Page 172 of Winds of Ruin
My mutual sentiments had been on the tip of my tongue. Instead of voicing them, I’d said, “We’ll see.”
It hadn’t felt like the last time that I’d speak with him.
The next day we were thrust into an arena of horrors at the amphitheater. As Caym had turned my lover into nothing but dust, Ryn had thrown me that wide smile, his eyes scanning my face—like he was memorizing me to carry with him in death.
I hadn’t let myself reflect this much in years. With open wounds, I couldn’t put all the emotions back in neatly.
More Griffiths flew overhead by the minute. The beating of their wings struck a rhythmic hum. Mayra stood behind me, pushing her beak into my shoulder blade with a purr, urging me to allow her to join them.
“Go on, menace. Follow the relief fleet,” I commanded.
I’d helped strap supplies to the needy beast’s back. A small group of riders lifted off. They would bring supplies for those who had fled to aid them on their journey to the south shore of the main continent.
After a few squawks of dismay, she flapped her wings and followed the fleet south.
No Moirai crested the hills of the highlands. The frost clung to dead grass, leaving it slick and glistening as I walked to the front line. The birdsong made it feel like an ordinary day, though the energy at the camp had turned bleak when we’d told the soldiers what we faced.
Anxious skepticism had settled over the front lines. They had heard stories of the monsters that attacked Sahlmsara twenty years prior—some still didn’t believe the tales.
They would need to see to believe.
Unfortunately, they soon would.
“Strike their hearts, or aim to decapitate. Source magic alone cannot kill the Moirai. They will keep coming for us, even aflame, even with their limbs cut away.” Fenris rode his horse across the line of soldiers. His voice rasped from repeatedly barking orders.
“They move with lethal stealth,” he shouted. “It is as though they travel through air itself, but only for bursts. So watch each other’s backs. This ability makes a clean strike more difficult. When you see them, be prepared to fight. They will be upon us in seconds, not minutes.”
Fen had never been a man of war. He looked out of place in heavy leathers and metal armor. During the Great Wars, he’d been a pacifist until his near demise; he never sided with one court.
The conflict between Phynx and Brennax no longer felt relevant at the cusp of an outside threat. We fought not for political gain or religious disagreement.
We would fight, united, against ruin itself and claw for our right to keep building a peaceful realm.
I had fitted myself with a belt of ten throwing daggers and a narrow, light blade. I, too, wore riding leathers and thick chain mail over my chest and torso.
This would be my last battle. If I should walk away, then there was an orchard to tend, a roaring fire to sit beside, birdseed to spread across the ground. And a man who would come home to enjoy dinner with me each night…
A horn from above sounded twice.
The Moirai were two miles away.
Vangard stood in his largest form, towering two stories tall; his nostrils flared, emitting blue flames as he pawed the ground, but Asterie settled a hand on the black fur of his leg, calming him.
I looked out over the line of horses with flaming armor. Their riders’ lances outstretched toward the incoming threat; so many of them, possibly all of them, would fall.
We had so little time—with it, my chance to speak to any of them disappeared. I searched for Fen on the front lines, heart lurching when it took me a few moments to spot him.
Fen lazily tossed a fireball in one palm before catching it, and then he repeated the motion. While he appeared sullen, I could see the blaze ignited within him teetered on combusting—so much like our father.
I drew my blade and approached Fen’s mount.
Placing my free hand on the horse’s neck, I blurted out, “The night Mama and Papa were executed, Mama shoved me into the Egress. I didn’t get to tell either of them I loved them, and somewhere along the way, the things left unsaid kept going unsaid. It’s been a hard thing for me to admit ever since.”
The horse bobbed its head and let out a nicker. Fenris glanced down at me. “Elsie, you were just a girl—they knew you loved them.”
My lips curved up at the sides. “Well, in case I am bested today—I love you, Fen.” The birdsong quieted. “And I’m quitein lovewith the kind, very-good-in-bed North Corridor King. So if you make it out of here and I don’t, can you tell Emmerick that I—”
“Elsie.” Fenris’ nose scrunched in disgust. “You’re going to get to tell him yourself. Sopleasestop oversharing details about your intimate arrangements with my friend.”
