Odriel's Heirs

by Hayley Reese Chow

  She had one last task to accomplish before she could sleep. After the tribes honored their fallen, Kaia and Klaus stepped forward to the small pyre resting in the desert sand with Jago’s remains hidden amidst the kindling. Solemnly, Kaia extended a hand and a fiery jet erupted to engulf the Time Heir in flames. She watched the blaze crackle into life before turning to face the warriors. Still leaning heavily on Klaus, she began to speak—old words her father had read at her bedside. From The Heirs' Way, Chapter 4, Passage 21:

  The war is over but many will remain

  They have fallen but will not be forgot

  Though we leave them behind, we feel their pain

  With their lives, their sacrifice, peace was bought

  The Time Heir, too, travels to the unknown

  Only his legacy is left behind

  But go we must, once the spirit has flown

  May Odriel grace us with peace of mind

  The silence that followed lingered until only ashes remained

  ✽✽✽

  As the sun blazed triumphantly overhead in the azure sky, Kaia sat next to Klaus on the back of the packed supply wagon and allowed Fiola to fuss over them. Felix, Mackie’s daycoon, chattered unintelligibly at them from his perch on the old woman’s shoulder while Shad stretched out on the driver’s bench. As they gazed over the barren desert, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance. Kaia squinted in the bright sun, and the dust cloud resolved into the magus Dorinar, riding towards them.

  Wobbling ever so slightly, Kaia stood up in the wagon bed. “So it was Dorinar,” she murmured. “Who’d of guessed that?”

  The magus rode up to them on the stocky gelding Kaia had seen in his barn. He glared at Kaia under his tangled mop of hair.

  “I see you managed to break the priceless artifact I entrusted to you.” He blew his unruly curls out of his eyes. “But I’m glad that you remembered to wear it.”

  This time Kaia could see through the pretend outrage to the well of concern that lay beneath. She bowed as deeply as her bandages would allow. “My greatest thanks, Dorinar. We are all in your debt.”

  “But you could’ve come more quickly,” Shad growled as he padded up behind them on the wagon bed.

  “It takes time to cast a shielding spell of that magnitude!” the magus huffed. “Ingredients must be gathered! Precise calculations must be conducted! Besides,”—he wagged a finger at them—“ I haven’t cast that spell in thousands of years. You should be grateful that I document my work.”

  Kaia’s eyebrows knitted as she sat back down, a flash of Mogens’ twisted smile still prickling her mind. “But where are the dead now, Dorinar?”

  The magus looked out into the desert. “Unfortunately, I could only draw them away. It will be up to you to hunt them down.” He waved a dismissive hand. “But that is your duty after all.” With that, he clicked his tongue for the horse to move on.

  “Once you recover,” Fiola added firmly, moving to check the bandage on her leg.

  “Dorinar,” Klaus called after the retreating magus, “What made you change your mind?”

  Dorinar paused. “Raeza would have loved to write about this.” He sighed. “Even in memory, she is a force to be reckoned with.”

  “You should travel back with us, Dory,” Fiola offered, her amber eyes twinkling. Felix chirped in agreement.

  The magus made a sound of disgust, “I would rather walk than be forced to listen to your inane human chatter for days on end.”

  The Heirs rolled their eyes at each other. “Safe travels till our next visit then,” Klaus jibed, winking at Kaia.

  “I’ve told you I do not allow visitors!” Dorinar shrieked. “Next time, go barge into someone else’s cottage.” Still grumbling to himself about the absurdity of humans, Dorn urged his sturdy horse into a trot and rode northeast out of the desert.

  Klaus drummed his fingers on the wagon. “It’s odd to think that Nifras is really gone.”

  Kaia only nodded as she watched Everard and Bram walk towards them. The smoke billowed from the burning bodies of Idriel and his dead army behind them. The remnants of their allies had already departed, and she had been sad to see them go. The departure of the Maldibor had especially wrung her heart. Thirty-six of the brave warriors had left their home in the shadow of the mountains, and only eleven would return. Her only consolation had been Tekoa’s assurances they would meet again in gladder times. She knew better than to doubt her shaggy friend.

  “Indeed,” Fiola agreed as she finished re-bandaging Kaia’s leg and reached out to grasp Everard’s hand with a smile. “We can all return home with the sun on our faces.”

  Everard wagged a stern finger at them. “Just until you recover.” He looked from Kaia to Klaus as he mounted his sorrel Dalteek. “There is still much work to be done here.”

  “There always is,” added Shadmundar in a bored tone as he leapt into the front of the wagon once again.

  Covered in bandages himself, Bram leaned against the wagon next to Kaia and rapped his knuckles against the wood. “Kai,” he didn’t meet her eyes. “I—I just want to say that I was wrong.” He looked up at her. Aged with sorrow and battle, he looked years older than he had at the Spring Festival. He resembled their father so closely now, Kaia almost felt she was talking with a ghost. He reached out and took her hand. “You were always meant to be the Dragon Heir.”

  Kaia slid down from the wagon and pulled her brother into a fierce hug. “When I need courage,” she whispered. “I think of you.”

  Everard nodded at them. “Tam would’ve been proud.”

  Bram pulled away, looking from Kaia to Everard to Klaus. “I know I’m not an Heir, but perhaps I could help with all the…” He waved at the black smoke curling into the desert wind. “Work.”

  Klaus leaned over and gripped his shoulder with a grin. “Of course. We could always use another sharp blade.”

  Fiola smiled over her shoulder as she climbed into the driver’s bench next to Shad. “So much to do and still so young.” She jerked a thumb. “You best get on the cart so you can get started.”

  With his broad hands around her waist, Bram helped Kaia back to her place next to Klaus before he mounted his tall tan stallion. Fiola clicked her tongue to urge the wagon mules along, with Sunflash and Moonstreak following as loyally as hounds.

  Out of habit, Kaia searched Gus to make sure he was coming before she caught herself once again. He wasn’t there.

  “I still have to look for Gus.” She looked to Everard wearily. “And I need to visit Jago’s family on the way back. To tell them what happened,” Kaia closed her eyes with a grimace as she recalled Jago’s last heartbreaking moments—another scene that would be seared in her memory forever. “Then, I have to face my mother.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “How am I going to face them?”

  Klaus pulled her closer. “Not alone.”

  She looked up at him. “You’d do that?”

  The Shadow Heir pulled away so he could meet her eyes, and took her hand in his, speaking low so only she could hear. “Kaia, I know you’re grieving the fallen, but all I can think about is what we’ve been gifted. When we parted on the hill, I didn’t think we’d ever see each other again.” He looked at their linked hands and gently rubbed his calloused thumb across her skin. “But when I held your still body, out there on the sand… I couldn’t imagine my future without you.” He grinned. “Now, here you are, my walking miracle, and I cannot help but smile.”

  A rogue tear crept down Kaia’s cheek as a glowing smile spread across her face. Klaus reached out a hand and brushed the tear away. “So yes, if you’ll have me, I’ll stay right here next to you, and we can face those things together.”

  Beaming, she grabbed a handful of Klaus’ shirt and gently pulled him into a soft kiss. She pulled away slowly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Well, I guess I’ll have you.”

  Klaus rolled his eyes with a smile. “Aren’t you generous today? That blow to the head must have really gotten t
o you.”

  “But you’ll have to keep up with me,” she said in mock seriousness. “I plan to see the world.”

  “Ha,” he scoffed. “I could catch you even if you had a week’s head start.”

  “If I wasn’t smothered in bandages, I would leave you in the dust.”

  “Is that your excuse today?”

  “Just wait till the spring!”

  Shad shook his head with a soft chuckle as the Heirs continued their bickering, and Bram rolled his eyes. Fiola exchanged a glance with Everard. The wisp of a smile, as rare as a lily in winter, ghosted across the magus’ face.

  As Kaia laughed and joked with the gentle sun warm on her face, she offered one last silent prayer of thanks. The world was safe, and they were free to be young once again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Home

  The sun glowed orange as it dipped below the horizon on the Summerbanks Snowmelt Festival. Butterflies drifted about, chasing the blue petals of the Naerami star blooms that swirled thickly through the fragrant mountain air. Kaia stood among the bustling crowds of townsfolk and watched the newly turned seventeen-year-olds of the town undergoing the coming-of-age ritual. Fiola, being a war hero, had been given the honor this year of calling out the names. Felix peeked out from behind her slim leg on the wooden stage.

  Kaia stretched and fingered the strange scar that ringed her upper arm. Her body had taken months to heal, and it felt delightful to finally be free of bandages and splints. Fiola had coaxed Kaia into a fine violet dress, and she watched with distant curiosity as smiling boys and girls, dressed in their finest clothes, stepped forward onto the small stage.

  Had it only been a year ago that she had snuck into town to see this very event? The crowd erupted in cheers as Fiola presented each youth to the village as a new adult. A lilting tune played and the tempting aroma of sweets and bread mixed in the air. The distant bark of an excited dog made Kaia’s heart clench and blew the sails of her thoughts back to the autumn’s end.

  She thought of Jago’s widow squeezing their tiny daughter tight as the Heirs told her of her husband’s fate. She thought of searching their route endlessly for Gus, calling for him for days. Her yell had sounded no louder than a whisper when Klaus finally convinced her to travel homeward. Even now, when she reached for the missing dog at her side, she still pictured him wandering, lost, and waiting for her to return for him.

  She thought about her mother’s open arms and relieved face when she and Bram had walked in the door. Of Layf and Eleni’s gasping sobs as they tackled her in a hug. And of more tears, as they had gathered around the fire to remember Tam. Through it all, Klaus had been by her side, his fingers locked with hers as she choked out their story. Seeing Layf and her family again had been a salve, and after months of wandering, the familiar blusheep farm of her childhood had been a welcome change.

  But, once Klaus left to visit his own home, the house felt too large. In Bram’s silence, she knew he felt it too. They were not the children they had been when they left. She found herself sorely missing Shad, Fiola, and Klaus—realizing they had become a second family to her. When the early lilacs bloomed, Layf and Eleni laughed and played with their friends while her mother threw herself back into farm work. Kaia’s gaze found Bram’s, and a shared understanding passed from one to the other and back. Arimoke could no longer hold them.

  Finally, she thought about Klaus. They had parted with a long embrace and the promise to meet at Fiola’s cottage on the first day of Spring, but it had been almost a week, and the Shadow Heir had not showed. Kaia alternatively worried that something had happened to him or that perhaps he had forgotten his promise.

  She pushed the worry from her mind as Fiola finished calling the names of the town youths and announced the official start of the annual Snowmelt festival to the cheering crowd. The old woman looked brilliant in her shimmering blue dress. Fiola had offered to formally introduce Kaia to the town as the Dragon Heir, blessed protector of Okarria, but she had declined. She wanted only to enjoy the festival as any normal villager might— to be a part of the spectacle she had only ever been able to gaze upon from afar.

  Another thundering shout went up from the crowd as Fiola called for the first dance of the year, and the musicians struck up a cheerful tune. By tradition, no one could dance until all the honored youths found partners. In Kaia’s fantasies as a girl, she had always dreamed she was picked first. How innocent she had been…. Her eyes glazed wistfully for a moment before she shook it away with a toss of her head.

  When Kaia looked up again, dancers were already whirling around the town square. Her eyes searched for Fiola, and she laughed aloud when she spotted the old woman. Her face lit with a luminous smile, she swirled around the stage with none other than Everard, dressed in a fine indigo dress robe. Skies above. That crotchety old magus never ceases to amaze. With another laugh, Kaia watched Everard twirl and dip Fiola, while nearby Bram bowed to a pretty brunette. She even spotted Shad observing the celebration from a low rooftop.

  Kaia absently rubbed at a loose hair tickling her earlobe as she watched the juggler toss torches into the air to the awe of the crowd. In a single deft movement, he leapt onto the back of the chair, balancing carefully while he spun the burning brands above him. Kaia clapped appreciatively with the rest of the spectators before scratching at the back of her arm where something brushed up against it. When she felt the brush on her neck, she suppressed a smile, and her eyes glanced right and left suspiciously. Listening for a moment, she reached out into the air and closed her fingers around a handful of invisible shirt.

  “You’re late,” she admonished, smiling.

  With a chuckle, the Shadow Heir appeared before her. Like Everard, he too was dressed in fine clothes. He wore a sharp black tunic over a white shirt, with a long black coat and black breeches. His jaw was smooth, and it looked like he had at least tried to tame his bristly hair. The sight of him took her breath away.

  Seeing her surprise, Klaus smiled. “Do I look that good?”

  Kaia recovered with a smirk and crossed her arms. “I’m just surprised you’re clean, is all.”

  “Well, I did hear the Dragon Heir was coming to this festival, and they say she practically glows with beauty.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Do you think you could help me find her?”

  Kaia rolled her eyes and moved to walk away, but Klaus caught her hand and drew her back. “Oh, here she is. Right next to me all along.” With a smile, he pulled her into a quiet side street. He leaned against a wall next to the inn’s stables and brought her close for a kiss of lost time. The warmth of his body pressed against her as his mouth met hers again and again—searching, yearning, aching—filling a void that Kaia had never know she had. Heat bubbled up within her, as lips and tongues entwined in a passion that she had never known before.

  At last, she pulled back to regain her stolen breath. “What took you so long?” She rested her forehead on his muscled chest, feeling his thrumming heart beneath his shirt. “I’ve missed you.”

  The Shadow Heir kissed her neck softly. “It’s a surprise.”

  Kaia narrowed her eyes. “What kind of surprise?”

  He reached out and opened the stable door next to him. “This kind.”

  Kaia peaked around the doorjamb and gasped as Gus flew into her arms. The massive ragehound wriggled and whined like a puppy. My girl! My girl! My girl!

  Kaia rolled with him on the cobblestones laughing and crying into his neck as she ran her fingers through his red fur.

  “Where have you been?” she asked the dog, looking into his shining eyes. “I searched everywhere for you!” She turned to Klaus in disbelief. “But how did you find him?”

  Klaus shrugged with a smirk, “I went town to town.” He leaned down to give Gus a scratch. “A farmer’s family had found him on the road and taken him in. They were rather awed when I told them who he belonged to.”

  “That must’ve taken weeks!” Kaia gasped.

 
“For that reaction, it was worth it.”

  Kaia released Gus and threw her arms around Klaus. “I can’t thank you enough. You’ve brought back a piece of my life.”

  “Luckily, I was able to find him before Dorinar could grab him and hide him in another deep dark cave.”

  Kaia laughed, tears still streaming down her face. She reached down and Gus pressed his familiar wet nose into her palm. We are together now. We are whole.

  She glanced up at Klaus. “I was worried that you'd forgotten to come.”

  “Nah, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, Firefly.” His crinkled hazel eyes met hers. “I can’t leave you for long when you hold my heart in your hand.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist, then cocked his head as the music started up again. “And I believe you wanted a dance.” He pulled her into the center of the abandoned street.

  He lifted her hand for a twirl, and Kaia giggled, spinning close to him. “And just when I thought I couldn’t love you more….”

  He pressed his cheek to hers, his words tickling her ear. “I hope you always say that, Firefly, because I will never tire of hearing it.”

  Gus barked and pranced around them as the Heirs whirled to the music. Kaia looked into the gold flecks winking in Klaus’ hazel eyes and took it all back. This was exactly where she was supposed to be. Thank Odriel for her six-minute head start.

  EPILOGUE

  In the gathering dusk, Idriel’s Children gazed down on the Summerbanks festival from a jagged cliff jutting out of the mountainside. One was tall and blonde, dressed in an expensive suit, with his hair perfectly combed atop his head. His handsome features twisted with hate as he watched the village below.

  “She killed my father, you know.” Valente sneered. “Burned him alive right in front of my eyes.”

  His companion moved jerkily, as if his movements weren’t his own. His lidless eyes were blank and unblinking, lifeless but for the dark spark that glittered unnaturally in the pits of his pupils. His lipless mouth gaped in an eternal smile, showing his gnashing teeth. “Patience,” he gurgled, as if his tongue didn’t quite work. “She knows nothing of your secret.” He cocked his head to the side as a fly landed on one of his bulging eyes. His words were sluggish and thick. “We must gather strength, set the trap, and they will come.”