Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

It was dark by the time they reached the town of Skelling Rise. Icy wind and flurries blew past Dyna’s face, nearly blinding her. Spots of tiny orange lights in a perfect straight line glowered high in the dark like fireflies. It took her a moment to realize they were torch fires. They rested on a towering rock wall that rose beyond the forest against the backdrop of the night sky.

“That has to be easily over sixty feet tall,” Cassiel murmured behind her. He was a constant source of warmth with an arm wrapped around her waist. But it couldn’t ward off the sharp chill in the air. It was so cold, it nipped at her fingers and toes. Their horse nickered as the mercenaries came to a stop before thick iron gates. Beyond it was a black void that made her heart rate increase.

A large shadow bounded past, iridescent yellow eyes reflecting in the dark. Zev had stayed in his wolf form, probably out of caution. They didn’t know what they were heading into, but at the moment, it meant shelter out of the brutal wind.

Olyver let out a sharp whistle at the wall, and there was movement on the ramparts. He waved his torch three times in some signal. Voices called back and a horn blew one long blare. A loud, creaking groan followed and the iron gates slowly lifted.

Nodding, he led the way inside with the mercenaries coming up behind them. Their torches revealed they’d entered a short tunnel. On the other end was a large set of fortified wooden doors. Once the gates dropped again, the doors were hauled open. Hooves beat on cobblestone as they cantered into the town.

Dyna could hardly see much, but from the twinkle of torches spreading into the distance, the wall circling Skelling Rise spread far and wide for several miles. She could perceive rolling hills and the houses built on them by the lights in their windows. As they rode ahead, the mercenaries began to break away one by one, riding towards the houses with their families eagerly waiting at the door, until Olyver and two other mercenaries remained. He led them through the quiet square and they passed by a fountain with the statue of a beautiful woman coated in frost.

From what little Dyna could see they were well established here. How long had they been living on Troll Bridge? The ruins of Azurite must be far from here.

“Where are you taking us?” Cassiel asked.

“To the Lieutenant’s house,” Olyver said over his shoulder. “You will await him and the Captain there.”

They moved onto a road up a hill. There stood a modest home of two stories and a barn nearby. Three silhouettes waited in the doorway. At the sight of them, the smallest one dashed down the steps.

“Evin!” a woman called after him.

The little boy’s bare feet pattered on the ground as he ran up to them with a big excited grin, blond curls bouncing around his face. He was about four years old and wore nothing but a long nightdress.

His smile dropped when he got close enough to see them. “Papa?”

“Hello there, lad,” Olyver greeted.

“Evin, I told you to wait inside, dear.” A woman rushed forward and pulled him against her hip. Her dress fluttered in the wind, outlining her round belly. She was heavily pregnant. Blond hair whipped past her face, her kind blue eyes quickly bouncing on all of their faces.

“Good evening.” She offered them a smile but it couldn’t hide her visible worry. Her questioning gaze shot to Olyver. “Where is Eagon? Klyde?”

The other one at the door crossed the porch, and Dyna saw it was an older boy. A lad of fifteen or sixteen with light brown hair and blue eyes.

“They’ll be back soon. No worries,” Olyver assured her. “Some of their party was separated during the attack and they’ve gone to search for them.”

“Oh, thank the God of Urn.” The woman sighed. The next smile she gave them was much brighter. “I’m Gale, Eagon’s wife. This is my son Evin and my nephew, Tavin.”

The lad nodded in greeting.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Dyna said, smiling in return. “My name is Dyna and this is my husband, Cassiel.” She glanced at the shadows near the barn. “The shy one over there is Zev.”

The introduction prompted her cousin to slip out of the darkness and Gale yelped, a hand flying to her stomach. “Good gods, is that a wolf?”

“He’s friendly,” Dyna assured.

For the most part, Cassiel’s retort slipped through her mind.

“I give you my word he will be well behaved.”

Evin immediately ran up to Zev, not at all frightened. He cooed and giggled, petting his head.

“Oh, Evin, leave him be,” Gale said uneasily.

“C’mere, tyke.” Tavin took the little boy’s hand, tugging him up the stairs into the house.

“Well, come in from out of the cold,” Gale said. “I imagine all of you must be hungry.”

The mention of food had the men happily dismounting and they tied their reins to the porch rail.

Cassiel slid down first before taking her waist and lifting her off. Have I told you what it does to me to hear you call me husband?

She hid a smile. No.

He settled her on her feet and his hand drifted to her hip, shooting fiery tingles across her stomach. It gives me the inherent desire to taste those words as they leave your lips.

Zev chuffed at them in annoyance and she flushed at being caught. Not that they were doing anything wrong, but it felt like he’d walked in on them sharing sweet nothings in the dark.

Cassiel smirked. “Behave or you will be left outside, wolf.”

Growling, Zev leaped up the stairs onto the porch. They climbed up the steps after him. Dyna glanced at the sky and some of her worry eased to see the flurries were lifting. She whispered a prayer that Rawn and Lucenna were safe and would be reunited with them soon.

They entered the house and welcoming warmth came over them. A fire burned strongly in the corner hearth where some couches were set over a furred rug. Gale called them to the kitchen where a round table was full with a small feast. The mercenaries had plates with heaping servings of potatoes, sausages, and peas.

“The unmarried men like coming here to eat,” Gale told her. “I always make sure to have enough for a few extra mouths.”

“We come because no other cooks like you,” one of the men garbled through a mouthful.

“Swallow your food before speaking, Cam.” She playfully smacked his shoulder and nodded for them to sit. “Help yourselves to anything you like while I get the drinks.”

Dyna served herself and Cassiel helpings of roasted vegetables, cheese and bread. Zev laid by her seat, still refusing to shift, so Gale set a plate on the floor for him. As the hour wore on, Evin fell asleep on his mother’s lap. Tavin listened with eager excitement as the mercenaries told him all the gory details of taking down the Horde.

Now that she could see him in better lighting, Dyna thought he had a striking resemblance to Klyde.

The blare of a horn sounded in the distance. The mercenaries rushed to the door. Gale moved to stand and hissed through a wince.

“Here, let me,” Dyna rushed to take her sleeping son, but Tavin grabbed him first.

“I’ve got him, auntie,” he told Gale, shooting Dyna a distrustful look. “I’ll put him to bed.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

The lad bounded out of the kitchen and heard his heavy steps bounding up the stairs.

Dyna helped Gale stand. “How far along are you?”

She laughed tiredly and rubbed her belly. “I’m nearly eight moons. More than ready to have this wee one. Pregnancy is hard on me. Weak bones, I think. I told Eagon I’m finished having bairns, what with me mothering half the men.”

She meant it as a lighthearted jest but Dyna frowned at her worriedly. There was a gauntness to the woman’s pretty features and the dark shadows beneath her eyes.

The neigh of horses drew them to the den where all the gathered warmth had been stolen out the open front door. As before, the group of mercenaries split off along the road, riding on to their homes. Only a few men followed Eagon up the rise to his.

“Fair.” Dyna smiled in relief when she spotted the white horse among them, but it faded at seeing the bundled body lying on his back. She ran down the porch with Cassiel and Zev. “What happened? Is he all right?”

“He found him unconscious not far from the cascade,” Eagon said. “That horse of his pulled him out of the water.”

“Well done, Fair.” Dyna petted him and checked on Rawn. His pointed ears were sticking out of the damp locks of hair sticking to his face. She brushed the strands from his sweaty forehead and pressed her fingers to his neck. “His pulse is weak and he’s frozen half to death. We need to get him inside.”

“Give me a hand,” Cassiel said to Eagon. Between them, they carried Rawn into the house and laid him on the blanket Gale laid in front of the fireplace.

“Help me undress him. We need to get him warm.” Dyna turned away to grab her satchel as Cassiel quickly removed Rawn’s soaked clothing and shoes. Once they covered him with more blankets, Dyna knelt next to him. “Can you hear me, Lord Norrlen?”

She checked each limb for breaks and pressed her ear to his chest. Heart was too slow and his chest struggled to rise. Rawn’s eyelids fluttered weakly. He mumbled something in his delirium. A name she couldn’t quite hear. He was feverish.

“Something is wrong.” She studied his breathing and the way each wheezing breath pulled against his bruised ribs. “I need to see inside.”

“Give her some room,” Cassiel said and boots shuffled back.

Dyna conjured a mist of swirling Essence, tendrils of light spilling from her fingertips as she cast it over Rawn’s still form. It settled around him, sinking beneath the blankets. She closed her eyes and let her magic weave through his body. Soft gasps and murmurs hovered on the corners of her awareness as she searched for wounds. His ribs were fractured and one of his lungs had collapsed. She promptly sent her magic to repair the damage and slowly bring his temperature back to normal. When she finished, he took a deep breath before settling back into sleep.

“He will be all right,” Dyna sighed. Her magic was at its limit now and she was exhausted. Cassiel helped her back on her feet. “Thank you for bringing him back…”

Eagon and his wife, Tavin on the stairs, and the mercenaries—everyone was staring at her.

“What of Lucenna?” Cassiel asked Eagon, breaking the silence.

“If they have not arrived by now, the Captain must have chosen to find shelter tonight. It’s too dangerous to be out in this weather,” Eagon said, still looking at her. “Klyde knows what he’s doing. I trust they will return by morning. You’re welcome to stay for the night and have a meal if you haven’t eaten yet.”

Cassiel nodded.

“Thank you,” Dyna added, since he forgot that part.

The lieutenant asked Olyver to take Fair to the barn on his way out while the new arrivals went into the kitchen to eat.

“I’m tired, love,” Gale mumbled sleepily to Eagon.

The Lieutenant swept her in his arms and carried her up the stairs. “I will have some blankets brought down to you,” he said, then he climbed up the steps with Tavin following.

Cassiel’s hand slipped into hers. “I don’t like the way they were looking at you,” he said under his breath, alerting Zev.

Her cousin growled faintly.

“Perhaps my magic startled them,” she whispered back. “They might think I’m a witch.”

“We will take turns keeping watch. As soon as Lucenna arrives, we go.”

After a while, Eagon returned with more blankets and told the men to take their leave. They settled in for the night with only the fireplace for light. Dyna checked on Rawn one more time before laying down on the couch with her head on Cassiel’s lap.

She couldn’t sleep.

Her mind wouldn’t quiet when an urgent anxiety made her aching body restless. Lucenna was out there somewhere and time was ticking by. Winter hovered over them like a storm waiting to pour.

Cassiel’s voice curled through her mind. Sleep.

I can’t. She sighed and looked up at him. I’m worried.

His eyes caught the firelight as he gazed down at her. I know. I am, too. But you need your rest for the long journey ahead. We all do.

She glanced at where Zev lay next to Rawn. His eyes were shut, but she knew her cousin was alert and listening to the sounds in the house.

I’m afraid to say it.

Then don’t.

What if…

Don’t think about it, Dyna. We will make it out of here.

They would make it out. She chanted it to herself, turning it into a prayer that they would reach a western port before the Saxe Sea froze. They couldn’t lose three months of their journey. They couldn’t.

Sleep. Cassiel’s fingers slipped into her hair and lightly massaged her scalp in slow circles. As if by magic, his touch drew out a low exhale that had her stiff shoulders relaxing. Forget the winter. Imagine you are laying in a glade of wildflowers fluttering in a warm breeze.

Her lashes fluttered closed and she smiled as he tucked the blanket around her. There is a field exactly like that one behind my cottage, full of poppies, marigolds, and cosmos. The air smells the sweetest there in the spring. Her nose burned as wetness gathered behind her eyelids. The mountains of Zafiro stand high and proud against the clear blue sky. Cascades spill off the range and stream into the crystal blue lake at the bottom near the village. Our home is nestled within the rolling hills with a view of it all.

She could picture it so clearly. Her heart ached with longing to see her family.

It sounds lovely. Cassiel wiped away the stray tear rolling down her temple. I would like to see it when this is all over.

You would come with me?

Lev sheli, I would follow you anywhere.

That made her smile. Dyna cupped his hand to her cheek and imagined him in North Star with her. That too was a very clear picture in her mind, as if the future itself promised he would one day.

Fatigue finally caught up to her, and sleep came swiftly, carrying her to summer fields.

***

Dyna woke with a shiver. A gray darkness filled the living room with the heavy drapes drawn over the windows. The light of morning leaked through the edges. Thin curls of smoke drifted from the fireplace, orange cinders fading from last night’s fire. Cassiel slept beside her. He was warm and solid with his steady heartbeat in her ear. She flushed at finding her body pressed against him, her leg shamelessly between his.

So as not to wake him, she gently slipped his arm from her waist and rolled off the couch. The pile of blankets by the fireplace was empty. The others must be awake. She stretched, yawning before walking to the window and lifting one end of the drapes. Her mind must have still been half-asleep for it worked slowly to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. She didn’t understand the crystals of frost on the glass, or the white landscape beyond it.

The sky was a veil of thick clouds, and from it streamed white fluff. She stared at it for a long minute, blinking repeatedly.

Until it made sense.

“No…” Dyna whispered in dismay. “No, no, no!”

She burst through the front door. The frigid air fell over her as her feet sunk into the deep white carpet of snow, reaching to her knees. The entire town of Skelling Rise was covered in a blanket of white.

A spot of color stood out on a short hill ahead of her.

Rawn.

He knelt in the snow, absolutely still. She ran to him. He didn’t react when Dyna reached him. Didn’t move at all. His mangled blond hair blew limply around his lowered face. For a moment she feared he had died out here when no one noticed. In his hand was a crumbled up envelope. The letter to his wife he’d been carrying in his pocket for the last two months.

And now he couldn’t send it at all because it was too late to leave Troll Bridge. They were stuck.

“Rawn?” She called to him anxiously. When he didn’t answer, she touched his shoulder. He was ice cold. “Rawn?”

Their wise Guidelander who always had the answer broke down in that moment. His body shook with quiet sobs. Kneeling in the snow, Dyna hugged the warrior and cried with him.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.