Chapter 385 (1/2)

Chapter 385

ARTHUR

There was too much to do after the Alacryan attack With the djinn sanctuary exposed, it was no longer safe Somehoe had tothem safe both from the elements and the Alacryans

As people continued to pour out of the tunnels, the leadershi+p gathered across the streaht the Alacryan forces Varay flew up through the holes in the ceiling to scout while the rest of us discussed what the next step would be

“Xyrus wouldback in a conjured chair of soft earth, , the broken prosthetic abandoned on the ground nearby “We can disperse the non-fighters throughout the villages around Sapin’s southern border If we can et us to a teleportation chamber”

The old soldier wore a cold suarding the city It would be ours in a night”

There were a few reements at this idea, but Hornfels Earthborn was quick to step in “The Sapin border is twice as far as Darv’s capital city, and there aren’t any tunnel syste the civilians if the Alacryans pursued them after we’d left”

“But surely they wouldn’t waste their time, would they?” the elven council member, Saria, asked softly “The Alacryans will aler force”

Mada at the dwarves “Exactly Plus, we can trust the people of Xyrus—”

“And what the bloody hell is that supposed to rowled

Hornfels pressed his hand against Skarn’s chest, holding hih, but you’re mistaken, Madam Astera The dwarves—”

A thin, almost childish voice silenced all others as a pulse of heavy, frustrated intent pressed down on everyone present “The dwarves have suffered from some very poor leadershi+p, and have been exposed to constant propaganda since before the war even began” Mica paused, her ge as she stared around “But the people of Darv are not cruel or evil, and Mica…I know they have started to see through the Vritras’ lies”

Madam Astera nodded deferentially “As you say, Lance Still, we should hear froely stayed silent Virion had insisted he needed to look for so started “Do the rest of you have anything to say for yourselves?”

“The people of Xyrus e of poorly suppressed bitterness in his tone “If Generals Arthur and Mica believe the dwarves ith us, then I stand with the Lances”

Helen shrugged “It’ll be a fight wherever we go Arthur gives us the best chance of victory, so the Twin Horns will be staying close to him”

She looked at me with a blend of fierce pride and respect that rehtness moved up fro allhas made you—’

You must be bored, I pointed out toto be narrating my emotions

‘Meh She’s better coht with aoff toward the town There was a chorus of gasps and a choked yelp froain as the group watched him bound over the daazes back to theher best to hide a scowl Hornfels took her arm to steady her as he conjured a silad to see that, despite any disagreeht have about our course of action, they still treated each other with respect

“We should leave iht still streauard just now, but we don’t want to give the Alacryans tiive these people soestion with her own “Both to rest and to gather what little res And we need to prepare defensive positions, map out our path, conjure transportation for those who can’t walk”

I aze for a moment, then nodded

“So that’s it?” Skarn Earthborn said, focusing onend’? Nothing about how you just sent a hundred Alacryan soldiers pissing themselves back into the desert?” Skarn threw his hands in the air and glared at Mica “What in the red blazes are the rest of us supposed to be doing then, eh? If this boy can crush armies and asuras alike, what is the purpose even of Lances, cousin? I just—” Skarn stopped suddenly, spitting on the stones before etic shrug, then followed his brother

“He does have a point,” Bairon said, frowning atexistential that was leaking up from the deepest roots of his sense of self-worth “How are any of us supposed to help you, Arthur?”

Mica looked down and away, not rily at ave them

“This war isn’t over,” I said simply “Alacryan soldiers—even retainers and Scythes—they aren’t the threat Dicathen has to be ready for” My lips turned up in a wry, , Bairon The Gods themselves are our eneht them alone”

Bairon’s jaw clenched and a treritted teeth, he said, “Then we er”

“Yeah” Reaching intospear and threw it to Bairon “This will be a start”

He snatched it out of the air, then see and nearly dropped it

“I don’t want the weapon that killed Aya,” he said after ait out for ruh she looked at the scarlet spear with unsuppressed loathing “That is a powerful weapon, and there is no better way to pay your respects to Aya than using it to kill a few more asura”

She reached out and flicked the head of the spear,off after her cousins, her despair and rage a nearly physical thing burning like a mantle of fire around her

Bairon’s fist clenched around the haft By sier, more present “Thank you, Arthur”

I nodded, and Bairon spun on his heel andwhatever was left of our ave an ht, kid?”

I looked up to realize Helen atchingup in amusement

She mirrored my expression “I’ve seen your mom wipe poop off of you You’ll always be a kid in“Well, I guess that’s fair”

The two of us beganwith activity as people did their best to reclaih Ellie had wanted to stay with me, I’d asked her to keep an eye on Mo But there wasn’t time to rest yet

“I’m fine, you know,” I said as we crossed over the rubble-dalad to be back To be…” I trailed off, not sure how much I could tell her

“Ho curiosity in her tone, an unasked question buried in that single word

I nodded, and alked in silence as the noise and rew around us

A man’s ankle turned on a loose stone and he stuht of his pack as he hten

A crying child sat on a collapsed wall squeezing a battered and torn stuffed led to wrap their belongings in an old blanket

An older woman scrabbled frantically at the ruins of a house only to collapse back on her rear with a cruerly to her chest and wept

“They’ve lost everything Again,” Helen said softly Then she cleared her throat and squinted down at the ground, looking embarrassed

I wished there was more I could do, but for all my power, I couldn’t use Aroa’s Requiem to mend their broken hearts or God Step to take therief and fear Their lives would never be the sah the holes left behind would heal over in ti the that had been taken frorabbing my wrist “Come on We should take a hten our backs and help these people carry their burdens”

She led ht as I looked down on a large, crystalline toreens Floating in its center was a familiar body Aya’s hands were crossed over a wound in her sto it Her eyes were closed, her expression one of peaceful rest

Several sray rock—had been raised around Aya’s To her right was a ht, out-of-place flowers The words, “Feyrith Ivsaar III” were carved into the top of the stone In s below, it said, “The ht within the cracks of one’s own self”

I ran , uncertain as to theirin between the other slabs, touching each one briefly When she saw me look in her direction, she smiled sadly “Feyrith and Albold, they…well, your sister can probably explain it better than I”

“You did good out there, old friend…” I said to the cold stone, echoing o

Moving on to Aya’s to down at the elven Lance’s serene face I didn’t need to be able to sense ether to craft Aya’s resting place Bright lights, like frozen sparks, gleamed within the crystal, and her body rested on a nest of fractal, frostlike patterns

Closingthe sharp edges and frozen contours, into the subtle striations within, grabbing onto the frozen sparks and filling in the fractal patterns

Helen’s breath caught, and I opened reens, seeusting like slow- testament to all you’ve acco even death can’t take frorunted irritably as he shook sand out of his coat, jostling Ellie atop his back She scratched his neck fondly “It’ll be okay, big guy Not too entle breeze had blown consistently into our faces for the last few hours, and, like Boo, everyone had sand clinging to the to blend our long train into the surroundings

Hundreds of people wound along in the rifts between shallow dunes It was black and ht coht stars overhead We carried no lanterns or lighting artifacts, which would have been visible for is and I walked alongside Ellie, Boo, and uarded the line’s rear, while Bairon and the Earthborn brothers guided us at the front, and Mica flew ahead to scout the route If Hornfels and Skarn’s esti close to the outermost tunnels that would lead us to Vildorial

“And so then there I ais was saying Ellie laughed, and Moot the better of the thing in the end Well, Arthur helped, I suppose”

“Another!” Ellie wheezed through her giggling “I want to hear everything”

“You know, Princess here has quite the teot us in trouble a few times, like when—”

Mom stumbled as the sand slipped away beneath her feet, and she barely ed to catch herself

“I’m okay,” she said before anyone could ask “Just lost is slipped up beside her and scooped her off her feet and onto his back The sight of is would have been comical if I wasn’t so surprised as well

“Um, Arthur?” Mom’s wide eyes turned into be helpful,” I said, reaching for the link between us Uncharacteristically, Regis stayed silent, his bright eyes staring seriously ahead

Sitting stiffly, Moers into his fur, careful of the fla around his mane

Ellie hid her mouth behind her hands, but I could still hear her half-suppressed giggles as she shot ht-now look from Mom’s other side

We walked on in silence for a few minutes, until the call of, “Alice?” came from somewhere behind Some half-healed wound had becois carted my mother off down to the line to help

The sun was just beginning to brighten the eastern horizon, and Ellie was little more than a shadow atop her bond Still, I could tell fro was bothering her

Over the last few hours, Regis had kept his stories e Ellie had told us what she’d learned about Boo and the training she’d done in er to hear everything about my time away, especially in the Relicto a few questions but otherwise just letting Regis talk—soement