Chapter 24
CHAPTER
As the hours passed, the sand beneath the camels’ feet slowly turned to soil, indicating we had finally reached the small portion of land bordering the Ledor River.
It gave way to more green foliage than I’d seen in the entirety of our stay in Artume.
The sight of it sent my memory swirling with thoughts of my homeland and the sounds of rustling trees like a thousand colliding whispers.
Across the rushing river was the southernmost Riverlands.
Just a bit farther northeast, and we’d reach House Blackthorn territory.
Home felt so close, the temptation of it being within reach had me mulling over absurd ideas of fleeing the Imperi altogether.
We trotted beneath the canopy of trees. Their leaves and branches were sparser than those on the northern side of the river, but the nearby water source allowed them to flourish.
The shade, while intermittent, was a much-welcomed reprieve from the sun.
In the distance, I was alerted to two individuals and instinctively grasped the small dagger attached to my hip, looking to see if Saryn was also on guard.
His posture remained casual and relaxed.
The closer we got, the more my vision gave way and I could make out a face—and a familiar one at that! Theory.
Her long dark locks framed her bare shoulders.
She was wearing a sleeveless leather vest, and her ebony skin glistened with a sheen of sweat.
A sword lay sheathed across her back, and the sun glinted off daggers strapped to her thighs.
Why was she so heavily armed? Is this what Theory looked like when she wasn’t instructing at Basdie?
While many of us attempted to blend in, Theory looked like a bandit, making no attempts to conceal she was well-armed.
What was more concerning, though, was the young male at her side.
Next to that stranger were three strong horses.
He was busy feeding one of them an apple while nonchalantly stroking the mane of the one beside it.
Was he another member of the Imperi I’d never met?
Since I was uncertain, I decided to follow Saryn’s lead before saying anything.
We halted our camels and began our dismount.
Theory greeted Saryn with a hug, and while I was excited to see her, we had never developed the type of relationship that warranted hugging, even if we were blood-sworn to one another.
Theory approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder in greeting. “Hello, Dark One,” she said with a warm smile.
I was a bit taken aback by her demeanor. She had never referred to me as that before, and it wasn’t just that, but the fact she did so in an almost playful manner.
“Uh…Hi,” I sputtered out, offering a smile in return so she’d know I welcomed her presence. “Who is that?” I whispered to her, jutting my chin in the direction of the stranger tending to what I assumed were our horses.
“Don’t worry about him,” she answered, dismissing that someone else was amongst us, despite the clandestine nature of our encounter.
Saryn led both our camels to the river’s edge, allowing them to drink for the first time since departing Nasallus.
Camels were such fascinating creatures to me.
We did not have them in Cambria, but they were well-suited for Artume, able to go days upon days without requiring water.
But I was not a camel; between thirst and the desire to drench myself in water, I joined them.
Moving upstream from the animals, I dipped my hands into the water, letting the cool sensation of it send shivers down my spine.
I cupped my hands, cradling the liquid, and scooped it to my mouth.
Before I knew it, I was undressing down to my undergarments without a care for who was watching.
If I didn’t submerge myself in this water and get all the dirt, grime and sand off my skin, I would continue to fixate on it.
No one warned me that my service to the Imperi would be so glamourless and coarse.
The water was surprisingly cold for this time of year, but I more than welcomed it.
I slid down the muddy marsh’s edge, holding on to the side to avoid being pulled into the center, where the current was strongest. My skin finally felt clean, free from the plague of sand in every unmentionable crevice of my body.
I dunked my whole head underwater briefly, then breached the surface, tossing my hair over the top of my head.
I was determined to get every grain of sand off of me if it was the last thing I did.
Theory watched me bathing, amused, and hollered to Saryn, “Guess you can’t train the privilege out of High Fae, even those that are only Honored…”
Saryn smirked back at her, and I gaped at their acknowledgement of our true identity in front of the stranger.
Why would they risk such a thing? I was so concerned by her remark that I didn’t even bother to take offense.
It was all so bizarre to hear them acknowledge the past in such a manner.
After all, they were constantly reiterating that our past selves were as good as dead.
I hadn’t thought of myself as High Fae since arriving at Basdie.
Yes, I thought of my family and the life I’d had often, but very little of my focus was on my former status.
I just missed my loved ones and home. They could keep my family medallion and rank if I could just have back the pieces that truly mattered to me.
Thinking this way was useless and would only serve to frustrate me.
My circumstances were permanent, but I couldn’t ignore that Theory’s personality away from Basdie was not as I expected.
Sure, she was regularly warmer than Saryn, but usually by no more than a degree or so.
After drying myself off from my dip in the river, I was eager to understand the next leg of the journey.
Would Theory travel with us? With three fresh mounts, I could only assume so.
The canyon was now only a half-day’s ride away, so we’d likely be arriving during twilight.
Saryn and Theory had worked quickly to transfer any relevant supplies from our camels’ packs to the smaller ones already adhered to the horses’ saddles.
The stranger worked with both sets of animals comfortably and knowledgeably, displaying no signs of fear toward any of us.
I was not comfortable with Theory’s instruction to essentially disregard him.
It seemed against my better judgement and our training.
I sat on the ground, leaning up against a tree while my hair dried and indulged in a piece of fruit that may have been meant for the horses.
I didn’t care, and the stranger did nothing to stop me when I snagged it.
Sitting there, I watched Saryn and Theory’s interactions, trying to determine if she seemed more playful and sarcastic with him, too, or if it was just her interactions with me.
She did seem generally informal and unceremonious compared to our previous times together.
Maybe this was how she treated peers while on assignment together, and it would simply take some getting used to.
The more I watched, the more I became confounded by what was occurring.
Between almost every task, the young male companion walked back over to Theory and she would touch her hand briefly to her temple and then lower it before giving him a new set of instructions which he would then carry out without question.
Each time he returned to her it was like a baby animal or child seeking praise.
He was young, but still clearly an adult, so why was he constantly seeking instruction and praise for otherwise simple tasks?
I folded my knees into my chest, resting my chin on them, and continued to watch it unfold.
Task, praise, instruction. Task, praise, instruction.
It finally clicked. I jumped to my feet and marched over to them both.
“You’re coercing him,” I declared with accusation. I had no recollection of seeing Theory perform mesmerization before, nor had she ever discussed it while training us at Basdie. But I was more than certain that was exactly what she was doing to this male.
She looked at me with amusement sparkling through her silver eyes.
“Should I be interested in doing all of these chores myself?” Theory reeked of dismissiveness, but I pressed my line of questioning.
Meddling with one’s mind using that kind of magic increased the likelihood of them losing their sensibility permanently.
“How long have you been doing this to him? Look at him!” I demanded angrily. “He doesn’t even know where he is or who he is, does he?”
Theory’s nostrils flared with irritation. “You listen here,” she chided while striding toward me. I took a step back as she closed in. “When I start questioning you about your abilities, you can question me about mine. Until that day, I will decide who and what serves me.”
Saryn was now leaning against a nearby tree, watching the altercation with anticipation, almost like he hoped I would provoke Theory to such an outburst. Backing down from an unwanted fight, I stepped away, creating space between us to show her I would not engage her any further.
Anger still swirled in me. Saryn spied on those at Basdie, Theory concealed her true gifts…
What other things had they been keeping from us?
What, if anything, did they keep from each other?
It wasn’t long before Theory provided clear instruction to the male regarding the handling of the camels in our absence.
It was safe to assume we’d make a similar rendezvous when we returned from the canyon.
Would he be under her influence the entire time we were away and, if so, what effect would that have on him?