No. Not him. I can’t…I can’t do this again. I can’t lose another one. No, no, no, no. Come through the woods, Kian. Come on. Please.
“Mave, he’s gone, and we need to go!” Emerian yelled.
And it wasn’t Kian who came through the woods because Emerian was right. The first of what was probably dozens of Elvasi came. There was only a handful to start, probably those who outran the rest.
Emerian met them in combat, and he was vicious. Mave watched him cut them down, fighting for everything he had. He growled, snarled, and roared. She watched a sword cut precariously close to his face and saw blood spatter the dirt, but her nemari killed the Elvasi who did it. He screamed as it happened, but he didn’t stop moving. He only continued to fight. She watched as he sliced an Elvasi in half at the waist.
He killed six Elvasi before coming back to her. This time, when he tried to lift her, she allowed it. He held her tight and jumped for the air, taking her to the top of the cliff. She couldn’t walk anymore, her legs giving out as they landed. He took her to the first horse and helped her up, leaving her there. She stared at her hands, realizing she lost her sword at some point. She still had one, but the other was down in those woods.
When Emerian came back, he rushed to jump on a horse. He grabbed the leads for two others and kicked them to start running at a gallop. The remaining horses were now running around free.
“They should all make it out,” he said. “Hold on, Mave!”
She tried, but the fast ride was bumpy, and the arrow in her back was moving too much. The arrow in her side was hitting her arm. She couldn’t see anything, blinded by tears and pain.
Then an explosion shook the world and made the horses scream and begin to buck. She was flung, falling into the dirt, and it sent the arrow in her back even deeper. Emerian yelled and tried to settle them, but she nearly got kicked in the head by one running for its life.
She couldn’t move now, not even if she tried. She listened to the rumbling of whatever Emerian had set that blast to do and stared at the sky, trying to block out the pain.
Once Emerian got the remaining three horses to settle down, he went to her.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. We’ll stop and treat your injuries soon. Please don’t die. You can’t die on me.” Emerian got her onto a horse and secured her in with ropes. “Sleep if you can,” he ordered. “Sleep and heal. I know some field medicine from training, but we need to find a good place to stop.”
Her eyes drifted closed. He was right. She needed to heal if she wanted to get home.
The empty feeling in her chest threatened to drag her into the darkness and never let her go. Hollow. She wanted to be hollow.
When she drifted to sleep, not even Kristanya visited her in that hollow place where Mave retreated.
28
Zayden
Zayden slaved in the kitchen, making the biggest meal he probably ever had. One roasted elk leg from a quick hunt he and Mat just came back from, several organs grilled with vegetables for those who liked that sort of thing—he didn’t. Two types of salads and a variety of other side dishes.
This kitchen was not equipped for this sort of cooking.
He made do, though. He had big plans. Waking up at dawn, he came straight to the kitchen and started cooking. It was already past midday, and finally, the door opened, Mat walking in.
“Is he coming over?” Zayden asked, grinning at Mat.
“He is. I convinced him we needed a smaller party before the big official one, just for the Company,” Mat said, grinning back. “Even got Bryn and Luykas to take a night off.”
“Good. I convinced Nevyn and Varon to come over. Is Luykas going to talk to Alchan and Rain?”
“He promised he would.”
Zayden nodded, glad to hear that. They were missing Mave and Kian, leaving a hole for everyone. Those two were firecrackers of energy in two very distinct ways, but that was even more of a reason for tonight.
Zayden had the first idea for tonight’s fun. There had always been a plan to throw a party for Leshaun, but it was supposed to be a big event with