Having filled his own bowl, Sol picked up a spoon and began to eat. His eyes also scanned the room, as though looking for a place to sit.
A few spots vacated as some of the villagers stood to leave, but Sol remained standing next to Ian.
Ian gladly accepted the company and picked up a spoon for himself. Both of them were new to this community, andhe surmised that Sol, like himself, would need time to feel comfortable here.
“Do you have plans for today?” Sol asked.
Ian shook his head. “Robin left for Allys last night and gave me no instruction.”
“Would you be willing to lend us your time?” Sol asked. “Meena and I are going deeper into the forest to help with a build. And we could use the extra muscle.”
“Gladly,” Ian accepted. He lifted an arm, making a fist to show his lean musculature. “I have much time and less muscle, but you are welcome to all of it.”
“I have yet to see you fight,” Sol replied with a wry smile. “But I would not envy your opponent.”
“What are we building?” Ian asked, skirting the compliment, though he did appreciate it. He was tall and solid. While many of the soldiers in his father’s army were much larger than he was, he knew he could hold his own.
“A new cottage,” Sol said.
“That sounds much needed,” Ian said.
Sol merely nodded.
An hour later, Ian found himself walking behind Sol and Meena on a well-worn path outside the cottages that ran deeper into the forest itself. The path was narrow, barely visible through the undergrowth. Meena confidently led the way as though she had traversed it many times before, though she had only been at Lockwood for a few days.
“This seems like a remote area to be building a new cottage,” Ian said, confused.
“We are almost there,” Meena said. She stopped abruptly, turning back to Ian, and Sol bumped into her, wrapping his arms around her. “It is not what you might be expecting...We are trusting you with something.”
Ian, having stopped his brisk stride before colliding with Sol, nodded at his little sister. At least one of his family members wanted to share important information with him.
Satisfied, Meena extricated herself from Sol’s arms and continued forward.
They crested a small hill, and the forest opened below them into another large clearing.
Meena and Sol stepped aside so Ian could take it in.
The valley below them was alive with people. It was a whole new village, similar to the one they had just left but without the manor house behind it. Five small cottages dotted the landscape, and twice as many canvas tents ran between them.
Men and women worked at campfires and in vegetable gardens. Several children ran over the worn dirt trails that traversed the small community, laughing as they played.
Stunned, Ian covered his eyes. Bright flashes of light sparkled from nearly every surface, embedded into the clay walls of the cottages, hanging from windowpanes and fences, and even strung from the trees surrounding the little village.
Many of the villagers had noticed their arrival and had raised hands in welcome. Most of them had reddish hair similar to Erich’s wife, Aizel.
“A Majis village?” Ian said, looking between Sol and Meena for confirmation as he put the pieces together. “Hidden in Lockwood?”
“This is what River’s Talon protects,” Sol said. He was studying Ian as though hesitant for his reaction.
But Meena was grinning, practically bouncing on her toes at the excitement of sharing this new thing with Ian. “Is it not beautiful?” she said. “And wait until you see it at night. The glass glows with harmony magic.”
Ian smiled at Meena’s enthusiasm, but he turned back to Sol with a more serious expression. “I will not break your trust.”While Ian trusted his own family, Sol was still a member of that family. Ian was honored that Sol had so readily shared such a big secret with him.
He looked back at the village below them, taking in the normalcy of it all. “Does Robin know that you are sharing this with me?” Ian asked.
Sol shrugged. “I did not ask for her permission. This may be her land, but these are my people.”
“This is why Robin invited Sol to Lockwood,” Meena said. “She does not want to be made a leader to a people who are not her own but might feel indebted to her. She asked Sol, as a Majis who has found his own space in Iseldis, to be a bridge between them.”
