Chapter 13: The Road North
They left before dawn.
Three horses. Three riders. One Titan walking behind them like a gray shadow. Grip moved silently for something his size. His long arms swung lazily at his sides. Every few minutes he'd reach out and touch a tree, a rock, a bush. Feeling the world as he passed through it.
Sera rode ahead. She'd packed the ledgers, the letters, enough coin for bribes. Her back was straight. Eyes on the road. All business.
Kael rode beside Ian. She'd braided her hair back and wore her armor. The massive sword was strapped across her back. She looked like she was riding to war.
"Relax," Ian said. "We're meeting a bishop, not an army."
"Bishops have armies. Or they hire people who do."
"Cheerful."
"I'm realistic."
Behind them, Grip hummed. The sound carried across the cold morning air. It was almost peaceful.
Sera glanced back. "He's going to hum the whole way, isn't he?"
"Probably."
"Wonderful."
---
They stopped at midday near a frozen stream.
Sera unpacked bread and dried meat. Kael checked her blade. Grip wandered off to touch a boulder that had caught his interest. His long fingers traced every crack and crevice like he was reading a story.
Ian sat on a fallen log and watched the Titan.
"He's happy," Sera said, sitting beside him. "I can tell. When he's touching things, he's happy."
"Simple needs."
"We should all be so simple."
Kael walked over. Stood in front of them. Blocking the weak sun.
"We should talk about the bishop," she said.
"We've talked about the bishop."
"Not enough. He's not just a religious man. Bishop Aldric used to be a military chaplain. Served in the border wars. He blessed blades and buried soldiers. He's seen things. Done things. He's not soft."
Sera frowned. "How do you know this?"
"Because I served in the border wars. Different company. But I heard his name. Men respected him. Feared him a little. That kind of respect doesn't come from prayers."
Ian chewed his bread slowly. "So he's dangerous."
"He's practical. There's a difference. He'll deal with us if it benefits him. But he won't be intimidated by a Titan. He's seen worse."
"Worse than a four-meter gray monster that can crush steel with its fingers?"
Kael's expression darkened. "I've seen men do worse things than any monster. The bishop has too."
Silence. Grip hummed in the distance.
Sera stood. Brushed off her coat. "Then we don't try to intimidate. We offer him what he wants. Leverage over the Duke. A chance to wound a political enemy. Religious men love that."
"And if he wants more?"
"Then we negotiate. That's what I do."
Kael looked at Ian. "And if negotiation fails?"
Ian met her eyes. "Then Grip takes his sword and we leave."
Kael almost smiled. "I like that plan."
---
They rode until sunset.
The road wound through hills and thin forest. The cold bit harder as the light faded. Sera's lips were blue. Kael seemed unaffected. Grip had stopped humming and was just walking, his smooth face turned toward the darkening sky.
"We need to stop," Ian said. "Sera's freezing."
"I'm fine," Sera said through chattering teeth.
"You're not. Kael, find us a camp."
Kael nodded and rode ahead. She came back ten minutes later with a spot. A hollow between two hills. Sheltered from the wind. A stream nearby. Dead wood for a fire.
They set up quickly. Sera gathered wood while Ian saw to the horses. Kael cleared the ground with her boot and had a fire crackling before full dark.
Grip sat at the edge of the camp. His long fingers dug into the frozen earth. Feeling the roots. The stones. The bones of the world.
Sera huddled close to the flames. Kael sat across from her, sharpening her blade with slow, rhythmic strokes. Ian sat between them.
"Tell me something," Kael said without looking up. "About before. Before the Titans. Before the women. Who were you?"
Ian stared into the fire. "Nobody. Third son of a dead house. The kind of man people forget exists until he's standing over them with a shovel."
"That's not an answer. That's a line."
Sera glanced at Ian. "She's right. You never talk about before."
"Because there's nothing to talk about. I was broke. Alone. Waiting to die or get lucky. The Titans were luck."
Kael's blade paused. "Luck doesn't make men like you. Men who command monsters and collect loyal women. Luck makes drunkards and farmers."
Ian was quiet. Then he said, "My father beat me. My brothers ignored me. My mother died when I was eight. I grew up in a cold house with cold people. I learned early that no one was coming to save me. So I stopped waiting."
The fire crackled.
Kael resumed sharpening. "That's more honest."
"It's old history."
"It's who you are. Cold house. Cold people. Now you build a warm one. Makes sense."
Sera reached over and took Ian's hand. Her fingers were still cold. He held them tight.
Kael watched. Said nothing.
---
Later, Sera fell asleep by the fire.
Ian covered her with his cloak. She stirred but didn't wake. Her sharp face was soft in sleep. Younger.
He walked to the edge of camp where Grip sat. The Titan was still. His fingers pressed flat against the ground. Humming so low it was barely a vibration.
"What do you feel?" Ian asked.
Grip raised one hand. Pointed north. Then made a slow, sweeping gesture.
"Something out there?"
Grip nodded. Tilted his head. Made a questioning sound.
"I don't know what it is either. But we'll find out."
Grip hummed. Went back to touching the earth.
Kael appeared beside Ian. Her breath misted in the cold.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"Never sleep well on the road. Too many years of ambushes."
She stood close. Not touching. But close.
"You told me something real by the fire," she said. "About your father. Your mother."
"Yes."
"I want to tell you something real. But I don't know how."
Ian turned to face her. The firelight caught her scarred face. Her gray eyes.
"Just say it. Whatever it is."
Kael's jaw worked. "I had a daughter. Once. She died. Fever. Four years ago."
Ian didn't say anything. Just waited.
"Her father was a soldier. Died before she was born. I raised her alone. In camps. On the road. She was small. Funny. Laughed at everything. Even when we were hungry."
Kael's voice cracked. She stopped.
Ian reached out. Took her hand. She gripped it hard.
"I couldn't save her. I've killed thirty-seven men. Couldn't save one little girl."
"That's not your fault."
"I know. Logically. But logic doesn't stop the dreams."
Ian pulled her closer. She resisted for a heartbeat. Then let him. Her forehead pressed against his shoulder. She didn't cry. Just stood there. Breathing.
"I'm not good at this," she mumbled.
"Neither am I."
"Your women make it look easy."
"They practice. Marta especially."
Kael laughed. Wet and rough. "She's annoyingly good at feelings."
"She is."
Kael pulled back. Looked at him. "I don't want to replace my daughter. Or her father. I just want to stop being alone with the memories."
"You're not alone. You're here. With me. With Sera. With Grip who can't stop touching rocks."
Grip hummed from the darkness. Almost like he knew they were talking about him.
Kael smiled. Small. Real.
"Kiss me," she said. "Not because I'm weak. Because I want to feel something that isn't cold."
Ian kissed her.
It was different from the others. Marta was warm and giving. Sera was sharp and searching. Varya was tentative and grateful. Kael was hungry. Like she was trying to consume him. Her hands gripped his coat. Her body pressed hard against his.
When they broke apart, she was breathing fast.
"Okay," she said. "Okay. That's... something."
"Something good?"
"I don't know yet. Do it again."
He did.
---
They didn't go further. Not on the cold ground with Sera sleeping twenty feet away. But they sat together by the dying fire. Kael's head on his shoulder. Her hand in his.
"I don't know if I can do the bond," she said quietly. "The Titan thing. I'm not soft like Marta. Not smart like Sera. Not maternal like Varya. I'm just a blade."
"You're more than a blade."
"Prove it."
Ian turned. Looked at her scarred face. "You fought Grip and laughed. You're training a thirteen-year-old boy to hold a sword. You told me about your daughter. Blades don't do those things. People do."
Kael stared at him. Then she leaned in and kissed him again. Softer this time. Slower.
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay."
---
CONQUEST COMPLETE.
TARGET: KAEL (WARRIOR).
VALUE: C-CLASS (TRAINED, BATTLE-HARDENED, EMOTIONALLY GUARDED).
DEVOTION RATING: 82% - OPENING.
TOKEN ACQUIRED: 1 MID-GRADE SUMMONING CRYSTAL.
INITIATING TITAN MANIFESTATION...
The ground shook.
Sera jolted awake. "What—"
Grip stood suddenly. His smooth face turned south. Toward home. His long fingers flexed.
Ian was already on his feet. "It's happening. Back at the manor."
"Another one?" Sera scrambled up. "Now? We're a day away."
"It doesn't wait."
Kael stood slowly. Her gray eyes were wide. "That's... the bond. It's real. It's happening to me."
"Yes."
"What kind of Titan will I have?"
Ian looked at her. At the scar. The warrior's stance. The trembling hands she was trying to hide.
"Something strong. Something that fights."
Grip hummed urgently. Pointed south. Then pointed at Kael. Then back south.
"He wants to go back," Sera said.
"We can't. The bishop is waiting."
"Then we split up." Kael's voice was steady again. "You and Sera go north. I go south with Grip. Meet you back at the manor."
"No. We stay together."
"Ian—"
"We stay together. The bishop can wait another day. We go back. See what came. Then north."
Kael stared at him. "You'd delay your plan for this?"
"You're part of the household now. Fully. That means your Titan is part of us too. We greet them together."
Kael's eyes glistened. She nodded once. Sharp.
"Then we ride. Now."
They broke camp in minutes. Sera grumbled but moved fast. Grip was already walking south, faster than before. Eager.
Ian mounted his horse. Kael rode beside him. Close.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"Don't thank me yet. We don't know what's waiting."
She smiled. The scar twisted. "Whatever it is, it's mine. That's enough."
They rode into the dark.