Page 455 of Of Empires and Dust
He looked down at Calen, one arm wrapped around his brother’s waist as Calen floated, the other resting behind his head.
The last time Haem had held Calen in his arms, Calen had only been a child – a baby, really. He had always loved having a brother. He loved Ella to the ends of the earth, but it was different. Ella had always been her own. She had always been twice as sharp as Haem, and she’d known it.
But Calen had followed Haem around from the very start and looked at him as though he were some kind of hero from the Age of Honour. Anything Haem did, Calen did too. As soon as Haem had been old enough to hold a sword, Calen had picked up a stick. When Vars had taken Haem hunting for the first time, Calen had snuck past Freis and tried to join them, only to trip on a rock less than a hundred feet into Ölm Forest and slice open his arm.
Haem gave a melancholy laugh as he held his brother’s body in the Waters of Life. Freis had been furious with Calen that day, but Vars had just picked him up and placed him on the counter.
“All real warriors fall, Calen,”Vars had said, pretending to check the bandage Freis had applied.
“No, they don’t,”Calen had said through sniffles.“You didn’t. Haem didn’t. Just me. I wanted to help.”
Vars had pulled his shirt off and counted off every scar that laced his chest, back, and arms. There had been so many.
“You see this one?”Vars had asked, pointing to a long thin scar across his ribs.“I got this in the war. Not in a battle. Nothing heroic. I was told to dig a latrine pit. I ran to get a shovel, tripped, sliced myself open on a rock. Just like you.”
“You did?”Calen had stopped sniffling at that.
“I did. You’re a warrior now, Calen. A true warrior. With a battle wound and all.”
Haem clenched his eyes shut at the memory.
“I should have gotten to you sooner,” he said, letting out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, little brother. It should have been me.”
Footsteps sounded, and Haem didn’t open his eyes.
A few moments passed before a splash sounded and he felt the waters shift around him.
“Brother.” Kallinvar’s voice was soft. “He’s gone, brother. The well cannot bring back the dead.”
“I know.” Haem trembled, squeezing his hand a little tighter at the back of Calen’s head. “I had to try. I had to do something…”
Haem felt Kallinvar place a hand at the back of his head and pull their heads together.
A second voice surprised him – Brother Ildris’s. “You are not alone, brother.”
Haem opened his eyes to see Ildris, Ruon, and Kallinvar standing in the well with him, the glowing lights of the pool swarming around them.
Ildris rested a hand on Haem’s shoulder.
“I should have protected him.” With those words, tears flowed from Haem’s eyes and rolled over his cheeks, silent and cold.
“We cannot protect everyone,” Ildris whispered. “That is something we must accept. It was something that took me a long time.”
“He is my little brother,” Haem whispered. “Protecting him was my only purpose. And I failed.”
Holding Calen in his arms, Haem pushed past Kallinvar, Ruon, and Ildris, moving towards the pool’s edge.
“Brother Arden. Where are you going?” Kallinvar asked.
“That’s not my name.” Haem laid Calen on the well’s edge and climbed out of the water, his saturated clothes dragging him down. He lifted Calen back into his arms. “I’m taking him to Valerys.”
Haem turned and walked away from the well.
Sylven, Varlin, and Kevan all stood in the garden, each of them bowing their head as Haem passed. The Watchers waited at the entranceway, whispering their blessings as Haem moved through them. Servants, porters, maids, cooks, and every other hand in the temple waited along the great halls. They had all seen him arrive on a dragon and walk through Ardholm with a body in his arms.
The rain poured down over him as he descended the stairs to Ardholm. The people were out in the streets, parting as he passed and walked towards the plateau where Valerys lay, listless.
As Haem walked, some of the children pulled closed fists to their foreheads in a sign of honour. The gesture was mimicked by every soul that Haem passed.
