Phoebe chuckled, more amused than offended. “Your mother would have liked him.”
She gathered her horse’s reins and swung into the saddle with practised ease. In the shade, Apollo roused from his nap and stretched before padding over to join them. The horse shied at the sight of the wolf, but Phoebe’s firm hand steadied it.
Kaixo ran forward, reaching out to pat the horse’s shoulder, his small face scrunched in an effort to hold back tears. He froze when Phoebe’s stern gaze snapped to him, sucking in a shaky breath as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Goodbye, Phoebe,” he mumbled.
Phoebe clicked her tongue in mild disapproval. “This isn’t goodbye.”
“Well, it certainly feels like it,” Alena grumbled, unsettled by the Amazon’s abrupt departure.
“Don’t be so dramatic. We’ll meet again.”
“When?”
A small smirk curled on Phoebe’s lips. “When the time is right.”
Alena rolled her eyes. Always so cryptic. She stepped back as the Amazon spurred her horse into motion. The animal’s hooves rang against the courtyard stones.
“If you ever need me,” Phoebe called over her shoulder, voice carrying as the distance between them grew, “Theo will know how to send me the owl.”
Kaixo waved after her, his small arm cutting the air, while Apollo bounded beside him. The two trailed behind the retreating horse as the guards moved to open the gate.
Alena stood rooted in place, hands clenched into fists at her sides. She told herself she shouldn’t care, that Phoebe would return, but the void in her chest said otherwise.
The sharp-edged Amazon hadn’t just been her companion—she’d been her confidante, the one who grounded her when the enormity of destiny threatened to sweep her away. Phoebe’s pragmatic guidance had been a tether to understanding her purpose, her magic, herself.
With her gone, Alena’s doubts returned in force. How could she possibly face the battles ahead without the Amazon?
Her throat tightened, resolve faltering.
You’re not alone, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. She still had Leukos, Nik, Kaixo, Theo, and the other rebels.
Yet as the gates creaked shut behind Phoebe’s retreating figure, leaving a forlorn Kaixo standing before them, the sinking feeling in Alena’s chest deepened.
Stars be cursed, she hated goodbyes.
Two days later,they were settled back at the rebel camp near the Empire’s border, north of the Eluvite Mountains. The camp by the lake had swelled in size, soldiers and supplies flowing in steadily from Tiryns thanks to Danaos and Despoina’s Gift. Everywhere Alena looked, men and women pitched tents, tended horses, sharpened weapons, or trained under Despoina’s watchful eye.
Sweaty from her own training, she passed by the main tent.
“Everything all right, Red?”
Alena halted at the familiar voice. Nik reclined by the fire pit, his long legs stretched out, his usual smirk in place.
The earthy aroma of pork stew wafted through the mild spring air, making her stomach twist with hunger. “It smells good.”
“Then join me,” he said, gesturing to a tree stump beside him. “There’s enough food for two.”
Though her muscles ached after training, she joined him, too hungry to resist.
Nik grabbed a ladle, filled two bowls from the iron pot suspended over the flames, and handed one to her with a flourish. “Pork, lentils, carrots, onions, and dandelions.”
Her eyebrows rose at the last ingredient.
“It’s a Western recipe,” he added with a shrug, blowing on his own steaming bowl. “Actually… San taught it to me when we were travelling.”
She paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. Bittersweet memories of her friend’s cooking surfaced unbidden. She managed a small smile and finally took a bite. The richness of the flavours surprised her. “San was a great cook.”
