Chapter 160 Assigned To Me

Chapter 160 Assigned To Me
VISCA -

Visca returned to the Capitol with healing cuts across his knuckles and ash still caught in the seams of his gloves.
The ride had given him enough time to wash the worst of the shrine from his skin, but not enough time to remove the weight of it. The pouch inside his coat held copied names, strips of black thread, the braid of pale hair, and the confession Bram had scratched out before Visca left him.
Anahi rode beside him through the palace gates. She sat straighter than she had when they first left, though exhaustion still pulled at her mouth. Her bandaged hand rested on her thigh, and when the guards looked at her, she didn't lower her eyes as quickly as she once had.
They both stayed silent until they dismounted in the outer yard. "Eat first," he said. "Then report to the healer for that hand."
Anahi looked down at her bandages. "The healer?"
"You said you needed one."
Her throat moved, and he held her gaze until she nodded.
"After that," he continued, "report to the training yard."
"The training yard?"
"You're still a squire." He handed his reins to the stable hand. "And you're still assigned to me."
The words settled over her face slowly, and Visca turned before the sight could soften him too much, leaving her with the horses.
Dax received him in the private council room, where a fire burned low and maps covered half the table. Eysa stood near the window with one hand resting over the lower half of her stomach.
Dax looked up when Visca entered, and whatever question had been in his face faded when he saw Visca.
He placed the pouch and a write-up of his full report on the table and knelt before Dax. "Every shrine on the marked path was destroyed. The first still had fresh offerings. The second village knew what sat under their storehouse and kept it hidden out of fear. The third let Latara's mark remain carved over a Goddess stone." He kept his eyes on his Alpha, somehow able to feel more respect than he could previously. "The final place was an abandoned chapel beyond the old border road. We found an infant left as an offering.
He barely heard the gasp that left his Luna.
Dax stayed silent as he untied the pouch to look at the contents before he scanned the report. Lying it on the table, he asked, "And the child?"
"With Jules, my Alpha."
Eysa's breath caught softly, and Dax looked from the report to Visca. "You took the infant home?"
"I took her to warmth," Visca said. "To arms that would not call her cursed."
For a moment, only the fire moved.
"What does Jules think of the child?" Dax asked.
"She cared enough to name her and reopen the nursery."
Eysa turned fully from the window. “Named her?” Eysa asked. “What did you name her? I’ve been trying to think of names recently, and I-”
Dax cleared his throat, and Eysa quieted, but color touched her cheeks.
Confused, Visca answered her question. "She will be known as Brea Destran."
Eysa's hand pressed more firmly against her stomach as surprise filled her features, but she stayed silent.
Dax let the report fall to the table. "Tell me the rest."
They spent the next long hour going over the trip. By the end, Dax's hands rested flat on the table. "The midwife will be brought in. The villages will answer for the offerings and this..." He looked back down at the report before continuing. "Bram will answer for abandoning the child."
He must have noticed the tightness that squeezed Visca's features briefly because Dax finished with, "But... I will hear the whole matter before any sentence is passed."
Visca lowered his head. "Yes, Alpha."
Dax watched him for a long moment. “And you?” Visca lifted his eyes. “Did taking someone with you change what you found?” Dax asked.
Visca drew in a breath. “Yes. You were right not to let me go alone.”
Dax's mouth lifted slightly. "Oh?"
"My squire was the one to find the child," Visca continued. "And she noticed tracks I might have missed. She opened doors that would have stayed closed to me."
"Then she'll be rewarded," Dax said.
"She should be trained properly."
Dax leaned back. "Is that a request?"
Visca was quiet for a moment. "Simply a report."
This time Dax did smile, though it was brief. "Then I accept the report."
Visca bowed and left the council room with less weight in his coat and a cleaner burden in his chest.
The training yard rang with wooden swords when he stepped outside. The sound met him like an old habit, all strikes, footwork, and commands barked too quickly by his standards. Squires moved through drills along the far wall, and several glanced toward him before quickly looking away.
He found Anahi among them.
Her shoulders were tired, but her feet were planted. One of the older boys muttered something when she took her place.
Visca crossed the yard before the next drill began, and silence spread ahead of him.
He stopped in front of the squires. "Training resumes, but we will correct an old failure before it does."
No one moved.
Visca looked at the older boy first, then at the others who'd laughed when Anahi's pack had been cut and hung out of reach. "Strength that feeds on the weak is not strength. It's rot."
The boy's face lost color.
"Anahi remains assigned to me. She trains with the senior group until I decide otherwise. Any hand raised against her answers to me. Any hand raised against a weaker recruit answers to me. If you can't learn honor before you're given a blade, I will make certain no blade is placed in your hand."
Anahi stared straight ahead, but Visca saw her throat move.
"Begin," he ordered.
Wooden swords lifted again. The first strikes were awkward under his gaze, but they steadied as he walked the line. He corrected wrists, adjusted stances, and ordered one boy to lower his shoulder before he ruined it.
When he reached Anahi, he took the practice blade from her hand, turned it, and returned it hilt first.
"Grip here," he said. "You notice more when your hand isn't fighting the weapon."
"Yes, sir."
He fought the urge to correct the “sir.” On the road, she had learned to call him Visca, but here, with the yard watching, formality had returned like armor, so he left it.
The outer gates opened before he could move on and hooves sounded across the stones. Visca turned with the rest of the yard as two riders entered through the raised portcullis.
Kaol came first, travel-worn and grim, his cloak marked with dust. Beside him rode Mystal, her posture straight despite the pallor on her face.
Their expressions drew tight as their horses stopped near the steps.
Kaol's eyes found Visca, then moved toward the palace doors. "We need to speak with Luna Eysa."
Visca’s hand tightened around the practice blade. Whatever fragile peace had begun to settle over the yard vanished with those words.