48. Chapter 44
Chapter 44
The world is bound together with oaths. The very air that we breathe has sworn that it will give us life. Everyone with any magic in them can be bound by oaths. This is a universal truth. Know it, Son of Darkness. It is one of the few truths that are irrefutable.
~Vyran the Black, A History of Magic and Dragons
Maeve
Darian smirks as we all sit at the table for breakfast. It’s not what you’d find in Draenyth or Stormhaven, but it’s a far cry better than the bits of this and that we had in Aerwyn and Blackgrove. “Maeve, your cousin is a significantly better cook than you. I’m a little worried that you two aren’t even related with how much better she is.”
I cock my eyebrow at him as he shoves another griddle cake smothered in honey into his mouth. “My bloodlines have nothing to do with my ability to cook. I was busy catching the food while Hazel was learning to cook it. Plus, I’ve never even made you griddle cakes. They could be the best ones you’ve ever tasted.”
Cole turns to me, a very controlled expression on his face. “My love, you are many things, many wonderful things, but you are not a cook. Do you remember when I let you set up the stew pot in Aerwyn?”
“He’s right,” Rivertail says, nodding emphatically. “I’ve never smelled anything that bad. It took hours to scrape it clean. No one was even hungry by the time we could cook.”
I huff. “That’s still not griddle cakes. None of you have any idea what mine are like.”
“I do,” Hazel says as she sits down next to Darian, a very smug expression on her face and two griddle cakes in her hand. “I tried to teach you how to make them when I was seven. Do you remember that? Ma was sure you were burning the house down and came in with a bucket of water.”
“That’s not fair. I was nine, and it was the first time I tried to cook anything! You can’t hold that against me!”
Hazel chuckles and dips a cake into some of the leftover honey on Darian’s plate. He arches an eyebrow at her. A corner of her lips curls up as she takes a bite, and he watches her.
“How do you know I wasn’t getting some more?” he asks.
“Because these are the last of them. You should know that the cook always gets the last ones, and if you don’t, then this is your lesson. The cook never goes hungry. Now, since these are the last griddle cakes, I don’t think you’ll need your plate or honey anymore.”
This is not the Hazel I remember, but I like the changes, and I can’t stop grinning even though everyone at the table was picking on me for my cooking only a moment ago. Darian slides his empty plate to Hazel, who dips her cake into the honey again.
And Darian watches every movement as if he’s forgotten that Rivertail, Cole, and I are even at the table. I’ve seen Darian look at women like this before, but it’s strange to see him take this much notice of my cousin.
“What are you all doing today?” she asks. “Something important, I’m sure.”
She says it as flippantly as she talked to Darian about griddle cakes. “I’m going to teach Echo to shadow walk,” I say.
Cole glances at Darian and says, “We’re going to go back to Stormhaven for a few hours to check on their progress. Then I have some planning to do.”
“Right,” Hazel says with a grin at me. “A wedding. My cousin, the Wyrdling, is getting married before I am. Funny how that works, isn’t it?”
I grimace. That had always been Hazel’s dream. “I’m sure you’ll find a…”
She shakes her head, the grin only getting wider. “I’m not interested in finding anyone, thank you very much. I’m as happy as a bear in a honey tree that you’ve found your Prince, but that’s not something I’m even looking for at this point. I’ve had less than four months of freedom, and the last thing I want is to be tied to a man who will decide everything about my life. It’s not like I’m suddenly going to be unable to feed myself. My dear cousin happens to be Queen of the world, so I’m going to enjoy sunny… or misty afternoons while I do whatever my heart desires.”
“Like making more griddle cakes?” Darian asks, a gleam in his eyes.
“Maybe,” she says. “Though, the first ones are free. Everything after that is going to cost you.”
“Oh really? You’re opening a bakery right here in Valinar?”
Hazel shrugs and stands up. “No, if I opened a bakery, then I’d have to accept money. It’ll cost you something very different and more… physical than coin.”
What? Is my cousin suggesting… Darian immediately stands up, and there's no doubt that his eyes run over all of her. Over the simple linen dress that shows off her curves. Over the sparkle in her eyes. Over the smile that has too many inappropriate thoughts behind it for the girl that I grew up with.
I’m shocked as Darian says, “That sounds like a price I be more than happy to pay, Miss Arden.”
They both get up and go back to Hazel’s house before I can get control of my voice, and I turn to Cole. “What did I just witness?” I whisper.
“I think you saw your cousin and Darian flirting.” He picks up a piece of fruit and eats it without nearly as much concern as I’m feeling right now. “There are a lot worse men than Darian. Your cousin should be in good hands.”
“In good hands? He’s an Immortal, and she’s human. I think that’s the definition of a terrible decision, isn’t it?”
Cole grins and he stands up. “Don’t worry about Hazel. She’s a grown woman and Darian isn’t the kind of Immortal who would hurt her even if she wasn’t your cousin. The worst that will happen is that we have to endure a bit of flirting while we’re in Valinar.”
Inappropriate flirting? What? My cousin is chaste and pure and has only ever dreamed of marrying a handsome young man. She’s only been away from Blackgrove and her parents for a few months. Now I’m being told she’s going to be… With Darian?
“It seems like Hazel’s becoming her own woman.” He pulls me to my feet, and then he kisses me. “Stop worrying about her, Maeve. There are a thousand things to worry about right now, but your cousin isn’t one of them. She’s finding out how to be happy, and the best thing you can do is support her. She may be human, but she’s right. She’s not beholden to anyone’s customs. Let her have some fun. And you, my beautiful and wonderful fiancée—” He presses his lips to mine, and I can taste the honey from the griddle cakes on his lips. “Be safe today. I trust you completely, but it still makes me nervous when you go into the void for long periods of time.”
I nod to him and give him another kiss. “I’ll be safe. I’m just going to show Echo how to shadow walk and give her some time exploring. Nothing exciting. You be safe, too. I know you’re just going to Stormhaven, but Aric isn’t happy with us forcing him to go to war against Immortals. He might try something stupid.”
Cole grins. “I doubt it, but I’ll be safe. And Maeve,” he says as he pulls away.
I lick my lips, wishing they were his. “What?” I ask.
“Don’t tire yourself out too much. I have plans for tonight.”
I flash him my widest smile, and then I turn from the man I love to go find Echo. Regardless of how much I want to be with Cole today, I know I need to work with her.
I can see the nervousness in Echo’s eyes as I take her hand. My mother’s eyes are filled with worry as she looks on. I’m the only one who isn’t nervous at all. I just keep thinking about what Cole said before I left him an hour ago. He has plans for tonight.
I put the thought out of my mind and say, “Take us to the void.” Echo takes a deep breath before I feel myself falling through the world. Her shadows are thicker than mine, like there’s more moisture hidden in them.
Then we’re there, floating in the void, and I breathe the darkness in. “How do you feel?” I ask.
“I feel free,” a soft voice whispers. It’s hard to tell exactly where it comes from, but I know the voice is Echo’s. My shadows spread out, feeling my way through the darkness so I can orient myself in the pitch-black nothingness.
“Then you’re like me. You can stay here. Breathe in the darkness, but don’t let it pull you. Most shadow walkers will die if they breathe in the void. The nothingness will get inside them, and they’ll fade away, becoming a part of the void. It wants to do the same to you, but it will take far more than a few breaths.”
We float in a darkness that is so overwhelming and complete that, at first, most people panic. No ground. No walls. No light. No water or air. It’s nothing, but it’s also everything. Instead of trying to see, I feel . My shadows move, touching other shadows that connect this place to the dark places within Nyth and Valinar.
There’s a difference between them, but it’s subtle. I’m surprised I never sensed the pathways to Valinar before. The only reason I can imagine is because every time I was near the Nothing, I was in a panic or battle, and I didn’t have time to explore.
“I’ve never been here this long,” Echo’s voice whispers to my mind.
“Look through the world,” I say. “Find shadows and feel the world that they’re connected to. See the trees and the people.”
I can feel Echo’s shadows acting the part of a blind woman, groping to see what’s within reach.
“Why are all the shadows only on one side of me?” she asks.
“I don’t know. It feels like there’s a difference between that side and the other. The void seems to get deeper as you move away from the shadows. I have a feeling that if you keep going away from the shadows, even we could get lost to the void.”
A shiver runs through me as one of Echo’s shadows brushes mine. It’s a strange sensation knowing that if she wanted to, when she touched those shadows, she could have taken it from me.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go a little further out. Use your shadows to swim.”
She doesn’t respond, but when I move, she follows soundlessly behind me. Then there’s a flash in the darkness in the direction we’re headed. “What was that?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” A wave of power flows through me as if someone else’s shadow has brushed against me. Then I realize that whatever this is, it’s enormous, and there’s no doubt that it’s stronger than either of us.
Daughters of Darkness and Stone. A voice whispers through my mind, and I’m sure Echo is hearing it as well. It has been many years since ones like you have been here. Many years.
The words are felt at the same time that my mind hears them. My chest rumbles with the voice as though this thing can speak with sound in a place that has no sound. Another flash ripples through the darkness like sunlight on a serpent, and fear creeps down my spine.
“Who are you?” I ask, knowing that Echo will depend on me to take charge. She may be the future Queen of Shadows, but she’s still so young and inexperienced.
I can feel the creature moving toward me, and I can’t help but wonder if this is another dragon. Do the dragons come from the void? When it speaks, it certainly reminds me of Calyr. I have been known by many names. The Eater of Worlds. Ancient One. Your mother called me Darkness, as I was the only one of my kind to speak to her. You may call me what you wish, but I wonder if this is the question that is most pertinent to a blind one such as yourselves. The words are so much louder now. My head hurts from their vibrations, but I do my best not to acknowledge the pain. The last thing that The Eater of Worlds should be seeing is my weakness.
There’s more movement, but it seems to be movement away from me, away from the creature. Then it speaks again. Now you are different . You smell of the old Queen, yet you are not hers. You smell of the Fae, yet you also smell of Other. What are you, young one?
The words are less of a roar and more of a rumble now. It’s interested, and that curiosity seems to have dulled its need to be strong. “I am from Valinar,” Echo says, and there’s not a hint of the terror I’m sure she’s feeling. It makes me proud of her for my mother. She may be young, but she’s being the Queen of Shadows even if she’s never worn a crown.
“She is the future Queen of Shadows, Brenna’s protégé,” I say.
The voice turns to me. You are your mother’s daughter, Daughter of Stone. I can smell it in your magic, but there’s barely a touch of her on you. Strange. She is everywhere on the young one, yet her magic is different. Both darker and lighter. Curious indeed.
I’m not entirely sure what to do as the silence becomes deafening. I want, more than anything else, to go back to Valinar and speak with my mother about this creature. But we’ve floated too far away from the shadows to pull ourselves out of the void instantly. Something inside me tells me that the creature that we’re talking to is far faster than us in this place.
“You say that you know my mother. Did you talk to her regularly?” As I speak, my shadows pull Echo closer to me, and she doesn’t resist. My shadows begin to slowly pull us back toward that line in the void where we can reach through to Valinar and Nyth.
I see another flash in the darkness, and an even darker ripple of fear rolls through me. It’s as large as a dragon. Maybe larger than Calyr. What is regularly, Daughter of Stone? She asked me questions, and I answered. I did the same for her.
“What kind of questions?” I ask as I steadily inch us backward. Over the past year, I have learned that everything and everyone lies. Even the people that I trusted the most lied to me. My father, Vesta, and Cole all lied. The only thing I can trust is experience and my instincts, and my instincts are telling me that leaving is the only thing that matters.
It swims closer to me, mostly ignoring Echo, and I realize that my Earth senses are beginning to work here. Similar to how I could see through the Shadowed Cloak’s shadows to envision what Cole’s face looked like, I have flickers of understanding of what this creature looks like. It’s not a dragon.
It’s a faceless eel that’s so massive that even Calyr could fit in its mouth. Its ebony scales are as large as I am, and shine with power rather than light. The teeth that fill its mouth are as tall as a house, and its fins are made of shadows, flickering in and out of existence, just as my shadows do.
Eyeless, it stares at me, its mouth open only a few feet away, its shadowed fins maintaining its distance. Its streamlined body undulates slowly in a non-existent current, and when it speaks, its mouth opens just a tiny bit wider.
Questions that only the void knows, Daughter of Stone. If you’d like to create an arrangement as your mother and grandfather had with me, I would be happy to. As Vyran and I agreed to before your kind had been created.
Vyran? Vyran the Black? What kind of agreement would they make? And why? I wish Cole was here. Maybe he’d know… No. He wouldn’t. My mother would, but I doubt anyone else in the world would.
“And if we don’t?” I respond, and through the tendrils of shadow that hold Echo close to me, I can feel her shake.
The booming voice rattles my mind, and I can see the creature smile in the darkness. Then none of the old agreements will apply. More cryptic answers. More answers that only create more questions.
It doesn’t matter though. The more I think about this, the more sure I am. The only right answer is to escape, and we’ve slowly been pulling away from that deeper part of the void. Echo may not know where we are, but I do. I’ve spent enough time in the void to estimate where we are, even without feeling behind us.
We may not be able to see in the void, but I have a very strong suspicion that this creature can see here just as clearly as I can see in Valinar. “What are the agreements of old?” I ask. I try to keep the confidence in my voice, even though my heart is racing.
It is not my problem that you do not have memories of the agreements, and without the agreements, I am under no obligation to answer your questions. Agree or do not. My patience is waning.
I know why it’s becoming agitated. We’re so close to Nyth. “I will have to consider it. I need to consult with my mother before I make any decisions. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing. I’m simply postponing for the time being.”
And I reach behind us with shadows. We’re close enough. NO! the creature shouts, but it’s too late. I pull us both out of the void and into Nyth. I hadn’t cared where we wound up. Anywhere would be better than in the jaws of that thing.