“Leave it, Ilyas,” he scolded, but not unkindly. “What he meant to say, General, is that you don’t need to apologize for the interruption. We would’ve volunteered to come on this mission anyway.”
Both Sasori and Ilyas shot him confused looks but held their tongues, probably deciding to ask their questions after I left their little group—something I was thinking of doing sooner rather than later.
“I appreciate that, Lex. When we get back to Vespera, make sure you and your Bonded take some time off from your duties. Put in the request, whatever it is, and I’ll approve it.” With that, I clicked to Balios and trotted back to the front of the group.
I expected to hear the booming laugh of Ilyas as I left, but they were miraculously silent.
Good natured people, but respectful.I was struck again at the relationship between the three of them and felt another pang of longing.
It’s only like that because Ilyas is his True Bond. If he only had Sasori they would act different. Like most of the other Mages and Vessels here. Most Mages acted almost cold toward their Vessels, seeing them as a necessary accessory to their magic rather than the gift they were. I was certain that sex was involved for most of the pairings—the Bond between Vessels and Mages was an intimate thing at its core—but from all my interviews and studies, it appeared that it was simply a chase for release and not somethingmore.
But Lex seems to have that with both his True and Forced Bond.
It was a concept I mentally debated and picked apart as we continued our trek throughout the late morning and early afternoon. If I had a relationship like Sasori and Lex, I could maybe make a Forced Bond work.
We didn’t stop for lunch, opting to snack on our travel rations as we rode; we couldn’t afford to waste any more time. After another hour of trotting and resting the horses, I motioned with my fist for the group to begin a gallop again. We were in the final stretch of our travels and should reach the forest within the next hour or two if we kept a good pace.
I only hoped that we weren’t too late and there was still something to save when we got to the village. The name of the Earth Mage’s girl niggled at the back of my mind as we rode.
Chapter 35
Lex
My saddle creaked and groaned as our horses flew down the path toward the forest that started as a dark speck on the horizon and grew quickly the faster we approached. The horses panted and whinnied as we ran, the wind whipping through our black tunics and hair. We were lucky that the days were warmer in the Borderlands, it kept the night air from feeling too chilly as it lashed against our skin. My eyes watered and tears coursed down my cheeks from the air. An Air Mage could’ve put a protective bubble around us to save our eyes and skin, but we couldn’t afford to waste magic, especially not knowing what, or whom, awaited us on the other side of the forest. It was bad enough that we were using copious amounts of Earth Magic just to smooth out the ground and encourage our horses to move faster.
General d’Alvey gave the signal to resume a trot just as we crested the final hill, the forest looming like dark sentinels. The horses were breathing hard, their skins soaked with sweat and mouths foaming as we approached the trees. The only sounds came from our horses, each of us already focused on the possibility of a fight, and the possibility that we wouldn’t all be making the return journey. Our laughter and easy banter were long forgotten as the day turned to dusk, which turned to night.
I swiped my forearm quickly over my cheeks and forehead, mopping up sweat and tears. I noticed the other Mages and Vessels in the group doing the same, all of us composing ourselves for the night and days ahead.
“Single file as we enter the wood. No one strays from the path,” Rohak barked to us, his mask of General and commander firmly in place. His mouth was pulled taught, and lines of stress and exhaustion pulled at his face, but his eyes were clear and sharp. I didn’t just respect General d’Alvey, I revered him and would follow him wherever he sent me, even if it was to my end or that of my Vessels. Which is why it wasn’t a decision, really, to give up a half-day of debauchery with my Vessels to follow him to the Borderlands. Sasori, Ilyas, and I would more than make up for lost time once we returned to Vespera, and I was selfishly curious to see if Faylinn was the same Faylinn that I remembered.
Images of a cold, dark stone room swamped my vision for a moment, and I blinked hard, shaking my head in an effort to dislodge them.
Ilyas patted my shoulder comfortingly. While my Vessels didn’t know everything I experienced before we were tied together, they knew enough. Sometimes I tuned out the world, lost in my own memories and trauma, but they were always there to bring me back.
We corralled our horses into a straight line, each horse’s nose practically up the rear of the horse in front of them. It was the safest way to travel through the forests in Elyria. They were said to have been created by the old gods, and magic still lingered. While the belief was wildly disproven at this point, there was still a sense of reverence and respect for the woods whenever we entered, and I swore I could feel small waves of power crest over my skin as the forest swallowed our party.
We walked in silence for what felt like hours, the only sounds were the crunching of leaves and the creaking of bridles and saddles. Occasionally we’d hear the rustle of a small animal or the flap of a bird’s wings, but we were undisturbed for the most part.
The whole journey was eerie. Like the woods knew something was happening on the other side and was letting us pass unmolested so we could go right whatever was wrong. Or maybe that was just my way of justifying the strange stillness that enveloped our party.
“Is it just me or is this unnaturally still?” Ilyas whispered from behind me.
I jerked my head in a nod, hoping he’d quiet down. For some reason, I felt like we needed to keep as quiet as possible to not disturb whatever lived here. I wasn’t the only one with the feeling, apparently, because a few Mages turned in their seats to glare at Ilyas. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him raise his hands in a placating gesture while miming zipping his lips. I turned before he could see my smirk.
He always knows how to ease my tension.
Sasori was my silent and realistic Bond and Ilyas provided the fun and lightheartedness that I needed. They balanced each other, and me, which is something I liked to think that Fate and the gods favored—the old religion is all about balance, after all.
We continued through the forest quietly for what felt like hours.
This is a small forest, really more of a copse of trees . . . shouldn’t we have made it through by now?
Just as the thought entered my head, Rohak held up his fist, the sign for us all to halt.
“We’ve been here before,” he murmured quietly enough that it didn’t echo through the forest, but still loud enough that the entire group of Mages and Vessels heard.
“How?” asked Andrés, a Water Mage. “We’ve been going straight on the same path the entire time. There is no possibility of us walking in a circle.”
