Rider's Resolve (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  Vedhe released her hold on F’lia and stepped aside. “Then I’ll talk with you now. I’m not that tired.”

  “But…” K’lrsa’s heart clenched with fear, turning to look at Vedhe. Her friend. Her support through these past few weeks.

  “Your family is in there.”

  “I know. But…”

  Vedhe met K’lrsa’s gaze with a pained stare. “Your family. Not mine. I’d rather stay here if you don’t mind.”

  K’lrsa winced. She hadn’t realized how painful it would be for Vedhe to see K’lrsa reunited with her parents—again—when all of Vedhe’s family was dead and could never be brought back.

  And L’ral and F’lia would be reunited as well. And M’lara and…

  K’lrsa nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry. I…We’ll see you in a bit?”

  Vedhe nodded.

  K’lrsa led F’lia and M’lara towards the other hallway. M’lara clutched at her, sucking her thumb like she hadn’t since she was little, her gaze darting around the room, her eyes wide with fear.

  F’lia walked like one in a dream, unseeing and uncaring. Just in case he’d already left, K’lrsa hadn’t told her about L’ral yet. She hoped seeing him would jolt her friend out of her stupor. If it didn’t…

  There was nothing else she could do except hope that enough time would pass to bring her back to herself.

  As they crossed into the hallway, K’lrsa glanced back towards the Lady Moon and Vedhe, wondering what it was they needed to discuss.

  The last time they’d been there Vedhe had almost chosen the sun orb instead of her viewing tube. And she’d said she might use it not just on the Daliphana but the tribes as well…

  She’d already made her choice. It shouldn’t be an issue now.

  But K’lrsa didn’t trust the Lady. Or, to an extent, Vedhe. Not when it came to revenge…

  Chapter 29

  K’lrsa pushed those thoughts aside as she led the others down the hallway to a large room full of tall trees and leafy green plants with a large grassy area in the center. Somewhere nearby she could hear the sound of the small stream that ran through the place.

  And there, in the center, standing near a fire surrounded by camp stools, were her parents.

  M’lara broke free, and ran forward.

  “Mom!” She flung herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her waist with a sob.

  K’lrsa’s mother laughed and stumbled backward, “Oh, M’lara. It’s so good to see you.”

  She hugged M’lara tight for a moment until M’lara wiggled free and rushed to hug her dad, too.

  “Dad!” She clung to him as he ruffled her hair and smiled down at her.

  K’lrsa watched them, her throat too tight to speak, tears burning the backs of her eyes. F’lia drew away, wandering into the trees. K’lrsa let her go—there was nothing in the room that could harm her and L’ral wasn’t there.

  After a long moment, M’lara drew back. “I thought you were dead.”

  K’lrsa’s father smiled gently. “We are, little one. This is just a special place that lets us see one another again before your mother and I move on.”

  “But…”

  He ruffled her hair and stepped past her to face K’lrsa. She flinched, expecting him to be angry, but he wasn’t. He was unusually calm. “You saved them?”

  She nodded. “For now.”

  “Good.”

  “Dad…I’m…I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head slightly. “For what?”

  “For trapping you here. Didn’t the Lady tell you? The reason you can’t pass through to the Promised Plains is because I made a vow to destroy the Toreem Daliphate. And, I…I did it on your soul.”

  “Oh, that.” He shrugged slightly and turned back towards where M’lara and her mother were sitting together laughing and talking excitedly.

  K’lrsa frowned. Why wasn’t he more upset? Why didn’t he care? She watched her mother, laughing and talking with M’lara, and that too seemed strange. It wasn’t that her mother hadn’t been loving and affectionate, she had.

  But…

  It wasn’t like either of them to accept their fate so easily. She’d expected them to be angry, to demand that she help free them, to have plans and ideas for how to destroy the Daliphate so they could go free. But instead they were just…

  This.

  K’lrsa watched in unease as her father wandered back to join M’lara and her mother, sitting on a stool next to them and laughing easily at something M’lara said. They weren’t faking it. There was no sign of tension or fear or anger. They were genuinely happy and relaxed.

  They appeared younger and healthier, too.

  The last time she’d seen her dad alive he’d been weighed down by worry, the fine lines around his eyes and mouth deepening by the day, more gray than black in his hair. Now he looked like a man in his early thirties, vigorous with health.

  Her mother’s transformation was even more dramatic. She’d burned down to her essence after K’lrsa’s dad died, shedding the soft flesh of a mother until all that was left was a deep, burning anger.

  She’d fleshed out again and she, too, looked younger than she was.

  K’lrsa joined them. “You’ve changed.”

  Her mother smiled, a smile of such happiness and beauty that it hurt, because she’d never once looked that way when she was alive. At least, not that K’lrsa had ever seen.

  “Of course we have. When you’re dead you can look any way you want. Within reason. You still have to look like yourself, but you can choose to look like the best version of yourself.”

  “Oh.”

  F’lia joined them, her gaze still unfocused, and sat down by herself a short distance away.

  “What happened to her?” Her mother nodded towards F’lia, a small frown marking her brow before disappearing.

  “She was pregnant, but lost the baby. Since it happened she won’t eat or speak or do anything except cry. Vedhe’s been keeping her asleep as much as possible, but she can’t go on like this. So I thought…” She glanced around. “Is L’ral still here? He said he’d wait for her.”

  Her mother nodded. “Yes. Your father can get him. Can’t you, dear?”

  Her father looked up from whatever conversation he’d been having with M’lara, smiling, and nodded. “I’ll do it right now.” He bounded away down the hall opposite the direction they’d come from.

  Her mother started humming softly to herself, tapping out a rhythm on her knee as they waited.

  K’lrsa watched her, the feeling of unease in her stomach growing with every breath. This wasn’t her mother. Her mother would’ve demanded to know all that had happened since K’lrsa left. She’d be angry that she was stuck here and unable to continue on to the Promised Plains. Or she would’ve at least taken her young daughter into her arms and talked to her, but instead she had her eyes closed, ignoring all of them as she hummed to herself.

  “Mom? What’s wrong with you?” K’lrsa blurted. She leaned closer, eyes narrowed, remembering the last time she’d been here. “Are you really my mother? Or is this another of the gods’ tricks?”

  Her mother laughed. “Oh, K’lrsa. So serious all the time. Yes, I’m your mother.”

  “Then why are you so…So happy. Why aren’t you upset with me? I thought you wanted to go on to the Promised Plains.”

  “Oh, that. Yes, we do.” The little frown appeared and disappeared once more.

  She stared off into space for a long moment. “But we’ve been enjoying ourselves here. It’s good. To have time together away from the worries of the world. And it’s beautiful here, don’t you think?” She smiled, a vacant smile unlike any K’lrsa had ever seen from her before.

  K’lrsa stared at her in horror.

  But she didn’t ask anything else. There was no point. This creature that was supposed to be her mother wasn’t capable of more than the most superficial of responses.

  She’d save her questions for the Lady.

  Who’d b
etter have a good explanation. Because K’lrsa wasn’t leaving until her parents—her real, flawed, possibly unhappy, parents—were restored to her.

  Chapter 30

  Her father returned with L’ral a few moments later. He at least looked the same as she remembered. And he seemed genuinely concerned when he saw F’lia. He immediately knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his.

  “L’ral?” She blinked as if waking. “L’ral! But…you’re dead? How can this be? Am I dead, too?” She smiled with such hope that it broke K’lrsa’s heart.

  “No, my love. This is a special place where we can spend time together, you and I, but you’re still very much alive.” He smiled at her, his face full of love.

  K’lrsa clenched her jaw against the anger that flooded her veins. How was it fair that the man who’d betrayed her father and led him to his death, could also be the man who loved her best friend with all of his heart?

  She wanted to rip him away from F’lia’s side and tell him to never come back. To just die already and leave her and hers alone.

  But watching as F’lia touched his cheek and smiled—a smile so bright it was like the sun appearing from behind a bank of clouds on a hot summer’s day—K’lrsa held back.

  This wasn’t about her. It was about F’lia and what would bring her back to herself. It was about her friend’s happiness, not her own.

  That didn’t mean she had to watch them together, though.

  She turned away, deliberately standing so she couldn’t see them. Which meant watching her parents and M’lara, all three sitting together, laughing and talking as if the world wasn’t falling apart.

  She knelt down next to her father. “Is Lodie still in the labyrinth?”

  He nodded, smiling happily.

  She narrowed her eyes. Something was definitely off with him and her mother. “What about Herin and Garzel? Are they still here? Or did they continue on to the Promised Plains already?”

  “They’re still here. I think. We don’t see them much. Do you want me to get them for you?”

  “Yes, please.” She forced a smile.

  Maybe they could tell her what was wrong here. And, of anyone alive, they probably knew the most about Aran.

  Her father left to get them, her mother smiling after him like a love-struck girl. Her parents had always loved one another and never hesitated to show it, but this…This was something else.

  She paced the room as she waited, weaving her way between the trees, trying to avoid the sight of F’lia and L’ral cuddled close together, talking happily, and her mother and M’lara, laughing as they played a game of stones.

  M’lara sounded happier than she had in weeks, but…

  It wasn’t right. Something was very, very wrong here.

  She clenched her fists as she passed the hallway that led back to the center of the labyrinth and Lodie.

  If these weren’t her actual parents…

  If the gods were playing some sort of trick on her, trying to manipulate her into doing their will…

  She shook her head. Poor M’lara…To think she had her parents back for a little bit of time and then find out it wasn’t really them. It had been hard enough for K’lrsa to experience that, but a little girl like M’lara? Could the gods truly be that cruel?

  If they were…

  She’d kill them.

  She didn’t know how, she didn’t even know if it was possible, but if they hurt her sister, she’d do it. Somehow, someway, she’d make them pay for this.

  Just as she’d made up her mind to confront the Lady and demand answers, her father returned with Herin.

  “You missed him,” she said, her voice like two rocks rubbed together. “He’s already left to find you.”

  K’lrsa laughed in relief, glad someone in this place looked and sounded like they should. Herin was the same grel-like, acerbic, unpleasant woman she’d always been right down to the maimed fingers and wrinkles.

  “Herin! It’s so good to see you.” She nodded towards Herin’s hands. “I thought…Now that you’re dead and you can change things that you’d…”

  “Make myself all pretty and young? Maybe fix these?” She wiggled her fingers, the top joint of each one missing where Aran had removed it.

  K’lrsa nodded, swallowing. She’d forgotten how scary Herin could be.

  “Pzah. This is who I am.” She crossed the room to stand before K’lrsa. “I earned every single one of these and I’m not going to give them up just because I’m dead.”

  K’lrsa smiled, some of the tension she’d felt since seeing her parents breaking free. “It’s good to see you, Herin.”

  Herin snorted.

  K’lrsa stepped closer, glancing towards where her father had rejoined her mother and M’lara. “Herin, are those my real parents?”

  “Of course. Who else would they be?”

  “Well, it’s just…They’re different. I thought maybe, like what happened in the labyrinth, they were some sort of illusion. I mean, you met my mother when she was alive. You know how strong-willed she was. And my father might have been more restrained, but he certainly wasn’t like this.”

  “Oh, I know. You should’ve seen them when they found out they couldn’t continue on to the Promised Plains. I was certain your father was going to tear this place to the ground.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Father Sun came. Your father tried to strike him and he…did something. They’ve been like this ever since.” She grimaced. “They don’t get upset about anything.”

  Herin grinned wickedly. “On the days when I’m particularly bored I remind them that they’re stuck here and that Father Sun did something to them. They get upset for a moment or two, but then they go right back to…that.” She spat on the ground.

  “Where’s Garzel?”

  “In our rooms.”

  “Is he like you? Did he decide not to…?” She waved her fingers.

  Herin glared her down with that grel-like gaze of hers, but K’lrsa waited her out.

  “He can speak when he wants to.” She pointed towards L’ral and F’lia with her chin. “What’s she doing here?”

  “She lost the baby and I thought that seeing L’ral might bring her back to herself. It seems to be working…” She managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but just barely. She leaned closer. “Father Sun said he could use the death of the babe to release Badru from here. Do you know…He said the babe was already going to die, but…?”

  Herin laughed, the sound like broken glass being ground to dust. “Don’t ask me about the gods, child. I don’t know them any better than you do.” She glanced towards M’lara. “Why’d you bring your sister?”

  “So she’d be safe while Vedhe, Badru, and I go kill Aran.”

  Herin smiled. “So you’re actually going to do it, finally?”

  “I hope so.”

  Herin snorted. “You better do more than hope, girl. Aran won’t be easy to kill. And you certainly can’t kill him with that little trinket.” Herin shook her head in disgust. She’d been the least amused of everyone when K’lrsa came back from choosing her “weapon.”

  K’lrsa touched the smooth metal of the necklace. “You think he has a defense against it?”

  “Yes. Aran knew more than anyone about the objects of power stored here. If there’s a counter to that necklace that exists in the real world, he either already had it or has it now. You go after him with a weapon he knows about, you’ll die.”

  K’lrsa’s father stood, clapping his hands. “We should eat. Celebrate the arrival of my daughters. And of F’lia, who was as much a daughter to me as my own daughters.” He beamed at F’lia and she answered his smile with a shy one of her own.

  Herin stepped away. “That’s my cue to leave.”

  “But wait. I need to talk to you.”

  She waved K’lrsa back. “After you’ve eaten and rested. There is no way I can eat a meal with that man’s constant inanity.” She glared at K’lrsa’s father a
moment longer before scuttling away.

  K’lrsa’s father watched her go, a smile on his face, not the least bit concerned or insulted.

  Sighing, K’lrsa went to join the others.

  She was starving and did need some rest, but she didn’t know if she could survive an entire meal with her parents acting this way either. Not to mention, watching F’lia and L’ral be so cozy.

  And where was Vedhe? She still hadn’t returned.

  And what were they going to do if Aran really could counter the only weapons they had?

  Chapter 31

  Somehow, K’lrsa survived the meal without hurting anyone or anything. It helped that the meal had all of her favorites, even the ones from the Daliphana that she occasionally dreamed of. Meats floating in rich, creamy sauces with just the hint of spices. (None of the really spicy ones appeared, thankfully.) Dates drizzled in honey and stuffed in tangy cheese. Small discs of bread that melted on her tongue…

  She delighted in watching M’lara try them for the first time, in sharing with her all the wonders she’d seen on her travels through the Daliphana. Fresh oranges and apples. Honey-coated pastries filled with nuts and cinnamon…

  Toreem hadn’t been all bad. If she could’ve kept all the luxuries and lost all the people, she would’ve gladly stayed there forever. Unfortunately, the two came together, entwined like a chokevine wrapped around a sapling.

  After dinner she took a bath—the sheer luxury of soaking in an entire tub full of fresh water still amazed her—and then found her way to a tent for a long night’s sleep. It was the best night of sleep she’d had in months. No gods stalking her through the moon dream. No tribe to worry about. Just simple, blissful, uninterrupted sleep.

  But the next morning as she lay there not wanting to actually wake up, all the worries and problems came back to her. Her parents, Aran, the tribes, M’lara, F’lia…

  Sighing, she dragged herself out of her tent and followed the smells of breakfast to where the others were already up.

  Vedhe intercepted her with a bowl of porridge before she could reach them. K’lrsa grimaced until she noticed the small sausages piled on top, still sizzling, their greasy scent wafting towards her nose, and saw the small bundle of cheeses and fresh fruit in Vedhe’s other hand.