“I couldn’t have been gone for long. Kyros took me to Arcastus.” Leyna shuddered at the memory. She could still smell his stench, sickening her. “They were doing something. I could not understand everything they were saying. It is a bit of a blur. All I know is that they cut my hand. Collected my blood in a vial. There was a small fire on the ground. Arcastus did something with the blood, chanted strange words over the fire. When he was done, he said something which I thought sounded odd. Something about whether or not he would feel any pain when my heart stopped. I suppose I wasn’t thinking much on it at the time.”
“How did you get away? Did they let you go?”
“No,” Leyna sighed quietly to herself. “Arcastus made mention of not being able to touch my blood. I decided to try and see what would happen if he did. When he and Kyros returned to me after the strange ritual, I had already managed to loosen my bonds. My hand was still bleeding from where Kyros had cut it, so I smeared it across Arcastus’s face. It certainly distracted him. Long enough for me to get free at least.”
“Distracted him? Can you give me more detail?” Cadell asked. “Anything at all?”
Leyna nibbled her lip, thoughtful. The images were jumbled in her mind. It was difficult to know in which order any of the events occurred. “I think it burned him,” she murmured. “I remember there being smoke. He was in pain. I am not certain exactly what it did to him. I just know that it did – something.”
Rising to his feet, Cadell began a slow pace across the floor. “So your blood caused him pain. Do you think it weakened him at all? Did you notice anything else? This is the closest any of us has been to him. Whatever information you can provide will be crucial.”
“I believe it could have weakened him, yes. At the very least, pained him enough to create a significant distraction. My concern lies with the medallion,” Leyna sat up in the bed, favoring her injured arm. It still hurt. Despite the work done by the physicians, the healing process was frustratingly slow. She wanted it to be better. Pain-free. The troops needed her back on the field. “The Prince took down Kyros. At the moment of his death, I saw a strange light seep from him, split in three directions, one of which came to settle on Arcastus. When it did, Arcastus seemed to grow stronger. My concern is what this could mean if any of the others are slain. If this is a transference of power, somehow.”
“You think they are linked to the amulet.”
“Yes. I feel that is the one detail I can say with any certainty,” she nodded. “I saw the amulet with my own eyes. There are four stones, one in each corner. My assumption is that each one represents the four responsible for Arcastus’s resurrection. Damir, Kyros, Oran, and Kael. There is a central stone, which I believe to correspond with Arcastus. Beside it is a smaller clear pearl. That one, I suspect, contains my blood. Kael and Kyros are both dead. When I saw the medallion around Arcastus’s neck, two of the corner stones were shattered.”
Cadell paused in his pacing. He stared into the distance, taking in what Leyna was saying. “So we have to determine what this means, exactly. What happens if Arcastus is killed while the last two remain alive? Or is that even possible? Perhaps Arcastus can only survive if those who revived him live. In which case, we would need to strike down Damir and Oran…”
“There is no way to know for sure,” Leyna argued. She didn’t want to think of the possibility that Arcastus might be invincible as long as Damir was alive. “For all we know, the stones could simply be a circuit.”
“But you are connected to this in some way.”
“To Arcastus, yes. Kyros had no reaction to my blood. I don’t know the details, but it would seem my power is only over their leader.”
Cadell’s frown deepened. “That is certainly something which will have to be taken into consideration in our plans. Either way, it is undeniable. If you have any advantage over Arcastus, we need to have you with us when we go into battle.” Casually he made his way back over to the bed, tapping at Leyna’s shoulder lightly. “The doctors say you should be recovered in a few more weeks. Once they give the clearance, we will have to begin devising a plan of attack. The longer we sit back and wait, the more of our men they cut down, leaving us heavily depleted in numbers. Even now, we are at a strong disadvantage. I am hoping to hear word from our other allies soon. If we are going to prepare for a full-on offensive, we are going to need as much help as we can get.”
Leyna and Cadell were distracted from the conversation at the sound of someone approaching outside the tent. The flap opened to reveal one of the Vor’shai physicians, medical bag in hand, a soft smile crossing over his gentle features to see Leyna sitting up. “Are you ready for your treatment?” he asked, letting the flap fall closed behind him. Cadell stepped away from the bed, allowing the doctor to stand at Leyna’s side.
“I suppose so,” she mumbled, casting an apologetic glance over to Cadell. “We will think of something,” she assured him, grimacing at the sensation of the doctor beginning to shift her injured shoulder, checking her range of motion. “I don’t care if we have to smear my blood on the blades of every soldier in our army. Arcastus will be taken down. One way or another.”
Leyna woke with a start, sitting up in her makeshift bed on the ground of the tent. Her heart raced, pounding inside her chest, almost painfully. Breathless from being suddenly yanked out of her dreams. It was the same dream she’d suffered from since first awakening in the medical tent.
It was impossible to know if it was even real. The images were clear in her mind, yet foggy. Just distant enough to seem like a figment of her imagination. A painful vision of Thade’s face there at her side. But she knew it couldn’t be true. In the time since she arrived in Tanispa, she’d yet to actually see his face. To think he would’ve known she was there, and that he would come to her side – it was too much for her to bear. She wanted it so badly but reality had a painful way of rearing its ugly head.
Rubbing her temples to clear her thoughts, Leyna slouched forward with nothing more than a minor pang of discomfort to remind her of the injury in her shoulder. The Queen’s physicians worked miracles on the damage to it. They had been strict on her recovery process, however. No fighting. For weeks it had been so. While she wanted to be out there, beside her men, another part of her couldn’t fathom the foolishness of returning to battle in her condition. Her reflexes in her right arm would be off, slower than normal, unable to deflect attacks, leaving her vulnerable to further injury.
Outside the sky was dark. Somehow she’d lost most of her afternoon to sleep. There was little else for her to do while confined to her tent. Cadell rarely let her out of his sight, which proved useful to Leyna. Any meetings he required with the other commanders took place there, in her presence, allowing her to remain up to date on plans and news of the ongoing battles.
Cadell believed Damir and Arcastus were plotting more carefully for their next assault. Arcastus had to be more cautious than before. He knew Leyna was aware of his weakness. It would be a downfall to him in any battle unless he came prepared. He and Damir would have to be more wary. Their attacks came fewer and farther between. Ambushes were more common. Sanarik were spotted throughout the area, their arrows aimed at the watchmen of the Vor’shai army. More and more Namiren soldiers fronted the waves which followed, costing them men while giving the Ven’shal plenty of opportunity to tend their wounded and recruit amongst their ranks. A reckoning was coming. And it would be greater than anything they’d experienced to this point in the war.
Leyna became suddenly aware of Cadell’s absence. How strange for him to step away, for more than a brief time. He insisted on being by her, every waking moment, and while she slept, keeping watch from where his maps spread over the table on the far side of the tent. “I am sure he just stepped outside for a minute,” she mumbled, slowly rising up to her feet.
Her pants were wrinkled, hanging loosely from her hips at the lack of a belt. Sleepwear for women was hard to come by in military uniform. She found herself longing
for the cotton nightgowns provided by Lady Faustine. To feel like a girl again. She couldn’t remember how it felt. For over a year she knew nothing but the hard strides of battle, or watching men down their spirits around a hardwood table, covered in mud and sweat. Wrinkling her nose up in disgust, she pushed the image from her mind, her steps hesitant as she drew nearer to the entrance of the tent.
Peering through the flap, she turned her head from side to side, concerned to find Cadell nowhere in sight. This isn’t like him… Stepping back inside, she hurried to tuck her shirt into her pants, scanning the area for where her belt might have been placed. Something wasn’t right.
In her rush, she moved over to the map table, taking note of a bottle of ink resting on top of a thick piece of parchment. Words were scrawled over the surface of it. Cadell’s writing. His penmanship was unmistakable. “Royal orders require my presence elsewhere. The time will be brief. Remain in the tent. I will have a guard posted. You will be safe.”
Relief flooded over her to read his words. He was safe. Probably better that way. She wasn’t in any state of dress to be seen wandering around the camp. Not to mention the danger it would pose to her. Idiot. She patted at her waist, realizing she had no weapon.
Leaning over the map table, she pushed the bottle of ink away, moving the letter to the side. Tiny markers had been placed to represent new watch towers. Positions the Sanarik would find more difficult to reach. The downfall was the distance. They were deeper afield. More isolated than the original posts. If they located any sign of a threat, it would take longer for the news to reach the camp.
Time was everything when it came to their enemies. In the extra minutes it might take a guard to send a warning to her and Cadell, the Namiren soldiers would already be upon them. A closer location needed to be found for new towers.
Her finger traced over the map, following the river which ran along the eastern border of their camp. It was too wide to cross without boats. The center was deep and the rapids just south of their location could be deadly to an unskilled pilot. But how could it be used to their advantage? If no attack was expected from that direction, it seemed pointless to set up a watch – unless they were up high enough to get a good view of the surrounding woods and fields. With a quality spyglass, they could have a decent range. At least out to the hills along the Sivaerian border.
From somewhere outside, she caught the sound of soft footsteps approaching the tent. Her head snapped up, alert. Through the material of the flap, an outline of a figure appeared, hunched over, stopped in front of the entrance. It stood there. Perfectly still. Listening for something.
Quietly, she moved out from behind the table, careful not to make too much noise. Not that it mattered. The flickering light of the candles inside the tent would surely create a shadow on the wall. They were likely already aware of her presence inside. “Who is there?”
At the sound of her voice, the person tapped against the flap, their head turning to scan the area around. Searching for anyone who might have noticed them. It was too suspicious. Cadell needed to get back. Now.
“Leyna.”
The whisper was far from threatening. Something about it was familiar and warm. Her dream flashed back in her mind, the hazy image of Thade seated there beside her, his eyes filled with pain. It couldn’t be him; in her dream or in reality. Her legs carried her toward the entrance without thinking.
Her fingers undid the buttoned flap, staring hard at the person she now let step through the opening, fastening the entrance back in place behind them. “Who are you?” She couldn’t see his face. The cloak he wore covered him from head to toe, candlelight unable to reach his features from under the thick fabric. Hesitantly, she made her way around the figure, stepping away from the door to the center of the tent, keeping distance between them.
She nearly fainted to see the hands reach up to the hood, the material sliding away to reveal the man hidden underneath it. A gasp escaped her. It couldn’t be true. Her mind was playing some awful trick on her. Or she was still sleeping. A cruel nightmare.
“Do not cry,” Thade whispered at the sight of Leyna’s anguished expression, moving forward to sweep her into his arms. “I did not want to startle you, but it seems I have done so anyway.”
“Is it really you?” Her hands pressed against his cheeks and around his face in disbelief. “How did you –”
Gently, he pressed his lips against hers, easing her shocked protests. She wanted to stay there in that moment, in his arms, forever. It was too good to be true. She wasn’t yet convinced of the reality, finding it too easy to believe it was all a dream. One from which she didn’t want to wake. She’d forgotten what it was like to lose herself in his arms. His scent, his kiss, his embrace – everything told her this wasn’t her imagination. He was really there. After all this time, she had him back.
“I’m so sorry,” she grimaced. It hurt her to think of the pain she’d caused him when she left. At the time it made perfect sense, but now – now it felt cruel. Heartless. How could she have walked away from him after telling him that they would spend forever together? She’d made no efforts to seek him out while in Tanispa and yet here he was. He’d found her, and she was ashamed. She felt as if she had somehow failed him.
Shaking his head, he softly clasped her face in his hands to lift her gaze to meet his own. There was no anger there. No disappointment. Only pure joy at having her in his arms again. “Do not apologize, Leyna. I understand why you did it. Never once have I held it against you. I only wish things could have been different. I shouldn’t have been so foolish.” He leaned in to kiss her again, seeming not to want to stop. “I was so afraid of the possibility of you getting hurt that I almost made things worse for both of us. This way, the way things are now, there is still a chance for us.”
“I did not want to be one of those women you and Feolan talked about. If I had stayed I would have put you at risk. I could not live with that.”
He chuckled quietly to himself, despite the mood. “You worry too much. Feolan and I spoke in jest. Even in love, we still make our own decisions. I find it hard to believe you were taking advantage of me in any way.”
Warmth built in her face. She felt foolish. It made sense, really. How could she have been so afraid of letting him love her? But what would the Queen say if she knew he was there with her now?
“I must admit, I am a bit confused in regards to your position under Her Majesty now that you have returned to Tanispa,” she said suddenly. The question fell from her lips, one that had danced around in her head since she’d arrived there. “You lost your title as Consul. What exactly is your current station?”
The smile on his lips wavered. “That is a bit more difficult to explain. I would prefer to focus on you. I am not the one who nearly died. How are you feeling?”
“I feel discouraged,” she sighed. “Kael is dead. And though I should be happy about it, I am not. I am no longer certain he was truly the evil person I believed for so long.”
“He nearly killed you, Leyna. He was abusive and unfaithful, and a traitor to our people. What in all of that makes you think him not to be evil?”
She stepped away from Thade’s embrace, covering her face with her hands. “Inside, I think there was still a part of him. The real Kael, unable to break free of the magic. Things he did… They were too foolish. Too convenient for us. I suspect some part of him intentionally made the mistakes I once dismissed to be pure ignorance.”
“What mistakes?” Thade asked. Calmly, he led her over to the makeshift bed on the ground, motioning for her to have a seat. “I must admit, once I left Siscal to bury Enaes, very little information regarding you and Zander ever reached me.”
Taking up one of the blankets, she wrapped it around herself, clutching it tightly. The winter chill felt suddenly harsher than before. Thade sat, watching her intently, his body scooting closer to her at the sight of her shivering. “The first happened the day of Prince Enaes’s murder,” she said. “I wa
sn’t aware of it until well after the fact. The dagger Kael used to kill Enaes – Zander told me Enaes’s blood was used to help Arcastus regain his strength. But I took the dagger. And Kael never came back for it. Instead he presented Damir and Arcastus with his own sword, which had my blood on it. Not Enaes’s.”
“And they accepted this?”
She lowered her hands away from her face thoughtfully. “He convinced them the blood on the blade was Enaes’s. Kael must have known this would cause trouble for them, as long as I was alive. Some part of him knew it and did it anyway.”
“You believe he purposefully left us that advantage?” He grimaced at some unknown memory, draping his arm around Leyna’s shoulders. “Did your link to this ritual have anything to do with whatever caused your sudden illness? We thought you were dead. You were without a pulse for days. No sign of breath – I sat by your side, praying the doctors were right and you would just… wake up.”
Leyna gave in to the warmth of his body, her head resting on his shoulder. He leaned forward, gently kissing her forehead. “Perhaps,” she replied, not wanting to break the calm of the moment with words.
“Cadell tells me Kael’s intentions the night he died were to kidnap you. Do you know why?”
“I do now,” she laughed quietly, miserable at the thought. How could she have let them put her in such a position? Cadell had built her up from a competent warrior to a superior captain, yet she fell so easily into their trap. Her drive to kill Oran made her blind to Kyros’s approach. Cadell would be disappointed if he knew. “It took them a while to act once they discovered what happened. The blood used in the ritual was supposed to come from the Prince, dead. Arcastus didn’t know how to proceed with a loose end of that nature. They were unaware of the effect my death would have on him, and therefore were unwilling to kill me.”
She didn’t want to discuss any of this right now. For the first time in over a year she had Thade there with her and still everything had to be about the war. Just once she wanted to forget Arcastus and Damir, and all the terrible things they’d done. Or planned to do. She’d devoted most of her life to fighting him, and for what? All she wanted was a chance at peace before Cadell returned with further orders.
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 91