Kevlin groaned with weariness as he dropped to the ground beside a roaring fire. The heat drove back the chill, and his eyes drooped. The little magic he still had left was nearly gone, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Instead, his mind wandered back to the momentous events of the morning.
After the battle, much work had been done. Wounded soldiers were scattered all across the valley, and they numbered in the hundreds. Indira and Ceren had worked through the day, along with the Jagen Stalwarts and sentinels to save as many lives as possible. Both women now lay sleeping.
Hathor had excavated huge pits in the ground, and the captured mercenaries had been put to work burying the thousands of dead men, women, and children in mass graves. Giant bonfires burned through the afternoon, cremating makrasha and shadeleeches.
So many dead. Most of the villagers and many soldiers had fallen in that valley. The toll was high and images of corpses flitted behind Kevlin’s eyes. He sighed. The burdens of survival never got easier.
A king had died. Although Kevlin hadn’t known King Leszek personally, he still mourned the monarch’s passing. It shouldn’t have happened. Kings weren’t killed lightly, and there would be dire consequences of some sort. Kevlin was too tired to hazard a guess what those might be.
He had too many other questions to resolve. Above the rest, he wondered what had really happened. What was that presence he’d found in Tia Khoa?
Even more important, with Antigonus dead, who would be chosen to bear Tia Khoa? Dusk had fallen, so Harafin should be desperate to finish the choosing, but Kevlin had barely seen the old sentinel since before noon.
Had Kevlin somehow broken Tia Khoa when he connected with it? Even though it had saved his life, and it felt right at the time, maybe it was still the wrong thing to do.
Kevlin stared into the fire, worry gnawing a hole in his stomach. Physical exhaustion combined with emotional exhaustion left him yearning for sleep, but he had to know. He rose and left the others who huddled around the fire’s warmth. He stopped near the shattered wall of what had once been a home in the upper town.
A soft step turned him around.
Indira.
She drew close, and he couldn’t help staring. They had sat comfortably together waiting for Ceren to awaken, but now it was suddenly hard to breathe. Specks of dirt marred her alabaster skin but didn’t diminish its radiance. He marveled at the graceful contours of her face and neck.
“I thought you were sleeping,” he managed.
“I was.” She leaned against him and he slipped an arm around her shoulder. “Drystan and Jerrik are starting a card game. I thought you might like to join us.”
“Sure.” That would be a great way to take their minds off the horrific day.
She took his hand and led him toward another fire. “Just be warned. They’re both broke, so I think they’re planning to ask you for a loan.”
Kevlin caught sight of Harafin standing with Ah’Shan at another fire. Harafin gestured for Kevlin to join them.
“I’ll meet you there in a minute,” he said.
She noticed Harafin too. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”
“I promise.”
Harafin had better not try keeping him practicing for hours. He was not about to let Indira down.
Kevlin approached the two sentinels with heavy steps. This was it. Harafin would finally choose Ah’Shan, and Kevlin would have to give up Tia Khoa.
He needed to do it, but hesitated anyway. Once Ah’Shan took up the stone, Kevlin would never connect with that presence again.
He had made peace with his past. He had embraced magic to a degree he never would have imagined even the day before. Would he now have to leave all that behind? Could he return to life as a non-actinopathic mercenary?
What a waste of effort. What alternative did he have?
Ah’Shan glared. Kevlin tried to hide his own dislike, but wasn’t very successful. He would submit to whatever choice Harafin made, but he didn’t have to like Ah’Shan. He’d done what he had in good faith.
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He’d tried to overcome his fears and help protect the empire. He’d tried to save one old man’s life.
“Give me the stone, steward,” Ah’Shan spat in a tight, angry voice. “It is my right.”
Before Kevlin could reach for the rune-covered pouch in its hiding place in his boot, Harafin said, “Not yet.”
Ah’Shan glared. “Do not trifle with me, old friend. It's nearly sunset. A new bearer must be chosen.”
“A new bearer has already been chosen.”
“What?” Kevlin and Ah’Shan spoke simultaneously.
“Who?” Ah’Shan asked.
Harafin pointed at Kevlin.
Kevlin stared at the finger, then looked around to see who was standing behind him. The ruins of the town lay empty.
Ah’shan barked a humorless laugh. “Impossible. This is a poor time to jest.”
“I jest not. Kevlin is chosen bearer of Tia Khoa. I ratify the choice Tia Khoa has made.”
As Harafin spoke, a tingling sensation began in Kevlin’s right boot where Tia Khoa lay hidden. The feeling rippled up through his entire body. It drove away the weariness and filled him with a peaceful exultation the likes of which he’d never known before.
Ah’Shan stared from Harafin to Kevlin, growing angrier by the second.
“Listen, my old friend,” Harafin said. “This is unexpected. If it were up to me--”
“Enough!” Ah’Shan backed away, his face livid. “You spoke the same lies the last time you denied me my right.” He stormed away, but after only a few paces, spun back. “Know this, Harafin. You mock me at your own peril.”
Ah’Shan turned on his heel and disappeared into the gathering darkness. Harafin watched him go for several long seconds, his expression sad.
“How is it possible?” Kevlin asked. His voice sounded thin, scared. He wasn’t sure what to think.
Harafin placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know you must be confused. I cannot explain how it happened, but it has happened. You said so yourself. You, the steward, touched Tia Khoa’s power, and it responded.”
“So that hasn’t happened before. I get that. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“There is only one conclusion. Only the one chosen by Tia Khoa as its bearer can unlock its power. That one is you.”
“I’m not even a sentinel,” Kevlin protested. Sure, he’d embraced a soul-altering change in connecting with Tia Khoa, but he wasn't actinopathic. He couldn’t become the bearer of Tia Khoa.
“I know.” Harafin ran a hand through his white hair, dislodging fragments of rubble and bits of dust. “It is unusual.”
Kevlin wanted to scream at Harafin that it was far from unusual. The old man really meant to shackle him to this stone? He’d suspected Harafin had plans for him, but had never imagined anything so drastic.
“Now we know why Savas was trying to possess your soul,” Harafin added. “He could see what we could not.”
Kevlin shook his head. “This can’t be right.”
“There is no doubt, although I should have realized it sooner. There were several clues, but I did not want to accept them.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
Kevlin frowned. “That’s why you tossed me up the cliff first.”
“Yes. I believed you would succeed.”
“I was trying to save Antigonus, and you were setting me up as your pawn. We could have all died. Antigonus did die!”
“We faced many risks today. I did not put you in danger lightly.”
“But you did it anyway.”
“Yes, I did.” Harafin’s eyes bored into Kevlin’s. “A time of strife and trial is upon us, prophesied centuries ago. We will all be tested, and many will be consumed.”
Kevlin said nothing, his thoughts on the thousands who had been consumed in the recent battle.
“Know this, my young friend, I will do everything in my power to help you, but you must understand that there is no time for hesitation. No time for second-guessing.”
Kevlin looked out into the gloom softening the destruction of the ravaged valley, and shivered.
“This is just the beginning,” Harafin continued. “The empire will face its greatest threat. Kingdoms may fall, and powers now considered immovable and eternal will be shaken to their roots. Faith will be shattered and chaos will threaten to engulf the world. If we fail, it will be the end of all things.”
Harafin’s eyes blazed with an unshakable resolve. “I have battled enemies of freedom for two and a half centuries. The cost is always high, but the alternative is worse. I will see the empire shattered if I must. I will see the very gods thrown down if that is what it takes. We will not fail.”
Kevlin looked away and had to fight to keep from snatching up the rune-covered bag and hurling it at Harafin. Maybe then he’d take it back.
No, he wouldn’t. . .but what might the old man do?
As Kevlin considered the thought, a single drumbeat rang through his heart. He started, eyes wide, as the echoes faded away.
“What’s wrong?” Harafin asked.
“Nothing.” He turned from the sentinel’s penetrating gaze to stare toward the setting sun.
“Tell no one of the choosing,” Harafin instructed.
“Why?”
“Trust me.”
That was a rotten way to end a conversation.
As Harafin strode away, Kevlin watched him go, not sure what to think. He began to walk. He moved among the many campfires, but didn't stop, filled with restless energy.
A soft voice turned him around. Indira approached in the shadows.
“Why didn’t you join us?” she teased. “Afraid I’ll take all you have?”
“Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Indira took his hands. “You spend too much time with cryptic old men. That’ll mess with anyone’s head.”
“I didn’t have much choice.”
Her hands were warm in his and he found himself smiling.
She stepped closer. “I’ve spent most of my life around Leander and Harafin. You need to find other things to do to keep a balance.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Usually I play cards.”
“What if that’s not enough?” He stared into her dark eyes and his worries eased under her steady gaze.
Indira smiled. “Then you need to take a chance.”
Kevlin drew her close and she slipped her arms around his waist. They held each other for a long moment, her face pressed against his neck, her gentle scent in his nostrils.
Indira pulled back just a little. With so many knots in his stomach, Kevlin could barely breathe, he leaned down and kissed her full lips.
This time she kissed him back.