41. Elian

Elian

The evening was cold and calm after the snowfall, the sky once again visible. Elian stood on the balcony that overlooked the gardens of the citadel, waiting for Owen. Beside him, Clove laid on a patch of snow, dozing. Much of the debris had been cleared from the broken stones when the earth shook after Mordren's death. Elian looked down at his hand where his fingers had once been. It was still strange seeing them gone, and at times, he felt sharp pains shoot through his hand, but he would be forever grateful to Owen for healing him. For saving them all and healing so many…

He thought of Rose. So much had happened since that fateful night of her Cleansing. To think it had taken seeing a child die for Elian to question the authority he had never doubted for thirty-eight years. It was painful to realize how wrong he had been. To realize how many people he had hurt, how many people the Legion had hurt. And now here he was in a position to eradicate all of it—the head council over the Legion, the Core Wielders, the design of Cores, Cleansings, the materials and energy wasted on things such as Horwolves…

It was time for Avathon and Milarc, as well as their neighboring countries, to move on from being a Legion that devoted their authority to Cleansings and killing Shadowborns. Instead, it was time for them to embrace Astrans as an equal and equally protected people. They had to establish unity.

He glanced up at the stars as they twinkled in the night sky. There were no gods left out there to call to, no one to ask for guidance or help. Alenar and Aleana were gone from this world, and now so was Mordren. The three gods who had created their world would never return.

But…

Could Owen possibly guide them into a new era? At the moment, it seemed Owen was at his lowest. Even when he had sat and talked with the councilmen yesterday, the look on his face showed nothing but apathy. Everything the man had gone through started with the Legion. Even if Owen recovered from this, he wouldn't have the strength to lead the people into the future. But it seemed the best path for him.

When Elian heard footsteps, he glanced behind him to see Owen approaching. In the lantern light between them, Elian saw the same familiar look of apathy on his face as he did yesterday on the first day of the trial. Clove rose up and trotted over to him, and Owen smiled faintly at her as he bent down to pet her.

"How are you, girl?" Owen looked up at him with raised brows. "You keeping her now?"

"Only if you don't mind," Elian replied.

"She's not my wolf." He ran his hand along her black coat that shimmered with a brown hue in the setting sunlight. Then he nodded. "It's best if she stays with you. Looking at her reminds me of… him."

What Owen endured from Rem was too much to dwell on, so instead, Elian got right to what he wanted to say, "After you gave your thoughts to the council yesterday about what you've suffered through, what other Astrans are suffering through, they were moved. They're beginning to recognize that changes are needed."

Elian thought again of the words that Owen shared from the stand yesterday. He had been unemotional and resolute, speaking of the horrors perpetrated on innocent Astrans by the Legion, detailing the power they had stolen from the Astrans and how they had wrongly used it. He spoke of the terror wrought by Mordren and his human servant Rem, who had once been a Core Wielder. The council and the people of Luthien were held in rapt silence, listening intently. The people's fury grew as they learned of the Legion's actions. A group had created a makeshift memorial on the citadel wall with the names of every Astran who had died during Cleansing rituals written in red. Protests shook through the streets after Owen's testimony. The council members who had been spared by Owen in the citadel dungeon had come forward and told of his refusal to kill them when Rem had offered their lives to him.

Returning to the present, Elian shook his head at Owen in amazement. "I've honestly… never seen anything quite like it before. But you did something to them."

Owen took a deep breath and got to his feet, and Clove bounded away, down to the gardens. "I only did what I felt was the right thing."

"The point, Owen, is that you got through to them. If the Legion is done away with in Avathon, it will bring about a new era of governance. Gone are the days of rule by a cult-like organization seeking only power. What the Astran people need, what all of Avathon needs, is a leader who will listen to them. A leader who will take their words into consideration and make this country a… a commonwealth."

"A commonwealth?" Owen raised an eyebrow, then he sighed. "I don't know what any of these words mean. Elian, I have too much power already. My abilities are too problematic to lead anyone."

"That's not true, the people would look to you for—"

"I can't lead this country," Owen cut in, "but I know you can."

"Me?" Elian raised his brows, then shook his head. "Owen, I… I was the very man who took people's children away from them to be Cleansed. I watched as a child…" He trailed off in shame, unable to say it aloud. "The people deserve better than someone like me. Someone who threatened others with my title, who chased you through Avathon and spun all of this into motion."

"But it happened either way. Mordren and Rem knew about me from the start. And in the end, you stuck by our side and got Colt where he needed to go in order to take down Mordren. All of us… chose a path, and fate brought us together. If you feel remorse for the things you've done, remember I do too."

Fate.

They both looked out at the night together. The mention of fate made Elian think of his family, and how his path had circled back to where he'd once lived.

"Fate is a funny thing, isn't it?" Elian asked. "I have ended up back home, where my brother and father are."

"Have you visited him?"

"My father? No, I am nothing but a disappointment to him."

"He told you this, or that's just what you've told yourself?" Owen furrowed his brows, and Elian hesitated.

No, his father had never told Elian he was a disappointment himself, only the path he chose to follow. Now, Elian knew why. His father and brother had seen through the Legion far quicker than he had. But they had never cast him out…

"You should visit him," Owen went on. "You're… not a bad person. I can sense that, and I always have. It's why I was always so confused that I smelled cinnamon around you."

Elian narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "What? You smelled… cinnamon?"

"Nothing. Look, I better get back. I'm tired. I should rest for another day before doing more healing."

"It's a good thing you're doing. The people here are scared and confused about what happened. Seeing an Astran healing the people will help in turning things around."

Owen looked out over the gardens. "I suppose… I just want to do what's right."

"And I know you will. You've only done what was right the whole time. And…" Elian rested his hands on the rails, his teeth clenching when he thought of what happened in Vanhelm. "You saved my life. In more ways than you know, and I just want to thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me for doing what any decent human should do."

"But you deserve it all the same." When Elian looked up at him, an expression of gratitude crossed Owen's features. "I ask for your forgiveness."

To Elian's surprise, Owen glanced away with a smile, as if it was what he needed to hear. Then he straightened and met Elian's eyes. "I forgive you.

The relief that flooded Elian was so immense, it felt like a giant weight lifted from him. "Thank you," he said, smiling.

Owen nodded, his eyes finding Clove as she sniffed around a rose bush. "Take care of her." He turned to go, but then he stopped and turned back around, seeming to hesitate before he said, "Elian."

Elian looked over in surprise and waited for him to go on.

"You dropped this a while back." Owen pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to him.

When Elian caught it and saw that it was the purple bracelet that Rose had given him, he closed his eyes, and his hand, around it. "Thank you," he said.

Owen nodded, then left.

Elian looked down at the bracelet and smoothed his thumb over the purple threads woven into a braided pattern. Fighting for the injustices of the Astran people made him feel as if he was fighting for Rose, as if honoring her name. As he slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, he hoped her spirit could forgive him, but he wouldn't blame her if she didn't.

Sighing, Elian stared back at the garden again. The quiet only lasted a moment before a familiar presence crept up to him. He knew Rhielle's stealth more than anyone else's, and when he looked over at her, he smiled.

"You're out late. Keeping an eye on Owen?" he chided her.

"No. I'm keeping an eye on you." She laughed and nudged him with her elbow.

Elian's heart skipped a beat as he gazed upon her.

"He's right, you know," she said. "You should visit your father."

"You've been spying on us for a while." He smirked, but then his smile faded as he asked, "And how would my father react to his son who was once Legion suddenly denouncing it? Perhaps he will only tell me he had told me so from the beginning."

"You don't know how he'll react. You've changed, Eli. Your father could be pleased to learn you've left the Legion. And the way I see it, he can either accept you despite your past, or belittle you even after leaving the Legion behind. Either way, you should go to him and tell him how much you love him ."

The thought of it terrified Elian more than anything he'd faced in the past several months. "I'll… think about it."

He was glad his father had been able to escape all this madness, living in a remote village in eastern Acren. It was a strange thing that Owen had mentioned sensing cinnamon around him, as Elian's mother often baked and sold delicious sweets with cinnamon all the time. He recalled the kitchen in their farmhouse always smelling like it. Perhaps it was a sign to visit his father.

When Clove came up and sat between them, they both patted her head.

"I can always go with you." Rhielle shrugged, her eyes meeting his.

Elian laughed. "What, as my guard?"

"No… I was thinking…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down. "As your friend."

Elian's body flushed with heat. He blinked as their eyes met. Then he smiled and said, "I'd like that."

Rhielle's lips turned up, and she linked her pinkie around Elian's finger, then they both looked out at the night together. Elian felt a familiar sensation pass through him, one he hadn't felt since his mother had died thirty years ago. He believed it was happiness.