Page 57 of Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr #2)
‘Not that easy, I know,’ Thea said. ‘But it’s not about staying or looking strong. It’s about getting through it in whatever way you can.’
Wren wrung her hands, still not quite comfortable with so much outwards emotion.
Thea’s sincerity and concern was forming a knot under her ribs.
‘I appreciate it, I really do, but... right now, there are bigger things to worry about than me,’ Wren told her, fighting the quaver in her voice.
‘Thea... what’s happening with Delmira—’
‘I know,’ Thea murmured. ‘It’s bad. Audra filled me in when I arrived.’
The missive Wren had sent her sister by raven had been vague for fear of it being intercepted, but she was glad the Guild Master had seen to the details. She wasn’t sure she had the energy to rehash the politics.
Thea shook out her arms and legs, her muscles rippling. She met Wren’s gaze, her eyes dark with concern. ‘Someone will make a play for the throne,’ she said, confirming what Wren already knew.
Wren nodded. ‘I think there are several plots already in motion,’ she replied, her voice low.
She leaned against a nearby pillar, its cool stone a stark contrast to her heated skin.
‘I’ve been talking with Kipp between classes.
He has several theories about which parties are putting their chess pieces in place. ’
Thea’s jaw clenched. ‘So you and I need to talk about what we want.’
Wren pushed the loose hair from her face, her fingers lingering at her temples where her headache was worsening. She spoke the words she’d dreaded saying since she’d set foot on Delmirian soil again: ‘I don’t think it’s about what we want any more, Thee...’
Thea tipped her face to the ceiling, closing her eyes as though she could block out reality. The torchlight flickered across her face, highlighting the sharp angles of her cheekbones. ‘Fuck.’
The curse echoed in the empty gymnasium. When Thea opened her eyes again and grimaced, Wren mirrored her expression. ‘Agreed.’
‘Then we need to be honest with each other,’ Thea told her, stepping closer. ‘Completely transparent about everything, about what we see for our homeland.’
Wren folded her arms over her chest. ‘You go first.’
‘Fine,’ Thea replied. ‘I’m fucking terrified.’
A broken laugh escaped Wren, followed by a small wave of relief. ‘I’m glad I’m not the only one.’
Thea flicked her braid over her shoulder. ‘It was so much easier to dismiss our heritage when Delmira was nothing but a wasteland... No one demanding answers, no looming conflict over the land and its resources.’
‘But that’s changed,’ Wren said gently. ‘It’s only a matter of time before someone stakes a claim, or plunders its fertile soil. If it falls into the wrong hands, Thea... we’re—’
‘Fucked, I know.’ Thea drew a shaky breath.
Her eyes, usually so confident, now held a vulnerability that made Wren’s heart ache.
‘I never thought this would happen. The life I’m leading now.
.. It’s one of adventure, of freedom. Isn’t that what we fought for in the war? Isn’t that the victory we won?’
‘I thought so,’ Wren replied, reaching out to squeeze Thea’s arm. ‘None of us could have seen this coming.’
Thea snorted. ‘For all the prophecies floating around the midrealms, you’d think one would come in handy every now and then.’
‘You’d think,’ Wren agreed, a wry smile tugging at her lips.
Thea patted her hand and started to pace, footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. ‘The question is... if not a true heir of Delmira, then who? Like you said, if Delmira itself falls to someone false, what happens? What will become of the midrealms? Of the peace we nearly died for?’
Wren watched her sister, noting the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Do you believe it’s true?
That our parents and ancestors hoarded resources?
Refused to share their agricultural secrets to keep power in their favour? ’
‘I’m not sure we’ll ever know.’ Thea rubbed the back of her neck.
‘There are written accounts and histories, of course, but we’ve already seen how they can be skewed with an agenda.
Do you know how many times I’ve had to correct someone about Anya?
About the fact that she was a hero, not the Daughter of Darkness? ’
Wren nodded. ‘It’s been the same here. A place of learning still intent on creating a false narrative.’
‘So if this is what things are like now, what will they become if we don’t take control?’
‘What does Wilder say?’ Wren asked, knowing there was no way her sister hadn’t discussed this with the Hand of Death.
Thea’s steps faltered at the mention of Wilder’s name. ‘He says he’ll be by my side, no matter what...’ She sighed, and Wren felt the weight of it in her own heart. ‘For the sake of the midrealms, I’d do it,’ she said softly. ‘I would take the throne, stake my claim.’
Her words broke Wren apart. For she had known them already – had known that the moment there was a greater threat to the midrealms, her sister wouldn’t stand for it, no matter what her own heart desired.
Wren wished that she could be so noble, so ready to set aside her own path, to put duty before all else – but she pushed the thought away, the taste of injustice bitter on her tongue.
‘I know.’ She grabbed Thea’s hand. ‘What do we do now?’
‘We take the time we’ve been given, and we tell no one. You show me what you found in Delmira and we’ll see if we can make sense of it. But right now?’ Thea squeezed her hand back. ‘Right now, we spar. Elbows up, feet apart, sister.’