The Amari War

Chapter 21

I stood, frozen, for a few moments, staring at the spot where Amari had been. Seriously? She's dead? And I'm not? I wasn't expecting that.

I stretched out on the ground, gazing up at the high cliff walls around me. How will I get back? The tunnel caved in, and those walls are at least a hundred feet tall.

I'll deal with that tomorrow. Right now, I really don't feel like doing much of anything. I lay there as the stars made their long journey across the dark sky, accompanied by the glowing crescent moon. Then I noticed something on the cliff wall nearby.

I turned my head to look closer, realizing that it was a witch. She wore the standard Coven uniform and had a rykal sheathed on her left hip. Her hair was just as bright red as mine, tied into a straggly ponytail. I forced myself into a sitting position, watching the figure make her way down the cliff face.

It took an eternity for the witch to reach the bottom of the cliff and turn around, but it was worth it when she did. It was my mother, Reilyn. When I saw her, I tried to stand up, but my legs gave out under me. Fuck.

She hurried over to me, sitting down on the ground nearby. "I told you you'd do it!" she said, grinning.

"Yeah. Somehow. Why're you here?"

"Queen Eleanor sent me in as backup. I was-" She paused, rummaging in her pack and avoiding eye contact. Eventually, she admitted, "I was worried about you. I was afraid I'd come here and find you dead."

"Well, you didn't, so that's that," I told her. "Sorry I finished the fight before you got here. I know you love killing things- I think you'd have enjoyed the challenge."

She still didn't look at me. "I don't think I would have. I- I don't like fighting as much as I used to. Neither does anyone else. It's like I finally realized that a situation where I could very easily die isn't fun."

"Or a situation where you take another life for no reason," I pointed out.

She handed me a water bottle, and I took it gratefully. Shaking her head, she said, "Well, I still have to disagree with you on that. I don't have a problem with killing to protect my own life."

"But what makes your existence more worthy than someone else's?" I pressed.

"It doesn't matter. If I manage to scrape a victory, it's my victim's fault for not being good enough."

I sighed, taking a sip of water. The cold liquid was extremely refreshing. Has water always been this good? "Oh, all right. I clearly won't be able to change your mind, so you can keep your opinion. How are things at the Coven?"

"Not great. We've been preparing for Amari to come. Not that we thought you'd fail- it's just always better to be prepared." She finally met my eyes, taking out a bottle of antiseptic ointment and handing it to me.

"I completely agree. Is the war over?" I asked, rubbing the antiseptics on my various wounds.

"Theoretically, no, but no one wants to fight anymore. We're all just sick of it. The Queen's currently at a diplomatic meeting. She brought Sophie with her, actually."

"Really?" I glanced up, startled. "Why on Earth would she bring Sophie? No offense to her, I mean, but..."

"She thought Sophie could be very persuasive." Reilyn shrugged. "She'd have wanted a guard, too, and what better skill to have on your side than one that can hide you and psychologically torment your enemies?"

I nodded. "That makes sense. Sophie's good at fighting, anyway, and she's an excellent tactician. She always got high scores in all our Tactics classes."