Edda sat silently beside me, observing the room. I felt her gaze wander over to me.
“If she wasn’t hindered in her conjuring, what were the chances that I would have killed her?” I asked the old witch. Kole was the only other who heard. His attention drifted towards us before refocusing on the disagreement moving amongst the Bavadrins.
She cackled. “You should know yourself better. To not need to ask such a question.”
My jaw clenched, and I did not respond. Though the thought swirled around in my mind. Unyieldingly it refused to settle, and I found myself disinterested in whatever the disagreement was in the room. Edda struck a chord, for I had considered taking Ariana’s life. Despite her saving mine just days before, I contemplated ending hers.
“Listen.” Edda leaned towards me after a moment. “Ariana is on a difficult path that needs to be taken. There is no other route for her now. You making it more difficult for her is of no use. Do not break her down in an effort to keep her here where you imagine it to be safe. This place is not safe. No place is. Instead, help prop her up, give her your strength. I am afraid she may need you in what’s to come.” For someone who always wished to place space between Ariana and the Lysians, she surprised me for her stance unexpectedly felt softer.
“I will help her in whatever way I can,” I assured her.
Edda smiled, her small hand reaching out, grabbing hold of my chin. For her tiny size and age-worn body, she had quite a powerful grip. “I know, Lysian.” She then pulled away and frowned. “I want you to know that everything I have ever donesince her birth was to protect her from that monster.” Her voice was low, words noticed only due to my Lysian hearing.
She was protecting Ariana from the Sidhe King since her birth? Why would she ever assume to have needed to do something like that, unless it was because of Ariana’s conjuring? Edda must have known the Sidhe collected conjurors, so she did her best to keep Ariana hidden. Was that all?
Edda stood without waiting for a reply and left.
2
ERIK
We stood near the edge of a great lake not far outside the Bavadrin city gates. The area was hidden in their forest. Incredibly tall trees reached towards the clouds, greedy for warmth and light. The sun was still low in the sky, causing the foliage to cast long shadows. Natural mist curled around the bases of the trees and over the lake. The world felt gray and dreary. It was as if that place was made for mourning the dead.
Four Bavadrin men carried a pallet with Landin’s body wrapped in fabric. The mist appeared to part for them, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was Ariana’s doing. They lowered the pallet onto the lake’s edge, partially in the water.
The sound of a single violin moved through the forest and over the lake. It surrounded us as if it were a living thing. The tune whispered of loneliness. A song, deeply sorrowful, set the tone of the entire space. The otherworldly music paired with the shadows and mist created a heavy atmosphere.
Ariana approached from behind us with Willis at her side.He wore a thin cotton shirt and pants, though it covered most of his skin. On the other hand, Ariana wore a simple white dress, shoulders bare. She must have been freezing, for the morning was kissed by winter, which lurked just around the corner. Everyone around wore cloaks with all buttons fastened to protect from the chill in the air. To her credit, she did not show how completely freezing she must have felt. When Ariana and Willis reached the pallet, they bent down, pushing it further into the lake.
They then continued, moving into the water, and that was when I noticed that both of them were barefoot.
“How is she not painfully cold?” Kole asked from beside me.
Kiora, who stood to Kole’s other side, answered. “She is, but I am afraid it is greatly overshadowed by another pain.”
My attention drifted to my right, where Edda stood silently, sorrow evident in her eyes.
“I never knew you cared for him,” I whispered to her, for she never seemed to favor anyone except for Ariana.
“He was a decent boy and a good friend to Ariana,” Edda stated. There was a long pause before she continued. “But my heart does not mourn for him. It is for her I mourn. She will continue to feel pain like this. It will not end here. I wonder if I have made the right choices.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will soon understand, Lysian.” Edda ended the conversation.
Ariana and Willis continued into the lake, undoubtedly bitterly cold. Yet there was no hesitation in their steps as they continued moving with the pallet till the water reached Ariana’s upper thigh. Only then did they finally stop. The pallet floated out into the water with a gentle push, drifting further and further away.
The two of them stood there in that horrid lake. Her toes were going to freeze off if they remained out there much longer.
A thick mist curled around them, surrounding the pallet Landin’s body rested on. The moisture moved over the water and on to the shore. Fog shrouded us as it blended into the thinner haze already there. This was Ariana’s conjuring. Surroundings became more obscured until I could poorly make her and Willis out, and the pallet was lost entirely in a gray fog.
Ariana raised a hand, and Kiora, along with dozens of archers standing on the shore, lit flame to arrow, poised to strike.
“What are you doing? You can’t see.” I looked from the water, the fog, Ariana, to the young sparrow standing beside Kole.
Her breath slowed along with her heart as she prepared to fire that burning bolt into the gray air. Ariana’s arm fell to her side, and dozens of flaming arrows were released at once, soaring over her head. They landed on something in the water, and fire covered the pallet, finally showing its location.
“You may be a Lysian King.” The Sparrow addressed me, her sharp gaze meeting mine. “You may have better sight and hearing, but you are no Sparrow.” Bright hazel eyes challenged me. “Let this be a lesson to never underestimate me again.”
