65 Chapter 55

Kalena cried all the way.

She felt so numb like never before. She couldn't enchant fire. Her power disappeared just like that Deep down, she felt used. Gyeul, Wan-Shi, and other supernatural forces that she had never known existed used her and Galaspiael for their purposes. And now they had taken her power. She felt incredible exhaustion that she had never experienced before. After the fight, from which she barely escaped with her life, she was completely out of strength, and despite that, she had to almost carry Galaspiael to her camp.

Once they were there, even though she was thirsty herself, she gave him all her water. He drank it down and took a deep breath. And she just lay down to rest for a while.

Another problem arose in a few hours. Galaspiael's eyes, which had been in complete darkness for several months, were unable to cope with daytime vision. The girl quickly made him a blindfold, wondering what their way back would look like. They could get used to sunlight in a few days but she was terrified of traveling with the blind Galaspiael through Madegald.

"Don't worry about that for now," she said as he touched a piece of material around his eyes. "We'll figure something out."

In reality, however, Kalena had no idea how they would handle it. She wanted his memory to come back so that he would take the initiative. Losing the gift of enchantment hurt as if a limb had been cut off. As if something had been torn from her body. She couldn't think of anything else.

While treating Galaspiael's wounds, she could see how many were there. Not only terribly scarred hands but also a lot of scars on the shoulders, back, stomach, a broken several times nose. There was a fresh mark on his head after being hit by some tool.

He didn't say a word. He was sitting in one place, communicating with her only with glances. The easiest thing was to convince him to start looking at her. As soon as he got used to the idea that Kalena wasn't going to punish him for it, he watched her constantly, which was irritating at one point.

She told him about everything that came to her mind. About Kagolania, the Scribes' Association, dynamite, the Silver Guard, his favorite holidays in which she also participated in. He listened to it all, and there were flashes in his eyes that she mistook for recollections. But there was nothing of the old Galaspiael about this man. And even if something smoldered deeply, she couldn't get it out.

"Everyone thinks that you'll return and regain power." It was untrue, according to plan, if Galaspiael had not returned, Aymon would have led the Kagolanian uprising. After all, Kalena couldn't imagine anyone other than Galaspiael on the throne. By "everyone" she meant mostly herself. She looked at him, waiting for a reaction. As usual, he didn't answer but blinked a few times.

She sighed.

He shook his head vigorously.

"No," he croaked, "speak ... speak as before."

When he spoke, Kalena was overwhelmed with inexpressible joy and sadness at the same time. Joy - because he finally said something. Sadness - because of his voice. Hoarse, filled with pain, resembling the voice of a sick old man, not of a man under thirty years of age.

In her mind's eye, she saw him in a dark cell, tortured in some bestial way. She could almost hear the scream, which slowly caught in his throat until it finally died away and turned into a hoarse rattle.

She was trying to be strong to make him feel safe. She could not show herself that she was hungry, thirsty, and as tired as ever. The food question worried her more and more. There was very little of it left, and she gave most of her portions to Galaspiael. One day she felt the consequences painfully. She was dizzy all day. She moved carefully, propping herself against something, certain that she was about to pass out.

"It's nothing, don't worry," she said as he looked at her questioningly. "Could you take our these cups and put them outside?"

From the expression on his face, she guessed that he was still afraid to leave the hideout.

"The sun is going down. It's gray, it shouldn't hurt you," she said calmly. "You have to get used to the light anyway."

He left. And he came back quickly. The chains on his arms and legs rattled at the slightest movement. Kalena knew she had to find someone who could take them off as soon as possible. She tried to pick at his shackles, but he only lasted a few minutes at most, and panic began to seize him. He never let his hands be touched.

He looked at her curiously as she took her jade-eyed necklace from her pocket.

"You gave it to me," she explained, "remember?"

With the two fingers of his right hand, he grasped the green stone and looked at it closely. He seemed as if he wanted to say something, but then he pulled away and shook his head vigorously.

"Too bad," she muttered somberly, then smiled immediately. "Lie down and sleep."

Galaspiael shook his head and sat down next to her. For the first time, he did not treat the suggestion to lie down as an order that had to be carried out as quickly as possible. She realized that he wanted to stay awake, so she would rest.

"What did they do to you?" She asked softly. She didn't count on an answer.

*

The longer they walked, the more the girl began to doubt her sense of orientation. She asked Galaspiael if he remembered where he had come here, but he remained silent. As the city loomed on the horizon, she was sure they had lost their way.

"I thought we'll go through the Forest of Silence. I don't recognize this place." She looked helplessly at the map. "If we hadn't lost the first one, it would have been much easier."

Galaspiael curled his shoulders.

"Let's keep moving forward. How could I get the route so wrong ?! It seems we went in quite the opposite direction than we should have gone. We have to stop there and ask someone for directions. You know, I was never really good at finding my way back. Once I got lost in your palace!" The girl smiled, hoping that she amused him a little, but remained unmoved.

The town they came to was unlike Hino or any other town Kalena had come to during her journey through Madegalda. They were lucky and they found a blacksmith who had finished his work and was about to go home, but his son agreed to help release the chains. But then another problem arose. When Galaspiael saw the tools, he clasped his hands tightly against him, and it was a challenge to get him to eject them.

"Laspie" Kalena felt incredibly embarrassed every time she said that diminutive. She invented it on the spot was silly, but they had to stick to this version until the end. His full name sounded too aristocratic. "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

"Could you calm down man, she's worried about you!" The boy added impatiently. "What prison did you help him get out of and what did he do to get him there?"

"He escaped from captivity," she said sternly, "and he didn't get there because he was a bad man. We just want to go home. We've just arrived and we don't have any money." She broke off, realizing that he might take it as an attempt to arouse pity. "Is there any place we can rest?"

"It is, but they don't like travelers who don't have money. You can sleep in our shed, but you have to leave in the morning. My father must not see you. I don't know if you can be trusted, you are strangers."

Kalena smiled gratefully.

"Thank you. We'll be gone by dawn, I promise."

The boy said his name was Tangmin and told them to follow him. He and his father lived one street from the workshop. Kalena thanked him a few more times for his help, promising that he would pay him back one day.

Galaspiael lay down on the straw and fell asleep almost immediately. They only had one horse, so they took turns riding it. Kalena was tired too, but she hardly squinted. She turned from side to side for a long time, and finally, resigned, decided to get up. She stretched and walked around the room.

She couldn't understand how she once found the strength to train at night. Now she could barely move.

Galaspiael suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"It's warm in here," he said finally.

"It's nicer than our cave, isn't it?" She asked, sitting down beside him. He threw up his arms.

- The cave was fine too. But it's better here. Much warmer."

"Then sleep. We must go soon."

He settled back down and as she sat down beside him he rolled over on his back.

"I thought you'd cut my fingers off. Thank you for not doing this."

*

In the morning, they continued their journey, again taking turns on one horse. Kalena fantasized about robbing the first man they could find or at least taking his carriage. She told Galaspiael about it.

"I thought that I took so much money that it will last me a long time. But a woman who enchanted water stole it from me," she explained, not paying attention to whether he was even listening. "I have an idea of where to get the money and it's not theft. But we have to get to some city."

In the afternoon, they reached Hino. Kalena did not want to go to the temple of fire. Now the gate was closed, and there was no one to open it anywhere. As if the spirit of Hinoona, residing in the statue, sensed that the girl is no longer worthy to enter.

She found a jewelry store in the richest district of the city. She took out her pendant and squeezed it tightly in her hands, then raised it at eye level.

"Do you remember?" She asked as Galaspiael glanced briefly.

"You showed it before," he replied.

"I know, I mean, do you remember it from before the mine?" She broke off. "It's silver. We would get a lot more for gold, but maybe that's enough for a second horse. I don't want to give it away, but it's probably the only option."

"Don't give it away," he advised.

"I kept it because I wanted something to remind me of you when you went to war," she explained, "but since we've found each other, I don't need that. We need money."

"You've had it for so long, you shouldn't give it away if you don't want to."

She looked at him seriously.

"It's about you. You must have good conditions when traveling. Better than I had."

Galaspiael looked sad.

"It's all my fault," he whispered, staring at the ground.

"It's not. It takes a long time to recover. I want to give you more time. I could try to steal something as well, although in my heart I don't want to."

She turned and felt Galaspiael grab her by the fabric of her T-shirt. She looked into his eyes questioningly.

"He's behind me," he whispered. "I'm afraid if I look away I'll see him."

"Nobody is behind you," she said, "and certainly not him."

"I can feel him!"

"Believe me, you are safe!" she assured. "He's not coming back. Even so, I won't let you hurt you. I'm with you and I'm not going to leave. I will not leave you."

"And who are you?"

The question almost knocked her off her feet.

"You do not remember?" For one terrible moment, she imagined that he was losing his memory again. It would drive her to despair.

"No." He narrowed his eyes. "I just think I remembered something. I think I've had a similar experience before. Such a walk with you... has already taken place. There was some other life before mine."

"Do you really remember or are you just talking about what I told you?"

"I just think I've lived it. But nothing more."

*

Kalena had demanded a lot more money for the necklace than it was really worth, but thanks to that, she made a deal for a lot more than she thought she would be able to. It was not even half of the amount she had proposed earlier, but still quite a lot. So much so that they could spend the next night at the inn.

"It's amazing how much happiness such a simple thing as a warm bath can bring," she would say when Galaspiael was in bed. She was sitting close to him, sipping tea at the table. "The water was almost black, it is unbelievable how neglected my hygiene."

She lit a candle. She had planned to leave her there all night because Galaspiael was terribly afraid of the dark. While looking for matches, she accidentally found sheets of paper, which pleased her immensely.

The black stylus she had with her to mark the points on the map was not entirely suitable for calligraphy. Even so, she began to write down any words that came to her mind. Then she tried to draw a new map from memory, and Galaspiael flinched and breathed loudly. He probably fell asleep for a moment and had a nightmare again. He had terrible nightmares, far more powerful than any she had ever herself.

"Remember when you got interested in enchanting?" She asked to distract his thoughts from the unpleasant dream. "You wanted to use it to get rid of Gyeul from the Forbidden Zone."

"Who is this?"

"You don't want to remember him. Enchantment is an art that I used to get us out of the mine. Have you seen some?"

"It's with fire?"

"Yes."

"You have great power," he said, "you are more powerful than he is."

"I was. I lost that power. It makes me so... so tired. I'm very tired. I didn't think I would miss it so much. She quickly smiled at him and added, "But I must be strong for you."

She focused on the candle flame, and Galaspiael held his breath for a moment. Of course, as she thought, nothing special happened. The flame flickered slightly as she moved her hand. That's all.

"Could I do that too?"

"You could enchant what you called life energy. When you went to war, you could do it better than me. Back then I didn't even know that I could do something too." She came up and sat on the bed "I had a teacher, and you reached your level using only one book by a dubious author. You had great abilities... and you still have them. He may have weakened you, but he has hardly been able to take that power away."

The mere mention of Washar made Galaspiael shudder.

"It's getting dark again."

"Because the night is coming. We'll eat dinner soon."

"When it's dark, I have the impression that he is sitting here in the room," he whispered, "or is standing over me. Sometimes I wake up and don't open my eyes. I hear his breathing."

"You hear my breathing," she replied.

"He's coming to take me back!"

"It's just an illusion," Kalena touched his face. "Look at me."

He looked. With the same beautiful, dark eyes that once completely captivated her. Only now there was not a single spark of joy in them. Only fear and sadness.

"I killed Washar." It sounded more like admitting guilt to an executioner than trying to calm someone down. "I stuck the blade in his stomach, right over here." Galaspiael backed away. "It went up and it must have reached the heart. Nobody would survive with such a wound."