Dragon Knight - The Ancestor Gods Saga Book 2

15. The Betrayal of Fennic

I was feeling a deep sense of relief as I headed for Fennic's home. Relief that he had reached out to me. Relief that things might not be as bad as they seemed. Relief that things might now begin to come back to normal.

My relief was also stemming from telling a part of my recent adventures to my grandfather. I had been in a bubble of anxiety wondering what he would make of my mishap with the dragon's soul. I had convinced myself he would be angry and would blame me for being careless. His understanding had lifted my heart and I felt more prepared to move forward.

There were still many obstacles to face, not least confronting the Order of the Dragon Knights and seeing what they decreed for my future.

Yet, I felt more hopeful than before and that was promising.

The town seemed quiet and calm as I walked along the streets. The turmoil of earlier, when we had brought back the burned bodies, seemed to have dissipated. All my fears seemed to have been unfounded.

Fennic was standing in the rough garden outside his cottage when I turned the corner of the road that led to his home. He was looking away into the forest. From his cottage, there was a direct route past another house to the trees. A clear gap was kept between the last houses of the town and the first trees. This was to protect the forest in the event of a house fire and also to avoid providing cover for any marauders trying to sneak up on the townsfolk. Over the years, the town had expanded, and the forest had been cut back, but it was still many miles deep.

Fennic glanced towards me as he heard my footsteps. He smiled. I could have praised the gods to see the old Fennic restored and to not feel his hate pouring over me. In that moment, I was too glad of seeing him smile to question his sudden change of heart.

"Hello Riva," he called. "I owe you an apology. I was rude to your friend about your family."

His smile slipped; he became sheepish.

"You did not deserve my anger lashed out against you and your kin. You have always been my friend."

"I understood your anger," I replied. "It was natural considering what had occurred."

"Will you come in and share supper with me?" Fennic asked.

"I will gladly."

We entered his house where the fire was burning and something smelled good as it cooked over the flames.

"My mother's old recipe for barley pottage," Fennic explained, waving a hand at the pot hanging over the fire. "It was my father's favourite."

He stopped, emotion slipping over him again.

"I am sorry about your father," I said, not sure it was quite the right thing, but feeling I needed to fill the silence. "He did not deserve that."

"Well, no one could have anticipated what happened," Fennic swallowed down on his grief and slowly turned to face me. "He was a brave man, my father. He always tried to do what was right."

"Yes. He did."

"You killed the man who murdered him?"

"I helped to kill him. Hartnor shall never slay anyone again."

A strange look came over Fennic's face.

"How did you slay that man when your grandfather and uncles could not?"

I was not prepared to reveal my secret to Fennic.

"I knew what I was facing," I explained. "Lexon, the knight I travelled here with, is from the same Order that Hartnor was from. He knew about Hartnor's powers and how to combat them. He helped me, or rather, I helped him."