Page 108 of An Honored Vow

Gerarda gritted her teeth as Rheih wafted the smoke over the paste and it began to bubble.

“Is something wrong?” Elaran asked, dropping to her knees in front of Gerarda.

“The marking has set.” Syrra wiped away the paste and Gerarda’s skin had completely healed. Her scar was more iridescent than the unmarked flesh, but it was barely raised at all.

Syrra assessed our work and smiled. “This marking will increase your stamina in times of battle. I do not know if it will affect your powers, but you will be able to fight for a full day without dropping your weapon if you must.”

Gerarda looked down to inspect her own skin. Her smile grew as her fingers trailed over the curving branch. “Excellent.”

Syrra moved to the second shoulder. She washed it and then Rheih cleansed the skin with smoke. Syrra bit her lip as she marked the starting and ending points of another design with the paste. Her sharp eyes flitted back and forth between Gerarda’s shoulders to ensure the two markings would be even. When she was satisfied, she let the mage pen blade rest atop the smoking bowl.

“The second cut is made on the opposite shoulder. It is always claimed by the warrior being marked, a sigil of their own making.” Syrra leaned over Gerarda’s shoulder to look at her. “What branch should mark your act of bravery for killing thewaateyshirak?”

Gerarda blinked. “I get to choose?”

“Yes,maashir.” Syrra’s throat tightened as she said the final word.

Gerarda’s face flushed.Strong onewas a term of endearment only used between the warriors ofNikiir’na. Syrra hadn’t been able tocall anyone that in centuries. Gerarda was the start of a new legacy. The pride in the room swelled until it was hard to breathe. Elaran gripped Gerarda’s hand tighter, a happy tear falling from her lashes.

Gerarda swallowed. “Then the branch of theminisabiq.”

“Minisabiq?” I had never heard of such a tree.

But Syrra smiled and uncapped the mage pen. “It is a tree that only grows on the smallest island of the Fractured Isles.”

Gerarda nodded. “That island was my home. If one shoulder should mark my devotion to the home I have today, then the other should represent the one I lost.”

“The tree bears small fruits, if I remember correctly?”

Gerarda nodded. “Round berries the color of the sea at dawn.”

Syrra picked up the mage pen and let the side of her hand rest on Gerarda’s skin, ready to cut. “Then I shall carve one branch holding three berries. One for each of thewaateyshirakyou vanquished.”

Syrra carved the mark into Gerarda’s skin with the decisive strokes of a painter. Within minutes the thick, bent branch and berries were realized so completely I was sure I could reach out and wrap my hand around it.

Gerarda moved to stand, but Rheih shoved her back down on the pillow. “Stay.”

“That hurt,” she snapped.

Rheih’s long, grayed brows shot beneath her frizzy mane. “Perhaps your second gift should be to whine less.” She shoved a new bowl of paste at me.

Gerarda turned to Syrra. “I didn’t think all markings received a gift.”

“Only the first is guaranteed.” Syrra stood, her job complete. “Any beyond that are at the discretion of the Fae who gives it.”

Gerarda’s eyes misted as she turned to me. “You asked for this?”

My throat was too tight to speak so I nodded. I knelt and started rubbing the paste into her skin. This time Gerarda didn’t even flinch. “Vrail and Syrra told me about the blessings Faelin bestowed on the three warriors she left to leadNiikir’nawhen she knew she was in the twilight of her years.” I massaged the thick purple grit into Gerarda’s skin, making sure every part of the new wound was covered. “She gave them each a singular gift to help them lead their people. The first was a gift of foresight, so all the student warriors would remain safe under their trainer’s care. The second was a gift of projection so all the warriors would hear their steward’s call.” I set the bowl next to Gerarda’s knee and flattened my palm across her shoulder. “And the last gift was given to the Elf who became their leader after Faelin passed.” I cleared my throat. “That is the gift I am giving you.”

Gerarda’s chin trembled. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came.

The pulsing light of my magic swelled in my chest and spread down my hands. I pressed the flat of my palm into the paste and I said the words that Vrail had taught me.“Babiimithir el aaniko’biithir niiwaaka’win.”

May the ancestors guide your wisdom.

Gerarda sucked in a breath as the paste burned and set.

I wiped her skin clean. Gerarda’s second scar was gold as if the molten metal had fused her flesh back together. Her hand shook as she touched the branches that represented both the homes that had raised her. A tear caught along the corner of her eye as she looked at me. “You claim no branches or gifts for yourself?”

---