CHAPTER NINETEEN

19.

Savia woke up as the first light from Ysgafyn's twin shone through the mountains. Savia could never sleep more than four hours each night. A side effect from growing up on the streets of Isern. Every soul that walked into Isern was a potential enemy or competition. She could not allow them to get ahead of her. She glanced to her side. Alaric laid there softly snoring. She thought about killing him many times already but there was something about him that stopped her. She could not quite place the feeling. There had been no reason to keep him around. He would eventually betray her like everyone else. She watched how he leaned as he slept. Thoughts of the previous day passed through her mind. He had protected her against the blue and he had stopped Lady Gwen from slapping her. What is his true goal? Does he just want my body like all of the others? Why do I feel safe when I am with him? Safe…I am definitely not safe. She stopped him from leaning too far forward. She analysed his face. She then pulled out one of her daggers. One swipe and it is all over. He confuses you. She couldn't do it. She hid her dagger again. He promised he would free her, she had seen many empty promises before. Men that ensured her that they would whisk her away from the street life only to disappear without a trace. Leaving her alone to fend for herself. Her mother's words rang through her head. 'Savia, one day someone will come for you. Do not shy away from their love. They will give to you what I couldn't.' Many claimed they loved her over the years. None turned out to be true. She just wrote her mother off for being delusional. Alaric began shifting alongside her.

Savia swiftly stopped staring at him.

"Good morning," He said in his morning voice.

Savia nodded. "You are not…surprised…that there is…not a dagger in your chest?"

Alaric chuckled. "I think that would be an honourable way to go out." Alaric stood up and began stretching. "You know that is a strange question to ask someone who just woke up."

"You are the one who is strange." Savia stood up imitating him.

"Perhaps."

Alaric had been tall compared to Savia. Despite him towering over her, he never seemed hostile towards her. Even when they have been fighting in her home.

She was dragged out of her thoughts when he spoke. He had been looking toward the sky.

"It is probably too early to look for Florian. How about we have a spar?"

"Spar?"

Alaric nodded then stared at her. Those stupid blue eyes.

"We need to kill time and we need to sharpen our skills before the operation," He explained, cracking his fingers. "Few rules though, no casting and no causing major injuries."

"Can I use my daggers?" She asked.

"Of course."

They faced each other standing a few metres from each other. It was Alaric that moved first. He dashed forward and swung a boot at her. Slow. Savia easily dodged it. She used his body's momentum to shove his leg away from her. She aimed a tame dagger at his chest. She hadn't expected him to reverse kick her with the same leg. His boot hit the back of her head. Alaric had withheld some power but it was still enough to daze her slightly. She had been facing the ground on all fours. He baited me. Instead of waiting to get back to her feet, she balanced herself on her arms and swung her body in an impressive manoeuvre. Her legs swiped Alaric's out from under him. Alaric fell on his tailbone. She did not stop, with her daggers firm in her hand she charged the prone figure. He laid on his back as he caught her wrists before they reached him. She struggled to free her wrists. She put pressure on his abdomen with her knee. With an incredible display of strength, he flung her over himself. She landed painfully on her back. He kept a tight grip on her wrists. She was getting to her feet when he let go of her.

"Stop," He said. "What can we learn from that short scuffle?"

Savia shrugged.

"Let's start with you. You are incredibly fast and agile, however, you lost the moment you attempted to overpower me. You will not win most battles of strength."

Savia raised an eyebrow.

"When you knocked me down, you should've either tried to restrain my movement or aim to kill."

"You told me not to cause major injuries,"

Alaric chuckled. "True, I have said that."

"And you?" Savia asked.

Alaric thought for a bit. "I need to stop taking my foes at face value."

Savia did not understand what he meant.

"You are not going to ask me, what I meant by that?" Alaric chuckled. "Listen, I knew you were fast. Much faster than I am, therefore I tried to bait you into dodging my kick. It worked, but I never considered that you would be able to twist and swing your body like that."

Savia got tired as it seemed he wouldn't stop talking. Savia lunged at him, aiming a strike at his chest. Alaric was startled and jumped to the back, barely dodging the blow.

"You talk too much," She said.

"Why does everybody tell me that?" He said, smiling softly.

They continued their sparring until they were fatigued.

Savia walked silently behind Alaric through the streets of Isern. She knew that they were supposed to be looking for someone named Florian but she had no idea what he looked like. Why am I even going along with this? She could have spent her morning stealing as she normally has, why did she have to spar with him? She had learnt a bit of how to fight better but he was just going to betray her. There was no need to waste time. She almost bumped into Alaric's back as he froze before her. He seemed to be looking up at something. She followed his gaze and saw a man knocking a wooden plank into the roof of a building. She watched Alaric's expression darken.

"Florian!" He yelled.

The man on the roof was startled and looked toward them. The man gasped and climbed down the roof via a ladder. As he climbed down, Savia noticed the door opening revealing a woman. She seemed curious as to what was happening outside of what seemed to be her house. The man she assumed was Florian finally reached the ground. He held a big grin on his face. He dashed and hugged Alaric tightly. Alaric did not seem to reciprocate the hug. He still held a scowl.

"Alaric, you are alive!" Florian said

Savia watched as the other woman gasped a little as she heard Alaric's name. A part of her wanted to tug at Alaric's robe and tell him to get out of here. Why do I care?

Florian withdrew from his hug. "Did you find Ashe and Thorin? They'll probably be happy to see you."

Alaric's frown deepened. "What the hell are you doing?" Alaric yelled.

Florian was taken aback at his tone.

"Ashe and Thorin are captured!" "And what are you doing? Enjoying your time with these casters."

Florian was stunned.

Why does he hate casters that much?

The woman tried to get between the two men.

"I am pretty sure, Florian here did not know anything about that. He was helping us with our crisis." The woman said.

Alaric did not even look at the woman. He shoved her aside. "This is a family issue."

Florian attempted to punch Alaric. Savia watched as Alaric swiftly gestured with his hands to cast a small barrier around himself. Florian's punch hit the barrier.

Alaric shook his head. Savia assumed in disappointment.

"Where are they?" Florian asked.

"Now you are suddenly interested. Pathetic."

So he can be petty too.

Alaric turned around and began to walk. She followed closely behind him.

"Tonight, the north-east corner of town. Be there." Alaric said as he took his leave.

She watched his expression closely. He held a frown but there was something deeper there. Maybe…regret.

Nighttime came and Savia had been waiting alongside Alaric at Gwenllian's establishment. Despite it being nighttime, it hadn't gotten any colder. It had always been like this in Isern however. It had never rained or had even been windy. The warm temperatures had always been constant. People often say that Isern is the calm before the storm of Adhu Aqua. She never knew what the saying meant.

"Was I a bit too harsh?" Alaric's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She did not know how to answer his question. She was not well averse to sibling arguments.

Alaric took one look at her and chuckled. "Do not have siblings, I am guessing."

How did he know? She shook her head. Alaric then looked forward.

"Will he come?" She asked.

Alaric nodded. "He will be here. He may be a little naive but he is a much better man than I am."

Why does he always talk down to himself?

They waited for a while but just like Alaric predicted Florian arrived. He hadn't shown any angry expression on his face. Alaric and Florian glanced at each other. They hadn't said a word. Alaric entered the establishment. The establishment was as disgusting as it always had been. Savia saw Gwenllian at the back of the large room. Her eyes were fixated on Alaric.

"Alaric…" Florian whispered from behind Savia.

"I know. I will deal with it." Alaric said quietly.

Deal with what?

They met with Gwenllian at the stage they were at earlier. Like usual she had her hands all over Alaric. The sight angered her. Why did it? There was no reason to get angry by it. Gwenllian took one look at Florian and looked back at Alaric.

"You bringing me more fresh blood?" Gwenllian asked teasingly.

"He is off-limits. You will only have me." Alaric said.

Gwenllian got close to Alaric. Her body practically touched him. Savia had one hand on her daggers. "Aw, what a spoilsport. But I am fine with that. I prefer my men with a little…kick to them." Gwenllian ran a finger across Alaric's lips and walked away. They followed her to the basement level. There they met with Alaric's sister- her name had been Ashe if she recalled properly. The one they called Thorin had also been moved into Alaric's sister's cage. She wore a robe that she probably got from Alaric's sister. Savia, Alaric, Florian and Gwenllian stood on the outside of the cage. Florian said his apologies to Ashe and Thorin. Both of them had not been as angry as Alaric had.

"Can we get back to business? There are sentz to be made," Gwenllian said. She was guarded by two soldiers.

Alaric cleared his throat. "All we require is a method of getting into the building. I suppose you can handle that for us."

"Perhaps. But tell me, are all of you planning to enter the factory?" Gwenllian asked mockingly.

Alaric nodded.

"Impossible." Gwenllian scanned everyone in the room. She first pointed at Alaric and then at Ashe. "Both of you will stay here…as insurance."

Savia watched as Thorin and Florian were about to argue but stopped when Alaric raised his hand. What kind of hold does he have on people?

"That is fine. Now tell us, how do you intend to get them into the factory?"

"Weekly there arrives a shipment of iron ingots from Arstutia. The iron ingots are collected from a merchant outside of town by one of Chapman's soldiers." "From there it is simple, ambush the soldier and steal his identity and replace the ingots with two of your friends. That should get you into the factory," Gwenllian explained.

Alaric thought for a moment. Savia watched as the rest just watched him with hopeful eyes.

"Once they are in the factory, where will they be taken?" He asked.

"There is a storage unit placed somewhere in the middle floors. You are on your own from there. Chapman does not speak about his affairs very often. But there will be one certainty, I want Chapman dead." Gwenllian said in the most serious tone Savia has ever heard her.

She could swear she saw Alaric's face change a split second when Gwenllian mentioned wanting Chapman dead.

"When does the next shipment get here?" Alaric asked.

"In five days. Now if you will excuse me, I have some guests to entertain." Gwenllian left followed by her soldiers. Leaving Savia alone with Alaric and his friends. They waited until Gwenllian was out of earshot to speak.

"Why are we dealing with a snake, like her?" Thorin asked.

They turned to Alaric.

"We have no choice. She gave us a chance, we will have to take it." He said.

Florian still did not look directly at Alaric as he spoke. "We can't do it without you. We are also not strong enough. And that woman is surely going to try something."

"I can say with certainty, whether or not you take care of Chapman, she has no intention to let me go." Alaric said.

The rest looked at Alaric.

"Do not worry about it. Florian, you are strong enough and will be even more so if you figure out how to wield that sword."

Florian was about to speak but Alaric continued his speech.

"When you are in the factory, you will have to rely on stealth to take out the soldiers. You cannot face them upfront." Alaric continued to speak about their plan once they infiltrated the factory.

"Thorin and I cannot take out the entire factory by ourselves," Florian stated.

"Why'd you assume you are the only two? You have an incredibly powerful person joining you." Alaric stated as he motioned to Savia, who froze in place. She pulled her cloak's hood even tighter against her face.

"Who exactly is she? You mentioned she was a friend," Ashe said behind bars.

Friend, he considered me a friend? I tried to kill him. Savia and Alaric's eyes met. He is going to tell them I'm a thief.

"This is Savia, she is a caster. She will help us," He explained. Is that it? I never even offered to help.

Thorin gave her a scowl. Florian looked at her with indifference and Ashe beamed at her.

"I don't trust her," Thorin said.

"She will not betray us," Alaric said.

"How sure are you about that?" Thorin said.

"I just know. Let's drop this. We have to prepare for the infiltration."

Before they left, Ashe called Alaric. Savia did not need to wait for him but she felt she needed to. She watched as Ashe showed Alaric some sort of Large book. She had been pointing at a specific page. Savia watched as Alaric's eyes grew large. Ashe gave him the book. Alaric scratched at the stubble on his chin. Savia noted he often did it when he was thinking. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed Savia waiting for him. Savia could swear she saw his lips curve upwards a tiny bit.

They left the basement level and headed for the exit. Gwenllian smiled at her as they left. They met with Florian at the entrance. He too seemed to be deep in thought.

"I got us rooms at the inn," Florian said as he began to walk.

"Florian, I am sorry for lashing out at you like that."

Florian stopped in his tracks. "What really happened that day?"

Alaric did not seem confused. "You figured out my story wasn't the complete truth? Unfortunately, I cannot tell you."

Florian was about to grab Alaric but Savia withdrew her daggers and in a moment she was between them. Florian stopped immediately.

"He got you under his thumb as well? Typical," Florian stated.

Am I under his thumb?

Florian turned to walk.

Alaric placed a hand on her shoulder. "I keep secrets to protect you and Ashe."

Florian stopped again. "Protect us from what?"

"Protect you from me…"

Savia wondered what he meant by that sentence.

Florian continued walking. They followed him toward the inn. Florian had enough sentz to pay for three rooms. The two men just walked into their respective rooms. This left Savia in her room. She was not accustomed to bed. She could not fall asleep. She instead took to the floor where she fell asleep peacefully.