The Song of the Keepers

Chapter 35 Tales of our Fathers

"No, no, no, no."
I murmured, closing my eyes.

I wished Revara had never happened, for all of our sakes. I felt a hand close over the top of my own and I opened my eyes to see Ranen watching me with sorrow.

"I'm sorry if I had come a day sooner..."
His voice trailed off meaningfully.

"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It just is."
I shook my head and fingered my necklace.

"There is one good thing from this."
Jasper spoke up.

All eyes rested on him.

"Leah is a Snow Wielder."

I paused for a moment, considering this.

"Do you think it would give them a fighting a chance at survival?"
I questioned with reserved hope.

"If they are together, it increases the odds of survival, yes."

It was something at least, something to hold onto. Vienna leaned forward to look me in the eyes.

"I've decided that I'm not giving up hope until I see a body, you should do the same."

Perhaps that was the real gift here, Vienna had something to latch onto. She needed that it now, whether it was truth she was holding onto or fiction.

Daaow suddenly cleared his throat.

"Not to throw you out, but you two should probably be on your way. The council won't appreciate you hanging around."
He pointed out.

"He's right. The Sentinels and our pilot should be waiting for us in the hanger."

"Our pilot?"
I asked incredulously.

"Yes, Keeper Simone who flew me here."

Daaow chuckled, observing my reaction.

"Well, you'd better tell Simone she's out of a job."

Ranen quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm a pilot. A darn good one, if I do say so myself."
I informed him.

"Oh! My apologies Astrid, I didn't know if all Keeper underwent flight training or if you did, if you had completed it yet."

"She learned from one of the best."
Jasper told him.

"Debatable."
Daaow commented.

"Well, I think we could all agree he was one of the craziest. I mean he took Astrid up in a real jet her first lesson, no simulator beforehand or anything."
Vienna reminisced.

I snorted.

"Yeah, I almost crashed into the trees at the end of the runway on takeoff."

"Is that supposed to make me feel confident in your piloting skills?"
Ranen questioned with an amused look.

"Hey, that was my first flight. I've improved greatly since then."
I argued, wagging a finger at him.

"Well, I would hope so."

I smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Alright, let's go tell Simone she can stay at the Citadel after all and hustle our buns out of this frozen tundra."
Ranen clapped his hands, getting to his feet.

My momentary light-heartedness disappeared as I realized the final goodbyes were in order. Our group rose from the table and trudged to the doors of the great hall, each of us feeling the weight of the moment. I extended my hand to Daaow which he firmly shook.