Chapter 19: Hallow and Spire
Agony of ten thousand moons, waiting, watching, hoping that the next ones would be better, more, prepared, anchored. The Sapphire light shone soft upon me, battering my own will as I awaited the moment when at last my time would come. And in that moment, I stole what I could and tucked it away for the next time as the light consumed all, and Lafleur was born anew.
A Lesson in Waiting
I'd never known Roisin to ride horses when we were younger. "Foul smelly things with bad attitudes," she always said whenever I offered to let her go riding with me. Powell's Square only had three good riding horses – the rest were pack horses – but I was free to ride them any time I liked, so I spent a lot of time before Asha was born out on the roads and enjoying the wind blowing past.
As we rode from Violet's Repose, the eight of us all mounted, I couldn't help staring at my sister. She took to the saddle like a noblewoman, riding perfectly in stride with Jasmin. The pair of them would make fine queens if they chose that for themselves.
Probably the funniest thing was Asha demanding a horse to herself. There were eight of us and eight horses, so she should get one, so why didn't she. Of course, she changed her tune when Jasmin offered her something better.
"Little one," Jasmin said with a sneaky smirk, "how would you like to ride with me? I'll even let you steer her."
"You mean it?" Asha was already running to Jasmin's horse and attempting to climb up before Jasmin could confirm.
She lifted Asha from the ground with one hand as she pulled herself up and over into her spot with the other. The grace of the motion was miraculous entirely. Before we set on our way, Jasmin gave me a soft smile. "We can switch her out when we get to the far side of Thornwood. That's about two moons' travel if nothing goes wrong." She patted Asha on the head. "You don't mind that, little ashen princess, do you?"
We didn't make it that far before everything changed. No surprise there, really.
"You know, darling," Roisin said as the shrieking began, "when you said the words 'if nothing goes wrong', I was thinking perhaps we should abandon hope." She rolled her eyes and she smiled broadly at Jasmin. "I didn't think everything would go wrong within a sevensun, and certainly not the moment we entered the forest."
Asha pressed tighter against Jasmin as the sounds got louder. "Well, dearest," Jasmin said with a smirk, "perhaps I simply said it because I wanted things to be worse. Give you a chance to really show off."
"How kind of you," Em interrupted the banter, fighting back a smile. "We have a long way to go, so let's just focus. Only bother with the things if they get in the way." They groaned at the thought. "I suppose, when they get in the way."
The route we were travelling took us through the heart of Thornwood Hallow, a vast forest that covered much of the mornward and phobward regions of Lafleur, passing directly by a temple dedicated to Salora. In the relative darkness of the forest, shadows fell broader, shapes became more obscured, and everything seemed to long for destruction.
Every so often, a branch would catch on my clothes or poke my legs. I couldn't imagine how the horse felt. In spite of the assaults from the trees, the forest was mostly a safe place. Still, Asha kept turning her head about, desperate to face her terrors head on.
Two suns after we passed the first tree, Asha had taken all she could.
A loud snap of a branch at the group's front. Tenebra's horse had stepped on a branch, and the sound echoed all around us. Asha startled and knocked Jasmin clean off the horse. The chaos of the motion took Asha tumbling as well. We'd all laugh about it in hindsight, but terror prevented that in the moment. It all happened so suddenly.
I didn't see the move. I'm not sure anyone did. But Roisin was there, on the ground, righting Jasmin with one hand, catching Asha with the other, and calming the horse by resting her head against its shoulder. Was that really my sister?
· Yes. She's been through a lot. ·
"Little miss, it seems you're having some trouble staying on your mount," Roisin was smiling at Asha, but her eyes kept passing my way. "Perhaps you'd be well served with a kinder horse. One who has all the calm of a fireplace on a winter's sun?"
Asha nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Do we have a horse like that, Aunt Rosie?"
Once Jasmin was properly back on her feet, Roisin set Asha on her shoulders and walked my way. "We sure do, my sweet ashen girl. But we won't make you ride on that horse. You see, she's a good horse, but she's also your momma's ride."
For the first time since I scared her, Asha met my eyes. Something was tearing at her heart. "Momma," she said, barely a whisper, "can I ride your horse with you?"
"Of course, my sweet girl. Were that what you wanted, I would have it no other way," I raised my brows and gave my best questioning look. "Do you want that because you're scared or because you want to be with me?"
She reached up with both hands, making little fists and opening them over and over. "Both, Momma. Please."
Who could say no to that? So of course from that point forward, Asha rode with me. It was just what I needed. Somehow the world felt more whole with her there.
Two sevensuns passed in the Hallow before we arrived at the temple. I didn't realise it at the time, but Roisin dismounted her horse long before we even saw the thing, and she walked it in by a lead. No one else seemed to process the action, and they didn't follow her example.
As the temple came into view, Jasmin leapt from her horse without a word. Not 'climbed' or 'slid'. Fully leapt to the ground. Roisin was at her side in a second, calling back as they ran ahead. "Delia, hold back with Asha. Talia and Nyxara with us."
What did she know? Why didn't she tell Em and Tenebra what to do?
Obviously, we held back for a minute, but the shrieks picked up. I couldn't say why, but Asha needed to see this. My heart ached for her further lost innocence. But the time for worry was past, so we raced on.
Jasmin, Tal, and Nyx were all fighting one of those beasts. The Devourers. Roisin was standing back, watching closely. Four more of them were stalking the battle, waiting for an opening. All five were the silver kind. Their slick silver scales were accented by a sickly silver flame melting into black. What was Roisin seeing?
"Deels," she called across the vast open stone platform, "I told you to stay back!"
"And you aren't the boss of me, brat!" I called back weakly. She was at home in that scene. The chaos of battle. Her brows were furrowed as she studied, never once looking away from the scene. "Beside that," I called, "it's boring letting you do all the work!"
Her face changed. From studious to intense. "Jasmin, get out of there! Take Asha and get back. Delia wants a turn!"
Jasmin's defensive stance was perfect as she stepped back from the Devourer and raced toward me. That didn't stop one of the four idle beasts from attacking her and being stopped instantly when she bloomed a flowering silverthorn vine directly below it.
My ears nearly burst under the intensity of the beast's scream. It began to wilt before our eyes. Not death, but decay, almost melting into nothing as the poison coursed through it.
"Now that's something," Roisin said loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'd be curious about the others. Nyxara, if you would."
Without a word, Nyx nodded at Tal, who moved into a full attack as Nyx followed Jasmin's example. Snowpetal was a fragile thing, paradoxically the most sturdy of all the sacred blooms. Touching the flower did nothing to the Devourer, though its flame flickered out as it incinerated the snowpetal flowers.
Its silver flesh tarnished quickly without the Devouring flame to protect, and the thing began to slow.
"Well look at that!" Roisin took her eyes off the fight for just a moment as Jasmin got to my side. "Delia, it's your turn. Do you remember how to do that?" She pointed at the flowers and such.
"Hush, you," I called, handing Asha off to Jasmin. "Why aren't you helping?"
"They're not even breaking a sweat down there," she shrugged, "and Jasmin told me to sit up here and study." She stuck her tongue out at me. "Turns out she was right to do so. The things are —"
"Busy," I held up a hand and walked into the mess. I needed focus if I was going to try making the flowers bloom again.
A hand met my shoulder. "Actually, it would be best if you didn't do that." Em's voice was cool and calm. When had they caught up to me? "Goldroot does weird things to the body, and I'd rather not risk it."
"Well, can I at least join the fight?" They smiled and nodded. "Good. Because I don't want to get rusty. A whole year of not fighting slowed me down the last time these things showed up." I drew both sabres. Emerald on the right, sapphire on the left. Turning back to Asha, I giggled a bit. "Hey kiddo, time to watch Momma work!"
Two of the Devourers had been neutralised, leaving three to worry over. After handling the one in Violet's Repose, this would be easy. I crossed the whole space of the temple to the three that were still sitting, plotting something. Measured steps, measured breaths, measured planning.
One of them was about to move. They swiped their tails to the side just before taking a step. I put on speed, moving faster than my feet should've been able to carry me. A trick I picked up from watching Em. The Devourer tried to move past me, so I let it, covering the whole side in cold-flame before running the emerald-adorned sabre along the now exposed flesh and cutting to the bone.
It collapsed under the loss of muscle connection on that side. My feet kept me moving toward the other two. Their tails did a similar swipe, but bigger. They were going to turn. Perfect.
Mrs. Reed always told me to take advantage of fear, but to take care around fearlessness. My heart pumped heavy, telling me I was on the right side of that exchange as gold cold-flame surrounded my feet and allowed me to step onto the Devourer's back, running up to its front and stabbing it clean into the brain stem.
Two down.
As the thing fell, I adjusted my path and rushed the third. It was good they feared me. That meant they weren't stupid. My body remembered things my mind had forgotten, and that made me even more terrifying.
· Good. Trust yourself. ·
"Shut up. I'm busy." Why wasn't it enough to have my own thoughts up there?
· Rude. ·
At the edge of the temple's stone floor, the beast turned to face me. Why? I didn't stop to really consider it, but I knew something was off about it. The sapphires in the sabre's pommel flashed with a spark of sunlight as three strikes tore through its head, cutting through it with ease as I pushed cold-flame through its length.
It fell just as easily as the first two.
"Just as I thought," Jasmin said as she approached me from behind. "They react to cold-flame, but only different ones. And you, my friend, are looking more like one of us by the sun."
What did that mean? More like one of whom? A noblewoman? A fighter? A ruffian miscreant with no concern for the natural order of things like Roisin?
Those thoughts occupied me entirely as we rode the rest of the way through Thornwood Hallow, Asha riding with me and excitedly recounting my heroics. But for my part it was just a sombre application of skills honed over a life of learning from Mrs. Reed. Sabres were my mother's weapon of choice, so Mrs. Reed made sure I learned the skills to use them. Granted, my greed made me want two, but the principles still applied.
Perhaps it was for the best that I was distracted as we travelled. I didn't notice the larabrin howls coming from everywhere around us. I barely noticed Asha's squirming. I had only to consider Jasmin's words.
She couldn't see her silver glow, neither could Roisin. Asha couldn't see her gold, nor could I see mine. I suppose that made it easier for us to ignore what was right before us. A truth I would never quite be willing or able to parse, let alone accept.
"More like one of us," I whispered, admitting as we stopped for the sun, "a divine being, too powerful for her own good or that of those around her."
A Test of Longsuffering
As we reached the far side of Thornwood Hallow, Roisin and Jasmin forced us to stop. My first concern was more Devourers or queen's guard, but it wasn't that. It was entirely harmless.
"Now, dearest Lady Thornleaf," Jasmin led her horse slowly and softly to a post bearing an odd looking board, "will you do me the honour of telling our friends what this sign says?"
Whispers spread among the others. Roisin looked up and scowled. "Doesn't say anything, Mrs. Thornleaf. Nothing at all."
Asha squirmed in my arms. "Momma, what's this about?"
"Aunt Jazzy says that sign means something." I looked over the board, and in my sister's defence, it looked utterly ordinary. "I am inclined to agree with Aunt Rosie."
"But it does say something Momma," she said softly before pointing the way we came. "That way is Thornwood Hallow, Garden of Salora, home of Indra's Whisper." She pointed eveward, toward home. "That way is Valleyleaf Crucible, Garden of Vaelis, home of Nara's Riddle." Her finger traced an arc and pointed phobward, where we were headed. "And that way is the Petalcloud Aerie, Garden of someone, home of Togha's Longsuffering."
All eyes were on Asha by the time she finished.
"I wouldn't believe it if it were anyone else," Roisin's face said it all. "Why didn't you say the third name, ashen girl?"
"Because," Nyx said softly, "that 'someone' was erased entirely. She's me, but I'm not her. No one can be."
"That made less than no sense," Roisin deadpanned. "Or is it like the Afina thing?"
"Not exactly," Nyx's expression was tense. "The Fiend took the original, the first me if you prefer. She Devoured her. So even her name: Lysandra, was erased from Lafleur."
"Then how do you know her name? This Lysandra," Roisin made a frantic gesture, "can't have been so completely erased if you know her name."
Nyx and Em brightened up suddenly. "So you can hear it, too?" Em was at Roisin's side. "Not everyone can."
I raised a hand. "So can I."
"That's a good sign. More people know the name." Em smiled. "Maybe things are clearing up."
"Well, the Fiend is gone," Jasmin was frowning, "and it wasn't an easy thing."
Roisin was at Jasmin's side, holding her hand, but she looked to the rest of us before saying, "What I'm more confused by is why she can read the sign, but she can't read the name." Ever practical, my sister.
That was a mystery we would never quite solve.
Greywatch Spire arrived quickly and without incident. Apart from Violet's Repose while I was struck with amnesia, Greywatch was the first city I'd been in outside of Powell's Square, but it was a vastly different beast to the capital.
Where Violet's Repose smelled of oil and work, Greywatch Spire smelled of open air and baked goods – if Roisin's nose was to be trusted anyway. The capital was all metal and fuss, but this city was something else entirely. Bricks, wood, and family.
Asha was enamoured of the city the moment we caught sight of it. I couldn't say if it was more about the many lakes around it or the city's own enchanting air, but she wouldn't stop talking about how amazing it was.
Nyx, Tal, and Em relaxed visibly when we started encountering the small villages surrounding Greywatch Spire. People cheered openly at their arrival. They were folk heroes, so I supposed it made sense. What caught me is that everyone around called them aunt or uncle, even if they clearly had no relation.
"Popular trio," I said to them between the last village and the city. "One might think the three of you were local goddesses or something." That caught exactly the laugh I hoped.
"You're not supposed to be funnier than me Delia," Roisin said with a scowl. "But I'll let it slide if you'll promise not to steal all the best lines."
"Absolutely not," I shot back.
The rest of the ride into the city was met with an even grander welcome, where we were forced to face a decision Ma and Da made long before we were born.
"Welcome back, Aunt Nyx," a broad woman with a sparkle in her eye belying her age greeted us at the city gates, a crowd behind her. "It's been many moons, and we were beginning to worry over you."
"Now Daya," Nyx's voice was soft, kind, like she was talking to a granddaughter, "you knew we'd be gone for possibly a few years."
"Be that as it may, you have returned, and it feels like —" Daya's eyes met mine, then flashed around the group. Jasmin, Roisin, Tal, Nyx, Em, Tenebra, Asha, and back to me. "You look so much like your Da, young lady." Her voice aged several years as she spoke, a sorrow stealing her breath. "I suppose it was too much to wish that Tarant would return to us while he still lived."
She was the picture of youth and beauty, but her eyes were deep with wisdom, telling of a life lived too long, spent in equal parts hope and despair. More than that, they were Da's eyes. His build, but feminine. If I looked like Da, this woman was nearly his twin, but far more experienced.
"My apologies, ma'am," I began with my hand at my heart, a gesture Da taught me as a child, "that we have not come sooner. My name is Delia, daughter of Tarant Primrose and Omela Thornleaf. This one," I gestured to my sister, "is Roisin Thornleaf, my sister. I am dreadful sorry, ma'am," my hand dropped, "that we cannot bring better news of our father."
Daya's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her whole body. "So he really did go and marry that Thornleaf girl? Finally had some sense. Come, girls. Leave the horses with Aunt Nyx and her flock. We can swap stories of my son."
Jasmin, Roisin, Asha, and I joined Daya in her home. Nearly a small palace unto itself, the thing was strikingly comforting and warm. The Primrose estate. I knew that Da's family were 'nobility' in the sense of having a proper family name – fairly uncommon, especially in Powell's Square – but the estate house told a grander tale by far.
To her knowledge, Daya was the last remaining Greywatch Primrose – a comment that made Roisin blurt out something about Blue Stone, and the stories turned at last to Ma.
"Afina Omela Thornleaf," Daya began, "was a sturdy girl. Wore a sabre and a dagger at her hip, and she showed up in town claiming to be 'just some girl from the sixth district'." She walked to a bookshelf and pulled down a small portrait. Ma and Da. "I knew her accent. I'd worked with enough folks from the fourth district, and Blue Stone in particular, to know she was lying, so I reached out to the family.
"The family head at the time was Afina Dahlia Thornleaf, and she was overjoyed that her daughter was safe. So she begged me to keep Omela out of trouble." Daya passed the portrait around the room. "Tarant and Aunt Nyx took a liking to the girl the moment she arrived in town, so my work was easy."
Jasmin raised a hand slightly. "Excuse me, but I thought your families were in a bitter sort of blood feud for generations."
"We were, yes," Daya's eyes sparkled, "but Aunt Nyx brought a Thornleaf woman to town a long time ago, and we worked it out. Still, we kept up appearances. Better to have a covert ally than a known enemy."
"That explains why Aster was so accepting when we said we were married," Jasmin took Roisin's hand. "Of course, we still need to make it official."
"Aster? I'm not sure I've heard of her."
Roisin spoke up. "Rubra Aster Thornleaf. She's Ma's cousin, ma'am. And the last Blue Stone Thornleaf."
"And you've officially decided to become the next Lady of the family?" Daya raised a questioning brow, and Roisin nodded. "Well, that's something. May you and your Mrs. Thornleaf live well and reinvigorate that line." She nodded to Jasmin. "But you're not just some coastal Lady's wife, are you, young woman? I've only known of three women named Jasmin. Forbidden name, that. Shall I call you Your Highness or Lady Myrtia?"
"I've abdicated," Jasmin said firmly. "And my mother is dead. So call me Jasmin or Mrs. Thornleaf. I left the names Hawthorne and Liatris behind."
"The queen is dead?" When Jasmin nodded, Daya added, "Long live Lafleur."
Asha had been quiet a long time, but she finally spoke up. "Miss Daya?"
"Little one, you may call me Nan if you like."
"Never had a Nan," she got distracted at the word. "Nan. Nan Nan Nan. Nan!" I set a hand on her shoulder, and she blushed. "Nan, you said Momma's Momma came here, what happened next?"
"Well, they fell in love, or something like it. They were happy here, it seemed." A tear formed in her eye. "Until the conscriptions picked back up. The False Lottery in the sixth district ages ago made things slow down a fair bit, but a death machine needs fuel. So the queen's guard started going district by district. First district, second, third, fourth, sixth and so on.
"It was only a matter of time before they got here. Even Blue Stone wasn't entirely safe. So Omela and Tarant did what any desperate kids would do: they ran. Left behind a letter, two actually. One addressed to me, and one addressed to 'if they ever get here, my daughters'. So now I suppose you're here. Smart woman, that. Would've taken her for a Primrose long before a Thornleaf."
Roisin laughed at the remark. I suppose she found the humour more important than the announcement that Ma left us a letter long before we were born.
"Come on, Deels," she choked out around her laughter, "it's hilarious. We come here looking for Vaelis, and her snide comments against my intelligence are still following me." When my expression didn't change, she caught her breath for long enough to think about something as Jasmin patted her back. "Oh right. I guess you weren't there for that. Anyway, Vaelis thinks I'm dumb, but still the smartest Thornleaf she's met —"
"She said quick and bright, dearest," Jasmin cut in, "not smart. And I think your mother might have you beaten if she ever met Vaelis, so take the consolation prize." Roisin's shoulders slumped, prompting Jasmin to kiss her forehead softly. "Don't forget, she also called me slow and dull, but brighter than Salora, dearest."
That had me laughing enough I forgot the news of my mother for a moment. But the letter would have to wait a bit longer.
"Vaelis?" Daya's mouth set in a tight line. "The scarlet haired lunatic?"
My heart leapt. "She's not exactly a lunatic. But I take it she's been here?"
"About a moon ago. She showed up looking for the Huntress." Daya looked around us. "Everyone pointed her to the sky. The only Huntress we know is in the stars. If you're looking for her, I'm afraid she left. No one's quite sure which way."
"We expected as much," Jasmin mumbled. "She's barely functional if one of us isn't with her. We just have to hope Vanara doesn't return, then there's no telling when or if we find her."
My mind went to the story Jasmin told the girls right after the blizzard started in the capital. A wild person who called themself Vanara, barely lucid and entirely unpredictable. They were who Vaelis became after years of silence.
Daya stood and crossed to the shelf where she'd taken the portrait from earlier. "How'd she make it all the way here if you lot keep a close watch? Something big must have gone wrong to lose someone like that." She opened a small box and pulled out a parcel of some sort, which she sat in front of me.
Just as she said, it was addressed in Ma's handwriting 'if they ever get here, my daughters'. When Daya had said a 'letter', I wasn't expecting a box carefully wrapped in a bit of woollen cloth. It was tied off with a bit of ivory ribbon similar to the one Em tied their hair up with.
I untied the parcel and found a card and a small wooden box. Ash wood. So there was also something for my daughter, most likely.
To my eldest and my youngest,
I trust you'll make good use of the various items held within this parcel. Your Da picked them out special for you. And Aunt Nyx left something for your firstborn, though she didn't say which of you would be the mother. In any case, I'm sorry. You're reading this because your Da and I are gone. Would that we could have given it in person.
— your Ma, Omela, wife of Tarant
I stared blankly at the note for a long time. Roisin was reading it over my shoulder, which I knew would take a while. So I handed it off to her when I recovered. "How did she know?"
"Yours is as fair as mine, girl," Daya chuckled at the absurdity of it all. "Probably had some manner of help."
The box was hinged but not latched. It opened smoothly, a surprise considering its age. Inside were three small glass flowers. I recognised them in a second. Silverthorn for Roisin. Goldroot for me. And for Asha, a flower I'd only seen three times. Once when I awoke from the accident, once on that roof when the Devourers showed up, and once when we were about to test Asha.
"Bloodleaf," Jasmin said breathily. "Asha is the new Huntress."