Page 176 of Keeper of the Word

“Mayhap the next village will have one.”

“How are we supposed to lock the main gate of Asalle if there is a war going on?”

“That is why we need to get there before the war begins.”

On and on and on, these arguments circled each other. Never mind that they had four StarSeers with them.

At least they steadily made their way to Norwell at the sametime. And traveling with two dozen trained Order of Siria knights made the journey not quite as daunting, though they witnessed plenty of devastation and destruction along the way. Villages burned or ransacked. Whole fields of crops ready to be harvested, trampled and ruined. From a distance, they’d observed skirmishes as well as armies marching toward Asalle.

At night, Elanna curled up next to Hux, burying her face in his chest.

“Something troubles you,” Hux whispered, his lips caressing down her ear and neck.

“There is much that troubles me.”

“I mean something new and specific. Something more than saving an entire realm.”

Elanna breathed him in. “Cannot that be enough?”

“Aye, surely. But you may tell me whatever it is.”

Elanna only snuggled further into Hux’s arms. She could tell him, but she did not know his answer about his future and so chose instead to keep the beautiful moment.

The stars had naught to say on the matter. Had little to say at all. The StarSeers begged for direction. Hints of how to rescue Tolvar with success. But the night remained a quiet space.

Chapter

Sixty-Four

ELANNA

They’d passed a great deal of lakes and ponds traveling through Namid. Elanna could not help but ponder that these bodies of water, in the reflections of which she discerned evergreens, mountains, and the emergence of early autumn, hinted at something.

At midday, they rested at what appeared to be two or three farmers’ lands. The rows and rows of green, orange, and yellow vegetables seemed half a rainbow etching the earth. Ghlee—who, much to Hux’s chagrin, had taken charge—rode with Alvie and two companions to purchase food from one of the farmers.

Maristel had grown fussier the longer they traveled, and Casta cradled her in her arms. With Ghlee temporarily absent, Hux had taken it upon himself to order knights about with chores.

Elanna breathed as the surrounding noise butted against her. She required a moment’s peace. Taking shade in the nearby grove, Elanna wandered into the woods. ’Twas unlike her to meander, but as of late, much of what she did was unlike her. She had taken to carrying the starstone club around with her—Alvie graciously relinquishing it, saying he knew it had an adventure in store—andswung it absentmindedly at her side as she ambled along. Deeper into the woods, the canopy of trees shifted in the breeze, and Elanna had the distinct impression that she had been here before.

She halted.

Nay,shehad not been here before, but she’d Seen this place. On the Dasei Moors? Nay, ’twas with Tara at Castle Sidra when she’d Seen the centuries drag out before her.

The blacksmith.

There was a blacksmith in that vision.

A path appeared before her, although Elanna perceived that it did not exist in her time. ’Twas something onlyshecould See.

She followed it.

Lost track of time.

But by and by, on the other side of the woods, nestled in a glen, she discovered a dwelling. Next to it stood another structure. ’Twas the size of the shoppe in the other settlement but seemed to be a workshop of some sort. Great puffs of smoke bloomed from the chimney, and the air around it was warm.

A twigsnapped. She turned toward the noise. Naught was there.

After scanning the area, Elanna padded toward the workshop, ignoring the sound of a woman’s screeching that exuded from the dwelling.