Chapter 707: Ashlynn’s Unraveling
"Can you help us keep her safe, even if we have to protect her from herself?"
Heila’s anxious cry tore at Isabell’s heart, tearing apart the image she’d started to rebuild in her mind of Ashlynn as a rising, powerful witch. After seeing her deal with the traitor, Darragh, last night, Isabell had been convinced that Ashlynn carried heavy scars, but that she was healing from her wounds.
War was a crucible, and people either emerged from it stronger or broken. Though if Isabell was honest with herself, even the ones who grew stronger lost things in the process... things that could never be recovered. The strength they gained from surviving their trials was never free.
In Ashlynn’s case, seeing the way her eyes sparkled brightly when she talked about her vampire lover, or the praise in her voice when she spoke of her new friends and companions, it looked like she’d gained more than she’d lost. People like that, people who built lifelong bonds tested by the fires of war, gained more than they had lost, and usually found happiness after the war passed.
But from the way Heila spoke, Ashlynn hadn’t emerged from her war at all. Even though she had survived Owain’s attempt to murder her, even though she’d found a new home and a love that was mystical and magical...
She hadn’t found victory or suffered defeat. She was still fighting, still locked in her war, even though Owain himself wasn’t even aware she was alive. And as long as the fires of war still burned, she was still suffering from the heat of their flames.
"There’s too much I don’t know," Isabell said with a heavy sigh. "Tell me what you can and then we can talk about how I can help," she said. "But... I’m just one person. If Ashnlynn is facing a crisis, then I can only help to nudge her a bit. You and Lady Nyrielle probably have a much better chance of influencing her than I do."
"That... there are limits," Heila said, looking down at her feet and trying to find the words to explain. "Before I tell you about what happened to Lady Ashlynn," she said after thinking for a few moments. "Maybe I should tell you about the Vale of Mists..."
For the next half hour, as Heila helped Isabell to freshen up and change into the dark tunic and skirts, she explained the history of the Vale from the perspective of the people who lived there. From the time before humans arrived to Cellach Lothian’s slaughter of Lady Nyrielle’s parents and every war since then, Isabell slowly came to understand how long the leaders in the Vale had been nursing their grudges against their human adversaries.
"So Lady Nyrielle won’t rein Ashlynn in because she thinks that Ashlynn needs her vengeance in order to move on," Isabell said as she felt the weight of the Vale’s history settling on her shoulders like a heavy blanket of fog that made everything harder to see clearly. "Sir Thane, Madame Zedya, Sir Marcel, Dame Sybyl... all of them joined Lady Nyrielle’s cause because they were driven by powerful hurts and grudges."
"Most of them have had their revenge," Heila said as she began preparing tea for the older woman. "They think this is normal. Ignatious is different," she added with a faint blush. "He’s trying to find ways to reach Ashlynn but, whenever they talk, things get wrapped up in faith and the Church, and they never really get to the heart of the matter."
"And there’s no leaving it for later," Isabell said as she sipped the light, fragrant tea that Heila served her. "Owain Lothian has been pouring all of his family’s wealth and power into preparing for this Holy War. Even if Ashlynn wanted to retreat to the Vale and live out a better life here than the one he would have given her, the war will come to her doorstep sooner or later."