Alianna gulped, trying not to recoil at Ulreah’s very specific use of his words. Not a yes. Not a no.
“I hope you are not worrying my good lady, Ulreah,” came a familiar voice behind Alianna. She found herself incredibly relieved by Rionan’s timely arrival. “Or is it merely your melancholy presence rubbing off on those around you?”
Rionan sat on the opposing side of her to Ulreah, leaning forward so that he could see his friend. The light of the fire glinted in the depths of his blue eyes, and it reminded her of the ocean back in Porthan.
A genuine, warm smile bloomed across Ulreah’s face, despite Rionan’s jab. “I will try to be a less depressing companion, Rionan.”
“We can’t all be happy all the time, Ulreah. With Thallax’s constant state of jovialness, you balance out our group very well.”
Ulreah gave a short nod and stood to depart, leaving Alianna sitting with Rionan. He put an arm around her, tucking her into his body. “Are you quite well?”
“Yes,” Alianna replied, savouring the warmth of his body and the strength of his arm around her. “Although I would belying if I didn’t tell you that I was concerned about what tonight and tomorrow may bring.”
“Do you wish to go home?” Rionan asked earnestly.
“No,” replied Alianna without missing a beat. “I do not. I just wish I could find a way to help, something I could do other than be a presence amongst your camp of well-trained warriors and magical fighters.”
“You do more than you know,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You give me a reason to believe that we can succeed in ourendeavours. You give me hope, Ali. In the throes of civil war, hope is something we should cling to with every scrap of our being.”
As they stared into the firelight together, Rionan took her hand and interlocked his fingers with her own. The other arm continued to hold Alianna to him, as they enjoyed this moment of peace. The calm before the storm.
She considered all she had learnt about Rionan and his realm. She considered everything she had told him she longed for and sought to find. Sentiments that he also shared with her.
Connection.
Mattering.
Hope.
36
The Plan
“I have found something, My Lord,” Korva spat out between jagged breaths as he burst through the council tent the next afternoon. His eyes were shadowed by deep purple rings, his face pallid, like the look of a male who had not slept for several nights. “I have found an answer.”
Korva threw a canvas sack over his shoulder, which slammed onto the table that Rionan, Thallax, Ulreah, and Alianna had been sitting around. The four of them had spent a lot of time together in camp over the last day, occasionally joined by others. They ultimately recognised that they were waiting on an update from Korva and had to keep those in camp safe until one was received. It appeared, from his haste, that he was finally ready to deliver some news. Good or bad, Alianna didn’t know.
Korva began pulling books and scrolls out of his bag, piling them on the table. Alianna wondered if these were all of the books that Korva had brought with him from Savangrad before they fled.
Rionan stood, disguising his air of impatience well, as he waited for Korva to locate several passages across four separate books on ancient rituals and rites.
“Here, My Lord,” he motioned to the first passage. “There is no mention of the stone, or the specific ritual undertaken by the four Lords who imbued this stone with their power. But there is a mentionof an unlocking of great, vast power, and howthismay flow within the network currently active within Xanthia.”
Rionan took the book from him and scanned the passage, flicking the page back and forth, like he hoped all the answers he needed would be there. As Korva handed him a second book, he passed the first to Thallax.
“Then here, there is a short passage on the acquisition of power from relics. It is not made clear what these relics are, or where they can be found, but it is referenced.”
Again, Rionan took the leather-bound tome and read the passage that Korva had highlighted to him. Before he had finished, Korva thrust two more books into his hands, one atop the other.
“Finally, these books expand on this, and how a Xanthian being with enough force of will, strength, and power would be able to unlock the secrets of such relics should they find any. It requires attuning yourself to the relic, Sir, and fusing yourself with whatever is imbued within it, in its most raw form. You cannot tamper with whatever is held by the relic. You can only access it. It will take time, Sir.”
“How long istime, Korva?” Rionan asked, passing both books to Thallax without looking down at the words on the page.
“I am unsure, My Lord. The stone is a very powerful object indeed. To fuse yourself with power so great, to access it in its entirety, it could take days.”
“We do not have days,” Rionan said flatly, his face screwing up in deep thought.
Thallax stepped forward, pressing the pile of books into Ulreah’s chest as he did so. “What does all of this mean, Korva? In its most simple form?”
