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Moiraine had a bad feeling about tonight. She wasn’t sure why, but something felt off. She knew that Lan was also alert, could feel the tension radiating off him through the bond. He was scanning the dark trees around them with concentration. A soft wind rose, and Moiraine felt herself shivering.
She channeled a second too late. Something dark broke out of the shadows, too quick for her to react. Moiraine saw a blade gleaming, right before Lan’s sword met the Eyeless’ in mid-air. He always had the better reflexes. The wave of Moiraine’s power threw the creature back, just when a second one crept out of the shadows.
This was just the kind of luck they always had. Not one, but two Fades.
Moiraine turned her horse around, channeling weaves of fire. Behind her, Lan was drawing the other creature away. The Eyeless hissed at her fire, drawing its sword. The other one screamed in rage behind them, but Moiraine knew Lan would have no problems handling him. They were no match to her warder with a sword.
Moiraine threw her fire, but the creature was faster. It disappeared into the shadows, melting into the darkness, only to emerge again on the other side. She spun fireballs around herself, but she didn’t have enough range of movement with Lan so close. The Eyeless came dangerously close as if sensing her hesitation, and Moiraine threw out a shield at the last moment.
Lan beheaded the first creature with one swift movement, already swinging his sword at the second one. Moiraine channeled more fire, the flames coating the blade of Lan’s sword. Usually, a Fade would have run now.
There are more around, Moiraine suddenly thought. Why had they attacked like this? She forced her horse backward, scanning the shadows. Were Shadowspawn capable of planning? That was something you did not learn at the White Tower. She channeled light, illuminating the forest. There was no sound except for the ringing of metal blades against each other.
A third Eyeless broke out of the shadows, behind Lan, in complete silence. Moiraine didn’t think before she moved. She was between them before her warder had a chance to anticipate her movements, throwing weaves of fire at the creature. The flames caught onto the Fade’s dark figure, making it scream, but not before it had raised its sword.
The only thing Moiraine was aware of when the sword went through her body was Lan’s alarm through the bond, right before the world went blurry at the edges. The weaves slipped out of her control but the Fade kept burning, illuminating the darkness. She would have fallen from her horse then if Lan hadn’t caught her, just when the pain hit her all at once.
She found herself on the ground, Lan’s face above her. Everything had gone blurry, and it was hard to keep her eyes open. She was suddenly so tired. She could still feel Lan at the other end of the bond, but it was like he was drifting away from her.
“This is going to hurt,” she could hear Lan’s voice, right before he picked her up. Moiraine whimpered, but she bit her lip to muffle most of the sound. Which was useless of course, since he felt what she felt either way.
That was when she realized she was going to die. “I can release the bond,” she muttered, although even speaking took so much energy that she seriously doubted she would be able to channel. But Lan couldn’t die with her. Once the bond broke, he wouldn’t survive for long unless she released him before.
“Don’t even think about it, Aes Sedai,” Lan replied. “You’re not dying on me.”
Moiraine wanted to say something else but she was too tired to form the words. The world was already turning black.
oOo
Moiraine passed out just when Lan kicked his horse into a gallop. He could still feel her, which was reassuring, but she was losing too much blood too fast. He had applied pressure to the wound, but Lan was familiar with a Fade’s sword. One touch was already fatal.
The closest Aes Sedai Lan could think of was in Chachin, a blue named Anaiya who he knew Moiraine liked a lot. But Chachin was a two-day ride. Lan would have to make it in one day if he wanted his Aes Sedai to have a chance at survival.
He urged his horse to go faster. The dark forest around him seemed to go on forever. He hated himself for not anticipating what Moiraine had done. She had saved his life by stepping in between him and the Eyeless, and he had been too late to protect her. He had failed her, again. He was supposed to lie here dying, not her.
Dawn came eventually, and Lan was still riding. His horse was growing tired, he could tell by the way the animal’s pace was slowing. But he had no time for this. Chachin was still too far away.
Moiraine was still motionless in his arms, but he could feel her skin burning with heat. She was feverish. From time to time she muttered something under her breath he couldn’t make out, although he had caught the word Min more than once. That was the last comfort Lan allowed himself to have. If Min was never wrong, and she had seen a future for Moiraine, she couldn’t die tonight.
“It’s wasted effort,” Moiraine suddenly muttered, shifting a little in his embrace. “I’m already dying.”
Lan shook his head. “You’re not dying.” He had to cling to that in order not to lose his mind.
Moiraine made a small sound which might have been disagreement. “You have to tell Siuan that I failed,” she said quietly, her words slightly slurred. “You have to bring my ring back to the Tower.”
Lan couldn’t think about that right now.
“Promise me you will do that,” Moiraine continued, with more conviction than he would have thought she could manage in her state.
“I promise,” he replied, because what else could he say? He would deliver her ring back to Siuan. That would be the last thing he ever did.
Moiraine was silent now, and the bond fell quiet again. Lan clung to the small feelings he still had from his Aes Sedai. He would not fail her again. She wouldn’t die on him.
So he kept riding, pushing the horse to go faster again. The animal was exhausted, but he couldn’t care about that right now. There was no room for anything except Moiraine.
The sun was setting the next time Moiraine moved, and they were still riding on. Lan had spent the last hours thinking it might already be too late, so when he felt Moiraine stirring it felt like a small miracle.
She was still burning up, and he could barely make out her words. “Min told me you would marry me,” she muttered, her eyelids fluttering when she attempted to open her eyes.
Lan stilled, debating whether she was talking nonsense. He thought back to their conversation a couple of nights ago. When Moiraine had asked about marriage and children. She had been so upset about something that night. Because she thought he would not want to marry her?
“I would marry you any day, Aes Sedai,” Lan said quietly, not sure if she was still listening. Because he would. He had waited so long to be honest with her because he had been afraid of her reaction, and now it might be too late. If she died today, she would die without knowing the truth. “I’m sorry I failed you,” he whispered into the wind.
Moiraine didn’t reply. The bond was fading slowly, and he could barely feel her anymore. Lan urged the horse to go faster. He could see the outline of Chachin on the horizon. The animal made a strangled sound, and Lan cursed under his breath just when it collapsed underneath them.
He didn’t have time to look back, only settled Moiraine in his arms and kept going on foot. He barely had any strength left himself, but it didn’t matter. He would get Moiraine to Anaiya, even if it meant running himself to death.
Lan lost all sense of time while he was running. He didn’t allow himself to slow down, and the city crept only slowly closer. He barely felt Moiraine anymore. His clothing was sticky with her blood, but he didn’t care. He would find Anaiya in time.
Chachin was deserted at this time of evening, and Lan didn’t slow down once he had finally reached the city. Moiraine had once said that Anaiya lived somewhere private, hidden from most eyes. And she had mentioned something else, something that had seemed unimportant at the time. Anaiya loved gardening.
Lan ran towards a house that had a garden with flowers so tall only an Aes Sedai could raise them. He stopped in front of the door, half thinking to simply burst in, but remembering at the last moment that there were probably wards in place.
The door was opened before he could knock, and a dark-haired woman stood before him. Her eyes glazed over Lan and settled on Moiraine. “Oh,” was all she said before she stepped aside.
“I need your help,” was all Lan was able to say, his voice leaving him. Exhaustion caught up with him at once, and he almost collapsed on the carpet.
Strong hands suddenly closed around his arms from behind, keeping him upright. “It’s alright,” a dark voice said.
“Setagana, my warder,” Anaiya said, gesturing for Lan to let Moiraine down on the nearest surface. She had her hands on her at once, channeling.
Lan did collapse now, falling to his knees. The bond was almost completely gone. He might be too late.
Anaiya’s face betrayed nothing while she worked on Moiraine. “What caused this injury?” she wanted to know.
“One of the Eyeless,” Lan replied, not daring to lift his eyes from Moiraine. She was so pale. She looked dead already.
Anaiya glanced at her warder for a second. “I can take your bond,” she offered. “She might not survive.”
Lan shook his head.
“I’ll release you right after,” Anaiya added, pressing her hands more urgently to Moiraine’s body. Half the floor was covered in blood by now. “I have a talent for healing, but some things are beyond even our help.” She frowned deeply. “But maybe you brought her here just in time.”
Lan didn’t allow himself to relax just yet. Setagana had disappeared and reappeared just now, a cup of tea in hand. He silently handed it to Lan.
I’ll die with her, Lan thought. It was his fault anyway.
Anaiya sat back on her knees after what felt like an eternity. She sighed, cleaning the floor up with the flick of her wrist. “She might live,” she said quietly. “I healed the injury, although it was difficult. But she lost a lot of blood. We will have to wait and see.” She studied Lan’s face. “Did you walk here?”
“The horse died. I walked the rest of the way,” he replied, voice still hoarse. But he felt a little better. He suspected there had been something in the tea.
Setagana picked Moiraine up and put her down on the sofa, covering her with a blanket. Lan felt a flicker of unprompted irritation, which was ridiculous considering he had Anaiya to thank for Moiraine’s life. He forced himself to get to his feet, sitting down at her side.
“Do you need any healing?” Anaiya offered.
Lan shook his head. He was weary of letting someone touch him who wasn’t Moiraine.
Anaiya was still watching him attentively. She sat down in one of the armchairs across from him. “So you met one of the Eyeless,” she said eventually. “Curious.”
Lan had suspected that this conversation would arise. He knew Moiraine was fond of Anaiya, but he still didn’t trust the woman. Anyone could be Black Ajah these days. “We ran into them by accident,” he replied.
Anaiya raised a brow. “Them? So it was more than one?”
Lan was too tired to be having this conversation. “Three.”
Anaiya and her warder shared a troubled look. “This will have to be reported to the Tower,” she said.
Lan remained silent. If Moiraine woke up, she might be able to convince the other Blue to let the topic stay quiet. But that was the least of his worries right now. His Aes Sedai still looked deadly pale, but he could still feel her. He hadn’t lost her, not yet.
“You should get some sleep,” Anaiya said into the silence, getting up from her seat. She and Setagana disappeared into the kitchen.
Sleep was the furthest thing on his mind right now. He did feel tired, but not enough to let Moiraine out of his sight. His mind returned to what she had said earlier. Min told me you would marry me. Moiraine had been so upset after meeting Min. Was the prospect of marriage so daunting to her? Lan had never imagined himself as a married man, but his words to Moiraine earlier had been the truth. He would marry her any day. He would do anything for this woman.
Anaiya returned a few hours later with more tea. She checked Moiraine’s breathing and did more healing, still looking worried but less so. “She will live,” she said eventually. “You saved her life.” She gave Lan a pointed look.
“I only did my duty,” he replied. After he had failed to do so earlier.
“Moiraine Sedai is lucky to have such a good warder by her side,” Anaiya replied, a small smile on her lips.
Lan watched her leave, with the slight feeling that the Blue had picked up on something else between them.
It was sundown when Moiraine stirred for the first time. Lan had dozed off in the meantime, but he was wide awake right away. He was by her side in an instant.
Moiraine’s lashes fluttered, and then she was opening her eyes. He had never been so happy to look into those green eyes.
Moiraine blinked once, looking confused. “Where are we?” She sat up at once, careful as usual, inspecting the room.
“Your warder rode a horse to death to bring you here,” Anaiya’s voice came from next door, right before she walked in. “One hour later and you would have been beyond healing.” She gave Moiraine a disapproving look. “Always running around and getting in trouble, aren’t we?”
Moiraine glanced at Lan before she returned her eyes to Anaiya. “Trouble always seems to find me.”
The other Blue smiled. “I’m glad you’re better.” She disappeared into the kitchen again, leaving the two of them alone.
Lan felt like he could breathe freely again for the first time in two days. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he said quietly.
Moiraine leaned back against the sofa cushions. “I could do without getting stabbed from now on.” She frowned ever so slightly when she noticed he hadn’t appreciated the joke. “I’m fine.”
“You weren’t fine a few hours ago.” Lan’s voice was more strained than he had meant to. “I failed you.”
Moiraine’s gaze softened. “You didn’t fail me. You brought me here in time.” She got to her feet, sitting down on his lap before Lan could even react. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder.
Somehow, that had been what he had needed most. Lan took a deep breath, relaxing into the embrace. He could smell Moiraine’s hair, feel her heartbeat. She was still here with him. “I thought I lost you,” he said quietly.
Moiraine shook her head against him. “I’m here.”
And just for this short moment, everything was alright.