Her eyes lit up, and she used her wrist to brush a stray hair off her cheek, smearing it with flour in the process. “Ah, my husband is working at the mill, but he should be home near sunset.”
At her words, I was able to add the last details of what Milo had been up to in my mind. He hadn’t finished school either. I couldn’t stop the despair that coiled in my gut on his behalf.
The sacrifice that was left unused.
“All right, we will head to the mill,” Friar jumped in, saving me from the embarrassment of looking like I had nothing to say—because I didn’t. I was devastated that the sacrifice I had made for my brother had ended up like this. While I was glad he had married Helene, I had hoped he would finish school, giving him a better chance in life than I ever would have.
Helene studied me but said nothing before whispering a goodbye and closing the door in our faces. Then Friar was pulling me down the path. “Do you know where the mill is?”
“Yeah.” I sighed, taking one last look over my shoulder at the home that had once been the only safe place in this world for me, before turning down the street.
Friar said nothing during the short walk, likely sensing that I needed time to process what had just happened. But the distancebetween my former home and the mill was a short one, and it wasn’t much later that we were walking up into the lumber yard outside of the mill, piles of wood on either side of us, until we ducked into the mill’s dimly-lit interior. Here, there was a large turning wheel, currently being pulled by a donkey that had seen better days, as my brother worked off to the side, feeding something that looked like corn into the grinding stone. I had never been inside the mill before, and had I not been so devastated by the turn of events, I likely would have been curious about the large number of wood and stone gears all moving in a planned rotation to break down various items.
“Hello!” Milo called out as he grabbed a cloth and swiped at the sweat on his face.
I frowned.
It wasn’t until he came closer that he noticed it was me. “Runa!” His cheeks broke into a grin as he swept me into a hug. While it felt nice to embrace my brother again, I could already tell this reunion wouldn’t go as I had hoped. Not with what I had to say.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he pulled away, his gaze landing on Friar. He had always been in tune with my emotions. He wiped his hand on the sweat towel again before extending his hand in greeting. “I’m Milo.”
“I know,” Friar replied, a frown occupying her lips as well. She didn’t take his outstretched hand. “I’m Friar, a friend of Runa’s.”
At my name, my brother turned back to face me. “Look at you! You look amazing!” he gushed, but I could smell the fakeness in his words. My clothes were ill fitting at best, items which had been borrowed from camp. Sweat rolled down my face and neck from wearing far too many clothes in the harsh dead season sun.
I couldn’t explain all that though. “Thanks, Milo,” I replied as I put my hands on my hips. “And you work at the mill?”
His shoulders slumped. “I know we promised each other wewould finish school but . . .” I raised an eyebrow. “But after marrying Helene and Collum leaving, I had to pay for everything in the house myself and . . .” I tilted my head to the side, knowing that wasn’t the full story. “And Helene wanted a fancy wedding so . . .”
There. That was the truth.
“So, you took the easy money,” I surmised, both aching to hug my brother and whack him with a stick. My gaze roved over the interior of the mill. This would not be a nice place to work in fifty years.
“I’m sorry, Runa. I will finish eventually, I’m certain of it,” he promised with a sigh, but it was empty from the moment it left his mouth—my empathy let me know that much. “But enough about me, how are you here? Collum said you joined the military and that she was going after you?—”
That was news to me, I glanced at Friar before replying, “Collum left of her own accord?”
Milo shrugged. “There was a note when I came home from school so . . .”
I crossed my arms over my chest, uncomfortable at my brother’s naivete. “Adis took her, just like me. Maybe she convinced him to let her leave a note, but she could only put what he allowed her to write, I’m sure.”
“Collum said you wanted to join.” He let out a sigh and pinched his nose, as if it was heartbreaking to discover his sister hadn’t left of her own accord.
I don’t know if it was his nonchalant attitude, or the fact that we were both dancing around the real issue between us, but I could feel my anger bubbling. “Why would I, a woman disguised as a man, ever want to join the army, Milo? Please, enlighten me.”
He ran a hand through his hair, leaning against a pole. “You’re right. I guess I just felt guilty and . . .”
“And you convinced yourself that I wanted it,” I finished for him. Even though I was angry, we still knew each other too well.But this wasn’t a social call. “Listen, Milo, bad things are happening. Very bad things.” I swallowed, debating how best to address this with him. I decided the blunt truth was best. “We are of Seid blood, Milo. When Adis found out, he kept me prisoner and forced me to help others learn magic. He’s made entire towns disappear, and now he’s trying to do the same with Malheim—” I couldn’t help it. Once I started speaking, the words wouldn’t stop coming even as I had to keep the tale brief for all our sake. “And in Malheim, they are trying the same thing and?—”
Milo cut me off. “I know about the war; there’s been gossip about it all year. And Collum mentioned something about the magic when?—”
“So, you’ll help us?” I was too impatient to wait to find out how he had learned about magic.
“Wait!” My brother looked between Friar and I. “What part do you two have in the war?”
“What part of me being held prisoner and forced to teach magic didn’t you understand?” I huffed. The anger, which had become my constant companion, rearing its ugly head. “Both Malheim and Ralheim are bringing magic into this. Meaning the situation is about to grow bloody at the front lines. The thing is, Otho, the general for Adis’s army, is against magic usage, but since its being used anyway, we need to gather enough Seid to form a rebellion to stop the abuse?—”
Milo stopped me by holding his hand up. “Runa, I love you, but no matter what is going on, I’m not going to be a part of the war. I have a life here.” He motioned around the mill. “I have a job, and a wife, and soon. maybe?—”
