by Lisa Cassidy
Dawn closed her eyes for a few moments, Brynn reaching over to help guide her horse. When they snapped open a smile was creeping over her face. “They’re following us as fast as they can. Cario is free of whatever magic Shakar had him trapped in—it must fade with distance.”
“What happened back there?” Brynn demanded.
Relief swamped her so strongly at Dawn’s words that it took Alyx a moment to collect her thoughts and respond. She had to lift her voice to be heard over the thundering of hooves.
“So the council is gone then,” he said grimly.
“We’re the council now,” she said. A new confidence was trickling through Alyx—what she’d seen inside Shakar’s mind the source of it. He was undoubtedly more skilled, possibly more powerful. But maybe, just maybe, there was a way to match him.
They didn’t stop until the horses were floundering and the early light of morning lit up the sky. They’d unsaddled and watered the horses and were starting a fire when Tarrick, Ladan, and Dashan found them. Dawn beat Alyx to her brother by a few steps, so she turned to Tarrick instead.
“Thanks for trusting me.”
He gave her a little smile. “Thanks for doing what you promised.”
“Alyx!” Dashan was there then, shouldering past Tarrick to haul her into his arms. She didn’t fight it, instead wrapping her arms around his waist in relief. He was solid and warm, the world disappearing for a moment as if three years had never been.
Cario’s voice broke through her daze. “Hey, I’m alive too, you know?”
Alyx was out of Dashan’s hug in a flash and running over to Cario. He smiled wearily at her, opening his arms.
“You shouldn’t have come after me,” he murmured in her ear.
She stepped away. “I’ll always come after you, Cario.”
He gave her a little bow, but there was nothing mocking in it. “My Magor-lier.”
They rode hard for Alistriem, crossing through the narrow piece of Shivasa and stopping only briefly at Widow Falls for supplies and to change horses. They were three days out of Alistriem, encamped by a swiftly flowing stream just off the main road, when Ladan finally raised the spectre of what they’d left behind.
“There’s a good chance he’ll guess where we’re going and come after us,” he said as they chewed on strips of salty dried beef.
“He wanted the council and now they’re dead. Maybe that will be enough for him,” Cario suggested. “For now, at least.”
“He truly didn’t seem to consider me a threat,” Alyx mused. “Although that could change now that I’m effectively the new council.”
“Confrontation with Shakar is inevitable,” Tarrick said, surprising them all. “And going back to running and hiding isn’t the solution. We should be smart and cautious, but stand and fight if he comes.”
“I’m probably in range of Rosa,” Dawn said of the telepath stationed at the palace. “It might be worth checking in and warning them what’s happened. Adahn and the others will be almost there too, I reached him a while ago and his thoughts indicated the way ahead is clear.”
“You’d better get her to warn Cayr we’re bringing an extra guest,” Alyx said with a glance in Dashan’s direction. There’d been no time for conversation in their ride from Tregaya, nor much time for figuring out what she was supposed to do now that he was suddenly back. Nonetheless, she had to fight back a smile every time her eyes fell on him. Cayr was going to be overjoyed.
Dawn settled back against her saddlebags, Ladan’s arm draping around her shoulder in silent support. Brynn appeared with a half-loaf of bread and tossed a piece to Alyx before dropping beside her. She swapped him for some of the dried beef she was chewing on, chuckling when he made a face.
Dawn’s gasp of shock caught them both by surprise, and Alyx was halfway to her feet before she realised there was no immediate physical danger.
“What is it?” Dashan demanded.
“Alyx, I…oh Ladan.” Her hand shot out to take her husband’s. He turned grim, and his shoulders stiffened as if he was bracing himself. “There was an attack on the palace last night—they were after Cayr. Hunters. So many.”
Terror clutched at Alyx’s chest. “Is Cayr okay? Dawn, tell me!”
“He’s okay. Jenna was with him. She…” Dawn shook her head as if trying to process the information that had been given to her. “It’s your father.”
Alyx swayed on her feet. Brynn quickly reached out to take her arm and steady her. She leaned into him, needing his support. “He’s…is he–?”
Dawn shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t sound good. Cayr was with Rosa when I reached her. He said you and Ladan should both come as quickly as you can.”
Alyx nodded, meeting her brother’s stricken gaze. “I’ll go now. We’ll fly. I can get us there in a few hours.”
“He planned this.” Ladan began pacing, shoulders rigid. “Hit the council and Carhall with his mages and use all remaining Hunters to take out the king of Rionn. Cut the legs out from the resistance against his Shiven army.”
His words didn’t help. She stared at him. Not Papa.
Dashan was there then, his hand gently squeezing her shoulder, gaze warm and reassuring. “Take a breath, Alyx. You go, we’ll be right behind you.”
She nodded, swallowed. She needed to be calm to use her magic. “Follow us as quickly as you can.”
“We will,” Brynn said steadily, still at her side. “Go, do what you need to do.”
Alyx and Ladan landed inside the palace gates just under a day later, tired, aching, and filled with dread. She’d reached out to Rosa as they approached, and Cayr was coming out to meet them, his handsome face uncharacteristically grave. The strength suddenly went out of her legs, and Ladan reached out to steady her just in time. His shoulders were rigid, face a featureless mask.
“Alyx, Ladan, I’m so sorry.” Cayr came to a halt before them. His blonde curls were tousled, as if he’d been running his hands through them over and over. Guilt shadowed his blue eyes, tiredness obvious from his wan appearance.
“How is he?” she managed to force the words out through the sudden lump in her throat.
“It’s not good,” he said, meeting her eyes. What she saw there almost made her burst into tears on the spot.
“I should go and…we should see him.”
“I’ll take you.” He was hurting for her, but she couldn’t acknowledge that. If she did, she might explode into a million pieces.
Together, she and Ladan pushed open the door of the room. Their father was unconscious on the bed, the peaceful expression on his face marred by the stitched wound down his left cheek.
Ladan took a single, heaving breath at the sight. “I want to hit something,” he said tightly, his face grim with pain. “I should have been here. I should have–”
“This isn’t your fault,” Alyx murmured.
He nodded, but she sensed he didn’t truly believe her words.
Cayr hesitated at the door, “He saved my life, you know? He and Jenna together. There were Hunters everywhere, and they…” Cayr smiled slightly, even though there was a sheen of tears in his eyes. “Your father was magnificent.”
It was hard to summon anything but worry for her father, but she couldn’t let the pain in Cayr’s eyes go unacknowledged. “Is Jenna okay?”
“Some cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious,” he said.
“I’m glad.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re okay too.”
He tried to smile but couldn’t manage it. Instead he settled for squeezing her hand back before leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind him. Alyx moved over to sit on her father’s bed. He was pale and gaunt, his breathing shallow.
The door opened to admit Leanli, and he and Ladan had a brief conversation. Once the healer had gone, Ladan pulled up a chair beside her.
“How bad?” she managed.
Ladan cleared his throat. “He sustained several deep wounds and lost too much
blood. It weakened him.” He paused. “He collapsed after the fight. Infection set in soon after and his body hasn’t had the strength to fight it.”
“What about Leanli’s healing magic?”
Caged frustration filled her brother’s voice. “His invulnerability limits the amount of magical help Leanli can give him.”
When Alyx reached out to touch her father’s face, his eyes flickered open. Pain echoed in them, but then he smiled when he saw them both.
“I thought Taliath were supposed to be invulnerable,” she murmured.
“Almost…” His voice was faint. “Too many though.”
“Don’t talk,” Alyx soothed when she saw how much effort it cost him. “You need to rest.”
His eyes flickered closed again and she thought he’d lapsed into unconsciousness, but then he rallied. “You okay?”
Alyx huffed a laugh. “You’re worried about me right now?”
“Love you…my girl.”
“I love you too.” She swallowed through the lump in her throat. “Papa, Dashan is alive. Surely you want to survive this so you can lecture me about how inappropriate a Bluecoat captain is for the daughter of Lord Egalion?”
Garan’s eyes flashed with light at her words. “He’s good for you, Aly-girl. Don’t let them…don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I might,” Ladan grumbled, making them all chuckle.
Garan’s laugh turned into a choking cough. It took too long to subside, leaving his breathing harsher than it had been. He shook his head slightly, a wince crossing his face. “Ladan, Alyx. You’re both so strong. You don’t need me anymore.”
“That’s not true!” Ladan’s voice was tight with pain. Alyx reached for her brother’s hand and he took it in a vice-like grip.
A faint smile crossed their father’s face. “Don’t be sad for me. It’s my time. This is how I was always meant to go…a fighting Taliath. I’m happier than I can ever express that I got to be that once again.”
“Papa,” Alyx whispered, her chest feeling like it was being torn asunder. “Please don’t leave.”
“I go to Temari now,” he said heavily, eyes sliding closed. “Love you both. So much.”
Alyx clung to her brother, tears streaming down their cheeks as their father’s breathing slowed, and then came to a stop. One last breath escaped him and then he was still.
It was as if her heart was being literally torn from her chest. Her beloved father, the tall, strong, too-serious man who’d raised her and loved her and protected her. He was gone.
Goodbye, Papa.
“I wish—” Ladan’s voice was ragged, rough. “I wish I hadn’t missed all those years with him.”
She turned and threw her arms around his neck, holding him as his shoulders shook and warm tears soaked into her skin.
Chapter 33
Three days later the others arrived. The time had passed mostly in a blur for Alyx, and, she suspected, for Ladan too. They kept to their father’s home, spending the time sleeping when they could, and in silent companionship when they couldn’t.
Dawn let her know of their approach to the city, and Alyx went over to the palace to greet them. As leaden with grief as she was, she couldn’t miss Cayr’s reunion with Dashan.
Alyx walked into the courtyard just as they were coming through the main gates. Cayr was there, hopping eagerly from foot to foot in anticipation, his own grief momentarily forgotten. Dashan let out a loud whoop of laughter when he saw the king, dismounting and crossing towards him in two strides. “Well, if it isn’t my old friend Cayr!”
“Dashan Caverlock.” Cayr shook his head, eyes wide with astonishment and joy. “I don’t believe it.”
“It’s true,” Dashan said. “I have become even more handsome since the last time you saw me.”
Cayr laughed. “Oh, Dash, you have no idea…”
“I’m glad to see you too.” Dashan clapped him on the back, before Cayr pulled him into a fierce hug. They clung to each other for a long time.
When they parted, Dashan’s expression turned sober. “Alyx. Is she okay?”
Sadness filled Cayr’s face. “She’s—”
“I’m all right, Dashan.” She walked over to join them. And for a brief moment, when he turned and smiled at her, it was true.
“Alyx.” Dawn came over, throwing her arms around her tightly. Alyx fought tears, reinforcing her mental shield so that Dawn didn’t have to deal with the strength of her grief. Eventually Dawn pulled back. “Where’s Ladan?”
“He’s at home,” Alyx said softly. “Go to him—he could use you right now. I’ll stay here for a bit, give you both some space.”
Dawn nodded and squeezed her hand. “Reach out if you need anything at all.”
Alyx glanced over at Cayr and Dashan, clearly waiting for her, and gave Dawn a little smile. “I think I’m going to be okay.”
A matching smile curled at Dawn’s mouth. “I think you will be too. See you soon, Alyx.”
Cayr slung his arm around her as she re-joined them. Dashan shot her a look, eyebrows raised, and she gave him a little shake of her head. Cayr didn’t know about Astor yet—she literally hadn’t had the heart to tell him, her emotions too fragile.
They walked in silence together towards the king’s private study, and for once nobody bothered him or needed his time. Jenna stood at the door. A stitched wound over her left eyebrow marred some of her beauty, but she looked stunning as always in silken dress and slippers.
“Magor-lier, may I have a word?” she asked.
Alyx nodded, waving Dashan and Cayr through into the study. Once the door closed, a silence descended. She waited for Jenna to speak, not sure what it was the woman wanted to talk to her about.
“I hope you know, Alyx, that I did everything I could. Your father, he told me to stay with Cayr.” Astonishingly, tears glistened in Jenna’s cool blue eyes. “He said that no matter what I had to protect him. And there were so many. When he was swamped, I couldn’t get to him, not without leaving Cayr.”
“Jenna, stop.” Alyx surged forward, taking her arm. “My father’s death isn’t your fault. You did the right thing. You saved Cayr’s life, and I will always be grateful to you for that.”
“I wish I could have done more.”
“They say you were magnificent. A true Taliath.” Alyx smiled through her own tears. She missed her father with a deep, yearning ache, but the words were genuinely meant. “I’m glad you’re on my side, Jenna Aridlen. I’m glad you’re on his side.”
She nodded once, then stepped back. “I should let you go.”
Alyx paused in the doorway, glancing back. “You’re nothing like Casovar, Jenna. I hope you know that.”
“So you really had no memory at all?” Cayr marvelled. The fire had burned low in the grate, and Alyx was sure it was past midnight. She sat stretched out on a soft couch, sipping at a mug of cider, while Cayr sprawled on a sofa opposite her. Dashan sat on the floor between, back against a chair, longs legs stretched out before him. They’d already finished three jugs of the cider.
Dashan shrugged. “I knew I was from Alistriem, but didn’t know who my parents were, or remember anything about my life here.”
“And you led the militia forces that whole time?”
“Not straight away, but once I recovered from my wounds, I started working with some of the militia—those I’d worked with at DarkSkull remembered me and we were very quickly successful. From there, it wasn’t long before I found myself commanding the defences of the city. Even so, the council were careful to keep me out of public sight as much as they could. I finally understand why, now.”
“Didn’t Rodin and the others tell you who you were when they recognised you?” Alyx asked quietly.
Dashan looked up, replying just as quietly. “They told me I had been a Bluecoat captain, and that I’d led a unit sent to DarkSkull Hall as the escort for a noble Rionnan mage, a Lady Egalion.”
“What did they say about me? Good things,
I hope,” Alyx said lightly, trying to break the sad tension suddenly filling the room.
“They liked you very much. They told me you were a powerful mage, and that when they had known you, you’d been betrothed to the prince of Rionn.” Dashan shrugged. “I thought no more of it. I had no conception that if I was a mere Bluecoat captain, I would have had any association with someone like you beyond being your guard.”
“Dashan, if you truly had no memory, and you were building a life for yourself in Carhall…” Cayr paused. “I just wonder if it’s difficult now, if you still feel like you belong there.”
Dashan studied the mug in his hands, a pensive look on his face. “I remember everything now; my childhood, everything. This is my home, where I belong. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the past three years have been empty.”
“Empty?” Alyx spoke without thinking—his words mirrored her feelings so well.
“I just mean…I thought I had a full life in Carhall, but I was only living part of my life, without even realising it.”
Cayr chuckled, emulating Alyx’s attempt to lighten the atmosphere. “Not a full life? So no blonde barmaid and illegitimate offspring tucked away somewhere?”
Silence dropped over the room like a blanket, and Cayr’s face fell as he realised what he’d said. “I’m sorry. Blame the cider. That was a stupid question.”
Alyx turned away, unable to decide whether she desperately wanted to hear Dashan’s answer to the question or not.
“No blonde barmaid and no illegitimate children,” he said quietly.
“I think we should talk about something different.” Alyx put down her now-empty mug.
“I agree. I’ve told you everything about the past three years of my life,” Dashan said. “I want to hear what’s happened with the both of you.”
“Well,” Cayr smiled. “That’s a story and a half.”
“Before we do.” Alyx swallowed, tears rising unbidden before flooding down her cheeks. Annoyed at herself—would these emotions never stop threatening to choke her?—she scrubbed at her face. “Cayr, there’s something we have to tell you.”