Page 404 of Of Empires and Dust
“He’s with Lyrei. He needs time.”
Erik held Calen’s gaze.
“He’s not all right,” Calen said, resting a hand on Erik’s shoulder. “But he will be.”
Dann saton the first step below the porch of the place he supposed was now home. He could hear Lyrei and his dad laughing inside as they swapped stories and spent far too long cooking stew. Tharn had never been the cook; it had always been Ylinda. Lyrei wasn’t much better, but she was trying, and she was making Tharn smile, which was all that mattered. In fact, Dann didn’t think he’d heard Lyrei laugh so hard since the day he’d met her… which only made him worry about the stories his dad was telling.
He let out a long sigh and took a sip from the cup in his hand. Just the smell of the ale from The Rusty Shell made him appreciate the taste of Lasch’s mead.
He’d wanted to find Calen, to apologise, but he simply didn’t have it in him. Not that night. Better to say it with a sunrise at his back. Dann knew the weight of words, and he should never have put his mam’s death on Calen. Calen dwelled on those kinds of things, let them chew him from the inside. He always had. “Why am I such a fucking idiot?”
“Don’t be too harsh on yourself,” Therin said, approaching the porch. “You’re an idiot, but only from time to time.”
“Where did you come from?”
“I’m always somewhere, watching,” Therin said, taking a seat on the step beside Dann.
“That’s creepy, Therin. You shouldn’t be watching people like that.” He sipped at his ale. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve referred to me as ‘the physical manifestation of a headache’.”
“Did I say that out loud?”
“More than once.”
Therin smiled, then narrowed his eyes. “Is that a weka?”
Dann lifted his head, then followed Therin’s gaze to where the weka sat next to a low bush with a sock in its beak. “I call him Tom. He’s a right little bastard.”
“What is a weka doing all the way out here? Wait, Tom? Why Tom?”
Dann shrugged. “He looks like a Tom. Nala’s horse is called Maria, so why not?”
For a moment Therin looked as though he were going to challenge Dann, then made a face that said he thought better of it. “I’ll not stay long. I just wanted to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Elves don’t ride horses because we believe that to carry someone, to bear their weight, is one of the greatest burdens one soul can place on another. It requires a deep, trusting bond. As an ambassador to The Order, I spent much time outside of elven lands, outside of elven culture. I had to adapt. I ride horses, but infrequently and only those I have bonded with. I rode Vaen for almost thirty years. He died in the battle for Aravell – crushed by falling rocks.”
“Therin…”
The elf shook his head. “The name Alea gave your horse –Drunir– it was a lesson. ‘Companion’.” Therin rested his hand on Dann’s knee, squeezing. “We never truly lose the ones we love. They stay with us in everything we do. Those who affect us so deeply leave imprints that cannot be removed. We are who we are because of who we’ve loved and who we’ve lost – those thingswe do not decide. So never be afraid. Live boldly, love fiercely, and forgive quickly. Life is too short for anything else.”
Therin squeezed Dann’s knee one more time before standing while Dann sat with tears rolling down his cheeks.
As he turned to leave, Therin looked down at Dann. “And Dann.”
Dann rubbed the heel of his hand into his eye. “What?”
“Elves can’t grow beards, nor chest hair. But we do have hair beneath our arm pits and, some of us, on our feet – though most shave that off.”
A laugh cracked through the pain in Dann’s heart as Therin walked away and vanished over the lip in the land that led to the docks.
Wooden boards creaked as Lyrei sat down beside Dann. “Was that Therin?” She leaned closer. “Dann, what’s wrong?”
Dann shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. “I just found out that elves can’t grow beards,” he said, laughing. “It’s beautiful.”
“Dann…” Lyrei let out a long sigh, setting her cup of mead in the dirt. “It’s all right to hurt. You don’t?—”
“I know.” He set his cup down beside Lyrei’s, then turned to face her.
