by N. M. Howell
“We also know that he is greedy and malicious,” he added. “Those two guardians are all that remain of his original seven.”
Rhea’s eyes went wide. “He had seven guardians?”
She shook her head, unbelieving. She thought five was a lot, even though her father had six. It was more common for gods to have three or four, and but she never understood the reasoning behind it. It wasn’t as if there was a handbook explaining any of this stuff; it was just something you grew up accepting and didn’t question.
“Yes, he had seven.” Taelor raised his eyes to Rhea, narrowing them against the smoke. The wind blew it around, wisps and twirls of darkness rising into the sky around them.
“And tonight he had two.” Rhea shook her head, her gaze locked on the flames before her. “What happened to the other five?”
There was a heavy silence that filled the air around the campfire as Rhea waited for an answer. She almost repeated herself, but thought better of it. Her guardians looked mournful, and she could feel the sadness emanating from their fallen energies.
“Casualties of the war, you could say,” Grayson said. He had been quiet, brooding, his eyes fixed on the fire and the crackling embers within the stone pit. He never raised his eyes to Rhea, but spoke into the flames.
“Seems there have been a great many casualties from this war,” Rhea replied, her voice somber.
She watched Grayson, trying to understand what was going on in his mind. His eyes looked nearly black in the firelight as he gazed down into the shadows, and Rhea could feel the cool, tense energy radiating off of him. It chilled her, even next to the warm fire.
Her eyes dropping, Rhea let out a slow sigh. “What are we going to do?”
Her voice was quiet, defeated. If she couldn’t stand up against one of her own, she had no hope of standing up against entire armies. Entire races of people who wanted to wipe her out and lead their world into darkness. She couldn’t even handle one measly god.
“Don’t sound so defeated, Rhea,” Arry said. He was smiling, as he always did.
Rhea also wondered what was going on in his mind, as she imagined it was a much more joyous place than within Grayson’s. Rhea smiled back because Arry’s happiness was infectious.
Arry said, “We’ll figure this out, don’t you worry.”
Keaven nodded his agreement, his heavy cloak fallen to the ground next to him, his body much more relaxed now that the sun had fallen and night had arrived. His icy blue eyes glowed bright in the firelight, reflecting the same diamond light as the stars above.
“You had no way of knowing that would happen,” he said. He also offered her a small smile. “We know you didn’t intentionally put yourself in danger, Rhea.”
“Why did you wander off in the first place?” Roan asked.
He was leaning back against the stump of a tree, his legs extended and is arms behind his head. He chewed on a small stick, which hung from the side of his mouth.
Rhea raised her eyebrow at him and frowned. “I just needed time to think,” she told him. She took a few steadying breaths before continuing. “This is kind of a lot to process, you guys. I know you’ve been here longer than I have, and you all seem to understand this war a lot better than I do, but you have to see things from my perspective. I was living a peaceful life among humans, and none of this existed in my mind for six years. And now I’m pulled back into the reality of war in my home world, most people wanting me dead, and evil gods wanting to take the throne. I just needed some time to think. To clear my head.”
Grayson finally looked up at her, his gaze locking on her own. “I understand.”
That was all he said, but it was enough.
Rhea relaxed and nodded back to him. She offered him a small smile, one which he returned. They shared a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. A moment of mutual understanding. No matter how hard things would be, at least she knew that her guardians were there for her. They might be angry or disappointed or frustrated with the fact that she may not be exactly who they’d hoped she would be, and that she was utterly hopeless when it came to anything in their world, but at least she knew they were there. They were there to support her.
“Do any of you know what happened to his guardians, specifically?” she asked.
Taelor looked up at her and nodded. “Last year, I believe,” he began, his voice sorrowful, “Trey led his army across the White Plains. He hadn’t expected an enemy army to be already crossing, heading toward Greystone. He allowed his guardians to sacrifice themselves so he could get away.”
“More like forced them into it,” Grayson added. “He sacrificed his guardians so he could run away.”
A lump formed in Rhea’s throat as she tried to swallow through it, but her voice got stuck. He’d sacrificed his guardians so he could run away. She repeated his words in her mind, allowing them to consume her. That spoke volumes about the kind of god that he was, selfish and uncaring. Hateful. Evil.
Her voice came out a whisper when she finally managed to speak. “How much of our conversation did you guys hear in the hut when you arrived?”
Taelor’s frown deepened, the creases setting into his brow sharp across his delicate face. The shadow from the fire made him look severe, no longer the elegant creature he once was. He looked more demon than elf. “We heard enough to know that if you had agreed to his terms, you would’ve been lost forever.”
Rhea swallowed hard, her skin becoming ice. “I wanted to agree,” she whispered.
She couldn’t believe her own memories. She couldn’t believe that she had nearly allowed him to take ownership of her, to get her to agree to his terms of being his and serving him forever.
“You were under a spell, Rhea,” Keaven said delicately. His voice was reassuring and gentle, his expression pulled together in one of sympathy. “You weren’t yourself.”
Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Rhea looked down to her feet. Her eyes stung as tears welled up beneath her lids. “I wanted so badly to agree.”
Silence filled the air around them as her guardians watched her, unsure of what to say. She finally swallowed and rubbed the unshed tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands, and set her shoulders square. “I can’t allow myself to fall victim to anything like that again. I need you guys to help prepare me.”
The energy immediately shifted from one of sorrow and regret to one of immediate determination. She could feel it in the prickling energy that brushed across her skin and by the way her guardians all sat up an inch taller.
“Well, for starters you can stop wandering off with strangers,” Arry said, winking. He looked positively mischievous on the other side of the fire, his bright green eyes clashing wildly against the red of the flame, his orange hair positively glowing. He looked like he was born of fire, the golden flecks in his eyes nearly blinding.
“I’ll try to remember that next time,” she said sheepishly. “Honestly, guys, I’m sorry for wandering off and I’m sorry I got us into this mess.”
Taelor pushed himself up from the ground and began pacing back and forth. “It won’t do us any good to dwell on the past,” he said, his voice calculating. He held his chin with his hand as he pondered, his eyes twinkling under the starlight. He then paused and turned to Rhea. “We need to train you.”
Gazing up at him, she nodded her agreement. “I’d like that.”
Arry cackled from the other side of the fire. He was practically bouncing up and down in his seat, the fallen branch beneath him squeaking under his weight, threatening to crack. “Oh man, this will be fun.” He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips as if preparing for a lavish meal.
Rhea grinned at him and rolled her eyes. “Not sure fun is exactly the word you’re looking for, but I’ll take it.”
Arry laughed. “Well, it will not be fun for you, that’s for sure. I’ve seen Taelor train people. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“Yeah, Rhea,” Keaven agreed, winking. “You’re in for a world of
hurt, that’s for sure.”
Rhea’s eyes widened and she glanced back and forth between the two. She then swallowed, her throat dry. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
“Maybe,” Arry said. His grin was spread from ear to ear, his straight teeth shining white in the flickering light. “But it sure will be fun for us to watch.”
“We’ll all pitch in,” Grayson said. “It’s absolutely crucial that you’re prepared for everything and anything.”
They all nodded their agreement as Rhea met their eyes, each in turn.
Rhea yawned, exhaustion setting in. Her eyes lingered on the distant sky that glowed with a light crimson over the horizon. The sun would be rising soon, and she hadn’t had any sleep yet.
“Get some sleep,” Taelor said. “And don’t wander off this time, okay?”
Rhea rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Rhea walked over to the tent, her body shivering as she stepped away from the warmth of the fire. By the time she unzipped the tent, her teeth were chattering, but when she bent down to crawl aside, she felt a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder.
She looked back at Roan, pausing.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Roan asked, a sleepy smile spread across his face.
Rhea knelt there frozen in place for a moment, looking up at him. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She finally nodded quickly, holding the tent open for him to crawl inside, curious as to his intentions. His massive form filled most the space, but as she crawled inside herself, he shifted into his lion form.
She gazed down at him, a beautiful golden creature beyond majestic, but certainly out of place in the tent. She couldn’t help but smile as she zipped up the tent, closing herself off from the rest of the world, even if just for a few short hours. She settled in on the mat and pulled a thin blanket over herself. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against her arm as Roan wound himself around her body for warmth. His steady breathing soothed her, and the heat emanating from his animal body warmed her in the cold night. It didn’t take her long before exhaustion took her, and she drifted off into a restless sleep, her mind unable to shut down.
She dreamed of burning forests and screaming people. Of angry gods and evil trickery. She ran through the woods, her five guardians not to be found. She screamed and cried as she ran, chased by endless armies. There was nothing she could do, and there was no one to help her.
She then dreamed she sat the throne, looking out over an endless wasteland of death and destruction. The entire Otherworld had been destroyed, and she was the only one left. She ruled over a land of fire and ash, and she sat on a throne of bones.
She then jumped and she was running again, being chased by the gods. She was chased from the Otherworld into the human realm, but when she got there, the human world didn’t exist any longer, either. It had burned to the ground, and all the people had disappeared. She was the only one left in the entire world. She was alone, and afraid. She was going to die the last person on the planet.
She awoke fitfully in the morning. Roan shook her, and her eyes opened to see a concerned looking man gazing down at her with amber eyes. Her heart raced in her chest as she tried to reclaim her breathing.
“Bad dream?” he asked.
It took a moment to process her thoughts and figure out where she was. The tent glowed, the sunlight bright as it hung low in the sky, illuminating her surroundings. It was morning.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up, nodding slowly to him. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“We’ve gotta get a move on,” he said. “It’s later than Taelor had hoped to leave.”
Rhea was exhausted; her nightmare-filled sleep had not been restful at all. She rubbed her eyes one last time, fingering the tangles out of her hair that had become wild atop her head as she slept.
Her muscles ached, from when she tossed and turned all night. She felt embarrassed that Roan had shared her tent, having probably kept him up all night with her fitful dreams. But he simply smiled at her and unzipped the tent, crawling out and leaving her in peace. She watched him go, the morning light flooding in from the front flap of the tent. Cool morning air filled the space, and she sucked in a few steady breaths, exhaling slowly as she tried to forget the dreams from the night before.
When she calmed, she stretched her sore muscles, popping her shoulder as she reached her arms above her head, yawning deeply. Arching her back, she breathed deeply through the stretch, a deep ache settling into her bones as she adjusted her seated position. When she was ready, she crawled out of the tent into the bright morning sun, her eyes nearly blinded by the deep crimson glow, and was greeted by her five guardians all packed up and waiting for her.
Roan quickly packed up the tent and shoved it in his bag, eager to get a move on. Rhea barely had a chance to take in her surroundings by the time everything was done and ready to go. The villagers were nearby, and many of them gazed at her as she stood there, allowing herself to wake fully.
Taelor offered her a small bar, an elven fruit crisp he had gotten from the villagers. He held a large sack on his shoulder, and from the smell of it, Rhea gathered he had collected food and supplies for their journey, perhaps from one of the more fortunate elves who’d fled the village with supplies last night and then returned.
She accepted the fruit crisp gratefully and nibbled on a corner. The sweet flavor filled her mouth, causing her to salivate. A shiver crept up her spine, not from chill morning air, but from the sweet juices that shocked her tongue. She had always loved elven food as a child. It was one of the few things she’d missed after moving to the human realm. Nothing they cooked there even came close to the flavors that the elves could pack into even the smallest of packages.
“Ready to go? Taelor asked her.
Rhea swallowed and closed her eyes, relishing in the flavors of berry and moon fruit.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
13
Just as they were about to head out, a large shadow loomed over them. Rhea looked toward the rising sun, shielding her eyes with her hand from the glare. A tall form and six large masses appeared before them.
As her eyes adjusted, Rhea noticed a tall human woman standing before her and six stunning tall horses trailing behind her, their coats gleaming in the rich morning light.
The woman wore her hair long and windblown, the light-blond tresses tangled as they fell over her shoulders. Her eyes were light blue and her shoulders narrow and hunched as if from years of hard physical labor. She wore a soft smile on her face as she approached.
“Rhea Greystone,” she said. “I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
Rhea took a timid step toward the woman, returning her smile with a friendly greeting. “Good morning to you, my friend.”
The woman bowed her head and held her gaze to the ground. “These were my husband’s horses, his pride and joy,” she said.
Rhea lifted the woman’s chin so she was no longer bowing. “I can see why. They’re beautiful.”
The woman nodded and pulled the reins of the closest horse so he stepped up beside her. He was a tall, white stallion, his back nearly as tall as Rhea’s head. He was one of the most beautiful animals she had ever seen. His eyes shone a dark Byzantium, nearly black, and light hints of the same rose-gold of Rhea’s own hair graced his mane. The horse watched Rhea as she gazed upon his beauty, mesmerized.
Rhea’s guardians were on edge, standing rigid beside her, observing the encounter with their attention heightened. Grayson placed himself between Rhea and the animal, but she gently nudged him aside with her hand.
“It’s all right, Grayson,” she nearly laughed. “They’re just horses.”
He didn’t look convinced, but stepped aside nonetheless. His eyes never left the white horse.
“What can we do for you?” Rhea asked the woman.
The woman looked back to her horses for a long moment, then faced Rhea. “My husband died in the fires.”
&n
bsp; Rhea’s face fell. “My heart breaks to hear that. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The woman nodded, her eyes sad but her face lighting up. “He died saving a young family. It was a noble death.”
“Your husband is a hero,” Rhea said, placing a soft hand on the woman’s shoulder.
The woman smiled. “There is nothing left of the village. Our home is far enough away on the fields to have escaped the fires, but our barns will be home to all those who have been displaced. I have no place for the horses anymore.”
Rhea blinked, unsure what she was trying to say. “How can we help?”
“I want to give them to you,” the woman said. “For your journey. There are six horses, perfect for your party. They are true and dependable creatures, these were Manny’s best horses. They come from ancient elven Traelii stock. Rare breeds, very strong, very fast…” her worlds trailed off as her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
“We cannot possibly take your horses,” Rhea said. “You honor us, but you will need them more than we do. You’ll need them to help rebuild.”
“I have no place for them, and no way to feed or take care of them,” she replied. “Please, you will honor me in ways greater than I can say if you take them.”
Rhea wasn’t sure what to say. The white stallion stepped forward and nudged her shoulder with his nose. Rhea put her hand in front of him, and he huffed a hot breath into her palm.
“This is such a great gift, I don’t know how I can accept this. I don’t know how to pay you.”
“No payment necessary, my Princess.”
Rhea was speechless, her chest aching. “It’s too great a gift.”
“Consider it a loan, then, if you must,” the woman smiled.
“A loan?”
“When this war is over and our world sees peace once again, you can come return them, if it pleases you,” the woman said with a smile. “Until then, consider them yours. A gift of thanks from our people and our village. You have brought us hope when all we have seen is darkness, Rhea Greystone.”