CHAPTER 43
STORY
Kiethara flinched in her dreams.
They had been so pleasant—swirls of blooming flowers and glowing faces. The dreams had no rhyme or reason. They were, surprisingly, normal dreams over normal quarries and worries that stuck in her head. Even the voice did not bother commenting on anything.
Despite the peace, she found herself grimacing among the flowers of her imagination in annoyance.
There was an annoying prick at her conscious, like a fly that wouldn’t go away. It was very faint, an almost nonexistent presence. Not strong enough to steal her from her sleep, but not weak enough to let her enjoy it restfully.
Navadar’s face flickered through the colors again. Navadar. It had been so long since she had seen him last. Even when she had been kidnapped and trapped in Nikkoi, it had never been this long. But his face quickly faded as new faces appeared.
She watched them like a play. The only face that was out of focus was her mother’s face. The only image she had ever seen of her was made out of petals, and now it lay on her chest, her mother’s locket around her neck.
If only she could get rid of the annoying buzz in the back of her head…
It was more present now, no longer coming in intervals. Like a bell that never stopped ringing, it became the background music to her thoughts. Every few minutes, Kiethara would refocus on it again.
Sleep was slowly becoming impossible. Whatever the prick was, it was determined to wake her up, even though she had been trying to ignore it for quite some time now.
It went off again, more present than it had ever been before. She was finally pulled from her slumber and into the sunlight.
Kiethara groaned as the sun blinded her. The air still held some post-winter chill to it, one that could be felt on the light breeze that wisped through the leaves. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A perfect day.
Now awake, she realized the annoying buzz had been her connection, telling her that there was somebody in the forest. Two people, in fact.
They were only a couple of yards away.
Kiethara blasted into the air with a great burst of wind. She still had not gotten used to the immense power she possessed now. Quickly snatching up her sword and potion belt, she pulled them onto her waist, scrambling to get some control over herself. It was just a moment too late, however, for her visitors were already breaking through the trees.
Navadar’s face—his beautiful face—came first.
Kiethara gasped in joy and flew down to meet him. He grinned when he saw her, but he was preoccupied by leading his horse through the trees.
Kiethara stopped, hovering in the air, a few feet from him.
“Nav—” she started to say, but then she stopped. Ice shot through her veins and froze her lips mid-word.
There, on his lovely buckskin horse, sat Trinnia.
She wore a heavy chocolate traveling dress, her blond hair pulled up into an elegant bun. Even deep in the forest, Trinnia was beautiful.
Kiethara let her feet touch the ground. She did not feel light anymore; her mouth had dropped open, and her navy blue eyes flickered between Navadar and Trinnia in shock. Navadar looked away guiltily and, by the way he shuffled his feet, she could tell he was uneasy. Trinnia looked…out of place, overwhelmed. She was staring at Kiethara’s feet in fear, as though trying to convince herself she had not seen them hovering a minute before.
“Kiethara,” Navadar said in a tight voice. “You look as lovely as ever.”
The words came out very stiff and very formal. The same way he had talked to her when they were with company in Redawn. She hated it. Frustration made her clasp her jaw with an audible snap.
“Do I, now?” she asked Navadar. He turned his head and grimaced. “Thank you, Navadar.”
“Kiethara, I-I brought Trinnia with me,” he continued stiffly.
“Oh,” Kiethara said, as though she had just realized Trinnia was there. “Hello, Trinnia. This is a…surprise.”
Navadar helped Trinnia down from his horse. Once she had smoothed the front of her dress, she looked up at Kiethara.
“Kiethara,” she acknowledged. “You look…nice.”
The sneer on Trinnia’s face was quite a contradiction to her words. Kiethara had no response. Neither, it seemed, did Navadar.
“Kiethara,” he said suddenly. “You have your locket!”
A nice way to break the silence, but Kiethara admired how he noticed the smaller details in her life. She had to hand it to Navadar, though. He could fix awkward situations almost as fast as he could create them.
“Yes, I do,” she said in response. Her thoughts drifted away from the clearing as her hand went up to finger the golden locket on her heart.
“How?” he asked, bemused.
Kiethara looked at Trinnia. She was standing there with an uncomfortable expression, not facing either of them, but Kiethara could tell she was listening. Could she trust the girl who had turned her life upside-down with one simple trick?
“It is okay, Kiethara,” he said quickly, reading her face. “We can trust her.”
“I want to hear that from her!” Kiethara snapped. Her hands burst into flames.
She was furious. Navadar comes into her forest, dragging along this…this girl, only to have her insult everything she could? What was Navadar playing at?
Navadar stepped in between them and spread his arms. “That’s why we’re here. Trinnia wants to apologize.”
Kiethara looked over Navadar’s shoulder. Trinnia was looking down at the forest floor, her bottom lip jutting forward. Kiethara took a deep breath and let the fire disappear.
“Again, I want to hear that from her,” she said through her teeth.
Navadar stood there for another moment, his face torn with indecision. Finally, he moved aside.
Trinnia did not move for a moment. Then she slowly raised her head and took a step forward.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry for treating you with contempt. I’m sorry for kissing Navadar and I’m sorry for misjudging you. I saw someone unfamiliar to my customs and I immediately scorned you. Please forgive me.”
Kiethara’s mouth opened in surprise, but she shut it in the same second. Placing a hand on her hip, she scrutinized Trinnia.
Fear.
That was the dominant emotion in Trinnia’s light brown eyes. This was raw, a spark of something true. Whether she meant her words or not, Trinnia feared whatever response she was expecting from Kiethara.
Kiethara’s resolved wavered.
Navadar was watching her with the same fear. Everybody looked at her that way! It was as though she was some wild horse that they were waiting to see whether they had spooked it or not. She was getting rather tired of it; the stares of apprehension and trepidation were not flattering. They made her feel…lonely. But the only way to get them to end was to forgive Trinnia. That was the price she must pay.
Kiethara closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose.
“I forgive you, Trinnia,” she said, and then smiled softly. “It took courage to come here.”
Trinnia looked up at her. Kiethara knew that they would never get along, but alas, at least she had made Navadar’s day. She could see that he had finally stopped hyperventilating. Smug, she placed her hand on her sword hilt.
“Why don’t we go to my mother’s meadow?” she asked.
“Certainly,” Navadar agreed, glowing. “Let me just tie him up first.”
Navadar took his horse, tan hide flashing in the sun and black mane rippling in the breeze, and tied him to the nearest tree. Together, Kiethara led the way to the meadow.
“It’s beautiful!” Trinnia gasped when they reached it.
“Thank you,” Kiethara said. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
She shot Navadar a glance, nodding back towards the trees.
“Er, I’ll be right back as well,” he said quickly, and then he followed her into the trees.
Once
they were well out of sight from Trinnia, who remained hesitant at the edge of the meadow, Kiethara turned around and glared at Navadar, crossing her arms.
Navadar was having none of that.
He shoved her up against the nearest tree, uncrossing her arms with his strong hands. His lips found hers with a soft moan and he put one hand in her waist long hair, the other on her waist.
Her own hands were placed lightly on his chest. Her anger from before melted away as her skin heated up, responding to his touch. She almost forgot that Trinnia was still here.
After one long moment, or maybe it had been a year, they broke apart.
“Sorry I took so long,” he breathed in her ear.
“I’m still mad at you,” she said between her labored panting.
“It worked out all right.”
“What exactly is your definition of ‘all right’?” she asked.
“This,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
“Well this time you brought a guest,” she pointed out, gently pushing him away.
“Next time I won’t,” he promised fervently.
“Well, then, I’ll see you next time,” she said with a wicked grin. She slipped out from under his arm and walked back towards the meadow, swinging her hips a little more than necessary.
Navadar and she made their way towards Trinnia. Trinnia watched them approach with wide eyes. She kept glancing at Kiethara’s sword, as though she were afraid it would somehow slip from its sheath and stab her.
“Shall we venture towards the tree?” Kiethara asked after a moment of awkward silence, motioning towards the looming cherry blossom.
“Yes,” Navadar agreed, taking a step forward.
“D-do you have to bring all those weapons with you?” Trinnia stuttered suddenly, looking nervous. “Why can’t you leave them here for the time being?”
“Oh,” Navadar said, surprised. “Of course.”
He pulled his bow and arrows off of his back and laid them on the edge on the meadow. He looked up at Kiethara, motioning for her to do the same.
“I like to keep these on me,” she said as pleasantly as she could.
“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Trinnia asked, eyeing her nervously. Navadar followed it up with a pointed look.
“All right,” Kiethara sighed, a bit frustrated. She unfastened her sword and her vine belt from her waist and laid them on the ground next to Navadar’s bow.
“I wish we had flowers like this in Redawn,” Trinnia sighed, as they ventured farther into the field. Trinnia sat down delicately in a batch of tulips.
“Feel free to take as many as you like,” Kiethara said, plopping down next to her. Trinnia made a small noise in the back of her throat at the movement, giving her a subtle look of disgust. Trinnia was sitting so stiff compared to her, legs bent gracefully underneath the folds of her dress, back poised promptly. Kiethara’s muscles ached from just looking at her.
Navadar was so mistaken; things between them were never going to work out. She was a finished young woman from a strict society, while Kiethara was a free and powerful force of nature.
As Navadar sat down, Trinnia took a deep and rather shaky breath. “May I tell a story?”
Kiethara looked up in surprise. “Of course.”
“It would be a pleasure,” Navadar injected.
“Close your eyes,” she ordered. “And imagine a small, lonely village on a small round hill. Animals scurry back and forth, attending to their jobs and visiting their neighbors. The bear was baking some fresh bread, the chicken tending to a fire, and the badger was sweeping her front porch, just as it did on every sunny day. Imagine it, see it, smell it.”
Kiethara was confused, but she kept her eyes closed. Her stories, or legends, had always been about real people with real problems. A village of animals seemed like nonsense.
“In one house there lived a beautiful fox. She was sleek, cunning, and wise. All of the villagers listened to what she had to say. She was granted the biggest cottage on the grandest plot of land. No one could tell her what to do.
“Now right next to her on one side was an empty cottage, while on the other side lived a horse. He was a very beautiful animal as well—the fox visited him often, admiring his gleaming coat and handsome cottage.
“The fox ate up all the attention the villagers gave her. She could not live without it, vain as she was. They followed her around, desperately trying to touch her soft fur or receive her blessing. The fox was never alone, except for when she slept.”
Kiethara shifted her weight uncomfortably. The story was beginning to sound familiar, and it was making her feel very awkward. Was Trinnia telling her own story to them?
“One day, there was a stir in the village. Word quickly spread that there was a visitor in their small little community. Everybody, even the fox, went to investigate.
“A dove was sitting in the center of town; everybody had formed a circle around her. No one would go up to her, but no one could look away. They had never seen a dove before, for the village played home to no birds. And this was the grandest of them all.
Kiethara’s stomach clenched. She was beginning to feel very uneasy, as though she sensed something…forbidding. This story seemed to be about her as well.
“The horse became very interested in the dove. She sparkled in his eyes. As the dove began to weave her way into the lives of the villagers, the horse began to spend more time with the dove and less time with the fox. Almost all of the villagers had pushed the fox to the back of their minds.”
So the horse was Navadar. She had to admit, Trinnia was brave if she had planned this to be her apology.
“The fox became jealous and enraged. The dove had moved into the house next to hers, so every day the fox had to watch as animals would stop in front of it and stare. Before they would walk off, they always took a little of the dove’s fruit from her garden without asking. Then they walked straight past the fox’s house without stopping to say hello.
“The horse was the only one who was genuinely nice to the dove. He visited her often, and because of that, he stopped visiting the fox. Stuck in her house, the fox became restless. Then one day…then one day she made a terrible…mistake…”
Something was wrong. Trinnia kept choking on her words, as though she were…crying.
It all happened very fast.
Kiethara’s gut clenched, the connection in the back of her mind went off, and the air around them became heavy with dark magic.
“And they all lived happily ever after,” a horrible voice chuckled in her ear.
Kiethara gasped, her eyes flying open. She was on her feet in a flash, but it took her a minute to absorb what was happening.
Gandador had appeared right behind her, the sight of him bringing a wave of emotions she had not felt in a long time. A shudder rolled down her spin.
He was not alone. Right behind Navadar stood a tall, bulky figure. This man had the darkest skin she had seen yet, a chocolate brown that matched the color of Trinnia’s dress. He wore a rustic purple robe, his face lined with so many piercings it made her stomach churn.
Trinnia broke into sobs.
Besides her, Navadar jumped to his feet, reaching behind him to grab his bow, but his hand grasped empty air. It was not there. It was at the edge of the beautiful meadow, hidden by the tall flowers, along with Kiethara’s sword and vine belt. Kiethara felt like smacking herself.
Gandador began circling them with a smile that promised violence.
“I’m….I-I…I’m s-sorry, Navadar,” Trinnia choked out.
“What did you do?!” he cried, spinning on his heel as though he was trying to face everybody at once.
“I…I…” she sobbed.
“Mmm, yes, Miss Trinnia was of great use to me,” Gandador said, almost to himself. “I was shocked to see Navadar in Nikkoi, but even more surprised when I spotted him with this captivating young woman. I had to make sure he wasn’t toying around with my daughter and, in my…invest
igation, I realized that this beautiful blond could be of use to me, so here I am.”
Gandador stopped in front of Kiethara, touching the tip of her nose with the point of his finger. “I was protecting you, child. You should be grateful.”
Kiethara flinched away from his cold touch, glaring. Navadar pushed himself in front of her.
“Don’t touch her!” he growled at Gandador.
“Navadar—” Kiethara started.
“This time I’m not going anywhere,” he said through his teeth.
Gandador cocked his eyebrow. “If you insist.”
Kiethara threw herself in front of Navadar just in time. Gandador’s fist collided with the side of her face and, if Kiethara had not planted her feet, she would have been sent flying.
“Hey!” Navadar yelled. Trinnia sobbed even harder.
Kiethara spat blood out of her mouth and looked up at Gandador with a look of pure hatred.
“That’s the best you can do?” she mocked.
“Child,” he chuckled dangerously. “You haven’t seen anything yet. The game has just begun.”
Navadar tried to step in front of her again. If he kept it up, he would be dead within a second.
“N-No!” Trinnia cried. “Y-You said you w-wouldn’t hurt him!”
Had Trinnia actually believed that Gandador would restrain from causing pain? She was a fool!
The worst part was that Kiethara could not protect them.
Anger and hatred filled her to the brim, leaving no room for fear. Despite all of her preparations, she could not focus on her shield. Every time she did, frustration at the fool sobbing at her feet pushed it away.
“Correction, my dear,” he replied coolly. “I said I wouldn’t kill him.”
Navadar turned around to look at Trinnia with a look of utter disbelief.
“I’m a man of my word, Miss Trinnia,” he continued. “Don’t you worry. And if you don’t believe me, ask Kiethara. She can tell you from experience.”
Kiethara’s hands burst into flames, making Trinnia yelp in shock. Navadar did not react in any way; he was too busy staring at Trinnia as though he had never seen anything like her in his life. Had he expected anything else from her?
Gandador’s eyes glinted dangerously. “Now, now, let’s not fight yet. I still haven’t introduced you to my accomplice yet. This is Tryke.”
Tryke did not respond to Gandador’s words in any way. He continued to stand there, arms crossed, his dark eyes soaking in the scene before him. He didn’t even shift his weight.
“Navadar,” Kiethara hissed. “You’re going to have to take Trinnia and—”
“No!”
“Listen, I can’t protect both of you—”
“She doesn’t need protecting.”
Kiethara looked up at him in shock. His expression had changed from disbelief to furious betrayal. He wouldn’t even look at Trinnia anymore.
“No!” she cried. Kiethara had never seen anyone look so broken. “N-Navadar! I’m sorry!”
“Too late for apologies, my dear. Betrayal is not easily forgotten,” Gandador said calmly. Kiethara made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. He would know.
“He made me!” she cried.
“I do not like people who lie,” Gandador said, suddenly annoyed. Kiethara’s stomach dropped. Usually, he was always so collected and calm. Even a hint of anger made him seen murderous. “I only proved that you valued your own life more than his. And for that, you die.”
Kiethara couldn’t have stopped it. She didn’t even see it happen.
The sound of a sword being drawn, a flash of silver in the sunlight, and a blood-curdling scream that was cut off abruptly. All of these things seemed to happen simultaneously, not in any order. Before Kiethara had registered that Gandador had even moved, Trinnia’s body was at his feet, blood pooling out of her neck with her head severed from her body.
Navadar yelled something, but Kiethara did not hear what it was. She could not take her eyes away from the liquid crimson that was drenching her mother’s flowers. Fear spread through her body, choking her.
Gandador cupped Kiethara’s chin in his hand and forced her gaze away from the beautiful corpse. “Not for the eyes of a young girl.”
Her shield exploded out from her body, sending all three men flying.
The world seemed to pause for just one heartbeat, long enough for her to realize that Tryke and Gandador would not stay on the ground forever.
“Navadar, come on!” she screamed. With a blast of wind from behind her, she was at his side in a moment, pulling his to his feet.
“Come on, Navadar, we have to run!” she cried.
“What just happened?” he asked, dazed.
“Come on!” she urged.
Hand in hand, they sprinted towards the one and only place that popped into her mind. Soon they broke through the line of trees and, with one arm in front of her to beat away the branches and the other behind her to keep Navadar from falling behind, she raced through the green and brown. Everything made her gasp. A squirrel jumped from a tree and she almost lost her footing. The two pricks in her connection that were Gandador and Tryke disappeared for the time being, but she knew they would be back. At any moment, Gandador could be at her side.
“Run, Navadar, run!” she cried again, her surroundings but a blur. Navadar’s boots thudded heavily.
Finally, they entered the center of the forest. The guardian’s lake.
“Aaron!” Kiethara called in a breathless pant.
After a moment of silence, there was no response.
Kiethara stared at the lake in disbelief before shaking her head. She, apparently, was on her own.
“Navadar,” she whispered, turning to him. “Are you all right?”
He looked down at her in surprise. The shock was still wide in his eyes.
Lightly, she placed a hand on his cheek. “I need you to focus now. Gandador is coming. I need your help.”
He continued to look down at her.
“Please, for me,” she begged. “I need you to focus. Gandador will not show us any mercy.”
At this, Navadar’s eyes regained a certain spark. He took her hand and placed her fingers on his lips, brushing them back and forth, and then kissing them gently. He took his other hand and weaved his fingers through her hair.
“I won’t let him touch you,” he growled. “I’ll kill him, I swear I will!”
“I know, trust me, I know,” she murmured. She could feel his pain. Gandador had killed her mother, and now he had killed Navadar’s friend. They both thirsted for revenge.
Kiethara suddenly flinched as two pricks of presence reentered the connection in her head. It took her only a second to realize they had appeared right next to her.
Pain exploded in her head as she was sent flying. She hit the ground hard, skidding to the edge of the lake.
“I would appreciate it if you kept your hands off of my daughter,” Gandador said coolly.
Kiethara pulled herself to her feet and pushed herself through the air at record speed. Her shield appeared just as she reached Navadar, enveloping them in gold.
Gandador sighed.
“Kiethara!” Navadar gasped. He wiped something red off her forehead.
Kiethara turned towards Gandador. She felt dizzy already.
“You tell him not to touch me, and then you send me flying?” she asked, pausing for a moment. At least it had not been the other way around. “Thanks.”
Gandador stared at her for a fraction of a second before smirking. “Don’t try mind tricks on me, child. I created them.”
“You’re getting arrogant in your old age,” she growled angrily, her shield flickering.
He looked pointedly at her shield. “Like I said, I created mind tricks.”
Kiethara blinked, and then she shook her head. She had to get Navadar out of here. Tryke might not have made a sound yet, but she didn’t doubt that he had magic to match hers.
At that moment, all
she wanted to do was protect him. All she wanted to do was fly away with him.
So that was exactly what happened.
Before she knew it, her golden sphere was hovering in the air, housing Navadar and herself. She felt the strain in her muscles and, with a tremendous groan, she brought her hands up and placed them on the roof of her shield. It shot off the ground and flung her into the air, stopping just above the tree tops. Sweat rolled down her neck. How did she…?
Besides her, a very pale Navadar was gaping at the ground. He kept on lifting his feet as though he expected to fall through the almost transparent surface.
Away and protected. Her powers had given her just what she needed, by nothing but pure desperation. Would Aaron consider desperation an emotion?
Kiethara scanned the horizon. She wanted to get Navadar to safety, but she didn’t want to leave the relatively small section of forest she had come to memorize. How could she use her surroundings to her advantage?
With that, she pushed the sphere back the way they had come, straining with the tremendous effort it took her. It wasn’t as fast as her normal flying, but it was quicker than if they had been running on the ground below.
Navadar gave a sickened groan as they sped over the trees. He looked as though he was going to puke.
“Just a little…farther…” she panted. She was headed to the perfect little area where the trees became a bit more spaced…Where he had first taught her to use his bow…
His bow!
The weapons they had put down! She needed to get them; if anything, they would give her an advantage, and Navadar would have a slim chance to fight his way out. They would just have to stay away from…from Trinnia.
Swallowing back bile, she redirected their course.
“Take your eyes off the ground!” she warned him. “I have to fly over the meadow to get to the other side!”
Navadar locked eyes with her for a moment, and she saw something in them that she never wanted to see again.
She began to fly over the meadow, but they had only reached the single cherry blossom tree that stood off in the corner when she sensed Gandador and Tryke’s presence again.
This wasn’t fair! Her connection was supposed to give her a warning, give her an advantage! But Gandador knew about her connection, and it seemed he was using it against her. He wouldn’t stay in the same spot for more than a second, unless, of course, he spotted her.
Kiethara knew there was only one person to blame for that, and that was her mother. For the first time in her life, she was angry at her.
The two presences that she felt split up. What were they doing?
“Look!” Navadar said suddenly, pointing.
She followed his gaze until she spotted a black figure rapidly approaching. That was one, and she could feel the other approaching her from the other side.
“I’m really tired of you and this…sphere,” Gandador said in a murderous tone. He stopped right before them, standing in the air with his arms crossed.
“Never tell your enemies what you want. They’ll just give you the exact opposite,” she said coolly, trying to buy them some time. Her mind was working furiously.
Gandador chuckled. “You’ve been spending too much time with Sinsenta and not enough time with me. Don’t tantalize me, child.”
Fire appeared between his hands and before she could blink, he flew forward and struck the side of her shield.
The vibrations shot painfully down her arms, sending her smacking into Navadar. They dropped in altitude.
“No!” Navadar cried.
Kiethara did not see what hit her, but it sent her head back as her shield lurched from the force of it. It was too much…she couldn’t hold on…
The shield disappeared.
Gravity flung Navadar and her barreling towards the ground. The rich soil felt like stone against her body, and memories of events that had happened nearly a year ago flooded through her mind. The hideous fire...Of course, that fall had been twice the height, but the impact felt just the same.
Besides her, Navadar groaned and rolled over. “Kiethara…”
She moaned in response, pushing tulips out of her face. Her joints cracked in a sickening way, but nothing felt broken.
Two brown leather boots landed inches from her head.
Her heart stopped for a brief second before taking off in her breast. Gandador was standing over her with his signature smirk, looking down at her as though he had won a grand prize.
“Finally,” he said. “It’s time to experiment. What makes a guardian tick?”
Kiethara rolled on her feet, but before she could focus on her powers he had her by the throat.
“Tryke, the boy,” he said coolly.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Navadar being forced onto his knees by Tryke. His hands were forced together by two rings of fire.
“Let her go!” he yelled angrily. She would have said the same if she could breath.
“Quiet, boy, I need to concentrate,” Gandador said.
Did Gandador truly believe that she would stay limp for him to toy with? He would learn firsthand that she was now an expert in physical combat.
She brought her knee up into his stomach. The grip on her neck released, but it did not hinder him for long.
His leg flashed out, aimed at her, but she ducked underneath it. She used her momentum to kick herself off the ground and use her shoulder to force Gandador back.
A hint of surprise lit Gandador’s features. “Why, you’ve gotten quite strong. I might actually have fun with this.”
Her hands burst into flames and she lunged. He knocked her arms aside with ease, and then countered with a blow that knocked her on her back.
Kiethara rolled to her right just in time. A bloody blade thudded in the dirt in the exact same place her chest had been.
Gandador grunted as he pulled his sword out of the ground. The red coating the metal had made her stomach drop in disgust.
Gandador pushed the thought out of her head by aiming another strike at her. She let her shield fly up, and the metal rebounded off of it, vibrating through her in an almost painful way.
Her hands regained their flames and she kicked off the ground. She sped towards Gandador with lightning speed and swiped her hand through the air, catching him in the chest.
He went flying towards the cherry blossom tree and landed at its roots. The front of his robes was singed, but to her disappointment she saw that she had not been able to set him on fire. At least she was strong enough to knock him on the ground now.
Gandador scowled and jumped to his feet. He pulled his sword back as though he were going to charge.
And then he threw it.
The sword was a blur as it streaked through the meager space between them. She was already hovering in the air, and although her instinct was screaming at her to duck, she tried to pull herself higher.
It was the wrong decision.
Kiethara let out a cry as the edge of the blade caught her thigh. She hit the ground for the third time that day, but this timed with a pained scream that filled the meadow hauntingly.
She raised her head and pulled back the white fabric of her short dress. A deep, six inch long gash split her thigh, blood already seeping out of it.
Breathing heavily, she pushed her hand down on it, stopping the flow of crimson. Kiethara gasped as pain shot down her leg. I need my potion bottles, she thought desperately.
“No—” Navadar tried to cry, but it was cut off as Tryke kicked him.
In her head, Gandador’s presence flickered as he disappeared and reappeared.
Right above her.
His elbow came down on her head. Her vision flickered as pain exploded in her scalp. Limp on the ground, she waited with closed eyes for the pain to fade.
“Now that she’s out, I can finally see if it is possible,” he murmured to himself, his voice triumphant.
Out? He thought she was unconscious! Kiethara lay in the flowers, torn. S
hould she get up before he had a chance to look at her too closely, or should she wait a few moments…?
Kiethara felt him grab her arm and pull it off the grass. It took all of her concentration to keep her arm limp, and even more focus to not cry out as something brushed past her injured leg.
“Keep your hands off of her!” Navadar bellowed.
“Is that all we have to say to each other, boy?” Gandador asked.
Kiethara heard the faint sound of Navadar struggling with his bonds—a hopeless cause.
Gandador began fingering her bracelets; she could feel him try to slip his fingernails underneath the gold. But he couldn’t, just as she knew he wouldn’t be able to. What would happen when he came to the same revelation? Would he kill her on the spot?
“So tell me, how’s Redawn?” Gandador asked, and then he chuckled. “It’s been a while since I last visited.”
“I’ll kill you!” Navadar hissed, pure rage in his voice. That was Navadar, transforming his fear into anger.
“You can’t imagine the number of people who have told me that,” he said, his voice bored.
“I will be the last,” he growled.
“You’re a fine boy, Navadar. Don’t tempt me to end your life. If I wasn’t in a war with my daughter, here, I would be happy to give you two my blessing.”
“Blessing!” Navadar spat in disgust. “You’re not capable.”
“Is that what you believe?” he murmured. His hands moved up from her arm to her locket. “Did she ever show you this?”
“What does that have to do with anything?!” Navadar roared. There was a dull thud.
“Thank you, Tryke, that is enough,” Gandador said.
Navadar cursed.
“Did she?”
“Yes,” he answered grudgingly.
“Good, good. And with that, you should understand that I understand love. I felt it.”
“And then became a selfish bastard!”
“Yes,” Gandador agreed calmly. His hands moved back down to her crystals. “In one way, at least. You and I are so alike, Navadar. You’re walking in my footsteps. I know how you feel.
“You walked into the forest in search of treasure, honor, and perhaps adventure. And then you stumbled upon this glorious goddess, practically spinning in the air of magic that surrounds her. Everything about her is wild, exotic. Simply intoxicating. She is an answer to your prayers, a way out of the repetitive life you have. Essentially, the adventure you have always wanted.”
Gandador’s voice was low. Kiethara could not tell if he was telling his own story or telling Navadar his. However, she could not stop herself from listening. She knew that she had to act soon, but his words…
“And then her powers. It’s strange, knowing that she could kill you at any second, but you know that if you left, you would always want to come back. Don’t you agree?”
“I…” Navadar stammered.
“Yes, boy, we have the same story. And eventually, you will see the reason behind my logic. You will crave her powers more than her body one day.”
“You’re talking nonsense! Of course I wouldn’t—”
“Fine, don’t believe me. Sleep with her, make love with her, and then watch her fly away. Desire will pump through your veins through it all, but longing will come when flowers grow instantly at her feet.”
“How can you speak like this?” Navadar asked in disgust.
“I don’t fear words, boy, “Gandador said. “You see—”
Kiethara could not wait any longer. Between the pain in her leg and the frustration at his words, she had to do something.
Her good leg came up in a swift thrust and her foot made contact with Gandador’s skull. Without waiting for him to respond, she rolled onto her knees and tackled him into the grass.
Her weight wasn’t enough to knock him very far. Ignoring Navadar’s cries of surprise, she elbowed Gandador in the throat. He grunted in pain, paused, and then chuckled. She stared at him in shock, panting heavily as she adjusted her knee on his chest. Fire, she thought desperately, come one…
It was too late; Gandador’s chuckle still had her staring down at him in shock and bewilderment. It left her no room for anger.
Gandador’s arm snaked around her waist and crushed her to his chest.
“Child, you have a peculiar talent of getting yourself into perilous situations. Did you even bother to think that maneuver through?”
“No,” she panted. “I was too busy trying to kill you.”
“If I weren’t your father, and I was truly intent on killing you and stamping out magic from the world completely, this would be a very dangerous situation,” he chuckled darkly. “But for now, I think its best you remain unconscious.”
Gandador raised his hand, but before he could even twitch a finger Kiethara brought her other knee to his groin. He exhaled sharply, throwing her off of his chest. She flew off and hit the trunk of her mother’s cherry blossom, crying out as she fell back down amongst the flowers. She gasped, the pain in her leg flaring sickeningly.
“A bad place to hit a man,” Gandador growled, standing up.
Humiliation washed through her. Gandador was mocking her, on top of throwing her aside like a common rag. She looked like a weak fool, and in front of Navadar, too. He would not see a high and mighty warrior now.
With that, she turned invisible.
She didn’t have the time to appreciate that her powers had finally worked with her instead of against her. She ripped off her mother’s locket and threw it aside; it did not become invisible like the rest of her. She would have to find it later.
“Tryke, watch your back,” Gandador warned. For some reason, she knew that warning was the closest thing she would ever get to seeing him in fear.
However, Tryke was not her priority. Not even Navadar. The cold truth washed through her, and she realized she needed to end this, and she needed to end it now.
Quietly, she circled Gandador. He was as still as a rock, listening to every rustle in the grass. To drown out her footsteps, Kiethara let the winds pick up. They howled loudly, the rustling of the leaves loud enough to drown out even Navadar’s rugged breathing.
“Clever girl,” Gandador growled. Kiethara smirked.
Her hands burst into flames as she punched Gandador in the back. His robes caught and he stumbled forward as she relocated herself.
Gandador spun around and swiped his fist through the air, but he caught nothing. Kiethara felt him put out the smoldering flame on his back with his own winds. She had already extinguished the flames on her hand and—making sure to keep her breathing quiet—she lunged again, this time bringing her foot to his gut.
He fell back into the grass, and she kicked him in the ribs. It felt glorious to feel his flesh bruise under the impact of her own. Glorious to know that they had reached a point where they were almost evenly matched. Getting cocky, she brought her foot down on him again.
This time, he caught her foot.
With what felt like all of his strength he yanked it off the ground, pulling himself up and spinning her around. He let go of her and she felt herself tumble through the air, the world spinning around her in a flash of colors that included her own limbs, which were visible again. For a moment she felt weightless, but her mind finally reached a place of clarity. She caught herself in the air not a moment too soon, saving herself from another much undesired impact with the ground.
To her surprise, Gandador began walking in the opposite direction. She thought he was going to leave the meadow, but then he bent down and picked up his sword.
Her sword!
Kiethara tore through the sky the second the revelation occurred to her. She closed her eyes halfway there, in order to avoid seeing Trinnia’s body. She could dwell of that later…
She almost cried out in joy when she spotted her sword lying next to her potion bottles and Navadar’s bow. Wait, Navadar’s bow!
Without hesitation she picked it up, running her finger over t
he cool bone and wood. His quiver was full of graceful arrows, and she quickly pulled on out and strung it. For a moment she savored its strength as she pulled back the string and aimed.
Gandador cried out in pain.
With clumsy fingers she pulled back another arrow, taking several steps forward. She could see Gandador clutching his shoulder in agony…
This time when she released the arrow it caught on fire, and the blazing missile sped through the air and landed neatly in Tryke’s thigh. When the man bellowed, his voice was deep. She let two more fly after the men, watching them with satisfaction as her arrows made their targets…
Then they disappeared.