Valley of Embers (The Landkist Saga Book 1) (52 page)
Read Valley of Embers (The Landkist Saga Book 1) Online
Authors: Steven Kelliher
They burned Ninyeva that night.
The notes of mourning carried to the furthest branches of the Valley that had been her home as the sun dipped below the salt lake and turned it to liquid fire. And Kole knew the Faey Mother’s death marked both an ending and a beginning, just as he knew the tears amidst the smoke were as much for her as for Kaya Ferrahl and Larren Holspahr, two more Embers lost.
He stood with his father. They watched Doh’Rah take the flame from Tu’Ren and offer it to the pyre. Across the way, in the flickering shadows of the Long Hall, Linn and her sister swayed shoulder-to-shoulder. Iyana’s eyes glowed like fireflies, embers brighter than any in the Valley.
Kole and Iyana embraced after the ceremony, but he let them have each other for the night. Tu’Ren took charge of Jenk Ganmeer, who offered Kole a solemn look that said all it needed to as the Emberfolk filled their homes with fires for cooking, warming and remembering rather than killing.
Karin told Kole the complete story of the battle for Hearth over dinner, sparing his own heroics, though Kole had already gleaned them from other sources.
“Talmir may need you,” Karin said, coming back with two steaming bowls from the fireplace. “If what T’Alon Rane says is true—
“A big ‘if,’” Kole said.
“If the Merchant Council won’t support the expedition to resettle the deserts,” Karin continued, undeterred, “then he may need you.”
“He has other Reyna’s to choose from.”
“Not so many.”
“No,” Kole said, and Karin sighed and took a slurp from his bowl, eyes on the table. All told, he had taken the news that the last King of Ember was still alive and in league with the most dangerous foe their people had ever known quite well. His thoughts, however, were treading different paths. Kole knew because he knew his father’s looks; this was a look that had never been far from Karin’s face since a stormy night when three hearts became two.
Kole could still remember seeing his mother walking toward him through the burning throne room, her green eyes sparkling, her face stern. There was little closure in it all. Sarise had still died, and though the White Crest may not have done the killing, he had held himself from the saving.
“Linn thinks we can use them—the Sages,” Kole said, bringing the conversation back around.
“And what do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you need so many enemies, Kole?”
“I know my enemy.”
“Do you?”
Karin stared at him hard and Kole found himself looking away.
“We all do the best we can,” Karin said after a while.
“Even T’Alon Rane?” Kole asked, and it was a long time before his father gave an answer.
Iyana was different.
Linn could tell. They were all different, now.
They had burned the Faey Mother tonight, and already her thoughts turned to the future. Despite the light she felt teasing the edges of her fingertips and ticking the lashes on the ends of her lids, it seemed a dark one to her.
She sat alone on the roof and felt the soft breaths of her sister in sleep below the shingles and beams their father had built. She heard the wind whistling along the water, a sound more soothing to her now than the lapping of the waves along the docks.
The moon was out, and nothing stirred beneath it. It would be some time before the animals made their way back onto the forest paths.
“Am I good?” Linn asked the skies.
She wondered whether the White Crest had asked that of himself, even toward the end. She wondered if T’Alon Rane did, and she thought that he might.
Last, her thoughts turned to Kole Reyna.
With her new sight, Linn could see the northern peaks this time of night. She felt the Valley was a small place. She could see the light in Kole’s window from here, too. It burned on into the night long after the wax had run, and the glass splintered and cracked with his dreaming.
S
teven is a fighter turned writer who resides in the Boston area. He wishes all disputes were still settled with a friendly game of hand-to-hand combat, is a fan of awesome things, and tries to write books he’d want to read. He hopes you like them.
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