Page 132 of The Concubine King
In the spring, the calm he is used to waking to is gone, replaced by uneasy sorrow.
‘What is wrong?’Vaire reaches out on instinct and Kyarin gives in to his touch with equal measure, folding into his arms.Then he feels it, like a severed limb—a part of him, lost.
They have burned down part of the forest.Kyarin does not speak it, because he knows Vaire doesn’t need to hear it to know.
Why?Vaire stares into the trees.Beyond the leagues of trees around him is a foreign emptiness.The forest gives humans everything!Why would they burn it?He slowly stands and Kyarin rises with him, gripping his arm.He wants to see for himself.Kyarin doesn’t want him to go.
They are scared of the forest and the dark.
I’ll show them what they should be afraid of.Vaire shrugs off his resistance and starts through the woods.
It is a third of his forest, burnt or sliced down.In its place are the curated fields of growth that humans cultivate, along with the little hovels they sleep in.Vaire stands at the edge of his wood, Kyarin beside him, and looks out at the endless flatness.Here and there is still wild growth, but mostly it is crop fields and the stamped-down dirt paths humans always leave in their wake.
Kyarin is grieved.It hurts him more; all that darkness, forced into light.But Vaire is only angry.He gave the humans everything they wanted, he defended them, and in return they cut out a part of him.He steps into the sunlight, away from Kyarin’s attempt to stop him, and walks through the cleared lands.Where he walks, wildflowers sprout, and as he walks he draws trees up from tilled soil, marring the manmade landscape and returning it to its original state.He spreads roots and vines over the human shelters as they flee in the face of his approach.
Cadoc stops him, standing in his way with a brandished sword, which is amusingly adorable enough to halt Vaire’s advance.Eithne and Cinaed stand at his sides.
‘What are you doing?’Cadoc demands.
‘Restoring balance.’
‘You’re destroying lives!’
‘They wrought destruction first.This land is home to nature, not humans.’
Cadoc grits his teeth.‘The southern lands are overcrowded.There is no more room for crops.If they don’t expand, half of them will starve.’
‘Perhaps they should consider breeding more slowly.’Vaire looks to Cinaed.Her expression darkens.
‘The land is still yours,’ she says.‘You share with the other wild gods, why do you refuse to share with us?’
‘The wild gods were created in balance to each other,’ Vaire spits.‘Humans have too much will and ambition and not enough restraint or foresight.Until they learn that, we will not let them take over every bit of land just because they refuse to stop propagating.Now move aside.’
They do not move.
‘Please, Vaire,’ Eithne begs.‘We don’t want to fight you.’
‘We won’t let you destroy everything our people have worked for,’ Cadoc growls over her, grip tightening on his hilt.
It is not amusing anymore.Vaire whips the three aside with a root.Cadoc is the first on his feet, charging forward.Before Vaire can deal with him, a blinding light sends them all stumbling back.
‘Enough of this,’ Sulan snaps, standing between them.‘Nature, you were the one advocating for harmony with the humans.’
‘That was before they chose to disrupt that harmony!’
The light dims and Sulan faces him.‘I warned you they were dangerous.But Nature, you still have growth on every part of this earth.’
‘They cut down my forest!’Vaire cries, stepping forward.He is surprised at the tears stinging the corner of his eyes.‘They stripped my darkness bare!’
Sulan tilts her head.Vaire realizes what he said and closes his eyes, jaw clenched.
‘Mydarkness,’ he repeats, deciding it is truth and not a mistake.He sinks to his knees and covers his face.In a moment, Sulan is beside him, wrapping him up in her arms and he lets her, leaning into the warmth.
Her hand strokes over his hair.‘I know the pain of losing a large part of yourself to make room for someone else,’ she murmurs.His eyes open.‘But sometimes that is harmony.’
He sits up, looking into her eyes, the bright gold one and the filmed, unseeing white.She smiles and cups his face, wiping away his tears.‘Let the humans have this land.Perhaps there is a solution where we can both have as much as we want.’
‘What do you mean?’
