I hope this letter finds you well. The battle has not yet begun. We wait in growing tension and dread, which I suspect is the enemy’s intent. But the waiting is a boon as well, for it has left me with much time to think.
There is a saying here along the borders: A man never sees more clearly than when he looks death in the eye. As I sit here in this cold, dark castle, on yet another cold, dark night, waiting for war, I know it is true, for I see more clearly than I have in a long time.
I have thought a great deal about the difficulties that have beset our kingdom, and this war that has sprung upon us with so little warning. I have my suspicions, which I have written in a letter to our son and asked him to share with you. I will not dwell on those suspicions here. This is not a communication from a king to his queen, but a letter from a man to his wife.
When a Fey warrior meets the woman who completes him, his soul’s truemate, he knows in an instant. And in that instant, whether she will have him or no, he binds himself to her, heart and soul with the words “Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tani,” which means “Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved.” And he spends the days of their courtship—the rest of his life, if necessary—proving himself worthy of the magnificent gift of her love.
I know how those Fey feel, my darling. That was how I felt the first moment I met you. How I still feel, today.
I pray the gods will see me safely through the coming war, but should I perish, I do not want my last words to you to be those bitter sounds we exchanged at the North Gate. I would, instead, leave you with the truth I discovered that day in Capellas so many years ago. The truth that even now gives me courage to face whatever comes. That truth is this…
I love you, Annoura. I will love you forever, my good and valiant queen, my beloved wife, my soul’s eternal and truest mate. Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tani.
Yours eternally,
Dorian
The parchment fluttered to the dead winter grass. Dorian’s wife pulled her knees up close to her chest like a child, covered her face with her hands, and let the harsh, broken sobs of loss and despair shake through her body.
Celieria ~ Edge of Verlaine Forest
9thday of Seledos
Rain woke to find himself lying on a cot beneath the fabric dome of a tent whose walls billowed gently in the winter wind. His head was on fire. Every muscle and bone in his body ached. He lifted his left arm and frowned at the sight of the spiraling Shadar horn strapped to his forearm, its pointed tip buried in the vein at his elbow.
What the flames? He reached for the ties cinching the horn to his arm.
“Don’t touch that.” The familiar voice rang with cool command.
Rain turned his head to frown at the white-haired Sheyl, who was standing beside a table on the far side of the tent.
“It’s the only thing holding you to sanity.”
He blinked at her in confusion. “What do you mean? And what are you doing here? “
“I am here because Farel called me when you were struck by a Mharog blade. We used the Shadar horn to draw the poison from your blood, but when we tried to remove the horn, you nearly killed thedahl’reisenhelping me tend you. Farel says the bond madness is upon you—and that it hasn’t just begun.”
His mind was still so fuzzy, her words only half registered. “It began over a month ago. Not long after the first battle for Orest.” He put a hand to his head and massaged the ache at his temples. “Ellysetta has been helping me keep my barriers strong.”
Ellysetta.
He sat up so quickly his head spun.«Shei’tani!»He sent the call along their bond threads, but received no answer. She was still alive—he wouldn’t be if she weren’t—but something was preventing him from reaching her. His imagination flooded with all number of horrifying possibilities.
“Where is Ellysetta? What happened to her?”
Sheyl regarded him with a mix of compassion and regret. “She slew the Mharog. But in doing so, she took his poison—his Darkness—into herself and nearly extinguished her Light in the process. We had you together at first, but even unconscious, she kept trying to weave all her strength to you. We had to separate you in order to keep her alive.”
Rain flung the coverlet aside and swung his legs over the edge of the cot. “I must go to her.”
Sheyl started towards him. “Wait. You’re still not in any shape to—“
His head snapped around, and he shot her a glare so fierce she clamped her mouth shut and didn’t say another word as he pushed himself to his feet.
As he rose, the bulky horn knocked against his body, shifting in its straps, and the tip started to pull out of his arm. Instantly, voices in his head began to scream and the heat of unfettered Rage rose so fast he thought the top of his head would explode. He shoved the horn back deep into his arm and drew a shuddering breath when the madness faded.
“Let me do that.” Sheyl crossed the remaining distance between them and strapped the Shadar horn securely back in place. “There’s no need to rush to her side. Theshei’dalinsare with her. They’ve been working through the night to hold her to the Light.”
His head reared back.“Shei’dalins?There areshei’dalinshere—near thedahl’reisen?”
