Empire of Ashes

Chapter XXXIV - The Longest Night

Solstice at last... It's only taken 27 chapters. UEA will be up tomorrow for those of you who like reading about characters dying in the most excruciating ways I can dream up :)

The sun was low in the sky when Solstice celebrations began. It cast an orange light over the war camp, the shadows deep and distorted. It was the longest day of the year, and the sun wouldn't fully set until midnight. Even the people seemed to change as the evening drew on. The usual stench of unwashed bodies faded from notice, replaced with the sweet fragrance of wildflowers in the surrounding meadows. Whether everyone had collectively decided to bathe in lieu of the approaching Solstice, or there was a type of flower which only came into bloom on the longest night of the year, I had no idea.

We returned to the campfire, which was now crowded with warriors. Several of them had the look of my friends about them, as if they were distant family, so I knew I was looking at the corps. One man I remembered being present when we journeyed to Duskos. I had spoken to him in the woods. And that was whom Temris chose to sit down next to. He accepted a mug of ale and clasped his forearm in greeting.

"Good evening, Eirac. I believe you've been acquainted with Lyra."

"Briefly," the man called Eirac agreed. "A pleasure to see you again, m'lady."

His eyes swept over my body in a way I was becoming all too familiar with. Eirac wasn't particularly tall, but he was stocky and had a distinctive head of reddish hair. An easy smile graced his lips, his eyes shining in a way which told me much and more about his history with women. What was it Anlai had said? Something about having to punch him? Because that was not the way I wanted my Solstice to go. Unless...

"The pleasure's all mine." I gave him a coy smile, and saw Temris raise his eyebrows. Good. He was already getting jealous. We would see how long he could maintain the bet while he thought I was flirting with his friend.

Eirac mirrored my expression as he filled another tankard. I caught him sneaking smug looks at Temris before reaching a little too close to give me the ale. Taking a swig, I let a grin slip onto my face. Solstice had begun. And only the gods knew where it would end.

***

I was drunk.

I had no idea how I knew that, because had someone asked me my name right then, I wouldn't have been able to tell them. My head was spinning, my heart thundering in my chest. And every decision I had made since taking my first sip of ale had been horribly wrong. I knew that, too, but somehow I didn't care. Being drunk was a pleasant feeling — I was free from the limitations of rational decision-making in favour of instant gratification.

So I had danced with Samira, then Fendur, then Melia. And when the small band of musicians changed their tune as the sun began to set, I danced with Eirac in a very different way. Temris had tired of that incredibly quickly and dragged his friend off me, claiming that he was taking advantage of me. In reality, it was the opposite, which Eirac knew very well. And he hadn't seemed to mind all that much. To his credit, Temris didn't then find some camp girl and try to make me jealous. Instead, he had found a quiet corner to sit me in while I sobered up a little.

I should have felt bad — regretted my actions, maybe. But I knew how much Temris loved it when I played games with him.

Needless to say, I didn't stay there very long. I simply waited until Temris got a little drunker before slipping away right under his nose. I wandered through the tents in search of more fun, watching the northerners from the shadows. A short distance from the pavilion, I recognised Anlai beside a cookfire. There was an auburn-haired girl on his lap, and he had his tongue down her throat. And the girl was certainly not Melia.