Page 181 of Of Empires and Dust

“No!” Elia snatched up the pot and set it on the counter. She grabbed a pile of neatly folded cloths and dumped them on the steaming tea that was slowly spreading across the stone. “No, no, no.” With every passing second, she grew more frantic, eventually wrapping her arms around herself and clutching her shoulders as she sat on her haunches. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please,” she pleaded, terror in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt me, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you anything you want. He always reads, he… he…”

“Elia.” Tanner lowered himself to meet Elia’s gaze, sitting back on his heels. He didn’t touch her – he’d learned from that mistake – but moved his head until she looked into his eyes. “Elia, it’s only tea.”

She stared back at him blankly, her shoulders trembling, her fingers pressing creases into her tunic.

“You’re safe now,” he repeated. He touched his hand to his chest, resting it over his heart. “You’re safe. Nobody will hurt you here.”

Her stare softened at those words, and she nodded softly, her teeth chattering.

“Come on, let’s get you to your feet.” Tanner gestured for her to stand, trying his best to give her a warm smile. He rose slowly and offered his hand, not forcing it. She would take it if she wanted.

It took a moment, but Elia eventually grasped his outstretched hand and stood upright but kept her gaze fixed on the mess of cloths and the liquid creeping across the ground. She was tiny, at least a foot shorter than he was, her frame dainty, fragile. The woman had been through the void.

“Are you all right? You didn’t hurt yourself?” Tanner asked.

She shook her head, still not lifting her gaze from the ground.

“Why don’t you go and see if Lasch needs any help with the bees? It’s getting warmer outside. Earlywinter is creeping in. The fresh air might be nice.”

Elia glanced at him without speaking, then looked back to the pot on the counter and the mess on the floor.

“I’ll clean it up and get a new pot started. You go.”

Elia nodded. That seemed to be her preferred method of communication whenever these episodes struck. She made to walk past him and stopped, opening her mouth as though to speak, then closing it. She lifted a hand and held it up tentatively before resting it on his arm. “Thank… thank you.” Her eyessoftened. “I’m sorry for…” She looked back at the mess. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever be sorry.” Tanner shook his head. “Not for this. Not ever. Go. I’ll look after everything here.”

As Elia grabbed a coat and stepped from the house, Tanner mopped up the spilt tea with the cloths, then tossed them into a bucket beside the counter.

Once he was sure the place was in a tidy enough state that Elia wouldn’t start cleaning when she came back, he climbed the stairs and walked the corridor down to Ella’s room.

The sweet scent of lavender touched his nose as he opened the door, released by a fresh whorl of the purple flowers set in the vase beside the door. A soft whimper sounded to his right, a wet nose pressing into his hand.

“Food?” Tanner asked rhetorically, running his hand along Faenir’s snout and scratching the side of the wolfpine’s head. The wolfpine always needed food.

The crest of Faenir’s head reached Tanner’s chest, golden eyes looking at him with a keen sense of understanding. Faenir nuzzled Tanner’s hand, letting out a low grumble in response to his question.

“All right. I’ll fetch something for you soon. Where’s she gone?” Tanner gestured over to the corner of the room where the Angan, Aneera, usually sat cross-legged. From the day Ella had collapsed, the Angan had barely eaten or slept. She’d spent almost every waking hour with her legs folded and her eyes closed, doing whatever it was that Angan did. Aeson had explained to Tanner about the creatures’ ability to communicate across long distances, but he still didn’t quite understand it.

“Actually.” Tanner frowned, looking from the empty spot where Aneera usually sat, then back to the door. “Where’ve they all gone?”

It was only then Tanner realised not only was Aneera not in the room, he’d seen none of the Angan on the plateau either. There were usually three or four of them prowling about, never moving too far from the house. At first, it had only been Diango, who’d arrived just before the battle almost two weeks past, but the others had dripped in as the days had passed.

The wolfpine gave a low growl, his hackles rising, lips pulling back in a momentary snarl before he padded across the room to where Yana was slumped in a chair. The wolfpine dropped himself to the ground with a sigh, nuzzling his head against Yana’s leg. The creature was so massive that even lying down, his back came up as high as the flat of the chair.

A smile broke out across Tanner’s face at the sight of Yana passed out in the chair, her hand resting atop Ella’s. He moved behind the chair and leaned over, resting his chin on Yana’s shoulder and cupping his hands across her stomach. “I think a bed might be a good idea.”

Yana grumbled, shifting slightly but not opening her eyes.

“Mmph… Get off me, you big oaf.” She pressed her cheek into Tanner’s arm, planting a kiss just below the elbow, then wrapped an arm around his. “Carry me.”

“Carry you?”

“Carry me. If you really loved?—”

Tanner swung around the chair, tucked one arm under Yana’s legs and the other around her back, then scooped her into his arms. He bent his knees slightly in a mock bow, staring down at the woman who looked back up at him groggily, a smile on her lips. “At once, my queen.”

“You’re such an idiot,” she said, laughing as she nuzzled into his chest.

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