Tattered Banners - War of the Last Day #2 [EXCERPT]

1. Because Families could be Complicated

The gentle wind made the carrack wobble as it sailed north for the third consecutive day. Though he had spent his entire life in a Skandivian town by the sea, this was his longest voyage yet. But who might judge him? After all, he was raised by Bermanian parents. The only Skandivian part of him was his name. The name that couldn't protect him from his inevitable fate.

Though there were a bunch of Koyans and two Murasen girls on board the Bermanian vessel, Halgrim felt he was the only outsider here. Those people around him were not his. Their country had always been a place he only heard about from Frankil—his mother usually hated talking about it.

Even the lords he had fought alongside on a battlefield (the rebels, as Her Grace Queen Rona referred to them); he was nothing to them but a pawn in their game. He had been aware of this the day he had joined their rebellion, but he had been so foolish he believed he could handle them on his own. Coming to Bermania was a mistake from the beginning, he thought. Staying in Bermania instead of catching up with his fleeing family in the far north was another mistake. Abandoning his real father in his last fight was a third one. A grave one. One that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He should have insisted on staying by his side, the way Ben had done. Shame Halgrim chose to live like a coward rather than die like a man.

Masolon, the father Halgrim had spent seventeen years without, was cruelly taken one day after their first encounter. But that was something Halgrim could not change. What he could do for the time being was join his family on their journey to the northernmost borders of Rusakia. However, considering the pace at which this carrack was moving, he would probably reach Barlus by the time they arrived in the Frozen Forest.

Unless he could teleport, like that young Murasen sorceress standing at the bow of the ship.

An idea crossed his mind. He would need her help, but for some reason, he was hesitant about approaching her. Maybe he was afraid his idea might sound stupid—because if it was possible to teleport to their destination, why was she here on this ship until this moment?

Or maybe he still didn't feel like talking to anybody right now. Since his conversation with that demented Murasen cleric, Halgrim hadn't given anybody the chance to come close to him. Nardine had tried once to chatter while sharing a couple of red apples with him, but Halgrim had made it clear that he was not in the mood for a family talk that day. If they would ever be a family, to begin with. The only common person between us is dead, he would tell her. And your mother will always regard me as a threat.

Back to Zahra, the pretty dark-haired sorceress. Halgrim waited until she was done talking to a Koyan mage to approach her. "Milord." She nodded upon seeing him coming.

"I'm a lord no longer." Halgrim was not playing the humble prince here. Seriously, he didn't want to hear any titles before his name. Your Grace. Milord. Phrases that reminded him of his mistakes, of how foolish he had been. "Just Halgrim will do."

"Alright, Just Halgrim," she teased softly. "How can Just Zahra be of help?"

Her straightforward question took him off guard for a moment. He couldn't help smiling nervously when he asked, "What makes you think I'm seeking your help?"

"If you are not, then I must be concerned about the way you stare at me," said Zahra, a blank look on her face.

I don't stare at her. Halgrim wanted to deny his guilt. At the last second, he decided to ignore that part and get straight to the matter he wanted to discuss with her. "I need to rejoin my family as soon as possible. Would you help me do that?"

Zahra maintained her expressionless face, as if waiting for him to say more. "You don't want to wait until we disembark at Barlus?"

"I cannot, Zahra." It was his first time to say her name, and it felt strange somehow. "My family could be waiting for my return until this moment. I would never forgive myself if I discovered that I was the one holding them back."