Empire of Shadows

25.

"Careful, Ketil! Be careful." Kaia grabbed his bad shoulder as he lost his balance.

He let out a cry of pain and grabbed onto the nearest tree limb for support.

"Oh sorry! Sorry!"

"I'm okay," he limped forward a little, using a walking stick to steady himself.

"You should be at home resting up." She looked back at him, carrying the baby in a bag on her back. "Your ankle is in no shape to bear your weight."

"It will have to do. I have to learn to walk and run on it."

"You will make it worse, Ketil. You're going to hurt yourself." She took his hand as the well-packed snow turned to river rocks. "You're going to twist your other ankle and I can't carry you back to the house on my own, especially not with Kaspar."

"I will be fine Kaia. You remind me of Anubis in a way. If Anubis was actually externally nice, but I know deep down she's a good person. She's just very driven. Very driven and ambitious."

"Is she your girl?"

Ketil laughed. "No, no. Well...there was one time we had something like a relationship, but that didn't last very long. We were at each other's throats for a week or two and we eventually figured maybe that wasn't a healthy relationship. She is the leader of our group and a very powerful batræ. She's very smart and cunning—that's the only way she's managed to survive in Rajsend for so long. She's terrifying and I mean that in the kindest way possible."

Kaia let out a hmmm noise. "It's a very curious group you have. All of them are batræ?"

"We are all batræ."

She looked back at him. "You?"

"Yes?"

"The Prince of Polaria is blessed?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why have we never heard of this?"

Ketil shrugged, "the House of Østberg is not known for its mercy. Ever since I revealed my abilities, I have caused nothing but harm to my family. And upon my father's death, I was slaughtered because of them. It's a custom. Can't have a batræ sit on the throne. I don't understand it and would prefer not to."

Kaia shook her head, "none of us would have ever known." She stopped beside a small branch of the river that looked shallow enough to wade across, dropping the basket she carried on her shoulder.

Ketil shook his head, "I'm not very strong. I can maybe hold onto my ability for five or six minutes, but it starts to slip and I get sloppy. It all depends on the material of the statue too. Wood and clay are much easier to bend to my will, and softer stones are okay, but hard stones like granite? It's almost impossible to move precisely."

"I don't understand, why would Aslaug kill you? She's trying to gather all the batræ she can find. It seems you would be her biggest asset."

"She's preparing for war."

Kaia stopped, looking back to him with wide eyes. "War?"

"Against Rajsend."

She shook her head, "no." But in her eyes, there was a spark of realization. "When?"

"I don't know." He leaned against a tree, resting for just a moment. "All I know is the battle will last longer than the Rieusn Wars. People will die. It will be the bloodiest mark on our history."

Kaia halfheartedly lifted her skirt, tying it in a knot above her knees. She turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. "It will take my son. It will take Olve. It will destroy everything else I have in this life. War. Damn that idea."