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The torture of Ariana's absence was all-consuming, to the point of potentially driving me mad if this continued for much longer. She has been in the Sidhe lands for over a week, and every day that passed only made it worse.
It was difficult not to think of her, of what she experienced, what she felt. I constantly had to force her from my mind in order to be of any use to those around me. But my thoughts always circled back to her.
With a sigh, I refocused, looking at Iver, who was teaching some of the front-line Bavadrin soldiers to prepare for Malavika's potential attacks. The soldiers were all given bright yellow ribbons with the goal of tying them around the wooden sword Iver relentlessly jabbed them with from a safe distance away. The poor men rubbed their tender chests and bellies in between training attacks. Even with light armor covering their most vulnerable parts, the pressure of the hits still likely added up to the point of a constant gnawing sensation that only intensified with each following blow.
"How hard is it to tie a ribbon to some wood? This is not even a sharp blade, which could cut through ribbon easily!" Iver yelled out before thrusting his hand out once more. Dozens of wooden swords shimmered to life in front of a few dozen men. When he pulled back, a single yellow ribbon clung to his weapon.
"One measly ribbon will not cut it! She would have sliced through spirit knows how many of you at this point. Her blade would be slick, dripping with blood. It would stain the yellow with ease. We need as many ribbons tied to the weapon as possible, to draw the eye easily!" He lectured before attacking again.
That was Iver's clever little plan. A way to pinpoint where Malavika was, and then he would use his conjuring to go to her and take care of the threat. From what we knew, Mal needed to be close enough to see what she was doing, yet far enough away to remain safe and able to concentrate on her conjuring. She would be at the battle, but not at the front lines. Instead, she was likely going to be tucked away, but still incredibly lethal. She was Clause's weapon, nearly matching that of Ariana's sparrows.
I closed the space between my brother and me. When he pulled the sword back, void of any yellow ribbons, I placed a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from attacking again. "You should give them a break so they can refocus on the task."
Iver sighed, turning to me, his sword hand falling to his side. "Perhaps you are correct. These Bavadrins do tire quicker than our kind." He then looked at the men he had been torturing for the better part of the morning. "Fifteen-minute break! Then I expect you all to do better!"
The men's sighs hissed through the forest, drawing a smile from Iver. He always loved torturing others.
"Willis had given me the go-ahead to bring some of our soldiers and begin joining forces. I sent Kole last night to pass along the message," I filled my brother in on the recent developments.
"I'm sure he is chompin' at the bit to get Eislyn over here," Iver commented as he shifted his weight, leaning back against a tree.
"He certainly is." The thought brought a smile to my lips. It had been a long time since I looked forward to having both Eislyn and Kole at my side together. Their hot-headed anger kept us all fractured, but now, the pain began healing. All of it partially because of the woman who now was a world away.
