The Gates of Memory, стр. 92
Jace joined the women. “Well, if you’re looking to join our hopeless cause, we’d be delighted to have you. Although I’ll warn you, we don’t accept just anyone. Our application and training are very rigorous.”
Ana and Alena both rolled their eyes, but Alena appreciated her brother all the same. As a child, he’d regaled them all with his academy adventures, but somewhere along the line Jace had learned how to say exactly what a group needed to hear. Tonight, he’d stepped in just before the conversation became awkward.
Ana spoke of Alena as though she were a hero, which Alena knew she wasn’t. She just refused to do nothing while those with the power of the gates destroyed their world.
Alena didn’t think Ana had found her answers, but she bid farewell to the group. Alena walked her out, standing in the street with the former wolfblade. “I’m not sure what I can do to help,” she said, “but if you ever need anything, I’m here.”
Ana gave Alena a deep bow. But before she could say anything in response, Brandt came around the corner. “Ana! I’ve been looking—” His voice trailed off when he saw who Ana stood next to. Concern transformed into disgust. “What are you doing here?”
Alena was no stranger to those who didn’t accept her. Her years among the Etari taught her how to deal with those barbs. But coming from Brandt, a man she had so much respect for, the words broke her heart.
Her response was colder than she meant. “I was exiled from the empire. In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t there.”
A part of her flinched from the sound of her own voice. She wanted to repair the wounds in their relationship, but Brandt’s words crawled under her skin, making her feel unwelcome among her own friends.
Brandt turned to Ana. “What are you doing here?”
Alena felt the storm brewing. Ana’s fists were clenched, and Brandt looked ready to draw his sword if given the excuse.
Ana unleashed her anger. “I’m here with our friend! The woman who risked her life for us, the woman who helped you with your memories after Landow! She’s not a traitor.”
Ana’s fire met Brandt’s cold reply. “She’s been exiled for defying the emperor. She’s no friend of ours.”
Alena stumbled back a step, her knees unsteady beneath her.
“You don’t mean that,” Ana said.
“I do,” Brandt said. He turned and walked away, back to the rooms he and Ana shared.
Ana looked at Alena. “I’m sorry,” she said. Then she chased after Brandt.
Alena stood alone in the street. Brandt and Ana were friends, and people she admired. To see them come to this made her want to weep.
But no tears would come.
She heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Jace stood a few paces away, his face a mask of anger.
“You know I’m loyal to the empire, right?”
Alena nodded. Of course she did. Jace had always wanted to serve. He was, perhaps, one of the most loyal subjects the emperor had. She expected, at least until her exile, that he would rise far in the government.
“Then you know what this means when I say it,” he said. He paused, closing his eyes as though the next words required tremendous focus. “I think you’re doing the right thing.”
He gave her a smile and returned back to their chambers.
Alena looked up at the stars above. What had she ever done to deserve such a brother?
Though she was the only soul on the street, she no longer felt alone.
49
Brandt sat on the edge of a rooftop, watching the sun rise over Weylen’s village. Ana had barely spoken a word to him last night, and they had again spent the night apart. Brandt didn’t want to fight, but he didn’t know how to fix what was broken between them.
He’d spoken rashly last night. Yes, he was angry at Alena. She possessed a secret of limitless potential, and she still didn’t understand how many people might die because of her moral certitude. But he’d still been too quick to react, and once started, hadn’t been able to stop.
He looked down at his hands. Control was part of the creed of the wolfblades, and outside of a few occasions in his life, he’d always maintained it. But now his emotions always seemed to get the better of him.
He felt unbalanced. And that had driven him to the rooftop this morning.
As Brandt watched the sunrise, he studied Weylen’s village. He felt an absence here, and it seemed more acute on this quiet morning. After a long study, he found what he missed.
Nothing decorated the buildings of Weylen’s village. The stone walls were sturdy but simple, lacking the craftsmanship of an imperial building. There were no statues here, no paintings. No thought was given to the aesthetics of the place.
Once he saw, he couldn’t unsee.
A society so focused on the art of war lost its art.
Brandt heard soft footsteps behind him, and Ana held a cup of steaming tea in front of his face. He felt his heartbeat calm just by virtue of the small act.
“Thank you.”
She sat down next to him, a cup in her own hands.
He recognized the tea as an offering, a truce, if only for a few precious moments in the morning.
“I would die for you, you know,” Ana said.
A lump formed in his throat. “I know.”
They each sipped at their tea.
“I don’t know how to make this better,” Brandt confessed.
“Neither do I. I want you to put this all behind you, to return to the empire with me. But you can’t do that, can you?”
Brandt wouldn’t admit he found the idea tempting. Ana wouldn’t believe him, but he didn’t want to return to Faldun. He didn’t want to be anywhere near a fight between Regar and his father. His imagination couldn’t begin to envision the power of three gates clashing.
He wanted to be with Ana, isolated from the world in a place almost like this. Some of his most