A gentle, elderly face appeared as soon as the door opened. A smile rested on her lips, unaware of all the terrible things that happened since they had seen each other earlier that day. Given Alissa’s state was the personification of desperation and solitude, Mrs. Ilden moved to the side, welcoming the woman into her home for the second time that day, except this time in such appalling circumstances.
Wrinkled fingers squeezed Alissa’s shoulders, pulling her mind back from the foggy mess that had led her there. “They… They killed her,” Alissa whispered, her gaze fixed on a beverage stain on the wooden floor. “Eldric.”
The old lady’s forehead creased in concern, “What about him, dear?”
“They took him.” Alissa’s voice cracked, echoing the fractures within.
The woman’s eyes glared with alarm, Alissa’s words sinking heavily in her stomach. “Did anyone follow you here, dear?” she asked, but Alissa didn’t hear it. Her attention was in a different world, a world she wished were the true one.
Mrs. Ilden shook her shoulders harder. “I need to know if anyone is coming our way.”
“No. They didn’t follow me.”
Alissa’s gaze lifted to meet Mrs. Ilden’s horrified one; the expression resembled so much of Olga’s reaction to her husband’s life being taken. A life that was lost because Alissa had brought danger into her friend’s home. If it hadn’t been for her,Breno would still be alive. Guilt swept up her senses when she realized what she had done.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come.” Her words were barely audible as she walked toward the door. “I’ll leave. I don’t want to put you in danger, too.”
The teacher quickly stepped to stand between Alissa and the door. She took Alissa’s hands in hers and squeezed them tight. Even when Alissa felt as if the floor beneath her would give way underfoot, Mrs. Ilden’s soothing presence seemed to keep her standing.
“I have spent all sixty-eight years of my life waiting for the day I would meet someone like you, Miss Kriegen. Having the gift of magic and being incapable of saving your hometown from that terrible curse has weighed on my family’s conscience for generations. If helping you will somehow repair all the destruction and genocide of our kings, I will gladly spend my life in this effort.”
Alissa’s lips trembled. She struggled to contain the wave of emotions welling up in her throat. After a night filled with so much bloodshed, the reminder that there were still good people in Heldraine brought relief to her heart.
“Follow me, dear.”
The teacher placed hooded dark tunics over both their heads and entwined her soft fingers with Alissa’s. Alissa was gladly being pulled by this person she had no choice but to trust with her life. Having misjudged others’ characters before and lost everything for it, Alissa prayed that trusting Mrs. Ilden would not be a risk to her life.
Being honest with herself, it was a comfort not to have to waste any more energy on her surroundings or the path ahead, not to be forced to shift her focus from her deceased sister and trapped lover to surviving. Alissa longed to collapse and cry untilshe could no longer stand, until her tears left her on the brink of dehydration.
As her mind replayed each moment of the last hour, she realized she hadn’t spared a single thought to memorizing her path. All she could recall was crawling through bushes, sprinting down a muddy trail, and dragging a small boat that had been strategically placed under massive trees toward the river. She remembered climbing into the boat with the teacher, rowing in the direction Mrs. Ilden had silently indicated, leading them to a small piece of land in the middle of the river, filled with large trees and a cold, dark cave. As she entered, Alissa thought it was the perfect place to drown in her misery and solitude.
“The Unclaimed River marks the edge of Heldraine’s borders. It separates Heldraine from the realm of Trent, making this technically foreign land,” Mrs. Ilden explained. “Navigating this area is forbidden, but the Crown has no authority to conduct searches here without risking war with the neighboring realm. You’ll be safe here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ilden.”
“I’ll come by every day to bring you food,” she stated, already placing a bag filled with fruit, scones, and canteens of water on the hard ground where the young woman stood.
Alissa had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed the teacher had carried the bag all the way.
“I’ll keep an eye on their investigation. The next few days will be difficult. They’ll tear everything apart searching for you. You need to stay quiet and be patient. We’ll find a way to get you back to Bryniard when the situation improves.”
“You do not need to go through all this trouble for me, Mrs. Ilden.”
“I know I don’t. But I want to, and if Eldric is still alive, we will get him out, even if it means we’ll have to rely on our magic to do so.”
“You said no one should know we are bearers of magic.”
Mrs. Ilden nodded. “I don’t know about you, my dear, but I’m tired of standing still and watching people die. It will be over my dead body that I will let that brilliant man be another one of their victims.”
Jaw dropped, Alissa watched the teacher light a fire with her bare hands, a gift from theKsarenmagic. Mrs. Ilden stepped closer to where Alissa stood frozen, then wrapped her arms around her. “I have to go back now, Miss Kriegen.” Her hands cradled Alissa’s cheeks, and their eyes met. “Stay here. Stay strong. You are not alone, and you will win this battle.”
In an instant, Eldric’s teacher disappeared into the darkness in her small boat, her dark cloak blending seamlessly with the night. The vastness of the river ahead and the abandoned cave became Alissa’s only companions. In deep utter solitude, the loss of the one person who had been there for her through all her life crashed over her with the intensity of a hurricane.
Freyah was gone.
Her sister was dead, and she couldn’t even say goodbye. She didn’t have the chance to close Freyah’s eyes when they were stuck open and lifeless. She didn’t have the chance to bury her body or pray for her soul a peaceful passing. All she could do was stand there, frozen, watching as her friend’s body was drained of blood. Embarrassment surged, and she punished herself for failing to act, for not defending her friend, not saving her life.
How will I tell her mother her daughter died because of me?