Shadow
Chapter Twenty-Five

Idonia Torbet

We left early the next morning to try and catch Rikki before he told my family we were dead. Rae and I rode off on our horses and rode them into the forest from whence we came. The morning air was cold, colder then it had been before we left. Longer nights would soon be upon Theris and the time for being huddled up by a fire was more intriguing than travel. The roads would be empty by now, especially this far north. There was little noise in the forest, a few chirping birds, a owl still away from his nocturnal hunt, and the wind.

Rae had been quiet the whole morning. In fact, he hadn’t said much since last night in the bath. His time of mourning has started, and who am I to stand in his way. Finally after two hours of silence, I speak first, “Tell me about Danal, if you wish.”

“I wasn’t thinking about Danal actually.”

“Then what is on your mind?”

“Home, specifically Avon.”

“Your brother.”

“The fourth oldest of us, the one to inherit if I were to actual die. I can’t imagine how hard Khannun Kol would be on him,” Rae shook his head.

“Would he really be that cruel?”

“He would,” Rae looks at me and our eye meet. His are filled with pain, the pain of Danal’s loss and the fear for his brother. The trauma was fresh, the wounds of loss still open on his heart. “Ragnvald would be there though. If I died, my real father would be there for the others. He would be there to guide Avon to becoming a good Khanel.”

“Do you love being Khanel?”

“It’s all I’ve ever been. As a child, I loved the respect given to me by all the servants and Masters. Even the Aerals would do as I said on occasion,” he chuckled occasionally. “I tried not to be a little shit about it, but I’m sure most people would disagree.”

I let out a small laugh, “I’m sure my Nan would call me a terror too, but anytime I did something wrong, Mother always knew about it and I always got in trouble.”

“Rikki and I would have to run extra laps around the training ground, ordered my Khannun Kol and executed by one of his Viker, Rikki’s father.”

I give him a slight smile, “I have heard tales of Viker Helvig, he visited Theris once, collecting taxes from the Aerals. I met him once and he told me...”

“Female cannot be Viker, I know his rules. When Hertha wanted to learn the bow, Khannun shot her down on his words. Viker Helvig told her to learn knitting instead of the bow.”

I scoff, looking away from Rae at the woods, “I told him he was an ass and he slapped me. It was the first time a male struck me in anger.”

“He hit you?” Rae growls lowly, showing his anger in the most beastly way possible.

“He did, but it made me stronger. It made me realize that to be a good warrior as a female, I needed to prove myself to the north. So I begged my father’s Viker to take me north. I had proved myself at that contest, and now I begged them to let me prove myself to the whole north.”

“Have I proved myself?”

Our eyes meet, his dark ones have always been a strange contradiction to the red hair that ruthlessly ruled his head. Though I had seen those same eyes turn red in anger, a brighter, more furious red. And in those times I had seen the fury burn, it had all been over me.

“You have,” I reply simply.

“Then you’ll come home with me, to Bethlianna?” he asks me hopefully.

“Was there a doubt that I would?”

“For a time, yes.”

“I want to come to Bethlianna with you, and I will keep your secret.”

“It is our secret now. If it were to be found out, then everything in my life would be questioned, including you. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if my parents’ actions hurt you.”

“My actions have hurt you,” I remind him, then the same guilt as before fills me. “And I know exactly how disappointed I am in myself. I am truly sorry for his death. When we return I will speak to Aeral Ohlson personally to express my deepest regrets.”

“That is not--”

“It is necessary, Rae,” I cut him off. “What happened to Danal is my fault.”

“You gave us all the opportunity to turn back, Idonia. Danal has the choice to go back, both of them did, I made sure that the two of them knew I wouldn’t hold it against either of them to stay behind. They said they were both with me until the end. Viker give their lives for their Masters all the time.”

“I just--”

“Khannun Kol told me once that the hardest thing about being a leader is accepting that people are willing to die for you. He then said this,” Rae takes a deep breathing, looking only ahead at the road and not me. “He said, it didn’t matter how many soldiers died as long as they died for something they believe in and not a battled they were forced to fight. A good Khannun knows how to inspire males to fight beside them, not in front of them. Danal died beside me, this makes his death honorable and by killing that shadowbeast, it also makes his death avenged.”

“Also, we should probably cancel the rest of the tour around Theris. Rikki needs to be with Disa and we need to inform Aeral Ohlson of his son's death.” Rae simply nods at my suggestion.

There were no more words spoken between us. We only ride through the dark forest on the respective horses. The road grows dark and narrow quicker than expected. We end up finding a run down town that we had passed on the way through. The days grew shorter though and the night was unsafe.

At the local inn, we receive a room and a good meal. The barkeep was kept oblivious to Rae’s title, but recognized me as a Torbet almost immediately. He gave us the best ale and the nicest room available.

“Keep the fire low, Madam. The shadows are comin’ far south.”

“Thank you, keep,” I give him a small smile and a generous tip before he left us alone for the night.

“Your names seems to get you a lot here,” Rae observes, sitting by the fire to warm his hands after they are stripped of his leather glows.

“The same way your title does,” I remind him. “Connections are everything, especially the right name. You should know that bloodlines are everything.”

“Was that a dig?” he stands from the chair. His voice slightly tense as he speaks. “Does it bother you that much?”

“It doesn’t bother me at all, Rae,” I go over to him, gripping his shoulders in my hands. “Believe me, I never cared who your family is. I only cared about your heart.”

“I never thought my mate would be someone who didn’t want to be Khanelea,” he smiles, before leaning down and pressing his gentle lips to my forehead. “But I am glad it is you.”

Guy!

We’ve reached the halfway point in the book!

That’s right, there will be 50 chapters in “Shadow” and seeing as this is number 25, we’re half way there.

Don’t be bummed though, there is still a lot of excitement yet to come!

Like some romance scenes...

And some fighting!

Lots of drama, of course.

And a few twists and turns.

The royal family, obviously. Because it’s almost time to go to Bethlianna!

And as always, if you want to like, comment, or follow me, that’s totally amazing.

All my love,

Rosie🥀

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