The Last Ranger: Ranger of the Titan Wilds, Book 1 by J.D.L. Rosell

Author:J.D.L. Rosell [Rosell, J.D.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781952868184
Publisher: Rune & Requiem Press
Published: 2022-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

33

A LIGHT IN THE NIGHT

They left Glade late in the afternoon.

Isla had risen an hour earlier with many groans and a rumbling stomach. Once her hunger had been settled, Leiyn convinced her to endure a few hours of travel before they made camp elsewhere for the night. She knew Isla still had to take the journey slowly, but the urgency of what faced them pressed down harder.

The Lodge was gone. No one guarded Baltesia's borders. For all they knew, Gasts were marching across the Silvertusks and into the Titan Wilds at that very moment. And no one was there to bring warning to the governor.

Maybe Gasts hadn't intended to be part of the Lodge massacre. Maybe they were even opposed to it. But Leiyn had little doubt they would take advantage of the situation if they could.

Even more, she yearned to find the one who was behind the atrocity, whether it was the conqueror or the Caelrey himself. No amount of rest among the forest witches could extinguish the flame of her hatred. Always, it burned inside her, propelling her onward, no matter the pain and trials ahead.

Until she had avenged Tadeo and all those murdered at the Lodge, she could never truly rest.

And so it was that Leiyn herded the others from the dryvans' home. Eld stirred for a brief farewell, while Rowan, true to her word, escorted them back into the trees.

While the skin-walker was with them, Leiyn and Batu walked their horses while Isla rode atop Feral. Her fellow ranger still drooped with exhaustion, even though she tried to hide it, and whenever she walked, her gait was off from her strangely mended leg. Every time she saw her friend limping across the clearing, it made Leiyn wince, remembering her part in her infirmity. But there was nothing to be done for it now.

"You may find yourself in a different place than you left," Rowan said idly as they walked. "Closer to where you would like to go, most likely, but if it is not someplace you actually want to go, you might be farther."

Batu raised his eyebrows at Leiyn. She only shook her head. There was no use in encouraging the dryvan with an inquiry.

Even unprompted, Rowan prattled on. "I can barely remember when it was hard to get to where I wanted to go. Must be awfully inconvenient. And exhausting! No wonder you ride these grand beasts."

Rowan twisted her torso around at an unnatural angle to gaze with open admiration upon Feral. The mare returned the stare with one distrustful dark eye. To Leiyn, she looked as if she wanted nothing better than to snap at the dryvan's face. Leiyn gave her a sympathetic scratch behind the ear, provoking the horse to snap at her instead.

They had walked half a league when the dryvan abruptly stopped. "This seems far enough," she declared. "You can leave here."

Why this was the appropriate place and where exactly they were leaving from were far from clear. Still, Leiyn didn't inquire into it, but only held out a hand.

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