Page 55 of Fate and Flame
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There were only about forty survivors, and most of them were females. We traveled for two days together until we reached the Eastern Gap. Stopping only when we had to, we ate as little as we could, and pushed ourselves harder than most of them had ever been pushed.
“What will we do?” a rebel female with a kobold’s long nose and tufted ears asked as we stopped.
I shared a look with Rhogan as Nadra squeezed my hand.“You will all travel with Rhogan to the Marsh Court. You’ll seek the Weaver. She will help you. You may continue to travel south with the refugees to the Flame Court, or you can stay and help the Marsh Court prepare for battle. Autus is only headed in one direction.”
“What will you do?” Rhogan asked me.
“Nadra and I have a mission we have to see through to the end. Take this.” I handed him one full bag. “Inside is a truth serum. Get it to the Weaver and start questioning all the rebels. If you can, plant half the seeds. The flowers bloom quickly, and we need to cultivate them. Save the second half until I get there in case we have to move again. Blue is serum, red is the antidote. They will not be able to tell a lie if they take the blue. Weed out the traitors and I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
He took the bag, slung it over his shoulder, and led the rebels away, leaving me and Nadra standing hand in hand on the path. I took the deepest breath I’d taken in my life. I wanted to rest. I wanted to just spend time with Nadra, feel the loss that had been weighing on us both and live in that moment, but we couldn’t. We had to push on.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
“The king has the fabric, he has the sword, he has the blood of the king. He needs the ashes, the artifact, and now you and your friend in order to complete the binding. I intend to foil those plans as thoroughly as possible.”
“So, you think Ara is Alewyn’s Promise?”
I shrugged. “We have to assume, so I guess.”
She blew into her hands for warmth, trails of her breath dissipating in the cold air. “Do you really think I have the power of the adda?”
“Can’t you feel it? I touch your hand and it’s nearly vibrating within you.”
“I hadn’t noticed at all,” she said.
“I wonder . . .”
“What?” she asked, stepping away from me.
I faced the wall of mountains beside us and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to sort my thoughts. “Do you have magic now?”
Her shoulders lifted and she shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Can you access it within you? Can you feel anything out of the ordinary?”
“Nothing at all.”
“We need to explore this again when we have time to sit down. For now, we have to climb a mountain.”
“I’m already so cold,” she protested.
“Here,” I said, taking off my fur coat and wrapping it around her shoulders.
I’d made sure she was warm before we left, giving her the furs from our bed, but she was right to worry. The farther we got up the mountain the colder it was going to get. I couldn’t protect myself from the cold, but I could use my magic to take the pain.
“I’m not sure exactly where we have to go, but I have a general idea. Oleonis and I had a discussion about this tree once. He told me the gods planted one tree and the northern winds carried its seeds, filling the world with saplings. It’s said the wind transformed the seeds into millions of different species, but they all root from the first oak, touched by the gods.”
“Do you think it’s true?” she asked.
“At this point, yes. I think it’s all true.”
We started our long and arduous trek up the mountain. Several times, the reality of losing her mother struck her and Nadra cried. I tried my best to comfort her as Rhogan had, but there was nothing I could do but be there for her.
By nightfall, we found a shallow cave after I had killed two rabbits with arrows as we walked. We probably could have devoured both, but we shared one, saved the other, and I kept the pelt and let it dry over our small fire. They were small, but the only thing Nadra had brought with her was the needle and thread from her mother’s pockets. She intended to make gloves from the rabbits.
“How long do you think it will take us to find the tree?” Nadra yawned.
