The Forsaken Hero

There was little ceremony to open the Spatial Rift for the refugees. They were a sea of haggard faces, dim eyes, and despair. Even when the rift opened, only a few eyes lit up. Most just stared at it with fear and apprehension.

I wished I could explain it to them, but there was nothing I could say to make them trust me. In the end, it was the threat of the Fatesworn that stirred their resolve, and group by group, they filed through. The Last Light Company was already waiting on the other side, opening the gates and leading them into the city.

It took longer than I hoped to see them all through, and the horde had already begun to crawl through the mountains. Just as soon as the last refugee passed through the rift, I hopped onto Fable and led the Fatesworn to the front of the horde, finding Luke by his aura.

”It’s done?” he asked.

”They’re all safe.”

”Good. I hope she has room for more.”

His comment hung heavy without the need for explanation. There were over ten cities scattered between Roann and us, all with a population in the tens of thousands. The church should have evacuated them, but they knew how important it was to us. To me. In their minds, anything they could do to damage our morale or slow our march was acceptable.

But demons didn’t do slow. The kingdom was huge, but the horde was tireless. One day turned to two, and then bled into three. The only reasons we ever stopped were because of a Demon Gate manifesting nearby, a city or town to level, or if Divine Forces ambushed our lines.

Each time we engaged enemy armies, Luke’s horde always took the brunt. He gave us the chance to invade cities first, overpower the guards, and whisk away those who were willing.

Unfortunately, our efforts yielded little success, and only a few thousand ever made it to Brithlite. Never mind the time constraints imposed by the horde, but so many were bound by duty or heart crests and would rather die than have a chance to flee. I was just grateful we had saved any.

On the fourth day, we entered the heart of Radia, with its familiar hills and lightly wooded forests. I’d spent much more time out in Enusia than I had in Radia, but something about it tugged at my heartstrings. This was the land I’d woken up in, the land I’d first glimpsed through the bars of a cage. The place I’d first seen a light, and the place that light had been extinguished.

”You alright?”

I looked over as Luke flew down next to me, keeping pace with Fable. I sighed, resting my chin on my palm, staring out over the ruined fields of yet another town.

”Just...thinking. For some reason, it feels more like coming home than Heartland ever did.”

I expected him to laugh, or at least raise an eyebrow, but he nodded.

”I know what you mean. You and I...we don’t have a home. We have unfinished business.”

I sighed, gathering my knees to my chest, hugging them with one arm, touching my horn with my other. There were places I was warm, and places I loved to be, but on some level, I knew he was right. Home was where I was safe, and so long as the church stood, and inquisitors came for my staff, I’d always have to be looking over my shoulder.

”Where are you going to go, when it’s all over?” he asked suddenly.

”I don’t know,” I whispered, closing my eyes. Squeezing them shut. ”Back to Heartland, maybe. Or Sylvarus, or Brithlite.”

”So indecisive?”

I nodded dully. ”Home doesn’t have to be where the dark is.”

He went quiet at that, and for a moment, all I could hear was Fable’s paws crunching on ash.

”I’m not sure what you mean,” he said, at last.

I peeked out at him from beneath my arms, then sank lower. ”Home is when I’m with you.”

Another silence. I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me, if the words had actually left my mouth. The weight they carried...I’d never wanted to burden him.

Then his hand rested on my head, ruffling my hair. I let out an indignant mew, almost falling from Fable’s back, but he caught me, scooping me up in his arms. Fable let out a growl, glaring at us, but Luke just rose into the air, spinning loosely in a way that made my hair and dress twirl.

”L-Luke!” I squeaked, holding onto him tightly, burying my face in his chest to hide the furious red in my cheeks. ”Put me down!”

”Or else what?” he teased, drifting lazily over the ruins.

”Or I’ll, um...!” I shivered as his hands crept lower, brushing my sides. ”I’ll be mad at you!”

He chuckled, but pulled back, his smile vanishing into a solemn line. He cradled me in the crook of one arm, reaching out to touch my cheek.

”You know,” he said, drawing a loose strand of windblown hair back, clearing my pouting face. ”I never really understood what you meant by things like that. But I think I’m starting to.”

”Wha-Luke!” I cried as he swooped again, setting me lightly on Fable’s back.

He backed away, chuckling, as I scrabbled for Fable’s fur. ”We’ll be at Roann soon. Prepare your forces. And Xiviyah, no matter what happens, I love you.”

With a burst of speed, he vanished over the hills. My tail curled as I sat back, covering my blushing face with my hands. Why, on the eve of the biggest battle of our lives, did he have to tease me like that? He was worse than Korra sometimes.

”You two seem to be getting along.”

I froze, my tail going stiff at Jessia’s voice. I whipped around, eyes darting frantically, praying it had only been the wind. But there she was, casually walking alongside Fable, hands resting behind her head.

Fable spun with a growl, his fur spiking up around me. The small number of Fatesworn with us tensed, drawing their weapons and unleashing their auras.

”Oh, calm down. We’re allies, remember?” Jessia said, rolling her eyes.

Her foot came down, and she vanished. I let out a shriek as she appeared in front of us, floating in the air. The dispersing shadows from her teleportation brushed my wards, sending a shudder down my spine.

”What do you want?” I asked, summoning my staff.

”What, can’t I be about my own horde?”

”Your hordes across Radia.”

I watched for some flicker of surprise, perhaps even alarm, but her eyebrows didn’t so much as twitch.

”Now you have it. I might hunt alongside one, and eat by another, but my horde is me. A pack of one.”

”You betrayed us! You’re working with Rash’alon!”

”So? Didn’t you work with him, too?”

”But that was--”

”Circumstantial. Like all alliances. Even you and Luke are that way, aren’t you? After all, just a few weeks ago, weren’t you terrified of him?”

”No, I...but that was...” I bit my lip. My staff trembled slightly, the stars of my aura growing agitated.

”You’ve seen so much, yet you understand so little,” she said, clicking her tongue.

Jessia reached into a pouch at her waist, and I tensed, and she giggled at my reaction, withdrawing a small blue gemstone. I froze in disbelief, staring at it.

”Where did you get that?” I mumbled, fumbling for my spatial ring. My stomach twisted with dread. ”How?”

She grinned, waggling it between two fingers. ”You really should keep better track of your things. You never know when someone’s going to come along and snatch them up. There are so many toxic people around, aren’t there?”

She flicked the rock to me, and I gasped, snatching it in both hands. I held it to my chest, glaring at Jessia. She shrugged it off, doing a twirl and disappearing into the darkness.

”Careful,” she whispered, her voice in my ear. ”Some secrets are too precious to let out of our sight, even to a place that’s supposed to be secure.”

Fable let out a frustrated bark as she vanished entirely. Or so I hoped.

”What was that about?” Luxxa asked, running to me alongside the other star guard. ”The instant she appeared, we couldn’t approach.” She shivered, looking pale. ”We just...couldn’t.”

I shook my head, staring down at my cupped hands and the blue gemstone within. Sari’s gem. ”I-I don’t know. She’s just...I don’t understand.”

”Why don’t you just look into fate?” Jenna asked. ”Can’t you see what she’s up to?”

No matter how hard I tried, I could never find the endpoint of Jessia’s plans. Only snippets along the way. It was like she was hiding it from me, but...why? And how? She had brought that magic to Rash’alon, so perhaps she’d learned it herself. Or would, by the time her plots came to fruition.

”It doesn’t make sense,” Kahlen muttered, fingering one of his blades. ”If she were allied with Rash’Alon, then why not take you to him? Or try to slay you herself, and claim the power he seeks? She’s proven she’s capable of it, as much as I hate to admit.”

I didn’t know the answer, or even where to begin finding it. But one thing was certain: my spatial ring wasn’t safe anymore. I ran through it, calling a few things like my spellbooks and the letter from Thron, but everything appeared like it was supposed to. Why had she taken it, only to give it back? Just to tease me?

I didn’t like being teased. Not by anyone, but especially her.

But she was right about one thing. I didn’t dare return the gemstone to my spatial ring, but bound it to the Aetherial Prism with a thread of mana. Some things really were too precious to let go.