Thornton
Thin rays of sunlight intruded their way into the darkened room of the inn as Alysana continued to berate Thornton. It was very one-sided, and most of it was conveyed through shouting and frantic hand-waving.
“How could you even think that it was a good idea to leave us?” she seethed. “I do not give a damn how much of a danger you think you are—you do not abandon your friends.”
Her hands were balled into fists, and she clenched her jaw so hard that Thornton swore he could hear her teeth grinding. He had never seen her angry. And he suddenly felt very small.
She was right, of course: he had abandoned them without considering the consequences. Even though he thought it was for the best, he had failed to consider the ramifications, the ones that would affect his friends and family.
“I just couldn’t take it anymore. Any of it,” he said in a calm voice. “I’ve been the single common factor in all this fighting and destruction and killing . . . and I thought that if I walked away it would all just . . . right itself.”
Alysana crossed her arms and gave him a look dark enough to hide Kethras. “If that is truly what you thought, then you are a fool, Thornton Woods. A fool,” she said with a huff. “A fire does not stop burning just because you turn your back on it.”
Kethras had not said a word since they had returned from the healer, and Thornton did not have the courage to look the Kienari in the eye. Trying to leave without a word to any of them had been cowardly, and Thornton knew it. It felt like disappointing his father. But finally, after Alysana had ceased her shouting, Kethras stepped forward and drew a deep breath.
“You humans are much too short-sighted,” he said in a quiet rumble. “You may have the best of intentions yet still bring about ruin and heartache in the end.” He wore the darkness of the room like a cloak, and Thornton couldn’t make out his expression, but he was certain he wouldn’t have liked it. When he felt Kethras’s hand on his shoulder, he flinched.
“But,” he went on, “I cannot fault you for trying to make things better.”
Thornton looked up to the tall Kienari, whose face was solemn and still. It reminded him of the great tree, Naknamu, and Thornton thought that “son of the forest” was a fitting moniker.
“It was stupid,” Thornton admitted, and Alysana scoffed in agreement. “I should have thought it through.”
Yasha, who had been sitting silently on one of the low-lying beds in the corner, looked up at Thornton and grimaced. “I can see why you did it, but the answer was right beside you this whole time,” she said.
Thornton blinked a few times, trying to figure out what she meant.
She stood up and walked over to him. Taking his hand in hers, Yasha said, “I can teach you about what you are.”
Her hands were soft, despite how the Breaking had ravaged her body. Whether it was out of revulsion for the power she represented or the thought of becoming something he hated, Thornton pulled away.
“That’s the problem,” he said. “I don’t want to be what I am. I don’t want to be a constant danger to people. And I don’t want to have to become . . . something else . . .”
As his voice trailed off, Yasha sat there looking as if he’d slapped her across the face.
“I just want to go back to Highglade,” he continued, “and do what I’m good at—blacksmithing. It’s what my father raised me to do.” He looked away, lowering his voice. “And the last time I checked, swinging a hammer at an anvil doesn’t have to involve taking people’s lives.”
A silence followed as the tension in the room wrapped itself around each of them. Yasha turned her back to sit down.
“I’m sorry . . . ,” Thornton began.
Yasha waved him off. “No. You’re right. No one should have to be something they don’t want to be.” There was more than a hint of contempt in her voice.
In the palpable silence that followed, Kethras spoke: “Perhaps it would be best if we all got some sleep. We have been traveling long, and still have long to go. It appears that it is starting to wear on us.”
Alysana was the first to agree. “Rest will do us all good,” she said. She still had her arms crossed, but the look on her face had softened. “And we will need to be alert tomorrow.”
Thornton was already thinking about a bed when he turned and looked back at the G’henni. “Alert? For what?”
“We have to make sure that we are getting the best deal,” she said with a sly grin.