Shadows of Nyn'Dira (Fallen Light Book 4) by H.C. Newell

Author:H.C. Newell [Newell, H.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter twenty-six

Taken

Nerana

Neer stood at the war table with Reiman, Wallace, Avelloch, and the evaesh commander, Cael.

“What do we do?” she asked, not caring to translate for the evae to understand. “We have to find him!”

“Our priorities must remain on the mission,” Reiman stated, staring at the figurines with distant eyes. “Gilbrich has survived for centuries without—”

“Reiman,” Neer demanded. She leaned over, forcing their eyes to meet. There was fear in him—it was heavily guarded, but she felt it. “We. Have. To. Find. Him.”

His jaw clenched, not of anger, but concern. He shifted his gaze back to the map, scanning it diligently with his hardened eyes.

Cael spoke quietly, saying, “What does this mean for our people? We can’t rush in if they know we’re coming.”

Avelloch’s chest puffed, and he crossed his arms. “We should call off the attack,” he said.

“What?” Cael argued. “We can’t allow the Klaet’il to get away with this!”

“If we rush in now, they’ll be waiting. We can’t—”

“What are you saying?” Neer interjected.

They turned to her, taken aback by her anger.

“We aren’t abandoning these people! We aren’t abandoning Gil!”

Reiman placed his hand on her shoulder. “No one’s saying that,” he stated. “But we need a plan.”

“What plan?” She shook his hand away. “If they know we’re coming, they’ll take the villagers and leave before we get the chance to do anything. We have to go now. Our goal was never to defeat the Klaet’il—it was to protect the villagers, right? To find those that were taken and make this right!”

She glanced between them, suddenly realizing their goals had become personal. They didn’t truly wish to save anyone. Their mission was to kill the Nasir and put an end to his massacres.

“You…,” she started, pausing to collect her thoughts. “You’re disgusting! All of you!”

“Nerana—”

“Don’t give me that! You were never going to try to find Thurandír’s people, were you?”

Reiman’s face hardened with anger. Lines formed between his brows as he stared at Neer, who held a damning glare. She shook her head and paced back and forth, overcome with fury. Her body trembled and chest ached with the icy sting of frost and rage.

“How could you do this?” she said. “How could you lie like this?”

“We hoped to find his people,” Reiman said, speaking with authority that demanded respect. “But it was never a guarantee. Our goal was always to stop the Klaet’il. You understand the sacrifices of war, Nerana. You cannot save everyone.”

“I made a promise, Reiman.” Her eyes burned through his, spewing with the fire that simmered deep in her soul. “We aren’t letting this happen to anyone else.”

“We have to do this rationally. If we storm into Ik’Nharaii, we will—”

“Save a lot more people than if we’re standing here, wasting time with senseless battleplans!” She swiped the figurines off the table and glared at her father. “I won’t lose him.”

His condemning stare was enough to break even the bravest of men, but Neer was strengthened by it. Holding her father’s gaze, she felt a swell of energy rising within her, tearing at her soul, begging to be unleashed.

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