Malin – Checklist #3
Something like a tether in her soul pulled her inside.
A bell jangled as she entered the dim, empty room.
Behind the counter stood a woman, her face smeared by shadow, her blue eyes.
Eyes that look like Malin’s own eyes pierced through the gloom.
She was pouring tea from a pot that was clearly empty, her movements precise and measured.
The woman looked up, her lips a natural pucker. When she spoke, the voice was unmistakably Elowen’s, echoing as if from the bottom of a well.
“You must find her, Malin.” The loop repeated, hitting Malin like a fist to the chest. “You must find her.”
The world blackened at the edges. The dream fractured.
Malin woke with a violent gasp, her heart hammering against her ribs. Back in the suite, for a fractured second, she swore she saw Mom’s eyelids flutter, but the movement… if it was there at all… was gone.
Her legs were shaky as she stood, the chill of the dream clinging to her skin. She smoothed her tunic, trying to ground herself in the prismatic sunlight of the hallway. She leaned over, pressing a final, lingering kiss to her mother’s glowing forehead.
“I’m going,” she whispered.
She turned and exited the suite. It was time for the final, hardest task: the children.
It didn’t take long to walk across the hall to the kids’ rooms.
Taking a deep breath before stepping into their suite, Malin was determined to leave her distress at the door. Inside, the refined Elven silk and silver were buried under a beautiful mess of half-finished puzzles and enchanted glass bricks.
Sprawled on a pile of pillows by the fire, Ellie and Zee were elbow-deep in a castle-building project.
Ellie floated blocks into place. As the heavy door clicked shut, her daughter launched herself up, barreling into her mother’s arms. A bright, relieved smile followed on Zee’s face as he joined them.
“Hey, sweetie,” Malin said, reveling in their joined hug. “Are you two staying out of trouble?”
“Pir’ion… that’s what Aldrik told us to call him… brought us this stuff, but we’re so bored,” Ellie rattled off. “He won’t let us play with the other kids without an escort. The guards say we can’t even leave the suite!”
The tight security had Will’s paranoia written all over it. He was terrified the Order would strike at the children while they were gone, and Aeladar was clearly indulging him. She would have to verify.
Delivering a perfect deadpan stare, Zee crossed his arms. “I never thought I’d miss Media, but at least there we could go outside.
” He lowered his voice, glancing toward the door.
“Ellie’s been levitating us down to the lower balcony to practice.
Opal met us there. He said he won’t let anything happen to us. ”
An eyebrow ticked upward in surprise. Opal had neglected to mention that he had already been playing with the kids. While she appreciated the honesty about bending the rules, her heart hitched at the very mention of it.
What if Will was right about the concern about the Order?
Then thoughts of how controlled she had been feeling hit.
Although she worried about other political intrigue that they may not have taken into account, she relaxed a bit.
“I’m glad Opal is looking out for you, but those rules are for your safety.
I’ll make sure you get out more. Mira and Opal said they would look after you. ”
As Zee headed to the washroom, Malin pulled Ellie close and smoothed her hair. She needed to do what her own mother never did: be transparent. “Ellie, I wanted to talk to you about Caelum. There’s something I should have told you sooner.”
Ellie’s blue eyes were wide and too knowing. “About him being my dad? I know.”
The blunt confession landed like a physical punch, leaving Malin stunned. “Who told you?”
“No one had to,” Ellie shrugged, picking at her hem. “He thinks about it all the time when he’s near us. It’s really loud in his head, like a speaker. Zee knows, too. It’s okay… I like Caelum, but I love Will. I don’t want to pick sides.”
Malin exhaled, a weight lifted even as a new one settled. “You never have to pick sides, honey. Families can be big and weird.”
“But I don’t trust him,” Ellie added, her face suddenly serious. “He’s always hiding things.”
Malin froze. “What do you mean?”
“He only lets himself think about happy things when he’s with us,” Ellie explained. “Everything else is locked away behind a big metal door in his head. I can’t read him at all. Other people are much easier.”
Zee returned, nodding in agreement. “Ellie says he does it with everyone. Maybe he’s just scared of something?”
Malin stroked Ellie’s hair, her skin crawling. A man who could perfectly wall off his mind from a telepath was a man who had practiced deception for a long time. “If he ever says anything that makes you uncomfortable, you tell someone immediately, okay? Promise?”
“Promise,” Ellie said.
“He wants to have dinner with you later tonight, and you will probably see him more over the next week, but he is not allowed to be here without someone else here,” Malin said, watching them closely. “I’m going with the team on the mission to save Nanna.”
“We will be fine,” Ellie said.
“Opal will be here,” Zee added, his eyes bright.