Page 40 of Aofie's Quest
I finished my bowl of food and pushed it away, my gaze going from Takari to Romulus. More secrets?
Romulus took the pipe from his mouth and tilted his head. “You believe she is ready?”
Takari brushed two fingers down her arm, sending blue swirls through the air. They twisted with the smoke, like partners of a dance, and filtered out the window. “No one is truly ready.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, mouth dry. What were they not telling me?
Putting down his pipe, Romulus leaned forward. His dark gaze seemed to pin me in place and my breath came low and fast as he spoke. “Aofie, I’ve told you the truth. I am a ranger, an iceman. My official title is Prince Romulus of Norbrin.”
I gasped. He was royalty too?
But he shook his head, a scowl coming to his face. “I am not of royal blood, not like you. My mother may rule Norbrin, but unlike in the kingdom of men, the power to rule the people is not passed by bloodline, but by strength. She is a fearsome warrior who took power for herself, and I am an outcast because I choose not to follow her whims.”
Thoughts racing, I squeezed my hands together in my lap. He was an outcast. We were more alike than I’d thought.
“My people are known for their hearts of ice,” he admitted. “That is why your mother, the queen—may she rest in peace—warned you against the hearts of iceman and the magic of wood nymphs, like Takari.”
I nodded as his gaze pierced mine with a deadly seriousness that made me wonder if I wanted to hear more.
“Before the fall of the kingdom of men, there were uprisings among those who paid tribute to the kingdom. Many complained the crown did not protect them and they had to hire mercenaries to ensure the protection of their realms. For example, those who dwell in the woods were threatened by trolls, and the seaside folk became easy prey for sea raiders. Similar stories were voiced across the Labraid along with cries of corruption. The kingdom demanded food, money, and weapons, but instead of protecting the interests of the people, the rulers used it for themselves. Thus, an alliance was formed. We called ourselves the defenders, but shortly afterward, the angel of death wrenched the kingdom away and fallen angels and demons began to appear.”
I recalled meeting Romulus in the vale and his words regarding the angel of death and the underworld. According to him, the gates had already been opened and lesser demons were escaping into Labraid.
“The defenders flourished for a while, but the odds are against us. We travel, observe, and help where we can, but Labraid is godless. The people have forsaken the old ways; they don’t believe anymore. Warnings fall on deaf ears and now the angel of death sends out squads of soldiers to secure the land. He grows bold, and if he continues, the demons will overwhelm Labraid and life as we know it will cease to exist. As defenders, we fight for the future freedom of Labraid. But the people need hope, a cause, an ally to rally to, and this is where you come in.”
Throat dry, I stared at him before my eyes slowly shifted to Takari. Her eyes brimmed, her expression sad. She knew who I was. Perhaps Romulus had shared the secret of my father with her too, and now they both looked at me as though I were their hope, their salvation, when I just wanted to run away. Carrying the fate of the world on my shoulders was too heavy of a burden for me, and yet everyone wanted the same thing. They wanted me to stand up for Labraid, raise an army, and fight. As I considered everything that had happened to me since I left the Beluar Woods, fear morphed into anger.
“What are you asking of me?” I demanded, turning to glare at Romulus, nostrils flaring.
Romulus put up a hand as if to ward off my anger. “Aofie, hear me out. From the moment I met you, you wanted to save people, you wanted to help them. I admit, from what I’ve seen of the world, it’s easy to grow disillusioned. You’ve had your own experiences and you can see for yourself how dark and sometimes frightening Labraid is, but with good mixed among the bad. You have royal blood, and the blood of a god, which means you have the power to confront the angel of death and close the gates to the underworld. So, I’m asking—not demanding, I’m asking—if you want to use the power that runs in your blood to save Labraid? It is a question I ask now, but I do not expect your answer until we reach the elves. Think on it, for it will not be easy to go into the heart of darkness and fight evil. But you are not merely human. You might have a chance.”
A sudden pain flashed through my chest, as though someone had ripped a blade through my skin. I leapt to my feet and paced, back and forth, down the short length of the room. The calmness from the smoke evaporated, and I chewed my lower lip to keep the tears from spilling out. I’d thought I’d found friends, but they wanted to use me for my blood, just like my mother. I was nothing to them except a tool. Was this my quest? Was this what all my life was leading up to?
I thought of the many people I would save by giving up my life to fight for their freedom. There was a romantic air to being a warrior, a princess, saving people, winning, and letting bloodlust consume me. But even at my low point, I desired more. I wanted to wear a dress and be beautiful; I wanted to be loved for who I was, not because of my gifts—my blood or my skill with the sword. I longed to walk free in the woods and breathe the pure air, speak to the beasts and be still on the hilltops, listening for the voice of the gods. But Ishouldwant to help the people of Labraid. Ishouldwant to save them.
Romulus and Takari sat at the table, faces hopeful and expectant. Crossing my arms over my chest, I backed away. “No,” I whispered, horror lacing my voice. “Don’t ask me to choose. I can’t.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
We leftin the morning on a barge—a flat boat made of wood. My heart bled at the treatment of the trees, but I supposed they were made of empty shells, husks without life. Even Takari did not comment on it, but her eyes went cloudy. She perched on the edge with her feet trailing in the water. Romulus stood on one side of the boat, steering it with a long pole, while our supplies for the journey were piled in the middle.
I crossed my legs on the barge, rocking back and forth as the rolling hills faded from view. Elsdore was a curious city, plagued by demons, managed by witches, calmed by shepherds and their flocks. I sat rigid, my back straight and the spear Adomos had given me in my hands, watching the sharp point glint against the sunlight.
Fear. That’s what I was faced with right now. A deep and abiding fear of everything but particularly what I had been raised to be. The words Romulus had spoken earlier filtered through my mind. When I’d first set out from the Beluar Wood, I’d known it was because I had a path, a responsibility that led me away from the safety and comfort of life with the centaurs. I’d romanticized it in my head: Aofie, the warrior princess, meant to save the world from the angel of death. Kedron Abaddon. I’d assumed it would be exciting, that I would find my people and march forth with them to wage war on a great evil, not find it seemingly under every rock and stone I turned over. Deception and treachery surrounded me, especially with the people I thought I could rely on the most, my mother’s people. There was still the mystery of what had happened to the king of men, but a growing dread warned he was just as much part of it as my mother.
Takari hummed a tune, fingers trailing through the water. Blue swirls misted around her and I thought of her story and her bravery. The wound of losing her people was clear to see, and yet she continued on, regardless. Maybe because all she had left was like the water, insignificant, there one moment and gone the next. It was impossible to tell where a single droplet would end up, and not worth the time and energy to track it. Was my life like a drop of water? Like pebbles on the bedrock of a river, one insignificantfrom each other? What was the difference? What would I do if I forsook my quest and let my life become meaningless?
Romulus held his pipe in the corner of one hand, smoking on and off while he steered. His sword hung off his back and his arms were bare, the hard muscles glistening in the light. I turned my head away to crush the fluttering feeling that rose in my chest. The day before, when I’d said no to his request to join the defenders, instead of growing angry, or leaving, or trying to persuade me to join the cause, Romulus simply looked at me. Instead of ice, there was kindness in his eyes. “I understand. It is all too much at first and I will not judge you for your decision. We will still take you to the elves, for they will provide a haven much safer than here.”
His kindness made me want to weep. When something else flickered behind his eyes, something raw and hungry, I almost went to him. But then Takari wrapped her arms around me and I leaned into her embrace instead, astonished to find I still had friends who allowed me to choose for myself instead of pushing me into a war I wasn’t sure I wanted to fight in.
Late that night, I’d lain on the pallet for the last time, running the conversation through my head. I had many unanswered questions, questions that I did not want to ask them, for they’d see it as interest. Who led the defenders? Why hadn’t they already acted against the angel of death? Were they truly waiting for me? Which led to the next question: who knew my mother had a child? But those questions were best left unasked. I needed time. I needed to understand for myself without rushing into anything. So far, everything that had happened to me was out of my control, like water caught in a current and pushed over a waterfall, crushed against the rocks, but not broken. My fingers closed tighter around the spear. That’s what I felt like, as though I’d been caught in a current and dashed against rocks over and over again.
Closing my eyes, I lifted my face to the sun. It caressed my cheeks and twisted inside of me as the magic within me flared up. I did not open my eyes to see what color it was, because it did not matter. I would regain control of my destiny. I would choose my path and what I would or would not do. I breathed in and breathed out, slowly letting the weight of responsibility and angst drift from my shoulders.
We floated into the shallows where gray boulders threatened to wedge the barge in crystal water. Gold fish leaped up, their scales shimmeringin the sunlight. Weeping willow trees hung their hair over the water, creating dark and cozy coves to hide in. Other than the fish, nothing else swam in those waters. The music of the river was the water, which began to babble faster in points, sending us around curves and careening downstream. The green hills faded from view and soon the tips of the temple faded.
When evening fell, we left the barge tucked up on the shore. Romulus said someone would find it and use it to travel downstream, back to the hills of the gods. His fingers brushed my hand when he spoke, sending tingles up my own. Words died on my lips as I met his gaze, and the three of us began our trek through the land, to visit the forests of the elven kind.
