Chapter 27
Days passed with no news. I was free to roam the Old Keep again, though with word spreading of my eventful return and the stares that followed me wherever I went, I chose to spend my pitiful amount of leisure time sat outside Silas’ cell. The sentries kept us under strict supervision, moving from their usual position of guarding the dungeon’s entrance to monitor our conversations.
While I wasn’t permitted to discuss my work, or any other official business with him until he’d taken the bargain, we found plenty of ways to while away the hours. We took meals together, sharing tales of our childhoods, and after discovering Silas had been an avid reader in his youth, I brought books from the scholars’ library to occupy him in my absence.
“I hate that you’re trapped in here,” I said, passing new reading material through the bars of his cell. Hopefully, ‘A Brief History of Wards and Their Uses’ would be a stimulating read for him. “I don’t know what’s taking them so long.”
Silas shrugged. “Why? I get to sleep and read all day while you’re working yourself to the bone. I wish I could trade places so you could rest.”
He was right. My daily routine had become gruelling to meet the conditions of my punishment. I woke before sunrise, preparing breakfast with the stewards and cleaning up afterwards, then worked my guard shift, stuck with the positions none of the sentries wanted. After a short break to dine with Silas, I’d spend my evenings with the scholars, working long into the night. They bombarded me with questions about the research camp, hoping I’d unlock something in their quest to find a cure. So far, there had been no breakthrough.
I reached between the bars, taking his hand in mine. “You don’t have to put on a brave face for me. I know firsthand how isolating it is in here, how there’s nothing to anchor you to reality.”
“You’re my anchor,” Silas said, intertwining our fingers. “I’ve had plenty of experience with confinement. Luckily, I’m a fascinating individual, and haven’t tired of my own company yet.”
“Silas, it’s me. You don’t have to pretend everything is fine.”
A shudder went through him. “I have nightmares that I never escaped, that I’m trapped doing the council’s bidding.”
The thought of him isolated for years in Eirel, just to end up locked up again broke my heart. I loathed myself for bringing him here.
“I won’t let that happen.”
“I know, but still...”
“Being imprisoned here takes you back to that time,” I finished. “It smothers you, extinguishing your spark. You deserve better than this.”
“It was my choice.”
“But I was the one who proposed it.” I sighed. “I wish we were back in the inn. Everything was so much simpler without all this.” I gestured to the dungeons surrounding us.
“Me too. It was our own little world, shielding us from the responsibilities of our positions.”
“And now we must face them.”
He rested his weight on the cell door with a look of mischief that made my skin heat, speaking lower so the sentries couldn’t eavesdrop. “It’s not all bad. I’ve become rather adept at entertaining myself. When I’m alone at night, I close my eyes and remember how well you took my cock.”
“Silas,” I hissed, shooting an alarmed glance at the sentries. They showed no signs of hearing him.
“Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.” His thumb brushed my palm before circling my wrist, his touch as silken as his murmured words. “I picture that day a lot. The tiny shifts in your expression that hinted you were close to falling apart, the way your eyes widened, and finally, the soft noise of satisfaction you made as you gave yourself over to the pleasure, clenching around me as I drew it out for you. It’s a knock to my ego how quickly it makes me finish, but it pales in comparison to the memory of you. I crave you with every fibre of my being.”
“You’re cruel.” A wave of desire flooded me as my body recalled exactly how good he had felt inside me, how he’d anticipated what I’d needed before I could voice it. “Since you have so much free time, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of inspiration when we do find some privacy.”
“It would take centuries to try everything on my list. I’d start with- “
“Stop whispering over there,” a sentry called out.
“Pity. You’ll have to wait, I suppose,” Silas said.
“Anticipation is half the fun.” I bowed my head to his ear. “And you’re not the only one with a filthy imagination.”
Silas’ hungry expression brought a delighted smile to my face.
Whilst torturing ourselves wasn’t the worst way to spend an afternoon, I had more serious topics in mind. I ran my fingers along the rusted metal of the cell door. “I’ve been meaning to ask, why did you decide to step down as lord? Was it just because of the negotiation?”
The guilt would never leave me if it was.
“No, though that gave me the push to do it.” His hands tightened around the bars. “Travelling with you made me realise life could be different. I’ve spent so long battling to fit in, to be what others demanded of me, but with you, I discovered who I truly am, what I’m capable of. I found myself along the way.”
“You were so desperate to fight for your subjects. I can’t help but worry that I’m the cause of your change of heart.”
“Not for the reason you think. I never once considered I could be the problem, not the solution. The High Council felt emboldened to make their plans because of me. My weakness. Eirel needs a ruler that will break down the barriers between the common fae and the nobility to make a better world. With my history, I could never garner the support to do that, especially with the High Council standing in my way. The bargain provided an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.”
What was he saying?
“Eirel needs Valeria,” he said, noticing my confusion.
“You want to make her Lady of Eirel?” From what he’d told me, his cousin was tenacious enough to forge a new path forward.
He nodded. “With me at the helm, the cycle will never end. Taking down the High Council will be for naught if others, even more conniving, take their place. But if I can clear the way for Valeria to succeed me, they will have no choice but to swear their fealty. She shares my compassion but is strong enough to face opposition without yielding, and her Blessing is just as powerful as mine. I have no doubt Eirel would thrive under her rule, and my obligations would be met.”
“I take it it’s not as simple as going to the Isle of Mist and abdicating your position?”
“When has anything on this journey been easy? On my death, control would automatically pass to her, but if I step down, there would be a free-for-all, every noble vying for their chance. I’d probably wind up dead either way.” He swept his dirty hair from his face. “That’s why I need the scouts. Deep within the Isle of Mist, there’s a secret chamber. The archives contain records of every Eirelean ruler’s ascent to power. I’m betting on at least one of them being sneaky enough to discover a loophole. The only problem is the knowledge of its location has been lost to time. I’ve heard whispers that its entrance lies deep beneath the lake and accessing it without inside help will be near impossible.”
“Slightly more challenging than a research camp.”
“Indeed.”
My brow furrowed. “And you truly want this? You would give up your power and privilege for a lumpy mattress in a damp castle?”
“From what I’ve seen so far, this place is more hospitable than my gilded cage was, and here, my Blessing will make a huge difference. We achieved so much working together. Imagine what we could do for the rest of our lives.”
Hope bloomed in my chest. “I’m not the easiest partner.”
Silas grinned, his fingers closing around mine on the bar. “This wouldn’t be half as entertaining if you were.”
I sighed. “Just promise me you’ll consider it further before completing the bargain. It’s for life. When the novelty wears off, you’ll still be bound to the terms, even if your desires change.”
“I promise, though I assure you, my mind is made up.”
A week went by with no sign of Silas being released from the dungeons. His conditions may have been unusual, but so was he. He should’ve received an answer either way.
I lost my patience, storming into Reuben’s office without knocking. He was unfazed, not bothering to look up from the scrolls that cluttered his desk.
“Why haven’t you made a decision yet?” I demanded.
“The leaders are still reviewing the evidence,” he said, matter of fact.
“I know you’re the one dragging your feet.” Sal had told me as much, though she hadn’t needed to.
“I’m merely applying the appropriate level of caution. It wouldn’t be the first time you misplaced your trust.”
My mouth went dry, my pulse roaring in my ears. This was because of me and my poor judgement with Ithan?
“You’re doing this because of a mistake I made nearly a century ago? I’m no longer a na?ve girl who falls for sweet promises. Silas would never betray me. I’m certain of that,” I said, though my voice wobbled.
“That may be the case, but you can’t blame my hesitation.” He returned to his documents, stacking them in a neat pile. “Will that be all?”
“No.” I straightened. Something had bothered me since our last conversation in my cell. “You never chastised me for failing to return immediately from Valtarra, even though you’d given me specific orders to do so.”
Reuben finally looked at me. “No, I did not.”
The realisation struck like a slap to the face. “You knew. You knew I’d take one look at Dorea and wouldn’t be able to walk away,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. His earlier words echoed in my mind. He needed someone who could think on their feet. He’d even brought up the curse to hook me in.
Reuben always had been three steps ahead of me.
“I was counting on it. Cassandra was more than a friend to me, once. Long ago. But we didn’t end on the best terms. I knew if she was reaching out to me, she was truly desperate.” A smile briefly graced his face, twisting his stern features.
“But you’re the one who told me to never intervene, that we were only meant to be silent observers. That it was our duty and our burden as a scout.” He’d laboured the point so often that it was his voice I heard inside my head, urging me to forget about the victims, the helpless, those Idrix had broken. His fault that I was wracked with guilt at leaving them to their fate. Countless innocents, as Aster had been, becoming collateral damage to Idrix’s treachery. “I trusted you. I stood by when I could’ve helped, but all this time you’ve been using me for your own motives.”
He didn’t flinch at my accusatory tone. “I had to be sure you were ready. That when faced with a choice you were unprepared for, you would make the right one.”
“So, I passed your little test. What now? Are you going to tell me what a good scout I am? Dangle the next carrot in front of me?”
“Don’t be unreasonable.”
“Unreasonable? You’re lucky I’m doing you the respect of holding this conversation. You know how sacred trust is to me, yet you didn’t spare a thought for how I would feel about this.”
“There are greater forces at work here that you don’t understand,” Reuben said.
“How convenient.” I laughed bitterly.
He stood, squaring up to me, but I refused to back away. Somewhere along my journey, I’d unlocked a new power within myself, a fire that blazed through my veins filling me with its strength.
“Do you know why the Night Ravens were founded?” Reuben asked, catching me off guard. Where was he going with this?
“To protect Idrix from those who would harm the realm.” From the scouts scattered across it, to the scholars compiling our information, to the sentries who guarded the Old Keep and the stewards who kept it running, all were united by that one purpose.
“Then why the need for secrecy? Why not make our presence known so no one dared prey on the weak? Why hold back?”
“I…” I had no answer for him, the room spinning around me in a sickening way. I’d never questioned it. From the moment I’d learned about the bargain, I’d taken it for granted that we remained hidden because it was the best way to protect Idrix.
Reuben seized upon my uncertainty, assaulting me with questions. “What happens to the evidence the scouts gather? What have we used it to achieve?”
I couldn’t breathe. What had it all been for?
When I’d washed up on the shores of the mainland, throwing up the water I’d swallowed thanks to the wave, it hadn’t taken long to realise I was the only survivor. I’d screamed and cried and cursed the gods, but nothing brought me solace.
It was then I’d made my promise. I vowed to live a life worthy of all those I’d lost, a life that would make them proud. I had to make something of myself to earn the second chance I’d been granted.
It had been difficult to stick to it when survival was all I could manage. But then, Reuben had found me clinging to life after Ithan’s betrayal, and offered me new hope. A new purpose.
A way to fulfil my last promise.
And it had all been for nothing. Every mission I’d toiled over to bring peace to Idrix had been an illusion, a glamour Reuben had tricked me with.
I felt hollow inside, the numbness spreading through me and turning my blood to ice.
“There are two sides to the Night Ravens. You’ve only known the first, but with what you uncovered in Threstia, you’ve unwittingly stumbled into the second. There’s no turning back now.” He grimaced. “It’s time you met the founder.”
“What?” I couldn’t hide my shock. No one had met the founder. I’d long suspected them to be a myth, a means of giving us hope that we weren’t alone in our fight.
“Only a select few have been granted an audience, usually those that have proven themselves with centuries of service, but with everything that’s come to light, the founder agreed to make an exception in your case.” He wrenched open the door of his office, light spilling into the dark space. “There are certain things that I’m not at liberty to discuss with you. If you want answers, this is your chance.”
I glowered at him, but he knew my curiosity would win over my anger. “Fine, I’ll go with you, but let me make one thing clear. If the founder confirms what you’ve said and all this has been justified, I will accept it, but I will never trust you again. You’ve broken something that can’t be fixed.”
Reuben only held open the door, waiting for me to pass.