Straight Through The Heart ((ON HOLD))

Chapter Thirteen

The remainder of the week was unchanging with the presentation of the newly arriving Venandi in the morning before their various training sessions in the afternoon. Chey was right, as much as she hated to admit it. It did get better. The next two days had Alisa trudging home, soaking in the bath and then promptly seeking out her bed. On the fourth day, she was able to make it up the stairs without hesitation and by the fifth, she even stayed awake to read after her bath.

She saw Chey in the evenings either at dinner or while lounging in the sitting area with a book and tea. But he had no updates for her about her mother or any other reports of demon attacks, though something told her that Council information would no longer be readily available to her now that she was properly training to be a Venandi.

She hadn't seen her brother since the presentation either.

She had, however, seen Kaer. Daily. As much as she had seen Leyani, who had also taken an interest in training with Jax. They practiced together as much as they could, pairing up and sparring however it was asked of them. And through their time together Alisa was finally beginning to understand what it was her mother had with Rahn.

She was beginning to find a true partner in Kaer.

They still had time. No official decision could be made about a Dedication until they were both initiated and even then she had to consider that Kaer could say no. Though traditionally it was a Venandi's decision to choose an Imerman, Alisa would never force someone to remain with her against their will. It would be a chance she'd have to take, and one that may have to be made sooner than later.

A week after she was presented and they spent their time since training, a change was made to their schedule. They would train in the morning, eat their lunch, and then return to the meeting hall in the Council's Tower where a Master Cleric would begin teaching them the knowledge they'd need for what awaited them beyond the Rift.

"I don't understand why they need to waste time teaching us what we already know," Jax complained while they ate their lunch under a blooming dogwood in the Parish plaza.

"Not everyone is as well versed as others," Leyani said carefully with a glance at Alisa.

Alisa remained silent, unwilling to admit how much she didn't know and that she was actually looking forward to the lessons.

"And some histories are more biased depending on who tells them," Kaer added from where he sat next to Alisa, so close their knees touched. She didn't mind.

"The war ended the same way, regardless of who tells it," Jax said as he leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "The demons opened the Rift and the Council led the Venandi to close it. The spawn never should have stepped through, if they knew what's good for them."

"But does anyone ever talk about why the War started in the first place?" Alisa muttered, avoiding the stares that she knew fell her way.

"I just said— the demons came through the Rift."

"But demons always came through the Rift," Alisa countered, meeting Jax's stare. "Why was this time any different?"

"Because this time the Princes found their way through," Kaer interjected. "This time the force of the demons was greater than what the Venandi had ever encountered before. Especially when—"

Leyani shushed Kaer before he could say any more but Alisa already knew what he was going to say. "Especially when my mother was fighting against them."

"They say she was manipulated. That one of the princes controlled her mind and that's why she turned against the Council," Leyani said softly, as if afraid anyone beyond their small group would hear.