Ever So Lightly- Book 1

19

"I guess this is where we say goodbye," Zephyr said as Nakomi reached out to grasp her hands. Zephyr gave the other woman's hands a squeeze and felt emotion building inside herself, her throat growing tight and her eyes beginning to feel damp. She looked past Nakomi to the road that split ahead of where they stood. The caravan was already headed along the path that led west and would bypass the city of Faron completely. Jasper and Bennett had already mounted their horses and were waiting for her where the road forked toward Faron. The direction they were headed was obviously much more traveled, evidenced by the lack of untrampled snow. The road the caravan was to travel along still had wide spots of clean, unblemished snow, their tracks being some of the first to mar its beauty.

Zephyr turned back to look at Nakomi. The last few days had been filled with steady travel and had thankfully lacked the presence of any more patrols or soldiers. They had been able to travel quickly and were now just several miles from Faron, though the view of the city was still blocked by white hills that glistened in the sunset in every direction.

"Please, stay safe," Nakomi said as she pulled Zephyr into a tight embrace. Zephyr felt the tears that had been building up spill onto her cheeks as she hugged Nakomi back. Pulling back, the older woman reached out to brushed the tears from Zephyr's cheeks. "Now don't cry, I'm sure we'll bump into each other again sometime. A group this size is hard to miss." Zephyr let out a small laugh as Nakomi gestured behind her towards the caravan that was departing. Dalin waved to her as Tib ran forward, straight into Zephyr's knees, wrapping her in one last hug. She pried the boy's arms off of her legs and knelt down to give him a proper hug.

After saying one last goodbye to her new friends, Zephyr turned toward Jasper, who was sharing a meaningful look with Nakomi as Bennett turned his horse in the direction of Faron and began to trot away.

"What was that look for?" Zephyr inquired as she mounted Bells next to Jasper. He turned to face her, pausing a moment before answering.

"I think Nakomi might cross this continent to throttle me if I let anything happen to you," Jasper finally responded with a small smile. Zephyr let out a chuckle as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. They rode in silence for a while, Bennett continuing in the lead not far ahead. Zephyr's sadness over leaving the caravan was dulled by the beautiful sight stretching out before her. The snow-capped hills looked astonishing with the setting sun reflecting off of their peaks. The sun was just dipping below the horizon when Bennett suddenly spurred his horse on. Zephyr gave Jasper a questioning look, but he only shrugged and followed after the other man.

Zephyr quickened her own pace to keep up and the closer she drew to the top of the hill where Bennett had suddenly stopped the more she could feel that something wasn't right. She began to hear a roaring, and the sky above the hill seemed darker than the rest of the starless sky. She reached Bennett's side just after Jasper, and what she saw caused her to pull up short.

Faron was burning. The city was being invaded. Even from where they stood a mile away, the trio could see soldiers roaming the streets, dragging people from their homes and throwing torches into the buildings. Zephyr felt like her lungs were being squeezed, her breathing became laborious as she thought of Saria's entire family trapped in the blaze before her. She turned to the men beside her.

"Why is this happening?" Zephyr's mind screamed the words but her voice held steady and calm. Both men were gaping and looked as horror struck by the sight before them as she was. Bennett was the first to speak.

"I don't know for sure why they're doing this," he said, gesturing toward the city and the invading force, "but there have always been rumors about a rebel force in Faron. I'd heard that it was one of the biggest rebel groups." Bennett took a moment before continuing. "Maybe Lorelei decided they had become enough of a nuisance to do something about." He turned to Zephyr at this, his gaze a mixture of sorrow and anger. Zephyr could feel her panic growing, her thoughts turning once more to Saria and the rest of the Devereaux's.