– T A Y A H –

The men were eating at the table within the room. Kára stood with me looking over the sunlit sandstone around us on the balcony. The colours seemed so rich here despite the constant beating sunlight into the desert. 

"I need you to ask Yanu where his family are." I murmured carefully in the light wind. "I must know that we are not robbing him of time with his family."

She gave me a serious nod and flicked a dagger between her fingers. "This continent is not amicable to outsiders. Towns like this are an exception." She told me, looking down upon crowds weaving between the orange dusty paths. The sunlight hit her skin in a golden glow. Her dark sleeves were now cut away at the shoulder exposing the toned lines of her arms–I tried to remain focused.

"Nothing we cannot handle."

"It is not you or I, I am concerned about." She said in a low tone, flicking those bright starlike eyes over to me. "Though it would ease me if you wore my armour."

"In this heat? Not happening." I scoffed, leaning my bare arms against the stone and loving the free feel of the light silk tunic over my body. She sighed beside me and pushed a few braids behind her.

"You will leave those dusty swords behind and take my spear then."

I smirked, watching the lines of people move below us. "You have never let me wield that before–"

"I will teach you the best uses." She finished, brushing off some orange dust and raising into a stand.

"What makes you think I do not know."

"Not like I do." She told me with a slow smile. "But you learn fast, immortal. We should not need to spend many slithers."

I pushed off from the balcony and strode past her without a comment. We shall see just how inexperienced I am with such a weapon made of damandium. I may prefer the balance of a sword but I still had my share of fights with spears and pikes...

"Boys!" I called. Their heads snapped up from their gorging of dried meat and fruit. I smiled warmly at them before pulling a chair out and sitting on it backwards so I could throw my elbows over the back.

"I need your attention on this. It may involve us moving by sun down."

"Already?" Kaden said around a cheek full of meat.

"The boy cannot stay if he has family in the continent."

"Nonsense! We grew without our families and see how we turned out." John finished, gulping from a jug of water. I levelled him with a flat look.

"My point. Exactly." I turned my head over my shoulder and watched Kára pace silently closer. "Would you be so kind as to ask the question?"

She nodded before dropping a hand on the table and catching Yanu's wide eyed attention. They spoke calmly for a few moments in the foreign tongue with a more eager nod from Yanu after some hesitation. She rose to full height and crossed her arms.

"His family are located inland."

"How far?" Kaden pressed.

"Horses cannot travel the distance we must go effectively. Not unless we had ample water supplies that we would need more for ourselves."

John sighed heavily. "That will increase our travel by spans!"

"Closer to a fortnight, mortal."

The room stilled in shock. Before Kaden found his voice faster and slammed a palm to the wood. "How in gods did the boy end up so far from his home town?"

"It is no town. It is the capital of all of Kanton. From what I have studied, it is the largest and most populous of all in the mortal realm. I hope the boy has a good memory." She finished, playing with her blade again.

"This is okay. At least his family lives." I reasoned. "We may be orphaned scoundrels but that does not mean we should press that upon a boy with his life ahead of him." I said more firmly.

Kaden seemed in agreement before I had even said the words. "Here, here!" He rumbled. "I will cross the continent for the lad."

John sighed and took a deeper drink before pushing it back and eyeing us both. He finally set sights on the child that gripped his cup with both hands. "Oh, hells. I will not deny him this. What is one more dusty adventure to our group." He muttered.

"Good." I said flatly. "Now there must be a faster way to travel the desert than by foot?" I ventured, turning back to the Valkyrie.

She kept her eyes on the dagger that spun between her fingers in thought. "Animals will consume your water. Boats do not travel by land. You would need something that could utilise your power and my own. I used my winds to push our sails faster, as you used your fire to propel your craft... If we could maybe–"

"Let me! Gods let me! I have been dying to use these hands!" John blurted out spitting water between us. I wiped some droplets off my face slowly and glared.

"Keep the seas in your mouth and perhaps I will let you."

Yanu giggled and Kaden shoved more food in his mouth.

"Something with a sail perhaps? We could find materials in the market but I am not sure how much that will cost–"

A large sack of gold dropped from Kára's hand on the table and the eyes of the boy had never shot wider seeing such wealth. John merely scoffed and swiped it away–but not before she stopped him with a lethally fast hand.

"Materials to travel only." She stated in a deathly calm.

"Well it would seem I could not even entice a common whore in this land so you have nothing to fear." He snapped. I rolled my eyes and leant back in my chair.

"Where do you always get such wealth from anyhow?" Kaden got out.

"That is for me to worry about, mortal." She cut back. "See to it, it is spent well. A wind and flame powered craft along the sands could see us to the capital in less than four spans."

John clapped his hands together and threw Yanu a wicked grin. "Prepare to see those parents sooner than you think!"

Yanu stared at him blankly while Kára translated. The sudden excitement that overtook the boy was damn right adorable, I found myself smiling in satisfaction. If the kid had a chance at a normal life away from a group of immortal and mortal killers then we had to push his path back on track. Lest he became as hopeless as the lot of us.

"The craft will do for the deserts but when we reach the mountains we will rely only on–"

"Mountains?" I cut in, suddenly realising the journey before us was no menial task. She threw me an amused look.

"There is a reason the Kanton empire has never been felled in the past. None could march an army effectively to seize the power tucked within the highest mountains of the continent."

"I thought it was all desert land?" John probed with a frown.

"Mortal, if you ventured in any direction for long enough in your own land you would find snow capped mountains soon enough. It is how the realm is made." She retorted exasperated already by his obliviousness. But I too was surprised.

"So this city is... hard wintered." Kaden finally pitched in. "They have food that is not dry?"

"I am not going to deign that with an answer." She turned to look down at me instead. "You are coming with me. You will learn to use my spear properly before we travel this continent."

I leant back on the legs of the chair looking up at her with a lazy smile. "There is no need, now we will fly across the sands without ambush–"

The chair legs suddenly crumbled to dust below me and I crashed onto my ass in a heap. The men laughed loudly and I winced from the force before glaring up at her. She was already walking for the door.

"There is always a need to learn!" She called over her shoulder before palming her spear and kicking the door open.

* * * * *

We circled each other under the shade of palms near a rocky outcrop just outside of the town.

"You must stay calm under any climate!" She called, spinning her spear in a hand and raising her other hand before her. "The temperatures are extreme in these lands and those you fight will be used to it."

I watched her with my focus on the twirling damandium before her. If I was to only have it by disarming her I would need to be faster. That in itself was questionable.

Lightening cracked into her free hand suddenly and I flinched. She capitalised on my distraction and spun the spear for my heels. I jumped in time but was met with a solid kick to the chest taking me off my feet. The riding leathers did nothing to break my fall on the rock and sand. I huffed out a breath and rolled to the balls of my feet again.

"I need to know you can defend against this weapon before I let you wield it." She told me, pacing before me like a wildcat. 

I rolled my neck and nodded slowly. "Let us see."

She smirked darkly before dancing quickly higher on bright steps of white energy and lunging down. I rolled out to the side but stared as the power fizzed away into thin air like it had not existed. She had never used that extent of her power against me befor–

The hilt of the spear came sailing for my head and I caught it with a hand. I met her eyes that were briefly shocked before she ripped it away and spun it before her body. Instead of waiting on her next attack I lit both my fists with fire and threw it at her.

The spear glowed brightly suddenly and she spun it faster catching the balls of flame and absorbing it. I did not have the luxury of being surprised at the extent she could merge her power into weapons seamlessly. I ran forward with a high arc of pure fire and sent it down on her. She raised a free hand to capture it before sending the energy away–it had given me enough time to close the space and grab the spear.

I aimed a kick at her between us. She slipped to the side and threw her weight back carrying me to the ground with the weapon right before she used my weight against me and threw me high off her with both her feet.

I rolled into the orange dust and slid out. Fire was in my hands again even more powerfully. She tilted her head in appreciation.

"Your energy grows ever stronger. A shame it is not enough." She teased with a knowing smile.

I growled low and threw my palm to the stone below me. A bright ring of pure angry flames erupted around her in a circle. Just as it had trapped the slavers. I ran at the circle to use the distraction. But she was no mortal slaver.

Without warning she flew through the fire untouched by its heat and seized my collar in the jump. Before I could judge the speed and distance she already had me pinned to the stone with a knee pressed tightly to my chest and the spear tip against my neck. The burning focus left her eyes just as quickly as it had overtaken them and she spun the spear hilt first offering it.

My eyes widened in response.

"Your power was impressive." She answered, "You deserve to wield this weapon."

I smiled slowly before taking the damandium hilt in my palm and feeling the surprising cool of it despite the heat. It still felt like her power burned through it. She rose to her feet from me and offered me her hand. I took it and stood before her looking at the intricate designs in it.

"How long did it take you to earn this from the forger?" I murmured, lost in the infinitely detailed swirls and carvings that looked almost as impressive as a relic.

She smiled, tracing the lines again herself. "This was given to me the very span before I was sent to the mortal realm to retrieve you. The first time it was used... You saw it."

I stared in shock and met her eyes. "I feel like I cannot now–"

"Do not be foolish." She snorted. "It is still a weapon. There is no need to be sentimental."

"You are such a liar–"

She made to steal the spear from my hands but I danced back with a smirk.

"Focus. Tayah." She answered with a measured look of her own amusement.

"You are filled with sentiment!" I called back, moving the spear in my hands and getting used to its perfectly balanced weight. It felt impossibly light yet strong at the same time.

"What I am does not concern you now. You must keep me from taking it back." She answered before moving faster than before.

It went like this for many more slithers. Until I could taste the salt of my skin on my lips and feel the droplets of my exertion running down my body. While I was breathing hard, Kára did not look vaguely tired. She looked ready for the real thing. I set a hand before her stopping her from engaging me again.

"I need–more water." I panted, setting down her spear carefully and heading for the third skin lying under the shade of the rocks. The sun was already dropping low in the sky and painting everything in a richer orange.

She dropped into a crouch beside me as I collapsed into the dusty rock. She chuckled and took the remaining water skin from me after I had gulped deeply. But when I realised too late she did not drink it, she instead poured the cool water over my face. I groaned with a content smile.

"Yes, slave. More water." I mumbled with a wry smirk.

"Oh, how I would teach you some manners Tayah Ashrive, if you were not what you are to me." She murmured in a low promise above me, making me laugh.

"That sounds interesting." I answered, opening my eyes and throwing her a mischievous look.

She rolled her eyes and took a seat near my head, setting her forearms over her knees. I watched her curiously. She scanned the dusty horizons and the orange buildings of the town beyond in the orange sunset.

"Does it tire you?" I asked. I think she knew I meant more than our training.

"I hardly broke a sweat, immortal. I worked harder in your bed–"

I smacked her arm hard with another laugh. "That is not what I meant and you know it."

Her silver eyes looked gold in the light and they seemed happy. Content even. I loved seeing it replace the hard looks of timeless existence.

"I lost interest in the realms long ago. But lately I have been seeing them with new eyes." She answered me calmly.

I pulled myself up next to her and watched the town and its orange dusty in the fading light.

"I wish so truly that I could have known you sooner." I sighed, pressing my chin onto my knee.

Kára gave me a humourless laugh. "No, you do not."

"Yes. I do." I returned with resolve. "I could handle your darkness. I always could."

"Do you not consider that everything is as it should be? Right now in this moment." She asked me quietly. "You and I were brought together at exactly the moment we were meant to meet. Any sooner. Any later. Could have changed everything infinitely."

I frowned hard, considering this. I turned to her and saw her face was still just as calm and content as before.

"But that sounds like fate. You said you did not believe in such things..."

She shook her head. "Not fate. It is less glamorous than that. More chaotic."

"Now you have truly lost me."

She smiled slowly and caught my eyes. "Imagine that the realms are a constant motion of chaotic and unpredictable results. Results of tiny actions that each one of us make. We were never fated to each other. We designed our paths by infinite amounts of small change and alteration that could never be predicted."

I stared at her wordlessly. Thinking through every horror. Every death and every life saved. Every drunk tavern and lover. Every kiss and touch before her. All of it to cause our meeting.

"Impossible." I finished, shaking my head.

She smiled and turned back to the horizon. "I think not. It is why I think even a god of endless time cannot fathom too far ahead in the future. It is never set. Odin has never predicted it far ahead before."

I let out a long breath and dragged my hand through my hair. My whole body felt tired and in need of a bath. This statement from her. This concept just made my entire mind feel tired.

"You say things like this and it makes me realise how much experience you have, immortal." I chuckled lightly, leaning back on my hands. 

"All the experiences of countless lifetimes could not prepare me for a Uccellon mercenary." She murmured, shaking her head.

"No, but I am exceedingly life changing." I agreed, keeping a neutral expression. She turned to me slowly with a flat look.

"And endlessly modest."

"Infinitely beautiful." I added.

"Are we inflating your ego all evening or can we go find ourselves a place to bathe?" She deadpanned.

I grinned and jumped to my feet. "Whichever is preferable, although the last time we bathed together you were a bit of a tease." I mused, thinking of the spans back to Xerxes inn. 

"Please." She drawled, getting to her feet and stepping before me to dip her head lower. "I was not even trying."

My heart quickened a step and I felt the cool breeze a little more through my training gear. 

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Her eyes lit brightly in humour. "I think you have seen much more."

"And I will again, what is your point?" I stated boldly, walking past her to collect her weapon of destruction. It still made her laugh behind me before she retrieved the rest of our gear.

"Oh, how bold she has become. No more of the flushed, innocent mortal."

"And no more detached and cool demeanour of the mighty Stormbringer."

"Just test me, immortal. I can become that once more." She half threatened, but it was the weakest attempt I had seen yet.

"I would not stop you." I laughed, pulling her spear onto my back and turning to her with my arms wide. "But you would stop yourself. One look at me–one warm embrace and you are no timeless warrior. You are mine." I finished simply.

But instead of the quick retort I expected, a small smile found her lips and she turned to the town ahead of us. "Stop talking immortal."

I grinned and moved to keep up.