Ehuna studied me with those perceptive eyes of hers, the ones that could see right through me. "Are you certain you’re ready? We can take all the time you need."
I tilted my chin up defiantly. "Tannin took my love away from me. Now I want to take everything away from him.”
"Okay, then," she conceded, her expression softening for a moment before her general's mask slipped back into place.
We set up camp for the night, deciding to head into the forest rather than stay in the clearing. Although I shivered, we didn’t light a fire, since the smoke might alert others to our location. I curled up on the ground under my coarse blanket and faced away from Ehuna so she wouldn’t see me cry even more.
The night held still and quiet, save for the crickets and the distant hoot of an owl.
"I never talk about Charlotte," Ehuna whispered from her spot a few feet away.
I had no idea if she was speaking to me or herself, but I listened closely, still facing away from her.
"Charlotte was… She was everything to me. We met when we were young, just teenagers, studying to be High Mages. She was so full of life, so passionate about everything.” Ehuna’s voice, usually so fierce and determined, was filled with a deep, aching sorrow. “We fell in love, and for a while, it was perfect.
"But my parents… They didn't approve. They had their own plans for me, and Charlotte didn't fit into them. They tried to separate us, but we were stubborn. We thought love was enough.
"Then, one day, Charlotte was gone. An illness, they said. But I never believed it. It was too sudden, too convenient. Of course I couldn’t prove it."
Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened, my broken heart breaking further for Ehuna.
"After that, I couldn't stay,” she said, her voice now trembling with quiet fury. “I couldn't forgive my parents for what they did. So, I left. I joined the war, hoping to make them regret ever trying to control my life. But the truth is, I don't know if they even care. I haven't spoken to them since. And Charlotte… She's gone. There's nothing left but the memories."
Silent tears streamed down my face. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing at all.
We lay there in the stillness of the night as the weight of her story settled between us.
I clutched my blanket tighter around me, the only solid thing in a world that had been torn apart by pain and loss.
Early the next morning,Ehuna once again tied my wrists with frayed ropes, more for show than anything else. The trek to Tannin’s fortress was a few hours’ horse ride from here.
Later that afternoon, we emerged from the cover of the woods, and I caught sight of a bleak Caputo fortress looming ahead, one I’d never been to before. The sight of the cold stone walls sent a shiver up the back of my scalp, and I had to remind myself this was part of the plan. A necessary evil.
"Keep your head down," Ehuna murmured. "We need them to believe you're defeated and broken. Save your fire for later."
The gates of the fortress swung open with a groan, and we were met by guards whose eyes gleamed with malice.
“I caught the traitor again,” Ehuna announced. “Take her to the dungeons.”
They grabbed me roughly, pulling me off the horse and away from Ehuna. I stumbled forward, my gut searing with the promise of retribution. A dozen or so soldiers led me through torch-lit corridors, the number of them high likely because I had a bad habit of escaping.
"Welcome home, Collie," one of the guards sneered as he shoved me into a cell.
The cell door slammed shut with a resounding clang, sealing my fate. Alone in the darkness, I leaned against the cold stone, allowing myself a moment to breathe. The air tasted stale, thick with the scent of despair and forgotten prisoners. My pulse thrummed between my ears, a relentless reminder of the danger I'd walked into.
And then I heard it—the faintest whisper in the dark, a voice frayed at the edges but unmistakable.
"Collie?"
My heart lurched. That voice… It couldn't be. I squinted through the gloom, straining my eyes until they ached.
"Varna?" I whispered.
There was a shuffling sound from the cell next to mine, and then a hand shot out and gripped the bars on my door.
"At least we’re not chained up like last time," Varna said, her voice carrying a note of wry humor.
A million questions bubbled to the surface, each one more important than the last.
