Page 70 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

Chapter

Sixty-Three

ELANNA

T hey’d already waited at the next rendezvous point for two days.

’Twas a strange place. Not a village, exactly.

More like a new settlement next to a small lake.

The three dozen settlers had been kind. Gawked, of course.

But there had been an air of wanting to be helpful.

These people evidently did not know what transpired outside their borders.

Elanna wondered how Tolvar knew this place was even here.

Tolvar.

They must hurry!

The Lucien Law also weighed on her mind.

A Lucien Guardian had to swear the Lucien Oath, the unbreakable vow that was twofold: it bound the life of the person to the life of the StarSeer—the person would defend the StarSeer until death—and it gave the guardian the ultimate confidence of the StarSeer.

Her secrets would be the guardian’s secrets. And secret they would need to remain.

Elanna and the others understood that scattering the earth meant not only parting from one another but also going into hiding.

Hiding.

StarSeers hiding .

It had been exceptional to consider that the heir to the throne of the House of Sidra would go into hiding, but ’twas extraordinary to consider that she, a StarSeer, would be forced to hide. She would become a nomad. Wandering the realm without any identity at all.

This made the decision of who would be her Lucien Guardian incredibly weighty. Not only did she not know if Hux was allowed to take that role, but she also had no idea if he would be able to tolerate the life it would demand.

Of course, he has already lived as a nomad.

She had not yet broached the topic with him. And if he was not to be her Lucien Guardian, they could not continue as they were. Her guardian would be with her always.

Casta and Kyrie were in clear turmoil about the matter, too.

For what felt like the tenth time that day, Elanna entered the small structure on the dirt path that could not be called a main road, which housed the general shoppe, the settlement’s meeting house, the tavern, and two message ravens.

The wooden sign upon the door read “shoppe.” This is where they were supposed to rendezvous with Ghlee and Alvie. But the only persons in the shoppe were the shoppe keep and Barrett, who rested on a chair, nursing a cup of ale.

“No one yet, m’lady,” he said.

She sat beside him. “We will rescue Sir Tolvar.”

He nodded. “I’m no knight without my earl to serve.”

“What if you served a different person?”

“Who do you mean? Is something going to happen to Lord Tolvar?”

Why had she said that? She explained about the Lucien Law.

“I suppose you will ask Hux?”

“I am not yet certain. What we ask of the guardian is unbreakable.”

“Hux wouldn’t break a vow to you.”

The table rattled. And the floor.

“Stars.” Barrett stood. “Horsemen approach. Hide! ”

Elanna slipped behind the bar from where the shoppe keep withdrew an ax. He stood at the window with Barrett.

The sound of the horses halting made Elanna search for something she could use as a weapon. Men dismounted, and the door opened.

“Good afternoon,” a man’s voice said, before changing his tone. “You expecting trouble?”

“I hope not,” Barrett’s voice came.

“All right,” another man’s voice entered the shoppe. “You can put your sword down. Fact o’matter is we’s with the Order of Siria.”

The Order of Siria?

“That seems unlikely,” Barrett said.

“Why? What else has happened?” the first voice asked.

Barrett hesitated.

“This place ain’t so bad inside. I actually cannot believe we found it. Took us a century to get here. Anyways, where’s Tolvar?”

Elanna stood, startling the two men in front of Barrett.

“Goddesses of the moon, lady. What you want to pop out like that for?”

The two men’s appearance was vastly different. The first was the size and build of Tolvar but had sandy, blond hair. The second was short and lanky with a pointed chin. His right leg had been replaced with a wooden peg.

“Finally!” Hux’s voice came from outside. He entered the shoppe. “About time you made it, Ghlee.” Hux clapped the first man on the back.

“We came with as much haste as we could,” Ghlee said.

“And we brought reinforcements,” said the other, who Elanna surmised was Alvie.

Elanna joined them, and Ghlee immediately bowed. “Lady StarSeer. I am Ghlee Roderick, and I am the Head of the Deogolian Order of Siria. We are at your service.”

“And I’m Alvie.”

“No bow?” Hux’s eyes twinkled.

“Oh yeah. Sorry.” Alvie gave an exaggerated bow .

Ghlee scanned the room. Straight away, Elanna could see the many similarities between Tolvar and the man who he’d called his “brother.” “Where is the Wolf anyway?”

Hux recanted the tale, and Alvie threw out some colorful curse words.

“Oh, sorry. I s’pose I ought not curse in front of you.”

“Siria’s skirt.” Ghlee scratched his beard. “Tolvar has done it this time. I suppose ’tis good I am always prepared for his antics. Now, for what exactly do we need Alvie’s club?”

Alvie frowned but withdrew the club from a belt where a sword would normally hang. “The Cibil said its journey wasn’t over, but stars, I didn’t know he meant for it to come here. I sure hate parting with it.”

Elanna didn’t ask who the Cibil was, but instead, she gasped at the gash on the club that otherwise appeared as wood. The metal underneath glistened white.Pure white.

“Starstone,” Elanna said.

“Yeah. Pretty impressive.” Alvie’s jaw tightened. “This really gonna save the world?”

“’Tis.”

Elanna still felt green in the world, but one thing that was becoming exceptionally clear was that when men became a band without a clear leader, arguing generally occurred.

“What if we split up?”

“We shall need all our forces to rescue Tolvar.”

“How shall we make a key? We’ve no blacksmith.”

“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 same time.

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.