Page 141 of A Vow of Blood and Tears

“Are there anomalies?” I asked quietly.

Wyn paused at the flap of the door, brows furrowing. “None that I’ve seen yet. It’s unusual. Let me have a look. I’m still sorting my thoughts on this.”

My stomach dropped, but as Wyn ducked out, I took a breath and turned to the task at hand. She would tell me when she hada theory, and rushing her accomplished nothing but ensuring she’d be in a towering mood when she returned.

I sat in front of my wife, sinking slowly onto my knees, and uncorked the bottle, soaking the cloth with the sharp-smelling liquid within. Cirri let me take her hand, wincing a little when I pressed it to the cut.

“I know we seem callous, but this has been a decade of fighting against deeply-ingrained beliefs. The Rift-kin aren’t stupid. Far from it, actually. But they have strong ties to Foria. It’s easier to hate and fear an enemy so unlike you it seems like another species altogether, rather than the enemy composed of the people you know just across the mountain border.”

I soaked a new corner of cloth, replacing it over the wound. It was already beginning to knit itself closed.

“It’s not that they don’t understand the danger. It’s just… centuries of Fae tyranny left a thick scar and deep fears, and meanwhile, they married the Forian shepherds and farmers across the border. All of those wargs… they were once those same people. I think they believe, in a strange way, that maybe family ties will break the spell.”

Cirri shook her head, slipping her hand from the cloth. The wound was a knotted red scar now.Nothing could break the spell of those… things.

“No. Once you commit to the ritual, there’s no going back. But to me, things are simple. The wargs are the enemy. To the Rift-kin, they’re cousins, fathers-in-law, old friends, all of them taken in by a cult. I believe there was a time Hakkon told his people to leave them alone, but once we allied with your people, that truce ended.”

How could they not see what they are?Cirri’s eyes were red-rimmed.There’s nothing human left in them.

I took her hand again, applying another layer. “Sometimes we see what we want to see. We want to see that our old friendsare salvageable, even twisted beyond recognition. We want to see that little spark of hope where there is only darkness.”

She waited patiently until I removed the cloth to examine the mark, now less of an angry red and more a healthy pink of new skin.

Why did the Forians use wargs at all? Do they not turn on their own people?She chewed her lower lip nervously.That thing in the woods. It was… hunger. That’s all it was.

“Why does a man use any weapon?” I asked, my voice low. “Because he thinks it will help him win. And for a time, the wargswerehelping King Radomil win. He would send in his troops, use cannons to take down defenses, and then the wargs would spill in through the cracks. Then we came above and joined you, and he saw the writing on the wall. By the time we pushed the last of the wargs out of Veladar, King Radomil saw that he had no control at all over them or their priests. When we forged the peace treaty between our people, he declared them outlaws, and Hakkon stole troops from under his nose and brought them into his fold. These wargs…” I gestured to the walls of the tent, what lay beyond. “They operate without the king’s blessing. I’m sure he knows, of course. But I think Radomil finds it far preferable that they prey on us, rather than the Forians.”

They would do this to their own people?Cirri looked nauseous.

“The worshippers of Wargyr don’t see themselves as Forians first. They see themselves as wargs first. If they couldn’t hunt us, they would certainly hunt the Forians. So long as we’re here to provide a distraction, Radomil won’t lift a finger to drive them out. Short-sighted on his part,” I said with a snort of contempt. “Hakkon will turn on him one day.”

Why us, though?Cirri frowned at me, flexing her hand.Would it not be easier to hunt on their own territory? Their own king has denied them; do they not want revenge?

“I have only educated guesses. King Radomil wanted the Rift and the Rivers, foremost; perhaps Hakkon hopes to take them and earn a pardon. I’ve also heard that the Rift was where the first worship of Wargyr began, and they believe it is their rightful territory. Or perhaps there is some small shred of loyalty to the country that offered them work as soldiers. If there’s truth to any of my theories, I haven’t proved it yet.”

I touched her hand, flattening it. The wound was now a silvered scar. “Your hand is healed, my lady. A scar to remind you that the forest is no place to walk alone.”

She shuddered.Believe me, I’ve taken the lesson to heart. I never want to see one again.

“I’m sorry to say that you will.” I kissed her palm. “I only hope I can keep you far from it.”

Cirri shook her head, still frowning at the fresh mark.Bane.

“Yes?”

She closed her eyes, knuckles whitening around the hilt of the knife for a moment.It was my fault. That he died. I couldn’t stay, but I couldn’t go for help. He thought I was one of them.

“As Wyn said, it was pure bad luck.” I rested a hand on her leg, feeling the stone-hard muscles, still trembling a little, beneath my palm.

Cirri opened her eyes again, tears glimmering there.Was there anything else I could have done? Or am I a liability? I can’t speak, I’m no warrior, I’m useless. I couldn’t save him, and if that warg was alive, I wouldn’t have been able to save myself. What if someone is relying on me? Am I to simply lead them to death? How can I be the Lady of anything if I can’t even call out to save one life?

“Stop.” I took her hands, forcing her into silence. “Don’t call yourself useless. You’re not a liability. Bad luck happens to us all. Ancestors only know how many men I’ve lost to it. I just lost… an entire village. Because ofmymisjudgement.”

I closed my eyes, wishing I’d pushed against them harder, crushed their beliefs underfoot. This misfortune wasn’t bad luck, simply bad leadership.

But I was used to swallowing down guilt, compartmentalizing the terrible things I’d done.

“We get nowhere when we wallow in ill fortune and blame,” I finally said. “We learn for next time. This was my mistake, and I take responsibility for it. Now all I can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

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