to mention the last day, how could his status at Stone come down to the opinion of one boy who despised him?
Heat flowed through Aron’s body like a red, burning wave.
Galvin’s expression turned even darker, and he cleared his throat. “Aron Weylyn does not need his legacy to fight. He will be better served to work on close combat or far-distant attack. Middle-range weapons are not his strength.”
Aron’s thoughts crackled between his temples as Galvin’s report sank into his consciousness. He heard Dari’s intake of breath as Zed and Iko grumbled to themselves. Windblown and Blath offered no reactions.
“Thank you,” Stormbreaker said to Galvin. “Your assessment closely matches mine. Very few can be master of all methods of fighting. With your leave, Lord Baldric, I believe both apprentices should go to the infirmary for a check from the healers.”
Lord Baldric grunted his assent, and Galvin Herder walked away in the direction of the infirmary building.
Aron found he couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate. He stared after the older boy, watching him stride toward Triune’s main byway, but he remained paralyzed by a mixture of anger and relief and surprise, and complete confusion.
Blath, Windblown, and Zed took their leave, while Dari, Iko, and Stormbreaker remained close. Dari looked as angry as Aron felt.
“How was it right to give that boy any voice in Aron’s fate?” she asked, her tone conveying the full measure of her scorn for that action.
Aron expected a rebuke from Stormbreaker or a brutal retort from Lord Baldric, but Stormbreaker remained silent. The Lord Provost spoke to Dari as a teacher would address a student. “At Stone, our fate always depends upon the cooperation and support of our fellow guild members.” He gestured to the massive battlements surrounding them. “As you well know, and you’ll hear often at Triune, we have no friends outside these walls. We must forge our alliances within them.”
Dari looked like she wanted to debate the point, but Lord Baldric held up one hand. “If Galvin had spoken against Aron, it would not have sealed Aron’s fate. It would have sealed mine.”
Lord Baldric lowered his hand and turned his gaze to Aron. For once his brown eyes seemed absolutely gentle, and as his bald head gleamed in the afternoon light, Aron thought he saw the man’s eyes glisten with a hint of tears. “I would have had a choice to make, a choice that would leave me wounded and Stone weaker by one strong fighter. Fortunately, it did not come to that. Both apprentices have exceeded my expectations, and earned some leeway—however small—in my esteem.”
So why did Aron not feel light and carefree?
Aron lifted his hands and pressed them against his chest, as if he might actually touch the heaviness that pressed so fiercely on his insides.
“Infirmary, Aron,” Stormbreaker said, patting Aron’s shoulder. “Have a good meal, then return to me for training.”
“Yes, Master Stormbreaker.” Aron’s response was automatic, but his eyes had moved to Dari.
She gave him an impatient, almost irritated frown as she often did when he was misbehaving in graal lessons. The expression saddened Aron and increased the weight inside him as he realized he likely had not shown her sufficient gratitude or respect.
“When you have a moment, I would speak with you,” he said, hearing that strange deepening in his voice that he had noticed after surviving Platt’s scrutiny in the Ruined Keep.
Dari’s eyebrows pulled together, and Aron felt the touch of her graal.
He didn’t resist her, even when the touch deepened to an outright exploration. The irritation left her face, replaced by worry, relief, and something like grudging affection.
He left for the infirmary without waiting for her response.
She would catch up to him, and he would tell her about his visit with Platt. Then he would explain the encounter to Stormbreaker and Lord Baldric, and return to his training at Stone.
“Thank you,” he said to Iko, who was following behind him at a reasonable distance.
As always, the Sabor offered little in the way of response, but Aron heard the boy mutter quick thanks to Cayn.
After a moment, Aron did the same. Cayn, the Brother, the Goddess—he wasn’t certain who had chosen him, but it seemed prudent to speak to all of them, just in case.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ARON
The news of Aron’s encounter with Platt seemed to sustain Dari for a time, which gave Aron a sense of relief. She told Aron she felt like she had been granted a reprieve, that she at least had a reasonable chance of finding her