38. Chapter 38
The morning sun shone bright against the window, warming my already burning, sweat-licked skin.
Peiro’s kisses had awakened me from a deep slumber only to find euphoric bliss once again, his release in time with mine.
We lay there catching our breath, my hand intertwined with his hair, twirling it between my fingers.
His eyes stayed their true brown, with no hints of the impending silvers to show the shadows from within.
Hope wanted to bloom within me that our theory was right and that thing inside of him was gone.
That the unexplainable thing my sister and I did had rid him of the vile creature housed within, and that, by some giant-driven miracle, we’d healed him.
Hope spread a little more because by now there would be a faint silver ring along the edges of his eyes, but in their stead, a black honey color took hold.
“Tell me your thoughts,” Peiro said at my side, tucking his arm around me and placing tender kisses along my collarbone.
I laughed against his featherlight touch. “How are you feeling?”
Peiro groaned but smiled as he pulled back to look deep into my eyes. “The same as the other thousand times you have asked. I don’t know what magic you and your sister created, but I feel like the strange weight has lifted. Full of life. Full of vigor.” His eyes darkened at the last words.
I could only laugh. “I can tell.”
“Are you complaining?” He bit his bottom lip as a single eyebrow flicked upward.
I smiled wide. “Not at all.”
“Good.” His eyes widened momentarily and he planted another passionate kiss on my lips, his need evident through the sheets that lay lazily across us both.
Our kiss deepened as we grew ready to explore one another once more, right as a loud banging on the door echoed violently through the room. I pulled back, frightened to be seen, as Peiro lifted halfway off the bed and onto his knees, giving me a full view of all that was mine.
“Are you up?” I heard Sury call from the door, jiggling the handle from the other side. I prayed a small thanks to the giants that we’d thought to lock our door for any just-in-case moments such as this.
“Yes. I am quite up,” Peiro called out, a laugh laced in his words.
Sury mumbled something about not wanting to know more before seemingly walking away. I laughed into my hands, but not before I took sight of Peiro’s large form in front of me and instinctively licked my lips.
Peiro caught my movements, his eyes darkening and his body hardening on the spot. He was about to say something when another bang came from the door. I yelped and pulled the sheets to my chest.
“So help me if someone is trying to get between me and my woman,” he growled before calling out a long, drawn-out “Yes?”
“Glad to know you’re alive and well and all,” Ora’s voice tilted through the door, “but dearest sister, you and Peiro are needed downstairs.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I called.
We hadn’t let anyone visit Peiro since he’d woken.
A servant happened to bring a tray of dinner to my door last night and then helped me relay a message to Fyom about Peiro’s state.
A written response returned just moments later stating Fyom would let him rest for the night only if I agreed to make Peiro see him as soon as he woke the next morning.
It seemed that Fyom had spread the news of Peiro’s health on our behalf.
Ora wouldn’t take no for an answer and continued to knock against the wood until Peiro shifted to the floor and wrapped one of the sheets around his waist before cracking open the door, almost on full display.
“Good morning, my queen.” I giggled at the annoyance he tried to hide but desperately failed to do.
“First, it’s afternoon, and Fyom is rather peeved with you two since you haven’t gone to see him so he can assess you.” Oh. “Second, I need to speak with Ophelia.” Her amused tone was gone.
Peiro looked over his shoulder at me, still lying on the bed with a sheet that barely covered my body, before turning back to my sister. “Ah, she’s currently indisposed and will be for a little longer—”
“No details!” I heard Sury yell from down the hall.
“That’s cute, but Paige is done.” That got my attention. Before Peiro could retort, Ora burst through his hold, forcing him to stumble in surprise as she marched into my room.
“Aurora Sinclair Endromeon!” I shrieked and quickly covered myself with the duvet up to the bottom of my chin.
“Yeah, yeah, you both can come up for air every now and then.”
I watched Peiro scratch the back of his head with his free hand and sigh. “Come on in,” he called over his shoulder as he made his way to the bathing chamber.
Sury wasn’t too far behind, and upon entering the room, his eyes grew wide at seeing me on the bed. “Ah, shit!” he yelled at the same time I yelled at him to leave.
“Can I help you?” I yelled at Ora, horrified by the intrusion. Her features were the same as before—deeper lines traced the corners of her eyes and mouth while a bright strand of white, matching the stone around her neck, shone brightly against her bound golden locks.
She ignored me as she gathered a fresh tunic and pants from the armoire and laid them on the bed. “Paige finished translating this morning. She’s quite certain it’s accurate.”
“And what do they say?” I asked as I scrambled for the tunic, twirling my finger to command her to turn on her heel as I put it on.
She crossed her arms, tapping her slippered foot impatiently, and spoke with her back to me. “That’s just it. She won’t tell me. Fyom read it but won’t tell me either. They said they want us all together to discuss it.”
“Okay.” I finished donning the pants and slipped out of bed to fasten them. Just then, Peiro emerged from the bathing chamber wearing his own set of fresh clothes with half of his hair pulled back out of his face.
The sight of him alive and healthy brought a new wave of affection that tightened inside my chest. Ora continued to talk as I watched Peiro slip on his boots and turn from where he sat, equally taking me in.
In a fluid motion, he rose and strode across the room to stand next to me on the edge of the bed, seemingly ignoring Ora as well.
With both hands, he grasped my jaw and tilted my head up toward him. “You’re not listening, are you, N’aan le’ya?”
I smirked—he’d caught me, because I indeed had not been listening—but was still rewarded with a tender kiss.
“Seriously, you two!” Ora squealed in frustration.
Peiro kept his hold on me and lowered his brow to meet mine. “Let’s go meet the others and hear how you are going to change this world.” And he planted a kiss on my temple.
Ora huffed in frustration and stormed out of the room, mumbling profanities under her breath, with Peiro and I right behind her.
***
Fyom and Paige stood in silence against the window of the large study.
I noted similarities not only in their habits of keeping things in disarray, but also in how they stood in this moment: arms folded tightly across their chests, their chins jutted high.
Uriah sat quietly on a cream-colored couch, rubbing his temple with his forefinger and thumb.
“Who died?” Peiro chuckled when we entered. Fyom turned his large frame toward us, a solemn look on his face. Paige looked at her brother before walking over to a large desk that was positioned in the middle of the great room.
It was almost a mirror to Fyom’s study back at his cabin, except this one was smaller, since it was not built inside of a somewhat sentient home.
There were rows and rows of waist-high bookshelves and a plethora of cushy chairs set around small study tables.
It was almost a crime how beautiful and homey it was.
A tiny pang of homesickness coursed through me.
What would life look like once we were back in Grianmore?
“Good to see you on your feet again, old friend,” Fyom boomed, pulling me from my thoughts. “I assume you don’t need me to look you over, since you look so well?”
The light, cheery atmosphere that had existed in mine and Peiro’s room was not shared here. The tension was palpable, setting the hairs on my skin on end.
Uriah looked up at Peiro with a pensive look. “No one should have been able to survive that.” He positioned himself on the edge of the couch like he was ready to bolt. “You’re not one of those part-urthen, part-humans the Elethians talk about, are you?”
Humans and urthens? Mixed? I shook my head, as that was another mystery to uncover later.
“And you.” Uriah pointed to me and my sister.
“What the hell was that?” He finally stood, towering over most of us.
“Why did that one”—Uriah pointed at me—“have shadows and look murder-crazed? No one has shadow magic in all of Wieldera! And her”—he pointed to Ora next, clearly brazen in his approach to his queen—“why does she suddenly look five years older? Can someone please tell me what in the giants’ hell is going on? ”
Sury walked around the couch and put a hand on Uriah’s shoulder. “You might want to sit down for this.”
Paige and Fyom looked at one another and nodded slightly before facing Peiro. The wordless exchange was loud as Peiro’s features narrowed. He folded his large arms across his chest, mirroring them, and nodded in a silent agreement.
“Sit down, my boy,” Fyom gently stated before setting various chairs around the large desk where Paige stood quietly.
Ora and I sat on one side, with Sury sitting closely on Ora’s other side. Peiro stood behind us resting against a bookshelf while Uriah sat next to Paige on the opposite side of the desk, with the former looking to each of us, waiting impatiently for us to explain.
“It’s not that exciting of a story, really,” Ora started. “Typical Wielding business.”
Uriah shook his head. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, please don’t treat me like an idiot.
What I witnessed was not typical, and I’ve seen and heard of bizarre things from Elethia and Mercyth.
I’ve even seen Cybele’s Atoll, and that place will haunt even the most sane person.
I know when I see something that isn’t quite right. ”
I studied Uriah for a moment and watched his eyes flicker to just about everyone in the room, waiting for a response.
“He’s right. That was a little insulting,” I said to Ora, not needing to see the eye roll she gave me.
“You being kidnapped by Dokvalon did get us started with this far-fetched tale…”
“What?” Uriah looked at us both.
“I told you that you’ve always been better at being diplomatic,” Ora replied in her matter-of-fact tone.
I quickly meditated to the giants, asking for an ounce of patience for my sister. “And it seems you need to learn the art now more than ever…”
Ora was just about to retort before Fyom stepped forward, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Ladies—please refrain from your quarrelling.” Ora and I copied one another’s movements, crossing our arms over our chest as we gave Fyom a pointed look.
“Just your typical day in court,” Sury mumbled loudly, narrowly avoiding a slap on the arm by Ora while Paige made a noise that sounded like an agreement.
I looked over my shoulder, finding Peiro remaining stoic, but the glint in his eye told me he was holding back a laugh. Turning back, I faced everyone that sat here, acknowledging the growing support for my sister and hoping at least that Uriah wasn’t ready to escape the room.
“It was easy to tell the staff that his wound wasn’t as bad as they thought, since they weren’t close enough to see…but that one there, well, he deserves to know.” Paige pointed to Uriah as her gaze bounced between Fyom and Peiro.
“Are you sure you want to be a part of the whole conversation now?” Peiro asked. “You’ve been at a safe distance from this, and—”
“And what did that distance do for me? Hmm?” Paige raised her eyebrow in question. “If I’d been brought up to speed I might have been able to do something, anything, to help avoid where we are currently—or at least prolong it.” She gave me and Ora a sad smile before looking away.
“I wanted to protect you—” Fyom cut in.
“I’m not yours to protect!” Paige roared at Fyom before pointing a thin finger in Peiro’s direction.
“Nor yours!” It was strange to see him shift uncomfortably under her scrutiny.
“Keeping whatever the hell is happening under lock and key seems to only be digging us into a worse grave. If we are to know how to approach the translation of this prophecy, then we need to hear it all.”
Fyom took a deep inhale before saying, “Fine. Where do we begin?”