Setora

KAEL

Kael stepped away as the music died, slipping through the crowd before Aylea could insist on dancing for another song. He’d humored her enough.

Kael couldn’t take two steps without receiving rough but well-meaning pats on the back. He’d accept a mug of ale only to have another one pushed on him before he could finish the other.

He smiled and laughed and cheered with the rebels, but he truly wanted nothing more than to find a quiet spot in the shadows and sit with his own thoughts.

But he was the leader of the rebellion, and his responsibilities extended beyond the battlefield.

Kael had just finished with another flagon of wine when something caught his eye.

Andra was dancing at the edge of the firelight.

With Egan.

He saw his arms around her, and a flare of jealousy heated his veins. He was pushing through the crowd to interrupt them before he knew it, and the sudden impulse gave the Rider pause.

~Why do I want to stop Andra from dancing with someone?~

~She is her own person.~

~She can do as she pleases.~

Then he saw Andra shove at Egan’s chest, and all doubt was erased from his mind. He was pushing through the crowd—ignoring loud cheers and offers of drink—when suddenly there was a bright flash of purple light.

Kael could hardly believe his eyes.

Andra had been engulfed in blue-violet fire.

He rushed forward, but before he could get to Andra, the fire had already gone out. He grabbed her shoulders, looking her over with a critical eye.

No burn marks.

No bruises.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Andra nodded her head, but Kael could tell that she wasn’t. He saw shades of the silent servant girl who had been tormented in Castigo’s manor.

Kael turned his attention to Egan, who was cradling his hands against his chest. He walked forward, grabbing a fistful of the other Rider’s collar.

“What did you do?” Kael hissed.

Egan looked at him evenly, not intimidated. “Nothing that warranted getting my hands burned off.”

Kael’s hand tightened into a fist. “Your hands are going to be the least of your problems if you don’t—”

“Stop,” Andra said. Kael felt her hand on his arm, gently pulling him backward. “You can’t do this here. Not in front of everyone.”

Kael looked around and was suddenly aware of how many people were watching them. It would do no good for morale if the leader of the rebellion was fighting with his second-in-command.

“We’re not done with this,” Kael said, pushing Egan backward.

“I’m shaking in my boots,” the other Rider said mockingly.

Kael turned away, guiding Andra from the party. He never should have left her alone.

ANDRA

Andra followed Kael into the comforting shadows of the forest. Just a few moments ago the light of the bonfire and the sound of laughter and music had been exciting.

Now the firelight just made Andra feel exposed. The noise of the crowd grated on her ears, and she was glad as the blanket of the forest hushed her senses.

Kael stopped, turning to face her. She flinched as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He lifted her chin with his finger, gently tilting her head up so he could see her face.

She let him examine her, his eyes swimming with various emotions that she couldn’t express.

“I’m sorry, Andra,” Kael said.

“Why are you apologizing?” she asked. “Egan was the one who—”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, cutting her off. “This never should have happened to you. If only I didn’t leave you…”

Andra remembered Syra’s words from earlier in the evening, and she stepped away from him, avoiding his gentle gray eyes.

“I’m not a child that needs to be tended to, Kael. You aren’t responsible for me.”

Kael remained silent.

Andra closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself as the chill of the night began to creep in.

The music of the celebration was replaced by the music of the forest: the sway of leaves and branches in the wind, the cry of cicadas, the hoot of a passing owl.

Andra wondered briefly what other monsters could be lurking in the dark.

“I…” Kael started speaking, then stopped, as if choosing his words with extreme care. “I don’t care about you because I feel that I ~must~, Andra. I just…do.”

She stared at him for a moment, taking in his words, reading the soft expression on his face.

Kael slowly lifted his hand, a question in his eyes. Andra guided it to her cheek, closing her eyes and leaning in to the touch.

The calluses on his hands were rough, but his touch was gentle.

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest, and for a single heartbeat, Kael went very still.

Then he relaxed, and his arms wound around her, his breath tickling her hair.

“Thank you,” Andra whispered. “For everything.”

She didn’t know if he truly understood the weight of her thanks, but it didn’t matter.

She stayed there in his arms, listening to his heartbeat, feeling the warmth of his embrace for the first time.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if this is what it felt like to be home.

***

The next day, Andra watched Tiri and Eithne fly in the sky above her, the lush green grass of the meadow prickling her back.

She’d decided to spend her time here in the dragons’ meadow rather than in Bellris.

All the rebels seemed busy with their normal routines, and Andra had just felt like she was in the way.

Besides, after the events of last night, Andra wanted some space away from the village.

~“We’re much better company anyway,”~ Tiri said.

~“I don’t know,”~ Andra teased. ~“Syra and Amala are pretty great.”~

~“Oh, is that right?”~ Eithne asked.

Andra watched the two dragons dive from the sky, pulling up at the last second to skim across the surface of the lake. She watched as they took great gulps of water.

~“Can Syra and Amala do this?”~ Tiri challenged.

The two dragons soared over Andra, dumping their payload of water all over her. She squealed with shock as the two dragons’ jubilant laughter rang in her mind.

Andra grumbled as she got up, trying to pat her clothes dry. She marched over to the lake, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt as she went.

~“Come down here so I can get you back!”~

~“Just sprout some wings and come after us, sister,”~ Tiri teased, hovering just a few feet above Andra.

Suddenly the lake in front of Andra surged upward, soaking Tiri. The startled dragon took off, shaking water off herself as she flew higher in the sky.

“I won’t stand for injustice no matter where I see it,” Kael called from behind her. He walked closer, lowering his raised arms as the water in the air gently returned to the lake.

Andra laughed, walking over to stand beside him. If Tiri wanted revenge, she’d have to go through Kael first. The dragons flew overhead, planning their counterattack.

“Thanks,” Andra said. “But it looks like you’re outnumbered. I can’t help much.”

“I think we can change that,” Kael said. “Do you want to learn how to control your magic?”

Andra gasped, excitement galloping through her chest. “Yes! Yes!” She took Kael’s hands in hers. “How? Will I really be able to control it? What if I can’t—”

Kael held up a hand to slow her down as a shadow of a smile passed over his lips. “You can. After last night, it’s obvious.”

She remembered the violet flames that had covered her the night before. But Andra hadn’t willingly done it. It had kind of just…happened.

~“Are you taking her to Setora?”~ Eithne asked, landing beside them.

“Yes,” Kael sighed, and Andra could hear a hint of reluctance in his voice. “If anyone can teach Andra, it’s her.”

“Setora?”

“Come, follow me,” Kael said.

He began to walk around the lake, and Andra had no choice but to follow.

Eithne took off in the air again to join Tiri, and the two dragons decided to amuse themselves somewhere else.

~“I’ll get you back, Rider,”~ Tiri called to Kael.

Kael waved her off, his eyes alight with amusement.

Andra noticed that he seemed to come alive when he was with dragons. It was like she was getting a peek underneath the mask he always held carefully in place.

Kael, the leader of the Freemen falling away to reveal…just Kael.

He led her to the other side of the forest beyond the meadow, and Andra spotted a low, rough hovel hidden among the tree line, a dark tendril of smoke curling skyward.

“Why isn’t she with the rest of the encampment?” Andra asked.

“She likes her privacy,” Kael shrugged.

“Is she a friend of yours?”

“Not exactly,” Kael sighed. “She’s my mother.”

Andra fell silent in her surprise. He’d always seemed so distant, so isolated from everyone except Eithne, that she’d somehow never considered that he had a family.

~Well, other than his brother, Judge Caedo…~

Aside from Colmen, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the world that could crack through his steely facade.

They approached the small brown hut, and Andra saw stacks of wooden cages leaning against the walls. Most were empty, but a few held wild animals that stared warily at them.

“Why are they here?” Andra asked.

“It’s what my mother does. She finds them injured in one way or another. She Heals them.”

“Oh, so your mother is a Healer?” Andra reached out toward the cages, hoping to pet one of the small bunnies inside.

“He wishes I were something so noble,” a rough voice rasped.

Andra jumped, clasping her hands behind her back, but Kael just sighed and turned toward the voice.

A woman hobbled around the corner of the shack, her withered arms filled with herbs. She wore a rough brown dress, and her hair was a tangled mess of pale gray.

“Hello,” Andra tried.

Setora pushed bunches of herbs through the cages, and the animals gratefully began munching on them.

“Hello, dear,” Setora said. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?”

“Oh, yes.” Setora smiled. “After Kael told me what happened last night, I just had to meet you.”

Andra nodded eagerly. “Are you a magic teacher?”

Setora’s laugh was like the rasp of sandpaper. Andra looked to Kael and was startled to see a dark expression on his face.

“No, dear, nothing so scholarly,” Setora smiled at her, her wrinkled face scrunching up in a toothy smile. “I’m a witch.”