Chapter 11
Elia
I woke up earlier today, eager to revisit the library and our research. I don’t wait for Claudia, and instead grab another bright dress and braid my hair myself on the walk to the library.
When I reach the back table in the library, I find that it’s empty. Yesterday, Callum had mentioned that he sparred in the morning with Ginna, so I assume that’s where he is today.
I use the time alone to roam around the shelves of books, my fingers brushing the spines as I peruse.
I had a few books as a child that I cherished, and some in the camp that I’d taken from others after they were left behind.
Reading helped to ease some of the loneliness that would gnaw its way through me, diving into the pages to find myself in another world.
Already the creeping sense of isolation tingles throughout my body, threatening to overwhelm my senses as only my footsteps echo in this large space.
My mind returns to the conversation I had with Callum last night. How he’d admitted he had been in love. It was clear that was a topic he did not want to talk about, and I didn’t press him, but as I grab a book and head to my seat by the window, I’m wishing I did.
What must it feel like to have that strong of a bond with someone?
Sure, I had flings with some of the men passing through the camp, but that was mainly a quick form of comfort for me.
I never grew attached to anyone in the camps after Sage, knowing the hard lesson that everyone was temporary.
I barely felt anything for Soren, either.
Our rendezvous were impersonal at best, but those were still the only times I’d felt a semblance of relief and wasn’t as alone. Until I woke up by myself, as usual.
To be in love must be completely different entirely. Something I’d only read about in books and dreamed I’d be able to find it myself one day.
I like Callum, and I hope that we become friendly enough that he might be able to share his past with me, if only so I can live vicariously through his past relationship. Then I could understand what being in love would feel like. If I could ever find it myself.
“Elia?” A voice I don’t recognize takes me out of my thoughts.
My eyes flitter in the direction of the voice, only to find a man with unkempt, coppery red hair. His face is covered with hundreds of freckles and he’s flashing a huge grin.
“I’m Hanson. Callum told me you’d be here. He’s finishing up for the morning but he and Ginna will be here momentarily.” He hands me a steaming cup, and I perk up immediately at the scent of the coffee. “Callum also said you would want this.”
I take a sip and try not to moan. I truly have not experienced anything as wonderful tasting as a proper coffee. “Callum would be right.”
“I usually am.” Ginna snorts as she and Callum join us, taking seats at the table.
“I can recall at least several times when that was not the case,” Ginna interjects pointedly.
“I’d say at least a dozen,” Hanson chimes in, taking the seat next to Ginna.
“Like that time we were coming back from finding that diadem and he swore he knew the route back.”
“Except we ended up going in circles for two days before he admitted we were lost!”
Ginna and Hanson laugh loudly, and my mouth quirks in response, their energy infectious.
“Okay, okay. Let’s not dissuade Elia from forming her own opinions about me.”
“Oh no, please don’t stop on my account. This is the best entertainment I’ve had in a while.” I peer innocently at Callum over my cup.
“I’ll take that coffee back,” he jokes threateningly, half rising from the table.
I swallow the last mouthful in one large gulp. “Too late.”
“You might be more trouble than you’re worth, Siren.” Callum smirks at me and my heart skips a beat. Damn his dimple.
“I already told you that I would be.”
“Alright, enough flirting you two,” Ginna reprimands, forcing me to break my gaze away from Callum’s. “Do we have any new information that can help us?”
Callum grows serious, and that one second of playfulness disappears almost as fast as it came. “No,” he grumbles. “I caught Elia up on everything we have so far, and that’s about where we ended yesterday. Still at the beginning with no leads.”
“What do you know about relics, Elia?” Hanson asks. “You’ve found more than the three of us have combined so you must know better than us.”
I shrug. “Honestly, like I told Callum, I don’t know if I can add any value.
Any relic I found in camp was pure coincidence and chance.
Every day we would be assigned an area of land in our lot and we’d spend maybe twelve hours or so digging and combing the sand until we found something.
We would rotate the lots often, trying different places until we found something. ”
“But how did you know if you found a relic or if it was something worthless?” Ginna asks.
My brows furrow together. “What do you mean? Relics feel like relics. You can sense the remnants of magic in them - that tingling feeling? Useless objects don’t have that. The guards would do their usual tests later to confirm, but I always knew which ones were relics.”
Three pairs of eyes land on me all at once and I hear their sharp inhales. Silence falls.
“What? Okay, so it might not be a tingling, maybe more of a numbing or humming sensation…” I trail off.
“Elia,” Callum enunciates slowly, drawing out each syllable in my name. “We can’t feel relics.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you can feel them.”
Callum is still staring at me in utter shock.
It’s Hanson who continues. “We can’t tell the difference between a relic and a normal object.
Finding actual relics takes a lot of time and research to make sure that what we’re hunting is actually magic.
When we do find something we think is a relic, there’s different tests that we have to do on the object to actually confirm its power, probably similar to what your guards were doing. ”
I’m stunned into silence. My mouth is dry and I don’t know what to say.
When I’ve found a relic in camp, I’ve always known immediately whether it contained magic or not.
The essence is usually so profound that it’s hard for me to imagine that no one else can sense it.
I always thought the guards testing it was more of a formality, not an actual determination.
Callum removes a small bag hanging from his hip. He carefully selects some items and moves to place them in front of me. “Tell me, which one is a relic?”
He stands behind my chair, arms crossed, face serious. The five items he’s placed are discreet enough – a coin, a pair of dice, a comb, a piece of jagged emerald, and a compass.
Ginna and Hanson watch intently as I pick up each of the items one by one, holding it in the palm of my hand for a second.
When I pick up the last item, the compass, a tingling sensation immediately courses through my fingertips before I even close my hand around it.
When I center the compass in my hand, my palm feels like it’s vibrating, sending pulses throughout my entire body. I place it back on the table.
“Well?” Callum asks.
“The compass. That’s the relic.”
Ginna and Hanson look at Callum. He nods curtly. “That’s correct.”
As he carefully places each item back into his pouch, I can’t help but ask, “Do you want me to tell you what magic the compass has?
I didn’t think that their state of shock could grow, but it does. Hanson’s mouth has dropped open and Ginna is staring at me as if I have magic myself.
Callum’s eyes burn into me. “I’d love for you to do that, Siren.”
I lick my lips. “The owner of the compass will never lose their way or stray from their intended path.”
“Correct again. It’s a newer addition of mine.” Callum sits back down.
Hanson is the first to break the tension, closing his gaping mouth. “Well, I’ll be damned, Cal. We might be able to find the Stone.”
“This doesn’t change that much, though, does it?” Ginna adds. She throws me a look. “No offense, Elia, it’s a cool trick and all, but unless you want to pick up every rock from here to Guilmond it doesn’t add much.”
“No offense taken. I told Callum I wasn’t going to be of much use.”
I try to brush it off, but I’m still stuck on the revelation that not everyone can feel and read relics.
Sure, I’d found more than others in camps, but I really had thought that was due to luck, hence my nickname the guards gave me, and now I’m second guessing that.
Plus, what did it mean for me that I could sense them?
“Can you feel the relic’s presence from where you’re sitting now?” Callum asks.
I pause. I’ve never tried to sense any relic farther away, but I close my eyes anyway. I try to block out every other sense, searching for that unique humming sensation. My fingertips start to numb, and I struggle to focus where the feeling is coming from. I squeeze my eyes tighter.
Nothing comes to me.
“No, I can’t. I have to be touching it, I think. Sorry.”
Callum has to be regretting his decision to ask me for help now. Not only did he waste time traveling to the desert, but now his last option isn’t as helpful as he’d hoped. Callum has already done so much for me, and I’m disappointed in myself that I can’t be of more use.
Callum must be reading my mind because he adds, “Don’t apologize. This itself is a big deal. We’ve never found anyone who can sense relics before. If we narrow down the search, we can bring you in to see if you can find the Stone.” He smiles softly at me, and I appreciate his attempt to console me.
Ginna and Hanson nod, but I can tell they’re disappointed, too.
“Well then,” Hanson grins widely, “let’s keep at it!”
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