A wagon came careening up the road, stirring a cloud of dirt in its wake. The driver glared at Killian with a wary eye as he passed. Tensions were high in Rhodan, and strangers were seen as dangerous.
The road ahead bent around a corner, disappearing from sight behind a thicket of trees. Killian sighed. It was at least another mile to town. He picked up his pace and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
Something shifted in the trees beside the road. Something silver. Killian stopped abruptly, his neck snapping toward the movement as hope and fear mingled in his chest.
Elyse?
He could picture her among the trees, her silvery hair flashing through the foliage. He desperately willed it to be true as he held his breath, waiting for her to emerge.
Instead, a pale blue bird flew from the branches. Its wings shone silver in the sunlight.
Killian turned and continued down the road, accepting his fate: today was not the day Elyse would return to him.
6
Killian
Ihate this town,” Manny grumbled as he pushed a mysterious-looking meat across his plate. “I swear to you, it was uphill both ways to that farm.”
Killian chuckled at his friend’s dramatics. He sat across from Manny and Sera at a long wooden table, crammed among strangers in the dining hall of the only inn in town. They were trying—and failing—to enjoy a meal. In Manny’s defense, the food was awful, but he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing.
“Stop complaining. We ate worse than this during training stints,” Killian reprimanded. His argument was undermined as he gagged on a bite of overcooked carrots.
Despite the inedible provisions, the dining hall was packed. Every bench was filled with bodies, and for the life of him, Killian couldn’t understand why. He had seen exactly threepeople on his walk to and from the farm, and the “town center” had been little more than a church, a general store, and the inn where they currently sat.
The waitress plunked another round of ale on their table before bustling off to tend to her other patrons. As she scurried away, Sera chimed in, “The food could be better, but the people are very nice. The family I met with was so welcoming. They had such a cheery disposition, even after losing everything.”
“Maybe they lost their brains, too,” Manny groaned. He shoved his plate of half-eaten food away and pivoted his attention to his ale.
Killian decided he’d also had his fill and pushed his plate aside. “King Maelor will take care of them,” he said to Sera.
“I know,” she sighed, “but the repercussions go beyond that. Did you know that the wheat from those three farms feed one quarter of Rhodan?”
Killian hadn’t known that. He studied Sera, trying to discern if her powers as a seer gave her any inkling of what was in store for Rhodan. The worry in her lavender eyes was disheartening. Her usually pale cheeks were sun-kissed, and her long black hair was pulled back into a thick, messy chignon. Beneath her natural beauty was an obvious pain—and exhaustion.
She’d been quiet lately. Killian had grown fond of her quirky optimism, but it had waned these past few weeks. Even her appearance had sobered: she’d traded lavish pastel dresses for more comfortable ones, and her normally kohl-lined eyes were now barren. Killian didn’t know if it was simply the travel that tired her, or if she was taking Elyse’s disappearance especially hard.
She took a dainty sip of her ale. When she pulled away, a mustache of foam remained on her upper lip. Manny laughed and leaned in for a kiss, which Sera happily returned, smearing the foam onto his stubbled face.
Killian smiled at them, though his chest tightened. It wasn’t right. It should be the four of them, sitting there together. Manny and Sera acting their usual lovey-dovey selves while he and Elyse rolled their eyes at them. Together, they should be plotting how to find Lazarus. Together, they should be fighting.
Beyond that, it was unfair. He and Elyse had spent so little time together. It seemed every time their romance burned, the flames roared and then were extinguished in the blink of an eye. He wanted those little moments with her, of kisses and teasing. He would settle for simply knowing that she was alive and okay.
“How much do you get paid?” Manny asked Killian abruptly.
Killian furrowed his brows. “What?”
“To nurse that ale.” Manny cracked a smirk, glancing down at the hardly touched drink in front of Killian.
“Fuck you” was Killian’s answer before he downed the whole stein in one go.
At least the drinks weren’t complete shit. They ordered another round, content with a mostly liquid supper. Their conversation fell into its usual topic: what they had learned and where they might go next. The more Manny drank, the more his blond hair shook free of its bun. He spoke with fervor, his hands gesturing wildly, though Killian had to strain to hear him over the ruckus of the hall.
The ale passed through Killian too quickly, and he left Manny and Sera for a moment so he could relieve himself. He triedto shoulder through the crowd toward the makeshift bathroom, which was hardly more than a closet with a hole in the ground. When that destination proved too difficult, he headed for the front door, which was closer anyway. He ducked down the alleyway next to the inn and found a secluded spot to handle his business.
It was significantly quieter outside, and the night air was sobering. Killian took a moment to revel in the solitude before strolling back to the inn’s entrance. As he approached the corner, he heard a man’s voice, low and mournful.
“I can’t get the image out of my head,” the voice uttered.
