Heir Of The Fallen Flame

Chapter 16: Master Liam

It was already dawn when Kael and Lyra slipped into the backstreets of Purple village.

Mist clung low to the ground, curling around their ankles as they moved quickly between narrow lanes of stone and timber houses.

Smoke drifted from cooking areas, carrying the scent of burning wood and morning porridge.

Most of the village was still half-asleep, doors shut. They kept to the shadows.

“This way,” Lyra said softly.

Kael followed her gaze and saw it, clotheslines stretched between two brick homes behind a small courtyard. Shirts, trousers, cloaks swayed gently in the morning breeze. Someone had already hung them out for the day.

Lyra moves in quickly, fingers already reaching up. Kael blinked before he understood what she was doing.

“You’re…” he started.

Lyra yanked down a bundle of clothes and Kael stopped speaking. Within seconds, she had gathered enough for both of them; plain, rough-spun fabric, likely belonging to farmers or workers. She turned and shoved a set into his arms.

Kael stared at the clothes. “We’re stealing?”

Lyra gave him a look that said there was no time for moral debate. “It's your face plastered everywhere in the realm, not mine.”

Before he could argue further, she was already slipping through a gap in the fence toward the river beyond the village.

Kael followed, holding on to the clothes tightly. Theirs were covered in blood, the reasonable thing to do was chase out of them and avoid drawing attention.

The river lay just beyond the eastern edge of the settlement, shallow and fast-moving, cutting through stones worn smooth by time. Trees lined its banks, their leaves trembling gently in the wind. It was quieter here, too open for comfort, but far enough from prying eyes.

Lyra stopped near the water, reaching for the clothes in his hands.

“You change here,” she said simply.

Kael frowned. “Here?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she began unfastening her cloak after pulling out clothes for herself and setting them on the ground.

Kael turned sharply away.

“Oh…no, I..” He stumbled over his words, stepping back quickly and facing the river instead of her. His ears burned. “I didn’t realize… I mean, I knew you were… but I didn’t think…”

“A woman?" Lyra cut in flatly.

Kael stared straight ahead at the moving water like it held the secrets of the universe.

Behind him, he could hear clothes rustling.

He swallowed hard. “Right. Yes.”

Silence enveloped them until he spoke again, still facing away.

“I’m glad you’re alive.”

Lyra didn’t respond immediately.

Kael tapped his leg awkwardly. “After the inn… I thought you were gone.”

Silence.

He hesitated. “You didn’t have to come back for me. I mean… I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

A soft rustle of cloth replied him. Kael rushed on, as if afraid silence would swallow him again.

“I think I understand why you fight so well,” he said. “You’ve done this before. A lot. If I… if I knew how to fight like you, things would’ve been different.”

Still nothing.

Kael frowned slightly, gathering courage from frustration now more than anything else.

“I’m serious,” he said. “If I could fight, I wouldn’t be useless. I could protect myself. I could…” he started to turn back to face her without thinking.

Something small struck his forehead.

“Ow!” Kael jerked back, holding his head. “What was that?”

“A stone,” Lyra said calmly.

Kael turned his back to her, rubbing his forehead. “Why would you…”

“Keep your back to me, you bloody thwart.”

He straightened,wincing. “You didn’t have to throw it that hard.”

“You were talking too much.”

Kael frowned, still rubbing the spot. “I was making a point.”

“You were complaining.”

“I was…” he exhaled, she's right. What was the pint anyway?

“If you want to learn to fight, stop talking like there's nothing you can do about it.”

Kael went silent. What could he do about it?

Slowly, Lyra finished changing.“There is someone we must see,” she said.

Kael blinked. “Someone?”

“A man.”

Kael hesitated. “A friend?”

Lyra paused just slightly before answering. “Someone I trust.”

“That’s rare,” Kael muttered.

“It is.”

He risked a glance over his shoulder. “Who is he?”

Lyra tied her hair back. “Master Liam.”

Kael turned fully now, forgetting himself for a moment. “Master Liam…? The Liam? The man who trained Mage Pelson?”

Lyra nodded once. “He taught Zen too.”

Kael’s eyes widened slightly. “So he’s still alive?”

“He doesn’t die easily.”

Kael stepped closer, excitement cutting through his exhaustion for the first time in days.

“Then he can train me. He has to. If he trained them, he could train me.”

Lyra looked at him for a long moment and shook her head.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

Kael frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means Liam does not teach to make you strong,” she said. “He teaches to break what you think strength is.”

Kael didn’t respond immediately. That didn’t sound encouraging but it didn't matter.

“I can handle it,” he said quickly.

Lyra gave him a faint, almost unreadable look. “Everyone says that.”

Kael opens his mouth but she cuts him off.

“Don’t,” she warned.

He closed it again.

“If I take you to him, we won't be meeting the one we're supposed to meet any time soon.” she offered. “I am asking you to choose which is more important to you right now.”

“Combact.”

She stared long and hard at him before turning away.

“We need supplies.”

Kael followed her as she moved back toward the village.

By the time they returned to the streets, the village was fully awake. Traders called out from stalls, carts rolled across stone paths, and people moved with purpose.

Kael kept his face covered with a mask. Lyra, too, had covered her face with a cloth mask. They looked like any other travelers now; tired.

What were they fingers here anyway and before Kael could ask, he notices Lyra picking pockets.

The way she moved through the crowd, flickering out coins from these people without getting caught…

He tried to keep up, eyes following her movements in fascination.

They stopped near a fruit stall.

Kael leaned closer. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“Do what?” she asked.

He gestured at her pocket where all the stolen counts now sat.

“Old habit.”

Kael nodded slowly, “Uhm. Amd ypu moved so easily too like…” he imiated her briefly. “Where did you learn that?”

Lyra picked up an apple, turning it in her hand. “Training.”

“With Ronan?”

The apple stopped moving amd Kael immediately regretted opening his damned mouth.

Lyra placed the fruit back down. “Not everything about my life is connected to him.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“You did,” she said simply.

Kael lowered his gaze. “Sorry.”

Lyra returned to pricing the fruits she had intended to buy.

Kael tried again, softer. “Why did you become a swordsman?”

Lyra didn’t answer right away.

Kael watched her carefully. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I didn’t become one,” she said finally.

Kael frowned. “Then what…”

“I had no choice,” she cut in.

That ended the conversation.

Kael didn’t press further. They moved through the market again, and Lyra’s hand brushed past a merchant’s pouch almost casually. By the time they reached the far end of the street, she had three small coin purses hidden inside her cloak.

Kael applauded in genuine appreciation for the ‘craft’ he was now curious to learn.

A few minutes later, they reached the edge of the village where a stable stood half-open. Inside, horses stamped, the smell of hay and sweat filling the air.

Lyra chose quickly, two ordinary brown horses. The stable boy barely looked up as she dropped coins into his hand.

“Where to?” Kael asked.

“Meadow Village,” Lyra said.

Kael mounted awkwardly behind her. “Is it far?”

“Far enough.”

“And Master Liam is there?”

Lyra paused before answering. “He will be,” she said.

Kael frowned slightly. “That doesn’t sound certain.”

“It never is.”

She kicked the horse forward.