Page 140 of A Blightress of Wrath
I’dbeen trained to kill sinceIwas fifteen.
Fouryears later,I’ddone it.
Whatwould another four years bring to my life?
Iswallowed back the ever-present lump in my throat, careful not to wake her.
Itdidn’t matter anymore.
Whateverfight came next,Iwouldn’t let her face it alone.
Chapter59
Saelyn
Eventhe risingsun could not shine on theBlight.
Therays beamed over the endless black, but did not seem to touch its surface.
Notan ounce of light could filter to the depth of what lay east over the land.
Adesolate silence beheld us—the entire army ofRunnersandWieldwryns.
Mymother andThevinhad argued for him to be at my side the entire way through theDimmingand they’d won out, eventually earning the support of my uncle as well.
Othercommanders were chosen to lead the front line ofRunners, all four-hundred fifty-six of them.
TheWieldwrynsin their varying colors of vests were just above two hundred, and our three leaders in my mother, uncle, andMadameof theMountainswere standing at the tip of theBlightLine, waiting for the call of their commanders that their troops were ready to embark forward.
ThevinandIwere a few rows back, listening to the shouts of confirmation.Heheld my hand tightly in his, dressed inRunnerblack, ready to blend into the landscape if he needed to.Iwore my black pants and boots, but my mother had dressed me in a green flowing tunic to honor whereI’dcome from and what we were fighting for.
Ahowl broke the silence, echoing across the vast landscape, andIwondered if it was an omen of good or if it signaled our doom.
Thecommand came from my mother, not in voice, but in the glowing sun she set before her, quickly matched by theKingandMadameZoreyah.Thehiss began, immediate and eerie, as theBlightLinemoved, forced back by the power which destroyed it.
Theforward march began and we walked through the ash at our feet.Theline ofRunnerswidened, spanning into a semi circle around our leaders, swords drawn, ready for the inevitable defenses of theBlightress’screatures.
Nonecame.
Wecontinued on for a mile.
Two.
TheWieldwrynswere given the signal and more simulated suns appeared in the wake of ash as theBlightcontinued to fall away in hardly more than a whisper of demise.
Despitethe warmth of the many suns surrounding us, my teeth chattered.
Thevingripped my hand with force, scanning all sides of us in constant surveillance.
Iwatched my mother.Orat least,Iwatched her sun.
Iwas too far back in the line to see more than an occasional glimpse of her white braid, but her sunIknew.Itwas the largest of them all, burning ahead, directing a path forward.
Theplan had been to fight.
Theplan had been to destroy as manyBlightbeasts and trees as we could beforeIwould be given the signal to produce the sun, hopefully leading theBlightressright to us when she realizedIwas within her grasp, no longer protected by my mother’s shield of power over the city ruins.
Butthe fight never came, and as theWieldwrynsslowly trickled out of power and word was sent down the line to rest, we stopped, theRunnerswrapping everyone else in a tight circle, eyes open and swords at the ready for any sign of movement.
