“How could Wisp have repaired so much in one night? I don’t see signs of ashes anywhere,” she mumbled.
The prickle of magic touched her senses and she froze, her mind quickly sorting out the type of spell. It was a translocation she realized just before Valor came into view staggering toward the tree. He threw one hand out in front of him to brace himself and stood, shoulders bent and staring at the ground.
“Valor! Are you all right?” Jala cried and rushed to his side. She could see no sign of injury on him but he was deathly pale when he turned to look at her.
He raised a gauntleted hand toward her and nodded slowly. “I’m fine. It’s just the vertigo,” he said quietly but his voice seemed to hold a bit of a tremor. “Is Emily with you?” he asked, his blue eyes holding a bit of a frantic gleam.
She shook her head slowly and started to answer when Emily appeared beside the tree. The Blight was dirty and disheveled, with a torn tunic and breeches that looked as though they might have been scavenged from the dead. She held a large bundle in one arm and her dark eyes were locked on Valor.
“I was with you, Valor,” Emily said quietly, her words almost sounding like an accusation. Her expression betrayed nothing, but Jala could sense the tension between the two of them clearly enough.
Valor nodded slightly and seemed to pale even more. “I see,” he managed at last and nodded slowly.
Jala looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion. She was about to ask what was going on when Emily shoved the bundle in her arms toward Valor.
“I found this in the back rooms,” she said. The cloth fell away as she moved revealing the soft silver curls of a child’s hair.
“Devony,” Valor gasped, taking the child quickly. He dropped to his knees in the grass and unwrapped the child quickly.
“She is fine. Drugged I think, but she lives and has no wounds,” Emily assured him as he frantically checked the child over. Lifting her nose slightly, Emily sniffed at the wind and nodded to Jala. “The others are that way. I can smell fire and humans. We should get the child to safety and let the others know you are well,” she said then turned back to Valor. “And when things are settled you and I will talk,” she added before fading from view once more.
Valor looked up from the child and nodded slowly. Silently he stood cradling Devony’s small form in his arms. “She is right. The others will be worried,” he said quietly.
“I’m worried,” Jala said, unmoving, her eyes locked on him. “What is going on, Valor? Why is Emily acting like that toward you?” she asked.
“Words from Kali. She gave me the same treatment she gave you, Jala. I’m still sorting it out myself, but I’m of the impression that it is simply poison meant to mislead us,” Valor replied quietly and eyed Jala curiously, his eyes searching her face. “What about you? Have her words changed your heart? Did you believe what she said?”
Jala sighed and plucked one of the leaves from the branch above her. Chewing lightly on her lower lip she began to fold it in her hand much as Finn used to do. “I put thought into it before she sent me from her house. It really didn’t require much thought, honestly,” she fell silent for a moment and tore another small piece from the leaf. “What she said about the gods was true, Valor. Fortune told me as much at the council meeting just after I was married. I didn’t understand what he meant then. I thought he was saying I was blessed with love, not that they had bewitched Finn.” She fell silent again and her shoulders slumped a bit.
“Has that changed your decision about bringing him back?” Valor asked cautiously.
Jala shook her head and smiled faintly. “Not in the least. Even if he doesn’t love me, truly, I love him. I will do whatever it takes to bring him back. His blood is on my hands.”
“No, his death lies at Hemlock’s feet, not yours, Jala. You can’t blame yourself for this,” Valor protested. He shifted the sleeping child in his arms carefully and stepped closer to her. With his free hand he gently tilted her chin up and forced her to meet his gaze. “They killed Finn, not you. I watched you, Jala. You did everything you possibly could to save him,” he said gently.
With a slightly trembling hand she fished the gold coin from what remained of her pocket, half amazed that she still had it after the night’s excitement. She held it up for Valor to see and watched him carefully as she spoke. “Anthe gave this to me when I went to see her in the Tolanteer woods. See the swords on this side. They match Finn’s soulblades perfectly. The other side has a badger on it. My father was called Badger by the Fionaveir. Anthe told me that I could see one side or the other but never at the same time. Everyone speaks in damn riddles, I think.” She lowered her hand slowly and wrapped her fingers tightly around the coin. “Finn understood it, though. He told me if his death was the price of Merro, he accepted it. He called it poetic justice to have so many returned to life with his death.” She smiled bitterly at the words and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Apparently, the coin represented a choice between my husband and my home. When I stepped forward as Lady Merrodin, I made my choice. His blood is on my hands, Valor and while he may have accepted it, I won’t. I will do everything I can to bring him back.”
“And if his feelings have changed when he comes back? What if the god’s magic only lasted while he lived?” Valor asked. His expression hadn’t changed at all with her words. She had expected him to turn away from her in disgust with the confession.
“Well then, I suppose I will hope he still considers me a friend and doesn’t hold the actions of the Aspects against me,” she said quietly.