“Therein lies my contempt, my lady…” Raiden gently removed her grasp, holding her hand a few seconds before letting go. “He has formed a new family while he has forgotten his own.”
“That’s not true.” Dyna moved in Raiden’s way when he tried to leave. “Please don’t think ill of him. I know Lord Norrlen’s thoughts have always been full of you and your mother. Don’t feel as though he went willingly.”
“Know? How would you know this when I know nothing about him at all?”
Sighing, Dyna nodded at the wooden pendant. “Your father made that, didn’t he?”
Raiden looked away.
“I recognize the carving style,” she said. “In his spare time, I watched him carve little statuettes every night for his child.”
“I have outgrown such things,” Raiden murmured.
“Your father knew that, yet he carved them anyway.” Dyna brushed her fingertips over the pendant resting over Raiden’s heart. “But this one is significant, isn’t it?”
For the fact that he kept it with him. It also looked older, smoothed from time. In the center of the pendant lay a single symbol she couldn’t read.
“It’s a … birth token.” Raiden cradled it in his hand. “Meant to be made by one’s father when Elven boys turn ten. It’s supposed to symbolize the wish they hold for our future on the path we might take. Whether it be another soldier, a scholar, a Magi Master, or whatever aspirations they may have. Tokens are usually made of pearl or gold, or other precious stones, and they open with a gift inside. Mine is made of wood and it arrived with nothing but a rusted piece of metal and a message. The only one he ever wrote to me. All it said was that one day I would understand.” Raiden’s brow furrowed, and he let it drop. “The only thing I understand isthisis the extent of what he truly thinks of me.”
Dyna frowned, not understanding either. That didn’t sound like Rawn at all. “What does the symbol mean?”
“Rey. It’s the first syllable of my name in Old Elvish. I’m told it means primordial or beginning.” Standing at the edge of the cliff, Raiden inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
He simply breathed, and all the tension in his shoulders melted away. She could almost see Lord Norrlen in his place, and she wondered if he had ever stood here, too.
Raiden turned to her, a little sheepish. “Pardon my ramblings, my lady. Thank you for lending an ear.”
“Not at all. I am fortunate that you felt comfortable enough to share that with me.”
Raiden’s head canted as he looked at her, and the makings of a soft smile on his face. “Enough about me. Tell me about yourself instead.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. How did you come to be on this journey?” They strolled back to his horse, and he helped her mount the saddle before climbing up behind her with graceful ease. He felt warm and solid at her back. Taking the reins in his elegant hands, Raiden clicked his tongue, and they cantered down the mountain trail at a leisurely pace. “I assume you were on your way to Mount Ida with my father, as locating the island was part of his mission.”
Right, his family would know about that.
“I am,” she said.”
“And what put you on that path?”
Dyna gazed at the land of Sellav, past the trees. “Your home reminds me of mine. North Star is a small village nestled within the mountains, secluded from the rest of the world. It’s peaceful and lovely, with vast meadows and cascades adorning the range. A great threat comes to destroy that, so I am on my way to find the means to eliminate it.”
Her vision misted as she thought of her family. She imagined Grandma Layla in the garden picking herbs for her tonics, while Lyra studied her books by the fire. Oh, how she missed them. Dyna missed the serene days of that time, when she had not been the person she was now. When she returned, she would carry the scars of her journey.
Raiden looked down at her and said softly, “It’s a brave thing to step out your front door and go out into the unknown. Only those of stout heart would take on an arduous journey full of peril to protect something they love. I commend you for your courage, my lady.”
Dyna had needed to hear that. For someone to tell her she was brave and strong instead of foolish and weak as she had been feeling. It served to remind her of all she had accomplished despite every hurdle that had come her way. Even when she had been knocked down, she managed to push herself up again. She faced death time and again and kept going.
Somehow, she had forgotten that it also took courage to find your worth.
“Thank you,” she whispered, tears gathering on her lashes.
Sunlight streamed in through the branches as they left the trees. Its warmth fell over her, and she expanded her lungs with a breath, taking the weight that had been dragging her down and tossing it away.
And she finally realizedthatwas her strength.
Her inability to give up.
