The Nameless Warrior

I Will Catch You

Kaye didn't think it was possible for her body to be even more sore than it had been after the avalanche, but when she woke late her first morning in the Faye lands, it was. She groaned and rolled over, but Celeste and Elett were already gone. There was a cup of cold tea and a biscuit set out for her and she slid off the bed and crawled to it. She put the cup next to the fire to warm, and ate the biscuit cold.

She was sipping the tea when Bryant arrived. "Your cheek looks worse, should I get Celeste?" He brushed his fingers across it, and she winced. It felt worse, like the rest of her body.

"I was a priestess too, you know." She touched the bruise gingerly—it didn't seem worth bothering over. The tea would help the inflammation and Kaye would look the way she felt for a few days.

He took his hand back. "Sorry, I forget that sometimes. Are you feeling better today?"

She shrugged. She missed Gaerlom, to be honest. She missed waking up to the crash of the waves on the shore and the call of the gulls. She missed the early morning sunlight playing on the dark tresses of the men as they pushed their boats into the water for a day of fishing. She missed the calm grief that was always in Timin's eyes. It was different from the irritation of Bryant's frown.

"I will take that as a no," he said.

"I'm sore, that's all."

He looked around the cave. "Can I bring you anything to help? Would you like more tea? Or food?"

She grabbed his arm to stop him. "Thank you, but I only need to start moving around."

"Oh." His shoulders sank, and it warmed her that he wanted to help.

"If you'd fly me to the cliff, I would appreciate it. I want to get out of the cave for a bit."

"Is your wing injured that badly?" He scowled. "If we actually fed people to Mountain, I would find the man who did this and drop him in."

Kaye smiled. "While I appreciate that, I wouldn't want you risking your life that way. And no, my wing isn't injured that bad, but I haven't used them since they were cut. They're too weak. What if I can't fly?" She shook her head. "I'd rather you take me down."

Bryant stood and held his hand out. She downed the rest of her tea and took his hand, but instead of picking her up he walked her to the door. "How will you know unless you test them?"

She took a step back and shook her head. They were so high. Celeste had explained once that the Daughters were given the highest caves in case of attack. The higher your cave, the more important you were in the tribe. Celeste's cave was just under the Lady's. "What if I fall?"

"Then I will catch you." He smiled. "This is how all young Faye learn. You must trust in yourself and the Mother, and jump. The Daughters say it is the same with all things in life. You trust the Mother, and jump."

"And if you fall?"

"Then She is there to catch you, and you try again." Bryant squeezed her hand. "I promise Kaye, if you fall, I will catch you."

She opened her wings, and despite the pain from the rip it felt good to have them out again. They'd been stuck under her clothes in Gaerlom all winter. She tested them, flapping a couple times, and frowned. They felt weak. "I don't think they'll hold."

"There is an updraft against the wall—you just have to catch the current."

She lowered her wings and shook her head again. "No. They're too weak. I've had them hidden for moons now."

"And they will not become strong unless you use them." He ran his fingertips down her uninjured wing and her whole body hummed with his touch. She sucked in a deep breath and looked at him. He was smiling, but his eyes were intent on her as he found her hand and pulled her to the edge of the door. "You can do it, Kaye. I will be right here with you."

Her heart hammered in her chest, and it felt as if his fingers were still running over her wing, electric as a lightning storm. "Ok," she breathed and gripped his hand tighter. She stuck her head out the door and the wind rushed past her, just like he said.

It was like jumping off the cliff at home, only she didn't have a running start. She couldn't make her feet go. "I can't," she said and pulled herself back inside, but it was too late, Bryant was already jumping from the door and her hand was imprisoned in his. She fell into nothing.

A scream caught in her throat as he released her hand. She opened her wings, but the wind caught them and ripped them over her head just as she feared. She plummeted like a dead bird. And then Bryant was under her, flying them out of the updraft, and she clung to him in case he let go again. She was crying, but she didn't care—there had been no plummeting to the ground when she was first learning to fly. No one had pulled her off a cliff before she was ready. "Put me down," she gasped as they neared the ground.

As soon as her feet were on the grass, Kaye sank and hugged her knees to her chest, flattening her wings to her back. She was shaking and crying as Bryant knelt before her. "Kaye, you are fine. I told you I would catch you. I would not let you fall."

"You let go," she said, and even her voice shook.

"Of course I did." He tried to brush the hair out of her face, but she jerked away. "I would have ripped your arm out of the socket if I kept holding your hand."

She put her head on her arms to hide her face. All of the Faye on the cliff had seen her—a grown woman, unable to fly. It was bad enough that they already eyed her because of her surname and the fact that she was raised Tarrin; now they knew she couldn't fly.

"Kaye." Bryant put his hand on her shoulder.

"Leave me alone," she whispered and kept her face hidden.

"Do you want me to take you back to the cave?"

She shook her head. "I want you to go."

He sighed and she heard him stand and walk away. When he was gone and she stopped shaking, she walked to the far edge of the cliff away from the caves. She curled up again as she sat in the shade of the trees and looked to Gaerlom, wishing she could return.