It never gets any easier, she thought, glancing at her friends. They both wore expressions of dawning recognition, likely coming to the same conclusion she had.
“Order’s up!” a voice called from the stall.
“Come on,” Rynna nudged them, breaking through their growing panic. “Let’s get our food and sit down.”
It took some wandering to find an open table, but once they finally sat down, Elara and Calli just stared at their untouched bowls.
“I don’t think I can eat,” Elara muttered.
“That’d be a first.” Calli’s fingers gripped the edge of the table.
“Still jealous?” Elara teased, her spoon hovering over the food.
Rynna watched the familiar banter, hoping it would help divert them from the battles looming ahead. In truth, Calli was a little jealous and had been ever since Elara changed her focus to healing and cut back on the intense physical training and constant missions. In the time Calli had spent pushing herself through grueling workouts to keep up with her male counterparts, Elara had filled out beautifully, building a serene confidence with her newfound curves.
“It’s really happening, though, isn’t it?” Calli exhaled, moving on. “This isn’t just some mission with a Vessel watching over us. It’s war. People are going to die. We might die. For real.”
There wasn’t much Rynna could say to ease their minds. What was coming would be brutal, and they would have to face it head-on or choose to run. But she had to try something.
“Elara,” she said, drawing the girl’s attention. “Do you remember what Guide Fenn told us after our first test?”
“Huh?” Elara looked up, her eyes dull. “The stupid rope game?”
“Yeah.” Rynna tapped her spoon lightly on the table. “Why do we fight?”
“Well, as I understand it,” Calli interjected, “we’re fighting to save the whole world from whatever Skarn and his allies are planning.”
And she was right. The enemy army had already swallowed most of the unaffiliated lands west of Pulse Reach—whole villages erased overnight, there one day and gone the next, leaving only blood spattered across every surface. The Reaches finally united when the food tithes from the non-Hollow-born villages ceased, and the tenth scouting party sent to locate the enemy vanished without a trace.
“No,” Elara whispered, shaking her head. “That’s just why we have to fight.”
Rynna smiled softly. “So, why do we fight, then?”
“We fight for the men and women beside us. We fight for the Hollow-born battling on either side. We fight for our…family,” Elara answered, straightening her spine and pushing her shoulders back.
“Our family,” Calli echoed, raisingher gaze to meet Rynna’s.
“Yes,” Rynna nodded. “Now eat your damn food.”
As they dug in, she worried for her friends. She wouldn’t be out there with them. Elara would be commanding one of the forward medical bases near the southern front, while Calli would be with the Second Regiment on the northern front, her ability to see slivers into the future a vital asset. And at some point, Bran would inevitably join the battle, despite all efforts to keep him hidden and protect the Great Phoenix.
All while Fenn drives a spear right up the middle through the mountains. She nearly quaked at the thought of not being there to watch his back.
As if sensing her thoughts, Elara spoke up, “If it were anyone else, I’d think you were looking for an excuse to stay back.”
“Stay back?” Calli asked, still focused on her food.
“I have to interrogate Kaelith,” Rynna grumbled, then glanced at Elara. “How’d you know?”
“Lady Takara.”
“Ah, well, that makes sense, I guess.”
“It’s a solid plan,” Elara continued. “Who knows what he knows? Plus, he’s always had a soft spot for you. That’s probably widened since you saved his life.”
She huffed. “Not killing me isn’t the same thing as ‘having a soft spot for me.’” She had already heard that same line from Fenn earlier that morning.
“In our world, it kinda is,” Calli chimed in, pointing her spoon in Rynna’s direction. “Exactly how many times has he not killed you, anyway?”
