Chapter 7: Jaws of the Beasts

Luthera Revena

The rest of the ride up to the northern border is uneventful with Finn and I exchanging an occasional word or two, mostly focused on the task at hand. Finn abruptly pulls Juno to a stop without warning causing me to almost barrel into him.

"Finn!" I find myself yelling, stretching my magic out to calm the startled horses.

I turn to look over to reprimand him but his expression causes me to pause. His eyebrows are creased together, his mouth is pressed into a thin line, the only time I've seen him this focused is when he was about to face against the beast that attacked Kamrion. I don't say another word, waiting for him to finish whatever thoughts he is sorting through.

Only a moment later he breaks the silence. "It was here."

Here?

"This is where we fought the bandits." He clarifies, his eyes still surveying the area around us.

I feel my eyes widen slightly before I too take a moment to look around us, eyes and ears straining to sense anything amiss.

"It's clear." He announces, tension visibly washing off of his shoulders.

"And how do you know that?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"You get really good at assessing your surroundings when you spend enough time tracking and hunting." He shrugs.

"Well, I have never done either." I admit slowly, he sends me an understanding look before his face tenses into a frown.

"When we were attacked before I couldn't detect them." He confesses, his voice low. "I don't know if it's their mutations or a learned skill but they were able to evade my senses until they were close enough to attack. So, I doubt I'll be able to act as our eyes and ears."

A thought pops into my head as he speaks, but I wait until he is finished before I start talking.

"Since they appear to be skilled at avoiding detection, it stands to reason that they would also be skilled at covering their tracks." I reason, nods along in what I presume is agreement. "You won't have an easy time tracking them, if at all you can."

He groans in annoyance before pinching his nose. I can't fight off the self-satisfied smile I feel grow on my face as I finally decide to share my plan.

"I suppose it's a good thing that you brought me along." I point out. "Otherwise you would have been out here all day trying to pick up a trail."

He sends me a questioning look, seemingly baffled by my sudden burst of confidence. I can't help and feel proud though, it seems I'll be more of use than I imagined I would be on this excursion.

I turn my eyes up to the sky, feeling my magic unknot in my core before I feel it wrap around me like a fur blanket in the heart of winter. I release a whistle, a lovely little melody my mother taught me.

"What are you…?" He trails off as a flock of falcons fly down and land in front of us.

I whistle again and one of the falcons, an impressive specimen with brilliant silver feathers flies up and finds purchase on my outstretched arm. He leans in as I nuzzle the feathers around his neck, cooing contentedly. From the corner of my eye I can see Finn observing curiously.

"I need you and your friends to help us find something." I tell the falcon, he looks right at me, giving me his full attention. "There are people around here, strange people, they look very different from me, fly out and search for anything that may help us find them. Anything you find that is out of place, no matter how insignificant."

The falcon chirps in acknowledgment before spreading its wings and flying off, the other falcons taking the same example. They all fly in different directions, beginning their hunt for anything of value to our investigation.

"That was…" Finn begins to say.

"I'm sorry, just one more thing." I cut him off gently.

I feel the magic explode from my core once again, pulsing outwards into the world around me. Before a long a chorus of piercing howls is breaking through the forest's tranquil silence. Finn tenses next to me, his hand instinctively lurching towards Arno.

"No, no, it's alright." I raise a hand to placate him. He hesitates, eyeing me warily for a moment before nodding and pulling back from his blade.

A trio of wolves run up to us. They eye me curiously for a moment before sitting at attention, ready for my instructions. I tell them the same thing I told the falcons, to spread around and search for anything that could help us track the bandits. Finn lets out a low whistle as the wolves spread out.

I turn back to him.

"It could simply be my imagination but you seem impressed." I quirk a challenging eyebrow as the words leave my mouth.

He chuckles, adopting a much more relaxed posture than the one he had a moment ago. "I am not unimpressed."

I can't help but return the chuckle as we sit with our mounts along the side of the road waiting for the falcons or the wolves to return.

"What's it like talking to them?" He asks after a long silence. "The animals I mean."

I open my mouth to answer immediately, thinking I already have an answer on the tip of my tongue.

Hm… nothing.

Odd.

I roll the thought over and over again in my mind and come up with nothing.

"I've been able to communicate with them for so long that it's just become as natural as breathing." I offer with a small shrug. "It's like asking what does breathing feel like."

He hums in response, not prodding any further. The question has provoked my mind though. Now that he has asked it I feel obligated to actually answer his question. I'm not getting anything concrete from the mark on my wrist, the best I can tell is that he is still curious but I can't determine anything more than that.

"Now that I think about it I suppose 'natural' is the best way I can describe it." I break the silence, grabbing his attention once again. "When I want to call to the ones that are far away it's like my magic extends out of me and connects to them. But once I form that connection, everything else after feels so normal and effortless I don't notice my magic at work."

His grey eyes meet mine, a soft look in them that contrasts their stormy colour. The corner of his lip lightly tugs upwards.

"Why did you ask?" I wonder aloud.

It's his turn to shrug, but his eyes never leave mine. "I was just curious. I… I don't think I've ever seen you as peaceful as you appear when your using your magic."

I feel my eyes widen. I didn't think that would be something he actually noticed. I find myself returning the smile though.

"Keep this up and I'll have to tell everyone back in Kamrion you actually make a half decent husband." I chuckle as he rolls his eyes.

"Please don't." He groans in mock resignation. "Father might get the idea of marrying me off to someone else if he heard that."

"Well, that would be simply unacceptable." I let out a playful huff. "I am not overly fond of sharing."

"As expected of an only child." He fires back as if he had that retort already prepared.

I gasp before shoving his shoulder lightly, pulling a hearty laugh out of him. I caught him off-guard enough that I actually almost knocked him off Juno, making him laugh even harder. Before long I find myself joining in, covering my mouth as I try to keep myself together.

The mark on my wrist buzzes warmly, sending a cool wave of relief through my arm and down my spine releasing tension I didn't even know I had built up.

"You are incorrigible." I somehow get out threw my residual fits of laughter.

"And you, my dear wife are…" He gets cut off by a loud squawk.

My eyes immediately snap to the sky as one of the falcons I sent swoops down, clutching something quite large in its talons. I stretch out my hand and let the bird drop into my hand what I can now see is a dagger.

"Very good." I coo at him, stroking the feathers along his neck as he settles onto the horse's saddle.

I turn to Finn who is eyeing the dagger with narrowed and focused eyes. Slowly and silently I offer him the dagger. With hesitant fingers he takes the dagger and unsheathes it, revealing a brilliant bronze blade. He sighs, twirling the blade in his hand a few times. 

"It's one of theirs." He declares.

"And you know that how?" I cock my head slightly in curiosity.

"The same bandits that attacked Kai and I along with the rest of the patrol had bronze daggers." He explains. "Bronze isn't exactly a common commodity, so I doubt it belongs to anyone else."

"This is excellent then." I nod. "I just need to call the wolves back and they can use the scent from the dagger to track the bandits."

He nods back, still deep in thought. "Could you also have the falcons fly ahead of us to scout ahead, keep us from being caught unawares?"

"Of course."

I summon the wolves back to our location, stretching my magic out to reach them. They are whining as they approach, disappointed that they weren't able to find anything useful. The lead wolf, an impressive and large creature with a dark grey coat explains to me that there were unable to determine the scent of interest.

I smile, jumping off the horse and kneeling down to pet him as if he were one of my father's hounds.

"Do not worry yourself, my friend." I reassure him. "I have the exact scent we need you to find."

I outstretch my hand to Finn, indicating that he should pass me the dagger. Finn dismounts and approaches, eyeing the wolves somewhat warily. I click my fingers to get his attention. I'm hoping my gaze and the connection between our marks relay the message that everything is fine.

"Sorry." He shakes his head, handing me the dagger. "Force of habit, not used to being this close to wolves unless… well, you know."

"I understand." I do.

I turn back to the lead wolves and offer him the dagger. They take turns sniffing it, committing its scent to memory. When they are done I try to hand the dagger back to Finn but he shakes his head.

"You should hang on to it." He pushes it back to me.

"I've never used a dagger or a sword in my life." I shake my head slightly. "I think you would make far better use of it then I."

"All the same, you should keep it." He insists. "I pray you won't actually have to use it, but I would feel better if you had it on you… please."

I am about to refuse again but the softness in his voice and sincerity in his eyes makes me pause. I've never wielded any kind of battlefield blade in my life and I don't plan to, but if it rests Finn's nerves…

I strap the dagger to the belt around my waist before turning back to the falcon.

"Follow the wolves and fly ahead of us." I tell him. "If you spot any danger tell me."

The falcon let's out an affirming squawk before taking to the skies once again, circling above us and ready to set off when we do.

"I suppose this is where the hunt really begins." I say as I mount Astrid once again.

"Indeed it is." Finn nods as he mounts Juno.

I turn to the wolves. They are ready and waiting for my instruction. I take in a deep breath, bracing myself for what we could potentially be running towards. My heart clenches in my chest, filled with equal parts fear and excitement. I quickly seize my nerves.

Poise, dignity and composure.

"Hunt!"

And just like that we are off. The scent leads the wolves off the main road into the forest, Finn and I keeping pace behind them. Astrid is quite nimble, veering and twisting between trees with incredible agility.

At some point after what must have at least been 2 hours of riding, we break the forest line and begin riding threw a clearing and I spot the falcons ahead of us, scouting the way forward. I can't help but notice that the grass seems to be progressively more yellow and sickly.

Dear me…

The further we go the drying and more stale the air tastes. I can feel my magic protesting louder and louder at the idea of venturing further but I try my best to stomp it down. It's clear there is something disturbing in the air but turning back now will solve nothing.

The wolves bolt over a large hill and I push Astrid to quickly scale the incline. At the top of the hill I come to a stop, my breath catching in my throat. In the far distance, probably still several dozen leagues away from us lies what can only be described as a fortress. Even from this distance it looms over the horizon like a black tidal wave.

All the land around the black forest looks… almost ill. The leaves of the trees of the surrounding woods range from pale yellow to almost white. What little undergrowth there is appears to be almost as sickly.

Everything here looks like it's lying at death's door. Even my magic feels like it's shrivelling at the mere sight of it.

I find myself inching forward, intrigued by the sight and eager not to fall too far behind the wolves.

"Wait." Finn's voice pulls me to a sudden stop.

I turn Astrid around to face him. His eyes are narrowed towards the immense structure in the distance. The expression on his face is once again deadly serious, eyes focused, jaw set and posture taut. I even feel nervous energy radiating off of Juno, a familiar weariness radiating off of him.

They've been here before?

"What is that?" My voice is barely above a whisper, feeling like it could be carried away by the breeze before it reaches him.

Somehow my voice manages to grab his attention. He turns to me and I almost flinch away. The cold look in his eyes is so chilling I almost shiver.

"That is Merridor." His voice is flat and completely devoid of any of its characteristic levity.

"Oh." I'm at a loss for words.

Before either of us can say anything a howl breaks through the tension in the air followed by a low squawk. My magic beats as it interprets the meaning behind the signals. Finn's demeanour hasn't changed but he does look curious.

"They have found something." I tell him, turning to the direction they wolves ran off to. Approximately a league and a half away I see the falcons circling over what appears to be a grove, it's hard to tell at this distance.

"Luthera." He sighs, coming up beside me, eyeing me critically. "That is too close to Merridor's borders. Remember we are not supposed to be here, if we run into one of their patrols…"

"If we don't go we'll still be no closer to finding answers than we are now." I cut in as gently as I can.

He reaches up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"It could be nothing." He insists. "For all we know the bandits could have just stopped there to rest and moved on days ago."

"Perhaps." I relent. "But even if that is the case, we may still find something helpful. It would be more productive than not investigating at all."

He continues to give me a critical stare before a small chuckle escapes his throat. "I thought I was supposed to be the adventurous one."

I feel the corners of my mouth turn up into a small smile. "Now you sound more like yourself."

He briefly smiles back before his face snaps back into a focused frown. He sighs, his shoulders sagging slightly.

"Alright, we'll go." He relents. "But you stay close to me at all times and if I get even the tiniest feeling that something is going to go awry then we leave immediately."

"Understood." I nod without hesitation.

"Very well." He lets out a resigned sigh before taking the lead.

He leads us towards where the falcons are circling, from what I gather they haven't detected anything dangerous yet. We are on our guard all the same. The dryness in the air only becomes more apparent the closer we get to Merridor, I can only imagine what it is like in the actual kingdom, I hope I never have to find out.

As we get closer I now see that it is indeed a grove that the falcons are gliding over. The trees are shrivelled and appear frail. The shrubs in the undergrowth are growing peculiar flowers with pale green and yellow petals. Upon entering the grove my eyes immediately find the trio of wolves, all huddled around something. Finn dismounts, prompting me to do the same. We approach the wolves and find them surrounding what appears to be the sight of what once was a campfire.

I hear Finn let out a short hum before he steps past the wolves to survey the area himself. I kneel down to the wolves and begin petting them each.

"You have all done so well." I coo, tussling their fur. "I hate to ask any more of you, I know I have already taken you quite far from home but could you please search around the area, anything that looks out of place."

The wolves appear all too happy to fulfil my request as they begin to spread out and search. I walk over to Finn who is still sifting through the remains of the campfire with a trained knight's focus so I decide to quietly observe.

After a few minutes I hear him let out a surprised hum, as he pulls something from the ashes. It's…

"A piece of paper?" I wonder aloud.

"It looks like the remnants of a letter." He points out as he draws it closer to examine it. "Almost completely burnt, I can't make anything out from it."

I come up beside him and lean down to his level to get a closer look. He's write, completely inscrutable.

However…

"May I?" I ask.

Finn turns to give me a curious look before handing me the letter remnant without a question. I slide my hand over the edge of paper gently until I get to the bottom right corner where I feel something sticky. I pinch the sticky corner before pulling away to take a look at what I just wiped off.

Curious.

"It's wax." I point out, showing him the blue residue on my fingers.

"And that means…" He trails off, still looking at me curiously.

"It's not very common for a letter to have a wax seal." I explain, rising to my feet. "Typically, only the most important families in any given kingdom have an official seal. Assuming that this letter belongs to the bandits, it would imply they are corresponding with some very powerful people."

He doesn't respond immediately, his eyes unfocused and distant. "I'm assuming there is no way of finding what seal was on the letter."

"None." I shake my head. "The only specific details I can gain is that the wax is blue which doesn't tell us much, dozens of influential families in the Northern Kingdoms use blue wax seals, even my own."

"Not to mention the wax could easily have changed colour after being exposed to the flame." He adds on, letting out a deep sigh. "Could have been green or yellow for all we know…"

He trails off, standing at maximum attention and hand inching towards Arno at his side. My heart hammers in my chest as I find myself whirling my head around the grove. The mark on my wrist begins buzzing uncomfortably and I can feel Finn's uneasiness from it. I am about to ask what he heard when I hear the wolves growl and begin snarling.

"Get to Astrid." Finn whispers, not looking towards me.

Before I can even think about following his instructions, Finn spins towards me. I see Arno glow as he pulls it from his sheath, blue flames coating his free hand before he launches them in my direction. A scream escapes my throat as the stream of blue flames fly past me and erupt with a deafening explosion.

My head snaps back. Several hooded figures with cloths covering the lower half of their face appear to have been knocked away by the explosions Finn just caused but they appear to be recovering. The trio of wolves, without any warning or instruction from my part, rush the bandits with teeth and claws bared.

It won't be enough though, there are at least a dozen of them and three wolves isn't enough. Finn rushes past me so quickly he is practically a blur, glowing blade shimmering at his side as he joins the fray.

The bandits notice his approach, their faces still hidden behind their hoods. They draw their weapons, bronze daggers identical to the one I am carrying now. I know I should follow Finn's instructions and run back to Astrid but my legs refuse to move as my eyes are locked on the scene before me.

Dancing around the fight with the grace and precision that can only come from countless battles, Finn weaves through the hooded figures, gracefully weaving through their attacks and parrying with impeccable timing. One of the wolves bites down on one of the hooded figures legs, keeping him pinned. Finn takes advantage and lunges toward him, quickly plunging Arno into his chest before throwing up a crystal barrier to deflect an attack from his flank.

During the fight Finn turns to face me for a split second, a deep scowl on his face and lightning dancing in his stormy eyes.

"Luthera!" He yells, breaking me out of my trance before he dives to avoid getting decapitated.

His voice finally breaks the me out of my trance. I immediately turn towards the spooked horses, Juno and Astrid who have distanced themselves from the fight.

As fast as my legs can carry me, I bolt towards them, the sound of blades and teeth tearing through flesh and spells being cast ringing behind me. I don't make it far before I catch a flicker of something out of the corner of my eyes.

On instinct I tumble to the ground, rolling to a stop on my arms and knees. One of the bandits stands between me and the horses, hooded with a mask over the lower part of his face like the others. My heart clenches in my chest and I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat as the hooded man reaches into his robes and unsheathes two bronze daggers.

'Stand up and defend yourself or you'll die.' The voice in the back of my head shrieks as the figure lunges towards me, features still hidden behind his hood and mask.

My body moves of its own accord, moving just out of reach of the glistening blade. The man closes the distance between us in a blink and I can't help but catch a whiff of a subtle magic radiating off of him.

It smells off…

I duck another blow.

Just like the creature that attacked Kamrion…

One of his daggers grazes the thick leather on my shoulder.

And something else…

He kicks me in the chest, sending me back first into a tree.

A magic the feels even more sinister…

The impact with the tree knocks all of the wind out of me and I gasp to get enough air in my lungs. Looking up, I see him circling around me, seemingly enjoying this.

Playing with his food.

My fingers hover over the dagger strapped to my waist. I didn't once think about reaching for it. What good would drawing it do me? I don't even know how to use it.

Still…

I pull the dagger out, holding it out with both hands, keeping it between us like some kind of magic barrier. He lets out a low sound from his throat that sounds almost like amusement.

"You don't even know how to hold that right, princess." He finally speaks.

I grip the dagger tighter, stretching out my magic from the core and hoping beyond hope that it reaches out to something.

He slowly stalks over towards me, every movement radiating a confidence that I admit is not unjustified.

However, before he can rush me again and most likely slash my throat open, a familiar plume of grey feathers descends between us and immediately latches onto his face, scratching and clawing at his eyes and nose. He struggles so much with the falcon that his hood flies off as the bird claws off the mask around his mouth.

My breath hitches once again, this time from shock instead of fear, though there is plenty of fear as well. The man has an unsettling pair of eyes where the part that is usually white is black and the irises are a menacing amber colour. There are short spines growing along his jaw and his skin has a sickly yellow discolouration.

I can't remain in my shocked state for too long. He finally gets a hold of the falcon, grabbing it before roughly tossing it to the hard ground. I wince as a sickening crunch finds my ears. The bird squirms and writhes on the ground, it's wing twisted at an unnatural angle. Seemingly unsatisfied with the damage he has already done to the bird, he stalks towards it, likely to finish it off.

Time seems to slow down as he looms over the defenceless creature, my grip on the dagger tightens as my body begins moving on its own accord. I feel visceral scream erupt from my throat as I charge towards him, pulling his attention away from the fallen bird back to me.

But it's too late.

By the time he fully turns towards me the dagger in my hands plunges into the centre of his chest. Times grows from slow to grinding to a complete halt as his black and amber eyes widen in shock. My breathing is ragged and uneven as I dare a look downwards, thick black blood oozing out of his fatal wound.

I look back up at his eyes, seeing the light behind them fade away as the seconds tick by. The fighting in the background seems to have cleared but…

Finn comes into view. Black blood is coating his skin and robes and he appears slightly winded but relatively unharmed. Without a word he grabs the dying bandit and gently sets him down on the ground, dagger still embedded in his chest, after which Finn gently releases my hands from its hilt.

The bandit I just stabbed is sputters a few times before it takes in one final breath and releases one ear shattering, blood curdling shriek. Before I could even think, Finn pulls the dagger out of the mutant's chest before quickly plunging it into his throat, instantly halting the shrieking.

I feel my stomach churn and twist uncomfortably, nausea threatening to overcome me.

"Luthera." Finn's voice once again pulls me back to reality. This time his voice is much softer. "We need to leave, the last time one of these mutants let out a shriek like that they summoned an ogre the size of a fully grown giant. I don't think we should stick around to see what comes this time."

I nod numbly as he pulls the dagger back and returns it to the sheath around my waist. "Please hang on to the dagger, I think we'll be able to use it."

"The wolves…" I mumble as I walk over to the falcon and pick it up before following Finn to the horses.

"They're alright, they were actually quite helpful." He answers, quickly mounting and readying Juno to leave. "They took off soon after the fight, it seemed like something spooked them…"

He stops as a low grumble shakes the earth below us. A shark yelping sound, similar to a wounded hound or fox breaks, starts echoing across the grove. It's starts off sounding like one animal, then two, then three, then four.

The yelps continue to overlap until it sounds like an entire pack of hounds moaning and yelping.

Wait…

Something about that sound is eerily familiar…

Surely it can't be…

"What the hell?" Finn gasps, sounding well and truly shaken for the very first time, his eyes focused on something in the distance to my right.

I turn to follow his gaze and…

It can't be…

The snakes and serpentine neck connected to what could either a lion's or leopards body ending with the feet of a dear. The creature breaks through the treeline, it's eyes focused solely on us, a forked tongue flicking out to taste the air between us.

For a very long moment none of us make a move, everyone frozen in place waiting for a reaction.

"It's a… it's a Questing Beast." I stammer out, still recovering from the shock.

"I've seen enough." Finn declares, voice hard and resolute. "We're leaving, now."

And with that he throws out his hand, a sphere of light erupting from his palm before exploding towards the creature. It's so bright even turning away barely helps.

"Stay close to me!" Finn yells as he rides Juno full gallop out of the grove.

I ride with Astrid by his side, the intensity of the light behind us fading with distance along with the unsettling call of the Questing Beast. The further from the beast we get the easier it is to hear my heart thumping in my ears.

I can't even register which direction we are going or how far we are going. I feel the single hand I have on Astrid's reign start to go numb from how tightly I am clutching it, a stark contrast from my other arm, gently tucked close to my side, cradling the injured falcon.

My mind is a blur. It could have been a few hours or a few minutes, I'm not entirely sure but judging from how low the sun is in the sky it has probably been a while. At long last Finn pulls to a stop, prompting me to unconsciously do the same. My heart is settled now but I still have a death grip on the reign.

"We are a safe way into Kamrion territory now." Finn's voice sounds foggy over the haze in my mind. "We should clean up in this stream before we head back."

I don't respond, I want to but I can't. I open my mouth to try and say something but only a raspy breath comes out.

"Luthera." This time his voice sounds much closer.

Slowly, I turn to my side. He has jumped down from Arno and is standing next to me, his considerable height making it so thar he's quite close. His eyes are filled with concern as he reaches out and gently grasps my hand which still has a death grip on the reign.

A small gasp escapes my lips as his fingers lightly brush against my wrist. I look down and see the mark on my wrist as well as his glow a soft greenish blue. A soothing wave of calm spreads up my wrist, up my arm before running down my spine and the rest of my body.

I find my grip loosening, blood instantly rushing back to my pale fingers. He gently helps me down the horse, mindful of the falcon still tucked into my side. He takes a moment to appraise me carefully, most likely searching for injuries.

"I-I'm alright." I manage to croak out, voice so dry I almost start coughing.

"No." He sighs as he takes a step back. "I don't believe you are. But I think you would feel a little better if you cleaned… this off."

I look down at my arms, dried thick black blood coating them. I can't stop the gag from ripping at my throat. With great effort I keep the contents of my stomach where it is. Finn steps forward, worry back on his face.

I raise a hand to stop him. "Your right, we both need to clean up."

"Do you want me to hold him for you?" He asks gently, gesturing to the falcon.

I shake my head, not sure if I could get any more words out if I tried. I walk over to the edge of the stream before gently setting the falcon down next to me. My hands are still shaking but not as much as they were before.

Slowly, I peel off the outer layers of my riding outfit before scrubbing off the dried black blood. First from my face, then my arms then my neck. The water is incredibly cold but the shock further knocks me out of my stupor, so I bear with it.

A small squawk from the falcon grabs my attention.

"I'm alive, at least I can say that." I try to reassure him as I turn to pick him up. "By the fates dear, look at you."

I take the time to properly examine his wing.

"It's broken." I shake my head lightly. "Don't worry, we'll take you back home. You can stay with us until your healed."

He squawks again in agreement.

I finish washing up before folding up my blood soaked outerwear, picking up the falcon and making my way back to Astrid and Juno. Finn is already there, cleaned up and also clear of his bloodied outerwear.

"Better?" He inquires gently as he notices my approach.

I try to nod but it feels more like a violent twitch. Shivers start wracking my body, partially from the cold and partially from my residual distress. The memories of our encounter replays itself in my head over and over and the shivering starts to feel more like spasms.

With almost unnatural speed Finn grabs his cloak from Juno and rushes over to wrap it around me.

"I've never killed anyone before." My voice quivers, the feeling of plunging a dagger through the chest of another person once again curdling my stomach. "Not a soul, not even a mouse and I just…"

"You didn't have a choice." He cuts me off gently, placing a light hand on my shoulder. "He would have killed you if you hadn't."

"It just… it didn't feel right." I shake my head.

"Luthera…" He squeezes my shoulders gently, pulling me out of the vortex my thoughts were about to suck me through. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that it had to come to that. You shouldn't have had to fight, that's what I am here for. Father always said it was the only thing I did right."

The bitter smile that grows on his face says so much more than words ever could, but I still have to ask…

"Your father said that to you?" I don't even try to hide the disapproval in my voice.

"And reminds me of it on a fairly regular basis." He meets my eyes; their stormy grey colour seems darker than usual. "Your more than smart enough to have figured by now that we don't exactly get on."

"It's not true." The words leave my mouth before my mind can even process them. His eyes widen is surprise. "You're not just a sword to be pointed and swung at whatever obstacle we encounter."

The sad smile that he gives me makes something in my chest tight. The hollow look that floods his eyes is one I'd never thought I'd see; they are always filled with so much intensity.

"My father is wrong about many things, believe me, I know." His voice is almost as hollow as eyes, his arms dropping from my shoulders down to his sides. "But this may be one of those rare occasions where he is right. If I'm not wielding this sword or casting spells, what else is there for me?"

A pause…

I… I really don't know that much about the person in front of me. It didn't occur to me before but I see it now. There is so much hidden behind those storm coloured eyes. Honed and precise movements born of countless battles. A conviction and resoluteness with every swing of the sword born of a familiarity with taking lives.

So much that I don't know, something I hope to correct one day.

But for now…

"I don't believe that." My voice carries a resolve behind it I didn't know I had the energy left to summon.

It's only four words, four simple words but it's enough to seemingly almost knock the wind out of him. The mark on my wrist hums, assisting me in feeling out his emotions, the quiet vulnerability he is fighting so hard to hide, the way his breath hitches after seeing the resolve in my eyes.

I can prod further; I would most likely even be able to get something out of him. I don't though, I hope one day he feels comfortable enough with me to open up, but today is not that day. For now, I let the prince's mysteries remain just that.

He breathes out a deep sigh, his features relaxing back into a neutral but concerned expression. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't need to fight again but I can't promise that you won't have to… if you decide to keep doing this."

He's… offering me a way out. I know I'm not going to take it, for our kingdoms and our people I won't lose my nerve now. Besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn't leave him to carry that burden alone, I'd feel too guilty if I did.

"Does it ever get easier?" I find myself asking.

He appears to think the question over before shaking his head.

"No." He answers, eyes looking distant. "You just find more practical ways for dealing with it afterwards. It may seem easy at the time you are doing it but at one point or another, be it a dream in the dead of night or a quiet moment when you are lost in your thoughts… your mind has twisted ways of making you remember."

I nod numbly, digesting his answer. After a deep breath through my mouth I nod again, this time with more surety.

"I'm still with you."

If he is surprised, he doesn't show it. He does, however, look grateful, offering his arm.

"Thank you." I say sincerely as I accept the arm with my free one before he helps me up onto Astrid.

He bows his head lightly, an almost imperceptible smile on his face as he hops onto Juno.

"And thank you."