Somewhere in the valley below, Reive was addressing our hastily cobbled together army, trying to inspire them for the coming battle. I was on a cliff on the outskirts of our camp, overlooking the small patch of woods between us and the giant fortress on the other side of it. The sprawling building had been partially built into the mountain at its back, an attribute that the humans who’d once ruled this land had favored, and the fact that one of its towers nearly rivaled said mountain in height made the place rather imposing.
As I finished with my preparations for my end of this morning’s plan, someone came to join me on my perch, but I ignored them, fairly certain of who it was. Alouin’s Voice had recently finished with his portion of today’s speech making, and I’d grown familiar with the sound of his footfalls over the years.
He joined me without comment, although when his gaze fell on the gathered soldiers below us, he let out a soft laugh.
“He’s planning on having me killed soon, isn’t he?”
I knew exactly who he meant, even without the mention of a name. Barely visible from up here, I could see Reive pacing back and forth in front of the first line of soldiers, shaking his fists overhead with his voice bouncing to us.
“Are you going to let him try?” I said.
No need to reply to the other man’s question. I was pretty sure he already knew what my answer would be. Still, I was glad that Alouin’s Voice had finally picked up on Reive’s ambitions, although he might have noticed them long before now. I avoided the man whenever possible and so, wouldn’t have noticed when that revelation had happened.
With a long sigh, Alouin’s Voice leaned back on his hands, lifting his face to the stars.
“Maybe I should,” he said. “I’d deserve it after how terribly I’ve handled every responsibility I’ve had in my life.”
That made me freeze in place. The few times Alouin’s Voice had caught me out like this, he’d tried expressing his regrets for certain… things, things I did my best not to think about. I didn’t want or need him to do something like that now, in the hour before I’d be infiltrating Doldimar’s citadel.
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Fortunately, he shook his head, softly laughing, and moved on.
“But no, I don’t think I will. Reive can have whatever wreck of a kingdom is left once all of this is over. I’ve already proven I’m not fit to lead.”
I didn’t reply. He probably knew my opinion about that.
“No matter how today’s battle goes, I’ll be leaving after it,” Alouin’s Voice continued after a moment. “But before I do…”
He turned to watch me strapping a weapon into place, and stiffly, I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“I’ll be backing you up on your mission today, Erianger,” he said.
He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to deny him.
“I know you don’t need or want help. I’m not offering to do anything silly like that,” he said, “but you’re bringing something quite valuable with you to your confrontation with Doldimar.”
Alouin’s Voice nodded toward the sword lying on the stone beside me. It had taken me years to locate this god-forged blade, a quest that no one but this man and Reive had known about. If I was going to confront a man who wouldn’t fucking die, I’d wanted every advantage I could get, and a blade crafted by our old empire’s god had seemed like the perfect weapon to satisfy that goal.
“I’ll be waiting in the wings while you fight him,” Alouin’s Voice said. “I know what this fight means to you. I won’t interfere in it, no matter how much I’d like to satisfy my own grievances with that bastard.”
Looking away, he clenched his fists in his lap.
“But you deserve it more,” he soon continued. “So, I’ll watch, and win or lose, I’ll be there to make sure that sword doesn’t fall into Reive’s hands.”
That made me blink. Out of all the fears I had about this morning’s battle, Alouin’s Voice had named the one that had most often kept me awake over the last week. I found myself… grateful, strangely, to this man for alleviating that worry for me.
Alouin’s Voice seemed to see my acceptance of his offer in my eyes. He nodded once before getting to his feet.
Patting my shoulder, he said, “Good luck over the next few hours, Eriadren.”
As he walked away, I tucked the insignia of Doldimar’s top lieutenant—the one I’d retrieved during my recent infiltration mission—into a pocket. It and a shape change would be the first part of today’s plan, getting me through the gate into Doldimar’s citadel. With it, I’d be closer to my old friend than I’d been able to get for the last ten years. I was trying not to think about how nervous I was to see him again. How much I looked forward to…
Actually, I wasn’t sure what I was looking forward to with this. Ending him, maybe? Figuring out why…?
Shaking my head, I got to my feet and slid Shadowsteal into the scabbard on my back. The visit from Alouin’s Voice had brought emotions up to the surface again, which wasn’t conducive to what I’d soon need to do. I pushed them all away, falling into a cold and compartmentalized version of myself, and turned away from the army at my back. I should get started with trying to kill my best friend.