could help Greta with knitting and sewing, as I had spent countless hours embroidering with my handmaidens and was adept at weaving, but the rough repair work Greta did to keep the family’s clothes and equipment in working order was vastly different than the decorative stitches I knew. Everything I had ever learned was simply a frivolity to occupy the time of someone who did not need to work. Perhaps the men were right in the way they looked at me. I only seemed to exist for one purpose, whether I was a princess or a girl on a farm.

I cleaned up dishes after meals though. This gave Greta some relief during the day and helped me feel as if I contributed something, however small. I sighed and smiled slightly as I continued my walk. My hands were rough from the work. The lye soap was harsh and my skin was red and peeling, my fingernails were worn down. These were no longer the hands of a lady. My mother had scolded me as a child for forgetting to wear gloves outside. If she could see me scrubbing plates for a family of peasants, she would be beside herself with horror. I didn’t like my mother. Therefore, I loved washing dishes.

I tried to push the angry blonde woman and soapy tub of water out of my thoughts with a frown. Mother definitely would not approve of any of the novel activities I’d participated in during the last few months. Especially the love that I shared with Kaiyer. She and my brother were of similar mindset and demeanor on most topics, especially him.

I breathed deeply and enjoyed the scent of the needles, wet dirt, and moss. I was getting close to my destination and my footsteps grew quicker with excitement. My hand brushed up against the trunk of a large tree that guarded the entrance. Its bark felt rough but it was soft beneath and gave slightly as I pushed on it with my hand to steady myself as I passed. It reminded me of his face and hair but it didn’t comfort me.

Then I reached our glade.

It was a small clearing, only a quarter of the size of the Royal Garden. A spring twisted through the meadow, bubbling over slick moss covered rocks and splitting the tall grass of the field in an embarrassed grin. The grass was as green as Kaiyer’s eyes and as soft as his kisses. He had discovered the spot while hunting and brought me to it. We had escaped here for a few hours every day. We spent our time speaking freely, unburdened by the fear that the villagers would discover us. And we made love. It was furtive and desperate, we were clinging to each other with the knowledge that we were running out of time. For me it had always felt this way. As much as I loved the idea, a part of me knew I could never be with Kaiyer if we returned to Nia. If I went back, I would forfeit any freedom to make a choice. But Kaiyer had been unaware of our customs and dismissive of my fears about our relationship. He was not anxious or scared of losing me, until we reached Merrium. Once he knew he had to return, his lovemaking matched mine. We knew each time was one of our last and we cherished each other. I knew he did not want to leave me, but we both knew that he had to. As much as I wanted and needed him to stay, I would have lost some respect for him if he had. I could not love a coward.

I slipped off my leather shoes and walked barefoot across the grass until it turned into smooth moss and rocks by the chiming creek. I carefully sat down and dangled my toes into the frigid water. He should have returned by now. It had been two months since he left. He promised that he would return soon with whatever news could be found in Nia’s capital. Was he dead? Captured? On his way back to me?

“Grandmother.” I sat up and spoke my prayer out loud. “Please keep Kaiyer safe. Bring him back to me alive. Please let him find my brother and mother. Please bless their safe escape.” My father’s mother always spoiled me when I was a little girl. When the fever took her I prayed to her Spirit for guidance and protection.

A slight breeze picked up and a marvelous blue jay fluttered to the ground next to me. The bird looked at me with a tilted head, chirped loudly, and then dunked his blue body into the water of the creek to refresh himself. Blue was my favorite color and the jays were my favorite bird. It was a sign.

“Thank you for hearing me!” I smiled at the bird before it took to the air again with a startled squawk.

I stared at the stream and let my mind wander back to Kaiyer again. After a few minutes I realized I was rubbing my stomach. I had asked my grandmother for other blessings as well, but the blue jay was the first sign that she heard me. Perhaps it was for the best.

At first, I had been apprehensive about bearing Kaiyer’s child. I knew how distressed my father and mother would be. They had both been planning to leverage my joining to another kingdom in an effort to solidify our treaties. This would ruin their plans and bring my family dishonor. I knew this, I knew how important my maidenhood was, but I couldn’t stop myself from desiring the strange man once I beheld his sleeping body on the stone table in the crypt Nadea found.

He had no idea that technically, we were joined. The marriage ceremony required that the bride and groom drink from the same cup. Kaiyer offered his cup to me at the inn in Brilla before the men tried to kill us. It was not exactly legitimate, but if necessary, I could position our child’s conception to have taken place within the boundaries of a makeshift marriage.

My handmaidens spoke of sex often. They told me how good it felt, but they had not done it justice. Perhaps Kaiyer was just incredibly skilled. The fear of explaining a child to my parents was easily overshadowed by the pleasure he gave me.

He had been neither concerned nor excited when I told him I might be expecting. He had just smiled at me and asked me if it was what I wanted. It bothered me that he was so indifferent. He treated the entire conversation with the same nonchalance as he would have toward a discussion on whether we should have porridge or fruit for breakfast. I was too timid to express my feelings or push him for a stronger show of emotion. It hurt to see how little he seemed to care, but I could not let him know how desperately I wanted a child with him. I consoled myself with the thought that he would grow to love a baby if we conceived one. Abstract concepts were often difficult for men to get emotional over the way women could. But I knew he loved me and I knew he would love our child. I just wanted him with me for the rest of my life. When I had my moon flow, we didn’t speak of it again, but I continued to dream of the beautiful baby that could have solidified our love.

I thought about the last time we made love. We came back to our glade and spent our last few hours with our Spirits entwined, our lips feasting on each other, and his body filling mine. Memories were always flawed. The day after he left, I remembered every kiss he gave me in perfect, beautiful detail. A week after, I could only remember the few positions we enjoyed and what it had felt like for him to fill me. Now that two months had passed, I could only clearly remember what it felt like to lie in his arms after we made love. Everything else was a blur of passion and warmth.

My family was dead. My home was gone. The only two things that mattered were Kaiyer’s seed finding a fertile womb, and him returning to me. After that, we would build a life together. A life away from the Ancients, the death of my family, the crumbling of my old life. Our new life would be sweet and wonderful.

I smiled at the sky. Unlike me, my lover had been amazingly adept at the various chores around the dairy farm. Rayat often commented that having Kaiyer helping with the work was like having a team of twenty men. During our first full day here he cut enough wood for the rest of the winter from a fallen tree in the outskirts of the forest and hauled it back to the farmhouse. Then he repaired the roof of the barn, killed two deer, and harvested several baskets full of wild mushrooms, greens, and berries. In our new life together he would have no problem providing for our children. I’d just have to do my part and learn how to maintain the farmhouse.

“Jess?”

I opened my eyes and sat up with a cry. I must have fallen asleep.

“It’s okay. It is only me.” A large hand held onto my left shoulder. Jiure.

“You scared me!” My heart beat quickly and it didn’t seem to want to calm.

“Sorry. You looked so peaceful sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you.” He smiled and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

“How did you find me?” I looked up at the sky and noticed the color of the sun. Kaiyer taught me how to read the position and it had probably been a few hours since I fell asleep.

“I followed you. I wondered where you went every day.” His mouth broke into a smile that did not bring me any happiness. I returned the smile though. It was never good manners to be rude to someone, even if they had been rude to you. Or so my grandmother taught me.

“We should be getting back.” I stood up and tried not to sound annoyed. Jiure’s presence made me uncomfortable here.

“No. Let’s spend some time here together. This is quite a charming spot you have found. I never explored the forest much. How did you find this place?” He tugged lightly on my arm in an effort to get me to sit down next to him.

“My husband found it while he hunted. We should return. Your mother will wonder where I am, and your father and sister will need your help.” The lie about Kaiyer came so easily to my lips. Grandmother had sent me a sign. Soon he would come back to me and we could make it true.

“They won’t worry. My chores are done for the day and you aren’t very useful around the house anyway.” I looked down at him to see if he was joking, but his face had lost its ugly smile. “My parents are nice people and took you and your husband in. But we’ve had to work harder to feed you, and there hasn’t been any sort of payment. You may not see it, but it burdens them.” He frowned.

“We gave you two horses, some gold, and my husband helped with many chores around the farm. We hold no debt to your parents.” I shook my arm lightly and looked at his hand. I didn’t want to tell him to let me go, I assumed the look would indicate my wishes.

“Maybe you have trued up with my parents. But you haven’t settled with me. I have had to do extra work because of you. If a man works to feed and take care of a woman, she normally pays him back in some way.” He didn’t let go of my arm, if anything his grip tightened.

“I don’t have any more gold, Jiure. When my husband returns he will bring some.” A cold nausea crept into my stomach.

“Your husband is not coming back. He probably left you here because you are so useless as a wife.” The man got up but still held onto my arm. He stood as tall as Kaiyer and must have weighed more than two of me put together. Working with cattle and eating well added a lot of muscle to someone’s frame. Jiure was almost a mountain standing over me. “But there is one thing I’m sure you are useful for. I’ve seen the looks you’ve been giving me at dinner. You want this as much as I do.”

“I love my husband. I haven’t been giving you looks.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” His grip tightened on my arm painfully and spittle flew out of his horrid mouth. His breath was rank and his hand on my arm was sweaty and rough.

“You’re hurting me, Jiure. Let me go.” My voice cracked and tears came to my eyes. I was paralyzed. This was happening so fast. I was a fool and should have realized what he intended when he found me here.

He grabbed my shoulder with his other hand and pulled me toward him. I moved my face out of the way of his kiss but I still felt his slimy tongue lap at the corner of my mouth and my cheek. My stomach flipped as if I was falling.

“No! Stop!” I tried to scream, but it came out as a whimper. I struggled against his grip but I was suddenly on the ground. Jiure’s left hand clamped down on my right shoulder and pushed me into the soft moss where Kaiyer and I had spent countless hours together. His right hand tried to force my legs open so he might kneel between them. My legs came to life and I was able to kick and twist them out of his way.

“Stop squirming, bitch!” he yelled down at me. My world spun when he struck me across the face. Everything went black when he hit me again. I tasted blood and tried to scream, but I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs.

Kaiyer. I need you.

“You asked for this. Don’t forget.” He forced my legs open and I felt him pushing up my dress toward my hips. I tried to close my legs again, but his knees were in between them. Then I tried to scoot away, but his grip on my shoulder was too strong. I tried to scream, but nothing came out except for a muffled cry.

He reached down and pulled at my undergarments. My legs were spread around his knees so they wouldn’t come off easily. I tried to push him away but it was pointless. He just ignored my hands and tugged hard at the thin material, ripping it away with a sickening tear and exposing my entrance to him.

Even when the Ancients had captured me, I had not felt fear like this. I was sure I would be tortured, maybe even raped, but it seemed like such a distant possibility when our destination lay many weeks’ travel to the north. I had a slim hope that because they were using me for political leverage they would need to keep me relatively unharmed, and they had. Aside from being cold and hungry I was not hurt in any way. And I had hope that Kaiyer would come for me, and he did. Just like the stories of the princess being saved by her champion.

This was different. This was much worse. No one else was going to save me. I should have known Jiure was going to do this. Now there was nothing I could do, he would violate me unless I figured out how to escape. I just didn’t want him to hit me again. It hurt so badly and I couldn’t stand the pain. I looked around the glade, there was no way anyone would hear me from this distant, sheltered spot, even if I could call out without him striking me again. I did not carry a weapon and I cursed myself for being so naïve as to think I did not need one. I looked nearby for something within arm’s reach I could use to stun him long enough so I could run away. I could run. I was smaller than Jiure and nowhere near as strong, but I could be faster. I had to be. My head hurt, but I was conscious and otherwise uninjured. If I could get him off of me long enough to rise, I would run. I felt around me with my free hand for a loose rock or a stick, anything to use as a weapon against this beast. My fingers grasped nothing but the soft wet moss.

Jiure fumbled with his belt ties with his right hand while he held me down with his left. His face was frantic with excitement, lust, and rage. My stomach knotted in terror, driving the air in and out of my body in a painful screech. He let go of my shoulder and kneeled upright a little more so both of his hands could access his belt.

“Don’t move. If you fight, it will just hurt more.” His hands moved quickly and he unfastened his belt before he got the words out of his ugly mouth. Then he set about untying the leather chords over his crotch. His fingers were thick and shaking, it would take him a few more seconds to get it undone.

I screamed as loud as I could as I pulled my knees to my chest. Then I kicked him in the groin and toppled him backward. He yelped in surprise, but I had already made it to my feet and set off running away from him. If I could get over the creek and into the forest, I could outrun him, I could escape. I would escape.

I made it two steps before I felt his hand close around my ankle. I slipped on the smooth moss, fell forward into the creek, and inhaled a mouthful of the spring water. His hand yanked on my ankle again, dragging me out of the water. I sputtered and gagged.

And cried.

And prayed to my grandmother.

And begged Kaiyer to come. To save me like he had before.

“Bitch. Stop it!” He smacked me again and I screamed in pain. Then I lost all my air when he punched me in the stomach. The pain numbed me everywhere.

“I’ll fuck you from behind like a horse if you don’t lie still.” I hated his voice.

He yanked the front of my dress to get me on my back. It ripped open and exposed my breasts. The sight of them distracted him for a moment and he grabbed at them hungrily instead of trying to force my legs apart. I could not feel him touching me anymore. It was as if I was in someone else’s body, watching this happen. It was not me. Someone else was being groped by this beast. Someone else was about to be raped.

“Damn you’re beautiful. I’m going to enjoy this.” He rubbed my breasts roughly for a few more moments and then yanked my thigh to force me open. “Maybe you’ll give me a baby. Eh? Then you’ll be mine forever.” He sneered and he grabbed onto his erection with his right hand, it wasn’t hard yet, but it started to become stiffer with his quick strokes.

He punched me in the stomach.

The thought hit me harder than the actual blow.

My pain was replaced by anger. Kaiyer wasn’t going to save me. He was not here. My grandmother wasn’t going to save me. She was dead. My father was dead. My mother was dead. As was my brother, Nadea, Greykin. They were all gone. All I had was the gift Kaiyer gave me. I had to protect our baby.

My right hand closed around a large, heavy river rock. Nadea, Runir, and even Nanos had offered to teach me basic martial arts, but I had never been interested. Violence bored me, and Greykin was always there to protect me. My attack with the rock must have been slow, awkward, and easy to dodge. But Jiure was no warrior. He was slow, lumbering and distracted by his penis. He was not expecting it. The rock hit him in the teeth with the staccato cracking sound of ice breaking.

“Mwarrhhhhh!” he screamed and fell. I was up and at the tree line of the glade before I glanced back over my shoulder to see him getting to his feet. Blood poured between the fingers that covered his mouth. He looked at me with hatred, but I disappeared into the forest before I saw if he followed me.

Just a few hours ago this trail had comforted me. Now every branch seemed to tear at my face, every rock caused me to stumble. It had been a dozen years since I ran through the castle chasing Nadea, Runir, and Nanos. Then I didn’t have breasts, I was not wearing a tattered dress, and I never forgot my shoes next to a creek. I clutched my stomach where Jiure had punched me. It was tender and bruised.

I screamed as I stepped on a thorn and felt it cut through my right foot. I took a few steps on it and cried through the pain. The barb forced me to stop, lean against a tree, and dig through the blood on the bottom of my soft feet. After what seemed like an eternity, I found the thorn and pulled it out without screaming again. Then I continued to run through the forest toward the farm house. Each step spread my blood upon the dirt and drove pain up into my leg.

“Jesssssss!” His voice bounced through the trees like wind. My legs burned, my lungs breathed fire, and my foot was slick with blood. What was I thinking? He could easily outrun me. Even if I somehow made it to the farmhouse, Jiure was larger than his father and might attack the older man. Even if they didn’t come to blows, Jiure had shown what he was capable of, there was nothing the rest of his family could do to stop him. Eventually he would get me alone and violate me. I was not safe in his home. I was not safe in this village. I was only safe with Kaiyer.

“Stop runnnnnn!!” His scream sounded closer but it wasn’t articulated. I hoped I had broken his jaw with the rock.

I screamed in fear and pain as the toe of my left foot stubbed against a big rock. Then I fell face first into the moldy leaves and dirt of the trail. Fortunately, my arms had been covering my breasts, so they helped cushion the impact. I tried to push myself to my feet, but my foot was numb. I couldn’t see through my tears but it didn’t look like it bled. Pain shot up through my calf and into my hip, but I could limp with a skipping speed.

“Jesss! Stoppppp!” he sounded close behind me but I didn’t want to turn toward the voice. I would probably fall again and then he would catch me. The trees were closing in on me. My dress snagged on one and half of the bottom tore away, leaving me with only a small piece of cloth to cover my whole body.

I couldn’t breathe anymore. I felt so tired. Kaiyer had always done various exercises throughout the day. He told me that it was important to be ready to use one’s body, and I had joked that I was always ready for him to use my body. I should have taken his advice. If only he was here right now. I shouldn’t have let him go.

The light of the forest got brighter through my tears. I almost cried in joy. The tree line ended a short distance from me. Then I would be out in the open field behind the farmhouse. Someone would see me. Someone would help me.

“Stopppp!” I turned around and saw the big man running after me. Blood poured from his foaming mouth and soaked the front of his tunic like spilled wine. I felt myself stumble since I wasn’t watching where I ran. Jiure loomed so close. I couldn’t afford to stop but my left foot stopped working and I collapsed with a scream.

Into Greykin’s arms.

“What the hell is going on here?” his voice echoed in my head and made my brain ache. I tried to explain, but the only words that escaped my lips were garbled by the sobs that my chest unleashed. I didn’t believe that it was him. Joy swung my emotions away from the terror and I didn’t know if I cried in relief or fear.

I heard footsteps behind me. Greykin had been looking at me, but his eyes quickly darted to Jiure running out of the trees. His eyes narrowed and a growl escaped his mouth. It felt like thunder rumbling through his chest and into my body. I couldn’t stop shaking. I tried to inhale, but the sobs caught up with me again. Greykin surely understood now what was transpiring.

“Jiure I presume?” another voice asked. Another beautiful, familiar voice. Nadea’s father stood next to the Old Bear. He had grown out his beard and shaved his head, but I recognized my uncle. I wiped my eyes on Greykin’s tunic and sighed. Kaiyer must have brought them here.

Jiure rubbed his arm across his mouth to clean off the blood. He eyed me and the two men warily. “Yahhh arrrrgh intarrrfeeeer witttt fammllleee madderrr,” he muttered through broken teeth.

“What did he do to you?” Greykin growled at me. I shook my head and couldn’t speak over the lump in my throat. Tears started to come to my eyes again. I was safe. Thank the Spirits. Thank you, Grandmother.

“Eyyyy diiinn dooo naayy thaaaannnggg.” Jiure looked at the two men in confusion. “Whhhooo arghhhhh yoooou?”

“I’m her uncle. This is her guardian. Did you rape my niece, boy?” The duke’s words were as sharp as the sword he fluidly drew from his hip. The boy had seemed so large and powerful before, but as the duke took a few steps toward him he shrunk in size.

“Nooo. Nooo. I diiiddddnnnntintt aaapppee errrrr.” He looked at me with panic in his eyes and sank to his knees. The movements made his opened belt rattle like clinking coins.

“Then I’ll kill you quickly instead of torturing you.” The bearded man’s mouth set as he pulled his sword arm back to deliver a cut to the boy.

“Beltor!” Greykin hissed in an urgent whisper. The duke stopped his swing and looked at the giant man with a question in his eyes. Then they grew wide and his hard face frowned.

“Fuck.” I realized he was looking toward the village.

“Can we escape into the forest?” the Bear asked.

“It’s too late.”

I pulled away from Greykin’s chest. The small village of Merrium was home to one hundred and fifty families, mostly small dairy and cattle farmers. The farmhouse I had shared with Jiure and his family was on the outskirts of town, at a slightly higher elevation. From the open field where we stood, we could see the entire village, all the homes, stables and people.

And the dozens of Ancients that filed into the town on horseback.

And they could see us.

Chapter 4-The O’Baarni

“What’s your name, stranger?” the wizened old man hissed through the gaping holes in his toothy grimace.

“Stranger is fine,” I replied. “What do you have for trade?” It had been a few weeks since I had spoken to anyone and my mouth slurred the words.

The trader grunted and cocked his head over his shoulder at the dilapidated cart. Torn and dirty sheets dangled from the pillars of the wooden gurney like sails. I didn’t see a horse and I wondered if the old man pulled it with raw willpower and limited aid from the wind.

“Few pans, pots, lizard skins, salt, packs. I came from Deadflats, so most of my wares are gone. Taking salt up to the Green Mountains.” He grinned again and squinted. I figured he was trying to see through the wrappings around my face and shoulders. After a few seconds with no response from me, he spat on the dry salty ground of the desert. The spittle splattered purple and smelled like a week old crow carcass.

“Any water?” I brushed my hand past the three skins I carried and shook one. It rang half empty and I had been told that the town of Deadflats was still another four days’ walk from the middle of the Salt Desert.

It was the last place I believed she fled.

I could run there in six hours, but it would be mildly uncomfortable without a few more sips of water.

Then again, I was used to discomfort.

“Not trading water.” The old man was suddenly suspicious and he glanced at the short hunting spear I carried. He journeyed in a group of half a dozen other travelers that I crossed on my way to the town. The other men were not traders and apparently not his kinsmen. His heartrate rose, he had little confidence they would protect him if I decided to steal his water.

There was so much fear. With the Elvens gone, we had turned on each other instead of working for a better future.

This was not the world Shlara wanted.

“Relax, Old One. I’m not going to take any.” I put a smile to my lips, and although he couldn’t see it through the wraps on my face, it came through my words. This seemed to make him more nervous, so I quickly changed my tactic. “Could you trade me some information? I’d like to know more about Deadflats. That is, if you know anything about the place.” I added the right emphasis to my voice so that it would seem that I doubted his expertise. This was an effective strategy I had honed while traveling around the world speaking to humans. After the eradication of our masters, we were left with nothing but our knowledge. People were proud of what they knew and eager to prove it to anyone who would listen.

“I’ve been traveling this route longer than you’ve been alive, boy.” He spat on the ground again. I almost laughed. He couldn’t have known that I was probably older than him, that I was once the leader of the greatest army this world had ever seen, and what I was doing in this desolate place at the edge of the habitable world.

“How many people live there?” I asked quickly.

“Two thousand. There is a big underground river that flows beneath the hard pack of the mesa, fresh water that is untouched by the salt.” I nodded. It sounded more like a city than a town and I wondered how I would be able to find her.

“How often does the town see new travelers?”

“You ask a lot of questions. You should leave him alone unless you want to trade,” one of the other men of the group said with a guttural growl. He sat at a campfire behind me. Twilight was an hour away, but moving across the Salt Desert would sap energy from even the O’Baarni. These men were frail humans and probably beyond exhausted.

“Sorry, friend,” I apologized and debated killing them all. It would only take me a few seconds and I would be able to have a more honest discussion with the old man. Then I sighed. Shlara wouldn’t have wanted that either. I had to accomplish my goal without murdering anymore of my kin. “I’ll be heading there. Thank you for your time.” I nodded to the old, diseased trader and walked out of their small campground and toward the town. The heat bent the air coming off of the desolate plain and for a second I thought I saw a tree, or a person, in the distance.

“Wait, stranger,” the old man called. “You can’t leave now. It is almost night and the lizards will be out. Best wait with us till morning. The next campground with water is a ten-hour walk, at least.”

“I better run then,” I said as I increased my tempo into a slow jog. Five seconds passed and I heard one of the men call me a crazy fuck. Then I was half a mile away and heard nothing but the sound of the wind screaming and my booted feet slamming into the dry plates of the desert like a snare drum’s paradiddle.

The Salt Desert lay on the southeast end of the continent, where our final battle had taken place. The land had been owned by the Elven tribe of Grlitar, but they abandoned the territory many years before the last battle. Their exodus and eventual extinction left their human slaves to fend for themselves and carve a life out of the harsh environment. These people had never seen one of my kind and only heard of our crusade through distant travelers. Now the Elvens were probably as much of a myth as the O’Baarni.

This forgotten piece of the world would be the perfect place for Iolarathe to hide.

It would be the perfect place for us to begin our life together.

The sun threatened to set and it cast a deep and angry fire of red across the endless sky. This empty land was surrounded by mountains, but they squatted thousands of miles before me and looked like I could crush them in my hands. The desert floor was dried dirt tiles mixed with salt. They glittered in the red light of the dying sun, and for a few minutes, it seemed as if I ran atop endless lava.

An hour of jogging passed, and the last rays of the sun turned a soothing violet and then a deep purple. The color clashed with the green glow from the moon and gave the barren land a sickly hue. Up ahead I spotted a gang of lizards feasting on the corpse of a fallen one of their own kind. I picked up speed and outpaced the wind past them. The creatures were the size of a small pony, covered in spiky scales. Their maws opened wide enough to swallow an adult wolf. I killed a few yesterday, but their flesh tasted horrible, it was tough and filled with bones. Soon I would be at Deadflats and could get a real meal.

Thoughts of food made me think of water. I grabbed at my last skin and drank a quarter of its contents while my feet continued their forward momentum. Before the Salt Desert, I traveled through hundreds of miles of hilly badlands. Food was almost never a concern for me since I easily killed whatever I happened by, but water was scarce and I could only go a few weeks without it.

The water from my skin poured warm, but it tasted delicious. I had planned on saving some just in case the city somehow did not have a water supply. I reasoned that it was only a few more hours of travel, and if water was not a traded commodity in Deadflats, then life certainly would be. So I drained the rest of the bladder and picked up my pace.

There were no trees in the endless wasteland, so the wind had an unfettered path to scream across the desert. Most normal humans would need to duck low in an attempt to crawl under the overwhelming gusts. Even most O’Baarni would have found the intense gales hard to cope with and might have thought about setting up camp for the night. But most O’Baarni only harnessed power from the Earth. They used the magic to fuel their bodies, make them stronger, faster, and heighten their senses. O’Baarni who were more skilled could unleash the Earth externally and combine it with Wind to create Fire.

I had learned to harness all of the Elements. I had mastered Water during the last battle between the humans and Elvens. Iolarathe had unleashed a surprise attack with three indomitable dragons who were decimating our forces with ease. By pulling the energy out of Water, I had defeated one of the dragons, ripping all the moisture from its massive alien body. Then I quickly learned how to pull Fire and Wind when his sire blasted me with a spray of liquid magma from an angry maw. I defeated him as well. The last remaining dragon, the female Recatolusti’catri, escaped, flinging me from her talon in mid-flight and sentencing me to death for murdering her mate and child.

Except I did not die. Iolarathe found me. We had made love and were discovered by Shlara.

I forced the painful memories out of my head. I had not thought about that day for many months, but it refused to be bottled up and discarded. The ordeal had taught me how to pull power from all of the Elements. The Wind that tried to thwart me on this salty plain was quickly harnessed into me and used to fuel my body.

I still did not know why Entas refused to teach us about the other Elements. He had not seemed surprised or angry when I showed him that I had learned how to pull from Water. He only cautioned me against using it, and forbade me from asking him about it. The other Elements felt different from Earth. Earth was slow, consistent and familiar. It felt as easy and soothing as the beating of my heart. Water and Wind felt chaotic inside of me. They tried to force their way out, like blood gushing through a thousand tiny lacerations. Fire was intense pressure, screaming for release, a breath held too long.

I had plenty of time to practice using them now. There was no army to manage. No people to train. No enemy to crush under my boot. I only wanted to find Iolarathe and continue to grow in strength and power.

I began to perceive a faint orange glow across the emptiness. My vision was as keen as an eagle’s and I guessed there were another forty miles ahead of me before I would reach the outskirts of the town. I had chased Iolarathe for so many years now, it was hard to remember my life before this. The years had been spent in solitude, which did strange things to my perception of time. I did not actually know how much time had passed since I killed Shlara.

I did not want to know.

Iolarathe remained a few steps ahead of me. Sometimes I missed her by months, sometimes by days. Once I saw her on a distant mountain range. The sight had energized me and I pushed myself to catch up to her. When I reached the spot where she had been, I found nothing but a few scattered footprints and the smoking embers of a hastily abandoned campfire.

Somehow she had eluded me and I never glimpsed her again.

But she left a trail. She was not simply evading me, she was searching for something. At first I believed it was for the remnants of her people, but the longer I tracked her, the more I came to realize she was seeking something more. The O’Baarni destroyed most of the Elven estates in our quest to annihilate their race. We had not even wanted to inhabit the same grounds as our enemies. The very buildings they had erected were tributes to the centuries of our oppression, and they were as important to destroy as the oppressors themselves. Iolarathe was searching for the remaining places that had not been razed by the O’Baarni.

I had not figured out why she was in Deadflats, but I would have answers soon. I slowed my pace a few miles from the city. I could not draw attention to myself with a superhuman approach.

And I wanted to take in the view of the bizarre metropolis.

Long ago, something massive had fallen from the sky and landed in the center of the Salt Desert. Whatever had collided into the planet had destroyed three thousand square miles of land. There was nothing to be found here but salt and gemstones. And survivors scraping by through grit and stubbornness.

At the center of where I imagined the collision to have occurred rose a large, flat-topped hill. The mass must have been pushed upward by the impact, and it only added to my belief that whatever hit the planet had been significant in size. The mesa was about five miles long and a third of a mile high. Wind had slowly eroded the top of the hill to its level tabletop after thousands of years.

The city was situated at the base of the mesa. An incongruously sturdy looking gate hung against wood stakes tied together by rusted barbed wire. Torches burned at the top of the posts, sputtering against the wind. Past the gates, squat, simple wooden structures were augmented by rough patches of stonework. The salty streets branched out from the gate as limbs of a tree, the farthest reaching dwellings carved out of a lowlying hill. Most of the homes were dark at this hour, but a few had torches or fireplaces lit, a warm pink glow visible through their windows. It looked as if half of the hillside was home to a nest of resting fireflies.

I was spotted when I was an eighth of a mile from the front gate. Two men rode out on horseback. I wondered how they fed their animals, or themselves for that matter, as no crops would grow on these badlands. Then I wondered how they even got the wood for their homes. Finally, I asked myself how anyone could even think to live out in this forsaken land. It did not matter. I let my curiosity lie and directed my focus back to my mission.

“What is your business?” one of the men on horseback inquired. They wore dusty leather pants and long coats of gray wool. Their faces were dry and more weathered than the side of the hill.

“Looking for Deadflats. Is this it?” I asked the obvious question.

“Yeh. You travel in the night?” the other man asked with worry. His mount shifted sideways nervously. I recalled the various black and ill-tempered horses I rode during my life. The head of his horse would not have even reached halfway up the body of one of my steeds.

“Is there a place to get food and water?” I asked with a faked gasp. Hopefully they would think I was in distress, weak and not a threat. The gusts of wind had died down to a breeze so we could hear each other. The location of the city in relation to the hill must have been planned to reduce the effects of the wind.

“Are you diseased?” One of the men pointed to his face and I realized I still had my head wrapped in cloth.

“No, just keeping the sun and salt out.” I unwrapped my head and showed them my face. I had decided to let my beard and hair grow long, but it would not fool anyone who knew me. “About that food?”

“Down the main avenue. First right. Left side. Lizard Breath Inn. What is your business here?” The first man beckoned me to follow him toward the gate and the light of the torches on the fence posts.

“Meeting a friend. Rock business.” Rock could be taken to mean either gems or salt. That was the only reason people came here: to mine or to trade.

The men nodded and opened the gate to let me pass. For a second the two exchanged glances and I thought they would try to extort me, but the second passed and they closed the gate without another word. Only the creak of the salt-crusted hinges marked my passage.

The road was made of dried, crusted mud, but the wood homes lining the street had stone foundations built up out of the dirt. The light from the sputtering torches lining the street reflected off the salt coating the ground and the houses, making everything sparkle.

I heard heartbeats and gentle breathing inside of each home and I imagined that most citizens here were getting as much rest as they could before waking up early to dig in the mines. I had never worked in a mine, but had freed many people who had slaved in them under the Elvens. While all of us had suffered as slaves, those men and women had a dead look in their eyes that was unchanged by freedom. They had lost themselves somewhere in the dark depths of the earth.

They were very effective in my army.

I heard the voices and laughter of the Lizard Breath Inn before I saw the place. The building was two stories high, and not at all stable. The corners were made of stacked, roughly-hewn stones. One side was a little uneven and it caused the inn to lean. A salt speckled post extended from the mud on that side in some futile attempt to prop up the structure in case the wind decided to change direction.

I pushed through a set of thin wooden doors to enter the lobby of the inn. The hinges squealed loudly, announcing my entrance and causing the conversations to halt as the patrons looked up at me. I took a few steps on a threadbare, salt-covered rug while I memorized the position of everyone in the room, their size, and if they were a threat. None were. A fat old man sitting by the door stopped me.

“No weapons.” He pointed at my spear and then thumbed toward a table where a few small picks, a bare rusty short sword, and various clubs were piled in a heap. I nodded at the man, leaned my weapon against the wood, and walked across the room to the long bar that separated what I guessed was the innkeeper and his daughter from the rest of the patrons.

“You’re new.” The innkeeper may have been the son of the man by the door. He looked very similar, only thirty pounds lighter and greasier. I sat on a surprisingly sturdy stool and sighed in an attempt at weariness.

“Been traveling for a long time. From the Green Mountains. Water?” I shrugged off my pack and set it on the ground next to me.

“Metal?” He shot his daughter an angry glare when she tried to fill my request. His look stopped her like an arrow through a rabbit’s heart.

“What will you take?” the Elvens had traded in various forms of metal and artwork. It made sense to keep some traditions.

“Water is free with food.” He nodded at the girl and she quickly filled up the cup that had been dangling in between her fingers.

“What are you serving? I’ll need a room as well.” I noticed that the conversations behind me resumed.

“Lizard steaks with mushrooms. Also have fish stew. Rooms are an iron piece a night. Two meals are included, with water. Anything else and you have to pay extra.” He peered at his daughter with an evil smirk. She hastily turned away and made busy with cleaning what looked like the only pair of glasses left in the place. I now assumed that she probably wasn’t his daughter. Or he was a really sick fucker.

“I’ll take a room for three nights. The stew now. Where do you get the fish from?” I knew the lizard meat to be repulsive, but I was also a bit put off by the idea of how fish got to a desert. I rummaged through the inside of my pack to where I carried a few pouches of various solid blocks of metal. I could twist the Earth and pull off a piece of whatever I wanted easily. On my second attempt my fingers recognized iron and I pulled off what felt like the right amount.

“The river,” he said it as if I asked what color the moon was.

“Ah yeah. They said one runs under the city?” I handed my three iron pieces across the table to him. They were each about the size of my thumbnail. He looked hungrily at them and put them in a pocket of his dirty apron. I had guessed the right size.

“First time in Deadflats, eh?”

“Yeah.” I drained the cup of water in a single swallow. It was surprisingly cool and I didn’t taste any salt.

“What brings you here, kid?”

“Trade. Mining. Adventure.” I smiled through the lie. “How about that stew?” The man looked over to the girl and barked a name I couldn’t understand. She set down the glasses and scurried into the kitchen. When she returned, two of the men playing Stones bid their friends a good night and left the inn. I noticed the bartender watch them leave with a frown.

“Something wrong?” I said before I swallowed the next cup of water.

“Naw.” He smirked at me and poured a foul-smelling potato based alcohol into a mug. Then he drank it as quickly as I had swallowed the water.

The girl came out with a steaming bowl that didn’t smell as fishy as I expected. She set it in front of me with a shy smile and scurried to the far side of the bar. She would have been pretty if she had not grown up under such harsh conditions. Life had not improved for everyone, even with our enslavers gone.

I had other things to worry about.

I expected the stew to be salty, and it was, but the flavor did not overpower my tongue. The fish tasted fresh and it was mixed in an orange-colored cream sauce with spicy mushrooms, dense potatoes, and some sort of green vegetable that tasted sweeter than carrots. I hadn’t eaten in a few days, but I wasn’t famished and slowly savored the meal. When I roamed the wilderness I didn’t have to worry about food. I could put my spear through the heart of a boar from five hundred feet away, stalk prey with the stealth of a mountain cat, and run faster than most horses. I just had to find Iolarathe and avoid anyone sent after me.

I heard Shlara scream again. It echoed in my brain hundreds of times. I saw her body bend backward as the sticky fire enveloped her. I smelled the scent of her flesh burning.

“You alright kid? Look like you are about to puke. Most like the stew.” The innkeeper’s words pulled me back from the distressing thoughts.

“I’m fine. Can I have another bowl?” I hastily scooped up the last two bites and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re supposed to get only one bowl per meal.” The door to the inn opened and several pairs of boots entered. The innkeeper’s oily skin turned the color of piss and he wrung his hands on his apron. “I’ll get you another though. Since you are new in town.” He scurried back through the doors to the kitchen.

For a second, I assumed the men who had entered were the local law enforcement, or town bullies, as was usually the case. I had run into a few of these types in my travels. Most of the time I could talk my way out of whatever conflict they had concocted as an excuse to fight or detain me. Others had to be paid off. Twice I had killed them when we failed to come to an agreement.

I knew from their footsteps that these were not mere humans. I felt the Wind displace from the room with their bulky frames. Their steps were careful, calculated, and smooth. No, these were my kin, and I cursed myself for having journeyed to Deadflats. They must have suspected that I would eventually get here. They must have guessed that this town, past the edge of whatever civilization they were trying to build, would be a tempting sanctuary to a traitor.

There were four of them. Two took seats next to me at the bar to my right. The other pair sat on my left. I steadied my heartbeat and breathing. Maybe they wouldn’t know who I was through the beard. Only the highest ranked soldiers and generals knew what I looked like. The rest only recognized my armor and my name. The girl saw them take a seat and practically ran into the back room.

“Round of drinks, Tos!” the man to my left yelled. The doors to the kitchen opened and the innkeeper emerged with another bowl of stew for me. He set it in front of me with a nervous flick and grabbed four wooden cups and filled them with the vile potato brew from the barrel.

“You new?” the man to my right asked when I took my first spoonful of the new bowl. I chewed slowly and glanced over at him before answering. He looked just like his companion: muscular, with a shaved head, thick jaw, and hands crisscrossed in countless scars.

Just like mine.

These were Thayer’s men.

“Yeah. I’m not looking for trouble. Maybe I can buy your next round?” I licked my lips nervously, and it was not a bluff. My spear was on the other side of the room. They were not armed, but it would not matter. Thayer’s troops had been my heavy infantry and could defeat any other soldier in my army nine times out of ten. They were hard men and women and took the Bear banner of Thayer very seriously.

“What is your name?” the man to my left said. He was the biggest of the four and he looked like he shaved his face and head with a wood saw.

“You haven’t even bought me a drink yet.” I smiled. The conversations in the inn had all stopped and the patrons were watching the scene unfold at the bar. Luckily, I didn’t recognize the four men and they wore no armor. They were clothed in salt-covered gray working attire. Perhaps they were here for some other purpose than to find me.

“Do I look like I have a sense of humor?” Sawface gave me a dead stare.

I raised my hands. “Leotol is my name.” I had never told anyone about my brother. Or my father. Or Iolarathe. The name was safe.

Sawface stared at me for a few seconds and then turned back to his drink without a word. The warrior behind him sniffed and looked down at his cup as well. It seemed like the situation had relaxed, so I turned to my fish stew and returned to eating. I had only taken a few bites before the man on my right spoke again.

“You came in at night.” It wasn’t a question, but I took it as one.

“Yeah.”

“The guards at the gate say you didn’t have a torch.” He looked at me, but I concentrated on my next bite of food.

“Moon was bright. Didn’t need one.” I focused on relaxing. “Can I have another cup of water?” I asked the greasy innkeeper. He was poking his head out from behind the doors to the kitchen.

“You have torches in your bag, then?”

Fuck.

“Of course.” I smiled at the man. “What is this about? Can’t I eat in peace?”

The innkeeper took my cup and filled it with shaking hands. I heard his heart pounding like a rabbit’s. I wondered what he knew about me, the O’Baarni, or if he only knew these men were here to find someone wandering alone.

“We are looking for someone. Someone like you,” Sawface said with a grimace that made him look even uglier.

“Someone eating fish stew in a broken down inn at the end of the world?” Sawface still didn’t laugh. I should have attacked. It would have given me a slight edge that might have helped me get out of this alive.

“Someone who fits your description. Long hair, beard, body of an O’Baarni, traveling alone and doesn’t identify himself to his kin. Someone that doesn’t want to be found.” Sawface carefully set his cup down on the bar.

“What if I am not the man you are looking for?”

“No one comes to this town unless they are running. Only one man would be here.” He stared at me and gritted his teeth. “Kaiyer.”

The four men stood up from their stools the mention of my name.

I took another bite of my stew. It was halfway eaten, but I pushed the bowl away and wiped the side of my mouth and beard with the back of my sleeve.

“If you really thought I was Kaiyer you would have brought more than four of you.”

I turned to look at Sawface. Our eyes made contact and I stared into his pupils. I saw into their depths and his soul. I saw his fear and his doubt. He was a hard man. They all were. But I was a legend. I created them. I alone had slain two of the dragons that almost annihilated my army. I wore the tortured demon armor that gave our enemies nightmares.

“Don’t make this difficult on us, sir.” His face broke and revealed the terror in his eyes.

“You can turn and walk away. Let me continue on my path.” I slid off of my chair and the four men took a small step back.

“We have our orders. Come with us peacefully, please.” But his voice did not plead. It was resolute. He was one of Thayer’s after all.

A few of the patrons sitting at their tables stared in mute horror. I guessed they wanted to leave the inn, but I imagined they were so paralyzed by fear that they couldn’t move their legs, or perhaps they didn’t want to bring attention to themselves.

“If I surrender; what is the plan?” I glanced around at the four warriors and then to Sawface.

“We’ll take you to Primary Camp.”

“Then what will happen?” I smiled.

“I am not privy to such information, sir. We are tasked with bringing you there.”

“Primary Camp is at least a month and a half travel from here. How are you going to prevent me from escaping during the journey?”

“You taught Thayer, he taught our leaders, we will do what is necessary to bring you back sir.” They stood comfortably but their hearts began to beat quicker. They were prepared to fight me.

At one point I knew everyone in my army. There were only a few thousand and I always had a good memory. But when we swelled in size, it became too difficult to remember everyone. I wanted to know the names of these men. This assignment had to be difficult. If they succeeded, they would spend the rest of their lives thinking about this moment, when they had apprehended the man who had destroyed their enemies, freed their people, and betrayed all of their values within the same hour.

But if I knew their names, it would be that much harder to kill them.

The right side of my forehead connected with Sawface’s nose and shattered his skull like a cracked egg. I didn’t think the head butt would harm his brain and kill him, but I hoped it would. The blow would at least do enough damage to keep him out of the battle for five minutes. In a fight with the O’Baarni, five minutes was enough time to do plenty of damage.

Sawface tried to step away, but he either didn’t actually expect me to attack him, or he didn’t realize I could move as fast as I did. My blow sent him spinning across the inn, scattering the salt-worn tables, breaking the flimsy chairs, and smashing dozens of half empty glasses.

I moved my left arm up automatically and blocked the jab that the warrior on that side intended for my face. Our limbs collided with a sharp slapping sound and resonated like two blocks of wood slamming together. Then I twisted my body to the right and dodged the committed front kick that the man in the center of the group had aimed at my hips. I threw out my knee and caught the side of his thigh while my right hand slid across his chest, up to his neck, and forced his chin up to the sky. The momentum he put into his kick and the way I adjusted his torso made him lose his balance. I pulled back on my arm and helped his upper body slam into the dirty floor of the inn. The wood cracked into hundreds of pieces upon impact.

Or maybe it only sounded that way because, at the same time, the third man’s sidekick hit me square in the chest and broke half of my ribs. The blow launched me backward in the air, through the wooden wall of the inn, and out into the salt-covered street. I rolled four times before I came to my feet. My ribs had already healed, but the hole my flying body left in the side of the dilapidated structure was a critical injury. The leaning building began to moan a sigh of death and I saw it tilt dangerously.

I ran north, through the dark streets of the city and toward the cropped mountain. I didn’t have a plan beyond escaping Thayer’s men, but I figured if I bought myself a few minutes to think I would come up with something. As soon as I made it half a mile up the main street, I jumped up into the hayloft of a stable to assess my surroundings. I didn’t hear my pursuers but that didn’t mean they had given up their chase. I did hear the sounds of the Lizard Breath’s Inn collapsing and the final screams of the patrons trapped inside.

Now I wondered if Iolarathe had ever been in Deadflats. If Thayer’s men were stationed here, waiting for me, they would have noticed her. She had probably realized this, avoided the town and moved on. If I lost her trail now, it would mean another year or more of lost time.

One of the men sprinted down the street faster than a horse and skidded to a stop. I ducked back into the shadows, away from the window, but it did not matter. They could hear me, smell me, and track me now that they knew me. I was trapped.

I remembered the underground river. It was a desperate move, but it was the only choice I had to avoid killing Thayer’s men. I could hold my breath for ten, maybe fifteen minutes. I could lose them in the current and let the water take me away. I just needed to find the river.

The man below whistled, and I recognized it as a signal that he had found me. I turned to dash across the loft, but two of the warriors crashed through the roof above me. The impact of their heavy landing on the hayloft crushed the thin wood planks, and I leapt out through the wall of the barn behind me. It crumbled as if it were made of brittle paper. I flipped over in midair and landed on my feet on the road below. The warriors on the street ducked low and swooped beneath me in an attempt to knock me down and wrestle me on the ground.

His right shoulder contacted my right hip. He lifted and slammed me into the mud. I snaked my arm under his chin as we fell and wrapped my left leg over his so that he could not shake loose to gain a better position. He fought my choke hold, but his was an inexperienced move, and I took advantage of it by tilting my upper body, forcing my legs down, which put his neck into an acute angle that cut off his air. I felt his lungs fight and suck against nothing. It would take ten minutes to choke an O’Baarni into unconsciousness, and I did not have that much time. I had five seconds or less before the other two men would emerge from the ruins of the barn to assist their fellow warrior.

He continued to pull and fight against my choke, I pulled him tighter and then pushed back as he fought against me. The sudden release of his head sent him spinning away from me and I aided his travel with a kick to his chest.

I rolled to my feet in time to almost block a punch from one of the other men. His right fist slammed my nose into hundreds of fragments. His left hand came around in a hook that I dodged by half an inch as I stumbled away from him. He pressed his attack, throwing two jabs with his right hand and a short uppercut with his left. I knocked the jabs away, but the uppercut was unexpected, and it caught me in the stomach. The pain was remote though, and by the time he threw his next rounds of attacks, I had healed from the broken nose and managed to parry them.

I heard the other warrior from the stable run up from behind me. The man who had tried to grapple with me rose. I backed away to keep them from circling me. Once I got a few feet of space between us, I sprung up and backward to land on the rickety roof of a home nearby. I ran across it and jumped just before the roof collapsed. I landed on the side street behind, slipped in some of the mud there, and dashed around the corner away from the warriors. But they were on me instantly and kept within five feet as I ran westward through the city. I would not be able to lose them without taking drastic measures.

I gathered the Earth to me and pivoted. The power released through me in the form of Air. I added a spark of Earth, and the magic erupted in a blaze of green and anger. My pursuers jumped to the side in a frantic attempt to escape oblivion. Two of them were successful, but the one closest to me moved too slowly. His death scream cut through the air of the city for only a brief flash before his body turned into ash and scattered. The fire continued another five hundred feet away from me, devouring half a dozen homes and the innocent people sleeping within. Then the flame crashed into the flank of the hill and bounced upward toward the stars. Every surface in the city was covered in crystallized salt, and for a moment, Deadflats shone brighter than the moon.

My torso bent to the side and my breath exploded out of my lungs. Sawface had slammed me to the ground on my back with a jump kick that would have snapped an oak tree in half. He was instantly on top of me, but I managed to buck my hips and dislodge him from gaining a favorable position where he could have pummeled me easily. The warrior grabbed onto my left arm and fell to the side next to me in the hardened mud of the street. He locked my wrist with both hands and spun his body around to leverage his hips against my elbow and break my arm.

One of the remaining warriors crashed on my stomach with a knee that I was too preoccupied to avoid. It probably would have rendered most humans incoherent and perhaps knocked out any of the O’Baarni, but I had a high tolerance for pain and I registered the damage as if it had happened to someone else. As soon as he landed, my right hand came up in a knife’s edge formation and struck his throat. The windpipe collapsed and he gurgled out in agony. He was a better grappler than Sawface, and he squeezed his legs together around my hips when I tried to buck him off of me.

The third attacker stepped from my right side and aimed a booted toe kick at my face. I brought up my right elbow and blocked the attack, but the kick carried so much momentum that I felt the impact register through my whole body at the same time as Sawface’s strength won out over my left arm. He bent it back against his leveraged hip lock and broke the elbow with a wet sounding tear that sent a numb shock of alarm through my chest.

The warrior that pinned me punched downward and connected with my nose. It broke again and my sinus cavities filled with an explosion of blood. I tried to move my right arm away from the man kicking me to block the other warrior’s next flurry of attacks, but I only got half of them. Each punch pushed my head into the mud a few inches and my skull struggled not to break under the pressure. The warrior who tried to kick me must have grabbed my right arm, I felt it bend away as my vision blurred. Then my sight cleared before the man who had me pinned ducked down and drove his elbow into my temple.

I was floating in darkness.

Someone said my name, but I ignored it. I was safe here. Alone. I had no worries. No cares.

No guilt.

The voice was insistent. I felt a hand rub my cheek. Then I heard my name being called again.

I opened my eyes and saw her.

“Iolarathe?” She knelt over me, blocking out the moonlight and encasing her face in shadows.

I had found her.

Or more appropriately: she had just found and saved me.

Chapter 5-Kaiyer

“Soldier. Are you okay?” I gasped when the man’s words yanked me from my reverie. I looked around fearfully and couldn’t remember where I stood or what I was doing.

“You look sick, boy. Maybe you should sit down. Or eat something. Maybe you should eat something while sitting down.” My stomach flopped when I remembered that I was in Nadea’s camp.

“I am fine. What were you saying?” I tried to relax but I couldn’t. My brain had scattered like horses in a thunderstorm. The last time I had a memory that violent, I destroyed the East Wing of Castle Nia. I was surprised and relieved that the men and women around me were unharmed.

“I said: ‘What’s your name, soldier?’ I have to write it on the log in order for you to take possession of this here gear.” The man was older, leathery, and had a smile missing a tooth from the bottom front array. His face reminded me of the trader’s from my memory and it must have been what triggered the sudden recollection. He was the quartermaster of Nadea’s army. He pointed to a small pack and five-foot spear that he retrieved from the back of the large tent.

“Kaiyer is my name.”

“What unit and commander?” He wrote in a thick log book. I hesitated for a few moments and he looked up from his writing.

“I am unsure.”

“I don’t have all day, son. Help me out here. Who do you report to?” He sighed and wiped the sweat off of his oily brow. His hair thinned at the top and it scattered the few strands across his forehead where they stuck like ivy on a wall. He had a slight accent that I was unfamiliar with, but that wasn’t surprising since I had only learned the language around a year ago.

“I don’t really report to anyone. I think it would be Nadea.”

“Sure you do, son. Every boy wants to report to the duchess. I’m about ready to throw you out of here if you don’t stop wasting my time.” Annoyance coated his voice. A few other soldiers stood in the tent waiting to procure equipment and they chuckled at the quartermaster’s words.

“Just write my name on the ledger and give me the equipment. Are you sure you don’t have any sort of bow?” I remembered him saying that they were all out of scout kits and only had infantry ones. A few other soldiers entered the tent behind me but I didn’t turn to look at them.

“No, I don’t have a fucking bow.” The man raised his voice to a shout. “And I’m not going to give you anything unless your fucking commander rides his horse in here and threatens to cut off my head and feed it to the Ancients, you fucking asshole!” The man’s face turned red and a vein popped out on top of his balding forehead.

“That is enough,” a man called out from behind me. I recognized the voice, but the rest of the men in the room turned around quickly and saluted.

“Sorry, sir.” The quartermaster grimaced in pain.

“I am surprised you did not recognize this man’s name. Or did you not pay attention?” Danor stepped next to me. I had never asked his rank during our escapades into the sewers of castle Nia, but it appeared he carried some clout.

“I am sorry, sir,” the quartermaster said again with fear.

“Give Kaiyer what he needs,” Danor said with a sigh. The older man nodded before he passed the spear and pack over the wooden table that separated his workspace from the rest of the tent.

“I still don’t have a bow, sir. My apologies.”

“I’ll find him one.” Danor turned to me. His mustachio was a bit longer than I remembered and there were streaks of gray in it. “Join me for dinner?”

“Of course.” I smiled at him and threw the pack over my shoulder. I nodded to the quartermaster and walked out of the tent. The other soldiers parted to let us pass.

I followed him for a few steps outside the logistics tent before he turned to face me and gave me a light punch on the shoulder.

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you around the camp in the last few weeks. I even checked your tent a few times.” His face transformed and he gave me a crooked smirk.

“I’ve been watching over Nadea.” He nodded and then pointed toward the mess pavilion and we continued to walk beside each other.

“Rumor is that she has recovered.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yes.” I couldn’t help my smile.

“Excellent! Our duchess is too stubborn to die.” He laughed and then gestured at the opening to the mess tent a few hundred yards up the face of the twisty gorge wall. “They are serving tasteless gruel mixed with two-week-old, half-rotten venison. If you don’t get heartburn, you’ll probably vomit.” He smiled knowingly at me. “But I have something to wash it down with.” He pulled a bottle from a pouch on his belt. Dark amber liquid swirled inside the thick glass.

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

We hiked our way up the side of the gorge and then climbed up a series of sturdy ladders to reach the mess pavilion. Inside were benches for about thirty people and most of them were occupied. A few men and women looked up to see who had entered, but no one saluted. There was a line at the back of the tent where cooks scooped the gray and green slop into bowls for those waiting. The room reeked of sweat and the starchy warm smell of the gruel, which did little to mask the rancid stink of the meat.

Danor and I didn’t speak until we had sat down with our food. The cooks had divvied out a small scoop of the oatmeal and venison mixture along with a slightly larger scoop of what possibly had been spinach but was now steamed beyond recognition.

“Beats hard rations. At least it is warm and wet.” Danor fished out the bottle of alcohol and took a short sip before passing it to me. A few of the other soldiers at the table shot him a sidelong glance and then looked down at their food. The fluid was a rice and rye mixture. It tasted pleasantly sweet with enough bitter heat at the end to remind my tongue of the alcohol.

“Perhaps I should have been harder on the quartermaster.” Danor took another bite and grimaced. The food tasted horrible, but the drink washed it down in a fiery inferno. “Wasn’t much point though. No use getting people more excited or upset than they already are.”

“I agree. I wasn’t going to make a fuss. I figured I could live off of the land without any weapons. I’ve done so before.” The memory of running across the Salt Desert entered my mind.

“Why would you need to live off of the land?” Danor passed me back the bottle after he took a swig. We sat shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers, but there was enough whispered talk at the table to keep our conversation private.

“I will be heading north.”

“That seems like a terrible idea.” Danor shook his head and then choked on a bite of steamed green mash.

“Safer than eating this food I think,” I said with a smile that he returned.

“Fair enough. I figure you have your reasons for doing something crazy like taking on the empress’s army alone.” He frowned for a second and then suddenly seemed to remember something. “Hey, I never thanked you for saving my life a few months ago when we ran through the dungeons.”

“It was nothing, friend,” I said with a shrug.

“No. It was something. I have never been so terrified. I thought I would die down there half a dozen times and I would have if not for you. You also helped us get out of the castle with Nadea. I didn’t see you kill the Ancients the night of the banquet, but I heard the stories about you.” He nodded and I noticed that some of the surrounding soldiers had stopped talking and listened to what Danor said.

“You were the one that found me running lost through the halls with Nadea over my shoulder. I think I would still be there if you and Runir hadn’t led me out.” I took another bite and realized that the gruel was actually starting to taste better. The mixture was probably annihilating my taste buds past the point where I might heal them.

“Well, as a reward, you can have the rest of my grub. If you can figure out how to get those wurms out of my nightmares, I’ll even offer you a bonus plate.” Danor chuckled and pushed his tray away half-eaten. I laughed with him but didn’t take him up on the offer. After another minute I pushed back my own tray and washed the scum in my mouth out with the rest of the liquid from his bottle.

“Looks like I finished it.”

“Eh. It isn’t mine. I stole it from Greykin. He was sleeping in Jessmei’s room during our mission and had a stash there. He’ll get angry at you for drinking all of it.” The mustached man smiled again and made a half-serious attempt at a salute.

“I’ll have to make it up to him.” I hoped the Old Bear was still alive.

“Some of the other officers play a few games of Gamble every night. If you want to come join us, we might have a few bottles of wine.” Danor got out of his seat and grabbed his dirty tray, gesturing for me to follow. We set them in a bin on our way out.

“Thank you for the offer, but I have a few tasks to attend to before I leave.” He nodded and then turned around to survey the camp. The angle of the late day sun created deep shadows that clothed the sides of the cliff walls in dark purple.

“I hate long good byes. I’ll have someone swing by your tent and drop off a bow.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully.

“Be safe, Kaiyer. I’d like to eat some real food with you someday.” He turned to me, held his hand out, and smiled when I grasped his palm.

“I’d enjoy that, Danor. Be safe as well.” He nodded and walked away without another word. I stared at his back for a few moments and realized that I had more friends in this life than I thought I did.

Runir had procured a tiny tent for me about five hundred yards north of Nadea’s. It had enough room for a small cot, a chest, and a chair. The top of the chest closed flat and could double as a desk of sorts. Runir told me that they had several backup stores of supplies concealed across the nation of Nia just in case a traveling unit might need to re-stock. They probably never imagined that they would have to support an army of a few thousand with these caches.

I laid my new pack on the top of the chest and inspected the spear for a minute. It wasn’t a piece of artwork, but the leaf-shaped blade would be sufficient. Inside the bag were about two weeks’ worth of food that would keep well: flat bread, dried beans, a bag of salt, and a small leather skin of lime juice. I’d be able to kill what I needed out in the forest and my enemies would have food I could plunder from their corpses. The pack also contained three water skins, a hatchet, knife, wax tinder, a few sheets of oiled canvas for tent making, and a bedroll. By the time I finished inspecting all the equipment, the sun had set and the campsite was encased in darkness.

Night was treacherous in Fisherman’s Gorge. We couldn’t light torches on the upper levels for fear of the camp being discovered, so the soldiers moved their training and meals down to the cramped space next to the creek. Lantern bearers stationed themselves at pivotal points on the walkways to give brief flashes of illumination to guide people across the narrow cliffs. I could see in almost absolute darkness, so the lack of light didn’t bother me, but I imagined that most of the warriors just stayed in their tents at night.

“Kaiyer?” Nadea’s voice called softly from outside. I had heard footsteps approach, but my tent sat by a major stairway and there were always footprints moving past me.

“Enter,” I said as I set my pack on top of the chest.

She wore a hooded cloak and carried a short bow and quiver in her arms.

“Knight Captain Danor left this with my guards for me to bring to you.” She shook her head and the hood fell back away from her hair. There was an inkling of the twin moon’s glow. It came through my tent and gave a sheen to her smooth brown hair.

“Thank you.” I took the weapon from her and inspected its condition. The pull was set much too light, even for a normal human, but I’d make it work. While I looked at the bow she took off her cloak, laid it over the back of my only chair, and then sat down with her legs crossed.

“What is a knight captain?” I asked her after I finished.

“A captain rank, same as Runir, but he has also been knighted by the king, as you have.” Her eyes stared into mine without blinking. I thought about asking her why Danor had been knighted, but I figured that someday he could tell me the story himself.

“I am leaving in the morning,” I said preemptively.

“I’d prefer you wait,” she replied with a rehearsed ease and a smile that made my eyes wander to her lips.

“You don’t have much use for me here.”

“I have plenty of uses for you imagined. Will you sit down, please?” She gestured at my cot and I did so without thinking. I opened my mouth to reply, but she interrupted me.

“I love my father, Jessmei, and Greykin. I want nothing more than to have them back safe here. If our situations were reversed, and my father was talking to you here right now, well.” She shook her head. “You two probably wouldn’t even have this discussion. You’d both be on the road heading to Merrium and you would be worried about keeping him alive.”

“You are right about that.” I laughed and thought about Beltor’s direct personality. I liked Nadea’s father tremendously and easily imagined him asking me to accompany him on a quest to rescue her. In fact, he had at one point.

“But it is not me that is lost at the moment. I have a place and a purpose. I also have safety here, especially with you by my side.” Laughter drifted to us from a distant place in the gorge and she stopped talking to take notice. “I’m still not used to this.” She pointed to her ears and then laughed. “Or my sense of smell and vision! I can see for miles. I can make out fish at the bottom of the creek. It is incredible!” I smiled at her momentary lapse in attention.

“You have learned it very quickly. Most need months of practice to be able to focus their senses enough to be walking around in a crowded campsite.”

“I had a good teacher.” She smiled at me. “That is another reason why I want you here. You know how to manage an army under the O’Baarni. You saw him lead our kind to victory against the Ancients. Do you remember more that will help us? We need those strategies.” She paused to let me speak.

“It has been almost nine months since we spoke about my memories.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I don’t know how much I can help the army here. Even if I could help, I disagree that I need to be here.”

“Why?” Anger crept into her voice but I guessed she expected me to fight her. “You’ve beat them before?” I nodded. “You know how to beat them? You’ve seen the O’Baarni’s army lay waste to them. You told me you were his general. What else do you remember?” Her words came quickly.

“I wasn’t the O’Baarni’s general, Nadea. The O’Baarni was not a person. It was the name we gave ourselves. All of us. The humans like me, and you, who were changed and had learned how to harness the Elements. It means ‘the Ancients’ in our old language. A language even older than the one the Elvens and I share.” Nadea stared at me in confusion, but I continued before she spoke. “Isslata told me that the Elvens are calling themselves ‘the Ancients’ because of the way this world has confused our legends. In fact, this isn’t even the world I was born on. My world had a single green moon. Your world has two.”

“Your world has one moon? How?”

“There are ways to travel between worlds. I believe that the Ancients created them. I remember speaking to an elder Elven; he was so old that he looked to be made of stone. He attended to some sort of shrine that could move people between the worlds. These shrines had stone tables in them, similar to the one where you found me.”

“A different world? Would it look the same as ours? Have the same people? Same names?” I couldn’t tell if she believed me but she seemed to consider my words.

“Different people. Different landmasses and moons. I think the only thing they would have in common is that someone put these shrines on them, and that Elvens and our kind can live on them.”

“That would explain how the Ancients returned here.” Nadea nodded to herself. “They may have never been here. That also somewhat explains me.” She stared off away from me briefly.

“Explains you?”

“Runir told me that you know about my secret?” I nodded and she continued. “My mother, or I should say, my father’s wife. She died giving birth to their child. He was insane with grief. Whenever he speaks of her I can tell how much he loves her still.” She smiled sadly.

I could empathize with Beltor.

“He told me that he rode to the Teeth to get away from his sadness. He said he wanted to meditate about their love, but I always suspected he meant to get lost up there in the mountains and perish. He did get lost for many days. Then he heard the sound of a baby crying. The sound came from a strange looking shrine. He found me lying on a stone dais. I was maybe a month old. No one was near me. It didn’t look like anyone had ever even set foot in the shrine.” I nodded during her story.

“Someone sent you through. I believe the shrines are called Radicles and they are powered by magical globes called Ovules.” I recalled the memories again.

“Those are parts of a plant. I studied them when I was younger.” Her statement made me realize that most of the words Paug had taught me for plants were very similar to the ones I already knew. I didn’t understand our old language very well, but I suddenly suspected that there might be a link in the linguistics.

“What happened after Beltor found you?”

“He took me home,” she said. “I didn’t know that I was not his child. His wife had brown eyes and hair, so most assumed I got my features from her.” She leaned back in the simple chair and sighed.

“When did he tell you?”

“My ears gave it away. I was ten years old and started puberty, which could have been what triggered the changes. I was afraid that an evil Spirit possessed me. I had always been stronger and smarter than the boys my age. I used to beat the shit out of Runir all the time.” She chuckled lightly and I couldn’t help but join her. “I never believed it was odd until my ears got longer. He had to tell me. For a while I thought the truth was much worse than anything I imagined. The books we owned said that the Ancients had features that seemed to match mine. We guessed I must have been a mix of some sort.” She smiled slightly at me. “But I came here to talk about your memories and to get you to stay in the camp. Earlier you said that the O’Baarni wasn’t the name of your leader?” She leaned toward me in her chair.

“No.”

“So you weren’t a general in this army that defeated the Anci-Elvens?” Her brow knitted in a mixture of disappointment and confusion.

“I was the leader of the O’Baarni. We were over two hundred and eighty thousand strong when it came time for the final battle against our enslavers. We had so many troops that I couldn’t field them all on the field of war. I would boast that it was probably the most powerful army to ever be created, but I don’t know my history that well. Each soldier was changed by the Elements, like you are now. I hand groomed five generals to manage the training, logistics, and strategy. They were five of my best friends. It took me thirty-two years to build the army with them, and we endured hardship and struggles that I don’t want to remember anymore. During the last battle, I would estimate that at least one hundred thousand of my warriors died.” Her eyes grew wide as I spoke.

“The Elvens had struck an agreement with a family of dragons. We narrowly managed to beat them. But it was nearly the end of everything. I lived through the fire but my hand,” I lifted my left hand to show her the deep scar marks. “Bore some wounds.”

She stared at me for a few moments and I tried to figure out what she must have been thinking. Finally, she spoke.

“What else?”

“Huh?”

“If what you are saying is true, Kaiyer.” She scooted to the edge of her chair and grasped my scarred hand in both of hers. Her touch felt electrifying. “Then I am not understanding why your place wouldn’t be here with me. If you created this powerful army to defeat the Elvens once, you can do it again. You can drive them from our home, out of this world, and back to whatever hell they came from. Yet, you think you should be going to save my father, Jessmei, Greykin, and the queen. There must be more to the story.” She grinned and turned her head sideways a bit. It reminded me of Shlara again and I needed to close my eyes and pull my hand away from her.

“During my imprisonment in the castle, Isslata was my main source of contact. It frustrated her that I said my name was Kaiyer and she refused to call me by that name. Apparently, that word is cursed by the Elven people. I am known as ‘the Destroyer’ to them, and they never say my real name. I am more of a legend, since this battle happened so long ago that the Elvens don’t really care to remember the conflict. Isslata thought it was around five thousand years ago.”

“That can’t be possible,” Nadea said defensively. “I am having problems believing that you spent even thirty-two years building an army. You look like you are hardly twenty winters old.” She smirked playfully and somehow our hands found each other’s again. Her fingers entwined with mine so I couldn’t pull away easily. They were warm and smooth.

“I thought the same thing as well. But she also said that the humans called me ‘the Betrayer.’ From what I have recalled, I believe what she told me.”

“Why would they call you the Betrayer? Didn’t you free them from slavery? From what you are telling me, you should be our greatest hero and remembered and revered for those five thousand years.” She shook her head.

“I did wake up from imprisonment, remember?”

“Of course. But it couldn’t be because you destroyed the Elvens. Maybe you were imprisoned by the Elvens?”

“There was a letter etched into the dais. It was from one of my generals named Malek.” I started to feel nervous about telling Nadea of what I had done. It was so long ago, but I still felt the fresh shame and heartache. She looked at me with such adoration, I did not want to change the way she felt about me. I did not want her to look at me the way Shlara had.

“I recall that as well. Back when we first brought you to the castle, you couldn’t remember what happened.”

“I remember now. I betrayed my people. I committed a horrible crime that my friends could never forgive. I tried to escape, but they eventually found me. They may have taken pity on me, or maybe they found it too difficult to kill me, either way, I was sent to your world as a prison sentence.”

“What did you do?” Her eyes filled with empathy and she squeezed my hand.

“I murdered one of my generals,” I said, and she winced slightly.

“He must have deserved it. Kaiyer, you are a good person. You are a hero. You have done everything within your power to help our kingdom. You saved us from the Vanlourn soldiers, you prevented assassins from taking Jessmei at the inn, and then you chased down the Elvens who kidnapped her and saved her life. During the banquet, you defeated those four Elvens who made demands of the king. You have done nothing but help us. You must have had a good reason.” She smiled at me reassuringly and her hand squeezed mine again.

“Thank you.” I returned her smile. “What you said helps me.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before continuing. I wondered for a second how I would feel talking to someone else about Shlara’s death.

“Shlara was my best general and friend. When I remember her, I can’t help but think of you.” My voice cracked a little and I felt a lump form in my throat. I swallowed and choked it down to my stomach.

“Me?” Nadea puzzled.

“She looked like you. Beautiful, athletic, brown hair, and eyes that flashed dangerously when I made her mad, which was often. But her personality reminds me of you as well. She was driven. She knew what she wanted and worked tirelessly to achieve her goals. Shlara never made excuses or failed. She was a logistical and tactical genius. She made changes to my army that improved our performance dramatically. The woman was the best warrior in our army. No one could beat her during a sparring match. All of my generals were amazing warriors and tacticians who had my respect, but she was a cut above the rest. She was the type of woman that only comes into existence once in a dozen lifetimes.” Nadea’s face was a mixture of confused emotions. I saw her cheeks flush slightly and heard her heart beat quickly.

“She loved me.” I felt warmth on my cheeks and realized I was crying. “I loved her too.”

Silence fell between us. I closed my eyes and tried not to remember her death. Instead, I remembered everything I had ever thought was amazing about her.

This was probably more painful.

The silence stretched into minutes until Nadea spoke.

“Why did you kill her?” she whispered. I looked away from her and down at our entwined fingers.

“I was horrible to Shlara. She told me what she felt for me almost daily; she wanted to be my lover and to bear my children. I refused her. I told her I didn’t want to give her special treatment, I told her I didn’t want to focus on anything other than our war, I gave her dozens of different excuses. She was persistent though, and kept pushing me until I finally agreed to give her what she desired once the war was won. Sometimes I think about her and I wonder if she only wanted to destroy the Elvens because she thought this would earn my love.” I paused and then let my fingers slip through Nadea’s before continuing. Her face was shocked and still confused.

“Why didn’t you want to be with her? From how you describe her, she was amazing,” Nadea asked hesitantly.

“Let me go back to earlier,” I said with a small smile and she nodded in agreement.

“We were slaves to the Elvens; that much I told you. My life wasn’t as difficult as others. My father was a trained blacksmith and he instructed my brother and me in the trade. We could have been out in the fields or servicing our masters in their homes directly. Either option was less appealing because we would have more interaction with them. More interaction meant it was more likely I would be killed or beaten.” I looked to her face and she nodded in understanding.

“The Elvens lived in groups of extended families. They would own pieces of land where they would farm and raise cattle. They would also trade goods and services with nearby families. I’m not sure exactly how their leadership was implemented; at least, I don’t have a clear memory of it now. I think a group of elders led the family. The head elder wasn’t quite a king. Paug gave me definitions for various leaders in your language. I think the closest one that fits is chieftain.” Nadea nodded again. Darkness had fallen completely now and it would have been impossible for us to see each other if we were mere humans.

“My father and brother were skilled and worked directly with the chieftain’s closest family. There were only a dozen or so horses in the stable, but it kept me busy for most of the day.” I chuckled suddenly with a realization. “Maybe we did have the most perilous job of all the humans. I don’t recall ever seeing the chieftain, or even the elders, but their children used the stables often.” Nadea returned my smile and leaned forward.

“The chieftain’s eldest daughter was the most dangerous. I didn’t know much about her, but the other slaves would warn me not to cross her. There were tales about her endless cruelty. She apparently murdered humans daily for pleasure; she even killed her own kind for displeasing her. Rumor said that her father couldn’t even control her and she was the true ruler of their tribe. She was powerful and vicious and everyone feared her. I didn’t know how many of the stories were true, but there are normally some grains of truth in those tales.”

“She would come to the stable?” Nadea asked with concern. I nodded.

“She seemed to enjoy riding and would visit three or four times a week. She would bring an entourage of trainers, or the children of the other elders with her. I was always afraid of them, but she seemed to wear terror around her shoulders like a cloak. Even the other Elvens who accompanied her seemed to fear her. Once, a spirited horse threw her off her saddle. She promptly ripped its legs off and then left it to die on the track outside the stables. I had never really seen an Elven do anything violent; I was afraid of them because humans are supposed to fear them, but when I saw her do that I felt real terror.”

“She sounds insane. What a horrible life. I’m sorry, Kaiyer.” Nadea reached out to me again and clasped our hands together.

“When she came into the stables I tried to avoid her notice. I thought that if I did a really excellent job keeping the stables clean, and if I always had her horse ready for her, she wouldn’t want to murder me. It was a ridiculous belief. Horses were worth much more than humans, and she only rode the nicest in our stable. If she could kill a horse with so little thought, with such brutality, I knew that she would do the same to me if I ever upset her. But it was the only hope I had. The only power. If I was perfect, if I pleased her, it was at least possible that I could escape her wrath.” Nadea shook her head and looked at me in understanding.

“I did catch her notice though. She began to come into the stables more. Almost every day, sometimes she would visit twice. She started to stare at me when I prepared her horse, or when I did my chores around her friends. Normally, the Elvens would only speak to me when they needed their horse, but they would never pay attention to me.

“One day, she dismissed her riding coaches and we were alone in the stables. I tried to concentrate on my work and avoid looking at her, but she watched me for what felt like an eternity. I expected to die that day, but instead of killing me, she asked me what my name was.” I smiled sadly at Nadea.

“Then what happened?”

“I told her. A few days later, we became lovers. I had never been with a woman. She showed me what I needed to do to please her. I never understood what her motivation was, but I often wondered why she took a human as a lover. She was beautiful, and from what information I gathered, she had many suitors from different Elven families vying for her.”

“You are quite handsome, Kaiyer,” Nadea breathed. “It is hard to resist your charms. If anyone could seduce a ruler’s daughter, it would be you.”

“I think part of me foresaw that she would kill me one day. There was no other way for it to end. There was no way we could be together.”

“Did you speak about any of this with her? Did she tell you she would protect you or keep you safe?” Nadea asked.

“No. I was too afraid to hear what her answer would be. I also feared that it would push us faster toward whatever end she had in store for me.”

“So you were trapped. You must have been terrified.”

“Don’t feel too sorry for me, Nadea.” I smiled at her. “She was beautiful, even for an Elven. I had never experienced sex, so I enjoyed myself. This sounds twisted, fucking crazy, but I came to love her. I wanted to be with her, and even though I knew our relationship would eventually kill me. I didn’t care, I just wanted to share myself with her.”

“Was it just carnal then? Did you and this woman have a relationship beyond just sex?” Nadea stood up and let go of my fingers. Then she walked over to the head of my cot and sat next to me on the bed. The right side of her body touched mine and she took my scarred hand in her own.

“No. I wish I could say it was, but we had conversations as well. I think we went horseback riding a few times. Or at least, she promised that she would take me, since humans were not allowed to ride horses. I have not remembered everything yet. She would mostly ask about my life and responsibilities around the stable. I know I tried to find out more about her, but she was always elusive.” I looked from our entwined fingers to Nadea’s face. We sat close enough for me to feel her warm breath on my cheeks. “I loved her for the wrong reasons. But I still loved her.”

“More than Shlara?” Nadea asked with concern.

“In some ways. Yes.” Nadea didn’t look happy with the answer, but I continued.

“I don’t know for sure how long we were lovers, but the affair ended suddenly. One day I needed my brother’s help with a new horse. He assisted with the shoeing and broke a tool. My father was working in the smithy next to the stable, so I walked over to get a new tool.”

“When I came out of the stable, I saw a large group of Elvens coming down the hillside to the stable. The chieftains’ daughter was at the head of the group. I ducked back into the smithy and hid with my father. The Elven men ran into the stable and exited with my brother. She started to strangle him and my father ran out with his hammer to save his son.”

“Fuck,” Nadea said in disbelief.

“Her suitors butchered him as she finished choking my brother. I ran to their sides. I was going to pick up the hammer and try to kill her, but I really just wanted to die with them. My brother and father were all the family I had.”

“Why didn’t they kill you?”

“There was a rumor of her being with a stable boy. She came to the stables that day to prove it false. When they found my brother there, they assumed he was the stable boy in question and she killed him to show how little she cared. That the idea disgusted her because she, like all of them, had so little regard for humans. We were animals to them. When they asked her what to do with me, she told them to take me to their human army for training. I remember the way she looked at me, like I meant nothing to her. She regarded me with as much concern as the horse she had brutalized. I hated her then. I hated her for murdering my family, and for pretending to love me when she did not.”

“Fucking bitch,” Nadea spat and then stood. She paced around the tent for a few steps but there was not much room to walk. “How could she do that to you? I want to scream. You have so much reason to hate them, especially her.”

“I do hate them. You know how I feel about them.” She nodded and then sat down on the chair across from me. “I think she may have saved my life. At least, she explained to me later that she had little choice and she regretted her decisions.” I remembered the conversation Iolarathe and I had on the battlefield before our last struggle.

“You spoke to her again?”

“Yes. I wanted revenge. Her people had been experimenting with humans as warriors as a way to fight for more territory without risking their own lives. Elvens are so much stronger and quicker than humans, it did not work. But her tribe had been changing us with the Elements. It was a messy process. Most did not survive. But my anger gave me strength and I lived through the change.”

“Did she visit you during this change?” Nadea’s voice was angry.

“No. I didn’t see her for a long time. Until the day of our last battle.” Her face looked shocked, but I didn’t want to change the pace of my recollection. So I continued speaking. “They eventually had around fifty of us in their small army. They began to train us in the art of warfare and combat. It was a mistake. Eventually I led a group of us in revolt. We killed the trainers and escaped into a nearby river with canoes we crafted. They tried to come after us, but we eluded them multiple times.” I paused again and wished I had some water.

“Then you created the army?” Nadea nodded while she asked.

“Yes. I had a mentor. I can tell you about him another time. We learned how to harness our powers beyond our bodies, how to fight, and we freed other humans. Eventually we grew in size, won victories, and made dents in the Elven population. I don’t think they took us seriously until it was too late and we had already gained too much power. Toward the end of our struggle, the Elvens finally seemed to get organized. They started using larger scale tactics, they did break offs, feints, used territory, and they managed to win a few of the smaller battles that Shlara and I did not plan. In the end though, we had their entire army out positioned, and it came down to one final battle.”

“And you saw her again?” Nadea said in amazement.

“I thought she might have died somewhere along the way. I almost always thought about her. Most of the time I hated her for what she did. I wanted to kill her and all of her kind, as vengeance for my family.”

“I can understand vengeance …” Nadea’s voice trailed off and I thought about Nanos.

“The general of their army asked to meet with me under a flag of truce.”

“It was her!” Nadea finished my sentence in shock.

“Yes.” I smiled. “It had been thirty-six years. She asked for me to surrender. It was a foolish request because one of our soldiers could kill multiples of hers and she was completely outnumbered. She tried to explain about the death of my brother and father. She told me that she did love me. I didn’t want to believe her words.”

“What did you do?” Nadea leaned forward again in her chair with rapt attention.

“I went back to my generals and we began the attack. I thought that her request was odd. It burned in my mind, but I didn’t voice my fears with my generals.”

“She had something planned with the dragons?”

“I had never seen a dragon, only heard tales of them. Somehow the Elvens had three on their side.” I closed my eyes and saw their glassy bodies and the heat of the molten flame. I remembered Recatolusti’catri screaming at me.

“They killed my warriors like ants. They were the most fearsome creatures I could have ever imagined. We managed to kill two of them after taking heavy losses. I almost got the last one, but she escaped and flung me through the air to what I thought would be my death.”

“You didn’t die though.” Nadea squeezed my hand again and I looked into her beautiful face. I suddenly wanted to pull her to me and kiss her. I needed to drown out these memories with her body and the sounds of pleasuring her.

“No. She found me lying in a field. We spoke again and the hate I had for her vanished. Then we made love while our two races killed each other twenty miles away. Afterward, she asked me to flee with her into the wilderness. I would leave everyone behind. Shlara, my people, my role as their leader and the world they expected me to create for them out of the ashes.” I looked into Nadea’s eyes for a few moments before I answered the question I knew she would ask. “I said yes.”

Nadea jerked her hand away.

I closed my eyes.

“So you left with her? She killed your brother and father! What were you thinking?” Her voice was angry and some of the footsteps outside my tent stopped for a moment.

“Shlara found us. I didn’t know how to explain it to her, nor would she have listened had I tried. She attacked. I used my magic and killed her.”

“She attacked you?”

“No. She went after Iolarathe. I tried to stop them from fighting. When it became apparent that Shlara was going to be victorious and kill …” I put my face in my hands and couldn’t hold in a sob. “It just happened. It came from me. She screamed when the fire tore apart her body. I hear it over and over in my head.” The memory triggered the scent of fire and death.

The tent fell silent.

“Your generals captured you afterward?” Nadea finally said.

“I think they did, eventually. My memories are more scattered after that. I searched for her. We were separated somehow. One memory is important though, and it is one of the reasons I want to go to your father. I remember following her to a shrine, in this memory I learned it was called the Radicle. An old Elven man told me that she was here with a young girl who looked like me.”

“A child?” Nadea’s voice was a mixture of astonishment and pain. I glanced at her and she quickly recovered. “Was it yours?”

“I don’t have any memories of her, but I believe so. I didn’t know that humans and Elvens could reproduce. Yet you are here so it must be possible.”

“Yes. I suppose …” Nadea’s voice trailed off into silence.

“The Elven told me that the girl was sent through the Radicle to another world, but the power source, the Ovule as he called it, needed to be replaced.”

“So she went to find it? Did you find her?”

“I don’t have that many more memories after that. If the child was my daughter, and if what Isslata said is true, it has been over five thousand years. She is probably long dead. I will never get to meet her.”

“I’m sorry, Kaiyer.” Nadea sighed and leaned back away from me in the chair. She looked around the tent and spotted the single reading candle on the side of the oaken chest. She stepped over and quickly lit it with a match before continuing. “I don’t know how I feel about what you told me, but I do understand what it is like to be without a father, or a mother.” She smiled at me and I let out a slight sigh of relief.

“Exactly. That is why I want to bring your father back to you and why I want to make sure Jessmei is safe. You are my family now. I couldn’t save my father and brother; I made a mistake and killed Shlara. Perhaps in my past I atoned for it in some way, but I can’t remember that. I want to atone for it now. I would love to stay here with you, but I am not going to make the selfish choice again.” Our eyes met for a few moments and she sighed.

“It is hard to argue with that,” she finally admitted.

“So you agree? I will leave tomorrow.”

I got up and moved back to my pack to attach the quiver to one of the loose straps.

“Kaiyer. What feelings do you have for me?” she said after a few seconds of me fiddling with the quiver. I looked up at her face. She stared at me intently.

“What do you mean?”

“Before we separated and I was in your room, you had convinced me to join you in the bathtub.” Her voice cracked slightly.

“I remember. I wish the Elvens attempted their kidnapping a night later. I was eager to make love to you.” Her breath caught slightly and I heard her heart beat faster.

“Now that you remember more. About Shlara and this Elven woman. What was her name?”

“Iolarathe.”

“Iolarathe,” she repeated. I could see her roll the name around on her tongue as if she was trying to decide if she liked the taste of a new wine. “Have your feelings for me changed since then?” She stared into my eyes and the small light from the candle made them look like fire.

“Feelings?” I said puzzled.

“Don’t be daft. I want honesty. Don’t play games with me.” She sighed and shook her head quickly. “Do you still desire me?” she asked.

“Of course.” I smiled and saw her body relax slightly. “You’ve just heard about my past and the horrible crimes I committed. Do you still desire me?” She licked her lips and gave the response I already knew she would. She wouldn’t have asked me what my feelings were for her if she didn’t already have them for me.

“Yes.” Her eyes drifted down from my face to my lips and then back to my eyes. “But I don’t know where that leaves us. I have more questions.” She followed up quickly with the first one. “When I say desire I mean …” She looked around as she stumbled over her next word selection. “Attracted.”

I nodded and let her continue.

“But we’ve spoken before about what I need from our relationship. It seemed that you wanted to fuck anything that would spread its legs for you. I don’t want to be just another horse in your stable.”

“I explained how my beliefs on fidelity are different than yours.”

“Yes, I remember. But I want to be clear to you.” Her eyes flash dangerously. “In your room that night you had not agreed to my terms. Part of me wishes that the alarm had not sounded until much later. The thinking part of me realized that I gave up on my principles for you. I was once with a man who had multiple wives. I am not going down that road again. If you want to be with me, you will have only me.”

I opened my mouth to reply but she stopped me.

“My beliefs on fidelity are different than yours.” She smirked. “You don’t have to agree to anything right now.” I nodded and let her continue. “Before you choose, consider the life I have planned, whether this is the life you want. After the war has settled, after we defeat these Elvens and drive them from our land, I will return to my father’s keep in the East. I will continue to help him manage the land and its people. I want nothing more than to help my country. My days will be filled with diplomatic negotiations, with strategy meetings. I want to spend my nights with you and my father discussing philosophy, history, sciences, the day’s events.” She waited for me to reply and I nodded while I considered what she said.

“The only other,” she paused and licked her lips. Her heart had started beating quickly during the last part of her conversation, but suddenly she seemed nervous. “I want children. I love children. But I am sterile. I don’t know if this news of your daughter makes you want to try again. But I cannot bear your children. If I could, I would, Kaiyer.” Her eyes shone with water. “But I can’t. It is because I am a half-breed,” she spat the final words.

I nodded a few times and tried to figure out what to say. Then I realized I would need time to think about her words. I had never thought about what my life would be like after I defeated the Elvens who had invaded this world.

Just like I had never thought about what I would do in the past after I destroyed them.

“I want to be with you. I want to learn more about you, but more than that, I want this life I have planned. You need not commit to anything at the moment, but we will not become lovers until you do. I need to think more about what you just told me. I know I’ll have more questions tomorrow. That is why I would like you to stay. It may sound selfish, but I need you here, the kingdom needs you here. If the Elvens have found Merrium, then there is nothing you can do now to protect them. We will figure out how to negotiate for their release.”

“I am still leaving tomorrow, though,” I said with a smile.

“By the Spirits you are so fucking stubborn!” Nadea sighed with exasperation. “I don’t want to lose you again. I need more time with you.”

“I’ll return to you, Nadea.” My words stopped what she had been about to say. “What we have talked about makes sense to me. I showed you all the ugliness in my life and you didn’t run away in fear. I want to consider my future as well, and if there is a place for me here after this war.” She nodded and smiled. “I am hard to kill. This empress’s small army can’t stop me. I once obliterated her entire race. She cannot prevent me from finding your family and bringing them back to you.”

“Your confidence is infectious,” she mumbled. Nadea stood up from her chair and was suddenly in my arms. Her lithe body felt wonderful against mine and my hands absently rubbed down her back. We embraced for a minute or more until she slowly pulled back away from me. Our faces passed each other and her eyes hinted at how much she wanted to kiss me.

But she didn’t.

“Maybe, by the time you return you will have more memories of your daughter. I want to hear about her,” Nadea said wistfully.

“I hope I do. But I suspect that I never met her. I think Iolarathe sent her away through the Radicle and then couldn’t follow her.”

Nadea suddenly stopped mid-reply and her eyes opened wide. Her hand shot out quicker than I had thought possible and grabbed onto my shoulder.

“Kaiyer. Do you think?” She looked into my eyes, her question unspoken.

“No,” I said with a smile.

“It could be possible. I don’t know how this magic works. If you lived for five thousand years, I may have also come through with a delay.” She shook her head and her body trembled.

“No. The old Elven made it clear. The girl was much older than a newborn baby. She was already talking; she argued with Iolarathe, she also had green eyes like mine.” Nadea nodded and sighed in deep relief.

“Also, while you are also beautiful, you look nothing like her. You couldn’t be her offspring.”

“Good. The thought just jumped into my head. I will consider what you have told me. I should return to my tent now.” She licked her lips slightly and gave me a gaze that told me I could keep her here longer if I tried.

“I’ll rest for the night. I’ll be back before you realize I am gone. With your family in tow.”

“I look forward to seeing them and you again. Be safe for me, please.” She lifted her hand to my cheek and moved her face forward to kiss me lightly on the other one. Once she had touched it with her kiss she dragged her mouth over mine and our lips briefly touched.

“You are teasing me,” I said.

“Can’t help myself. Maybe you’ll agree to stay?” She grinned and her body pressed against mine. My hands came up and wrapped around her lower back.

“Are you going to abandon your principles so soon?” I smiled at her. Our mouths were close again and I could almost taste her tongue.

“No. Damn you.” She sighed and pushed away from me. My friend gathered her cloak and I helped her wrap it over her shoulders. She took a step toward the tent flap and she suddenly stopped and spun to face me.

“You said she doesn’t look like me?” she demanded intensely with a startled gasp. Her heart drummed like a racing horse.

“Iolarathe?”

“Yes!” Nadea’s eyes looked different somehow. They darted from side to side and didn’t seem to focus on anything. “What did she look like? Tell me now!” Nadea practically screamed at me. I was so surprised that I took a step back and almost fell onto my cot.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I don’t know, Kaiyer. Tell me. What did she look like? Please!” Her voice sounded so urgent. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood up in alarm. Something was wrong.

A deafening thunderclap boomed. It was so loud and close I could have sworn that it took place right in the center of the gorge outside of my tent. The air smelled of burning wood, and the darkness was pulled away and replaced by a light so intense that it seemed to be day.

I knew what caused the noise and the light.

The camp alarm sounded half a second later. Nadea and I flew out of my tent and I had to grab her cloak to keep her from sprinting off the edge of the cliff. Countless soldiers screamed in alarm, they dashed out of their tents, clothes half-on, weapons drawn. The top of the gorge was about two hundred feet above my tent. On the side of the overhang, in neatly formed rows, Elven archers stood, bows drawn. Other Elvens held torches, the brands casting intense light that exposed our camp to them. There must have been five hundred of the fucking bastards in total. I cursed under my breath.

This was about to get messy.

“O’Baarni!” a voice screamed from above. It repeated half a dozen more times before it became obvious that the Elvens weren’t letting loose with their arrows.

I finally located the owner of the voice on top of the ridge. She stood in a group of a dozen heavily armored Elven warriors. Her golden hair reflected torch and magic light like braided water. Our eyes made contact from the hundreds of yards of distance between us and she smiled the mischievous grin I had grown so used to seeing on her face.

Isslata had found our camp.

Chapter 6-Jessmei

“Clean yourself. A woman of your blood should not be seen in such a state.” Her voice was harsh, mocking, and had a nasal quality to it that the people of Timata found attractive and fashionable. My stomach sunk and tears came to my eyes again.

I shouldn’t have expected a different reply from my mother.

“Your daughter was almost raped, Otrila,” Greykin said with concern that betrayed his massive size.

“But it has been some time since then, and she has made no effort to present an appropriate appearance. It is unacceptable.” Her eyes shone blue and cold like the northern ocean. My mother was beautiful, with hair a lighter shade of blonde than mine and skin the smooth texture and color of summer peaches. Her lip upturned in annoyance at Greykin’s words and I guessed she was about to chastise the Old Bear for questioning her treatment of me.

“I am tired of hearing your voice, Otrila. Do not speak again until I address you. If these Ancients come here, and you so much as breathe loudly, I swear on the Spirit of my brother, father, and mother that I will fucking gut you before they kill me.” Nadea’s father stood by the window and his voice was more sinister than I ever heard. He had a small corner of the curtains lifted and peered into the afternoon light to view the Ancients. He was so focused on the window that he did not even look at my mother when he said the words.

“You cannot threaten me in such a manner, Beltor!” she screeched in outrage. Rayat’s family clung together at the far corner of the table. I could not tell who they feared more: the four of us in their home, or the force of Ancients in their village.

“They are coming. Shhhh!” my uncle ordered. I heard the stress and fear in his voice and I felt my body grow cold. The wood of Rayat’s family table was slick under my hands from my sweating palms.

“Do not speak to them. I will do the talking. Do not make us regret the decision we have made.” Greykin’s voice was a low rumble of rolling hate. I felt it vibrate the surface of the table and the bones in my chest. Rayat, Greta, Tira, and Jiure had taken me in, fed me, and provided for me for the last few months. Now that they knew who I was, they stared at us in awe and disbelief. Especially Jiure.

“Please don’t kill my son,” Rayat said for the tenth time.

“Silence, peasant. I have not decided on his punishment,” my uncle spat from the side of his mouth. He moved toward the door as a knock echoed throughout the home. I felt some pity for Jiure now, seeing him cowed and injured, no longer the looming threat he had been. A stab of pain from my injured foot reminded me perhaps I was being too generous with my mercy. I cradled my belly with one arm and silently prayed to my grandmother that our baby was unharmed.

Beltor and Greykin had concealed their weapons under the family’s table. My mother, Greykin, and I sat at the table nearest the door. When Beltor opened the door, I could see the two armed Ancients on the porch.

During the banquet when my father knighted Kaiyer, the Ancients who attacked him had worn golden armor that looked like insect plates. The Elvens who kidnapped me wore finely crafted leather padding dyed black and gray. Both of these Ancients wore protection similar to Greykin’s trusty mail shirt. But their armor was composed of tiny links of chain. Each piece was engraved with leaves, flowers, and trees. There was something odd about the metal. It seemed almost the color of the green frosting that ships often carried on their copper pieces. Through my fear, I wondered if the blood of all the people they had killed caused their mail to rust.

“Is this your farmstead?” one of the Ancients asked. They were both men and had long braided hair in slightly different shades of slate gray.

“Yes,” Beltor’s voice didn’t tremble.

“How many head of cattle do you own?” As if by some unspoken cue, the Ancients stepped forward, and while they didn’t push Beltor back physically, he was forced to retreat from the doorway or risk colliding with the armored men.

“Do you want some of our livestock?” Beltor asked. He moved his body away from the entrance and tried to block their view of the family room.

“Yes,” they said in unison. Their faces were almost identical, or at least, I couldn’t make out any difference between them besides their hair color.

“We have one hundred and thirty.” The lie came quickly to Beltor’s mouth. I knew we had almost two hundred.

“Which fields are yours? We will require half,“ the Ancient with the darker hair said. Suddenly his eyes made contact with mine. They were the color of a dull ruby and I couldn’t help but shiver. I tried to look away. I felt like he knew everything about me, knew why I was here, knew who I was, and knew about Kaiyer.

“It will be five crowns a head.” Upon hearing Beltor’s price, the Ancient’s red eyes released their hold on me. I held back a sob in my throat and tried not to whine. My hands clutched the table and I realized my nails were digging into the hard wood.

The Elvens stared at Beltor for what felt like an eternity. Their faces betrayed no emotion; I couldn’t tell if they were shocked at his demand.

“Five crowns is more than our budget allocation,” finally, the one who had stared at me said. I felt the tension in the room ease.

“We have the best cattle in this village, nay, in Nia and Gradar. I’ll show them to you right now if you wish.”

“Which field? We will inspect them ourselves,” the lighter-haired one frowned. The other one turned his attention back to me. Beltor noticed his gaze.

I wished I had listened to my mother and put on better clothes. Greykin’s cloak covered my tattered dress, but it seemed like the red-eyed Ancient’s gaze penetrated the garment.

“Northeast. I am proud of them and would enjoy showing them to you. Let me saddle a horse and I’ll lead you there.” Beltor’s voice was urgent.

“Who is she?” The Elven raised his hand to point. I gasped and my heart stopped beating.

“That is my daughter, my wife, and servants,” Beltor answered. “You are scaring them. I’d like to take you away so they can relax.”

“Why are they not working?” the other Ancient said.

“I called them in when I saw your army. I thought you would butcher us. That is what the stories say. at least.” My uncle laughed nervously.

“Don’t be foolish, human. You need not fear,” the lighter-haired man smiled.

“Anytime and army comes in we have to be afraid, I’m sure you can understand that. But it looks like I might have to fear your haggling prowess! Come; let me show you my herd. I want my five crowns and I’m sure you want this over with so you can continue on your way.” Beltor gave a short laugh and gestured toward the door. The Elvens nodded in unison with his last statement.

“You are correct, human. We must continue on our journey.” The darker-haired Ancient that had pointed at me reached down to his right hip. There was a leather pouch there the size of my spread hand. “This is much more than your asking price. How many horses do you own?”

“My man back here handles the horses. How many can we spare?” Nadea’s father turned around and looked to Rayat with an angry stare that the Ancients didn’t see.

“We have s-s-s-s-ix,” Rayat stuttered. I doubted I could have even spoken if Beltor had asked me a question.

“Excellent. We will take two of them,” the Ancient said.

“Fine. Let me show them to you.” My uncle gestured to the doorway and the Ancients nodded.

Then the three were gone.

“Thank the fucking Spirits,” Greykin whispered after a handful of seconds passed.

“Do not use such language in front of me,” my mother said with an angry look at the Old Bear.

“Sorry, my queen.” The big man bowed lower than his big frame should have allowed. I knew the Old Bear well enough to believe his words were sarcastic.

“Beltor is a fool. He should have explained our situation and surrendered. The empress has already promised our family asylum.” My mother tossed her hair with an annoyed flip of her left hand. “I cannot stand to spend any more time in this hovel. I wish to return to the castle with my daughter.”

“Go back then. It’s a short walk.” Greykin’s beard concealed his mouth, but I could tell from his voice that he was close to either screaming at my mother or breaking this house down on top of us.

“I do not appreciate your attempt at wit you ridiculous, broken drunkard. If you had not failed in your duty of protecting my daughter, none of this would have happened. I blame you for the fall of our kingdom. Bless the Spirits that my son was able to salvage a relationship with the empress.” Her insult caused Greykin’s face to turn a shade of red I had never seen.

“That isn’t true, mother!” The words escaped my mouth in a whisper and I hardly realized I had spoken.

“What ‘isn’t true’ daughter?” Her voice mocked mine. “That this old man failed, or that your brother saved our kingdom? Or perhaps something else in your little bird brain is finally working and you think you can explain this situation better to me? Maybe you’ll actually be able to offer a solution instead of just letting yourself be taken advantage of?”

I shook under her ice cold stare and her upturned lip. I tried to speak, but I didn’t know what to say and the lump in my throat seemed to be preventing me from even breathing. My foot throbbed. My vision got blurry and I blinked to keep the tears at bay.

“Are you crying now? My poor, useless daughter.” She sighed and covered her face with her delicate hands. “I should really blame myself for how you turned out. But I just cannot. Your father and his lack of discipline had far more to do with it than I did. At least you are beautiful, or you will be again when you have recovered from whatever you did to yourself in the forest.”

I tried to speak, but the words were lost to me. Instead, I felt removed from my body. When the sobs hit me again, I couldn’t fight them. I was not in control anymore.

I didn’t think I had any tears left.

I should have expected and prepared myself for her scorn. She was right. I was always at someone else’s mercy. Greykin needed to protect me, then Kaiyer, now Nadea’s father. Maybe it would have been better if I had been taken to the empress and tortured. Maybe I should have just died when they tried to kidnap me.

Greykin’s cloak was warm and heavy. But I still felt cold and couldn’t stop shaking. His face was almost the color of wine, but his blue eyes stared at me with empathy. Had this been any other day in our previous life, the old warrior would have wrapped his giant arms around me so I could cry into his chest. He would have told me how amazing I was, how beautiful I was, and how my mother was wrong. Eventually he would calm me down and do something to make me laugh. Then he would turn me over to my handmaidens, and they would clean the tears from my face before sharing the kingdom’s gossip.

Everything was broken now. Even though my guardian sat in front of me, he couldn’t risk angering my mother. He was sworn to do her bidding. What would Nadea do if my mother had just spoken to her that way? The thought gave me mixed emotions. Nadea was smarter, braver, and more beautiful than me. Even my mother could not find fault in my cousin. Or maybe she just knew that Nadea would not tolerate such insults.

The door opened so suddenly the draft blew back my hair. Everyone jumped to their feet in surprise.

“Fuck! Horses!” Beltor’s eyes were wide and panicked.

“What horses?” Greykin asked in confusion.

“There were three Nia horses in the stables!” Nadea’s father slammed the door quickly behind him and ran over to the window to peer out again.

“We left them in the forest though,” Greykin said with puzzlement.

“Those were the horses that the Ancients stole from the castle stables when they took me. Kaiyer left them here as payment to Rayat for housing us,” I said slowly.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Greykin suddenly looked as panicked as Nadea’s father did.

Then I understood the mistake.

“They didn’t notice. But it changes nothing. Just buys us a few hours maybe. Someone will see the brandings and the saddles. They were stock from the Royal Stable. The Ancients will wonder how those horses got here and then piece the situation together.” Beltor sighed and then let the curtain fall down in place. “I thought we had escaped detection.”

“We should go back to our horses in the forest and leave,” Greykin said with a nod, approving his own idea.

“Where will we go? We have twenty thousand troops in the North, but the snow hasn’t thawed yet and we couldn’t make the journey. We can’t go east to my keep; the Loshers will have troops there.” Beltor sighed with frustration.

“Could we go south to Brilla?” I asked. The sound of my voice surprised me. My mother looked over at me disapprovingly.

“We would have to go through Nia. We would probably get caught.”

“What if we sailed there?” I asked. “We might trade the horses for a small boat and get to Brilla that way?” My voice lost its volume when Beltor and Greykin didn’t nod in approval. The cloak seemed to press down on me, forcing my shoulders to slump. The wool fabric felt itchy and horrible.

“No one knows how to sail, Jessmei.” My uncle shook his head with a displeased expression.

“I would not risk myself on a boat. I have no desire to travel anywhere but my home,” my mother said with her chin held high in the air.

Beltor moved quickly across the room and I heard the sound of the slap before I saw him hit my mother. He struck her with the backside of his hand.

“I told you not to speak until I addressed you.” She stared at him in a beautiful mix of amazement, shock, horror, and contempt. Rayat clung to his daughter and pulled is son closer to him.

“How dare you hit me Beltor? I am your queen!” She looked over to Greykin and pointed at Nadea’s father. “Are you going to let him touch me?”

“Aye.” The Old Bear smiled big through his beard and chuckled a little.

“You have failed my family again. I—“ Beltor’s hand flew out and smacked my mother across the face in the same spot. It seemed like this was a much harder blow, and my mother’s head snapped to the side.

“Do not speak unless I address you,” Beltor repeated with slow enunciation. “I know it is difficult for you to comprehend this situation. But I am in charge here, not you. I don’t serve you. I serve our kingdom and the rightful heir to my brother’s throne.”

“I guessed it then.” My mother sneered and blood dripped out of the corner of her lip. “You want the kingdom for yourself. You were always jealous of him and our marriage. Will you force yourself on me like you will rape Nia?” She let out a mocking laugh.

“No, Otrila. You are the ugliest woman I have ever met, and the idea of laying with you makes my mouth taste of vomit. I never envied my brother. I was allowed to marry the woman that I loved and make a beautiful child with her. He was forced to spend his life joined to you. I never wanted to be king. I only wanted to raise my family in peace.” My mother’s eyes grew large at his words and she frowned. I had never seen my mother cry, but it seemed that Beltor’s statement hit a nerve with the mean woman.

“I serve our kingdom. My brother is dead. Your son is a traitor for having made an alliance with our enemy. There is only one rightful ruler of our land.” He nodded at me and smiled. The grin made my heart ache to see my father again. My uncle’s hair was a few shades darker than my father’s, but they shared the same smile.

“I’ll agree with that.” Greykin looked at me and grunted.

“Me?” I gasped and my mother snorted.

“Yes, Jessmei. Our armies will follow you. Our people will follow you. We’ll just need to secure you somewhere safe for a few months, until our main force can return from the North. The Elvens and Loshers cannot stand against our army. We outnumber them too greatly.”

“But they hold the castle. How will we fight them?” It was the only idea I could grasp as the significance of his words swirled around in my head.

“Let us worry about that. You’ll have generals, advisors, Greykin and me to guide you. It is your birthright and we need you to claim it.” He nodded and smiled reassuringly at me.

My mother drew in a sharp intake of breath and Beltor shot her an angry look that cut her voice off like a muted harp string.

“First, we will get Queen Jessmei to safety.” Greykin got up and stretched his massive shoulders.

“Girl.” Greykin pointed at Tira. The poor girl’s face turned white at his attention. “When Jessmei is crowned she will ask you to come to the castle and visit with her. There will be banquets, dancers, musicians, and a circus. Would that interest you?” Tira’s eyes grew wide and she nodded eagerly, all fear forgotten with the thought of circuses. “Excellent. But she needs your help to get clothes together for her trip. Can you take her to your room and find clothes?” Tira was still about six winters younger than me and the tattered dress I wore was probably the only garment in the home that would fit me.

“I have clothes she can take,” Greta said. It was the first she had spoken since Greykin and Beltor dragged Jiure into the home and explained to his parents what he had tried to do to me, and who I actually was.

“Good. We will also need you to prepare food for us. Quickly.” Greta got up from her chair and nodded. She pulled her daughter close and gave her instructions on what clothes to get for me.

“Boy, come here.” Beltor pointed at Jiure. My attacker’s face was covered in dried tears, dirt, and blood. He crawled on his hands and knees and knelt before my uncle. His forehead touched the ground and he trembled like a leaf in the wind. The boy looked so small and insignificant. I should have felt happy to see him reduced to such a state after he tried to force himself on me. But all I felt was sadness and regret. I did not want him to be killed.

“I have decided not to execute you. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Rayat and Greta gasped. “Do you wish for redemption boy?” my uncle asked

“Y-y-y-y-yes. Forgive me, my lord,” the boy stuttered. His breath whistled through the missing teeth and I felt a bit of satisfaction that I had done that to him. I did not want him to die, but he deserved the wounds I had inflicted and I was still surprised I had been able to fight him off at all.

“I am not the one to bestow forgiveness upon you.” He gestured to me.

“I am sorry, my queen. So sorry. Please forgive me.” Jiure looked up at me from the ground. Fresh tears streamed down his face and mixed with the dried blood.

“I forgive you,” I choked on the words. My mother snorted, crossed her arms, and turned her face away from me. I probably should have said something different to the boy. My hand clutched my stomach and I remembered where he had hit me. I asked my grandmother to protect us and felt warmth spread through my body.

“Get to your feet. Wash your face. I need you to walk out of the house and track the comings and goings of the Ancients. If it looks like the four of us can make a break for our horses, come get us.” Jiure nodded gratefully until my uncle gestured toward the door. The boy dashed out like the home was on fire.

“I’ll fetch you some more clothes. Can you come with me?” Tira’s voice was but a whisper and she clutched delicately at my hand. She probably didn’t understand exactly what had transpired. Or maybe she did. Children had a way of knowing what was real. Perhaps she suspected who I was this whole time. I let the girl drag me into the back room where Rayat and Greta slept. I heard my uncle, Greykin, Greta, and Rayat whispering. Then Tira asked me what it was like to be a queen and I had to focus on her questions.

After a few minutes, she gathered two of Greta’s summer dresses that would fit me. They were probably too thin for the current weather, but the winter was turning and Greykin’s cloak would keep me warm for whatever journey we had ahead of us.

I changed into one of the dresses. It was rough cotton dyed dark blue. It felt smooth against my skin compared to the cloak and I was grateful to discard the tattered garment I had been wearing. I realized that Kaiyer had left a supply pack in the room I shared with Tira. It contained a cooking set, bedroll, and spare clothes that we had altered to fit me. I grabbed it on the way back to the family room.

“I am ready.” As soon as the words left my mouth I realized that I would miss Tira and Greta immensely.

I would miss how much being here reminded me of Kaiyer. Other than the cave we had lived in for a few weeks, our time here was the closest we had come to living as a joined couple. Though Jiure and the Ancients had spoiled the place, I still felt sad about leaving.

Nadea’s father took some of the gold coins out of the pouch and gave them to Rayat. The rancher nodded and seemed grateful for the amount Beltor had given him. “Here is most of our jerked beef and cheese.” Greta looked exhausted and her voice confirmed her stress. Greykin took the large bag from Rayat’s wife and carefully put it into a thick leather backpack.

“Say your goodbyes, Jessmei,” Beltor said before he paced over to the window to look through the curtains again.

“I am so ashamed, my queen.” Rayat kneeled on the dirty wood floor in front of me. My stomach flipped and I started to feel sick. His wife and daughter quickly followed and threw themselves on the floor before me.

“No. No. No,” I stuttered. “Stand please. Thank you for caring for me.” I reached down and tried to pull Greta up but she resisted me. Tira sobbed loudly and Rayat put his hand over her mouth to quiet her.

The door opened suddenly. Greykin and Beltor reached for their weapons.

“They have moved to the Yerling’s property. I don’t see any of them near us.” Jiure’s eyes were wide and fearful.

“Very well. Thank you, boy,” Beltor said. I sensed a nervous tension in his voice. He nodded to Greykin and my protector touched me on my back. I gently removed my hands from Rayat’s shoulders.

My mother took a deep breath, but the words caught in her mouth when Nadea’s father shot her an angry look. Then she sighed and rose gracefully from the chair.

The rest was a blur of tears and a painful, sick feeling of fear in my stomach. I had been so happy here with Kaiyer, and then everything changed. I didn’t blame Jiure. Maybe I had looked at him inappropriately. Maybe I had not spoken of Kaiyer enough.

All I wanted was a new life, one where I might have been happy with my lover, raised a simple family, and found contentment. I had run away from home and chased after Nadea because I wanted to taste some of the adventure that she loved. But now I knew I didn’t want adventure. I didn’t want my mother’s life either. I had never fully realized the danger of being married to a king until my father’s death.

My rescuers had four horses hidden a hundred yards into the forest south of Rayat’s home. Greykin helped me climb into the saddle of the steed carrying most of the supplies. It wasn’t a lady’s saddle, so I had to spread my legs on each side of the horse instead of over one side. The riding position made my new dress squeeze my thighs painfully. We needed to escape and I could ride faster sitting as a man, so I didn’t complain. My foot still throbbed from the thorn I had stepped on, but Tira had cleaned and bandaged the wound, and Greta had inspected it and assured me it was shallow and would heal nicely. I looked back and my mother and the look of horror on her face confirmed my assumption that she would be protesting if it weren’t for my uncle’s stern admonitions earlier.

“Westward. To the coast.” Beltor led the way and Greykin trailed behind my mother. Dusk was settling and the trees were not dense enough to protect us from the cool late winter breeze.

“Why west?” I whispered to Nadea’s father.

“Your idea for the boat was good, but I did not want the peasants to know our intentions. The Ancients will return there and extract our plans from them.”

I felt a surprising surge of pleasure and pride as I realized we were doing what I had suggested. I stifled a smile and simply nodded at his response. Maybe I was smart enough to make decisions for Nia. Or I could be, in time.

“Will they be safe? The Ancients won’t hurt them, will they? The two that came to the door gave us money for the cattle. I thought they would just kill us and take everything.” I pulled my horse up next to his so I might whisper. My mother would not approve of my concern for Rayat and his family.

“I don’t know, Jess.” Beltor shook his head and looked at me. There was enough light from the setting sun to see the worry in his eyes. “I am surprised as well. The two Ancients that bought the cattle differed greatly from the ones that interrupted the banquet. Like us, I suppose they are all unique.” I nodded again at his words and we rode in silence for a few more minutes. The sky turned a darker shade of purple and I hoped the deeper night would prevent the Ancients from following us.

“Should I have punished Jiure, uncle?” I asked. I already guessed what my mother thought, but Beltor was wise and knew what advice my father would have given.

“Being a leader of a kingdom involves making decisions that most might not agree with.” He looked backward toward Otrila, but she rode many horse lengths behind us and would not hear his words. “Justice is important, but so is forgiveness. The kingdom had little to gain if you were to execute the lad. Rayat seems to be a leader in his community and while this village is on the outskirts of Nia, you never know when you will need support. I think you made the right choice. His intent was horrible, but he did not actually execute those intentions, and he is no danger to you any longer.”

“Because you and Greykin stopped him. If you had not been there I might have been …” My words trailed off and I thought about the blow I took to my stomach. A new wave of guilt flowed through me as I realized another possibility. “Leaving him,” I hesitated, “leaving him unpunished, he may act this way again. He may hurt another woman. I could have prevented this if …”

“Aye, Jess. We can only rule on the present. We cannot treat someone’s intent as if it is the same as actually committing a crime. We cannot judge their future actions and prevent all evil through unjust punishment. I believe he will remember his fear, and your compassion, and have a greater respect for others going forward. You made the right choice.” He reached across the gap that separated our horses and squeezed my shoulder gently. His hand was warm and made me feel at ease.

He smiled again and gave a light chuckle that reminded me of my father. Thoughts of him filled me with sadness that I knew might never leave me. He had been a great man and a wonderful father. The exact opposite of my mother. I wanted to talk to him again, to hug him, to kiss him, to tell him about Kaiyer and our love. But I never could. He had been taken from me forever.

“Uncle. I need to tell you something.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. If I couldn’t tell my father, then his brother would be my next choice. He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow that was hard to see in the approaching darkness.

I leaned over the saddle across the gap to whisper in his ear and winced as the dress pinched into my legs. Soon nothing would fit me and I would be in more pain.

Pain was worth this love.

“I am with child,” I said.

Chapter 7-The O’Baarni

“The caravan has entered the ravine,” Alexia whispered from a few feet away.

“How long before they get here?” I asked.

“Quarter of an hour. Perhaps a bit more.”

“Is it as expected?” I looked away from her and down the sixty feet to the rough rocky floor of the small canyon pass.

“Yes, Kaiyer. Twelve wagons, twenty humans, and only eighteen Elven guards.” She tried to fight back a smile but couldn’t. She raised a leather gloved hand and ran it through her blonde hair.

“Brother. This is it!” Thayer said from his prone position behind me. I looked over at him and matched his smile with a frown.

“This is a trap,” I sighed.

“No, it is not,” Alexia whispered urgently. “We’ve gone over this before. My team has tracked them from their lands for two weeks. There are only a dozen guards. I can understand your caution, but if they are foolish enough to let us sack their shipments three times, then we must not pass on the opportunity.”

I saw Thayer nod in agreement, but I knew that my bald friend just wanted to be pointed toward an Elven to smash.

“I can’t shake the feeling, Alexia. They wouldn’t let us do this three times.” The Elven tribe of Colotar had been trading with their distant relations in the Bolatar tribe for the last year. We studied their route and struck twice over the month, sacking grain, spices, fabric, and leather that the Colotar traded for silver, iron, and gold. Both tribes were much too large for our small band to raid directly, so we settled for nipping at them from the shadows.

We also desperately needed the supplies.

Entas taught us much about survival, but it had been tough living for the last three years. We had some in our number who could farm and build. But my people were still hampered by the weather, the wilderness, and the need to evade notice of our enslavers. We could not do any useful farming that would leave traces on the land, so we had to forage and hunt constantly. Our migration made it difficult to construct anything meaningful beyond our own close-knit family of two hundred and twenty men, women, and children.

“Gorbanni’s team is in place, Kaiyer …” Alexia’s sentence trailed off into a whisper. I heard the frustration in her voice. She didn’t want to pull away from this attack. The shipment was four times larger than the other ones we had taken. It would probably provide us with enough equipment to risk an assault of one of the larger tribes within our three hundred mile roaming range. We could free hundreds more of our people and double our numbers.

I shook my head. “Did any of their guards check inside of the wagons?”

“My scouts said that the second from the last wagon is their camp and food storage. So they went in there often. None of the others have been visited in three weeks. It would be impossible for more Elvens to be hiding in there.” She slid on the rocky ground to lay prone next to me and stared down the length of the small canyon.

“Were your scouts close enough to hear or smell anything?”

“Not to hear, but the wind carried the scent of leather, spices, mushrooms, and grain.” I nodded at her description. The mushrooms were unusual, but I knew that the Colotars grew many types of crops.

This was the shallowest part of a fifty-mile canyon that separated the two tribes. It was called Katalic’s Maze, after the Elven chieftains who had discovered the place. A series of deep rivers and erratic creeks dug through most of the network of red and gray stone like the blue veins of a bloated corpse. This section had long since run dry. The sandy road and smooth stone walls of the pass provided a quick route through the southeast section that connected the two tribes. We avoided the obvious ambush here during our last two attacks, but I still expected more guards.

I couldn’t get the uneasy feeling out of my stomach.

“The top of the canyon is clear?” I looked to Alexia and then Thayer.

“Yes,” they both answered as one.

“This is an easy victory, Brother. Let’s not be looking the other way when the girl is on all fours in front of us.” He spat on the dirt and winked at Alexia. She shook her head disapprovingly.

“Gorbanni is already prepared, Kaiyer. We’ll only have a few minutes to stop him before he attacks and forces them northward.” My pretty friend licked her lips and her ice blue eyes met mine.

“Tell him to delay.”

“Fuck!” Alexia pounded her fist into the top of the sand covered slate. “I worked my ass off for this Kaiyer. We need this!” She was almost never angry, so her sudden outburst caught me slightly off guard.

“Then you better let him know now. Tell him to reposition at the northern most corner. He will flank them instead of leading the attack.”

“Who is leading then?” Thayer asked with joy in his voice.

“Alexia’s team and I will. You’ll take the western flank. Wait for my signal.” He nodded and jumped to his feet. “Thayer,” I called out before he sprinted away to move his unit. “No magic. Arrows only. Remind them to watch their aim. We’ve got humans down there.” He saluted and sprinted backward for a few steps to make sure I had no more requests. Then he turned around and launched himself off of the slope.

“Return quickly.” I gazed down the canyon road. I could hear the distant sounds of horse hooves and wagon wheels bouncing off the walls a mile south of our position.

I had just made things much more complicated and dangerous for Alexia and me.

Entas and I suspected that the Elvens would look for us after our last two raids, so we found a new home thirty miles farther away from the tribes. It meant that I could only justify bringing forty warriors with me while the rest moved the supplies to the new location. We figured that with the superior ambush in Katalic’s Maze, we could squeeze the most out of our numbers and handle the guards who would escort this shipment.

Gorbanni had his first taste of command during this mission. He was leading fourteen men intending to take the caravan from the south side after they passed a particular bend in the ravine. We guessed that the spot would serve our purposes adequately and would be less suspect, as the Elvens would expect an ambush from above, where I currently hid. By moving Gorbanni’s troops forward, I was possibly falling into whatever trap our enemies had in place. But I would have twenty-eight warriors, plus Thayer, Alexia, and I involved, instead of just Gorbanni and his twelve.

I quickly pieced parts of the new plan together. Entas taught me to have contingency plans. By the time Alexia came back I had finalized what we needed to do and was moving north on the top of the canyon.

“Where are your warriors?” I asked her.

“They are meeting us there. He is pissed,” she said with a chuckle.

“How do they know where we are going?”

“I know what you want, Kaiyer.”

There was a gap of thirty feet between the upper stages of the canyon. I picked up the speed of my sprint across the sandy slate and cleared the jump with plenty of room to spare. Alexia did the same with much less noise.

“Here,” she said, and I guessed she was talking about another gap that dropped off to our left, on the opposite the side of the canyon from where we had planned our ambush. A few pine trees jutted out over the edge of the ledge and I heard the small trickle of the spring below us. I jumped down the slope, slid down the side of the slate, bounced off of a tree limb, and landed in the soft mud on the shore of the water some eighty feet beneath the gorge lip.

“Kaiyer,” one of Alexia’s warriors greeted me from the darkness of the tree’s shade. The other four O’Baarni stood behind him and wore smiles on their faces.

“We are taking point,” Alexia said. There were two men and three women. They nodded and looked to me.

“Back up the cliff.” I pointed up where Alexia and I came from and then started my climb. The shadows of the trees made the walls of slate cool and comforting against my hands.

“I must confess,” Alexia said from beneath me. “I can’t predict what your plan is moving forward. There are only seven of us and eighteen of them.”

“Glad I can still keep you on your toes,” I replied with a smile that only the wall of the cliff face could see.

“I thought the intent was to surprise them and not me?”

“By not vocalizing my plan, I am protecting our ears from the idiocy of it.” I laughed and flipped up to the top of the canyon. I offered Alexia my hand to aid her. She didn’t need it, but the dangerous blonde woman grasped it firmly and let me pull her up the last few feet.

“There are not any more troops. We won’t need Gorbanni or Thayer,” she reaffirmed. I saw her warriors ascend behind her and then I set off north on the top of the canyon again.

“Put Galazara and Ional up on that boulder ridge,” I told Alexia as I pointed to the top of the farthest rock. “Put Omon there and Urance over on the opposite rock at the same position, then Alite at the break where the east boulder meets the wall. You’ll be at the ground level here,” I said as I gestured to the spot where I would also conceal myself. Alexia nodded at my directions and instructed her warriors.

I looked up at the ravine walls and saw Gorbanni signal from the ledge about sixty feet above my position. I motioned with our sign language to keep his forces hidden until I gave him the okay. Only a quarter of his men had bows, and they were the almost unserviceable weapons we had looted from various scavenging missions. Thayer’s warriors also carried bows, but I didn’t see them on the ridge opposite Gorbanni yet.

“Now we wait?” Alexia said from her spot next to me behind the boulder.

I nodded and began the horrible task of counting how many ways this could go wrong and the amount of warriors I would probably lose. After five minutes, I started to doubt my decision to change the plan and move Gorbanni out of harm’s way, as it meant that Alexia and I would now shoulder most of the risk.

But we were used to danger.

“Where is Thayer?” I muttered under my breath and the wind. He should have shown up on the ridge by now. It had been at least ten minutes. Another ten and the Elven caravan would round the corner and be close enough for us to attack.

“He’ll be here. I have guessed what you plan to do. You were right for not telling me. It isn’t idiotic. It is insanity.” She shook her head and smiled.

“You love it, don’t you?”

“Today isn’t our day to die. There is still much revenge to have.” She took a handful of arrows out of her quiver and placed them on the boulder between us. Then she tested the string on her weapon. It twanged a high-pitched tone that indicated it was strung tighter than anything even an Elven could pull back. I liked to think I was rather good with the bow, but while I could put an arrow through the eye of an Elven from about three hundred yards, Alexia could easily do the same during a blizzard. Her warriors were just a hair less skilled than she was.

“They approach.” I heard the horses, the footfalls, and the wheels of the wagons bouncing off rocks a few minutes before I could smell them. Then the first of the carts rounded the bend in the small canyon and I saw what we were up against.

There were four mounted Elvens in front. They had bows in their laps, but they didn’t seem that interested in using them. Their armor resembled fish scales and might have been as reflective as water if the sand and dust of their travels didn’t cover them from head to toe. Behind the cavalry was the first wagon, it was a much larger than the previous ones we had sacked and was covered with a burlap tarp. The cart was driven by four horses and two humans who looked beyond exhausted. Then another large wagon came around the bend of the canyon wall. This one was flanked by two more mounted Elven with a pair of humans driving the horses. When the first group of Elvens were sixty yards from our hiding spot, I decided to act.

“Let them see you. Don’t shoot until I indicate,” I said to Alexia as I stood up from behind the boulder and walked around to be in their full view. The Elvens reared back their steeds in surprise and grasped for their bows.

“Greetings!” I yelled as loud as I could with the power of the Wind behind my voice. The word echoed off of the walls of the ravine and seemed to grow louder before it faded. “Drop your weapons and get off your steeds,” I commanded before they pointed their bows at me.

They stopped their movement at my command but didn’t get off their horses. I resisted the urge to look back when I heard the six bow strings go taut from the boulders behind me. The Elvens looked at me and Alexia’s warriors.

“Is that all your brought?” one of them said with a bored tone. The humans driving the first wagon pulled on the reins to stop. Their faces did more than hint at their terror. The man holding the reins looked at me and slowly twitched his head over his right shoulder.

“This is all we need. If you all drop off of your horses and surrender, I’ll let you live.” It was a lie and I was never good at lying. If they surrendered, I was just going to extract information from them in ways that ensured they died.

The Elvens guarding the second wagon nudged their mounts up to form a line with the other four of their kind. This part of the road was wide enough to allow ten horses to stand next to each other. A few of them scanned the tops of the walls to see if we had any archers positioned there.

“No, human. You’ve pestered our tribe for too long. We will end you now!” He screamed as he dove backward over his horse.

The power of the Earth flowed through my heart, body, and mind. I was so much faster than I could have ever contemplated as a human, and much more swift than an Elven, yet the next series of events happened so quickly that I could do little else but dive to my side and try to roll behind the boulder for cover.

Alexia and her warriors released the arrows in a chorus of high-pitched twangs a fraction of a second after the Elven yelled his words. One of our arrows missed their leader by a quarter of an inch, but the other five connected. Two into and through the skull of the Elven to his left, one into the face of the Elven to his right, and one into the eyes of the Elven at the end of the line closest to the boulders. He had managed to get his bow up and an arrow in his hand quicker than the rest.

I observed this volley before my first retreating footstep landed.

Then the canvas covering the wagons behind the row of Elven guards tore away.

There were a dozen of them inside the first cart and eighteen in the second. Alexia and her warriors were behind the boulder, but I was out in the open and twenty feet from cover. My first footstep landed as the canvas covering the two wagons did. The second footstep landed at the same time as twenty or so bow strings sang in unison. My running speed was quick, but I imagined that these Elvens would account for that in their aim. I braced for impact and dove with all the strength I had toward the safety of the boulders.

Pain shot through my body as an arrow shattered my right thigh. Another ripped through my abdomen and cut my stomach in half; a third caught my right shoulder and tore into my lung. If I had dived to my left, I would have taken fatal damage to my heart. My left arm pushed me up into a flip and I landed in a heap of agony, blood, and arrows behind the cover of the boulder.

My vision swam for a few precious seconds as I reached for the first arrow I could find. The one in my leg hurt the most and I found my left hand closing around the bloody shaft. The leather armor we wore probably did more harm than good at this point. If I had been wearing simple clothing, the arrow would have just passed through me. Now it was caught up in the bindings and I needed to take a few deep, blood-soaked breaths through my one functioning lung before I mustered up the gumption to rip it out of my muscle.

I heard screams from the wagons behind the boulder and figured that Gorbanni had his few bowmen shoot down into the Elven archers. Then the screams were echoed by twangs beside me as Alexia’s team stood from their cover and let loose with a volley in such perfect unison that it sounded like one single bow being released.

“You dead?” Alexia whispered after she crouched beside me. She didn’t even bother to look at my injuries.

“No.” I spat up a mouthful of blood and stomach acid.

“Wish you were?” She threaded another arrow into the weapon as easily as most people brush their hair back.

I choked out a bloody laugh and reached for the shaft that ran through my stomach. My hand closed around the fletching and I gave it a light tug. My vision swam into darkness and I hacked up what felt like a pint of blood. Alexia and her team stood and let loose with another volley of well-timed shots. She crouched down quickly and a drum roll retort of arrows deflected off of the side of the boulder where she had just been standing.

“Where the fuck is Thayer?” She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. When she noticed me struggling to pull the arrow from my stomach she reached over with her left hand behind me, grabbed onto the head, and ripped the shaft from my back. The yank pulled the full length of the arrow through my stomach and out the other side, as the Elven had intended.

The only reason I didn’t scream was because my lung and throat were full of blood.

“Gorbanni can’t charge down the bank of the cliff because they will be easy targets for the Elvens. They know our positions here and some of them are scaling the wall opposite Gorbanni to come around and flank us.” Alexia gave me a battle update before she motioned for Omon to stand up alone, without taking a shot, and then crouch again. Dozens of arrows filled the space where Omon had just been, while Galazara and Ional stood and ducked down before the Elvens released another round of arrows.

My vision cleared enough for me to risk pulling out the arrow that was stuck in my right shoulder and lung. My left hand closed around the shaft and I forced myself to lean against the wall for leverage. I grunted, pulled, and felt the arrowhead rip out more of my lung and muscles, and scrape past bones in my chest as my strength pulled it free.

My eyes closed and I made myself relax. I felt the Earth flow through me, trying to heal me, trying to steady my heart as it squirted my blood through the holes in my body and onto the rough sand of the ravine. It sounded like a small waterfall crashing down a rocky stairway. I pushed on the bones in my leg and ground them together in a rough formation of how they should fit. I didn’t really need to do this to ensure that my body healed, but it would speed up the process by ten seconds or so.

That could make a difference.

Omon stood up again to shoot and his head snapped back suddenly as an Elven arrow found his face and killed him. He tumbled down the slope of the boulder like a small, wet pebble and landed on the floor of the ravine. His bow bounced down a different path than his body and landed in the open space between our clashing forces.

The Elvens roared in victory.

Alexia stood and risked another shot while they were cheering, then she yelped in pain when an arrow hit her in the shoulder and sent her falling. The arrow passed through the ligaments by the rotator cuff. She crawled over to me and leaned against the side of the boulder.

“We’ll be fine. I have them right where I want them.” I forced a smile at the blonde woman that she returned with a frenzied look in her eye. Alexia was slow to anger, but when she lost control of her emotions I had seen horrible things happen.

“Magic?” she asked in a tone that made it seem more like a demand.

“No.” I shook my head. “Our kind is out there on the wagons.” She nodded and then touched her shoulder. Alexia was strong with her Air and Fire. She could have easily obliterated the entire caravan with a small twist of energies. Unfortunately, it took dozens of years to fine tune the ability into something as acute as an arrow.

“I need to assess,” I said between another volley of arrows. About thirty seconds had passed since I pulled the arrow out of my shoulder, and my leg still hurt, but I could move. My stomach wasn’t bleeding anymore, and my lung had started to reform and eject the blood. It would be a struggle to crawl up the side of this boulder so I might look at the battlefield, but I needed to see where our next move should be.

Alexia nodded and stood again to get their attention. I dug my elbows into the boulder and pushed myself up away from the warm stone. My right arm couldn’t move that well, but my left was more than strong enough to pull me over the rock face of the boulders. After a few seconds of crawling, climbing, and healing, I made it to the top of the boulder stack where Alexia and I hid. I could then see what had transpired in the last few minutes of the battle.

There was an organized resistance by our enemies. The first, second, third, and last wagon seemed to be where the Elven archers hid themselves. In the middle of each wagon they had crafted a stomach-high wood barrier that gave them cover. They had the wagons positioned in a rough semi-circle that also protected their back lines from Gorbanni’s men on the ridge and our position on the boulders to their north.

I counted about fifty-four of them. Nine of the pointy-eared fuckers were dead, five on the ground where I had stopped them initially, killed by Alexia’s archers during the first few exchanges of arrows. Four other Elven bodies were inside the semi-circle of I noticed the human caravan drivers were laying down in the seat of each of their wagons.

I wanted to call out to them and let them know we were here to save them, but I feared that would aggravate our already outnumbered situation. One of the Elven bowmen spotted me peeking out from behind the rock and I ducked my head back under cover before he could put an arrow through my face.

Perhaps the humans on the wagons weren’t the ones who needed saving.

While there were always an infinite number of options available during combat, only three came to mind now. We could hold them off here and wait for Thayer to rescue us. If he went where I had told him, he would approach their back side and probably be able to take down half of them with his archers before they could retaliate. Another choice was to fall back to the north through the maze of canyons and lose them. The final option was using magic, the downside being that we would kill the twenty humans, and obliterate the very supplies we were here to obtain.

“We’ll hold here as long as we can for Thayer.” I used our sign language to communicate with one of Gorbanni’s warriors on top of the ridge. Then I crawled down to Alexia. My leg was feeling perfect, but my stomach, lung, chest, and shoulder still complained violently with every movement.

“We’ve got half a dozen arrows each,” she commented without concern.

“Then they will have to count. We are holding for Thayer.”

“I guessed so. Where do you think he is?” She spared me a glance.

I was about to answer when a surge of energy hit the boulders where we hid. Dust and rocks filled my vision and my ears rang like I had just stuck my head into the epicenter of a thunderstorm. I felt the ground shake and another magic comet connected with our boulder again. Then an echo blast smashed into the boulders where Alexia’s other archers took cover.

A boom sounded and screams came from Gorbanni’s troops on the ridge. The Elvens must have three or four skilled magic users with them. It took the Elvens much longer than us to learn how to use Air. Those of their kind who could actually launch a fireball and conjure other effects were extremely valuable. To risk them on a mission like this meant that the Colotar tribe was serious about stopping our raids. It also meant that the intelligence we had gathered was wrong. They should not have this many Elementalists in their tribe.

Unless the Bolatar were helping them.

Dirt, sand, and dust were everywhere. I choked on it, spat it out, and tasted it on my tongue. I realized that we were fucked unless I could change the tide in the next few seconds. We couldn’t wait for Thayer anymore. We were either going to have to retreat or retaliate with our own magic and risk destroying the reason we attempted this raid.

I opened my mouth to bark out the retreat order and it filled with sand again. The thick cloud was so dense I couldn’t even see Alexia standing right next to me. It was a small blessing because it would effectively cover our escape.

Then I got a crazy idea. It was risky in that I couldn’t tell if Gorbanni’s ridge had the same dust problem we did. I hoped that I was right or we would be dead in less than a minute.

We had a command word in our old language; the same language that gave us the word: “O’Baarni” and most of our names. I yelled at my troops to charge their caravan.

My right arm protested dramatically when I used it to assist in my flip over the top of the rocks. The jump took me twenty or so feet in the air and gave me time to rip my trusty mace free from the bindings on my hip. I landed on the ground in between the boulders and the semi-circle of wagons the Elvens were using for protection. I thanked my luck that the sand and dust still gave me some cover, I could see that it seemed to end around the perimeter of the first wagon. They might be able to see me before I made it there and got a shot off with an arrow, but even if I fell, Alexia’s warriors chased behind me and they were deadly in close combat.

I sprinted across the soft, sandy ground toward the caravan and risked a quick glance to the canyon wall where Gorbanni’s men were positioned. They had heard my command and the bulk of his men were running down the sides of the cliff face under a light cover of dust and sand. Dozens of arrows bounced off the sides of the wall and the fire was returned by Gorbanni’s own archers.

I reached the first wagon and jumped over the fifteen-foot barrier to land in the middle of their group of archers. My mace connected with the skull of an Elven as soon as my boots hit the ground. It was a downward strike that crushed her helmeted head like a hammer would squash a too ripe tomato. Blood sprayed ten feet in all directions and the force of the blow smashed her body into the sand.

I was midway through their ranks and guessed about a quarter of their archers saw me descend from the sky. It didn’t matter if they saw me. I was too close now, and the nearest Elven warrior tried desperately to swing his bow around toward me and release his notched arrow. My mace was much faster. The weapon took him in the right side of his hip, shattering his bones like glass and passing through to the other side of his body like I was wielding a blade. The Elvens didn’t heal as fast as we did, but they would recover from most wounds that they could live through for ten or fifteen minutes. This fucker was dead as soon as I separated his spinal column from his hips.

I spun and slammed my mace into the back of an archer who had not realized I was behind him. Then my right hand closed around the neck of another. I crushed his vertebrae before flinging him over my shoulder and into three archers who were about to punch me full of arrows. Alexia cut the skull of an Elven who had drawn his sword next to me. Then I broke the arm, bow, and arrow of another about to shoot up the cliff wall toward Gorbanni’s men as they emerged from the dust cloud.

A pointy-eared fuck came at me with his sword raised above his head. He brought the weapon downward in a cut meant to cleave me in to a symmetrical twin, but I raised my mace and tapped on the blade as it descended, sending the cut wide to my right and throwing the man off balance for a precious half of a second. My right leg swung out wide like an axe cutting down a tree, and my shin strike ripped his legs out from under him. Then my mace slammed down and helped his skull coat the sandy ground with brain matter and blood.

Gorbanni’s men hit the caravan and bounced over the side like an ocean wave. The Elvens screamed in fear and tried to retreat, only to find Alexia’s team and me disassembling their back line.

Five seconds later, the battle was over and we were victorious. Bodies of our enemy littered the ground with their heads either removed or crushed. Blood soaked the sand beneath our feet to the point that it looked like the canyon once had a red river flowing through its bed.

“Gorbanni. Count?” I called over to the blonde-haired man.

“Three injured. None lost.” He shot me a smile over his shoulder and then pushed his spear through an Elven corpse’s head that didn’t look quite dead enough.

“Alexia?” I turned over to the woman.

“Just the one.” She frowned slightly. We had long gotten past the point where we felt more than a pang of remorse for a lost brother or sister. We had experienced too many deaths in our lifetime. The O’Baarni would only feel joy for those who died for the freedom of our people.

“Hey, friend. It’s okay. We are here to help.” Gorbanni’s words brought my attention back to him. He stood next to one human from the caravan. I recognized him as the man who drove the first wagon and had peered over his shoulder when he saw me. I realized that he had been trying to tell me it was a trap. The human was carrying one of the Elven’s bloody swords and was standing over two of their corpses.

“What is your name?” I walked over and stood at Gorbanni’s side. The man with the bloody sword looked at me with rage in his eyes. After a few seconds, I could see him start to calm down and he lowered his sword from the guard position.

“Malek.” He let out a long sigh and the weapon relaxed in his right hand. “I killed these two. Please don’t let them torture me.” His face pleaded and tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Do not worry, Malek. We aren’t here to harm you. We are freedom fighters.” I smiled at him and tied my mace back up to the thongs at my belt. When the man saw me put away my weapon he seemed to grow more relaxed and his heart beat slowed down considerably. He had long brown hair that went down past his shoulder blades. He was thin, like most of the slaves, but muscular. I guessed that he wasn’t a house servant. I looked over at Gorbanni and nodded for him to continue.

“We are the O’Baarni. Perhaps you have heard of us?” Malek shook his head in confusion and Gorbanni continued, “We use Elven magic to fight them. If you want to be free, you can join us. We won’t promise you anything other than death, hunger, and violence. Those are the certainties we live with, in exchange for our freedom from the Elvens.”

“If you come with us, you can serve in our army and learn our magic, or you can help in other ways. We are a small resistance now, but our goal is to take back this world and kill every last one of our enslavers,” Gorbanni continued.

“I will come. I want vengeance!” he spat out, and the tears continued to flow. Gorbanni and I nodded but didn’t smile. We had to have fifteen more of these conversations with the other humans.

“It is unusual that you killed two of them,” I praised Malek. “Did they teach you how to fight?”

“No. I am a carpenter. I built most of their buildings with my family. Will they be okay without me?” He asked and I heard his heart begin to race. This often happened with people that we freed. They didn’t want to leave their families enslaved.

“Life will continue for them as it has throughout our history. You have the power to free them if you come with us and fight. I was once like you, Malek. I had fears, but now I have hope. I will not stop until we have destroyed them and freed our people.” Gorbanni’s voice had an edge of venom. He had a natural charisma that persuaded most people. I could see Malek nod in solidarity at his words.

“They weren’t paying much attention to me.” He looked down at the Elven corpses. “It was easier than I expected.”

“Kaiyer,” Alexia’s voice called from one of the wagons seventy yards away. I excused myself from the two men and walked toward her.

“I made a mistake.” She pointed at the wagon that had concealed the archers. It held dozens of large glass bottles carefully stored under a floorboard, along with a separate covered container that was filled with feces and mushrooms. There were also stacks of cinnamon and cloves.

“What is in the bottles? Water?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Tricky.”

“I should have listened to you.” She shook her head in disappointment.

“It turned out okay. I didn’t really have much of a reason. Just a gut feeling. It shouldn’t have been that easy.” I put my hand on Alexia’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll do better next time. So will my scouts.” She smiled faintly at me.

“You always do. Where is—”

“Haarrrrooooo!” the bald man yelled from the ridge behind us. His voice bounced off of the sides of the small canyon and immediately got our attention. The big man bounded down the edge of the cliff like a mountain goat and his group of soldiers followed him.

“What took you so long?” Alexia and I said almost in unison. He gave us a grin that accented the scar across his face and then patted the dust off of his leather armor. I could then see and smell the blood on him.

“We ran into forty of them heading south. Looks like they were going to meet the caravan. I thought about sending someone back to warn you, but I needed every hand. A few are salvaging weapons and supplies from their horses. I didn’t lose anyone.” He looked at the carnage and then smirked. “Looks like you did just fine without me.”

I nodded and did the math in my head. We did not obtain as many supplies as I had hoped, but we got horses, goods, armor and weapons. We also had the loot from the Elvens Thayer’s warriors had killed. It had cost us a life, but we gained sixteen recruits.

“Let’s not keep our family waiting. Take the weapons and armor, but leave the corpses for the condors,” I shouted to the men who were picking through the bodies and readying the wagons for transport. It would be a long haul with the caravan back to our new home, and we would have to worry about covering our tracks and evading two clans now. Every single step we made toward progress was met with more risk and hardship. Nothing would come easy for us.

At least we were free.

Chapter 8-Kaiyer

“Don’t keep me waiting, O’Baarni.” Isslata’s voice had a playful, singsong quality to it, as if she was taunting someone to join her in a dance. In a way, she was.

“Kaiyer, are you well?” Nadea’s hands closed around my right bicep.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “Was I just standing here? For how long?” I feared that these flashbacks were getting longer.

“What do you mean?” Nadea’s brown eyes met mine and she looked confused. “Did you remember something?” I nodded and opened my mouth to tell her when Isslata interrupted from the cliff wall.

“I imagine screams of dying humans would echo beautifully off of these ravine walls, O’Baarni.” I raised my hand toward the beautiful Elven woman to indicate that I heard her, then I turned to Nadea.

“I’ll tell you later.” I took a few steps on the ledge and crossed one of the narrow wooden bridges that spanned thirty feet over a steep drop to another group of tents. Nadea followed me, and though I could have leapt up the face of the canyon and reached Isslata in seconds, I decided to travel like a normal human.

This path bought me time to think of ways out of this situation. Unfortunately, Nia’s soldiers were in various states of readiness for battle and they moved off of the ledges to let us pass with a few fearful whispers about their future. The talk distracted me enough from my thoughts to prevent me from coming up with any ideas.

The torch fires that the Elvens carried had dimmed to a non-magical brightness. Isslata was surrounded by a dozen warriors with bows trained on Nadea and me. The golden-haired woman stood ten feet from the ledge overlooking our camp, and there were three Elvens holding torches to give her extra light.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it? I like it when men come when I call them.” She giggled, but none of her guards even smiled. She normally wore her golden hair back into a single loose braid that ran almost down to the top of her ass cheeks, but tonight she wore twin braids on each side of her head, with orange poppies tied into the metallic strands.

“What do you want?” Nadea’s voice came out as a screech filled with hate, loathing, and fear. I heard her heart beating like a hummingbird’s, her breath was ragged gasps. Runir must have misunderstood what had happened between these two women. It was obvious that Isslata had done something horrible to Nadea. I was already worried about how Nadea would react to finding out I had been with Jessmei and Isslata. Her hatred of the golden-haired Elven did not bode well for me.

“I wish to speak to the O’Baarni, human.” She smiled at my friend and licked her full lips. Then she turned to me and leaned her head sideways slightly. “Tell your pet to shut up and calm herself, or I’ll have to fill that river down there with some blood.”

“I’ll speak with you. What do you want?” I crossed my arms and glared at the Elvens that held their bows pointed at my face. Their armor all matched Isslata’s in that it had flowers etched in the chain linkage, with golden accents on the dark blue plate pieces.

“My troops have set up a tent where we may speak. This way.” She beckoned with her pointer finger as she used to when inviting me to follow her to bed. I stepped after her and into the circle of Elvens. They flanked Nadea and me for the short duration of our walk, some eighty yards into the darkness where they had set up a pavilion.

“Sit down, please.” Isslata pointed at the two chairs closest to the exit flaps. Farther inward were a few stools grouped together. Isslata took one, positioned it across the tent five feet from me and then sat on it with her legs crossed. None of her guards followed us into the tent.

Isslata looked at my face and licked her lips with emotion that I could only guess was lust or hunger. Then she glanced at the dark-haired woman in mild surprise.

“You look different.” The Elven’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Nadea crossed her arms and pushed her teeth together in a silent snarl.

“You wished to speak to me. Here I am.” I tried to cut the tension between the two women with my words. Isslata and Nadea stared at each other for a few more moments until the Elven woman looked at me. Her face changed into one of mirth again.

“We have an agreement,” she said plainly. It took me a few seconds to figure out what she meant.

“You were supposed to bring me Nadea as proof that she was alive and then release her.” My mind flipped through various reasons why Isslata would show up here with a small army only to bring up the deal we had struck three weeks ago.

“Tell him.” Isslata pointed at Nadea without looking at her.

“Fuck you,” Nadea growled as Greykin would have.

“You have no idea how close we came to that.” The Elven sat back and laughed. Nadea’s face seemed confused for a few seconds before her eyes turned to steel again.

“He asked you to bring me to him, not to try and rape me.”

“I didn’t rape you, silly human. But you admitted that I was taking you to him. See?” She looked over at me and raised a pretty eyebrow. “I would have brought her to you had not something destroyed the entire East Wing of the castle. Quite tragic, actually. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you, O’Baarni?” Her lips turned up into a wicked grin that I knew too well.

“We had a deal. You didn’t bring me Nadea, but we can all agree that you made an attempt. Where does that leave us?” I asked to avoid her question.

“I have orders to return with you. The empress is in Nia. I wanted to remind you of our agreement because you will need my assistance and presence when you are being questioned by her.” She nodded after she was done speaking and then she sniffed the air with a confused look on her face.

“You smell different also, girl. Why?” She looked at Nadea with a puzzled expression. Her tongue came out and licked the edges of her lips slowly.

“He isn’t going with you.” Nadea’s jaw was tight and I saw her fists clench in rage.

“You are his pet, not the other way around, human.” She laughed and turned to me. “Sometimes I like to use nice words when I ask for things. I learned that tactic from Alatorict. However, I enjoy killing. So I brought a battalion of our soldiers in case my nice words didn’t work on you, O’Baarni. Which way would you prefer?”

“You’ll let them live if I come with you?” I knew my limits, there was no way I could defeat all of her warriors.

“I have no use for them. I think the empress does though.” She tapped her chin with her gloved hand and smiled coyly.

“What do you mean?” Nadea asked.

“If the O’Baarni comes with me, I have something from the empress to give to you. If he chooses to die here with you, then I’ll keep it.” Isslata’s eyes stared into mine. The gold flecks in her irises danced in the torch light.

“I will come with you. I don’t want to go to the castle, though.” I thought about the massive spider structure and held back a shiver of displeasure. There were too many memories tied to that place. I turned to look at Nadea and her eyes began to water.

“Agreed! You won’t have to set foot inside of the castle. The empress has made her camp outside the walls of the city until we can determine what caused the East Wing to collapse.” Isslata clapped her hands together in mock joy. “Ahh don’t worry pretty little human.” Her voice grew thick like honey when she saw Nadea stare at me. “I’ll take good care of your pretend Destroyer. Perhaps you’ll be able to see him again someday? Maybe if you pray to your Spirits it will happen?” Her words twisted to mockery at the end.

“That is enough, Isslata.” Her words just enraged Nadea further. “You said you had something for her?”

“Yes.” She reached behind her belt and pulled out a small wooden cylinder with flowers, trees, and birds engraved with a green dye. “I was supposed to give it to the human if she was still alive.” She reached across the gap between us and handed it to me. I spun the small container around in my fingers, held it up to my nose to smell it, and then gave it to Nadea.

“It isn’t poison. If we wanted to kill the human, we could have. She has her purposes, just like you do O’Baarni.” Isslata leaned back slightly on her stool and crossed her arms. Nadea examined the piece of wood and then found the lid. She twisted it off and poured out a tightly wound scroll. I looked over to Isslata while Nadea unraveled it and the Elven warrior gave me a wink and seductively licked her lips.

“It is from the empress,” Nadea said with a slight trace of awe in her voice.

“You are incredibly stupid. I just told you it was from her. Really, O’Baarni, I can’t see why you throw your lot in with this one. She’s pretty, but you aren’t even fucking her. You must explain it to me on our ride.” Nadea glanced away from the scroll and glared at the Elven woman with so much hate that I thought she might draw her sword.

“Stop harassing her,” I barked. Suddenly my temper flared and I came too close to lashing out at Isslata. It would have been a horrible mistake since she was perhaps my only ally on their side. I would need her to navigate whatever conversations I would have with their empress. Isslata was out for her own interests and had somehow decided that I was the horse that would carry her to whatever destination she had imagined for herself.

Isslata looked at me in surprise and then bit her lower lip. She glared at Nadea and folded her arms before speaking again.

“Read the damn message, girl,” she whispered.

But Nadea had already been studying the letter intently for a few seconds. I figured she would give it to me when she finished, but I heard her heart beating faster when she got toward the end. After a minute she put down the scroll and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her left hand in an effort to relieve the stress and anger she was feeling.

“So what will it be?” Isslata asked.

“I don’t know!” Nadea replied.

“Don’t get mad at me for the content of the letter. Get mad because I am taking your O’Baarni from you.”

“What does it say?” I asked as I held my palm out to Nadea. She looked at me with sadness and passed the note to me. The paper smelled of sage and lavender. The script was beautifully written in this new language Paug had taught me.

Duchess Nadea of Nia,

It is unfortunate that our first correspondence must be in this manner. I would prefer something more intimate but, troubling times unfortunately call for these methods.

I have followed your exploits through various proxies and carry a deep appreciation for your accomplishments. It is no small feat to summon forth one of the O’Baarni, organize a kingdom’s resistance, escape a treacherous dungeon, and then wage an insurgent war against a superior force.

You have successfully defeated the Losher army, but now that I have arrived in your fair land, I have no desire to keep you as my enemy. I would prefer that we reach an agreement that benefits each of us and your kingdom moving forward.

I offer you a choice between two options that are much more attractive than the eventual result of the path you are taking.

Choice One:

I would allow you to return to Nia with your army. You and your father will still maintain all of your holdings. I wish to set up a new Advisory Council with both of you. I will need your help rebuilding this country and I cannot point to a better patriot than you. Very little of your life will change save that your family’s income will increase from your new roles, and your country will have the unlimited magic and resources that come from my people. We can work on specifics once you return to Nia. I hope you choose this option.

Choice Two:

You leave this country with your army. I believe Brilla will accept you with open arms, but Gradar, or one of the other Northern countries could probably benefit more from your leadership. If you decide on this option, I will buy your lands from you for the sum of eighteen thousand in gold. This shall be delivered to you in the country of your choosing. You will never set foot in Nia again.

I apologize for forcing this decision on you and understand that it will take some time to consider. I’ve asked for Isslata to return with an answer, but she can leave a runner here with you if you need longer. If I do not receive an answer within a week, I will assume that you have declined both of my offers and shall act accordingly, but with deepest regrets.

I have the fondest wishes and hope for our future,

Telaxthe

Empress of the Ancient People

“There is a traitor in my camp,” Nadea said when I looked up from the letter.

“Why do you say that?” I asked with a puzzled expression. I couldn’t imagine a human betraying his kind to the Elvens, but Nanos had.

“How did she find us here?” Nadea glared at Isslata.

“We’ve always known where your army was, human.” The Elven laughed.

“Bullshit. If you knew, then you would have killed us sooner.” Nadea shook her head.

“Ahhh. That was Alatorict’s idea, actually. I wanted to just kill all of you. But that would have left us the Losher to worry about. Instead, he kept an eye on you and didn’t tell our allies. When you attacked their supplies too many times, they decided to take our gold and go back to their homeland. You should have seen the meetings he had with their chieftains. They were quite angry with us, but there was nothing they could do. You knew the land better, and according to Alatorict, our troops were otherwise occupied chasing after the O’Baarni and couldn’t assist them.”

“Fuck.” My friend sighed in defeat and shrugged her shoulders. Her face was a mask of pain.

“Alatorict thinks that the failure of the Loshers to get a foothold here will lead to the collapse of their country’s brief peace treaty. Soon they shall be fighting amongst themselves again and no real threat on our border.” Nadea nodded at Isslata’s words. I knew nothing about the Losher’s culture or political history, but my human friend didn’t seem to doubt the statement.

“Is eighteen thousand in gold a lot of money?” I wondered out loud.

“Yes,” Nadea whispered. “Even if I squandered the funds, it would last for a few generations. In my father’s hands, it could last forever.” She looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Can I read it?” Isslata held out her hand.

“Fuck no.” Nadea snatched the letter from me and rolled it up again. Isslata gave an exaggerated pouty face that turned into an evil smile.

“What should I do?” Nadea asked me with a sigh.

“She cannot be trusted,” I began before Isslata interrupted me.

“The empress always keeps her word. Unlike your kind, O’Baarni.” Isslata flashed her teeth at me in anger. She spun from feral to maniacal to serene so quickly that I wondered if she had many different personalities in her head.

“Can we speak alone?” Nadea asked Isslata. Her voice was calm and had lost all traces of anger. The shift in emotion seemed to give the Elven pause. She looked at me, then Nadea, and back to me.

“Ten minutes. Then I am taking the O’Baarni. I have a mission to complete.” We both nodded and the Elven woman floated out of the tent. I strained to hear her footsteps walk away. When I was confident she was out of earshot I motioned for Nadea to speak.

“If I return to the castle, I can stay with you.” Nadea’s hands wrung the scroll case nervously. “If she is telling the truth, I might still help my people here. My father and I can have our life back. This letter, she sounds,” Nadea took a breath and thought of the word, “civil and agreeable. It seems that she really wants to work with me.”

“It is a lie, Nadea.” I shook my head. “She’ll kill you. She will say anything to get you to agree. The empress wants you in her hand so she can crush your resistance.” I held my hand out, palm up, and closed it into a fist. The knuckles in my fingers cracked to accent the point.

“She could have killed me anytime. She could have told Isslata to kill me now, Kaiyer. The letter seems sincere, doesn’t it?” She looked hopeful and brought up her hand to wipe away a lone tear. “Fuck. I hate losing, especially to that bitch,” she seethed and glanced toward the tent flap. “Everything seemed to be getting better. How can we win this?”

“You can’t go to Nia.” I pulled her into an embrace and felt her body relax against mine. “Go to Brilla and hope she doesn’t betray her word until you get to the border. I wouldn’t expect the money though. She has no reason to give it to you once you escape.”

“We need more time. Do you think that Isslata will give us a few weeks together? Then we can plan something. Perhaps there is a third option?”

“I don’t think so.” I shook my head and sighed. “I believe the explosion in the castle, if I caused it, is pushing up the empress’s time table on me. I am starting to piece together a rough idea of why the Elvens are here, and they expected none of my kind. Let alone their Destroyer.”

“Why are they here?” Nadea looked up into my face with a hungry look. I loved her curiosity.

“I believe they are fleeing my people. I’m not sure, but Alatorict hinted to me about an agreement that the O’Baarni have reneged on. Perhaps I can learn more from talking to the empress.”

“What will happen to you? If you don’t believe she can honor a deal with me,” she pulled away slightly in my arms to read my face easier, “then you can’t imagine that she will keep you alive after she gets whatever information she wants out of you.” I nodded at her words but drew her body against mine again before answering. Nadea was tall and her face buried into my neck during our embrace.

“She will try to eliminate me somehow, I don’t doubt. I admit that I am interested in talking to her. First she tried to kill me and kidnap Jessmei. When that failed, she seemed to have a desire to keep me as a prisoner until she could personally question me, or at least that was the impression I got from Alatorict and Isslata.”

“It will take us three weeks to get to the border. I don’t know if Brilla will be the next country to fall. We might just be delaying the inevitable by fleeing.” Her voice was warm against my neck. “Can you escape and meet us there?”

“I can try. The problem we have is that there is only one of me with the magic to stand toe-to-toe with their kind. I will need many years to build an army and train them. And I still need to train you. Brilla is too close to Nia. You know this world though, maybe there is somewhere where we can hide ourselves and gain strength?”

“There is another country.” She tightened her arms around my waist. I inhaled deeply, she smelled amazing. I just wanted this to end so I could spend more time with her. “It is Astical, south of Vanlourn. It is mostly desert, with a few oases and too many endless canyons to count. Their self-proclaimed king is really a merchant, or some say brigand, named Staril. I know him; he will give us asylum if we come to him in need.” I nodded and thought about my most recent memory. I could work with that sort of dangerous environment.

“Wait for me in Brilla for a month. If I don’t come for you, then I have died. You can’t let these Elvens take your world or it will be lifetimes of slavery for your people. You must do everything in your power to grow your army, nurture it, and fight back.” I sighed and ran my hands through her smooth hair. “If we had more time, I would show you how to change them, I could show you how to train them, I could …” My voice trailed off as I searched for the right words. This situation felt frustratingly familiar. In my past, I had used the Elvens as an excuse to put off Shlara, though the real reason I never let myself love her was much less noble.

“I will pray to the Spirits to watch over you, Kaiyer.” She pulled away from me. Her brown eyes stared into mine with sadness.

“I was looking forward to,” she smiled slightly and brushed her fingers against my face, “getting to know you.” She sighed and continued, “In case you don’t make it to Brilla—”

“I will,” I interrupted her.

“In case you don’t, though. I want you to believe that what happened in your past is gone forever. You are a good man. I am thankful for the time we spent together. I wish we could have more, but isn’t life an endless series of struggles for more? We are never satisfied with what we have.” Tears slid down her face.

“Nadea,” I searched my mind for something to say to ease her distress, but I couldn’t think of anything. I was walking into the den of my enemies; I would be forced to talk to their ruler in some sort of diplomatic fashion. It was definitely outside my ability and I might easily falter and end up dead. I couldn’t remember ever having to say goodbye to anyone. My father and brother were taken from me in a way that didn’t give me the opportunity. Everyone else who had been important in my life seemed to be with me until the end.

Until I betrayed them all.

“You must forgive yourself.” She pushed herself against me again. Her voice was just a whisper against my chest, but my superior senses made it echo in my head like Shlara’s final scream. “You made a mistake. If she loved you as much as you say she did, then she would have forgiven you.”

“It was more than a mistake. It was a betrayal. It was unforgiveable.” The words stuck in my throat, but the pain lessened. Holding Nadea in my arms seemed to help. Her scent filled my nostrils and her heart pounded against her rib cage and echoed in time with mine.

“The Spirits feel no rage, Kaiyer; they just have love for those who continue to live. She is watching over you now and wants you to have a wonderful existence.”

“That is a comforting thought.” I almost laughed at Nadea’s naive statement, but kept myself from doing so. Paug and Jessmei had tried to explain their belief in Spirits to me, but the concept seemed too convenient to be real. I didn’t want or need to believe in something that I couldn’t pull from my magic or crush with my hands. No, something inside of me, maybe a memory, told me that Shlara would not have forgiven me.

Even if I had come to forgive Iolarathe.

We clung to each other in silence for another few minutes. Outside the tent I heard the sound of two hundred Elven warriors moving in the distance, speaking to each other, and preparing to depart from the lip of the gorge. Then I heard Isslata’s soft footsteps make their way across the dirt toward us.

“What is your answer, girl?” she asked as soon as the tent flap opened

“I will need some time to confer with my generals,” Nadea said. I looked at her in shock but she ignored me.

“Fine. I will leave a messenger with a fast horse.” The woman focused her green and gold speckled eyes on me. “It will take us two days to make it to the castle if we ride quickly. My warriors are ready to go now.”

“You are taking all of them?” Nadea asked in disbelief.

“Except for the one that will deliver your message. I have what I came here for,” she said with a glance to me that turned into a triumphant smile.

Isslata held open the flap of the tent and I saw a small group of her mounted warriors assembled about eighty yards away. Other Elvens appeared to be leaving the side of the gorge and moving northward to the flat area where I assumed their horses waited. It seemed like a lot of muscle to show in an attempt to capture me. Either the empress didn’t want to risk losing me a third time, or she wanted to ensure that Nadea knew how much power she had. Maybe both.

Isslata cleared her throat and then waved her hand in annoyance when Nadea and I didn’t step out into the night quickly enough. Once we exited the tent, Elvens dismantled our temporary shelter with practiced ease. There were suddenly so many around us that I felt my breath catch and my pulse quicken. I fought against the desire to strike out and kill like a sick man would try to keep from vomiting by taking deep breaths.

“I wouldn’t wait until the last second. Sometimes messengers can get distracted and take too long to reach their destination.” Isslata gave Nadea a wicked smile. The duchess clenched her fist at her sides in a poor attempt to control her anger.

“That won’t happen,” I said.

“She should decide now and save my warrior the trouble.” Isslata’s hand rested on the pommel of her broad long sword. An armored Elven woman brought two sleek horses up behind Isslata while she spoke.

“No.” I looked Isslata in the eyes. “Your empress promised a messenger. You said she honors her word. Or are you now a liar?”

“Fine. I suppose I can grant you another favor, O’Baarni. I’ve always given you whatever you asked of me.” She smiled at me coyly and grasped the reins of the horse that were offered to her. I took the other set and swung myself onto the saddle easily. I had no travel clothes, not even a cloak, but while it was still winter in Nia, the season was mild.

“You aren’t granting anyone here a ‘favor’ by doing what you’ve been told by your ruler,” Nadea shot at Isslata as the golden-haired woman mounted her steed.

“I don’t always do what I am told. Perhaps you shouldn’t either.” Isslata smiled down at Nadea. “Now step aside, human or I’ll accidently trample you with my horse. Like we just trampled your kingdom.”

“Go fuck yourself, bitch.” Nadea stepped to the side of Isslata’s horse and then turned to walk away.

“Oh, I won’t need to worry about fucking myself for the next few days, I think.” Isslata looked at me and laughed. She shouted in our old language for her troops to move out and they did so immediately. Dust filled the night air and obscured the two moons from our vision like dense fog. I could see Nadea’s body through the dirt cloud for twenty or so yards. Then she jumped off of the edge of the cliff and into the gorge paths.

I nudged my horse forward to follow Isslata away from the camp, my friends, and the deception of safety I had enjoyed. I should have realized that there was no way Nadea’s troops could hide from the Elvens. They weren’t used to masking their presence, and they did not have the abilities of the Elements at their disposal. I recalled the various steps we had taken to hide ourselves and our camp from Elven detection. The forces of Nia had not used the most effective methods that I had discovered: space and hardship. Most of the O’Baarni camps had been over five hundred miles away from the nearest Elven tribe, secreted away in an area that the Elvens would have considered uninhabitable, or at least inaccessible. The last place they would ever look.

“This was easier than I expected. You are always a surprise.” Isslata’s comment broke my reverie.

“You didn’t leave me much of a choice.” I waved my hand around to the hundreds of armored Elvens circling us.

“There are always choices. Your pet has an interesting one to make, I assume?” Isslata raised an eyebrow.

“Your empress trusts you to be her gofer but not her confidant?” Isslata’s frowned at my question.

“I know plenty about her plans.”

I nodded but didn’t take the woman’s bait. I did need to understand more about the situation I was getting into, but I guessed that it would be better for Isslata to volunteer the information. Instead, I picked up the speed of my horse into a quick canter and put a few dozen yards between us.

The darker of the moons was full and the lighter one was half visible, but my vision combined with the torches that most of the Elvens carried gave me enough light to see. My escorts matched my pace until the battalion was moving at a brisk pace down the wide switchbacks that led to the oak tree dotted plains.

“I believe you owe me,” Isslata said after a few hours of the journey. She had ridden in silence behind me; none of the Elvens had done much more than glance in my direction. She pulled her horse up to match my speed.

“Do tell.”

“With your pet Nadea, I mean.” She smiled wickedly and licked her lips.

“You were not kind to her.”

“Oh, but I was O’Baarni. You see,” she bumped her horse into mine and leaned toward me, “I could tell that the human desired you. She was in heat; practically panting around you. I am honestly surprised that I didn’t smell your seed on her.”

“I fail to understand how I owe you.” I looked at the Elven woman. The light from the torches and moon reflected off her hair and eyes, making them glow an even brighter gold.

“I could have told her about us.” She laughed lightly and then licked her lips.

“What about us?”

“Don’t be a fool, O’Baarni. Jealousy has been a plague on both of our races since the masters killed the Gods. If I told Nadea about all the times you fucked me, I imagine that she might have had second thoughts about her hero.”

“It would not matter to her,” I choked out. My stomach was starting to feel nauseated. What was this about the masters and the Gods? I remembered the old Elven in my memories, the one that tended to the Radicle, mention something about them. Hadn’t Entas asked me about the Dead Gods?

“Perhaps I could have described our lovemaking then? Would you consider it lovemaking, O’Baarni? I wouldn’t risk guessing what you consider our relationship to be.” I took a deep breath and tried to focus on Isslata’s words. She opened her mouth again but I didn’t hear her voice. The sound of my heart beating filled my ears and the inside of my mouth became too wet with the salty taste of my saliva.

“I could have told her about the time you fucked me all night, when we passed out you were still filling my entrance. When I awoke a few hours later you were hard inside of me, so I rode you until you woke up and I climaxed for the tenth time. Do you think I should have told her about that?” It sounded like she was yelling at me from across an ocean. Cold sweat trickled down my back and made me shiver.

You were not supposed to remember.

The dragon’s last words to me came cascading like an avalanche of rocks.

He won’t die. This is impossible. What do we do?

Gorbanni’s voice cut through my brain and I brought my hands up to my temples in a futile attempt to stop the headache from getting worse. I didn’t remember when he had said those words. I looked over to Isslata, but she was looking at the dark road in front of us while she continued to talk. My mind missed another chunk of what she said, but her voice pushed Gorbanni’s out of my head.

“—and that is just what you have done with me. I could tell her about Vernine. Do you know how disgusted she is with your kind?” She looked over to me with a chuckle but didn’t seem to notice the distress I felt. Or maybe she thought that her own descriptions of our fucking were making me uncomfortable. “She told me that the idea of even touching one of you made her ill, but as soon as you slid into her tunnel she climaxed like there was a tempest inside of her. I’ve never seen her orgasm that powerfully and we have pleasured each other many times in the last twenty …”

Isslata’s voice faded away with the darkness of the night. The torches were getting brighter and blinded me. My body grew so cold I had to pull more Earth to warm it. I felt the horse slow down beneath my hips, as if the animal sensed I was not well.

“Hey oh, Kaiyer!” the skinny blonde man called from inside the barn. “Come talk to me for a spell.”

“I have work to do, sklad, another time perhaps.” I looked back briefly at the storyteller. His name was Warc and I had only seen the man a few times. He stood in the entrance of the poorly lit barn; I could see a group of slaves, including my brother, whispering together a few feet inside the stable. The sklad’s performance for the night had just ended, but it looked like many wanted to continue to speak with the bard.

“I doubt that, Kaiyer. Your brother claims you manage the stables. Horses sleep at night, didn’t you know?” He bobbed his head and smiled at his own cleverness. Most were in awe of Warc, he was handsome, charming, and when he visited our tribe in this clandestine fashion, it was somewhat of a holiday. Even my father would push himself to finish the day’s chores early so that he could hear of the news Warc brought from other corners of the world, the tales he told of olden times, and the stories recounted of ancient human heroes who once fought against the Elven Gods and their demons.

I didn’t like the man.

“Sometimes they shit at night. Our masters like to ride an hour before the sun rises. If the stable isn’t clean, I will be beaten.” It was only partially true. My father, brother, and I worked at a smaller blacksmith and stable house that was located near the chieftain’s residence. His family and the elders were inconsistent riders, and I would guess that no one would be in the stables tomorrow but me.

“Ho ho,” he laughed and stepped away from the barn. “I suppose that makes sense. I’ll accompany you then. How far of a walk is it?”

“No, that is fine Sklad Warc. I will leave you to your friends.” I nodded over to the group inside the barn. At a second glance I realized that they were mostly women gathered around my brother. I wondered if they were actually waiting for Warc or taking the rare opportunity to socialize with my ordinarily busy older sibling.

“They will await my return. The night is young and there are still adventures to be had!” His hand rested presumptuously on my shoulder, giving a light tug toward the stables. The tall man had an unusual gait, his back was hunched and his other arm swung unnaturally across his body with each step. People speculated on what had happened to him, we did not often see the malformed, as human babies born with even slight deformities were immediately disposed of by the Elvens. If a child grew to have a handicap or a slave was injured in a way that made him unable to work, they were also killed. The lame did not make useful slaves. The rumor of Warc was that his gift for story had come at the price of a straight back and working arm. I wondered how he had survived so long this way. “Tell me about yourself, young man,” Warc asked after we were out of earshot of the barn.

“We really shouldn’t be walking together, sklad. If our masters see us, we will be punished. Especially if they find out who you are.” It was against their rules for us to congregate at night, but if I was walking alone I might explain that I was on some errand for my father. I didn’t know if the Elvens knew of Warc, but I couldn’t imagine them supporting a human that traveled uninhibited through their lands, spreading news and fables that excited their slaves. If they found out what the traveling bard did, they would torture and kill him without hesitation.

“You see, I am interested in your opinion of my stories,” he continued as if I hadn’t voiced my concerns. “Most seem overjoyed when I visit their tribes, they sneak me into their homes, make me endless meals, and treat me better than their own family.” I nodded and understood why, we were not allowed to read, or tell each other stories, or share news of other lands. Warc was one of the few connections to our past and the outside world. “During my performances, I look across the entire audience and see their adoring faces, their eyes lit up with joy and their mouths hanging open, hungry for more of my words. It is like this everywhere I go, and while I offer no illusions about my worth to our people, I also must admit that I do enjoy the effect I have on them.”

“I don’t wish to offend you, sklad, as I know that the service you provide is enjoyed by everyone here, but I really would like to be rid of your company. I don’t want our masters to question why two humans are walking together.” I pulled my arm away from his grasp and continued on my path down one of the paved hillsides toward our dwelling. He dashed after me and put his hand on my arm again.

“Why don’t my stories please you, Kaiyer? I’ve been to scores of tribal lands and performed in front of thousands of our brethren. Each place has their naysayers, of course, but I can always give them a heroic tale, or a bit of news that makes them happy. During my performances you are like a dark storm cloud in the room. If you looked any unhappier I would guess that instead of seeing my attractive visage, you were imagining that I was an Elven raping your mother’s eye socket.” I glared at the lanky man when he had finished speaking. I never knew what happened to my mother, but my father had told me she was beautiful, and the sklad may have been closer to recounting how her life ended than I dared to guess.

“I don’t like your stories, Warc. Leave me alone and go back to the people who enjoy your presence.”

“Why? Is it my delivery? Perhaps the timbre of my voice or my facial expressions? I would appreciate it if you could help me hone my craft.”

“I do not like your tales, or your news, or anything you bring to us. I am sure you are skilled in your craft, but if I did not like horses, I would not enjoy watching even the most perfect thoroughbred stallion racing to a victory. This is simply my opinion. You do not need the love of everyone to prove your worth and skill. It is nothing about you, I do not enjoy any sklad.”

“Hoo hoo!” he laughed again and released the grip on my arm. “Why don’t you like them?” He seemed genuinely troubled.

“Why should I? Knowing our past will not change our present or our future. We are slaves. Hope does nothing but hurt us when our dreams go unfulfilled. I don’t understand why others find it so enjoyable. It is like smelling the decadent food of our masters when we are hungry.”

“It is important for our souls. How can you go on day after day with no hope for a better future?” He winced and continued his awkward gait. It was like he was used to being in a smaller body and didn’t know what to do with his elongated limbs.

“We should concentrate on our work. What you do is dangerous for us all. We should be happy with what we have, at least we are alive. There are others who suffer greatly.”

“But the ancient humans did not believe this, they fought against the Gods, what do you think about the Elven’s role in those battles? Do you believe—”

“Sklad, I don’t care for your stories. I don’t even pay attention. They make me uncomfortable and angry. Now, if you don’t get out of my fucking face I am going to break your fucking nose!” The man was half a foot taller than me, but working in the stables and wrestling with Leotol had made me strong. I certainly looked fitter than the entertainer. He pulled back from me in surprise and we both glanced around to make sure no Elven had heard my outburst.

“Very well then.” His eyes darkened and he frowned. “At least I can take comfort that it is nothing I am doing personally to offend you.”

“Good night to you,” I said curtly before I walked up the other side of the path. My father had gone to visit the other smithy after the performance and would not return for a few hours. I picked up my pace, eager for the solitude that the stable work would bring me.

“Boy!” I heard him call after me. “Kaiyer.” I turned around and gritted my teeth. I had left the bard about forty yards behind me and I didn’t want to run all the way back just to punch him in the face.

“Every battle begins with people willing to die for what they believe. Our ancestors thought the same.” He nodded to himself and smiled. The green moon reflected off his teeth and presented me with what might have been a dashing figure, except that I despised everything about the bard.

“Fuck your stories. If our ancestors beat the Elven’s Gods, then how did we end up as slaves? You just spread lies and false hope.”

“You know, Kaiyer, I think you are right. These tales aren’t that useful and I can see why you don’t like them. After all, our ancestors were fighting against their creators. We aren’t in the same place, are we?” He smiled and bobbed his head to his own words.

I shrugged again at the odd man and walked over the crest of the hill. The grass on the other side was long and curled up like river water rippling in a breeze. I felt dampness in the air that accompanied the sound of the blades of grass rubbing against each other. It would probably rain tomorrow.

I made it down the path and walked into my stables. The feel of the dirt on the floor and the wood grain of the first stall gave me a sense of security that the sklad seemed to have robbed from my mind. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Everything was going to be okay. I just had to worry about cleaning out these stalls, tending to the horses, fixing broken tools and shoes. If I performed my duties correctly, I would not be beaten or killed, and neither would my family.

“He fell off his horse a few miles outside of the human camp. He’s had a fever since then and has been moaning those words.” I looked around the stables in confusion. A woman’s voice was carried by the wind. Was she near the stables?

“O’Baarni don’t get fevers,” a male voice answered.

“Hello?” I called out into the stables, one of the horses snorted and stomped its foot, angry I had disturbed its sleep.

“Hello?” I called again and sat. I heard the sound of a sword being drawn, but a sudden pain split the inside of my skull into what felt like four pieces. Had I been struck? The light was so bright that I couldn’t open my eyes. I knew a blade had been pulled, so I pushed myself away from the noise. Something tripped my ankles and I fell a few feet and landed on my right side. I reached down to my legs and touched a sheet wrapped around my knees.

“Calm down, O’Baarni!” Isslata yelled. I heard the sounds of four more swords being pulled from their sheaths. “Hold your swords!” the woman shouted in our old language. “Don’t attack. He is startled.” I tried to move my hand away from my face and winced again in pain. Why was it so bright? My body felt like I had just been tortured, my skin burned, my head ached, and every single muscle between my feet and neck screamed with exhaustion.

“Do not make any sudden movements, O’Baarni. There are five guards along with Alatorict and I near you. Can you see us?”

My voice came out in a raspy croak, it felt and sounded like I was gargling dry earth. I made a few more attempts and finally managed to pull my hand away from my eyes to view my surroundings.

I was in a large tent of white canvas. It was thirty feet wide and long with a ten-foot apex supported by a thick wooden beam. Isslata had not lied. There were five Elven warriors between me, the golden-haired Elven woman, and her general, Alatorict. The floor of the pavilion was paved with oak boards that felt cool against my burning skin. I wanted to lie down on them and go to sleep again.

My body was so tired. I wanted to sleep forever.

“You’ve alarmed Alatorict’s guards, O’Baarni. I don’t feel that they need to worry about you, but I believe that it will help their skepticism if you voice an acknowledgement.” Isslata smiled slightly and nodded her head.

“Water,” I gasped and pointed to my throat.

“Get the O’Baarni water!” Alatorict commanded. The guard closest to him flipped her sword into her sheath with graceful ease and darted out of the tent.

“Can they put away their swords?” Alatorict was standing in front of a wooden stool and sat down after he had finished his question. I nodded and the guards all sheathed their blades.

“You may leave,” Isslata instructed them. The four remaining warriors looked at me with suspicion but then exited. They only made it a few feet outside the tent before taking up position. My senses had started to come back and I could hear the familiar murmur and smell the scents of an active campsite.

“Need help getting into your cot?” Isslata smiled coyly at me as she pointed her finger. I shook my head and climbed back into the bed. I was only wearing a thin undergarment that protected my groin from visibility and the sheet that had entwined itself around my bony legs.

The guard entered with a large flagon of water. She handed it to Isslata, who passed it to me. It must have been a gallon of liquid, but it might as well have been a glass for how quickly I drank it. My throat felt better and my body relaxed. I must have been extremely dehydrated.

“More.” I tossed the flagon back to the guard. She looked at Isslata, who nodded and closed the flap after the warrior left.

“Where are we?” I asked. My voice sounded like a log dragging over rough stone pebbles and felt like burning rust.

“We are at the empress’s temporary camp outside Nia,” Alatorict said. His silver hair was tied back with an elaborate braid. He was wearing robes of blue with golden flowers embroidered on the hems.

“You took ill. Fell off of the horse while riding. I delivered you to this tent about half an hour ago. Alatorict just arrived before you awoke.” Isslata crossed her arms and looked to the other Elven. I couldn’t understand the look they gave each other.

“Now that you are awake, we must debrief our empress. You should rest more, O’Baarni. You will need to be at your full mental strength to speak with her.” He smiled reassuringly at me.

It reminded me of how much I hated the fucker.

“Get out then,” I snarled at the Elven, but I was mostly angry at myself, I was presenting an image of weakness. I needed to enter this camp on my horse with a scowl on my face. Instead, I had been dragged in unconscious by Isslata. No doubt bent over her saddle like a spoil of war.

“Before we leave,” Alatorict paused by the door and turned around with Isslata to face me. I looked at both of them without answering. A few dozen seconds passed while they studied me.

“What?” I finally said

“While you were unconscious you spoke,” Isslata said. Normally she smiled, or frowned, or was a flurry of raw emotions, but now her face was blank and emotionless. They believed I did not know their language and I hoped I had not dispelled that assumption while delirious with fever. It would be useful in my dealings with the empress if they believed they could speak it freely in front of me.

“Did I say anything interesting?” I tried to smile and keep my heartrate steady, but I think I failed. Isslata and Alatorict looked at each other again in confusion and then back to me.

“You said the names of our Dead Gods and spoke in the language of the masters,” she said cautiously.

“You must be mistaken. I don’t know anything about your fucking Gods or whoever these masters are.” I felt my heart beat faster, but the nausea had not returned.

“That may be so, O’Baarni,” Alatorict said. “But that language is so old, we only know a few words of it and we have never shared it with a human. It is the same language that the Destroyer used for the name of your people. It was why they called each other the O’Baarni.”

“If the Destroyer used this language, it must have been common knowledge during that time. Perhaps I picked up some during my travels. You should not be concerned.” I forced a smile and was thankful that whatever delirious conversations I had experienced had not given away that I spoke their language.

“That is very interesting.” Alatorict smiled like a cat that had just caught a mouse. “That language was lost long before the Destroyer’s time. Our people never used it; we wanted to forget about the masters. Historians can’t seem to determine how he knew of the words.” I shrugged. His historians must have had their information wrong. While none of my people spoke the old language fluently, we knew enough words to sprinkle into our conversations and it was common to use it for names.

“Regardless, I am sure it will be another topic the empress will wish to discuss with you. She is very interested in both our races’ histories. Especially the Destroyer.” Alatorict opened the flap and beckoned for Isslata to leave first. She shot a backward glance at me over her shoulder before she exited the tent.

“Oh, that reminds me of one more thing, O’Baarni.” Alatorict paused with his right foot on the dirt outside of the tent.

“What?” I spat at him.

“You should call him the Betrayer. It sounds odd to us, a human calling him the Destroyer. After all, it was not like the man performed genocide on your race. No?”

I nodded but didn’t speak. The silver-haired Elven cracked another one of his charming smiles, bowed slightly and exited the tent.

Then I was alone with my thoughts in the nexus of the enemy army.

Chapter 9-Jessmei

“Do you feel nauseated this morning?” Beltor whispered softly so that Greykin, the two men from the horse broker’s shop and my mother would not hear him. They were a few feet away, loading up the boat with our supplies. Actually, my mother was overseeing the men’s work and criticizing their lack of skill. The wind whipped across the waves of the bay, fluttering the sails of the small sailboat, Greykin’s beard, and my mother’s hair, before it caressed my cheek as Kaiyer had once done.

“No, Uncle.” I frowned. He had asked me this every morning for the last four days and I had given him the same answer. I looked over again at my mother’s back, her long blonde hair coiled behind her head like a snake waiting to strike. I felt fine. At first I had been so numb from shock, the fear and adrenaline from escaping Jiure had carried me through the rest of the that day and I had been so grateful to be safe with Greykin and Beltor. After a few hours of riding, however, the adrenaline wore off and I realized how sore I was from my clumsy run through the forest. My foot was the sharpest, most painful injury, a stabbing protest screamed from the wound if I put more than a slight pressure on it. But the most concerning was my bruised stomach. While my foot seemed to be healing just as Greta had promised with a little rest, the injury to my belly seemed to spread and ache more as we continued to the port town. I observed the changing colors of my bruises with alarm. I put a hand on my stomach now and asked my uncle the question I feared.

“Do you think there is something wrong with my baby?”

“No, of course not.” He smiled at me and then took the last of the leather packs off of the horses and threw them over his shoulder. The two men came back from the boat and Beltor handed them the reins of the animals that had taken us safely from Merrium and across Nia to Relliat.

“You keep asking.” I frowned and stepped out of the way of a group of men carrying crates to a large ship that was docked a few hundred yards from the one Beltor had acquired for our horses.

“Jess,” he sighed and then looked down from the horse to meet my eyes. “I do find it odd that you aren’t ill at all. You don’t,” he paused and looked at me critically before continuing, “you don’t look as women do with child. I know it is early, but still there are usually some signs.” He looked very uncomfortable and I wondered what signs he was looking for. “How late is your moon flow?”

“Eight weeks.” I felt my stomach turn to ice. The wind pushed against my neck again, but instead of it reminding me of Kaiyer’s caress it chilled me. “I know I am pregnant.”

“Aye.” He smiled at me. “A woman’s knowledge of these matters is more telling than the thoughts of an old fool like me. I need to run some errands in the city proper. It will be a bit of a climb, care to join me?” I nodded and then held the reins of the animal while my uncle gave Greykin the last of the packs. Then he explained to my mother that we would both return in fifteen minutes.

“Be quick about it, Beltor. I have no desire to stay in this fish scented rat’s nest any longer.” Mother glared at my uncle and then flicked her hair over her shoulder in contempt of her surroundings.

“This ‘rat’s nest’ as you call it is the second largest port town in your country. It provides jobs, industry, trade, spices, textiles, and grain to the whole northern population. And gold to your late husband’s coffers.” Beltor struggled to keep his voice calm.

“If this hovel is that important, then why haven’t the Ancients claimed it?”

“Did you not see the patrols we avoided to get here? The Ancients have claimed this city and I am sure it will only be a few weeks before they hold a military presence here.” My uncle and mother had never gotten along, even when my father was alive. The past few days of travel had strained the relationship beyond civility.

“Fine, Beltor. As usual, you have to be correct and I must be in the wrong. Go, take my daughter on your little errand. I’ll see to the loading of this raft that you insist is a boat.” She turned away from my uncle and then scolded Greykin’s lifting method.

Beltor grimaced when he walked toward me on the docks. His shaved hair was growing out a bit, so that it was a little shorter than what I remembered Kaiyer’s to be. My thoughts swam to his face, his smile, and his voice. I hoped that he was safe, even if he was prisoner of our enemies. Greykin and my uncle seemed hopeful. Apparently the Ancients wanted to keep him alive so that the empress could question him. Kaiyer was smart and powerful, so I prayed that he might escape somehow and come to me.

“Where are we going, Uncle?” I asked after we spent ten minutes walking out of the dock area.

“You’ll see, Jess,” he said with a careful smile. His face suddenly reminded me of my father and I looked away to ease the pain in my chest.

“I am sorry about my mother,” I said after we walked for a few more minutes through the winding streets of Relliat proper. Despite what she had said earlier, the city was beautiful, with its white and tan houses clinging to the side of the north and eastern bluffs like gems in a rock. The layout probably made the city feel smaller than it actually was, since it moved up as we went away from the crystal blue water of the bay, toward the sky instead of outward. Greykin told me that this city was easy to defend against water attacks, but it had been several generations since Vanlourn’s navy dared to brave the treacherous sea and attempt to siege Relliat.

“You do not need to apologize for her.” I knew that he was right, but I still felt compelled to make up for her rudeness. It hurt me to see her be so callous toward my uncle, and I felt it reflected upon me. While we were nothing alike in personality or demeanor, I looked just like her and I knew people who did not know me already assumed I was as haughty as she was by virtue of my title. I feared people thought I would grow to be just like her. Instead, I tried to emulate my father and show kindness and respect to all, but it was not enough to offset her horrid treatment of everyone. I wished I had Nadea’s attitude. My cousin did not seem to care what anyone thought of her, while my thoughts were often consumed by what I had said, if it had offended or hurt anyone, if I had done something foolish and embarrassing. My uncle turned a corner off of the main thoroughfare and the cobbled street seemed to point almost straight up the face of the cliff.

“How do they transport the goods up these streets?” I wondered out loud. My question was answered when we came upon a small cart being pulled by two donkeys. The cart had a mechanism on the side that looked like a brake. Two men helped steer the contraption slowly up the hill. The men were older than my uncle and stared at me before letting us pass them up the slope.

“We need to get you better clothes on the way.” Beltor grabbed my hand to help me climb up the stone steps that cut a narrower path up a switchback. I tried to reply, but the brief few moments of climbing had taken my breath away and I could do nothing else but gulp down as much air as possible. My foot was still a little tender and it was slowing me down as much as my lack of fitness.

“Let’s break for a few moments,” Uncle said. We were only a quarter of the way up the winding road on the side of the cliff, but had already ascended what I guessed was the entire height of my castle. The Bay of Korono spread out below me dotted with ships like breadcrumbs on a vast blue blanket. The bay opened into the Cloud Ocean. I had only been on a boat a few times in my life and I had not enjoyed it. I knew as soon as we were out on the open water I would be experiencing plenty of the nausea my uncle was so eagerly anticipating. But, anything was worth escaping the Ancients, and this plan had been my own idea.

“I would like some clothes. Thank you. If we have enough money.” The dress Greta gave me was dirty and dusty from our travels. The peasant woman’s figure differed greatly from mine and the four days hadn’t been able to stretch the fabric enough to make it comfortable. Greta was wiry from her work on their farm. Her forearms were strong and muscled, but overall she was much thinner than I was. My chest and hips pushed painfully against the stiff material of the dress, making it difficult to breathe, walk, and ride. I longed for my room back in the castle, my beautiful, comfortable clothes, and my wonderful handmaidens. My mother told me that Cerra, Siliah, Levie, Yera, and Damina had been unharmed in the invasion. They had stayed in my mother’s quarters with her other handmaidens and then fled the city with their families. I was overjoyed that they had all survived and hoped I could see them again someday.

“We will have to get you something more suitable for traveling. Especially with what you are expecting.” He smiled at me and then turned away from the bay to examine the row of brick and clay homes next to us.

“I always wanted to take Satina here. She grew up near the Teeth and never wanted to be that far from her family’s estates.” Beltor pointed at the decorative white flower designs painted on the borders of the tan buildings. “She would have loved this architecture and design.”

My cousin’s mother died a few years before I was born. Nadea and her father had always spoken quite highly of her. I envied the love in their family. Even with Satina gone, Nadea and Beltor seemed happier than my own intact family. My father and mother had been forced to wed, and while they may have made a proper political alliance, their personalities were not suited for one another and they clashed and raged at each other. My mother could provoke even my calm father to exasperation. The rare times the four of us spent together were fraught with tension and arguments. My mother was always angry or about to be, my father and I were always at fault and struggling to make it up to her, while my brother sat back and soaked up unearned adoration.

“Did you ever take Nadea here?”

“A few times. Nadea is maybe too much like me and less like her mother. I wanted her to enjoy the beauty of the place, but you know your cousin, she was more interested in racing up the switchbacks and asking the merchants about the naval battles they had witnessed.” He pointed up toward the cliffs. I nodded, and we continued our slow walk. A smile came to my lips when I thought about Nadea’s favorite conversation topics.

“You remind me of Satina, Jess. She had this amazing sense of love for all that she saw around her. What you did for that family back in Merrium was a perfect example. The boy tried to violate you. I think most women would have wanted him dead. But you forgave him and his family so easily.”

“I didn’t think you approved.” I frowned and pushed the memory of Jiure away. The sick taste of fear entered my mouth and caused me to gasp softly.

“It probably would have been easier for Greykin and I to kill them. It would have been just in keeping with our laws, and would have protected us. I still do not trust that they have not aided the Ancients in some way. But mercy is often the wiser choice and its benefits are revealed in unexpected ways. At least that was what Satina used to tell me.”

I nodded and focused on my breathing. We passed a man and woman walking down the steep cobblestones with a little girl swinging between their hands, she squealed in delight as her young parents hoisted her off the ground and let her fly for a few seconds. I couldn’t imagine Greykin or my uncle killing the farmers who had taken me in. Greta, Rayat, and Tira were gentle, innocent people that had done nothing wrong except caring for me when I needed safe harbor. They could not be held accountable for Jiure’s actions, and even he did not do any real harm. I hoped.

“The more I thought about it.” He stopped at another switchback and indicated to me that we should rest again. “The more I knew you were correct. We can’t win by being monsters. Satina would have agreed with your decision. She felt that all life was precious, and that there was always a solution that was kind and fair to everyone. ‘After all’ she would say to me often, ‘our world was created with such beauty and the Spirits of our ancestors watch over us to ensure that we are happy. There may be ugliness that transpires, but it is only temporary as long as we don’t let it enter our minds and bodies.’”

“I wish I could have met her.” A tight feeling came to my throat and I felt a tear float down the side of my cheek. The salty air quickly pulled it away.

What I had really meant was that I wished she could have been my mother.

“Me as well.” He began walking up the street and I quickly followed.

“I can almost hear her voice now; she would be trying to help me see the best side of things. ‘Bell, you may have lost your kingdom, your brother, your daughter, but at least you are spending some quality time with your niece.’” He chuckled to himself and we walked for the next five minutes in silence.

The break in our conversation gave me time to think about my uncle, Nadea, and my own family. I had always been somewhat jealous of my cousin and the feeling crept into my chest again, like a pain from sleeping the wrong way. It was a foolish comparison. I’m sure Nadea would rather have a mother that was alive, than one that only her father could tell her about. Yet I was also jealous of Nadea for other reasons. I knew that my father loved me, and he treated me the same as I believed Beltor treated his daughter. But when my father had been alive, most of his day was taken by various matters of the kingdom. I spent time with him every week or so. But Beltor took a personal interest in his daughter and the two were so much closer than my father and I.

“We are here.” Beltor’s voice pulled me away from my thoughts and the tiring climb up the stairs that seemed to be mistakenly considered a street. I looked up at the nondescript building and read the sign over the door.

Mariettia

Midwife, Herbalist, and Healer

“You made this whole walk seem like it was an option.” I turned to him and smiled.

“I figured that if you had the choice of staying with your mother or coming with me, you would choose the latter.”

Do we have an appointment?”

“No. But we have coin. It will bypass any appointment.” I nodded and followed him to the whitewashed door. It was painted with a stylized impression of a pregnant woman in peach. Beltor held the door for me and I walked inside. The entryway was guarded by thick bushes of peppermint, rosemary, and sage that crowded up my nose in a friendly fashion. The inside of the shop was lit by oil lamps and a few fat bunches of sage set like torches into the wall and burning with a fragrant smoke. Rows of bookshelves lined almost every open space, but only a few ledges in the corner actually held books. The rest of the shelves were filled with neatly organized terracotta pots, cloth bags, and amber glass jars holding various powders and oils. Paper labels indicated in neatly scribed handwriting what type of medicine each stowed.

A series of gentle chimes struck the door and announced to the proprietor that we had entered. The sound made me relax. I took a deep breath of the herb-infused air and released it before my uncle closed the door behind us and made the bells ring again.

“Be out in a second,” a woman’s voice called from a back room. Beltor sniffed the contents of a tiny clay jar and then snorted in disgust, quickly putting it away before the sounds of small footsteps grew louder.

“How can I help you?” a woman, maybe only six or eight years older than me, asked from behind a wood table supported by a stone shelf. She was a little shorter than me and had curly brown hair that fell past her sunburnt face to her shoulders.

Beltor opened his mouth to speak but then looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

“I believe I am with child,” I whispered, telling my secret to anyone besides my uncle seemed like it should have made me more afraid. But I didn’t know this woman, she didn’t know me, and I needed her expertise.

“I’ve been told it happens to us. Would this be your first child?” I nodded and couldn’t help but bite my lip. “When was the last time you had your moon flow?”

“Yaha was empty. Alta was three quarters full.” I had answered the same question from my uncle half a dozen times. The woman hummed to herself and then walked around her table.

“Come walk with me into the back room.” She looked to Beltor. “Are you the father?”

“No. I am her uncle.” The question shocked me a little but Beltor seemed unfazed, as if he anticipated the assumption. To me the idea was ludicrous and the suggestion almost angered me. My uncle was obviously so much older than me, and the idea was repulsive as we were related. But I reasoned that this woman knew nothing of our relationship, and it was not uncommon for much older men to impregnate younger women, joined or not. It would be better if the father of my child was the one bringing me here, I thought bitterly.

“Well then, Uncle. There is a sign by the door that says: ‘Closed,’ please hang it on the handle, lock the door, and take a seat over there in the corner. There is a small burner and a pot of water if you wish to make yourself some tea.” She pointed to a corner where a few worn but comfortable looking chairs sat next to a kettle and some earthen mugs. Beltor nodded and looked a little relieved that he need not involve himself further in these female matters.

The room she led me to was as neatly organized as the front of the store. It had a tidy cot, water pump, washing basin, and every wall was packed with medicinal agents in their various containers. Another door led to the rear garden. A single, wide window illuminated the room through lightly frosted glass tinted in pale blue.

“Sit on the bed, please. What is your name, dear?” She reached up on a shelf and grabbed a jar without even looking at her hand.

“Jess.” I returned the woman’s smile. I couldn’t help but like her because of the comfortable way she grinned. She wasn’t that much older than Nadea, but her smile was so supportive and caring. I felt at ease letting her take charge as she gave the impression that she was both very capable and very caring.

“I am Mariettia, it is nice to meet you, Jess. Have you experienced any pain?” She grabbed a glass from another shelf and poured a careful amount of greenish powder into it from the other jar.

“No.”

“You sure? Nothing in the lower back, breasts, or your stomach?” Mariettia took a long silver spoon and carefully stirred some water from the pump into the glass with the green stuff.

“We’ve been riding for the last few days to get here. I am sore from that.” I sighed.

“Any nausea or vomiting?”

“No.” I frowned as she handed the glass to me. It looked like swamp water and didn’t smell much better.

“Drink all of that for me, please.” she prompted me with a smile that showed she knew how awful it would taste.

I choked down the foul liquid. It was a mixture of a grass flavor, a sandy texture, and a stifling smell. My stomach almost instantly tried to reject it but I swallowed an air bubble and gasped in displeasure. She grabbed the glass from my hand and rinsed it off with a pump.

“Do you feel more tired than usual?” She asked as she wetted her hands at the pump and then washed them with a bar of soap she took from a dish.

“It is hard to tell. I haven’t been able to sleep because of the riding.” She nodded and set down the glass on a shelf. “How about your sense of smell? Noticing that it is growing stronger? More sensitive?”

I shook my head. I was starting to fear my lack of symptoms. Beltor had tried to reassure me that not being nauseated did not mean anything, but he could not disguise his anxious looks when I told him that I felt fine. And it seemed there were no other indications I was pregnant either. But I had to be. We had made love so many times, and my moon flow was gone. And I wanted this so badly. I refused to let the thoughts of what Jiure had done enter my mind.

“Lie down on the bed please, Jess.” She pointed at the cot and I leaned back onto the fabric of the cover. The cloth was cool against my head and smelled of mint. I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion and my body relaxed. After what I thought was a minute she began lightly rubbing around the front of my neck with her fingertips.

“Where is the father?” Mariettia lifted my left hand and felt my pulse at the wrist.

“He is in the capital,” I whispered.

“I see.” Her hands moved down to my stomach and gently continued to push there against the thin fabric of my dress. “Have you been under more stress than you are used to?”

I thought carefully before I answered.

“Yes. I haven’t had a very difficult life. I am not used to worrying so much.”

“Since he went to Nia?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been worried since he left, yes. I am more worried now with this gift coming. I know he is okay, but I miss him as much as I miss my father.”

“Your father went to Nia also?” She rubbed on the sides of my hips where the bones were. It made my body relax even more. I recalled how Kaiyer would sometimes touch me after our lovemaking but then I forced the image out of my head. I didn’t want to become aroused while this woman touched me and spoke about my father.

“No. He died.”

“Recently?”

“A few weeks before my mate left to go to Nia. We heard that my father may have died. He set off to see if it was true or if any other family members had escaped the city.”

The woman hummed in acknowledgement and then moved her hands down to my thin leather boots. She took them off and examined my ankles and the ball of my foot.

“I need to do an internal examination. I will leave the room, please remove your dress and any undergarments and put on this gown.” She handed me a thin cotton shift with a loose neckline.

I nodded and stood up from the cot nervously. She exited the room and I stood there alone breathing deeply for a moment before shakily undressing. My handmaidens and Kaiyer had been the only people to ever see me naked. All feelings of sleep fled my body as I quickly pulled the dress over my head, unwrapped the tightly-bound cloth I kept over my breasts, and pulled down my undergarments. I neatly folded them and placed them on the floor next to the cot. I slipped on the robe she had left for me, it smelled of the same cool mint as the sheets on the cot. I sat back down, unsure what to do next, but soon she knocked softly on the door.

“Come in,” I said, feeling strange inviting her into her own room. She smiled warmly again as she entered and I felt myself relax. She had a gift for putting others at ease. Perhaps this was why she chose this profession. I imagined it was an extremely valuable trait to women in childbirth. She went to the basin again, washed her hands thoroughly and approached the cot.

“Don’t worry Jess. I’ve done this many times before and had it done to me. I know it is uncomfortable, so it will just take a few seconds. Lie down please?” I nodded and went back into my earlier position. I knew she must do this for my baby but having someone unknown touch me made me uncomfortable.

Her hands pushed gently against each one of my breasts for a few moments. They were warm against my skin so the sensation wasn’t completely unpleasant, but I still would have rather them been Kaiyer’s hands.

“Spread your legs a little Jess. I’m sorry but this will be a bit uncomfortable.” I did as I was told and gritted my teeth when Mariettia’s fingers opened my entrance slightly.

My nails dug onto the cloth of the cot and I tried not to scream. It didn’t really hurt, but the feeling of her fingers was so invasive, I couldn’t stand the sensation. I imagined Kaiyer’s face smiling down at me and how beautiful our baby would be. I told myself that I needed to do this to ensure his gift would be healthy. She reached deeper and I tried to concentrate on her face instead of the awkward sensation of her probing me. It was hard to read her face. She did not look alarmed, but not relieved either.

“That is it Jess. Sorry again,” she said apologetically. “I just need you to do one last task but you can put your clothes back on.” I nodded. “Take this bottle outside.” She handed me a wide mouthed glass jar with a handle on its side. The container reminded me of something Greykin would drink from. “There is toilet in my garden. The mixture I gave you is a slight diuretic and will make you pee. Please try to fill the whole jar.”

“Okay.”

She exited the room and I let out a deep breath. I removed the shift she had given me and stared down at my belly. The bruises from Jiure had faded to an odd yellow-green color that almost blended into my skin, but I would never forget the pain and fear he had left me with.

“You okay in there?” I said softly. I ran my hands over my belly wishing I could caress the little baby, reassure it and hold it now. My eyes burned and I fought to hold back tears. I did not know that anything was wrong, but I had a terrible feeling. Mariettia had been so kind, but she had done nothing to reassure me. I put my clothes back on and inhaled deeply. I refused to cry yet. I refused to admit that it was possible something was wrong with our baby.

I clutched the glass to my chest and walked out the other door.

The garden was as organized as the inside of the shop, with neat rows of bushes, plants, vines, and ceiling trellises that supported hanging fruits and roots. A tall fence surrounded the small plot of land and gave a sense of calm serenity. In one corner of the fence was a clay toilet that had a hanging curtain of oil cloth above it for even more privacy. I stepped into the corner, lowered the curtain, and then went about the task of filling up the jar.

“Thank you,” Mariettia said when I returned. “I let your uncle know that you are still okay. He is waiting quite patiently.” I nodded and watched her take the jar and pour my urine into six smaller glass dishes. Each one was a quarter full with herbs that were slightly different shades of ivory.

“What will that do?” I asked.

“It will give me clues as to your condition. Can you lie back on the bed? It will take about a quarter of an hour to get the results and I think some rest will let your body and mind recover from your travels.”

I smiled at her and returned to the cot. Mariettia hummed to herself while she quietly organized some of the contents of the shelf. Then my eyes closed and I heard her footsteps leave the room.

For the thousandth time today I wished Kaiyer was with me. I had never witnessed childbirth and didn’t know what to expect. As much as I wanted this baby, the idea of giving birth, even months from now, scared me. My handmaidens were supposed to teach me about it, but not until after I was joined. Ostensibly it was kept secret because a maiden had no need of this knowledge. But I knew this was a practice in place to keep from scaring young women away from sex, and the fact that they felt the need to keep the horrors of childbirth secret only scared me more.

Everything had started this wild spin out of control when I was kidnapped by the Ancients. Or maybe it started when I followed Nadea to Vanlourn and met Kaiyer. I was smart enough to know it was foolish, but I had to go. I had to escape the constant watch of my mother, her frustration that seemed exacerbated by everything I said or did. Nadea was always so content, so perfect and satisfied with her life and so passionate about her studies and her missions. I wanted to be just like her and I hoped that by taking some initiative and striking out on my own I could be. Nobody seemed to want me to be the way I was.

I should have stayed home, done what they expected, and remained out of everyone’s way. I only angered Nadea and upset her mission. Even Greykin had been mad at me. Finding her had been so exciting, and I had taken so much pride in my independence. But it was not me. I was not a leader, and I had never really been independent. I had just followed Nadea, and Greykin had followed me. If anything had gone wrong, he would have been there to help.

Would my life have been better if I had never met Kaiyer?

The thought almost made me laugh; it was so foolish.

He had nothing to do with me being kidnapped. He was the one to risk his life and chase after the Ancients on foot through the cold winter weather. Kaiyer may have pushed the Ancients to make an aggressive move against my kingdom sooner than my father expected, but eventually they would have come for us. They would have killed my father, mother, and brother.

They would have killed me if not for Kaiyer.

I sat up with a startled gasp and felt panic flood into my lungs like a tidal wave. I must have fallen asleep for longer than an hour. The sun had moved up into the sky and it looked to be more like midday than early morning.

The various bowls of herbs bathed in my urine were gone and I heard voices out in the front of the store. As silently as I could, I crept to the door leading to the hallway and cracked it open. It made a soft squeak that caused me to wince, but the voices out front didn’t seem to notice. It was only a few feet of hallway to the main room and I could hear them clearly.

“Is she ready to be woken yet?” I recognized my uncle’s voice.

“I suppose so. Did you get the clothes you need?” Mariettia responded.

“Aye. Any change with your test?”

“No.”

“So you are sure of the results?”

“Yes. I want to see her again in two weeks. She should have her moon flow by then. She needed the rest. I am glad you agreed to leave her with me for a bit. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.” Mariettia’s voice was laced with concern and I felt my stomach drop again. The door I was leaning against almost seemed too heavy to bear.

“We are leaving today. There will be other midwives where we are going.”

“Where is that? I can recommend someone for you.”

“I would rather not say. I’ll wake her now if you please.” Beltor’s tone changed slightly and Mariettia knew better than to argue. I pushed the door open and walked down the hallway to the main room. Before I could get there I felt the tears come to my eyes, warm and stinging.

“What is wrong with my baby?” I attempted to say, but the words came out garbled, choked off, and wet.

My uncle and the midwife were sitting by the tea kettle and my appearance brought both of them to their feet. I tried to push my uncle away so that he would tell me about my baby, but his big arms circled my chest and pulled me to his. It only made me cry more. Then the cries turned into sobs and then screams that his chest couldn’t muffle.

Kaiyer might be dead.

Now his child was too.

“Shhh, it is okay Jess.” Mariettia had been smoothing back my hair in an attempt to comfort me. She may have been speaking to me for the last few minutes that Beltor held me, but I only heard her after the sadness finally quieted my cries.

“You haven’t lost a baby.” Her words stifled my sobs and gave me hope.

“I haven’t?” I pulled away from my uncle’s wet tunic and tried to wipe my eyes. I was sure I looked less than ladylike and was thankful that my mother couldn’t see me now.

“No. Please sit.” She motioned to the chair and the worn leather of the seat cushioned my back like an old friend.

“You must really want this baby.” Mariettia smiled at me and I nodded.

“I love the father more than I can express.” The words came before I realized they were true.

“I can tell.” She nodded and smiled but I noticed my uncle frown with worry. “I’ve had to give this news before, most of the time the women are relieved, but I do not think you will not feel the same. I’m sorry Jess; you didn’t lose the baby because there was never a child in your womb. You are not pregnant.”

“There must be a mistake. My moon flow?” I tried to piece together what the curly-haired woman was telling me. How could I not be with child?

“Sometimes it is delayed. Could be from stress, lack of sleep, a change in diet, travel, the loss of your mate.” Mariettia shrugged and smiled faintly.

“But it has been so long.”

“I expect you’ll get it in the next few days. You need to rest. I’ve had some of my patients go many cycles without one.”

“Your tests are wrong.” I felt frustration growing and I wanted to lash out at her. She looked pleased, as if all of my problems were solved by this news. As soon as the anger flared up I felt it fade away. Mariettia was just trying to help me. She did not understand who I was, what I had been through, or how much I wanted Kaiyer’s child.

“We,” I sighed and looked up at my uncle. “We made love almost every day, more often than not it was two or three times a day, for weeks.” Beltor’s face twisted unpleasantly but he didn’t speak.

“I can tell you two facts and one opinion. You are not pregnant, you are fertile, and so it is possible that your mate is sterile.”

“I am fertile?” I licked my lips and rubbed my hands against my stomach slightly before I stopped. I remembered the blow Jiure had given me and was grateful he had not hurt our baby or impaired my ability to have another one. I was devastated, yet it was somehow more comforting to know that there had never been a baby, than that one had lived and died inside of me. I would still have time to give Kaiyer a child. We would try again when we were reunited.

“Yes, the tests performed make me confident that you can bear children. So if what your claim is true about your lover’s prowess, he may be the one unable to give you a child. It is not unheard of. Or your timing may simply have been off.”

I nodded. I was relieved, but still wished that I carried Kaiyer’s child. I had already imagined how beautiful he or she would be, how wonderful it would be to raise it with Kaiyer, and how we would spend the rest of our lives together as a perfect family. I would be a better mother than my own. The child would grow up surrounded by love, seeing the love Kaiyer and I shared, knowing it was wanted and adored. I could give it love like I never had from my mother and a childhood unlike mine.

Would it have been a boy or a girl? Would it have Kaiyer’s green eyes or my blue? Would its hair be blonde or dark brown? Would it have his eyelashes and my dimples?

“I’d need to examine your mate to be sure. Or any other midwife or physician worth their herbs would be able to tell him.” Mariettia’s voice cut through the mental images of babies and brought me back to the present. She squeezed my shoulder reassuringly before she smiled again. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“No,” I said even though I wanted to ask a hundred more times if she was sure.

“There are good midwives in every major city, for when you are ready to conceive. I can give you a recommendation if you’ll tell me where you are heading.” She smiled at my uncle.

“How much do we owe for your services?” I noticed Beltor was carrying a bundle of clothes wrapped in dark brown paper and tied with a rough looking cord.

“No charge, Uncle.” She smiled at the family title she used for Beltor and shook her head at his refusal to tell her where we were heading. “You weren’t really able to use my services. I deliver babies for a fee, contrary news is free.”

“Then take a donation.” He handed her a small stack of coins. The woman tried to push them back but Beltor was used to commanding people. She quickly gave up her struggle and accepted the money.

“Goodbye, Jess,” she sang after me when we stepped out of the store. I looked back to catch her wave and big smile. The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder and then gently closed the door once we walked off the property. Then we stood on the steep cobblestone streets that gave us the breathtaking view of the bay.

“How long did I sleep?” I asked Beltor.

“About an hour and a half. The midwife convinced me that you needed the rest.” I nodded and tried to smile but I still hadn’t fully digested the news of my pregnancy.

“I guessed on your size but here are a few pairs of traveling pants, blouses, undergarments, a better fitting cloak, and boots.” He smiled at the bundle. It looked surprisingly small under his arm. My uncle wasn’t as big as Greykin, few men were even close, but he was stout and muscular.

“My mother and Greykin will be worried,” I said as I carefully stepped down a steep set of stairs to a walkway on the side of the main road. It was by a bakery and soup shop and the smell of the sharp sourdough bread and stewing tomatoes made my mouth water.

“Greykin will be beside himself.” I frowned and continued to walk away from the delicious scents. I would probably never be able to make my mother happy, but the Old Bear didn’t deserve to be worried. Even though I had pushed him away in the last few days.

“Is he mad at me?” I asked my uncle, even though I already knew the answer.

“No, of course not. I think he is hurt though. I can understand why you didn’t want to tell him about your pregnancy, but he doesn’t know the reasons. All he knows is the girl he has cared for since she was a baby is pushing him away. The presence of your mother is also making it difficult on him. He swore to protect her when she was wed to your father and she is more than an annoyance.”

“I’ll talk to him. I should tell him about what happened.”

“Maybe you don’t need to explain everything.” Beltor smiled at me. “The Old Bear already feels terrible about losing you; I don’t know how he would react to knowing that you and Kaiyer were lovers out of joining. He might murder Kaiyer.” We both laughed and I nodded in agreement. My uncle was probably right about Greykin. He was better off imagining I was the virgin he needed me to be. He would probably prefer to think of me that way even if I’d born fifteen children.

“I’ll make amends some other way.” He nodded in agreement and we continued our walk for a few more minutes down the hill in silence.

“Uncle?” He had been staring out over the aqua bay while we walked and my voice brought his attention to me. “Greykin would be mad if he knew, my mother would be horrified, and I think my father would have sent me away if he had known about Kaiyer. I still love him though and I don’t regret what I have done. I wish I was carrying his child. Does that make me unfit to be a noble woman?”

“That is an odd question, Jess. I don’t know if you are really looking for me to give you an honest answer.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It isn’t a question of royalty or nobility. I have a feeling that you would be happy with him in any situation. But I question Kaiyer’s motives.” He frowned at me and noticed that I was slightly out of breath from walking down the hill. He motioned for us to rest against the wood railing that protected pedestrians from falling off the steep side of the road.

“His motives? He did not have any motives. We were in love, so we made love. There was no nefarious reason for it.” I thought framing the question as I had would have allowed my uncle to express his feelings by projecting them onto my parents and Greykin, without him directly having to say how he felt about my indiscretions. But instead, I was defending Kaiyer. It made me angrier than I thought I should have been that my uncle questioned his intentions and worthiness. “I thought you liked him? Didn’t he save you from our enemies?”

“Aye. He did and I do like the boy. However, there is still much we don’t understand about him. It seems that he may not even know much about himself.”

“I understand him. He is brave and good. And he loves me. In Brilla he protected me from assassins. He saved me from the Ancients. He ran after me for weeks, all alone, on foot, with no concern for himself, he was so desperate to save me. What could motivate such recklessness save love?” I felt the disappointment and desperation seep into my words. If my uncle didn’t approve of Kaiyer, I knew that my father would not have either.

“I am not arguing with you about his heroic deeds. I just worry that your feelings for him might not be reciprocated in full.”

“He loves me!” I spat the words out and glanced away from my uncle. The ships in the harbor below looked small enough to fit in my hand. I couldn’t even make out which was the one Beltor had acquired earlier this morning.

“Men will often make false declarations when attempting to seduce a beautiful woman.”

“He did not seduce me. I made the decision,” I said indignantly. Beltor still viewed me as a child, immature and unworthy of Kaiyer’s love. I was beginning to think my uncle respected me after the time and secrets we had shared, but he was just like the rest of my family.

I thought back to the various times Kaiyer and I had talked, shared our bodies, our thoughts, and meals together. The weeks we spent in the cave, on the road traveling home, and in Merrium. I had worried about becoming pregnant before, but he indicated his support of whatever happened. He had never told me he loved me, but I knew it was true. His actions proved how he felt.

“I never told him I loved him either, but I do. I told him I needed him. I told him that I didn’t want him to go back to Nia.”

Beltor said nothing for a few moments. The wind picked up from the ocean and a small group of gulls spun up through the air on the empty cliffs in front of us. The biggest of the bunch squawked with gusto and the rest followed him higher into the city.

“When Nadea was growing up, I talked to her about how to choose the right man to wed. You cannot judge a man’s character by what he says, or even what he does when you are alone. You must judge his actions both toward you and toward other women.” He looked at me with a smirk and I raised my eyebrow. My father had never discussed anything like this with me, as he would have chosen my husband, and not based solely on character. “A man might be charming, heroic, and a great lover to you, but if he is also this way with other women, he is not the right mate. Similarly, if he is kind to you yet cruel to others, he is not a good man. I would guess you don’t want to share Kaiyer with any other women?”

“Of course not. Why would you ask this?” Fear chilled my skin, suddenly the wind felt icy instead of refreshing. “Did Kaiyer tell you he loved another?”

Beltor put his hand on my shoulder to stop my question. His grip tightened around me almost painfully and I yelped in surprise.

“Shit!” he said in undisguised fear. His mouth hung open and his face was white. The main road leading out of Relliat and into the rest of our country was about a quarter of a mile up the sheer wall. Instead of trade carts pulled by donkeys or couriers with their port orders, the pathway was filled with Ancients, their armor glittered like the sun on the ocean but conveyed none of the warmth.

“Are they coming for me?” I asked. My legs went numb.

“I can’t think of any other reason they would be here.” Beltor pulled on my arm and we hastened down the street. We were still in the heart of the city, high on the cliffs, maybe only a few hundred yards away from the safety of our ship if we were the gulls I had just seen, but a mile or two away on foot.

Screams echoed down upon us from the cliff roads. It sounded like an ocean’s wave of terror was descending on the beautiful city.

“Run, Jess. We must make it to the ship. Understand?” I gasped and pointed at the road ahead of us. A small group of armored Ancients had stopped a crowd of humans.

Beltor and I skidded to a halt on the steep street and I almost fell. The soldiers looked past the humans they were questioning and up at us. The three of them had eyes and hair the same color as the ones that visited Rayat’s home: red and gray.

“Come over here, humans!” one of them commanded with a yell. Beltor grabbed my hand and sighed. His mouth formed a firm line and his eyes looked at me in sadness.

We were caught.

Chapter 10-The O’Baarni

I couldn’t breathe suddenly and my consciousness flew up out of my hazy slumber into the darkness of the night with a choking sound that couldn’t escape from my mouth or nose. I struggled against the fingers that held my nostrils and jaw closed, but the grip felt strong enough to rip my face off if it chose too. My arms swam through my bed of hay and grabbed onto the hand that was killing me. I couldn’t pull it away or push myself back into my bed to escape my imminent death.

“Shhhhh!” It was her. It took my brain a few seconds to tell my heart and arms to relax. “Do not cry out, lover,” she whispered, and her warm breath tickled my earlobe. It sent shivers down my spine and I tried not to moan in pleasure.

I nodded that I understood and she took her hand from my face. I gulped air in relief. I knew it was still night, but I could not tell the hour, the stable doors were closed, preventing me from judging the time by the brightness of the moon. Why was she here? I could only think of two possible reasons: she either wanted another bout of lovemaking from me, or she had grown bored with our trysts and decided that tonight was the night she would end the relationship. Possibly by ending my life.

I quickly reasoned that if she wanted to kill me, she would have done so by smothering me before I woke. Or she would have done it in front of her entourage for sport. Our masters took joy in causing us pain, humiliation, and death. Iolarathe was known to have special talents in viciousness and I had seen her rip apart one of her prized stallions because the animal had thrown her.

“How can I serve you?” I whispered. I didn’t believe in any of the bullshit Gods that most of the human slaves worshiped, but I almost wished that they were real. Then I could pray to them for protection from the fire that was this woman.

“Always so eager to please aren’t you, Kaiyer?” Her voice was half purring cat and half honey. It made my stomach flip and a shiver run down the sides of my arm from my neck.

“For you.” I smiled as she pulled away from me. I could hardly see her face in the darkness, just the shape of her cascading hair and her eyes. They were such a bright silver that they seemed to pool all of the light in the dark stables and reflect it in a bluish glow.

“You are good with your mouth.” The tips of her fingers brushed my face and then traced the outline of my lips. I parted them slightly, and I took a risk by letting the tip of my tongue flick out and touch her. She let out a soft moan and leaned in toward me. The fingers around my lips moved away and were replaced by her soft mouth. Normally when she kissed me it was forceful, it was raw hunger. Lust and desire and need. This kiss was soft and gentle. My tongue explored hers slowly and it tasted of sweet mead.

“Do you remember many months ago, when I told you I would teach you to ride?” Her breath came out in long pants that hinted at her excitement.

“Yes.” I tried not to let hope coat my words. Before we had become lovers, she had told me she would teach me. Even after half a year had passed, I had never dared to bring it up again. Iolarathe was still the chieftain’s daughter, still feared by all of her people, and she still visited my stable three or four times a week with her admirers while pretending to ignore me. I was just thankful that she had taught me how to be her lover, even in secret.

I was thankful that she hadn’t killed me.

“Tonight is the night, Kaiyer. Come down to the horses and we will ride together.” She moved to the side of me and jumped down from the hay loft, making an almost inaudible clap when her feet touched the dirt below me. It was about twelve feet to the floor so I felt my way to the edge of the loft where the ladder hung. I had grown up in this stable and knew it better than my own body. When I reached it, I lowered myself to the ground with practiced ease.

“Shhhh. Prepare some saddles. Bring extra blankets.” Iolarathe had produced a small flame that she held in her hand like a cup of water grasped at the base. The fire was only as bright as a candle, but in the absolute darkness of the stable it created more than enough light to see. She had opened a stall in the middle of the lane where one of the gaited mares was kept. The horse appeared to be awake and my master’s gentle hush was soothing to the animal.

I grabbed the appropriate mare’s kit with an extra blanket and tried to quell the sinking fear in the pit of my stomach. The thought of riding the large animal made me nervous. Humans weren’t allowed on horses, and if any of the other Elvens saw me riding I would probably be killed. It might also jeopardize Iolarathe. Her kin might ask what she was doing with me out in the dead of night on a horse. Perhaps she would have to kill me to save face with them.

There were many ways this could go wrong.

Yet I had always wanted to ride a horse. I spent all my time taking care of them, I was with horses more than I was around humans, and when I was not dreaming of the Elven woman, I dreamt of riding a horse, controlling its movements, feeling its power beneath me. I imagined galloping faster than the wind through the grassy plains surrounding us. I had never been more than a mile from the smithy and stables where I was raised. A ride on a horse would show me the rest of the world. It could lead to freedom.

Which was exactly why we were forbidden to ride.

“You take this one.” She patted the mare after I had finished saddling the beast. I nodded and tried to hide my smile. The horse was of gentle temperament and had never given me any problems in the stable. This was actually going to happen.

“I’ll ride this one, Kaiyer. Saddle him for me?” Iolarathe pointed at the black stallion she had been favoring for the last few weeks. He was new to the chieftain’s stables and had been quite spirited. My lover had broken him quickly and he was now as gentle as a newborn kitten.

“Excellent choice.” I left the mare out in the throughway of the stable and quickly saddled her horse while she perched on her usual stool behind me.

“You are efficient with your hands and body,” she whispered. “It is what I noticed first about you.”

“Thank you, Mistress.” I felt my heart leap with pleasure. She often complimented me during or after our lovemaking, but this was the first time I could recall her saying something like this before our clothes were off.

“Most of your kind are so slow, clumsy, and stupid; hardly a step above the livestock that we slaughter for sustenance. But you are different, Kaiyer. There is something almost Elven about you.”

I tightened the last strap on the saddle and turned to look at her. The magic fire she carried in her hand reflected red in her silver eyes.

“You are quite definitely human. Your body is thick and squat, but you move with grace as our kind does. You also smell interesting. Not quite human or Elven. Perhaps there is magic about you? Some of our kind carry gifts beyond the world. I wouldn’t put it past our Gods to bestow some of those onto one of your kind in jest.”

“I do not know anything about that, Mistress. I am just a stable boy that is honored by your attention.” My head bowed and I took the reins of the stallion to lead it out of the stall. I was not sure how to respond to her. I feared accepting the compliment would anger her, yet I could not disagree outright and downplay my strengths as that would call her judgment into question. I hoped feigning ignorance would placate her. She was volatile and still difficult for me to read, at least when we were speaking.

“My pet is so humble. I will enjoy teaching you to horseback ride tonight. I believe you will learn it as quickly as the other type of riding I taught you.” Her voice ended in a soft laughter that sounded as wonderful as the first spring rain.

“I just want to please you, Mistress.” It was true. Not just out of fear. I was growing to care deeply about her opinion of me. I handed her the reins of the stallion and then opened the door of the stable that led to the pastures.

“You do. You will,” I heard her say to my retreating back. The mare stamped her foot in approval when I opened the doors and exposed the green moonlight. The stallion used to jump and bound about with endless energy. But as soon as Iolarathe mounted him, the stallion seemed to sense the secrecy of our frolic and kept himself calm.

“Mount your steed,” she said as she nudged her horse past me. I nodded to the darkness and ran back to the mare. My hands were slick with nervous sweat and I examined the stirrups carefully. I’d never done this, but I had seen my masters do it countless times. I grabbed the loop and slipped my bare foot into it. Then I mustered all my strength, pushed down on my left leg, jumped up with my right, and pulled on the lip of the saddle. Surprisingly, I finished on top of the mare with little fuss.

“Squeeze your heels into the flanks of the horse. It will follow my lead.” She made some small movement in her legs and her stallion meandered out of the stable and into the pasture. I pushed my heels into the sides of my mare and she didn’t move. Then I increased the pressure until she finally did. I wondered briefly if the mare was being stubborn or if I hadn’t used enough of my strength through my heels.

I was riding!

The joy clawed its way from my legs and hips to my brain after the horse had taken half a dozen steps into the pasture. What would Leotol think of this? He’d be envious. We had talked about how it would feel to sit so high, to feel the sky so open, and to feel the wind in our faces as we rode. I almost wanted to jump off the horse, run into the smithy shop he shared with Father, and brag to him right now.

“I can tell you are enjoying yourself,” Iolarathe said as she backed her horse up next to mine.

“Thank you, Mistress. This is wonderful. I have always wanted to ride a horse.” Tears came to my eyes but I blinked them away. No telling how she would respond if I showed too much emotion. Each time she spoke a frisson of fear and pleasure coursed through my body. This was how it always was between us, but tonight I had the added element of fear of being caught riding. I could not fully relax and ignore that fear, though I wanted to let myself go the way I did when we made love. I continued to glance around and worry she was speaking too loud.

“You are not riding yet, Kaiyer.” She let out a laugh of amusement. “You are just walking the horse. It is easy enough, but hardly any fun. Let us trot. Click your heels into the animal’s side twice with force.” I nodded and did as she asked. Suddenly my mare increased her walk to a bumpy jog that threatened to launch me from the saddle.

“Push your legs into the stirrups. Heels down. Back straight!” she instructed while she trotted beside me. The cold night air blew into my face and froze the tip of my nose, but I could observe Iolarathe alternating a standing motion in time with her own horse’s steps. I followed her instructions and found that the bumps smoothed. They were still uncomfortable, but I felt more in control of the massive beast beneath me.

“Pull the reins back and down to stop,” she said after ten minutes of circling around the pasture.

I obeyed her command and the mare stopped quickly.

“Trotting is boring. Cantering is much more fun.” She gave me a wicked grin that made me think she might skip some steps with my instruction. “Turn the animal’s head this way with your reins.” She demonstrated, yanking her reins on one side and turning her stallion’s head. “Then you move your same leg back to the horse’s hip.” She looked down at her right leg while her hair draped over her shoulder. I could see her shift her heel toward the rear of the horse. “Opposite leg digs in the same middle flank as a trot. Then she will canter for you. Do it.”

She repeated the steps she had just showed me and her mount launched forward with the graceful stride that I had seen thousands of times. She flew away into the green moonlight. Her dark horse blended into the night and gave the impression she was floating, her hair streamed out behind her and danced to the sound of the wind. I wanted to dance with her across the pasture. She was so free.

I carefully turned my mares head with the reins, moved my heel back, and then I pushed with both heels. I was surprised again when my horse dashed forward in a gentle, loping motion. It was exhilarating. I was really riding. The wind blew cool in my face and I could hear the patter of my mount’s hooves. I had to be moving twice as fast as I could run. It was amazing.

Then suddenly it was too fast. My face must have revealed my panic because Iolarathe was instantly back at my side.

“Move your hips with the animal!” I tried to comply.

“Slow your hips now.” I nodded through gritted teeth and forced my body to do what she said.

“Excellent. If you are skilled, you can canter as slow as a trot. This will tire the horse though.” I nodded and gasped to catch my breath. It was much more comfortable to canter, but I wasn’t happy with how quickly the animal traveled.

“You are good at this, Kaiyer. I think you already ride better than any of my suitors.” She laughed again and spun the horse. Then she somehow made it trot backward to keep pace with me.

“We’ll go a few more times around the pasture.” She smiled and the moonlight reflected off of her eyes and teeth. I nodded and tried to focus on my legs. They were already sore from trying to hold the right position to make the horse canter.

“Pace me, lover!” she commanded and then spun her mount again before cantering away from me. I tried to adjust my hips, but it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the horse to obey. By the time we matched her speed, she had already done a lap around the fence and I was able to stay right behind her.

We spent another ten minutes riding around the field until I grew more comfortable with the speed and feel of my steed. She watched me and barked instructions to help improve my technique. I followed her instructions and she appeared pleased with the results. Finally, she yelled at me to stop and we rested in front of the gate at the far end of the pasture opposite the stables.

“You are ready to go out into the grasslands.” I nodded and licked my lips nervously. Occasionally I would help my father mend the fence at the end of the feeding pasture, but I had never gone beyond it to the rolling green hills that surrounded our home. Iolarathe seemed to sense my fear and reassured me. “Do not worry, lover. I often ride out there. I assure you that there is nothing more dangerous than me within a few thousand miles. Open the gate,” she commanded.

I nodded and tried to dismount with some sort of agility. I didn’t fall on my face, but the newness of the movement made me feel clumsy and slow. Especially when compared to her. The grass was cold on my bare feet and covered in night dew. I nervously flipped the wooden latch on the gate that opened to the fields and then pushed it ajar.

“This will be fun. I want to show you something. Let’s go,” she said once I had climbed back on my horse.

“Yes, Mistress,” I answered, but she had already taken off and I reset my heels and pushed my mare to keep up with her.

The rains had been plentiful this year and the grasslands were thick with fresh green growth and laced with streams. Our horses seemed to sense their freedom and they joyfully skipped across the endless rolling hills and splashed through the creeks with abandon. On top of the mare I felt as powerful as one of my masters. I was fast, tall, and invincible. Space and time did not matter while I covered ground so quickly. I felt no fear. No fear of the speed, no fear of capture, no fear of Iolarathe.

Her hair was a fire laced flag. The light of the moon shone green, but the color of her mane overpowered it, possessed it, and turned it a deep blood red. She looked over at me and smiled across the span of our horses.

She pushed her mount into the lead and steered the creature right, past the shore of a stream. Then we rode up a slope next to the water and approached something so unusual I almost stopped my horse to stare.

A series of tall, white stone walls rose in a row that spanned the moonlit horizon, each one higher than the largest building on Iolarathe’s estate. Beyond them stood an even taller structure that appeared to reach the moon.

“What is this place?” I whispered when Iolarathe stopped us in front of the wall.

Now I was afraid.

“Ruins of a forgotten time,” Iolarathe said. The crumbling stone walls looked like the marble floors the Elvens used in their homes, though the stone was ancient and decayed.

“Forgotten time?”

“Your forgotten time.” She smiled at me. “It doesn’t matter for you now, Kaiyer. What I want to show you is inside these walls.” She nudged her horse forward to a jagged break in the thick stone.

“Did something move over there?” I asked as I walked my steed after her. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my stomach spun in knots. We should not be here.

“It was a carrion beast. They haunt ruins like this,” she said nonchalantly without looking at me.

“Are they dangerous?” I was surprised at how confident my voice sounded. Either the cold or my fear made me shake.

“Not to me, and therefore not for you, lover. Come.” She increased the pace of her horse when she passed through the other side of the wall and I followed.

There were countless ruined stone slabs and toppled pillars inside of the walls. At first they seemed arranged in a haphazard way, but my brain attempted to organize the ruins into a pattern.

“Did an Elven tribe live here? This looks like streets and homes,” I asked Iolarathe

“No.”

“Who lived here then?”

“It doesn’t matter, Kaiyer. They are all dead and the world has moved on to a better existence.”

I wanted to ask her again, but the tone of her voice indicated that she didn’t wish to speak of it anymore. I followed her across the ruins, past the impossibly tall structure that looked like a stone hut, and into a dense grove of wide leafed trees gathered a hundred yards from the base of the ruin.

“We should take the horses in through the grove path or the carrion beast might attack them.” I nodded and gulped. Iolarathe didn’t seem worried about the creature I thought I had seen, but if anything could make a horse a meal it had to be deadly. And large.

The air was perfectly still within the space of the ruined walls, but inside the grove of dense trees a warm breeze seemed to come from everywhere at once. The ruins had made me afraid, but the copse was comforting and familiar. The tree branches extended into the paved trail but did not snag my clothes. They gathered dense around us but the light of the moon still cut through above us and lit the way.

“Almost there,” Iolarathe whispered from in front of me.

“I like this place,” I said without thinking.

“Wait. The best is yet to come.” She tossed her red mane over her shoulder and glanced back at me. Lust was clear in her eyes. I had never made love to her under the stars, let alone in the wilderness like this.

“Here. Come look, Kaiyer.” She beckoned and I followed her to a clearing that opened up on the path before us. Stone steps led down into a small valley. Benches lined the slopes surrounding a flat platform carved of rock that filled the base of the basin. At first I assumed it was the remains of a grand estate, but then realized it was some sort of amphitheater where Elvens could gather to listen to their chieftain.

Then I saw the lights.

I must have been blind not to see them earlier. They floated, danced, and drifted around the empty meeting place like absentminded fireflies. They glimmered in various shades of green, blue, and purple. There were dozens of them, and as I watched they seemed to pulse and dance toward us.

“They are Wisps,” she said, as if I should know what that meant.

“What are Wisps?” I couldn’t hide my amazement. A deep purple one floated a foot from my face, bobbed up and down for three seconds and then drifted away in what I assumed was boredom.

“Some say they are ghosts of the long dead. Some think they are memories, some think they are hell spawn and when they have gathered, they will open a rift to the underworld.” I looked over at her and saw three Wisps, two blue and one green, dancing around her head. She smiled at them in amusement.

“What do you think?”

“I think they are beautiful. That is why I wanted to show them to you. I’ve been here a few times and they have never attempted to harm me. Most of my tribe avoids this place.”

I nodded and held out my hand to the purple Wisp that had first found me. It was now joined by a blue one that circled around me. They both seemed to pulse at the same time and I found it mesmerizing.

“The horses don’t seem to care for them though. Tie them up at the tree over there, grab the blankets from the packs, and join me down below.” Iolarathe turned her back to me and walked down the broken stone steps gracefully. I watched her descend the stairs and then shook my head to clear the fog of lust. The horses seemed bored with the Wisps and the clearing but they were interested in munching on the grass that grew on the outskirts of the stairs. I tied them to the appropriate tree, grabbed the blankets, and dashed toward the platform. The moonlight glowed bright, but the long blades of patchwork grass concealed a good portion of the steps, making it hard to choose my footing. Luckily, time and weather had eroded the edges of the stone stairs and they were not as sharp as they first appeared.

Iolarathe sat on the edge of the platform and dangled her feet off of the four-foot ledge. When she saw me approach she leaned back on her hands and tossed her hair around her shoulders with a twist of her neck. The movement seemed to startle the Wisps that had been keeping her company and they lazily spun away.

“I think they like you.” She pointed behind me and I turned to see a dozen of the little lights following me from a safe distance. “Maybe I was right about you having magic, Kaiyer.” She laughed, but it sounded more like a childish giggle. It was the first sound of carefree joy I had ever heard from her. It was so easy to forget how much fear she inspired amongst the other human slaves when I saw her like this.

“Are they attracted to magic?” I asked with concern. I didn’t want any part of magic. If the Elvens found out they would torture and murder me right before they did the same to my brother and father.

“You are quite curious.” She beckoned with a coy curl of a finger and then pointed to the flat stone next to her. “Maybe I can satisfy some of your curiosity without speaking?” She raised an eyebrow and gave me a deadly smile. “Or at least, speaking in coherent sentences.”

I licked my lips and approached the base of the raised platform. I put the blankets on top of it and then hoisted myself up to join her. The stone was ice cold but she didn’t seem to mind the chill. I quickly spread the blankets behind her and tried to ignore the increasing group of Wisps that had gathered.

“This is a beautiful night.” She lay back on the blanket and gazed up to the moon and infinite stars. Her hair spread around her and stone like a dark pool of blood, liquid in the light of the moon and the Wisps. “Come, be next to me.” I eagerly followed her instruction. My left shoulder rubbed against her right and I inhaled the sweet flower scent of her hair and body. My mouth began to water and I wondered if I would be able to taste her tonight underneath these stars.

“Do you ever wish you could be somewhere else?” she asked after a few minutes.

“Another place?”

“Maybe. Or another person. Not stuck where you are now.” She seemed to think her words clarified her question.

“I like where I am now.”

“Well. Of course you like where you are right now. You are with me.” She laughed lightly and shifted her body over to lie on her side so she could face me. Her mouth was close to mine and while I didn’t look at her, I could feel her breath on my neck and ear.

“When I am not with you I wish I was. I wish I could be with you always,” I said before I thought it through and immediately regretted the words. She would think them weak and end me here, away from our home. No one would ever know what happened to me. I would never see my family again.

Or worse. She would laugh at what I said.

She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, finally she spoke.

“We are both different types of slaves, Kaiyer. Your bondage is just easier to see. Perhaps humans deserve this for the crimes of your past, but I don’t think you do.” Her hand reached across the small gap between us and lay on my chest. Her voice was filled with grief.

“Can I help you?” I turned to look at her and our eyes met. The lights of the Wisps danced in them like a swirling painting. I wanted to ask her what she meant about past crimes.

“You are such a good toy. I look forward to spending time with you. That is all you can do for me.” She smiled and pulled her body closer to mine. I was thankful for the warmth. The cold of the stone had seeped through the blankets and the air was already chilly. I nodded at her statement and tried not to feel indignation at her calling me a toy. I wanted to be more than that to her.

“Oh, don’t pout, Kaiyer,” she whispered into my ear before her tongue licked the lobe and sent shivers to my toes and groin. “I can fix my own problems. I just need time.” Her mouth moved down below my left ear and kissed my jawline. Her left hand skipped down from my chest and the nails dug into the thin wool of my tunic and scratched the skin of my stomach. It was a hint at what she wanted me to do next.

I leaned across the inches between us and met her eager mouth with my own. Our tongues gently explored each other’s and we moaned in unison at their touch. Her hand made a sudden tug down below my stomach and undid the leather belt I wore. Her movements made me gasp with surprise and I felt her lips upturn into a grin while she kissed me.

We were familiar with the routine by now. She didn’t usually bother to undress me, so I was taken aback by her hands pulling at my shirt after she went for my belt. I untied the leather laces on her pants while I continued to occupy her mouth. In a few seconds my hand had slid past her undergarments and my fingertips were rewarded by the wetness of her entrance.

“Muuummm,” she moaned into my mouth while she tried to get her hips in a better position for my fingers to slide into her. Her riding pants were tight, and her boots were still on her feet, so I could only get my fingers to tease her outer lips. She kissed me with frustration and I knew it would be a matter of seconds before she demanded that I finish removing her clothes.

Before she could order me to do so, I broke off our kiss and pulled my hand from her. She gasped but cut short when I rose to my knees and made it clear I was taking off the rest of her garments. My hands worked quickly and removed her high laced boots within a few seconds. Normally Iolarathe ordered me to take off every part of her clothing, but once her boots came off she raised her hips off the blankets to aid me in removing her leather pants and undergarments.

I took off her shirt and exposed her naked breasts. The moon’s light made her glow against the dark quilts. I fell down on her like she was a piece of steak and I hadn’t eaten in a month. My tongue circled the nipple of her left breast while my hands explored her skin, traced her curves, and massaged where her joints met.

Her gasps echoed the movement of my tongue against her nipple. I switched to her right one, and traced the path with kisses and small bites on the wonderful white skin between them. My hands worked downward on their exploration of her body and my left fingers brushed against her entrance again. Her hips rose at my caress and her hands grasped frantically at my back and hips. Her entrance was wet and I easily slid in a single finger and rubbed the top of the lips with my thumb.

Iolarathe’s hips pushed against my hand and she growled my name. I looked down at her face and smiled at the look of ecstasy she wore. Our eyes met and her mouth formed a blissful smile that I quickly changed into a wide gape of disappointment when I withdrew my finger from her.

“Take off your clothes,” she commanded. Her hands were already at my tunic and continuing the job they had started a few minutes ago. Once she had unlaced the front, she pulled it off of my head and ran her fingers over my chest. While she was occupied with my skin I yanked down my pants and undergarments. Her silver eyes darted to my penis and her hands flew down my chest to begin caressing the base of the shaft. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and moan when I felt her touch around me.

“Lie on your back Kaiyer.” I nodded and slid back down onto the blankets next to her. I expected her to let go of my member during the transition but she held onto it firmly and maintained her grip across the shaft. The sensation was making me dizzy and I felt trickles of wetness forming at the tip.

Her leg lifted into the air, and before I could assist her movement she brought her hips up over my thighs and straddled me. Her hair fell over the front of her face and covered her breasts. She moved her other hand downward and rubbed across the wet opening of my member while she continued to tug lightly on the shaft.

Then Iolarathe scooted on my hips and I felt her drenched opening at the base of me. Her hands pulled me up against her lips and I gasped when she rocked forward a bit and dragged me across the length of her entrance. She was slippery and it only took a few of her gentle movements to get me soaking wet.

“Do you like it when I tease you?” She flipped her hair back over her shoulders and looked at me with a mischievous smirk. I nodded and sighed when she lifted her hips a little higher off my thighs than she had the previous few times. Her motion dragged the tip of my member across her opening and I tried to thrust up into her. My lover’s hands still cupped my shaft however, and she easily directed my penis to slide alongside her as she had before. “No, no, Kaiyer. I’m not done.” Her lips curled into a grimace of pleasure and her body shivered in delight as she rubbed me across her again.

I leaned my head back into the cold embrace of the blankets and stone. It was too much for me to see her enjoying my body like this and I figured with my eyes closed I could concentrate more on the pleasure she sent through my body instead of the wonderful vision of her playing with me. It did help enhance the sensations. With my eyes closed I only felt the contrasting chill of the stone beneath the quilts and the heat of her body as it rubbed against my shaft. I heard her moan with desire and appreciated the wet sliding sound she made when her hands teased my tip across her clitoris.

I needed to be inside of her, as deep as I could be, while our bodies entwined and our mouths devoured each other. I opened my eyes and looked up at her. Our eyes met and I realized that she had been watching me while she tortured me. The stars wrapped around her like a halo of blues, greens, and purples. My hands had been clutching the blankets but they moved up and grabbed the bones of her hips and lifted. Her hand slid my slippery tip into her opening. Then I pulled her back down and both our eyes opened in the surprising sensation of me filling her. Normally it took us several attempts to get me all the way into her tunnel, but the teasing had made us both prepared enough for the journey.

I pulled her down farther once she had descended the full length of my shaft. The movement drew a sharp hiss of pleasure from Iolarathe’s mouth and she pushed with her legs to pull me out a few inches. Then she lowered herself again and ground her hips into mine. The sensation of being inside of her was unbelievable. She was so warm, so tight around me, so wet. The walls of her entrance seemed to grip and tease just as much as her hands did, so I had to force myself to relax.

I leaned up off the stone and kissed her lips while I wrapped my arms around her lower back. Her fingers came to my face and cupped my cheeks while our tongues danced together long enough for me to gain control over my climax and let her ride me again.

“You always feel amazing inside of me,” she murmured between her moans and the wet sliding sounds of her opening accepting the upward thrust of my erection. I reached up across her breasts with my left hand and brushed away a forest of red hair that had fallen in front of her face before kissing her again. While our lips touched I sat up and pulled her into my lap to face me. My hands were free to run over her entire naked torso while her thighs wrapped around the sides of my stomach.

“Ummmm,” she moaned again when my fingers ran down her silky smooth back and cupped her butt cheeks. The reds and purples of the starlight reflected off of her skin. They turned the green light of the moon a bizarre clash of painted shadows.

“Iolarathe!” I shouted in panic. She had not noticed the strange colors.

“Yes! Say my name again,” she whispered urgently in my ear and pushed her hips down into me to force my throbbing member deeper.

“No, the Wisps. Look!” She pulled away from me and looked in the direction I faced. The movement tightened her velvet like walls around my penis and I couldn’t help but moan, even though my heart was filled with fear.

“Shit,” she said flatly when she saw.

There were hundreds of Wisps in the clearing now, maybe thousands. I thought they were stars at first because they didn’t dance through the air as they had during my brief introduction to them.

“They are behind us too.” She glanced over my shoulder. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Above.” I looked up and she quickly followed my eyes. Now I was confident in my guess that there were over a thousand. They hovered, completely still, hanging in the air like bright splashes of color against the black night sky.

“I’ve never seen so many together before.” Iolarathe swayed her hips again and dragged me across the walls of her entrance.

“Do you want to leave?” I moaned from her movement and it covered up the sound of fear in my voice.

“No. I want you to fuck me till I come. Then I want to climax a second time when you fill me with your seed.” She gave me a wicked smile. Her eyes practically glowed in the light the Wisps cast.

“You aren’t worried?”

“Of course not. Did you forget me telling you that I was the most dangerous creature within a few thousand miles?” She leaned her head back and released a mocking laughter to the gathered Wisps. I felt my fear start to fade. I should have known better. Iolarathe didn’t seem to fear anything. What must it be like to live such a life? I could not remember a day when I didn’t wake in the morning or go to sleep at night without fear.

“I didn’t forget.” Suddenly the Wisps grew brighter, and brighter. Their colors ran together and became blackness in my eyes, then whiteness, then blackness.

I tried to scream out to Iolarathe. To warn her. But my voice did not work. My body would not move. Everything stopped in the brightness of the light.

Chapter 11-Kaiyer

I opened my eyes and groaned. Ever since I passed out on the horse en route to Nia I had been experiencing painful light sensitivity. The white canvas tent did little to shield my sleeping eyes from the morning sun once it crested the wall of the city. I had felt pain before, torture, wounds from battle, the change the Elvens inflicted upon me to give me magic, but this was more painful. Luckily, the pain faded completely within a quarter of an hour and I could not remember the agony until it came back the next morning with renewed vigor.

I tossed aside the covers of my cot and swung my feet onto the stiff wooden boards that made up the floor of my tent prison. I was naked, and my erect penis stood as a testament to the wonderful dream the morning light had rudely interrupted. My body was still painfully aroused a few minutes after I stood and did my warm-up routine.

It would be a long day. A day of waiting for my captors to come interrogate me, a day of wondering how much longer I would be here, a day of planning an escape, a day of dark regrets and vivid dreams. I was beginning to go stir crazy from the solitude of my confinement. I hadn’t seen Isslata, Alatorict, or any Elvens for that matter. There were thousands of them walking within earshot, but they hardly spoke to each other, and they sent human servants to deliver me small meals.

I heard half a dozen footsteps approach my tent from twenty yards away and before my visitor arrived I had already figured out who it was.

I was wrong.

“Hello, O’Baarni,” Vernine said emotionlessly when she stepped into my tent. She wore intricately crafted mail with twisted green vines emblazoned along the ridges of each linked piece. Her pewter hair was tied up in a tall ponytail similar to the style Nadea would have worn. The wrap dangled the loose cascade of metallic waves down to the mid part of her back. She had a stream of rust red color in her mane, and this particular piece was braided separately but still contained in the top knot.

“Is that for me?” She pointed at my still erect penis without a smile. Her eyes were dark ruby pools of fire, and I had often looked into them while I penetrated her.

“Could be,” I said and a smile broke her face. I hadn’t spent much time alone with Vernine. She always joined me with Isslata, so I didn’t have the same alliance that I felt with the golden-haired Elven. “What is all this?” I said when a group of Elvens came in with a polished steel bathtub and massive wood buckets of boiling water. Four other Elven female warriors took position by the entrance of the tent and stared at me with open malice. They also wore armor tinted green, although none were as elaborately adorned as Vernine. She clearly outranked them all, as evidenced by both her uniform and the deference the other Elvens showed to her.

“This is for your bath. The empress wishes to have breakfast with you.” Vernine’s expression had changed back into an unreadable one.

“Where is Isslata?” I asked.

“Do you prefer her to me?” Vernine said without a spark of emotion. It made me smile slightly. If I had asked Isslata where Vernine was she probably would have tried to rip my chest open with her nails in a jealous rage.

“I didn’t say that. I thought she was my ‘keeper’ so I find it odd she isn’t here. Will she meet us with the empress?”

“Get in your bath. You do not wish to keep the empress waiting.” The pewter-haired woman folded her arms and rested her right palm on her curved long sword.

I nodded and walked across the tent and got into the tub. It was half-full and boiling hot. As I settled into the water an Elven girl poured another large bucket of water into the tub, filling it up most of the way. She glanced at me in fear and looked back to Vernine. I didn’t see the nod from Vernine, but the girl quickly dashed out of the tent.

“There is soap on your right side,” Vernine instructed. I glanced down and found a large bar of green soap and a few bottles of oil resting on a thick white towel. I picked up the soap and took a deep breath of pine needles, sage, and lavender.

“Your choice of scent?” I asked over my shoulder as I ran the bar around in the hot water and my hands. I could immediately tell it was quality soap as I rubbed it on my chest.

“No. The empress prefers this fragrance. This is a gift from her.” I had wanted to ask Isslata questions about the empress, but my illness and subsequent lack of contact with any other Elven hindered my information gathering. I should have been more prepared for this meeting, but I could make the best of it with Vernine.

“Did she want you to tell me this was from her?” I slowed down my cleaning actions a bit. If I could stretch this out a few more minutes, I might be able to get more questions answered.

“If you asked.”

“I’ll have to thank her over breakfast. Who else will be joining us?” My tone was casual and I hoped she didn’t realize I was fishing for information.

“I am not privy to her plans, O’Baarni.” I nodded and tried to figure out the best way to ask my next question. Isslata would be more open with information and I wondered if Vernine was here in her stead because the empress knew of the relationship I had with the golden-haired woman.

“I don’t know much about your empress. Tell me about her, please.” I tried to smile so Vernine could hear enthusiasm in my voice.

“That is an odd question, O’Baarni,” she answered.

“Why?”

“Because I find it unusual that you know nothing about Empress Telaxthe.”

“I am unusual. I think you and Isslata have come to accept that.” I turned around in my bath so I could make eye contact with the woman. Her lips curled up into a slight smile that the guards standing behind her could not see.

“She is our ruler, our leader, our mother. She has freed us from the bonds of the clans and negotiated this world for us.” It was impossible for me to ignore the adoration that filled Vernine’s voice and ruby eyes. My mind grasped at different possible questions I might ask before I settled on one I thought might reveal the most information.

“Why should I know about the empress? I am just one of the O’Baarni, not a leader of these clans.”

“As unusual as you are, I find it hard to believe that you have never heard of your kind’s Games.” Vernine shook her head in disbelief.

“I know of them.” I tried not to smile. Shlara created the O’Baarni Games as a way to ensure I had a personal bodyguard from each general’s army. The competition was difficult and earned the winners great prestige.

“Have you seen one or heard news of them?” Her eyes narrowed, and I guessed she might be jumping to conclusions I didn’t want.

“I have seen a few. But that was long ago and I have not been keeping up with such events.” Her face showed complete disbelief, and I realized I may have gone down the wrong path. These veiled discussions were difficult for me. I could always be frank with my generals, and my interactions with Elvens in my past had always ended successfully: with me cleaning their blood and brain matter off of my armor. I didn’t know how to fight them with my words. Being honest angered them, but it was difficult to craft a lie when I did not know what I wanted them to believe about me.

“What possible world were you on that did not consider the O’Baarni Games to be important?” She raised an eyebrow in mockery.

“Pretend I’ve been stuck on this world for a long time. I don’t see any connection between your empress and these Games.” Now even the guards behind Vernine looked at me in horror. Except for the woman farthest from the exit to the tent. Her eyes quickly hardened, and her gloved hand tightened around her sword grip.

“You really don’t know, do you?” Vernine finally asked.

“Know what?” I watched the guard who looked the most enraged. She was so angry her hand shook on her sword. It was taking everything she had to keep from drawing it against Vernine’s orders.

“Our empress has won your O’Baarni Games for the last fifty years. Five times in a row.” Vernine cocked her head sideways slightly, like a dog that couldn’t understand its master’s orders.

“I don’t believe it.” I would have laughed, but the guard in the back looked like she would pull her weapon at any second.

“Most of your kind did not. They called the first Game a ‘disqualification’ and they awarded the second runner up the winner, or at least, they wanted to. Telaxthe had killed him during an event, so the third runner up was awarded first place.” The woman in the back seemed to be relaxing at Vernine’s words so I leaned back into my bath to ponder her story.

“How did they even let her in the Games?”

“Telaxthe petitioned. She spent many years, over twelve the rumors say, working with whatever clan leaders she could. She eventually persuaded the right people to let her enter. Your kind laughed and thought she was too weak because she was an Elven. But she proved them all wrong. She won.”

I thought back to the various contests during the O’Baarni Games. My memory was still unclear, but I remembered a few events, they were all played with sharpened weapons and occasionally we would have a death. I would have never guessed an Elven could stand against us in such an environment. They were to us like humans were to them: slow and weak. This empress must be extremely powerful.

Or the O’Baarni were soft now, and easy competition for an Elven. Our magic helped strengthen and empower us, but it took more than being changed to be a formidable warrior. My O’Baarni had trained and fought constantly. We were fighting for our survival and the existence of our race, and we had nothing else but the fight and preparing for the fight. It was plausible that after generations of peace the O’Baarni took their superiority for granted and no longer trained or conditioned themselves as they once had. Still, the advantages the Elements gave us should have made it impossible for an Elven to dominate in the Games.

“Why enter the Games?” I stopped myself before explaining that there was no Kaiyer to guard.

“You really don’t know that much about the Games, do you?” Vernine shook her head and couldn’t hide her amazement.

“No. As I explained earlier, I have been busy and out of touch with my people. Explain it to me.”

“Are you done bathing?”

“I could be. After you answer my question.” I raised up the bar of soap and made a show of washing my left foot.

“The winners from each clan get to make a request. Normally they ask for a chest full of gold or such from their clan leader. The individual that is victorious over all takes possession of the Destroyer’s armor until the next Game, and has their request fulfilled by all of the clans.”

“The Destroyer’s armor?” My mouth went dry.

“Or the Betrayer to you. It is a horrible thing. Cursed by the Dead Gods and all things living.” Vernine frowned and shook her head.

“You’ve seen the armor?” I felt my excitement rise and then I realized I was being distracted from my task.

“Yes. Many years ago. I was young, and it chilled my blood. Some of our kind say it still haunts their memories. If I close my eyes and think of it, I can still see the thing. Your people say it carries the Destroyer’s Spirit, and he seeks revenge through the armor.” Vernine’s ruby eyes glared at me and I got the message. She didn’t wish to speak about the armor anymore.

Too bad.

“Your empress has the Destroyer’s armor then? Why would anyone want such a horrible artifact?” I almost laughed at calling my armor a horrible artifact. Sure, it was gruesome looking. But I had planned it that way to inspire fear into my enemies.

And it was still performing the task I had designed for it thousands of years in the future.

“No. Of course not. She just wanted the request fulfilled by your clans. She left them the armor.”

“Ahh.” I nodded and tried not to sound disappointed. If the empress had my armor here it might make my situation easier. I had changed the composition of the metal when I was flush with the Water I robbed from the two dragons. It was possible I could do it again with another piece of armor or weapon, but I hadn’t tried it and I might mess up and kill myself. Entas always warned me against playing with that Element.

“You are done.” It wasn’t a question, so I nodded and accepted the towel from her.

“Rub the oil in your hair and over your beard,” she instructed. I nodded and grabbed one of the bottles. This smelled mostly of lavender and softened the long mane of hair and beard that I should have shaved off when I was in Nadea’s camp.

“Wear these.” Vernine handed me a pair of silk pants and matching tunic along with undergarments of a light green color. I donned them quickly and found the fabric smooth and cool against my skin. “And these.” She handed me thin leather sandals that wrapped around the heel of my foot.

After I finished putting on the shoes Vernine appraised me for a few moments before nodding.

“Follow me. I don’t need to explain what will happen if you get creative during our journey, do I?”

“I think you have me confused with someone who is creative.” She didn’t return my grin.

“We move!” Vernine ordered her guards in our old tongue. I wondered if the belief that I didn’t speak their language was still in effect. I hoped that it was. Vernine pointed at the door and I walked out into the sunlight of the morning.

The capital city of Nia sat on the north side of the Stone River. The river flowed east to west and ended in the ocean about eight miles from the last walls of the city. The land seemed to be tempered by its southern location and proximity to the ocean. In summer months it was rarely hot or humid enough to be uncomfortable, and the winter months were never cold enough to freeze water. Surrounding the city were hundreds of square miles of rolling hills, grasslands, and oak groves that seemed to thrive in such temperatures.

To view the landscape, I had to ignore the thousands of tents that surrounded the walls of the city. I was surprised that though I had been near enough to hear the sounds of a camp of this size, I had not heard more than a passing murmur of a few hundred soldiers.

I tried to do a quick count of tents to estimate how many troops they held. I guessed that there were between ten and twelve thousand troops. But I was only viewing one side of the castle and there could be more moving inside of the city proper, in the fortress, and on the other sides of the city walls.

“Walk, O’Baarni.” Vernine looked over her shoulder at me and licked her lips slightly. The two guards that had been placed outside the door of my tent joined my escort to make seven Elvens including my lover. I realized they were all women warriors, and I wondered if there was something about women that my enemy thought would be better suited to handle me.

I followed Vernine through the main thoroughfare north, deeper into the sea of Elven tents. Each tent had a color scheme and coordinating flag with an insignia. A few of the tents closest to mine were white with gold flags. As we moved away from the city walls into the camp, the tents were dyed various colors of blue, brown, red, and gray. Hundreds of Elven soldiers walked down the cross work paths in small groups in like-colored uniforms, none spared me or my escorts more than a passing glance.

This all felt familiar to me. Achingly familiar. The sounds, smells, and bustle of the camp were more muted than what I remembered, but they spoke to me of my old army in ways that Nadea’s camp had not. Maybe it was the way the tents were colored, or the matching armor the various soldiers wore. Perhaps the placements of the banners, the quick and precise conversations the passing Elvens engaged in, or the combination of them that reminded me of my army. Our walk only took five minutes through the tents, but toward the end of the journey I could predict where we would turn to reach the empress’s tent, because I would have planned it the same way.

“Wait here. Remember my warning.” Vernine stopped at the edge of a clearing surrounding a massive white pavilion set deep in the soft ground. She waited in front of me until I nodded in agreement with her statement. Then she looked at the guards before walking through the clearing to the empress’s tent. The soldiers at the entrance were dressed like her: in green trimmed chain mail with a long cloak over one shoulder. Their hair color even matched hers. I watched them exchange salutes before Vernine disappeared downstairs into the empress’s tent.

My guards formed a circle facing me. They didn’t draw their swords, but the intent was clear in their eyes, especially the one who I seemed to have particularly offended while I bathed. Instead of meeting their glares, I decided to study the empress’s pavilion and the surrounding camp in greater detail.

Six flags hung from the roof of the massive white tent. The largest was green with embroidery of a golden sword wrapped in vines. I guessed that this was the empress’s banner since there seemed to be a theme of green with her personal guards and the surrounding tents. There was a black flag next to the green one, featuring a white icon that looked like a dancing flame. Others were red with a black hatchet, brown with a red sun rising over a mountain, teal with a silver conch spiral, and gold with three blue stars inside of a crescent moon. The last one looked familiar, and I guessed it was Alatorict’s banner. Isslata always wore gold, and the other guards I had observed in the castle wore the same color or blue.

I waited on the edge of the clearing for about ten minutes before Vernine walked out of the tent and made her way toward me.

“Come!” she ordered, and the guards broke the circle and allowed me to follow.

The sentries eyed me cautiously as I approached. They carried hand crossbows crafted of the same metal my smith had used for my armor, shield and mace. The material had a black cast to it but shone gray in direct light. A quick inhale confirmed my guess that the small bolts were coated in a thick poison. It smelled like the same concoction they had used on me almost a year ago. One of their assassin’s arrows had pierced my arm and rendered the limb useless for almost ten minutes. The guards stepped aside as we grew nearer to allow Vernine to lead me down the polished wood stairs and into the belly of the tent.

The canvas cover was thick, and combined with the setting in the ground, not much light was clawing its way inside of the tent. My vision worked perfectly in absolute darkness, so the dimness didn’t bother me, and I doubted it bothered my captors. The entire floor of the pavilion was made of polished planks of maple that smelled of lemon wax. Potted lavender plants added a purple hue to the filtered light and a fragrant musk to the air. There was something else in the air with a pleasant but unfamiliar smell. I struggled to identify the scent while my eyes took in the remainder of the space.

The pavilion was more rectangle than square and sixty feet wide at its shortest side. Ahead of me stood half a dozen green armored guards stationed at each wall carrying the same poison crossbows. Half of them were females and the other half were males, but they all wore their pewter hair long and tied up like Vernine.

At the end of the tent, six Elvens knelt on cushions arranged in a semi-circle around a large white pillow that I assumed was meant for me. I approached behind Vernine and felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I knew this was a dangerous situation, but something in my gut warned me of additional danger I had not yet identified. I scanned the assembled Elvens and recognized Alatorict, with his silver hair and incongruously large smile. There were three women and one man who I assumed were other generals.

Then there was the empress.

Who looked almost exactly like Nadea.

“The O’Baarni,” Vernine announced as we approached. I tried to hide my shock. She was the same. The shape of her face, her cheekbones, her eyebrows. The curve and color of her lips, the way she held her head. It was unnerving. As we grew closer I saw that there were some slight differences between the Elven and Nadea. Nadea’s eyes were brown and the empress’s were amber and the exaggerated almond shape of Elvens. Nadea’s hair was a darker brown than her eyes, while the empress’s hair shone a light, reflective bronze. And of course the empress’s ears extended up through her hair and almost reached the top of her skull. Despite these differences, I was certain that this woman was Nadea’s mother.

“You were wrong, Vernine. He recognizes my sister.” The woman seated next to the empress had skin and hair the color of snow and looked immediately familiar. I turned my attention to her and searched my memory for anywhere I could have met her but came up without an answer. Her eyes were startling against her white skin, deep black onyx, the iris as black as the pupil. Her left eyebrow arched in puzzlement when I glanced at her. There were two other women seated between the empress and Alatorict: one with braided green hair the color of jade and matching eyes, and the other with onyx hair and eyes the color of sapphires. At the end of the semi-circle on my right was a male Elven with dull reddish hair.

“Please sit down, O’Baarni,” Alatorict said in his pleasant timbre. I turned to him briefly and tried not to let any emotion show. The pillow was made of feathers and wrapped in a satin that felt more luxurious than even the silk clothes I wore. Once I arranged my knees underneath me I turned my attention back to the empress and met her eyes.

She wore a cream-colored robe accented with green and gold embroidered vines, flowers, roots and birds. The tailoring and detail were exquisite. I could only recall seeing finer garments in my memories, when we ransacked the homes of conquered Elvens. At her side lay a curved short sword, the hilt and scabbard matched the design in her robe and I assumed the blade was a work of art as well.

There was silence in the tent while we studied each other. The strange but pleasant scent I had been trying to identify when I first walked into the pavilion still lingered. I realized I had lost track of how long I stared at empress. Isslata had to have seen the resemblance to Nadea. I wondered why she had not said anything or brought Nadea here to the empress.

The generals sat as still and serene as the empress and I, but the guards began to fidget as the minutes passed. Finally, I saw Alatorict raise his hand from the edge of my vision and Elven servants entered from behind the empress carrying trays. They moved quickly to each of the seated Elvens and laid out a large wooden platter loaded with pewter plates of breakfast foods: Smoked fish rested on a bed of multicolored rice, poached eggs in a bowl of salted chicken broth, and a cucumber and strawberry salad coated in a fragrant pepper vinegar. Finally, a small cup of tea that smelled of pine and a large glass of wine were placed in front of me.

“Please eat, O’Baarni. The empress’s cooks prepared this meal especially for you.” Alatorict used a pair of thin wooden sticks to pinch a piece of fish, which he scooped into the bed of multicolored rice, and then placed in his mouth. The empress followed Alatorict’s example with a bite of the fruit and the rest of her generals began to consume their breakfast. I studied the empress’s grip on the wooden sticks and grasped mine in the same manner. The first bite was a bit clumsy, but the fish tasted even better than it smelled, with just the right amount of smoke and salt mixed in with the flesh.

“Does this meal please you?” Alatorict asked after I took a few more bites and washed it down with a sip of the wine. The liquid was an odd mixture of grape and plum. Bitter and sweet.

I shrugged my shoulders and glanced back at the white-haired Elven that sat on the empress’s left. She smirked at my attention and then turned to one of the other general’s as she spoke in the language I remembered.

“He doesn’t look like much. Certainly not a great warrior.” The red-haired male grunted. His hair was not a bright red, but more the color of desert rock. The hair seemed to have a sticky oil in it that made it stand up. He was stout for an Elven and I noticed thick coiled muscles underneath the crimson tunic he wore.

“Looks can deceive,” said the woman to the empress’s right. Her onyx hair was loose like the empress’s and slid down her back like an ink stain. Her glowing sapphire eyes gave a stark contrast to her hair and pale skin. The robe she wore was simpler than the empress’s, it was a light shade of teal with trim reminiscent of sea shells. “I prefer our better sense.” She licked her lips slowly and eyed me with interest. “He smells as Vernine described.” I turned to look at Vernine. She stood behind me with her arms crossed. Her face was expressionless, but she made eye contact briefly with me when I glanced at her.

“You understand our language.” It was Nadea’s voice, only it came from the empress. The other generals stopped their leisurely meal and stared at me in astonishment. I made contact with the empress’s honey eyes and could not keep myself from smirking. I had made a mistake by looking at Vernine.

“The accent is strange, some words are different, but I get the sense of it,” I said to her in our old tongue. The empress’s eyes narrowed and she leaned back slightly.

“Perhaps your accent is the strange one, O’Baarni. How did you learn our tongue?” She reached down and picked up a portion of egg with her wooden sticks. Her eyes didn’t leave my face, and I was reminded again of Nadea’s mannerisms.

“Where I come from, everyone spoke it.” My mouth felt a little strange forming the words. I hadn’t actually spoken the language since Paug taught me his.

“Where do you come from?” The empress finally smiled, and I wanted to scream at the similarity between her and Nadea.

“I was born in a stable. My father was a blacksmith.” I shrugged and tore my eyes away from her to focus on my food.

“Alatorict had mentioned that you were not forthcoming with information. Perhaps you will be more open with me?” She smiled again, and I tried to keep my eyes off her mouth.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want to get to know you better.” She held out her empty cup to the air and a servant almost instantly appeared to fill it with tea.

“I find that hard to believe. If I called you a liar would it piss off your lap dogs?” I looked at the male with the spiked red hair. He frowned slightly but didn’t seem offended.

“What would make you think I am lying?” She tilted her head sideways a bit like a confused animal. The movement made her bronze hair fall off one of her shoulders like a wave of water. Something strange was happening. It felt like magic, but I couldn’t identify what kind the empress used. I didn’t feel my usual anger and disgust in their presence. Perhaps it was her resemblance to Nadea?

“A few of your warriors attempted to kill me in this city about ten months ago. It doesn’t seem as if you would order that if you wanted to know me better.”

“I can see why you would feel that way. But I did learn something about you, didn’t I?” she smiled slightly again and her generals grinned to match her, save the woman with the white hair. She didn’t seem to pay attention to the conversation; she was looking at my hands.

“You learned I could kill your brood easily. Did you expect any different?” I finished my meal and pushed my plate away. The food had been delicious and I could have eaten another eight courses without feeling full.

“What name were you given O’Baarni?” She changed the subject.

“I believe you already know that.” I snorted and looked over at Alatorict. He shook his head.

“I am interested in that name.” She took a small bite of an egg and then slowly chewed. Finally, she swallowed and reached for her glass of wine. “I am somewhat of a historian on the Destroyer. Call it a hobby if you will. Can you guess why?” she smiled at me again and I suddenly thought about fucking her. She looked too much like Nadea.

“I don’t care for games, Elven. Make your point and then tell me what you want from me.” I felt my stomach tighten as the words left my mouth. I was walking a thin tightrope and insulting her might tempt her to do something rash.

But if she wanted to kill me she would have done so by now. She needed me for something.

“The Destroyer raised an army from nothing and conquered Green Solo against a superior force. I believed that there was much to learn from him, how he trained, battled, thought, and loved. I wasn’t the leader of our people back then, but I knew someday I would either free us or assist the one who would. I needed to know how he was so successful.”

“What is Green Solo?” I couldn’t remember any mention of it in my memories.

“It is the world on which the Destroyer was born. It is the nexus of the Radicle and where the O’Baarni Games are held every ten years.” She stopped speaking and studied me for a few seconds. Or maybe she was waiting for me to respond to her statement. I thought about my memories and the single moon, it was large and light green. The name was fitting.

“So you studied the Destroyer, learned how he built and army, somehow won the O’Baarni Games, begged for this world, and got here.” I filled in the story I had put together from speaking to Alatorict, Isslata, and Vernine. “But I was already here, which angered you. So you tried to have me killed, but failed. Suddenly you changed your plan and decided you wanted to get to know me better. I don’t believe you.” I picked up the glass of wine and drained the rest instead of looking at her.

“How did you get to this world?” she said with another smile. In this way she differed from Nadea, who would have tried to punch anyone in the face who had indirectly called her a liar. I still could not shake the feeling in my head. I was attracted to the empress. I inhaled deeply and picked up the scent of her skin and hair from across the floor. Her smell mixed with the lavender, the food, the wine, and the building sexual needs I had not extinguished since I fucked Vernine and Isslata many months ago.

“Probably the same way you did. But I do not remember.” I held my glass out to one of the servants and he quickly filled it with a wine bottle. The man moved with such fluid grace and speed that I guessed serving was not his main role in the army. Concentrating on him pushed the images of ravishing the empress out of my mind, briefly.

“I like the scar on your hand.” The woman with the white hair spoke suddenly. “It is very fitting. I can tell you did your research on the Destroyer.” The empress nodded, and I felt attention in the room shift to my scarred left hand.

“There have been a few of your kind that have pretended to be a rebirth of the Destroyer. Sometimes they even get a small following before the other clans eliminate them. I’ve studied most of them and spoken to my generals about them often. Most of these men get small details wrong. The scar on the hand is often overlooked. How did you acquire it?” The empress flicked out her left hand while she spoke and the servant replaced my plate of food with another.

“I pulled off the gauntlet of my armor to rip the Elements out of a dragon, and then another one breathed fire on me. It was painless at the time, but I wasn’t quite myself at that point.” I couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of this situation.

“Very interesting. What happened after you were burned?” The empress smiled in what I assumed was mock interest.

“The last dragon got away. I jumped on her talon but slipped off and fell to my death.” I felt sick, and I screamed at myself to relax. I could not faint right now, or have another memory, or do anything fucking stupid that would get me killed.

“If you died, how are you still here?” the man with the red hair asked spitefully.

“He is humoring us,” the woman with the onyx hair said.

“He is not,” the woman with the jade hair and eyes whispered with conviction, and the others turned to look at her. “What happened after you died?”

“I came back to life. Then I wandered the world looking for someone.” I smiled at how odd the it sounded. They were trying to check their legends with my own past, but the truth was often more fantastic than the stories historians crafted to explain impossible events.

“Did you ever find that person?” the jade-haired woman asked.

“I don’t remember.” I nonchalantly put more of the smoked fish and rice in my mouth. If anything, this second helping tasted more delicious than the first.

“Perhaps this person wasn’t important then?” the empress asked.

I shrugged and focused my attention on the food. The Elvens were still working on their meals. I would be able to clear three more plates before they finished.

“Alatorict has asked you about your clan and told me you were not forthcoming. I must admit that your behavior has kept us guessing. Can you tell me which clan you are from?” The empress smiled at me again and I felt the nausea in my stomach fade. Why was she so likeable? Was it her similarity to Nadea or something else? Something that garnered the reverence of all her people?

“Does it matter?” I looked at the white-haired Elven and tried again to remember where I had seen her before.

“It does. We have better dealings with some clans as opposed to others,” the onyx-haired woman answered for the empress.

“I do not have a clan. All I know of them Alatorict and Isslata have told me.”

“You have no loyalties?” The empress raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I am loyal to humans. I remember the past atrocities your kind inflicted upon us.” They were silent to my response, and I took the opportunity to finish the rest of my meal.

“Tell us your name, O’Baarni,” the woman with the white hair demanded.

“What is yours?” I spit back.

“I am Fehalda. General of the empress’s Black Army.” She looked around at the other generals before speaking again. “The O’Baarni has a point. We didn’t introduce ourselves to him.” She smiled strangely, and the other gathered Elvens matched her grin. I realized I must have said something they found even stranger than my other statements.

“You know me.” Alatorict smiled.

“I am Yillomar. The Hatchet. General of the Red Army,” the man with the red hair said with pride.

“Jayita. General of the Teal Army.” The woman with the onyx hair nodded to me.

“Dissonti of the Brown Army,” the woman with the jade hair and eyes said. They all seem to be gauging my reaction to their names. Should I have known who they are?

“I am Telaxthe,” the empress said at last. “Can you tell us your name and title?” She smiled in amusement and I suddenly thought about kissing her red lips.

“Kaiyer. Son of Kai.” I gritted my teeth and forced the empress out of my head. I expected them to cringe as Vernine and Isslata had. But the generals didn’t seem to mind me voicing my name.

“Do you have a title or station?” Jayita asked.

“I am pretending to be the Destroyer. So I’ll use that title.” I couldn’t help but smile and I felt the atmosphere in the room lighten a bit.

“No,” Dissonti breathed from her seat next to Alatorict. The other generals turned to look at her again and I noticed Yillomar’s face twitch with emotion. He seemed to be the weakest and my mind spun plans to antagonize him.

“Call me a stable boy then. I grew up as one.”

“You are quite convincing. Perhaps it is good that you are here and not on Green Solo. For your own safety,” the empress smiled again, but her eyes focused on Dissonti.

“Why is that?” I couldn’t help but wonder out loud.

“As I mentioned before, the clans would kill you for using the name and pretending to be the Destroyer. They have done an excellent job of keeping his legend hidden on all of the worlds.”

“But you are an expert?” I tried to say it sarcastically, but the words twisted in my mouth and came out sincerely. I needed to leave. My head was hurting as if I had a bad hangover. It was the telling sign that I might have another fainting spell. I took a few slow, deep breaths to steady myself but it only made my headache worsen.

“It was not an easy task. But you also seem very educated on the topic.” Telaxthe looked at me and then brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her left eye. “Perhaps you can give me some interesting perspective on Kaiyer, since you believe you are him.” The other generals smiled in excitement.

“You don’t really want to know me better.”

“What Elven tribe did you belong to? This is something the histories are unclear about and I have always wondered.”

“Why do I like you so much?” My head was throbbing as if it was a drum full of water on a bumpy ox cart.

“What do you mean, Kaiyer?” Her lips pouted and I felt my arousal building.

“Is this magic?” I nearly spat the words on the wood floor of the pavilion.

“Perhaps it is.” Her smile turned into a smirk and I knew I was correct. She had some sort of power over my emotions. My head was spinning now.

“You were going to tell me which tribe you were born into.” She motioned for the servants to bring her another cup of tea by raising her glass.

“The tribe was called Laxile.” I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I didn’t want to tell her anymore, but I felt compelled to do whatever she wanted. Her scent filled my nose now and I could hardly hear over the pounding in my head.

“That is what I guessed you would say. It makes the ending to his legacy all the more ironic.” I felt my vision swimming. I couldn’t seem to smell or taste anything but Telaxthe. I wanted to devour her. I needed her. I would do anything to have her.

Voices filled my head. I recognized Entas, Shlara, Thayer, Malek, and Alexia. But I also heard Iolarathe. They were screaming, but it sounded so far away.

Then I realized what I needed to do.

The Earth constantly flowed through my body like blood. It enhanced everything about my perceptions. I was impossibly strong and fast, but I could also hear a mouse’s heartbeat from a hundred yards away and be able to see the same mouse from half a mile away. The same powers applied to my sense of smell and taste since they were both closely connected. I twisted the Earth and did something I hadn’t done since Greykin, Danor, and I made our trek through the sewers of Nia.

I stopped the flow of Earth to my senses.

Almost instantly the pain in my head eased and my vision cleared from the darkness that threatened. I tried not to gasp but I failed and a sigh of relief left my mouth. I had been slumping over in my kneeling position and I brought myself upright with a victorious smile. Fehalda, Jayita, and Yillomar could not hide their surprise.

“I can see how you convinced the clans to allow you to enter the O’Baarni Games. I wonder why you needed such a display when you could have just used this manipulation.” The empress’s smile left her face and her eyes narrowed. The movement looked even more like Nadea’s angry expression than I wanted to admit.

“I am impressed.” Her smile returned. “But you do not seem to understand how clan leadership works.”

“I don’t care to understand them. I am here with you now, in the belly of your army and before your generals. I am your prisoner. You do not need to control me any more than you already are. Just tell me what you want from me.” My mind had fully cleared. The empress licked her lips and leaned back in her plush seat before responding.

“Do you understand the concept of money?” she asked. I nodded and was about to ask her again to get to the fucking point, but she continued. “I want you to imagine that you purchase farmland. You save all of your money for the investment and you arrive to your new property with family in tow, excited about the possibilities for your future.” I nodded again to show that I understood. “But once you arrive there is something wrong. The fields are barren, the soil doesn’t give life, and worst of all, the former owner’s extended family is still attempting to live off the land. You try to reason with them, to tell them that you have purchased this land fairly, and all you want is a place to grow with your family. Yet the squatters claim to be unaware of the deal. Then agents representing the seller come to call. They are plentiful and have weapons. They explain that there has been a mistake and that this place isn’t really the one you bought. Instead, there is another property down the road a bit. Then they ask for more money for the inconvenience of moving you.”

“Alatorict mentioned something about a treaty. Is this what you are alluding to?” I looked over at the Elven with the long silver hair and he nodded slightly.

“Yes, Kaiyer.” Her mouth rolled around my name before releasing it. I was no longer intoxicated by her magic, but she still reminded me of Nadea. She still had the power of all beautiful women.

“I know nothing of these other worlds. But I don’t understand why they cannot give you one free of humans.” I crossed my arms and inhaled. It felt like my nose was plugged, but it was just that relative to what I was used to, my unenhanced senses were so dull. It had been a long time since I had experienced the world through my natural human senses.

“There are humans on all of the worlds connected by the Radicle.” Her eyebrow arched slightly as Nadea’s would have if I had asked her an obvious question. “This is the fourth time we have attempted to reach an agreement about the future of my people. You are here, like the others of your kind that have accosted us in our new homes. If the pattern repeats itself, I can expect more of your kin to show up in a few months. You will harass us, attack us, and bully us until you force us back to the shared worlds.”

She did her best to hide her emotions, but her generals were not as seasoned. Especially Yillomar, whose face contorted into a wolf like snarl when Telaxthe finished. I could tell she was waiting for me to respond to her statement. She probably expected me to defend my people, or to make an excuse. I doubt they really believed that I was the Destroyer, even though I admitted as much while under whatever magic she had used to manipulate my sense of smell. What I really wanted to tell them was that I didn’t give a shit about their problems and I couldn’t understand why the clan leaders had not exterminated them as I planned when I led my army.

“Why the violence when you arrived on this world? The leadership here in Nia claims that you have conquered most of the Northern lands. You came to the king’s banquet and made aggressive statements in front of his people. Your ambassadors murdered their guards.” I remembered the four Elvens who interrupted the banquet when Jessmei’s father had attempted to knight me. “I find it hard to believe you are the victims here.” I tried to shift focus back to her motives instead of answering her question directly. Before she answered I raised my wine glass to one of the servants who promptly filled it with dark purple liquid. Of all the oddities of the current situation, this simple act of being served by the race that had enslaved humans seemed impossible for me to reconcile with all of my memories.

“We are both warlike races. But we wanted to accomplish our goals peacefully. When my predecessors tried to colonize the first three worlds, they came with arms outstretched. I believe that this ended up causing more strife and bloodshed between us.” Her generals had all gained their composure a bit and nodded with Telaxthe’s words. “The lore of this world conforms closely to the other outlier worlds we have wanted to colonize. They know little of the history of the Ancient masters, our rise to power, the time of the Destroyer, or the current O’Baarni clan divisions.” I had a dozen questions, but I tried not to look confused.

“Your people have poor memories, but they aren’t entirely to blame. Time tends to twist stories and the leadership of the clans tried very hard to eliminate all knowledge of our shared history; especially any mention of their Betrayer. This world is so far removed from even the outliers that we were not surprised to encounter confusion about the O’Baarni and Ancients. We decided that we could use the mistaken legends to our advantage. Yes, we have killed here, and pushed our way in to this seat of power.” She gestured into the air and I took the motion to mean the country of Nia. “But in the end, using their fear to our advantage will have caused fewer deaths.” She smiled at me and then picked up her glass of untouched wine. Her amber eyes never left mine as she took a small sip.

“You fear I will report back to the clans?” My question brought a smug smile to her lips once she had put the glass of wine down next to her tray.

“No longer.” Jayita and Yillomar laughed softly from their seats. I nodded and smiled along with them. I wasn’t going to be doing much of anything with twelve thousand troops surrounding me.

“Yet here we are. I’m alive, having breakfast with you and your generals. You’ve obtained Nia, and eventually the rest of this world will be yours, provided the clans don’t stop you. I am enjoying the food, but not your presence. I keep asking when you are going to get to your reason for keeping me alive when you had earlier sent assassins after me.”

“How did you survive those assassins?” Fehalda leaned forward slightly when she spoke. My mind tried to remember why she was familiar, but the memory didn’t come.

“I’ve been asked that before.” I looked at Alatorict even though it was Isslata who had asked the question back when I was their prisoner. I assumed she passed information on to her general.

“Perhaps I don’t believe the tale I was told.” The white-haired woman snorted at my answer.

“Because they were your assassins?” I shrugged.

“Yes.” She smiled wickedly.

“I was probably just lucky then.” I let the sarcasm soak my words. Her brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Tell us about the explosion in the East Wing of the castle,” the empress interrupted our exchange.

“It ruined my room and all of my clothes. I didn’t get a good look at the outside of the castle, but I imagine it didn’t fare much better.” They weren’t keeping me alive to understand how I destroyed the wing. Alatorict had captured me well before that.

“Did you cause it?”

“If I did, then I do not know how. I awoke and everything was in ruins.” The empress maintained eye contact with me while I spoke but I noticed her other generals turned to look at Dissonti. The green-haired Elven made no motion after I had spoken.

Telaxthe continued to study me and I felt that she was probably waiting for me to say more. I could play her fucking game all day. The food and wine here were much more enjoyable than what I was getting in my tent, or the toxic porridge I had to stomach in Nadea’s camp. I motioned for the Elven to bring me another plate of food by pointing at my empty dishes and holding up a finger. He looked quickly to the empress for confirmation before clearing my discards and moving to the rear flap of the pavilion.

Dissonti and the empress continued to stare at me intently. After a few minutes the server returned with more food. This time it was a plate of steamed vegetables and a slab of peppered venison that lay atop a bed of scrambled eggs. I was tempted to use my nose again to enjoy the food, but decided against it. If the empress was still using her magic I might not be able to control myself.

“Tell us about the Radicle you came through to reach this world,” the empress’s voice was like silk sliding across the skin of my neck. I noticed a slight change in the tension in the room and felt as if we were getting closer to the root of why I was still alive.

“It had a stone platform in it with matching walls. What else do you wish to know?” I took the last bite of eggs and began on the vegetables.

“Do you remember its location?” Her question was simple, but with it, everything fell into place. I understood why she had kidnapped Jessmei, imprisoned Nadea and attempted to kill me before switching tactics. The clues had been there, but I had not pressed Alatorict for the right information. It was a shortsighted mistake that might cost me my life and change the fate of this world.

“I may remember,” I answered ambiguously, trying not to grit my teeth too hard. If I told them now that I was not sure of the Radicle’s location, I would be dead within minutes. “But I’m sure you could find it yourself. You have a large army here.” I gestured around the space and assessed the guards again. I might be able to make it out of the tent before one of them got a crossbow shot off, but that was without taking into account the generals, Vernine, and the other two sentries guarding the door. Or the empress who had won the O’Baarni Games on five consecutive occasions.

Even if I did make it out of the tent, there would be an army waiting.

“We will be able to find it, of course, but you could help expedite the process.” She smiled at me reassuringly and broke her gaze to glance at Dissonti. The green-haired woman nodded ever so slightly.

“Once I help you, my usefulness will end.” I smirked and tried not to laugh. The smile on my face helped relax my body. It was something I could remember Entas telling me.

“We can honor an agreement, Kaiyer. Can you?” She smiled like a wolf and I noticed Alatorict’s grin vanish.

“I’m listening to you now.”

“You bring us to the Radicle and we will send you home unharmed. You could also stay here indefinitely if you wish. I would enjoy speaking with you more about the history of the Destroyer. You do seem very well versed in the subject.” She raised her wine glass and the room relaxed a bit.

“If I go back and speak to the clan leaders about this world, won’t that upset your plans again?” I already knew the answer but fished for it anyway.

“No. I explained before that we desire peace. You may be an agent of the clans, but I am sure you will speak favorably of us to your leaders when you return.” I nodded and forced a smile.

“If I decide to stay, what would you imagine that would be like? A prisoner in your camp until I decide to leave?”

“Will you lead us to the Radicle?” she pressed again. I sensed a bit of urgency in her voice.

“I can guess what will happen if I say no.” I smirked and didn’t have to wait long for a response.

“You are intelligent, Kaiyer. You will make a wise decision. I will give you a few days to consider my request. Perhaps we will meet for dinner next time?” I nodded quickly in agreement and wondered if some of her magic had gotten past my makeshift defense.

“Then we will bid farewell for now. I enjoyed meeting you and hope that you will have good news for me when we see each other again.” Her voice came across sincerely but I doubted she meant it.

Vernine and four of the guards moved from their posts on the edges of the pavilion toward me. I finished the last of my wine and stood. The two soldiers nearest the empress held their hand crossbows casually by their waists, but the weapons pointed at me. I nodded to the empress and her generals before turning around to leave the tent.

“Wait!” a voice called from behind me. I turned back to look at the Elven with the jade hair and eyes.

“We were told you spoke the names of our Dead Gods,” she said skeptically.

“I don’t remember that.” I shrugged

“Your memory is foggy sometimes?” The empress smiled with her question.

“Thank you for breakfast.” I turned again without answering her and walked out of the tent.

I made it ten steps out of the pavilion before Vernine and her guards formed ranks around me. She did not speak until we returned to my tent.

“What are you thinking?” she asked. Her red eyes would have given human children nightmares.

“I thought the food was excellent.”

“Don’t fuck around, O’Baarni. You know what I am asking.” She frowned slightly and her guards gave me icy stares. I had no doubt that with a quick word from Vernine they would relish killing me.

“I will need some time to think.” I lazily flipped over into a handstand and did pushups while I smiled at her from my upside down position.

“Very well,” she huffed and motioned for her warriors to leave.

“Wait,” I said just before she left. She pivoted gracefully back to face me. “Perhaps you’ll care to join me in my exercises.” I winked at her between repetitions.

“Another time,” she said after considering for a few moments. Her guards couldn’t hide their disgust and their facial expressions made me smile.

“Too bad.” I felt warmed up enough to switch to single-arm handstand pushups, so I let my left hand off the floor and held it out parallel to the ground while I continued my exercise. She observed me for a few seconds before leaving the tent with her attachment.

I spent the next ten minutes doing my physical work and pounding over the events of the morning in my head like my father had worked the iron in his forge. I knew the empress had power; her magic did not come from the Elements and attacked me in a way that I had not anticipated. I was lucky to have found a defense, but that was just one trick she used. I doubted that an Elven who had beaten the O’Baarni Games and become the leader of her people only had one talent.

I sighed to myself and began my single-leg squat exercises. At least the time alone in the tent afforded me plenty of opportunity to exercise and plan. I did have a few advantages over Telaxthe. She didn’t believe I was Kaiyer, she didn’t know about Nadea, and she needed me to take her to the Radicle. All of these points of leverage I could possibly use to wiggle out of this situation and into a favorable one.

The last and most important advantage I had over Telaxthe was that I guessed her ultimate objective. I knew why she needed me to take her to the Radicle and I knew why she had an urgent need for me to do it.

She was going to destroy the Radicles on this world and prevent the O’Baarni from influencing her people again.

I had to stop her.

Chapter 12-Jessmei

The winds picked up speed and whipped my loose hair into my face; although it did not appear to make the dark clouds that hung in the over me move away any quicker. They seemed to gather from the four corners of the sky, like rivers of ink pooling into the middle of a worn blue table.

“It will rain soon,” I voiced my prediction to the woman who sat behind me on the horse. She didn’t comment, but the steed snorted in agreement and wagged his head in annoyance.

“Will we ride through the rain or make camp?” I asked her sweetly. I couldn’t quite twist around to see the Ancient’s face, but I knew she possessed the alien beauty they all did: flawless pale skin, almond shaped eyes, and ears that grew long past their hairline. She also had the same pewter hair color and red eyes as her other five companions who escorted my uncle and me.

“We will ride,” the woman said. It was more of an answer than I expected. When I had been kidnapped from castle Nia by the three Ancients, they constantly spoke to each other, bickered, and laughed while they hauled me up north and ignored me, as if I were simply lifeless cargo they were tasked with delivering. These Ancients never spoke, never laughed, and never argued.

I leaned forward a bit in the saddle and attempted to look behind us, where my uncle rode with his entourage on the narrow road. We had been traveling for three days and our captors did a good job of keeping us separated. When we stopped for our nightly camp, I could see him across the fire. I tried to ask him how he felt, but he gave me a look that indicated we shouldn’t talk in front of them.

“It might be a bad storm, and it is almost lunch time.” I rubbed my tied hands against the hard leather of the saddle. My body was sore from riding, and I was not eager to reach our destination, which I assumed was my home, under the rule of their empress.

“We are used to bad storms, kitten,” the woman said indifferently. This was the most I had gotten her to talk since I was saddled with her three days ago.

“I am not. I am sore, tired, and I want to rest. How far are we from my home?” I guessed four days, but I had not done enough traveling through my own kingdom to know exactly where we were.

“Five days at this pace. You ate a large breakfast. We won’t stop until the horses cannot see.” I groaned and shifted in the saddle. When my uncle and I had been captured we both feared the worst possible outcome: torture, imprisonment and death at the hands of their empress. This could still await us in Nia, but so far, they had done nothing more than hit my uncle when he tested them by refusing, at first, to mount their horse.

“This is a slow pace. We would move faster if we were not trying to keep you comfortable.”

“Why does your empress wish me to be comfortable?” The woman didn’t answer, and I let the conversation drop.

I felt deeply shamed by her silence, though I knew it was her habit, I was frustrated with my lack of cunning. How could my uncle expect me to run Nia, to save Nia from the rule of this powerful race, when I was not even intelligent enough to gather information from them now? I could carry on a lively conversation with another noble at a party, I could charm most men into doing what I wanted, but when charisma really mattered, I was useless. Kaiyer was cunning. He would know what to ask, and how to ask to get the most pertinent information from the Ancients. He would devise a plan for escape. But if he had been with me the fifty Ancient warriors would never have been able to trap us the way they did in Relliat.

I missed him. His smile, his laugh, his voice, and the moments we had shared in each other’s arms after we made love. I felt my eyes begin to water, and I fought back the hopelessness that matched the gathering of the dark clouds in the sky. Chances were that we would never see each other again, let alone share our love and raise the family I wanted.

It wasn’t just him that I missed. I missed my father, Greykin, Nadea, my handmaidens, even my brother had been such an important part of my life. I hoped that the Old Bear was still alive, somewhere on the boat stuck with my angry mother. But Nadea and the others were probably dwelling in the Spirit world with my father now. Perhaps they looked upon me as I rode toward my fate. They would want to bless me however they could. The thought of protectors watching over me eased some of my fear.

I shivered, fighting against the cold grasp of the wind. I wondered if my captor had a naturally lower body temperature than a normal human. She did not feel warm, but perhaps I was projecting my mood and feelings onto her. There were no trees here, the hills were blanketed in low scrub brush and jagged rocks that poked out of the surface like white tipped waves on dull green water.

“Looks like you have an acute weather sense, Princess,” the woman said a few seconds before the first drop of rain descended from the inky sky and landed on our horse’s face. The animal flicked its head around sideways in annoyance at the rain, but the protest did not stop the following downpour.

“Now we can stop and set up camp?” I phrased it as a question, though I wanted it to be an order. I was not good at commanding others and it was yet another skill I lacked but needed if I was to have any hope of ruling Nia. Though an Ancient dragging me there against my will was probably not the best person to begin ordering around for practice.

My captor didn’t answer me and in a few minutes I had all but forgotten about anything but the rain, the wind, and the resulting chill that spread through my body. I was weak. It could not really be that cold, my country never got as chilly as Loorma, or the countries to the north. The Ancients had even given me a thick leather coat, the water slid off of it as if it were made of duck feathers. But my face was wet and my long hair was drenched. I reminded myself that Kaiyer had chased after me on foot for two weeks in the snow without shoes or supplies. If he could endure that pain for me, then I could deal with this slight discomfort.

If I were certain Kaiyer would be there waiting for me in Nia, this would be easier to bear. Instead, my thoughts slipped away from me for the next few cold hours of travel. I thought of all the reasons I was not worthy to be his. The mistakes I had made, the lies I told, the smiles I wore. The things I should have said to Kaiyer.

I hoped I would be able to one day say them to him.

Eventually my thoughts returned to my mother. The source of most of my regrets and guilt.

I wished she had died instead of my father. I knew thinking such a thing made me a horrible person, but now that I was only days away from whatever fate the empress had chosen for me, I needed my father. He was warm, caring and gave all of himself to his family and the kingdom. Especially to me. My mother had never been happy with the choice her family made to marry her to him, and she seemed to resist everything that could have given her happiness or made life pleasant for those around her. Especially me.

Nothing I did pleased her. I was not pretty enough. I did not make the right facial expressions or say the right things. I was not smart. I could not dance gracefully. My sewing was clumsy. My singing was off-key, my conversations embarrassed her and she lamented that the nobles who interacted with me were judging her parenting skills because of how I turned out. I could not even allow myself to become betrothed correctly. Though that was more due to my father than me, and had caused yet another rift in their already contentious relationship.

I tried my best to please her, but as Nadea had so easily surmised, the woman just did not want to be happy. My brother was the single source of her happiness and she constantly tried to make me more like him. She applauded his victories in training and pushed our father to give him more responsibilities in the kingdom in preparation for his rule, all while plotting to marry me off to the ruler of the most distant land she could find.

Kaiyer did not value my noble blood. He saved me from my captors because he loved me. He left because he loved my family and had to ensure their safety. But all this had done was put me in jeopardy. I never should have let him go. If I were more like my mother, I wouldn’t have.

I felt warm raindrops on my face and realized I was crying. I prayed to my grandmother and father to free Kaiyer so he could return to me and save me from these horrible creatures. I needed him to wrap me in his arms, take me out of the rain and make love to me again. I regretted the prayer almost as soon as I whispered it. I had asked too much of my father and grandmother in the last week and I didn’t want to strain whatever abilities they had. And Kaiyer did not need their help.

“We will camp for the night near that tree,” the Ancient woman said loud enough to make it to my ears over the torrential rain. I tried to nod, but I was already shivering and couldn’t force words through my numb lips.

I lost track of how long we had been riding, but it felt like the sun was close to setting. It was very hard to see the vast span of the road through the darkness and rain. The horse moved off to the right and then stepped up to make it over the muddy shoulder of the road. The motion leaned me back into the woman behind me and her arm quickly wrapped around me to prevent me from falling.

But I still fell.

The Ancient attempted to shield me with her body but the impact knocked the wind from me. I tried to scream, but I could hardly manage more than a gasp. It felt like Jiure had punched me in the stomach again, but instead of trying to fight against the pain, I could only lie in the mud, dazed.

I heard a scream and my captor’s thorny nails clawed at my leg. I tried to get to my feet but slipped and fell again. This time I rolled down the hill and splashed into a river that was somehow colder than the rain. After a second of panic I realized that the water wasn’t deep enough to be a river, it was just the rain pooling at the bottom of the hill. I pushed myself to my feet and felt my stomach lurch in protest as my head throbbed in agony.

I stumbled in the direction I thought we had been going on the road. My feet sank into the mud and water and it took almost every ounce of strength in me to yank my legs free. The Ancients had given me knee-high leather riding boots and the suction of the mud threatened to take them away from me. They were very warm and I didn’t want to lose them at a time like this. I took another few steps and someone grabbed onto me. I tried to scream, but a hand closed over my mouth.

“We have to run!” Beltor hissed in my ear. Thunder boomed and lightning struck in a bright echo. I tried to move faster but my boots stuck again and I had to reach down and pull them up with my hands.

“The shoulder!” He tugged me over to the opposite side of the road. The ground was much firmer suddenly and another flash of lightning revealed the thick patches of grass beneath us.

He pulled on my arm again and I tried to run after him. I stumbled through another thunderous boom and my face slammed into the mud. Hands grasped me by the waist and he grunted loudly with the effort of tossing me over his shoulder. He ran and my body shook so hard that I actually started to feel pain through the freezing cold. Thunder and lightning struck again, behind us I could see the Ancients for the instant the world was illuminated.

I lost track of time in the darkness, in the falling sleet, in the thunder and the brief flashes of light. I just wanted it to be over. I could not stand the running, the fear, the constant stress of wondering what horrible thing would happen next. I just wanted to be safe with Kaiyer. We should not have run. The Ancients would find us no matter where we went. Surrender was inevitable and felt preferable to this perpetual fight.

A clap of thunder boomed in my ears at the same time that I was blinded by lightning. Beltor stumbled and I felt him tip. I tried to grab onto something, but there was only air, then mud, and then I could not breathe. Water filled my lungs and I choked and coughed as I slid down over mud, rocks and grass. A massive oak tree burned and cast black shadows on the darkened landscape surrounding us.

“Uncle?” I came to my feet in a shallow pond formed by the folds of the hillside. Beltor coughed muddy water out of his mouth and lifted me out of the pool like I was a baby. He forced his way through the water, away from the burning tree and the hillside, but his breathing was coming out in painful gasps. He couldn’t carry me much longer at this pace.

“Can we hide?” I had to yell it three times before he understood what I asked. He nodded and said something back that I couldn’t understand. He thrashed through the water and climbed up the muddy hill while I clung to him, a useless burden.

He made it halfway up the slope before slipping in the mud. We fell together but only lost a few feet before I grabbed onto the wet grass to keep us from sliding farther down the slick embankment. Beltor clawed into the grass with his muddy hands and pulled us up inch by inch until we crested the slope. The top of the hill was still lit by the burning tree, but the other side descended at a sharper angle into darkness.

“Hold on.” He sat up and set me onto his lap. Terror gripped me as I realized what he intended, but before I could protest he leaned forward and we slid down the other side of the slope almost effortlessly. Once I had visited my mother’s parents and experienced a similar ride on a waxed piece of wood down a snowy slope. But that had been in daylight and laughter instead of darkness and thunder.

We stopped sliding when we hit another flooded pool at the bottom of this hill. My face submerged again and I came back up to the surface choking out dirty water that felt slightly warmer than the rain. Lighting struck again, etching a white spider web into the sky. In the quick flash I saw that my uncle and I had narrowly missed a large grouping of boulders during our slide. We were in an actual creek now, overflowing in the storm. Beltor grabbed my hand again and led me in the direction of the current.

We half stumbled, half-swimming through the flooded creek bed. The brook ended in a small waterfall that dropped ten feet down to a deeper pool.

“Hold onto this.” My uncle pushed me up against a boulder to steady me against the rushing stream.

“We can’t make it down.” I could not recall ever being this tired in my life. Everything was soaked through and my legs felt numb with exhaustion and cold. My muscles were spent and I did not think I had the strength to take another step.

“We can jump down. I’ll go first and then I’ll yell for you to follow.” It was difficult to see his face in the darkness. He was going to break his neck on the fall and his body would be swept away in the cold waters.

Then I would be alone.

“No. No. No.” I let go of the boulder and clung to him.

“We have to, Jess. We need to escape.” He picked me up again and stumbled through the water toward the edge of the small waterfall. I panicked and screamed but the sound of the thunder masked it.

Then I was submerged in icy blackness.

It was hard to feel the cold anymore. I was so tired, so chilled, so empty. Everyone that had loved me was gone. My father was dead, murdered by the people chasing me. My guardian was probably lost at sea with my mother. My handmaidens were gone, Nadea was gone, Kaiyer was gone. Only my uncle remained, and once they found us again and took us to Nia I suspected they would have little use for him. But the Elvens needed me alive for something, I should let myself die here just to spite them. Finally I could be useful and make my mother proud.

You never even bothered to learn how to swim properly.

I laughed to myself because I had learned how to swim one summer. I tagged along with Runir, Nadea, and Nanos when they escaped the castle and played in the Stone River. When my mother found out she had been furious. She tried to take it out on Nadea but my cousin, even as a child, had chosen to ignore the queen like one ignored a small yapping dog. My mother could never chastise Nanos, instead she just punished me by relieving me of my handmaidens and friends for two weeks.

Beltor yanked me out of the water and I sputtered a frantic sigh of regret. No. Today was not the day and this river was not the place. Kaiyer was still alive, Nadea was still alive, my brother, handmaidens, uncle, Greykin, and the people of my country still needed me. My mother was just a terrible and jealous woman. She would always try to shame me. I was never good enough for her. But I was here, fighting for my life, while she just wanted to give up and surrender to our enemies. That should have proved to the Spirits that I was worthy of what I wanted.

The Spirits did not send me a sign to show they agreed with me.

Instead, the rain drove down with fury, intent on washing the skin from our cold, tired bones. Beltor and I struggled on across the edge of the pond, toward an outcropping of rocks. Light emanated from the storm clouds, illuminating everything in a soft orange glow.

“Here.” Beltor found a small opening in the gathered boulders. He stuck his head into the dark hole for a few moments before crawling inside the cave. I knelt down and peered inside. It was impossible to see more than a few inches into the darkness. What if there were snakes, or bears, or some other evil creatures in there? I had grown up hearing tales of monsters that lived in small holes and liked to eat the flesh of young women, especially princesses; although I believe they were known to prefer virgins, so I was safe on that count. Still, there had to be a better place to hide.

“Jess!” my uncle hissed. The rain was still strong, but it was no longer forcing me to my knees with its intensity. I was too exhausted to protest. I crawled into the small cave and told myself I wouldn’t scream if a snake or alligator tried to bite me.

As I crawled farther into the cave the mud gave way to moss covered stone, then dry, smooth rock. It was so dark inside the cave I could hardly tell if my eyes were open or closed. It almost seemed brighter when I did close my eyes, at least then I saw swirly squares of light pulsing behind my eyelids.

“Ehhhh!” I forced myself not to scream when something brushed my hand and continued past my feet.

“Just mice.” Beltor’s voice was a whisper and the patter of the rain seemed far away. His hand found my face and we embraced.

“Shhhh.” He stroked my soaking hair. The comforting sound made me realize I was crying. Then I started to cry more. Why was I crying?

I missed Kaiyer.

I was scared.

“Just close your eyes, Jess. We are safe for now.” He sounded tired.

“Are they going to find us?”

“No. Take deep breaths with me.”

I tried to match his breathing. It was warmer than I expected in the darkness of the cave and after a few minutes of clinging to my uncle, the chill faded with my fear and I thought about what we might do to get ourselves to safety.

We could probably last here a few days. There was water nearby, and eventually the Ancients would stop looking for us. We could make our way back to Relliat. Perhaps Greykin would still be there, or we could procure another boat and continue to Brilla. It would be a difficult journey back to Relliat without horses, supplies or food, but I knew we could make it back to the Bay of Korono. I could almost feel the salty wind on my cheek and hear the gulls crying as they soared by the cliffs.

Jessmei.

I turned my gaze from the teal of the bay and faced the white homes clinging to the walls of the cliff. Kaiyer stood on the steep road above me. He leaned against the railing and looked down upon me. My heart soared with the gulls. He wore the dark green tunic and matching pants of the Knights of Nia. As he smiled at me, the distance between us seemed to shrink.

“Jessmei.” His mouth didn’t move, but I heard him call my name. I didn’t waste any time and ran up the steep road toward him. I was wearing my favorite cream garden dress and I had to hold onto the edges of the long skirt to keep from tripping. Finally, I made it up the cobblestone switchback to where he stood.

“I missed you.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. His arms encircled my shoulders and made my head spin with joy. This was all that I wanted. To be with him, to love him, to feel his love.

Jessmei.

I wanted to see his face again, so I pulled away from his embrace. But instead of the wonderful view of Kaiyer and the city of Relliat, I opened my eyes to find darkness. I panicked and tried to stand, but arms circled me and a hand went to my mouth.

“Quiet.” Beltor’s voice was softer than a whisper. Memories of our frantic escape through the lightning storm came back and I almost cried again. Kaiyer had just been a dream. Maybe the whole memory of our time together had been a dream as well.

“Jessmei!” someone yelled for me in the distance. It was hard to tell how far away they were but it was loud enough to bounce into the cave where Beltor and I hid. The voice called again and I gasped. It was a man’s voice and I thought I recognized the timbre.

“Kaiyer?” I asked my uncle. I couldn’t tell for sure if it was his voice.

“Is it Kaiyer?” Beltor asked in disbelief.

“I recognize the voice. Do you?” I raised my voice a little above a whisper.

“Jessmei!” The shout was louder now. I could see nothing but blackness.

“No. I don’t recognize the voice,” Beltor said cautiously.

“Jessmei!” he yelled again.

“In here!” I yelled. Beltor’s body tensed next to mine and I wondered if I had made the right decision. I didn’t think the voice was an Ancient’s, but I could be mistaken.

“Jessmei?” The voice rang louder and I crawled toward what I thought was the exit to the cave.

“Here! Here!” I yelled after I slithered to the mouth of the cave. I heard my uncle crawling behind me and saw a faint glow of light ahead.

“They are over here!” The accent sounded like it could have been from Nia or Brilla. My hopes rose as I got closer to a soft yellow glow.

The storm clouds must have dissipated while we hid in the cave. The opening was awash in painful sunlight cut by the shadows of legs. When I got within a few feet of the exit, a friendly face peered in at me.

“Iarin!” I screamed and squirmed faster to get out of the tunnel. It had been almost a year since I traveled with the woodsman, Nadea, Paug, and Greykin to wake Kaiyer from his magical sleep.

I was embraced warmly by the tall skinny man. It was almost too bright to see, but he looked as I remembered: dark hair as long as mine, big blue eyes, and a smile that was half smirk on a weathered face. He was accompanied by four men and one woman. They were muscled and powerful looking, their faces hard and unmoved by my tearful reunion with Iarin. Each wore leather armor and their long hair was braided with feathers and pieces of bone. I recognized none of them and upon closer inspection I noticed that they all had matching tattoos on their shoulders of two bears standing upright.

“Iarin?” Beltor’s voice questioned from the cave. I broke my embrace with the woodsman so that he could help my uncle out of the tunnel.

“Duke! It is good to see you,” Iarin said with a smile.

“Aye. Well met Iarin. So you attacked the Ancients?”

“We took care of them.” The five warriors had deep cuts and bloodstains on their armor. “They were the empress’s Elite Guard,” he said after he noticed me inspecting his companions.

“We will leave now,” one of the men behind Iarin said. His voice was deep and reminded me of Greykin’s when he woke from a night of drinking.

“Yes,” one of the other men said. He was bigger than the rest, as tall as Iarin but wide across his shoulders. They all seemed to be made of muscles, veins, and various tattoos of claw, teeth, and bear art. Even the woman must have weighed as much as my uncle.

“I still think I should go. He trusts me,” Iarin said to his companions.

“No. I’ve met the empress and her generals many times. That is more important. The Pretender will come with me now that we have collateral,” the man with the deep voice said.

“I know you do not believe me, so I will not continue to hammer the point. Just consider the possibility that he is actually the Destroyer and guard your words and actions accordingly.” My tall friend crossed his arms and looked annoyed.

“Your faith in my combat prowess would be insulting if I cared for your opinion.” Iarin didn’t smile but the other men and the woman snickered.

“Fuck it then.” The lanky woodsman sighed with exasperation and shook his head. “He’s killed a dozen of Fehalda and Alatorict’s soldiers with ease, but I’m sure you alone will have no problem dragging him from the empress’s camp.”

“Kaiyer?” I guessed out loud and they all turned to me. They may have forgotten that my uncle and I just crawled out of the cave, because they looked surprised that I had spoken. “Do the Ancients have him?”

They laughed.

It was a weird laughter, as if I was the court jester and I had just fallen on my face. I felt my cheeks turn hot and I stepped a bit closer to my uncle. His arm wrapped over my shoulders and I stared down at the ground, away from the strange people with the odd mannerisms.

I looked back up when the man with the deep voice turned around and jogged away with another man and the only woman following close behind him. At first they moved carefully around the edge of the pond, but then the trio gained speed and moved between the boulders on the other side of the water. They jumped up them with almost no effort, and by the time the group had ascended the hill toward the road they were running faster than even a horse could.

“What is so funny?” Beltor rested his hand on my shoulder and I felt pressure in his fingertips pull me closer to him. Suddenly I was afraid again. I knew Iarin, but the other people with him seemed alien. How could six humans defeat four of the empress’s guards? I had heard that a single Ancient could kill ten of our soldiers because of their speed and strength. The way they moved reminded me of Kaiyer.

“We laughed because you called them Ancients,” the largest of the remaining men said. “We call them Elvens. We are actually the Ancients.”

“Why do I have the feeling that I shouldn’t be thanking you for our freedom?” Beltor’s voice was grim and he fully slid in front of me.

“Relax, Duke Beltor.” Iarin held his hands up, palms facing us, and smiled. The warriors standing behind him gave a cold stare. “You are safe here.”

“As long as the empress gives us the man claiming to be Kaiyer,” the large warrior said with a smile. His eyes looked hungry when he gazed at me.

They all laughed again and the sound made me shiver harder than I had in the storm.

Chapter 13-The O’Baarni

She wore a hooded cloak that hid most of her features. Her fingertips lightly stroked my face and I was reminded of the countless times she touched me while we made love. This touch was different. It was exploratory and diagnostic, not affectionate.

“No. I am not Iolarathe.” She pulled off her hood and my vision cleared. She was Elven, with pale smooth skin and hair that was as white as fresh snow. I recognized her, but could not recall why. All of them seemed to look the same to me. All of them except for Iolarathe. “Can you stand?” she asked.

I sat up carefully. My broken arm had healed and I stared at the offered hand for a few seconds before accepting it and her help getting to my feet. On the ground, the corpses of Thayer’s three warriors had bathed the salty streets in red. The Elven woman had decapitated them, preventing them from healing. She still held her long sword, but when she saw I was coherent she sheathed it in a smooth, elegant motion.

“Come with me, Kaiyer.” She pulled on my hand and led me through the alleys. I heard people screaming about the fires, the death, and the chaos I had caused in the city. I ran after the woman and tried to remember how I knew her.

I followed her north through the streets. She knew them well and ducked between buildings to avoid the throngs of people who took to the muddy roads to gawk at the destruction I had wrought. After a few miles, we reached the cliffs above the town.

The homes here were finely made. They were large and built with expertly cut and finished stone and had yards with small gardens. She stopped running at the largest of the homes, and we jumped the ten-foot brick wall that enclosed the perimeter of the property. She opened the thick wood door closest to the garden. The garden was fresh with the scent of tomatoes, onions, thyme, rosemary, and dill. I inhaled deeply and the scent brought back memories of long nights spent by a fire with Entas during the inception of our army.

The door I walked through led to one of the nicest kitchens I had ever seen. It was thirty feet wide and forty feet long. The floor was smooth green stone and the counters, shelves, and cabinets were constructed of dark cherry wood. On the north side of the room a massive brick oven squatted next to an iron stove. Various pots of liquid bubbled on top of the stove. Strong scents of tomato, basil, garlic, and cream kissed my nose. My stomach grumbled, though I had eaten the fish stew earlier.

A thin human male stood at a wood counter in the center of the room, chopping a mountain of vegetables with almost military precision. An Elven male, his long bronze hair tied up in an elaborate netting, stirred the cooking pots of liquid and checked the contents of the oven. They both turned to look when we entered, but neither seemed surprised.

“Wipe your feet!” my rescuer commanded. There was a low shelf by the door holding several pairs of shoes, boots, and sandals. The white-haired Elven picked up a brush that hung from a hook on the wall, scraped the salt from her boots, and then took them off to expose gray specked wool socks. I followed her example with a spare brush hanging from the other wall and removed my shoes. Then she led me through the kitchen into what had once been a large dining room but now looked like a cartographer’s fantasy.

Maps covered almost every inch of the wall and the half dozen tables set up in the room. A stone fireplace produced a small flame that served as warmth and light for the two Elven women and old human male who studied the maps and loose papers intently. As we entered the room the three glanced up in surprise and hastily sat up straight in their chairs. The women were probably only girls in the Elven sense and they looked almost identical. Long white hair and dark eyes, just like the woman who had saved me.

“Leave us,” my rescuer commanded. The girls dashed from the table so quickly that the scraps of paper fell onto the floor and scattered like a flock of doves. A few wooden easels were turned away from me, but the Elven children’s mad scramble out of the room toppled two of them over and spilled their canvas panels to the ground. The old human chuckled and got out of his chair with a slow stutter of thin bones and brittle tendons. There was a cane by his side that he leaned on heavily when he shifted across the jade-colored stone after the girls. As he walked past me he smiled and nodded in respect. Something about the movement and the sincerity behind his expression made me instantly like him.

“Sit.” She pointed to a set of chairs at the table farthest from the kitchen. I nodded and made my way to it, choosing the chair that put my back at the wall. She sat opposite me and casually shifted the maps into a pile that she deposited on another table. Before she could scoop all of them up I realized that they were logistical locations of what I assumed to be Elven forces.

“Planning a counterattack?” She smirked and leaned back in her chair to study me. I saw my reflection in the black depths of her eyes.

“You are still intimidating. Even without your armor.”

“You were at the battle.” She was one of Iolarathe’s generals. She had been on the horse behind her when they asked to meet with me. I remembered that she had worn a mask with a black tree on one side and a red star on the other.

“Yes,” she said softly and her face contorted into pain. I knew the look from all the Elvens I had injured before killing them. The door behind her opened and the Elven cook entered carrying a massive tray on his thin shoulders. He laid the platter down on the table between us. There were four covered bowls along with a tan loaf of tangy sourdough bread and a dish of orange honey. A large decanter of white wine accompanied two slender glasses. Without prompting, the Elven poured the liquid into each glass.

“Thank you,” my hostess said to the man. He bowed to her and then me before leaving.

“Why are you here?” she asked once the man exited. He could still hear us, in fact, every Elven in this house could hear us. I could easily hear footfalls from the other rooms, hushed whispers about me, and random pangs of kitchen work.

“I could ask you the same question.” I raised the glass of wine to my lips and was surprised at its peach sweetness.

“We are surviving.” She gestured to the bowl in front of me and opened her own to reveal the tomato soup that had been cooking over the fire. She picked up a spoon and sipped the soup. Her eyes stayed on me the whole time. “Why are you here?”

I sighed and uncovered my soup. I grabbed the spoon and took a careful smell before sipping it. The stew I ate at the Lizard Breath’s Inn had been delicious, but this was almost unbelievable. Hidden in the tomato soup were lumps of potato and cuts of bacon that helped offset the sweetness that the red fruit gave to the broth. There was a hint of sourness to the flavor that I guessed came with a gentle mixture of goat’s cream. The earlier meal of stew had not really satisfied me, but I predicted that the soup and bread would be satiating.

Her teeth ground together and I tore my attention away from the meal to look back at the white-haired Elven.

“I am trying to find her,” I said with a shrug.

“Why?” She stirred her soup but didn’t break eye contact with me.

“She ran,” I paused and set down the spoon. Then I took a sip of wine to clean my throat before continuing. “I told her I would follow her to the base of the Northern Mountains. I was delayed by a few months and when I finally got there she was long gone.”

The woman nodded and reached for her spoon. She took her eyes off me and concentrated on eating for a few minutes. I finished the tomato-potato soup and cleaned the bowl with a chunk of the bread. It tasted as tart as it looked and smelled. The second bowl was peppered grilled fish over a green, moss-like vegetable. A first bite confirmed my suspicions, it tasted as good as the soup.

“Thank you for the food.” It had been a long time since I thanked an Elven for anything. I remembered that Thayer and our group of human soldiers had been required to thank the asshole that trained and tortured us.

The woman grunted and downed the rest of her wine in a long gulp.

“Why did you save me?” I glanced at the maps on the closest table. It was of the entire continent. Red circles looked to be troop placement and there were a few score of marks by what I knew were now major settlements for humans. I also saw half a dozen green circles in parts of the wilderness that I knew were far from any civilization.

“She thinks you are dead.”

“What?”

“My sister. She thinks you were killed by your people. She knows someone is following her and she believes it is a hunting squad from Shlara or Alexia’s army.”

“Your sister?” Both pieces of information surprised me. I hadn’t guessed that Iolarathe thought I was dead and I never knew she had a sibling. I thought she was the only child of the chieftain, which was why she held so much power in the tribe.

“Yes.” Her gaze was emotionless but my mind continued to spin.

“I never saw you in her stables. I never heard of you. What is your name?”

“Nyarathe is my name. We shared mothers but not fathers. I am junior to Iolarathe and our mother was the chieftain of the Jientalist tribe.” I nodded as the pieces fell into place in my mind. Alexia had handled most of the interrogations of Elven prisoners and I had heard the name Nyarathe several times. Her forces were the Elven’s equivalent of Alexia’s troops: light infantry and scouts. The Jientalist tribe was much larger than the Laxile tribe and their lands sat a few months’ ride away.

“It wasn’t common knowledge amongst the Laxile tribe,” she continued as I nodded to her statements. Their skin was the same shade of alabaster and I noticed other resemblances now that I knew. Their ears had the same shape, as did her eyes and mouth. I found myself staring at her lips and I had to tear myself away and focus on the remaining part of the meal.

“Where is she?” I finally asked.

“Not here.” Nyarathe almost sneered but seemed to hold back her bubbling emotion. For a half second I thought about reaching across the table, grabbing onto her slender throat or long white hair, and then smashing her face against the wooden floor of the room until she gave me the answer. I would kill her afterward, and then destroy every other Elven in this house before I left.

I sighed and dropped my fork into the bowl of half-eaten salad. Then I leaned back and rubbed my eyes in an effort to push away the hate, the pain, the frustration. The Elven who sat across the table from me was sister to the woman I loved. She had just saved my life.

I had done enough to the Elvens. I had avenged my father and brother’s deaths. Then I had freed my kind. Nyarathe’s people were nothing but mice scurrying around the cellar in fear of the O’Baarni. There was no reason for me to continue with my eradication. I just wanted to find Iolarathe and live the rest of my life with her.

“Can you tell me where I can find her, please?” Nyarathe had saved me for a reason. She had to have enormous hatred and fear of me, yet she had brought me back to her home, endangering herself and her children.

“Perhaps.” Nyarathe smiled and took another small spoonful of her soup. It was the first glimpse of emotion I had seen from her.

“I get the feeling you didn’t save me for your sister’s sake.”

“Correct.” I heard movement upstairs. A few footfalls and then a short hissing whisper that sounded like it could be one of the girls. I focused on listening for a few seconds and found the quick heartbeats of the two girls, the slow beat of the old man, the human and Elven in the kitchen, and then another five Elvens in various rooms. The thought of so many of them around me made me uneasy.

“What do you want?” I finished the rest of my fish and pushed away the bowl.

“A favor for a favor.” The white-haired woman smirked for a second and the expression reminded me too much of her sister. “You know of Jespuier?” I nodded. It was a land to the northwest, some four thousand miles away. “There is a settlement of our kind west of there, nestled between the Two Forked River and the Moon Mountain range. It will be easy for you to find once you know where to look.”

“Why?” I asked, unable to hide the annoyance from my voice. If I could fly as a crow it would take me months to get there. But I would have to hunt, evade detection, and cross half a dozen mountain ranges. It would be a tough journey that would take time away from my main objective for at least half a year.

“I need you to take them written orders and supplies. Once you complete the task, they will tell you where Iolarathe is.”

“Was she not just here?” I thought I was on her tail. Maybe a few weeks behind her. I felt frustration rising in my stomach and my head started to hurt.

“It is a fair trade, no?” Nyarathe sat back and folded her arms.

“Answer my question!” I hissed through my teeth.

“She is en route to them now. Perhaps you can catch her if you move quickly enough.” She smiled and I couldn’t tell if she was lying. It was easy with humans, our pulse or breathing changed. Elven hearts had a different cadence than ours and the beats never seemed to reveal anything. I felt my mood swing past the point of no return and I stopped thinking clearly.

“Was she not just here?” I slammed my fist on the table and the legs shattered into dozens of pieces. The thick piece of wood buckled and crashed to the floor. The papers, flatware, glasses, and the remains of our meal scattered on the floor in a symphonic dissonance of surprise.

“You fucking idiot. It will take us a day to sort through this now before you can—” I cut off her voice abruptly with my right hand. It hooked around her throat, cradled her chin, and then supported her body when I slammed it into the wooden wall by the stairs. Nyarathe had been so calm throughout this whole conversation, but I knew the look of terror in their eyes. She now remembered who she had invited into her home.

“Was. She. Just. Here?” I asked slowly. Her feet hung off the ground but the force of my push must have stunned her. I heard voices of alarm from upstairs and in the kitchen. The room would be flooded with her guards in a few seconds and I could begin to kill. I pulled the Earth into my body and my blood rushed through my heart. How long had it been since I killed and Elven?

Too long.

“I saved you,” she whispered through a crushed windpipe. Her hands clutched at my forearm but it was no use. She might be strong for an Elven, but I carried a strength that was beyond her imagination. She could have gone for her sword, or the dagger on the other side, but she must have correctly guessed that I would pop her head off of her fragile neck quicker than she might bring the weapons to use.

“Now it appears that you are in my way,” I said. My voice sounded like I had the helmet of my demon armor over my head.

Her black eyes looked away from mine and toward the dark wooden floor. I saw something in the depths that halted my anger. Shouts rang out in the room as the household ran down the stairs. Her guards had short swords but no bows and none of them were wearing armor. If one of them made a move, I would kill her before they got to me. Then I could easily disarm the first one and paint the maps on the wall with their thick blood.

“I’m sorry,” Nyarathe whispered. She still wasn’t looking at me and I couldn’t keep my eyes from darting to where she focused. It was the stack of framed canvas that fell from the easel when the children ran. One of the cream-colored squares had landed face up and I saw an image drawn on it with charcoal.

“What is this sketch?” My hand released its grip on Nyarathe’s throat and she dropped to the ground with a gasp. I walked over to the other side of the room and picked up the canvas square. I didn’t know much about art, but the drawing was done with an amazing amount of detail. My hair was now longer and I had neglected to shave my beard, but the face on the canvas was mine. The portrayal was good enough to make me wonder if I had actually posed for the portrait at some point in my life and forgotten.

“I am fine. Leave us,” Nyarathe ordered her guards. I glanced at them over the canvas in my hand and they looked like angry kittens ready to pounce.

“Who did this?” I was more curious than angry now. She gave her sentries a hard look and they walked up the stairs. I was smiling in the picture. When was the last time I felt that emotion? I had faked my smile many times in my travels since I murdered Shlara.

“Iolarathe,” she said once I heard the guards enter their rooms and close the doors. I was sure they could still hear us. “You missed her by three weeks.” She began to pick up the discarded bowls and flatware. One of the humans from the kitchen poked his head through the door and ran to assist her, but she shooed him away.

“Why did she draw this?” I stared at the image again and my head spun. She had just been here. I was holding something she had created. She knew my face well enough to craft this from memory. I felt emotion in my chest and I tried to force it down into my stomach. I suddenly wished I had the talent to draw an image of her on canvas using simple charcoal. Malek would have laughed. I had always told him how useless art was and he tried to convince me otherwise many times.

“It doesn’t matter. I said before that she thinks you are dead.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that she was just here? I asked you several times and you tried to be clever.” The anger I felt a few seconds ago had vanished. Now all I felt was sadness and frustration that Iolarathe believed I was dead. If she knew, she would stop evading me and we could be together.

“I was not sure of your intentions.” She lifted a tray neatly stacked with the dishes and glasses we had just used. “I am still not sure. Wait here.” She walked the tray into the kitchen and I heard her tell her servants that she was okay and that we would require no more food from them tonight.

“Are those girls your daughters?” I asked when Nyarathe walked back into the room. I gestured to the papers scattered on the ground by the table I had just crushed.

“Yes,” she said after a careful hesitation. She was probably afraid that I might attack them. I had killed many of their children in my genocide.

“They look like you.” I knelt down and helped her gather the various papers that I had scattered across the floor. Only about a quarter of them had soup splattered across them, but they were all still readable. I was correct earlier when I guessed that these were logistic tracking forms. Nyarathe was moving bodies, food, and weapons between the makeshift settlements where her people hid. I would have thought her operation would have been located centrally on the continent, but perhaps Nyarathe was cunning enough to realize this and had hidden herself here on purpose.

“They look like their father,” she said with sadness. I looked up at her but she was busy with her own pile and did not spare me a glance. I didn’t want to ask her where their father was. He had probably died during the last battle.

Such was war. Death, sadness, and loss for the vanquished.

“I will take your documents to Jespuier.” She looked up and nodded with a slight smile. “Do you have supplies to spare?”

“I have some; I’ll have them ready by tomorrow morning. We have a room you can use if you wish to rest for the evening.” There was no trace of resentment from her for the destruction I had just caused, but I could still see sadness in her dark eyes.

“My kind won’t be looking for me in the city?”

“No. There were only four in Deadflats, and the guards won’t bother with a detailed investigation. For the past four years we’ve come to expect your kind to switch out a team of four or five every ten months. That group just arrived five weeks ago. One of Alexia’s courier’s comes through every two months, but I’ll make sure they don’t leave here with any news.” I nodded and tried to force down the anger. The thought of Nyarathe killing any of my people made me sick to my stomach, but I had justified similar sins in the last decade.

“I will rest then.” I should have stayed up through the night in hopes that Nyarathe would tell me more of Iolarathe’s whereabouts or hint at whatever strategy she was orchestrating across the world. Perhaps I could have asked her more about her daughters or had her describe the situation that made Iolarathe want to draw a picture of my face. But my body and mind were exhausted from endless travel through the wastelands. I couldn’t remember the last time I had slept in a bed without worrying that the O’Baarni would break down the door to the room and capture me. The thought of letting my worries slip away was irresistible, even in the bosom of my sworn enemy.

“Up the stairs, third door on the left. I’ll have servants prepare a bath for you if you will wait a few minutes.” She smiled coyly as I struggled to say no and finally nodded. A bath sounded worth the wait and she must have guessed how long I’d been traveling.

“I am intrigued as to why you are helping me,” I said as I stood up from the floor and laid another small stack of papers on an adjacent table. “If she thinks I am dead, she wouldn’t have asked you to assist me.”

“I am not helping you.” She tossed her hair back and snorted in disgust.

“You just saved me from capture and death, then you brought me back to your home, offered me a meal, a bath and a safe place to sleep, all after I lost my temper and attacked you. Are you helping Iolarathe?” My hopes soared at the thought of seeing her again. Just saying her name was wonderful.

“No,” Nyarathe almost spat, and I wondered if she was angry at her sister for the same reasons my people were pursuing me. Iolarathe’s entanglement with me must seem like a betrayal.

“Why then?” I asked in sincerity.

“That is enough for tonight. Perhaps we will meet in another life, we can share another meal, and I can tell you about all of the people I loved who you slaughtered. For tonight, just know that I have my own reasons for aiding you.” She glared at me and it reminded me too much of her sister. That look normally meant a horse or human servant was about to die.

“Fine. Good night, Nyarathe.”

“Good night, Kaiyer.” She returned to her papers and left me to ascend the stairs, take my bath, and ponder the journey ahead.

Chapter 14-Kaiyer

“You are late for dinner.” Vernine’s voice shook me from my memory. I was soaking in the bath, in my prison tent, in the belly of Empress Telaxthe’s army camp. Or was I in Deadflats still, sitting in the warm water Nyarathe’s servants brought to my room in a copper tub? My mind ached for a moment and I rubbed my eyes to force the grogginess away.

The last of the sun’s red light dripped into my tent. Vernine brought her usual entourage of green armored female guards who glared at me with open hostility. It had been three days since I lunched with the empress and her generals. In that time, I had not seen Vernine, Isslata, or anyone besides three Elvens tasked with bringing me food and bath water daily. They refused to speak to me.

I guessed that the isolation was part of the empress’s strategy. Even their kind needed frequent social contact. She probably thought that the solitary confinement would make me more willing to succumb to her demands. But I was used to being alone and I had spent the time exercising and sorting through my memories. I had also finalized a plan which would ensure Telaxthe’s failure and my escape.

The bath water was almost cold now, I had been soaking for some time. The water had triggered a memory that took me back to Deadflats. I got out of the tub slowly so that Vernine’s guards would not startle, and dried myself carefully with a clean towel.

“Have you thought about the empress’s proposal?” Vernine asked flatly. She was the exact opposite of Isslata both in temperament and appearance. Vernine was as cool and calm as her dark pewter hair, never revealing anything in her words or expressions. Her golden-haired counterpart was mercurial, swinging from different mental spectrums in a wild spinning dance that was apparent to anyone around her. I wondered how they could stand each other.

“I have.” I put on the undergarments the servants brought and then donned the green pants.

“And?” I smiled for a second while the matching green tunic covered my head. I laced up the chest opening before looking Vernine in her ruby eyes.

“I’d prefer not to let your guards know all my secrets. Maybe they should leave?”

“That is not possible, O’Baarni.” She crossed her arms and I detected a faint annoyance in her voice.

“Too bad. I would enjoy some time alone with you.” I smirked at her.

“We have never been alone together, O’Baarni.” The woman smiled and I realized it was true. In the castle I had always been with Isslata and Vernine together, and she never came to escort me without her guards.

“Afraid I will harm you if we are alone?”

“Maybe it is for your own protection.” She laughed slightly and I cracked a matching smile. I understood little of their military hierarchy, but it seemed that Vernine was part of Alatorict’s army yet also served the empress directly. She wore the empress’s colored armor, and her hair and eyes were the same hue as Telaxthe’s other guards.

“You’ll have to wait for me to tell the empress then. Will you be joining us for this meal?”

“Perhaps.” She motioned to the guards and two of them walked to the tent flap. “Do you wish me to be there?” She raised an eyebrow in interest and uncrossed her arms.

“Sure.” I tried to read her face, but she exhibited no pleasure from my response.

“Is there anyone else you wish to attend?” She licked her lips and there was something that flashed in her red eyes.

I stopped walking toward the exit of the tent midstride and thought about Isslata. If I invited the golden-haired Elven, I would not be able to mention anything about my suspicions of Telaxthe’s daughter. Isslata had met Nadea, and I could only guess that she had not made the connection between my friend and the empress. Why would she? Nadea was a human and Telaxthe was the leader of the entire Elven nation. But I knew that Nadea was part Elven. I knew that she had been abandoned through the Radicle and adopted by Duke Beltor. She looked too much like Telaxthe for it to be a coincidence.

Vernine hinted at something I had not considered. What if she knew about the arrangement that Isslata and I made? Did that mean the empress knew? Isslata seemed to have ridden a fine line between a political power play with me and betraying her own people. She wanted more time with the empress and saw me as a way to get it. She may have thought that Nadea wasn’t important to the empress and could be sacrificed for some loyalty from me. Maybe Telaxthe and Alatorict had instructed Isslata to come to me with this proposition in the first place? Perhaps the whole endeavor was a ruse to see if I could be trusted?

“Isslata should come. I wanted her at the last meeting.” I couldn’t rule out any of the possibilities. Not asking her to come could be seen as me backing out of my agreement with Isslata. If the empress knew of it she might not believe that I could be trusted to deliver her to the Radicle. I’d figure out another way to leverage Nadea if needed.

“Good. I will speak to the empress about your request.” Vernine nodded and looked pleased. Was I playing into their hands? I suddenly wished for my armor, shield, mace, horse, and two armies divided by a line of skirmish. Battles were so much easier than this intrigue.

I stepped out of the tent and into the red rays of the setting sun. Twilight was an hour away, but the avenue was as active as at dawn. I had amused myself every few hours by listening to the comings and goings in the camp. My eavesdropping gave me little information beyond what I had already guessed. The army had not set hooks into the city yet because they were still investigating the strange explosion that had decimated one side of the castle. They didn’t want to risk any of their kind, especially the empress, until the researchers were sure of what caused the incident.

Vernine touched my arm lightly and we began to walk down the packed dirt road toward the center of the colored grid of tents. Most of the Elvens we passed paid no attention to my entourage, a few gave us a puzzled look. I assumed the Elven soldiers did not realize that I was an O’Baarni. I certainly did not look like one. I had put on some weight since being awoken, but I was nowhere near as bulky and stout as a typical heavily muscled O’Baarni. There were other humans walking through the paths in Nia soldier uniforms, so aside from my clothes and escort, I was not particularly conspicuous.

The organization of the camp had felt familiar when I first observed it. Now that I knew the empress divided her army in the same way I had, with the same number of generals, the structure of the massive camp was clear. I felt confident I could make my own way to her pavilion and even find her generals’ tents without assistance.

“Have you finished moving all of your kind to this world?” I inquired.

“I am not party to such plans.” I nodded at Vernine even though I felt like she was lying.

“Me neither. That was why I asked.” I smiled at her and she only returned a slight frown.

It had been cold yesterday and the night brought an angry rain storm, but this day was significantly warmer than any in the previous week. I had not yet experienced spring on this world but it seemed like it might begin any day now. My mind drifted away for a bit and wondered about how the Radicle had been created. Who designed it? How did it know of the other worlds? Did all the worlds have the same four seasons? What caused the seasons? Was it the power of the Earth on the world? The oceans? The sun? The moon? I recalled the intricate map I saw in the ruins beneath Castle Nia. It looked like an impossibly huge spider web that glowed with the magic of the Ovule I placed in the Radicle. Had my people finally figured out how to use the device and left my birth world, or had humans always inhabited these worlds?

“You look pensive, O’Baarni,” Vernine commented at my side as my thoughts began to give me a headache.

“I’m thinking of friends long gone.” I shrugged my shoulders and gestured to the surrounding camp. “They wouldn’t believe this.” My tent sat in an area surrounded by Alatorict’s colored tents, but when I finished my sentence we had reached sandy-colored tents. They flew brown and red flags above them and I assumed they were the green-haired general Dissonti’s colors from the outfit she had worn the last time we met.

“Tell me more. I do not understand what you mean.” Vernine’s eyes opened slightly and she licked her lips like a snake.

“They would be surprised that I am a prisoner in an Elven camp. They would be amazed at how calm I am now.” I laughed and tried to hold back the flood of memories. Thayer, Malek, Shlara, Alexia, Gorbanni, and I had spent countless hours over some thirty years creating a war machine capable of freeing our people from generations of slavery. In that time we had become closer than family.

Maybe it was fitting that I was here. I had betrayed the one person who loved me more than I loved myself. If Jessmei was correct, and our family and friends took on a spirit form to watch over us when they died, then Shlara and my other generals would probably be enjoying the poetic justice of my end coming at the hands of this empress.

I couldn’t worry about my past anymore. I was needed too much in the present.

“You said they were long gone. What do you mean?” We entered an area of white tents and black flags. We had only another few minutes to walk.

“Dead. At least I hope so,” I said as half a dozen Elven men and women clad in ebony, with hair of various metallic colors tied back in elaborate braids mixed with black or white beads walked past us. It was the first group to eye me with surprise and then anger. It seemed that some of the troops did know who I was.

“Human friends? On this world?” Vernine turned her attention toward ten red uniformed warriors walking past us. I sensed tension between my guards and Yillomar’s troops, but none of them looked at me as they passed.

“They don’t seem to like you.” I changed the subject.

“Most don’t like the empress’s Elite,” Vernine replied.

“What does that mean? You all have to color your eyes red and put gray paint in your hair?” Vernine smiled at me and a few of her guards gave me a sidelong glance.

“We are the empress’s chosen soldiers. The best warriors, tacticians, and Element users.” Vernine’s voice filled with rare pride.

“I can recall Isslata telling me that she is the best Elven warrior alive. She said it several times actually.” I chuckled and Vernine laughed a little with me.

“My friend is very boastful. But she is not entirely incorrect. Isslata is quite notorious amongst our people. Perhaps there is none in our army that is her better. But she rarely engages in the type of combat that would pit her skills against our other warriors.” This was interesting to me. I never saw Isslata do more than behead Nanos’s guard. She had been fast, but her opponent had practically been defenseless. “But the empress chooses us because of potential only she can see. Then we are entrusted to her for training and tutelage. We serve her because of the love she shows us.” Vernine’s tone reminded me of Isslata when she spoke of Telaxthe. They both seemed to have complete adoration for their leader.

“So the empress has an army, but an additional private army within? Seems redundant.” We approached the green tents.

“Do you recall our empress telling you how she studied the Destroyer?” Vernine looked at me with a pewter eyebrow raised above her ruby eyes and I nodded back. “Perhaps he would have lived a few years longer if there had been a more loyal force between him and the rest of his army?”

“The empress fears one of her generals will try to overthrow her?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“No. Of course not. But I’m sure that the Destroyer did not have those fears either. She won’t make the same mistakes he did. Wait here, O’Baarni.” We reached the clearing before the empress’s tent. I nodded to Vernine and thought about what she had said while she walked across the clearing and down into the large white pavilion. I hadn’t needed a personal army loyal to me because I had five generals who were my best friends. I trusted my life to them too many times to count. They would never have betrayed me.

I had betrayed them.

If I had known I was capable of killing Shlara, would I have raised my own army to protect myself? My stomach turned at the idea of planning to murder my best friend and then using loyal soldiers to protect myself afterward. Soldiers who trusted me. Soldiers who believed I was the best hope for our entire race. I had made a mistake in the midst of fear and passion. As much as I hated myself for what I had done, I knew I would have never been able to plot such an act of betrayal and treason. I would have sooner killed myself than allow it to happen, if I had known.

Vernine’s green armored guards certainly didn’t seem like an elite force. They were as skittish around me as a wild stallion about to be neutered. They exchanged too many sideways glances with each other and tensed up whenever I shifted my weight slightly. Alatorict’s soldiers had acted the same way. It was true that they were not as strong as me, or as fast, but the six of them could easily defeat me if they wanted. I wondered for a few minutes if the empress gave some directive that I was to be unharmed and her guards were nervous that they might have to disobey her and kill me if I became aggressive.

I had not figured out why she always sent women to guard me. Did they believe I would not kill one of their females? I almost laughed at the idea. In Nia I had killed both the male and female assassins who ambushed me. In my army, men and women had trained and fought and died as equals. The same was true of the Elvens. Nia seemed to have some cultural differences between how men and women were treated. Nadea was expected to wear dresses and pursue gentler interests than a man, though these mores had not seemed to influence or stop her from doing what she wanted. Yet even in Nia women were regular members of their army and did not seem to be held to different standards. Perhaps Telaxthe trusted her female soldiers more, or they just happened to be the most capable.

Ten minutes passed, then another. Finally, the sun sunk behind the distant slope in the west that hid the ocean from the city. The sky turned from amber to a blood red that splashed the horizon like a spilled glass of wine. The slide into evening brought a light, chilly wind that reminded me of the last night’s storm. The breeze carried the scent of water, clovers and rosemary.

Vernine emerged from the tent a few minutes after the sun set. She beckoned to me and my circle of guards took me across the clearing to the mouth of the pavilion. Telaxthe’s sentries roughly patted my tunic and pants in search of weapons. When they were satisfied, Vernine nodded her head to me and walked down the small series of wood steps into the belly of Telaxthe’s dwelling.

The pavilion had not changed since the last time I was here. The empress and her generals were sitting in the same places as our previous meeting, wearing the colors of their individual banners. The main difference was that the wide area was now bathed in soft lantern light from ten silver wrought lamps that hung from the support beams of the pavilion. The lanterns were etched with entwined vines, delicate leaves, and exquisite images of the sun and moon. Each shade was made of a thin pink silk that seemed to deaden the harshness of the flame behind it while at the same time enhancing the fire’s presence.

The other change to the room was Isslata. She sat at her general’s right hand, on the outskirts of the circle. She wore a form fitting pair of gold wool leggings and a matching tunic instead of the leather and chain armor she usually wore. The blouse had blue stars embroidered below where the collar of the shirt parted to reveal the peach tinted skin of her cleavage. Her sword sat sheathed on the ground between her and Alatorict. The cold stare she gave made me wonder if she was intent on drawing the blade.

“The O’Baarni,” Vernine announced with a flatness that came with stating the obvious.

“Please sit down, Kaiyer.” The empress gestured to the small pillow positioned forty feet in front of her. The seat was closer than it had been three days before and I wondered if this was a way of showing that they were beginning to trust me. I could close the gap from sitting to ripping the beautiful head off of her shoulders in less than a second.

“Thank you.” I nodded and forced a smile to my face while I kneeled on the pillow. Vernine took her position a few feet behind Telaxthe and she licked her lips slightly while she glanced around the tent at the other half dozen guards. I took a deep breath of the pine, lavender, and sage scents that filled the pavilion. Then I studied the woman who looked too much like Nadea.

The empress wore a cream-colored robe made of reflective satin fabric. It seemed to glow in the warm light of the hanging lamps. Across the surface of the robe spun green and gold-colored embroidery of tree roots. They twisted and turned across the empress’s clothes like they were alive. I imagined that the back of the garment probably displayed the full trunk and branches of the tree. I almost asked her to turn around so I might see the full beauty of the design. She wore her hair down loose, except for a braided section that ran threaded through half a dozen small golden bells. I was lucky that she didn’t have her hair tied back as Nadea always did. The similarities between the two women would have been likely to cloud my judgment. I was not worried about her using my sense of smell to control me again, but that didn’t mean that the empress had no other powers at her disposal.

“I would like to apologize for the long wait between our meetings. I am sure you can guess at the demands my role places upon me. It is no excuse, of course, but I would like to make it up to you tonight.” She smiled coyly and Alatorict’s mouth curled up into a matching grin. All of her other generals and Isslata stared at me intently, save for the red clothed Yillomar. The large Elven looked terribly bored.

“Good. I’ve been pretty horny since you played that little trick on me. I guessed it would only be a matter of time before I got to fuck you.”

A hiss went through the room as if a thousand snakes were lit on fire. My heart skipped a beat as the faces of the gathered generals and guards turned into one of absolute malice. Like rabid dogs they crouched forward, hands on weapons, faces turned toward me with long teeth exposed and snarling. The change was so sudden and swift it was as if they acted as one animal, one life form, and only one Elven in the tent maintained her composure.

The empress let out a loud and mirthful laugh. It came from her belly and echoed in her shoulders and throat. After almost ten seconds of her laughing the rest of her kind seemed to realize that she wasn’t upset. Then the tension in the room returned to what it was before I made my vulgar comment.

“You are quite bold, Kaiyer.” The empress finally sucked in enough air to get a phrase out of her pretty mouth. Her laughter did sound pleasant, like Nadea’s, but a few pitches higher and of a clearer timbre. The Elvens facing me seemed to relax at Telaxthe’s words. Those seated leaned back onto their cushions. The guards at the sides of the tent lowered their small crossbows and exhaled with obvious regret. Isslata set her thick bladed sword down on the wood planks of the pavilion and gave me an exasperated look before she smiled the way she did when she was in the mood to rip my clothes off and fuck me.

“I can see why Isslata enjoys you.” Telaxthe must have noticed the gaze Isslata gave me. The other generals turned to glance over at Alatorict’s commander, but she didn’t break eye contact with me or seem intimidated by their attention.

“I find it odd how you have created unique relationships with some of our warriors. It is normally not acceptable for your kind to be involved so with ours. Perhaps the words from your mouth do not correlate to the actions of your body?” Alatorict was hard to read with such a large smile always painted on his face, but I got the feeling he was angered by the attention Isslata had just received. I knew from various conversations that she didn’t like her general, but I thought that she respected him enough to follow most of his orders.

“Sometimes memories are as an ocean wave. Mine churn against the beach. Sometimes shells are exposed and sometimes they are hidden by the sand. Most of the experiences I have had with your kind have been unpleasant. Recently, I recalled an Elven who helped me, though she had no apparent reason to do so.”

“Who was this?” the black-haired general with the piercing blue eyes asked.

“She is long dead. Jayita was it?” She nodded and opened her mouth to ask another question, but I interrupted, “I don’t care to understand the way your hereditary traits work, but Fehalda looks very much like my old friend.” They looked to the white-haired woman with the onyx eyes.

“What tribe is she?” Fehalda was more interested in the conversation now that I had mentioned her.

“Does not matter. She is long gone as I said.” I turned to the empress. “Was there going to be dinner involved in this meeting? I could eat an entire cow and maybe a turkey for dessert.” Fehalda’s jaw tensed up in annoyance when I didn’t answer her.

We will cut them down. One by one. Army by army. They will flee from us as children flee from night creatures.

My own voice echoed in my head. I couldn’t place when or where I had said those words.

“Of course. I apologize for the delay. Have the guards not been providing you with enough food?” Telaxthe seemed genuinely concerned and she motioned behind her. I heard a servant beyond the thick curtain climb another set of steps and leave the tent in a hurry.

“Our friend has quite the appetite, my empress.” Alatorict smiled at me and I felt the tension in the room relax even more.

“Of course he does. His kind takes more than they would ever need.” Yillomar suddenly seemed interested in the conversation; he leaned forward on a hand and spat the words out, glaring at me with lips half-open and tongue hanging across his teeth.

“As you are taking this world?” I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

“It is what is due to us after lifetimes of oppression!” He tensed the network of muscles on his exposed forearms. I imagined he wanted to leap from his chair and kill me. However, he had no weapons at his side and I guessed that Telaxthe had told her generals to be on their best behavior. Or maybe she had planned this outburst to see how I would respond to his words.

“Everyone has a sad story to tell, dog. My story tonight is that I am hungry.”

“Did you call me ‘dog’?” His teeth clenched together so tightly I heard them grind throughout the room like stone scraping. The large red-haired Elven slowly rose to his feet. His eyes spoke no words besides murder.

“Yes. Now go find an ass to sniff and a tree to piss on. Your yaps and yips annoy me.” The tension in the tent had returned full force and I saw the guards standing behind Yillomar step slightly to the side so they could fire their crossbows at me.

“You must be an idiot or insane.” He turned to look at Telaxthe. Fehalda and Dissonti shook their heads an almost imperceptible amount, but the empress did not move.

“Or he doesn’t know any better,” the empress said after a dozen seconds of silent consideration. “Sit. Perhaps the O’Baarni will want to frolic with you after we have conducted our business for the evening.” She turned to me and produced a mischievous smile that reminded me again of Nadea. “Yillomar brings up an interesting topic and I must confess I am even more curious about you now that we have met.”

“I am flattered,” I said sarcastically.

“It seems that you understand none of our ways, or even your own ways. You cannot provide us with any history as far as your clan or world. Yet you claim to be the Destroyer.”

“I never claimed to be this person. My name just happens to be Kaiyer.” I glanced over at Yillomar and he nodded at his empress’s words. I guessed that his outrage was slightly exaggerated.

“It is the same as claiming to be the Destroyer.” I heard footsteps descend the stairs beyond the emerald curtain that separated our current meeting area from the rest of the pavilion. “Let us begin dinner and we can tell you of our theories.” Eight Elven servants emerged from the curtain on my right side behind Yillomar carrying elaborately carved wooden trays that displayed images of stag and fawn.

The man who had served me last time, who I suspected was actually a trained warrior, set the tray down in front of me and then poured a large glass of white wine before pulling the cover off of the platter. His movement exposed a plate topped with five wood skewers impaling an assortment of different colored tomatoes, fragrant dry cheeses, basil leaves, and smoked venison. Scattered across the dish was a swirl of dark pepper and shavings of orange peel.

There were no forks or knives on the tray, so I grabbed one side of the foot-long skewer and pulled off a succulent mouthful of the food. The empress’s cook was many times better than whoever made my meals, and I had to force down a sigh of pleasure once my taste buds realized how delightful the pepper smoked venison tasted in my mouth. After I chewed through the initial bite, the citrus of the orange along with the sharpness of the basil came through and provided a wonderful aftertaste. I couldn’t hide my pleasure then and I felt a smile creep up to my cheeks.

“Tell Kaiyer your theory of his origin, Jayita.” Telaxthe took a small bite of a tomato at the end of her skewer and smiled at me while she chewed.

“Gladly.” The black-haired woman took a sip of wine and then smoothed the front of her teal silk robe. The fabric was a few shades darker than her eyes, but the silver spiral swirls that were embroidered on the silk reflected enough of the light to make me second guess my sense of color.

“You were born of Malek’s clan and gifted recently, within the last ten years or so. Something happened to cause you hardship during a sortie on a conflict world. Yellow Fifth or Eighth I would guess. Perhaps a lover or friend was killed while you assisted in one of our relocations.” Her face hardened and while I didn’t know at all what she was talking about, I guessed that this story could have been personal. “You went back to your clan leaders, but they did not give you retribution. Whomever you lost was important enough for you to risk your soul and execution by your own people for revenge. So you found a route here and are looking for the Elven who wronged you.” She took another sip of wine and then raised a night black eyebrow in question.

“That is a descriptive story. You got the revenge part almost correct. I did find the Elven who wronged me a long time ago.” I finished the first skewer and quickly went to work on a second.

“You are from Alexia’s clan. You are here to thwart us as your kind has in all the previous treaties you’ve pretended agreement to. There is no mistake that news of you first appeared after we had come to this world in search of our freedom.” Fehalda had not touched her meal yet. It was hard to read any sort of emotion in her dark eyes, but she seemed confident of her words.

“Why Alexia?” I wondered.

“You are here alone; your clan is so filled with hate you don’t even like yourselves. The answers that you have given us in the past few months have been meant to cause confusion, another sign of your alliance. The way you fought my warriors in the streets of this city,” she pointed at the side of the tent that faced the walls of Nia, “reflect the training known to Alexia’s brood.”

“As I recall, I was ambushed by your assassins and had to run through the streets to escape.” I finished my second wooden skewer and paused before taking another. “Which part of trying to survive reflects Alexia’s clan?”

“The way you navigated the city. You claimed to be ambushed, but my report was detailed in your movements and the tactics you used.” I remembered that there was one warrior I let escape. He must have given Fehalda a recollection of the event in a way that convinced her I knew the city much better than I did.

“Then I let myself get captured by Isslata. Perhaps this is just a trick to get close to your empress so I can end her life?” The room went silent and tense again. I ignored them and ate the next skewer. I made sure my enjoyment was plain on my face now. It was too hard to hide it.

“Alatorict?” I turned to look at the lean man with his braided metal hair. I was getting more information out of their theories than I hoped.

“Exiled from Malek’s clan for an unspeakable act. You were high in the command structure; maybe even a commander. Your body has a great deal of scars on it, which makes me believe that they may have tortured you for the crime you committed. I’ve heard that the clans have developed ways to block access to the Elements for the purpose of torture.” He took a sip of wine before continuing.

“You escaped before they could kill you and have been hiding on this world for a long time. Long enough to become ignorant of any recent politics. Maybe you have been here for over a hundred years. Your physical body does not look old enough, but your eyes betray your youthful face. You are powerful so I would imagine that the clans would want you in their prisons or dead. Perhaps you think you will redeem yourself by complicating our proceedings. But like my empress and I have told you, we were promised this land by your people, and we have a right to do what we wish with it. We have the treaties signed by your leaders.” His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence and he glanced back past the curtain at a pair of boots that sounded violently against the polished wood of the floor.

A leather clad male Elven with sandstone hair hurried behind the row of gathered generals. He was dressed in armor that matched Alatorict: gold with blue trim. Isslata held up her hand and the man deposited an envelope into it before he turned and dashed away.

“What do you think of Alatorict’s guess?” Telaxthe asked, breaking the focus of the room on Isslata’s letter and drawing attention back to me.

“Everything you have each said has grains of truth to it.” I finished the last skewer and set down the wooden stake. When the man walked in with the letter I had rolled one of the wooden sticks outside of the plate and shifted my knee over it. I didn’t know if I had been seen, but I felt confident that most of the eyes in the room had been on the strange interruption. There was a thick cream-colored cloth napkin beside the plate. I drained the last of the wine and wiped my mouth with the square before dropping it on top of the plate, concealing the correct amount of wood sticks. There wasn’t any way I could kill the empress and live but I felt somewhat more in control of my situation with the crude pointy weapon.

“Yillomar?” Telaxthe looked to her left at the large redheaded general. He threw down one of the long picks and frowned at me.

“I’d say he is stupid and reckless, like a Thayer or Gorbanni. Other than that I have no opinion of this fool.” He sneered at me and then sniffed the air with obvious distaste.

Isslata had finished reading the delivered letter and her mouth curled into a smile that I knew too well. In this case though, I didn’t know if it would mean good or bad news for me. She handed the letter to Alatorict, who glanced at it before passing it to Dissonti. The woman with the jade hair and eyes passed it to her empress without looking at it.

“What do you think?” I met her green eyes and puzzled at the odd expression on her face.

“You believe you are Kaiyer,” she said simply.

“Of course I do.” I smiled at her and leaned back. The Elven servant refilled my wine and then took my empty plate away.

“That does not mean you are. Just that you believe.” She shook her head at my statement as if I had answered a question incorrectly.

The next course of food was brought out by the efficient servants, but I paid more attention to the empress’s face as she read the letter. I had a sinking feeling that any news important enough to interrupt our meeting would not be good for my cause. If the letter was delivered to Isslata, did that mean that it pertained to something inside of the city of Nia? I knew from conversations with her that she was in command of most of Alatorict’s forces in the capital, but maybe the empress’s guard now handled that responsibility.

The servant put a small porcelain cup of hot lemon tea down beside me and the movement drew my attention back to the food. This next course was a bowl of cut and salted asparagus mixed with rolled mustard greens and sliced radishes. The vegetables were covered in thick oil that smelled lightly of strawberries. The empress seemed to be reading the letter again, but everyone else had dug into their salad so I took a quick bite with my fork and found it almost as flavorful as the skewers I had just consumed. My hunger flared up again and I quickly decimated the rest of the salad in a few bites.

“Give this to Kaiyer,” the empress held up her right hand with the letter in it. Vernine moved from her standing position and delivered the paper to me. She and the others in Telaxthe’s private guard were not eating.

The letter was on a plain tan sheet with a slight wax to the pulp. It was folded into fourths and I felt my disappointment grow as I started to read the familiar writing inside and the purple seal of Nia’s royal house.

Empress Telaxthe,

I will be returning to the capital with my army and generals.

I look forward to partnering with your people and hope that you believe in peace and prosperity as much as I do.

Duchess Nadea Satina Nia

I read the words in less than two seconds, but it took a few dozen for the meaning to sink in and for my stomach to curdle into rancid cheese. What in the hell was she doing? This wasn’t what we had agreed to and her decision destroyed the plans I had made over the last few days.

“Isslata has told me of your feelings for the duchess. Initially, we had been led to believe that you and the king’s daughter were lovers.” I looked at the empress’s slight smile and tried not to growl. “The letter is great news for me.”

“Why do you benefit?” I tried to say the words calmly, but there was a quiver in my voice.

“I do need her help to placate the nobles and merchants. We had believed Nanos could replace his father, but he has proven unsuitable. We have been unable to find his sister. Nadea and her father are well respected in this country. If she will cooperate with me, then I will fulfill what I outlined in the letter I wrote to her.” She raised her wine glass to her lips and took another sip.

I forced a slow, deep breath out of my lungs and realized that this may not be such a bad turn of fate. As soon as Nadea met Telaxthe, they would know about their relationship. I doubted that my beautiful friend would be in danger after that.

I could only guess at the circumstances that caused Telaxthe to abandon her child in the first place. Maybe she wanted Nadea to be killed and someone else had saved the babe and sent her away via the Radicle?

“I take it that the human’s decision was not what you planned?” Alatorict raised an eyebrow in question. I wanted to burn the smirk off of his angular face with a fireball.

“Not quite.” I looked down at my food, but the bowl was still empty. Maybe there was a way I could quit this dinner, retire to my prison tent, and plan more before speaking to them. Now that Nadea was coming back I needed a new strategy.

“We already had delegates in Brilla of course,” Jayita said. “We’ve promised them profitable trade agreements and some of our craftsmen on loan in exchange for their refusal to shelter any soldiers or political refugees.” I nodded and managed to gain control over my emotions. Of course they had planned that Nadea would try to flee. They would want to tie up all loose ends with death or alliance. Nadea must have found out about Brilla’s inability to help her and took the only avenue available.

“That brings us back to the topic of discussion for tonight.” Telaxthe waved her hand and the servants began to clear the salad bowls and bring out massive silver platters. “Have you given any further thought to my offer?”

I nodded and waited for the servant to set down the four-foot-long covered tray. He poured a new goblet of dark red wine and then cleared the tea and white wine that I had not touched. Once I focused on the smell, it became apparent that the next course was some sort of peppered, honey-coated beef. My server pulled back the tray lid with a slow ceremony and proved my guess correct. I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of animal this was, but there was a massive rack of golden braised ribs laid out upon a mixture of blue, brown, and black wild rice. The slab of ribs probably weighed four pounds and I couldn’t help but push magic through my nose to further enhance all the scents of the entree. Pepper and honey as I had guessed earlier, but also salt, vinegar, garlic, spicy peppers, and a bitterness that might have been coffee. There was actually a serrated blade and two-pronged fork on the platter. I could kill with these tools much easier than the wooden skewer under my leg, but for the moment the only goal in my mind was to taste the wonderful smelling ribs as soon as possible.

“We have had this salting for the last year. The empress and I agreed that this would be an appropriate meal to enjoy them.” Alatorict and the other Elvens glanced down at their matching plates of ribs, but had not even picked up their flatware. I cut off one of the massive pieces and began to chew the soft meat off the bone.

It was the most amazing food I had ever tasted.

Even with the intense pepper, spice, salt, and sweet taste of the seasoning, the actual flavor of the meat tasted like something I could only dream of. It was like boar, only firmer and with a darker, thicker flesh. It was like beef, but not nearly as chewy. With the next bite, the taste of fowl came through, lean but packed with more flavor than what my enhanced taste buds could comprehend. My heart seemed to slow and my head spun gently, as if I was on a hammock relaxing in a summer breeze. I set the remainder of the bone down and I realized that the empress had asked me a question.

“Pardon?” My body felt so relaxed that my tongue almost slurred the words.

Then I realized that I could have been drugged and adrenaline shot through my blood a fraction of a second before the Earth flowed through me. The world came into sharp focus and time slowed while my senses sought possible threats from every direction.

“Does this entree agree with you?” she asked again.

“Yes.” My eyes darted around the room. None of the generals nor Isslata had touched the meat, but they seemed to all be glancing at their plates with unusual expressions on their angular faces. The air pulsated like the Earth when it coursed through my blood. The feeling of alarm that had sent adrenaline through my body quickly calmed and I felt my muscles relax again. I closed my eyes and tried to bring myself into the present situation. This wasn’t a safe place to relax. I was in the midst of my enemy and this was obviously some ploy to lower my defenses. Was this poison? Why was my body not shrugging it off quickly? Normally my magic healed me within seconds, but it seemed as if five minutes passed since I took the first bite and the pleasurable sensation only intensified.

“Would you like to eat more? You have only had two bites,” a voice in front of me said. I opened my eyes and saw that the generals were looking at me with puzzled expressions. There was another emotion on their faces, hidden mostly by their training and a strong desire to keep me from seeing it.

Fear.

Why were they afraid?

“No. It is delicious, and I am hungry, but I would prefer a different dish.” I regretted the words almost as soon as they left my mouth. Alatorict and Isslata exchanged quick glances, but I couldn’t read what they communicated.

“Very well.” The empress gestured with her hand and my personal servant picked up the plate. I almost grabbed his arm to stop him but resisted at the last second. The taste of the meat still hung in my mouth, filled my nose, and tempted my tongue. “While my chefs create another entree for you, would you find it rude for us to begin?” the empress asked casually, but I could feel the tension in the room.

“No. Go ahead.”

“So you will allow us to eat?” she asked again.

“I was not aware you ate only with my permission, Empress.” I sat back and took a long drink from my glass. It was a buttery vintage and was followed with a plum aftertaste that paired well with the grapes of the wine and whatever creature I had just eaten.

The Elvens exchanged glances and began to cut the meat with the sharp knives provided. Except for Isslata, who didn’t seem to care for the etiquette the gathered generals showed. She tore one rib from the rack with her sharpened nails and bit into the meat with an eagerness that made me think she had fasted for the last week. She let out a soft moan of appreciation once she tasted the food, and the other generals spared a glance her way before taking their first bite.

The effects of the meat seemed to be fading. Or at least, my mind felt as if it was actually contained again in my skull, instead of floating a few feet above me. I concentrated on my breathing, the Earth, and the sound of my blood pumping through my arteries.

The gathered feasters seemed to be enjoying their meal. I observed them for five minutes and the look of pleasure on their faces and sounds of appreciation they made almost had me asking for my plate back. Soon enough my servant brought me out a platter of beef ribs that were crusted with pepper and crushed acorns, and glazed with thick molasses. While not as amazing as the ribs that made my head spin uncomfortably, this new entree had the perfect blend of sweetness from the molasses and bitterness from the acorns.

I had started eating my ribs after my captors, but my hunger and smaller plate meant that I finished a few minutes before them. I could sense the effects of the narcotic that was within the flesh of the animal. Their hearts slowed and their breathing became heavy and relaxed. Isslata finished first and slowly licked the dark honey off of her fingers. She noticed me watching her and her eyes met mine. They were cloudy and full of desire, just as they looked after we had fucked for a few hours.

Even the empress appeared a little dazed by the meal, although she was eating at a slower rate than the rest of her generals. She noticed my gaze and smiled before she wiped her face with a cloth napkin. The movement was probably one of habit since she ate carefully and did not have a speck of the food on her lips.

“It is rare to meet one of your kind that passes up an opportunity to indulge in such a feast.”

“It was delicious, but I did not like the way it made me feel. What type of animal is it?” I must have asked a foolish question, because they looked at me in confusion.

“You jest with us?” Jayita narrowed her blue eyes.

“No.” I shrugged. “I’ve enjoyed many types of game in my life, but never something that relaxed me in such a way.”

“You’ve never eaten the flesh of a Mastkur?” Dissonti asked with sudden interest, setting down a rib and leaning forward toward me.

“No. The ribs are large. How tall do they stand? What do they look like?”

“He is fucking with us.” Yillomar’s voice had lost most of its previous anger. He looked like he was almost done with his ribs and might take a nap.

“Let us speak to business, then.” Telaxthe took another small bite of her food and closed her eyes for a second before continuing. “I want something from you, and now you want something from me.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” Now I was grateful that I had not eaten anymore of the Mastkur. Perhaps the plan the whole time was to get me stupid on the meat and then have me agree to something ridiculous.

“Oh, but you do, Kaiyer.” She smiled and patted her mouth again with the napkin. “You want the guaranteed safety of your duchess.”

“I believe you already promised that to her in your written terms.” My stomach knotted. Vernine turned away suddenly and walked behind the curtain but none of the other guards or generals seemed to notice.

“I did. It would be a shame for me to break my vow. I take it very seriously, but of course, the safety of my people is more important than the life of one human.” Her face hardened. “You will lead a group of my soldiers to the Radicle that brought you to this world. Then you will leave through it. Nadea will not be a threat to me after that, and I will ensure her safety. I mentioned before that I have uses for her.”

“Once you meet her, you will change your mind about killing her. Your threat is empty.” I took a sip of wine to steady my nerves. I should have thought of a reason to excuse myself from this meeting once I found out Nadea had changed her plans.

“I will never meet the girl. Instead, someone who would enjoy the task and knows her scent will make a purposeful sojourn.” Her eyes turned to Isslata. The golden-haired woman gave me a pout and then shrugged her shoulders.

Fuck.

“I’ll need some time to think.” I began, but the empress was quick to respond.

“No. You have had three days to think. Answer now.”

“Is there another course or two to this meal?” I forced a smile and the room seemed to hang on the empress’s next words. Her eyes met mine and we stared at each other for what felt like five minutes. Her face was angry and reminded me of the times I had tried to seduce Nadea while she resisted.

“There are three more courses. Then you will answer.” She looked down at her half-eaten dish and then waved it away with a pained expression. The other generals quickly ate their remaining Mastkur ribs before the servants could take theirs away. I guessed that unlike the relationship I had with my generals, the empress gave her own commanders little leeway to defy her.

I gulped the rest of my wine and set the glass down on the wood next to my sitting pillow before another stream of servants entered carrying terracotta dishes. My servant placed one in front of me, then filled my glass with a rose liquid. He removed the lid of my plate, revealing two split artichokes that had been drenched with a red vinegar, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. It seemed to have been cooked by a close fire, some of the leaves were slightly burnt. To the side of the vegetables were four small dishes that contained dipping sauces of white, purple, pink, and yellow.

I tore off one of the grilled leaves and dipped it into the white sauce. It looked milky but tasted of horseradish. I chased it with a sip of the red wine, which was much drier than I had expected and complemented the taste of the vegetable and sauce wonderfully.

As I grabbed another leaf, I noticed Vernine walk in quickly and hand a small note to the empress. Her ruby eyes looked somewhat concerned and the empress’s face shifted to intense anger. Her emotions were not lost on the room and the others stopped eating to look at her.

“He is here?” she whispered. I could hear the sound of the blood moving through their bodies if I tried.

“Yes, Empress. He is walking through the camp now with two others.” Vernine’s voice was softer than Telaxthe’s.

“Delay as long as possible.” Vernine nodded and then sprinted faster than a horse out of the tent. Her movement caused a breeze that accentuated the scent of sage and food.

“Your kin have come to visit me, Kaiyer.” The empress seemed to have gained control of the brief flash of anger I had seen. “I can only assume that you are the reason they are here. None of us guessed that you were from Turnia’s clan, but that makes some sense.”

“Ahhh. It does.” Alatorict leaned back with a smile. “I asked you about her in the dungeons under Castle Nia and you denied that you were part of the Two Bears.”

“I do not know of anyone named Turnia or Two Bears.” Turnia had not been the name of any human I knew in my army.

“You again profess ignorance of the simplest facts.” Fehalda shook her head and gave a sound of exasperation.

“Kannath is in our camp and wishes to speak with me immediately.” The empress’s words seemed to alarm her gathered Elvens. I guessed that whoever was coming may have been a familiar name amongst Telaxthe’s warriors.

“He might ask you to leave with him, Kaiyer.” The empress’s amber eyes shone dangerously in the soft light of the colored shades. “You will follow my lead in the conversation, or your duchess will not live to see the dawn.” She gave a nod to her right side without looking at Isslata. “Do you understand?”

“Fine.” I shrugged and struggled to think of a new plan. Maybe my kinsman could be a potential ally. “Who is this Kannath? He seems to make you all nervous.” They stared at me with open mouths and startled expressions

“He was once a Game Champion. He retired once his sister broke away from the clan of Thayer and formed her own clan.” Yillomar looked at me like I was a complete idiot and spoke the words as if teaching a child a simple task.

“Two Bears?” I asked

“The nickname the pair adopted.” Alatorict confirmed my guess.

There were a few dozen more questions I wanted to ask, most of which would probably further confuse the Elvens. But before I could ask them, Vernine entered from behind me and walked down the wooden steps with loud boot strikes.

“Champion Kannath and his arms bearers Naom and Gaizka.” Vernine’s face was back to her usual expression of emotionless boredom. She moved deeper into the pavilion to take her spot behind the empress and my three kin descended the polished wooden stairs.

Chapter 15-Jessmei

The twin pits of vermillion coal around which we were seated reminded me of Kaiyer. We had spent so many nights beside cooking fires like these, either in the cave or out in the forest wrapped around each other, loving each other, tasting each other, and talking to each other. I would probably never be able to look at a fire or feel its warmth without thinking about the time we enjoyed together. I wished he was here, but the hole in my heart was now just a familiar ache that I doubted would ever go away.

Beltor cleared his throat and I turned to look at him. I could tell my uncle was exhausted, but he was too nervous to sleep. He may have briefly met Iarin in the castle, and probably knew of him from Nadea, but I sensed he didn’t trust the other two muscular men or appreciate the way that the bulkiest one looked at me.

Not that he could have done anything to prevent them from trying to rape me. The smaller of the two had pulled the boulder we were seated upon from its spot halfway in the mud. Then he had carried it above his head for thirty feet before casually tossing it on the ground near the fire. I couldn’t guess how much it weighed, but I knew that these men were probably as strong as Kaiyer. They were weathered warriors that seemed used to traveling together. They exchanged no words as they efficiently set about their camp tasks.

The larger man glanced at me again and our eyes made contact before I quickly looked away. Jiure had blamed me for tempting him with the way I looked at him. Was this man now thinking I wanted to lie with him because we had made eye contact? I vowed to try harder to avoid his eyes, though his constant gaze and our close quarters made that difficult. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and I found it impossible to breathe, I inhaled deeply but felt no satisfaction, as if I were drowning. I gripped the stone beneath me with my hands to keep them from trembling and looked at the dirt at my feet, trying to focus. The pain of the sharp rocks on my palms distracted my mind and I felt my heartbeat start to slow.

It had been some time since Jiure attacked me, yet I still felt the same fear anytime something reminded me of him and what had almost happened. Sometimes for no reason I could discern, the grip of fear would overtake me and it took all my strength to ground myself back in reality and feel safe again. The looks from this new man brought my thoughts back there and my body reacted with adrenaline and panic as if I were about to be raped again. Surely Iarin wouldn’t let them assault me. He was my friend; we had traveled together for months, and he had amused us all with fireside stories of his travels through the lands. I looked over at the thin man and hoped that he would glance my way, give me reassurance that everything would be okay.

The woodsman seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts, along with the task of cooking the boar and quail that the largest of his companions caught earlier. Just like Kaiyer, the big warrior had disappeared silently into the oak trees that surrounded the pond and returned quickly with more game than I thought we might possibly eat. Iarin also had a large pot of water he had gathered from the pond that I assumed he was boiling for drinking or perhaps stewing the leftover bones.

“How is it looking, Iarin?” Beltor’s soft question broke the crackling rhythm of the fire.

“Should be done shortly, Duke Beltor.” The woodsman smiled at both of us with his casual manner.

“I’m so hungry, I could eat half of that boar,” the man that had lifted the boulder said with a laugh. “Too bad we ran out of mead.”

“There will be a river of mead once we return with this latest Pretender.” The bigger man who had hunted made a small gruff laugh that reminded me of a big dog’s bark.

“Why do you call Kaiyer ‘the Pretender?’” I asked before I could convince myself not to speak. The two men turned to look at me with shocked expressions. My heart started to pound again and I looked away.

“This world knows none of the legends,” Iarin explained to his companions. “What they do know has been twisted by time and lies.”

“Ah,” said the large man before he leaned toward me across the fire. I leaned away and kept my eyes averted. “Kaiyer was the name of one of the founders of the O’Baarni. He was once a great general, the leader of our kind, but then he betrayed his friends and succumbed to evil. He murdered tens of thousands of our people when we tried to free ourselves from his rule.” His voice was hardly a whisper. I realized that both my uncle and I had leaned forward to hear him better.

“That doesn’t sound like Kaiyer. He is gentle and kind.” I felt anger replacing my fear. Kaiyer would not betray or murder his own people.

“No, no, no pretty princess,” the smaller man said. “The man you know is not Kaiyer, which is why we call him a Pretender. Every few hundred years or so someone claims to be his reborn effigy. We find him and bring him before the clan leaders. Then he is tried and executed for crimes against our race. Your friend is just some fool who thinks he can use the name.” I noticed that the two men seemed to hesitate slightly before saying my lover’s name, as if they were worried that someone would hear them.

“Iarin was there when we awoke him from his slumber. At first he didn’t even remember his name. Then over the course of a few hours and days he started to recall more of his past.” I looked over at the tall man and he shook his head at me while he sliced a few chunks of meat off of the boar onto a thin metal plate. “Tell them,” I urged him.

“I don’t know what I saw that day. Nadea made us all wait outside of the Radicle for an hour while she did something in there alone. Then she asked us all to enter so that Paug could do whatever ritual he needed to do to wake him.” He looked at me with eyebrows peaked. It was an expression of sympathy.

“You are all like Kaiyer then? With the same magic and strength?” My uncle cut into the conversation.

“Yes,” the larger man said. “Or so Iarin reports. This Pretender possesses our magic. Once Kannath returns with him, the clan leaders will determine how he acquired our gifts and what his ultimate intention was. Then punishment will be execution for the guilty parties.”

“Punishment?” I cut Beltor off as he was about to ask another question.

“Whoever gifted him is responsible for his deeds. They will be executed. His clan will be fined heavily.”

“Who are these clans? Where do you come from? I have never heard of such things,” I interrupted my uncle as he tried to ask another question. My voice cracked with anger when I spoke. My body felt cold but I was already too close to the fire and I didn’t want to get burned.

“There is much mystery in the sky,” Iarin said solemnly as he cut into the boar while balancing a metal dish to catch the meat. “This is just one world in a few dozen on which humans flourish. We can travel between these worlds. This one,” he motioned with his knife over his shoulder toward the pond and the hills, “is far removed in terms of travel. We’ve had no reason to visit, so it is expected that you would not know much about us or the Elvens.”

“How did you come to our world?” Beltor asked.

“There is a device contained within structures similar to where we found the Pretender. We call it the Radicle.” Iarin looked from the full plate back to my uncle. “I imagine that your daughter gave you a report on it once we returned to Nia.” Beltor nodded and accepted the plate. He scooped a few slices of the boar onto a smaller dish from a stack Iarin also passed to me. It was a little awkward handling two plates, but I managed to push a few small slices of meat onto my dish without spilling it all. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry but the warmth of the food was pleasing and I needed to eat.

I looked to pass the plate to my right, across the fire to where the other two men were, but they had already cut large slabs of roast off of the boar and were eating them with gusto. For a few minutes there was silence while everyone ate their food. The meat was no royal feast, mostly because Iarin lacked the necessary spices to season it to Nia standards, but the first few bites tasted unbelievably good, warmed my stomach, and relaxed my aching body.

“Iarin?” The woodsman looked up over his plate and raised an eyebrow. “If you can use magic like Kaiyer, why didn’t you reveal your powers? We traveled together for over a month and I didn’t notice anything.”

“I’ve been hiding my gifts for a while, Princess.” The smaller of the other men snorted and Iarin glanced at him sideways. Anger broke across the tracker’s face for a brief second and then was masked by his usual smile.

“Truth be told, I am not very powerful. Even with access to my magic I am only slightly stronger than a normal human.” He sighed and leaned back on his perch. “I can only touch the Earth in the smallest amounts. I can’t even think of Air.”

“Is that the magic? Kaiyer told me a little about it, but he didn’t want to speak in depth.” I remembered asking him about it while we were basking in the afterglow of a lovemaking session. He had dodged the questions and turned the discussion back to me after a brief explanation.

“We can pull energy from the Earth and use it to make ourselves more powerful. The power makes us faster, stronger, tougher; we can also create external air and fire with it,” the smaller of the other men said. I nodded and tried to remember the conversation I had with Kaiyer those many nights ago.

“Can you teach me how to do it?” I knew what the answer was before I asked.

“It is not just the teaching aspect of it, Jessmei.” Iarin smiled. “There is some painful magic involved to transform your mind and body.”

“But you could change me?”

They exchanged careful glances and the larger man replied.

“It would be possible. Our clan believes in gifting all capable warriors that swear allegiance to our brothers and sisters.”

“In that aspect we differ greatly from Thayer or the other clans,” the smaller of the men said and the other two nodded.

“Thayer?” my uncle questioned.

“There are six clans of the O’Baarni.” Iarin was excited. “Shlara, Malek, Alexia, Gorbanni, Thayer, and our clan of Turnia.” He gestured each time with a piece of boar impaled on a dagger.

“How many people in each clan? Do they all use your magic?” Beltor asked.

“Hard to say exactly. We have around fifty thousand O’Baarni. We are the smallest though and only have permission to occupy two worlds. The largest is Shlara’s.”

“How many worlds can Shlara’s clan occupy?” Beltor seemed to have forgotten about his food.

“Any they want. They are probably on a dozen,” the largest man said.

“They are the most powerful,” Beltor stated.

“They have influence,” the smaller man said carefully. “It would take a great deal of effort to explain how the clans make decisions about land titles, laws, and resources to someone from an outlier world.”

“We are the strongest clan single warrior-to-warrior,” the larger man leaned forward and said around a mouthful of meat. “Since our clan’s inception, we have averaged the greatest number of victories in the Games. Our combat prowess is unquestioned and our leaders are undefeated.” I didn’t really comprehend what he meant, but I nodded and tried to paint my face with an expression of awe.

“You shouldn’t expect them to understand any of what you just said, Anax.” Iarin smiled at me and took another cut of boar. “Remember that this world knows nothing of or our kind or the Games.”

“Forgive my questions, Iarin. If we are such a backwater world, why were you here to begin with? You’ve been known as one of the best mercenary guides for the last dozen years and I doubt being here was a hobby.”

“You are correct, Duke. I’ve been stationed here to scout potential threats or opportunities for our clan. Discovery of a Pretender will earn us some leverage with the other clans and could give our clan the opportunity to expand to another world or two.”

“So your whole purpose for being on our world was to find Kaiyer?” I asked.

“No. That was a chance encounter.”

“Isn’t he your friend? Why would you want him to be executed?” Iarin had always seemed so relaxed and kind. Now that I thought about it, his mannerisms were similar to Kaiyer’s.

“Yes, he is my friend, but my clan gifted me. This has given me the opportunity to join my people again and serve Kannath and Turnia directly, my loyalty is to them.” His voice sounded remorseful. “Even if I was not the one who found him, he is a danger to you. If he raised an army, the clans would unite under a common banner and decimate this world. They would set an example of absolute destruction. Removing Kaiyer will protect you and every human on this planet.”

“The man that left a few hours ago, was that Kannath? Is he going to bring Kaiyer here?” my uncle asked.

“Yes,” the large warrior, Anax, grunted in annoyance. He grabbed one of the small plucked birds that was roasting over the fire and took a greedy bite out of its breast. He wasn’t an ugly man, but his size, mannerisms, and desire to kill my love made me think of him as almost monstrous.

“Want some?” He had noticed me staring at him and held out the body of the cooked bird. I shook my head quickly. Then I occupied my eyes and hands with the small slices of boar on my plate. My mind desperately tried to think of what I could say to convince these men not to bring Kaiyer to their clans.

“What if Kaiyer does not want to return with your leader?” Beltor asked.

“Kannath will explain that Jessmei and you are here. Kaiyer will come,” Iarin said with a nod.

“The empress?”

“She owes Kannath some favors.” The shorter man whose name I didn’t know said. “Back when she wanted her people to compete in the O’Baarni Games, Kannath and Turnia vouched for them. Kannath had been the champion for the last three sessions of the Game so his vote of confidence convinced the other clans to let them enter.”

“So she will give Kaiyer over?”

“To do that, the Pretender would have to be her prisoner. That is highly unlikely. Elvens are forbidden to attack or detain any of our kind.”

“She sent assassins to kill him the night they abducted me!” I cried out.

“I’m sure Kannath will overlook that. As long as we can bring the Pretender to the other clans it won’t be worth mentioning to them. I think he has a soft spot for the empress, actually. He probably didn’t expect her or her generals to do so well in the Games.”

“Why would he doubt her?” Beltor asked

“Elvens are slightly weaker than our kind and they do not heal as quickly. The Games are a series of physical trials, most of which pit contestants against each other,” Anax said around the bones of his meal.

“But they won?”

“Yes. The empress won five times in a row. Her generals also placed very highly. It was unthinkable.”

“But if they had never before participated, why did you assume they would not be victorious?” my uncle asked.

“They should not have been able to win.”

“If Kannath was the previous champion, does that mean that the empress beat him?” Beltor asked.

“He chose not to compete the year the empress entered the Games. Kannath and Turnia had just been given permission to form our clan. He was busy managing an exodus to our own worlds. And he has not found a need to compete since.” Anax did not try to hide the pride from his voice.

“You believe if he did compete, he would have bested the empress?” I broke in. The men all smiled at each other.

“Without a doubt,” Iarin said.

“Is there a Council of the clans?” Beltor asked.

“Yes, Duke.” Iarin nodded. “Our clan leaders confer as needed on matters affecting all the O’Baarni.”

“How does this Council feel about our world and my kingdom being attacked by the empress and her race?”

“They gave her this world. So I doubt they care,” the smaller man said.

“Gave her?” both my uncle and I said at the same time.

“The empress requested her own world for her people where she could be free of clan influence. Many of the previous Elven leaders made the same request. After winning the Games five times, the Council couldn’t really refuse her anymore. This world is so distant, they didn’t mind giving it away, and the empress apparently thought it was a perfect choice,” Anax explained.

“Might I,” he looked to me. “We, appeal to your leadership for assistance?” Beltor asked.

“That might be a better question for Kannath, Duke,” Iarin said. “I would guess that by the time they even heard your plea many years would have passed. By then the Elvens would firmly secure their position in this world. Tales of what they have done might convince the clans to send investigators, but without any tradable resources, I doubt any clan would want the job.”

“But you’ve been here for many years. Couldn’t your testimony expedite the process? You witnessed what the Elvens have done.”

“I’ve been scouting economic opportunities for my clan. Unfortunately, this world lacks the resources that would make it profitable to defend. I’m sorry.” Iarin seemed sincere.

“So your clans can take our world, a world inhabited by human beings, and gift it to a race of violent demons because of some victory in a game?” Beltor’s voice was bitter with anger and spite.

Iarin and the two other warriors nodded.

“And there is nothing we can do? No way to convince your clan to come to our aid? We must accept the rule of these Elvens?”

“You are welcome to make a plea to Kannath, however, the focus of his mission is returning the Pretender to the clans for judgment.”

“Kaiyer was our only hope,” I said and the four men looked at me. “You are taking our only hope because he has the same name as someone evil from your past? You care nothing for the plight of the humans on this world.” I stared into the fire and tried not to cry. I was upset at the thought of losing my love, our hope for redemption, but I was also angry at the way these strangers, and Iarin, discussed our world as if it, and all of us, were meaningless, as expendable as fleas washed from a stray dog. I loved my country, and since my uncle had explained what the deaths of our other family members meant, I had taken the idea of being the protector of it seriously. But it appeared we were powerless against the distant unreachable forces deciding our fate.

“It isn’t just the name, Jessmei,” Iarin said finally. “Your world is in danger with him here.”

“Our world is in danger without him!” I spat. “The Elvens attacked my kingdom, murdered my father, and you are negotiating with them to stop the one person who was trying to help us.”

“The lad seemed more than happy to eat and exercise all day. He only displayed any sort of dangerous activity when attacked by soldiers intent on killing our family,” Beltor said, his anger matched mine.

“The Elvens are much less of a threat to you than the clans,” Anax said. “If the Council finds out about the Pretender and we are unable to bring him back, they will send troops to destroy all sentient life on this world. The Elvens could have done that by now if they wished, but it seems that they simply want to establish a peaceful settlement here.”

“Have they ever destroyed a world because of a Pretender?” Beltor asked. I could tell he didn’t believe the claim.

“Yes,” the three men said at once. Their faces looked down into the fire. Their flat statement left my heart chilled. My appetite had been waning before and now it disappeared. I had believed the Ancients were the biggest threat to our world, but if these men were correct, even more deadly powers loomed over us and we were on the precipice of annihilation.

“Your people would destroy us all because of one man using a name you dislike?” I was outraged. They were justifying the destruction of an entire planet over a petty rule. A rule none of us had broken. It made little sense to me that even he should face such harsh punishment, but if Kaiyer was guilty, why were we all to pay for his mistake? I clenched my jaw in anger and my uncle nodded at my words.

“Our laws are in place for a reason,” Iarin said sympathetically. “Nia is a prosperous country, but I’m sure you understand the need to stop people who would attempt to undermine what your family has built,” he said gently, but with a condescension that angered me, as if this oversimplified explanation would make my uncle and I understand that the sacrifice of all of us was just.

“Like these Elvens.” Beltor grunted in annoyance.

“No. People who live in your land and take advantage of the freedoms and privileges your society affords them, yet at the same time seek to undermine it and push their agenda, even if it would mean ruining things for everyone else. I can name a few of the groups like this that exist in Nia, but you know of whom I speak.” Beltor sighed and nodded before Iarin continued, “Such happens in every free and successful society. His name, the name he is using, represents chaos and death. It is more than the name alone that we seek to eliminate. It is the way this name will become a rallying cry, a banner behind which all the anarchists and disgruntled misfits could gather and destroy what we have built, as the original Kaiyer did. Our leaders decided long ago that anyone claiming to be Kaiyer be dealt with swiftly, drastically, and without exception.”

My uncle nodded and looked as if he wanted to launch into a debate but the woodsman stopped him.

“We are not playing games with you, Duke,” Iarin said with a sigh. “We have to bring the Pretender to the Clan Council. There will be no negotiation on this point.”

“If we swore allegiance to your clan as you mentioned earlier, could we appeal to your leaders, would you gift us magic to fight the Elvens?” I asked the big man. He had just taken the last bite of the fowl and leaned back to look at me while he picked his teeth with a wet bone.

“I said that we gift warriors.” He smirked at me. “You do not seem like much of a warrior.”

“I will learn. Kaiyer taught me a few things when we traveled,” I lied a little. I had asked him to teach me how to fight but it had just been an excuse for him to touch me.

“Don’t say that name anymore,” the smaller man sighed and grabbed one of the roasting birds. “You are completely ignorant. His name is cursed. His legacy is remembered by our people with despair. The real Destroyer was killed thousands of years ago after a bloodbath of a scale that you could not even comprehend. Your man is a charlatan that has befuddled your simple mind with shiny baubles of mistruths and a colorful cloth of seduction. Forget you knew him, forget about us, take your uncle here and find a small farm in a village far away from this empress. Get a husband, raise a family, and die like the human you were born.” His voice had risen in anger and he ended the tirade by pointing his fork at me from across the fire.

His words reminded me of my mother’s. They tried to tear me apart and bury me under a pile of self-doubt and acceptance of her opinions as absolute law. My whole life was made of conversations like this from her and Nanos. These words were one side of a golden coin that represented my life. It was ugly and balanced by the beauty and love that my father, uncle, Nadea, Greykin, and Kaiyer had shown me. The coin constantly flipped around and I had no control over which side landed.

Except that I did now.

I told myself I was never going to listen to my mother again. I wasn’t going to let her bully me. I was my own woman now. I had loved and been loved. I had survived danger. I had made decisions that impacted my life. I didn’t need to hear these words from her. And I would not accept them from this man who did not even know me.

“What is your name?” I glared at him, trying to muster the fierceness that came so easily to Nadea. My heart was racing but I made sure my fear did not show in my face or voice.

“Jazen,” he said and his face looked confused.

“Jazen, I am not a simpleton. I am the ruler of a kingdom that has almost two million people living within its borders. They trust that I will protect them from harm, and it is my duty to do that to the best of my ability. I am trusting in a man named Kaiyer. He seems to be the only one who can and will combat this threat and save my people. You tell me that you wish to kill him because he happens to have the same name as someone who died thousands of years ago. I’m sure you see why I am frustrated and am looking for any solution to help my people.”

My heart hammered in my chest as I spoke the words. When I finished my angry retort I crossed my arms and looked between the three men. I felt my head spin and I was glad I was sitting down next to the warm fire. Their expressions were unreadable for a brief time but then Jazen nodded and sighed heavily.

“I apologize, Princess. Most of our kind cares little for normal humans. They might as well be a few rungs higher on the ladder than Elvens. But our clan doesn’t view life that way. We see potential in every opportunity. I should have chosen my words more carefully. You are right to be upset.” I saw Iarin disguise his slight smile by busying himself with cutting more of the meat from the roasting pig.

“Can you help us then?” I asked without trying to raise my hopes.

“Kannath will need to be convinced. We are just his sword bearers,” he answered and I sighed.

“But we can ask him to speak with you before we leave with the Pretender.” Anax smiled.

“Thank you,” I said with relief.

“If you were in our situation,” Beltor whispered, “what would you say to help convince him to aid us?”

“We need tradable goods that will increase our influence with the other clans. Access to minerals or food stock that other clans can’t get easily. Sounds like Iarin doesn’t believe your world has what we need though,” Jazen said with a shake of his head and frown toward the tall woodsman.

“We have rich silver and iron mines at the foot of the Teeth Mountains to the east. Our country also produces wonderful fruit that can be converted to alcohol.” He looked at Jazen and Anax but they raised their eyebrows and turned to Iarin.

“Sorry, Duke. I have explored all land on this continent. While you are correct that Nia has many bounties, and in fact, all the countries on this continent do, they are unremarkable compared to what we have on the other worlds, and Kannath will not be so easily persuaded.”

“Fuck.” Beltor ran his hands over his face and sighed in frustration. “We must speak with him when he returns. If he does bring Kaiyer, then he might be able to assist me. There has to be something that the man wants besides this Pretender or physical goods.”

“There is something,” Anax said with a slow nod.

“What is it?” I asked. The large man stared at me and smiled in a way that made me uncomfortable.

“Kannath prefers his women with a certain look.” He leaned away and rubbed his greasy hands on his leather pant legs. He winked at me before continuing. “Perhaps you should do most of the talking when he returns.” I nodded and looked to my uncle. His face was set in anger and I saw the muscles of his clenched jaw push out in his cheeks.

“I can speak to him.” I looked back and forth between Beltor and the other three men. Then I realized that Anax was implying I offer my body to Kannath in exchange for help. I felt my cheeks go hot from the sudden heat of the fire and I looked down at my plate. I was no longer hungry at all, in actuality, I wanted to vomit. I felt the surge of panic that was becoming familiar but I focused on pushing it back down and steadying myself so I could think and speak.

The suggestion both offended and upset me, but as I calmed my mind and thought about it, I realized it was a wonderful opportunity and our last hope. What was a woman but a tool for men? I used to think that I had been cursed to be born a princess since I would be unable to marry for love. Instead, I would be forced to join a stranger and spend my adult life living with someone I may despise, just like my parents. My father had delayed the inevitable for longer than he should have, but it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. If the Ancients, or Elvens, had not invaded, then I would have been brokered off by this time.

But even outside of nobility, there were very few women with the luxury of joining someone they loved. In every stratum of our society, women had to make the most prudent choice in a mate and join someone that would better the situation of their family. Whether it was joining two kingdoms as my marriage may have done, or joining two adjacent farms or rival markets, most women were not marrying purely for love. In the vast majority of households, love was probably not even involved in the choice of a partner. I had been naive to believe that the death of my kingdom would mean that I would be released from my duty and be allowed to join with Kaiyer. Nia still had a chance for survival and as far as I knew, I was still its ruler. I had lived a life of comfort and opulence off of the taxes and work of my people, and I had trained every day to become their bargaining piece in a treaty with another kingdom to guarantee their safety. What did it matter if it was a kingdom from this world or another? It was selfish of me to worry about what I wanted when a simple sacrifice could save the lives of millions of people.

“Kannath likes women such as me?” I looked at Anax and hoped he didn’t interpret the anger in my eyes incorrectly.

“Aye, Princess. He prefers them on the shorter side with curves, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He has had very few lovers, none nearly as pretty as you.”

“Or as fierce. He likes women with fire.” Jazen chucked and Anax nodded.

“I’ve known Kannath for more than twenty years. He will be very interested in you.” The large man looked at me in a way that made me realize he wanted me as well.

“I will speak to him when he returns then,” I said purposefully.

Then I stared into the ashes of the flames and was thankful that the direction allowed me to avoid my uncle’s eyes. The coals in the pit had lost most of their bright orange color and were a dull gray. I told myself that all fires eventually burn out.

Yet people still needed to stay warm.

Chapter 16-The O’Baarni

“It’s old, Kaiyer. Very old.” Malek shook his head, swinging his mane of dark brown hair slightly. His mouth was a mix of excitement and puzzlement that I had grown to recognize over the years we had spent together.

“What is it made of?” I scraped my fingertips across the odd surface of the stone work. It felt abrasive, like heavy granite, but there was a smoothness to it that reminded me of metal armor.

“I’ve seen nothing like it.” Malek nodded and the pieces of his armor creaked. “The Elvens didn’t build it though. I know that much for sure.”

“How do you know?” Alexia had joined the two of us during our walk around the strange stone structure we found on top of the mountain range. We were hundreds of miles away from the nearest Elven settlement and fleeing from their gathered army. It was an army that was currently smaller than ours, but they had approached from the northeast side of the highland mountains and had a superior position. The risk of heavy losses was too great for my tastes, so we had fled south down the mountain trails and split our forces with the intent of regrouping in two weeks. Thayer, Gorbanni, and Shlara had formed one group, while I stayed back with Malek and Alexia to head west on the ridges.

Then we had found the structure.

It stood over two hundred feet tall, nestled tightly in a narrow canyon. The surrounding mountains sheltered the tower from wind in every direction, so that despite its age, it remained in immaculate condition.

“The stone,” he paused as if considering, “or maybe metal work isn’t something we have seen on any Elven tribal home. There are remnants of furniture inside, and they are made of fossilized wood that is crafted in a manner I have never seen before.” My friend grabbed my arm. “You need to see it, Kaiyer! I can’t believe the level of beauty and detail etched into the wood.” Malek’s grin was contagious, and I found my lips upturning slightly into a good-natured smirk.

“Any weapons?” I asked.

“Bah! You and your weapons! This is much more important than an old crusty axe or sword. This was a citadel of learning. The furniture looks like it was once chairs, desks, and book cases. I think it was some sort of advanced education room. Perhaps one devoted to the study of the stars and the sky because of its height.”

“Can we take shelter in it?” Alexia asked pragmatically. Her hand rested on the stonework and she slowly ran the tips of her gloved fingers over the odd dark green surface of the tower. To my sensitive ears it sounded like heavy glass paper rubbing against silk.

“We might be able to cram a thousand inside, but it would be very tight. The structure doesn’t have a basement.” I looked up to the tip of the citadel. It almost seemed as if it had been alive. The pillars of stone wrapped around the surface and winded down to the bottom to connect to the base like ropey muscles on an arm or leg. Snow was starting to descend from the gray sky and if I could have fit my eight thousand O’Baarni in the structure I would have. The protected cover would have made the bitter cold night easier for the troops to endure and allowed us to set up a defense against our pursuers.

“Best to keep moving then.” Our troops were strong, and each one had the Elements at their command, but weather on the mountain range could change within an hour and even the toughest of my soldiers could not withstand a blizzard on these peaks without shelter.

“This is worth investigating more, Kaiyer.” Malek shook his head and looked up and down the citadel. “Can I give command of my army over to you while I keep a hundred here to research?” One of his lieutenants poked an armored wolf helm out of a small opening toward the top of the tower and signed with a gloved hand that they had discovered something.

“No.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I interrupted. “You and a hundred of your troops are more valuable than any rusty trinkets that might be found in this tower. However—“ I raised my hand to the soldier sticking her head out of the window and indicated that we had seen the communication. “We can spare a quarter of an hour to see what they have uncovered. Then we’ll be on our way.”

“Thank you, Kaiyer.” I nodded at him and motioned for Alexia to follow me back to the main staging area of the camp.

“Wait. Aren’t you both coming?” He tried to hide his disappointment but my friend had always been at war with his emotions.

“All three of us don’t need to be there, Malek. We will prepare to depart while you handle this.” Alexia smiled and continued her silent walk back across the sharp stones and ice. I was quiet, even in armor, but Alexia’s boots made absolutely no sounds when she contacted the rough gravel, and her snake embossed armor did not utter a whisper. I knew that if I had told her to investigate this structure she would have torn it apart until it was a pile of sand. But since I had dismissed it as unimportant, she had no further curiosity about the tower.

“Come on, Kaiyer. Alexia can handle the prep. Walk through the tower with me. Pretend like it is a thousand years in the future and our ancestors have found an Elven dwelling. They would be curious as to how our race was freed from oppression and would want to study all the artifacts inside.” He cracked his charming smile and winked at me. I couldn’t help but smile back and nod. The thought of our enemies being reduced to dust and fables brought joy to my heart, so I changed my mind and joined Malek.

“Take care of things, Alexia,” I said over my shoulder. She was already a few hundred yards down the steep path of the mountain, but she raised her fist to let me know she had heard me.

Malek walked through the short series of time worn steps into the darkness of the citadel and I followed. We could have jumped and climbed up to the window on the top floor easily, but I guessed that my friend wanted me to explore the rest of the structure hoping I would change my mind. I made one final glance down the steep jagged slope behind me. Alexia had signaled the troops to make ready for departure and I saw the battalions tearing down their cold weather tents with a quickness that could only be gained by thousands of repetitions.

The inside of the structure was dark, the only entrance was the doorway we had just walked through, and there were no windows on the base level. A few of Malek and Alexia’s soldiers carried small oil lanterns and paced along the floor and the edges of the walls. We really didn’t need the light since our eyes could see in almost absolute darkness, but the glow the lamps provided would enable the more observant members of my army to see small etchings that might be obscured in the stonework. The practice evolved from looting Elven tribal homes that would sometimes have caches of fine metals, weapons, or art hidden in their walls or floors. The metals and weapons were a boon to the growing army.

I always destroyed the art.

“Anything?” Malek asked the closest soldier.

“No, sir. About to move up a floor,” the man answered. He looked at me and saluted. His action caused the other three in the room to halt their search and salute.

“Carry on,” I said. “No basement? That seems odd.” The room was almost fifty yards wide and a fat oval shape. The walls swirled like a seashell down from the peak in a symmetrical spiral, as smooth and fluid as melted glass.

“We can try breaking the floor.” One of Alexia’s soldiers tapped on the tiles with the butt of his hiking staff. It made a sound that could have been stone or metal.

“Focus on the floor then. We are going up. Come get us if you find anything.” Malek’s voice should have echoed off of the bare walls, but it did not. It was another mystery that he would love to solve.

We walked up the stairs and, as expected, the level above us was empty save a few piles of wood. I wondered if they actually resembled furniture, or if Malek’s description of them had infiltrated my imagination and influenced my observation. I decided that the curve of certain pieces resembled the back of a chair or the headboard of a bed, so I laid the matter to rest in my mind.

The third floor seemed to have more scraps of petrified wood arranged in a pattern that looked like a series of tables. Malek pointed at the array while we walked across the oval to the next set of stairs.

“Originally, I thought this may have been an eating hall, but we haven’t found a kitchen yet, so I believe it was a classroom, such as Elvens had for their young.”

“Perhaps there were other structures near this tower that cooked the food and then delivered it,” I said.

“That could be. If we had time to dig, we might find remnants!” His voice reflected childish glee.

“I doubt ten minutes will afford you the time you need for such a venture.” I smiled at him and he grimaced. “Would you rather the stairs be set up like this; with wells across the vast room? Or would you just devote one side of the building to house the stairs?”

“Hummm,” he mused for a second, his left hand scratching absently at the gray patch of hair at his temple. “For construction, it would probably be easier to have the stairs on one side of the structure. Else it would take too long to travel across the rooms, as we are, to reach the upper floors.”

“But they designed it for defense,” I stated and my friend nodded in agreement.

“They could hold off each floor with a small number of troops and then fall back to the next stairwell.” He pointed at the opposing stairway while he spoke.

“Whomever they feared must have won the conflict, since our mystery defenders aren’t around anymore,” I mused.

“Maybe it was our ancestors against the Elvens, and our kin lost.”

“Yet another reason to grind them out of existence.”

“And another reason to investigate this site further,” he added.

We made our way up the third flight of stairs and arrived at the top level. The space was the same dimensions as the previous floors: about one hundred yards by one hundred and fifty yards in a rough oval shape. Unlike the rooms Malek and I had just walked through, this was filled with destroyed furniture piled into mounds of petrified wood. The ancient stacks looked as if giant men had thought about starting a fire and then abandoned the process before steel could be taken to flint. Ten of our soldiers were carefully searching through the piles of wood and were so engrossed in their task they didn’t seem to notice our presence until Malek coughed. Then they shot to attention and saluted in unison.

“Show us what you have found,” Malek commanded the soldier who had summoned us while he returned her salute.

“Over here, sir.” The woman had intricate wolves etched into the metal of her armor. I recalled that her name was Elise and she had been in the army for around six years. She gestured to one of the mounds of rubble that a few of Malek’s other searchers were carefully unpacking. The three of us walked to the pile and she pointed at the artifact.

It looked like an oval stone, a little smaller than my hand, with four grooves on the top of the oval that could have been designed to place fingers. The surface was a greenish gray color that was a few shades lighter than the walls of the citadel. Covering almost every free space of the stone was intricate writing lightly etched into the rock by someone that must have had a chisel the size of a fingernail shaving and the steady hands of a master jeweler.

“It was at the bottom of the pile,” Elise said.

“You have found no human or Elven remains here?” I asked.

“No, sir. Just the wood and this rock. We have not finished searching though.”

I nodded and moved closer to the pile and its hidden prize. The writing was small and the light in the top of the tower came through dimly, but I could read the inscription:

Touch and will cannot conceal the ideas left behind

Voice and song hidden for long can be revealed with mind

Wind alone is proof of those who strive to free our kind

“What does it say?” Malek moved behind me and put his hand on my shoulder plate.

“Some simple rhyme. This is probably a child’s toy,” I said. My gloved hand wrapped around the oval rock laterally and I handed it to Malek. He held it up to his eyes and then pushed his arm out with a confused squint.

“You can read this?” He looked from the stone to me.

“Aye.”

“I can’t. The script makes no sense to my eyes.” I glanced down at the artifact and gave him a smirk.

“Are you fucking around?”

“No.” He chuckled a bit and spun the stone around in his hands slowly. “What does it say?”

I repeated the words aloud while he examined the oval stone again. He spun it between his fingers and let out a slow whistle that reminded me of a dove call. Then he tossed the artifact to Elise.

“Can you read the script?”

“No, sir.” She glanced down at it again. “None of us can.” She looked at me with questioning eyes. They were the color of a greenish ocean and framed with a dash of freckles. I recalled that under her helmet she had auburn hair.

“Weird.” I shrugged. “Another mystery that I don’t care to solve.”

“This device obviously does something,” Malek said urgently. “Can you give me more time to figure it out?” He took off his glove and motioned for Elise to toss him the artifact. It landed in his naked palm with a wet sound like a stone tossed into a river.

“Sure. Take it with you. It is easier to carry than this tower.” We shared a smile and then I turned to Elise. “Finish up in here and then return to the main—“ A sudden sucking noise from Malek’s direction made us both spin to face him, hands on our weapons. My friend had wrapped his bare hand around the stone and the script was now glowing and pulsing in bright blue.

“What did you do?”

“You said something about Wind, so I pushed Air into it!” The soldiers in the room drew their assorted weapons at the panic in Malek’s voice and fanned out toward him. It was common procedure amongst our army: if you didn’t understand something, approach cautiously with your team.

In the next second, my friend gained his composure, and it became obvious that the rock was doing nothing more than making a low insect hum and emitting a blue light. He released his grip on the finger slots slowly, but the noise and glow did not stop. If anything, it seemed to increase in volume and brightness.

“Our forces move on Lenaan as this message reaches you. Continue your assault on Jai-Laix. Press aggressively so that they do not realize our feint. I need more Ovules. Sacrifice a score of your retainers and send them to me.” The voice was a woman’s and the inflection reminded me of Shlara’s. I imagined she was a strawberry blonde, with her long hair braided up in a complicated nest of knots and purple ribbons to fit under her winged helm. She looked younger than me, but her gray eyes seemed aged and experienced, like the old pewter mug that my father used to drink his water. She was beautiful, but something about her bothered me.

The light faded from the stone and the hum cut to silence. The sudden silence was refreshing and I felt the muscles in my jaw relax. Then I realized that my whole body had been tense and I exhaled slowly, forcing calm Earth through my blood.

“Fascinating.” Malek held the stone in his bare palm again as if he held some strange bug. “It will probably take us a few months to translate the language. I’ve heard nothing like it before.” He looked from the oval rock to me. “If we could get more time to search this structure, there might be more devices like this. It’s magic we have never seen. What’s wrong?” he asked me.

“You didn’t understand the girl’s words?”

“No. I could tell it was a woman speaking. Did you understand?” He already guessed the answer before he asked. Malek, Thayer, Gorbanni, Alexia, and Shlara, were my best friends, and we had spent more than half our lives leading our people in a war against improbable odds. He knew me too well.

But he didn’t know everything about me. None of them knew of Iolarathe.

“How did you understand it? Where did you learn that language?” He realized that his men were standing around us with their weapons drawn. “Leave us,” he commanded. They nodded and flowed quickly down the stairs like water. “Return in ten minutes,” he said to Elise. The woman saluted and followed the rest of the searchers. Her walk was much slower, matching standard pace, and I guessed that she wanted to eavesdrop on our discussion.

Malek and I turned to face each other, but he waited a few dozen seconds before speaking. Elise could probably still hear us, but he whispered anyway.

“Where did you learn the language? Did your tribe use it? I’ve never heard anything like it before.” I hesitated before answering because I didn’t want to talk about my past. Unfortunately, we had roamed our world for almost fifteen years and only encountered a few Elven tribes that used languages different than the one we currently spoke. The words of those tribes were almost sister languages, with dialects that had mutated the skin but left the core body the same. We had been able to communicate with the human prisoners we had freed and were more than successful with our interrogation efforts on the Elvens we captured.

“I don’t know Malek,” I said honestly. “I didn’t even realize it was a different language until you said you couldn’t understand. I thought she was speaking our language.”

“How can you understand it?” His eyes furrowed in disbelief.

“It just made sense.”

“So you can read the writing.” He pointed to the smooth gray stone. “And understand the voice that comes out of it.” I shrugged at his statement. “What did she say?”

“She was sending a message to someone. Telling them to continue to attack a place called Jai-Laix while she assaulted a place named Lenaan. Whoever she spoke to was putting up a feint attack. She also said she needed more Ovules and that twenty retainers should be sacrificed or sent to her.” I shook my head and tried to clear the memory. Thinking about the message contained in the magic rock made my stomach clench. “I guess I really don’t understand it. I have no idea what Lenaan or Jai-Laix are or what she meant by Ovules.”

“Anything else?” He had moved his gaze from my eyes back to the stone.

“No.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said mockingly with his charming grin. I shook my head and sighed.

“I felt as if I saw her when she spoke. Her hair was dark blonde, maybe light brown but bleached by the sun. Gray, hard eyes. Looked tough and capable, like Alexia or Shlara. She had on a winged helm and armor that was a silver blue with purple stitching on the leather pieces and embossments.”

“Was she pretty? Think she’d like me?” He made a sour face that forced me to laugh.

“Something about her made me uneasy, my friend. I don’t like her.” I waved my gauntleted hand across the decimated room. “It doesn’t matter much. She is long dead, along with whatever civilization she came from.”

“So why can you understand this language?”

“I don’t know. Honestly.”

“I have an idea as to why.” He looked at me and smirked again. Then he turned away to pace around the room. “It is because of irony.”

“Irony?”

“Yes.” He gestured at the rock in his hands and then the scattered piles of fossilized wood. “because you are the one person that doesn’t give a shit. So of course you would be able to understand some ancient language and writing that could be a great cultural discovery.”

“I doubt this is some great cultural discovery.” I chuckled.

“Of course you don’t. It’s like everything else that falls your way that you don’t care about.” He stopped pacing and looked into my eyes.

“Not this bullshit again.” I sighed and covered my face with my hand. The cold metal of the gauntlet was comforting.

“Have you talked to her?” he asked.

“Have you talked to her?” I spat back. “Why the fuck is your love life my responsibility?”

“Because she loves you and not me.”

“Then get over it and move the fuck on with your life. What the hell is wrong with you? There are hundreds of women that want you, pick one of them.”

“You know I can’t. None are Shlara.” His face looked so pained that I felt a pang of remorse at my harsh words. My friend couldn’t get the beautiful green-eyed woman out of his mind.

I knew the feeling.

“I’ve told her to move on.”

“You said you would tell her you didn’t love her.”

“That would be a lie. I do love her. I love all of you.”

“This is why she can’t let you go.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Stop feeding her that bullshit about being with her after this war. About starting a family with her. She clutches onto that dream and I—“

“But it is true. I do want to be with her when this war has ended.”

I should have been angered, but I felt nothing but pity for him and complete serenity in my mind. When Entas had begun my mentorship, we had to fight through intense waves of anger and hate that overtook me and prevented me from progressing in my training. He taught me to relax my mind enough to make better decisions in times of conflict.

“If you really did care for her, then you would set her free. Tell her you don’t see a future with her.”

“I did what you asked. She didn’t believe me.” I crossed my arms and felt the thick leather strap that held my shield flex against the plates of my armor.

My weapons were heavy, unbreakable, and had a tapestry of screaming demonic skulls flowing across the surface of the metal. The climb up the mountainside had been treacherous and long so I had left the matching skull plate armor at my tent. Instead, I wore a much lighter combination of plate and chain with skulls etched on the pauldrons. This armor was more display than actual protection. It would stop a light strike from a weapon but little else.

“You didn’t try hard enough.” My friend sighed.

“We have work to do, Malek. Can you get your priorities straight?” I felt the anger seeping into my words and my heart started to beat a bit faster.

“This is a priority. I have done everything you’ve asked of me. My devotion to you and our cause is unquestioned. My army is strong and successful. How many improvements have I made to our magic techniques? How many Elvens have I helped you destroy? Have I not contributed? Besides her, I am your best, am I not?” We stared at each other for a few moments. My friend kept his brown hair long, and it was tied back in a loose braid that fell down below his shoulders. When he had been given the power to control our magic, his hair had turned gray at his temples, something that had never happened to anyone else. He was a handsome man, with sharp features and a hawkish nose that complemented the charming smirk he commanded.

He was right about his capabilities as a general. Malek was constantly looking at new ways to improve the performance and morale of his army. He pushed his warriors to focus more on harnessing the Elements. His mages were an asset on the field since the Elvens often augmented battles with magic users that could hurl giant fireballs across the sky and slam bolts of lightning into the ground. Harnessing the Elements to create or combat Fire was a complicated maneuver that could leave an unskilled warrior dazed for a few precious seconds. During battle, this could cost them their life. Malek’s troops were masters and invaluable.

“You’ve done well my friend. But there is more work to do.”

“I know. But my love for her has driven me insane. She only refuses me because of you. You have to help me.” His eyes pleaded, showing a weakness that only a woman could produce in a man. “Tell her again that you do not love her. Tell her to be with me.”

“Don’t be a fool, I cannot force anyone to love someone else, Malek.”

“Try harder.” His voice filled with resentment.

“You are acting like a child. Not the leader of my army.” I was angry now, and I heard both of our hearts start to beat faster at the prospect of an argument.

“Stop.” He waved his palms toward me. “You are the child, clutching onto her affections without returning them. I love you, Kaiyer. You are my brother and best friend. But it sickens me how you treat her.”

“I treat her as I treat Alexia.”

“Who loves you as well, but will never tell you so.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. I did not understand why Malek believed I could force Shlara to love him, or why he would accept that love even if it did somehow work. How could he find happiness with her, knowing always that she would prefer to be with me?

“I’ll talk to her again.” I already knew what her answer would be, but I figured this was the only way I could end this conversation. I understood why Malek loved the woman. Shlara was incredible. She was my best general, the most devoted, ambitious, and hardest working warrior in the army. She was brilliant and beautiful and she was as dedicated to the freedom of the human race as I was.

She was the one I should have been in love with.

“You’ll convince her?”

“I will try my best.”

“Thank you.” He smiled and the tension in the air melted.

“Now, about this citadel.” He flipped the stone up in the air and caught it in his right hand with a wide grin. “Give me a few more hours and I’ll have a much better under—“

A screech sounded from outside. It was the unmistakable sound of Elven magic descending from the sky in a lazy arch. A few seconds before the explosion, the roar of battle penetrated the inside of the old green tower.

We did not speak, but sprinted across the large space of the top floor and flung ourselves out of the small window like thrown spears, scraping our shields and weapons against the edges of the stone as our bodies twisted in the air to thread the narrow gap. The ice covered rock was some seventy feet below, but the fall wouldn’t damage us enough to be of concern.

For a few seconds my body hung in the air outside the tower and I got a glimpse of the battle below. The gorge that hid the citadel was a hundred yards deep, in the left corner of a path that traveled east and west across the mountain range. One of Malek’s scout teams had seen it when backtracking on our path to ensure that the Elvens weren’t doing something crazy, like traversing the north facing cliffs in an attempt to flank us.

Apparently the Elvens had traversed the north facing cliffs and flanked us.

In the distance I saw a few hundred of Alexia’s soldiers engaging twice the number of Elvens where the elbow of the road disappeared past the mountain wall and obscured my vision. It was hard to tell how many Elvens had ambushed us. They swarmed like ants from the edges of the north side of the cliffs and descended like a golden ocean wave of weapons.

A group of forty Elvens turned the corner into the ravine and sprinted up the slick, icy rock toward the entrance of the citadel. Elise and the seven O’Baarni who had been in the ancient structure fell back into the doorway for protection. The portal was just wide enough to allow three or four of our enemy to stand abreast, so I doubted my soldiers would be able to defend against forty Elvens for long.

I pulled Earth into me, filling my blood with its power and my brain with its energy. When I had first learned to harness the power, I had to be touching the ground to use it. Now I could call upon it at any time and release the magic to empower my muscles and senses, or to spit giant balls of burning hate at my oppressors.

The back row of Elvens burst into orange flame like dried wood chips. They didn’t even get a chance to scream as my fire engulfed and snuffed their pathetic lives from their golden armor. I felt my brain go numb and spin slightly as I pulled my knees to my chest and rotated my body backward. My left hand yanked at my mace and the slip knot of leather came loose at my hip, allowing the heavy weapon of screaming demon skulls to be raised over my head.

Then I fell into the group of unaware Elvens half a second after my fire devoured them. My legs snapped out before I landed on the back of some asshole with a ridiculously large wreath of red flowers tied around his shield. His spine crumbled into liquid when I hit him, but before he could crumple to the ground, my mace shattered the skull of the warrior standing to his left.

I was in the thick of the two dozen Elvens now, with enemies on all sides of me. Fortunately, I had surprised them with my sudden descent into their group and only a handful of vermin were actually facing me, with their strangely-colored eyes opened in shock. The surprise would only let me get a few swings in before they attacked, so I would have to make them count. I stepped toward the nearest Elven, a woman with long silver hair braided back like a horse’s tail. But before my mace contacted her ripe little skull, Malek landed gracefully behind her, removing the top half of her brain and helmet with a precise cut from his long blade.

I shuffled to Malek’s left and delivered a wide strike to the nearest Elven. My opponent managed to get his right sword arm up in time to block the blow with his blade, but his legs and hips were not prepared for the force of my swing. My mace met little resistance, crushing blade, forearm, shoulder, and skull in quick tandem. Malek stood against my back so I could sense his movements, cuts, and blocks as he cleansed two Elvens from our world and tied up three more that rushed to surround us from his direction.

Elise and the rest of the search group were taking the brunt of the assault at the doorway. I spared a quick glance over my shoulder and saw them force a push out of the entryway, putting pressure on the dozens of our enemy that suddenly found themselves pinched between us. My look toward the tower proved to be a bit too risky, and I blocked a sword swing destined for my shoulder. However, I was too slow to parry a short spear jab from another attacker aimed at my stomach. I attempted to twist my body out of the way and realized that if the thrust didn’t take me, it would punch through Malek’s backside.

The combination of plates and chain of this light armor did little to stop a thrust from a well-trained Elven spear arm. The steel point tore through the metal, my stomach, and connected with the back side of the shield that hung from my shoulders. It missed my spine by half an inch, but the wound was enough to kill a normal human and take one of my ordinary soldiers out of the fight for long enough to mean certain death.

I was hardly ordinary.

My right hand grabbed the shaft of the pike to keep the Elven from yanking it out. The two Elvens that flanked him swung their sabers with the premature glee of victory, both blades foolishly aiming for my head. I squatted down low, ignoring the sound of my organs and muscles ripping against the blade of the spear while I listened to the ring of the swords banging together a few inches above my helm. I pushed out with my legs and embraced the pain of the lance tearing again at my insides. The Elven let go of his weapon too late and the upward swing of my mace combined with the push from my thighs separated his skull from his shoulders. It spun off into the air behind his dead body, whipping the plum of his helm around like a spinning tail.

“I heard shields are more effective if you carry them in hand!” Malek yelled at me over the sounds of weapons and screams.

“It saved your ass!” I shoulder checked one of the Elvens to my right, pushing her away, and then slammed the side of my helmed head into the face of the one to the left of me. It made a satisfying wet crunch and the man’s legs gave out.

I yanked the spear out of my stomach with my right hand and used the shaft to push on the shoulder of an Elven aiming a swing at my skull. The knock caused his attack to go wide and spin him slightly off balance. Then my mace exploded into the back side of his neck and drove the life from his body.

“Archers!” Elise’s team had reached Malek and there were only a few Elvens left in our midst. However, forty yards down the slope toward the main battle, a trio of Elven archers had peeled off of their main force and were pointing their notched arrows in our direction.

One of the remaining Elven warriors swung her sword at me and I parried quickly, so I might maneuver my body with her between me and the archers. The woman was fast and countered my parry with a quick thrust toward my blood covered groin. I slapped the flat side of her blade with the staff of the spear. She twisted her sword up toward my right hand, forcing me to loosen my grip on the long weapon before I turned my back to the archers as the twang of their strings screamed in my ears.

Two arrows hit the shield on my back with the kicking strength of a horse and knocked me forward a few feet. I heard the third arrow pass behind my head, so I was thankful for the helpful push. I was suddenly standing much closer to the woman who had just tried to stab me than either of us had planned. But I was quicker to act and latched my free right hand over the elbow of her sword arm and dug the butt of my mace in the same spot over her left arm. She was missing her left hand, and I assumed Malek had cut it off in the midst of swordplay. It was a tactic he often used.

I pulled her to me and kneed her in the stomach. Air exploded from her lean armored frame and then blood exploded from her face when I repeated the movement another time. I threw her body away from me and into the remaining two warriors behind her. She probably wasn’t dead, but two men from Elise’s team quickly dispatched the trio.

“You okay?” Malek slid on the ice next to me.

“Yes.” The archers had been killed by Elise and the soldiers that had been searching the floor of the citadel. My stomach began to itch as the organs and muscles healed themselves. In a minute or two there would be little evidence of the mortal wound. I sighed and wished I could have been wearing my heavy armor. We hadn’t expected to get caught by our enemies here and I wondered how they had made it past Alexia’s scouts.

“Looks like Alexia is holding them.” My gaze had already shifted to the battle below our position.

“There are more to kill.” I was running down the slope now, shield off my back and in my right hand. The thought of killing more Elvens filled my mind and drove out all other worries and concerns. I felt more alive on the edge of death in battle than when I was managing the army or talking to my friends.

“Fire now!” Malek screamed from his run a few feet behind me. Three massive streaks of blue flame sheared the wind around me, traveled down the slope, and smashed into the ranks of Elvens a few hundred yards into the mass of armor.

I jumped into the air, mace raised high and landed into the thick of the Elven forces again.

Chapter 17-Kaiyer

I gasped and choked on too much air that I suddenly didn’t need. My heart raced from the battle before I realized it had all been a memory. I was still sitting on the pillow in front of the empress, her guards, and generals, all of whom stared at me in a mixture of shock and disbelief.

I moved my hand to my stomach and almost expected to find wet blood from a hole the spear had left in me. I sighed when I only felt the thin cloth of the green tunic Vernine had given me a few hours earlier.

“Pretender.” The voice sounded deep and gravelly. I turned to my right to see three new additions to the dinner. The man seated in the middle drew my attention first. He wore his light brown hair braided up and tied at the top with a knot of suede and hawk feathers. His skin was tan and rough. His face handsome and wide. In fact, everything about him was stocky and muscular. His chest could have doubled for a small horse’s and his arms were layered with slabs of muscles thicker than my thighs. He wore tan leather pants and a sleeveless tunic that was only a few shades off from his skin. The hide was decorated with blue embroidery of bear shapes standing as if ready to attack. Beads of blue and green glass hung from leather strips on the ties of his clothes and gave color to the tanned garments.

His broad face and muscular stature reminded me of Thayer, although this man was far more handsome than my old friend. But he was unmistakably O’Baarni.

“You must be Kannath,” I stated. His eyes narrowed as he weighed me. Their light blue color was an interesting contrast to his dark skin.

“Aye.” His right hand rose to point at me and I noticed a pair of bear tattoos engraved on his shoulder. “You looked asleep, yet you were speaking.”

“I grow bored easily. Especially around Elvens.” He nodded, but it was apparent I hadn’t satisfied his question. The woman sitting to his left glared at me. Her hair was dark black, braided and tied up high as Kannath’s but had white feathers decorating it. Like Kannath, she wore leather decorated with the same color beads and embroidery. She also had the bear tattoo on her bare shoulder.

“What is ‘Lenaan’?” the man sitting to Kannath’s right said. He had blonde hair, shaved close to his skull on the sides, with a long mane braided up in the middle. A few of the Elvens in the half-circle shifted in their seats slightly when he asked the question. I turned to look at the empress and was surprised by the expression of concern that briefly passed over her face.

“I’ve heard the word before, but do not know what it means.”

“You were repeating it,” Kannath said.

“I doubt that.”

“Everyone here in this tent has been sitting for the last five minutes listening to you repeat it with your head bowed down as if you kneeled in front of a clan leader,” the woman next to Kannath growled. Her voice was deep and rugged like Kannath’s.

“I do not remember.” I shrugged.

“Regardless, you have been accused of using the name of our Betrayer,” Kannath spoke again. “Is this true?”

“I use the name because it is mine.” Yillomar shot me with a glare.

“I will bring you to the Council for judgment. We will leave at once.” Kannath rose from his seat.

“No,” I said as I turned my head away from him and found my wine. The glass was currently full, so I set about draining it in one quick swallow and then nodding to my Elven attendant to refill it.

“You do not have a choice, Pretender.” It didn’t sound as if my response had bothered him at all.

“There are plenty of choices. I am choosing to have dinner with Telaxthe and her generals.” I turned to the empress. “What course are we on?”

“We will take you by force if necessary.” Kannath’s dark voice sounded like wind echoing off of a mountainside, but he didn’t seem angry.

“That is a nice story,” I mocked with a sigh. The artichoke was half-eaten on the plate in front of me and I grabbed a leaf, dipped it in some of the sauce, and ate it. The vegetable had long since gone cold.

“Or I could threaten someone you care for.” Kannath’s voice edged toward anger.

“Such as?” I turned to look at the trio. Kannath still sat back on the pillow provided for his ass, the man to his side had a stupid smile on his face and his muscular arms crossed. The woman’s face was red and an angry vein pulsed on her forehead. Somehow the hot emotion made her more attractive.

“I have a young blonde girl and her uncle. Apparently, they are the rulers of this kingdom.”

My stomach knotted and a thousand questions sped through my brain.

“How did you acquire them?” Telaxthe asked nonchalantly.

“They were already destined for this city. They had an escort of your personal retainers, but I convinced them to leave the two in our care.” The empress nodded. She made a slight smile toward her new guest. I noticed Vernine had moved toward the rear of the pavilion and almost disappeared behind the curtain.

“Come with us and no harm will befall them.” He looked back at me. I would have thought that he was lying, but I knew the tell patterns of a human heart. Kannath did have Jessmei and Beltor.

“The Pretender is my guest, Kannath. He has committed to stay for the next few days and give us assistance in this world.” Telaxthe gave me a cat-like smile that left no doubt in my mind as to what would happen if I decided to leave.

My game suddenly became more difficult. If I went with Kannath, I could probably kill them all when I got to Jessmei. Then we would figure out how to get back to Nadea’s army. I might be able to circle around Nia and reach them before they made it here. I could guess at their possible location given the route from Fisherman’s Gorge and Nia’s capital, but Isslata would make quicker time to Nadea on a direct path.

“Is the Pretender your prisoner here?” the man to Kannath’s right asked.

“Of course not! He is free to go whenever he wishes,” Alatorict answered for his empress.

“Then the Pretender should make the choice that results in less death,” the raven-haired woman said with a growl.

The tent grew silent as all eyes turned back to me. I searched my imagination for an answer, but the empress came to my aid.

“Kannath, you have stood for us in the past, when our kind struggled to find purchase with the clans. Do you recall?” Her words were warm and sweet like honey.

“Yes. Now you have what you ultimately wanted and I am after what my clan needs for the same leverage.”

“This I can understand.” She glanced to me and I was again struck by how much she looked like Nadea. Then she returned her eyes to Kannath. “We had planned a small game tonight after our dinner. It should be of interest to you.”

“Oh?” Kannath said with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

“Yillomar and the Pretender have agreed to an unarmed match.”

Kannath leaned back and laughed. It was a deep chuckle that came from his muscular belly and fell out of his mouth like a downpour. His two guards smirked, and I felt the tension in the room relax.

“That hardly sounds like an interesting match.” I turned to the Elvens and noticed that Yillomar smiled at me. What I wanted to say was that it sounded like a waste of time and they could all go fuck themselves, but the warning Telaxthe gave me still rang in my head. With a word from the empress Isslata would rush out of this tent and make her way to Nadea. My friend would be murdered by my Elven lover. The irony didn’t escape me.

“It will be interesting,” the big Elven said with a chuckle.

“I have to object. I need the Pretender alive.” Kannath looked at me and shook his head with a smile. “Although the thought of watching someone smash in his face for an hour or two does sound entertaining.”

“Not a fight to the death, of course.” The empress waved her hands and laughed lightly. ”Just a light match until one warriors submits to the other.”

“No. The risk is too great. I’ve seen the Hatchet in combat.” He looked over to Yillomar and nodded with respect.

“You will not kill our guest, Yillomar,” Telaxthe ordered

“No, my empress.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head toward her.

“There.” Telaxthe turned back in our direction and clapped her hands. “It is settled then. We have Mastkur that we can prepare for you while you watch the match.”

“You have Mastkur?” the woman said in amazement.

“Yes Gaizka. Our guest was given some earlier but we still have plenty to share,” Alatorict answered again for Telaxthe. The O’Baarni woman nodded and licked her lips before turning to Kannath. Their hearts began to beat slightly faster, and I saw that the calmness behind Kannath’s eyes was replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Desire perhaps?

“Very well. We will stay for a feast, watch the Pretender get pummeled by the Hatchet, and then carry his broken body to our camp afterward. It will probably make the journey much easier.” Kannath chuckled again and nodded to Telaxthe.

“Excellent! Notify my chefs that we have three more guests,” she commanded her servants and a few of them dashed out through the rear of the pavilion to fill the empress’s wishes.

“I would like to prepare for the combat,” Yillomar said.

“Very well. Return in a quarter of an hour and we shall begin. I will have an arena made at the clearing on the north side of my tent.”

Yillomar stood, nodded to Kannath and gave me a glare of contempt before departing. Once the large Elven had left I turned my attention to my plate and continued to eat the rest of my cold artichoke. It still tasted delicious and the rose-colored wine that my personal servant poured complemented the flavor perfectly.

“Kaiyer,” Dissonti said my name and I looked up from the last scraps of my meal to look at the strange Elven general. I had originally thought that her hair and eyes were the same shade of green, but her eyes were a few shades lighter.

“Do not say that name,” Gaizka said.

“That is his name, unfortunately,” Dissonti answered without looking away from me. “Do you wish to prepare for the game against Yillomar?” I noticed again how the other Elvens seemed to pay almost as much attention when Dissonti spoke as when Telaxthe did.

“I’m not worried.”

“That seems foolish,” Fehalda said in a tone that made it clear she believed I was a complete idiot and not merely foolish.

“I would like more food,” I changed the subject and pointed at my empty plate.

“Whatever you eat now will just end up decorating the ground outside after Yillomar squeezes it out of your stomach,” Fehalda sighed.

“Ah, I hadn’t thought of that.” I smiled at her and leaned back into my pillow. “I just assumed I’d beat him easily.” The Elvens and O’Baarni in the room laughed at my comment. It was apparent that they thought Yillomar was quite adept at combat. Maybe I should be more worried. But then again, they believed I was some skinny idiot who was named after Kaiyer. They didn’t realize that beating the shit out of Elvens was one of my sharpest skills.

Alatorict and Isslata did not laugh. The general and his fierce commander seemed a little upset with the direction the events had taken. They noticed me direct my eyes to them and the silver-haired man turned his attention to Telaxthe.

“He should prepare for the game. As we have observed, this man is unfamiliar with some of our customs. Isslata will mentor him.”

“We shall adjourn to the north clearing in a few moments.” The empress had been glancing between Kannath, his lap dogs, and Dissonti. She paused for a moment as if she was waiting for the jade-haired general to say something. When a few empty seconds passed without an answer she leaned a bit forward, directing her voice to Alatorict’s commander.

“Take him outside and prepare him.”

Isslata nodded and stood with the grace of a dancer. Her boots echoed sharply across the wood of the tent floor and before I could stand her hand had wrapped around my bicep. Her sharpened nails pierced my skin and she yanked me to my feet.

“Move!” she commanded. I was surprised at the anger in her voice and debated resisting, but then I thought better of it. My plans had been ruined by circumstances that I could have foreseen. I should have realized that Jessmei might be discovered and Nadea could have decided to return to Nia. Taking out my frustration on Isslata wouldn’t do me any good.

What I really needed was more time to wiggle out of this camp, grab a horse, a weapon, and return to Nadea. But that would doom Jessmei and Beltor. There needed to be three of me. One to stay here and spar with the empress over the location of the Radicle, one to warn the duchess about coming back to Nia, and one to save Jessmei and her uncle from wherever Kannath had her.

“Your poor decisions have finally caught up to you, O’Baarni.” I’d seen Isslata mad before, but her words came out as molten fire and her eyes glowed with golden anger. “You should have complied with the empress’s requests earlier.” We had walked out of Telaxthe’s tent and turned northward. It was night now, but the clouds had left and the stars shone down in countless showers of diamonds. I saw two dozen Elvens lighting torches and setting up a complicated wooden deck and table a hundred and fifty yards to the north of the empress’s large pavilion.

“You could be correct. Or I could have told the empress what she wanted and I would be dead right now.” I shrugged. “I don’t trust any of you.” The same group of female guards that had accompanied me from my tent to the pavilion flanked Isslata. They stood a few feet behind her with scowls on their angular faces. Isslata turned to face them and barked an order.

“Leave us!”

“We have been ordered to follow—“ one of them began to say before Isslata interrupted.

“I will fucking gut all four of you.” Her hand left my arm and grabbed the hilt of her sword. “I am not in the mood to debate the instructions Vernine gave you.” The guardswomen looked to each other and walked away quickly to stand at the far edges of the clearing around the campsite.

“Your ridiculous hatred for our kind has just caused your death.” She pulled me closer to her body and led me away from the guards, toward what I assumed would be the spot where Yillomar and I would fight.

“What do you mean?”

“She would rather kill you than give you to Kannath. Don’t you grasp the situation you have put us in?” She yanked me to a stop about seventy yards from the build side of the deck. Her words dropped to a whisper. “We’ll eventually find the Radicle, but we cannot let Kannath take you back to the clans. You’ll speak of what we are doing here and they will send more of your people. Why did you delay so long? You should have agreed to tell her what she wanted.” Her voice had changed. I looked into her eyes and the usual look of anger was replaced by sadness.

“You seem pretty confident that Yillomar can kill me. Isn’t this supposed to be an ‘unarmed’ match? My kind heal fast.”

“Listen to me, O’Baarni.” Her claws settled at the back of my neck as if she was about to pull me in for a violent kiss. “Besides herself, the empress has three amazing warriors: her sister Fehalda, Yillomar, and me.” I nodded and her nails dug deeper into my skin, drawing pinpricks of blood. “He has killed your kind before in unarmed combat. He has in every one of your precious O’Baarni Games. It is a point the empress seems to flaunt.”

I reached back with my left hand and peeled her grip from the nape of my neck. With my right arm I circled her waist and pulled the Elven woman’s body against mine. She didn’t make any attempt to resist me, but her head tilted sideways and she looked puzzled by the sudden intimacy.

“Would you kill Nadea?” I asked. Her eyes narrowed and she licked her lips before answering.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I would be commanded to do so,” she said flatly.

“You’ve broken orders before.” I pulled her tighter against me and felt her perfect breasts against my chest. Her free arm circled my shoulders. It was a familiar position we had been in and I hoped it would give me some sort of leverage.

“Not her orders. Alatorict expects me to challenge him.”

“There is no reason for her to kill Nadea. The duchess can aid her in the political scene in Nia and show her the location of the Radicle where she found me.”

“If the empress wishes your pet dead, then she will be dead, whether by my hand or someone else’s.” She clenched her jaw and rubbed her fingertips across my back. “There are more important matters to speak of. Submit to Yillomar quickly, do not approach this fight with your usual bravado or even attempt to match his strikes. He will kill you.”

“If he kills me, then Nadea will be safe?” I said with sarcasm.

“The empress is using her as leverage. I’m sure you realize that.” She slipped her right hand free of my grip and pushed against my chest. Her face twisted in sudden anger. “This is why I want to kill that bitch. All you care about is her.”

“I didn’t think you were so prone to jealousy,” I lied.

“Most fight their feelings. I embrace them. Emotions can be useful.” She looked at me and her angular expression softened slightly. “Just submit in this fight. The empress will figure out a way to make sure that Kannath doesn’t return with you.”

“If I was a corpse, he wouldn’t return with me,” I growled.

“She is making a quick decision. Alatorict will speak with her tonight and will come up with a better plan.”

“I didn’t think he was that interested in my livelihood either.”

“He is. I’ll beseech him.” She licked her lips and shook her head. I wanted to ask her why she was putting in effort on my behalf but I feared her answer. I didn’t need another complication, especially an Elven woman with an appetite for blood. The servants had finished setting up a wooden sitting area, complete with tables, and were now working on a circular parameter to what I assumed would be the arena where I would fight.

“What do I need to know about this fight?” I asked her with a nod toward the staging area.

“Just submit, fall down as soon as he punches you and make an obvious admission of defeat.” Her voice was calm but her eyes pleaded.

“This is an unarmed contest? No weapons?” She nodded. “Any other ridiculous rules I should know about? Pretend I’ve never seen a game or been in one.”

“It is frowned upon to bite the opponent, but not forbidden,” she said. “You should also decide what boon you want.”

“Boon?” I asked.

“A gift the creator of the game can bestow to the winner.”

“What kind of gift?” A farfetched plan suddenly sprang into my mind.

“Anything within reason.” She shook her head and looked disappointed. “You will not win, but perhaps you could make a gesture of goodwill with your request.”

“What will Yillomar ask for?”

“He will probably ask for a troop allotment, but I can only guess. The expectation is that he will win, so he won’t ask for anything too outrageous or my empress will become angry with him.” She wiggled away from me and I let my arms fall from her.

“If I am expected to lose, could I ask for an outrageous boon?” I smirked but my brain was frantically clutching at a plan.

“O’Baarni, you are expected to die, not merely lose. The empress gambled that Kannath’s desire for Mastkur would cloud his judgment and allow you to fight Yillomar. He knows the Hatchet’s battle prowess.” She led me a few more steps toward the makeshift arena. “Speak no more of this. We can be heard now.”

I nodded and followed her directions to stand on the east side of the construction. The banquet platform had been set up on the south side and was raised enough so that those sitting would be able to see the two contestants within the circle. My mind drifted back to the battle circles where the Elvens forced us to train. I thought about the escape and revolt Thayer and I had planned. There had been an observation platform for the Elvens to watch us then as well.

The Elvens worked with practiced efficiency and the waist high fence was completed in five more minutes. Across the wide grass clearing I saw the empress depart from her grand pavilion and stroll toward the arena. Her generals, guards, and Kannath’s lackeys walked beside her and they all seemed engaged in a discussion about his sister’s activities. To the west of me, Yillomar walked through the thick array of tents with an entourage of a dozen of his red clad warriors. From the ornate nature of their armor, I guessed they must have been his top commanders.

“Remember what we spoke of. Do not do anything foolish and get killed,” Isslata reminded me again.

“I appreciate your concern.” I looked over to her and winked. This rewarded me with an intense glare from the warrior woman.

“Please be seated, honored guests.” Telaxthe motioned to the wooden bench and table. Kannath grunted and moved his muscular frame onto the seat before his two guards joined him. A platter of cheese, bread, and fruit was quickly laid out before them along with a decanter of wine and water.

Telaxthe moved to a spot next to Kannath. They were within arm’s length of each other, but Vernine and another guard stood a few feet behind the gap. The other generals and guards filled out the empty tables, with the generals sitting at the edge of the arena. I noticed that Alatorict had secured a spot to the right of his empress and leaned over to whisper something in her ear. I tried to listen, but was interrupted by Yillomar’s group of soldiers giving a rowdy cheer as their leader easily leapt over the fence and into the center of the arena.

Yillomar was dressed similar to me, with a light pair of pants and tunic tied with a thin leather chord. But while my clothes were green, his were the same shade of red as the flags that decorated the tents of his army. The giant Elven pulled off the shirt and began to move his body in some basic preparation exercises. Elvens could be muscular, but they were normally lithe and lean. Yillomar could have doubled for a human with his bulky muscles and stout frame. He was nearly as big as Kannath was across and only a bit shorter.

“Are the challengers ready?” Telaxthe’s voice cut through the prattle of excited conversation like a feasting bell in a hall of hungry soldiers.

“Yes, my empress. I will battle for your glory,” Yillomar said with a slight nod of his head. Attention turned to me and I glanced at Isslata. She glared and nodded.

“Sure.” I stepped over the wooden fence and set a sandaled foot into the grass circle.

“Take off your tunic, or he’ll grab a hold of it!” Isslata hissed from the sidelines. I pulled the green cloth off of my chest and threw it in her direction.

Then I took a few steps into the torch lit arena and felt my blood quicken with Earth.

Kannath’s two retainers immediately leaned into him, questioning why I had so many scars.

“We can ask him on our journey back,” he whispered.

They weren’t the only ones studying me. I had gained a few pounds of muscle during my brief stay as the empress’s prisoner, but I was still painfully thin and covered in uncountable scars. Vernine, Isslata, and Alatorict had seen them before and questioned me, but I had been elusive in my answers.

“Warriors,” the empress began to address us, “as the host of this game I thank you for providing your strength, endurance, and prowess for our entertainment.” The words sounded rehearsed and I wondered if this was how they normally began their ceremonies. “A small boon will be given to the winner.” She looked to the large Elven. “Yillomar, General of the Red Army. What boon will you choose?”

“If I am victorious, I would ask that the empress bless me with authority to take over command of Nia’s capital.”

“Your boon will be granted should you be victorious,” the empress said easily. Alatorict’s pale skin turned a few shades whiter and his jaw clenched for two seconds.

“Pretender. You carry the name of our Destroyer and the Betrayer of your own people. What boon will you choose?” The eyes of the gathered faced me. Most of their faces were painted with a look of amusement. Looks like the odds were against me.

I liked that.

“Five minutes alone with you in your tent, so that we may speak privately.”

Startled silence was the response from the empress and her generals. For a few seconds they stared at me with complete confusion.

“Absolutely not!” Fehalda spat down at me and the other generals nodded in agreement.

“Your boon will be granted should you be victorious,” the empress said with a careful smile. Fehalda looked like she was about to rip her white hair out in frustration. But maybe she thought better of arguing with her sister in front of Kannath and his guards.

Servants arrived at the end of the empress’s sentence and laid out plates of the narcotic meat in front of the three O’Baarni. I noticed their eyes began to glaze, and I shook my head to force the addicting scent from taking hold of my nose and fucking with my brain. I had to focus on beating Yillomar or else Nadea and I would be killed. Servants then set out other meats, more cheeses, wine, and fruit for the rest of the gathered Elven generals.

I turned to face Yillomar and he snorted a laugh at me.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” he said as he held his fists up to his chin.

“Not as much as me.” I smiled and got into my own stance.

My warriors did not spend a large ratio of time training in unarmed combat. In a battle situation we almost always had a weapon close at hand, either our own, or from a fallen opponent or comrade. But nevertheless, if one of our soldiers was ever disarmed, they needed to know effective methods to defend and kill. So while only a fraction of my training was spent learning how to punch, kick, and grapple, I had spent countless hours, over more than thirty years, practicing various ways of killing Elvens with or without a weapon.

Unarmed combat was simpler than combat with weapons. Sure, a punch to the skull might render even the stoutest O’Baarni unconscious, but we healed so fast that even a crushing blow to any other part of the body would be healed within seconds. Knowing that, the fighting stance we developed over the years focused on protecting the head area at the expense of being able to launch heavy haymaker type punches. My arms rose as high as my face, creating a cage that my face glanced out of sideways. My hands came up over my head and were held open, with palms facing the opponent. I could deliver quick, downward palm strikes or grapple easily. My strong left side was closer to my opponent than my weaker right side and I held my body at a bladed angle, with my left foot planted firmly into the ground and my right trailing at a comfortable angle pointing off to Yillomar’s right. The stance looked similar to one a mantis would adopt, but it was a comparison we had made many years after we had solidified the style.

“You look afraid, Pretender,” Yillomar taunted, probably assuming that the way I held my arms meant I was surrendering. I nodded and smiled. I felt the euphoric effects of the Earth and adrenaline screaming through my body. The rush of battle was a love that never seemed to leave me.

“Let the game commence.”

Before the empress’s words had traveled past us, Yillomar dove toward me. He had wound back his left arm and intended to drive it into my uncovered abdomen. He was fast, really fast, and I was almost unprepared for an Elven of his size to move with such quickness.

I brought my hands down and met his dash with a knee to his downturned face. His nose shattered into a dozen pieces and his swinging fist skipped harmlessly across my right hip. The force of his momentum should have sent me tumbling back and put us both on the ground in a grappling position, but I had pulled the Earth to me and stayed rooted, like a wall of stone, with which the massive Elven had just collided.

My knee hit him again and I felt the weakness of his skull. One more knee and the fight would end, with the large Elven’s body twitching on the ground as his brain struggled to send its last damaged signals to his muscles. But then I might not get everything I wanted from this battle.

So I pushed him away.

He was already pulling in that direction, so the movement sent him tumbling back comically. He rolled on the grass and then splayed out in a sitting position, completely dazed. I guessed that either he had never fought someone as skilled as me, or had risked an offensive attack right at the start in an effort to end the fight quickly. Under normal circumstances, I would have tried to finish him while I had his head in my hands. Or I would have pounced on him while he sat dazed on the grass a few steps away from me. But I did not want the gathered observers to explain Yillomar’s defeat as poor luck.

I wanted it to be clear to Telaxthe, her generals, and Kannath that I wasn’t merely a Pretender. Perhaps it was a foolish notion, or simple pride, and I should continue the farce that I was confused about my identity, but that wasn’t getting me anywhere productive with these Elvens. I needed them to fear me now so I could protect the people I loved. I couldn’t do that sitting as a prisoner in the empress’s camp.

After a few dozen seconds, Yillomar came around and sprung to his feet. His face was awash in embarrassment and he raised his hands back up to a fighting position. He moved toward me with more caution now and circled to my left side, forcing me to pivot to meet him.

“I got lucky,” I said with a smile. He grunted and pressed forward with a left jab that would have connected with my nose if I hadn’t slapped it away. As soon as my hand moved out he attacked with his right fist, aiming for the small space I had left open with my earlier defense. This was a move I expected though, and I pivoted my other arm to strike it off target.

He circled a bit more and sniffed to clear the blood out of his nose. Then he launched another group of punches, leading with this left and then ending with a savage hook from his right arm. I stepped away a few feet, parrying each of the blows as they were inches from my face but ducking under the final attack that might have ripped my skull from my neck. When I came back up from my dodge, his right side was exposed and I planted my left fist where the Elven kidney dwelled. As soon as I hit I pushed my right hand against the top of his head and pulled him across my body.

The movement threw him to the ground, but he kicked out and managed to entangle my left ankle with his thick leg. He pulled with his feet and grabbed onto my calf with his arm. The movement could have thrown me off balance and taken me to the grass with him, but I slammed down on his chest with my knees and forced him to block a flurry of punches. None of my strikes were particularly fast or powerful, they were just meant to distract and show that I could have hammered him hard if I wished.

I took a few steps away from him and let the large Elven climb back to his feet.

“I got lucky again.” I smiled and shrugged, raising my arms into my familiar position. Yillomar’s face was an impassive mask now and he threw out a roundhouse kick aimed for my left knee cap. I raised my leg slightly and turned my knee into his kicking leg. The impact jarred both of our bodies, but only he let out a gasp of pain.

The damage must have been short lived, because almost immediately after the collision he launched another series of punches. This time he varied these strikes between my head and my upper body. I blocked the first three aimed for my face and then only managed to deflect one of the attacks to my midsection with an elbow. The other two punches connected with my stomach and sounded like an axe handle slamming into a tree twice. Yillomar was strong, but I had trained with the likes of Thayer and had been used to taking hits to the stomach that would break the spines of most warriors. My brain did little more than acknowledge the brief pain and then work on healing the damaged muscle.

He teased a kick and then feinted a quick punch with his right hand. I didn’t block either ruse and his left jab got slapped away easily. His technique was almost perfect, but by staring at the top of his chest I could see a tiny turn of his shoulder that preempted each attack he threw with power. That slight motion only gave me a fraction of a second of notice, but that was all I needed.

Unlike Yillomar, my technique was perfect. My strikes also came from above his eye level, which was difficult for most fighters to defend against because they were used to the enemy’s weapons being easier to see. My left palm crashed down on his nose and sprayed more blood across his face. He reeled and managed to get his hands up in time to parry my next strike with my right hand. But by that time my left hand had punched his stomach and smacked against the hardened wood of his muscles. He pushed his arms down to block my next strike there, but I’d already moved back to his face, slamming my palms into his eyes and nose three more times before he fell away again; reeling from the assault and blood covering his eyes.

I stepped closer to him and delivered a roundhouse kick to his right leg while he retreated. The sound of his knee breaking and tearing reminded me of a celery stalk being crunched. He went down on his back but didn’t scream. His face however, did show that he was in serious pain and he moved his working leg around to position it between us so I couldn’t approach him as easily. Of course, I could have just jumped up a few dozen feet, and then landed on him, shattering his chest or skull, but that would have meant ending the fight too soon.

I stepped back carefully, keeping my eyes on Yillomar’s healing body, until I reached the edge of the wooden fence where Isslata stood. I glanced at her over my shoulder and saw her eyes wide with surprise. Then I risked a quick glance at the Elvens and O’Baarni on the raised wooden platforms and noticed similar looks of disbelief. Kannath’s eyes were a piercing blue and he was so engrossed in watching us that he had forgotten about eating his Mastkur.

Yillomar got to his feet and beckoned for me to approach him. He was favoring the knee I had just broken, but it looked like it had enough strength to stand. I smiled at him and waved him away.

“That’s okay. Take your time.” I leaned up against the fence and crossed my arms.

“I’m fine! Let’s finish this!” he yelled and took a few steps toward me with his fists raised.

“Very well,” I growled and the Earth flowed through my blood like lava. The Elven sprinted the twenty feet between us and launched himself in the air, coming down with his uninjured leg positioned like a dagger thrust at my head. It was a beautiful kick, risky, and one that would have probably caught a few of my lesser warriors unprepared. But it was too predictable for me and I decided that the best course of action would be to not stand in the spot Yillomar had aimed his jump.

I spun away and then ducked a back fist he intended for my skull. He responded with a roundhouse kick, using the momentum from his initial attack to continue the spin of his body. I hammered my fist into his groin and then grabbed his left leg in the crook of my right arm. Then I shot to my feet, carrying his leg up with me and pushing our weight down to where his left leg should have supported his body. This left his broken leg to hold all of our mass. As he tumbled to the ground he threw a last punch with his right hand. It didn’t have much strength in it though, and I easily parried it with my left hand.

He was strong for an Elven and he shook his massive leg like one of the wurms I had encountered in the caverns below Nia. I managed to hold on though, and stomped his groin twice again and then kicked him in the face, stunning the big man for a brief second. I used the opportunity to step across his body and bring his leg across the inside of mine, breaking his other knee with a quick snap of my arms. He didn’t scream or grunt from the pain and I felt a twinge of respect for the Elven’s self-control.

But soon he wouldn’t be making any noises.

He grabbed onto my left leg with both of his hands and pulled with amazing strength. But I was rooted in the Earth again and could have been unmovable if I had wished. Instead, I allowed him to pull me down and rewarded his face with a sharp elbow from my right arm. The blow cut open the side of his cheek and broke his jaw.

For a few seconds we were a mess of arms, legs, and slick blood. The Elven tried to grab a hold of my neck and draw me into his chest, probably so he could buy himself time to heal. While he wiggled his arms against me I landed strikes against his throat and face while I moved my hips over his chest for better leverage.

Yillomar was in a horrible position beneath me. Blood coated his eyes, preventing him from seeing exactly where I was or where my next blow would connect. I could have finished him in one or two more punches, but I decided to prolong his suffering. I slammed his face and throat a few dozen more times with enough strength to crush and break bones, but not enough to end his life. Finally, his defending arms grew slack and he fell unconscious from the beating.

One more blow and he could be dead.

Another fucking Elven wiped from this world.

I raised my fist and looked down at the broken man. I had expected somewhat of a challenge, but I should have guessed that the fighting styles and techniques might have grown weaker since my time. It was not as if these O’Baarni Games were life or death competition. They seemed more of a political tool to keep the clans occupied in a fake power struggle.

I had battled every single day, not for sport or entertainment, but for my life and the lives of thousands of my brothers and sisters. These Elvens lacked the commitment and discipline we were forced to develop. Even in the war of my past, it was not until the Elvens realized that they were close to extinction that they began to unite their forces and take their training seriously.

Yillomar had intended to kill me, and if it was him sitting on top of my unconscious body, he would have driven his ham-sized fist through my skull and ended me. I should have done the same. I should have ended him. I should have covered the grass with his brains and left no doubt in the empress’s mind that I could destroy her people now, as I had so long ago.

But my hand came down and wrapped around the back of his large neck instead. I stood up and yanked his body over as a mother wolf might pick up a puppy by its scruff. I walked over to the side of the arena where the Elvens and O’Baarni sat. Their food lay untouched and there wasn’t a face in the audience that didn’t wear an expression of amazement, including Kannath, who looked completely dumbfounded, as if I had pulled the sun down from the sky and then taken a large bite out of the fire.

“Looks like I win.” I tossed Yillomar unceremoniously against the stage. His head thunked against the wood and he draped over the side of the ledge like a red rag doll.

“Well done.” Kannath smiled and clapped his hands together.

“Shut the fuck up,” I silenced him and got another look of fear from everyone else. “He was unskilled and ill-suited to fight me. It took me more effort not to kill him.”

“You cannot speak to Kannath that way, Pretender,” the O’Baarni woman said with unbridled malice. Her hand drifted down to where a sword should have hung, but the three were unarmed.

“I just did. Would you like to step in here and silence me?” I flicked my fingers at her and sprayed Yillomar’s blood on the table where she sat. A few drops landed on her plate of food. She fumbled a reply but the answer was obvious to those observing. Even the expression on Kannath’s face was telling. The large man did not want to battle me.

“You,” I pointed a bloody finger at Telaxthe, who had recovered from her bout of shock and wore a calm expression again, “and I have an appointment in your tent. Alone. Let’s go.” I turned and walked south toward her pavilion. Yillomar’s group of commanders stood at the edge of the arena and they all had hands on their weapon handles. Their eyes were dancing between the empress and my bloody body. Telaxthe must have given them a signal behind my back, because the red clad warriors parted to let me pass over the fence. I heard the soft rustle of silk and small bells ring behind me as Telaxthe rose from her seat.

“You cannot be alone with that monster!” I recognized Jayita’s voice whisper.

“The boon will be granted.”

“I will attend you,” Fehalda said. I was about fifty feet outside of the arena now, about a quarter of the way to the empress’s pavilion.

“No. Remain here. Kannath, please enjoy your Mastkur. We will talk more when I return.”

“Aye,” he grunted.

Half a minute later I strolled into the empress’s tent. There were no guards or servants inside and a few of the lamps had gone out, casting the beautiful pavilion in an eerie orange glow. Off to the side of the pillows sat an uncorked bottle of red wine in a silver etched bucket of chilled water. I grabbed it and took a long swig, washing the taste of blood and combat out of my mouth, and then carried it with me to the pillows.

Telaxthe’s cushions smelled like her: lavender and pine needles. I sat down at her place so I could get a clear view of the rest of the room. My back was to the curtain that separated the rear half of the large tent but I did not hear the heartbeats of anyone.

The empress’s short sword lay discarded to the left of her pillow. I picked up the slightly curved weapon and pulled it halfway out of its green and white lacquered wooden sheath. The metal of the blade was the same odd gray of Isslata’s sword. It looked similar to the weapons and armor that most of my troops eventually had taken possession of but my uneducated eye could not tell if it was exactly the same. I heard Telaxthe descend the wooden stairs into her pavilion but I continued to study the elaborate flowers that were etched across the business side of the blade. I didn’t know much about weapon crafting, but I imagined that this had taken a long time for a smith to make.

“You are in my seat,” the empress said flatly.

“So I am.” I looked up and saw the smile she normally wore was missing.

I pointed at the pad where I previously sat. “Sit down.”

“Kaiyer, do you wish to speak or to fight?” Her arms crossed, and I was struck again by how much she looked like Nadea. Or how much Nadea looked like her.

“I wish to speak with you.”

“Then get your ass out of my seat!” she commanded with a growl.

“Very well.” I grinned and moved over to the next pad, turning it around so that it faced her seat.

“And my sword?” she asked.

“It is beautiful. Too light for my tastes, but it looks effective.“ I slid the blade back into the sheath with a sharp snap and then tossed it to the bronze-haired woman. Her hands were fast and the motion she used to catch it was a graceful blur of her ornate robe.

“It is effective.” She pushed the sheath into the sash at her waist, walked toward her pillow, and sat. Our faces were a few feet from each other now and if she had chosen to draw her sword, our meeting would get ugly fast.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. Most Elvens were beautiful, with chiseled angular features, smooth skin, almond shaped eyes of bizarre colors, and wondrous hair that looked to be made of liquid metal. The empress’s eyes were a light amber color and her hair was a dark shade of metallic bronze that any artist would have loved to touch. Her skin shone a few shades lighter than Nadea’s but the resemblance was uncanny and transcended their races. They were both extremely beautiful women.

“Why didn’t you kill him?” she asked finally with a raised eyebrow. Her voice was soft and silky. I couldn’t help but smell her intoxicating breath as we sat so close to each other.

“Sometimes, life is worse than death,” I said. Her eyes opened a bit at my explanation and I wondered if it would be true for Yillomar. Would his loss to me ruin his career or would he train harder and become stronger because of it?

“I could guess you would feel that way.” Her voice was emotionless. “But you only have a few minutes left alone in my presence, so I would recommend you begin the conversation you intended.”

“I would like you to tell me a story,” I said with the wine on my breath.

“I know plenty of stories, Pretender. This seems a waste of your time. Do you have a particular story you want to hear? A children’s tale? Maybe one about your namesake? Perhaps you’d like to hear about Lenaan, since you were muttering it in your sleep.” She laughed and shook her head slightly. She must have thought I was completely insane.

“Tell me the story of how you lost your half-human daughter,” I said.

The woman stopped mid-laugh. Her hands dropped to the sides of her robe and I heard the sound of all the air leaving her lungs. But her face was the most telling of all, and the expression was one I had never seen from the ruler of the Elven people. In our brief encounters she had seemed to dance from control to contrived joy so quickly. She was someone who I was sure had mastered her emotions and physical abilities to their absolute peak.

It was an expression I had seen once before, in the middle of the campaign to rid our lives of the Elvens. I had battled the leader of one of their large battalions, defeated him in combat, yanked apart his chest piece, tore off part of his rib cage, and then ripped out his heart. While the man was still in his death throes I had pulled off my helm and eaten the red pulsing muscle. The look on his face as he watched me rip the very life from his body and mercilessly take a bite was the same expression the empress had on her face now.

Chapter 18-Jessmei

That night my moon flow began.

The occurrence was always frustrating, even when I had lived in an opulent castle with four handmaidens and servants to assist with the process. Being the only woman with a group of men in the wilderness made it uncomfortable and embarrassing. I recalled that Kaiyer had a keen sense of smell, so I reasoned that the other O’Baarni could sense the blood. I had to make frequent trips into the oak trees to clean myself and they didn’t seem to inquire or care about my whereabouts.

Maybe I was more concerned about it than I should have been. After all, there was another woman they had been traveling with and I imagined she also had a moon flow. The men were probably used to such occurrences and left me to my personal time.

Maybe I was more embarrassed that I had thought that I was pregnant with Kaiyer’s child. I had not wanted to believe the herbalist, but here was the bloody proof. She had been right of course; stress must have contributed to the tardiness of my flow.

There was little to do in the camp. My uncle had continued to talk to the tattooed warriors about their clans, culture, training methods, and any suggestions they had to appeal to Kannath. I helped Iarin prepare the meals and tried not to draw too much attention to my condition. But nothing we did eased the tension that set in with the three men after two days had passed.

“They should be back by now,” Jazen whispered to his clansmen late on the second night. My stomach been cramping and it was difficult to slumber on the thin blanket. I guessed that they probably thought I slept and I did my best to steady my breathing so that they would continue to think so.

“Aye,” Anax said simply. The big man had stopped giving me hungry looks after our discussion about Kannath.

“I am not comfortable waiting,” Jazen said. “Iarin, tell me more of this Pretender. He couldn’t give Kannath any trouble?”

“It was good that he brought Gaizka and Naom,” Iarin whispered.

“I can’t imagine anyone could give Kannath trouble,” Anax said. Iarin grunted and said nothing else. There was silence for a few moments.

“What if they are not here tomorrow?” Jazen asked with urgency to his question.

“Then we follow the plan,” Anax growled. His voice was dark, and it almost caused me to shiver.

“I say we follow the last part only,” Iarin said. “No need for the first part.”

“I outrank you Iarin,” Anax stated. I felt the anger in his voice. It made my ribs rattle from across the fire pit, though the big man only whispered.

“This is true, but I’m sure you know we only needed to hold them so that Kannath would have leverage over the Pretender. If he doesn’t return than what use are they to us?”

“Kannath gave an order. This world has made you soft.”

“I know I’ve grown soft.” Iarin laughed. “But that doesn’t mean I am wrong. The girl and her uncle probably won’t live long once the Elvens get a hold of them anyway. No need to get your hands bloody.” My body started to shake and shiver as a chill worked its way from my hair to my toes. They would kill us if Kannath did not return.

“Listen!” Jazen hissed. The warriors suddenly stopped their conversation. I tried not to gasp, cry out, or make any other noises through my terror. They must have heard my breathing and figured out I was awake. Kaiyer had told me that he could hear a mouse’s heartbeat a few hundred yards away, so I imagined that these three men easily heard the panic echoing through my body like broken glass down a stone set of stairs.

“Sounds like four horses,” Anax whispered.

“I’ll go. I am quieter than you both,” Iarin said. My eyes were closed, my back to the fire and the three men. A slight shift of dirt came to my ears, and I assumed the lanky woodsman had crept from the campsite. I was thankful that they didn’t suspect I was awake, but now I was even more terrified about the possibility of Kannath returning with Kaiyer.

I was growing weary of the constant fear. I thought I had taken control of my emotions and beaten back my dread. I knew what had to be done with Kannath, but I still feared doing it. More than that, I was afraid of seeing Kaiyer again. I was afraid he would not want me now. Or worse, that he would and that this would interfere with what I needed to do to save my kingdom.

“It is them,” Iarin’s voice was excited and no longer whispering. Beltor rolled over and sat up.

I heard an owl hoot from beside me and a matching one echoed from a distance across the pond. It was loud enough for me to end my sleeping charade and I sat up and feigned a startled expression accompanied by a gasp.

Iarin, Jazen, and Anax busied themselves with cleaning up the camp, although I had already done most of the work a few hours ago. The warriors seemed nervous about Kannath’s return. I made sure that my bedroll and blanket were arranged neatly and then ran my hands through my long hair to remove some of the tangles.

Soon I heard the approach of horses from the edge of the pond and I strained my eyes to see into the darkness. Beltor stood next to me and I felt his arm circle my shoulders protectively. I looked up into his face and he gave me a slight smile and nod. I smiled back and hoped that, even if I was unable to convince Kannath to help me, we would be allowed to live.

“Ho.” I recognized Kannath. The large muscular man sat on a horse that was equally stout. Behind him rode the man and woman who had accompanied him.

Behind them was Kaiyer.

I had expected to feel emotion when I saw him, but the sudden flurry of my heart leaping in my chest was more powerful than ever. His dark hair had grown a bit longer, and he looked like he had gained some much needed weight. He saw me from across the firelight and gave me a smile that made every part of my skin tingle. I wanted to run through the clearing, jump into the saddle, throw my arms around his neck, and kiss him a thousand times.

“This is the Pretender?” Anax sounded less than impressed.

“No,” Kaiyer said with a laugh. He lifted his left leg over the pommel of the saddle and slid off the horse with practiced ease. I saw that his hands were manacled together with about two feet of chain. “I’m actually Kaiyer.” He stuck his tongue out at Anax and walked toward me. Our eyes met and the light from the fire seemed to burn the green of his eyes and turn them into gold. I wanted to say something, but my tongue got caught in my mouth and my heart beat so fast I thought I would faint.

“Hello Jess.” He raised his arms above my head and then brought them down over me. I felt his lips on my forehead and then his warm embrace carried me back to the wonderful nights we spent in the wilderness making love endlessly.

“Hello,” I managed to whisper after he released me. Tears came to my eyes, and I had to blink and then look away, to the fire.

“Duke. It is great to see you.” The chains on Kaiyer’s arms rattled and I guessed the two men were shaking hands.

“Same to you, lad. Do you carry any news of my daughter?”

“Yes. She has gathered an army at Fisherman’s Gorge and was intending to leave for Brilla. Unfortunately, the empress was one step ahead and had already made trade agreements with your southern neighbors. They won’t harbor our forces. Last I heard, Nadea was returning to Nia to discuss a peaceful surrender.”

“Damn it!” Beltor said.

“Agreed. The empress had sent a large force to the Gorge. Nia’s army could have been slaughtered, but they were only looking to capture me, so I went with them peacefully. I was hoping to negotiate with the empress and then return to Nadea’s side to help her manage the army.”

I felt composed enough to face Kaiyer again. He stood with his arms crossed, chains dangling from his wrists. His arms looked a bit more muscular. I didn’t see the bones anymore, but I could still trace almost every single vein and artery on each arm. I thought about what he said and tried to quell the selfish surge of jealousy that sprung up when he mentioned what he had wanted to do. His plan had not been to return to me, as he had promised, but to go to Nadea. He was only here now as a prisoner of Kannath. I told myself he had only made those plans as they were the most strategic move for Nia, not because he wanted to be with Nadea instead of me. Though it did not matter. We could not be together now no matter what either of us wanted.

“Then Kannath shows up, tells me that he has you and Jessmei and will kill you if I don’t come with him. So here I am.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Kannath, who had gotten off of his horse and was unpacking a few saddlebags of grain for the animals. The larger warrior didn’t acknowledge Kaiyer’s reference, but the man and woman who had traveled with them glared at Kaiyer’s back with malice. I smiled as I heard his explanation and realized he had given up his original plans to save me.

“What happens now?” Beltor crossed his arms to match Kaiyer’s.

“They are taking me to their leaders. Apparently I’ve broken some sort of law and need to be executed.” The handsome man laughed and the faces of Kannath’s clansmen grew darker.

“This is no laughing matter, Pretender. You will be judged by the Council, tortured, and then killed,” Jazen said while he gave sideways glances to Kannath.

“But first I’d like to eat.” Kaiyer shrugged and then pointed to Iarin. “Hello, my friend. I smell boar in that pot. Were you stewing some?”

“Y-y-yes,” Iarin stuttered. The tall man glanced at Kannath, who spared a nod. Then Iarin went to the pot and began to stir the leftover meat from our dinner.

Kaiyer moved over to the log, kicked a few stones away that were lodged in the dirt behind the wood, and then sat. He stretched his legs and arms out against the chains on his wrist and let out a contented sigh. The rest of us stood uncomfortably for a few seconds, wondering what we should do with ourselves. Then I decided to sit on the log next to him and watch his silhouette against the fire’s light. Jazen and Anax sat after I did, then my uncle sat on the other side of Kaiyer. Kannath finished removing the bags of grain from his horse and he led it to a tree twenty yards from us before he rubbed down the animal.

“Can you take care of my horse when you are finished, Kannath?” Kaiyer called out to the tattooed man.

“Gaizka. Take care of the Pretender’s horse,” Kannath said without looking.

“Oh, and fetch me a jug of wine from the back right saddlebag. The empress gave me half a dozen as a parting gift.”

The woman glared over her shoulder at Kaiyer but he didn’t seem to notice. She moved from her horse to his and fished through the saddlebags on the rear of his mount. The jugs of wine were easy to spot; they were large clay pots with fist-sized corks on the top. They poked out of the leather bags like peeping children and each probably held three gallons of liquid and weighed more than I could lift. The woman pulled one out and eyed it carefully. I watched her glance over at Kannath, but the large man was still occupied with his horse. She looked to Kaiyer but his attention was on the fire. Her scowl grew more sinister before she wound out her arm slowly and hurtled the massive clay jug at the back of Kaiyer’s head.

I tried to scream a warning, but by the time the sound had left my mouth, Kaiyer had somehow uncorked the jug and had it pressed to his lips. I had not even seen him move, avoid the bottle, catch it, or uncork it, and the scream choked off in my throat like a meek cry. That got Kannath’s attention.

“What happened?” He turned away from his mount. He looked at me and his light blue eyes shot ice that froze my tongue.

“I almost dropped the wine. These chains make me clumsy.” Kaiyer took a swallow of the liquid while he glanced over his shoulder to smile at Kannath. Our eyes met for a second and the handsome man winked at me again.

Kannath had probably guessed what had happened and shot Gaizka a gaze that would have cleaned rust off of iron. The woman furiously went to work on Kaiyer’s horse, removing the rest of the saddlebags and saddle before walking it over next to Kannath’s mount for a rub down.

“Thank you Iarin,” Kaiyer said when the woodsman handed him a steamy bowl of stew. The tall man nodded and then handed another bowl to Kannath when he sat down. The big man carried a frightening axe that he casually set behind him. It was black and seemed as if it had been carved out of a jagged piece of granite. Finally, I tore my gaze away from the weapon and looked toward my lover.

Kaiyer seemed completely occupied by his food, and for a while the only sounds in the camp were the crackling of the fire and the clink of the chains around his wrists. The sight of his manacles made me angry; he shouldn’t be treated like a criminal. Kaiyer was the most wonderful man I had ever met. He had risked his life to save me and had shown me amazing passion. I imagined him being dragged before a group of men that looked like Kannath, with endless muscles and hateful expressions. They would judge him unfairly and then remove his head with an axe. The thought of my lover being killed so horribly, or even tortured beforehand, made me feel sick to my stomach.

“The mood here is quite dark. You should smile, Kannath.” Kaiyer nodded to the bigger man and then passed his bowl to Iarin, who promptly filled it again from the iron pot and returned it.

“Once my mission is completed, I’ll be happy.” Kannath didn’t look up when he spoke and took a careful bite of his stew to drive home the point that he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“That is a pragmatic way to look at it. How much farther will we have to travel to reach the Radicle?”

“It will take us a few weeks.”

“Damn. That far away?” Kaiyer asked around a mouthful of stew.

“It will take us that long because of the humans,” Anax said. He nodded toward Beltor and me.

“You aren’t going to let them go?” Kaiyer’s mouth twisted.

“No. We will release them once you have come with us through the Radicle.” Kannath’s voice wasn’t as dark as Anax’s, but the men could have been brothers for how similar in size they were.

“That is probably smart. Otherwise I’d just overpower the six of you and escape.”

“I doubt that,” Jazen spit out hastily.

“Reality is envisioned by many but only created by a few.”

“What does that mean?” Jazen asked. But Kaiyer merely shrugged and focused back on his bowl of stew.

“How did you get those scars on your body?” Gaizka asked. My love had hundreds of cuts, puncture, and burn scars over most of his body. The only place that seemed to have never been damaged was his face.

“How did you get those tattoos?” Kaiyer asked without looking from his bowl of stew.

“Before we were gifted of course.” Jazen’s voice was full of mockery.

“There you go,” Kaiyer grunted. The other seemed slightly confused by his response. It looked like Gaizka and Jazen wanted to ask more questions, but Kannath glared at them and they held their tongues.

Though I sat near Kaiyer and the fire, I felt cold. I was perceptive enough to sense that something was being left unspoken between the powerful men, but I was not clever enough to figure out what it was. I had not known Jazen for more than a few days, but the man was quick to anger, and right now seemed ready to explode.

“Kannath.” My uncle’s voice eased the tension that everyone seemed to be ignoring. The big man looked up from his stew and glanced indifferently at Beltor. “Your men here have told us some of what is at stake with Kaiyer, or as you call him: ‘the Pretender.’” Kannath nodded slowly and sat up on the log. “But he has been assisting us against the Elven invasion of our country.”

“He did not do a good job, did he?” Gaizka said with a malicious smile.

“My niece was abducted and this man saved her. Who knows what these Elvens would have done with her had they succeeded. While he wasn’t here, they attacked Nia. I can’t expect someone to be in two places at once.”

“Your story will not change my mission, human. I must take him back for judgment,” Kannath said.

“I understand that. I would like to ask for help. You are taking an invaluable asset from our world. Your men have spoken about your clan’s values. It would seem that assisting our cause with some of your powerful troops, replacing what you are taking, would be in line with the opinion your men have of you.”

“I will consider your request when I return with the Pretender,” Kannath said.

“By then it will be too late!” The words left my mouth quickly and my voice surprised me. The large man turned his attention to me and his bright blue eyes made me feel nervous. “They are already in our kingdom enslaving our people. From our understanding, it could take more than a year for your clan to speak to the Council and ask for help,” I continued despite my fear of the muscular man.

“That is our way.” Though his words had a finality to them, I sensed that he could be persuaded.

“What more can we do to ask for help? This seems like a request that someone as powerful as you could grant with ease,” I pressed.

“His sister makes the decisions,” Kaiyer said with a laugh. Kannath’s face briefly flashed to rage. He looked across the fire toward my lover and seemed ready to stand.

“Besides, you’d probably need a thousand troops to scrape the Elvens from this world. That would be over a quarter of your warriors, wouldn’t it?” Kaiyer’s smile was infectious, but he didn’t seem to realize that he was hindering our request. We needed Kannath to be friendly to Nia. Kaiyer had a way of eliciting extreme emotions in those around him.

“My sister and I serve our clan together, Pretender, hence the name Two Bears. You may not understand the concept of servitude, but it requires us to make decisions for the good of our people. Sending warriors to this world must be carefully planned and the risks weighed against benefits for us all.” Kannath struggled to get his emotions under control.

“You may be the Two Bears, but I’ve only heard it called Turnia’s clan. I’m sure another clan would be up for the job if you can’t do it. I’ll convince one when I am speaking to this Council.”

“You are a fool!” Kannath shouted. It sounded like a bear scream. Terror seized me and I feared the men were about to come to blows. “The conversation between you and the Council will be brief and then you will be killed for violating our laws.” Kannath’s warriors seemed surprised by the big man’s outburst. It was so loud that I felt the air vibrate.

“So that’s how the process works? You drag me in front of them and they point fingers at me, tell me I am guilty, and then,” Kaiyer drew a finger across his neck, “death?”

“That is what I have been told.”

“You haven’t actually seen a Pretender judged by these clan leaders?” Kaiyer took a sip of wine from the clay jug. He seemed completely relaxed despite Kannath yelling at him.

“No. Only the leaders are present.”

“So there is a possibility of them listening to me?” He smiled at Kannath.

“No.”

“Will you be there to judge me?” Kaiyer asked, I looked over to him and saw a smile slowly spread across his face. He obviously didn’t grasp the seriousness of his situation.

“Perhaps,” Kannath grunted.

“But your sister will?” Kaiyer’s teeth shone white in the firelight. The two men stared at each other across the fire and I expected the larger man to jump the flames and throttle Kaiyer.

“You seem to take delight in harassing me, Pretender. I will have the last laugh when they remove your life from the thin shell of your body.” Kannath’s voice was the rumble of an avalanche and I felt my ribs quiver.

“I’m destined for execution, so perhaps you can allow me a little pleasure.” Kaiyer leaned back and laughed. Surprisingly, Kannath’s face changed and he let out a low chuckle.

“Fair enough, Pretender.” I wasn’t the only one who seemed surprised by Kannath’s sudden change of emotion. His warriors glanced anxiously between their leader and Kaiyer. Iarin trembled as he stirred the pot of thickening pig stew. His mannerisms made me think of the times we had spent traveling. I had always thought that the woodsman seemed jittery. I now realized that it was Kaiyer who made him nervous.

“We still need help. What can I do to get aid from your clan?” My voice came out with as much strength as I could muster. I had to be strong for my people. Kannath looked back at me and shook his head but I spoke again, “I can join your clan. Jazen and Anax said it was a possibility that I could be gifted.”

“I will consider your request while we travel.” Kannath’s eyes appraised me. I was used to having men look at me with desire, but his cold gaze was intimidating and I tried to fight back my discomfort. He had lust in his eyes, but something deeper that disturbed me. I realized he was judging my worthiness to become one of them, to lead my people. It angered me that he felt he could determine my worth in a look, or even a few short weeks of travel.

“Are we heading south?” Kaiyer asked. He had seemed completely uninterested in my exchange with Kannath. I wondered if this was because he didn’t understand what was happening, or because he was so confident in his plan to convince another clan to come help us that he was not worried about me needing Kannath’s help. I was a little disappointed that he did not seem jealous and hoped it was not because he no longer cared for me.

“Yes,” Iarin said. Kannath looked over at Iarin and the lanky man grimaced.

“Don’t be so hard on him. I would have found out eventually.” My lover brought the wine up to his lips. I marveled at how graceful his movements were. Even the simple act of drinking was done with the efficiency of a dancer.

“I asked you about your conversation with the empress and you refused to answer.”

“Ahh. So that is why you are grumpy.” Kaiyer took another swig of the jug. He seemed to realize that he was the only one drinking and he passed the wine to his left. Beltor grasped it and lifted it to his lips, taking a small sip before he in turn handed it to the woman that sat to his left.

“The boon was for a few minutes, but you spoke for many hours.”

“I was negotiating the surrender of her army.” Kaiyer smiled slightly.

“Every word you utter is ridiculous,” the woman said.

“Only because you think I am a Pretender.”

The woman looked as if she was about to spit back a retort but Kannath slapped his leg, creating a sound like a thunderclap, and interrupted her.

“If you are Kaiyer, how is it that you are still alive?” Kannath asked.

“Malek put me in the Radicle. Iarin, Jessmei, her bodyguard Greykin, a boy named Paug, and the duke’s daughter woke me.” The handsome man nodded to each of us. Our eyes briefly met, and I felt warmth spread through my body.

“The story of the Betrayer is many thousands of years old. He was jealous of Malek and Shlara’s love and it corrupted his heart. After the Elvens were defeated, he lashed out at them and a new war started. Eventually he was killed by the combined might of his generals.” Kannath’s warriors nodded while he spoke, except for Iarin.

“Perspective and time change stories.” Kaiyer opened his mouth to say more, but instead he sighed and looked into the fire. “Obviously, your leaders know I am still alive,” he finally said.

“Obviously?”

“Why else would there be such motivation to find someone with the same name? Why else call them a ‘Pretender’ and capture them? One, or all, of your clan leaders know that I wasn’t killed and might return.” I could see Kannath turn the words in his head with a frown. I didn’t understand entirely what Kaiyer spoke of, but it made sense that if these clan leaders knew he would eventually wake one day they would need to find a way to capture him.

“Other Pretenders have been found and brought before them,” Kannath said. His face still looked like he was puzzling through what my lover had told him.

“Have you ever seen them?”

“No, this was before I was born.” Kannath nodded.

“Were any of you alive when the last Pretender was captured?” Kaiyer asked the gathered warriors. Each shook their head.

“But your clan receives a reward for bringing me back alive?” Kaiyer looked at Kannath.

“Yes.”

“That is large enough for you to leave your budding clan and travel to this world to capture me?”

Kannath shifted in his seat and nodded. Jazen passed the jug of wine to me but I didn’t drink from it. Instead, I hefted it with both hands and handed it to Kaiyer. He took it from me and I relished the feeling of our fingers briefly touching. I quickly remembered where my focus should be, and looked back at Kannath. The large man had the usual frown on his face and stared into the fire.

Kaiyer tilted the jug and took three large gulps of the liquid. Each sound of him swallowing cut through the empty air and made me wish I had partaken of the wine. He shook the jug after he finished and the clay rang empty.

“I think I would have liked you, Kannath,” Kaiyer said. The big man snorted and gave a slightly amused expression. “You need better mentorship and training, but would have done well in my army. Probably not a general, of course, but you could have been one of Thayer’s commanders if he had spent some time on you.” Kaiyer’s voice had a strange echo to it, like he was talking through his mouth and nose at the same time.

“More words that mean nothing to me,” Kannath said.

“I have an eye for talent, but I am not as gifted as my mentor was. His name was Entas. Do the stories of me mention him?”

“I am not familiar with the name.” The rest of his warriors shook their heads, except for Iarin.

“That is unfortunate. He was really the soul of my army. Taught me everything I know. I always believed him to be slightly insane, but the more I remember about my past, the more I begin to realize that I wasn’t paying enough attention to the meaning behind his words.”

“You are insane,” the woman said.

“Maybe.” He laughed and leaned back on the log. “I am actually considering letting you take me to your clan leaders. I think the conversation would be interesting. But I still have a few thousand Elvens to worry about here.” He turned to me and smiled. “So I’ll have to take care of that first.”

“You do not have a choice in the matter, Pretender.” Kannath sighed and I could see the woman who had thrown the jug at Kaiyer’s head roll her eyes back.

“There are always choices if you look hard enough.” Kaiyer smiled, but it was all teeth. “Iarin, are you feeling alright?”

“Sure.” The woodsman gasped from his side of the fire and cooking pot. It seemed obvious to me that Iarin was not okay. His hands shook and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.

“I wasn’t surprised to find out you were one of my people.”

“Why weren’t you surprised?” Anax’s gravelly voice asked.

“They were all afraid of me when I awoke, but Iarin was terrified.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. He’s skittish and practically useless in combat,” Jazen spat out. Iarin caught his breath and his brows knitted in anger.

“You know I am Kaiyer.” He ignored Jazen’s words and stared across the fire at the thin woodsman.

“Yes,” the woodsman said after a brief pause.

“So if Iarin says it than it must be true! Oh great Betrayer,” Gaizka made a bow from her sitting position. “We both fear and revere you. Tell us how to serve.” Kaiyer smiled at their laughter and I wondered how he could stay so calm when the situation felt so hopeless.

“Fear is a good motivator.”

“It is hard to be afraid of someone chained up as you are while surrounded by our kind, plus we have your friends as leverage,” the woman sneered.

“I guess that explains why you didn’t set a sentry.” Kaiyer shook his head and his smile changed into a look of pity. “It would have been one of the first lessons taught to you in my army. We were always afraid of the Elvens destroying us. Leave Iarin alive, but kill the others.”

I found myself on the ground behind the log on which we had been sitting. There was a gust of wind and the sound of quick moving bees above us. I yelped in surprise and grabbed onto Kaiyer’s hand on my chest. Where did the manacles go? I looked over to him but he was already getting up off of the dirt. I saw the shape of my uncle’s face but could not see his expression since the log blocked the light from the fire.

Then I was lifted to my feet and standing face to face with my lover.

“Are you okay?” he asked. His back was to the fire, his face in shadow save his green eyes.

“Yes, I think.” He smiled at me and then helped Beltor stand.

“What did you speak to my sister about?” The voice spoke from behind and I was so surprised I jumped around with my heart in my throat. Behind me stood dozens of dark garbed figures with short black bows in their hands. The one in the front of the group removed her cowl to reveal a ghostly white face and snow-colored hair.

An Elven. Her eyes shone black and orange in the firelight.

“It was our own business. One of your soldiers has bad aim though.” Kaiyer pointed back at the fire and I turned to follow his finger.

They were all dead, punctured by dozens of black shafted arrows like a macabre pin cushion. I felt my head go light and nausea fill my stomach. Less than a few seconds ago these had been living, breathing, talking people. They were intimidating, but had not done me any wrong.

“Your sister and I needed Iarin alive to show us where the Radicle they came through is located,” Kaiyer said. There was a single arrow in the woodsman’s forehead and the fire reflected off of his dead eyes as they stared into the night sky.

“She will forgive me. What did you speak to her about?” the white-haired Elven asked again.

“Looks like she is keeping secrets from you. Ask her when we return.” Kaiyer walked over to Iarin and crouched down next to him.

“I am asking you now.” Her voice rose slightly in anger and I felt my uncle pull me a bit away from the woman so I wasn’t standing between her and Kaiyer.

“I’m sorry my friend.” Kaiyer’s hand brushed over Iarin’s face, closing his eyes. “I understood what you had to do. I hope you can understand what I had to do.”

“I am sick of your presence, Pretender. You make a mockery of our customs and achievements.”

“That’s fine. You already know what I think of you. Now that the princess and duke of Nia are safe, we should return to the empress. We have to continue our negotiations for your surrender.”

“Our surrender?” The woman’s eyes narrowed and a few of the black clothed archers behind her shifted their feet.

“Take it up with her.” Kaiyer started looking through the various packs on the ground. The third one he looked into had been at Kannath’s feet; it was larger than the rest and seemed well padded. Kaiyer smiled for a brief second and then wrapped both of the straps over his shoulder.

“Have some of your warriors bury them. We’ll take the horses and head back to Nia.” Kaiyer walked toward the white woman but she drew her sword slowly. As if it was a conductor’s command, the rest of the archers pulled on their arrows and leveled them at the thin, handsome man.

“That is a bad idea,” Kaiyer said. He crossed his arms and took a small step away from her.

“Your kind is quite foolish. You believe you are so powerful with your mastery of the Elements. You ignore the Dead Gods that created us; you believe that these worlds are yours to defile however you see fit. Our people struggled for so many years and have finally escaped your control. Then you show up and attempt to yoke us again.”

“From my memories, it was the other way around,” Kaiyer seethed.

“That past is useless. The present is the only time that matters, Pretender.” She took a step closer to him and Kaiyer uncrossed his arms. I felt Beltor’s arm tighten around me and he pulled me back a step.

“Do you know that there is other magic besides the Elements?” The woman smiled and her teeth were actually whiter than her skin.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” The point of her sword was a few inches from Kaiyer’s thin chest now.

“Our people were given them by our Gods to help us survive; you know my sister’s already. Would you like me to tell you what mine is?” Her sword tip touched Kaiyer’s chest. Their eyes were locked but my lover didn’t seem nervous.

“Lack of foresight?” Kaiyer grinned.

“No. If someone makes eye contact with me, I can prevent them from moving for a few seconds. It is why I have never been defeated in combat.” The woman smiled while she slowly pulled back her sword arm and then lashed out with it.

I screamed.

Beltor pulled me away.

Her sword continued its arch through the air.

Kaiyer’s body fell and his head rolled to our feet. His jaw was still clenched in anger.

I screamed.

The darkness was too much.

The horrible woman was yelling something at us but I couldn’t hear her. There was blood coming out of her nose. She took a step toward us and the world grew darker.

Then darker.

Kaiyer was dead.

Chapter 19-The O’Baarni

Sometimes a sleep is so deep that the dreams are only of darkness, time doesn’t pass, and when it is interrupted the shock can be as stressful as actually being killed.

Or so I guessed.

After we were changed into O’Baarni, our senses became so powerful, so precise, and so encompassing; it drove many of the first humans experimented on to insanity. It didn’t help that the Elvens kept us in tight cages, hunched over like animals, until they decided that we had either survived the change with our sanity intact and were ready for training, or had become monsters.

I sat up in the bed and stifled a gasp. I thought the scream came from my memory, but it had originated outside of the window. Laughter followed it quickly and the sound of a group of drunken voices escalated into tones of mockery. I crept silently to the glass and peered at the cobblestone street forty feet below my window. Half a dozen men and women walked through the streets. It was hard for people infused with magic to get drunk. Our bodies healed from most poisons too quickly, so I assumed the revelers were human and on their way home from a late night of tavern escapades.

I sighed and crept back to the bed. On the nightstand sat a small oil lamp and a large wooden bowl of water. I splashed some of the water on my face and got dressed. There was no sense in returning to sleep now that the night had awoken me.

My clothes were newly purchased and they scratched uncomfortably against my skin when I moved across the wood floor to the door of my room. With a turn of the key and a silent descent down three flights of stairs, I made my way out of the inn and into the streets of the dark city.

This was the second inn I had patronized in the last month. The third identity I had taken, and the fourth time I had made a small step toward freeing Iolarathe from the bowels of the prison built to hold Elven captives. The preparations were almost in place, and if I could execute them perfectly, she would be free in two nights.

Then we would be together.

Shlara’s Rest was the largest city within a thousand miles. From the stories told to me by the locals, Malek, along with Shlara’s commanders, had carried her burnt body here after I killed her. They had laid her into the ground on a site overlooking the nearby river. Ironically, the spot where her bronze and stone memorial stood was almost exactly the same place where we had once sat together, discussing our future before sparring with each other.

That had been fourteen years ago. I had almost killed her then.

Even though my army had been victorious in eliminating the Elven threat, there was still work to be done. There were Elven settlements throughout the world that must be sought and eliminated. It would take an organized effort to comb the continent and eradicate the remainder of them.

There was also the issue of leadership. The O’Baarni’s leader had deserted them and killed one of his generals. The people in the army were promised freedom from the oppressors, and that had now come true. What came next? Who would lead them in this new life of freedom?

From what I had gleaned from listening to the locals in the taverns, a small group comprised of my generals and their commanders had gone to the river to wash after Shlara was laid to rest. They planned their next steps and tried to come to terms with the loss. While they sat on the banks of the river, one of them noticed gold flakes amongst the silt. Gold had never been valuable to us during the war, but the Elvens used it for currency. The idea of mining the metal sprang into their minds and a center of trade and industry sprung up around the new mine. Thus, the city of Shlara’s Rest was born.

I guessed that my lover was searching for an Ovule. It was a round globe, about the size of a skull and filled with a soft yellow light that matched the spider web-like lines of the inside of a Radicle. The Elven elder had told me that Iolarathe traveled with a girl to his Radicle, and that the girl had used the last of the Ovule’s power and somehow left this world. The ancient Elven had not been able to tell me much more. He called the world by a number, said Iolarathe was looking for another Ovule, and told me that the girl was my daughter.

I guessed he was lying.

But I couldn’t beat the truth out of him. A trio of Alexia’s hunters, led by one of my former bodyguards, Lemarti, had been chasing me for years and finally caught up to me in the Radicle. Lemarti possessed martial skill beyond even my best soldiers and I had been lucky to defeat them. Unfortunately, the old Elven died before giving me the information that I needed about Iolarathe, the child he said looked like me, and how the Radicle worked.

Iolarathe’s trail had been surprisingly easy to follow after I almost found her at the strange shrine. There were four large human settlements between the Radicle and Shlara’s Rest. The Elven woman had visited each one, skirted the edges of the towns for a few days, and then moved on to the next. I didn’t understand how she planned on even finding an Ovule, let alone getting inside one of the cities to steal one of the globes. Maybe she had gotten desperate and decided to risk capture.

Whatever her reasoning was, Iolarathe’s luck had run out in the city appropriately named after the woman who almost killed her.

I stopped at an intersection a mile from the inn. The street was paved in river rocks and clay, pounded flat by a decade of horses, wagon wheels and footsteps. In this poorer part of the city, the roofs were crafted of steep, graying thatch that would burn easily. I expanded my hearing to take in the sounds of hundreds of sleeping people resting comfortably in their homes. I heard a soft footstep a few streets over, but it was moving away. Once I was satisfied that no one was following me, I turned toward the largest structure in the city: the barracks.

When I first came to Shlara’s Rest, I dyed my hair gray with limestone mineral extracts I had gathered a few thousand miles away. It was scentless and made me look older, even if my face was still frozen in youth. To further accentuate the disguise, I walked the last stretch of my journey to the town with a sharpened rock in my boot to get myself used to treading off camber on one leg and then carried the hobble with me.

Once in the city, I found the local tavern the wardens visited when they were not patrolling. Some of the faces I recognized, but none of the warriors who lived in Shlara’s Rest suspected that the gray-haired man limping from table to table to collect their soiled tableware was Kaiyer.

The wardens talked, and I could listen to the entire room with my heightened sense, even while in the back washing the dishes. Within a few days I knew that they had captured Iolarathe, but they had not guessed her identity. I also got a rough idea of their shifts and patrol routes. I continued my work at the tavern until one of the soldiers mentioned that the stables in the city’s barracks needed another worker.

Within an hour the gray was washed out of my hair, the limp was gone, and I was mucking out the massive forty horse stable in the same barracks that held Iolarathe’s prison. The two other stable boys were thankful for the help. They didn’t ask more than the usual questions about where I was born, what my parents did, what role they played in the war, and if I knew any girls that they could fuck. The horse master of the barracks had been one of Gorbanni’s lower lieutenants and didn’t recognize me nor question my sudden appearance.

Now I had a more detailed view of the workings in the barracks. I could see exactly when everyone was coming and going and what their duties were. While I didn’t have access to the underground dungeon where they kept Iolarathe, I knew where it was and could observe the shift changes of the guards. I began to piece together a plan for freeing her. But there were still too many variables I had not mastered.

Once I had memorized the pattern of the stable work and the barrack traffic I decided to make my move. Between lunch and supper, the support staff busied themselves with cleaning and the trained soldiers left the barracks to go on patrol. The stable boys normally napped as the addition of my hands had considerably lightened their workload.

This gave me the perfect window. I made a habit of taking some dessert and wine from the kitchen, walking to the dungeon, and delivering the offering to whichever guard was working that day. The sentries were O’Baarni, but I made sure they saw me as nothing but an overeager stable boy looking for a promotion.

After a week of hobnobbing with the guards I managed to get a tour of the dungeon. It was specifically built to hold Elven prisoners or O’Baarni who had violated the non-violence laws in Shlara’s Rest. The bars of each cell were made of three-inch-thick solid steel driven five feet into the floor and ceiling. There were twenty Elvens in the cells and four O’Baarni. I didn’t see Iolarathe, but at the end of the tour the proud guardsman showed me their solitary confinement cell. It was set down two levels of stairs at the end of a long hallway. The door was crafted of the gray metal we used to forge our armor and weapons. I asked the sentry who was inside and he confirmed that it was an Elven woman with hair the color of blood. I could have killed the guard there, taken his keys, and released Iolarathe then, but I hadn’t finished planning our escape from the city.

A creaking sound from a nearby roof tore me from my recollection of the plan. I stopped my walk and focused my attention on the origin of the noise a few dozen yards away. A tabby cat hung from the gutter of a bakery and eyed me suspiciously. I took a slow breath to steady my nerves and continued my stroll down the road toward the barracks.

It was a large three tower structure wrapped with a jigsaw wall of timber and massive stone blocks that seemed to push against the nearby houses like an angry child. The fortress was capable of housing a few hundred soldiers, training them within the inner courtyard, and defending against attacks. It was much larger than anything I had ever seen an Elven tribe build, but they often trained their warriors in the open fields surrounding their estates and the warriors dwelled with their own small families. Elvens had little use for jails; if someone was discovered violating their laws, they dealt swift justice with an axe blade.

After a few more minutes of walking the empty streets I came within a hundred yards of the plaid walls. It was the middle of fall, but Shlara’s Rest sat close enough to the river and ocean to make the temperatures mild. Still, some of the wardens that stood watch on the eighty-foot-high walls were not O’Baarni, and they needed braziers of fire to keep warm. I was thankful for their light because it revealed spots in the defense where I might sneak in and out should my plan not work as expected.

I continued meandering around the perimeter of the wall, going slower than was natural to remain inconspicuous. Most of the homes and stores butted up within touching distance of the barrier, but I still took my time to walk slow and silent, listening to the sounds of the sleeping inhabitants, the wind and the idle chatter of the watchmen on the walls. I had always been cautious in my battle plans, and now, with so much at stake, was no time to be careless and lax in my preparation. This had to work. In two nights, the small sailing vessel, Sea Dog, would leave the harbor heading downriver three miles, and then into the deep sea to begin a month long voyage to the Juniper Isles. It was the fastest ship I knew of and the captain had already accepted my payment; the small crew didn’t ask any questions.

If they did, the tiny sleek ship could be managed by two people.

I had been thinking of a way for Iolarathe and me to escape quickly, with little trace, in a way that would be hard for my expertly trained soldiers to track. I knew a little about sailing, but nearly all of my life had been spent on land or horseback. As was true of most of my soldiers, the sea was intimidating, chaotic and unpredictable and easily able to foil the magic that kept us immortal. We could hold our breath for much longer than a normal human, but if the ship sunk into deep waters, our magic could not save us from death.

It was the third job I had taken after my stint as a stable boy. To find a suitable escape vessel, I’d wandered the harbor and helped the half dozen ships unload their cargo. I chatted with their crews and made friends with their captains. As fate would have it, Sea Dog was one of the first boats I approached, and the first mate asked if I would be available to crew when they left port. After a discussion over a bitter ale, I’d worked out the terms of my brief employment and both the captain and first mate agreed to take my wife as a passenger.

“Fuck it’s cold,” a voice said from the wall above me on the south side of the barracks.

“Eh. But at least you’re off at dawn,” another voice whispered.

“I might stick around and watch them chop that Elven bitch into pieces,” the first voice said.

I stopped.

“Huh?”

“The one they had in that special cell. They are executing her at dawn.” I recognized the voice of Tillian. One of the more experienced wall sentries.

“You don’t say? I thought they were going to keep her in there forever. Was it true that she killed three of our wardens when they caught her?” the second voice asked. I didn’t recognize his voice, but I hadn’t been able to speak with all of the guards that worked in the barracks.

“I wasn’t there. Heard that she broke into Malek’s estate and attacked his students.”

I moved closer to the wall and assessed the surface for climbing. I had heard a few rumors of her capture but this sounded closest to the truth. She must have thought that the Ovule was being kept in Malek’s home and she was probably correct. Malek had come to collect several trophies and interesting artwork from the Elvens.

“I know that she bit Commander Grillp’s nose off yesterday when he questioned her.” From my memory, Grillp was one of Malek’s captains. I recalled Malek giving him logistic detail instead of active combat duty. I was just thankful that someone from Shlara or Alexia’s army had not been assigned to interrogate Iolarathe. Their methods were effectively brutal on our enemy.

“It couldn’t have happened to a bigger asshole.” They both chuckled.

“He ordered it. Might even wield the axe.”

“Do you think any of the generals will be there?”

“Naw. They don’t give a fuck about the Elvens anymore. If Malek was in the city, he might show up, but he’s been gone for the last year,” Tillian said.

“Too bad. I’ve never seen one.”

“I saw Thayer a few years ago. He was as scary as they say he is. Looked like the kind of man that eats raw iron for breakfast.”

Their conversation devolved into a debate about which general would win in a battle, but my mind had already flown into action. I knew they had been questioning Iolarathe, but no one seemed to think of her as more than a particularly aggressive prisoner of war. It was also possible that this was a trap, but I couldn’t imagine a low ranked guard being privy to such a ruse. And it was true that none of the generals were supposed to be in the city at the moment. My old friends were not involved in her capture or sentence of execution. I was just being paranoid.

But paranoia had kept me from being captured by countless O’Baarni hunters for the last twelve years.

The ship would leave in two days, but I had to move now. Iolarathe would be dead in the morning and I needed to take the risk. Fortunately, I had anticipated the possibility that I would have to free her before the Sea Dog left and had scouted out a few spots where we could wait. One of which was the inn where I currently stayed. It wasn’t the safest strategy, but we would have to make it work. If not for the loud drunkards outside my room, I would have still been asleep and missed this conversation and my love would have been executed.

I walked around the walls of the barracks and toward the front gate of the complex. My heart beat faster than normal so I forced it to calm. There was a mixture of O’Baarni and normal humans here; if an O’Baarni thought I looked suspicious, I didn’t want to give them an additional reason to question me. As expected, there were two guards at the gate, bunched together over a small fire pit.

“Good evening, Decar.” I didn’t know the other guard, but Decar gave me a friendly smile. I walked past the two of them and into the courtyard. They didn’t bother to stop me and probably thought I was running a stable boy errand or out chasing girls.

The courtyard was empty and I met no opposition on my short walk to the stables. Once inside, I crept silently past the sleeping horses and up to the hay loft where the stable boys slept. The loft was big enough for each of the young men to get a good-sized corner to himself, and the night concealed my movements. I climbed to the top rafter above my corner and ran my hands through the darkness. My fingers brushed the strap of my leather pack and I carefully pulled the bag from its hiding place. Inside was a weapon belt that sheathed a short sword and dagger, two hooded cloaks, a large jug of very spiced wine, lock picking tools, and a dozen throwing darts loaded in a leather satchel that firmly attached to my belt.

Once armed, I crept out of the stables and sneaked toward the dungeon entrance. I heard the various guards conversing on the walls in their usual manner. In fact, the environment matched every night I had observed during my stint as a stable worker, so my hopes raised that this part of my plan might be completed without complication. It was a few hundred yards to the prison, but I had become well versed in the arts of stealth by now. Shadows made more noise than I did and were probably more visible in the night than my sneaking form.

The outside door to the jail was thick wood, with stout iron rails that wrapped around it like a cross. The hinges once screeched when moved, but I had applied a liberal coat of grease to them late one night and the door swung with little more than a whisper. Of course, that only helped if anyone were to be listening outside of the dungeon. The guard inside would sense the change in air pressure and wonder who approached.

If he was paying attention.

“Who goes there?” a call rang from deep within the torch lit tunnel. The voice was Fenzan, one of the dungeon guards with whom I had the best relationship. He had first given me a tour of the cells and would be the happiest to see me. My luck was indeed good tonight.

“Andset, sir. I can’t sleep and thought you might want to play a game of dice.”

“Does a bear shit in the woods? I’m fucking bored as hell down here.” I walked the stone tunnel and then down the short flight of steps to the guard table.

When I first introduced myself to Fenzan, I had remarked at how odd it was that there was just one guard down here. He agreed that it was boring, but apparently the watch commander had found the two previous guards drunk and asleep one night. He then decided that the shift only needed one sentry moving forward, one that was an O’Baarni. It worked out well for Fenzan, since he took the position and both salaries.

The promotion would not end well for him tonight.

I had thought of a dozen different ways to get past the guard without murder. I could have used poison, some sort of distraction, maybe talked my way through. I even thought about sneaking by, but the stone corridor was too narrow, well lit, and the only guards stationed here were unlikely to be asleep. Even if one of the less violent methods worked, they would know my face, the fake name I used, and once my generals put the pieces together they would increase the resources hunting for me.

“Couldn’t sleep huh?” he asked when I stepped toward him; he sat on one of the stout oak chairs with his booted feet upon the table.

“Naw. Too cold and those assholes snore.” I reached my right hand out to pass him the dice and then grabbed his wrist. I stepped to the side of the table, to his left, and yanked his arm while I drew my dagger. Even for an O’Baarni, I was fast and strong. Fenzan thought I was only a human and his face didn’t have a chance to register surprise before my blade sunk into his temple and ended his life.

I let out a long breath and cradled his body before it hit the stone floor. He wasn’t the first of my kin I had been forced to kill. But the others had been in self-defense, or at least, I justified my actions because my capture meant death. But this was murder and I could not fool myself into thinking otherwise. Regret filled my heart like a sick tidal wave. I had agonized over this decision for many days but I knew this outcome was still wrong. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the imagination to think of a better way to free her. Was Iolarathe’s life worth more than one of my people?

I had already proven to myself that it was, since Shlara was dead.

I cradled Fenzan’s limp body in my right arm and grabbed the set of keys with my left. A few paces behind the table was another wood door that led to the cells. I found the key quickly and opened the door. The hinges on this one creaked, but I had expected as much.

The dungeon had a simple layout. Three floors of about a hundred yards on each level. At the end of each hallway, a set of stairs led down to the next floor. Only a quarter of the torches lit the walls, Fenzan explained to me that the prisoners were given food and water in the morning. If this was true, I had about five hours before anyone would notice something was amiss.

I passed a few cells housing sleeping prisoners. Even carrying the weight of Fenzan’s body, I moved silently, and had no fear of waking them. My cloak covered my face, so if one of the captives saw me, they would not be able to make out my features.

The stench of shit, piss, vomit, and death filled my nose as I dug deeper into the dungeon. The bottom floor held their Elven prisoners, who were given little attention and often left to starve as a punishment. There were about ten of them locked in cramped cells. The first time I had been down here I acted like I expected a young stable boy to behave, forcing myself to gasp and gag. The smell was horrible, but I had experienced much worse after a battle. I lay Fenzan’s corpse at the end of the hallway and began trying the assortment of keys on the massive steel door of Iolarathe’s cell.

The third key I tried worked and the gray steel door moved open with a gentle push. The torches on the wall behind me did little to illuminate the inside of the cell, but my eyes could see in almost complete darkness. Crouched in the corner opposite the door was a figure clothed in a dirty sheet with one arm shackled to the wall.

“Do not speak.” I pulled on her shoulder to turn her toward me. Her face was covered with dirt and mud but her eyes shone with animal intensity. Her unchained arm lashed out at my face but I grabbed it with my other hand. The blow should have been strong enough to knock me over, but her strength was little more than that of a normal human.

“Look at me. Look at me. Look at me,” I said until her eyes seemed to register my face. She stopped struggling and gasped. Her silver eyes grew in size and her mouth opened in complete shock.

“Do not speak,” I whispered again and she nodded.

Then I moved to her shackle and tried the keys, there were twenty on the ring but none of them worked. I guessed that would be the case, so I pulled out my lock picks, inserted the tension tool, and scraped the curved pick across the teeth of the lock. My advanced sense made the task easy since I could feel and hear the pins’ tiny movements. In half a minute, the lock was defeated and I had released the shackle on Iolarathe’s wrist. I should have picked the lock to start.

I helped her stand and her hand ran over my shoulder, finally squeezing along my bicep. The contact was electrifying and I resisted the urge to take her in my arms and kiss her. I needed to stay focused on the next few parts of my mission or all could be lost. As soon as we exited her cell I picked up Fenzan’s body and moved it into her place, even clasping his dead wrist into the shackle. Then I locked the door behind us and led her across the dungeon floor and up the flights of stairs.

I hung up the key ring by the table and pulled out the extra cloak and the jug of spiced wine from my pack. I gave Iolarathe the cloak and she donned it carefully. Then I uncorked the strong smelling wine and poured it over the small bloodstain on the stone tiles, over the chair, and over the table. I left the bottle tipped over on the table, dripping slightly onto the stone. If my luck continued to hold, the guard relieving Fenzan in the morning would think that he got drunk and abandoned his shift.

Iolarathe inhaled deeply once we stepped outside of the dungeon. I pointed toward the back wall, away from the front gate, and she followed me in that direction. To reach the top of the wall, the wardens climbed straight stairs that attached to the stone barrier on the right, but were open to the courtyard on the left. The stairway we took was the least exposed, but we could still be seen from two of the warden’s posts should they choose to look into the courtyard. The steps led right up to another station, and I heard guards chatting at the top about a dice game.

I motioned for Iolarathe to stay at the foot of the stairs and I pulled out two darts from the pouch attached to my belt. The tips were doused with a strong paralyzing poison that would knock out any human quickly. I had another half dozen with a different type of drug for O’Baarni, but a human exposed to the toxin would die in a few seconds.

“So she sits back in her chair all coy like, fluttering her eyelashes at me,” one of the guards said from above me.

“Then what?” another voice asked.

“I took a swig of drink and then rolled.”

“And?”

“Snake eyes!” he shouted. His voice echoed across the courtyard and I pulled myself down the stairs to avoid anyone looking in this direction. My heart jumped in my chest and I forced myself to calm. The night was dark, and the fires on top of the wall did not bring enough light to reveal my presence on the shadowed stairs, even for an O’Baarni.

“No shit! Did she let you fuck her?”

“That was the deal wasn’t it? I bent her right over the dice table.”

“Damn. Lucky roll.”

“I used loaded dice. Wasn’t that much luck involved.” The two men howled and I moved up the steps a bit, glancing across the courtyard to the other posts on the wall that could see me. The other guards were not looking, so I crept up the stairs and peered over the edge of the stone rail. My two targets warmed their hands around the fire and faced out toward the city with their backs to me.

If I was alone I could have sprung over the wall and disappeared over the other ledge with no sound or detectable movement. I imagined Iolarathe would have been able to do the same if she was fit, but I didn’t want to risk such a maneuver with her now. She had leaned on me during most of our walk up the dungeon stairs, and if she were seen, the entire force of the city would be looking for us.

I tossed the darts out with one practiced throw. Both of them sunk into the target’s butt cheeks and the humans slumped to the floor almost instantly. I didn’t actually think that the poison would work so quickly and I realized that I may have put too much of the liquid on the tips of the darts. I moved to their bodies, yanked out the darts, and then leaned them up against one of the stone blocks on the barricade so that they sat out of view. Then I looked down the stairs and motioned for Iolarathe.

She crept up on all fours, stopping fifteen feet from the top and then jumped up the remainder of the length of the vertical wall so she remained out of the light of the fire. I moved over to meet her and motioned for her to wait a few seconds. After they passed, and I hadn’t heard a guard raise an alarm, I started to believe that we would actually escape.

It was an eighty-foot drop to the street below, it was a fall I could make with no damage, but I doubted an Elven could, especially one who had been weakened by malnutrition and whatever other horrors she had endured in the dungeons. I gestured for Iolarathe to wrap her arms around my shoulders and she did without question. Then my hands searched for the first holds on the edge of the wall before I lowered us down the edge quietly.

I listened again once we reached the bottom. Still no call of alert from the walls so we walked through the city streets toward the inn. We walked slowly, like normal people would stroll through the street on their way home from a party. I even shared the avenue with a warden patrol that moved in the opposite direction, nodding my cloaked head at them while they bid us good evening. The leisurely pace did little to relax my mind. The whole ordeal seemed too easy. Granted, I had been lucky to wake up tonight, walk around the barrack wall, and overhear the plans for Iolarathe tomorrow morning. But I was beginning to think that my generals really had not drawn a correlation between Shlara’s death, the Elven woman at my side, and my escape. Perhaps time had healed their imagined betrayal and the previous group of hunters would actually be the last to attempt to capture me.

We made it to the street that contained the inn and I looped the large building, listening for any sound out of the ordinary from inside the building. I sensed nothing out of place, so we ducked through the doorway and into the warm common room. A fire had been lit in the back kitchen and I smelled the robust scent of a beef roast simmering in a broth of onions, carrots, and parsnips. This was one of the more expensive inns of Shlara’s Rest, but the food was delicious, the beds were clean, and the owner didn’t ask many questions. Iolarathe waited in the shadows as I walked around the kitchen counter and filled two bowls with the stew, placing them on the serving tray the owner’s wife would use to deliver an ordered breakfast. Then I placed four loaves of yesterday’s bread and a pitcher of water on the tray before motioning for her to follow me and moving up the stairs.

Each time in our journey from the dungeon that I had been forced to let go of her had been physically painful. After the years we had spent apart, I wanted nothing more than to hold her, feel her skin and hair, and experience the incredible sensation that came when we touched. I never wanted to let her go again. I never would. Being so near her like this and unable to touch her took all of my concentration and discipline.

I paused outside my room and used my ears and nose to sense anything unusual. Still nothing. I unlocked my door. The room was as I had left it; I closed the door, locked it, and then let out a sigh of relief. The first part of the escape was completed.

The next part would be more difficult. Now we would have to wait two days before making it to the Sea Dog. Between now and then, the guards could put the city on lock down and begin searching for us. They couldn’t scent track us through the street since there would be too many people walking around come the morning, but they would look at the inns first, and then the abandoned buildings. I needed a backup plan to get to the ship now that we had a few days of pressure.

I set the tray down and motioned to her not to talk by putting my finger to my lips and shaking my head. If there were another O’Baarni in the building, he or she could hear any of our words, even those most softly whispered. She nodded in understanding and I drew her body to mine and buried my head in her hair. She was covered in dirt and dried blood from her stay in the dungeon, but I didn’t care. It was still her and I held her close to me and ran my hands over her body. She felt the same, though thinner, and the pleasure of feeling her again pulsed through me in waves. She pushed herself as close to me as she could, forcing us even closer than my tight hold. She inhaled deeply, eyes closed. We stayed like that for some time, finally the sharp angles of her bones reminded me she was probably starving and I broke our embrace and pointed to the tray of food. She nodded and sat down in front of the food.

I had a book of clean paper, a vial of ink, and quill I used to make notes of the escape. I had burned my notes every night after I committed the musings to memory. While Iolarathe tore into the bread and stew, I wrote down my plan for our escape on the parchment. When she had finished eating both bowls, the bread, and water I passed her the writings and motioned that I would bring her more. She nodded and smiled gratefully as I opened the door to leave. I did not want to leave her, but she needed to eat, and she was safer in my room than out in the inn where she could be seen. Even dirty and covered in a cloak, she was striking, obviously an Elven and remarkably beautiful. Her bright hair was dulled with grime but still longer and a more interesting color than any of the humans roaming the city. If seen she would be remembered. I almost couldn’t believe that she was finally here in front of me. I wanted to hear her voice more than anything, but I knew it would be a risk. I didn’t want to take any risks at this point.

The innkeeper bustled in the kitchen and I did my best to make enough noise walking down the stairs so that I didn’t startle him.

“Good evening, lad. Couldn’t sleep?” His name was Tuirp and he had a thick head of graying hair and a neatly trimmed beard to match. He looked like he could have been a soldier in my army, but I saw no power about him when he moved and his belly betrayed a love for his wife’s baking.

“No sir. Put in a lot of work yesterday and I’ve found myself extremely hungry. Can I trouble you for some more of that meat and perhaps some more bread?” I forced a smile to my lips. I wanted to be back in the room with Iolarathe but the expression on her face when she ate confirmed my fear that they may not have given her much sustenance in the last few weeks.

“Sure thing, Wesn. Where did you say you were working?” His question was polite and I realized his memory wasn’t that great. I had introduced myself to him as Neas. Wesn was another tenant of the inn. But I was glad he did not remember me.

“One of the smiths down the road. His apprentice is moving to journeyman status. Which reminds me, I’ll only need the room for two more days, and then I’ll be staying with him. I think I am paid up till that time?”

He nodded while he spooned me more of the stew, threw on a couple of rolls of bread, butter, a few un-cracked eggs, and another pitcher of water. I had the name of a smithy down the road incase Tuirp asked about the master’s identity, but the innkeeper didn’t seem particularly curious this night.

“I’ll be sad to see ya go, lad. You are a nice boy, paid up front and kept your room clean.”

“It was a pleasure; I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast. I’ll take it downstairs again.” He nodded and I hurried up the stairs back to the room.

By the time I returned to Iolarathe she had finished reading my plan and sat with her eyes closed in the room’s only chair. I handed her a roll of bread and she nibbled on it while she read the words again. She seemed upset but I did not understand why. I stroked the graceful curve of her neck while she was looking down at the page. I remembered that touching her had felt wonderful, but my memories had not done the experience justice. I was almost overwhelmed with the feeling of her skin beneath my fingers. Just this slight touch sent waves of pleasure through my body and I wanted to make love to her more than I had wanted anything in my life. I feared making too much noise, or hurting her in her weakened state. I knew if I even kissed her now I would not be able to restrain myself, so I resisted more than the gentlest touch. She reached up and held my hand to her cheek and closed her eyes, inhaling softly. Finally, she looked at me, gave me a ghost of a smile, and began to write on the blank pages of the book.

“We cannot leave in two days,” she wrote and then turned the paper so I might see. I gave her a puzzled look and she continued to write, “Malek has an artifact I need. It is being kept in one of his vaults in his estate.”

I moved my hand from her neck and took the quill from her and wrote: “The Ovule?”

She looked surprised and nodded. Then she replied: “You know they power our Radicles?”

I nodded and went to take the quill, but she continued: “For Elvens. For our kind. O’Baarni don’t need them if they are powerful enough.”

She handed me the feather and I scribbled: “The Elven elder at that temple explained it. He said you were with someone?” She nodded and I wrote: “Who?”

She took back the book and looked at what I had written for a few seconds longer than it should have taken her to read it. Our eyes met and hers were bright, glowing like quicksilver even in the dim light filtering into the room from the street lamp below. Icy panic shot through my spine and I had to hold onto the bed post nearby to steady myself. I no longer knew what I wanted the truth to be. I did not know if I feared finding out we did indeed have a daughter, or that we did not.

She frowned and then wrote slowly, as if each word was painful. I wondered suddenly if they had injured her hand while torturing her.

Finally, she showed me the words and I understood why she had written with such difficulty.

“Our daughter. If we do not get an Ovule, she will die.”

Chapter 20-Kaiyer

My head hurt. It was the familiar headache that seemed to occur after one of my blackouts. I struggled to open my eyes and when I finally separated the lids, the light from the midday sun almost blinded me. Then I realized that it wasn’t just my skull that ached, my entire body felt as if Thayer had beaten me unconscious.

“Fuck!” I spat the word out. The scent of my blood filled my nostrils and my mouth tasted of the coppery liquid mixed with mud. I looked around and my movement scattered twenty crows that had been feasting on the pile of corpses fifty feet from me. I struggled to my feet and collapsed back onto my knees. My head spun like a tornado and I felt as if I would vomit. I made myself relax and pulled the Earth into me. Its warm presence forced the aches and nausea to flee like the crows.

Where the fuck was I?

Where was Iolarathe?

We had a daughter. The Elven elder was correct. Thousands of questions filled my mind and I tried to remember if I had ever gotten any answers from Iolarathe. But my memory was failing me again and I didn’t even know if I had ever met our child. Did she look like me? The elder said she had my eyes. Did she have Iolarathe’s hair? For a while I sat on my knees and thought about what had been; what could have been, and what I had probably never known.

A crow landed on my shoulder and startled me from my memories. How long had I been sitting here? I looked around and noticed that the sun had set and the sky was in the later stages of a dark purple dusk. More of the black birds had gathered on the bodies. Rocks and logs circled a fire pit with a lidded pot placed on the ashes. I breathed deeply and mixed the scent of death with the ashes of the fire and the algae from the pond nearby. I shivered and pulled more Earth into me.

The six bodies appeared to be a few days into decomposition. They were riddled with dozens of holes, a few had black fletched arrows sticking out where the bolts struck bone, but most looked to have passed through the bodies. What were they doing here and why did I wake up next to them?

A brave crow landed next to me and pecked at the face of one of the corpses as I crouched down to study the tattoos on their skin. My hand lashed out and crushed the creature’s neck and half the bones in its body. The other birds circling the sky cried out in fear and then flew away into the night air, leaving me with the sounds of crickets and frogs that lingered in the dark pond. I looked at the body the now dead crow had tried to feast upon and recognized the man.

“Iarin,” I said his name aloud as if I could somehow bring him back to life. It looked like a single arrow took the tall woodsman in the forehead and passed out the other side of his skull. His jaw was still frozen in a gasp of surprise but his eyes were closed. I sat again on the log and covered my face with my hands. The other bodies had tattoos of bears on their skin and carried an abundance of muscle. Iarin was no warrior, what was he doing in their company and who had killed them?

Had I killed them?

I leaned back on the log and scanned the campsite for a bow. I was a skilled archer, not as good as Alexia, but with the right weapon I could place an arrow into the eye of a deer or boar at three hundred yards. A quick count of the holes and arrows revealed math that didn’t add up to my skill level. There was no way I could have put over seventy arrows into the group of six people while they sat so close together. It was obvious that they were caught by surprise and the attack came instantly, or someone would have run.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to think of my last current memory. My mind kept dancing back to Iolarathe’s rescue and the plight of our daughter. I remembered Nia’s camp in Fisherman’s Gorge, and the walk and brief lunch I shared with Danor. Afterward, I spoke to Nadea and she attempted to talk me out of leaving.

Then my recollection stopped.

I sighed and lay on the log next to the bodies. Closing my eyes for that brief period of time caused me to feel tired. My back bumped against something and I realized I was wearing a backpack that I had not even felt because of its exceptionally comfortable leather straps.

I shrugged the pack off of my shoulders and pulled open the brass buckle, inside was a pile of soft sheepskin cloth wrapped around a globe. I pulled out the Ovule and wasn’t surprised when the sphere glowed. It looked like thousands of yellow spider webs were trapped inside and the effort of their escape from the prison made each strand pulse as a firefly.

Like a punch to the stomach, I suddenly remembered the last few weeks.

I recalled leaving Nadea’s camp as a prisoner of Isslata, the time I spent at the Elven camp outside the walls of Nia, the talks with Vernine, the meetings with the empress and her generals, the fight with Yillomar, and the negotiations I made with Telaxthe for her daughter’s identity.

My eyes studied the bodies again and I remembered what caused their deaths. I couldn’t risk going back with these O’Baarni to whatever ridiculous trial their Council required. I needed to be on this world working to rid it of Telaxthe and her brood. So the empress agreed to send Fehalda and some of her assassins after Kannath and me, as long as I agreed to tell her more of her daughter when I returned. Of course, my plan had been to look for an opportunity for Beltor and Jessmei to escape Fehalda’s escort back to Nia. Then we would meet up with Nadea’s army and flee Nia. In less than a year I could create a whole new army of my kind with Nadea’s soldiers, and we would then be able to re-take Nia and end the Elven existence once and for all.

End the Elven existence.

The words echoed in my head. Did I even want that anymore? I thought about what Nadea had spoken of in her camp. She dreamed of governing a great and prosperous nation, of spending days with her people and nights in discussion with her father and me. How closely her dreams might have matched Shlara’s: with our people prospering after the war. From my last memories, it seemed like they had created cities and some form of government. She would have wanted that.

Then I thought of Jessmei. The beautiful blonde princess had spoken to me about staying in Merrium, building a ranch and farm in the small village. Raising a family, growing old and more in love with each other as the days passed. Her dreams also closely matched Shlara’s. My friend wanted a family with me and would be a wonderful wife and mother.

Did I really care about Elvens anymore?

I put the backpack on and searched the corpses as I debated. Perhaps the deeper question I should ask myself was if I ever cared in the first place, or if the goal of destroying the Elvens was just driven by Iolarathe killing my brother and father. If they had not died, would I have joined in a resistance movement or would I have happily lived my life out taking care of horses for the Elvens and making love to Iolarathe in the hay loft?

I didn’t know the answer. Or perhaps I was afraid of the truth.

I knew that I loved Iolarathe, as sick as it was; I felt something for her the moment I first saw her. If I had forgiven her for killing my brother and father, I should also be able to forgive the Elven race for atrocities that had been committed lifetimes ago. But forgiveness did not mean they were entitled to come to this world, kill humans and take their homes. There must be a place they could inhabit peacefully. I had to convince them to go there, or raise an army and complete the task I had set out to do many years ago.

I did find a bow behind a traveling pack I recognized as Iarin’s. The pull on the weapon was much too light, but it would work. His bag contained a few traveling provisions, such as spices, small game traps, and dried fruit. I took the food and a light blanket I found and placed them into the pack that had been on my back before searching the rest of the campsite. Kannath carried a mean looking axe made of grayish metal with engravings of bears on the bare steel. It was a one-headed variety with a wide blade extending out of the haft about a foot. The opposing side of the head ended in a straight point that would easily pierce armor and destroy bone. The handle was two-and-a-half feet long and wrapped in thick black leather. Its length would allow me to wield the axe with one or two hands. It had a simple leather harness that let the weapon loosely hang over my back alongside the pack opposite of Iarin’s quiver full of arrows. The other warriors carried broad-bladed swords and curved antler handled daggers. I took two of the best balanced daggers and the shortest sword I could find. Then I tied the sheaths to Kannath’s thick leather belt and wrapped the girdle around my thin waist.

We had traveled northwest of the capital, and Nadea’s army was heading from the south since they had been turned away from Brilla. I didn’t know how long I slept here at the campsite, but I guessed I would probably be able to catch up to Fehalda and her assassins before they reached the castle with Beltor and Jessmei.

I filled up a few water skins at the pond while I tried to recall the exact roads we took to get here. Then I washed my mouth out with the algae flavored water and spit out the taste of blood. My mouth felt a bit cleaner, but I couldn’t shake the scent of my blood from my nose. I didn’t feel injured, so I guessed that the scent would fade in a few minutes. Once finished, I stood up from the edge of the water and stared toward the southward road.

I was somewhat familiar with the land of Nia, having looked over maps with Paug and running northward after Jessmei. But when I chased Jessmei’s kidnappers, we had traveled northeast. I knew there was a main road that traveled north out of the capital. Kannath and his now dead friends had taken me on it for a few short miles and then turned east to be closer to the coast. I imagined that if I just headed south as quick as I could I would catch up to Fehalda.

Fehalda.

I remembered her standing in front of me at the campsite. Was that last night? She was angry at me, but I didn’t remember why. Her white skin had flared red and she drew her sword. I had looked into her eyes. They were black pools that seemed to pull me into their depths. My head started to hurt as I tried to remember what she said to me. Her arm pulled back. The swing had been good, she used her hips and just the right amount of arm, but no real speed was behind the attack. I attempted to move, but though her attack was slow, I couldn’t seem to find the energy to dodge.

Had she knocked me unconscious? No. I would have overcome a concussion quickly and woken up in a few seconds. My kind healed so fast that even cutting off an arm or a leg wouldn’t do more than hurt like hell. We could attach the old limb and it would start to work after a few seconds; if the limb was lost, a new one would grow back in less than half a day. We could only be killed by a severe brain injury or a beheading. If Fehalda had cut my head off, I wouldn’t be standing here right now wondering what the fuck happened. I would be feeding the crows just like Kannath, Iarin, and the rest of their clansmen.

I took another deep breath and tried to ignore the scent of my blood. Then I began to jog past the pond up the crest of the hill to the main road. The dirt path was wide enough for two wagons and ran southeast toward the coast. I recalled sitting with Paug one dreary day in Castle Nia pouring over the maps in the library. If my memory was accurate, this was referred to as the Bay Crest Trail and was the quickest way to transport goods from the major port cities on the north side of Nia west without running through the capital.

My feet pounded into the dirt like a torrent of rain and I soon ran faster than a galloping horse. The weight of the axe threw me off a bit and I was experiencing a strong headwind that made my eyes water. The road seemed to stretch on for as far as I could see, across endless sloping hills of sagebrush and scattered oak trees. I closed my eyes and increased my running pace. The speed forced me to bend almost horizontal against the path so that the axe, quiver, and pack lay upon the middle of my back and I cut through the air easier. I knew the direction I ran and the sounds of my sandaled feet dancing across the dirt road bounced off of the ground, returning to my ears like a bat’s screech.

If someone makes eye contact with me, I can prevent them from moving for a few seconds.

Fehalda’s words pried into my brain and I saw her pull back her sword arm. I opened my eyes again and focused on the road, banishing the image of her from my mind. She must have hit me really fucking hard in the head to knock my memories from my conscious mind. I debated killing her with the axe, burning her with magic, shooting her with arrows, or even just bashing her beautiful white face in with my fists until there was nothing left but a red puddle. Then I remembered Nyarathe. Iolarathe’s sister once saved my life and it was apparent that Fehalda shared a bloodline with the pale Elven. They practically looked like the same person. Fehalda hadn’t killed me, so I didn’t need to kill her.

Unless there was no other way to free Jessmei and Beltor.

I was moving as fast as I comfortably could now. My heart beat just below a full exertion and my legs had gained that warm comfortable sensation that slowly inched through my hips, stomach, and into my chest. The road blurred beneath me but I could keep the pace up all day as long as the road ran wide, straight, and even. From my memories, it was rare that we ever got to run like this. Sure, running was a large part of our training, but we did our sprints in forests, canyons, and hidden valleys far from Elven eyes. It was too dangerous for us to run as I did now, in open terrain, it would lead to capture or attack.

I laughed to myself and realized that the situation was still the same, if not riskier. I ran alone now, on a world with thousands of Elvens that would love to kill me. Perhaps I should be more cautious. Then again, if I didn’t get to Jessmei before Fehalda returned her to Nia’s capital I would have to deal with all of those thousands of Elvens instead of a few dozen. I gritted my teeth and pushed my run at a pace I could only keep for a few hours.

He won’t die. This is impossible. What do we do?

Gorbanni’s voice repeated the question I had heard many months ago in the bowels of the caverns under Nia’s dungeon. My stomach clenched and I felt the familiar nausea follow. I couldn’t remember when he said that to me. Was it before I killed Shlara? Who was he speaking of? I saw Fehalda arch her arm back, but it wasn’t her, it was Malek. Half his wolf shaped helm had been torn off and tears made clear trails down his dusty face. Most of his armor was smashed, dented, and covered with blood. He pulled back his sword arm and I could not move.

Then he struck.

It was the same feeling I had with Fehalda, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t dodge, I felt the blow coming and then …

Then?

I’d seen thousands of my kin killed in battle. I helped clear their broken and soulless corpses from the fields of war. We could die. None of us were immortal.

Yet here I was. From what these Elvens and Kannath explained, it had been around five thousand years since I last battled the Elvens. I wasn’t dead. Was it because I slept in the Radicle that time had no effect on me?

You’ll be angry for what we have done to you, but we had no choice.

Did my old generals try to kill me and fail? Maybe they captured me and couldn’t bring themselves to end my life, instead choosing to exile me through the Radicle to some world that they thought no one would ever visit. But then why had I slept for so long? How did Nadea and Paug awaken me?

I had asked these questions before, but the only answers came through my strange flashbacks. Each one pulled me into my past, offering me insight at the same time that they created more questions. It was frustrating, but I had plenty to do in this time and I had to keep my focus here.

Something about Fehalda deeply disturbed me and I could not puzzle out what it was. I had the same sensation as trying to remember a forgotten name. The answer was shallowly buried, but I had yet to find the right place to dig.

The road had been moving up the sloped hill of a valley. These were wide, rutted out switchbacks surrounded by cactus and rosemary bushes. I recalled descending the climb with Kannath and his two guards many nights ago. I figured that we were probably sixty miles northeast of Nia now since it had taken us a few days to reach the camp where Jessmei and Beltor were being held. When I crested the small mountain I glanced off into the distance. The night had descended into darkness lit by one of the two moons and the sea of stars. Despite the darkness, my eyes saw the faint outline of distant campfires coming from the capital. The trail wound and dipped like a river through half a dozen other shallow valleys. But I was unable to see light from another campsite fire between me and the city. Either Fehalda’s warriors did not make a campfire for the night, or they had pressed on to the Elven army without stopping.

Or they were already at the castle.

The road forked and I took the south route toward the castle. The path became less dirt and mud and more gravel poured over hard packed sand. I was thankful for the change since it allowed me to run faster. I passed by more farms and estates with vineyards covering the hills behind the grand villas. When I followed Jessmei’s kidnappers, we took a different route north, more inland, and while I chased them through many farmlands, I had not seen such massive and elaborate looking homes. It must be that the countryside some sixty miles closer to the coast was better for wine.

I ran for another hour and a half before I slowed my sprint. I had not come across Fehalda’s assassins and I was within ten miles of the capital. The roads were now cobblestone and the homes were more frequent. It was possible that my quarry took a different route, but a quick inhale brought me the lingering scent of Elvens, horses, and Jessmei. Her scent was very faded, so I guessed I was six or more hours behind her.

They had probably already reached the castle.

I cursed my luck and pushed onward, slowing my run to a normal human pace so as to not cause too much attention to myself. Or, at least as much attention as someone jogging at midnight with an axe and a quiver of arrows tied to their back would draw. I crested one of the last sloping hills before the bowled valley surrounding the capital.

Nia.

I had already been within the borders of the city for the last few miles, but it wasn’t until a traveler got within sight of the castle that the enormity of the land became apparent. The Stone River ran like a small ink scratch east to west and fed into the coiled maze of the city. The walls were higher than eighty feet, half that distance thick, and would probably never fall to an army that didn’t possess magic. Within the walls homes, businesses, streets, and parks fought an endless struggle for dominance. Roads twisted and turned as if they were alive. If a structure met too much opposition on its sides, it rose up into the sky to mock those who had tried to crowd it.

But neither the walls nor any tower in the city rose as high as the castle. It sat like a fat black spider in the center of the web-like streets. The fortress must have been over two hundred feet tall, with smooth sloped walls, towers that extended as legs, and hundreds of windows that gave the impression of glowing eyes against the night sky. It was beautiful and menacing at the same time.

Looking at it again made me wonder if humans had actually built the palace. The stonework of the castle wasn’t the same odd greenish metal material that graced the walls of the Radicle, but the fortress seemed to be impossibly tall and alien when compared to the other crafted dwellings of the city. Even Brilla’s brilliant blue capital had nothing that came close in grandeur to the castle of Nia. I also doubted Elvens had built it. From what I understood from various conversations with Isslata, Alatorict, Vernine, and Telaxthe, Elvens had never been to this world.

But they sure as hell were here now.

The tents from the Elven army surrounded the outside of the wall like too many grains of rice on a dark wooden table, but there weren’t as many fires as I thought should have been lit. The gate into the city was open but glowed brightly under the mantle of enough wall braziers to melt the stone of the wall. Although I was about three miles away I could still count twenty Elvens plus half a dozen human guards inspecting another group of a hundred or so soldiers. The situation seemed odd until I recognized one of the soldiers being inspected.

Danor.

“Fuck!” I cursed again and did mathematics in my head. I had been a day or two off in my plan. Nadea was already here. She must have been notified of Brilla’s political shift a few days after Isslata had captured me and made her way north with the army. I needed speak with Danor and find out exactly where Nadea was. If she hadn’t met with the empress I would still have leverage.

The conversation with Telaxthe in her pavilion had not gone quite as I expected. She wanted to see her daughter, but she asked no questions as to her health or wellbeing. I wouldn’t have answered if she had, but her detachment made me think that she saw her half-human child as a tool instead of an offspring. Perhaps this was how all Elvens viewed their children. It was possible that if Nadea and the empress met they could work out their disagreements. Perhaps Telaxthe would throw her arms around the duchess, overjoyed to be reunited with her long lost daughter. Nadea would be able to negotiate a surrender or removal of the Elven forces. Or maybe because of their kinship our two races really could coexist in peace. I suspected the empress would be more interested in manipulating Nadea to her own ends. She wanted her army in Nia for some reason.

Did her reason have something to do with the castle? The thought struck me suddenly and for a few seconds I forgot about trying to speak with Danor. The story they had fed me was that Nia was the most prosperous of countries, with perfect vineyards, endless ranch land, and easy borders to defend. But I sensed that was bullshit.

She needed the ruins beneath the castle.

Danor looked to be arguing with one of the Elven guards. They stood too far away for me to hear but I could tell that their troops were being denied entry into the city. There were tents on either side of the main road and various Elvens walking or riding between me and the gates, even at this late hour.

I debated jogging the rest of the way down the road but didn’t know if it was worth the risk. The last time I entered the gates, the guards did little more than nod at me. But I had concealed my weapons in my travel bag and a river of refugees coming and going from the city helped obscure me. Now that the empress was here, it appeared that the Elvens were being more vigilant about protecting their new city. I suspected that I would be stopped and questioned before I even made it to Danor. But if Nadea’s troops were allowed to enter the gates, I could lose Danor in the streets and would never get any answers.

I started to jog down the hill.

Paug had told me that no one was allowed to build or own the property for a mile radius around the walls of the city. The boy said it was to make sure that an attacking army did not have easy access to timber, food, and archer cover. I wasn’t thankful for the law now; since it meant that I jogged across the open road surrounded by Elven tents, and no cover. At least if I was called out I would run through the encampment and cause some hilarious confusion before I would be killed.

I passed a group of Elvens sitting at their campsite playing a dice game next to the fire. They looked up from the game and eyed me suspiciously. I noticed their uniforms were blue with white threading and guessed that meant they were part of Jayita’s army. I kept jogging past them and hoped they stuck to their game.

The tents grew more dense a mile from the gates and I decided to slow down to a walk as I passed another group of Elvens going northward on the road. There were two women and four men, all clothed in brown leather armor with red circles etched on silk cloth that hung from their shoulders. I moved to the edge of the road to let them pass.

“Good evening,” I said with a slight smile to a male that looked at me.

“Get to a medic, human.” He seemed disgusted and I nodded in agreement before I turned my back to them and continued my walk. It was a strange response, but I did reek of blood, and the Elven sense of smell was stronger than a human’s.

I passed a dozen more Elvens that gave me little notice. In fact, the closer I got to the gate, the less suspicious the looks seemed to be. They probably thought that since I had passed other Elven soldiers and not been stopped I must have a purpose here that was approved by someone of authority. Each step drew me closer to the gate and I almost doubted that I would make it the last hundred yards. Then I stood at the back of Danor’s group of warriors and shouldered my way through them to where the knight captain argued with the Elvens.

“My orders were to enter the city and wait for the duchess. I don’t care what you say.”

“You’ll care what I say when we butcher you and your little soldiers and send your heads back to your army for consideration.” The guard arguing with Danor was a male and dressed in Alatorict’s gold uniform.

I put my hand on Danor’s shoulder and interrupted the man’s reply. He turned his head around with a frown but when he saw me his face changed to shock.

“Kaiyer!” He smiled and grabbed my shoulders. Then his face grew worried. “By the Spirits friend, are you hurt?” His eyes went to my chest.

“No I’m fine. Where is Nadea? How long have you been here?”

“She was escorted into the city shortly before sunset. Greykin and Runir are with her. She asked me to bring a small attachment of troops into the castle walls if she did not return by midnight. Their general,” he pointed back at the Elvens, “gave us permission to enter.”

“I was not notified of that,” the Elven sneered. “You should leave now. I’ve grown tired of arguing with you.”

“Where is the rest of the army?” I pulled Danor’s shoulder so that he turned to face me instead of the Elven. One of them could kill three of Danor’s men easily and he was dangerously close to escalating the situation.

“We are on the south fields.”

“Let’s go back. Nothing can be accomplished at the gate.”

“What name did he call you, human?” the guard asked me and I realized that Danor used my name.

“Doesn’t matter. Sorry for bothering you. We’ll return for the duchess another time.” I gave Danor a look that communicated the seriousness of our situation and he nodded.

“Back to the camp!” he ordered the sergeant standing next to him, who promptly shouted out the orders. The warriors turned and slid south along the wall, rounding its curve but leaving plenty of space between us and the Elven tents.

“I thought you’d be dead, my friend,” he said once we could no longer see the gate guards.

“I’m hard to kill.”

“You practically look dead. Please tell me that is someone else’s blood on your tunic?” he squinted in the torch light and pointed a finger at my collarbone.

I looked down and realized that the blood I had smelled was coming from the green shirt I wore. The collar, top of the sleeves, and half of the chest were stained dark red.

“It smells like mine, but I am fine. Do not worry.” He nodded and gestured to their campsite. There were a few thousand tents organized in a neat grid on the south side of the wall. Each tent flew a purple Nia flag along with a small source of light nearby, either a campfire or a lantern. The humans needed much more light in their camp than the Elvens did.

“When did Greykin find you?”

“The army had marched up the coast. He sailed on a boat with the queen and they flagged us.”

“How did they get separated from Beltor and Jessmei?”

“I’ll tell you that tale, but first let me take you to my tent. Get you a bath and a change of clothes.”

“Yes to the change of clothes, but take me to the command tent first.” He hesitated and then nodded before he issued orders to have the men disperse through the camp.

“It’s a shit storm in there,” he muttered after his soldiers had scattered into the tents.

“I didn’t pay attention to the city. Has it gotten worse since we delved into the sewers?”

“Sorry, I should have clarified. It is a shit storm in the command tent.” He gave me a crooked grin accompanied by a sigh of frustration.

“That is why I am going there.” I smiled back at him and could already hear the commotion inside the pavilion as we got within three hundred yards of it. The voices inside were shouting so loud that the noise had attracted the attention of a few dozen soldiers. The Nia warriors listened hesitantly to the battle with disappointment painted on their faces.

“Like I’ve been saying for the last hour, that idea is completely ridiculous! We cannot negotiate a surrender with them!” I recognized the voice of Maerc before I entered the tent. I smiled as I approached the two guards posted outside the front flap. They exchanged glances with Danor and pulled back the entrance for us.

There were five men and a woman engaged in the screaming match: Maerc, who looked like an older version of the handsome blonde man Runir; the ancient and semi-retired Weatan; the lean and weathered Yabar; the soft but charming Corvan; and the sword master Julliar, who was always dressed extremely well and never seemed to be worried. The woman I spent an unfortunate few days of travel with and had almost killed out of annoyance: Jessmei’s mother, the queen of Nia.

I knew the four men ranked lower than Maerc on the command structure, but the exact specifications escaped me. I recalled that there were three other generals in Nia’s army that might have been equal to Maerc. They were currently in the North with the majority of the forces aiding Newvana, Loorma, and Timata in their defense against the empress’s army.

But the Elven army managed to either destroy them outright, or had skirted around them and made it here through the icy mountain passes. I hoped that it was the latter, it sounded like the Northern army was over twenty-five thousand troops strong, and the thought of the Elvens trampling over them en route to the capital made my jaw tighten. Those forces wouldn’t make any difference now, but I didn’t want any more of my humans killed.

Our arrival halted the queen’s reply to Maerc as the first syllable left her mouth. The men quickly turned their heads and mirrored the confused look on her face. They stood over a large planning table with a ten-foot-long canvas map of Nia spread across it. I had seen the map before, and it was detailed enough to show the current layout of the city within the massive walls.

“Troop morale suffers when their leaders squabble like children,” I said the words softly while moving through them and standing on the far side of the table. I took the quiver and bow off my shoulder, laying them on the carpeted floor next to me. I looked down at the drawing and then looked up to Danor, who had sheepishly followed me into the tent and stood behind the other generals. An idea had been building in my mind during the walk around the walls and the view of the map helped mature that thought into a plan.

“Kaiyer,” Maerc’s voice was as soft as mine. “Did you escape from the Elvens? We believed you were prisoner.”

“He is probably here on their behalf, just as my son thought, he has been their agent all along,” the queen sneered. The tall blonde woman was quite beautiful until she opened her mouth and spewed out her vile thoughts. No amount of physical attractiveness could overcome the ugly of her personality.

“Nadea saw Nanos kill his father, your husband, the king. Then he killed my friend Paug. When your daughter was kidnapped, I chased after the Elvens for two weeks and saved her from almost certain torture. Then I negotiated the release of you, your husband’s brother, and Greykin from Elven capture because your son betrayed us again. He stabbed Nadea in the stomach, and if I had not been pressed for time while attempting to escape from the castle I would have enjoyed painting the walls of your Royal Safe Room with his blood.” As I spoke the words her face paled and then turned a bright shade of red. The woman stood about ten feet away from me, on the other end of the map, which was why her face looked so surprised when I jumped over the table, grabbed her by her pretty throat, and lifted her a few feet off the ground.

“I don’t want to hear you speak again!” I hissed through my teeth and pushed my face up against hers. “And the only reason you aren’t dead now by my hand, is because it would upset Jessmei.” I squeezed a bit harder and her already wide eyes grew impossibly large and frantic. Her nails dug into my left forearm, but she didn’t have the strength to lift her body and relieve the pressure on her neck. I heard the rustle and rattle of the men behind me putting hands on their swords, but I doubted any of them would pull the blades out. “Now get the fuck out of this tent!” I pushed my arm out slightly and released the woman.

The queen fell out of my grasp and tumbled to the carpeted ground with a frantic gasp of air. Her hand went to her throat and the bruise that was starting to form there already. She looked up at me with malice mixed with a larger portion of fear and then crawled back against the floor toward the exit of the tent. Her eyes darted between the other men, perhaps she expected them to come to her aid, but she had no friends here.

“Have a guard take her to her tent. She is not to leave. If she attempts to contact her son or the Elvens, let me know and I will break one of her hands,” I said to Danor. The man nodded and the queen let out a muffled whine. I thought about telling her how fitting this was, that she probably understood fear close to the same way that her daughter did while under her supervision, but I wasn’t going to rob that opportunity from Jessmei.

Danor pulled the queen to her feet and walked her out of the command pavilion. By the time I moved back to the table, he had instructed a guard to take the woman to her tent and assign sentries so that she couldn’t leave. I looked at the other men gathered behind the map and measured their mix of fear, outrage, and relief. This seemed to be a reoccurring problem with the royal system of leadership. Their rulers became entitled to their power, despite results, and those who served came to depend upon that fucked up form of slavery.

“We’ve lost the battle for Nia,” I said when Danor returned. “But the war is not over. We need to get space and buy time so that I can retrain your army.”

“Retrain the army?” Maerc asked. The man had never liked me, but this question didn’t have the mocking tone he normally carried when he addressed me.

“Yes.” I nodded and put the flat of my palms on the wood table. “I can kill these Elvens, you’ve seen me do it, or heard of me doing it.” I looked around the table at the men and then made eye contact with Maerc. “When Nadea and Paug awoke me, I didn’t remember much of my past. But now I do. I was once the general of a great army whose only purpose was destroying the Elven race. And we were successful.”

“Kaiyer,” Maerc stopped me politely with a raised hand. “Our country owes you tremendous gratitude, but claiming that you can fix this situation single handedly is hard for us to believe.”

“These creatures are too powerful; the only option is to surrender,” Corvan said while he shook his head.

“No. We need to fight like the duchess wants. We can whittle down their defenses and take back our kingdom.” Julliar’s voice was slightly louder than Corvan’s.

“And live like hunted animals for the rest of our lives?” Corvan yelled and the tent exploded into another shouting match between the five men.

“Do you have another copy of this map?” I asked without raising my voice. The men continued to argue, but it looked like Danor might have heard me. He just shrugged his shoulders when I glanced at him. I could understand why the man had not wanted to bring me here.

I pulled the axe off of my back and shook loose the backpack. Then I pulled the leather cover off of the blade of the heavy axe and smiled when Danor gave me a worried look. The other men didn’t notice me brandish the weapon, but I doubted that they would have stopped bickering even if they had.

I put my right arm out on the table over the sketch of Nia, and then slammed the blade of the axe down on my forearm. The massive weapon easily cut through the skin, muscle and bone. Blood from my stump of a forearm sprayed over the desk, the map, and dripped onto the ground. Danor shouted, and the other men backed up with a surprised cry of absolute shock.

“Let me explain how this is going to work moving forward,” I said with a smile on my face. I was used to pain, but getting a bone cut in half was never pleasant. I reached across the table with my left hand and grabbed the wrist of my severed right arm. “I have powers beyond what you know and I have magic more powerful than these Elvens.” I put my forearm back on the cut stump and felt the nerves, muscles, and bone began to reattach. The feeling was more annoying than the cut that severed them.

“These powers can be given to others and I know the process.” The men’s eyes grew wide when my fingers wiggled. “But first I need to get Jessmei, Nadea, Greykin, and Beltor out of that castle so we can regroup.” My hand closed into a fist and then opened again. The cut that the axe had made across my forearm stopped bleeding and scarred.

“I have a plan, but I don’t need you to help me with it.” I looked at the men and saw the fear on their faces. “I’m not going to patronize you with the illusion of choice.” I smiled and they understood what I implied. I figured they would. These were smart men, they were just afraid. They needed a strong leader.

“So does anyone wish to join the queen in her tent?” They all shook their heads.

“Good. Let’s get started.”

Chapter 21-Jessmei

My balcony had perhaps the best view of the Royal Gardens. From my private river stone paved veranda, I could see almost every single fruit tree and blooming flower, and the small brook that carefully meandered through the grounds. I couldn’t guess precisely how high I was, but my view was not obstructed by any of the tall trees.

The drop would surely kill me.

I felt the cold stone of the balcony rail under my palms. They were sweaty with nervousness and it made the smooth gray rock feel frigid. I leaned over again and looked straight down to the garden. The edge of the brook was directly below me. There was some grass, but it was mostly boulders placed to make the view aesthetically pleasing. I closed my eyes and imagined how those short weightless seconds would feel. Would I experience any pain when I touched the ground? Would I gasp for air under the weight of my crushed body like a fish out of water?

I sighed and pushed myself away from the cold stone. Except for those last seconds of painful existence, suicide would be the easy way for me to get out of this mess. It was what my heart was telling me to do. It wanted to depart from this world, to leave a red stain on the beautiful green garden floor below, to show these monsters that in the end I was more in control than they were.

To be with Kaiyer.

I should have been surprised that my hands were sweaty. I thought I had cried every last ounce of liquid out of my body during the ride back to the castle. Then once confined to my room I had cried into my pillow for what felt like an eternity. I didn’t even know how many days passed since that horrible woman cut Kaiyer’s head off, but I recalled servants bringing food and water many times while I debated ending my life.

There was a knock on the door to my suite that carried outside to the balcony. I didn’t bother to answer, but it broke the constant memory of Kaiyer’s head rolling at my feet and his lifeless eyes staring into the campfire. I turned my attention back to the garden and the small brown birds that fluttered back and forth amongst the nearby branches of a cherry tree. What simple lives those birds lived. I wanted to fly away.

“Jessmei?” a call sounded behind me, but I didn’t answer. Then I heard footsteps and the voice called my name again.

“It is cold out here. You should stay inside or you will get a chill,” Nanos said. I ignored his request and counted the small green buds on the cherry tree in the distance.

“Come, let me take you inside.” His hand gripped my arm and he tugged slightly. I thought about pulling away, but that would require effort. Just like it would have required effort to fling myself off of the balcony.

“The servants said you haven’t eaten or spoken since they brought you here.” He sat me down on the main room’s daybed. Then he went to the table by the door to my suite where a large silver tray lay covered next to a matching pitcher and glassware. He fussed around with the tray, but I turned back to the open glass doors that led to the balcony. I didn’t want any food or water. I didn’t want anything.

“Here.” He handed me a dish with a few cold slices of turkey, beef, cheese, and dark bread. “You need to eat for strength. We need to stick together now; we are all that the kingdom has left.” I took the dish and then set it on the table in front of me. I wanted to go outside and stand on the balcony again.

“Jess, please eat. The empress will want to meet with you soon. She will be upset if you are ill.”

“I’m doubtful she cares about my wellbeing!” I spat. I was surprised that the anger felt better than depression.

“She speaks! Spirits be praised!” Nanos gave a little dance across the marble floor while he smiled at me. I didn’t laugh at his joy though, even if Kaiyer were still alive this would be a desperate situation. When he realized that his tomfoolery hadn’t brought a smile to my face he stopped dancing and sat next to me on the couch.

“It could be worse,” he sighed.

“How could it be?”

“You could be dead.”

“That might be better.” I closed my eyes and tried not to think of anything, to just clear my mind, but I just saw Kaiyer’s head rolling on the ground.

“No! It would not be better. You are my sister and the only family I have left. I am determined to bring joy back into your life.” He smiled at me and although my brother had rarely been nice to me, I did derive a small amount of warmth from the gesture.

We sat in silence for many minutes. I could tell that he was searching for something to say.

This was a power I didn’t realize I possessed. I had always been the one trying to appease people, mostly my mother, but here my brother was trying to make me happy and he was struggling. I felt some empathy for him, but then I recalled the many years of snide remarks and behavior that matched my mother’s practically word for word.

“Have you spoken to our uncle?” I whispered. They had separated us at the entrance to the castle and I hoped he was well.

“Unfortunately not, I’d imagine he is still grieving Nadea’s death.” He reached over to the small table on the side of the daybed and handed me a glass of water.

“Nadea is dead?” My hands shook and a bit of the water spilled over the side of the glass and onto my sleeping gown. Kaiyer had told Beltor that she was alive. I was surprised, but I did not feel as sad as I knew I should have. It was just one more death, one more loss, one more reason to give up and join them all as quickly as I could in the Spirit world.

“Aye. Several months ago she sneaked into the castle and fought some of the guards. Was stabbed in the stomach. I was with Kaiyer when she was attacked. I tried to help her, but we couldn’t save her.”

I nodded and took a sip of water. Then I realized that I really was very thirsty and I drained the rest of the glass. I motioned for him to refill it and then I took the plate of food from the table and sat it in my lap. I nibbled on the cheese and beef while I prepared my next question for my dear brother.

“Is there a guard at my door?” I asked.

“Yes. Two of the Elven women. They look tall and frail, but do not cross them. I have seen them kill our soldiers with hardly a flick of their wrist.” He shuddered before he continued, “don’t worry though. I will protect you.”

“Thank you.”

“If you want to talk about Kaiyer,” he paused and put his hand on my shoulder. “I am here for you. I haven’t been the best brother, but like I said earlier, we only have each other now.”

“He is dead.” I spoke the words, but it seemed like the voice wasn’t mine. Words gave life to ideas. Saying someone you loved was dead wasn’t the intended purpose of language.

“Did he say anything to you that night?” My brother’s eyebrows bent down with concern.

“He was mostly speaking to those other O’Baarni.” The name of Kaiyer’s people still felt weird to say. I was used to it being the name of one person in our legends.

“So he didn’t mention how I helped him escape? Did Uncle Beltor?”

“Beltor didn’t speak of your assistance. Kaiyer just told him that Nadea was alive.”

“She is alive?” He didn’t sound happy.

“That was what Kaiyer said to Beltor. She led the remains of our army.” I noticed a dish of thick yellow butter on the side of the tray and smeared some on the dark bread before taking a bite.

“There is an army outside the city walls,” he muttered.

“The Elven one?”

“No. No. No,” he sneered and then caught himself and smiled slightly. “It is our army.” He stood up and then paced my room while I continued to eat. “They don’t give me much information. But I have eyes and ears in the city. An army bearing our flag reached the south walls last night.”

“It might be Nadea’s army!” My heart fluttered and I tried to hide my pleasure.

“I doubt she was in charge of our army. I would not believe she is even alive. Like I told you, she was dead the last time I saw her.” I nodded, even though I knew my brother was lying. Why did he want me to think her dead?

“What do they want with me? Why capture me and keep me here instead of killing me? Isn’t that what invading armies do to the conquered realm’s rulers?”

“The empress is fair, Jess. She just wants our help with the nobles and peasantry. She just wants to let me rule and considers herself as more of a steward. She just wants a seat on the Council and a place for her people to live.” I didn’t bother to look at him since I was sure he was lying again. What could my idiot brother possibly understand about these evil monsters?

“If she wanted peace with us, she went about it the wrong way.”

“What do you mean?”

“They could have come to us and asked for land or jobs. Instead they just killed Father and took our kingdom. Where are the Loshers? They were the people to raid our castle and I haven’t seen any of their soldiers. I would guess that they were tricked out of land and displaced by the Elvens as well.”

“They did ask Father for a truce, but he refused them.” Nanos slapped the leather of the daybed and shot to his feet. “He caused this whole mess! If he had just given them what they wanted no one would have died!” He pointed an angry finger at me when he finished his rant.

I laughed.

The irony of the situation was too much. I never imagined I would be here in my suite, with my brother, having this discussion while our lives and country hung off of the edge of an endless precipice.

“What is so funny?” he sneered.

“You are.” He seemed confused and his lips turned upward, showing his ivory teeth. I hadn’t realized it before, but he smelled of foul alcohol. “If Father agreed with their plans, he would have been killed within the year. Just like we will be once we help with the nobles and peasantry. We are less than vermin to them. Kaiyer told me how they enslaved his people and what they are planning for us.” I set down my bread and stood up to face him.

“You think you are smarter than this empress? More clever? More powerful? How many of her soldiers were lost when they took Nia? How many of our men, women, and children killed?” I paused and Nanos’s brows pushed together. “You don’t even know do you? Do we have any human guards loyal to us in the castle or are they all being paid by the empress now?”

“That isn’t any of your concern, Sister. I have this situation well in hand.”

“No, you do not, Brother. You don’t know what she really wants from us and you don’t realize what she is going to do after we give it to her.”

“Jess, you are being hysterical. We have an agreement and she will protect us.”

“Guards!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The sudden outburst startled Nanos. I heard the door behind me fly open instantly.

“My brother is displeasing me. Please remove him,” I said. I had seen Kaiyer move quickly, so I shouldn’t have been surprised at how swiftly the two leather clad Elven women grabbed my brother’s arms and hoisted him into the air like a light piece of furniture.

“What? Wait!” He swung his legs out, kicking the one on his right in the shins. Her hair was as black and polished as a pool of ink and her eyes were a strange orange. Either she didn’t feel his frantic attacks through her high leather boots, or she didn’t care.

“This is how much control you have, Brother. I’m alive because she is finding you less useful than she planned,” I said as they carried him out of the doorway to my suite and into the stone hallway.

“Take him to his room and get me whomever I am supposed to be speaking with,” I told the black-haired guard. She nodded and closed the door behind them. The thick piece of oak muffled the sounds of my brother’s pathetic attempts at convincing them that he was the king of Nia and they should do as he commanded.

I walked over to the table, grabbing the plate of food and glass of water before continuing to the balcony. A small table and set of chairs sat in the far corner. All were made of thin twisted iron and painted with shades of pink. I sat down on the chair that gave me a view of the door and let out a sigh of relief.

Now I would wait.

I guessed correctly what would have happened when I called the guards. I was starting to puzzle through the situation here in the castle. Even though I had never been any sort of strategist, I was good at listening to the gossip of the nobles and interpreting what was transpiring. There was no reason for the empress to keep me alive other than that she did need me for something that Nanos couldn’t do for her. I didn’t believe that she just needed help with politics. She had an army and death on her side. Nobles would listen to her because they would fear her burning down their estates. Peasants would obey because they had no choice. The merchants and guilds wouldn’t raise a fuss as long as the gold kept flowing.

Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps the empress allowed Nanos to come see me hoping he would lighten my mood. But it didn’t change the fact that she probably needed my cooperation for something. I may not have been as obsessed with it as Nadea, but I had studied history. Conquering armies did not leave the vanquished rulers, or any members of their family and household, alive. It was strategically dangerous because a blood heir could rally loyalists and stage a rebellion. Domination had to be complete. This empress had not gained the power she had by showing compassion. I doubted I could take my country back, but maybe I could hamper her plans enough to pay her back for killing Kaiyer.

The idea of a purpose took some of the pain from my heart. Perhaps it was wrong to replace sadness with anger, but if I could use the negative emotions to help save my people it would be worth it.

I finished my food and water. Then I waited and thought about what I would ask the Elven that would come to see me. I planned my responses to their possible questions, and I laid out what I was prepared to sacrifice.

I didn’t have to wait very long.

There was a sharp knock on the door. I felt excitement, but no fear, though I realized how precarious my situation was, how powerful and dangerous the Elvens could be. The worst they could do was murder me, and if they did, I would be with my love.

“Enter,” I called as confidently as I could.

Then Nadea walked into my suite.

I felt the air leave my body with surprise. Before I thought of getting out of my chair I was already moving past the veranda’s table and into the main room of my suite. I could hardly contain my joy. Nadea would know how to get us out of this mess, though I would dread telling her of Kaiyer’s death. My wonderful cousin had strongly believed that he was the answer to this invasion. I reached out my arms and for a brief second I remembered what her hugs felt like.

My slipper covered feet slid across the marble floor a few feet into my suite when I stopped short. This woman was not Nadea. She was an Elven, but looked surprisingly like my cousin. They had similar colored hair, eyes, and facial features. I should have been able to spot the differences immediately just by their dress. She wore a green robe that wound tight around her chest and shoulders. The fabric flowed out on her sleeves and hung loose down past her hips. Nadea preferred to dress like a man and wouldn’t wear this outfit unless it was some sort of banquet or ball. Even then, the garment didn’t run to her tastes.

“Greetings, Jessmei. I am Empress Telaxthe.” She seemed surprised by my abrupt movements.

“Greetings to you as well, Empress.” I bowed and tried to hide my warm flush of embarrassment. Perhaps it would be good for her to think of me as strange. I decided it was also prudent to keep her similarity to Nadea to myself for the time being. The more I knew that she did not, the more power I had.

“May I sit?” Her voice reminded me of Nadea’s even though the timbre was slightly higher. I wondered how she could possibly be so similar to my cousin. I had never seen an Elven who reminded me of a human. Maybe I was more saddened by the thought of Nadea’s death than I realized and my mind was making up for the loss by seeing her everywhere.

“Please.” I gestured to the side of my daybed closest to the door and the Elven woman adjusted the tail of her robe before sitting. She was of similar build as Nadea, more than half a foot taller than me, and her ears pushed through her bronze hair a few inches, which gave her the illusion of additional height.

“I wanted to apologize for the mishaps surrounding your return trip back to Nia. I understand that you are upset.” She paused and perhaps waited for me to nod or agree with her. I just continued to stare and wondered how this woman’s nose even looked similar to Nadea’s, if just a touch narrower. It was not my imagination. She bore an undeniable resemblance to my cousin. Why had my brother not noticed and commented on it? Even the Elven’s facial expressions reminded me of Nadea.

“As I have communicated to your brother, I mean your people no harm. I would like us to coexist on this world and share in the almost endless resources this planet provides. Like your country’s people, mine are strong, intelligent, and hardworking.” Her eyes, hair, and skin tone were a few shades lighter than Nadea’s. But the empress moved her hands while she talked, almost exactly as Nadea did.

“I realize it will take many years to build up a relationship of trust, but it will be of such benefit to both our people. We can teach you some of our magic, and you can teach us how to farm your soil and build cities.” I almost laughed in the woman’s face. They knew how to kill but not how to farm? She must believe I was the biggest idiot in this castle.

“But this will come in time. For now, I would like to get to know you better. Can you tell me about yourself?” She smiled pleasantly and placed her hands on top of mine. Her skin was cool and felt like satin.

“I was once in love,” I thought I would stammer, but the words came out cleanly.

“Tell me more,” she urged.

“He was strong, clever, and charming. He was wonderful to talk to and I could spend hours looking into his eyes. I dreamed of us raising a family together with a ranch or farm away from the capital.” I sighed and decided not to continue or I would cry again.

“Kaiyer?” the empress asked and I nodded. “I didn’t intend for him to be killed. My sister has been punished for the transgression.”

“It won’t bring him back.”

“No it will not.” She sighed, stood up slowly from the daybed, and walked around my room. Her dress made soft swishing noises that almost sounded like music. “His people and mine have been enemies for a long time, but I did not wish his death. He had actually agreed to assist me with a matter once he returned from finding you. I was looking forward to that.” Her voice trailed off and she looked out of the open glass doors to the Royal Garden.

“This is a beautiful view,” she commented. I suspected that she wanted to distract me.

“What do you want from me?”

“I’m sure your brother spoke to you of it?” She raised an eyebrow.

“About the nobles and peasantry?” I laughed shortly. “You tried to kidnap me; you murdered my father, invaded my kingdom, killed my lover, and then try to feed me this lie? No. I do not believe anything my brother says.”

She turned back to look at me and nodded slightly. A slow smile spread across her face.

“I believe we will get along very well, Jessmei,” she said. Our eyes met, and although the thought of challenging this powerful woman made my heart race, I held her gaze.

I had nothing to lose anymore.

“Two people I love are dead, countless numbers of my people are dead, and I am your prisoner here. This room,” I gestured around me, “was once my haven, but seems empty without my handmaidens, girls who grew up with me and knew my most intimate secrets. I imagine they are dead now, probably raped by soldiers in the Losher army that you brought here. So I doubt that we will ever get along, empress. If I had either magic or a weapon, I would strike you down with such a force that even Kaiyer’s Spirit would be taken aback.” I felt no fear when I spit the words at her. Just anger that my loved ones were gone and I would never have the life I dreamed of. My mother had said that my handmaidens were safe, but I didn’t know for sure, and I wanted to emphasize my displeasure with the woman.

“Alas, I am just a girl. I hold no magic or weapons to avenge my loved ones.” Telaxthe raised an eyebrow. Her smile had faded during my rant and I expected the empress to command her guards to enter and slay me.

“Will you join me for dinner?” she said. Her mouth curled into a smile so similar to Nadea’s that I had to look away to avoid the rage and sadness that her face brought to my heart.

“Do I have a choice?” I took a moment to answer since I was surprised by her question.

“Everyone has options. I’ve found that even when a situation looks dire, there are always at least three choices to be made.” I didn’t answer and she continued, “I will tell you a story. It is one often not told to humans. The tale will take some time to share, and I would prefer to do it over a glass of wine and some delicious food. Please join me.” She seemed sincere and I nodded.

“The princess and I will take dinner in here. Please have a meal prepared immediately,” she said. I glanced around the room but didn’t see anyone standing near us. I realized that these Elvens must have hearing like Kaiyer. I’m sure the attendants on the other side of the door were rushing to fulfill her wish.

“Shall we sit at your beautiful table?” the Elven ruler asked.

My suite was large and had three rooms that connected to my own bedroom, my handmaidens’ room, and a private bath. On the opposite side of the room was a rectangular oak wood table that was big enough to seat six. It was stained a dark chocolate color and etched with pewter encrusted flowers, birds, and children playing. It had been a gift from my mother’s parents, who were once powerful nobles of Gradar. They had died when I was five years old and I never knew them.

“Very well. I am not hungry though.” I sat at the head of the table and Telaxthe sat next to me, close enough so that our skirts touched.

“My chefs will delight you with their creations,” she brushed off my meek objection with an easy smile. The door opened and three Elven women walked into my room. One lay out a gorgeous green tablecloth with gold and silver embroidery on it. The other set out a small array of plated cheeses, fruits, honeys, bread, and dried meats. The third set down crystal jugs of sweet and dry wines, along with glass pitchers of water with cut oranges and green citrus peels filling half of each container.

The speed and grace with which the servants worked surprised me. Before I counted to five the table was set and the three Elvens had exited, closing my door silently behind them. If not for the food laid out before me I might have second guessed that they had actually been in my room.

“Let me serve you, Jessmei.” She took a small dish and wooden tongs, placing apples, salted meats, cut cheeses, and crackers on it before handing it to me. While I set the plate down she poured some of the white wine and then prepared a matching dish for herself. The way she moved her hands and held her body reminded me of Nadea. But I remembered to remove the puzzled look I’m sure my face wore by the time that Telaxthe raised her glass and touched it briefly to mine.

“To our future,” she said. I resisted the sudden urge to throw the golden liquid on her face and mustered up a slight smile. I took a sip of wine and then a small bite of cheese. The wine tasted like it was from Nadea’s part of the country. It was crisp and dry for a white. The cheese was a salty gouda and probably came from Loorma, which was known for its cheese production.

“As I said earlier, the past recollection of our worlds is not known to humans. When we find civilizations that are removed from the influence of the O’Baarni or Elvens, they often have crafted their own history, or they have legends that have been corrupted by time and twisted into something similar to the truth, but not entirely accurate. What I am about to tell you is known only by my own people. Some of the O’Baarni know the latter half, since it involves Kaiyer, but they have not bothered to learn the lessons of our Dead Gods.” I exhaled when the empress said his name, and my heart ached. I thought I was strong enough to battle this woman wit to wit, but the mention of his name made me want to fling myself onto my bed and cry my life away.

“The truth.” Telaxthe set down her glass and gave me a piercing look. “Can be more fantastic than fiction.” Then she smiled and leaned back slightly in the wooden chair. “There is much to learn from mistakes that have already been made. There are only a few of my people more versed in the various histories of our creation. While I am hesitant to boast about my accomplishments so far in my career, I am quite prideful of my knowledge of what has happened to bring the life forms in our web of planets to this point.”

“I am interested to hear your account then.” I tried to relax. She made it quite obvious that she was going to enjoy telling this story. I reasoned that I should pay close attention and ask appropriate questions. Fortunately, I had always excelled in my history and political lessons.

“Eons ago there were two beings created from nothing. They were consciousness with no form. They were thoughts without motives. Like painters with a canvas that stretched forever in all directions. Their names are difficult to pronounce in our current language but closely resemble T’Leinaw and T’Cheelmaie. Our old languages labeled them as Day and Night.” She picked up a small piece of bread and spread butter on it, then placed a piece of white cheese and a dried apricot atop the butter before taking a perfect bite.

“You see, these two beings could never directly communicate with each other, like opposing sides of the same coin only one was conscious at a time. They knew of each other’s existence through actions that the other took, but they had no way of having a conversation in the way that we are now.

“They did find a way to communicate indirectly though. T’Leinaw is said to have been the first one to act. After an unfathomable about of time in the darkness the being created some lights, colors, and stars. When it was done with its work T’Cheelmaie saw what had been created and chose to make movement to the stars and colors. When T’Leinaw awoke, it realized someone else added to the creation process.

“They played with their creative process like children. At first it was just the stars and the movements of them. Eventually they created objects that were not stars. Giant pieces of solid matter that drifted back and forth in the nothingness. For a while they entertained themselves with creation. Then they dallied with destruction, casting the other’s creations into the stars to be eliminated in showers of infinite dust. They angered each other, but could not ever truly fight since they held equal power and were separated by the one force that was beyond their control: If they created, they became tired, when they rested, the other took over.” Telaxthe took another sip of wine. Her passion in telling the story reminded me of when Nadea spoke of her quest to find the O’Baarni.

“Finally, the two crafted something that neither wanted to destroy: a child.” When the empress’s final word left her mouth I felt a pang of regret in my stomach for things that had never been.

“How did they make a child if they never knew each other?” I asked.

“T’Cheelmaie started with a form, painstakingly crafted from pieces of dust and matter floating between the stars. When T’Leinaw saw the body that was created, it was taken by the beauty of it and could not bear to destroy it. Instead, it gave the form life. Then the process was finished as the two Gods bestowed gifts of Spirit and mind onto the creation. Soon, the being awoke and a new God was born. Its name was T’Orend. Their creation did not have the same powers as its parents, but, unlike them, T’Orend never needed to sleep. Finally, the Gods could communicate with each other through another sentient being.”

“So this T’Orend passed messages between the two?” The empress nodded at my question before she continued.

“In our old language, T’Orend means time. It separates day between night, the sun between the moon, and the seasons our lives shift through.” There was a knock on the door a brief second before more Elven attendants entered. Small plates of steamed and flavored vegetables were carefully arranged next to salted fish and placed with a small glass of pale beer. I wasn’t much of a fan of the grain alcohol, but the dry bitterness of the liquid would probably pair well with the fashion in which the fish was prepared. The empress waited for a few minutes while we started on the first course before she continued with her story.

“T’Orend was warm and loving; the God could have pitted its parents against each other, it instead worked to unite them. It told each of the other Gods words of praise that the other had supposedly communicated. They were small lies at first, but they later became truths when the two beings fell in love with each other, despite having once been enemies and never actually being able to inhabit the same place at the same time.” The idea of lovers that could not be united appealed to me for obvious reasons and I felt myself becoming more interested in Telaxthe’s fable.

“The Gods decided that, since T’Orend had been such a success, they would experiment with creating other, lesser life.” She had finished about half of her food but gently nudged her plate away and downed the remainder of her beer with a satisfied sigh afterward. “Create they did. The Gods made planets to circle the sun, and they made some of these planets connect to their magic. The powers pulsed with love from the Earth, heat from Fire, cold from the Wind, and life from the Water. To inhabit these planets, they fashioned all sorts of life forms, communicating their designs and desires to each other via T’Orend. While they worked with purpose and great intelligence, most of the beings they attempted to create perished before they finished working on the next. They did learn from their failures though, especially T’Orend, who observed all parts of the process and did not have the eons of experience that the parents did.”

“If these beings were so powerful, why did it take so many failures?”

“That is an intelligent question, Jessmei, and one that I asked when I first heard the story. It seems that these entities were fallible. They made plenty of mistakes, the sum of which ended with all of their deaths.” She sipped some of the water with the citrus fruit in it.

“I guessed that was their fate when you referred to them as the Dead Gods.” I took another bite of food and followed with a sip of beer. One of the servants remained in the room and he filled the empress’s glass with the wheat brew.

“Eventually they got the knack of creating less intelligent creatures. They graduated from plants to animals. Nothing that came close to matching humans, at this point, but simple beasts of the land that could reproduce and eat each other or other plants. Some of these they allowed to change and evolve throughout many cycles of the Gods sleeping and waking.”

Another group of servants entered and produced small cups of chilled fatty yogurt sprinkled with dried squash seeds, cinnamon, and slices of sour tangerine. It was a refreshing palate cleanse that accompanied the water quite nicely. After the empress and I finished the small bowls she continued with her story.

“Eventually the three of them created humans on a single planet. They didn’t realize what they made at first. It wasn’t until much later, after a few shifts of the two Gods sleeping while T’Orend watched, that they found that the humans had flourished. They built their own meager civilization out of mud huts, herd animals, and crude paintings on the sides of cave walls. Still, the Gods knew they had created something that might flourish and they set out to craft other intelligent races.”

“Like Elvens?” I asked.

“We came much later. I do not believe that your world has any of the old humanoids left. Perhaps you may have heard of goblins, drakens, ogres, orcs, dwarves, half-humans?” I shook my head. “Ah, they made hundreds, perhaps thousands of different ones. Most have died out, though there are worlds that are home to some of these creatures.”

“We have stories of fairies, dryads, kenku, lizardmen, and catmen. But these are just fables to scare children.” I recalled the various tales I had heard during my childhood.

“Those tales are based in truth. Those creatures may have once lived upon this world. Some still may. The Gods were quite prodigious with their creative exercises. This all happened more than five hundred thousand years ago. The old races could still exist, scattered on other worlds. Especially this one since it is so far removed from the main web the Radicles weave.”

“Kannath’s warriors told me a bit about the Radicle, but I am not sure I understand it correctly.” I felt the pain of Kaiyer’s death again and fought down the urge to cry until it turned into mild anger.

“By the end of my account, you will have a much better understanding.” Telaxthe swallowed half of her beer in a large gulp and then continued her story.

“The humans expanded rapidly and the Gods decided to make themselves known. Perhaps they were vain creatures, and intended to have their creations worship them, or perhaps they didn’t realize the consequences of revealing their powers. The outcome was to be expected: the humans loved their creators and worshiped them. This did please the Gods and they lavished more affection on that race over all the others.” I sensed a hint of bitterness in her voice.

“By this time, the humans had built advanced civilizations, but they also knew disease, death, pain, suffering, and a host of other complications that come with life.” She looked to me and I nodded in understanding.

“The Gods looked at the humans’ pain and shared in their agony. Using T’Orend, they debated for many cycles, which for the humans was thousands of years, until they came up with a solution that they felt would free them from the agony of living with risk.”

“The Gods figured that all of the problems facing the humans stemmed from their short lifespans, combined with the enormous amount of work they had to do to survive. If their existence was made easier, they would have more time to devote to their creators, and to other more pleasurable activities. This would end their strife and suffering and allow their beloved race to enjoy the short time they had. So the Gods created another race to be servants to the humans.”

“The Elvens?”

“Yes. The Gods had become truly skilled by that point. They wanted to make a race that was strong, long living, intelligent, and beautiful. Above all, they wanted the new species to obey their masters with unquestionable devotion.”

“Wouldn’t the Gods be their masters?”

“Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the path that would spell death for the trio.” The empress sighed regretfully. “If only they had done that. But instead, they made it so that Elvens felt a compulsion to always obey their human masters. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like, to not ever have a choice, not even the ability to choose death over obedience.”

The first set of servants returned carrying soup in fine Nia porcelain bowls accompanied by garlic crusted bread. The soup tasted like it was tomato and asparagus. I didn’t think it was the season for tomatoes and guessed that the chefs must have procured the red fruit from the castle’s greenhouse stores.

“It did not take long for the humans to become jealous of their servants. Why should these new children live longer than us? Why should they be stronger and more beautiful? The humans beseeched their creators. It didn’t help that our kind held a unique connection with the planet and the Elements that surrounded us. We could control these powers and bend them to our will. Of course, our will was really just the command of our masters.

“Finally, the Gods relented and gave humans access to the powers of the Elements. It sedated their complaints for hundreds of thousands of years. Humans were now much more powerful than their Elven servants and began to live extremely long lives. It was the latter benefit that started to unravel the relationship the Gods had with their creations. The humans and Elvens only existed on one of the God’s many worlds. Since they made children much quicker, but lived as long as the Elvens, they came to overpopulate that single mass of earth. The humans beseeched their Gods again, asking for a solution to the problem.

“So the Gods used their powers to connect all of their worlds together with a system to travel between them. They put many doorways on each of their planets and taught their creations to open them. The humans and Elvens rejoiced and built beautiful shrines to contain these doorways. They called the structures the Radicles, since these shrines represented the seeds of new life for the human race.

“The Radicles were difficult to use, even for these powerful humans. A sect of their kind dedicated the entirety of their long lives to learning how to move others to different worlds via the Radicles. They passed this knowledge to their children, who in turn learned more and passed the knowledge along. After generations of this process, the knowledge of the Radicle came to be imbedded into the very blood of this sect so that their descendants knew, almost instinctively, how to use the Radicle before they knew even how to speak. This sect made an interesting discovery …” she trailed off as more Elven servants entered. I was so engrossed in the story that I had only taken a few bites of the delicious soup and considered asking the servants to leave it, but the scent of the main entrée was so tempting I allowed them to take my soup.

They cleared the entire table and then set down small silver trays of roasted duck spiced with peppercorns and oranges. Telaxthe and I each had our own small bird, and the servants quickly went to work with knives and forks; slicing the perfectly cooked meat into small edible pieces. New glasses of rose wine were poured and a new pitcher of water was set before they left the empress and me alone again.

“I should explain that I use the term ‘human’ quite loosely. From what I can understand of the scraps of records from that time, these powerful humans did call themselves the O’Baarni. It meant many things in the old language, but amongst my people it meant ‘masters.’” She smiled slightly and then took a few small bites of duck before washing them down with the wine. I followed her example and agreed with her earlier statement that I would be delighted by the food.

“This sect of the O’Baarni realized that while someone was passing through the doorway to another world, their bodies and minds briefly touched the same place the three Gods dwelled. At first the Gods did not realize what the O’Baarni knew, and they were oblivious to the small experiments their creations were doing to see if they could end their travel in the Gods’ domain. It wasn’t until thousands of years later when the O’Baarni had inhabited all the worlds and wanted more power that the final conflict came to be.

“Not everyone could use the Radicles, only this specialized sect could use the devices to send themselves or a few through. Soon they invented a method to allow anyone to pass through. It involved sacrificing an Elven, then casting their mind and skull in a block of tempered amber. These globes carried power far beyond what the humans had seen before. The invention of these Ovules allowed massive armies of humans to climb into the realm of the Gods and wage a war for power.”

“The Gods struck against their creations by making terrible creatures of destruction. First, they crafted demons that dwelled deep in the depths of each planet. These creatures possessed a hunger to kill all life that wasn’t a God and harnessed the Elements almost as well as an O’Baarni. They reproduced quickly and the O’Baarni found themselves defending their own worlds from this horrible threat instead of challenging their Gods.” I nodded and felt the fear of the empress’s words. Demons were most certainly part of the legends I learned as a child. Although, in the tales I had heard, they inhabited a hellish land and were the polar opposite of the benevolent Spirits of our loved ones that watched over us.

“Hundreds, maybe thousands of years passed while the demons, O’Baarni, and Elvens fought. Eventually it appeared that the O’Baarni and Elvens would win the war, so the Gods crafted their final warriors. They made this last race almost as powerful as themselves and they gave the creatures intelligence that surpassed that of the O’Baarni and Elvens. They wanted these creatures to be their generals, so they gave them free will and the ability to create their own races.”

“That seems like a bad idea,” I said.

“It was. Their last race was dragons. Horrible winged serpents with malevolent intelligence and ruthless cunning. At first they served the Gods and organized the last of the demons. The O’Baarni were pushed back and lost entire worlds of population. Then the O’Baarni began to win again, and the Gods questioned their creations. The dragons betrayed their creators, much like the humans, and they all sought to inhabit the realm where the Gods lived.”

“Weren’t the Elvens betrayers as well? Since they were allied with the O’Baarni?”

“Yes and no,” she replied with a smile that seemed to indicate she wasn’t upset at my interruption. “We were created to serve humans. We loved our Gods, but were compelled to follow the instructions of our masters.” I nodded at her words but I believed she was omitting parts of the story that might reveal her people were not entirely peaceful.

“At last, the Gods began to lose and it appeared that the O’Baarni would smash into their world and attempt to murder them. In the final hours, T’Orend contacted a small group of Elvens on the original world and begged them to retreat deep into the core of the planet. The God gave these Elvens instructions to live for a hundred years and then reemerge to become stewards of the land. To exist peacefully, and to watch over humans as protectors. These Elvens did not question their God; they just did as instructed and retreated within the belly of the planet.

“When they finally came to the surface, they found that the world had changed dramatically. In places where there was once land, there was now sea. In places where there had been sea, there was now desert. They discovered Radicles overgrown with foliage or under water, unable to be used. My people prayed to their Gods and asked for guidance but no voices returned. They were alone, this small tribe of Elvens, but they vowed to do as T’Orend asked and become stewards of the world.”

“What of the O’Baarni, what of the dragons and demons?” I asked.

“The Elven tribe found humans. They had no recollection of what had transpired. They did not have the power of the Elements at their disposal anymore. Also, perhaps because the Gods were now dead, or perhaps because the humans forgot their place, the Elvens found no compulsion to follow their commands.”

“How did they know their Gods were dead? Maybe they were just refusing to answer?” I had been so focused on her story that I forgot to take more than a few bites of my duck. I did so after my question and the food was still pleasantly warm.

“Part of T’Orend’s words seemed to indicate that their time had passed and it would be up to the Elven people to herald in a new age of prosperity. This was perhaps ten or twenty thousand years ago, on a completely different world than this one where you and I currently dine. But since that time there has been no contact from any of our Gods. So we call them the Dead Gods.”

“What about the demons and dragons?” I asked again.

“Demons have been spotted a few times, according to our history, but they do not seem to be as powerful or intelligent as the legends led us to believe. Perhaps the passing of the Gods diluted their power as it did with the humans. I will speak of dragons soon.” I nodded and nibbled on a bite of the multicolored salad that accompanied the duck. The empress refilled her wine glass and then topped mine off before continuing.

“This became a dark period for our people, as well as for the humans. Our kind chose to abandon or destroy the knowledge we had acquired by serving our masters for so long. We decided that the best way to protect the humans was to enslave them and make sure that they never learned of the magic that their ancestors possessed. Our single tribe split into hundreds of other tribes, then grew and multiplied over the years until we came to be the complete owners of the land.” The empress had only eaten half of her duck but seemed to be done with the entrée. She took a healthy swallow of wine and then filled her glass again.

“Then there was Kaiyer.”

“He fought your people?” I already knew the answer but I couldn’t keep myself from asking.

“Yes. It is surprising how little is actually known of the man. Granted, it has been more than five thousand years since his time, but there were no statues or paintings of him, nor stories of how he ended up reviving the powers of the O’Baarni. There is not even an account of how he came upon the ancient name of his people. From my research, I believe that a few humans actually did remember their ancestors and carried the histories by spoken word so it couldn’t be eradicated by their Elven masters. Some may have even had the powers but kept them secret.”

“Kaiyer said that Elvens gave him his powers. They wanted to create warriors to attack the other tribes.” My lover had not spoken too much of his past, but he told me that much during our stay in the warm cave so many months ago. I still didn’t want to think that he was dead.

“I find that hard to believe, but it may be possible. Much of our history of that time was lost. The statements I make to you now are the closest to the truth that we have, but they may not be entirely accurate.” I nodded and took my first sip of the rose wine. It was delicious and I found that I drained half of the glass quickly.

“These new O’Baarni were not as powerful as the masters of old. They could use the Elements, but lacked real skill with it. Of course, the O’Baarni of the past had many thousands of years of experience with the magic. Still, my race had forgotten the lessons that T’Orend taught them, most even forgot their Dead Gods’ names. So when Kaiyer began to build his army and destroy small tribes, the majority of my people did not take the threat seriously. It was a horrible folly.” She shook her head and frowned slightly.

“One woman did understand the risk. She was a Singleborn of great power and the daughter of an influential tribal leader.”

“Singleborn? What is that?” I asked.

“Forgive me Jessmei; I forgot that you have no experience with our people. When we birth children, it is always two or three at a time. The children often, but not always, possess opposing traits of the parents. The Gods designed us that way so that we would be strong. For example, the woman you met a few nights ago with the white hair, skin, and black eyes is my sister. We were born from the same woman’s womb within a few minutes of each other. Our father is the same. You might not see any similarity in our appearances, but the Elven people have a heightened sense of smell and it would be apparent to any of my kind that we are siblings.” I tried to keep my face impassive when she mentioned the woman who had killed Kaiyer. The scene played over again in my head like some macabre stage play rehearsal.

“Very rarely, perhaps only once in hundreds of years, a single child will be born from a mother. These children are much more powerful than most of our kind and have a different, arguably superior, way of thinking. They are revered amongst our people. They are also feared, as the birth of a Singleborn portends great change.”

“How many years can Elvens live?” I wanted to eat more of the duck but my stomach was close to full and I imagined there would be other courses.

“You are perceptive, Jessmei.” She smiled at me and leaned back slightly. “Our kind normally do not live much past three, perhaps four hundred years.”

“Is there one alive now, in your army?”

“You are jumping a bit ahead of me, Princess. I will answer that question soon.” Her smile widened and her pleasure seemed sincere.

“This Singleborn woman was named Iolarathe. She appealed first to her father, then to other tribal leaders to form an army to stop Kaiyer’s new O’Baarni. Though she was a Singleborn, the tribal leaders refused to listen to her. They didn’t believe that humans were dangerous. She had two other siblings, a half-brother and half-sister who were born together. Eventually the three of them managed to persuade the Elven leaders, or perhaps the threat had reached the point where it could no longer be ignored.

“The Elven tribes tried to form one cohesive army to crush these new O’Baarni, but each tribe had their own vision of how the army should operate, and Iolarathe struggled to unify them. She wasn’t allowed to lead the army at first, that role was given to one of the other tribal elders. Kaiyer’s forces grew, and each victory increased their strength while weakening the Elvens. Finally, Iolarathe and her siblings were given control over the Elven race and they began to battle in earnest.”

More servants entered and cleared our plates before placing lit candles on the table. Small bowls of chilled limes, oranges, and tangerine slices covered in mint leaf shavings were set before us and the empress continued her tale.

“But Kaiyer and his army could not be stopped. It was too late for the Elven people. The most Iolarathe’s efforts did was delay the coming genocide. These O’Baarni did not care for diplomacy, they did not want our surrender, they wanted our complete and utter annihilation. Their soldiers murdered millions of Elven people, including elders and children, even newborn infants.” She grimaced and looked down into her bowl of fruit. I wondered if she cared for the human children her soldiers had harmed during their invasion.

“Iolarathe grew desperate and made a rash choice, out of what I’m sure she believed was necessity. Perhaps it was. There was a dragon remaining on their world, sleeping deep in the crater of a desolate volcano. Our leader struck a bargain with the monster to secure her assistance in the final battle with the O’Baarni.”

“What was the deal?” I assumed this was the question that Telaxthe wanted me to ask.

“We do not know. The history is unclear. We do know the Elven people were angered by her decision. Most feared the price asked by the dragon would be too dear for them to pay and resented her for putting their existence in the hands of such a vile creature.

“When the day of the final battle came, the might of our army clashed with the O’Baarni. When the battle was at its peak, three horrible dragons swooped down from the sky and instantly laid waste to a fifth of Kaiyer’s forces. Nothing had prepared our people, nor the O’Baarni, for the power of these creatures. In the next few seconds, thousands more O’Baarni were incinerated. The Elvens gave a frantic cry of awe and joy and felt that perhaps there was now hope for their continued existence.”

She paused dramatically and smiled at me. I realized my mouth was hanging open, and I closed it with a snap. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment and busied myself with finding a spoonful of fruit that had equal amounts of each variety. Finally, Telaxthe continued.

“Kaiyer was powerful, almost a force of nature in combat, and had earned the name of the Destroyer. I believe that even the old O’Baarni, with all of their thousands upon thousands of years of knowledge and ability would find it difficult to battle a dragon. Yet he destroyed one, then another within minutes. The third managed to flee and with its retreat our hopes were crushed. The rest of our army was routed and scattered to the winds.”

“But some escaped? You are here now obviously,” I said as respectfully as I could.

“Yes. Perhaps we owe that to Kaiyer. All that his army needed to do was chase down the few Elvens that remained, less than three thousand or so, but that is when he betrayed his people.”

“I heard this from Kannath’s men. Two of Kaiyer’s generals were lovers?”

“Yes. Shlara and Malek were his best. Perhaps it was the achievement of his victory, or the influence of the dragons, or maybe he had been insane the whole time he was building his army. No matter the cause, almost immediately after the battle, he killed Shlara and fled from the army.”

Servants broke the conversation again and placed plates of simple chocolate cake with thick black frosting before us. The scent alone made my mouth water and I easily forgot that my stomach was getting full. As with the courses before, a new glass of wine was poured, but I could tell from the small bottle of dark liquid that they decided on a port to accompany the cake.

“The O’Baarni army was in chaos and they lost the motivation and organization to finish their extermination of our kind. Instead they reeled from the betrayal of someone who had become almost a deity to them. Malek and Kaiyer’s other generals tried to find him, to bring him to justice, but it took them many years. In the meantime, our people escaped.”

“Through the Radicle?” She hadn’t mentioned if the Elvens could use the gateway.

“Eventually, but first we had to recover and lick our wounds, find and unite our scattered people and develop a plan. Unfortunately, Iolarathe could not be found after the battle, and her half-brother had been killed. The only person left to lead our small population was her half-sister, Nyarathe. I am a descendent of her blood,” she said the last part with pride I had not heard before in her voice.

“While searching for a way to beat Kaiyer’s army, Iolarathe and Nyarathe had found ancient texts that gave us a better insight into the workings of the Radicle. Dozens of years passed, the Elvens living in the shadows while the O’Baarni took over the world. She was planning a mass exodus to another planet when they found out Iolarathe had been captured, along with Kaiyer. Nyarathe planned to save her sister, but there wasn’t enough time, or enough Elven power to overcome the O’Baarni. Please, try the cake.”

I realized I had been so absorbed in her tale that I had ignored the dessert, despite its tempting aroma. I was imagining Kaiyer, my Kaiyer, doing all of these things, and I could not fathom the sweet man I loved was capable of committing such atrocities. I knew he was powerful, but he was not evil. If he had done this, I knew there was a reason. He had warned me about the Elvens and the way they had enslaved and controlled humans for generations. I had witnessed this in my own kingdom and time. I reminded myself to remain objective, despite the food and drink the empress was plying me with. She was telling the tale from the Elven perspective, and was clearly biased toward her people and intent on convincing me of their righteousness. I would not be deceived.

She smiled warmly at me and lifted her fork before cutting into the moist dessert and taking a bite. I followed suit and found it to be richer than I imagined. I grasped the small glass of port and managed a small sip of the powerfully sweet liquid. It warmed my whole body and made the dark chocolate take on a slight rum flavor.

“Iolarathe was executed by the O’Baarni, burned on a pyre while Kaiyer’s generals watched. Apparently they even let their Betrayer watch her die, which I’m sure must have been the last piece of enjoyment that he ever experienced.”

“What did they do to Kaiyer?” I said after I dabbed a piece of chocolate from my lips with a cloth napkin. Chocolate wasn’t as good as lovemaking, but it was very close. I had almost finished my single piece and would ask for another.

“He was sentenced to be executed after Iolarathe, but they never carried out this sentence. Though thousands of years have passed and there are dozens of different accounts, I have concluded that the Destroyer was one of the last masters. Perhaps he escaped the final, mysterious acts of our Dead Gods and was older than anyone knew. Or, perhaps he knew how to harness the Elements in a way none of his people understood. Of course, it could just be that the stories have been exaggerated over the years of their telling. That is how history becomes legend.” She smiled and took a final bite of cake.“This was too good. I want three more pieces. How about you?” She grinned mischievously and it reminded me so much of Nadea that my heart warmed.

“I think my stomach would be terribly upset if I ate three more slices, but I would gladly have another.” I returned her smile and we both giggled.

This woman’s sister killed Kaiyer. My mind’s voice cut off my giggle and I stifled a sigh.

“Bring us the remainder of this cake. More port as well,” the empress said to no one in particular, but the door opened almost immediately and we found the cake laid between us and our small glasses filled with the dark liquor.

“Some of the parts of this legend are surely fantasy.” She shooed her servants away and cut two large pieces of the cake, placing one on each of our plates. I noticed that she got a bit of chocolate frosting on her thumb and sucked it off, almost exactly as Nadea would have done. “The most fantastic said that Kaiyer’s power grew suddenly, and he turned into a dragon more massive than the two he defeated many years before. Other accounts say that he harnessed magic more powerful than anything that his soldiers had ever seen; killing thousands of them. Some accounts claim that he pulled the moon into the planet, destroying half of the life on the world. The truth was that he escaped and killed many of his warriors. I don’t know how many, but I guess thousands.”

“It doesn’t seem like the Kaiyer I knew.” I frowned and took another bite of cake.

“I’m sure Kannath’s warriors explained that anyone who calls themselves Kaiyer is actually not the real Kaiyer. They are merely pretending.”

“Yes, they explained this.” I sighed and looked down at the dessert. “I am not a warrior, nor a member of your race. I knew nothing of these legends until now. It will take me a long time to accept the truth of your story, as it is so different than everything I was taught and grew up believing. I do know that the Kaiyer I know could not have done these things. He was powerful, but he did not murder people or Elvens without cause. He was just. But he did believe he was the Kaiyer you spoke of.” I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice, but I heard how clearly I failed and saw it in the empress’s reaction.

“I am sorry for your loss. I have lost loved ones as well, my father and mother were taken from me at a young age. I do know that the accounts were all in agreement. The Destroyer killed many of his own people, perhaps doing more damage to them than the dragons had in the final battle. He was defeated by his generals and killed, over five thousand years ago. The O’Baarni only live five hundred years at the most. The man we know who calls himself Kaiyer could not possibly be the original Destroyer.”

I nodded and believed she was probably correct. I did not know why Kaiyer would pretend to be someone so hated and feared, but perhaps his memories had been altered by whatever suspended state we found him in. I could not imagine him capable of the atrocities the empress had accused the Destroyer of committing. The man I loved would not have murdered innocent children of any race.

It no longer mattered who he was or was not. He was dead.

“After Kaiyer was killed, Nyarathe realized that her people would need Ovules to escape through the Radicle. She did not have any and did not understand how to create them. All she knew was that they required an Elven to sacrifice themselves. She took a grave risk and approached the leaders of the O’Baarni. They came to an agreement to the benefit of both races. Nyarathe would be given Ovules for her research and when she had determined how to use them, she would share the information with the O’Baarni. This created a lukewarm peace and the chance for our kind to escape the O’Baarni.

“The O’Baarni also began researching the Radicles and Ovules. Malek had been acquiring relics of the past for many years during and after the wars. The pact with Nyarathe gave him hints of how to use them, and by the time Nyarathe figured out how to create an Ovule and use the Radicle, his people had also reached a rough understanding of the same magic.

“Each race discovered that they did in fact need the other. Ovules could only be made through Elven sacrifice. But the actual crafting of the device could only be completed by a human possessing the power of the Elements. Nyarathe did what she could in the negotiations, but she had little leverage. The O’Baarni had the ability to kill our people to create Ovules. Yet we could not force them to make an Ovule for us.

“They agreed that as long as the Elvens provided them with a willing sacrifice every year, our people would be granted their freedom and allowed to live. If they required their own Ovule, two sacrifices would need to be provided and one would be returned to them.”

“That does not sound like a very good deal for the Elvens,” I said.

“I was not alive during the negotiations,” Telaxthe said with a smile. “But I am sure that Nyarathe made the best choices she could, given the circumstances.”

“The treaty has lasted these five thousand years, but the O’Baarni have taken more and more of our liberties away with each decade. They followed our kind’s first migration to a nearby world that was sparsely inhabited by humans. We were given small plots of land to inhabit, but the threat of extinction was forever in our minds. Thousands of years passed and my people spread across half a dozen worlds in attempts to escape the O’Baarni. Each exodus proved less effective at gaining us new freedoms. Even attempts at renegotiating with the O’Baarni clans failed. Each new treaty was proven to be a lie. They did not want to leave us alone, they wanted to raise us like cattle and slaughter us for Ovules.

“When I was born, I felt the same pain and injustice that all of my ancestors carry through the generations. We made mistakes in the past, but we had done our best to follow the wishes of our Gods. I wanted to do everything within my power to free my kind. I knew that if I could just understand our history, if I could grasp the powers of our Dead Gods, or perhaps if I raised an army to fight like Iolarathe, I would make a difference. I know that you can empathize with my desire to save my people.” I nodded and realized that I was beginning to feel sympathy for this woman and even the Elvens. My father and Kaiyer were dead because of her. My country had been conquered by her. I reminded myself of what Kaiyer had told me. The Elvens were not victims and were not without blame.

“So I went to work, starting when I was still quite young. I sought allies on the various worlds we inhabited. I explained my vision to my kin. I told them I wanted a world for us alone, where we could live without interference from the O’Baarni. My vision was so compelling to my people that I gained support and further access to the knowledge of our past.

“We began training in earnest and word spread throughout our worlds that I was recruiting warriors. We learned how to use our magic and we grew. Then I devised a plan, and after millennia of silence, the Dead Gods once again spoke to us, indicating that I was indeed on the right path, that they approved of my plans.” She paused and cut another slice of cake for herself. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and then cut me a piece when I smiled back.

“They spoke? Does that mean they are alive?” I asked.

“Not quite. We witnessed the birth of not one, but two Singleborns in the same year. It was clearly an omen, since there is no record of this ever occurring in our past.” She finished up her glass of port and then promptly filled it. With a gesture she offered to top mine off and I let her, but decided I would not drink anymore.

“I was still new in my role, with only a few thousand loyal Elvens committed to my cause. The birth of the Singleborns united the rest of my people, especially as the Singleborns matured and joined my army. I had cultivated a talented group of Elvens. Men and women of the highest caliber of skill and intelligence. I based the organization of my army off of what I had learned of the Destroyer, with generals commanding smaller units.

“The O’Baarni had a tradition of contests they held amongst their kind every ten years. Most were battles of strength and endurance that rewarded families descended from the original armies of their great generals. We prepared and trained, and then asked to be allowed to compete.”

“They didn’t think you would win, did they?” I smiled and the Elven woman matched my expression.

“No. They had not been paying much attention to us for the last twenty years. I used my best negotiation tactics and managed to convince them to let us participate if we gave them a few more sacrifices during the year.”

“Isn’t that a steep price to pay just to enter a contest you could have lost?” I asked.

“Yes, but the only other option would set the plan back decades. We had volunteers for the additional sacrifice, we always did. Our elders, most of whom had grown brittle with age, were happy to help their people.” I nodded at her words and the beautiful woman continued.

“We won the first set of Games. The O’Baarni clans were outraged, but we had played by their rules. The winning clan is traditionally granted a boon by the other clans, and would be trusted to carry the Betrayer’s cursed armor for the next ten years, until the next competition. I, however, wanted nothing to do with the armor, but instead asked for my people to be given our own world, far removed from the root network of the Radicles.”

“This world. My world,” I said with undisguised venom.

“Yes. You see Jessmei, not only is your world very far away from the rest of the O’Baarni planets, it only has four Radicles connecting it. Most other worlds have over twenty.” She had not touched her third slice of cake yet and took a delicate bite before continuing.

“There is one on the border of Timata and the Ice Lands. This is the door my army moved through. The second is in your Teeth Mountains. The third we believe to be where you found Kaiyer, somewhere in the south, however we are unsure of its precise location. The fourth is actually right beneath this castle.”

“So that is why you want to be in Nia.”

“Yes Jessmei. Originally, when we first planned to come here, I had intended to destroy the Radicles to prevent the O’Baarni from following us here as they have done in the past. But as we did more research, we realized that there were other methods we could employ. We guessed that some of the humans on that world might be descendants of the O’Baarni that were so skilled at using the doors. People who might not know the Elements, but would have a connection to the Radicle through their blood. Their heritage carries magic that could be more powerful than the Elements.” She smiled at me and the realization struck sharply.

“Me? You think I am one of these descendants?”

“I am positive that you are one. You possess a power that you haven’t realized. Your brother has some too, but in all honesty,” she smiled at me and leaned back, “he has no discipline and would never be able to master the magic. I also find him lazy and repulsive.” I tried not to smile at her words. Nadea and Kaiyer did not care for Nanos, but it seemed that everyone else adored my brother and let him bully me.

“Your uncle and cousin might also have the same powers dormant inside of them. I will be meeting with them as soon as I can.” I nodded and leaned back in my chair. My head was spinning but not from the alcohol. I wondered how long Nadea had been here and if she was okay. I wished more than anything to see her right now and wrap my arms around her. Of course Nanos had been lying about her death.

“I hope that explains some of my actions toward your people. Even after we prevailed in their ridiculous Games, the O’Baarni did not grant my request. We had to wait forty more years, and win the next four Games, before it became such an embarrassment to them that they had to grant our wishes. When they finally did, we rejoiced, but knew that our real work was just beginning. I needed to migrate an entire species of people from various worlds to this one. Then we quickly had to take what resources we needed and either destroy or control the Radicles.

“Our initial scouts found that the humans on your world believed a twisted history of the conflict. Their language matched the one we had used since just after the time of the Destroyer, but your people thought that the Destroyer fought a group of Ancient conquerors. We took the name, hoping it would inspire enough fear in your people to quell resistance. It did work and I feel that less blood was shed this way.”

I disagreed with the empress’s opinion on the amount of blood that was shed, but I realized that this wasn’t the time to argue with her.

“This is why were so infuriated with the man you knew as Kaiyer. The O’Baarni had promised not to interfere with our migration, yet he is here on this world. I will admit that perhaps I took the wrong approach with him, but I am pleading with you to try to understand my perspective. I am sure you can see how frustrated we are and why?”

“Yes. I can understand how that would be upsetting,” I said softly, choosing my words carefully. “My heart still aches when I think of him. And every time I close my eyes, I see your sister cutting off his head. The thought of him gone from this world makes my heart weep. I wonder if he ever knew your side of the story. He claimed you were the ones to enslave his people and had committed horrible atrocities. From what you have just told me, it sounds as if there have been generations of malice between your races.”

“Yes, there is blame on both sides, to be sure.” She nodded and sighed. “And I hold my sister accountable for her actions, but I understand why she lost control. I am also to blame. Before they departed, I spoke to Kaiyer for a few hours, on matters unrelated to you or Nia. My sister had asked about our conversation and I dismissed her rather rudely. I believe she carried that anger and resentment and your friend paid the price for my mistake.”

She reached out across the table and laid a smooth hand on mine.

“I am so sorry. I made horrible decisions once I came to your world. I will do better, with your help.” I wanted to pull my hand away. More than anything, I just wanted to see Nadea again.

“If I agree to help you. What does that entail?”

“I have the knowledge to lock the doorways of the Radicles, but I need you to do it. It will take a few weeks, perhaps a month or two, for you to learn how. Then, they will simply require maintenance every few years.”

“You would prefer this over destroying them?” I thought about what she had told me. I guessed there was more information she was holding back. If she really wanted to be done with the O’Baarni, then I reasoned that she would want the Radicles gone forever.

“Yes.”

“What are you offering?” I asked as calmly as I dared. I had never tried negotiation, I had never needed to, but I had been around my mother and father enough to grasp the concepts.

“I am offering a truce between our people. We have magic that can be shared with you and your family, and we are skilled craftsmen. Both of our kind will benefit from a peaceful coexistence.”

“But you will control the country? You have the powerful army and magic.” I asked the question and tried to listen to her answer while my mind spun. I recalled the conversation around the campfire with Iarin and his kin. They had said that this world offered nothing of value to them, so there was no reason for them to aid us in fighting the Elvens at this time. I wondered how valuable the skills the empress was offering would be to them. Would I be able to enlist their aid once I had mastered these doorways? Perhaps that could be the catalyst that might convince some clans to destroy the Elvens once and for all. If I could teach them to move through the gates without Ovules, they would not need to rely on the Elven sacrifice every year.

I remembered Kaiyer’s words and believed them. As pleasant as the empress was being now, as sympathetic as her plight sounded, I did not trust her and I would not accept that her people would be here forever. I did not believe they would maintain this truce and allow us to live freely. I would have to agree to her terms now, but my ultimate plan would be to remove her and every member of her entire race from my home by whatever means necessary.

“No, of course not.” She smiled and released my hand carefully. “You currently have a Council of nobles that supports a single ruler. There are votes for major issues. I would like a seat on the Council with either you, your uncle, or your cousin on the throne.”

“Nanos would be next in line for the throne. It flows from firstborn to firstborn. My uncle cannot serve as king.”

“These things can be changed, Jessmei. We do not have to abide by the old rules. It would be beneficial for us to determine who the best person to serve your country is, regardless of the past and your rules. I am asking you to consider a friendship between our people. I know I have wronged you, but can you bring yourself to forgive me on behalf of my people?” She seemed sincere and I knew that her story had some truth in it. I imagined that she had no need to come to us with a peaceful proposition. If she wanted, she had the power to enslave all of the humans on this planet and coerce me into helping. Still, Kaiyer’s words sounded in my head and I feared trusting her completely.

In any case, what she was proposing was better than the alternative. I imagined she would torture me, Nadea, Greykin, and my uncle until I agreed to help her. If I went along with her under the guise of friendship and cooperation, I might be able to learn enough to make a deal with the clans later and avoid violence for now. I had little choice. Kaiyer was gone and without him we were powerless against these Elvens.

“I want peace, Empress.”

“Excellent!” She clasped her hands together and smiled, just like Nadea. “This will herald in a golden age for our races. I am delighted.” She raised her glass of port to toast and I smiled and matched her cheer.

“I envision us as partners, sisters even, working together for the benefit of our people,” I said.

“Your words match my heart, Jessmei,” the empress said with a sigh of relief. “I am glad we could come to this point.”

“I am worried that some of my people might not accept this peace, especially after what has happened.” She frowned and nodded at my words.

“I cannot be confined to my room during my stay here; it sends the wrong message to my people. Can you provide me with one or two of your best guards as an escort? Then I would feel safer in my home.” I tried to summon a relaxed smile. I wanted to visit Nadea and my uncle, but I doubted that Telaxthe would let me roam around the castle alone this early in our negotiations.

“Gladly. I have one in mind that I believe you will like. I will have her come see you once I leave. Speaking of which.” She looked over her shoulder at my balcony. The day had changed to dark night, and the wind was now a chill whisper. “I would have liked to speak to your cousin Nadea privately, but it must wait until tomorrow. I feel I have been rude to her since she arrived earlier this morning and I have been keeping her waiting.” Telaxthe stood up from the table and I rose from my chair. “I will leave you for the night. We can speak more tomorrow. Would you be available for lunch?”

“Yes of course, lunch would be wonderful. Thank you for visiting me,” I said and I remembered my manners and produced a curtsey for the Elven woman. She matched it with a bow and then pulled me to her chest with a warm embrace.

I was surprised by the movement, but her warmth comforted me. I hugged her back and tried not to let my mixed emotions come to the surface. My heart should hate her, but it didn’t. I felt empathy and sadness that her history forced her to come to our world seeking blood instead of peace. We parted and then looked at each other again. I smiled at her and blinked to keep my eyes from becoming too moist. I felt as if everything really would turn out for the best. If it did not, I’d learn what I could from the woman and then use my magic to strike a deal with the clans.

“You should speak to Nadea tonight. You will like her,” I said.

“Kaiyer told me that I would enjoy speaking to her. He thought very highly of her. She is probably asleep now.”

“She reminds me of you.” I smiled.

“What do you mean?” The empress raised an eyebrow.

“You both look very similar and have mannerisms that match. She looks more like you than your sister, even though she is human.” Telaxthe’s face rapidly lost some of its color that had been reflected by the candles. Suddenly she looked like her pale Elven sister.

“Your uncle oversees the east side of Nia, correct?” Her words sounded hollow and empty. Her smile was gone and her eyes had lost their sharp focus.

“Yes.” I was puzzled by her sudden change in demeanor.

“His keep is at the foot of the Teeth Mountains, is it not?” Her voice was now unmistakably angry.

“Yes. Did I say something wrong? If so, please forgive me.”

“Oh no, Jessmei.” Her face quickly broke into a smile and the color seemed to return to her skin. “You have done nothing wrong.” She took a deep breath and brushed her hand over my cheek. “I will go visit Nadea now. Thank you for telling me about her.”

“Of course, and I will see you for lunch tomorrow?” I asked to confirm.

“Yes. I look forward to it. Thank you again. This meeting has been more bountiful than I could have imagined.” She bowed slightly as she edged toward the door, then she opened it and disappeared into the hallway.

I walked back out onto the balcony. I no longer thought about flinging myself off of the edge. Tomorrow morning, I would see Nadea, and then we would go speak with Beltor. I’d tell them about what the empress was proposing and we would figure out what to do. Kaiyer was gone from me forever, but as long as I had the rest of my family, life was still worth living.

Chapter 22-The O’Baarni

I sat with his body for most of the night. The wood coffin was freshly cut and nailed together with obvious care. The smell of sap oozing from the timber mixed with the pine needles and powerful herbs on the bed of the casket. The fragrance reminded me of fresh rain and new beginnings. It was a comforting scent that my friend would have appreciated. He often would burn these types of incenses when his sickness grew to a point where the Earth could no longer quell the pain and he sought other remedies.

We were so desensitized to death that we no longer dwelled on ceremonies and grief. We could not. All of us had friends or family who had perished as slaves at the hands of our Elven oppressors. All of us had seen our comrades fall in battle. Death was part of training. We thought about the fallen, remembered who they were and honored their sacrifice, and then moved onward in our quest.

But Entas was different. I glanced away from the small brazier of orange coals and examined the old man’s peaceful face for the hundredth time this night. It looked like he was smiling, the same expression that he had given me countless times, often after he had gifted me with some tiny fragment of advice that I did not understand, but would a few days later. I used to think he enjoyed mocking me, but that was just my ego lashing out. In reality, my mentor had always wanted me to find the answers myself.

Thayer approached the tent and pulled back the thick canvas flap. His movement exchanged warm, sap scented air for a wintery mountain breeze. Although he was as wide as he was tall, and looked like he was made of rock, my friend possessed grace granted to him by hours of physical training. So when he slid around the tight space and sat down across from me without making more than a whisper of sound, I wasn’t surprised.

“We almost died that day on the foothills. Remember, Brother?” he said after a few minutes of careful silence.

“Aye.” I nodded and smiled at my friend.

“If not for Entas, this army wouldn’t be here. He was a great man.” I nodded again. Thayer was a remarkable swordsman, warrior, trainer, and battle strategist. He had never been gifted with words, so the effort he made now to comfort me, despite the awkward feelings it must have given the burly man, was even more meaningful.

“I did not spend enough time with him over the past few years. We had grown apart.”

“You run the army, Brother. We are all focusing on what needs to be done. Entas gave us the tools to be successful. No regrets, eh?” He smiled and the sincerity behind his expression made me feel better. I remembered all those years ago when Thayer and I had been training as empowered warriors for the Elvens. Our masters pitted us against each other until we became hated enemies. Then we decided that we would escape together and flee into the wilderness.

“Your words are true.” I smiled back at him. “We don’t just owe our lives to him; he gave us the means to be free.”

“So we will be free.” He shrugged and his grin widened. “Our forces cannot be stopped. We will crush the Elvens.” I nodded but lost my smile. We still had so much more work to do. There were thousands of Elven tribes and we had only destroyed a handful.

But that work could continue tomorrow. Now I just wanted to grieve. Maybe it was selfish of me to want this time with my mentor. I still had an army to manage and there were too many places where my attention was needed. I was a fool. I should have spent more time with him while he was alive. I should have expressed my gratitude. I should have learned more from him.

It was the last fact that upset me the most. I had not relied on him for advice as much lately, but just knowing that I could had given me confidence to make decisions. This admission twisted my feelings. My friend was gone, and all I could think about was how this would hamper my attempts at winning this war.

I was an asshole.

“He knew this was coming.” Malek’s voice pulled me from my memories of the old man. I hadn’t heard Thayer leave or Malek enter.

“He had a way of predicting the future.” I remembered Entas visiting my tent after I first met Shlara. He had been right about her, as had Malek.

“I know you are upset that the two of you had grown apart.” I frowned, but he knew me well enough to speak the truth. “But he didn’t feel that way, Kaiyer. He loved you like his own son and spoke often of how proud he was of you. Entas was happy that you were coming to him less for help. He said that you were fulfilling your destiny.”

“He often spoke cryptically of my future. It bothered me, but now that he is gone, I wish I had asked him more about what he meant.” Pain hit my heart again.

“I am thankful that he left peacefully, after a long and meaningful life. We got to speak with him one last time.”

“Our last conversation was not the best. I was angry afterward. I even told you that we would not be lost without him. Now he is gone and I regret those words.” I sighed. “I took him for granted.”

“He didn’t feel that you took him for granted,” Malek said. I looked over at my handsome friend and nodded. His words did help me feel better.

“I wish I had known him as long as you did. He taught me much in the last few years.”

“Now it is up to us.” The words lacked my usual conviction, but I didn’t think my friend noticed.

“In a way, that is comforting. He had stepped back long ago before I even joined your army. We know what to do. If there were any secrets, he would have told you about them.”

“He often spoke to me in riddles. As if there was some joke he knew that I didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Malek sat forward and looked a little confused.

“It was just his method of instruction. He would ask me if I remembered how to do something just before setting about to show me how to do it. The first time I learned to harness Air, he got a bit frustrated because I did not remember how.”

“That would anger me.” The handsome man nodded and the gray hair around his temples reflected the firelight like silver coins. “But anger motivates you. Entas was insightful. He knew the best way to teach each of his students. He would sometimes ask me to figure topics out for myself but never spoke as if I should already know the answers.”

“It isn’t important anymore.” I leaned back and uncrossed my legs in front of me. My body was begging to go exercise. I normally didn’t sit this long.

“There are still a few hours before dawn. I will sit with him if you want a break. I’ll ask my team to prepare the pyre.” Perhaps once upon a time, our people had a ceremony for their departed loved ones. But the army had no traditions to honor our dead. Most deaths occurred on the battlefield. If we could recover the bodies, we would, then return them to the earth with either a burial or burning. There was no ceremony or grieving. There was no time.

I’d elected to burn Entas’s body. We would scatter the ashes with the rising sun. Besides myself, Thayer and Malek were the closest to the old man, so we would speak before the gathered when dawn broke.

“I’ll be back shortly then. Thank you.” He nodded gratefully and I realized that my friend probably wanted to spend some time alone with his mentor’s body as well. By sitting here all night I had robbed him of that opportunity.

It was just another way I was being selfish about Entas’s death.

The stars were bright angry reminders of the light the dawn would bring. Entas had once told me they were suns similar to our own, and there were other worlds that circled these suns with lands and people just like us. I then asked him if these people had killed all the Elvens on their planet and he just chuckled. I should have asked him more about these other worlds. Though I did not care much about them, it would have made the old man happy. He always seemed disappointed in my singlemindedness and lack of interest in history or philosophy. Malek had been a better student, the two had bonded deeply and quickly over their shared interest in such things.

We moved his body into a small tent in the center of camp. There were other tents set up fifty yards away, but most of the warriors were asleep or on the outskirts of the camp on watch. I took a deep breath of the frigid night air and exhaled smoky life back out again.

I started a slow jog to the east end of the campgrounds where the trees briefly surrounded the campsite before opening to a field perfect for training exercises. The stars gave more than enough light for my keen eyes to see, but there were still a few fire pits carefully placed on the open ground for soldiers to huddle around while they recovered from their training.

There were only sixty warriors on the field, and most of them were gathered around a fire. As I ran the perimeter of the field warming up my body, I could hear their various conversations. Some spoke of preparations for upcoming battles, some spoke of previous battles, and some spoke of more carnal desires they wished to act upon with their training partners.

There was no talk of Entas.

My mentor had not spent a great deal of time with my soldiers. He had focused most of his attention over the past few years on Malek and his troops who wished to improve their mastery of the Elements. Before that, he spent time with Thayer and I, but left most of the physical and magical training of the army to us, preferring to advise us nightly. I hoped that more than a few of the O’Baarni would show up to view his body one last time, but it would probably be a small group. His contribution would never be realized by most of my kin. They wanted to believe in the invincible Kaiyer and his steadfast team of brilliant commanders. That image was much more romantic and inspiring than a wizened old man who spoke in riddles and could not even walk without a cane.

I heard footfalls running behind me and recognized the sound of Shlara a few dozen feet before she caught up to me.

“Malek said you took a break. I guessed you would be here.” I grunted and continued my run.

“Do you want to talk?” she asked after we made a lap around the field.

“I’m fine.”

“I know you too well to believe that.” She smiled and I chuckled.

“I am angry at myself,” I admitted. She didn’t reply for a few minutes and our jog slowly increased in speed until we were almost running.

“My sister was raped and killed by Elvens. It was a few years before I gathered my people and escaped from the tribe.” Malek had told me this story, but Shlara never spoke to me of her past.

Everyone had their tragic memories, I knew theirs were likely as terrible as mine.

Shlara continued, “She was older than me. I always looked up to her. She was so strong and beautiful. I was even a bit jealous of her as I felt my parents gave her more attention than me. Everyone I knew constantly reminded me of how amazing she was.” I could not imagine a woman more incredible than Shlara, but I knew voicing this opinion would give her false hope about our relationship.

“I was so absorbed in my envy, I never let her be my friend. I never told her I loved her, because I really did not love her until she was gone.”

“Was that when you decided to leave?”

“Yes. It was selfish, I was not motivated by some noble desire to save my people. I was driven by fear. I knew it was only a matter of time before the Elvens raped me. I hated them for taking her away from me before I could make things right between us. I hated myself because it was not until she died that I really became my own person. I’ve already told you how I organized my people and escaped. We were pursued, of course, but the Tulcitas were attacked by another tribe. That was why we made it. Not because of me. Because of simple luck.”

“Preparation has a lot to do with luck.” Entas had told me that and I repeated it to all of my commanders often enough that they believed it to be true.

“I understand your grief. Once death takes someone, you can never take back the things you said, or say the things you should have. But you can remember and honor them by pushing forward and being the person you think they would have wanted you to be.”

“You’re right.”

“Entas could have left whenever he wanted. He chose to go now because he knows you are ready to lead without him. He could not have built this army. He needed someone with your charisma and strength. He was ready to leave this world peacefully because he was confident you have mastered all he set out to teach.” Her smile was brighter than the stars and I felt the ache in my heart ease.

“The regret will pass. I’ve forgiven myself for the way I treated my sister. You’ll forgive yourself for not spending every second of your life with Entas,” she continued and her light teasing did make me grin.

“I know. New wounds hurt for a bit until they heal. It always hurts to lose someone. Perhaps it is easier to leave than it is to stay on this world,” I said.

“I’ve thought of that as well. We have many years of work and pain ahead of us. Entas gets to rest now.” Her smile faded and we ran in silence for another quarter of an hour, increasing speed until we sprinted almost as fast as a galloping horse.

“Spar?” she questioned. I nodded and we slowed down and stopped. We squared off, facing each other a few steps outside the track. She raised her arms over her head and twisted her body sideways to angle toward me. I quickly matched her stance and blocked her first few strikes and shin kicks. I countered with a feinted palm strike to her face and then landed a solid left punch to her stomach. Her abdomen was as hard as a maple tree, but she let out a short gasp of air from the blow.

“I’ve never done the morning training routine with you,” she said after she caught her breath and elbowed past my guard, cutting my skin above my right eyebrow.

“You don’t need it.” I wiped away my forehead with a flick of my hand and tested her guard with a few quick punches to her face and sternum. She blocked them all, but I was able to close the distance between us and wrapped my left arm over her shoulders. It was a veiled attempt to take her to the ground, but she must have expected the move. When I sidestepped her body to pull her off balance, she flowed toward me with a careful shuffle as soon as my arm touched her.

Her head smashed into the bridge of my nose, breaking it with a wet snap that would have tumbled most people. But my nose had been broken hundreds of times and the normal blurred vision and stinging pain no longer affected me. Instead, I slid my left arm up and hooked it around the back of her neck as I twisted my torso, lifted my right arm under her left armpit, and threw her on the ground headfirst. My body lay on top of her sideways and she struggled to block a quick series of elbows that I aimed at her temple.

One slipped through and graced her cheekbone. She grunted in annoyance and then finally caught onto my elbow and pulled me down to her chest, preventing me from getting more piercing attacks in on her face. This position let me knee her in the side though, but after a few blows that would have easily cracked the ribs of a normal human, I realized that she was just too tough for them to make an impact. I guessed that this grappling game was going to go on for another hour, so I disengaged from her grasp and pushed myself off of her, rolling backward and coming up into my battle stance.

She was already on her feet and had a mischievous smile painted on her beautiful face. Her grin did not fade as I threw a volley of left jabs at her face and then followed up with a right elbow. She blocked all the punches and danced away to avoid my forearm. I tripped her trailing foot and managed to force her down again with my shin, then I stepped toward her and kicked out with my left food. The edge of my boot caught her in the temple and knocked her unconscious. It would have killed a normal human, but Shlara woke up a few dozen seconds later and stuck her tongue out at me.

“Fuck. I’ll feel that for the rest of the day.” She gasped and spit out a mouthful of blood. “Looks like my unarmed skills need work.”

“You did fine; I am pretty hard to beat.” I flashed her a smile and then instantly regretted it. I had to be more careful about leading her on. I hardened my expression and turned away from her. “Let’s finish our calisthenics.” I sprinted over to the nearest pine tree and grabbed the lowest hanging branch with my right hand. Shlara grabbed one adjacent to me and matched my reps until we had done two hundred pull-ups. Then we switched to our main hands and began the count again.

“Have you prepared some words?” she asked.

“A few. I don’t know if I will say them though.” We switched back to the original hands.

“Will Malek speak?”

“I hope so. He is more eloquent than I am.” I smiled over at her.

“Thayer?” she inquired.

“I don’t think he will want to.” We switched hands again. My muscles were starting to ache slightly. We healed fast, but the strain of this workout was putting more toll on my joints than I could heal. Muscles grew stronger through healing the damage done by lifting; nerves learned that they could lift the weight by repeating the actions. I could still wield tremendous strength by merely harnessing the power of the Earth, but building our overall fitness in this way meant there would be less damage to repair during combat, and we could save our energy and focus for when we were seriously injured by a weapon. Entas and I had worked for countless hours developing the optimum exercise and conditioning plan to help us resist damage.

“Pushes?” Shlara’s voice pulled my attention back to our current efforts. I grunted and switched hands before pulling myself up to the top part of the limb. Shlara followed my movements until we were both suspended above the tree branch with our feet pointed toward the sky and our faces toward the distant roots of the pine tree. These push movements were harder than the pulls, and they were often done on the ground with just one hand. Shlara and I were strong though and we easily lowered our chests to where our hand clenched the thick branch. Then we pushed ourselves up into a handstand with minimal effort. We pushed out a few hundred movements on each side, dipping our heads beneath the branches for maximum range of motion. Then we moved down to the ground for some one-legged jump squats.

After another five minutes we were done. If this was a typical day of training, the exercises would be performed four more times with slight variations throughout the day. But now it was time to spar with some weapons. Shlara and I knew the routine and we walked from the tree in silence to the center of the training field where a few spare weapons and heavy steel shields lay in a pile.

I grabbed one of the larger shields and wrapped my right arm through the thick leather loops. The chunk of metal weighed over twenty pounds and came down to my lower shins when I held it at chest height. I swung the bulwark around, adjusting my perceptions to the weight and size. Once I felt satisfied, I picked a spear from the pile and did the same. Shlara matched my weapon combination, although she had chosen a shield three quarters the size of mine.

I pointed away from the stack of arms and we walked the short distance across the empty field. The sky was lightening to a dull purple color that might have been difficult to see with plain human eyes. It meant that dawn was a few hours off and I realized I still had much to organize before Entas’s cremation.

A sudden movement from Shlara ripped me back to the present and I managed to get my shield up before she skewered me with her spear.

“Stop brooding,” she commanded with a smile before she thrust her spear at me again. This one was aimed at my face and the dulled tip slid across the smooth metal of my shield like a flat stone across water. I pushed sideways with my right arm, throwing her spear wide, and then stabbed my own weapon forward. I aimed for where her spear arm was and believed she wouldn’t be able to get her own shield there in time.

She was fast and countered with a few thrusts toward the lower part of my body on my left side. I blocked both attacks and then sidestepped a slam with her shield aimed at my head. The movement left her flank open and while I couldn’t get the point of my spear aligned and into her fast enough; I forced her to lose ground with a retreat she hadn’t planned. I took the opportunity to push forward with an attack and she backpedaled frantically, blocking my spear blade half a dozen times while she tried to regain her stability and put some strength behind her shield.

Shlara was quick though, much faster than I was. Every time I thought I would put the dulled point past her shield, the woman’s body melted like steam around the shaft a tenth of a second before she knocked it away. Each time I thought I had flanked her and would take her by surprise, she got her shield in the way before I could strike. After a few minutes of beating her across the training field I realized that she was probably up to something dastardly and I switched up my tactics, falling back to give her wiggle room.

Shlara’s team of warriors spent most of their time with shield and spear so it was no surprise that she was so skilled with the weapon set. We circled for a few minutes, testing each other’s defenses with quick jabs that would have broken arms had we not been O’Baarni. Finally, I noticed a small dip in her chest before she thrust toward my right side, and I saw her favor her left foot slightly when blocking with her shield. The pattern might have been a feint, so I tested both sides of her defense half a dozen times to see if she copied the behavior under different circumstances. She didn’t, so I took a chance it wasn’t a ruse and made a move.

When she dipped her chest I threw my body at her left side, tying up the foot that she favored with my own shield. A quick twist of my right arm and a follow through with my hips landed the beautiful brown-haired woman on the ground with my spear a few inches from her neck. My risk had paid off, had she baited me with those movements, she could have set her weapon to meet my jump forward and I would have been skewered.

“How did you do that?” Her green eyes flashed dangerously. Shlara hated to lose and had always bragged that she could best me in combat. We had only sparred together a few times, and each time she had lost. I tossed my spear aside and helped her get to her feet.

“Let’s return to the camp.” The sky was turning a soft pink. The sun would awaken soon and with it I would bid farewell to my friend.

“Very well.” She set her weapons down and walked with me back into the camp. On the way I explained how I planned my move. She nodded during my analysis and asked a few questions about how she could correct the behavior and how I identified it so quickly.

“It was the same as when we reviewed your team yesterday,” I reminded her of the observations I made a few hours ago before Malek told us that Entas had died.

Entas’s temporary tent had been removed. In its place was a pile of dried pine wood meticulously stacked to elevate his coffin three feet off the ground. There were forty warriors standing in the clearing around the pyre speaking softly to themselves. Shlara and I waded through the small group until we made it to Entas’s side. Malek, Thayer, Gorbanni, and Alexia were already there.

“Let’s wait a few more minutes for the sun to rise,” I whispered. They nodded solemnly and I turned away from them to look upon my warriors. Word must have spread through the camp. The gathered throng had grown exponentially in size and it looked like at least half of the army was here.

Finally, the first bit of the sun crested the eastern mountains and the land was drenched in a golden light. Its rays warmed my body and for a moment I believed that everything would be fine. We could do this without Entas, we would vanquish the Elvens and wipe them from this world like fire through a forest.

“Should I begin?” Malek asked. I nodded, and he stepped toward the gathered army and raised his voice.

“It is rare that death comes to us so peacefully, but that is a fitting legacy for our mentor. Without him, there would be no army, there would be no war, there would be no chance of victory for our kind.” Malek paused as his words carried on the Wind. “There would be no peace.”

“His memory lives on in our training and our quest for freedom. We will be victorious over our enemies and usher in a golden age for our race. I wish Entas could be there to see it. Alas, he lived his last few years in tremendous pain. He was ready to leave us to our mission. He gave us everything and left us with the tools we need to flourish.” Malek’s voice cracked a little and he turned to Thayer.

“Once upon a time, Kaiyer and I were in a massive battle against our oppressors,” the big man began. “The two of us were outnumbered a hundred to one and could hardly stand because the field of battle was covered with eight inches of Elven blood, guts, and shit. Then another thousand Elvens crested the hill, ready to murder us. My brother and I knew we were going to have to actually start working now, so we doubled our efforts, slaying dozens of the ugly motherfuckers with each swing from our dull weapons. Yet even more of the assholes kept coming, like a swarm of angry bees. The slick battlefield became an ocean of red blood. We took turns diving under the guts and shit, holding our breath for minutes, and popping up where those ugly bastards least expected us, slaying hundreds anew before vanishing beneath the tide of Elven death. Then Entas came down from the mountains. He breathed fire, lightning, and upheaved the Earth with flicks of his fingers. He wiped out the remaining Elven forces like an ocean wave cleans the shore.” Shlara and Alexia stood at the front of the audience and they tried hard to keep from grinning. They knew the truth of how Entas, Thayer, and I met.

“Kaiyer and I had the situation well in hand, of course, but it was plain to both of us that Entas was someone you fucking listened to if you wanted to kill more Elvens. I learned a lot from the old man, and I will miss him more than he’ll probably ever know.” Thayer stepped back with a satisfied grin on his scarred face. Although his recount of our meeting was completely inaccurate, I found myself smiling at my friend’s exaggerated recollection.

Attention in the crowd turned to me. I was sure that the warriors wanted a flowery speech from their gifted leader, but while I normally would have little problem producing the right words to motivate them, I knew I couldn’t do a better job than Malek’s touching farewell or Thayer’s tall tale. In a way, they both represented Entas’s character. He was wonderful, powerful, kind, and ridiculous.

I stepped toward his coffin and raised my hand. Fire emerged easily and lit the stack of wood beneath him. Within a few seconds, the flames began to lick the sides of the casket like hungry orange tongues.

“First with Fire, then the Wind will take his ashes; the Water from rains will seal his body to the Earth,” I spoke aloud. “These Elements were taught to us by Entas. We will repay his memory by freeing our people!” I shouted and raised my fist in the air. The crowd had grown now and there was a sea of warriors. Thousands of fists raised into the air.

“Entas!” I yelled. They repeated my words and the valley reverberated with the sound. There wasn’t an Elven settlement within two hundred miles and the chances of us being scouted were very slim. I paused after a few seconds and then lowered my fist.

“Our struggle is far from finished. Train today as if Entas were watching you. Make him proud. Make the Elvens fear. Get to it!” They cheered again and quickly dispersed. Each part of the army was organized with their own training routine. Within five minutes the camp would be as busy as an ant hill.

We would grow stronger.

I turned back to face the fire. The coffin was encased in orange flames now and the heat was intense enough for me to take a small step away. I didn’t want to join the army in their training quite yet. Someone would have to spread the ashes. For a while my mind just drifted through memories of my dead friend. I remembered the time we first met, when he had saved Thayer and me from Elven capture. I remembered when he taught us how to use our magic to create Wind and Fire. I remembered the countless times he had advised me on strategy and war tactics.

“It was a fine ceremony and an honor to witness,” a voice behind me said. I hadn’t heard anyone approach, so I spun around to see who had spoken.

“Warc?” The sklad looked as I recalled from years earlier, when I was a slave. He was tall and awkward and moved like a drunk mantis. He had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face that was currently stuck in the same stupid grin that I remembered from the only other time we had spoken.

“Hey ho, Kaiyer. I’m glad you remember my name.” He gave a deep bow, practically touching his forehead to his shins.

“I have a good memory.” I looked around us and realized that we were alone. The rest of the warriors were hard at work training hundreds of yards away.

“Tales of this day will travel the land and ignite the resistance you are hoping for.” He winked at me and swung his head awkwardly, as if his upper body had decided to dance but his lower body hadn’t gotten the orders.

“I doubt that, sklad. People want to hear tales of victory, not the details of a wonderful man’s death.” I turned to look back at the fire. It was impossible to see the shape of the casket through the flames now. I was hoping that Warc would get the hint and leave me to brood, but I should have known better. I had to threaten to beat the man to get him to leave me alone.

“Perhaps this is a great victory though? Ho ho,” he laughed, and the sound brought back more memories of the last time we had spoken. “Now the army is yours to command fully. Our freedom from slavery is practically guaranteed.”

“I would rather have him here.”

“If wishes could be granted, we’d all have foot-long dicks, dragons to ride, and harems filled with Elven women.”

I turned to look at the strange man and something in my expression must have scared him.

“Well, if you are into those kind of women. I have always thought them attractive, but chances are I’d lose my foot-long dick and be fed to a dragon if I ever tried to ride one.” His voice had a singsong pattern and the phrase seemed recited.

“You are supposed to ask which one,” he said after I was silent for a few moments.

“Which one?”

“Which one I would have tried to ride: An Elven woman or a dragon? Ho ho!” He bent in half and laughed like a roaring bear.

“Your humor escapes me,” I muttered.

“No worries, Kaiyer. Humor escapes me as well.” He shuffled up near the fire and sniffed the air carefully. “Do you know that our ancestors believed that when you died your Spirit or soul lived on in the realm of the Gods?”

“No. Nor do I care.”

“I thought you might find it interesting, given the current situation. It is apparently a beautiful land, filled with endless clouds, streams, birds, and floating islands that stretch on to infinity.”

“So Entas is there now?” I smirked sideways at the bard. This talk was complete foolishness and I was a few seconds away from telling the man to leave. How had he entered into the camp in the first place? Shlara or Alexia normally updated me when we had sklads among our ranks. The bards always created a delicate situation in the army. They were useful for news and to entertain the troops, but they could easily see our training strategies. If they were then captured by the Elvens, we feared the information would be tortured from them. We usually got a commitment from them to stay with the camp permanently or to leave after a single night of entertainment.

“Spirits are flown there on beautiful ships shaped like fishes or birds and are painted in colors so vivid, imagination could not hope to account for their splendor. Your friend is probably on such a vessel now, watching us from afar.”

“Or he is dead, in the dreamless sleep that lasts forever,” I said flatly.

“Ho ho. You are not very romantic, my friend.”

“Romance has no place in my life.”

“That is nonsense on par with my earlier joke! I saw the two lovely women in the front of your army. They wore their desire plain on their pretty faces.” He poked his head forward a bit and tried to get me to make eye contact with him.

“I am done talking to you, sklad.” I crossed my arms and clenched my jaw. It was taking an effort not to backhand the annoying man across his smirking face. I didn’t want this today. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts of Entas.

Most of all, I wanted to talk to the man again. I’d tell him how grateful I was for everything he had done for me, and for all of us.

“Well then, perhaps we will meet again someday, Kaiyer.” I was a little surprised that his voice had no hint of anger to it. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts. Obviously, on a day like this, one doesn’t think about romance, do they?” I turned to face the man, but he was already walking away with the awkward, clumsy gait I recalled from more than a decade ago. One of the slave songs from a distant memory floated through the air and reached my ears. The song’s name and words escaped me, but the melody reminded me of my brother and father.

Now another member of my family was dead. How many more would find a similar fate before we were free? Would I burn Thayer’s corpse next? Shlara’s? Would they stand over my body and think of things to say?

The sklad was correct about the romance at least. Since Entas died I hadn’t thought once of Iolarathe.

Chapter 23-Kaiyer

“You feeling okay?” Danor shook my shoulder roughly and the abruptness of his movement startled me enough to flinch. Fortunately, I managed to restrain myself. I could have accidently killed my friend with my magical strength.

“Lost in thought.” I stared back into the embers of the dying campfire and reviewed the flash of recollection I had just experienced. The pain felt fresh during my recollection, but now it seemed like a distant story of someone else’s life. I had already remembered that Entas died, but this latest memory filled in the small gaps of how I dealt with his passing.

“I can understand.” He sat down on the log beside me and handed me a cup of steaming tea. “I’ve prepared our kits and the horses. Thanks for letting me come.”

“You may regret it.” I smiled back and took a sip of the tea. It was strong and tasted like he had slipped some bitter alcohol into it.

“Maerc passed me in the camp. Said they’ll be ready to move out by midnight.”

“Good.” Runir’s father had actually agreed wholeheartedly with my plan and the other generals also followed his lead.

Now the future of their country lay in my hands.

“Well friend, I know you were in a hurry to go. Shall we?” He tossed back his head and drained the last of his liquid. I nodded and followed his example before standing. Behind us were small leather packs stuffed with gear. Danor picked one up and handed it to me. It was lighter than I expected, but I was used to lifting heavy kits. The horses would carry the majority of the supplies that we would need to take us away from Nia.

“I’ve got sway in the army, but I wouldn’t have been able to round up more than two horses. Thank the Spirits Maerc wrote the requisition order for six of them.” Danor was growing a bit of beard stubble on his chin and he absently scratched at it and his long mustache while I inspected the horses. They were loaded with the bare minimum of camping gear and the only food was grain for the animals. Once we traveled away from the capital, I was confident that my hunting abilities would feed us until we made it to Nadea’s castle.

“They will work,” I said to Danor as I mounted a chestnut stallion with leopard white spotting. He looked to be the most finicky of the lot and I wanted to make sure he could be managed during the three mile ride to the oak forest on the edge of the Stone River. The horse danced a little to the right, but I uttered a few words of gratitude and stroked his neck to calm him.

Danor kicked his mare into a canter and the trailing horses followed. My own steed inched forward with desire and I let him follow the other animals away from the walls of the city, the fires of the campgrounds, and the flight of Nia’s army. Danor and I would return shortly, but the route would be one that the Elvens would not expect.

Or so we hoped.

Before long we approached the oaken forest and slowed our mounts to a walk. From what Danor had told me there were dozens of paths through the webs of trees, but one of them led to a small brook that fed into the Stone River. Near the spring was an entrance to the sewers underneath Nia. It was the same tunnel that Runir had used with his rescue team in their quest to find Nadea. Danor wasn’t sure of the exact way back into the city through the maze, but I thought the odds of a stealth entry were better here than attempting to sneak directly into the castle.

It was easy enough for me to listen to the sounds of the forest and find the melodic tune of the brook. I imagined that Danor and the horses couldn’t see through the inky blackness. To aid them I channeled some Air and Earth through my hand and created a small fire for illumination. Then I led my group of horses past Danor’s and moved toward the sound of the water.

After twenty minutes of wandering with purpose, we came to the entrance of the sewers. It was near a group of boulders and about thirty feet away from the spring that fed the brook. It looked like the tunnel may have once been built to handle additional runoff from whatever main channels cleared the muck from the city. Now it ran relatively dry, but its open maw reminded me of the wurm creatures that Danor and I had encountered beneath the actual sewers.

“This must be it.” He dismounted and tied the animals to a nearby oak tree. I did the same with my group, being careful not to startle the horses with the fire I clenched in my right fist.

“Runir told me that the tunnel had a thick ironwork grate over it.” He pointed to the entrance of the shaft and there sat a circle cut lattice of rusted iron attached to dilapidated hinges. If it hadn’t already been opened, twisting it free would make a ridiculous screech of noise.

“Will the horses be alright?” There were hundreds of variables on the mission, and an uncountable number of things that might go wrong. But what would displease me almost as much as failing Jessmei and Nadea would be escaping the city with them safely only to discover that our horses had vanished and we would not be able to get away.

“There hasn’t been a cougar attack near the capital in a dozen years.” He shrugged in the pale orange light from my fist. “If the Ancients find the horses, then we are fucked anyway, so I don’t want to think too much about it.”

“Agreed.” I adjusted the straps on my pack and took a black short bow off of the saddle of Danor’s horse. The only other weapons we carried were small daggers. I didn’t expect any violence during this mission, and I planned on leaving the bow in the dungeon.

“If we make it out of here alive, you must show me how to do that trick with the fire in your hand,” he said a few seconds after we climbed the boulders and entered the tunnel.

“That is the plan, my friend,” I whispered over my shoulder. The scent of the tunnels grew viler and I longed for heavily perfumed pieces of cloth Danor had brought on our last trip. The tunnels were high enough that we could stand, except at the points where they intersected other branches. The original designer of the system must have guessed that the sewage would pool there and had raised the sidewalk area to account for potential spray. A small trickle of foul liquid crawled down the smooth stone alley well below our feet. It made a sucking, slippery sound, but besides that there were no other noises in the corridor.

“The tunnels sound clear,” I said when we reached the second intersection.

“No wurms?” Danor breathed through his mouth.

“I don’t think they can make it up here. The caverns below the sewers probably do not have an access point big enough for them to fit through.”

“Unless they crawled through when they were babies.” My friend chuckled and then pointed down to the right. “Runir’s report indicated that we should turn here. Then it is pretty much a straight walk to the bottom of the dungeons.”

“This is the easy part.”

“Doesn’t smell easy.”

“I can’t argue with that.” We both laughed a little and I took the point position down the tunnel. I had debated bringing Danor along with me. I knew this mission would be dangerous and at first I thought he might be more of a liability. But he grew up in the capital, knew the dungeons, the sewers, and the layout of the castle. He also had ideas of where Nadea, Jessmei, Beltor, and Greykin could be in the castle. Every time I tried to leave my room in the giant fortress, I got lost. If Beltor hadn’t found me eating with the servants last time I infiltrated the castle, I might have wandered around for weeks looking for my friends.

I also enjoyed Danor’s presence. He was honest, steadfast, and confident. My memories were filled with experiences of teamwork with my fellow soldiers and friends. Roaming alone searching for Iolarathe had been miserable and lonely. Having comrades to share in the experience made the journey more fulfilling.

My mind drifted back to memories of Thayer, Malek, Alexia, Gorbanni, and of course Shlara. I betrayed them all in the end, but everything until that point had been a wonderful struggle for survival that we all shared. I wondered again how I could have killed Shlara, and how my love for Iolarathe had overshadowed everything I created. My musings grew as dark as the tunnel.

Finally, we made it to an ancient stairwell covered by a thick rusted grate that might have taken two humans to lift. The gate was bent open slightly, so we squeezed through with no trouble or noise. Then we ascended the stairway for half a minute and came to one of the junctions in the dungeon.

I listened at the top of the stairs and heard only the sputtering of a distant torch and the heartbeats of a group of rats in a nearby cell. I signaled to Danor that we were clear and the mustached warrior followed me into the darkened hallway.

If castle Nia was a giant spider, the dungeons beneath it were a multi-layered web of stone corridors and cells. Fortunately, each of the major hallways ended in a flight of stairs, so it was relatively easy to make our way to the surface. I felt confident I would be able to remember all of the turns and steps we took, but I was still thankful that Danor marked the walls with a blue line of chalk.

Eventually, we reached the top floor of the dungeons. Torches lit the few cells still holding the remains of imprisoned humans. The stench of rot and decay was almost as bad as the smell of the sewers. Our careful movement past the corpses disturbed families of rats and maggots. I heard Danor grunt behind me in an attempt to hold back vomit and I shot him a warning look. If there were Elvens posted at the door, they would be able to hear our approach.

We reached the main corridor of the top floor. I had been here before, after I was separated from Danor’s men and had made my way up from the caverns below the sewers. I signaled for Danor to hold here while I notched an arrow and crept down the hallway toward the exit to the courtyard. I turned the last corner, and while I expected the guard post to be manned by thirty angry Elven soldiers who all knew we were coming, I was relieved that there was actually no one there. I listened again for any signs they were nearby and then returned to Danor when I was sure it was clear.

He nodded at my signal and we opened our bags, producing servant’s attire that had been carefully wrapped in fennel, pepper and onions. I hoped the strong scents would mask my own enough so that the Elvens would not notice us passing through the hallways. I doubted that Danor’s scent would matter, but if we smelled like cooking spices, were delivering food, and were dressed like servants, the Elvens would hopefully assume the most obvious reason for our presence and ignore us.

Danor stashed our old clothes and the bags in an empty cell of the dungeon while I listened at the door leading out to the courtyard. When my friend returned I nodded at him that it was all clear. Then I held my breath before we opened the door and walked out into the night sky, acting like we were supposed to be there. I half-expected a garrison of Elven archers to be waiting for us, but there was nothing there but the cool night air and a nighthawk we had disturbed. Danor breathed a sigh of relief after the bird took wing and I guessed that the knight captain might have been as worried as I was about our chances.

When I was last here, I had wandered around the castle for almost an hour before the servant girl Bethany took me to the kitchen in the bowels of the castle. I might have found my way back there easily, but I nodded to Danor and pointed to the fortress, indicating that he should take the lead position and guide us there. He grinned and we moved through the well-manicured courtyard and into one of the many side doors that would lead into the belly of the stone spider.

The hallways were empty, save for the thick carpet in the middle of the marble floor and the lit lanterns. I wondered how common it would be for two male human servants to be walking around the halls at this time, but I guessed that if Danor thought it was something so odd as to arouse suspicion, he would have brought it up while I was telling him my plan.

We turned toward the South Wing of the castle and began our stressful walk through the dead hallways. After a few minutes the silence and stillness became oppressive and my companion finally spoke.

“It normally isn’t this quiet. It is still before midnight.” His voice was more than a little concerned. “Where is everyone?”

“We’ll find out before the night is over,” I whispered with a relaxed shrug. I didn’t want him to think I was also worried.

“Here,” he said after we walked for what had seemed like days, but was probably only ten minutes. He pointed to a wide set of stairs that descended to thick double doors. It was the entrance to the kitchen. The scent of roasting meat and baking bread had grown stronger and I could have found my way here by following my nose and the growls from my stomach alone.

“I smell food. That is a good sign, no doubt.” I heard voices on the other side of the door so I walked down the stairs and pushed aside the doors to enter the kitchen.

Over twenty Elvens stopped their conversation and turned to look at us. They were dressed as servants, in the new colors of green that the rest of the castle wore. We wore servant clothes that Danor had managed to gather from the army, but they were the old purple colors and made us stick out even more than our race. Time seemed to freeze and I couldn’t hear anything save Danor’s heart thundering in unison with mine, like two speeding horses fleeing a lion.

“The duchess wishes for a late night meal.” My voice was hardly more than a squeak. I should have guessed that Telaxthe would replace the human servants with Elven ones. They would work faster and be more loyal to her than humans. Were there any humans in the castle?

“You should be using the second kitchen. West Wing,” one of the Elvens sitting closest to the door said. He had dark red hair and cold blue eyes.

“The empress told our duchess we could use this one.” The Elvens on the other side of the room returned to their conversations, but the eight or so near me, and the few that stood at the food preparation tables were still paying attention to our dialogue. They hadn’t immediately attacked us, so I gambled that I could push my luck.

The red-haired Elven turned my words over in his head slowly and then sat back with a shrug. I noticed that his uniform seemed a bit cleaner than anyone else’s and it was stitched with gold-colored thread instead of black or green. He must have been in charge.

“If the empress said it was fine, you can take her whatever the cooks feel like making.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. My heart began to slow down and I wiped my damp palms on the side of my pants. None of these Elvens appeared to have weapons, but all I had was the dagger on my lower back. They could easily over power Danor and me.

We approached the kitchen staff. A few cooks were stirring pots and preparing dough for bread, but most watched us with looks of minor annoyance on their faces.

“What do you need, human?” asked a female. She had short ebony hair and eyes the bronze color of a cat’s.

“The duchess would like some food.”

“I thought we sent her some up a few hours ago?” Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“I’m just following orders. You know how it goes.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to relax my smile.

“That was the princess. Our empress dined in the human’s room.” Another cook looked over from his dough making.

“Duchess, princess, same thing.” The cat-eyed cook looked away from the other chef and back to us. “How many are eating?”

“The duchess and her two attendants.” I wondered if Runir and Greykin were actually being kept in the same room as Nadea.

“I will make trout and steam asparagus. I’ve got some potatoes and cheese as well. If you can wait for fifteen minutes, she’ll have a fine dinner.”

“That sounds great.” I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I should have said that we didn’t have the time to wait, but arguing might have raised more suspicion.

“If you are hungry, grab a bowl of soup and some bread. I’ll let you know when it is plated.” She had already begun cutting up a bundle of chives and gestured over her shoulder with a nod toward the pot and stack of dishes behind her. I looked to Danor, who nodded with a slightly exasperated look on his face. The kitchen did smell of wondrous food, and I couldn’t remember the last time I ate anything. Then I remembered the slop Iarin had cooked at the campsite last night when Kannath brought me back.

It seemed like a week ago, not just a night ago.

We took a bowl of soup each, split a loaf of dark rye bread, and then made our way to the benches where the other Elvens were sitting. There was an open spot near the end of one of the tables by the door and we sat across from each other.

The soup was a nice mixture of chicken broth, garlic, and winter tuber vegetables. As soon as my tongue tasted the blend my stomach groaned with anger and I fought against the overwhelming desire to guzzle it as quickly as possible.

Danor and I did our best to listen to the conversations of the Elvens that shared the table next to us. Most of the talk was about the logistics of serving those in the castle and the various methods to travel to the different sides efficiently. A few Elvens spoke about the reconstruction of the wing I had destroyed several months ago. From what they said, the repairs were going very well and they expected the rooms to be useable in three more months.

“Humans. The food is ready.”

We brought our empty bowls to a sink and placed our dishes on the counter next to twenty other dirty plates. Danor grabbed the silver covered tray the cook had prepared, and we bid her a good night. She gave a slight smile and then returned to her vegetable preparation. No one looked at us during the short walk out of the kitchen, and as soon as we climbed the stairs we were back in the main halls.

“That went better than I expected,” Danor whispered.

“We still don’t know where they are though,” I whispered back.

“True. But can’t you just smell them or something? You said you have a sniffer like a bloodhound.”

“The castle is big and there have been many people through these hallways. If I could pick up her scent it would be easy to follow where she went.” I thought about the last time I was in the castle and I had tracked Nadea by the sound of her heartbeat. When I woke from that dream I was brimming with more magic than I had ever felt. My senses had been so incredibly sharp and I felt more than invincible. I didn’t feel that sense of unlimited power now, and my efforts to identify the duchess by her heartbeat became lost in a sea of thousands of other small sounds in the fortress.

“We can find the other kitchen. Some of the servants must know where they are being kept.”

“Voices up ahead,” I warned Danor after we had walked for a few more minutes.

“Ancient or human?”

“I can’t tell. My people call them Elvens. It is a better word for their race.”

“Got it. So what if there are twenty Elvens up ahead?”

“I’ll ask them for directions.” I grinned at my friend to reassure him.

The man chuckled softly and then readjusted the tray when the flatware inside made a soft metal clinking noise.

A hundred yards of hallway was between us and the foyer of the North Wing. With each step the voices became clearer to my sharpened ears and the heartbeats, along with their topic of conversation, confirmed my earlier belief that it was a group of four Elvens.

“When is Fehalda’s team moving into the castle?” one of them asked.

“Word is the empress is angry with her,” another replied.

“So her warriors won’t join us? Seems a shame, even with the Greens here, the rooms are mostly empty.”

“Isn’t one of your lovers a Flame?”

“One of my children is in her army. It would be easier to see him.”

Their voices died off as our padded footfalls grew nearer. The foyer was a vast marble floored room with three massive stone staircases winding upward to an open second and third level. At the top of the ceiling hung a hefty chandelier that looked like a nest of cast iron in the middle of a cat fight with twenty icicles. Except the icicles were crystals that reflected candlelight across the large room in an array of beautiful rainbow colors.

The four male Elvens leaned against a smooth wall to our right. They wore the blue and gold colors of Alatorict’s army.

“You lost, humans?” the one with dark red hair asked.

“Yes. We are supposed to deliver food to the duchess,” I said with as much fear as I could muster.

“So go do it!” another one said with a small sneer.

“Do you know which room she is in?” Danor asked. He sounded surprised by his own question.

“Fifth floor, north side, two of our females are guarding the door.”

“Thank you.” I made a small bow while I backed away. Danor and I exchanged a relieved glance and then turned to walk up the stairs.

“Wait,” one of the guards said from behind us. My heart dropped and we spun around slowly on the wide steps.

“You look familiar, human,” the Elven said.

“I am new. Maybe you saw me walking in the castle?” I asked. If I hit them with fire they would all die, but it would be loud and messy. There was a better possibility that I could close the distance and gut a few with my dagger before the other two were able to draw their swords.

“No. No. The other one.” He pointed to Danor.

“I have one of those faces, sir,” my friend stammered with a nervous smile.

“You all do look the same. I think it is the mustache. It makes me believe I have seen you before, perhaps you were sweeping out the stables?” The four men laughed, but the intent didn’t seem diabolical.

“Perhaps you did, sir.” Danor smiled nervously and we continued our walk up the stairs. By the time we had reached the fifth floor the Elven’s conversation had turned back to their training and talk of where in the town they would visit when their shift ended.

“I think this plan might work. The guards probably won’t expect us to just walk out,” Danor said.

“Unless one of the guards recognizes me.”

“Maybe we should have gotten you a fake mustache.” Danor grinned. I could tell his heart was still racing though.

“One step at a time.” I smiled back and we headed north on the third floor.

“I bet they are staying in either Maerc’s or Beltor’s suite of rooms.”

“Why?”

“Nadea said this was a peaceful surrender. The empress will not want to make them feel like prisoners. I’m sure she would have even kept Nadea in her own room if it had not been destroyed. Maerc and Beltor have the nicest rooms outside the Royal Quarters. We are going in that direction anyway, so we will soon find out.”

“This way.” Danor turned west and we walked another two hundred feet before reaching an intersection. At the end of the hallway were two sets of doors, each guarded by a pair of Alatorict’s sentries. We approached the closest one. One of the guards had been assigned to my room when I was captive here. I struggled to keep my breathing and heartrate normal and looked down to avoid her gaze. I gave Danor a look that I hoped communicated that he needed to do the talking.

“We are supposed to deliver food to the duchess. Is this her room?” Danor’s voice sounded confident.

“No, human. She is across the hall.” The woman raised a leather gloved hand and pointed at the other pair of guards a hundred yards to the north.

“Thank you.” Danor bowed carefully with his tray and we turned to walk toward the next group. I didn’t recognize these two Elvens, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t know who I was.

“We have food for the duchess,” Danor said.

“The duchess didn’t order any food,” the Elven on the left said. She had wispy metallic-blue hair and eyes a few shades lighter.

“We are just following orders, ma’am,” my friend replied smoothly.

“Whose orders?”

“We were working in the kitchen and this tall Ancient came in. He had long silver hair tied up in a ponytail. He was dressed really nice and had this weird smile on his face. Told your cook down there to bring the duchess some food and she gave us the tray.” I spat the words out quickly and hoped she would assume that I meant Alatorict.

“No one is supposed to see the duchess until the empress visits her.”

“For the love of the Spirits, let them come in. We are hungry!” Nadea’s voice sang out from inside the room. The Elvens hesitated for a bit and cast annoyed glances at each other before they opened the door to allow Danor and I to enter.

Nadea, Greykin, and Runir stood behind a square oak table and a group of handcrafted chairs. They each wore Nia army uniforms of purple and gold trim, but the three were not armed with any weapons. Their faces were a mixture of relief and surprise, especially Nadea, who tried her best to keep her face from splitting into a grin when I walked into the room ahead of Danor.

“Your food has arrived,” I said with a careful smile. The door behind us was still open and the Elvens were observing us. Behind my friends were three doors that led to other rooms of the suite. To their left was a raised portion of the room that transitioned to a set of closed double doors that I guessed went to a veranda. I had lost my sense of direction within the castle, but I imagined that the balcony must have faced the north training courtyard.

“Straight from the kitchen.” Danor laid out the tray and then pulled the lid off to show the three sets of plates, glasses, flatware, a basket of bread, and bottle of white wine. “We were told there were three of you here and that it would be difficult for you to get food on your own.” He winked and I looked over my shoulder, the two Elven women stared into the room to ensure we completed our task and little else.

“Thank you, friends. I’m so hungry I could devour a cow, shit it out, and then eat it again.” Greykin’s voice was deeper and darker than I remembered. His face was thinner and more ashen than his usual ruddy skin tone. He had received a serious wound to his chest when Nia had originally fallen, but the Old Bear never showed it to me. I had smelled it, and the scent remained about him now, predicting an outcome that I didn’t want to imagine.

Danor gave me a nervous glance while we set up the plates and glasses on the oak table. One variation of our plan involved me taking out whatever Elven guards might be around Nadea and then securing her in an empty room until we found Jessmei and Beltor. If the situation was still under control and we had not been detected at that point, then we would look for Greykin and Runir. We were lucky to find Runir and Greykin with Nadea, but the Elven guards made the situation difficult. Even if I killed these two by Nadea’s door, there was another pair a hundred yards away. They would quickly raise an alarm before I could dispatch them. I hoped the door they guarded was Beltor’s, but that would still mean that we would have difficulty finding Jessmei before the empress’s warriors found us. My mind raced through thousands of different options before settling on a plan that I believed would have the best chance of success.

I pointed to one of the back rooms and met Nadea’s brown eyes. She glanced over to the Elven guards at the door and nodded slightly. I stepped around the table and walked toward the room while Danor continued to place the plates. I heard Runir and Greykin sit down and begin to tear into the food. But their actions didn’t distract the guards at all.

“Hey, human. Where do you think you are going?” one of the Elvens asked from the hallway behind me.

“To clean the duchess’s room, of course.” I smiled over my shoulder and then walked into the adjacent room as confidently as I could. Nadea followed me without looking and I closed the thick oak door behind her. I listened to the other room for a second and was surprised that the Elven didn’t follow us. She probably thought I was a mere human servant who wouldn’t dream of defying my new masters.

Once I had determined that they weren’t going to follow us I turned to Nadea to explain my plan.

“I thought you were dead, again.” Her arms wrapped up around my neck and her mouth whispered the words in my ear. I felt her warm breath on my face and smelled the scent of her hair and skin. My arms circled her lower back and I pulled her slender body against mine. For a few seconds I couldn’t think of anything besides how much I wanted to make love to her. There was a bed in the room, a monstrous four post contraption that could have penned an angry stallion if boards were added to the sides. It would have been wonderful to pick up my friend, carry her the thirty feet, throw her on the bed, and have my way with her. Alas, my animal brain recovered from its luxuriant fantasy and recalled the task at hand.

“I said I would return to you. I’ve come to rescue you,” I whispered back, remembering the last time we saw each other in Fisherman’s Gorge. Nadea had wanted me to stay in the camp, but I argued that her father and Jessmei needed me. My voice was quiet enough to keep the Elvens from hearing us. Or so I hoped.

“What do you mean?” She pulled away from me, her face painted with a puzzled expression.

“We are going to escape the castle. The army is departing east to your father’s keep.”

“No. No. No.” She shook her head and her dark brown mane swirled around her shoulders and cascaded down her lower back like the sunset over a waterfall. She normally kept it tied up in a ponytail, but tonight it was loose. I noticed now how each thread of hair on her head had a faint metallic sheen. “I surrendered. It’s over. We lost. There is nowhere to run.”

“Your father’s castle is on the cliffs of the Teeth. We can defend against the empress from there. We can also escape into the Losher lands if we need to.”

“They will hunt us down. They are too powerful. I’ve thought about this Kaiyer. There is no way we can win at this point.” She crossed her arms.

“I will change more of your troops and train them. I spent my life fighting Elvens and I can show your people what to do.” I struggled to keep my voice low.

“It is too late. The empress has us cornered.”

“There is always a way to victory. We have to get you and Jess out of the castle.”

“She is here?”

“Somewhere. I believe your father is just across the hall.”

“My father?” Her eyes glistened slightly and for a second the strong woman in front of me became a girl that missed her parent. I could relate to the feeling. The loss of my brother and father still made my heart ache, thousands of years later.

“We will kill these guards, retrieve your father, find Jessmei, and then flee the castle. We have horses prepared and can—”

“Ahhh shit!” Greykin’s voice boomed in the room next door with the accompaniment of a broken glass.

“You poured wine all over me, human!”

“The wet and annoyed look suits you, Ancient. Maybe if you hadn’t gotten in the way of me feast you wouldn’t have suffered from the wrath of this glass.”

The two began to argue and Runir jumped into the verbal fray to point out that the guardswoman was quite clumsy. Nadea and I turned our attention back to each other knowing that we only had a few precious seconds to conclude this discussion.

“I will speak to my father; we will listen to your plan and then make a decision.” Nadea’s words were backed by iron and she moved past me to open the door. “We can’t risk offending the empress without a complete understanding of the consequences.”

“Have you met with her yet?” I rested my hand on her arm to keep her from opening the door. The contact of her skin felt like warm sunlight baking my cold and tired body.

“No. I was told tomorrow at the earliest. They showed me respect when I arrived though, so I am going to demand to walk across the hallway and see if you are correct about my father. Then you can explain the plan to both of us.”

“Fine, I will need to tell you both something else as well,” I said through gritted teeth. Nadea wanted to see her father and at this point, nothing I could say or do would stop her. She was as stubborn as I remembered Shlara being. Just like me.

The argument next door was becoming more heated and I heard Runir moving toward our door to block the guard from entering. I moved my hand to my back and made sure the small dagger there was loose in its sheath under my shirt. If the guards denied us access to Beltor it would get messy. I hoped Nadea could at least get to the door down the hallway before the guards tried to stop her with force. Then I could kill them without risk of one escaping and sounding an alarm.

“I am going next door,” Nadea said to everyone in the room as soon as she opened the door. She slid around the tall blonde man and went to move past the guards that he had been blocking.

“No. You are to stay in your quarters,” the guard with the blue hair and eyes said.

“Is my father in the room down the hall?” Nadea took a step toward the Elven and the table with the uneaten plate of food.

“You can ask the empress tomorrow when she sees you.” The Elven crossed her arms and rested the palm of her right hand on the pommel of her sword. The other guard still stood in the entryway to the suite but also rested her hand casually on her blade.

“Are you going to draw your swords?” The duchess glared at the two women and stepped toward them. I wondered how much she had practiced with the Earth in the time we had been apart.

“The empress wishes you alive, human.” The blue-haired Elven inched a few steps closer to the side of the table away from Nadea and then nodded with her head nonchalantly over to where Danor, Greykin, and Runir stood. “But one of them can be killed easily. Don’t test our resolve.”

“He must be there or you would have answered differently. I will see him now.”

“No, human. You will not.” The guards drew their swords from their scabbards. To me, it was a slow movement that I could have interrupted with a simple push on their arms, but it probably seemed fast to Greykin, Runir, and Danor. The Elven guard in the hallway stepped a few feet into the suite but still blocked the exit. I heard a hurried set of footsteps make their way toward us from the other room.

“There is no need for weapons. Just let me see my father.” With the swords drawn, the room suddenly felt too small. The Elven closest to us with the blue hair could move a few feet and cut down any one of us. Unfortunately, if she actually chose to attack the three men on the other side of the table there was little I could do about it without harnessing magic.

Every heart in the room beat furiously.

“No. We have our orders.” She looked at me. “The servants shall leave your room now or I will remove them. You will stay here until the empress sees you. Another outburst like this and I will either remove or kill your friends.” The two other guards came to stand in the hallway. It was only a matter of time before the woman who used to guard my door recognized me. Then I would be forced to act.

“The empress promised me autonomy with her people. Do your actions mean that she lied to me?” Nadea was getting angrier. I could imagine her frustration. It had been a year since she last saw her father and the knowledge that he was in the next room must have been agonizing.

“You can address her directly tomorrow.” She looked to me and narrowed her eyes. “Leave now.”

“Let’s go,” I said to Danor. Then I stepped around the table and walked toward the Elven with the blue hair. She glanced at me for a second and then turned her attention back to Nadea.

“Are you done whining, human?”

“I will inform the empress of your actions,” Nadea seethed at the blue-haired Elven.

I had walked past the last guard in the room and was a few feet from the doorway the other two Elvens were guarding when Nadea said the words. The woman on the right glanced to me as I neared her and then her eyes registered the recognition that I feared. Her mouth opened in surprise, but my dagger was already leaving the sheath tied sideways in the small of my back. I made a quick shuffle forward and twisted my body, whipping my hips and arms around to slash at her. My weapon was short, only five inches of blade, but the ferocity and speed of my attack separated her head from her neck like a butcher would handle a chicken.

The other Elven reached for her sword, but my left arm was already traveling away. None of these warriors wore helmets, so when my elbow collided with the side of her face it shattered skull and teeth, like a rock tossed through a red windowpane.

The other two guards were in the process of turning around to see what the noise was behind them. I dashed through the doorway and rammed the dagger in my left hand deep into the back of the closest Elven. The stab went between her ribs, splitting her slow beating heart in twain. It would probably take her brain a few seconds to realize that she was dead, and by then I would have killed the blue-haired Elven who turned toward me.

In combat, even the smallest mistakes could cost you everything. When battling with an O’Baarni or an Elven, mistakes compounded quickly. Actions that took a human a second to execute only took me an eighth of one. My warriors had to think quicker, respond faster, and plan their fighting tactics five steps ahead of their opponents. So far I had been disappointed with the prowess of the empress’s troops. Yillomar had apparently been one of their best warriors, even skilled enough to beat the current O’Baarni crop, yet I defeated him easily. Could it be that the science my generals and I perfected had somehow been lost in these five thousand years? The stakes were much lower for my current brethren and the Elvens. Competing in a series of games for fame, instead of training for survival, must have dulled their skills.

My thoughts turned back to the blue-haired guard as she turned the wrong direction to face me. I was behind her, to her right, yet her sword was in her right hand. The novice would have turned as she did, clockwise toward me, but this allowed me to trap her weapon against her body as she twisted and slam the dagger into her right eye socket. Had she known better and spun counterclockwise, she could have addressed me with the point of her blade. It may not have mattered ultimately, but it was the finer techniques, committed to memory over thousands of repetitions, that separated the master warrior from the novice.

“What did you do Kaiyer?” Nadea’s voice was frantic.

The four bodies fell to the floor at almost the same time, but I was already back to the second guard. Her body twitched a few times while her brain tried to rearrange itself. After a few seconds, her limbs stopped moving and I confirmed she was dead. Then I looked at the hallway. The first guard’s blood splattered all over the side of the wall and pooled on the tile beneath her body. I had moved fast enough to escape the initial artery spray, but my left hand was covered with it from when I stabbed the third guard.

“One of the women in the hallway recognized me.” I grabbed the first guard and dragged her body into Nadea’s suite.

“Why did you kill them?” Nadea’s face was red and she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

“Do you want to see your father or not?” I shot back at her.

Her meeting with the empress was fast approaching and the outcome of that meeting would determine the fate of every human being on this planet. Nadea could not enter into that negotiation unaware that the empress was her mother.

“Yes of course I do. Your actions will strain the beginnings of our relationship with the Elvens.” Nadea’s voice had calmed down and I heard her move toward the doorway.

“These Elvens aren’t your friends. They’ve killed many of your people and mine. They may approach you with an open hand, but it will only last until they have gotten whatever it is that they want from you. Then you will be slaughtered or enslaved, just as we were.” I finished moving the second body inside and retrieved the head of the first Elven, throwing it on the pile of bodies that was now in Nadea’s room.

“Get your possessions and go to the other room. Don’t step in the blood.” I grabbed one of the scabbards off of a body and tied the belt to my waist.

“You got it, lad,” Greykin said before he stepped around me. Runir and Danor quickly followed after they too took weapons.

“I did not even see him move,” Danor whispered once they made it to the hallway.

“You are right.” Nadea sighed and the tension in her shoulders melted away in acceptance. “It used to be that I wanted Nia to overcome these invaders. When we were turned away at Brilla, I realized that we were in danger of losing our entire populace. The empress’s deal seemed more attractive then. I knew how horrible these Elvens were, but I thought that the empress’s forces would be different.”

“Let’s go see if your father is in that room. Then we will talk. If you decide to stay here that option will still be open for you.” I moved over to the table and wiped the blood off my hands with a white cloth napkin that hadn’t been used yet.

“If he is being kept in Maerc’s room, there are hidden passages leading out of that suite and into the bones of the castle. We can leave without raising detection.” Nadea walked out and I followed closely behind her, being careful to avoid the blood on the ground. The Elvens would still be able to find me by smell because of the trace amounts on my hand, but if my friends didn’t have any on them, it would make their tracking harder.

The three other men had already reached the door down the hall. Danor pulled out his dagger and entered first after Greykin pushed it open. By the time Nadea and I made it to the room the sounds of Beltor’s voice and the chuckling of the other three men were leaking into the hallway. Nadea’s walk turned into a sprint that only one of the O’Baarni could have matched and when she reached the doorway to her father’s room she grabbed onto the dark oak trim with her left hand to spin her into the room quicker.

“Father!” I stopped in the hallway and couldn’t help but smile. Nadea and her father were lost in an embrace so tight that they almost seemed to be one person. Beltor looked twenty years younger than when I had last seen him with Jessmei. He spun his daughter around in the air as if she weighed the same as a newborn. Finally, he set her down and pulled away to look at her face.

“I missed you so much.” He clasped her cheeks and looked in her eyes. There was no mistaking the love and gratitude on the man’s face. It warmed every part of my body and made me wonder what it would have been like to meet my own daughter. Would I have been as good of a father as Beltor was to Nadea?

“Greykin.” Beltor turned away from the door and reached out to hug the older man. The Old Bear had trained the duke, the king, and their generals in their younger years, so I knew that the two men had a close relationship. Runir and Danor received strong hugs from the duke as well as words of gratitude.

“It is good to see you both. Thank you for bringing my daughter to me.”

“You’d have to thank Kaiyer for that. It was his crazy idea to sneak into the castle and rescue you all,” Danor said with a smirk as he nodded his head toward me.

“Kaiyer?” Beltor spun around to face me.“By the Spirits!” His mouth hung open and his skin turned as white as Fehalda’s.

“You don’t exactly look happy to see me, friend.” I smiled at him.

“I can hear his voice as well. Do you all see him, or am I going insane?” The duke’s voice was hardly a whisper.

“What is wrong, Father?” Nadea stepped to the side of her father and her brows furrowed with worry.

“I see Kaiyer’s Spirit in the doorway.” He pointed at me.

“I’m no ghost, Beltor,” I said with a laugh. Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming from the south side of the castle.

Many footsteps.

“You said there are passages out of this room?” I looked at Nadea and she nodded.

“Guards approach. I will buy you some time. Find Jessmei and flee the castle. Danor.” I turned to the mustached man. “You will show them.”

“Aye, Kaiyer. We’ll wait for you at the horses.”

“Don’t wait too long. I can follow you on foot. You must get Nadea and Jessmei out of the castle.”

“We’ll do it, Kaiyer.” Greykin growled and seemed to increase in physical size instantly, while Runir moved back in the suite to a bookshelf and pried at the edges.

“I saw you die, Kaiyer,” Beltor whispered through pale lips. Everyone paused their movements and turned to me.

“You are mistaken, Duke. I am alive here now.” I smiled and listened down the hall. It sounded like a dozen sets of feet. Maybe I would get lucky and it would only be servants.

“I know what I saw, man! That woman cut your—”

“Kaiyer!” a voice I recognized screamed down the south hallway and interrupted Beltor.

“Get Jessmei. Bar the door.” I looked to Nadea and she nodded.

“Be safe,” she said. Her brown eyes met mine and I wished the moment could have lasted forever. Instead, I grabbed the door and slammed it shut. Then I turned down the hall and began to walk toward the voice that had called my name.

“I thought I picked up your scent in the castle. I should have known that Fehalda was full of shit!” Isslata was flanked by ten guards who all wore Alatorict’s colors. Her golden hair was tied in the usual thick braid, today it was laced with green ribbons and lavender blooms.

“You found me.” I continued to walk toward her and tried to fight the worry gnawing into my stomach. Isslata was no fool and she must have known why I was here and in this hallway.

“Untie your sword belt and drop your weapon. The empress will wish to speak with you.” Isslata smiled slightly and then her eyes shifted past me down the hall. We were still a few hundred yards from the doorway to Nadea’s room, but I was sure Isslata could see the pool of blood on the ground and painted on the side of the wall. She must have wondered where her four guards were.

I didn’t see her make a gesture, but the Elven warriors behind her drew their weapons. Swords were made to kill, and the sound of them escaping their scabbards was a song of death.

I stood fifty yards from Isslata. It was a distance I could cover quickly, but the odds of me surviving a charge against eleven armed warriors who had their blades ready and knew what I was capable of were low.

“I won’t ask again, O’Baarni. Disarm. Now.” Isslata’s green eyes seemed to turn golden in the torchlight. I heard the ever fainter whispers of my friends as they retreated through the tunnels away from us. I didn’t know for sure how well the Elvens could hear, but I hoped that Isslata didn’t realize that the prisoners were escaping.

“No,” I said. The words came out of my mouth with regret. It was not the time to muse on my feelings for the psychopathic Elven, but there was no denying the connection we had developed during our countless nights of sex and conversation. I did not want to kill her.

She stared back for a few seconds, face cold and impassive and beautiful. She could not tolerate my refusal in front of her warriors. I suspected if it were not for the fear she wielded through her violent and erratic behavior, many of them would have already questioned our relationship and her loyalty to the Elvens. One of us would have to die tonight unless she could figure out a way to retreat without looking weak.

“Kill him,” she said softly. It was hardly a whisper but was filled with more remorse than I had expected.

Her guards sprang forward like rabid wolves, hungry for the kill that had taunted them for too long.

So be it.

Chapter 24-Jessmei

I paced my room after Telaxthe left, my mind awhirl with thoughts too agitated to be contained in an immobile body. It was a relief to have something to think about besides Kaiyer’s death. The story the empress had told me was too fantastic to be real. Though sometimes the truth was harder to believe than the fantasies we created to protect ourselves from the pain of reality.

A soft knock sounded on my door and I paused. Perhaps my mind had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I had created the noise out of some deep desire for company. The knock sounded again and I moved toward the oak door and opened it.

“Good evening, Princess.” An Elven woman wearing a green uniform with gold embroidery of trees and flowers stood in the hall. Her skin was a few shades grayer than snow white, while her hair was a darker ash. Her eyes sparkled like red rubies. They were the kind of eyes that would have made me think the woman was a monster had she not possessed such an alien beauty. It almost looked as if an artist had carved her out of granite and affixed the precious stones on her face just to give her some sort of color.

“The empress sent me to keep you company. It is close to midnight, but I heard you walking in your room.” The woman’s mouth curled into a slight smile and her beauty seemed to increase dramatically. Her hair was tied together in a loose bunch of braided curls, one of which I noticed was actually colored a red darker than her eyes. I realized I had been staring at the woman for longer than was polite and I felt my cheeks begin to burn.

“I was just thinking,” I replied.

“I pace when I am deep in thought as well. What were you thinking about?” She tilted her head slightly and her long braids fell to one side of her face.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, maybe a little too quickly. I knew that by requesting an escort around the castle I would gain a bit of freedom, but it would saddle me with someone always watching what I was doing and trying to pry into my mind. It was worth the hassle until I could get a feel for what was actually going on in my home.

“Do you wish for food? Drink?” The woman’s smile disappeared and I guessed that she wasn’t used to being pleasant.

“I am fine,” I said, looking back over my shoulder. I had kept the fire burning brightly, along with several oil lamps. On the oak table were two pitchers of water and half a bottle of wine that I hadn’t touched since the empress left fifteen minutes ago.

“Well, I could eat and would prefer someone to join me. We can walk to your main kitchen and then make the journey back. Perhaps the stroll and conversation with me will help you relax?” I debated telling her no, but realized that I might as well take advantage of the request I had made earlier, I did want to see the castle. Besides, I really was having problems sleeping and a bit of exercise would no doubt help my mind relax.

“I would enjoy that.” I smiled and then looked down at my clothes. I was wearing a light wool slip and it would be unseemly for anyone to see me dressed as such outside of my room.

“Can I change quickly?”

“Of course.” The gray woman nodded and stepped inside of my suite when I gestured for her to enter.

I walked to the other side of the main room and opened the door to my bedroom. Then I moved to my dresser and slid open the wood doors to reveal my abundant collection of dresses. When the woman who had killed Kaiyer returned me here I had been surprised to find my quarters as I had left them. I would have thought that the Loshers would have pillaged every square inch of the castle and burned whatever they couldn’t haul away. Most of the dresses required various sets of hands to help button, tie, braid, or otherwise fashion to my body, but there were a few I could manage by myself. I selected one, a smooth satin dress with a shorter cut at the legs. It was more of a spring dinner piece, but the garment was modest and easy to walk in. I hadn’t heard the footsteps of the woman follow me into my room, but I still stepped behind my vanity screen to take off my nightgown and slip on the new dress.

“That dress is pretty. It matches your eyes,” the Elven said after I walked out of my room.

“Thank you.” It was always nice to be complimented, but I doubted she really cared.

“You should brush your hair though.” She raised a finger to point to my blonde mane. I hadn’t bothered to look into a mirror after I put the dress on, and now that I thought about it, I didn’t remember the last time I had even glanced in one.

I returned to my bedroom and approached the mirror cautiously, afraid to see how awful I looked. My face was thin and the blue of my irises was bright against my bloodshot eyes and the dark circles that rimmed them. My hair was a nest of hay tumbling down my back and I realized with embarrassment that I had dined with the empress in this state. My mother would have been horrified. She always chided me about making a good impression, that keeping my appearance neat and pretty was not just good manners, but my duty as a representative of Nia. I sighed and vowed I would present myself in a more appropriate way the next time I saw the empress, and make my apologies for how I looked tonight. I ran my fingers through my matted hair. It would have taken my handmaidens an hour to sort through the tangles and arrange it properly. I could not keep the Elven woman waiting, so I did my best to quickly smooth it down and pin it up into something a little more presentable.

“What is your name?” I asked after I returned to the gray Elven.

“Vernine.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” I curtseyed and she bowed slightly. She gestured to the door and closed it behind us. The two guards in the hallway nodded as we passed but did not question where Vernine was taking me. Perhaps they had already discussed it, or maybe she outranked them and they were not supposed to question her.

“They have different colored uniforms than you do.” I should have said it as a question but the words came out as a statement, a stupid and obvious statement.

“They are in a different army.”

“The empress has different armies?” I had never paid much attention to any of the war talk my father engaged in, but I knew that Nia only had one army.

“The empress has five different generals. Each controls their own army.”

“Which army are you in?” If there were multiple armies with their own generals, perhaps I could find an ally in one of them.

“I report directly to the empress. I am a commander in her Elite Guards.”

“But the other armies know who you are? You work together?” I tried not to sound like I was digging for information, but I supposed that Telaxthe wouldn’t have sent Vernine if she thought I would be able to manipulate her.

“My green kit shows that I am with the empress.” She gestured to her uniform with some pride. “But I know the guards posted at your door. I was with the blue general when he seized your castle. We have been comrades for years now.”

“Who is the blue general?”

“Alatorict. You may not meet him for some time. Your interactions will be with the empress or myself.”

We walked in silence for the next few minutes until we reached the foyer of the Royal Wing. I descended the marble stairs, but after a few steps I noticed that Vernine wasn’t accompanying me. I turned up the banister and saw the ash woman sniffing the air slightly as if she had caught the scent of a dessert baking and was trying to determine the location of its oven.

“Are you okay?” Kaiyer had spoken about his heightened senses, but he had not mentioned these Elvens sharing similar traits.

“I am fine. Let us continue.” Vernine looked the exact opposite of what she said. I considered asking her what she smelled, but as she was clearly intent on lying to me about it, I did not bother.

There were five Elven guardsmen in the foyer, all dressed in blue. The group looked somewhat agitated. They had their hands on their weapon grips and moved to the bottom of the stairs as we descended.

“Hail, Vernine.” The man in the front had bronze-colored hair shaved close to his skull. “Did you see Isslata?”

“No.” Vernine stuck her tongue out and licked her lips quickly. “How long ago did she pass through here?”

“Not five minutes. She asked us not to let any humans leave this wing until she returned.” The man turned his attention to me.

“She was accompanied by your warriors?”

“Yes.” The man nodded and the other guards behind him mirrored his movement. They seemed agitated. “Her Saber Squad.”

“I am sure they can handle whatever disturbance is afoot. You should obey her orders and detain any humans attempting to leave. The princess and I are on our way to the kitchen, we will return shortly.” Vernine’s voice never fluctuated. Something was going on in the castle, but she seemed completely indifferent. I supposed that Telaxthe had ordered her to attend to me and she was giving that task her undivided focus.

“Very well.” The guards hesitated for a few seconds, but apparently Vernine had not lied earlier when she had spoken about her connection to the empress. The warriors stepped to the side of the stairway and allowed us to pass with no further words about my race.

“Who is Isslata?” I asked after we had left the foyer for the south bound hallway toward the center of the castle.

“Alatorict’s primary commander and trainer for his army.”

“Is there something amiss in the castle?” I asked the obvious question.

“Perhaps,” the woman turned to me, “if you believe in Spirits or ghosts.” Her lips parted in a slight smile. She wasn’t used to smiling.

“I do believe in Spirits,” I said.

“Oh? Tell me more.”

“When the people we love die, they often come back to watch over us. They do their best to aid the living. It brings them peace in the afterlife.” I was giving her the short version. I could have spoken about the specifics of prayer and such for hours, but I suspected she may have been sarcastically asking me about my faith. Then again, I could not tell if this ash-skinned Elven even knew what sarcasm was; her voice was so devoid of emotion.

“Did you love the O’Baarni man who called himself Kaiyer?”

“Yes,” I said softly, remembering his lips on mine, his scent, his smile, everything came crashing into me like a wave against the beach.

“He is dead. You saw him die?” Her words were an arrow through my heart. The world spun and dove. I slowed my walk and tried to concentrate on not crying. I thought I was past this, but this strange woman pried loose the memory of Kaiyer’s head rolling on the ground.

“Yes.” My eyes watered and I didn’t say the word as much as choke it out. I wanted to go back to my room now. I wanted to be alone and mourn until my body left this world and joined his. But I needed to focus on Vernine and the walk to the kitchen. I didn’t want her to think I was some stupid love struck girl.

Then again, perhaps it would be better if they underestimated me.

“Perhaps he is here watching over you.” The woman put a hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Her eyes seemed to glow evilly in the torch light while her mouth displayed perfectly white teeth, but the smile was friendly and her expression sympathetic and sincere instead of malicious.

“I hope so.” I sniffed and patted the edge of my dress sleeve against the corner of my eye.

“He was an interesting one, your Kaiyer.”

“You knew him?” I turned to the woman and tried not to seem surprised. I knew that Kaiyer was held captive by the empress, but I didn’t know how much contact he had with her people.

“Yes. I knew him better than most of my people know his kind.” She smiled cryptically. “My kin have a saying in our ancient language: ‘The most certain determines the outcome.’”

“The most certain,” I repeated and tried to wrap my mind around the concept without her explaining it further. After half a minute I gave up and asked her to explain what she meant.

“If there are two warriors facing each other in a duel, the one who is most certain of victory will triumph. If two groups are engaged in a political debate, the one that is most certain they are right will win. This is why one must be extensively trained in any discipline they practice. You must have confidence in your ability and enough knowledge to achieve success.”

“I think I understand. When I first learned to dance, I felt clumsy and could not perform the movements correctly. After enough practice, I had more confidence and I was certain I would do well at balls.” I winced inside at my words. It was a reply I would have given a year ago perhaps, but I had changed. I didn’t care about dancing anymore, or Vernine’s philosophy, but I needed her to think that I did. I wanted her to think of me as a vapid princess with nothing on her mind but love, dancing, and parties.

“Did you dance well because of the practice, or because the practice made you confident?” Vernine smiled a bit at her question.

“The practice made me certain I would do well. I had repeated the movements hundreds, maybe thousands of times. I couldn’t have been successful without the practice.”

“Perhaps you are correct. But one day you will have to do something you have never done, and you will be so certain of your success that your mind shall create the outcome you wish for.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybes. Only certainty.” She smiled at me again. I laughed at her point and shook my head.

“I like you, Vernine,” I said sincerely. The Elven was emotionless, but she didn’t seem dangerous, just mildly bored with babysitting me.

“I like you too, Princess. I liked your friend as well. I bring up the certainty because he was the prime essence of that saying. He seemed to have no doubt in his mind that he was the actual Kaiyer. Even when we had him detained in our camp, completely at our mercy, he treated the situation as if he could crush us at any time. It was annoying, yet charming.” She smirked and I realized that the woman did have facial expressions. They were just very slight.

“He frustrated my brother as well. Once Kaiyer and I were having lunch and Nanos interrupted us. Kaiyer didn’t appreciate the way my brother spoke to me and threw him in the creek.” The memory made me want to giggle and cry at the same time.

“That sounds like something he would do,” Vernine said. “Here.” We had reached the set of stairs that led down into the main kitchen. I had been here a few times in my life, mostly when I was a young girl and spent my days chasing Nadea, Nanos, and Runir around the castle. They would duck into the kitchen to steal treats or food and I would often get caught attempting to mirror their capers.

The sound of thunder suddenly rang through the halls as if a storm cloud found itself inside of the castle. Vernine and I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up to the ceiling. It was hard to tell where the noise had come from, but it had definitely not originated in the kitchen.

“What was that?” I tried not to sound afraid, but I probably failed.

“Nothing that can’t wait until after we eat.” She shrugged nonchalantly and pushed open one side of the double swinging doors. I followed her into the kitchen and was surprised to see only Elvens in the room. They were wearing servant clothes, but in the empress’s shade of green instead of traditional Nia purple.

“Where are the human servants?” I asked.

“They are in the West Wing’s kitchen. The empress wanted her staff in the main kitchen until she had a chance to work out responsibilities with you and your family.” The atmosphere in the room seemed tense and the gathered Elvens looked very relieved to see my escort.

“Can you put together a meal for us?” Vernine addressed a black-haired woman with eyes that looked like an animal’s.

“Of course, Vernine. Do you or your human have a preference?” There was another loud sound of thunder and a few of the Elvens in the room gasped in complete surprise. The cook’s face went a few shades whiter.

“Whatever is fresh.” The woman with ruby eyes completely ignored the sound and the obvious fear around her. I had to admit that her indifference to the noise made me wonder why the cooks and servants were so skittish. Elvens were so much stronger than humans, what could they have to fear?

“I gave the other two humans some fish and vegetables. I can prepare the same for you and yours.” The cook’s big eyes darted back and forth between the two of us.

“There were two humans in this kitchen?” Vernine asked.

“Males. About three quarters of an hour ago. Just some servants delivering food to the duchess, or princess, or someone like that.”

“What did they look like?” Vernine seemed interested. Or at least, one of her gray eyebrows rose slightly.

“Don’t they all look the same?” The woman laughed and then cut short when she realized that Vernine either didn’t get her joke or seem to care. “One had a dash of hair in between his nose and mouth. The other was much thinner.”

“The thin human; what color were his eyes and hair?”

“His hair was dark brown. I don’t recall his eye color.” She turned over her shoulder and yelled something unintelligible to the men behind her, who promptly buttered an iron pan and began rummaging through cabinets.

“We’ll be done in a quarter—” Another boom, more like a series of rumbles, sounded distantly in the castle. This time the plates on the shelves rattled and the chandelier on the ceiling swung slightly.

“What is going on?” All pretense of calm vanished amongst the cooks and they joined the woman at the table to beg Vernine for answers.

“Probably nothing, you should go about your duties until instructed otherwise.”

Almost as soon as Vernine finished her words, the castle alarm bell rang. It was a horribly loud device, connecting almost two hundred flat gongs, large chimes, and cup shaped bronze bells to ring all at once across the massive castle. I was somewhat used to the noise as it was tradition to use it on the turn of the new year to test the device. But I had only ever heard it rang once before as an actual alarm, just a few minutes before I was kidnapped. The alarm I remembered was almost ear-splitting, but someone must have damped a few of the more aggressive bells. I could still hear the ring, and it was still loud, but it was less painful now.

“Apparently it is far from nothing.” Vernine smiled. “You should all exit through the servants’ doors and stay in your rooms until the alarm stops.” The Elvens gathered in the kitchen seemed relieved to be given orders. I turned to watch their swift retreat and marveled at how quick and graceful their movements were. When they left I turned back to the gray woman.

“What about us?” I tried not to let my nervousness show. My red-eyed escort still seemed completely at ease with the situation. I wondered who could attack the Elvens in our castle. Another group of Kannath’s clansmen? Maybe they had come to our world looking for him and were extracting revenge.

“I’m still hungry.” Vernine flowed around the table and opened a salt chest. She pulled a few fish from the container, checked to see that they had been prepped and cleaned, and threw them on the heated iron pan with little ceremony. Then she grabbed a stack of green leafy vegetables and diced them.

“Grab a bottle of white from the cellar, please.” She pointed off to her right with the knife.

I was thankful for the task. It would keep my mind off of the thought of hundreds of tattooed O’Baarni warriors running through the halls of my castle, killing everything in their path. I opened the door to the kitchen’s massive pantry, descended the long stairs to the ample wine cellar and combed the shelves for a suitable bottle. It took me a few minutes to find one. It came from the hills just above Relliat, ironically; the grapes would pair well with the fish.

I was only in the cellar for a few minutes at the most, just long enough for the alarm to sound again, but when I returned to the kitchen Vernine was gone. The fish still sizzled in the pans and she had added the cut greens to another skillet; covering the vegetables with butter and salt. I thought she might have walked to the other side of the kitchen, but a quick glance around the room revealed that I was alone.

Then I saw the blood.

It pooled beneath the double doors like a shiny rug. It was shaped so perfectly, with crisp clean borders, that I almost didn’t recognize it for what it was.

“Vernine?” I called out. The sound of my voice seemed to echo off the empty walls. The thought of walking across all the blood brought my terrorized heart to a stampede. But the idea of just staying here, waiting for the raiders to come and kill me made me even more afraid. Where would I even go? I couldn’t return to my room. I couldn’t stay here.

I turned to the stove and flipped the cuts of fish in the pan. There was a jar of salt and I took a few pinches and sprinkled it over the food. One side had been seared black, it was still edible, but probably had lost most of its taste. I flipped the greens in the other pan; they had turned bright jade and only needed another minute or so. My hands were shaking, but I still managed to get the cork out of the wine and poured two glasses.

Vernine would return shortly. I took a few sips of the wine while the alarm smashed into my ear drums again. I leaned my head back to gulp the remainder of my glass. It was sour and needed time to air. But the warm burn of alcohol on my throat calmed me a bit, so I immediately poured myself another glass and turned my attention back to the food. Vernine would still be hungry when she came back.

I found two plates on the shelves above the stove and dished out the fish and greens. Then I cut up a few slices of bread from a freshly baked loaf and found some flatware. Vernine would be back any minute, but to keep her plate warm, I covered it with an iron lid from one of the pans.

I ate a careful bite of the fish and tried to ignore my trembling hands. Then I took a bite of the cooked vegetables and a sip of wine. I wasn’t hungry, the food tasted like ash in my mouth, but it was something to do until Vernine returned.

I stopped with my fork in the air when screams ripped through the hall outside the door. A few seconds after the initial screech of pain I heard shouting and the clash of steel on steel. There was a battle close to the entrance of the kitchen. Maybe just right outside of the doors. I ducked behind the counter, wrapped my arms around myself, and tried to decide what I should do.

Vernine wasn’t here. She was probably dead by now and I was a fool to depend on her for protection. I couldn’t leave by the main door. I could run through the servants’ door, but if the castle was really under attack, there would be O’Baarni waiting for me there. They would kill me.

I stopped and smiled. The O’Baarni would not kill me. I was a human, not an Elven. Though I told the empress I would work with her, this was simply to facilitate my eventual revenge. I was not siding with the Elvens. Kaiyer would have told me not to. I wanted and needed the O’Baarni to wipe my country clean of the Elven scourge. I wanted them all to die for the murder of my father, Kaiyer, and my countrymen. I steeled myself in determination and prepared to stand and walk through the door like I owned the castle.

This was my castle, after all.

These alarm bells were mine.

I heard the door open after the bells chimed again and all confident thoughts and bravado fled from my mind. Wet sounding footsteps echoed in the large room, causing my stomach to flip and my breathing to come out like a horse’s. I prayed to Grandmother that whoever was in the kitchen wouldn’t bother to look past the counter; I prayed to my father that they would turn around and walk back out through the doors.

“Jess?” a voice from the grave said. My breath froze and my mind twisted with shock. I had never believed I would hear that voice again, but I would recognize it forever. It was impossible that Kaiyer was here. I didn’t want to look over the counter. I feared seeing his Spirit as much as I feared seeing an empty room. Either way, it meant I had gone insane.

“It’s me. You have to get out of the castle.” The footsteps grew closer and I shivered uncontrollably. I thought about his head rolling on the ground. I remembered how much I had screamed and how much my heart ached. It was too soon to see his Spirit, even if it was here to help keep me safe.

“No. Leave me alone,” I hardly whispered.

Go to him.

Another voice urged me. It was a voice more familiar than Kaiyer’s and it made me move without question off of my knees. I pulled myself up to look at the man who had spoken to me.

He was covered in blood, almost as if he had been swimming in it. He had swords in each of his hands, but the one in his right was cracked and broken off halfway.

It looked like he had been through demon’s teeth and spit out again.

But he looked alive.

“How do you get to the dungeons from here?” His voice was urgent. My mind wouldn’t give me the answers to his question. I wanted to ask him how he was standing here, covered in blood, when I had seen his head cut from his shoulders a few days ago.

“Jess?” He was suddenly standing behind the counter and shaking me. His hand on my shoulder felt real, but I still couldn’t believe he was alive. The broken sword lay on the counter next to me. The blade was not only severed, but the edge was so abused it looked more like a saw than a sword.

“How are you here?” I managed to gasp. I felt that even saying those words took all of my strength.

“Danor and I came through the sewers and dungeon. Nadea, Runir, Beltor, and Greykin are waiting for us, we have to leave now.” He tugged on my arm and I followed him out from behind the counter. “Can we get there through these doors?” He pointed to the smaller set of doors that the servants used and I nodded.

Then we were running through the servants’ quarters, cutting through rooms, dashing through hallways, and pausing every so often so that Kaiyer could listen for our pursuers. My legs and lungs burned. I wanted to ask him again how he was still alive, but I couldn’t mouth the words and put life to them.

Or maybe I was afraid that if I asked him again he would disappear and I would wake from this dream.

“Wait here.” He pulled me into an empty room and whispered softly in my ear. I felt the warmth of his lips and smelled the pleasant scent of his breath. I crouched as well as I could in my dress and he darted out the door. The alarm bells rang as soon as he left my sight, but he returned before they were done ringing and pulled me into the corridor.

The hallway was decorated with dozens of beheaded Elven servants. I tripped over one and Kaiyer prevented me from falling, but then I slipped on the pooled blood the corpses had left and he had to steady me again. The air reeked of blood, feces, and death. I gagged and forced my free hand to my mouth to stifle the reaction. We finally reached a door that led out of the castle.

“I can hear the guards behind us. Hurry!” He pushed open the door to the courtyard and pulled me with him.

It was a good distance across the courtyard to the door of the dungeon. Alta hung full and illuminated the empty field with a grayish light, but Yaha was at half wane and added a slight yellow tint. If the rest of my family really waited in the dungeon, they were agonizingly close.

Was this a dream?

“Let’s go.” Kaiyer closed the thick oak door and led me across the courtyard. I tried my best to follow him, but he moved so fast and my body just couldn’t seem to get enough air.

Then he slowed his run and walked a few steps before stopping.

“Fuck.” He reached his right arm out and circled it around my waist, pulling me to his back. I peered out from behind him. Dozens of Elvens rose from the bushes on the far side of the courtyard.

“I knew you would come for the princess,” a voice called out from behind us. I turned to see more Elven archers. The voice came from Vernine and she walked next to the empress and a feminine looking man with long silver hair. He wore a blue and gold silk robe that had various moons and stars embroidered into the fine fabric.

“Fuck,” Kaiyer whispered with seething anger.

“Cast aside your sword, please,” the man said with a mocking smile.

“No,” my lover grunted and the alarm bells rang again, like the castle was punctuating his statement.

“Don’t be stupid, Kaiyer. There are over sixty bows aimed at you.” Frustration was prevalent in Vernine’s voice.

“I do not wish to injure Jessmei. Let her come to me,” the empress said and beckoned to me with her hand.

“No. She’ll stay with me,” Kaiyer growled. My head spun. This must be a nightmare. I’d wake up any second and be back in my bed. Or maybe I was still in the cave where Kaiyer and I had spent so many nights as lovers. I’d come to my senses in his arms and we would make love again. I’d forget all about this dream and just be with him.

“We have your other friends as well,” the man with the blue robe said. At his word, the door to the dungeon opened and more Elven soldiers emerged. They dragged Greykin, Runir, and Danor with them. The men’s’ faces were bruised and bloody. Greykin thrashed enough to require two Elven warriors to haul him into the courtyard.

“Where are Nadea and the duke?” Kaiyer growled.

“They are safe somewhere else.” The empress smiled and tilted her head sympathetically.

“Jessmei, come here, please.” Telaxthe held out her right hand to me and something in her voice almost made me want to obey her. But I turned to look at Kaiyer instead. His face was a combination of anger, frustration, and fear.

I had never seen him afraid.

“There is only one way out of this, Kaiyer. Just do what we say and no one else has to be hurt.” Vernine’s voice was urgent and maybe a little pleading. I had only known the woman for an hour, but it seemed unusual for her to beg. It was too much emotion for her.

“What are your terms?” Kaiyer asked at last.

“Drop your sword and we will talk terms,” the man said.

“No.”

“You have no leverage in this situation. Unless you wish to kill Jessmei?” the empress said with a shake of her head. “Just throw your sword a fair distance away and we can speak peacefully.”

“They need you for something,” Kaiyer whispered to me.

“We know you will not kill her.”

“I want to talk terms first,” Kaiyer insisted again. He pulled me a bit closer with his right hand and I could smell the coppery blood on him.

“Kill the one at the end.” The man pointed at Knight Captain Danor. The Elven soldier yanked on the mustached man’s hair to expose his throat and then he moved his sword to slash.

“Wait!” Kaiyer screamed. The Elven stopped and turned to look at Telaxthe for instructions. Kaiyer tossed his sword into the grass and sighed in defeat.

“Wise decision.” Vernine smiled.

“Come over here, Jessmei,” the empress demanded again. Her voice was still soothing and warm, but beneath the sweetness, I detected her desperation. Kaiyer was right. She did need me.

“No.” Kaiyer’s grip tightened slightly on my shoulder. He did not need to hold me back. I would not leave him. “I threw aside my sword. What are your terms?”

“My terms?” the empress raised an eyebrow in mockery. “When my sister said she killed you, I was quite angry. I still believed you had information I needed. But now I know you are a liar just like the rest of your kind. You take no responsibility with the power you possess. I gave you ample opportunity for fair treatment and you spit every offer back in my face with callousness and disrespect. You butchered my kin in my own home. So here are my terms, Kaiyer,” she spat his name with obvious contempt. “Get off of my world, or you will be destroyed.”

“She did kill him!” I screamed. I didn’t even realize I had spoken the words until they had left my mouth. “Kaiyer surrendered! Then she cut off his head anyway. I saw it all happen.” I felt warm tears run down my cheeks. “I saw him die.”

Silence permeated the courtyard. No one spoke for a few seconds and even the castle’s alarm bells remained silent. The Elvens all look shocked by my outburst.

“What do you mean, Jessmei?” Kaiyer asked.

“She said that you couldn’t move under her magic. Then she cut off your head. It rolled onto the ground at my feet. You died. I saw it!” I gasped through my sobs and kneeled down.

“They couldn’t kill me,” a voice said. It came from where Kaiyer was standing, but it didn’t sound like him. His face looked empty, as if he was daydreaming or asleep with his eyes opened.

“They killed her. Then they tried to kill me. They tried again and again but I couldn’t die.”

“Who are you talking about?” The empress’s question was mixed with frustration.

“My generals. They killed Iolarathe!” he screamed so loud that my head filled with his voice. It echoed so much in my skull that it sounded like hundreds of men were repeating what he said.

“But. They. Could. Not. Kill. Me.” Screams filled the courtyard and I saw the other Elvens drop their bows and hold their hands to their ears. My brain felt like the inside of one of the large alarm bells. I looked up to Kaiyer.

I also screamed.

Instead of Kaiyer, there was a monster. It was twice the size of the man it had consumed. Its skin was a dull black. Screaming faces with the flesh torn from their skulls were etched across every surface of its exoskeleton. Each tiny face seemed more horrified than the one beside it. The head of the monster was a horned, toothy skull that smiled wickedly and screamed at the same time. The creature held a shield in one hand and a massive metal club in the other. The mace looked like it could eat the soul of whatever it touched and add its victim’s face to all the others emblazoned across its body.

“By the Dead Gods!” the empress cried out into the night. “The Destroyer!” It was a scream of absolute terror and it was echoed by every Elven warrior crouched in the courtyard.

The creature tilted the gaping maw of its head to look down at me. Eyes glowed green through the scaled plates of metal. I crawled backward as fast as I could in my dress, but my legs got caught up in the folds and I couldn’t move. Almost as soon as the demon had laid eyes on me, it lost interest. The monster turned to where Greykin, Runir, and Danor kneeled on the grass and made a low growling noise. Then it was suddenly standing next to them, and the Elvens’ bodies evaporated into a red mist that hung in the air.

I heard the twang of bows, but the nightmarish demon had already raised its shield lazily and moved it from side to side while dozens of arrows smashed into it like high pitched rain drops. When the first volley ended a wave of heat passed over me, the sky flashed with purple and green light, and the screaming behind me reached a feverish pitch. I risked a glance back and saw men and women encased in a sticky liquid fire that seemed to only grow stronger with their efforts to roll on the ground and deny it of air.

A strong arm picked me up and I was flung on a shoulder. The monster was attacking the Elvens, or so it seemed, but the creature’s movements were too quick and terrible for me to follow. I was jostled, something smacked my head, and I felt everything grow dark.

“Jess! Wake up!” It was Nadea’s voice. She sounded far away, but my eyes focused on her face.

“Where are we?” I tried to say, but my ears were still ringing and I could not hear my own voice.

“She’s awake! Let’s go!” my cousin commanded. Hands hauled me to my feet and someone asked me if I could walk.

Beltor grabbed my hand and the group of us jogged through the halls of the prison. Runir and Danor seemed to know the way. The two men led the group down uncountable floors, through the reeking sewage tunnels, and finally to horses. I kept waiting to wake up, to be free of this nightmare, to be with Kaiyer.

“Where are we going?” Beltor asked while he and Greykin helped me mount a horse.

“To your keep,” Danor said with urgency.

“Aren’t the Losher there?” my uncle asked.

“Scouts say that they pillaged the farmland and then went back over the Teeth,” Danor stated.

“Aren’t we just delaying the inevitable? I want a chance to kill me some more of these motherfuckers, but how are we going to win?” Greykin’s skin was flushed and looked almost ghastly in the light of the torch.

“Kaiyer said he will teach us.” Danor shrugged.

“What if he doesn’t get out?” Runir asked with concern. We had all mounted our horses now and Danor led the way through a thick oak grove.

“He’ll get out. But he said Nadea also knows how to do it,” Danor whispered.

“He showed me once, but I’m going to have a hard time remembering,” Nadea hissed. I was so happy to see my cousin, but there was no mistaking the anger on her face.

“Then hopefully he joins us later.” Danor laughed a little.

“What if that monster kills him?” I asked.

“Monster?” Nadea said.

“Jess. Don’t talk about it anymore,” Runir said. “We’ve got enough to worry about. Nadea, we’ll tell you later.”

“Their ears can hear us, be quiet!” Danor commanded.

We rode in nervous silence until we emerged from the oak forest and into the plains that surrounded the capital. I could see a faint green and purple glow from the distant castle. Although my eyes weren’t as sharp as Kaiyer’s, it seemed that warriors were entering the city like a stream of angry ants carrying torches.

Then we turned northeast, toward Nadea’s home, away from the castle, away from the empress and her promises, away from the horrible demon monster, and away from Kaiyer.

Into the endless night.

The End

Thank you for reading this novel. Don’t forget to write a review!

Kaiyer and friends continue their struggles against the Elvens in The Destroyer Book 4. Keep reading for an excerpt!

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Editing and e-book formatting by Ginger Earle

Cover art by Daniel Kamarudin

Typography, illustration, and print book formatting by Jason Faraci

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by MichaelScott Earle

An excerpt from The Destroyer-Book 4

Iolarathe

“Our tribal lands are over the next hill.” The male escort had told me his name a few times, but I had not bothered to remember it.

I made no response to his statement and he cleared his throat before the sour scent of fear escaped his body. Even in the cool breeze rolling over these grassy hills I could smell him.

“Do you wish to rest here for lunch, or should we carry on?” Gerleita was the other escort from my father’s tribe of Laxile. She also emitted the scent of sour fear, but it was less offensive than the stench of her male counterpart.

“How long until we reach the estate?” Corlintha asked for me.

“Six more hours. Which is why I asked if Iolarathe would prefer to rest.” Gerleita smelled of sharp cabbage now. Bitter and pungent.

It was quite a trivial decision, but I’d been impulsive for most of my life. On this eve of such great change, perhaps I should consider a more relaxed approach?

“We will break here.” I turned to Corlintha and nodded. She blinked her purple eyes and bowed slightly before turning her horse around to face the rest of the caravan. With a click of her tongue the beast cantered down the small slope toward the many covered wagons. She would alert them to my plans and oversee my lunch preparation.

“May we eat with you?” Gerleita asked. Her heart beat quicker and her stench grew cloying in the midday heat. I was surprised at her boldness and considered the consequences of acceptance. My father had sent his top traders to escort me and my servants from my mother’s lands. Despite traveling together for the last month, I had done nothing to build a relationship with them. My mother would be displeased, but her opinion hardly mattered anymore.

“Yes, but sit upwind of me. For the love of the Dead Gods you both reek like you expect me to kill you any second.” The woman’s emerald eyes opened along with her mouth.

“We are sorry, Mistress. We don’t wish to offend you—“ the male said.

“Silence. I don’t want to hear your bullshit now. You may join me for lunch, but do not speak unless I address you.” They both bowed deeply off the side of their horses and the sour scent increased.

I dismounted and handed the stallion’s reins to Gerleita. He was a spirited warhorse that disliked anyone’s presence but mine. He must have sensed my displeasure because he didn’t balk at the woman’s touch when she tied him to the nearby juniper.

Twenty humans set up my pavilion upwind, so that I would not experience their stench. They would just handle the framework and the canvas top of the structure. Then my personal servants would place the furniture, rugs, tables, and deliver my meal.

Corlintha approached me from the direction of the caravans and offered me one of her rare smiles.

“You, Gerleita, and the male escort …”

“Chirtlan,” she reminded me.

“Will join me for lunch. Unless you have other plans?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I need to see to one of the wagons. The wheels have cracked and it might not make it the rest of the way.” She couldn’t hide the smirk and the scent of apricots drifted to my nose.

“Don’t leave me alone with them.” I tried my best not to sound frustrated since I knew she was joking with me.

“It would be unthinkable for me to deny the Singleborn.” She chuckled a bit. “Soon you will be on your own though.”

“Don’t remind me. Ugh. They approach. Their fear is rotten like month old fruit.”

“Maybe if you were nice to them they would smell better?” Corlintha suggested.

“Not my nature.”

“You are nice to me.” Corlintha shook her head with a sigh.

“You are mistaken. You just fuck up less than my other attendants.” I crossed my arms and smirked at the violet-eyed woman. Her hair was the color of weathered silver wood and she kept it cut short.

“You are a liar and will miss me when I return home.” She smiled in full now and I enjoyed the apricot scent of her humor.

“See that is where you are the one who is mistaken.” I laughed a little and winked at her. “You are staying here with me until my brother and sister come to visit.” The escorts approached and stood north of me, upwind. Corlintha held off her response with a bite to her lip and then turned to them.

“Your servants have prepared the pavilion,” the male whose name I had forgotten again said.

I nodded at him and walked toward the tent. Inside were a scattering of leather chairs, plush carpets, and dark wood tables laden with food. Lavender and pine incense burned from various places under the tent and my nose could finally ignore the fear that permeated my escorts.

I sat in the prominent chair and raised one of the empty crystal glasses for my servants to fill. It looked as if they had decided on mead for this afternoon’s treat and the honey spice aroma, along with the incense almost made me feel at home. I swirled the golden liquid in the glass for bit to mellow the taste and then took a small sip.

“Thank you for sharing this meal with us,” Gerleita said while she placed a few thin cuts of boar meat and cheese from a nearby table on her plate. I nodded at her and took another sip of the mead. The warmth ran through me and I held back a shudder of pleasure.

The breeze picked up and carried the scent of grass, juniper, and water to my nose. I inhaled deeply and the first positive thought about my relocation came to mind: at least my father’s lands were beautiful. I could appreciate the desert, with its howling salt winds, jasmine forests, and fresh springs. But the hay meadows and forests of the western lands were filled with much more interesting scents and sights. I was actually looking forward to riding through the endless pasture and exploring the various glens scattered through them.

Of course, I would never admit such desires.

“When was the last time you spoke to your father?” the male asked after Corlintha set a plate of food in my hands.

“A decade or so ago. He came to visit me on my twentieth.” The mustard was made with ground chunks of whole seeds and agreed marvelously with the cuts of dried and salted roast beef. I guessed that the cooks were using the last of our best food since our final destination was near. I nibbled on a ripe green fig after the bite of meat and mustard and then washed it all down with more of the mead.

“He must be thrilled to see you,” Gerleita said. She favored the orange melon over the cuts of meat. It was a typical habit of those less attuned to the Elements, but I fought back my sneer.

“I care not for his feelings.” Their scents intensified with an overcooked vegetable stench. Fucking shit, they were so sensitive.

“I am just a pawn in their political games. He hopes to breed me with another tribe’s champion in exchange for whatever frivolous bauble he thinks will help him gain power. My mother has been trying to do the same for the last twenty years. I am tired of it.”

“Don’t you have to obey your chieftain’s wishes?” the male asked. The scent of his curiosity made me think of pumpkins. Rotten pumpkins.

“I am the Singleborn.” I laughed at them and finished the remainder of my mead with a quick swallow. I held up my glass and a servant filled it immediately. “As soon as either one of them presents me with a suitor that is worthy, I might become aroused. Until then …” I looked across the ocean of waving green grass. I never paid much attention to the physical characteristics of my surroundings, since there were so many scents to occupy me, but this place was beautiful. “I will attempt to amuse myself here for the next twenty years. What is there to do for fun in your backwater tribe?”

“We are hardly backwater,” the male said. Perhaps he was insulted by my statement, but I had never cared to understand tonal changes in voice when bodies secreted such obvious clues to their feelings. The burning incense dulled their scents and interfered slightly with my perception. “We have hundreds of miles of rich riding plains, game hunting, archery and sword games. You will find plenty to do.”

“I am already bored.” I sighed. Mother’s territory lay in the central hub of the spice trade. It was a nexus of art, sex, and political espionage. The most interesting thing to do here in my father’s land was get breakfast.

“I will be happy to show you around the area once you have made yourself comfortable,” he said.

“Of course you would.” I almost laughed at him but remembered that I would probably need allies there. I hadn’t yet met a male that didn’t start sweating out mating pheromones as soon as they stood within a hundred yards of me. This peon was no different than the others.

An interruption in the flow of grass distracted me from my meal. There was a slight break in the emerald waves, like a fish popping a head above water. I slid my tongue out to see if I could capture a new scent, but the motion was upwind of me and the incense too potent. Then I spotted another quick movement a few feet to the side of the first. It too vanished before I laid my eyes on it.

I still comprehended what was about to happen.

“Fuck,” I muttered and gathered the World to me. It came quickly, like an eager lover, and my body filled with its power. I released part of it as a windstorm that flew out of my tent like a hunting falcon. The magic threw aside the flying arrows these assassins shot toward my pavilion as if they were thrown flowers.

Confusion erupted in my tent as servants screamed and took cover from the attack. I used another blast of magic to throw a fire bolt at one of the standing assassins. It was orange, angry, and when it collided with his body the flame turned red and feasted on his flesh and bones like a hungry vulture. Blood turned into vapor and it almost seemed as if the archer was blessed with my hair color for half a second.

“Get down!” Corlintha moved between me and the other archers, eight of them I counted, with her broad blade drawn. She was a skilled warrior, but there wasn’t much a sword could do against a well shot arrow. Two pierced her chest below her breasts and exited out her back with a surprising swiftness.

“Ahh shit.” I fumbled with her slumping body, lowering it to the ground while I assessed the combat situation.

Four of my servants were dead, stuck full of arrows like macabre cacti. The rest lay on the floor of the tent and stunk up the place with their fear. Gerleita and her male counterpart had upturned the banquet table and crouched behind its thick wood. Unfortunately, neither of them had brought a bow, so I doubted the cover would be a long term solution. Sure enough, a few of the archers had begun to flank the pavilion from upwind. They circled both to the east and west, crawling low in the grass so I couldn’t risk more than a quick glimpse of them through the ocean of green.

Unlike an arrow, my magic didn’t need to be exact.

I pulled more of the World to me, willing it to fill and then empty my blood and bones as soon as possible. One assassin exploded into vermillion flames, a second did at a wave of my hands, and finally a third managed to scream when she saw the flaming projectile dart toward her. Her cry cut off with a puff of blood, steam, and agony.

More had circled around and rushed the tent from the slope on the south side. I guessed their number now to be eight if they didn’t have any sacking the caravan. Two of them popped up from the grass and ran at me with clubs raised. Their choice of weapons indicated that they were going to attempt to subdue and capture me.

Their idiocy brought a smile to my face.

My boot hooked under Corlintha’s sword and the blade sprang into my hand in time to cut the closest attacker in half. The second slowed his sprint toward me, but the movement only allowed me to ready myself for his charge. His weapon came in high, aiming for the shoulder of my sword arm, but it was sloppy and slow. I flicked the attack to his outside and brought Corlintha’s sword up to sever his arm off at the elbow. Then I sliced sideways to cleave his head in two at the mouth joint.

I would have liked to carve his body up a bit more, but there were other attackers I needed to address. Gerleita and the male were still crouching behind the table, completely useless. Well, perhaps not entirely useless. They both had arrows coming out of their shoulders. At least they served as distractions.

The remaining six attackers had split into a group of four and two; they circled the table with arrows notched. I pulled more of the World into me and tried to fight back a grunt of pain. Being a Singleborn meant I had exponentially more magic than anyone else of my kind. But I was beginning to test the limits of what I could do without any recuperation. I was thankful none of the attackers were inclined to pull power from the World since combating one at the moment would have exhausted me even further.

The group of four launched their salvo of arrows in unison. Their targets were my escorts, but a quick blast of Air scattered the missiles wide enough to sink into the table and the surrounding ground. Almost instantly after launching the magic my vision began to yellow and I smelled copper. Fuck. I should have let them die instead of wasting energy.

I ignored the group of two on my left and sprinted toward the group of four circling to the right of the table. Just in case the pair of archers decided that they really didn’t need me alive, I threw some Air behind me to distract any potential arrows. I did hear a dual twang of bowstrings, but no arrows ripped through me.

The four saw me approach and pulled short swords from their belts. I was outside of the smoke of incense from my pavilion and their scent confirmed the fear their eyes betrayed. They had expected this to be easy. I took a brief comfort from their mood and didn’t bother with a feint for my first broad swing.

The woman tried to block and I was too fast or she was too stupid to get her weapon up in time. Either way my blade cut through her thin leather armor, chest, and spine to separate her torso from the rest of her lower body. The next attacker jumped to my unguarded left and aimed a kick at my stomach. My foot placement was parallel to his, I couldn’t parry the attack, but I did manage to flick my blade back after he struck me and slice off everything below his kneecap. He fell with a startled scream and I hardly felt the kick to the stomach.

I had to retreat a few steps when the remaining two attackers pressed toward me in unison, pairing their strikes with nervous energy. I parried the first dozen of their swings until I got my footing again. Then I dove forward when they both swung horizontally and had to halt their attack so they wouldn’t hit each other.

By the Dead Gods these country bumpkins were terrible.

I cut the arm off of the one to my right and drew a smile along his throat with the tip edge of the blade. While he gurgled I stepped past the last assassin and drove my knee into his groin. He screamed in pain and I smashed the pommel of Corlintha’s sword into the back of his skull.

“Drop your weapon.” The other two archers had closed the distance from the pavilion and now stood twenty feet from me. They had their arrows drawn and aimed at my chest. I glanced over their shoulders to my tent and saw that my escorts and slaves were dead. At least they had bought me a bit of killing time.

“What if I say no?” I licked my lips and realized I was covered in blood. I reached up with my left hand and wiped at part of my mouth and then licked the tips of my fingers. It tasted a little more metallic than I had anticipated. Iron, copper, too much salt.

“Then we will put you down,” one of the archers said. Their eyes flickered up over my shoulder and I looked back to the caravan. There were another dozen of these assassins murdering the rest of my guards and servants.

“If you drop your weapons, I will let you live.” I sighed with annoyance.

“We have arrows pointed at your chest, bitch. We give the commands!” one said.

“Do you know who I am?” I almost laughed. This was beyond ridiculous.

“Of course, that is why we are here. Drop your sword.”

I debated my options. I might be able to kill these two, but I’d probably black out from the magic use. Then I’d be captured by the rest of their gang. If I went with them, I was certain of what would happen. They wanted me for breeding and would have their strongest males take turns with me until I begot them scores of children. Perhaps my father’s tribe would rescue me, or perhaps I would escape, either way my fate wouldn’t be entirely under my own control.

Eventually I was going to have to breed. There was no way around it. My powers were too vast not to pass them along for the betterment of our race. I did want a choice in the matter though. I didn’t choose to be a Singleborn, but I would decide everything else in my life.

Even when I would die.

I pulled the World into me again. My stomach began to cramp, but I ignored the pain. The problem my kidnappers had was that they couldn’t really attack me. If an arrow penetrated my womb I would become infertile and useless to them. They would have preferred me dead if not in their custody, but I doubt their orders were that detailed. They were probably told to capture me unharmed at all costs.

“Die!” I choked out the words as flame erupted from both of their skulls like torches. They didn’t even scream, or move, they just did as I instructed before their ash filled husks fell over onto the green plain. It was extremely hard to use Fire without a path from the creator to the intended target. It was much harder to do it twice at the same time.

I felt the grass caress my face and I startled awake. Every muscle in my body ached and I wanted to retch. I knew my horse was tied up to a tree about fifty yards from the pavilion. If I could get to the animal, I might be able to make an escape to my father’s estate. I inhaled and smelled the stallion to my southwest. Now I was thankful that the grass was tall since it concealed my own crawl toward my steed.

Shouts rang from the south of me. They had noticed the fire burst and were rushing from the covered wagons to the spot I had last been seen. I gritted my teeth, fought against the pain that ripped through my body, and tried to crawl faster through the grasslands. I wondered if the layers of blood and grass on me would cover my actual scent or if they would easily find me once they reached the burnt out husks. My senses were more acute than those of my kin, but they could still use their noses to track game.

“Shhh.” I tried to sooth my horse when I got to the animal’s feet. It didn’t seem to mind my presence. If anything, the beast seemed highly amused by my predicament. I reached up to the ties by the juniper tree and loosened the knot. There were a few other horses in the campsite that these assassins could use, but my steed was the fastest of the bunch.

They only consequence I didn’t like about my plan was that I would leave several of my attackers alive. It was a poor precedent to set in my new home. First impressions were important and I guessed that this tribe was either a supposed ally or enemy of my father’s.

I really needed to murder all of them.

“Run fast you fucker!” I had only trained this horse for a few years, but he knew that when I said those words he better move or receive a severe beating from my riding crop. He didn’t care that I wasn’t on his saddle, fear and memories overtook the animal and I almost couldn’t roll out of his path in time when he sprinted northward like his tail was on fire.

“She is escaping!” several voices shouted out from the east and south.

“Get the horses from the wagons!” a woman’s voice screamed. Commotion sounded as the group ran back to the caravan and mounted their steeds. My horse was long gone by the time I counted nine other riders chasing after him.

“Fools.” I lay on the grass and sighed. This wasn’t over, but at least I had a few minutes to breathe.

There probably weren’t any more kidnappers lurking about, but if there were I didn’t want to risk another confrontation without a weapon, preferably bow, in my hand. I began the long crawl back to the caravan. By the time I made it I had recovered from using my magic enough to stand and search through the weapons without gasping in pain.

I found a long bow and a quiver of arrows a servant had used for hunting. The pull was a bit light, but I was stronger than most. I saddled one of the remaining horses, checked to see if anyone by the caravans was still alive, and then rode up toward the pavilion.

Corlintha’s sword lay next to the bodies of the two kidnappers I had immolated. I leaned out of the saddle, picked it up, and then continued the rest of the short journey to the tent. I confirmed that Corlintha was dead before I pulled her sword belt off of her body and buckled it across my waist. She had been my private guard for the last eight years and I hadn’t expected her to meet her end out here in the wilderness. It was slightly ironic, since the silver-haired woman had been more excited about making this trip to my father’s lands than I.

Everyone else in the pavilion was dead as well. There were a few plates of food and assorted bottles of mead that lay untouched by the attack. I grabbed one of the jugs and took a long drink from it. Then I looked down at Corlintha’s body and took another drink. Did the mead taste better because I was still alive? Did it taste better because I was about to kill? Perhaps it wasn’t important.

I mounted the horse and tested the draw of the bow. The weapon was meant to be used while on foot, but I could make it work while on horseback. I pointed the steed to the north and kicked it forward. Perhaps I should have covered my head, so that I would be harder to spot from a distance. But I wanted them to see me coming.

At least I wasn’t bored anymore.

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