Soulbonder

Chapter 27 - The Raven's Grudge

Seeing this as the logical end to the conversation, Shale departed. She descended the stairway and emerged into the yard, which was cold and almost empty, but for a gathering of guards upon the ramparts, keeping an eye out for the things that lurked in the night.

Shale leaned against the tower wall and lowered herself down into the hard dirt. She gazed upward, at the stars. Novilum, Tarthan, and Kabuz, those legendary constellations which had occupied the Yernish skies, were now replaced by other legends, unknown to her.

How had her grand adventure come to this?

That day she'd left the monastery, she'd felt so empowered and triumphant. But Zeera had warned her that she'd amount to the same nothing in the real world as she'd been in there. Now that had come to fruition. She was thousands of miles from Silverwood and still felt the same.

Perhaps it was time to admit it wasn't her situation making her unhappy. Perhaps it was time to accept the common denominator of all her woes.

Herself.

She was lost for a while in a timeless jumble of rumination. Her long trance was finally broken by the crunch of soft footfalls.

When she whipped her head around, she saw Daziran Kavori, standing several yards away. His dark features were iridescent in the waning moonlight. His smile was wry. "I know that the guest accommodation in strongholds can be lacking, but is it really worse than sitting in the mud?"

"I just needed air."

"I see. Your mother was a poor liar too."

Shale was taken aback by the casual mention of her mother, from the man who kept so much to himself. There was a threat of dull pain at the mere hinting of her past.

The worst thing of all was that her uncle was right. Experience and necessity had taught her to become a capable liar to her seniors, but that was all down to repetition. Purely improvisational lying was a weak point.

So rather than evade the subject, as was her instinct, she tiredly relayed the altercation between herself and Valera, including what Shale had said before she'd left the chamber.

"That wasn't fair of her," he said.

"I don't want you to scold her. She's just being honest."

He ran his hand through his hair. His facial muscles hinted at a struggle as he fought to arrive upon the correct response. It was funny to see a man who'd killed literal demons just hours ago, unable to handle such a fundamental thing as conversation. "You know, I wish more than anything that the Key had passed from my father to me. I wish it was a choice rather than an inheritance."

"A lot would be different," Shale said.

"More people would be alive, I believe. But you cannot think that your life has so little value to just be thrown away."

"I'm just one person. This is bigger than me. If the Key would be safer with you, who am I to put all of Yim at risk?"

"The realm is just a collection of individuals. If one life doesn't matter, then how can we claim any of it matters? That is a rather dangerous precedent to set. If it's a choice to risk everyone for just one person, I will choose to fight for that person if there is still any chance at all."

"That's an interesting philosophy."

"But you disagree?"

"Perhaps. Maybe."

"Either way, you can't take what Valera says to heart when it comes to matters of you."

"Why not? What have I ever done to her?"