Rhaskar had been told ten days ago that I’d need more Infusions, and finally, I wake up to see a letter from him beside me on the bed. How he’s getting these letters to me isn’t clear, but I quickly pick it up.
F,
See me under Lachlan Castle at three.
And bring a bag for your gifts.
Me and you only.
Enemies are everywhere, so make sure you destroy this letter.
~R
He wants to meet at the same place at eleven, and he’s brought many more Infusions than before. Now that it’s not just Darian, Ainslee, and Rhion, I quickly light the letter on fire. Darian is sleeping in the bed next to me. Rurik, Erik, and Jorren share a bedroom, and Isola and Elara have their own. It doesn’t mean they couldn’t barge in at any moment, though.
As I toss the flaming letter into the fireplace, I hear Darian shifting in bed. I’m glad I’ll be getting my Infusions refilled because yesterday I wasn’t even able to train. I’m down to my last Lizard, and I’m completely out of Falcons. The only reason they’ve lasted this long is because Azric and I haven’t been training.
Yet, I can’t help the anger bubbling up inside me at the thought of seeing Rhaskar again. I’ve considered him my father for all these years after he killed my parents. I’ve spent hours every day thinking about what I’ll do when I see him, but I let my anger run away with my thoughts every time. I considered trying to murder him. Telling him I never want to see him again was certainly the least violent of my thoughts.
The emotions have run their course, though. My anger, which had been so hot when I first found out, has fizzled. The betrayal has been rationalized. The confusion as to why he’d done such a terrible thing has been puzzled out.
Rhaskar Thorne has always, at his core, tried to gain power and any advantage he could have. He was a human trying to fend off the gods and their armies. He needed that power, and he’s done far more for Sylvantia than any other person alive.
I wanted to kill him, but I certainly won’t do that. How could I kill the man I called Father for so long?
I wanted to tell him I never want to see him again, but I won’t do that either. I need him to bring me more Infusions. These trials will kill me without them.
Instead, I’ve made a very rational, very simple decision. I am not and never will be a Priest. I am not bound by honor or oaths to give him anything. Our desires align currently, and so I will treat him as an ally.
“Got another letter?” Darian says as he looks up at me.
I nod without looking at him. “I need to restock,” I say.
“Glad you’ll have what you need to keep training. You’ve been making fantastic progress. It won’t be long before we need to watch our backs around you.”
I chuckle at Darian. I’ve sparred with him several times, and each time, it’s like he can see the future, can see exactly what I’m going to do, and then he uses my movements against me.
“Doubtful. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Adelyth gave you the power to read people’s minds.”
Hegets up and walks to where I’m standing in front of the fire. “I can’t read minds, but I do my best to understand people. Meeting Rhaskar is going to be hard for you, isn’t it?”
I don’t say anything for a long while, and Darian doesn’t prod me. “I don’t think it will be. I’ve decided I won’t say anything about it to him. Everything has a time and place. This isn’t the time nor the place to discuss why he killed my parents. I need him to continue bringing me supplies. He needs me to survive this and hopefully win.”
I turn to face him. “I still want to keep Sylvantia safe. I still want humans to survive whatever is coming. I’ve talked to Azric about what happens after this war is over, and from what I gather, Nyth will be a wasteland if we don’t stop whoever theseHuntersare.”
Darian nods slowly, his gaze still on the fire as the last bit of my letter turns to ash. “That’s what Sidon says. It’s hard to believe that anyone would come and simply destroy an entire world because of their hatred for magic. I don’t know how much of it I believe, to be honest. What I know is that anything that scares the shit out of dragons, or more importantly, that could make thousands of dragons run, terrifies me.”
“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do against them.”
He shakes his head. “Me neither. But making those decisions isn’t my place. When they get here, it won’t even be the champions making those calls. It’ll be the gods. They have foresight. They have thousands and thousands of years of experience. They’re gods. We’re just a bunch of idiots trying to keep ourselves and our neighbors from dying.”
The way Darian says it, as though he truly believes the gods will know what to do, seems very at odds with how Azric’s spoken about the situation. “Azric seems to think it will be up to us,” I say.
Darian’s eyebrow rises in surprise. “Really?”
I nod to him. “He sees himself as the one to stand in front of what’s coming. Not the gods.”
“Huh. That seems… That seems crazy. Why wouldn’t…”
