Chapter 33

It was nightfall by the time Aeole and the others made it to the Terra camp. What they found there was hardly cause for celebration, however. The army looked as though they were barely hanging on and when news spread of the destruction to their homes, morale sank even lower.

In the distance, thousands and thousands of lights could be seen flickering in the darkness that represented the Rook army. Aeole was shocked by their numbers and knew that things were much, much worse than she feared.

"Aeole!" a voice shouted. It was a deep, bear-like rumble and it sent a wave of relief and pleasure through her body. "Son!"

"Tarvo," she said exhaustedly. She felt like she could fall asleep for days.

"Mom! Asher!"

Keiara came running up to her mother with Rone following behind her. There was a broad smile on his face when he saw them. Limping slightly next to them was Niku. His face was slightly pale and his eyes were sunken and hollow, but other than that, he looked healthy.

Keiara hugged her mother fiercely and then Asher. There was a slight beep from Blink, who was still hovering near Asher dutifully. Keiara laughed and tapped the machine on its metallic nose. There was a happy sounding chirp from Blink this time. When Rone came up to the machine, however, it practically did barrel rolls and loops. It bumped itself into Rone's chest and Rone had to gently push it away.

"Happy to see you too," Rone told it. Then he looked at Aeole. "What's this I hear about a Rook invasion of the Qarri Forest?"

"It was a well timed attack. They hit every tribe-city at nearly the exact same time. No one was able to reinforce the other cities because no one could spare any warriors. Many were killed or taken by the spiders. We are all that is left." Aeole explained.

"Vitari?" Tarvo asked through angry, clenched teeth.

"Gone, love," Aeole responded sadly. "I fear by the looks of everyone here that you've had about as much success as us."

"We've managed few victories but there is some cause for celebration," Tarvo replied with a grin. He clapped Niku roughly on the back. The boy had to struggle to keep his feet. "Niku is what they call a Sentinel. Basically, he is one of three (the other two are Keiara and Rone) that are prophesied to defeat Blak. He was one of the polluted until we managed to break him free of Blak's control. He is still recovering but he's a strong lad. He'll be up to fighting shape soon enough."

"I see you've been told what is really going on," Aeole said. "You know of the prophecy. Of what the three of them really are?"

"I've seen it with my own eyes. The sight is quite something." He paused for a second, his thick brows frowning in confusion. "You know of the prophecy?"

Aeole could feel a lump form in her throat. She imagined Heari must've explained everything. Her husband was very intelligent. It would only take him a moment to fit the pieces together. Her secret, the one she'd spent a lifetime trying to bury, was about to break free.

"But Heari said the only ones that knew of it were..." he stopped there.

"Callers," Aeole finished for him. She reached out and tried to grab his hand but Tarvo jerked it away. There was an awful look of betrayal on his face that broke her heart. "I never meant to lie to you."

"And yet you've been doing it for the past two and a half decades," he retorted angrily.

"Dad," both Asher and Keiara said, almost at the same time.

Tarvo looked at his wife but that betrayal was still in his eyes. She reached out a hand and held his cheek. He tried to fight it at first but his heart had different ideas. He loved that woman and that love was strong and very deep. It was mixed in with his anger, his hurt, and the betrayal he felt.

"I am the same woman you met in Ledun. I am the same woman you knew yesterday. I am no different," Aeole told him.

Tarvo didn't say anything for a long time. He stared at his wife and some of the anger he felt just melted away.

He learned a lot in his life. The hardest lessons he had to learn, however, were the ones recently pounded into him when this war started. And the biggest lesson was learning acceptance. He realized that he had to accept people for who they were and not hate them because they were different.

He hugged his wife and kissed her. He felt her body stiffen at first, as if she was afraid, but then she relaxed and enjoyed the embrace.

"I'm glad that you are here," Tarvo told her. "I can protect you better when you're with me."

"She might be the one protecting you, Dad," Asher laughed. "You should've seen her. She was amazing!"

Asher spent the next twenty minutes telling everyone of his mother's amazing power. He probably would've gone on longer but Rone caught sight of someone lurking near the edges of the camp. His jaw immediately clenched in anger right before he took off running.

"Rone!" Keiara shouted.

But he couldn't hear her. He could only focus on the man in front of him. He got to him in a couple of seconds and grabbed his filthy, tattered, and brightly colored clothes and yanked him closer. Rone got right in his face.

"What the hell are you doing here, traitor?" Rone yelled.

"Prince Rone," Lord Guilder said. He was not quivering in fear or showing anger or malice.

There was something weird lurking in his eyes that Rone never thought he would see.

Guilt.

Rone loosened his grip just as Keiara, Tarvo, Aeole, and Asher got to him.

"You," Keiara exclaimed. She stopped short and stood there. Her eyes suddenly blazed with fire and heat emanated from her in waves. She took a step toward Lord Guilder. "You're the one that kidnapped me and took me to Roanoke. You watched as that man tried to burn me alive."

Lord Guilder didn't back away from her but stood firm. He just nodded to affirm that her story was true.

"I understand your anger and I don't expect forgiveness but trust me when I say that the man that took you is gone now. I know what I've done and all I ask is the chance for redemption." He bowed deeply to Keiara. Then he looked at Rone. "And I hope that you can give me that chance too, Your Highness."

Keiara stared at him blankly, confused by his sudden change of heart.

"What happened to you?" Rone asked.

"Mom happened to him," Asher said. "I still don't really understand what she did but it had a pretty big effect on him."

Rone looked at Aeole with an eyebrow raised.

"Ok. Not getting on your bad side anytime soon," Rone remarked. He turned back to Lord Guilder. "Aeole, do you trust him?"

"I do," she replied.

"Then I will pardon you for your crimes against your kingdom. But do not mistake my kindness. If you look at anyone the wrong way, I will kill you. After everything you've done, you deserve nothing less. But I respect Aeole. You owe her your life."

"I owe her much more than that," Lord Guilder remarked quietly.

Rone looked at the Lord for a second and realized something about him. He wasn't just grateful for whatever Aeole did to him and the impact it had on his life. He was in love with her too. He could tell. It was in the way he always seemed to be close to her. It was the looks he gave her when he thought she wasn't looking. It was the slight sadness in his composure because he knew she would never love him back.

Good, Rone thought with a healthy dose of vindictiveness. You deserve that, Guilder. You deserve to feel that sadness.

Footsteps heading their way broke up the reunion. They all turned toward the sound and saw Soqart and Chibbi heading toward them. There was a contingent of Terra warriors following close behind. When they got to Tarvo, they stopped.

They bowed to everyone present.

"I heard rumors that you and the refugees of the tribe-cities had made it here. It is a sad day to know that everything we've built has been destroyed. But I am grateful that you are alive and managed to bring everyone here," Soqart said as he bowed deeply to Aeole.

"Thank you," Aeole responded as she returned their bows.

"Is Blak out there?" Tarvo asked.

"Still no sign of him," Chibbi said. "I would say that Rone managed to kill him but the Rook army is still there and showing no signs of leaving."

"It looks as though he is hiding," Soqart replied.

"Doubtful," Tarvo grunted. "He is probably trying to rebuild his strength in the wake of losing Niku."

"He'll be back," Keiara said, her voice icy and uncharacteristically grim. "I can feel him out there."