Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A cold wind makes me shiver, and I pull a heavy cloak around me. I turn around and see the serene top of an ice cap mountain, and the wisps of crisp white clouds float beyond the edge of the cliff. For a moment, I stand lost to where I am when I remember the vision from just over a month ago.

I’m drawn away about vibrant and realistic the mountain looks. So clear in the bright sunlight more than ever before. I scan the horizon of each side of the mountain to search for my fellow travelers. Maybe a better view of the children from the first vision or even the presence of my nameless mate. Regrettably, I can't see anyone traveling with me. I find a safe ledge and look down at the sunrays finding holes through the wispy clouds below.

The cold wind brushes against me, and I’m reminded I am alone. This vision is too real, and the emotions are too strong. I broke down into a full sob.

Should I curse the heavens for whichever god decided to remind me of my isolated peak? That is if this is a god’s doing. I’m not sure.

After I seem to calm from my flood of tears, I wipe my face and stare out again. I never stayed in this place for very long. A warmth curls around me, and I shuffle slightly when a large grey paw wraps around me and pulls me closer to its body lying next to me. A large white wolf is almost as white as the snowy peak sits next to me. She doesn’t say anything but just lays down with her head on my lap, and I don’t feel lonely anymore as long as she is here.

I caressed her head and could feel her purr at my motion. She glances up at me, and I know she’s judging me. “I know you are mad at me. I pushed you away when you were trying to warn me. I should have listened to you. Do you forgive me.”

Her tongue quickly exits from her mouth as she lobs it across my streak, leaving a wet mark across my face. She shifts her positions so her fluffy pure white tail switches back and forth. She is so gorgeous and majestic.

This must be what I look like when we shift. Snow white except for a patch of grey on my foot. I didn’t really get a chance to find a place for my reflection, I was just washed into the tidal wave of emotions. My heart drops, and I sigh deeply.

If I can remember his words exactly, your magic sense is stronger with your wolf present. Unfiltered could cause you to overcompensate or be prone to stronger emotions.

He also was just trying to take me to a place where I could be safe. As in, he knew of a cabin where we could hide because no one can reach it unless they are lupine because of how dense of the forests are in the outlands. He filled it with homely smells of good foods and filled it with a warm bath.

The wolf licked me, and I squeaked slightly, and she huffed in a chuckle. “Yeah, you were right. He was doing everything he could to make our introduction and bonding event free, and I just had to run and find trouble.”

The white wolf growls slightly and then rubbed her head on mine. The cold loneliness which permeated this mountain top is gone now. She’s here with me, and I feel like I’m on top of the world. She isn’t the wild beast my aunt referred to as the lupine were like. She’s gentle and kind.

Why was she ever so scared of the wolf side of lupines?

The white wolf growls menacingly at the question, and I stare at her, confused. She’s my mates mother. Does that mean she’s a wolf also?

I wake up with a jolt and quickly scan around the cabin. Everything is dark, so I slowly lay back down and stare through the dark window to the dense forest. Even in the dark, I can tell my eyes are adjusting to the moonlight’s dim glow. I can’t see the details of the bark, but I can differentiate the trunks against each other. Must be the benefit given to me when I’m not disconnected to my wolf.

‘Our hearing is better too.’ The voice comes out. I close my eyes, and I pick up on the trickling water of a nearby creek and the rustle of reeds as small rodents scurry beneath them. I can hear from far away that feels so refreshing and new.

I close my eyes and reflect on the embarrassment on the road. I could have run and hid in the forest and just let them pass, but I was overconfident in my ability to fight the regime. How could I even think I could take my country back if I can’t protect myself from eight scouts of nothing better than a pirate ship?

Sitting back up and scanning the dark cabin. I catch a glimpse of a shadow sitting in a rocking chair unmoving. I got up to walk over to him, hoping he might be sleeping. But it’s not my luck. His eyes meet mine, and I try to stand tall and prideful in front of him, but my shoulders betray me, and I shyly speak, “I’m sorry. You warned me and…”

I stumble on my words, betraying my emotions. I draw a deep breath and proceed to complete my thoughts even past my stutters, “I saw the descriptions of the god of death looking at me, and it spooked me. It was a brat’s imprudence. You managed to save me from my own stupidity after I did something so foolish to you. I was so certain I could handle eight men without the need for anyone else and nearly got myself killed…”

The event with the crossbolt is refreshed in my mind, and I shake my head, “What kind of cloak is this if it can block a point blank crossbolt?”

“I enchanted them years ago. They are special to my own needs. You can keep that one, though.” He says with a smirk, but his eyes never leave mine.

Silence envelopes us for a long time, but it’s not the same awkward silence, it’s the silence of knowing he’s giving me a valuable tool and he’s more the willing to part with it. Because he knows it would protect me, and it would make him happy? My wolf wants him to be happy and I have to agree with her.

My mind almost breaks on the idea that he’s able to enchant cloaks. Enchanters are few and far between. Even fewer are gifted enough to not be lost in the workshops being mined for everything they are worth. I never heard of a crossbolt proof cloak, and I don’t think anyone would imagine it being existent.

Enchantments often were faulty when they were on objects which aren’t like a piece of metal or gem. The reason most enchantments are on jewelry. His cloak has no metal and seems to be handwoven wool.

He’s an accomplished mage with the ability to enchant items deemed unstable for spells to hold. I would never want to be against him by myself in a sword fight and not to mention him and his wolf shift without restraint or resistance.

I swallow hard and ask, “Would you train me?”

He looks intently in my eyes, stroking a stray hair out of my face, “Of course.”