Page 153 of Journey to the Elderoak
Casimir took her hand and led them back to the tent. “Please have a healer check you over,” he repeated.
Ava searched the busy tent for Kai. Spotting him, she walked over. “Will youassessme so Cas can get off my back? Also, he’s limping.” She jerked her thumb at him.
He turned to her and frowned.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice, you brute.”
Ava staredinto the flames of a small fire as it popped and crackled while the cloudy night sky promised rain. Casimir sat beside her—along with Thorne, Jorrar, Aelerion and Thalia—while Quinn and Raine slept off their injuries. Out of the eighty soldiers they had brought, twenty-one had been injured enough to need care and almost thirty killed. More than half their group.
Casimir had a minor slice in his calf, easily bandaged, and was already beginning to heal. Jorrar had a small cut on his forehead but was otherwise fine. The rest of them, while sore and exhausted, were injury free besides scratches and bruises.
“So Andras got away?” asked Thorne, deep in thought.
“He disappeared into shadows. Apparently, he can jump,” said Aelerion.
“We’ll need to make sure there are wards around the kingdom,” said Thorne. “Who knows how far he can travel.”
“Thorne,” said Thalia. “Jumping is not a magic we’ve seen before. Even in daemons.”
Everyone’s attention turned to Thalia as shock and confusion made their way through the group.
“Are you sure?” asked Thorne. “Is this new information? Did he use that magic in the old wars?”
“I never heard about him using it, but it’s possible. Maybe the information was lost? There aren’t many of us left who fought back then and most of you were children or not even born yet,” she said. “Aelerion and I never battled against Andras. We were too busy attempting to stop Deidamia’s commander from taking over our home.”
“What does that mean?” asked Jorrar.
Thalia shook her head, her yellow eyes full of concern. “I’m not sure. We must research it.”
“Our archives have hardly any information,” said Thorne. “King Vardan destroyed most of our texts.”
“You’ve said that before,” Ava interjected. “But do you know why our father destroyed them? Are you sure it was just because he went mad?”
“I’m not certain. I was young when it happened. And honestly, I avoided him as much as I could.”
Ava sighed, but something still nagged at her. Something of great importance, just out of reach. She couldn’t stop thinking about why her father would have done that. They were missing a vital piece of information.
“Our libraries are inaccessible at the moment due to those daemon bastards,” Aelerion said.
“We can ask Astrid and Soren if they will search for information,” said Jorrar.
“Good idea,” Thorne replied. “We must also venture to Caelestia soon.”
Casimir grumbled something inaudible.
“They have the most extensive archives in all of Eorhan,” said Thorne, looking pointedly at him. “Besides, we need to approach them for help in the war anyway. We’ll discuss a plan for this when we return.”
“Fine,” Casimir said. “There’s one more thing.”
They waited, Aelerion and Ava knowing what he was about to reveal.
“Andras said they’ve translated the book. This was another attempt to take Ava back,” said Casimir.
“Capture me…kill me…their indecisiveness is exhausting,” Ava said.
Casimir gave her a flat look, unimpressed with her attempted humor.
“We need to get the book as soon as possible,” said Jorrar.
