Heartstone - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

The stars were hidden behind heavy clouds, and the wind carried the scent of pine and ash from the rebuilt village. Avera sat on a flat stone just outside the village fence, her eyes fixed on the distant mountains where the still pulsed.
She didn’t notice Dalen at first—until he quietly sat beside her, carrying two wooden cups steaming with hot herbal tea.
“Here,” he said, offering one. “Thought it might help.”
She took it with a nod, wrapping her hands around the warmth.
“I can’t stop thinking about what the old woman said,” she murmured. “About my mother. About what I am.”
Dalen sipped slowly, watching the flickering torchlights across the village.
“I don’t think we can win this war,” he said finally, voice low. “I’ve seen what they’re capable of. I’ve piloted those machines. I trained in the underground labs of X-3. I watched them turn good men into weapons. And now… they’ve set their eyes on you. On this place.”
Avera turned her gaze to him, calm but unwavering. “I have to face whatever they bring. If I run, who will stand for those who can’t? They destroyed my family. They tried to bury the truth. They don’t get to take everything.”
Dalen looked down at his cup, the steam rising into the night air.
“I lost my both parents when I was five,” he said softly. “Explosion in one of the border conflicts. I don’t even remember their faces. My uncle took me in—Colonel Harek. He was a senior in X-3’s special division. I trained under him, learned to obey, to never ask why.”
He sighed. “But something never felt right. Especially when we were sent to eliminate people who weren’t enemies… just in the way.”
Avera placed her hand gently on his.
“You chose differently,” she said.
“I did.”
They sat in silence for a while, sharing the warmth of the tea and the weight of memories.
Then Avera said quietly, “We may not have their weapons, or their machines… but we have something they’ll never understand.”
Dalen glanced at her. “What?”
She smiled faintly. “Purpose.”