*****
Alora was pleased she and Willow quickly got the hang of riding without a bridle, aided by the fact they were riding in a large group. She had a bit of a headache, but she assumed it was from lack of sleep. As she grew more comfortable guiding Willow with her knees, her mind wandered to more important matters. How could she use her gift to aid in the upcoming battle? Stopping for their first break to water the horses, Alora cornered Beth.
“When the battle starts, I’m going to take you and Arista back to Laegenshire. I don’t think it’s safe to go all the way back to Montana without Kaevin, but it probably won’t take much energy to go to Laegenshire.”
“No, you’re not,” she objected. “The whole reason I came was so I could use my first aid training.”
Arista overheard Alora. “I’m not going back either. I’m better with a bow and arrow than most of the warriors here. Wesley and I have a plan, and Morvaen already approved it. We’re going to a high vantage point and shooting from a distance with Wesley’s special bows, using my arrows.”
“Morvaen likes that we’ll be out of the shooting range for ordinary bows,” Wesley added. “So it’s not that dangerous at all.”
“Perhaps Alora’s idea would be for the best, Arista. Sixteen years is too young to be in battle.” At the sound of Jireo’s voice, Alora turned to find him and Kaevin, wearing stern expressions. Well, Kaevin can just keep that sour face—I don’t want to hear what he has to say.
“You had fifteen years when you were in your first battle,” Arista scoffed. “And you have only seventeen now.”
“My father is the chief of Stone Clan,” said Kaevin. “It’s up to him to make these decisions. Since our whole goal is to prevent Alora’s capture, it only makes sense to get her away to a safe place. And since they’ve already mistaken Arista for Alora once, she would also be in danger if she remained.”
“And Beth could return after the battle,” Jireo added.
“Jeeze, guys! Can’t you see you’re ticking them off? I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you.” Wesley backed away.
“Wesley’s right,” said Beth, staring up with narrowed eyes. “You boys just need to worry about yourselves.”
Alora noticed her head pounding. It couldn’t be hurting because of separation from Kaevin, because they’d been in contact for an hour before she transported Willow. And Kaevin’s head didn’t seem to be hurting at all.
“Hey, Beth,” she whispered. “Do you have any Advil in that first aid kit?”
“Does your head hurt?” she asked. “Maybe it would be better if you rode with Kaevin.” She dug though her kit and found pain medication, handing her two pills.
“No, that can’t be the problem. He’s not having any symptoms. I think it’s just lack of sleep.”
“Maybe,” said Beth. “But be careful, okay? I know you’re mad at him, but don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
Traveling at a fair pace, stopping only to rest and water the horses, the expedition group reached the canyon just after sunset.
“Do we have any way of knowing for sure if Vindrake’s men are coming? Or how far behind us they are?” Graely asked Nordamen.
“My power to sense gifts is only effective when people are in close proximity. If only we hadn’t lost Valor.” Nordamen’s jaw flexed. “His discernment was strong. He had the ability to detect gifts from a league away. We’d at least have a bit of warning.”
“Not to mention, he left behind a wife and young family. All because we refused to change our customs.” Graely’s gut churned with guilt.
“It’s not your fault, Graely.” Nordamen squeezed his shoulder. “No one on the council wanted to change the rule about leaving our weapons at the door.”
“Let’s not forget who’s truly to blame. It was Vindrake who attacked us in our own council hall.” Morvaen’s voice moved with his heated pacing.
“And we won’t be safe until Tenavae is rid of Vindrake’s scourge,” agreed Graely.
“It galls me we must once again defend ourselves from his unprovoked attack.”
“I think we must be half a day ahead, at least. Let’s plan and ready our defense and then eat and get some sleep.” Morvaen pivoted without altering his pace.
Graely saw Alora approaching with tentative steps. “I was trying to think how I could help. Is there anything or anyone I could fetch from Laegenshire?”
“An excellent idea, Alora!” Morvaen gestured with flailing arms, increasing the length of his strides. “Yes. We weren’t planning for a battle. You could bring more arrows. Of course, they could only be wood-tipped. And a few more warriors could be very helpful.” He stroked his beard, never missing a step.
“I’d forgotten how useful a bearer could be.” Graely couldn’t hide his enthusiasm. Am I wrong to take advantage of her gift when she has so few years? “You’d need to make several trips. Do you feel strong enough?”
“I’ve been eating like a horse all day. I should have plenty of energy. I just have a bit of a headache,