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‘You must not see her.’ Eryn blocked Toryn’s way. Her eyes burned red. ‘Amyra’s humiliation is not for your eyes.’ He staggered back, daring not to ask what terrible fate had befallen their sister. The Amayan thrust out her hand. ‘You wait over there.’ Her voice softened as she glanced back to the cavern. ‘We will prepare our sister for her final journey.’ She turned and left him. Toryn retreated back through the tunnel to wait as instructed. A little way ahead, the Amayans sang softly through their grief. An orange light flickered across the smooth walls, changing to blue before fading. Toryn sat and let his head rest against the rock wall. He felt the pain of the Amayans deep in his gut. The loss of Amyra went beyond her sisters. Hamar had once said if they had just twenty Amayans, they could defeat the enemy at the gate. Toryn had always thought this was due to Hamar’s passion for such tales. Yet having seen the mayhem just three could inflict, perhaps on this occasion, Hamar had not exaggerated.

The singing stopped. Sobs echoed through the tunnel, but Toryn knew he should leave them alone until summoned. Footsteps approached. Eryn stood before him. Her eyes shimmered a soft gray light, but her hurt was obvious. She whispered. ‘Calestri and Arijan are attending to her.’

Toryn moved to stand. ‘I don’t have the words… but I’m sorry for—’

‘No, please, stay seated.’ She sat beside him. Eryn sighed. ‘And thank you. It pains us to lose another, and in such a foul and cowardly way. We shall take her to a place of rest where she’ll be returned to the land that gave her life.’

‘I wish I had met Amyra. You spoke highly of her.’

Eryn wiped away a tear. ‘She was strong, one of the best among us. She will be sorely missed. We number few as it is, so to lose another is a great blow.’

‘You once told me you didn’t know how old you are. We’ve not had chance to speak at length since you recovered your memory. Can you now recall your past? Nyomae told us Amayans fought at Gormadon. Did you?’

Eryn ran a hand down her face. ‘Gormadon was the reason we lost our way. I rode with many of my sisters into a most terrible scene of slaughter.’ She bowed her head and whispered. ‘Few would have survived if Nyomae had not recited the Song of Unmaking.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I also fought in many battles of Draegelan’s day, but before then? I have difficulty separating my memories from those who came before us.’

‘Would you be older than Nyomae?’

She nodded. ‘By many years, I imagine. We once numbered in our hundreds, but now only twelve or so remain… and some of those may have left these shores. But I cannot be certain as the bond we once shared has weakened.’

Calestri approached. ‘Amyra is ready.’ She looked to Toryn. ‘You may come now.’ He duly followed them into the cavern. The walls glimmered as if moonlight shone through the mountains to honor Amyra. At the center, she lay with her hands folded across her sword. Toryn kept his distance, but from where he stood, Amyra appeared to be asleep and at peace.

Arijan looked up. ‘She will not be left down here in the dark. We will return her to the land she loved.’

Calestri kneeled and stroked Amyra’s hair. ‘We will lay her to rest beside a stone of the Amanach. It will cleanse and heal the hurt inflicted by this world and prepare her for the next journey.’

Eryn read Toryn’s mind. ‘A stone lies to the east in the woods of Hadrin. Once we’re free of these infernal tunnels, it will be no more than a two-day ride. Our horses await us.’ She touched his arm. ‘You will ride with me. Once Amyra’s horse, Midnight, has borne her to the stone, she will bear you. You have deserved that honor.’ She beckoned him to the edge of the cavern. Eryn lowered her voice. ‘Vordrak has gone. The effort to call the rockworm drove him to exhaustion. When that worm failed to stop us, he knew we would soon be upon him.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘Then the only purpose Amyra served was… was to stop our pursuit.’ Her eyes brimmed. She looked up and clenched her fists. ‘I won’t speak of what he did, but he is aware we do not abandon our dead, especially in the appalling state he left her.’ Her jaw tightened. ‘Vordrak will die by our hands. His spiteful act will be made known to all our sisters. None will rest until Amyra is avenged.’

Toryn took a deep breath as they emerged from beneath the mountains. He shivered in the cool, morning air, thankful to be free of the weight of the great peaks. A craggy path wound its way down to the green Kolossos foothills in the distance. But his delight at seeing the expanse of sky above was short lived. He turned to watch the Amayans carry their fallen sister. To the east, the sun peered over the horizon, tinging the mists clinging to the fields and woodlands of Amman, a soft pink.

By the time they had navigated the rocky path and stepped onto the soft grass of the hills, the sun had risen halfway to the top of the world. No one spoke, but Toryn’s spirits lifted upon hearing a skylark. He looked up to see a lone bird hovering over their heads. And true to Hamar’s tale, she sang without pause to spare her the misery of having to endure the Maidens’ silence.

‘They come.’ Eryn called to Moonbeam. Four horses galloped across the slopes towards them. The Amayans laid Amyra upon the grass and stood back. The horses whinnied on seeing them and slowed to a trot. Amyra’s horse, Midnight, bowed her head and approached. She kneeled and nuzzled her nose to her rider’s face. The other horses circled the fallen Amayan, and they too bowed their heads. Toryn stepped back and watched in awe as the horses and riders appeared to draw comfort from their shared grief. Then Eryn gently lifted their sister onto Midnight’s back. She whispered to the horse as she secured Amyra, so her head rested upon Midnight’s neck. She motioned to Toryn to join her on Moonbeam as Arijan and Calestri mounted. Eryn called to Midnight. ‘Please, lead the way.’

The Amayans spoke little during the ride to Hadrin, and Toryn honored their wish for peace. On the evening of the second day since leaving the tunnels, they arrived at the foot of a small hill. A passerby would not have given a second glance to the dozen trees perched upon the modest knoll, yet Toryn knew this was where Amyra would be laid to rest. He was reminded of the wood in Darrow where Hope had led him to a Singing Stone, but he would not enter on this day. This was to be a ritual for the Amayans only. Eryn asked Toryn to wait with the horses. He watched them carry their sister on their shoulders, then stop at the edge of the trees. The light breeze carried a faint voice lamenting Amyra’s passing. It awoke a deep memory in Toryn from a time long before his birth, bringing tears to his eyes and an ache in his heart. The Amayans shimmered in the evening sun, then disappeared.

Toryn stirred with Nyomae’s voice still echoing in his head. At first, he believed it to be a dream, but as he woke, he recalled they had met as rehearsed in the Archon’s Tower. Their conversation came back to him, but he sensed Nyomae had not told him everything.

He sat to find another mist-laden, breaking dawn. He turned to see the Amayans walking down the slope. Eryn and her sisters looked at ease, relieved to have delivered Amyra to a fitting place for an Amayan to start her next journey. As they neared, he noticed their eyes gleamed as if rejuvenated by the visit to the stone.

Eryn spoke. ‘Amyra is laid to rest. I and my sisters will avenge her. Vordrak afforded her no honor, and therefore we shall end his days with the same honor.’ She held Toryn’s gaze. ‘I see you have consulted with Nyomae. What news?’

‘But how did you…? Yes, and for once it’s good. Lord Broon has returned with a sizeable force of Elites. All who can carry a sword, now ride to the Kolossos Pass.’

‘Then that is where we shall go.’ Eryn whistled to Midnight. She trotted over. Eryn stroked his nose. ‘Amyra is at peace, my beauty. You served her well, fast and sure-footed, never letting her down. You are released from your service. But should you so wish, I have another task for you. Would you bear an Imaari? He has proved himself worthy of such a fine horse as you.’ Midnight lowered her head, then kneeled before Eryn.

She turned to Toryn. ‘She accepts. You ride reasonably well without a saddle. Midnight will tolerate reins, but don’t dare tell her where to go. She will not stand for that. An Amayan’s horse takes its cue either from our thoughts, or they go where they please.’ Eryn managed a smile. ‘Believe me, if you try to guide her with the rein, you’ll soon find yourself on your backside.’

Toryn patted Midnight’s neck. ‘Then I would not presume to be so bold.’

‘A wise precaution.’ Eryn glanced up the hill. ‘While at the stone, we conversed with one of our sisters. Cymori was due to meet with Amyra. But Amyra was waylaid on the road to Telamir. Cymori tried to ride to her aid but was driven back by a large band of Nordleng. It appears our awakening in Foranfae has stirred us all from the long trance.’ She picked up her pack and tied it to Moonbeam. ‘We are to unite and avenge Amyra. Cymori will meet us at the pass. Two more come from the north. And another from Saphrir where she has…’ she glanced to Calestri, ‘perhaps you don’t need to know about her antics in that city. We will number seven, more than enough to end Vordrak’s miserable existence.’

Toryn beamed. ‘Will you then fight for the realms?’

‘That we will. Your fight is now our fight. The Ul-dalak must not be victorious. The Amanach must stand. We will—’

‘Eryn!’ Calestri called over. ‘Do you feel that?’

Arijan looked up. ‘Something’s wrong. The land is ill at ease.’

Eryn kneeled and placed her hands, then an ear to the ground. ‘The land trembles to the north. Hundreds, if not thousands of—’ She stood. Her eyes widened. ‘It’s the gorge. The spiders are free!’