Page 213 of Salt Between the Wolves

For a moment, nobody moved before he finally pushed away from the table.

"We didn't come here to fight with you."

Soren said nothing, and Kael clearly wasn't expecting an answer.

He glanced toward Garrick, and a silent exchange passed between them that Soren noticed immediately, another thing they no longer bothered hiding, which he found both interesting and irritating.

Garrick finally unfolded his arms.

"We'll follow whatever decision you make."

The words should have been reassuring, yet they felt heavier than most threats.

The captain continued, his voice steady.

"But you don't have to make every one of them alone."

Soren looked away, focusing instead on the map and the mountains drawn across the parchment rather than either of the men standing before him.

Neither man pressed further, perhaps because they finally understood there was nothing left to say, or perhaps because they simply knew him too well.

Kael moved toward the door first, with Garrick following a moment later.

Just before leaving, the captain stopped without turning around or looking back.

"You were right about one thing."

The words drew Soren's attention as Garrick's hand rested briefly against the door.

"We can't keep reacting forever."

A brief silence settled between them before he added,

"But eventually we're going to need a better answer than waiting."

The door closed behind them, and the chamber fell silent once more.

For several moments, Soren remained exactly where he was, alone again.

The map still covered the table, the roads remained unchanged, the borders remained unchanged, and the problems remained unchanged.

Only he felt different.

The realization lingered longer than he liked, and for the first time in weeks, the thought that followed was not about Vargan, the war, or even the mark.

It was Eira.

Where are you?

The question came quietly, carrying neither anger nor desperation, only a sense of absence that somehow felt worse than either.

The chamber remained silent long after Garrick and Kael left.

Soren eventually rolled up the map, not because he had finished studying it, but because he was tired of looking at roads that led nowhere.

The motion pulled at his shoulder, and pain followed immediately. It was predictable and reliable, unlike most things lately.

Outside, dusk had begun settling across the fortress.