Namida kissed him back with a ferocity that she hadn't felt outside of anger in a long, long time. Her single hand tangled itself in his warrior's braids, pulling him closer still as his hands dipped lower, settling in the small of her back. Only when her lungs burned did she pull back for air, but Darwe pulled her back in, his eyes burning her with the heat that smoldered within them. His lips and hands sparked an unfamiliar heat within her that would have scared her were it not for the gentleness that he touched her with, softly wrapping himself around her as they fell backwards onto the bed roll. Their limbs tangled to the point where she was no longer sure where she ended and he began, and when his bare skin met her own, she could have sworn that nothing else in the world existed but them.
For the briefest of moments, nothing else mattered but the way Darwe looked at her; as though she were his entire world, and he would give anything to keep her in his arms like that forever.
o—O—o
Namida woke slowly, her mind feeling as though it were full of sand that stuck in all the crevices, refusing to be sifted out. The first thought that came to her mind as she groaned at the first gray light of dawn was that Master Dorozi would have her hide if she didn't get out of bed soon. As she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes, though, all of the contents of the past few years came flooding back to her mind. The pain and anger that she had been struggling with for what seemed like forever came back full force, along with the underlying bitterness towards Fate she couldn't help but feel. She felt guilt over the fact that she couldn't seem to accept Fate's hand in her life, for she knew that the few times she had let Fate take control, it had helped her along her way. She couldn't bear it, though. All of the suffering she had endured...why? She didn't feel any better for it. With a quiet sigh, Namida tried to sit up.
A hand tugged her back down. "Mmm...five more minutes," Darwe mumbled, clearly still half-asleep.
Panic surged through Namida as she remembered what had happened last night. He had finally told her point-blank that he loved her, and she...and she... Her face burned as she realized that they were both naked underneath the blankets, his arm wrapped around her middle and his muscular chest pressed against her back, along with...other parts. Taking a deep breath to keep herself from screaming, she slowly and carefully extricated herself from his grasp, grabbing her clothes that she could now see in the half-light were strewn across the tent. She mentally cursed herself for ever having let her emotions take control. Now she was going to have to deal with the fallout of what had happened last night. Perhaps if she ran off on her own... She paused.
No. Even after last night—perhaps especially so, now—Darwe would never let her just run off on her own to face her corporeal demons. She stifled another sigh as she fastened her cloak, sparing one last glance back at Darwe's peaceful sleeping face before she stepped out of the tent. She took a deep breath of the crisp dawn air, knowing that it would soon enough be stifling hot. Her clothes were layered, but light—light enough for travel and fighting, but thick enough that in case a storm hit before they could find shelter, she could wrap herself up in them and not freeze to death. The mountains were perilous at the best of times, Momal had said, and she was glad he had helped them prepare for their venture into them.
The sound of quiet footfalls on the sand made her glance to the west. Nyago was padding back from his early morning hunt, a sizeable hare clamped in his strong jaws. When he reached her, he cocked his head at seeing her up and dressed so early. He was used to the morning routine of her and Darwe waking up to break their fast together while he ate outside the tent, knowing neither of them found his eating habits pleasant. Nyago silently dropped the hare's limp body on the ground and stepped over it, bumping her side with his head and staring up at her with what looked like concern. Namida gave a wan smile. Somehow Nyago always seemed to know when something was wrong; sometimes even before she knew it, herself. She silently scratched behind his ear, and he gave an approving whuff, leaning into her hand.
"It's okay, Nyago. I just needed to think for a bit," she murmured, quiet enough that Darwe wouldn't hear. The hound flicked an ear and gave her a doubting look. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. As if the hound was sassing her this early in the morning. She tapped him on the nose, causing him to fold his ears back and glare at her. "I'll be okay. I'm just not sure what to do from here," she said in a distracted voice. She was speaking more to herself than to the hound, at this point. She could never be sure how much Nyago understood, but something told her she would be surprised at how intelligent the hound was if she ever found out. She frowned as her gaze drifted back to the eastern horizon and the sun that was slowly creeping over the hills there, trailing off from the mountain peaks that loomed to their immediate north. She bit her lip, hesitating. They needed to get a move on if they wanted to find the main encampment without being spotted by the patrols. There was a reason they had camped on the lowermost cave they could find in the mountainside, and it was because they needed to be out of sight of prying eyes. If they hadn't needed to, she would have preferred to camp in the desert sands one last time. They were her home; the place where she felt most secure. By venturing into the mountains they would be allowing the fight to be on Kaska's terms, and despite the necessity of it all, she was loathe to give up any minor benefit she might have over him.
Closing her eyes and taking one final deep breath to calm her already shot nerves, she took a moment to stretch and limber her muscles before ducking back inside the tent. She pursed her lips as she spotted Darwe's sleeping face once more. He was so peaceful, a small smile on his lips even as he slept. Her hand clenched into a fist as she gave him a hard shove in the leg with her foot, quickly turning her back on him as he woke with a grunt. She heard him rustling the blankets as she hastily packed the things they couldn't be bothered with last night into their bags.
"...Mida?" he said, his voice rough and tired. "You're dressed already? You should have woken me earlier. Do we have time for breakfast yet?"
Wordlessly, she threw the satchel with their rations in it at him, suppressing a wince as she heard it knock the wind out of him. She couldn't quit moving or she would be overcome with emotions, and she couldn't afford to have that happen today of all days.
She heard the blankets shift again, and she went rigid as Darwe's arms wrapped around her from behind. She felt him place a kiss to the top of her head, her braids from yesterday messy but still intact, as she had unintentionally slept with them in. "Mida, what's wrong? You're so quiet this morning. Come sit with me," he said, and the pleading note she could hear in his voice almost made her break. She took a deep breath, her fist clenching and unclenching at her side.
"Unhand me," she said coldly, and she could feel him tense before he slowly drew back from her. She didn't want to hurt him like this. Why did she let him in in the first place? She was such a foolish girl for letting her barriers fall. It had only taken a moment for her to make a decision she would ultimately regret. She felt her eyes grow hot with unshed tears, but she blinked them back, refusing to let herself be weak again. She had a madman to kill; a family to avenge, and a war to end. She could not do that by being weak. She heard Darwe inhale as though he were about to say something, but no words came. She grimaced. She had put a proverbial knife in his back with her actions, and that could never be undone.
"We need to move," Namida said quietly as she grabbed her leather bracer and chest piece from where it sat next to her sheathed sword and strap. "Help me put this on. We'll move after you've dressed and eaten."
Darwe fumbled with the straps of her armor in strained silence as she stood perfectly still, only moving to pull her cloak out of the way and to hold her arm out for him to slip her bracer on. With one final tug and glance over the straps to make sure they were all held firmly in place, Darwe stepped back. Namida fixed her gaze on the fabric of the tent, determined not to stare at his sculpted chest or toned arms, dressed as he was in only the breeches he had pulled on when he
rolled out of bed.
"Eat," she murmured, not daring to meet his gaze. She didn't want to see the pain that she had put there. She stooped to grab her sword and fumbled with the buckle, managing to get it together and step into it, pulling it up over her hips before she tightened it. She brushed past Darwe to exit the tent, calling back over her shoulder as she went. "Leave the tent and the bedroll. We'll take what's left of the rations. If we make it out of this alive, we can come back to collect the rest."
If they made it out alive, she would try to mend both of the hearts she had broken.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Namida was glad for all of the hiking they had done up until this point, that they were able to trek up through the hills and plateaus of the badlands that wove through the northern mountain range without too much difficulty. She tried to keep her breathing quiet and even, knowing that around any rocky outcrop there could be scouts or guards waiting. Namida held a throwing knife in one hand at the ready in case such a thing happened, and Darwe held a nocked arrow to his bow, pointed to the ground but ready to draw and release at a moment's notice. She could feel the tension between them, though neither said a word. She never should have allowed what had happened between them to transpire. She had been so careful over the past few years to never let herself grow too attached to anyone, and even though he had become like a brother to her, she had never intended to fall in love with him. She wanted to punish herself for doing so, to hurt herself until she smartened up, but instead she had only ended up hurting him. She couldn't bear it, seeing that look of pain and longing on his face as they'd broken their morning fast and she had refused to so much as look at him.
Darwe loosed an arrow, and Namida snapped out of her thoughts to see it sail past her head, impaling a hidden scout in the eye just as he raised a horn to his lips to blow the warning signal. He fell to the ground motionless, and she took a deep, steadying breath. She needed to be in the mindset for this; she needed to be in this moment, right now. If she didn't, she would end up like that scout before she even reached her goal. She thought of all the people between her and Kaska still, and she knew that their chances were slim as it was. Gripping the hilt of her sword a bit tighter, she turned and nodded at Darwe, not meeting his eyes as Nyago nudged at her leg before trotting silently ahead of the two of them. According to the reports that the queen had showed them, they should be getting very close to the main camp by now, yet they had only encountered a couple of scouts and a single patrol group. She would have thought that this entire mountain path should be crawling with Kaska's troops. It made her nervous to think that they might be walking straight into a trap. She heard Nyago snarl from around the next curve in the path, and a strangled yell followed with a loud snap. She raced forward to find Nyago's jaws clasped around a guard's clearly broken neck, and she quickly threw a dagger at the retreating back of the second guard as he ran away. There was a sick thud as it embedded itself in the back of his skull and he fell face-first into the stone, blood quickly pooling beneath him. She moved forward to retrieve the dagger, planting her boot on the dead man's neck and tugging hard. The wet sound it made as she removed the dagger from his skull made her grimace. Darwe moved past her, approaching the edge of the path as it overlooked the valley between the mountains that they were quickly approaching.
"Mida," he said softly, his voice sounding odd. "Mida, you need to take a look at this."
Namida furrowed her brow at him, but approached the edge as he requested.
The first thing that caught her attention was the smoke. The air in the valley was filled with it, as though the entire area had been swept through with wild fire. Tents scattered the valley below, but many of them appeared to be flattened or burnt. Had someone gotten here before them? She had thought the queen didn't care enough to send her troops into war, especially not this far from the capital in the South. Who could have possibly done this much damage? She could see a few soldiers moving around the edge of the ruined encampment, seeming as though they were trying to collect whatever provisions had not been destroyed in whatever melee had occurred to leave it in such a state.
Namida raced down the path towards the camp, no longer worried about whether or not there was an army remaining between her and her opponent. She could see from the piles of charred bodies that the majority of Kaska's once-great army had fallen to whatever enemies had swept through here mere hours before. She only hoped at this point that she would still be able to enact her revenge; that Kaska was still alive to feel the brunt of her wrath.
The way to the encampment was clear save for the occasional burnt body. Namida vaguely wondered what had caused all these men to die. Many of them bore scorch marks and holes in their armor like they had been struck by lightning, but there was no way so many could have been hit by lightning, even if a Chaos storm had opened up directly over the camp...right? Namida shot a nervous glance at the sky, but save for a few wispy clouds, the early morning sky was gray and empty of any signs of unwelcome weather.
"Hold!"
As they approached the ruined camp, two familiar faces came into view. Kilish stood to the left, armed with her swords and a snarl on her face, and to her right stood...
"Father."
She could feel Darwe startle beside her, and she saw Nyago's hackles raise as he bore his teeth at the man, but made no move to attack him.
"What happened here?" Namida asked, but Kilish scoffed.
"You don't get to ask questions here." She clanged her swords together loudly, catching the attention of two soldiers further into the camp who were scavenging for surviving supplies. "We have an intruder, gentlemen! Let's take care of her for our leader, shall we?"
The two men gave each other an uncertain look before Kilish snarled, sending them flying into action. The two of them charged at the group, Zuwa backing off to watch what would conspire and leaving the two soldiers to attack Darwe and Namida. The one that came for Namida, however, was quickly diverted by the snapping jaws of her hound companion. He gave a sharp cry and dove to the side, quickly set on the defensive as Nyago began to herd him away from the fight. Darwe began to do the same thing on her other side, slowly using the force of his blows to back his opponent away from Namida as she stared Kilish down. She could see the bloodlust shining in Kilish's eyes, but the older woman turned to glance to the side.
"Watch how I've grown, father," she said to a cloaked figure standing off to the sidelines, his face shrouded but his hand clearly resting on the pommel of his sword, as if to say he would readily step in if she proved herself incapable of winning the fight. It set Namida's blood boiling.
"You lied to me, about everything," she accused. "Not even Kaska taking away your father was true."
Kilish clicked her tongue disapprovingly, seeming annoyed at the interruption. "Of course it was true. He took my father away. The only part I left out was that it was by his own choice."
Namida growled. She unsheathed Sin-Seeker from where it hung on her belt, hearing the blade sing as it left the sheath. She reveled in the sound as she watched Kilish's eyes follow the movement, a certain wariness in her gaze at it rested on the firestone it held encased in the hilt. Her gaze flicked back to meet Namida's, and a mask of bravado quickly replaced the uncertainty as she twisted her lips in a snarl once more.
"Fancy gems won't save you from your fate!" she called, leaping forward to rain her blades down in a devastating overhead blow. Namida dove into action, somersaulting past the deadly blades and springing to her feet behind her opponent, whirling to aim a slash at her midriff. Anticipating the attack, though, Kilish dashed forward out of range, giving herself just enough time to turn and block the next blow Namida sent her way. "Hah!" She parried with both blades, sending Namida on the defensive as she was forced to dance to the beat of her opponent's blows. The clanging of their swords echoed throughout the valley, and her teeth jarred at the metallic sound. Kilish rained a particularly heavy blow down on her, and she grunted as she blocked it with he
r own blade, but was driven down onto one knee from the force of it.
"Kilish!" The other woman's father called out from the sidelines. "Finish her!"
Namida's own father remained silent as Kilish's eyes flashed and she went for the killing blow. Namida barely rolled out of the way in time, springing to her feet once more as she sent her father a betrayed look as he allowed his own child to face the threat of death without raising a finger to help her. She shouldn't have expected anything more from him at this point, now that she knew all of the things he had allowed her to suffer—how he had allowed his own wife and son to perish for the sake of his twisted ideals, even—but it still hurt to know that the father she had once loved and thought she knew was nowhere to be found now in the man that gazed detachedly at her as she fought for her life against the woman she had once thought of as her mentor and friend.
Kilish gave a cry of rage at her escaped victim and whirled on her again, swinging her blades in a focused frenzy. Namida fell into a battle trance, parrying and dodging with the precision that had been hammered into her through her years of training under Master Dorozi and fine-tuned by Larani in these past few months. She could feel the heat welling up within her, the tell-tale sign that her magick was gathering itself at her core, ready to burst forth at a moment's notice should she find the need to unleash it on her opponent.
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