away, heading up the grand stairs that led to the ornate double doors into the palace. Rain sobbed as Alchan opened those doors, then closed himself in. Rain’s only comfort was Lily, who grabbed him before he hit the ground and held him.
41
Luykas
The world was falling apart. Piece by piece, the world was crumbling, and Luykas was struggling to maintain all of it.
With his support system cut in half, and that was being generous, he was losing sleep, getting skinny, and knew he would become ill, eventually. He couldn’t do it all.
Losing Dave wasn’t a blow he could take. Trevan hadn’t handled it well, either. Whenever Luykas took the Elvasi into the village for any reason, the man had his sword drawn, ready for an attack on them.
But today, Luykas knew there was some bit of hope. The supply caravan would be coming in, and with it, an Andinna who claimed to have information. Information that couldn’t be written down or spoken to the wrong person, so the Andinna had agreed to travel a long way to tell him personally.
“Trevan, is breakfast ready?” Luykas asked softly, going into the kitchen and finding the Elvasi.
“Almost,” Trevan answered, sighing. “Are you going to make me go out there today?”
“You’re one of my only allies right now. I need you,” Luykas reminded him. “I know it’s dangerous, but I would rather keep you with me at all times. An Andinna could fly up here—”
“Die,” Trevan snapped. “If one of them came up here for me, I would kill them without hesitation.”
Luykas paused midstep and looked at the Elvasi with worry in his heart. Had they finally broken their only Elvasi friend?
“Are you going to be able to stay here when this is over? I don’t want you looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life, unable to trust anyone here.” Luykas reached out, touching the Elvasi’s back. “You are a brother of the Company now. We would hate to see you go, but…I don’t want you to suffer by being around us—”
“The only thing I hate is that Dave is dead,” Trevan snapped, turning to him. “Not the Andinna. They’re terrified. They don’t know who’s hurting them, and they are desperate. Understanding that won’t stop me from defending myself, but I’ve always been able to see beneath the external fear and rage. I was a guard in the pits. I didn’t abuse them, but I knew others did, so I took their fury. I only defended myself. I won’t change that.”
“And…”
“I love it here,” Trevan said softly. “I’m just…I miss Dave. I miss Emerian. I miss everyone, and I don’t know how we’re going to stop this, and…” Trevan threw the spoon he was using onto the counter, the man’s frustration apparent.
“You are a better male than most of them,” Luykas said honestly. “I’m glad to have you by my side through this.”
“Not good enough to save Dave,” Trevan whispered, looking back at the breakfast he had been cooking.
Luykas opened his mouth, about to say something that meant nothing. He took a moment, though, to consider the lessons he learned in life.
“Can you save everyone?” Luykas asked, coming up beside the Elvasi. He started to help with the meal, realizing Trevan hadn’t started any meat like steaks or bacon. Luykas put himself on that task.
“No—”
“Stop—none of that. There is no but. There is only reality. We are fighting a smart enemy who has found a way to work under our nose. That’s it. Dave was a wonderful person. I feel guilty for his death every day, especially since my wife will never get her chance to say goodbye to him. He’s human. She won’t see him on Al Moro Nat, and we’ve burned his body. When she left, he was here and safe, but when she comes back, he won’t be here. I will have to live with that. I made the promise to her and Alchan, I could keep this together.” Luykas grabbed Trevan’s shoulder, deciding the food could wait. “I am a great male. I am a proud commander. I have hundreds of years of expertise, leading people to their deaths, and every single one hurts, but that’s how war is. We slipped up, and we lost someone, but that doesn’t make you less honorable. You have a warrior’s spirit.” He used his free hand to poke Trevan right over his heart. “You, who willingly stayed behind in the Empire, willing to die to defend the Andinna you were