Chapter Twenty
‘What do you know about the mainland?’ I interrogate Calli over a bowl of the beige sludge that Odette has deemed the only thing I am worthy of consuming.
I guess our conversation this morning did not change her treatment of me, even if we did understand one another a little better.
The taste of earth and ash lingers on long after I swallow down a mouthful, the substance sitting like concrete in my gut.
Calli sits next to me at the dining-table, pushing a small chunk of meat around the remaining potatoes on her plate with her fork.
She sighs, probably turning her thoughts over in her mind like she does the food she cannot bring herself to eat.
She has been a little withdrawn since I told her of what we found out about the Neyktar magic and our run in with my mother in Reyhen.
It is to be expected that she’d be a little distraught over news that her brother was speared right through by Reyheni sword.
‘It is very cold there at the moment,’ is her only offering.
Gods above, she’s really not talkative this morning.
I mean, I myself shouldn’t be after all I’ve gone through in the last few days – but there’s a newfound determination coursing through me that is somehow fuelling my already blazing curiosity into wildfire.
‘As is standard for most places this time of year, seeing as it’s winter,’ I laugh, hoping to lighten her mood, but she doesn’t so much as blink in acknowledgement. ‘But what of life there? Are there people? Courts?’
I think of the old image I had of Attanae that was etched so deeply into the steel of my mind. The barrenness of it, the animals struggling to find enough food to survive. Creatures I’d only ever heard of before but never encountered. ‘Horses?’
Calli’s fork clinks onto her plate as she screws her face up at me with a perplexity some would consider rude, but I am finding is just another Calli-ism.
‘Horses? Of course there’s horses on the mainland, just like everywhere else?
’ She shakes her head as she pushes her plate away from herself, smiling faintly.
‘You really are such an interesting person. I’ve never met someone so smart, with barely any knowledge to back it up at all. A royal anomaly you are.’
I cross my arms over my chest, leaning back in my seat and trying not to let my hurt show. She doesn’t mean to offend, doesn’t know how much that would. I would probably think the same of someone who asks so many idiotic and bizarre questions.
‘It’s just, I’m beginning to realise how little I know has some truth to it. The mainland being a factor there.’
Calli tilts her head at me and I sigh, eyes falling to my lap.
‘It doesn’t matter what I thought before. I just wonder what kind of place Attanae is, that’s all.’ My eyes creep back to Calli, who reaches across the table and places a hand on my arm.
‘It is full of life, albeit a little different from our culture. There is another court there, ruled by an apparently very grumpy old man if my sources are correct. You’re not missing out on anything exciting.’
An appreciative smile creeps over my lips, and I let my arms slide free from my chest. Calli retracts her hand and takes her seat again.
‘I’ve never seen a horse,’ I admit candidly, unsure why I’m opening up with such an odd fact.
Calli just laughs. ‘And I have never eaten cake.’ She leans closer. ‘So, I think we have a lot of exploring and experimenting to do once we put the world to rights.’
‘Agreed.’
We stare at one another, finding commonalities in our differences and feeling more comfortable because of it. More trusting of our former foe.
I nibble on my cheek a little before finding enough comfort and bravery to ask the question I’ve been dithering over since we sat down to eat.
‘Where is Eliaz today? I haven’t seen him since the Divide and I was wondering if he is still experiencing some pain in his leg. He refused to let me help him carry Myla all that way. Well, he refused to even talk, come to think of it.’
Calli bites the skin of her lip, the fleeting worry glistening in her eye giving way to an encouraging sheen.
‘He should be getting ready for his walk down to Lessom to see how the infirmaries are faring. He hasn’t had any alerts since your Myla girl, so hopefully the affliction rate is slowing again for a while, and he can focus more on helping those already here get on their feet.
’ Her face fills with the gentleness of her smile, and she cups her hands together on the table expectantly.
‘That reminds me, Lillienne was asking for you last night. Would you like to visit her now? We can go together. I’ve quite taken to her, she’s like the boisterous big sister I’ve never had.’
As desperate as I am to see my best friend, Eliaz’s absence from the manor could be the perfect opportunity to scour his private chambers for the key to the trapdoor, or something that could help me understand him or his powers.
I cannot ignore that churning in my gut that’s screaming at me that he is still withholding things from me that are crucial if I am to confidently work alongside him. If he won’t tell me everything outright, then I will have to take it into my own hands.
‘I was actually thinking I might go out for a little walk first, to get some fresh air. It’s not like I'm a prisoner or anything, is it?’ I joke.
‘Quite the opposite. I think you’re the greatest, most esteemed guest we’ve ever welcomed. And you don’t smell too bad once we’ve allowed you to bathe.’
I roll my eyes at her; happy she is engaging in her usual humorous behaviour. ‘Ha ha, you’re hilarious. If you’re ever in Reyhen you should consider experimenting as court jester, perhaps you might be the first to make my mother laugh.’
Calli playfully screws up her face, playfully simulating disgust with a scrunched-up nose and a slight smirk.
‘As if I’d set foot in a dump like Reyhen. They might have expensive perfumes, but I’ve heard they don’t even have horses there.’
‘Fair enough.’ I raise my hands as though admitting defeat, before leaning in as though I have life-changing information to impart. ‘But they do have cake.’
The bedchamber that I have so graciously been assigned here just so happens to have a very clear view out of the front of the manor, making it the perfect place to look out for the departing king as he heads for the gates.
The window has a charming little reading bench that I sit on, knees up to my chest, my back propped up with cushions so as to avoid feeling the paralysing coldness of the brick wall on my spine.
Goddess Iridina shines down her golden rays, permitting them to warm the earth in their intensity.
I close my eyes and try to will the beams of sunshine to take away the shivering cold and replace it with the warmth of life on my skin. But any heat emitted by the orange light does not penetrate the glass panes and I am left with only the heat of my own breath to keep my nose from going numb.
It is jarring how still and unresponsive the atmosphere across the Divide is, like the air is dearth of all soul and energy without the Relic.
I turn my thoughts inward, digging around within me with a desperation I did not know I had in me, searching for any indication that my power still lingers there, tucked into a hidden corner waiting to be pulled free.
I breathe deep and slow, trying to feel for that faint humming, like a long-forgotten song, that implies the flame of my power has not been doused out fully by the distance between myself and the Relic.
All I find is silence. Not one note of the song, no buzz of energy, no sparks from my skin.
Powerless.
It is a strange feeling, having no real power to do anything extraordinary. How human I feel.
There is a clattering outside the window, muffled discussions ensue, before the doors of the front entrance slam back together in a rumbling clap.
It is Cole that comes into view first, his raven hair shining blue in the light of the day.
He is walking surprisingly upright considering the state he was in mere hours ago when I stumbled upon him in the dark.
The only hint of his alcohol consumption is how clumsily he gets himself down the remaining steps and onto the pathway, his hands out by his sides and his head tilted down in a subtle attempt to remain balanced and retain his footing.
If I hadn’t heard him throw back that amber liquid with all the carelessness of a drunken oaf, I’d be fully convinced of his sobriety.
Following a few steps behind, Eliaz emerges, in his usual all black get-up, his shoulders set and his head upright with a sureness and direction that I did not see on our return from Reyhen.
He no longer seems shrunken, hunched over in defeat and pain. Even in the light of day, he seems almost devoid of all colour, save for the auburn tips of his white hair, like a bonfire blazing on snow.
I watch them both until they grow blurry in the distance where my vision does not reach, wondering as the gates jangle open, how a man who was stabbed not twenty-four hours prior could walk so unburdened on the leg that took the blow.
Immortals naturally heal at an accelerated rate, for we were made by the gods to thrive and prosper without the exertion or discomfort of injury.
I rub my thumb on the spot where I sliced my palm open at my initiation, tracing the smooth, healed skin as the metal clatters together and king finally leaves the estate.
Eliaz is not immortal. He can’t be. No-one in Umbra is. The Divide – or rather my father, as I’ve been made painfully aware – made sure of it.
But it would take a mortal weeks to even begin to mend that leg from the wound inflicted by that sword.
It cut clean through his thigh for Relic’s sake.
This paired with the wounds from my burns that seemed to heal overnight, leads me to wonder if the power that he holds allows more than just a venture into the mind and senses of others.
Perhaps, I am right to be seeking out more answers about the enigmatic King of Umbra.