I wandered back down the corridor and to the dining hall, searching for Rhien. After a few moments of seeking, I saw her delivering a mug of ale to a rebel. She happened to look up when I found her, meeting my gaze, and she set the mug down and started my direction.
“Morning,” she greeted when she reached me.
I offered a small smile, but truly it had probably been the first time she’d ever seen me smile, and her lips curled with a grin in response. “Sleep well?” I asked.
“Indeed, thanks,” she answered with a nod. “And yourself?” I shrugged to that, because falling asleep in a chair hadn’t been entirely comfortable. “What have I done to earn a visit? If I’m honest, I thought you’d be inseparable from Ava for some time.”
My gaze fell, but I answered with the truth. “She’s not interested in my company quite yet.” Rhien’s mouth pursed with an apologetic smile. “I was hoping you might take me to the masters.”
“Yes, I will!” she answered, but her smile instantly faded as her cheeks shaded a bit from her eagerness. “You did mean right now…?”
“Aye,” I chuckled. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d made a girl timid, and I was finally in a decent enough mood to at least feel flattered by it. “If you’ve got the time.”
“I do,” she agreed, and when she turned to leave the dining hall, I followed after her. “I spoke to them last night, after our conversation. They may be expecting you.” She led me toward a deep part of the cave, where I knew a lot of the fugitives had been accommodated, and neither of us said anything for the first minute. Eventually she prompted, “Kiena?” I hummed. “Could I perhaps ask you for a favor?”
“Of course,” I answered, “though I can’t guarantee my ability to see it through.”
She nodded understandingly, and I waited for her to voice her request. It took a bit, during which she occasionally glanced at me like she wasn’t sure how to get it out. I’ll admit that it started to make me nervous, and without realizing it, I’d held my breath. “I want to do something for this rebellion other than fetching food in the dining hall. Something more helpful.”
I finally released that breath. I wasn’t even sure what I thought she’d ask, but that wasn’t nearly as complicated as I’d expected, given her hesitation. “Something like what?” I asked.
“Well, you know, the mind masters are amongst the most peaceful of Ronan’s mage factions,” she spoke rapidly, as though she believed if she didn’t get it all out at once then I’d refuse, “I’m not a trained fighter, my magic is mostly limited to self-defense, but I like to work with my hands and I’m a fast learner. Kingston’s a hard man to track down, he’s so busy, and I wasn’t sure who else to ask, or if you even have the authority—”
“Rhien,” I interrupted with a laugh. “What interests you?”
“The blacksmith,” she answered after a much-needed breath. “I want to apprentice with the blacksmith.”
“Have you been wanting this for a while?” I asked, and her only response was an embarrassed nod. In these few short days I’d begun talking with her, she’d been kind to me, and understanding, and so very helpful. There was no way I could refuse. No way I could do anything less than my best in order to fulfill her wish. “I’ll make it happen.”
She must have wanted this change in assignment for longer than she’d let on, because to my surprise, she let out a soft squeal, turning to throw her arms around my neck. “Thank you!”
I returned the hug, laughing, “There’s no need to thank me.” She let me go, but as she took a step back to give me space, her brown eyes lingered on mine for a thoughtful span of seconds. “What is it?” I asked.
“It’s good to see you improving already,” she answered, “at her mere arrival,” and I knew she meant Ava.
I shrugged, though there was the hint of a grateful smile on my lips. “I suppose I should thank you for being something of a distraction.”
“Well, then,” she said, motioning toward a nearby door, “shall we see what the masters have to say?”
At my nod, she turned and led the way through the door. It opened up to a large cavern with a multitude of cots inside. There wasn’t room enough to give all the refugees individual spaces. There’d been so many, in fact, that we’d begun housing them with our own troops in nearby villages—something the residents were more than happy to allow for the sake of the rebellion and in exchange for food. At the very back of the cavern were the masters, sitting in a half circle, and who stood out from the rest of the refugees because of their light blue robes.
Rhien led me to this group, and when we reached them, she put her palms together in front of her. “Thought is life.”
Each of them put their hands together like she did and murmured, “Life is thought.”
She sat in front of them, folding her legs beneath her and then waving for me to sit too. I did, mirroring her position and entirely unsure of what to do with myself because I wasn’t familiar with the mages’ formalities.
“Savant Gadith,” Rhien greeted the oldest of the masters. He was a dark, wrinkled man, who had to be over eighty years old. What was left of his white hair formed a bright crown around his head, and his eyes were a light, meditative gray. “This is Kiena.”
He began to extend his hand, and thinking that he wanted to shake with me, I put my own out. But he stretched beyond that, until the very tips of his fingers grazed the dragon pendant around my neck. I reached up, removing my father’s necklace and handing it over to him. The index finger of his other hand traced the shape of the dragon, circled the dark stone, and then hooked through the chain.
He hung the necklace on his finger before me, asking as he gave it back, “What is it you seek from the masters?” His voice was low and weighted by his eighty years, but it was also gentle, and I felt his wisdom in its tenor.
I slipped the chain back around my neck and glanced at Rhien for guidance, but all she did was offer an encouraging nod. “I’m not entirely sure,” I admitted. “I’ve been told my ancestors may have had gifts that were lost over generations, as lessons about the magic were lost.” I reached up to grasp the pendant. “If there’s more I’m capable of… perhaps formal instruction. Or advice.”
Savant Gadith made a thoughtful hum, his faded gray eyes taking me in. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Nor was I sure what the mind masters were capable of, but I almost felt as if he were reading my thoughts. Before saying anything, he made a hand motion to the other masters. His middle finger ran up the outside length of the index on his other hand, and then that hand turned over, and he tapped his pinky twice. The others seemed to understand, because one at the end shifted onto her knees, and turned to dig through a small trunk behind them.
“Nothing is ever truly lost,” Savant Gadith finally said. “The memories of our ancestors remain in our blood. Just as your memories would be in your children’s, and their children’s.” As he spoke, the master who’d been digging through the trunk turned back around with a small bottle in her hand, and she began to pour its contents into a palm-sized bowl. “It’s why a lone wolf howls, having no pack to call. Why we fear fire, having never been burned. Why you were drawn to a rebellion that you never knew existed.”