Threads of Fate

Chapter 60 ~ Intentional or Coincidence

    Two days passed before the storm began to lighten and Azael was itching with impatience. He tried to curb it by assuring himself that if they were stuck here, then Roshan was likely stuck somewhere too, and he couldn't have gotten far. But a feeling in the pit of his stomach warned that he was wrong.

    Roshan had secrets that not even his children knew. He had friends in the Mountain Clans. He might've made his way to one and found shelter and a guide, or perhaps he didn't need a guide. Perhaps he knew the secret paths of the mountains and how to navigate them.

    When Azael had presented these ideas to Gaelen, the male was quick to agree with him, and the two of them along with Vaeldan had been pouring over their maps ever since. Azael was still hunched over one when he heard Tissaia approaching.

    He had been left undisturbed in the temple's library for several hours and had been tracing routes from his map and cross referencing them with some of the older maps he'd found in the library. He dropped his forehead into his palm and massaged it wearily while Tissaia sat down beside him.

    "You could take a break," she suggested, laying a hand on his arm.

    A smile twitched onto his lips as she began rubbing his arm and shoulder soothingly. As odd as it might have sounded, he was proud of how prominent her compassionate side had been the past few days. In spite of her own grief, Tissaia had been a constant source of strength and comfort for her brother and himself.

    He'd seen her helping attend to the warriors as well, cooking meals, treating some of their remaining wounds, bringing them water and bedding, and making sure each got the rest they needed. He wondered if it was as much to her benefit as it was to theirs. If she were helping take care of others because it was all she knew to do during difficult times, and being useful kept her distracted from her own emotions.

    Azael drummed his fingers atop the map as Tissaia tipped her head against his shoulder with a stifled yawn. "I've been trying to trace all the routes your father could have taken out of the mountains if he traveled through the storm so I can estimate where he's at by the time we leave."

    "Have you found anything?" She asked, sitting up to examine the maps herself.

    "There are some paths he could've taken, but they were along the face of the mountain and not through any valleys, so the going would've been dangerous."

    She scoffed at that. "As if my father would care. He'd push his warriors through anything, and those who fell behind would be left without remorse."

    "So you think he likely kept going through the storm?"

    "Yes. I think he'd be desperate enough to keep that book that he'd risk even his own life by traveling."

    "I'd sent scouts to confirm it, but I value my warriors' lives more than Roshan Lochren does, it seems," Gaelen said, stepping into the room. Vael and Kahari were close behind him. "I think the storm will finish itself off tomorrow. We could leave the day after."

    "Where to then?" Kahari asked as they joined Azael and Tissaia at the table. Azael pushed his maps over to Gaelen and Vael, guessing that was what they'd come for.

    "Father will go somewhere he believes to be safe, where no one will dare question him about anything," Tissaia remarked. "Somewhere his power is absolute."

    Azael arched a brow. "You think he'll go back to Lochren?"

    She nodded. "He'll consider himself safe in his own city, and I'll admit that it will be overflowing with his warriors. Talarion and I know a few hidden routes into the manor, but Father knows about some of them and may have them guarded. We'll have to fight our way to him regardless."