Page 28 of Broken Lands

“What about Earth? Are you abandoning it? Leaving the humans here to fend for themselves?”

He pulled to a stop, staring at me hard, his mouth set in a hard line.

“Of course not,” He said furiously. “We need more help, Riley. We need our reinforcements, our seers. We’ve been floundering blindly for fifteen years without them. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

I fell silent at his admission. This is the most anyone has ever said to me about the way the fae handled the state of the Earth, and I don’t think he even realized it. Despite some snarkiness, no one had offered me much of an explanation for their failings before now. They had promised to heal our lands, but nothing had been done.

It’s not a lot of information; it doesn’t explain much. But it’s enough to imply that they came here with a plan; some idea of how they might be able to help. Then they unfortunately found themselves without the resources they expected to have. Knowing this would ease so much of the tension back home in Sommers.

Some of the resentment I held towards the fae melted from inside me. I’d held these ideas and notions about them for so gods damned long. Some of those beliefs were wrong.

That thought sparked hope in my chest, in the hole left by the resentment I was learning to let go of. Just a small flicker, but it was something. Maybe things wouldn’t be this way forever. Maybe there was some version of a future where the Earth healed and humans could take back their lands, or at the very least live among the fae, instead of beneath them, in what I was coming to realize has been a holding pattern.

“What was the plan, then? From a human point of view, it feels like the fae arrived on Earth with grand plans to save us all, took control and have done nothing since.” I snuck a sideways glance at him, hoping to gauge his reaction to my questions. His expression remained stoic, though I thought I could detect a slight frown cross his forehead. It’s gone before I could take a second look and he let out a long, heavy sigh.

“I guess it would seem that way to you.” His voice was low again, quiet, the smile he’d greeted me with at the stables gone. I looked away, biting my lip as guilt washed over me. My questioning had taken away his smiling, carefree mood. I needed to know, though.

“Our first step was to take control. We felt that the more control and access to the lands we had, the easier it might be to discover the underlying issue, the cause behind the earth’s deterioration. If the humans stopped attacking each other, if we prevented further damage, maybe the earth would have a chance to begin healing itself.”

“To heal naturally, without interference?” I asked, my voice rising in surprise. “You were going to give it that chance?”

“Of course, that was the ideal solution. We came here not knowing how your world would be affected by our magic. We knew it didn’t exist here, that humans had no control over the elements like we do, that different creatures existed here than at home.” He looked over at me, his eyes holding mine. “We aren’t the bad guys; we didn’t come here with ill intent. We wanted to save your world, in order to save our own.”

His voice was quiet, firm, and sincere. I sucked in a breath and tore my eyes away from his penetrating stare, looking ahead as I let his words sink in. Silence fell between us for a few minutes as we continued along and I considered all that I’d learnt.

I was quickly distracted from my thoughts at the sight of what appeared to be a small outpost ahead. A chain fence circled a small encampment. A tall stone tower sat at the back of the camp, a guard visible at the top. Behind the fence there were a couple of tents like those used at the ascension ceremony, a small fire flickering at the center of them, a couple of logs circling it, with men seated upon them.

This wasn’t a long-term set-up, more of a temporary base. This must be the B station.

Glancing back, I realized we’d traveled quite far. Danann wasn’t even visible anymore.

“This outpost sits between Danann and the location of the tear from the void. Have you learnt anything about the void, and the tear yet?” He asked as we approached the gate. The guard on duty recognized Colin immediately, opening the gate and nodding to him as we moved inside.

“Nothing in class. Bee told me a little about the crossing through the void and the tear. That it’s a one-way door from the void to here, allowing some creatures through?”

“That’s right. This base allows us to have soldiers nearer to the tear, to deal with anything that makes its way through to Earth, before it can become a threat to Danann, or Sommers.” He led us toward one of the larger tents, stopping the horses. I watched closely as he dismounted, the muscles in his forearms tensing, sending a flush of warmth through me as he swung his leg over and lowered himself to the ground.

“Here, let me help you down.”

He was by my side in an instant, his hands on me again as he helped me climb off of Annie. He placed me on my feet and I grabbed his arms to steady myself. He paused, his thumbs brushing against my bare skin, where my shirt had come untucked from my skirt. The scent of pine and whiskey fell over me, his scent, and I looked up from under my lashes, my gaze falling to his mouth. Licking my lips, I imagined what it might be like to taste him, to kiss him, to press my mouth against his. Would he taste as good as he smelt?

There was an almost palpable connection between us, and for a moment it was as though we were frozen in place, neither of us wanting to pull away, both of us hesitant to take that next step and cross the line between us. He was the fae general, my tutor. Was it wrong to feel this way about him?

“Ah, General, I heard you’d arrived!” A man’s voice jerked us from each other, my hands dropping from his arms at the same time he dropped his from my hips. I smoothed my hands down my front, tucking my shirt back in. When I looked up, I saw an older gentleman shaking Colin’s hand in greeting.

Tall, with fair hair and a friendly, familiar looking face, his eyes were kind as they swung between the two of us. He had a stack of books tucked under his arm, a bag overflowing with more books and random papers slung over the opposite shoulder.

“Reardon, how are you? I didn’t know you were out here today.” Colin said, shaking the man’s hand and clapping him on the shoulder. “This is Riley, our newest ascendant.”

His eyes lock on mine, a warm smile spreading across his freckled face.

“Ah, Riley, I’ve heard so much about you.” I reached out my hand to shake his, but was surprised when he tugged me in for a hug. “I hope you’re settling in well.”

He pulled away, looking back at Colin.

“I was just here checking on Patch Two; it’s not going as well as I had hoped.” He frowned a little, then continued. “I’m heading back to Danann for the evening. Best be on my way. I don’t want to be late for dinner with my daughter.” He saluted, then spun on his heel, waving goodbye.

Bewildered, I turned to Colin.

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