“As you wish,” he said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer. “Find me when you’re ready.”
Rynna burst out of the command tent, doubled over as her fist dug into her stomach. She needed space, needed air, but everywhere she turned, more Hollow-born and soldiers crowded her vision, their faces worn, their bodies coated in the essence of death.
Her pace quickened, her feet moving faster than her thoughts, as she searched for a place, any place, where she could shut her eyes and smother the rising wail clawing its way up her throat.
The tents around her began to thin, fewer soldiers milling about, and soon the ground was littered with forgotten equipment and discarded personal items. A helmet here, a torn cloak there, remnants of lives abandoned.
The camp is shrinking, she thought, her eyes darting over the scattered remains.Contracting towards Command as more people die.
She kept moving, but the dead space around her grew wider, sprawling into a haunting stillness. So many lives lost. Too many.
She slowed.
To lead in a situation like this, to watch your soldiers fall day after day with no hope of relief...it would be torture. And for someone like Fenn, who fought for his people with every fiber of his being, who loved them like family, it would be the worst kind of torment.
She ached for him and the toll this war must be taking on his soul.
There.
The man who had just dismissed her from his heart stood ahead, his dark hair catching what little light remained as he stared up at the clouded sky. A flash of distant lightning illuminated his face, revealing the tears trailing down his cheeks, only to disappear into the top of his mask even as the drops began to fall harder.
“Fenn.” Her voice cracked as she stumbled to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. His body felt heavy, burdened by an invisible weight she couldn’t lift. “I’m sorry I left you to face this alone.”
“I asked you to.” His voice was hollow.
“But I should have said no.”
He exhaled. “Why are you here?”
The question sent a jolt through her, and she pulled away just enough to spin him around, forcing him to face her. “How can you ask that?”
“Not here, in the camp, delivering the message.” His head hung low. “Here...now, with me. Instead of...”
“I know what you meant, Fenn.” Her sorrow burned hotter, inching closer to anger.The man couldn’t possibly be this stupid, could he? “If you want me to go, just say it.” Her hand jabbed out, grasping his chin and jerking his face toward hers. “But I know you can’t possibly think so little of me, of us, that you believe I won’t fight for you.”
His eyes flashed with pain. “Isawthe way you looked at him, Rynna,” he growled, wrenching his face from her grip and pointing to his milky white eye. “And the way he looked at you. That was real. More real than anything I’ve ever seen. There’s no point in fighting for whatever we had.”
She gaped at him, tears brimming.Fuck no.
“We will find Skarn, end him, end this war,” Fenn continued. “And then go our separate ways. I...” His voice faltered, but he forced the words out. “If his intelligence is accurate, I’ll petition the Wardens for forgiveness.”
Fuck no!
Before she could think, she launched herself at him, her foot sweeping his legs from under him. Fenn stumbled, and she was on him, dragging him to the ground. Her arm coiled around his neck from behind, locking him in place as her weight pressed him into the mud.
“Where is your anger, Crimson Wolf?” she hissed.
“Rynna!” Fenn twisted out of her hold and spun away from her. Body coiling, he dropped low before springing back to his feet, eyes hard. “There is no point.”
“How can you say that?” Rynna choked on the words, rushing him again, her punches wild and uncalculated.
“Rynna, stop!” Fenn blocked her, his jaw clenched with every hit. He parried her next attack, deflecting it away. “You chose him!” His words splintered as he caught her wrist mid-swing. “It was obvious. I’m trying to make it easier for you!”
“You know nothing, Guide Fenn!” She ripped her arm free, her body launching forward again. “How can someone who supposedly sees every truth be so blind?”
Fenn’s eyes darkened, restraint slipping, and his next move caught her arm mid-strike, yanking her forward. “I have wanted you with every fiber of my being since I first laid eyes on you, Rynna!” he boomed as he pushed her back, then pivoted and launched a front kick, catching her square in the gut.
She coughed at the impact, blood spraying from her mouth as she went flying backward into the wooden fence that surrounded the encampment.
