“Really?”
“He worked every day with my bow once his arm healed enough.”
Brown eyes firming with resolve, Veda took a third arrow and sent it further than the others.A smile filled her face at the small victory.
They continued working until the girls started to flag with exhaustion.After putting away the various weapons and targets, they all began the walk back to the house.
The girls led the way, chatting amongst themselves as they went and pausing to pick up the dazzling lenthomar rocks that littered the ground.Named for the golden sparkles that ran through them, the rocks only existed in areas with a heavy amount of velentha foliage.They gave the nearby ground an ambient sparkling quality during certain times of year when the trees were most abundant with nectar.She was so used to seeing them, she’d forgotten how unique the rocks appeared.
Listening to the girls exclaim and giggle over the rocks reinforced that they retained some of their childhood wonder, which was a relief after all they’d been through.
As a nature mage, it was especially important that Veda kept a thread of that joy alive.Living for centuries could easily make one bitter if the wonders of the earth ceased to be a joy and instead became a burden.
Daya eyed Cass with suspicion as they walked, puzzling over her intrusive help, until the light dawned in her mind.“Connor told you.”
Cass glanced at the girls and slowed her pace a few steps to give them a bit of privacy.“Just that Veda might be staying with you, and he might need my help handling Celina’s reaction.She can be… obstinate when it comes to the refugee kids.He wouldn’t say more, but… after your revelation that you were a guardian during the raid… I can guess the why of it.”
Daya settled the nerves in her stomach.Telling the group about who she was had been nerve-wracking.She trusted the four of them, but it was still a big step for her, confiding in so many people about who and what she was.
Since Veda was the reason she’d wanted to talk with Cass privately in the first place, she let Connor’s overstep in sharing the information go.Time wasn’t on her side.
“Yes.Veda might stay to accept a role as my apprentice… as a guardian of Hannelore Mountain.”
“You know, I thought this place felt different, but I never guessed it was a sacred site.The den—where my warrior clan lives—feels similar, like there’s magic in the rocks and water.But it’s much more vibrant here.It’s incredible.”
“It is,” Daya agreed.
“I don’t know much, but I didn’t think there were very many of you guardians left.Like maybe a few others in the world, period.”
“This whole situation has been surprising.Multiple guardians at a site haven’t been normal for a long time.And Veda is so young.”Daya shook her head, bypassing the query about other sacred sites to focus on her would-be apprentice.“I thought you might have some experience with that.Wolflumen join the clan young, don’t they?”
“Yes.I was a similar age when I made the decision to join the Wolflumen.”
“So, you understand the choice.The commitment.”Forfeiting her life for a something greater than her.No wonder Cass felt so much like a kindred spirit.
They paused as the girls stepped off the path to inspect the woodland home of some small creature.
“Can I ask you something personal?”The words escaped before Daya could rein them in, her mind veering elsewhere.
“Sure.”
“Do you ever regret it?”
Cass was quiet for a moment as she leaned down to pick up a small, gold veined lenthomar rock from the ground.She rubbed the dirt off the rock and gave Daya a somber smile.
“Life as a Wolflumen is… restricting.Solitary.Our clan doesn’t encourage outside connections of any kind and remains fairly isolated from society.It can make for a lonely existence.My relationship with Celina and others… let’s just say I’m a bit unusual, even for a wolf.”
Cass looked down as she enclosed the rock in her palm.“But no.I’ve never regretted it.The choice changed the course of my life in a lot of ways, as I’m sure it did yours.Ways I didn’t anticipate or even comprehend as a child.That I still wrestle with sometimes.”
“Connor asked if I would make a different choice, if I could.”
“You said no.”
Daya pressed her lips together and nodded, not surprised that Cass knew what her response had been.“He doesn’t see that it wasn’t a fair question.”
“That type of commitment is different in ways that are hard to fathom, let alone appreciate,” Cass said, shaking her head.“Strangely, I’ve found military warriors struggle with that more than others.You’d think they’d understand it easily, because of their loyalty and service, but they don’t.”
Something in her tone indicated a very personal experience.Similar to the fight she’d had with Connor, if she had to guess.
