Chapter 26 #2
“I saw which way the wind was blowing,” he said as he ran his hand through a lock of blond hair that had fallen into his face. “I just hope you’re ready for what’s ahead.”
“Only time will tell,” I said.
“You should know,” Kael said with that sharp tone back in his voice, “that when you robbed The Butcher and you first met Darion, you were meant to take the fall. You were a misdirection.”
I bristled at this. I still didn’t know whether he was trying to warn me, manipulate me, or just get under my skin.
“Darion already explained that to me,” I said curtly.
Kael raised an eyebrow. “Did he, now? Did he tell you it was his idea?”
Darion had said we when he’d told me about the plan to take the book, so he hadn’t denied being involved.
The more I talked to Kael, the less I trusted him, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to stretch the truth to advance his agenda, whatever it was.
And yet the idea that Darion had left out this detail nagged at me.
“Kael, I don’t want to be your enemy. Have I offended you in some way?”
“I just want to be sure you are going into this with your eyes open.”
“I appreciate your concern,” I said with an edge, which ended our conversation. His eyes followed me as I walked away.
I continued toward Mireth, who was still sitting at the council table, speaking to the older man next to her.
“Cassian, congratulations,” she said with a smile as I approached. “This is council member Darrow Elkwright.”
“Congratulations, young man,” Darrow said with a solemn nod. “We are pleased to have you in our ranks. Your energy and abilities are exactly what we need.”
“Thank you both for your endorsement,” I said, then turned to Mireth. “Forgive me, High Steward, but do you know where I might find my sister? She wasn’t in her room when I woke up.”
“Yes, Darion Thorne took her to the sparring room. I’ll have someone escort you.” She caught Caldren’s eye through the throng of people and asked him to lead me to them.
I said my goodbyes and left the crowd, which suited me fine.
I had never been one for large groups and much preferred the company of the people I knew and trusted.
As we left the room, everyone was still boisterously celebrating, which I found amusing, since the person they were celebrating was heading out the door.
“Congratulations,” Caldren said. “That was no small achievement.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I just hope everyone is happy for me to join.”
Caldren laughed, gently. “Kael can be blunt, but he means well. I have known him for much of my life. He’s a good man.”
I nodded, knowing I’d still need to make my own determination.
We walked through several corridors until the sound of clashing metal echoed through the hallway.
We entered a large room with racks of weapons lining the walls, leaving ample space in the center.
There, Darion and Elena crossed swords in a heated battle, their attacks more intense than I’d ever seen from either of them. Caldren bid me adieu.
They moved back and forth across the floor several times, neither conceding much ground before claiming it back.
I remained quiet on the sidelines, observing.
For only an instant, Darion’s attention strayed in my direction.
That was all it took to break his concentration, and a moment later, Elena had him off balance, knocking the sword out of his hand with a reverberating thud.
“Ha!” she yelled, victorious. But then she followed Darion’s eyes toward me. “Cas!”
They both ran over, and for the third time in the last day, we all shared an embrace. Tears inexplicably ran down my cheeks.
“I did it,” I said. “I’m part of the Order of Emberlight.”
“Congratulations,” Darion said, beaming.
“I knew you could do it!” Elena exclaimed. “They’d be stupid not to let you in.”
“I was worried for a while there. Kael doesn’t seem to like me.”
Darion sighed. “Don’t take it personally. More than anybody on the council, Kael is a stickler for the rules. Plus, Kael and I have a complicated history, to put it mildly.”
“Complicated how?” I asked.
“We’ve been friends for a long time. Not too long ago, he confessed his feelings for me. I didn’t share those feelings.”
Good, I thought to myself with a smugness that I felt a little bad about.
“Kael was the one with the most reservations about you, but I partly blame myself, since I couldn’t seem to stay away from you,” Darion said with a ridiculous grin. “But he’s a good person at his core.”
“So everyone keeps saying,” I said. “Your advice about being truthful and speaking from the heart probably saved me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. The council members are wise and easily spot deception or insincerity.”
We paused for a moment, gazing at each other with soft smiles.
Then Elena began to fidget. “So, what happens next?”
My stomach clenched as I thought back to the council’s decision that Elena would need to travel north. But that was a conversation for later.
“Well, I don’t know about you two,” I said, “but I haven’t had a thing to eat since yesterday morning. I’m starving!”