Welkin! I'm sorry, I missed an upload again! But you'll be getting one tomorrow too as a present. Also, happy Valentine's Day!

Chapter 22 - Fiyr

Samn's shaking me awake.

"What?" I demand groggily. "I don't wanna train…"

But then I realize the smell and sound and sight is all wrong. "Where… oh yeah…" The events of the last days crash down onto me like a ton of bricks. "Fuck."

"Get up; we're leaving in fifteen minutes," he says. He's already dressed. Obviously.

I retreat further beneath covers and surreptitiously wipe my face to make sure there's no dried spit on it. I groan, exhaustion still tugging me down into the bed.

Knowing staying in bed for any longer will forfeit breakfast, I haul myself out and pick up my clothes from where I dropped them in a heap yesterday. I actually fell asleep pretty fast, all things considered. When Samn's just breathing and not being an obnoxious bastard, he's actually pretty good company.

We thank the innkeeper, grab some food for the road, and spur our horses out of the stables back onto the road towards Knave's Moor.

The ride is mostly quiet seeing as the blizzard of yesterday has passed, though I can feel the unresolved issues of the accusations against Sir Cawle hanging in the air between Samn and me. He isn't a traitor, he can't be. Though as desperately as I want that to be true, I also have a strange ache to repair things with Samn. Certainly, we've never been close, even at the best of times, but every time I look at him, I have a hard time wondering what it would be like to know him, to really know him.

And also maybe to kiss him.

I almost fall off my horse as the thought appears to me unbidden. No! Absolutely not! I will not be moony-eyed over that jerk! Just because he's handsome and smart and strong doesn't mean I should be thinking about… um, that stuff. I don't want to know him like that. I don't care if his lips are as soft as they look. Is he warm or cold? Oh, right, I don't care! I tell myself firmly.

Besides, he wouldn't look twice at me. But I can't help flushing bright red when he glances over at me.

"You're falling behind," he snaps.

I say something intelligent like 'Gneursh' and spur Blitz on faster. Whatever! I don't care! I can think he's good looking but simultaneously acknowledge that he's a rotten guy and the most I can hope for is 'polite', and even that's a stretch.

I've always been sort of half-aware of the pull of Samn, but his attitude has so far been good at killing any attraction that his looks might raise. Apparently, now that he's making insane accusations and dragging me out into a blizzard because of some half-baked conspiracy theory about Sir Cawle, my brain's decided to throw caution to the wind and start mooning over him.

Whatever.

I manage to make it to Barrleigh's farm with the rest of them without looking like an absolute clod in front of Samn—or Graie, or Ravne, I tell myself firmly. "Did you sort this out with Barrleigh ahead of time?" I question, trying to sound neutral and sounding like I have a frog in my mouth instead.

"Obviously not," Samn snorts. "He's too far; we just have to hope that his warmth will extend to adopting Ravne."

"He's not adopting me!" Ravne protests, colouring.

Ah. Now that I'm getting more experienced with stupid, hopeless, idiotic feelings, it's a little easier to recognize them. "Oh, I see what's going on."

Graie and Samn give me disbelieving looks, clearly communicating, Really? Just figured it out? and Ravne lets out a strangled yelp. "There's nothing going on!"

"Alright," I say, shrugging and fighting off a smirk.

But Ravne's not letting me off the hook that easily. "Well, we all know you've only had eyes for Samn for the past four years!" he retorts, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Now I yelp. "No! You're imagining things. There's nothing going on between us!" I jerk a thumb between Samn and I. Obviously. The real question is, could there be something going on? I glance at Samn; even he seems to have relaxed about the Sir Cawle situation enough to get in on the teasing too.

"You wish." Samn tosses his head arrogantly. "I'm a catch."

And damned Starlaxi, my traitorous stomach does a flip. I groan. "Let's just get to the fucking farm before I kill all of you." My cheeks are red. Because of the cold.

"What did I do!?" Graie protests.

"You didn't defend me, for one," I whine. "Come on; just gonna let them take the piss out of me?"
"Defend you from what? The truth?"

He dodges as I throw a half-hearted punch. "Hey! Attacking a fellow squire! Code-breaker!"

Despite the embarrassment provoked by Ravne's counter-accusation, I can't help feeling much better than yesterday. Now that we're out of the court, everything to do with Thundria just feels like a bad dream.

Before Graie and I can get into a proper fistfight, Barrleigh emerges from the picturesque, snowy barn, looking just as sweaty and middle-of-serious-farm-business as when we first met him. The same bright smile is fixed on his face. Does time even pass here?

Ravne laughs with a hint of giddiness, calling out carelessly to him, "Mind if I live here?"

"No problem," he replies with a laugh. "Got a spare bed set up unless you want to share, but I gotta warn you, they're kinda cramped."

"It's not a joke," Samn says, then shakes Barrleigh's hand—What is it with him and shaking hands? I wonder irritably—and explains, "We actually need you to take Ravne in. We have good reason to believe his life is in danger—" he shoots me a searing glare, "—and if you could provide a safe place for him to stay until everything is sorted out, Thundria would be forever indebted to you."

Barrleigh can't help an incredulous laugh. "Shit, you knights really get into it, eh? Well, I don't know about 'forever indebted' or whatever, but I sure can find room for him in the farmhouse. Lots of people pass through these parts and I keep an extra room. I'm sure it'd be perfectly fine."

Ravne's mouth hitches up into a sad half-smile as he looks back at us. "Well, I guess I'll see you… around," he tells us.

"We'll deal with Sir Cawle quickly so you can come back," Samn promises him.

"Mhmm." But there's a strange hesitance in his eyes.

Unable to hold it in, I hurry forward to face him directly. "Are you certain that Sir Cawle killed Sir Tayle?"

Ravne lowers his voice, his blue eyes bright with an intensity I've rarely seen from him. "He used his life-force to sharpen his nails and tear his throat out."

That's… grisly. I must be making a face because Ravne draws back and gives me a searching look.

"I know you don't believe it—" he mumbles, "—but trust me when I say, I tried to deny it for weeks. I tried to cover it up any way I could, but it wasn't enough for Sir Cawle; he had to silence me for good. He started spreading rumours, making comments, implying things to other members of the court… he turned my own family against me."

I'm starting to feel sick. I back away, but Ravne hasn't finished.

"I know it's hard to hear that the anchor is the thing making you sink in the first place, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can save Thundria. What reason do I have to lie? I'm giving up my home and family because of what I saw; the least you can do is accept the truth," he says, clapping me on the back and then backing up to stand next to Barrleigh. "Please, Fiyr. For Thundria."

Part of me is altogether too convinced that he's telling the truth, but I'm still unable to accept it. But Sir Cawle was so reliable and strong… how could he turn against us like this? My gaze flicks back to Samn. His jaw is set in stone and he's avoiding my gaze pointedly. Great.

"We have to go find Yllowei," Graie says, shattering the moment. "Frostialla's children are missing and if Yllowei had anything to do with the murder, we're going to have to hunt her down."

"What will you do if Sir Cawle comes looking for me?" Ravne asks nervously.

Samn turns, his frame illuminated by the rising sun. "No one looks for a dead man. You'll have died bravely in battle, fighting for your kingdom all along."

Ravne nods with a sad smile. "Thank you."

"It's the least we could do."

…

We pick up the faintest trace of Yllowei back past the Thundria border. Well, Samn does. It's almost the middle day when we've found a reliable trace—however weak—to follow.

Our silent journey is interrupted when we arrive on the soulpath.

"We've all done this before," Samn says firmly, answering our unspoken fears. He's dubbed himself the leader of our little group, and I'm not in the mood to pick a fight.

"I'll cross first," Graie volunteers, stepping forwards and bracing himself.

When the yellow light of his life-force flares up, far brighter than it was the first time we tried to cross, I know our life-forces are strong enough to handle it, no problem.

As I expected, we all manage fine. I comb the sand out of my hair with my fingers—Samn's protective wall of sand got a little out of control once he was on the other side of the path.

"Always thought I'd have more knights by my side when I first crossed into Shodawan territory," Graie attempts to joke, but it falls flat. "Heheh."

"Are you scared?" Samn asks bluntly.

"Aren't you?" Graie chuckles nervously. "Mom always told me 'don't steal cookies or Shodawes knights will come to chop off your toes'."
Samn lets out a shocked giggle, a weirdly high sound for the gruff-voiced squire, then clears his throat loudly. "No. My mother preferred to summon animals to drag us away from the cookies rather than make grisly threats."

"My mother never said any of that," I volunteer awkwardly.

We fall silent as we continue tracking the trace through Shodawes territory. I hate this forest; it feels nothing like the Thundrian forests. The trees are too cramped and smooth and it's way too quiet.

Eventually, we all stop. "I can't track shit over the wetness," Graie complains. "The Shodawes trace is too strong."

Samn nods with the telltale unfocused look of something in the Trace, then a stricken expression appears on his face as he leaves it. "A child was bleeding here. A Thundrian child. Unmistakable."

I had assumed that she wouldn't hurt the children. It seems that I may have been wrong. "It can't be," I croak.

"It is," Graie confirms. "And I think Yllowei's trace is getting stronger over there, it's kind of hard to tell though."

I hurry over to where he indicated and peer through the misty forest. "Guys!" I whisper and wave them over, pointing at an old ash tree a little ways away. Something, or someone, is sitting at the base of it.

"Yllowei," Samn breathes.

"I'll go west, Samn come from the east, and Fiyr, go head-on," Graie suggests in a low tone, and we all comply silently.

I wait for the other two to creep around into position before I step forwards, the rage in my stomach simmering to the surface once more. "Yllowei Fennen."

She whips around to stare at me in shock when both Graie and Samn surge out from behind their trees and knock her down, Samn pointing Bolt at her throat.

"Putain de merde!" Yllowei growls, before casually pinching the tip of Samn's sword and steering it away from her. "I knew you numbskulls would blame me."

"Where are the children!?" Samn demands, undeterred.

"I don't know," Yllowei says, sighing. "I came out here to take them back, but when I found the blood trace…"

"Fat chance," I spit. "You will pay for what you did to Spottalia Lief."

"What has she got to do with any of this?" Yllowei demands, looking utterly bewildered, but something in my expression must give it away and her face draws into a tight frown. "Not her. She was so young."

"She didn't know, let's leave her," Samn says.

"What!? She's lying!" I protest.

Samn's face bunches in such tight anger that I half-expect him to slap me again, but it passes just as quickly and he simply shakes his head. "Fiyr, you can't just accuse everyone of lying because you find the truth inconvenient. We'll find justice for Spottalia, but not here."

I ache to protest, to argue, to push, but just as quickly as the anger came, the despair returns. I'll never avenge her. Her death meant nothing.

"I found the trace of Clehw Fiace, a Shodawes knight, by the nursery. I knew I had to hunt him down before he could harm them; as long as they are within the reach of Braukkin they are in grave danger," Yllowei grunts.

"He would harm children?" I ask.

"He intends to use them as knights. And if they die along the way, so be it," she says coldly.

Graie's eyes widen. "They're like six years old! How are they supposed to fight?!"

"Children younger than that have been put on the battlefield on his orders," Yllowei says grimly.

The Shodawes squires, all those years ago, I realize like cold water splashing over my head, weren't squires at all. They weren't just little, they were actual little kids. Blessed Starlaxi.

"They wouldn't even survive a single battle," Samn says, finally sounding shaken.

"It doesn't matter when he can easily steal more from other courts," the old healer replies, laughing in a horrible, bitter sound. "He's killed plenty from Shodawa."

We stand in stunned silence.

"How has no one tried to stop him?" I demand helplessly.

"He lied! Obviously!" Yllowei shouts, finally looking properly upset. "He took those children, too young to be far from their mothers, and he trained them. He fought them. He brought them back, beaten, bloody, and broken. There was nothing I could do for them. And then he blamed it all on me and told the court that he'd found me standing over their bodies. Fucking. Children. And everyone believed him because they were bloody cowards who couldn't come to grips with the idea that the guilty party wasn't an easily defeated elder."

The last part makes me flinch. That's not—I'm not—

We all stand in the rain for a long moment before Samn finally says, "We need to bring this information to the queen."

Yllowei laughs, the same hoarse, cold sound. "With the children still in danger? I think not."

"We've been out for too long," I realize aloud as I look up at the sky. "The court will be demanding justice, and Queen Bluelianna has probably sent out a battle patrol. We have to rescue the children tonight. Now."

"If Sir Cawle is on the patrol, it's not going to go well for us," Samn says, and jerks his thumb in Yllowei's direction. "He'll execute her first and ask questions later."

I'd already forgotten my anxieties about Yllowei and Sir Cawle, but they all come rushing back with Samn's comment. I'm still overwhelmingly relieved that Yllowei isn't a traitor—having her blunt, straight-forwardness back is a relief, especially in the face of all these conflicting stories and accusations. I can rely on her. She'll make sense of things.

"Lead us to where the kits are," Samn commands and Yllowei hauls herself to her feet using the tree as a support.

"Well, you got bossy in the couple days I was gone," she grumbles, but sets off nonetheless.

"Why didn't you tell the court that King Braukkiniaum was lying?" Graie asks.

Yllowei seems to chew on that one for a minute. "I—I couldn't. He was the King, and his word was law." It sounds like a lie to me. If she's that bad at lying, then that means she was probably genuinely shocked to find out about Spottalia, I tell myself. I hope. That would mean she's innocent. Or is this just me looking for another reason not to suspect the people I rely on of doing bad things? My head hurts.

"We need to hurry!" I pipe up. "I think the Thundrian patrol is coming as we speak."

"Let's mount the horses," Samn suggests. "Yllowei can ride with me."

With little complaint, the old healer clambers up onto Dune and settles herself behind Samn. Graie and I mount Quicksilver and Blitz and we set off at a much faster pace towards the Shodawes castle.

"What are we going to do once we get there?" Yllowei eventually asks as we pass another clearing and stream into still more pine forest.

"Uh…" Graie and I exchange glances.

"Stop the horse," Yllowei grunts to Samn, then hops down and hobbles over to jab a finger at us directly. "Have you lost your minds? You will storm the Shodawes castle with three squires and an elderly healer—how do you think that will go?"

We awkwardly nod. Point taken.

"We need a real plan," Samn pipes up—Helpful, I think—but then adds, "and I think I have just the thing. Yllowei, are all the knights of Shodawa loyal to King Braukkiniaum?"

The healer scowls. "There are his inner guard; those that are truly loyal to him and would fight to the death on his behalf. Then, there are the cowards of the court, who flock to him only because they know the alternative is being killed for disobeying their king. There are the hungry knights that will fight with him so long as they believe he will win. But most importantly, Braukkin makes the elders live on the outskirts of the territory."

I make a face. Most importantly? "And old people will help us how?"

"They may be old, but they've had decades more than you to refine their life-force mastery," Yllowei snaps. "They would fight for the Shodawa that we love, fight against everything that the king believes in. They are the only true members of the Shodawes court left."

Samn nods thoughtfully. "And how long would the ride be to the place where they've been sent?"

"It isn't far; they're residing in the village of Vide as far as I know," Yllowei tells us. "If I could talk to them, I'm sure they would fight alongside us all."

Samn smiles. "Fiyr, Graie, you're going to intercept the patrol and tell them the truth about Yllowei and the children. Yllowei and I are going to go to Vide and remind those old folks what they're fighting for."

I nod nervously. I can convince a bunch of enraged knights that Yllowei is in fact, totally innocent… right? Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine.

Samn looks at me, his gaze so sharp it seems to pin me to the air, then his mouth hitches up in a half-grin. "Yeah. You'll do great. Just don't die."

I smile weakly back. There's a future for us, I hope. Even if the whole world crumbles around us.

"Better get your best convincing faces on," Samn directs and then glances back to Yllowei with a cocky grin. "Let's go give a rousing speech, old-timer."

And I will swear it by the stars until the day I die, Yllowei slaps his open palm.

Thanks for reading chapter 22! Please follow and favourite this story and leave me a review with what you think!

~Akila