Page 57 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
Together, they explored the crater and the layers of iron ore within. Drue showed him that there was no evidence of outside interference, that in fact, the quarry had been untouched for some time.
An hour passed, and Drue turned to Talemir as he rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
Talemir sighed, shaking his head at the sight of the mine. ‘Well, you’ve shown me that our troubles aren’t related to the source of the steel. We assumed someone was poisoning it, sabotaging the mother source so all our blades were affected. But now I know that’s not the case… it means one thing: that the wraiths are simply growing stronger… It’s not our blades that have changed, it’s the monsters.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Our quests have become one and the same. I need to find out what’s happening with the wraiths and how we can defeat them. Thezmarr and the midrealms depend on it.’
‘So we continue on, then,’ Drue replied. ‘I promised Adrienne I would find Gus and the rest of our people. I mean to keep that promise.’
Talemir nodded, looking shaken.
As they made their way back to their horses, Drue nudged him. ‘Can I ask you something?’
Talemir raised a suspicious brow, but inclined his head in permission.
‘Why did you become a Warsword?’
The warrior huffed a dark laugh. ‘To fight the monsters threatening the midrealms… The irony isn’t lost on me, I assure you.’
‘But why?’
‘My family hailed from the outskirts of Delmira. I was there as a child when it fell. As I told you, my mother got us out, but I saw the devastation for myself. Told myself I’d do anything to keep the horror at bay. We failed, I know. When it mattered most, we failed.’
Drue swallowed a thick lump in her throat. She didn’t try to correct him. She’d given her thoughts on the matter too passionately in the past to comfort him now.
‘What did your family do? Before the fall?’ she asked instead.
Talemir gave her a sad smile. ‘They were farmers.’
‘Farmers?’
He nodded. ‘Does that surprise you? Can’t you imagine me milking cows and rounding up sheep?’
‘Was that what you did?’
‘Not exactly, no. But it was a simple life. A quieter life than one of blood and steel and chaos.’
‘Do you regret it?’
Talemir locked eyes with her. ‘Never.’
‘Even though it has led to so much heartache?’ she pressed.
‘It led me to you.’
Warmth suddenly radiated throughout Drue’s body, flushing her chest, her cheeks. ‘Oh.’
Talemir laughed softly. ‘Does that sentiment surprise you?’
Drue stared at him for a heartbeat longer, her heart swelling, her pulse racing. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do besides suppress the urge to kiss him that roared within.
‘There’s an abandoned miner’s village down there.’ She forced a casual note into her tone. ‘We can clean up and find some supplies.’
Talemir paused for a moment, as if he wanted to say something else, but instead, the Warsword mounted his stallion. ‘Sounds good.’
It didn’t take longto reach the small town below the steel source. As with most places in Naarva, it was completely abandoned – no sign of recent life.
Feeling rattled by what the Warsword had said, Drue insisted she wished to wash in the nearby stream alone. Shouldering her pack, she handed her reins to Talemir and left him outside an old apothecary.
