Page 231 of Salt Between the Wolves

"Then perhaps we should begin with a man who spent most of his life making every decision alone."

The words lingered between them while the wind swept across the cliff and waves crashed against stone far below.

Eira looked from the lighthouse to Leander, and understanding began to dawn on her.

"What do you know about Soren before Ironfang?" Leander asked.

The question settled heavily in the space between them, and suddenly Eira realized that this was not going to be a conversation about politics, war, or even the marks—not yet.

It was going to be about the man she thought she understood, and about the possibility that she didn't.

For a moment neither of them moved as the lighthouse rose above them, ancient and weathered, untouched by the passing of generations.

Leander rested one hand against the stone wall, whose surface had been worn smooth by decades of salt and wind, before turning toward the entrance.

Eira followed him.

The heavy wooden door groaned softly as it opened, revealing a narrow spiral staircase that wound upward through the tower, where stone, wood, and shadow blended together in the dim light.

Beyond the walls, the sea could still be heard, its steady rhythm a constant presence.

Neither of them spoke during the first several turns of the staircase, and the silence felt deliberate, as though Leander was searching for the right place to begin.

Eventually he said,

"The first time I met Soren, he was sixteen."

Eira glanced up in surprise. That was not where she had expected the story to begin.

Leander noticed the shift in her expression and smiled faintly.

"It surprises people."

"What does?"

"That he was ever sixteen."

Despite herself, Eira smiled back. The image was strangely difficult to imagine. Soren had always seemed like someone who had emerged from the mountains already grown, already carrying responsibility on his shoulders, as though there had never been a time when he had simply been a boy.

Leander continued climbing the narrow staircase.

"He had been in Ironfang for less than a year then."

The smile faded from Eira's face. There was something in those words that caught her attention immediately.

"You knew him that early?"

"Before most people did."

Light spilled through a narrow slit in the stone wall, briefly illuminating the staircase before disappearing again. They climbed in silence for several moments, until curiosity finally got the better of her.

"What was he like?"

Leander let out a quiet laugh, not because the answer was amusing, but because there were too many answers to choose from.

"He was exhausted, angry, proud, and entirely convinced he could solve every problem himself."

Eira lowered her gaze. The description sounded uncomfortably familiar, and Leander seemed to recognize the thought almost before it fully formed.