Page 43 of Soul Forge

Her grin was broad. “Good.” He shook his head, ending the conversation by turning back to the map. She watched him trace their path with his fingertip, pausing over a spot of what looked like rocky hills clustered below the main city of Falkryn.

“Atlas is ready when you are,” Reiner said, tightening her pack around her midsection as she approached them. She didn’t look at the Soul Forge. “We should go if we want to make it to our camp before dark.”

“You know where we’re staying?”

Reiner took the map out of Sypher’s hands without asking. He arched an eyebrow beneath his hood. The valkyrie scanned the etchings on the weathered paper, then tapped a spot and turned it around for Elda to see. She was pointing at the same spot Sypher had chosen.

“Here makes the most sense. More chance of shelter and not too close to the city. There’ll be patrols around the area, but if we find a good enough spot we can stay hidden from them. That’s where we’re going.” She folded the map and held it back out to the Soul Forge without addressing him.

Elda looked between them. “You two are going to have to talk sometime.”

“Why?” they asked together.

“Because both of you are insistent on protecting me, and neither of you can coordinate if you don’t talk. Also, I don’t want to travel with two people that hate each other.” Elda folded her arms across her chest. “So talk.”

“Get to the horse,” Reiner replied, the violet in her eyes pulsing dangerously. “Now.”

Sypher rolled his eyes, got to his feet, and let his wings unfurl. He stretched the feathered limbs and rolled his neck, then turned to look at Elda over his shoulder.

“You’d better hurry. Your babysitter is getting angry.” He launched himself into the sky before the valkyrie could swing for him, leaving the princess to deal with Reiner’s wrath. She stared after the Soul Forge with murder in her eyes, her fists clenching and relaxing for a moment. Elda hurried to the Pegasus, not waiting to be told again.

The captain climbed into the double saddle first, reaching down a hand to help Elda up. The moment her backside touched the leather, Atlas set off at a gallop, hooves pounding against the thick planks that made up the paths and courtyard. His wings spread wide, lifting them into the air in a graceful tilt, his white mane tousled by the wind.

It took a minute for them to reach the right altitude, but the moment Atlas levelled out, guided by the captain’s expert hands, she spoke.

“You should be afraid of him,” she warned. “You’re being naïve.”

Elda hated that word. Her father used it as a weapon. “I am afraid of him,” she replied tightly. “I’m just refusing to ostracise him.”

“He’s a demon.”

“So you keep telling me.”

“Listen to me,” Reiner snapped. “I was talking to Edward before I left. He told me something passed down through his family. His great-great-grandfather met Sypher back when his wielder was Abraxos.”

The mention of the Corrupted dampened Elda’s anger. Of all the wielders that had been chosen over the centuries, two hadbecome infamous. Cynthia and Abraxos turned their back on their purpose and sided with Lord Malakai, twisted by the power they were gifted by their Spirits. Valerus knew them as the Corrupted, an immortal blight on the continent, and the demon lord’s trusted soldiers.

“He was a farm boy,” Reiner told her. All Elda could see was the back of her head and the rounded edge of her ear, but the tension in her voice and posture were real. The mark of the valkyries swirled across her nape, barely visible against her dark skin, but Elda knew that when her power flared, it would light up like a beacon.

“Where did he come from?” she asked.

“He was born to one of the farm hands around here about seven hundred years ago.”

“He was born in Kilmarthen? The village has been here that long?”

“Aye. It was one of the first settlements established after the Great War. Abraxos is an elf, born into our kingdom and turned from good. He came from humble beginnings, if Edward is to be believed. He was a child when Sypher found him. The village was attacked by demons, and he and his mother were trapped in their barn when it caught fire. It collapsed on them before Sypher could reach them.”

“And what does this have to do with him being a demon?” Elda asked, scowling at the back of Reiner’s head.

“He left the mother to burn, Elda. With all his power and all his might, he left her to burn and dragged the boy out.”

For a moment, there was only the rushing wind in her ears. Edward had been kind,friendlyeven. He’d treated the Soul Forge like anyone else. There was no animosity or wariness in his eyes when they spoke. How could he address Sypher so casually when such stories of callousness were passed down for generations in his family?

“We don’t know that Edward was telling the truth. It was over seven centuries ago. Orcs have long lives, but the story will still have been twisted and changed through each generation.”

“Do you really think it was power alone that turned Abraxos against us?” Reiner asked. “Think about it, Princess. Villains are not born. Abraxos and Cynthia needed more than just magic to change them. If magic were the only corrupting factor, all of the wielders would join them.”

“You can’t really believe they turned because of Sypher,” Elda scoffed.

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