Page 66 of The Eye of the Fifth
‘I am.’
‘Where is he?’
‘He vanished a couple of years ago. Escaped from Loros’ capital. No one has seen him since.’
‘Escaped?’ Kyra repeated. She had quite the sharp mind.
‘A tale for another time,’ Naal assured her. She turned to Mankar. ‘Go to the Esi tribes and the outer provinces of Phaenon. See if we might find some recruits for a land army in the freefolk. They have no obligation to aid us in this fight, but some might realise the gravitas of the situation and answer our call. Take Ruven with you. Zuriel, youwill oversee the city rebuild. I should like our people to feel they can go home as soon as they are able if they wish. Maida-’
‘Keep healing,’ her quick-witted friend finished for her with a tight smile. ‘Always.’
Though to all it was obvious, she felt the need to say aloud, ‘I name you actingpramahin my absence. I know you have stepped up in light of Orro’s death and you have my eternal gratitude. There is none I trust more than you.’
Maida bowed her head and smiled in appreciation.
‘Have Nysari lead a squad in doubling the city’s magical protection, along with a continuous guard rotation with the hawks on the summit, and on the shore of the Frozen Tides. Make a record of every single ship that passes through those waters.’ A thought occurred to Naal then, and she paused with a frown. ‘Howdidthe princes climb the mountain so quickly?’
‘Apparently the elder brother is a salir,’ Mankar said dryly. ‘It was how they escaped so quickly too. Though, not before Nysari shot the Fire Warden with an arrow. It didn’t kill him but I bet it still hurts.’ He gave a low, dark chuckle. ‘She never shoots an untipped arrow.’
‘That is… unfortunate,’ Naal said with distaste. The crown prince of Zarynth was a salir. Empress Azar had certainly strived to keep that information quiet.
Saliring was one of those gifts that went against the nature of things. Interrupting the constant flow of the world, the wielder must slice through its carefully created atmosphere to reappear elsewhere. It was not a magic that Naal approved of.
‘Implement these changes imminently,’ Naal told her inner circle, standing as she concluded the meeting. ‘We will rest tonight. But in the morning after tomorrow, Kyra and I will begin our search.’
‘I’m coming with you?’ Kyra asked suddenly, eyebrows raised.
‘I would be most appreciative if you did.’
‘Do I have a choice?’
Zuriel made a sound of impatience at that, as though she were personally offended at Kyra’s audacity. But Naal was not offended at all. ‘You will always have a choice, Kyra. I ask you to come with mebecause I believe you will be of great help in finding and recruiting the Water Warden.’
She had hoped for more time, to ease Kyra into this Warden life slowly, to teach her to wield her magic without haste. It seemed they would not have that luxury.
‘You will be bored here, girl,’ Maida interjected. ‘If you stay, I might put you to work. How does shovelling snow sound?’
A smirk pulled on Kyra’s mouth. After a moment of deliberation, she looked at Naal and said, ‘I’ll come. I’ve never been one for manual labour.’
Maida chuckled.
There was a shift in the air as the course of the future changed. Gallena was giving Naal a soft nudge toward it, as though confirming that the journey they were about to embark on was indeed the true path.
Naal trusted that feeling more than she trusted her own intuition. It had never, ever led her astray.
And this time, it would lead her straight to the Water Warden.
???
Kyra.
In the solitude of a little cave room deep within Gallena’s temple, Kyra stood in front of a dusty mirror and pulled her wild hair from its tie, letting it hang loose. The mane had been lacking any sort of management since her escape from Avaldale, usually piled in a curling mass on top of her head. She did not have the patience to tame it as Lilion’s servants had once done… but she much preferred it this way. With a heavy hand, she fluffed it and let it rest over her shoulders.
Kyra knew nothing of Phaenon’s customs, but she supposed the dirty clothes she’d been wearing since leaving Avaldale’s shores would not suffice as appropriate dinner wear. Not that she needed a reason to strip the rags from her body the second she was alone in herdesignated room, hoping she would not have to don them ever again, not with a wardrobe full of clean apparel at her disposal. Naal’s generosity, she presumed, as she ran her fingers across a night-black dress of simple cotton, deciding the long-sleeved gown should certainly be appropriate attire for her first dinner as a guest of the Eternal Warriors.
The reflection smiled at her, content with what it saw, and though the dress was a tad itchy on her skin, she breathed with satisfaction as she allowed herself to soften in the simple dress, to move as elegantly as it did.
She had not given herself permission to do that in a long time.
