Forged in Fire: The Cloud Warrior Saga by Holmberg D.K

Author:Holmberg, D.K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2015-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

14

A Mother’s Return

Amia summoned him upon his return. He had recognized her hesitation when he suggested that he would take Cianna with him, but she understood the reason. There was no need for the irritation Amia felt toward Cianna, but it didn’t change the fact that it existed. The shared connection to fire was a part of it, but Tan suspected there was more he didn’t fully understand.

“It worked,” she said, studying his face, when he reached the door of their house.

Tan nodded, entering the house and pulling the door closed behind him. The room smelled of cut flowers and spices. A large wreath of woven flowers draped over one of the chairs. A weary expression on Amia’s face told him that she had been working the entire time he had been gone, only he didn’t quite know what she had been working on.

“I didn’t know if it would work,” Tan admitted. “How to convince an elemental of the need for a bond? But Cianna has always served fire in a way the draasin respect. She will be a good match for Sashari.”

“Where is she now?”

Tan glanced toward the window. “Out. Somewhere out there. She travels with her now. They will need to explore the bond and come to understand what it means for them.”

“I sense that you’re relieved.”

Tan was. He hadn’t realized how worried he had been about the draasin, but knowing that he wasn’t going to be the only one to protect them gave him more confidence that they could keep the draasin safe from Par-shon. “There is much more to be done. Roine isn’t willing to help rescue Elle, but I haven’t been able to reach her anyway.”

“I’ve tried as well. I thought the connection between us would facilitate me reaching out, but there is nothing but silence.”

She didn’t say it, but Tan knew Amia thought Elle was dead.

“Other than my mother, she’s the only family I have left,” he said.

Amia made her way over to him, and embraced him. They stood together for a moment, their shared connection giving more reassurance than the physical contact.

“You’re preparing for the First Mother?” he asked.

Amia nodded. “The People gather outside Ethea. Nearly a dozen families in all.”

“Only a dozen? That doesn’t seem right. How many were there?” When Tan had originally met the First Mother, when they’d gone to the Gathering, there had been at least six families already there, with more arriving as they waited. How had the Aeta lost so much?

Amia shrugged. “When I first went to the Gathering, I remembered it as a time of celebration. A thousand or more of the People would come together. We would have songs and commune by the great fire. There would be trading, but mostly there would be stories, tales told of the People, of the lands we’d crossed since last we gathered. The Mothers would meet and celebrate. Daughters would be raised.” Her hand went to her neck as she remembered. “It was where I first learned what I could do.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.