Page 3 of Ashes In The Wind & Islands Of Ash
“My people!” he roared into the crowd as everyone slowly quieted. His voice echoed against the canopy of trees.
“Ember is moving. Their problem is not with us. They are coming for our comrades of the skies. They believe Heavensreach has the chosen. But I believe anyone willing to take innocent lives is an enemy of mine. I have decided that I will not retreat in fear. That is my choice. You all have your own decisions to make. As your leader, brother, and friend, I come to all who are willing and capable and ask that you fight with me. With us.” My father gestured to Hallan at his side. “If you choose to run, I won’t fault you. The choice is yours.” He peered around the crowd. Children wailed and mothers sobbed in the arms oftheir husbands, knowing this would separate them either by the war or by death to save their livelihoods. Their families. Their homelands.
Head held high, a man called out from the front.
“Mai lao kahi.” Forever as one,he shouted in our mother tongue. Others accompanied him until they filled the woods with the declarations of our people.As one. My eyes stung from the amount of love I beheld within the courtyard, but also from the unknowns of war.
Hallan turned, and I followed his eyes to the Sky Elves hovering overhead that I hadn’t noticed before. He used his hands to sign to them in their language in case they didn’t hear everything my father had said. My mother had taught me a few signs, explaining to me the history of where they had come from. She had said when the Sky Elves would fly, the noise of the wind overpowered the sound of their voices, so they used their hands to communicate from a distance. It was good for times when you needed to be stealthy and silent, too. Eventually, it became a part of their culture. Some chose never to use their voices at all, like Ace. I had always found the idea of speaking with your hands fascinating. The movements were methodical and beautiful in their own nature, different from the way we bent the water and they bent the wind. I had always wondered if the wind howled to them as the water sang to me.
Ace tried to help me be more fluent when we were younger, but their language wasn’t something I used daily. If you didn’t use it, remembering the signs for everything was difficult. Over time, I became inarticulate in signing, and as we grew up and saw each other less, I fell out of practice.
The breeze whirling from their inky feathered wings cooled me in the summer sun. I admired the layered feathers as they lowered themselves from the sky. My silver locks of hair fluttered around my face and over my shoulders as they landedgracefully at the front of the crowd. Male and female Sky Elves dressed in fighting leathers stood firmly, interlocking their hands with more of my people and pulling them into powerful hugs, thanking them for their comradery. The only thing left to do was to prepare for what was coming.
Chapter Two
Night fell quickly as my father and I gathered the women and children elves and fae who weren’t fighting. My mother joined the healers. Being a water bender brought healing properties we could use to our advantage during these battles. Before my father became the leader of our people, our ancestors believed women should only use their water bending for healing rather than fighting. My father changed that. He believed anyone who had the abilities to protect themselves should. And my mother believed that all knowledge about the element you bent was powerful against any opponent.
They were both right.
Now male and female fae of Esora could bend, fight, and heal with the gift that the Mother blessed us with. Healing wasn’t a scapegoat. If a wound didn’t get treated fast enough, either by our natural fae abilities or by our bending healing properties, death could still claim us.
Hallan landed next to my father, never missing a step as we strode together along the mountainside.
“Report?” my father asked. Hallan came to report any changes to my father every hour.
“Ember soldiers are patrolling Lintawa Bay, monitoring the skies around the mountains. They’ve completely shut down the dock markets, so there won’t be a way to jump a ship. I snuck around asking questions. Apparently, the Ember soldiers have been there the last few days. This was the Emperor’s plan all along, long before the Empress found out and warned us,” Hallan replied as we all marched forward.
“Damn the Mother,” my father hissed under his breath, holding up a fist to stop the small marching crowd. “What’s our next option?”
“We can’t fly out of here without being shot down, either by the soldiers on the docks or whatever warships are sailing this way in the waters of Draynua. I say we hide the women and children. I found an abandoned cave on the other side of the mountains. The path seems like it hasn’t been traveled for a time. We can hide them there for now.”
“What about food and water? Enough to last a few days?” My father peered around the crowd.
“My son is delivering food, water, and bedrolls to the cave with a few other elves.”
“Where is your wife?” Father asked, and Hallan huffed a laugh with a shake of his head.
“She’s in Heavensreach preparing our people. You know my Kali wouldn’t miss out on a fight, Ace either, just like your girl there,” he said, dipping his head to me with a wink.
My father ran a hand down his face. “Right…What does that say about us as fathers when our children enjoy the hunt?” he joked.
“It means we taught them to not be prey.” Hallan slapped a heavy hand down on my father’s shoulders. “I’d bet our kids take down more men than we do. We’re not as young as we used to be, brother,” Hallan poked fun.
“Maybe you're not. I’m still in my prime,” my father said with a defiant smirk as he waved his hand in front of us. “Lead the way.”
We walked for hours into the night, sweat beading down my back from the muggy heat. The moon and stars blanketed the sky above the treetops. I hadn’t slept or had dinner. My feet ached from the constant pace as we walked along the mountainside to get to the secluded cave. I weaved a drop of water through my fingers, under and over each one before it skated back over my knuckles, to keep my mind off of the dull ache in my heels and in my stomach. It worked because when I finally stopped, we had made it to the cave.
The mountain’s gaping hole was set deep into its side off of the overgrown path, like Hallan had said. You would have to walk right up to it or you would miss it. A cool breeze flowed out of the cave leading underground, causing a chill to creep over my skin. The hairs on my neck stood as if eyes were piercing my back. The ground shifted from soil to stone as we walked inside. Now I knew why Hallan had said to bring bedrolls. A few elves were unpacking while my father and Hallan were lost in a conversation.
“Hey stranger, you need any help?” I asked, and one elf cocked his head to the side to peer over at me. His mirrored gaze met mine. His dark-brown hair was half pulled up, away from hisstrong, stubbled jawline, while a tight braid rested in front of one of his extended pointed ears. Three gold cuffs accented the braid as three long feathers were woven into the hair that was tucked behind his ear. Thicker, loose strands framed his face. He looked nothing short of beautiful as he stood from his crouch with smokey ebony wings draped behind him. Elves never let their wings touch the ground unless they were sick or defeated. And I couldn’t see this man being either of those things as he walked toward me. His taut muscles flexed beneath his leathers. He stood in front of me but never said a word.
“Ah, I see you found Ace,” Hallan spoke up from behind me, walking into the cave with my father by his side. Hallan and his son signed back and forth, but the slight movements were so quick, I couldn’t catch anything significant.
“Ace—” Hallan gestured toward his son. “—still speaks in our mother tongue.”
“I remember from when we were younger,” I said curiously. It had been a while. “I’ll get him to speak one day,” I teased, and Ace rolled his eyes at me.
“Our people consider it an honor to use our mother tongue. It takes a strong will to live by it. I did until I met your mouthy father, who was too stubborn to learn to be fluent.”
