"They turned around," Brianna told them. "There'll be no troll attack tonight. You can all return to your homes. Although I'd like two volunteers to replace the watchers at the pass," she added.
"Turned around?" the villagers repeated stupidly. They lowered their swords, and stared over her shoulder in disbelief, as though expecting to see a troll appear any moment.
Brianna nodded. "They probably recognised that Ly … Prince Balen's men were mages, and that we aren't alone here. It must have convinced them we weren't worth attacking."
"Tonight, at least," Lyall added. "But they could be back. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep."
There were murmurs of surprise and disbelief among the villagers. Trolls turning around was unheard of. Brianna realised that this might just give Lyall an edge in popularity. If he could turn trolls around just by his presence, it was hard not to forgive him his peaceful invasion of their village.
Four new men, two villagers and two mages, were dispatched to the pass, and everyone else returned to their homes with the good news. Brianna headed to tell her twin.
As she reached for the doorknob, Lyall said softly, "I need that gem, Brianna. With it, I think we can defeat these trolls for good. Without it, it's not going to take them long to gather a bigger army and come again. Don't get overconfident just because they backed off from an unexpected force, it won't stop them for long."
She paused, one hand on the knob. "I know. But … I need to talk to Mianna."
He nodded. "Well don't take too long."
He stared at her, eyes boring into her, and the memory of their moment in the pass returned. They couldn't continue it here in the middle of the village. Even if they were completely alone right now, someone could come around a corner at any moment. But Brianna couldn't tear her eyes away from his.
The doorknob was yanked out of her hands. Mianna checked in the doorway, sword in her hands. "What are you doing here, Bri! Shouldn't you be fighting the trolls." Fear and panic coloured her words.
Brianna turned away from Lyall, the moment broken. "They turned around. They must have seen the mages Prince Balen stationed up there and been afraid of them."
Mianna stared at her in disbelief. "They turned around? But … they've never done anything like that before." Her sword dropped to her side.
"I know," Brianna said softly. "It was … unexpected."
Mianna looked at Lyall, eyes narrowed. "Don't think this means we're going to like you any better."
"I would never think such a thing," Lyall said promptly. "In fact, I would be quite disappointed if it did."
Mianna looked at him suspiciously, but Lyall's face was completely serious, so she just nodded. "I'd better go get the girls out of the basement. They were scared stiff."
"I need to go check on my men," Lyall said. "But I'll be around the village tonight, keeping an eye on things. I don't think I can sleep."
His words were strangely reassuring. "I can understand that," Brianna agreed. "I'm not sure anyone will be sleeping much tonight."
At least they wouldn't be awake tending to the wounded. That was rare.
"Remember, don't take too long making a decision," Lyall warned. "They'll be back and better prepared."
Even though Mianna was looking at her with a frown, Brianna nodded. "I know."
Lyall nodded and strode off into the fading light. Brianna stared after him until Mianna's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "What was he talking about?"
Brianna pulled her eyes back to her twin. "Let's go get the girls, then I'll tell you."
Brianna tucked the blankets around Lylis and kissed the sleeping child's forehead. She stood up and watched for a few more minutes, but she didn't stir. Nearly an hour of crying and fear about the trolls had worn her out. In the next bed over, Mianna rose quietly from where she'd been lying down with an equally distressed Kylis.
Without a word, both of them snuck out of the room and down into the kitchen, where Terion handed them both a steaming cup of tea. "So what exactly happened?" he asked. "Trolls don't just turn around. There has to be something more to the story."
"I went with the prince to take some of his men to join ours at the pass," Brianna explained. "Perhaps when the trolls saw them, they knew they were mages, and that put them off."
"Perhaps." Terion didn't look convinced. "Or perhaps the mages were why they came in the first place."
"What?" Brianna stared at him.
"Come on, Bri, it makes sense." Mianna stood next to Terion, and Brianna couldn't help but feel like she was being ganged up on.
"How do you figure that? Trolls have always attacked, this was no different."
Mianna put her hands on her hips. "They haven't come over the ridge for two years. Maybe all this time they just wanted the gem, then when they had it, they left us alone. Until those mages showed up. Now suddenly they came back. It's a bit of a coincidence isn't it?"
She had a point, it was a bit strange that they had occurred at the same time. Except … "If they were coming because of the mages, why turn around when they saw them? Why not just attack them?"
Mianna checked. She looked at Terion for backup and he shrugged. "Maybe they weren't expecting to see them right there? I don't know. But you have to admit, it's fishy."
Or maybe they thought the mages wouldn't be able to defend themselves because of the magic barrier, and they retreated when they realised that one of them had a gem too. But she couldn't tell Mianna and Terion that. "Does it matter?" Brianna asked. "Either way, they're probably going to come back. So we need to decide what we're going to do when they do."
"Send the mages to fight them," Terion said. "Doesn't matter who loses, the winner will be easier for us to defeat."
Brianna stared at him in disbelief. She looked to Mianna, but her twin's face was firm as well. It was clear that they'd discussed and agreed upon this before even talking to her.
She'd always known that Mianna and Terion shared something she wasn't a part of, but this was the first time she'd really felt on the outside. So much for being a threesome. "You saw that panel," she said firmly. "Our ancestors didn't stay in this village to watch both sides fight each other to the death. A war on that scale will affect more than just the two sides involved. The entire countryside could be destroyed."
"Can we use that gem to protect us?"
Brianna stared at Mianna, surprised that her words had hit so close to the truth. The gem could, indeed, protect them. Perhaps that was what it was for? Only up to a point though-a point that she couldn't explain to them.
Now that the trolls had their own gem, the barrier couldn't protect the village.
It had all grown too complex. And now her own words were haunting her. If she gave Lyall the gem, would the very thing she feared come true? Could Lyall really defeat the trolls with the gem, or would they destroy more than just each other?
Could they survive if she didn't give it to them?
"I don't have any idea how to use it," Brianna said, her voice rough. "Do you?"
They both looked at her blankly.
"Thought so. So how in this world do you think we can use it to protect ourselves? What we need is someone who does know how to use it."
"We can't give it to them, Bri," Terion said. "I didn't see the panel you're talking about, but Mia told me about it, and I don't see any indication that they're any better than the trolls. If we give it to them, what's to stop them from destroying us?"
"If they wanted to destroy us, couldn't they have already done it?" Brianna demanded. "You saw what they're capable of. We're not exactly a threat, are we? Which would you rather trust, them, or the trolls?"
It was an unfair question, neither option looked good to someone who didn't know Lyall. But she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't fight the trolls without help. No one in the village could. They needed Lyall, even if they didn't want to trust him.
"You want to give the gem to him, don't you?" Mianna demanded. "You're willing to risk our entire village on the fact that you have a crush on that mage!"
"I do not have a crush on him!"
What she had went far beyond a crush. If Lyall was right, and she was magically bonded to him somehow, they were linked together for the rest of their lives. If Lyall was right, sending him to fight the trolls was just as dangerous as going herself. Because if he died, she did. And if she died, Mianna would. And Terion would possibly follow both of them. She wasn't sure about that part. What a tangled web they were all stuck in.