Fenn raised an eyebrow, his gaze sliding toward Rynna. “So that’s what you were doing all those extra training sessions?”
Rynna shrugged. “It’s just foundational martial arts. I’ve said it before: The Source has become a crutch for Hollow-born. You depend on it too much and have forgotten the basics.”
Kaelith cackled, a wild gleam in his eyes. “You make it sound so simple! I spent fifty years trying to master those so-called ‘basics,’ and the best I’ve got is a bit of self-healing and snake-shifting.”
Rynna gave him a small smile. “You’ve done well.”
“I’m so lost.” Calli rubbed at her temples.
“Rynna, we’ll discuss this later,” Fenn cut in before turning to Kaelith. “So what if Taren could use a few limited non-Source techniques?”
“Limited?!” Kaelith burst into manic laughter. “If that’s what you call Rynna’s little inferno against the horde two days ago, then sure, let’s call itlimited.”
Calli’s head whipped toward Rynna. “That wasn’t Source power?”
“The Source is...gross,” she muttered. “I avoid its use if I can and usually do fine without it.”
“‘Gross?’” Fenn raised an eyebrow, but quickly refocused. “Fine. So, Taren could wield this other power effectively?”
Kaelith’s laughter tapered off, his face growing more serious. “Yes. He mastered everything it took me fifty years to develop in a matter of months. Then...well, he decided I was a danger to the rest of his unit because of my, shall we say, interest in thebasics.” He shuddered. “Skarn found me after Taren left me for dead. Mostly dead, anyway. And, well...my lovely apprentice decided tosaveme by absorbing what little remained.”
Oh, Kae.The process would have shattered his soul, broken it down to its smallest components, consumed by the new body. He would have been completely subsumed, yet still vaguely aware. It was a living torment. That was why she’d saved him. No one deserved to suffer like that.And a part of you still loved him, you liar.
“I always wondered why he targeted you,” Fenn nodded thoughtfully. “But what does this have to do with Skarn?”
Kaelith swallowed hard, as if pulling himself from the dark depths of those memories. “Before he attacked me, Taren said he would find a way to destroy the Source. He saidthat it was a plague on the land and would eventually kill us all. Somehow, Skarn’s using Source power in an even more unnatural way than we ever did with this army of the dead. Taren would want him gone.”
“Destroy the Source?” Calli squeaked, wide-eyed. “That seems a little extreme.”
“I thought so, too,” Kaelith said, giving a nonchalant shrug.
“What do you think?” Fenn turned to Rynna.
Rynna pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowing as she studied Kaelith. She knew he wasn’t lying. He’d let her follow the threads of his thoughts throughout the conversation. “It’s a plausible story,” she said slowly. “And it aligns with what I’ve long suspected about the Source.”
“And Taren?”
“We always knew he had a bone to pick with the Ember Warden and Reach politics in general. That much was obvious as early as the Veilroot incident.”
Fenn nodded.
Rynna scratched her head, thinking back. “And he was a natural at the foundational techniques, one of the strongest Wills I’ve ever come across.”
A small smile tugged at her lips as the pieces started to fall into place. Her first life training with Kaelith. The long hours with Fang Unit. Falling in love with Fenn. It was all connected.
“If Taren joins this war,” she continued, the realization solidifying, “he’ll be fighting to stop whatever Skarn and his allies have planned. He’ll destroy those who use Source power to harm this world.”
Fenn exhaled slowly.
“But Rynna,” Calli spoke up, her voice soft but urgent. “I’ve only followed a fraction of whatever this conversation is really about, but what if his plans to destroy the Source include all Hollow-born?”
Rynna opened her mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. Calli was right. It was the logical conclusion, and Taren could be as coldly calculating and driven by his mission as any of them. If he believed all Source users were a threat to the world, he might not hesitate to wipe them out, too.
“A problem for another day.” Fenn coughed. “For now, we will assume he’s an ally, no matter how temporary.”
“But—” Calli started to protest when Arthur stepped back into the tent.
“Your volunteers are ready, Commander. Awaiting your orders,” the young man said, standing at attention.
