A Call to Arms: Book One of the Chronicles of Arden (40 page)

Nage clapped his hands together. “You’re damned right you could. Your own horse, Gib! What would your brothers say to that?” He laughed.

Gib smiled for what felt like the first time in ages. Some of the weight finally lifted from his chest. He could breathe again. He could see his brothers now, especially little Calisto. Their eyes would shine with wonder and their chests would puff out when they could brag their brother was one of the only farming men in Willowdale to own a horse.

“No one will ever believe how I came to have it,” Gib heard himself say. “I’ll have to tell the neighbors I found it and nursed it back to health or something.”

Joel laughed. “Nonsense. The Queen herself will most likely write a scroll for you. If anyone should question your ownership, you will have the royal seal to say otherwise.” He paused before lowering his voice, a blush dusting his fair cheeks. “Then they’ll know you for the hero you are.”

Gib shook his head. Nothing felt real anymore, yet it somehow was
perfectly
real. He chuckled. “I suppose a horse is all fine and good, but maybe the Queen could gift me something to keep everyone from staring at me in the halls and whispering behind my back.”

His friends laughed at that. Tarquin waved a hand. “I don’t think you have to worry too much. Kezra will protect you.”

Nage nodded. “Right. No one is scarier than her.”

Another round of laughter. Kezra only grinned. Gib found himself smiling too as he enjoyed a deep, refreshing breath of air. The nightmares would soon pass. He didn’t know how or why, but everything was going to be all right.
 

Gib sighed as he folded the last tunic and placed it into his rucksack. The bedding had already been stripped from his mattress and placed into a bin for the servants to collect, and everything else that wasn’t a personal belonging had been removed from the chamber earlier in the day. As Gib looked around the empty dormitory room, the realization that he was leaving struck him hard in the chest.

It was difficult to believe the school year was at an end, and in a few short marks, he would be on his way to Willowdale—home. The sentinel trainee’s stomach churned. He’d been away from his brothers for so many moonturns he was almost afraid to see them again. Had they grown as much as he had? Would he even recognize them—and would they recognize him? Gib certainly didn’t feel like the same shy, oblivious boy who had walked into this very room for the first time six moonturns prior. Would he be viewed as a completely different person to Tayver and Calisto as well?

The events of the past half-year had changed him. When he’d arrived he hadn’t known anyone, and his only goal had been to live long enough to go back to the farm. But then he’d met Nage, Tarquin, Kezra, and Diddy. Each of them had played a vital part in his growth. He’d learned so much from them all and their diverse circumstances.

Gib had said his goodbyes to each of his friends earlier. Tarquin tried his best at stoicism while Nage and Kezra had given Gib nothing but grins and thumps on the back. He would see all of them when the new academic year began, and in time, the four of them would earn their shields and swords together.

Gib’s heart hurt when his thoughts brought him to the farm. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it. He’d been raised there and all his childhood memories were tied to that place—but after being in this grand city and meeting so many new and intriguing people, Gib didn’t know if he could go back to existing as he once had. He’d met royalty and politicians. Some of them had even surprised him with their kind souls and generosity. He’d seen some of the finest events the country had to offer, attended the Aithne Ball, eaten at the seneschal’s dinner table over Midwinter, and trained in the royal palace. He’d met Joel—

Gib’s face blushed so hot it hurt.
I’m going to miss him the most
.

Joel cleared his throat from across the room just then. The mage trainee’s possessions were stacked neatly beside him on the bed, but he hadn’t packed anything yet. He’d been withdrawn all day, and Gib had a pretty good inkling as to why.

Gib set his rucksack aside and crossed the room. Without a single word, he sat down next to the older boy, placing an arm around Joel’s shoulders. If he needed support, Gib would sit there until Joel could admit to it.

Joel didn’t immediately respond; at first, the mage trainee chose to stare out the open window, his eyes lost and brimming with emotion. A moment of silence passed between the two roommates as they seemed to contemplate what the other might be thinking. At last, Joel’s shoulders lost some of their rigidity and he leaned his body against Gib’s.

“Must you leave?” The words were breathless and pained.

Gib winced as he stroked his palm against the older boy’s soft hair. “You know I have to.”

Joel raised his face long enough to cast a forlorn smile in his companion’s direction. “You could stay at the Adelwijn estate for the summer. I know Father wouldn’t mind, and Mother would be more than thrilled to accommodate you—”

Gib shook his head. “I can’t do that, as much as I want to. I have to go see my brothers, Joel. They need me.”

The mage trainee whimpered deep in his throat. “I need you too.”

Gib took hold of Joel’s hands, squeezing them desperately, trying to make him realize how difficult all of this was. “I know what you mean, but it will only be for a few moonturns, I promise. I need to figure out what to do with the farm—and my brothers. And then I’ll be back.”

Joel gave a weak nod, sitting up a little taller. “I understand. You do need to go. I would do the same for any of my siblings. It was selfish of me to ask you to stay, but I just—it will be hard not to see you every day.”

“I’ll think of you more than is probably good for me,” Gib replied with a light chuckle. “And I’m sure Tay and Cal will be sick of hearing your name by the time the summer is through.”

The mage trainee issued a strained laugh. The sound made Gib’s heart jump in his chest.
I’m going to miss hearing that laughter more than I yet realize
.

Gib pressed on, determined not to break down. It had been hard enough to say goodbye to his friends earlier. He wasn’t sure how he was going to bid farewell to Joel. “We can be roommates again when the new semester begins—if you want to, that is.”

“I would like that very much.” A smile stretched across the older boy’s face as he leaned closer. His voice lowered to a soft whisper. “Will you promise not to forget about me, Gibben Nemesio?”

“Never in a million moonturns could I forget you. That’s not even possible.”

A tear slipped down Joel’s fair cheek. “I love you.”

Gib wrapped his arms around the other boy, pulling him close, reveling in the warmth their bodies shared and knowing how much it would be missed.
Daya, give me strength
. A single sob escaped Gib’s lips, even as he felt Joel break down in silent tears of his own.

“I love you too, Joel Adelwijn. I love you with everything I am.”

They shared a tender kiss, both knowing it would be their last for quite some time—but despite that knowledge, they also understood everything was going to be all right. The strangest of circumstances had brought them together, and neither time nor fate would ever pull them apart now that they’d found themselves in one another’s arms.
 

Lifting the rucksack over his shoulder, Gib gave the closed door to his dorm room one last look. It seemed unreal this should be the last time he would see it for the next few moonturns. Despite its cramped quarters and impersonal feel, it had become his home. Despair rose in his chest.
I’m going to miss it all
.

At least as he walked away from one home he could comfort himself with the knowledge he was heading toward another. Tayver and Calisto were sure to have grown since last he saw them. A smile touched his lips as he wondered if their clothes would be too short in the arms and legs now.

He and the boys would have to write Liza. He hadn’t heard from his sister since her relocation to Winterdell, but he refused to give in to the fear of her demise. She was clever. Surely this brewing war wouldn’t be her undoing, not when she still had so much to give the world. It was his hope, one day, to stand at her side wearing a sentinel uniform. They could protect Arden together.

Who was to say what the future held? Gib surely had no idea. All he knew was that he’d grown to love Silver City, and in his heart, things would never be the same if he tried to leave it all behind.

“Gib! Gibben Nemesio! Stop! I finally found you!”

Sucking his bottom lip into his mouth, Gib stopped in his tracks and turned to look over his shoulder. Dean Marc waved as he bustled down the busy hall after the student. Gib’s guts churned. What now? Couldn’t he just go home in peace? The doorway was
right
there. He could see it. “Yes, Dean Marc?”

Marc clambered over and waved his hands as he bent to catch his breath. “Just Marc is fine. The school term is over.” He gasped for air. “I need to get out of that office more. Look at me.” His ragged breathing was comical, but Gib did his best not to smile.

At length, the dean stood to his full height and recomposed himself. “I feared I’d missed you. I need you to come to my office for a moment before you leave. Do you have time to spare?”

He wanted to say no. If he got on the road while it was still morning he could make good timing on his homeward journey to Willowdale—all thanks to the lively young mare Queen Dahlia had given him as a reward for thwarting the assassin’s plan. Grudgingly, Gib gave in. The dean had been nothing but gracious to him. Gib supposed he owed Marc the favor. “Sure. I suppose.”

Marc slapped Gib on the back, smiling widely. “Great. Follow me.”

Gib followed in silence as they traversed the crowded halls. He looked around, scouring passersby for familiar faces but saw none. Many of the dorm rooms already stood empty. It was sad, somehow. Before he knew it, they were at the dean’s office.

“This way, Gib. Take a seat.” Marc opened the door and ushered him inside.

“Thank you, sir. Could I ask what this is about—”

Seneschal Koal stood by the window behind Marc’s polished desk, his back to them. “You could, but you’re going to have to wait a moment to be told the answer.”

Gib froze. “Uh, h–hello, Seneschal. What brings you here?” His mouth was as dry as parchment. Surely Koal wasn’t here to ask Gib to come back to the Adelwijn estate. Gib could think of no way to refuse the Seneschal without being offensive. Surely Koal, of all people, would understand how badly Gib needed to go home and see his brothers, wouldn’t he?

Koal turned from the window, his face a guarded mask. “We have much to discuss,” came his cryptic reply.

Marc put a hand on the sentinel trainee’s shoulder. “Have a seat. This may take a little while.”

A cold rock settled in Gib’s stomach. Certainly if the seneschal was present, this meeting couldn’t be about his grades, could it? He knew his reading scores weren’t the best, but he’d tried his hardest. He’d also missed several sennights of physical training, but surely his private lessons with Diddy had more than made up for that. “Is something wrong?”

“That is yet to be decided.”

The office door swung shut and behind it stood King Rishi, as tall and intimidating as ever. The wolfish smile that cut his face in two did nothing to calm Gib’s nerves. What was this? Was he going to be questioned more about the assassin? He had no idea what else he could tell them. They knew everything he did and they’d analyzed every word at length. What more could he say?