If only I was a bit more careful, Vir lamented. Which was why coming back made him incredibly nervous.
He was taking an enormous risk returning, but a necessary one. He had to convey the results of his mission to Riyan. And yet, the man was nowhere to be found. Did he perish here with his home? Had he fled to safety? Vir simply couldn’t imagine the man dying so easily. There were no signs of combat, though the dune winds erased all scars. Even now, a gentle breeze blew sand grains onto the wreckage, slowly restoring itself. A month from now, no evidence of Riyan’s home would remain. A great battle could have been fought here, and Vir would never know.
Neel patrolled the area, fruitlessly searching for familiarity, and yet the hopelessly lost look on his face said it all.
Vir kneeled to pick up a handful of ash, letting it filter through his gloved fingers. He could almost feel the memories in this place. Rudvik’s passing, and the gaping hole that left inside him. The stress he’d endured when he first arrived, wondering whether he could prove his worth to Riyan. The injuries he sustained from the obstacle course, and the grotto soaks with Maiya that wiped them all away…
He’d spent one short year here, and yet it felt like he’d just lost something precious. Almost as though his life had been a string of losses. First Brij and his old life. Then Rudvik, Apramor, and Aliscia. And now, Riyan and his estate.
Vir shook himself out of his reverie. Now was neither the time nor the place to reminisce. There was nothing for him here. Whether dead or alive, Riyan was gone. If it proved true that he passed, Vir would mourn him. If he was alive, Vir could only hope he caught wind of his attempt on Mina’s life, eventually.
Either way, Vir’s debt was fulfilled.
Returning to Bumpy, Vir rode south to the cave network, hopeful that Maiya might have left him some clues as to where she’d gone.
“Guard Bumpy,” Vir ordered Neel, penetrating into the cave network alone. Uncovering the cache, he found it untouched. Some food, a blanket, forty coppers, a spare face paint kit, and nothing else. No note.
Maiya hasn’t been back at all…
Vir punched the rock wall. Every shred of his entire being wanted to find her. Without a hint, he had nothing to go on. She could’ve been halfway across the Known World! And she could be in disguise.
After stuffing the contents of the cache into his rucksack, he retrieved some charcoal and parchment and scribbled a hasty note.
Daha Brotherhood Sanctum. Ask for Apramor. Introduce yourself as Maiya. Mission failed. On the run, but safe. Want to find you. Riyan’s home burned to the ground. Riyan missing. Find me, Maiya. Miss you.
He couldn’t say if she’d ever come back, and he didn’t know where he was bound, but the least he could do was to leave a breadcrumb. He’d told the Daha Brotherhood to share everything about him, should a certain red-haired Maiya come calling.
Vir returned to the cave entrance and brought Bumpy and Neel inside a few paces. Just far enough to hide them. Neel had learned to deal with dark places by sticking close to Vir, but Bumpy was terrified of the dark.
He laid a blanket down beside his four-legged friends and munched on some dried food.
Searching blindly for Maiya was a fool’s errand. Rather than search for her, it was better to let her come to him. With the Brotherhood’s international presence and network, he merely had to check in at whatever branch he went to. They would relay his position back to Daha, which would give Maiya a trail to follow.
Trusting the Brotherhood came with risks, especially for a fugitive like himself, but they had proven reliable thus far, and Vir was desperate to find Maiya.
The question was: where to go from here?
There was only one answer. For too long, Vir had ignored Shardul and Ekanai. For too long, he’d refused their pleas. But after meeting Janak’s avatar, he could hesitate no longer.
If he wanted to find out who he was, if he wanted to learn more about the voices in his head and the tattoo on his chest, he’d have to travel to the Ashen Realm.
Yet there was much he still did not know. How to survive in that blighted land, how best to enter it. What could he expect? He needed knowledge. Information that was beyond what was recorded in the books.
It just so happened that his objectives aligned. Vir had to flee Hiranya, regardless, and the Rani Queendom was the ideal choice.
South. To Rani. And south. To the Pagan Order.
With this revelation came a sense of purpose. A newfound identity. For sixteen years, Vir had lived as a villager of Brij, cloistered in his tiny microcosm of the world. That all ended the day the knights arrived at Brij. Rudvik protected him, and Riyan showed him a broader world. At Daha, Vir stepped into that world for the first time. On his own.
And now, he was someone else.
Gone was Ekavir of Godshollow. That book had been written.
But the saga of the Ashborn mercenary had only just begun.
In the royal audience hall inside Daha’s palace, King Rayid met with his beloved daughter. They were joined by Kamna—Mina’s personal bodyguard—and a dozen of the royal knight guard.
“Father, please. How can you let this atrocity go unpunished? We must find the perpetrator! He could be out there right now, plotting my demise! How am I supposed to sleep at night? Look at me!” she screamed.
Her delicate, tanned right arm had become an unsightly stump, and her left leg was missing below the knee. “I’m hideous! A cripple for life! You know exactly what that means. Nobody will listen to me anymore.”
The castle’s Life mejai had done everything they could, but not even the best healing magic could regrow limbs. Mina would live the rest of her days with her injuries. A fact made more bitter by the outcome of her battle with Riyan.
Mina’s makeup had run, leaving dark trails under her eyes. Even without her missing arm, she looked as haggard as a traveler who braved the desert sand for days.
King Rayid looked at his daughter with infinite tenderness.
“Mina, please. My blood boils as hotly as your own. The man who did this to my daughter…” Rayid roared, “shall be destroyed! We have every resource available hunting Riyan Savar down.”
Mina seethed, her rage nearly as radiant as the sun. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.
“Father, what message would it send to our allies if this were to become public knowledge? What of our alliance with the Altani?”
“The Altani are up in arms, Mina! They’re threatening sanctions after you used your Prana Swarm. When did you even obtain a portion of that weapon, anyway?”
“Their anger will pass. What won’t pass is our tattered reputation. Will they come to our aid, knowing their ally cannot even hunt down the assassin who nearly murdered their princess? Hiding my injury will be… difficult enough as it is.”
Long gowns might make up for a peg leg. Makeup could hide her scar. Her arm… well, she’d think of something. She had to.
“That’s—”
“What of Kin’jal! Will they not exploit this weakness? Father! This is no longer a matter of my life. It concerns our national security. Our very sovereignty is at risk!”
“That’s going a bit far, Mina. He’s just one injured man on the run. You even burned his home to the ground. He has few places left he can hide.”
“It’s not Savar I’m worried about!” Mina snapped. “A squad of my elite knights pursue him even as we speak. Soon, he will be with me again. But he has discovered a way to bypass my Artifact’s defenses. If his agent—that Ashborn—knows as well—”
“Then that puts you at great risk.”