Chapter 20:

A Much Needed Reunion

The Barrister From Beyond


I lay in the back of an open cart filled with hay, the night sky stretched endlessly above me. Stars glittered faintly between drifting clouds as the cart rattled over a rough, overgrown path. Each bump sent a jolt through my body, the throbbing in my skull flaring until my vision blurred.

Faelar sat at the front, his broad back silhouetted against the moonlight as he guided the mule forward.

“Why help me now?” My voice was hoarse, barely rising above the creak of the cart wheels. I stared up at the stars, as if the answer might be written among them.

“A debt must be repaid,” Faelar said, his voice low and measured. He flicked the reins lightly against the mule’s flank. “Not all good deeds go unnoticed, Mr. Aizawa. And not all debts are owed to kings.”

I shifted, trying to arrange the hay beneath me into something resembling a bed, but the wooden boards beneath jabbed into my back no matter how I turned. My head pulsed with pain, sweat beading on my brow despite the cool night air.

“You know Fredreich won’t let this go unpunished,” I said quietly. My words felt heavy, swallowed by the dark forest pressing in around us.

He took a deep breath, flicking the mule’s reins once again. “I’ve lived a long life. For once in the centuries I’ve been alive, do I truly feel as if I have some say over what happens.”

I clenched my fist, the cold hilt of the dagger the All-Mother gave me still lingering between my palm as he uttered those words.

After nearly an hour of travel, the forest grew so thick that it was impossible to continue with the cart.

“Can you walk?” Faelar asked, climbing down.

I swung my legs over the edge and stumbled slightly as I landed, brushing stray hay from my suit. “Yeah, I can manage.”

Faelar retrieved a lantern from the cart and gestured for me to follow. His shadow stretched long and thin in the flickering light as he led us into the tangled trees.

“They’ll have realized we’re gone by now,” he muttered, slicing through vines and low branches with the sword in his right hand while holding the lantern steady with his left.

“What will you do next?” I asked, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. My foot caught on a root, nearly sending me sprawling.

The crunch of leaves beneath our boots was the only reply I got.

After what felt like hours of fighting through the undergrowth, we emerged onto a narrow, hidden trail. At its end stood a ruined stone structure, its steps rising into the darkness like the remnants of some forgotten temple. Its shape reminded me of the Aztec pyramids I had seen in history books, though this one was worn and cracked, half-swallowed by the jungle around it.

Inside, the narrow corridor stretched for some distance before opening into a wide chamber. There, in the glow of a makeshift fire, Amber and Jaeger sat huddled together.

The moment I saw them, my heart surged. The pain in my body faded, replaced by a wave of pure, overwhelming relief.

Amber’s head snapped up the instant she heard our footsteps. For a heartbeat, she just stared, wide-eyed and unmoving, as if afraid her mind was playing tricks on her. Then she shot to her feet so fast that the blanket around her shoulders tumbled to the ground.

“Aizawa!”

Her voice cracked, raw with emotion. Before I could even take a step forward, she was running across the room, her boots thudding against the cold stone floor.

I barely had time to open my arms before she crashed into me. The force of her embrace sent a jolt through my battered body, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, clinging to her as though she might disappear if I let go. Her hair smelled of smoke and pine, her body trembling against mine.

“You’re alive,” I breathed, the words breaking apart as they left my throat.

“So are you,” she sobbed into my chest, her voice muffled against my shirt. “I thought—” She stopped, choking on her own words. “I thought I’d lost you.”

I pulled back just enough to look at her face. Her cheeks were streaked with soot and tears, her eyes wide and glistening in the firelight. She reached up with trembling hands and cupped my face as though to reassure herself I was really there.

“I’m here,” I said, my own voice hoarse. “Amber, I’m here.”

For a moment, neither of us moved. The world seemed to hold its breath around us, the crackling of the fire the only sound.

Then she kissed me.

Her lips were desperate, almost frantic, as if pouring all her fear, relief, and love into that single moment. My heart surged, and I kissed her back just as fiercely, my hands tangling in her hair. Everything: the dungeon, the pain, Fredreich’s betrayal, faded away until there was only her.

A deliberate throat-clearing broke the moment.

Amber and I turned to see Faelar and Jaeger standing near the fire, both of them wearing knowing smiles. Jaeger even let out a laugh as he walked over and clapped me firmly on the back.

“About time,” he said with a grin. “Glad to see you in one piece.”

Amber flushed scarlet and stepped back, though her hand lingered in mine for a moment before she let go.

Faelar shook his head, an amused smirk tugging at his usually stern features. “Touching reunion,” he said dryly, “but you should move quickly. Fredreich’s men won’t be far behind.”

“What about you?” I asked Faelar.

“I’ll have to atone for my mistake,” he replied. “There’s nowhere left for me to go. It seems my time has finally run its course.”

Faelar continued toward the corridor through which we had entered, his footsteps echoing in the hollow temple.

Amber turned to me, her brow furrowed with confusion. “You’re letting him leave? After everything?”

I shook my head, a small, wry smile tugging at my lips. No. If he walks out now, it will not be freedom he finds, only a blade waiting in the dark.

“I don’t believe your debt to me has been paid back just yet, Faelar,” I called, letting my voice carry through the chamber. “You’ve spent centuries serving the crown, and now you think a single night makes us even?”

Faelar stopped mid-step, his back still to us.

“No,” I said, my tone sharpened, each word deliberate. “You’ll stay with us. Consider it payment. Not to me, but to your niece. You will protect her and my companions until this is over.”

The fire crackled in the silence that followed, the weight of my words settling like ash over the room.

Faelar turned slowly. There was no anger in his eyes, only the faintest trace of amusement. A sly smile curved his lips as he gave a slow shake of his head. “You never could resist twisting the knife, could you, Mr. Aizawa?” he said with a quiet chuckle. “Very well. If it spares me a pointless death, I’ll stay. Let us call it… repayment.”

“Well,” Jaeger said, “It’s good we’re all leaving together now, but where to? We can’t just go back to Luxion.”

“No,” I turned to face Jaeger. “Anywhere in Mittengrad might just be giving ourselves over to Fredreich again.”

I looked at Amber, and then back at both Jaeger and Faelar who stood by, waiting for my words. “It’s about time the rightful heir of Ur claims the throne.”

Amber’s eyes looked up at me, bewildered, while both Faelar and Jaeger stood astonished at my words.

Mika
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