Page 126 of A Courage of the Chosen

I nod, completely dumbfounded. How did I not piece this together?

“Then it’s Dhia. There’s no other explanation.”

“But . . . I’ve told her to fuck off.” Occasionally, She has a habit of appearing and being entirely unhelpful. And, in times of frustration, I’ve snapped.

Callahan snorts. “Please be joking.”

“Dead serious,” I reply.

That ancient wisdom that’s come to me so many times laughs in my mind, a tinkling that’s at odds with the might of her.

“I am so sorry.” I send the thought to the fucking goddess that has somehow found a way to communicate with me.

Dhia doesn’t reply. She simply fades away, like she came just to prove what Callahan is saying to be true.

He sobers up, and reaches for my hands. “You’ve been chosen by a god, Elsie. Whatever that means, it can only be good.”

I’m not so sure.

◆◆◆

We fall into a deep, restful sleep, and when I awake the next day, my body is stiff from lying in the same position for too long. My eyes are heavy as I try to open them, and Callahan’s arm is a dead weight over my waist.

After our conversation about Dhia speaking to me, he let his walls down enough that being around him didn’t feel as strained as it has done recently. He asked if this is what I’d been keeping from him, and I offered him one last truth. I admitted it was part of it, and the rest I still needed to work out before I found the words to tell him.

He kissed me soundly, and said he would be there for me when I was ready. It was that I held onto as I fell asleep.

We’re leaving today to head back to the city with empty hands, and I can’t help feeling this trip was for nothing. Brodie got so hurt the last time we tried to come here that he almost died, and I can’t say that it was worth it. Instead of finding answers, we left with more questions, and the memory of the Druids burned into our retinas.

Thankfully, few knew of the reason why we left in the first place, so we won’t have to explain to them what transpired on top of that mountain.

The guards were surprised to see us return so soon, and when they asked what it was like, the threatening glare Callahan shot their way shut them up fast. They haven’t spoken a word since.

We were able to restock our rations of food and water for the return journey, and the horses have had plenty of rest for the last couple of days. I can’t say the same about myself, and my inner thighs are tender where they’re settled in Mabel’s saddle.

We thank the stable hands on our way out, and they tell us the path we took to get here has been blocked by a fallen tree, so we’ll need to take an alternative route, since the forest is too dense for us to just go around it with our horses.

Callahan immediately gets out the map, and he and Brodie determine which road to take while I pat Mabel’s flank. Once it’s decided, our group ambles into the forest, leaving Klunnoch behind.

I come to a stop before the trees swallow us, and my eyes drift up the mountain that held so much promise when I arrived. There are low-lying clouds clinging to it today, obscuring at least half of it from view, and a light breeze whips loose strands of hair over my face as I look to the sky, at where Ruival hides away from the world.

“You coming, Els? Callahan will get twitchy if we fall behind.” Rach draws her horse next to me.

I turn away from the spectacular ground view of the rugged terrain, my mind wearier than it’s ever been. “It was a waste of time.”

Rach doesn’t say anything, knowing me well enough to understand that whatever comfort she might offer right now will fall on deaf ears.

Her brother has other ideas. “We’ll find another way to defeat them.” As always, he’s not soft with it, just determined to survive this war that’s taken far too much from him, and the Seelie of Elfayne.

The new road we’re traveling is even less pleasant than the one we rode along a few days ago, and with the cloud blocking out the sun, the woodland is more imposing, like the shadows live and breathe and watch every single step we take.

“Mm’kay. Not liking this. Not liking this at all,” Rach mumbles next to me.

Fully agree with her sentiment. There are some parts of this forest that need to be left well alone, and we’re traipsing right through the center of it.

“This is where the Skelf live, you know,” Brodie says cheerfully, and Callahan’s shoulders shift an inch closer to his ears.

“Yeah. Let’s not disturb them, then,” I reply, my palms clammier than they were a few seconds ago.