Rider's Resolve (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 3)

by Alessandra Clarke

  Perhaps…

  The Lady stepped so close they were almost touching.

  There was a vastness to her that K’lrsa had never sensed before—like the Lady contained the entire night sky in her person. “Don’t you ever again think of using one of those objects on me, child. I will not only banish you to the nothingness between worlds, I will send every single person you love with you.” Her voice was beautiful in its controlled fury.

  K’lrsa licked her lips, tempted to stand up to the Lady despite the warning, but one glance into those star-filled eyes and she knew she’d never survive long enough to try.

  She stepped back, forcing a smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  The Lady wasn’t fooled. She gave K’lrsa a long, dark look before stalking out of the room.

  Chapter 52

  As soon as the Lady was gone, K’lrsa’s mother stepped forward. “What do we do now?”

  “It’s okay. She’ll go to Badru. We’ll find her there and then I’ll get the necklace back and take her to D’lan. She would’ve been safer here with you, but I won’t have time to bring her back. That’s the best I can do.”

  K’lrsa’s mother nodded once. “You should get going then.”

  Herin stepped between them. “Pzah. The moon isn’t even up yet. They’ll move faster if they fly the horses. You should eat.”

  K’lrsa’s mother glared at Herin for a long moment but then nodded and moved to the far side of the fire, away from K’lrsa. Her father followed, pulling K’lrsa’s mother close and talking softly to her. She nodded at whatever he was saying and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

  K’lrsa forced herself to look away, shaking her head. After all these years she shouldn’t be surprised that they’d turn to one another for comfort and not even realize that maybe she needed a bit of reassurance as well.

  She glanced at the others. Lodie and Vedhe sitting together, talking quietly. F’lia nestled next to L’ral; she hadn’t said much since they’d arrived, but every once in a while she smiled at him and it was like she was her old self, all sunlight and happiness.

  It hurt to see how changed her friend was, but K’lrsa was glad she’d found some small measure of joy in her pain.

  Last, she turned to where Herin stood, Garzel a silent presence at her side. “Can we talk? While we eat?”

  Herin nodded and they sat down together away from the others.

  “What will you do after we leave?” K’lrsa bit into a fresh orange slice, savoring its tangy freshness while she could.

  “Probably move on to the Promised Plains. Or beyond.”

  “You won’t wait here, to see if we succeed?”

  “Pzah. Why would I wait around to find out you finally did what I couldn’t?”

  K’lrsa picked up a small packet of green leaves, inhaling the complicated scents of meat and vegetables tucked inside before taking a bite, enjoying the different textures and tastes before finally swallowing. She was going to miss this.

  She leaned closer to Herin. “I don’t think we’re going to succeed. I made a mistake.”

  “Of course you did.” Herin sighed. “Well. Out with it. What did you do?”

  She made sure none of the others were listening before she told Herin about keeping all three objects and what that might mean.

  “You fool,” Herin hissed. “Aran is the last man who needed more power.”

  “I know…I…If I’d realized…” K’lrsa stared at the ground, ashamed all over again at how foolish she’d been to think she could keep all three objects without consequence. She should’ve known. Vedhe had. “I ruined it all.”

  “Oh, enough of that. You don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself. And this is on the gods as much as you. The Lady let you do it, didn’t she? And even if you’d just taken the staff and Vedhe had the orb, the two of you would still be leaving here with two of the most powerful objects ever made.”

  “Why do you think they let it happen?”

  Herin snorted. “Why do gods do anything?”

  K’lrsa set aside her food, no longer hungry. Herin was right. Who really knew what the gods were thinking. “Should I tell Vedhe about the moon power?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Herin scoffed. “You don’t want to tell her, so you ask me if I agree. I do, and now you need me to explain it to you?”

  “I…Yes?”

  Herin watched Lodie and Vedhe for a long moment with her hooded grel-like gaze. “Think about it. Who is Aran to Vedhe? She’s never met him. He’s never done anything to her. She’s never even been to Toreem to see what he did to others. Why should she care if Aran dies?”

  “I don’t know. But she does. More than I do, I think.”

  Herin shook her head. “She just wants someone else to suffer the way she has. She’ll kill Aran if it gets her closer to her goal, but what she really wants is to return to that northern home of hers and kill the man who killed her family. I expect she’ll take anyone in her path out along the way.”

  “I saw what he did. I understand why she’d want that.”

  “Do you? How nice.” Herin turned her dark gaze on K’lrsa. “Will you still be so understanding when the tribes stand between her and her vengeance?”

  “I won’t let her hurt them.”

  “No. You won’t. That’s why you have the moon power and why you won’t tell her about it until you need to. Those objects, each and every one of them, twist their users. Each time you touch them, each time you use them, they twist you a little more.”

  Like the staff she’d wrapped in three blankets and left in her tent because the power of its call had been so strong.

  “That sun orb?” Herin continued, “It’ll latch onto the hatred in Vedhe’s soul and twist her beyond recognition. And when it does and it looks like nothing can stop her…You will. But not if she knows what you’re going to do.”

  K’lrsa looked across the fire at Vedhe, who was smiling slightly as she spoke to Lodie, the scars on her face twisting her mouth. She was so young and what had been done to her wasn’t her fault, but…there was a darkness there.

  “I don’t want to hurt her. She’s my friend.”

  Herin didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.

  “What about Badru? Should I tell him?”

  “Pzah. Of course.”

  K’lrsa held Herin’s gaze. “Can I really trust him, Herin? Could I give him the staff and trust him to use it properly?”

  “The staff? Why would you do that?”

  “I don’t know. I just wanted to know if I could.”

  Herin stared into the fire, her brow furrowed, the wrinkles in her face deepening as she spoke. “Badru loves you more than anything. The choices he made as Daliph and in entering the Hidden City prove that.”

  She met K’lrsa’s gaze. “And he’ll do anything to defeat Aran. But…” She shook her head. “He won’t help you destroy the Toreem Daliphate. You have to know that. Even though he knows the truth of his parentage now, he’ll still want to protect it. Give him the staff and he’ll be able to stand against you. You won’t be able to free your parents.”

  K’lrsa bit her lip. “Are you sure?”

  “Pzah. Of course I am.”

  K’lrsa sat back with a sigh.

  Herin was right. Badru would never want to destroy Toreem. He loved her, but not enough to stand aside while thousands died.

  She stared into the fire, wondering what she was going to do. Defeating Aran was going to be hard enough, but when she couldn’t even trust her allies…

  Chapter 53

  When at last it came time to leave, K’lrsa hurried through her goodbyes. Even though she was sure that M’lara was headed for Badru, she still wanted to get there as soon as possible. M’lara was too young to be on her own—even if she had been raised in the tribes where children were trained to hunt and gather food for themselves from the time they could toddle. That wasn’t the same as traveling across the deser
t, alone, using a strange necklace that could easily kill her.

  What was M’lara thinking? That she could stand with Vedhe, Badru, and K’lrsa when they confronted Aran?

  No. Never.

  She wouldn’t allow it.

  Fallion and Kriger were waiting for them when they exited the labyrinth. K’lrsa ran to Fallion and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his mane. “I missed you, micora.”

  As he whuffed at her hair, she wished he could speak. He’d been the only steady presence in her life through all of this, the one she could depend on no matter what. But, as remarkable as he was, he was still just a horse.

  A beautiful, flying horse sent by the gods, but a horse nonetheless. Unfortunately, she had to make her own decisions.

  She scratched his ears for a moment and then touched his forehead, willing him to transform.

  With a shudder, he did, the light of a thousand suns shining under his coat, his eyes glowing, his beautiful wings stretched out behind him. Breathtaking as always. She kissed his nose and then mounted, looking down at the others who had come to see them off.

  F’lia was tucked under L’ral’s arm, a small smile on her face. K’lrsa hoped more than anything that the time her friend spent in the city would heal her from the loss of her child. She wanted her best friend back. But she suspected that when she returned, F’lia would have already left with L’ral. Or would refuse to return to the tribes. It’s why K’lrsa hadn’t told her about him initially.

  She hadn’t wanted to lose anyone else.

  But bringing F’lia to the city had been the right thing to do.

  No matter what it cost K’lrsa personally…

  Her parents were standing together off to the side but not touching. They didn’t need to. It was like the space around them was their own little world.

  She bit her lip to keep from crying. “You’ll be here? When I come back? Even if Father Sun frees you before that?”

  Her father shook his head slightly. “Not if he frees us. I’m not about to miss my chance to leave this time. Sorry.”

  As she swallowed back her tears, he stepped forward and squeezed her foot. “I love you. We love you. Always know that.” He glanced to her mother who nodded.

  “I love you, too.” She couldn’t stop the one tear that escaped and ran down her cheek.

  Her father stared up at her, his gaze intense. “And I have faith that you’ll make the right decision when the time comes.”

  She wanted to beg him to tell her what that was. Did he want her to save people he’d never even met because they didn’t deserve to die just for him? Or did he want her to honor the promise she’d made so he could be free?

  But he wouldn’t tell her, even if she asked, so she just nodded, holding the rest of her tears back as best she could.

  As her father stepped back, K’lrsa looked to where Herin, Garzel, and Lodie stood. “And you?” she asked.

  Lodie lifted her chin. “I’m leaving. Going straight through the Promised Plains and on to what comes after. My child and my husband are somewhere out there, and they need me.”

  Herin turned to her sister. “We’ll go with you. If you’ll have us.”

  “You don’t want to stay in the Promised Plains for a while? Rest and recover after this horrible life?”

  Herin snorted. “Pzah. What would I do with pretty rolling hills and abundant food?”

  Lodie grinned fiercely and hugged Herin tight. The emotions passing across her face were so powerful K’lrsa’s knuckles turned white where she gripped Fallion’s reins.

  “Good luck.” K’lrsa’s voice cracked and she shook her head slightly, surprised by how sad she felt at the thought of losing them for good.

  She didn’t even like Herin. Not really. Although…

  “I’ll miss you,” she said, meaning it.

  “Pzah.” Herin gave her a beady-eyed look, but she couldn’t hide the smile that twitched at her lips. “Tell Badru I love him.”

  “I will.”

  Herin turned away, Garzel following after, before either of them could embarrass themselves further.

  Lodie stepped closer, looking back and forth between K’lrsa and Vedhe. “Don’t forget your purpose. Aran must be destroyed. Nothing else matters more than that.”

  Lodie’s gaze lingered on Vedhe, and K’lrsa looked just in time to see Vedhe smooth the annoyance from her face.

  She shivered.

  How much could she actually trust Vedhe? She’d assumed all this time that Vedhe would help her defeat Aran before anything else, but…Would she? Or did she have plans of her own? What was keeping her from flying Kriger north, towards her home and the man who’d killed her family?

  K’lrsa looked back to Lodie, but she’d already turned away.

  “I guess it’s time.” K’lrsa studied her parents and F’lia, trying to memorize every line of their faces. Just in case.

  Her father met her eyes. “I have faith in you, K’lrsa.”

  She nodded, still unsure what that meant. “Thank you. I love you.” She looked at each of them in turn, biting her lip to keep from crying more than she already had. “Goodbye. I’ll miss you.”

  They waved as she turned Fallion away.

  With three graceful beats of his wings, Fallion launched into the sky, Kriger and Vedhe right behind them as they left the Hidden City and its eternal sunshine.

  On the fourth beat of Fallion’s wings, they entered the land of the moon dream, the moon shining half-full in the sky above. K’lrsa watched Vedhe, waiting to see if she’d turn Kriger north, towards her own home, but she didn’t. Her attention was focused ahead, on the distant mountains where Toreem lay.

  As they flew onward, in that world that wasn’t a part of the real world, K’lrsa wondered what would happen now.

  How powerful would Aran be? Could she trust Vedhe to fight by her side? And what about Badru? Would he turn on her when she tried to destroy the Daliphate? Which was stronger, his love for her or his love for his former home?

  And where was M’lara? Was she okay? Or had she pushed too hard with the necklace and injured herself, perhaps fatally?

  Chapter 54

  They stopped at a small cave as the moon set. As always, it had just enough food and water for the horses and humans, but no more. Vedhe prepared a small breakfast for them while K’lrsa tended to the horses, both working in silence.

  K’lrsa took the bowl of grains and greens that Vedhe offered and sat down across from her in front of the small fire. Vedhe was silent, her gaze focused on the dancing flames.

  “Vedhe? Are you okay?” K’lrsa wanted desperately to ask her about why she hadn’t turned north, but she didn’t want to put the idea into Vedhe’s mind if she hadn’t already thought of it.

  Vedhe looked at her. Was it her imagination or did Vedhe’s eyes have a hint of fire in them?

  Vedhe touched the pouch at her waist where the sun orb was, her hand shaking. “It calls to me. It begs to be used. To burn everything.”

  K’lrsa glanced at the fire. “Did you use it? To start the fire?”

  Vedhe nodded.

  “And?”

  She shuddered. “I didn’t want to stop there.” She nodded towards the fodder for the horses and the dry grasses that covered the ground where they drowsed. “It would be so easy. To burn it all.”

  “But you resisted?”

  She nodded, but her fingers twitched towards the pouch once more.

  K’lrsa licked her lips, nervous. “Maybe…Maybe I should carry it for a while?”

  “No!” Vedhe clutched at the pouch. “It’s mine.”

  This time K’lrsa was sure there were flames in Vedhe’s eyes. She held her hands out in a calming gesture. “Okay. Sorry I suggested it. I just…I know how powerful that call can be. It’s why I have the staff wrapped in all those blankets.”

  K’lrsa touched the pouch where the moon power was stored, surprised it didn’t call to her in the same way. It was different somehow. Powe
rful, but more…passive.

  She needed to understand the weapons they were going to use, but she didn’t dare use either one. Not yet. “Vedhe? Do you know anything about the sun orb or the staff? About what they can do? How they were used in the past?”

  Vedhe shook her head, her eyes focused once more on the fire. Its flames made the scars on her face twist and change as if alive.

  “Vedhe? Look at me.”

  But Vedhe was lost in the dance of the flames, her hand clutching the pouch at her waist.

  K’lrsa watched Vedhe through the rest of the meal, but she never took her eyes from the fire. She didn’t even eat, her small bowl sitting forgotten at her side.

  Finally, K’lrsa had had enough. She doused the fire with water.

  Vedhe glared at her, the fire in her eyes flaring once more, but K’lrsa didn’t flinch. She pointed to the bowl of untouched food. “Eat. Rest. We’ll move again once the Trickster’s time has passed, and keep going until it’s too hot to continue. I’m sure the gods will provide another shelter when we need it and we need to catch M’lara before she harms herself.”

  Vedhe picked up her now-cold food and shoveled it into her mouth in sullen silence. When she was done, she moved to the far side of the cave and lay down. She turned her back on K’lrsa and was soon snoring softly.

  K’lrsa placed her sleeping roll as far from the horse fodder and firewood as she could—just in case—and then she too lay down. She fell asleep immediately.

  Chapter 55

  It was much harder for the horses to walk through the desert than to fly, so they quickly gave up on the idea of traveling during the day. K’lrsa used her moon stone to find another shelter—this one was smaller than the other one, but cooler, too—and they settled in to wait for moonrise.

  K’lrsa tried to sleep again, but she couldn’t. It was too hot and she was too restless. Finally, when she realized that Vedhe wasn’t sleeping either, she sat up and leaned against the wall, staring across the small space to where Vedhe sat, the sun orb cradled in her hands.