Talia remembered the day that a rather sheepish man had brought it to her. He had no confidence. She knew this from several stories her father had told her in one of his very few visits.
Still, the man had faked it—especially when he saw exactly how beautiful she was, which she found amusing in an uninterested, yet funny kind of way, though she knew her father certainly wouldn’t have.
He would’ve been pissed.
Doyle had no idea who she was, and he was forbidden to know. She knew he was given strict instruction to take the envelope to her, tell her it was urgent, and see that she read it right then.
She knew of the threats her father faced, and he’d told her early on that if he had to risk sending word to her, she had to check that the seal had not been broken.
Doyle was smart and hadn’t broken the trust of the Chancellor. But she knew it was fear that kept him honest, not loyalty.
“I understand,” were the last words she would ever speak to her father, and they were spoken through that pathetic bootlicker’s mouth.
She opened the envelope, pulling the folded-over piece of paper from within. It had become slightly worn with as many times as she’d read it.
Whenever she felt exhausted or annoyed with her new life in the city—which had only just begun in the last few weeks—she pulled it from the box and read it. Over and over again, if necessary.
It was because of her father’s paranoia and caution that she sat where she did—in a position to see that his life had not been lost in vain. They would pay for what they did to him.
My Dearest T,
I never thought the day would come in which I would actually need to write this, but it is here. It has begun. If I should fail, you know what to do. —A
She read it five times before lowering it, looking across the room to the open window with the nauseating, red curtains.
Oh, I know exactly what to do, Father, she thought. I won’t allow anyone to forget the name Adrien.
Cathillian stood with Elysia as they looked over several warriors from their tribe. They were the strongest the druids had to offer aside from Elysia and the Chieftain. Their magic was fierce, and their bodies were long and leaned out from constant sparring matches.
Druid warriors didn't spar like other soldiers. They hit full force and used weapons, careful to avoid piercing anything vital like the chest or head. When the final blow was made, the loser would be healed by those supervising, and they would begin again.
Druid warriors were the fiercest around, and that was what gave them the deadly reputation. A warrior that won't hold back on their own while training will never hold back on an enemy. This made their hand-to-hand combat skills unimaginable, and their expertise with long and close-range weapons made them unbeatable.
Cathillian was a damn good warrior, having begun training at eleven years old—just after the attack from the lycanthrope—but even he couldn’t stand a chance next to any one of the five men and women standing before him.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked his mother. “Laurel didn’t receive this level of abuse.”
“Abuse?” Elysia asked, her expression revealing shock. “And what exactly is it you think she’ll be met with if she runs into trouble going to Arcadia? Do you think the bandits she might meet are gentlemen? That they ask permission before raping, beating, and gutting a lady?”
Cathillian’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck, Mom. That’s a bit extreme, don’t ya think?”
Elysia let out an exasperated sigh. “Laurel trained in magic from the time she was a toddler. Her physical training began at ten. She was born with a closeness to nature magic, and her parents and instructors have taken great care to harness that since she was very little. Same as you. Same as every druid here. Arryn was raised in Arcadia with destructive physical magic. She hasn’t been trained in either form as thoroughly as we teach our children. Not even close. The Arcadians train for power. We train for survival. Protection. Honor.”
Cathillian turned to face her, his arms crossing his chest. “You make it sound like we’re always on the brink of war. While there are a lot of dangers lurking about, we train for the possibility of war. We don’t face death on a daily basis. Arryn won’t either. She’s strong—way stronger than you give her credit for, apparently, which strikes me as strange given you're always telling her not to underestimate herself.”
Elysia opened her mouth to speak, but Cathillian continued. “And what the hell are you thinking anyway? If you think she isn't strong enough, why give her the strongest of our tribe? Why not Jenna? Jenna fought in Laurel’s Versuch. That’s what would be fair. I’m not the best, but I'm good, and I doubt even I could beat any of these guys.”
“If she's as strong as you say, then she’ll have no problem going against one of them, now will she?” she asked, pointing to the men and women quietly standing by as mother and son argued. “Besides, was it not you who told her just yesterday if she planned to go back to the city, she needed to think hard about it? That she could still be in danger there, even with the change in government?”
Cathillian shook his head. “Holy shit. That head of yours is like a steel trap. Yes, Mother, I did. It’s true. I have no problem at all with her requesting the Versuch. If she passes, then it’s clear she’s strong enough to go off on her own. That’s what our laws say—the same laws I elected to uphold when I began warrior training. That’s not a problem. What I do have a problem with is you doing your damnedest to make sure she fails. She’s a fierce competitor. I know that because I train her every single day. She has a lot of heart, and you refuse to see it.”
Cathillian didn’t make a habit of challenging his mother. The biggest reason was because she was scary as hell.
The Chieftain was taught the magic directly from the Founder himself because he was the strongest, most capable, and had the purest heart. Elysia is next in line for the most powerful. Her small stature was nothing to scoff at.
She could beat the shit out of any man in their community and still have the energy to laugh them out of the Dark Forest afterward.
He knew he still had a long way to go before he could go head to head with her. Times like this, however, when her judgment was clouded by maternal instinct and the need to keep an oath, he had no choice but to step in.
“Cathillian, you know nothing. This has nothing to do with potential. It has everything to do with the present. I just see fact. As I said before—her parents didn’t train her like we train our own. This left a lot to be desired in her physical magic, I’m sure. I’ve seen her fireballs. They’re weak. Small. Add to that the fact her training abruptly stopped, her physical magic is all but useless. It took her nearly a year—”
Cathillian groaned as he arched his back and rolled his eyes. An exaggerated movement to vent his frustration. “Just stop. Seriously.” He straightened and took a step closer to Elysia. “Yes, yes, I know. It took a year for her to understand nature magic and to start using it at all. I know she struggled with it, but she’s getting good at it now. She was only slow because we never lit a fire under her ass to learn.”
At a loss for words regarding his mother’s stubbornness, Cathillian threw his hands up. “This is all pointless. I’m not gonna argue about this anymore. You’re gonna do what you want to. You’re gonna pick one of them to fight her so she loses. Not because you're worried she might fail outside our walls, but because you’re worried she might succeed.”
“What did you just say?” Elysia asked. Judging by the look on her face, Cathillian knew he’d messed up, but he didn’t back down.
“You heard me. You’re afraid she’ll succeed. You’re scared she’ll go back to Arcadia and fall right back into the life she always should have had. More than that, I think you’re afraid if she goes back, she might just find her father—if he’s even alive after all this time and all the city has been through. But if she does that, she may never come back. You’d never see her again. That’s why you’re doing all th
is. Not because you’re thinking from a logical standpoint or because of some damn oath. You’re flat out worried that your once-wounded bird might leave the nest and never come home.”
With that, Cathillian walked away, leaving a pissed off Elysia in his wake. He was sure his exit was perfect, but as soon as he was out of eyesight, he wiped the thin layer of anxiety-induced sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief he’d made it out of that alive.
Elysia couldn’t believe the words Cathillian had spoken to her. She was so angry she could hardly see straight. Still, she had to admire his courage to stand up to her like he did. More than that, she wondered just how right he might have been.
Was she really just trying to protect Arryn and make sure she was ready before she did something as big as go back to Arcadia? Or was she being selfish for wanting to keep Arryn there?
“Elysia,” one of the warriors, Nika, said. “What would you have us do?”
That boy doesn’t know anything, she thought to herself before looking to the five men and women before her. Each one had different strengths, though they were trained to be powerful in all areas.
“Nika, I’d like for you to go against Arryn in close quarter combat.” Elysia waited for the nod of acknowledgment from the woman before turning to one of the larger men. “Ryel, your magic is stronger than the rest. You’ll go against her for that category.”
“Two of us, Elysia?” Ryel asked. “That isn’t customary.”
“It’s not against the rules, either,” Elysia said.
“Perhaps Cathillian is right,” Nika said. “Maybe you should think a bit more about this. You love her. We’ve all seen it. But you don’t wanna break her trust. This is gonna seem like overkill. She knows our customs, and she knows what’s expected. It’ll be painfully obvious to her that you’re trying to keep her here. That you want to see her fail.”
Shit, Elysia thought. Nika had a point. She loved that girl as much as she loved her own son. She only wanted to keep her around a bit longer so she could train harder.
Maybe she could put her through the rigorous warrior training that Cathillian went through instead of having him train her in his down time for the basics. Then her physical strength would increase as well as her magical expertise.
That’s all I want. To make sure she’s strong enough.
No… I’m not wrong. She isn’t their responsibility. They don’t understand.
Elysia squared her shoulders. “Do you decline to participate in the Versuch?”
“No,” Nika said. “I’ll participate. I just want you to think about this. Unless the Chieftain says otherwise, there’s time to change your mind. She’ll be given three days to prepare unless she requests an expedited process as Laurel did. You have three days to change your mind on who challenges her. I’ve worked with her myself. She’s very strong, but I’m damn sure she won’t win. Not against me. However, if she does, you don’t want her final memory of the Dark Forest—of you—to be that you tried to sabotage her.”
Elysia swallowed, working hard to keep her confident posture. She nodded once. “Then it’s settled for now. I’ll think it over, but just so you know, everyone misunderstands my intentions.”
Elysia turned and walked toward her home, eternally grateful that the sun had gone down enough that it was dark under the canopy of trees. No one could see the worry in her expression.
5
Distant beating on the front door woke Arryn with a start, but it sounded strange. Too far away to be in her small home. If someone were to beat on her door, she would hear it very clearly.
Instead, it sounded muffled. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the nightstand beside her bed. Rich, oak wood stained a deep, red color with a beautiful decorative vase with flowers in it. Next to her, on the feather pillow, was her doll. It had been a very expensive gift from her father, Christopher.
Arryn wasn’t awake at all.
In fact, she was stuck in a dream that she’d had for the past several nights, ever since she’d met Samuel. The story he’d told her brought back emotions and memories she’d long since pushed away. Things that she only pulled on during training.
Requesting the Versuch was an even larger added stress. She hoped that it was her mind’s way of preparing her for the biggest day of her young life.
Her door flew open and dim light poured in from the magitech sconces on the walls in the hallway. “Arryn,” her father whispered loudly. “Arryn, you need to get up. Now.”
“What is it?” she asked, unable to control her body or her words in the dream. As was usual over the past few days, she was strictly along for the ride. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you remember what we talked about? That we might have to leave Arcadia? That time is now,” he said.
“Christopher,” Elayne said from the door. “We have to hurry. I can hear them screaming outside. They’ll kick the door in soon.”
Arryn watched as her father nodded before picking her up and rushing her out of the room. They ran down the hallway to the upstairs office. There, her mother had two small bags packed.
“How did they find out so soon?” Elayne asked in a hushed whisper, tears threatening to spill, though she held them back. “We’d barely begun!”
Christopher shook his head, regret marring his handsome features. “I made a big mistake. I was snooping around somewhere where I shouldn’t have been so soon. It was too big to ignore. I should’ve gotten you out as soon as I found out Saul was dead.”
Arryn felt her stomach roll as she heard the front door downstairs bust open. She could hear the shouts of several men—Arcadian Guards and Hunters—rushing into the house to search for them.
“Go! Take Arryn and escape through the window. Don’t go to our stables because they’ll be waiting for you. Run. Find another stable and take what you have to!”
“What was it?” Elayne asked as she rushed to the window. “What did you find out? It can’t be lost with you if it’ll help us take him down.”
Christopher quickly looked to the door before turning back to his wife, helping her out to the ledge. “Adrien… he has someone…”
Arryn didn’t care to listen to what her father told her mother; it didn’t matter to her. All that mattered was what she was about to lose.
She reached for her father as tears flowed down her cheeks. He quickly kissed her face as Elayne clung to the window, lying on her stomach, the top half of her inside the house as her legs hung outside over the ledge.
Arryn quickly followed suit right next to her mother as they hastily discussed whatever instructions he had for them. The plan was for Elayne to drop first and help Arryn when she dropped. It would be a long fall from the second story window, but they’d made careful preparations in case the worst happened.
Elayne hung there for a moment as Christopher said something, but Arryn couldn’t hear the words over her sobs and the racing of her mind. She could only see his lips move as he finished telling her mother the secret he’d learned that had doomed them all.
She wanted to scream for him, but she was unable, knowing that if she made any loud sounds, they’d be found. Elayne nodded then, and Arryn watched as she pushed herself the rest of the way out the window, dropping straight down into the large pile of hay.
Now… it was her turn.
“Arryn,” Elayne said, but her voice sounded different. Very different.
“Arryn!” Elayne said again, only this time her voice was more masculine.
Arryn’s eyes opened, her lungs immediately filling with air as she readied herself to scream and punch the person next to her in the face.
Cathillian sat on the edge of her bed, smoothing back her hair, but he quickly snapped into action when he saw the fist coming for him.
He caught it and held it tight, his eyes wide. “Relax! It’s just me!”
She looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings as she fell back on the bed. Cathillian released her hand, and it fell to her side as s
he struggled to catch her breath.
The sides of her face felt chilled. She reached up to touch her cheeks and found herself wiping away tears. Her dream had been a bit more realistic than she’d like to admit. She could even smell her father and feel the warmth of his hug.
“You were screaming. Are you OK?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. I just need to get the hell out of this bed.”
“That’s probably for the best,” he said.
As she was about to sit up, a large, bluish-grey wolf ran through her door and jumped on her, tackling her back down and smothering her face in sloppy kisses.
“Gah!” Arryn called out. “Luna! Nice to see you, too, girl.”
Cathillian laughed and stood away from the bed as Luna continued to cheer Arryn up in her messy, slobbery way.
Like Chaos to Elysia, Luna was the familiar to another warrior, Nika. Not all familiars became so much larger with the bond, like Chaos, or the Chieftain’s black bear, Zobig, or even Cathillian’s golden eagle, Echo.
Only those sharing a bloodline with the Chieftain seemed to gain that trait. For all others, a small change in size could happen, but more than likely, it would show increased intelligence, differences in color, or other various characteristics.
Luna certainly had a unique blue tint to the dark grey in her fur, especially around the darker places on her neck and tail. The rest of her was light grey or snowy white.
Finding a familiar was yet another rite of passage, like the Versuch. And even though the Elders had tried to aid her in the connection, it was a step that Arryn wasn’t so sure she would be able to have, at least not anytime soon.
Even without having a familiar of her own, she certainly had a gift with animals—including the familiars of others.
“I don’t know why she likes me so much,” Arryn said, using her blanket to wipe as much wolf saliva from her face as possible. “Most companions don’t go crazy over other people. I’m the only person in the village that Zobig hasn’t tripped, and Luna has attacked me the last three mornings when I wake up.”
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