Chapter 10

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. Flames from a fireplace flickered on the wall, but despite that, the air was still damp, and I shivered. Blade must have seen me stirring because she rushed over to my side, and her bright cyan eyes peered at me with worry as she crouched next to me.

“Are you okay? You collapsed. I’m so sorry, I should have taken it slower on the journey and let you rest.”

The memories of what happened danced at the edge of my consciousness, but I pushed them away and tried to smile.

“I’m fine…”

“I should have protected you better…”

I heard the door open, and Tuimar came in with a bowl of stew. Her ears pricked when she saw me, and she walked over and put it on the nightstand next to me.

“I brought you some food. You should eat..."

I sighed. I didn’t want them to worry about me.

“You too,” I tried, but as expected, she just frowned.

“I'm fine.”

I gave in, and I could feel her yellow eyes on me as I struggled to sit up. The mattress was not as soft as I remembered the bed in Waymeet to be, and my body ached, but luckily, I didn’t seem to be hurt. I took the bowl, forcing myself to eat at least a bit before putting it back on the bedside table.

“I will get you hot water so you can wash.”

She left, and I wanted to call out that she should eat something first, but I knew that such a request would only be met with a frown. Blade sat down on the bed.

“How are you feeling? Can I get you something? The temple doesn’t offer much, but I can see what I can find.”

I shook my head.

“I'm fine, just tired. I'm not used to all of this. I'm sorry I worried you.”

She watched me, but I couldn’t read her expression, and Tuimar returned with a bucket of steaming water. It seemed the room had an adjoining washroom, because she disappeared through the door in the corner, and I forced myself to get up and follow her, not wanting her effort to go to waste and the water to go cold. It was a small room, much rougher than I remembered Waymeet’s washrooms to be. She put down the bucket, glancing down at the floor.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked.

I shook my head, and she turned to leave.

“It’s enough water for both of us…” I said.

She halted, and before she could frown, I quickly added,

“You can help me…”

She nodded, and I looked away as she pulled off her tunic. I quickly undressed and then knelt on the hard wooden floor. Tuimar took a tin of rough-looking soap and poured water over my front and then moved behind me to pour water over my back. I tried not to look at her, because every time I did, my face flushed. It got worse when she knelt behind me and began to wash my back, her hands moving over my bare skin. When it was my turn, I looked away, but I still caught a glimpse of her naked skin, and I tried to hide my flushed face as I scrubbed her.

Once we were done, she handed me a coarse cloth, and I quickly dried myself and wrapped myself in my cloak. The floor was still cold as we came back to the room, but the air was at least getting warmer. Blade was sitting by the fire, looking through some scrolls.

“How do you feel?” she asked as we sat next to her.

“Better…”

“What are you doing?” Tuimar asked, peering at the scrolls.

“Reading reports. People usually leave news in the temple, and couriers and mercenaries often take this route south, but these are old. It seems like not many people actually stop by here.”

“And the monsters?” I asked, suddenly remembering why we’d come here.

“Nothing. I’ve asked the priestess, but she said they haven't seen one in years.”

She shrugged and rolled up the scroll and put it aside.

“Sometimes the mind plays tricks, and people think they saw something that wasn’t there.”

I shivered. Sanda… The memories of her curious eyes tried to find their way into my mind, but I pushed them away. It was better not to think about it.

“You should eat something,” Blade said.

She got up, and I noticed a plate of bread and meat on the table.

“Thank you.”

She took off her cloak and boots and walked over to the bathroom.

“I can get you some hot water,” Tuimar called, but she shook her head.

“I don’t need it. I got used to it, it's fine.”

Tuimar frowned but turned back and picked up my half-eaten bowl of stew from the bedside table and began to eat. It must be cold by now… I sighed. At least I was getting hungry after the wash. I got up and took a piece of bread. It was hard, just like the rations we’d carried on our journey. I’d hoped we would have better food here, but Bear and Ias’ dinner had been better, and even Deryl had served a better meal in Waymeet.

I sighed. I wondered how they were doing there… I hoped they would find a way to live peacefully together, even if they were different. I smiled, remembering Liv and Baatar and how they’d decided to bring Vargs and humans together. Maybe they could help, and the others would listen to them, and Amara would guide them too. I glanced at Tuimar. I wondered what had happened to her. Why did she mistrust everyone so much? I knew she would never tell me even if I asked, but in the end, I didn’t blame her. After all, I hadn’t told them what I’d done either. Even if part of me didn’t want to hide the truth, I hoped they would never try to enquire about my past, and I could keep it for myself for as long as Amara let me…

She was sitting by the fireplace, and I walked over to her. To my surprise, she didn’t frown and let me sit down next to her. I heard Blade moving in the washroom, and soon after, she joined us, wrapped in her cloak, her short black hair still dripping.

“We could stay here for a few days,” she said. “You’ll need to rest.”

I sighed. I didn’t want them to worry about me.

“No, we can leave tomorrow.”

She shook her head.

“I want to see if those rumours about the monsters are true or not anyway. Also, I thought about getting a horse to carry our supplies.”

Tuimar frowned.

“A horse?”

Blade nodded.

“You can come with me tomorrow. Some horses are afraid of Vargs.”

Tuimar growled, her ears pinned against her head.

“I'm not a Varg!”

Blade’s bright cyan eyes rested on her for a moment before she reached out and put a hand on her.

“If the horse we get is afraid, we would need to carry the supplies ourselves …”

She rubbed Tuimar’s back, and I could see the girl’s tail hesitantly wagging in the air.

“Fine, I will come with you,” she murmured.

It was already late, and soon after, we went to bed. I woke up to an empty room the next morning, and I wondered if the others had gone to the market. I got up and dressed, and after a moment’s hesitation, stepped out into the hallway. The temple was quiet, and I didn’t see Sanda as I walked over to the gate and out onto the square. I couldn’t remember what I’d done here or why I’d come to Mistfen that time. I only remembered her name and… her eyes. Had I caused the sadness I’d seen in them?

The square was empty, and I looked around, wondering where the others could be. The tall statue of Wandering Star rose to the side, and its white marble was in such stark contrast to the looming tower close by that I didn’t see Sanda standing in its shadow until she called out.

“How do you feel?”

I startled, turning to her.

“Better… Thank you…”

I tried to smile. She continued sweeping the flat stones paving the square, and I hesitated for a moment before walking over to her.

“Let me help you.”

She frowned when I halted next to her, seeing the white star around my neck.

“A Wandering Priestess? My, you are still so young.”

I looked away.

“I want to help people…” I murmured.

“I understand… I wasn’t older than you when I became a priestess either.”

I dared to look at her, and to my relief, no new visions flashed before my eyes this time. She was wearing a priestly blue robe, and her long brown hair fell over her shoulders. I didn’t think she was more than thirty, but grief seemed to have etched her face and aged her beyond her years. Had I done that…? Silence fell between us, and I asked,

“Why did you become a priestess?”

“I always wanted to. My family were the caretakers of the temple. I always knew I would follow in my mom's footsteps when I was old enough.”

She tried to smile.

“I just didn’t know that Amara would choose me as her helper earlier than I’d thought."

“What happened?”

She fell silent for a moment before saying,

“The demons reached our village before we had time to escape. Mom went to the wall to tend to the wounded as we tried to hold against the attack. My family didn’t make it…"

I looked away. So that’s what I’d done… I wanted to run and never come back, but I forced myself to stay and only murmured,

“I'm sorry..."

“It’s okay. We are all children of Amara, and one day She will call us back home. I'm sorry for telling you such a sad tale. What is your name?”

I hesitated.

“White Star…”

She smiled.

“I’m..."

"Sanda..." I whispered without thinking.

She looked at me, and confusion swept across her face.

“Yes, that is my name. You called me by it yesterday… How did you know? I didn't think anyone beyond Mistfen knew it?”

“I… I…”

“Priestess.”

Tuimar's voice rang in the air, and I turned to see her coming over the square with Blade. I sighed with relief.

“What happened?” I asked.

“There are monsters around the village,” Blade said.

Her bright cyan eyes found Sanda as she halted next to us. I shivered.

“We need to warn the people…”

I turned to the priestess, but she looked away, avoiding my gaze.