Chapter 12
A Time-Wasting Blind Girl
She knew the moment Chasin entered the arena.
The command he had over his soldiers was palpable even when she was blind, but with the sunlight throwing each of the gathered Godsguard into sharp relief, she was able to really see the effect he had on people.
The chatter in the surrounding seats died instantly.
The lazy slew of onlookers sat up straighter, a wave of anticipation and interest gripping them, whereas before, they had been acting like this was just a languid morning off.
Each of the recruits in the centre of the arena snapped to anxious attention, stepping closer together, not wanting to stand out or draw special attention from the commander. Even the section leaders grew still and looked his way.
Eiko traced everyone’s attention to the arena entrance.
Chasin was … surprisingly tall. She wasn’t sure why that was her first thought.
Perhaps she had expected each of the sons to have inherited slightly less and less bulk than their father, as they had inherited less and less of his gold colouring, but Chasin seemed to be larger than the King of All, which felt inherently wrong.
The King of All was supposed to be the most powerful human in Lyra, with the most fearsome monster.
It had always seemed that his famed magic and ability pushed against the constraints of his human body, stretching him to accommodate his bloated power and influence.
Chasin’s power felt much quieter, carrying less of a hammer-and-anvil violence and feeling more like a contained storm, like tightly leashed death and destruction.
It made her wonder about the other two sons, as their power was far less immediately apparent.
She couldn’t decide if that was less frightening … or more so.
Ky had been right, all those weeks ago. The royal family were all very good-looking.
Corvan clearly took after King Grigori, exuding perfection and charm in his looks and posture, whereas Chasin seemed to have inherited more of his mother’s reserved, cutting beauty.
Ceran—perhaps ironically, as the middle son—was an interesting mix of both his parents.
Full of brash charm, but with a quality of sly, dangerous intensity.
Chasin, taking after his mother, was beautiful in a way that hardly made sense.
A man so tall, so broad, so utterly terrifying, shouldn’t have been beautiful, but everything about him was simply …
graceful. His powerful shoulders narrowed to a tapered waist, his long legs eating up the distance without any effort.
Every line of his body, outlined by the leather and mesh Eclipse uniform, seemed deliberately and meticulously carved.
His posture was perfectly fluid without looking relaxed, held in a presumably constant state of lethal readiness.
His dark hair was a deep black that seemed to reject even the glaring sunlight, and she remembered seeing glints of gold in it when they were children, though she couldn’t make out any of his father’s colouring at all anymore.
He wore the sides of his head shorn shorter, but the top carelessly long, exposing the brutal angles of his face—the knife-edged cheekbones, straight nose, and sculpted jaw—while also hiding away his eyes in shadow.
Within that shadow, his eyes seemed black.
They didn’t shine or flicker in the light.
His gaze was flat, steady, unreadable … and so, so dark.
When he glanced at her, it was like he was pinning her forcefully in place.
She didn’t get a chance to look away—he did it first, glancing over the other recruits, and then flicking his attention briefly up to the viewing chamber, where his family gathered.
His face was flawless. Completely without scars, marks, or imperfections. Smooth, dark bronze skin, sharp structure, a mouth shaped into a permanently firm line. So austere and breathtaking … until she looked lower.
His neck was a lattice of scars.
Thick, pale ridges cut across the skin in every direction.
Horrible slashes and punctures, the wounds that she knew continued down his body, though they were currently hidden behind his uniform.
She would never forget what he looked like when she dragged him out of that cave.
Seeing the result of his Silencing on his skin ten years later was a chilling reminder of what truly waited in the Quiet.
When Chasin moved closer, Eiko realised that he made no sound at all.
She couldn’t hear his boots against the stone, or the fabric of his uniform.
He stopped a few paces away, turned slightly, and motioned over his shoulder.
Eiko had been so fixated on him that she hadn’t noticed the two men behind him.
They each carried a large cauldron. The first seemed to be full of hot stones, steam curling into the air.
The second sloshed with a thick, luminescent liquid.
Eiko swallowed tightly, watching as they set the cauldron of liquid onto the other and began to stir the liquid. The more they stirred, the more the liquid glowed, until Chasin raised a hand for them to stop.
And then he began to speak, his hands moving rapidly, forming words she had no chance of understanding. She could see Alessandra murmuring lowly to Rion, Kaito, Ky, and Ren.
Must be nice to have a section leader.
Eiko glanced to her side, where Cairn stood, scowling. He rolled his eyes at her, though he had no way of knowing she could see his expression.
“This mineral was mined from the luminescent rock at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Suntide,” he grunted out quietly, turning his eyes back to Chasin.
“Your monster has the power to protect you from burning, freezing, or poisoning. Your power over them should now be strong enough for you to command their protection. If they do not protect you, you will lose your arms.”
Eiko stared at the bubbling cauldron, her blood freezing.
What?
Don’t worry, I’ll protect you! Hymn said happily.
Nothing against you, but I remain horrified and about to piss myself.
“If your monster protects you,” Cairn continued in a bored tone, “the mineral will interact with your skin. It will seep into your fingertips and form lace.”
Chasin tugged off his gloves, and Eiko felt her brows jumping up in surprise.
The patterns across his dark bronze skin were pitch-black, looping and crossing so closely that it was impossible to determine their pattern from where she stood.
The markings continued up, and up, as he rolled his sleeves, stopping just below his elbows.
Alessandra and the other female section leader—Ilara—also removed their gloves, revealing markings just as layered and intricate, though theirs ended at their wrists.
Alessandra’s was blood red. Ilara’s was pearl white.
“Everyone’s lace will have slight variations,” Cairn continued to translate, even as he tore off his gloves with his teeth, revealing thick black lines across his fingers, covering his hands to the wrist, “making them unique to your monster and your bond. When the bond is strong, the lines will be thick. When the bond is weak, the lines will fray and snap and grow weak and brittle.”
Eiko tried to surreptitiously eye the hands of the section leaders as they all removed their gloves, without giving away that she could see.
She wasn’t sure why she was trying to keep it a secret, only that she had absolutely no idea what was happening at any point of the day or night, and it felt prudent to keep her cards very close to her chest.
Haneul and Takoda, who stood with Alessandra, had red and white markings, respectively. Eirik and Tenzin, the other Half-Moon section leaders, both had red markings. All of their lines were strong.
Guess they’re not section leaders for nothing, she muttered to Hymn.
He didn’t respond.
You okay? she pressed.
I’m scared I’ll burn your arms off, he admitted, sounding like he was about to start spiralling into a panic.
You just said you’ll protect me? Like three minutes ago!
“There are three monster classes,” Cairn continued, as Chasin’s marked hands moved in a flurry of speech.
“Rustlings, named for their predatory nature and propensity to hunt, will turn your lace pitch-black. These are the rarest monsters. They are considered extremely violent, insane, and evil. Attempting to Silence a Rustling almost always ends in death or madness. If the Silencing is successful, and it holds, you will have harnessed the ultimate weapon. You will be amongst our strongest.”
Eiko searched the hands on display, realising each of the soldiers in the surrounding stands had also taken off their gloves. She couldn’t spot any black lace. Only on Chasin and Cairn.
And then she glanced between Chasin’s mutilated neck and Cairn’s cane, and she wondered if anyone else really had a chance of surviving a Rustling, if even these fearsome men had barely survived.
“Whistlings, named for their rapid flight patterns, will produce a blood-red lace. These monsters are usually large, forceful, and highly aggressive. They will try everything in their power to trick you, to overwhelm you, and to tear free of your bond. If they are successfully mastered, they are a very valuable asset.”
Eiko found her eyes wandering up to the viewing chamber again, wondering what coloured lace the royals were hiding beneath their gloves.
“Murmurings, named for their stealth abilities, will produce a pearl-white lace. These monsters come in all shapes and sizes, though they’re just as dangerous as Whistlings, so don’t be deceived.
They are elusive, fast-moving, very difficult to track, and they are considered highly unpredictable.
Today, you discover what you invited into your body and mind.
A violent Rustling, a fearsome Whistling, or a sly Murmuring. ”