Ethyn gave back the cloak as they neared town, and the pair slipped into their house unobserved. The boy had never been so glad to plop into his bed and quickly fell into delightful dreams of gallivanting across the wide wild world.
Silver was not so fortunate. As soon as he lay to rest, his nightmares descended on him in full force. Sage again fell into the chasm of pain and all-consuming fire. This time Ethyn, Conall and Aiden joined the voices that cried out to him. Haven's childlike pleas tore through the roar of the conflagration. Other screams from beyond the grave begged him for help. Borit's wrath was inescapable.
As the Guardian looked down into the hellish valley, the fire leapt from its confinement and ignited the grass. More and more of the green blades around him burned as the landscape changed from lush to charred. All of Birle, and beyond was scorched by the indomitable flames. While Silver watched, the land melted away leaving only darkness and Borit's wicked chuckle behind.
After waking up in a cold sweat for the third time, the Guardian decided that staying awake was the safer option. 'It is only a dream. It cannot harm me.' Something in him felt that it was more than a dream, he pushed the worry aside. Dreams were dreams and nothing more.
Blissfully unaware of his friend's misfortune, Ethyn woke up in the morning refreshed and ready for the day. He stretched slowly and scratched every part of a young boy that itches in the morning. As the cobwebs of sleep abated, Ethyn could hear hushed voices in the next room. "That's curious," he muttered. He crept quietly and pushed his ear up to the door. He could just make out the voice of Silver and Sage in the main room.
In the other room the Guardian was defending his choices to the beautiful woman.
"You said you would talk to him when he was recovered." Sage hissed angrily.
"I did say that, but he's not one hundred percent yet." Silver responded defensively. "He needs more time."
"More time for what? He was well enough to go on your little adventure yesterday," Sage scowled as she tapped her foot on the dirt floor. "Aiden came by the tavern for a drink and a hot meal last night. Told us the whole ordeal."
'I will have to talk to Aiden about that later,' Silver thought to himself with a sigh. "It wasn't meant to be an adventure. I am sure Aiden embellished." Silver's fingers disappeared under his hood as he rubbed his temples. Lack of sleep and Sage's insistence on having this conversation first thing were giving him a headache. She could have at least waited until he was in a better frame of mind.
"Talk to him today," Sage urged. "The sooner you talk to him, the easier it will be."
The Guardian grunted. "And say what, exactly? 'Hey Ethyn, it's been nice knowing you, but these random people say they want to be your parents, so I'll see you around, ok?' I don't think so." Silver's mocking tone set Sage on edge. When she began again, she spoke through gritted teeth.
"Nothing so crass as that, my dear. I'm sure you'll find the perfect words. But Micah and Ruth are anxious to meet the boy. They won't wait forever, you know." Sage crossed her arms.
"I will talk to the boy. Do not rush me. But it is his choice. You know I do not want him to leave."
Sage puffed her cheeks and brought her thumb and index finger to the bridge of her nose. She was on the edge of losing her temper, and she knew that doing so would not help her case. "But you want what is best for him?" she asked at last.
"I do."
"Then I know you will make the right decision. I'm not giving up. I'll check in again tomorrow."
"Goodbye Sage," Silver opened the door.
With all the grace of a noblewoman, Sage inclined her head toward her host and swept out of the entry. 'That went well,' Silver thought. 'What am I going to do?'
Inside the bedroom, Ethyn was overcome with anger. "How dare Sage try to ship me off to strangers!" he muttered. "I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."
Ethyn peeked out and watched as Silver leaned his back against the closed front door. His hood was pushed back, and a pained expression rested on his face. Ethyn quietly shut his bedroom door.
He couldn't let Silver know what he planned to do. The Guardian would try to stop and talk some sense into him. But the boy needed to speak his peace, and it had to be done now. Ethyn grabbed his brown cloak, pushed back the bed, and shimmied through the long tunnel exit into the forest.
Although he knew that he would be in deep trouble for this, right now Ethyn didn't care. Exiting the tunnel, the redhead circled back to the main road in a wide arc. It was still early morning. As Sage probably had brought breakfast to them before she headed into work, this only made sense. She always used food as a pretext to drop by.
The thought of Sage smiling coyly each time she brought a meal only pushed Ethyn harder as he made his way onto the main road. He could see Sage in the dull morning light and started to call after her.
But as he went to say her name, he realized he might wake the neighboring homes. While he wanted to have it out with the woman, Ethyn was unsure a public spectacle was in his best interest. So he buckled down and quickened his pace, pushing against the pain of his lungs which were beginning to burn from exertion. That physical pain could not compare to the hurt and anger welling inside of him.
Sage's home was on the main road, but set back a few paces from the thoroughfare. Ethyn caught up to her just as she was about to enter her home. "Wait until I give her a piece of my mind," he muttered angrily.
Although the boy was in plain sight, Sage didn't seem to see him or at the very least, the woman was ignoring him. Instead, the woman was staring curiously at her front door. Because the child was so wrapped up in his own worries, Ethyn did not see Sage lift her chin bravely and enter with a wary glance toward the street. He raced up to the entrance and reeled back his hand to knock when he heard a man's voice on the other side of the door.
Ethyn jumped back from the entrance like he had been hit. Why was there a man's voice? Without thinking about the principle of it, Ethyn edged around the back of the house and hovered below the window. He could hear them clearly now.
"Get out of my house," Sage said with venom.
"Not until we have a little chat," the man answered calmly.
Ethyn ventured to rise slowly and peek in the window. He could barely see through the slit in Sage's thick, ornate curtains. He could make out the feet of a man sitting casually in a chair. Across from him, Sage sat in another chair with a soldier's hand firmly on her shoulder. By the look of anger in her eyes and her previous comment, these were unwelcome guests.
"I want you out, or I'll raise the alarm." Sage threatened. Her voice would have made most men think twice, but the figure in charge simply shrugged.
"You can if you like, but I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to offer you a deal." The man said coolly.
Sage narrowed her eyes at him. "What could I possibly want from you?" She jerked her shoulder away from the soldier, but he pushed her forcefully back in her chair. The man waved off the guard, and he released the woman from his grip.
Propping his feet up on the table, the man leaned back comfortably in his chair. It took every ounce of self-control to keep Sage from hurling him back onto his head.
"Let me tell you a story," the man began with a wolfish grin. "My men have been probing the country of Lakyle looking for anything we can use to our advantage. And guess what we found? We captured a man who told us about a beautiful brunette who was slated to marry Prince Armel. He described her as having brown eyes, brown soft curly hair, shapely figure, pale skin and most of all as a charming, witty woman with a rash temperament. Sound like anyone you know?"
Sage did not respond, but her chestnut eyes stared daggers at him. The man puffed out his cheeks. Her admitting or refusing the accusation was of no concern to him. He was sure of who he had in this clutches.
The man continued, "Anyway, the man we captured went on to describe her daring escape. It seems she didn't want to marry the prince. I don't know why anyone would pass up the chance to marry the future king. All that power would have been difficult to pass up. I am sure she had a very good reason."
Sage scoffed at him. "What has this to do with me?"
"Well, Sage, if you don't do exactly as I ask, I'll return you to Prince Torben. He is anxious for your return, though it may be that he only wants to see you executed for your treason. Whatever his aim, the prince will owe me a favor." The man chuckled to himself.
There was a long silence. Finally Ethyn could see Sage's shoulders fall in resignation. "What do you want?"
"I want Silver, and you're going to help me get him, my lady."