Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
As we walked through the palace, I couldn’t help noticing the morning light shining through the windows, casting shadows on the walls and floors. I glanced at mine and Keanu’s shadows, thinking of the riddle’s line.
Could becoming one with the shadow mean joining with the darkness? In other words, being alright with the darkness?
It can’t be that simple though, can it?
At breakfast, we ate in silence for a while. Keanu seemed thoughtful, and kept staring off. But, after a long moment, he looked at me.
“Are you enjoying the palace?” he asked. The question was so similar to Malakai’s I thought I was reliving the previous day.
I swallowed hard and thought about it, not sure that I would ever get used to the way the servants prepared, served, and cleaned all the meals. I wasn't used to clothes showing up magically cleaned or my hair being made every day.
And maybe I hoped to never get used to it. I always thanked the servants and maids profusely, and Keanu seemed thoroughly amused by it.
“It’s very different than where I’m from,” I admitted.
“Did you enjoy the cliffs of Ka‘u? I’ve heard things about it. The southernmost tip of our island chain, the jumping point.”
Truthfully, I loved where I came from. “I miss the waves breaking against the black cliffs,” I said. “And the salty wind.” But I didn’t miss the fishermen. Especially not Pulu.
“Is something bothering you?”
A frown had crossed my face and Keanu waited, not forcing an answer. A lump formed in my throat. I wasn’t used to someone reading me… not even my sister could read me most of the time. Somehow my true emotions showed around Keanu.
“Oh I was just thinking… Thank you for breaking my betrothal to Pulu.”
He grinned, the first one that morning since our serious conversation. “It was my pleasure.” Then, a pause. “Was he… someone you were interested in at all in the past?” A strain of insecurity touched his voice, and I blinked. Was he worried that I hoped to be with someone else?
“Oh no. Not at all.”
The king let out a quiet breath, almost one of relief. He smiled his charming smile, as if he hadn’t been worried at all, then asked, “Were you ever interested in anyone else?”
I thought about it, then shook my head. “I was too busy fishing.”
“Did you fish everyday?”
“Yes.” I pursed my lips before adding, “My eyes used to always be red from it. Father used to say nobody would want to marry me because of my eyes, so I should be grateful Pulu agreed to a betrothal.”
Keanu’s eyebrows furrowed. “I remember your eyes the night we met. They were bloodshot.”
“Bloodshot from fishing all the time. I hated looking in mirrors,” I admitted. “The sun and saltwater really affected me.” It was almost a relief to look in the mirror lately, to see a clean, normal white color in my eyes.
“Your physique and freckled skin indicate that you are a hardworking spearfisher, a skill that few possess, and certainly not an easy one to attain,” Keanu said. “Your efforts to care for your family are admirable, Oliana.”
Was he… complimenting me?
“Thank you.” I meant it. Nobody had ever told me I was doing a good job providing for my mother and sister. Or gave me a pat on the back for all the work I did to build a future for them.
“Speaking of the night we met. How did you figure out the riddles?” Keanu asked.
I picked out a banana muffin from the variety of foods on the table. A gentle breeze wafted through the garden, swaying the palm trees above, and carrying a sweet floral fragrance.
“My father was a drunk, and when he was inebriated, he’d speak in riddles.
” The sweet, warm scent of the muffin filled the air as I broke it in half.
“They were quite ridiculous, but… I made up riddles in my head to pass the time, especially when I went fishing. It sometimes grew lonely and tedious being in the ocean for hours.”
“Your father was a drunk?” Keanu looked concerned. “Were you safe at home?”
“Oh… I suppose.” I shrugged. “He died about a month ago, and everything has been better since. Except for the fact that he betrothed me to Pulu.”
“He died a month ago?” Keanu frowned. “What was his name?”
“Iosefa.”
The chief grew strangely silent, so I ate my muffin. It tasted so cozy and delicious, I almost got lost in the moment.
After a stretch of time, the king said, “Interesting.”
Servants approached to take our dishes, and Keanu stood, then hurried to pull out my chair for me. I thought he’d offer his arm, but he took my hand in his.
“We don’t have to pretend,” I muttered, and he grinned.
“Pretend what?”
“That we like each other. It seems like everyone knows this isn’t real.” We had already gone over this on the wedding night, so why did he persist?
“It’s not real?” Keanu raised an eyebrow, as if testing me. I frowned and he quickly squeezed my hand, as if to move on. “That’s fascinating you made up riddles in your head. I’d love to hear them sometime.”
I rolled my eyes, pulling my hand free from his. “No, you don’t.”
We stepped out of the garden and entered the palace another way. Keanu didn’t argue. Instead, he asked, “What are your thoughts on the riddle?”
“I think the first line is simple enough,” I said as we walked side by side.
“Hear the drums echo,” Keanu recited. “Do you think it’s the drums that sound when the night marchers approach?”
“It could be.” I bit my lower lip, almost embarrassed to admit my other thought of what it could mean. “Does this riddle apply to all night marchers?” I asked, not quite ready to share my suspicions about the drums possibly meaning a heartbeat.
I don’t really think so,” Keanu said. “Kāne gave me the riddle in a dream and it seemed to only apply to me.”
“Do you know if any of the other chiefs were… married?” I avoided his gaze.
“I’m not sure, but I remember the names of some chiefs. I’m sure we could find out more about them in the records.”
“Alright…” Before he could ask more about my suspicions on the riddle, I asked, “What are your thoughts on the riddle?”
“I think ‘hear the drums echo’ refers to the drums that sound when the night marchers approach. The ‘deadliest game’ has to deal with some sort of warfare. ‘Become one with the shadow’ probably refers to allying oneself with Kū, the god of war. And ‘light the eternal flame’ probably has to do with being the forever victor, a legend that will go down in history.” He nodded, pleased with his interpretation.
“Is that how you interpreted it, Oliana?”
No. It didn’t make any sense. Why would Kāne have a night marcher break their curse by serving Kū, another god, instead of himself?
I could also see how Kāne would punish his chiefs for being indifferent to him, but to punish the chief’s people as well by forcing them to war? That didn’t seem like the Kāne I knew…
“Well… My thoughts are quite different, but…” I hesitated. Did I dare share with him now? What if Kalani was correct and Keanu was using me? But what if Malakai’s revelation came true and Keanu grew impatient with me?
I must keep my information close to me and use it at the right time…
“Did you share the riddle with anyone else?” I asked, slightly changing the subject. “Or is it common knowledge?”
“I shared it with Malakai and Peter,” Keanu said. “Why?”
“I just wondered.”
One of them has betrayed him… Was it Peter, the quiet captain who brought us here but seemed to be friends with Kalani’s wife? Or was it Malakai, who showed genuine sympathy to my situation?
“I saw Peter speaking to Kalani’s wife at the ball,” I said.
“He’s spying for me.”
“Spying?”
“Yes. He gleans information from other rulers about how their kingdoms are really doing.”
“Did he glean anything last night?”
“Not that he’s reported to me. His spying is risky, but he has always been loyal.”
I frowned. What if Peter is spying on Keanu? My hatred for this sphere of politics and deception further deepened. The more I learned about this world, the more I felt like I was being buried and suffocated in a hot underground imu.
“How many people know you were killed twice?”
Keanu looked curious that I knew this information, but he answered anyway. “I was stabbed in the back and was a night marcher for a week. News spread around the kingdom that I’d been murdered, but when I miraculously came back, we told the people I’d been spying on Kalani and went missing.”
“What happened to your body?” I asked, a little sick at this strange topic but very curious too.
“The night marchers came to get me, because only chiefs, kings, and elite warriors become night marchers… well, the ones who became cursed.”
“Did it feel like you were cursed?”
“Certainly.” His eyebrows furrowed. “No free will. No body. Just emptiness. And cold. It was always cold being a ghost.”
“So they just… took your body?”
“Well, no. It transformed into the ghost form when the marchers came to get me. And then, after I bargained with you, I returned to the night marchers, still a ghost. At twilight, we faded away, and then I woke up here, back at the palace in my physical body again.”
“Can night marchers bargain with anyone? Would you have tried bargaining with someone else if I hadn’t agreed to anything?”
“Yes, any night marcher can bargain with any mortal. You were a special case because you faced punishment.” He winked at me. “I think our bargain was a win for both of us.”
I ignored his wink and repeated my second question. “And if I don’t figure out the riddle, will you find another mortal to bargain with?”
He hesitated. Then, “It’s strange dying, Oliana. You think about every opportunity missed… every word left unspoken.”
Keanu then added, “Since Kāne lets us have a second chance–only if the mortal agrees to the bargain–then I think yes, I would try bargaining with someone else. Many have given up trying to bargain, and I was told that few marchers have been freed from their curse.”
I gulped. An eternity as a ghost, forced to march on moonlit paths. Forever cold. Never to rest. Always to carry spirits back to Kāne…