Chapter 310 (1/2)

Chapter 310

Ellie

The little streaes was burbling away happilyIt was lucky, I thoughtIt was able to si its bubbly little songEven when Boo swiped a glitterfish out of the water, it’s not like the stream experienced the loss of the fishIt didn’t have a heart to be broken

But I did—and it wasEverywhere I looked I was constantly reacy of failure, loss, and death

I was reminded of our failure in every tired, hopeless face, and in every sad, knowing look I got from the others

Even if they had their own losses, they still treated lass trophiesIt was like ere so to beam at, to keep out where everyone could see, but could not interact with…to treat like we still h ere just a relic of better tireat Arthur Leywin still protected Dicathen

When my brother and Sylvie disappeared, it was like the last piece of solid ground in the world had slipped away fro into the dark waters of despair

Or that’s how Kathyln put it, anyway

It eirdI’d have thought the death of her parents would have been a little uess I shouldn’t have been surprised; everyone always loved Arthur the Lance, Arthur the general, Arthur the hero

But I had loved Arthur the brother, Arthur the friend…when he was around, anyway

My round, happy to smile sadly and say “thank you” whenever someone offered their condolencesAt best, she offered the occasional bit of healing to soed back down into the shelter

I think she had been so close to the edge of despair already that when Arthur didn’t return fro elseIt hurt to admit, but if not for one to sleep, then never opened her eyes again

Picking up a flat, sain

How long had it been since Arthur and I had stood here on the bank of this underground streaht ht as well have died and been reborn since then

Letting out a scoff, I hurled the stone violently at the surface of the water where it splashed in a satisfying sort of way

Boo, who had taken his catch and lumbered off to find a soft, aze seriously at ether, which always ruh I wasn’t sure he believed iant bear-like mana beast snorted and went back to his meal

“With an ar rocks at our ene arrows?”

I turned, startled, but relaxed when I realized it was only Helen Shard, leader of as left of the Twin HornsHelen had beenme improve my ability to fire arrows of pure e relief when she had arrived at the refuge with Durden and Angela Rose, and she had been quick to take up the role of ain

She see into “a mood,” as she put it, because she always turned up to support irlish way I knew annoyed her and looked back at the strea to catch a fish for mom’s dinner”

Fro“A fish? With a rock?”

“Shooting one withmy chin forward, the very picture of an overconfident, self-assured childHelen had always pushed me to be different froravated her to no end when I acted like theestured toward the water“Let’s see it then”

Returning her serious look, I picked up ainst a nearby boulder and inspected the clear waterEvery thirty seconds or so, a di down the streas you see in the water aren’t quite where they appear to be because the water bends the lightWith this inof the bow and conjured a thin arrow of looI waited until it passed into the wide, shallow part of the strea, then prepared to take the shotAt the last instant, I tethered the arrow to me with a thread of pure ht slipped into the water with the tiniest plop, and the fish jerked, sending up a splashI yanked at the tether, causing the arrow to julitterfish neatly ian to clap slowly, shaking her head and letting heropen as if in awe“Incredible, Eleanor, silitterfish off the arrow, gave it a single hard crack against one of the large rocks lining the edges of the stream, saluted me with the dead fish, and turned to walk away

“Hey, that’s mine!”

“Consider it payment for a lesson well learned,” she said over her shoulder, not breaking her stride“With a talent like yours, it surely won’t be any trouble catching another?”

Half irritated, half a betterI decided that I ht as well shoot a few more fish and take theain, though, ht my attention and I instinctively aimed in that direction

“Oh!”

It took a second for ht, but when they did I i white arrow fizzled and faded away

“Sorry, Tessia”