Fallen Allegiance

Chapter Twenty Eight

My eyes fluttered open and I pushed the red, velvet covers off me, yawning. I stretched and got to my feet, walking over to my wooden wardrobe and opening it. Picking out a pair of jeans and a light purple tank top, I walked to my bathroom and got in the shower.

The warm water burned my skin, but I didn’t care. It was the only thing that felt real and despite the heat, I was shivering. I wrapped my arms around myself and sighed, even a month after the war, I couldn’t stop the nightmares that haunted my sleep.

Nightmares where people were being murdered, nightmares about Ryan, about Ariadne, about Cerdic. I had replayed killing him over and over in my head yet I still couldn’t believe it had happened. That I had killed him.

And then I replayed the moment with Andor and Thorn. How he had picked me over her. How he had disappeared. I hadn’t heard a word from him since. I hadn’t seen him and no one spoke of him except to arrange more armies to try to find him and kill him.

Meanwhile, the Dusarlas had taken over Tharielon, so he had nowhere to go. Thorn and Cerdic’s bodies had been burned and the rest of the Thariels were now working as slaves. I didn’t approve of this, but Elisha didn’t care much for my opinion. She was blinded by hate for them, since Cerdic had killed Stephen.

I got out the shower, brushed my hair and changed into my clothes. As I opened the door to my bedroom and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw Dwynwen sitting on my bed. She smiled shyly at me while pulling at a thread of her top.

I raised a brow questioningly, sitting next to her on the bed, “How is he?”

“Healing, still. He should be dead,” she whispered. After the war, the Dusarlas had taken Sayer immediately to the doctors here. The sword had punctured his ribs, but luckily just missed his heart. It had taken two weeks for him to be able to talk again and just last week he had been able to walk again. Dwynwen was by his side day and night and it surprised me to see her here.

“He’s not dead, that’s all that counts, right?” I inquired, hugging her. She nodded, letting the tears fall. “Calm down, he’ll be fine.”

“And then what?” Dwynwen chocked out, “How can we go back to our old lives? Sayer ignoring everyone while I pretend I am satisfied with my life?”

“I’ll figure something out,” I promised, “I have some power here, and most respect me after I killed Cerdic.”

Dwynwen smiled at me, “You were amazing.”

“I had a good teacher…” I sighed.

“I’m sure he’ll come back. He must be in shock after his sister was found dead in the courtyard,” Dwynwen replied. I masked my expression. I hadn’t told her about what had happened, how Andor had chosen me over Thorn. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it.

“Where’s Jayden?” I changed the subject.

“He’s still refusing to come out of his room. It’s been a month, people think he’s gone crazy,” Dwynwen explained. Jayden had gone mad after Ariadne’s death. He kept talking to himself, talking to an imaginary Ariadne, as if she was still there, as if she could hear him. He refused to let anyone help him and he didn’t speak to anyone else.

I had gone to see him once, but he just slammed the door in my face telling me Ariadne didn’t want to see me. He had to get over her. She wasn’t coming back. She was dead. Like Zane. Like Ryan. Like Cozae. Like Stephen. Like Cerdic. Like Thorn. She was dead.

I had recovered pretty well, every morning I had training with Elisha and my sister, Lauri. We focused on a different element each week. After training I had free time then I had an hour of tutoring with my mentor, Salamand. He angered easily, but I managed to stay on his good side. He taught me about what it meant to be Warrior of Ezalfar, what I had to do, and what I would receive. I mostly found these lessons boring and tended to daydream in them.