Valerien pressed Kirin's head down on his shoulder. Stone splinters hit his back like sharp missiles. He bit his teeth together so as not to cry out.
"Does she think I lured you into an ambush?" the bard shouted into his ear over the sound of thunder.
"Probably. If she is thinking at all," Valerien replied.
He pushed Kirin behind his back and tried to get an overview of the situation. The soldiers all gathered around the warlock, who put up a barrier of white mist around them and his son.
They all stared with open mouths as Elinor rose from the bench with raised arms, floating two feet off the ground, surrounded by crackling blue magic. Even from afar, Valerien could see that her eyes were unfocused, swirling with silver-blue energies.
He felt a pointy chin leaning on his shoulder and pushed Kirin's head back without looking.
"Stay behind me."
Stubborn as ever, the bard came to stand next to him instead.
"What do you think you are? A tree? You are just an inch taller than I am."
"You'd still make a smaller target that way, and she won't risk striking me."
Kirin looked up at Elinor. "Are you sure about that?"
Valerien wasn't. She didn't seem in her right mind, and if the High Warlock started attacking with iron again, they would be right back where they started, only with a worse outcome.
"Just stay close," he told Kirin.
They ran forward as Elinor's wrath concentrated on a new target. The blue energies picked up her sword and sent it after Owain. It hit against the white barrier, then started furiously hacking at it.
Valerien managed to grab it. The magic focused on him, trying to yank the sword from his hand. He could feel his palm starting to bleed from the friction, but he couldn't let go. If she killed the warlock's son, there would be no going back.
"Go to your warlock," he told Kirin through gritted teeth.
The bard ignored that and crouched down. He shot back up with a piece of the broken iron chain that was long enough to wind around the blade of the sword just above the hilt. The blue energies flickered and disappeared.
Valerien blinked. Maybe the young fool wasn't so foolish after all.
"Find more iron to cover it," he said and dropped the sword.
He ran towards Elinor in the ensuing rain.
"Stand down, commander!"
There was no reaction, but at least she didn't attack. The coldness around her felt like it would freeze him to the bone, while heavy rain started hitting.
There was nothing he could do to stop her without injuring her. What could he say to make her come back? A sudden memory made him smile.
"The day I was created, you made a vow to protect me. Now come down and do it," he called out, hoping the others could not hear him.
That didn't seem to work either at first, but then her eyes slowly returned to normal before they focused on him. She descended and touched the scars on her throat with a frown.
For a moment, he feared the iron had damaged it so much that she couldn't speak, but when she finally did, her voice sounded only a little hoarse.
"What happened?"
"I'll explain later, but we need to leave first. If they notice any weakness in us, we are done for. That old witch is too powerful, and I am at my limit," he whispered urgently.
Keeping her face completely expressionless, Elinor glanced at the men in the distance and nodded.
"Tell your human to free my sword," she just said.
Valerien turned to do so, but Owain had stepped out of the barrier already and was picking up the weapon. Despite his father's protest, he freed it from the iron Kirin had piled upon it and brought it to Elinor.
"You have the right to do with me as you please, lady. What I did was dishonourable, but I never meant for you to get injured. My father is overly protective," he said with a bow.
"Next time someone tries to drown you on dry land, I'll just let it happen," the warlock snapped.
He had hurried after his son like a mother hen, keeping the barrier up as a protection from the rain. It looked ridiculous, especially with Kirin and the soldiers following him in an awkward procession.
"I'll get the horses," Valerien told Elinor.
She nodded curtly, then gestured at Kirin.
"What about that one?" she asked.
Owain put himself protectively between her and the bard, saying, "He didn't know about any of this."
Elinor ignored him and addressed Valerien, "Is he still coming with us?"
"He is not," Owain replied in his stead.
"Do you own him?" Valerien asked coldly.
"No one owns him, and no one ever will again as long as I am alive. But he is too young and innocent. I will come with you in his stead."
"No one is going anywhere until I say so!" the High Warlock thundered.
Valerien pinched the bridge of his nose as a splitting headache throbbed in his temples. He was wet to the bone and too exhausted to deal with all those tiresome humans.
He forced himself to focus. Taran had told him the approximate direction the rebel army had taken, and maybe he didn't even need the Seeker anymore. Yet something in him was reluctant to leave him behind.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned to Kirin in surprise. The soldiers all took a careful step back from him.
Blue eyes blazing, the bard continued, "There is a band of creatures pillaging and murdering, and you are all just making everything worse!"
"Now see here, my boy…", the High Warlock began, but Kirin would not be stopped.
"I am not a boy! None of you has to protect me anymore. As soon as this storm is over, whoever wants to go find them can come. You can argue along the way, but I am not listening to any more of this nonsense!"
For a moment, only the sound of rain filled the silence. Valerien was tempted to applaud the performance somewhat sarcastically, but Kirin suddenly turned to him and grabbed his wrist to pull him along.
"Come with me."
Valerien pulled back. He was not going to be dragged around by a human.
"Where?"
"To my room."
"I am flattered, bard, but this may be the best time for such advances," Valerien deadpanned.
Some of the soldiers snickered, and Kirin blushed to the roots of his hair. Still, he said nothing, just slid his hand under Valerien's cloak and pressed it against his back.
It took all Valerien had to stand still and not show any reaction to the stinging.
What unsettled him even more was when Kirin leaned in to whisper in his ear. It wasn't just the echo of his own words, but the way the bard changed his melodious lilting accent to match Valerien's precise inflexion and deeper tone felt like mockery.
"Trust me."