Chapter 22
Revna
When S?ren and I had arrived back at the castle, evening was falling. Now, as Volkan, Freja, and I finished our meeting in my father’s old office, yawns stretching our faces to their breaking points, the sun’s early rays glowed over the mountains.
I sighed. My stomach growled. And I wished for a bath.
Freja chuckled. After spending so much time together brainstorming solutions, our earlier argument could almost be forgotten.
Almost.
Volkan clapped me on the shoulder. “I feel good about this. Do you?”
Freja had proposed an idea to rebuild failing structures and roads in the city. “With more tax money coming in from the Lurae, we can focus on uplifting the infrastructure on the Nilurae side of town. Repair the roads, remove any uninhabited buildings, and help the businesses improve their look.”
“That’s brilliant,” I’d told her. “We can start a few projects as soon as the festival is finished. We’ve only got six more days until then.”
Freja had been thrilled. “Can we start making a list of ideas?”
Despite my exhaustion, I’d obliged her. It was nice to spend time thinking about the people I led instead of the prophecy I was supposed to make sense of.
“You’re good at this, Freja,” Volkan had noted as we prepared to leave. “If you ever want to be a politician, we could use you in Faste.”
“Not unless you’re in charge,” she’d said with a grin. “Volkan, they really need to let you run your own country one of these days.”
A halfhearted laugh. “If only.”
I smiled up at Volkan. “I feel good about it, too.”
“And how did your trip with S?ren go?” he asked. “Were you able to find record of the prophecy?”
“We were. There’s a magical…being of some kind living in the wastes.
” I still wasn’t sure what to call the Tapestry.
God didn’t feel quite right, and I was hesitant to offer the power of such a word to a thing I didn’t fully understand.
“It calls itself the Tapestry. It showed me the memory of the prophecy being given.”
“What did it say?” Freja asked.
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the sheet of paper S?ren had transcribed the words onto. “You can read it for yourselves. It’s pretty vague, but S?ren and I discussed it and we think the queen could have reasonably guessed that I was Lurae based on the information it offers.”
We were silent for a moment as they read, scanning the paper. Volkan frowned, mouthing the words to himself as he absorbed them. “It sounds,” he finally said, “like you and the Hellbringer have now taken the place of this Weaver.”
I frowned, peering down at the paper myself. “How do you figure that?”
“I see it, too,” Freja said. She pointed to the fifth line. “ ‘A guardian divided’ is followed by a description of you and the Hellbringer. Perhaps you two now bear whatever responsibilities the Weaver had.”
“I think you’re right,” I said slowly. “Huh. I didn’t pick up on that at all before.”
But what had Aloisa’s responsibilities been? What was she guarding or weaving? I thought back to the vision I’d seen, where the Tapestry appeared before her after she emerged from the water. She’d pulled a thread from it, placed it back into Callum, and then he’d come to life once more.
I needed to talk to S?ren about this.
Volkan made for the door, bidding both of us good night—“Or good morning, I suppose; either way, I’m about to sleep for the next eight hours”—and ambled off. Freja moved to follow him, but I called after her.
“Wait.”
She paused, looking over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow. Exhaustion was showing on our faces, and I saw it in the way her posture slumped slightly.
“I was wondering,” I said, “if you would take a formal position as my counselor.” When she didn’t say anything, I hurried on.
“You don’t have to, of course. You’re just…
Volkan wasn’t lying when he said you’re good at this, Freja.
I managed the conquering, but I’d be lost without you both.
You deserve to be acknowledged for your work, and I hoped offering you a formal position might be enough to—oof. ”
She wrapped her arms so tightly around me I lost my breath. “Of course, you idiot. There’s nothing I’d want more. Thank you for asking me.”
My heart was lighter when I ascended the stairs to my room.
In the past day and a half, I’d spoken with a powerful, inhuman being who showed me memories of the past so vivid, I hadn’t been able to distinguish myself from the person whose eyes I viewed them through. But even that couldn’t rival the strangeness of what waited for me outside my bedroom door.
I came to a stop at the top of the stairs. For a moment, I considered I might be hallucinating. But no, there they sat—S?ren and Astrid, on the floor on each side of the door, glaring at each other.
As I drew closer, I amended my original thought.
Astrid was glaring, and if her looks could kill, then S?ren would have long gone cold.
S?ren, on the other hand, smirked. He leaned against the wall, cross-legged, a dagger on the floor in front of him.
With one finger, he reached out and spun the end of the weapon.
It twirled round and round. He didn’t even look at it.
Oh, gods, I thought. What did Astrid possibly do to bring out the Hellbringer?
Because this powerful, haughty man bore no resemblance to S?ren the gentle scholar. No—this was a standoff, one that the Hellbringer intended to win. I rushed up to them.
Signing and speaking at once, I asked, “What the hell is going on here?”
“You can sign,” S?ren said, his hands moving in tandem with his words. “No need to accommodate me.”
The words held a deadly undertone. He didn’t move his eyes from Astrid. With a heavy sigh, I turned to her. “What’s going on?”
“He’s lurking.” Her lip curled in disgust. “I am your bodyguard, so I am supervising.”
“Astrid seems to think I cannot be trusted to speak with you privately.” S?ren didn’t take his eyes off the teleporter. “Despite having spent the last several days alone with you in the wastes.”
“You work for the enemy,” she fired back. “For all I know, you could be planning to assassinate Revna.”
“If I wanted to assassinate her,” S?ren managed to drawl even when he signed, “don’t you think I would have done it already?”
Astrid actually growled, and I stepped between them. “Stop it, both of you. Astrid—before S?ren arrived, what were you doing here?”
She frowned, as if surprised I didn’t already know. “Waiting for you to return. After the unrest in the city while you were gone, it’s clear there could be another assassination attempt.”
“And S?ren?” I turned to the Hellbringer, whose mask of arrogance faded with every passing moment. “Why are you here?”
“I—” He paused for a moment, hands hovering in the air, and I wondered whether he was telling the truth. Finally, he settled on, “I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
But his eyes wouldn’t meet mine or Astrid’s anymore. I noted the dark circles under his eyes. Had he slept at all? How long had he been sitting here, in a standoff with Astrid?
“All right,” I said. “Thank you both for your concern. I do appreciate it. I doubt there will be an assassination attempt tonight—or, I guess this morning. S?ren, if you want to speak to me, then wait in my room. I have a matter to discuss with Astrid privately first.”
Astrid glared as S?ren closed my bedroom door behind him. “It isn’t smart to allow him to get close.”
“I know.” It was the truth. I was more than fully aware of how tempting the man was. “But I’m not here to talk about him. I need a favor.”
She perked up. “Anything.”
“You must keep this a secret from everyone. Even Freja.” I raised an eyebrow. “Can you do that?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course. My duty and my relationships are separate, and one will not get in the way of the other.”
Oh, how I envied the confidence in her reply. Still, I nodded. “There is a rumor that the priests are still in the city, but in hiding. Some have begun organizing. I think they might be planning a coup.”
At this, she grew deadly serious. “Do you want me to kill them?”
“Not yet.” It wasn’t a bad idea, though.
“For now, I’m not even sure how much truth there is to these rumors.
My source is…emotionally biased.” Considering I killed him.
“Spend some time at the Sharpened Axe, and keep your eyes peeled for anyone who looks suspicious. New faces that no one seems to recognize, people who spend time with only Lurae companions. Or anyone who sneers at the Nilurae. I don’t want to act until we have proof, but I’d feel far better if I knew you were keeping your eyes on the situation. ”
“Of course. I’ll report back with anything I find out.”
“Thank you. Now, go get some sleep.” She raised her hands, ready to protest, and I held up a palm. “No arguments. You’ve been here all night. Your dedication is appreciated, but you need to rest. I need you at your best if you’re going to continue being such an excellent bodyguard.”
She sighed. “And what about him?”
I glanced at the closed door to my room. “I have a private matter I need to discuss with him before I send him back to his quarters.”
Astrid raised a suspicious eyebrow. But she acquiesced, nodding farewell and heading back to the stairwell. I watched her go, wondering whether she was headed back to her own quarters or Freja’s.
I entered my quarters to find the lamps lit. S?ren was busy closing the curtains. He glanced at me when I stepped inside. “What are you doing here?” I ventured.
For a long moment, he continued readying the space in silence, adjusting my blankets and then shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Mira brought me back from Kryllian an hour ago. Made a report to the queen. I wanted to see you afterward,” he confessed.
“To debrief, of course.” The last part was added on in a rush.