Taavin.
The only other remaining piece would be Taavin. Vi pressed her eyes closed and breathed for a moment, working to calm her swelling emotions.
Everything ends eventually.
Luckily, she wouldn’t be far behind him. She would rejoin with the goddess, too, in a way. Vi remembered her fading corporeal form from her other vision. After Taavin was gone, all that would remain was Yargen, and the dark god she was destined to battle.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Vi rode in front,Taavin tucked in close behind her, as they made their way through the Crossroads. He clung to her as she navigated the narrow roads to the Great Imperial Way that would take them south. Vi didn’t know when the Knights would capture Vhalla, but she suspected they hadn’t in the two hours it had taken to see Deneya off.
Even still, Vi rode hard. Hard enough that Taavin had to remind her to ease up. They would surely arrive in Mosant before the Knights so long as they didn’t kill the only horse they had.
They traveled by moonlight at night, and covered their heads during the day to keep safe from the oppressive sun. When the icy winds of the great Southern pines overtook the landscape, Vi knew they were close. The moment they entered the pine forest, Vi guided them down a hunter’s trail.
By dawn, they arrived, their breath turning into clouds that caught the morning’s first light.
“Look, there.” Vi raised a hand, pointing to a windmill high on an upper ridge of Mosant. “If they’re coming from the deep Waste rather than the main road, they should be able to navigate up the other side of that ridge without townsfolk ever seeing them.”
“Is it the same one from your vision?”
“I think so, but there’s one way to find out. Come, we’ll go through the forest and keep out of sight.”
Her plan made their pathway up the ridge much slower. At a certain point, Vi made the decision to tie off the horse in a circle of trees. There were ample shrubs holding on to their brilliantly colored leaves to conceal the mount. Continuing on foot, they scaled the mountainside, higher and higher until they could see the path that led to the windmill.
Vi stared at it, examining the door, the cracks in the worn stone; she took stock of every last detail and compared it to her memory of the vision. When she was satisfied, she finally said, “It’s the same,” and breathed a sigh of relief.
“So Vhalla will come here, then.”
“She’ll betakenhere.”
“Assuming we’re not too late.”
“I don’t think we are.” Vi scanned the ground for signs of a struggle. “They killed a woman in my vision in front of the steps. Even if they removed the body, there would be blood.”
“And there hasn’t been rain to wash any bloodstains away.” Taavin ran a hand through his hair. He wore an uncertain expression. “So we’re eitherverylate, or slightly early.”
“I’m confident in the latter. We had a head start on them.”
Vi sat down in the brush, situating herself against a tree where she could see the front door through the leaves. Taavin crouched down next to her. After the first hour, he shifted to lean against the tree as well. By the time night fell, he was sitting with his side flush against hers.
“They might not be coming tonight,” he murmured. The first spoken words in hours startled her.
“You’re likely right.”
“Want me to make camp down the hill, with the horse?”
“You can, if you want. I’d like to stay here and keep an eye out. It was night in my vision, so who knows when they might arrive.”
“All right.” Taavin stood, brushing himself off.
Vi listened to him go. She tipped her head back against the tree. The night was still and the evening birds were singing. Even when the world was nearing its possible end, the birds still sang as if nothing was wrong. Footsteps approached, and Vi turned to see Taavin there, holding their blankets.
“I thought you were going to make camp?”
“I am making camp.” Taavin sat right next to her and threw the blanket over both their legs. He leaned forward, tucking it in on the sides. “You didn’t really think I was going to leave you here alone in the cold, did you?”
“Maybe I did.” Vi gave him a tired grin. After riding through the night, she was exhausted.
