Witches & Warriors Chapter 6 – Arden
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@lauraofnetherwood – A fanfare of horns announces the knights’ return. They ride into the city through the main gates, wearing their full suits of armor. There are five of them instead of the intended three. Wysel and Lady Sadianna bring up the rear of the party. I should have known Wysel would insist upon coming, but I’m alarmed to see Reina’s Xenon knight with them—I barely know anything about her, and given that she’s a lesser noble from Xenon, she could very well intend to harm my queen. But I take a deep breath and remind myself that I shouldn’t judge her immediately based on where she’s from. A delegation waits to greet them just within the gates. Alina, Mikah, and Aveline; Lord Gerard and Lady Constance of House Xenon; Lords Harding and Lucian of House Sulster and their daughter, Fiona; Lady Florence of House Merrant; and of course me and Rory, shadowing the queen. I suspect the leaders of the Resistance houses are here to keep control of the situation, and make sure we’re not planning anything behind their backs. Alina thinks the reason they haven’t officially declared war on Medias yet is that they’re trying to conquer Lesey first, then form a four-house alliance surrounding Medias. Let’s hope we never get to that point. But for the moment, that isn’t my main concern. Because there he is. Devyn. My stomach flips as he dismounts and pats his horse on the side. Relief surges through me. He’s safe. My best friend is safe and home. Devyn pulls off his helmet. His hair is longer than the last time I saw him, as if he hasn’t cut it since. He looks older, too. There’s a light scar across his cheek, but it seems to be completely healed by now, thank the Great Truth. The knights bow and salute the queen. Alina greets them in turn. Emily leads the horses away. I can tell Alina wants to greet her too, but we have to keep up appearances in front of the other nobles. It’s the same reason that I’m not running to hug Devyn right now. No weakness. “How was the journey?” Alina asks mildly. Devyn inclines his head again. “Uneventful, Your Majesty,” he says in his most noble voice. “We were held up briefly in Lesey, but they quickly deferred to your seal.” Constance Xenon’s nostrils flare. Rather than try to remember all the political strategy we went over yesterday, I watch the nobles closely. Rory will catch me up later. Alina talks briefly to Reina. Finally, Lord Gerard and the lords of Sulster leave for their own houses, while ladies Constance, Fiona, and Florence return with us to the castle. Constance and Florence are living in their rooms at the castle to serve on the Council, and Fiona goes to SoCS. In our bulky carriages, it takes nearly an hour to get to the castle. When we finally arrive, Rory whispers to me, “Catch up with him. I’ll cover the queen.” I nod gratefully and fall back. Devyn looks down immediately when he notices me approaching, but I grab his hand and motion to a side hallway, hoping the question comes through in my eyes. His eyes go wide before he follows me into the hall. The second the rest of the delegation passes, I pull Devyn into a tight hug. “I missed you so much,” I say, blinking back tears. “Wow. Um… me too.” He’s tense. I draw back. “What’s wrong?” “No, it’s fine,” he says. “Come on, Dev. You can tell me.” He shakes his head, and this time his smile is genuine. “I’m good, I promise. Just happy to see you.” I hug him again. “How was Lazur?” I ask. “What’s knighthood like? Tell me everything!” “In a bit,” he says. “Wysel wants me to help him move back into his old room. He’s staying with his family until we leave again.” “You’re going back to Lazur?” “Yeah. Did you think we were going to stay in Medias forever?” “I… guess not. At least say hi to Marisa before you go with Wysel, okay?” “Of course. I’ve missed both of you.” “Me too. I miss… this. Hanging out with you. Marisa is great, and she’s such an amazing person, but you…” Devyn leans in closer. “You remind me of my brother.” He wilts, although I can’t possibly fathom why. “Thanks, Arden,” he says. “That means a lot.” “You’re welcome. I love you, bro. That’s the truth.” “I love you too,” he says breathlessly. “Well, I should get back to Alina. The noble ladies will notice soon enough that the queen only has one shadow.” Devyn coughs. “Yeah. Me too. I mean, I should… say hi to Marisa. Then Wysel. I can see you tomorrow, though. If you want.” “Of course!” Even though every second I spend with Devyn is another second the queen is only half guarded, I can’t resist giving him one last hug before we part ways. When I catch up with Rory and Alina, the other nobles have already gone, thankfully. Rory is supporting Alina, who looks a great deal weaker than she did a few minutes ago. I hurry to support her other side. Together, we half carry her to her rooms, where Mikah is waiting. “This is the last time I let you tap into your mana reserve to impress a bunch of nobles,” Mikah says, though we all know it’s a promise he won’t be able to keep. “I know,” Alina says tiredly. Rory and I hand her over to Mikah, who lays her into bed. Rory has just left the room to take up a defensive position outside the door when I hear his voice, and then the door opens. I jump to my feet, drawing the sword at my side. Alina bolts upright, then winces and sinks back down. “I tried to stop her…” Rory starts. We all watch, gobsmacked, as Reina storms into the room and demands to know why Alina is hurt. – Not the best cliffhanger ending, I know. But I felt like leaving off with Arden and Devyn would be incomplete. Have fun explaining your issues to Reina, Alina :)