That evening, Fael insisted they camp early to let Ren’wyn rest after using her magic.The fire he built crackled cheerily, but it couldn’t chase away her awareness of her atrophied skills.
Fael brought out a pot, filling it with water from the shrinking Mere.He added salt pork and a few potatoes from a cloth wrap at the bottom of his pack.Ren’wyn found some wild artichokes while washing herself at the stream, and Fael gladly added them to themix.
“You are a talented herbalist,” he remarked as he stirred the soup.“I had a friend in my regiment who excelled with wild plants.He was overconfident, though, and died from hemlock poisoning during an assignment in Libuli.”
Ren’wyn shuddered.Hemlock poisoning was a danger for anyone foraging wild carrots; the plants were so easy to misidentify.It was a swift death, but brutal, and she imagined Fael had watched his friend vomit and suffocate, unable to intervene.
“I’m so sorry,” she said softly.“That’s why I rarely forage wild carrots.They’re delicious, but therisk…”
Fael’s grave expression silenced her, but after a moment, she spoke again, trying to ease the weight in hiseyes.
“My mother used to say that the wild called to me.I would bring home bouquets of wildflowers in the summer, and I spent hours reading about plants in my father’s library.He forbade me from working with the local healer after I snuck off to assist with a difficult birth at sixteen.
“I think it was that episode that convinced him my mother was right—I needed to be sent away to school to become an acceptable ‘woman.’”
Glancing over, she saw Fael’s expression encouraging her to continue.
“My father believed school tamed me.What he didn’t know was that embroidery and household management were the least of my interests.I learned to control and channel my dark magic, to treasure and hide it.My Masters taught me the history of magic and how it’s exhibited among the six powers.I studied self-defense, plant identification, politics, geography, and mathematics.
“School set me free, but after my third year, I came home to find my marriage arranged to that brute.And in my last year…” Her throat tightened, Esrin’s abandonment poisoning her thoughts.She redirected quickly.
“In my last year, I was offered a way out, but it fell through.My mother died not long after I returned home, and my father sent me to Erst’s estate.Erst made it clear he would enjoy making my life hell.I snapped and planned my escape.”
An oversimplified explanation, but honest enough.
“I’m impressed,” Fael said after a moment.He removed the pot from the fire and placed it between them, passing her two hard biscuits to dip into the broth.“Not everyone is clever enough to time a guard transition.Not everyone is brave enough torun.”
Ren’wyn scoffed inwardly.Brave?Every moment of the past months had been stained with cowardice.Every minute of her life was stained with cowardice.She had endured Vair’s manipulation and slaps, avoided Peria’s invitation to Anduan, and pinned all her hopes on Esrin’s empty promises.How pathetic wasthat?
The silence stretched, but Fael’s gaze was soft and knowing.That quiet understanding brought a tightness to her throat and a sting to hereyes.
“Something lighter?”Fael offered, his tone gentle.“I had a gray mare named Cloud when I was young.I’d ride her for hours to escape my father’s visits.She loved apples, and I brushed her down myself instead of leaving her to the grooms.I just enjoyed being withher.”
Ren’wyn smiled at the thought of him, high-born and wealthy, soothing and grooming a horse.The image and distraction softened hermood.
“I had a cat,” she replied.“Seffi.She was black with white paws and one white ear, and she loved catching mice in the pantry.She slept with me every night.I used to roll buttons and marbles for her.She was a friend when everyone else expected too much of me.”
The next silence was companionable, filled with the shared love of their pets.The soup was simple but hot, and the fire’s glow and warm food added to the peaceful atmosphere.
Fael finished eating and stood to begin the Passage.“I think you should exercise your magic when you’re ready.You’re free now, and no one will stopyou.”
Ren’wyn watched him move for a while, then took the pot to wash in the stream.She scoured the bottom with sand and stones before sitting beside the flowing water.
The stream rippled and eddied in endless patterns, and her mind wandered to death and its own similar movement.She let her eyes shutter, and the Void rose cold and heavy around her.Her fingers and feet crusted with frost, and her eyes stung.
Looming dark under their cloaks, her siblings stood like sentinels on the oppositebank.
“What do you think of him?”she asked.“Is he good?Is hesafe?”
Anxiety coiled in her chest, icy and sharp.What if their answer was no?Alone in the Dark Forest, she wouldn’t survive.
Aiden stepped forward, his voice soft in her ear.“Good, yes.Safe, no.He will protect with fire and strength.Stay close tohim.”
The three ghosts shared a look but offered no further insight.She knew better than to press, fearing they might fade.Instead, she practiced weaving shadows into a net—a technique for masking and hiding.
Under her siblings’ watch, her confidence grew.She could regain her strength.The intricate net-making required all her concentration, and she lost track of time until the snap of a twig behind her brought herback.
Swiveling, she summoned shadows that burst from the ground, ready to attack the unseen threat.
