The Crow King's Wife(37)

“And in that line of thought dwells madness Jala. You can’t let your mind wander in that direction.” Shade chided softly. “You have to focus on what you have now, and not what you have lost. You have to look at those you saved rather than killed. You rebuilt three lands if you count Tevonale, and you returned thousands to life. If our deeds are truly balanced in the end, Jala, you scale is sitting with the good outweighing the sins, I promise you that.”

“It doesn’t feel like that at all.” Jala objected and sniffled quietly. “I did something very bad Shade.” She began and rubbed her face once more. “And I don’t know how to make it right.”

“Well spit it out and let’s put our brilliant minds to the task of solving the problem.” Shade said with far more optimism than he actually felt at the moment.

“I turned my back on Neph, and at the time it was done in anger and shock, but after so much time to think on it I realize what an utter fool I was. I condemned him for killing an innocent, and when you tally the blood on my hands against his I am a monster in comparison. I left him alone when he needed friends most, and I don’t see any way he will forgive me for it. I left him to defend Delvay with nothing. How can I make something like that right?” Jala said and her voice broke midway through speaking.

“Ironic that I’m the one you should ask advice on this.” Shade said with a sad smile. “I’m the perfect one to answer this question. As I recall I left a very dear friend when she needed me most, and she forgave me for it.”

Jala stared at him for several breaths in complete bewilderment. It was obvious that she hadn’t even considered his actions in Rivasa before speaking. “I..” she began and her words faltered.

“Wasn’t even thinking about that.” Shade finished for her with a nod. “I know, but there isn’t a single time I’m around you that I don’t think about it. I was wrong to turn my back on you, and while I don’t know the full details on what happened between you and Neph, by the guilt you are showing I’m going to guess you were wrong too. The fix is a simple one Jala. You go to Neph and you beg his forgiveness, and you make damned sure that you are there beside him every time he needs you from now until the end of time. Just like I will be here for you, no matter how wretched the favor is that you ask.” Shade gave her a wink and was rewarded with a faint smile.

“Neph isn’t as forgiving as I am.” Jala protested weakly, but her tears were fading and she seemed to be relaxing.

“Leave Neph to me. As soon as I finish my Assassination in Rivasa, and spring a few dozen inmates from the Sanctuary prison I will have room to work your next favor into my schedule. Though I must say sending me into speak with Neph when he is likely in a pissy mood is far crueler than sending me into a Blight hive.” Shade said with a grin and elbowed her lightly on the knee.

Her eyes had grown wide at the word Assassination and he could see a thousand questions in her violet eyes.

“Get comfy. I have a lot to explain and some details about Onvalla that you should know. This might take a while, but I’d rather you know everything before I leave tomorrow.” Shade said with a sigh as he took his own advice and leaned back against the headboard. It was doubtful that he would get anymore rest tonight, but it was worth the lack of sleep if he could leave tomorrow with Jala in a better state of mind. Tonight was the closest he had ever seen her to breaking, and the sight was terrifying. Too much depended on Jala’s strength for her to break now.





Chapter 5





Delvay





The table before him was older than the caverns of his city. His grandmother had enchanted it as a means of protection for Delvay before the construction on the city was even complete. It was designed to allow the leaders of Delvay to always know the strengths of their enemies at any time, and Neph was taking full advantage of that magic now.

A ghostly outline of the world lit the top of the table and scattered lights dotted the various countries. It was a true an accurate counting of every living being on Sanctuary if he cared to take the time to count the dots. He wasn’t in the mood for that tedious task however, and he could learn enough by the rough estimates he was seeing.

Rivasa seemed to be thriving and the entire country was lit up with little orange dots. Nerathane was far higher in numbers than he had expected as well. According to what he had learned in the Academy dragons reproduced very slowly, from what he was seeing on the map, his teachers had been wrong.