Macha's Journey

A knock echoed in the apartment and she went to open it. She expected Freyr, but he was a bit earlier than usual. When she opened the door, she found him with a pained expression on his face. "Can I come in?" he croaked.

He looked as if his world was ending. She had never seen him so distraught before. Concern laced her voice, "Of course, what"s wrong?" Macha asked as she moved to the side to let him in.

Freyr entered and looked around, he did not know how to explain what happened. He sat down in the living room and tried to think of how to inform her of the news. His eyelashes were wet from tears, "Please have a seat. I need to tell you something."

A lump formed in Macha"s throat. The way he sounded scared her because he never acted this way. Walking across the room felt like it took a lifetime. She had to force her feet to move forward. Eventually, she sat down next to him, "Go on," she breathed.

He found it difficult to speak, and he did not know how to tell Macha that Luna and Tyr died. "I," the words caught in his throat for a second, "I was just informed that the Obsidian Dragons have been missing for a few weeks now. Kochi has declared them dead." His voice broke down towards the end and tears made his vision become blurry.

"No! That"s impossible." Macha stood up and shook her head furiously. She did not understand why he would say such a terrible thing.

Guilt from hearing her reaction caused Freyr"s chest to become heavy. He shut his eyes tightly and agonized, "I"m sorry. I... It"s all my fault." He could only blame himself. As a King, he had to do what he did, but as a person, he hated himself.

Macha took Freyr"s hands in hers, "No you don"t understand. I know he"s alive." He looked so upset and she wanted to comfort him.

Hearing her delusions made him suck his lips in and bite down on them. His voice sounded raw, "No, Macha, there is a chance, but it really isn"t likely. You don"t understand." Rana had reported to him where Tyr"s group went and he did not have any hope of them surviving.

Worried, Macha checked her ring once more. The faint red line still shone, which confirmed her belief that Tyr was still alive. She held her hand up so Freyr could see it. "No, he"s alive. He gave me this ring so we could always find each other as long as we live."

Freyr looked at the small red line that hovered above the band. It was a ray of hope that filled his heart. He remembered Macha showing him the ring the month after she got it. His cousin had a matching one that did the same thing.

He stood up and paced the room while he sorted out what to do. Although Rana claimed the Valois twins were dead, Macha"s ring proved otherwise. His cousins had already been deep in the enemy lines for weeks and every day that pa.s.sed decreased their chance of survival.

He would give anything to find Tyr and Luna, but right now, only Macha could do that reliably.

As he paced the room, Macha"s eyes followed him. She wondered what he was thinking about.

He glanced at Macha, her brown eyes were so soft and beautiful. He did not want to send the woman he loved into the war, but he wanted to save his cousins. The decision caused his hands to tremble so he shoved them into his pockets. "Macha, would you be willing to go and find them?"

If anything happened to her, he would regret it for the rest of his days. But he realized, if he did not ask her to recover his relatives and they died, he would hate himself. He decided to leave it up to her because it was her life that would be endangered.

This question was a difficult one. She wanted to believe in Tyr and Luna"s capabilities, but they had been missing for a long time. "I don"t think I can do that by myself. I"m really not that good at fighting yet."

She had not denied his request, so he continued, "I could send my special forces with you. They"re for secret missions that require stealth. I trust them with my life every day." Sierra would be furious if he did this, but Tyr and Luna were more important to him. His team always remained hidden, and no one about them other than himself and Sierra. If they were gone for a few weeks, no one needed to know except for the two of them.

If she did not have to go alone, she felt a little better about the possibility of success. She knew what she was about to do would fly against everything Tyr craved for her. ?"? ????? ???, ? ???? ?? ?? ????, she thought.

Giving a curt nod, she agreed, "All right. I can do it. When do you want me to leave?" Macha needed to help her friends if she could. There was no reason for her to sit on the side if they needed her a.s.sistance. War scared her, but if she was with highly trained people, she hoped she could accomplish her goal.

Freyr embraced her in a deep hug. Although he kept his distance as much as possible the past three years, he wanted to remember her warmth if anything happened to her. "Tomorrow morning. Please be careful," he released her and made his way to the door.

"I"ll have Alcinous get you tomorrow at sunrise," he paused wanting to tell her he loved her, but could not bring himself to say the words. Instead, he looked at her face one last time and added, "I don"t want to think about what life would be like without you. You know that. Please be careful and good luck."

When he closed the front door, he gave a great sigh while standing in the hallway. He did not know if he did the right thing or not. This had been a gamble that could force him to lose Luna, Macha, and Tyr. Freyr ran his finger"s through his hair as he descended the stairs. It was too late to turn back now, and he needed to have faith in all of them and their abilities.

Right now he had to think of how to deal with Sierra"s impending anger. After he explained the situation to her, he was sure she would confine him to the palace until the Sathar returned.

Macha changed her clothes and packed her bag. Every so often she checked her ring to make sure Tyr was still alive. His last letter had not indicated that he had to leave to do anything dangerous. All of his letters sounded like things were going so well.

After she packed, she reread all of his messages before going to sleep. From his descriptions, the war seemed to be tame and did not have much fighting. She wondered what she was going to see when she arrived at the battlefield.

****

Later that night, Sierra"s hazel eyes seethed with rage. She gripped Freyr"s desk, swallowing the stream of curses she wanted to howl. Her voice shook when she asked, "Why would you send the Sathar?"

It was beyond her why the King would do such a stupid thing right now. She understood that he was feared for his cousins, but to send out his special forces would be beyond idiotic. The tension from Jarnvid"s trial had died down since Scarlette was killed, but the hostility with Phocée still remained.

All of Sierra"s concerns were valid. Freyr sympathized with why she fumed with anger. Logically it was a bad move, but his heart truly wanted to help his family. Despite the small chance that the mission would succeed, he needed to latch onto that hope. The only excuse he could give her was, "I love them. They are the only family I have left." He knew that if Luna and Tyr died, his existence would be even lonelier.

Freyr looked like a lost and deserted child while he sat in his large chair. She had seen him grow up and had been by his side for most of his life. Although he had a sense of duty and responsibility, he was also sentimental. It pained Sierra to see him continually put the country"s needs before his own. This request was one of the few he asked for his own selfish reasons.

She also understood he battled with depression. Alcinous mentioned on more than one occasion that he worried that the King would commit suicide. When Freyr found out about the news of Tyr and Luna"s death, she thought he would have a mental break down. Now he seemed hopeful. If she denied his request and anything happened to him, she realized he would resent her for the rest of his life. "Fine. As you wish. Keep in mind that I strongly suggest you do not leave the castle while they are gone." The next few weeks or months would be stressful and she did not know how long the mission would take.

A knock sounded on the door and Gwydion, the Cardinal Mage, came running in. He looked around and chanted a spell to keep their voices within the room. "This just arrived from Kochi. It"s from the spy."

Freyr"s eyebrows shot up and he grabbed the note. His eyes scanned the hastily scribbled message, then he ordered Sierra to bring Alcinous into his office. He needed to give the man special orders for the upcoming mission.