Page 133 of Forged in Fading

And yet…

“The barrier,” Alvara breathed. It had to be.

“The barrier?” Boden tilted his head. “It’s gone, and there’s no way to restore it.”

They didn’t need to restore it. It had been right in front of her all along.

“Come with me.” She grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the town.

“Where are we going?”

“It will be easier to show you.” She had to be right, and there was only one way to find out.

The smell of eggs struck her nose as they weaved through throngs of elves packing up their few belongings, and her stomach finally decided to revolt.

“Good gods, Alvara, are you all right?” He pulled her hair back as she unloaded the contents of her stomach in the nearby bushes. “Exactly how much did you drink?”

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sucked in fresh air. There was nothing like saving an entire realm while fighting the aftereffects of mead. “At the time, not enough. Let’s go,” she said, forcing her leaden legs toward the town wall.

“I really think it’d be best for you to eat something. Can I⁠—”

“Boden, I love your mother bear mode more than anything, but food can wait. This could change everything.” Alvara studied the outer perimeter. She can’t have imagined it.

There. A hundred or so paces away from the town itself, delicate crimson plants grew, snaking a perfect path where the magic barrier had once existed.

“Go get Lilja and meet me just ahead.”

Boden furrowed his brow. “Why⁠—”

“Boden!”

He grumbled something to himself before setting off, and Alvara advanced on what she prayed to Vitharen was what she thought it might be.

She settled her knees into the dirt, plucked a leaf off one of the plants, and sniffed it. It had no discernible odor, nothing odd other than its placement or color.

“I love that you’ve developed an interest in plants, but…I’m just wondering if now is the best time for all of this?” Lilja said behind her.

“I need you to look at these,” Alvara said. “Are they anything you’ve seen before?”

Lilja crouched beside her and ran her fingers over one of the plants. “No, not that I can think of. At least I haven’t seen anything like it in Ela.”

“Would you please tell us what’s happening?” Boden slid to the ground next to her.

Alvara couldn’t get the words out fast enough as she harvested another leaf. “You told me yourself—blood oaths are sacred. And a blood oath with the gods? Even more so. It’s not possible that they would allow the barrier to be destroyed with no consequences.” She stood and dusted her pants before dropping the plant in his hand. “I saw these sprouts when we entered the human lands, and I didn’t think anything of them. But it can’t be random growth. It follows the exact path where the barrier once existed, and I think it’s the gods’ consequence. This plant, somehow, may counteract our powers in the same way the barrier did.”

He dangled the plant far away from himself as if it might take revenge. “It seems unlikely, but even if it were true, there’s no way to be sure. At least not without endangering someone.”

“I know. But if I’m right, it may be the only chance we have at overcoming King Einar’s forces.”

He grinned, a small piece of beauty Alvara’s heart needed today more than any other day. “You’re quite functional the morning after downing an ungodsly amount of mead.”

She laughed, the sound freer than it had been in a long time. “Lots of practice. We need to speak to the chief immediately.”

“But the blood oath⁠—”

“I have a plan for that too.”

They approached the chief’s meeting hall, while Lilja searched through the town to find and inform the others of what would hopefully turn out to be good news.