Chapter 16
Cai
I began my ascent of the wide staircase, making the familiar journey to my chambers.
Even though I didn’t have much of an appetite, I’d been hoping to join Elara for dinner, but I had found the dining room empty.
I wanted to discuss what Alastor had told me and possible plans to take back Norrandale.
I knew she would be happy, probably even eager, to talk about the topic considering my serious lack of interest in the past few months.
I wasn’t entirely sure of my motives yet. Did I actually believe we stood a chance of taking back Mistwood, or was I delusional? Or did I feel overwhelmingly guilty for not even trying before?
I had asked a passing servant where they’d last seen her and had been directed to the library.
Once I was certain she wasn’t in the library either, I figured she’d probably gone to bed early and that I could join her for breakfast the next morning.
Reluctantly, I had turned my steps towards my rooms.
I trudged over the carpet of the upper floors, walking past the many guest rooms. These hallways were filled with paintings, most of them depicting nature, especially the palace gardens and the wooded area surrounding it.
“Cai.” Her voice came from behind me, and I turned around.
“There you are,” I said as Elara hurried to catch up with me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“You were?” She seemed pleased at the idea.
“I wanted to talk to you about a discussion I had with Alastor about Norrandale.”
“I need to talk to you as well.” We walked beside each other through the hallway. We passed a servant lighting some lamps along the wall.
“I’m listening,” I encouraged her.
“So, I think we may have found the diary.”
“We?”
“Well, me and Rhen,” she explained. “We were looking for it in the library this afternoon and then we came across this small wooden box.”
“So we were right to spend all that time searching in the library.”
Elara nodded. “It wasn’t easy to find either. It was stashed in a locked cupboard that we found in a secret room hidden behind a wall panel. The only problem is that we can’t open the box.”
“You mean you can’t break it or something?”
She shook her head. “Apparently it’s protected by some kind of old magic, and we need the actual key to open it.”
My heartbeat quickened a little at the use of the word magic. That wasn’t a very good sign.
“And we don’t know where the key is?”
“Actually, we do.” She stepped closer and took hold of my upper arm as we walked. I wanted to pull her closer still. “It just won’t be very easy to retrieve.”
“How did you find out about all this? Did the box come with some kind of instructional scroll?”
My words caused the corner of her mouth to turn up a little.
“Of course not. Lance told me.”
I was equally confused and surprised.
“Lance?”
Elara let out a very long sigh. “Yes, apparently he knew much more about the diary than he’d let on.” This part did not shock me in any way. Of course Lance had been withholding information if it was to his benefit. The only question was how?
“But he also knew that the box couldn’t be opened unless you used the key, which unfortunately happens to be in the centre of the forest.”
“You mean . . . ?”
“In the mist? Yes.” Her voice was filled with frustration. “Lance has sent people to get it in the past, none of whom came back, as could be expected. And, of course, Lance would never go and get it himself, so . . .” She trailed off.
There were many days that I would have given much to forget.
And the time we were in that forest was one of them.
When King Aries sent his men to Everness in another failed assassination attempt, Elara and I had accidentally ended up in the midst of Everness’s fabled forest of mist. Where people wandered around trying to get out until they eventually died of hunger or thirst. And that was only if the wolves didn’t get to them first. I remembered the story told at Camp Fairfrith one night, when the man had tried to scare the children with tales of the mist. He mentioned something about it only being royals who are able to get out of the forest. I didn’t know if I believed him, but I knew Elara and I had somehow made it out of there alive and that I had no intention of going back, ever.
“Of all the places.” I threw my head back in exasperation. “And how does Lance know all this?”
Elara’s expression became unreadable. “He said it was something our mother used to believe in. Things she would tell him about when he was a child. For all we know, it’s only a story and we’re heading for another dead end.” It certainly didn’t feel like things were looking up for us yet.
“But we found that diary and that has to mean something. It has to lead somewhere or be opened somehow and it’s hard to believe in all these things, but I don’t know what else to believe anymore.”
Her sadness forced a pang in my chest, and I wished I could do something to take it away, to make all of this just go away, but I couldn’t.
“Did Lance give a reason for not sharing any of this before?” Other than being something of a prick.
“Well, you know Lance loves to drive a good bargain,” Elara started with some uncertainty.
“What do you mean?” I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like whatever she was about to tell me.
“In exchange for the information, he wanted one of the three Myrgonite objects.”
“Please do not tell me you agreed,” I practically pleaded. “We need to destroy those things as soon as we can.”
“I’m afraid they can’t be destroyed. It would kill you and anyone close by.”
“And I suppose Lance told you that? How do you know he wasn’t lying?”
“Are you really willing to risk it?”
“I don’t think we have a choice.” I wanted to believe there was some way to destroy the objects without putting anyone in danger.
But then I thought back to that book I’d come across in the library where I first read about the king’s diary.
It might have mentioned something about being unable to destroy the stones.
Maybe I just didn’t want to truly believe it.
“We need that key, and you know it. And since we can’t just destroy the objects, we need to keep them separate and hidden. Lance suggested we each have possession of one.”
I couldn’t understand her reasoning. Did she still not realise how dangerous this was?
“Lara, the only reason we’re looking for those objects in the first place is to keep them out of the wrong hands.” The fact that he was her brother be damned. This was a lot bigger than bloodlines.
“Would you calm down?” Elara looked left and right, lowering her voice. She pushed me back into the nearest guestroom and closed the door behind her. Had it not been for the severity of the situation, I would have made some flirtatious joke.
“We’re not actually going to give him anything,” she explained, continuing to keep her voice low.
“I just need him to believe it for now. I told you Lance knows a lot about the objects and the history of the realm. Even if we don’t like it, we need his help.
After all, he’s been looking for them a lot longer than we have. ”
“Which is exactly why he shouldn’t come anywhere near them.” Never mind the fact that if someone as determined as Lance hadn’t managed to find all of them, what hope did that give us?
“Look, we are the only two who suspect what at least two of the objects are. And we’re going to keep it that way.” She tried to reassure me. “All we need is the diary to confirm it and then hopefully it will lead us to the third.”
“Then once Lance knows we have it, we still need to prevent him from getting it.”
She frowned, not pleased with my words. “I already told you, I’m not going to come through on my promise.”
“Do you honestly think he would just give up, especially knowing they are now within his reach? Why did you tell him about the objects anyway?” We mentioned nothing in the meeting apart from the gemstones.
“What do you mean?” she said, slightly defensively. “Lance has known about them for years.”
“Yes, but by giving him that fake necklace at Woodsbrook, he seemed to give up on it a little at least. By agreeing to give him one of the objects, he knows we believe they exist and we wouldn’t do so without reason.”
“Are you seriously blaming me for this right now?”
“No, I’m saying we need to be careful. The more people know, the greater the risk.”
“You think I don’t know that?” She no longer bothered keeping her voice down and took a step back. “You still don’t see me as a proper queen, do you? I’m still that naive girl who has no idea what she’s doing.”
“I did not say that.”
“But you were thinking it,” she threw back.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I said we should be careful, not that you’re incapable.”
She shook her head and turned to the door. “Whatever, Cai. I’m going to try and get that key, and you can do whatever the hell you want.”
“Whoa, whoa,” I said, stepping towards her. “You’re not actually going there yourself, are you?”
“Well, I don’t see how we have much of a choice.” She made for the door, and I took hold of her arm.
“Just think about this for a moment. We don’t even know if it’s there. This could all just be some story.”
“My mother believed it,” she responded with some offence, which was hard to argue with.
“It’s too dangerous and I will not have you go back there.”
She yanked her arm out of my grasp. “You don’t get to decide that for me.” Elara pulled open the door and I pressed my hand to the wood, closing it again. This conversation was not over.
“I’m just trying to protect you,” I said more gently. “This could be deadly and I don’t want you going alone.”
“I’m King Evrin’s descendant. I have to be the one to do it.”
“Then could you at least give it some time? Until we figure out a plan on how to approach this?”
Elara considered it for a moment. “Fine.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek before opening the door again. “Goodnight, Cai.”