Page 81 of Forged in Fading

“Helping the refugees, strangely enough. I’ll take you.” Kat slung her arm through Alvara’s and led her deeper into the village. “It’ll give Boden and Rav some time to talk.”

“How did it happen?”

“A shifter.” Kat’s voice wavered. “They tore it right off. I’m so glad he’s still alive, we all are, but it’s going to be difficult for him.”

“A shifter? That won’t sit well with Boden.”

“Well, I’m first in line if I ever find the prick who did it.”

A flimsy wooden structure waited for them at the end of the road, overrun with ragged elves and demi-elves. Alvara spotted a familiar set of blue eyes atop a body that seemed to be in one piece. “He’s helping them?” In the time she had known Pyry, he had never offered help to anyone he didn’t intimately know, especially not someone who was half-human.

And yet, there he was, handing out clothes and blankets with a warm smile, out of place on his usually stoic face. “I guess losing his home made him want to help others who have lost just as much as him.” Kat nudged Alvara forward with a playful shove.

“Pyry.” She had to step over bedrolls and wedge herself between bodies to reach him. The blanket he held thudded into the dirt, and Alvara received the second hug she had experienced in just the past few days. This was really getting out of hand.

But Pyry’s embrace felt different, colder than Boden’s. It held none of the meaning and comfort it had all those years ago. Alvara fought the urge to squirm free, instead counting to five in her head before extricating herself. “I’m glad you’re safe. And you’re doing all of this?” She gestured to the refugees roaming around them.

Pyry dusted off the blanket he had dropped. “They took me in when I lost everything. It felt right to do the same in return. It’s…what my father would have done.”

It was. His father had been a kind, generous elf, always caring for others and softening his seluri’s and son’s tougher exteriors. After he faded at the hands of a thief during a delivery, Pyry hadn’t been the same. He had lost that part of his father and part of himself. Maybe he was finding it again.

“He would be proud, Pyry.”

“Have you eaten? We could—” Pyry’s words halted as footsteps sounded behind them. Thank Vitharen for whoever it was, because she didn’t have the energy to manage stumbling through a meal alone with him, not after the last few days.

“Pleased to see you’re safe. And thank you for helping.” Boden clapped his hand on Pyry’s shoulder, who frowned.

And the old Pyry was back.

“Thank you, Pyry, but I really need to rest,” Alvara said. “Maybe once we’re all settled.” She elbowed Boden, and he understood immediately, steering her deeper into the town. “Rav?”

“If I had been there, I could have stopped it. I should have⁠—”

“You can’t save everyone, Boden. You did what you could. He’ll learn to live with it. We’ll help him.”

He cleared his throat. “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I’m coming with you.” Alvara crossed her arms, immediately regretting the decision when it tweaked her bandages. She had decided last night as soon as Boden had agreed to approach the humans for sanctuary on behalf of the elves and demi-elves. Spewing some nonsense about going alone to keep others safe, as if his life was worth less than anyone else’s.

Did she speak the human tongue? Had she ever been to their realm? Both were a resounding no, but that wasn’t going to stop her. She hadn’t come all this way and sacrificed so much just to sit around while others did the important work against King Einar.

Boden settled a saddle and pad on his horse. “They know me, Alvara. It makes more sense for me to go alone.”

“If something goes wrong, you’ll need help. And how would we even know if something did go wrong if you’re alone? Besides, I’m famous for my charm.”

“That has never once been true.”

“Fine. I want to help, I need to.” She scratched his horse’s neck and lowered her voice. “I won’t make any trouble, I promise.”

He gave her a long look. “You always make trouble.”

“Not always! And how boring would life be without a little trouble mixed in?”

“How boring indeed.” Boden’s mouth quirked up as he cinched the saddle strap. “If you come with me—if—you need to do what I tell you. Elamara knows what has happened since the barrier fell, and they are bound to be suspicious of us.” His hands paused in their task as he glanced at her. “And for Vitharen’s sake, please don’t try that disturbing smile that you think is endearing. You’ll scare the living moonlight out of them.”

“Yes, commander.”