War's Ending

by A J Park

  “You found some more of the fish-eaters to help you!” he yelled into cave. “You won’t escape. You won’t live to take our secrets back to them. You can die in there and take your friends with you.”

  The Yalkur shot arrows in through the entrance. The cave’s inhabitants all jumped back against the walls, where the arrows couldn’t strike them directly, but splintered instead against the hard rock inside.

  The horsemen tried to attack the door again, but Finn leapt to defend it. Shalyrie clutched the sword in her hand. Their attackers could only come one at a time, so Finn was able to hold them back.

  The Yalkur tried another tactic. They gathered wood and lit a fire in the mouth of the cave. “Come and stop us!” the ones with bows jeered. They built the fire bigger and threw green stuff on it to make it smoke more.

  The small cave began to fill with smoke that grew increasingly thicker. There was no outlet. They dropped to the floor, getting as low as they could, and tried to push the fire back without presenting a target. It helped only a little.

  “We can’t breathe in the smoke,” one of Finn’s companions yelled, as he kicked the burning logs back and jumped out of the opening. Shalyrie heard the snap of a bowstring and a grunt of pain. She couldn’t see through the smoke, but it grew quiet outside again.

  The smoke continued to thicken. There was no clear air left, even lying flat on the floor. Shalyrie ripped the hood from her head and covered her nose and mouth with several thicknesses of its fabric.

  It was quiet now.

  At least this was better than being shot. A peaceful way to die. She crawled along the floor and found Kellji.

  “Kellji?”

  “I’m sorry, Shalyrie,” Kellji said. “I shouldn’t have brought us here.” They clung to each other.

  It seemed very dark. Or maybe her eyes were closed. She felt like she was drifting, and she saw falling snowflakes. Kalleck’s arms were around her. At least if she never got to see him again, she would remember him. Kalleck.

  CHAPTER 21

  Lady Shalyrie Almorin

  Shalyrie heard voices, but they were coming from a long way away. Dimly, she noticed someone was carrying her. Suddenly, she felt a breath of fresh air.

  Air!

  She sucked in a big lungful and then coughed long and hard, trying to clear her lungs. She wasn’t aware of anything, except the cool, clean air and that she could finally breathe again.

  “Shalyrie!” A voice cried her name. “Shalyrie!”

  “Kellji?”

  “She’s here.”

  “The Almorians, don’t kill them. They helped us—”

  “They’re here.”

  It was Kalleck’s voice. The real Kalleck, not her dream of him.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked urgently, “other than the smoke.”

  She shook her head.

  It was a long time before she could think about anything but drawing air into her lungs and coughing to get the smoke out. Eventually, she realized she could see the sky above her and Kalleck’s concerned eyes looking down at her. It was him. When she saw him, her heart turned over. A funny feeling.

  He helped her sit up. They were outside the cave now. “Water?” he asked.

  She nodded and drank from the flask he offered. The water eased the burning in her throat. “The Almorians who helped us, are they alive?”

  “The two that were inside the cave are alive. The others are dead. I’m sorry. We need to leave this place before more sea-folk arrive.”

  “Where’s my horse?”

  “She’s here. Can you ride?”

  He helped her to her feet. She looked for Kellji and saw her sitting with Sinnar bending over her. She saw Finn where he sat on the ground. He was looking up at her and still coughing from the smoke. His face was smeared with soot, and his hands were tied in front of him.

  “Don’t fight them,” Shalyrie said. “They won’t hurt you. We have to get away from here now, before there’s more fighting.”

  “As you command, my lady,” Finn said dubiously as a Yalkur pulled him to his feet and led him over to a horse. He indicated for him to mount. Then the Yalkur mounted behind him.

  They rode back into the hills. Evening was coming on. They found a sheltered hollow among the rocks and made camp under an overhanging boulder.

  Shalyrie unsaddled her horse and rubbed her down. Then she walked to an opening in the rocks and stood staring into the distance. The sun was setting behind the purple hills. Somewhere down there was the sea and, farther yet, Almoria.

  Home. She’d felt safe there. Back then, she’d never really appreciated how good it was to feel safe. But when she came to the Hidden City, she fell in love with it and its people. She thought perhaps it could become her new home. But then danger appeared and she was no longer safe. She feared she would be forced to leave—to leave Kalleck behind and all his people.

  But when she had seen him again just now, her heart hadn’t cared that some of his people hated her and couldn’t accept her. What was she going to do?

  She’d only been glad to see Kalleck again, as if the rest didn’t matter.

  But how could she stay?

  She heard a quiet step behind her and knew it was him before he said her name. “Shalyrie.” He put his gloved hand on her shoulder.

  How could she stay here?

  How could she leave? She covered his hand with hers.

  He stood silently behind her for a long time. Finally, he said, “I’m afraid to speak.”

  “What do you want to say?” she asked. She wanted to know everything that he wanted to say and couldn’t. She could feel his hand on her shoulder, and his touch made her remember the way it had felt to have his arms around her.

  No. She mustn’t allow herself to feel that way. He had only been trying to save her life.

  She couldn’t feel that way. She had to leave him. She opened her mouth. “Kalleck, I…”

  She couldn’t get the rest of the words out. They echoed in her head. I have to leave. I can’t stay. I’ll never see you again. I’ll never see you at all.

  She took a deep breath and tried again, but she couldn’t get the words past the lump in her throat. Gently, he pulled her around to face him.

  “You’re in pain,” he said. “I can tell. What is it? Please tell me. I can’t stand to see you suffer. Not when I know that it’s my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault!” she objected. “You’ve done nothing but help me.”

  “You judge me much too kindly,” he said. “Please tell me what hurts you?”

  She looked up into his brown eyes.

  My heart is breaking. How could she tell him that?

  “I thought you were really dead this time,” he said brokenly. “Again, I have failed to keep you safe.”

  “We can’t go on like this,” Shalyrie said. “It’s always the same. You feel that it’s your fault… when it isn’t. But I see now that your people could never accept me. It doesn’t matter how kind you have been or how you feel about me personally, or that Kellji and Kern have accepted me, or even Sinnar. There will always be someone who doesn’t. They’re going to kill me, Kalleck. They’ve already tried several times.”

  He bowed his head. “So you wish to leave then?”

  “What else can I do?” she asked.

  He sank to his knees and looked up at her. “Stay. Stay with me. Please.”

  She looked down at him, at the black mask covering his face. All she could see were his eyes… How could she refuse him anything when he looked at her like that? Not when she loved him.

  She loved him. The realization filled her. It filled every part of her being and was stronger than her worry about what Uncle Telthan would say—stronger even than homesickness. And she realized now, it was stronger than her fear of what might happen if she stayed with
Kalleck’s people. She knew as she looked at him that she would rather stay and face the uncertainty than leave Kalleck.

  It seemed crazy and it didn’t make sense, but she wouldn’t choose to leave him now. She looked into his dark eyes, and it was hard to breathe. The sound of his voice sent a tremor through her, as if her whole being responded to him. It didn’t matter what he said.

  “Shalyrie, I saw the smoke, and when we put out the fire and ran inside, I saw you lying there. I thought it was over. I thought that I would never get a chance to tell you that I love you. I have never offered my heart to anyone before, but it is yours. Always.”

  “You offer me your heart?” she asked, stunned. Could it possibly be true?

  “I should have told you a long time ago,” he said. “That’s why I wanted you to join my people so badly. You are a very giving person, and you could have helped us in our need and then returned to your home. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted you to share our secrets, to see our faces. To see my face. To be one of us.”

  Could she believe him? This was what she had wished for all along. More than anything, she wanted to be with him. Staying with him was worth the risk.

  But she did believe him. She felt the truth of his words in her heart. “Kalleck, I love you,” she whispered, kneeling beside him. “I didn’t think you cared about me. I thought you were just a good, kind, brave man who was trying to help… and you are,” she smiled.

  He touched her face. “Is this the truth?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “But you belong to the sea-king’s family. You could have any man you wanted. How can you say you love me when all I’ve done is put you in danger?”

  “I… I won’t lie to you. I’m still terrified that someone will attack me again, or attack you because of me,” she said. “But I would rather face my fear and take the risk than leave you.”

  “Farak wanted to kill me,” Kalleck said. “If he hadn’t been my enemy first, he would not have come after you. He saw that I cared for you, and that’s why he wanted to make an example of you. He wanted to condemn me for loving you.”

  “But he can’t be the only one. The man who just attacked Kellji and I—”

  “He was the last of Farak’s men. He’s the man who escaped into the storm that night. He was carrying on Farak’s work. All the attempts on your life came from Farak and his followers. And they are all dead now.”

  “You don’t think any more of your people hate me?”

  “No, Shalyrie,” he said. “The story of how you saved the life of that girl in the battle has spread far and wide, and of how you saved my life, with seaweed. Sinnar always has to mention the seaweed,” he said, getting to his feet.

  She smiled at that, and he offered his hand and helped her up.

  “They don’t hate you,” he said. “They know how loyal you have been. The whole Council voted to allow you to see the city. They all voted for you. Every single one. It is your choice,” he said firmly. “If you want those two soldiers to escort you back to your people, you can leave. Get away from Galenor and his men, and go back to your home. If that is what you want—”

  Leave him? Leave Sinnar and Kellji? Leave her horse? And if she did, she would never be able to come back. She put her hand over her heart where the symbol of the Sacred Spring had been absorbed into her skin.

  “I won’t leave,” she said, putting her arms around him.

  He held her close.

  There was nothing better than being in his arms. She realized now that her life had changed forever. She would never choose to leave Kalleck now. She couldn’t. Whatever happened to him would happen to both of them. She loved him and wondered how she had not realized a long time ago that he loved her too. It seemed obvious now in the way he protected her and in his pain when things went wrong.

  “I can’t believe that you are willing to forgive my failings,” he said. “I don’t deserve it.”

  Shalyrie looked up at him. “Of course you do! You always do everything for everyone else. Don’t you deserve to be happy too?”

  “I still have a duty to my people,” he said. “I took an oath as First Guardian, to take care of them, protect them, to always put their needs first.”

  “I know,” she said. “You’ve already done well. I hope they appreciate what you do for them.”

  Darkness had fallen while they were talking. The night was still and the stars had come out. Kalleck put his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “I never thought you would stay,” he said. “You’ve been through so much.”

  She laid her head against his chest. It felt so good to be close to him, in spite of the armor, but she wished she could hear his heart beating. She wanted to be closer to him. She took one of his hands and pulled the glove off. She kissed the back of his hand and let his fingers caress her cheek. “I want to see your face,” she murmured.

  “Will you take the oath after all then?”

  Shalyrie was sure now. There was no more debate. “Yes.”

  “Then we will hold the ceremony as soon as we can after we get back to the city. When it’s done, you’ll be one of us. I will take my mask off and you will be free to see all of our people.”

  It was very dark under the shadow of the tree. Kalleck stood with his back to the moonlight, his face cast in shadow. He unfastened his mask, but she still couldn’t see his face, even when he leaned in close. He gave her a gentle kiss. She reached up with both hands to touch his face and answered his kiss.

  It was a long time later, but not nearly long enough, when they heard footsteps approaching. Shalyrie could barely see the outline of Sinnar’s tall form.

  “Are you…” He cleared his throat. “All right out here?”

  Shalyrie firmly repressed the urge to giggle. It had been a very long day, and she’d narrowly escaped death. Maybe hysteria was taking hold at last.

  “We’re fine,” Kalleck said firmly. “Thank you for checking on us. We’ll return in a moment.”

  “We’ve got a fire going between the rocks so no one will see it. It’s getting colder.”

  “Thank you, Sinnar,” Shalyrie said. He was right. She was getting cold. Sinnar went back to the others, leaving them alone again.

  “I don’t want to go back yet,” she whispered.

  He laughed quietly. “We could stay forever, but you are shivering.”

  It was true. So she gave Kalleck one last, lingering kiss before he replaced his mask and they went back to the others.

  She’d been so close. She’d felt his skin, kissed his mouth—but he still wouldn’t let her see his face. Not until the ceremony was done. Well, she had made up her mind, and Kalleck had said they would hold it as soon as they could after they got back.

  It was time for her to see his face.

  They found a small group of people around the fire: Sinnar and a few of his men, Kellji, and two tense-looking Almorian soldiers with their hands tied.

  Shalyrie felt a moment of guilt that they had been here, bound, while she spent time with Kalleck. “Sinnar?” Shalyrie asked. “May I release them?”

  “You don’t think they will try anything stupid?”

  “I will speak with them,” she promised. Kalleck offered her a small knife, and she went to the soldiers.

  “You’re not planning to try and fight them, are you?” she asked.

  “Not unless they harmed you, Lady Shalyrie,” Finn said.

  “Good.” She cut their hands free and turned to Kalleck. “Is there food?” He went to his saddlebag and brought out jerky, bread and dried fruit. Shalyrie’s stomach growled. She gave the Almorians some food, and then sat down to eat as well. When was the last meal they’d had? Still chewing, she went to sit beside Kalleck. Kellji was there, on the other side of the fire next to Sinnar.

  Sinnar stared at Shalyrie. “Well?” h
e demanded. “Are you going to tell us what happened?”

  Shalyrie looked at Kalleck. Then she said, “It was a message, asking me to meet Kalleck outside the gate. Kellji thought it was his writing. So she and I went down to the stables and rode out—not far—just outside the gate. I saw…” she looked at Kalleck again. “I saw your horse. I didn’t realize it wasn’t you it was too late.”

  “Why did you go with him?”

  “He said he would kill her if I didn’t go.” She looked at Kellji. “I couldn’t let that happen. We rode a long way. When he stopped, Kellji got away from him. We escaped and hid. We went to that cave looking for Sinnar’s men to ask for help. The Almorians were there ahead of us. They came back and found us there. Three of them believed my story and agreed to help us. They came inside, and they tried to help defend us when Farak’s men came back. We defended the door, but we couldn’t get past them. Their friend,” she looked toward the Almorians, “tried that and they shot him. They couldn’t get in, so they waited for the smoke to kill us.”

  “The smoke helped us find you,” Sinnar said. “Are you hurt?”

  Shalyrie shook her head. He turned to Kellji, beside him. She shook her head too.

  “She’s cut and bruised,” Shalyrie said.

  “Will you let Sinnar look at it?” Kalleck asked her.

  “It’s fine,” Kellji insisted. “It’s not bad. You don’t need to do anything for it.”

  “Kellji,” Kalleck said. “It’s better if you treat your injuries. You know this better than anyone.”

  Kellji conceded. She wouldn’t uncover her face while the Almorians were there, but she loosened the ends of her hood and uncovered her neck.

  “Come closer to the fire so I can see it,” Sinnar said.

  Kellji obeyed. When she came into the firelight, they could all see the heavy bruising on her neck.