Mauria smiled. “It’s fine. You’re curious. I like that. I loved my husband. And I loved Lilly.” Mauria set her bowl of soup on the side table. “I haven’t the slightest idea how it all works. I just know I love who I love.”
“Makes perfect sense to me,” she said. “I know I love Aiden. I hesitated about my feelings for him, and then I took him for granted.”
“You fell into a rut.”
“A rut?”
“If you do something enough, Frasie, it wears a spot in your life like the grove a wagon wheel digs into the ground. It’s comfortable, and you don’t want to leave. Eventually, the rut is so deep you can’t see anything else. And then someone comes along, like Lilly, or your Aiden, and knocks us out of that familiar place.”
“That has happened to us. Aiden and I aren’t used to working as partners, just two members of a bigger team. We get swept up in everything that’s going on around us. It took us months just to have a date.” She sighed. “And it’s been arguments ever since.”
“Whatever you do, talk about it. Don’t ignore it, and don’t pretend the problems don’t exist. That’s the worst thing you can do.”
“Is that what happened between you and Lilly?” she asked.
Maura tugged at her skirt. “I can’t point to one single thing—except what happened to us when people found out about our relationship.”
“Shareis once told me you were whipped. That had to have been awful.”
“It was, but the proceeding infections, imprisonment, and scorn I faced proved far worse.” Mauria swallowed hard. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“I understand. I wasn’t pressing you. I talk. A lot, and I like talking to others. Even if it’s not a pleasant subject.”
Mauria smiled. “Don’t ever lose that, Frasie.”
“I think some would prefer I was quieter.”
“You have a lot to share with the world.”
“Right now, I have a lot to share with Aiden,” she said. “I’d better go talk to him. Thank you, Mauria, for the conversation.”
“Anytime, Frasie.”
Frasie left the inn and bundled up in her cloak to ward off the snow shower now blanketing Ashmar. She walked down the narrow winding road through the woods to Aiden’s father’s home. She found it odd the workshop was closed in the middle of the day.
She banged on the wood panel doors. “Aiden, are you there? Marcus? Anyone?”
She proceeded to their front door and knocked, but no one answered. When she started to leave, she noticed a note in Aiden’s handwriting pinned to a post on the porch.
Fetching minerals from the mine. Will be back this afternoon.
She had no idea the location of the mine referenced in the note. She could go back to town and ask, but that’d waste more time—time she could spend finding Aiden. They couldn’t have gotten too far.
As she surveyed the property for any clues about their departure, she heard a distant sound. It was faint—soft enough for the snowfall to deaden the noise. She put her hand to her ear and listened intently.
She heard it again. Her pulse quickened. She immediately recognized it.
Gunfire.
Chapter 43
Niv’s boots crunched through the snow as she walked to the edge of the town square.
A woman’s voice approached from behind her. “It’s good to see the sun again, isn’t it?”
She turned to see Aja bundled in her thick cloak. “It is. I’d forgotten it was there.” She glanced at the tall trees that lined the road to Brenloh. “From what Farius said, the forest around Ashmar is almost all that’s left of the Jeweled Woods.”
Aja stood next to her. “You’re lucky to have grown up nestled in their embrace.”
She took a deep breath of the frigid air. “I’d give anything to return to the way things were just a fortnight ago.”
“Before your wedding?”
She smiled. “No… Just after that. There was a time, right before the invasion, that everything was right in my world. Every star aligned… just for me. I suppose that can only happen once in a lifetime.”
Aja’s hand rested on her shoulder. “She’ll be back.”
She stared down the road. “That’s what I keep telling myself.”
“Where are the others?”
She looked to the sky. “Farius is scouting from the air. Frasie and Aiden are making explosives…” She grinned. “Or, with any luck, making love. Mauria is in the inn.”
“You don’t mention your mother,” Aja noted.
She motioned to the tavern. “My mother is in the kitchen preparing food.”
Aja shook her head. “Your other mother, Maeva.”
“I don’t know. I suspect she’s in her room.”
“She regrets not being at your wedding.”
“She regrets I didn’t notice her absence.”
“My mother died when I was five. I barely remember her. I’d give anything to see her again.”
She raised her voice. “If you’re saying I should reconcile with her—”
Aja shook her head. “Not at all.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. Mae is a sore subject with me at the moment.” She scoffed. “At any moment, really.”
“I understand your situation. Your mother has a lot of regret, both for how she’s treated you and for her own conduct.”
“She keeps making the same mistakes,” she said.
“I don’t think she can help herself.”
“Surely she can.”
“We are not all born with the same abilities,” Aja said. “Some of us are great singers, skilled hunters, or powerful sorceresses, like yourself. But we all have our weaknesses. Some people, like Maeva, don’t have the ability to put other’s needs before their own.”
She nodded. “She’s selfish.”
“That’s not quite what I mean,” Aja said. “Many people have to choose to be selfish. It doesn’t come naturally. But some can’t help it. Your mother can’t help some of her behavior and feels bad about what she does.”
She turned to Aja. “How do you know this?”
Aja shrugged. “I understand people’s emotions, often better than they do.”
“You are gifted,” she said. “Have you ever thought of joining the Ael’Shanar?”
“Me? Oh, no. I’m content to be a simple healer.”
“There’s nothing simple about that job,” she said. “You save lives and make people feel better. But there’s more… You have a way about you.”
“Adrious says I have a way about me, too.” Aja grinned. “I think it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It is,” she replied. “Many healers focus on the body. You are skilled with the heart. I feel better, and you weren’t even trying.”
“I’m just distracting you, so you don’t have to think about Shareis’s absence.”
“I see modesty is another one of your skills.”
Aja smiled. “My job is complete.”
“What do you mean?”
Aja pointed toward the edge of town. In the distance, she could make out Shareis, Lilly, Olivia, and Cadrin. She ran as hard as she could until she met up with them.
“Our mission was a success,” Lilly announced.
She hugged Shareis. “I’m so glad you’re back, love.”
Cadrin rolled his eyes. Lilly poked him in the side. “He’s been a disagreeable cuss the entire trip, even despite the gag.”
“Is everyone alright?” Shareis asked.
“Everyone is fine.” She hugged Olivia. “Good to see you safe and sound.”
“I’m not sure we’re safe,” Olivia said. “But for now, we’re sound.”
“Has he been gagged the whole time?” she asked.
“Only when I get tired of his complaining,” Lilly replied.
She glared at him. “You have nothing to complain about, Cadrin. You have ruined so many lives.”
Waves of anger poured from him as h
e struggled against the gag.
“Save your strength,” Lilly told Cadrin. “You will need it for your questioning.”
“I’m sure you’re all tried and hungry,” she said. “Let’s get back to town.”
Chapter 44
Frasie’s father taught her how to track. Granted, he showed her how to find game, not humans. But to her, humans were just animals who thought they were different. In fact, a pair of boots in the snow was easier to track than the spindly hooves of the four-legged variety.
At the northwestern edge of the property, she found two sets of prints headed down a well-worn trail into the woods. She followed it, keeping a sharp eye for any threats along the way. After at least a half hour of walking, the trees began to thin, and the path gradually inclined. Not far up the hill, she spotted a rocky outcropping. She darted for cover when she saw a soldier walking near the rocks.
She heard some conversation but was unable to make out the words. She was relieved to hear Aiden’s voice. She searched her immediate surroundings for a closer vantage point and spotted a group of bushes that would make excellent cover. She paused during the lull in conversation, then swiftly darted to her new location.
“It takes more than two men to run a mine,” a Steelcove soldier said. “If you don’t tell me where the rest of your crew is—”
“He’s telling the truth,” Marcus insisted.
“I doubt it. No matter. We’ll take you two back to camp and send a larger team to investigate.” The soldier pointed his gun directly at Aiden’s face. “And if you’re lying—”
“You’ll do what?” Aiden scowled.
Her heart sank as he spoke harshly to the men. She appreciated his directness and anger but wanted him to make it through this in one piece. She prayed her love would do as he was told.
Another soldier, presumably their superior, pulled Aiden’s antagonizer a few paces back. “You know our orders. Miners are to be captured, not killed.”
The soldier hesitated, then snarled in frustration. “Lucky.”
Another man pointed down the path. “Get moving.”
She couldn’t stop for a sigh of relief. They were coming. Aiden and Marcus were marched at gunpoint with three soldiers behind them. She had only seconds to figure out a way to free them. She had to act before she lost the advantage. She nocked an arrow and aimed for the leader’s chest. At the count of three, she released the string.
Her aim was true. The man clutched the arrow and yelled in agony as he fell to the ground. The other two soldiers pointed their rifles at her. She barely made it back to cover before one of their weapons fired. It missed, but that wasn’t the shot she worried about. She quickly nocked another arrow, took a deep breath, and emerged to fire.
Her arrow grazed his arm, but before he could respond, Aiden charged at the man, landing a vicious punch to his jaw that sent the soldier reeling. The third soldier who had fired didn’t try to reload. Instead, he drew a sword. Marcus raised a mining pick to the man, but the soldier’s age and agility gave him a decisive edge. Before she could fire another arrow, the invader’s sword had sliced through Marcus’s abdomen.
Aiden was still embroiled in desperate combat with his attacker. Their quarters were too tight for her to help him with her bow, so she aimed at the man who cut Aiden’s father and released her arrow. She hit him in the shoulder, but it didn’t seem to stop him. He yelled and ran toward Frasie with his blade ready to strike.
She ducked, narrowly avoiding his hearty swing. She didn’t have a blade, so she was at a tremendous disadvantage this close to her attacker. She tried to put some distance between them, but she stumbled over a rock and nearly took a tumble. As she struggled to regain her footing, the man raised his sword to her, only to freeze before he could start his swing.
The soldier fell to the ground. Aiden, dripping with sweat and panting in exhaustion in the frigid cold, stood over him with a blood-soaked mining pick. Before they could speak a word, the man he had previously tackled raced toward him. By the time she yelled for him to look out, they were already on the ground.
In short order, the soldier straddled Aiden, pulled a dagger from his belt, and raised to strike. Aiden grasped the man’s arm, barely able to hold the tip of the dagger away from his throat. She snatched it from the ground and channeled all her rage at the man into a mighty swing.
The bloody tip pierced his skull and became lodged in his head. The soldier immediately fell on top of Aiden, and she feared the dagger, still seized in a death grip, would stab him. She screamed for Aiden, desperate for any sign he was still alive. Neither moved. Their cold, deathly silence froze her in her tracks. Just as she summoned the courage to reach for them, Aiden heaved the man aside.
She jumped back and squealed in panic. “Aiden! Are you alright?”
He managed a groan. She noticed a pool of blood on his shirt and frantically started removing the garment to inspect the wound. She tore enough of the fabric to see it was merely blood from the soldier.
“I’m… I’m alright.” He bolted upright. “Father!”
She helped Aiden stand and they hurried to Marcus’s aid. A large gash extended across his abdomen, and he’d lost a lot of blood.
“He’s not conscious!” she yelled.
Aiden felt his father’s neck. “He’s got a pulse. He needs a healer, now!”
Aiden put his father in a mining cart near the entrance of the mine and started to wheel him back down the path. She grasped the other handle and helped him push. They raced down the trail and stopped at Marcus’s home. Aiden carried his father inside while she fetched one of his horses and rode as hard as she could into town.
Olivia sat on the bench in front of the inn. She approached her without dismounting. “I’m glad you’re safe, Olivia.”
Olivia smiled. “Thank you, Frasie.”
“Where’s Nivvy?”
Olivia motioned to the town hall. “She’s speaking with the mayor. We captured Cadrin.” Olivia motioned to her dress. “You’ve got blood on you. Are you alright?”
She looked at the spray of blood across her chest. “It’s not mine. Aiden’s father is in bad shape and needs healing.”
“I’ll help,” Olivia said.
She looked to the town hall, then back to Olivia. She extended her arm to helped her on the horse. Olivia put her arm around Frasie. “Let’s go.”
By the time they returned, Aiden had already laid his father on his bed, removed his shirt, and cleaned around the wound.
Aiden looked up at them. “Oh, you’re back! Thank you for coming, Olivia. Are you alright?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Olivia replied.
She studied Olivia’s face while she examined the cut. “Can you heal him?”
Olivia hovered her hands over the wound. “My magical abilities were hampered by the Asarians, but I believe I have recovered. I promise you, Frasie… Aiden, I will try my best.”
“That’s more than enough,” Aiden said. “Thank you.”
Olivia positioned her hands directly on the wound and closed her eyes. After several minutes of agonizing silence, she noticed Marcus’s ragged breathing stabilized and a bit of color returned to his face. She continued for several more minutes, then opened her eyes.
“He has lost a lot of blood, and age is not necessarily on his side,” Olivia said. “Nevertheless, I feel a great strength within him. I believe, with rest, he will recover.”
Aiden brought Olivia a basin and a fresh towel. “Thank you. I’m now even further in your debt.”
Olivia washed her hands and dried them. “Aiden, there is no debt among friends.”
He shook his head. “We are more than friends, Olivia. You are part of our family. I cannot thank you enough.”
“Olivia, I—”
Olivia put her finger to her lips. “No, Frasie. You don’t owe me—”
“I have to apologize to you.”
“The apology is mine to make.”
She shook her head.
“I was a fool. You saved me by charming me. You saved Aiden, and now you’ve saved his father. You would be fully within your rights to never speak to me again after how I’ve treated you.”
Olivia took her hands. “Frasie, I love you. And I love you, Aiden. You two… Niv, Shareis… As you said, you’re my family. I would do anything for you.”
“Even put up with a self-righteous country girl like me?” she asked.
Olivia pulled her in for an embrace. In that moment, all the stress surrounding Aiden, their near-death experience at the mine, and the agonizing over her parent’s safety caved in on her. She sobbed on Olivia’s shoulder.
Olivia soothed her by stroking the back of her head. “Frasie, you were there for me at my darkest hour. And I will be eternally grateful.”
She continued to cry on her friend’s shoulder. “I am sorry, Olivia.”
Chapter 45
Shareis and Niv conferred privately while Lilly forced Cadrin to sit on a bench near the rear of the town hall.
Niv looked toward Cadrin. “He hasn’t been very cooperative. Maybe Olivia can charm him.”
Shareis shook her head. “Unlikely. She tried not long after we captured him to gain additional information about troop placements between here and Ashmar and her charm was ineffective.”
She sighed. “Just like the rest of the Asarians. But he’s not Asarian.”
“I cannot explain it,” Shareis said.
Farius entered the town hall and caught sight of Cadrin. She and Shareis approached.
Farius removed the cloth from Cadrin’s mouth. “It is good to see you, old friend.”
Cadrin chuckled. “Old friend. You have some nerve.”
Farius’s face reddened. For the first time since she had known him, he raised his voice. “No, you have some nerve, Cadrin. You have no idea the pain and misery you have caused.”
Cadrin took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to harm anyone.”
Niv gritted her teeth. “You invaded our land, killed untold civilians, kidnapped Olivia—”
Cadrin scoffed. “Olivia is no innocent damsel in distress, I assure you.”
“You were under Morgan’s control, weren’t you?” Shareis asked.
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