Chapter 56: The Return

The walk back to the farm took three days.

The snow fell without stopping, thick and relentless, covering their tracks within minutes of being made. Kaelen led the way, breaking the trail, his legs burning with the effort. The cold cut through his coat and settled in his bones. He had not felt this tired since the first winter, when they had huddled in the farmhouse and wondered if spring would ever come.

Sera walked behind him, the book in her pack, the warmth in her chest pulsing like a second heart. She had not spoken since they left the barrow. Her face was pale, her eyes dark, her jaw set.

Veyra walked between them, her arms wrapped around herself, her breath clouding in the air. She looked smaller than Kaelen remembered. Frailer. The glow was gone from her eyes, and the hunger that had driven her for so long seemed to have burned itself out.

Mira brought up the rear, her bow strung, her eyes scanning the trees. She did not trust Veyra. She had made that clear before they left the barrow.

"She betrayed us once," Mira had said. "She will betray us again."

"Then we watch her," Kaelen had said. "But we don't leave her to die in the snow."

Mira had not argued. She had just nodded, her face cold, her hand on her bow.

\-

The first night, they camped in the lee of a large rock.

Kaelen built a fire, small and low, hidden from the wind. Sera sat close to the flames, the book open in her lap, the names whispering in her mind. Veyra sat apart from the others, her back against the rock, her eyes closed.

Mira stood watch at the edge of the camp, her bow in her hand, her face to the dark.

Kaelen walked over to Veyra and sat down beside her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She opened her eyes. They were brown now, the red completely gone. "Not the hunger. Real hunger. I haven't eaten in days."

He pulled a piece of dried meat from his pack and handed it to her. She took it and ate slowly, carefully, as if she was afraid it might disappear.

"Why did you go to the barrow?" Kaelen asked.

Veyra was quiet for a moment. "Because I had nowhere else to go. Because I thought the First could help me. Because I was tired of being hungry and tired of fighting and tired of running."

"Did they help you?"

She looked at her hands. The gold cracks were still there, faint but visible. "They made me worse. They fed on my hunger. They used me to wake the First who were still sleeping."

"The ones in the pit."

"Yes." She looked at him. "They wanted me to open the door. The same door you sealed. They thought I could do what you did."

"But you couldn't."

"No. I didn't have the book. I didn't have the warmth." She touched her chest, where the glow had been. "I was just a tool. A broken tool. They used me until I had nothing left to give."

Kaelen looked at the fire. Sera was watching them, her face unreadable.

"Why did Sera save you?" Veyra asked. "After everything I did. After Elara. After the Tower. Why didn't she let me die?"

Kaelen thought about it. He thought about Orin, the forgotten god who had chosen to die. He thought about his father, who had lied to protect him. He thought about the farm, the wheat, the bread on the table.

"Because she's the keeper," he said. "The keeper doesn't forget. The keeper doesn't give up. The keeper carries the names of the dead and the living, and she doesn't get to choose which ones matter."

Veyra bowed her head. "I don't deserve her mercy."

"No. But she's giving it anyway."

\-

The second day was harder.

The wind picked up, driving the snow into their faces, blinding them. Kaelen had to stop every few minutes to wipe the ice from his eyes. The trail behind them was gone, the trail ahead was invisible, and the only thing keeping them moving was Sera's warmth, pulsing like a beacon in the grey.

Mira moved to the front, her bow in her hand, her eyes squinting against the snow.

"We need shelter," she said. "There's a cave up ahead. I saw it on the way to the barrow."

Kaelen nodded. "How far?"

"An hour. Maybe two."

They walked.

The cave was small, barely large enough for the four of them, but it was dry and out of the wind. Kaelen built another fire, smaller than before, using the last of his dry wood. Sera sat with her back against the wall, the book in her lap, the warmth in her chest pulsing weakly.

Veyra sat in the corner, her knees drawn up to her chin, her eyes closed.

Mira stood at the entrance, watching the snow.

Kaelen sat beside Sera. "How are you holding up?"

"The book is heavy. The names are loud. But I'm fine." She looked at him. "Veyra talked to you last night."

"She did."

"What did she say?"

"That she was tired. That the First used her. That she doesn't deserve your mercy."

Sera was quiet for a moment. "She's right. She doesn't deserve it. But that's not why I saved her."

"Why did you?"

Sera looked at Veyra, curled in the corner, small and broken.

"Because I saw myself in her. The hunger. The fear. The desperation." She looked back at Kaelen. "If things had gone differently, that could have been me. That could have been any of us."

Kaelen put his arm around her. "That's why you're the keeper."

"It's why I'm tired."

He held her, and the fire burned low, and the snow fell outside.

\-

The third day was clear.

The wind died down, and the clouds broke, and the sun came out for the first time in days. The snow sparkled on the ground, bright and blinding, and the air was cold and sharp and clean.

Kaelen could see the farm from the top of the last hill.

The farmhouse was standing, smoke rising from the chimney. The barn was intact. The woodpile was still high. The hunters were outside, shoveling the paths, their breath clouding in the air.

"Home," Sera said.

"Home," Kaelen agreed.

They walked down the hill.

\-

The hunters gathered when they saw them coming. Corin was at the front, his scarred face breaking into a smile.

"You made it," he said.

"We made it." Kaelen looked at the hunters. They were pale and tired, but they were alive. The hunger had not taken them. "How bad was it?"

"Bad. But we held on." Corin looked at Veyra. His smile faded. "Why is she here?"

Sera stepped forward. "Because she needs our help. The same way you needed our help. The same way all of us needed help at some point."

Corin stared at Veyra. His hand went to his knife.

"She killed Elara. She killed the Wardens. She killed her own hunters."

"I know." Sera's voice was steady. "And she will answer for it. But not today. Today, she needs to rest. Today, she needs to heal."

Corin looked at Kaelen. Kaelen nodded.

Corin stepped aside.

Veyra walked past him, her head bowed, her arms wrapped around herself. The hunters watched her go, their faces hard, their hands on their weapons.

But no one stopped her.

\-

They put Veyra in the cabin with the other hunters.

Sera gave her a blanket and a bowl of stew and a place by the fire. Veyra ate without speaking, her eyes on the flames, her hands shaking.

Mira stood by the door, her bow in her hand, watching.

"She's not going to run," Kaelen said.

Mira looked at him. "How do you know?"

"Because she has nowhere to run to. The First don't want her. The Cabal is gone. The Wardens want her dead. This is the only place she has left."

Mira was quiet for a moment. "That doesn't mean she won't hurt us."

"No. But it means she has a reason to try."

Mira looked at Veyra, curled by the fire, small and broken.

"I'll watch her," she said. "But I won't trust her."

"That's fair."

Mira walked back into the snow.

Kaelen stood in the doorway and watched the sun set over the hills. The long dark was here, the winter was settled in, and the farm was quiet.

But the hunger was still out there. The First were still waiting. And Veyra was still a question mark.

They would deal with it.

One day at a time.