Page 92 of Of Empires and Dust

“That is why you are here, my child.”Achyron’s voice sent a shiver through Kallinvar.

“And what do you want me to do?” he whispered in reply to the god, his right hand clenching into a fist. “You have sent me searching for a blade of grass in a field, a drop of rain in a storm. How am I meant to find this Heart before Fane or the Bloodspawn? With not even a hundred knights. And even then, how?” The rage built within him, his closed fist tapping on the stone. “We are stretched thin as ice. With every day that passes,we let countless die no matter what we do. And with every knight I send in search of the Heart, we have one fewer to hold back the tide. We cannot protect them all. We simply cannot.”

Kallinvar’s heart thumped like a galloping horse, his skin itched, and a pressure built within him as though he were about to shatter and break. A hundred heartbeats thumped in his head, growing louder and louder, each beating to a different rhythm. He scraped his nails against the stone table, the crimson light of the convergences growing brighter.

“I can’t save them…” His breaths grew ragged. “I can’t save them.”

“Breathe.” Ruon’s voice whispered gently in Kallinvar’s ear, a hand resting on his arm. He had not heard her approach. “Slow and steady.”

Kallinvar closed his eyes for a moment and reached his left hand up, resting it atop Ruon’s. He squeezed.

Ruon drew a long breath in through her nose, then released it slowly, continuing to do so until Kallinvar followed suit.

“You cannot,”Achyron’s voice whispered, Kallinvar’s heart quickening once more.“But you were never meant to.”

“You need to rest.” Ruon pulled her hand from Kallinvar’s, then moved around him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

He opened his eyes to stare into her pools of emerald green. Her emotions drifted from her Sigil to Kallinvar’s: worry and concern, so deep and strong it almost overwhelmed him.

He pulled away, instantly cutting the cord that connected her heart to his mind, the concern and worry vanishing. He despised being able to feel the emotions that ran through her. It was a violation.

Even though he could no longer feel the working of Ruon’s heart, Kallinvar could clearly see the hurt in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” He cupped her cheek, then became astutely aware of the presence of the Watchers who occupied the HeartChamber going about their tasks and pulled his hand back. “I… My mind is not my own.”

Ruon’s expression softened. “It’s all right. The weight of it all is too much for any one person to bear.”

“You must call the knights back from the cities and towns,”Achyron’s voice echoed.“Their time is wasted there. You cannot protect them all, and for every moment that you try, your chance of finding the Heart grows slimmer.”

“You would have me abandon them?” Kallinvar snapped.

“Abandon who?” Ruon looked into Kallinvar’s eyes as though he were mad. “Kallinvar?”

He stared back, realising she could not hear Achyron’s voice. “I…”

“I would have you do what must be done.”

“The duty of the strong is to protect the weak,” Kallinvar said, incredulous.

“It is.” Ruon reached down to the table and once more rested her hand atop his. “Kallinvar, come. Youneedrest. It’s been two days since you’ve slept.”

“No.” Kallinvar snapped his hand away from hers and shook his head, turning back to look over the war table. Watcher Adriahn came to a halt on the other side of the table, only for a brief moment, then carried on. “I’m fine, Ruon. Just leave me be.”

“The duty of the strong is to protect the weak, Kallinvar. But how many of the weak will die if you fail? If we fail? How many of those you are trying to protect will be cut down by your own inability to do what you must? This is a world of ever-shifting grey. You must look past the morality of an individual moment and instead look to what this world needs of you. Every second wasted is a life lost.”

“If I leave them, they will all die.”

“And if you don’t, the world will die.”

“I can’t just leave you be.” Ruon grabbed the sides of Kallinvar’s head and pulled him close, staring into his eyes. “Your mind is not right. Youneedto rest. Or so help me Achyron, I will put you to sleep myself.”

Kallinvar grabbed Ruon’s hands and tore them from his face. “Ruon. Leave me.”

“Kallinvar—”

“GrandmasterKallinvar.”

Kallinvar snatched Verathin’s journal from the table and strode from the Heart Chamber, not looking back for even an instant. His footsteps echoed in the temple’s massive halls, like Hafaesir’s hammer pounding against the stone, only matched by the beating of his heart.

---