Chapter Eleven
Want
MAGNOLIA
Iwas escorted to a room, and I knew it would be difficult to not get attached. It wouldn’t last. With the Solstice only a couple of weeks away, I was limited on time.
I’d never seen Dahes want anything this badly—except maybe me. He never told anyone his plans, so for him to do so now meant he was desperate.
What if I couldn’t finish in time? What if I found out nothing about Hael? I’d never failed a hunt before, and I had no idea what Dahes would do to me if I did now.
I tried not to think about it as I took in the surroundings of my temporary room.
I wanted it to be permanent.
Viven felt inviting, vibrant with possibilities, while Moriann reminded me of cold shackles, chaining me to a life I didn’t want.
There was a window left open, letting the suns’ warmth seep into the space. The rays painted everything golden and added a serene peacefulness to the room.
The bed was about the same size as the one in my room at Dahes’, but instead of a scratchy thin blanket that did nothing to cut through the cold, there was a warm, thick comforter in its place.
I ran toward it, jumping face first onto the mattress. I hadn’t felt this warm, this alive, in so long. Maybe ever. Even on the streets of Moriann, I never truly knew what it felt like to not be cold.
I didn’t even care what else was in the room—which was a lot—a wardrobe, a sofa, a small table with chairs, and my own bath that was twice as large as the one I used in Moriann.
It felt like a slice of heaven, like I was living on warm fluffy clouds above everyone else and no storm could touch me.
And the best part, the thing I loved the most, was that Dahes wasn’t inside my head.
I knew it wouldn’t last, that he warned me he’d go to the sinking islands where the Sands wouldn’t muffle his powers, and then I’d feel him again, but right now, I just wanted to soak in every second my mind was my own.
It was so liberating to not have to live in fear that my thoughts would be used against me.
I hadn’t realized how dead I was before, how much I had become one of his ghosts.
I pulled the comforter down, moaning at how soft it was beneath my fingers.
Not sure if anything else was expected of me—and honestly, I didn’t care—I closed my eyes and slept.
Really, really slept for the first time in seven years.
There was a knock on my door.
Stretching my arms over my head, I opened my eyes. I was still exhausted, somehow feeling more fatigued even though it was the first time I had slept in days.
The warm breeze floated in from the open window, and my breath caught. The two suns were sinking behind the mountain range. I ran over to the window, leaning far out to get a better look. Distantly, a shadow flew overhead, its roar vibrating the sill beneath my fingers.
A dragon.
The mountain range, the one that was so mesmerizing I couldn’t tear my eyes off of it last night, was the Drakin Grounds.
Blue, red, and hues of green scattered across the fading sky as the outline of the moons were slowly peppering in.
I could only glimpse three of the moons rising, the other three—the black, gray, and white moons—were still hidden.
I was so caught up in the view that I almost fell out the window when another loud knock sounded.
The idea of someone knocking was so foreign to me that I totally forgot about it.
I ran my palms down my hair, trying to smooth the tangles before going to the door.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was the large ‘W’ stitched onto the chest of the gray uniform. I immediately recognized him from the throne room—blonde hair, green eyes, and freckles across his nose—he was the Wielder who saved me from answering why Dahes sent a Tallik after me.
“Evening, little Wielder.” He smiled as he leaned against the door frame with one boot crossed over the other.
“Little?” I repeated, unable to hide the bite from my voice. I had no idea why it bothered me. Dahes called me his slave for crying out loud.
He cocked a grin. “I’m assuming you haven’t reached your Staying Age yet.”
I hated the way he was looking at me, how his eyes roamed over my body. I was still wearing the torn slip. “I’m a year off.”
He nodded, his lip curling upward into a smile. “So twenty-two?”
I didn’t acknowledge it. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to train you.”
So this was Cash.
“And my age is relevant to that?”
He shrugged. “It’s nice to know how long you’ve had your Token. Which was when?”
“Sixteen,” I answered, crossing my arms over my chest to cover myself. “Why are you here?”
“To train you,” he repeated like I was stupid, maybe I was. I hadn’t talked to anyone in years, and I was finding myself awkward and stumbling over my words half the time.
“I meant, why are you here now, at night?”
He looked me up and down slowly. “I figured you’d be more comfortable in the dark. Doesn’t Moriann only exist when the moons are out?”
I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t be an insult so I bit my tongue. I didn’t even like Moriann, so why was I so triggered by someone ill-talking it?
“Moriann is brighter at night during the Watala, but that doesn’t mean we’re nocturnal,” I finally settled on, working to calm my breathing.
I wasn’t panting like I’d been in the throne room, but I still couldn’t regulate it.
It felt like heavy weights were strapped across my chest, preventing me from fully inhaling.
“Only the monsters and ghosts then.”
I narrowed my eyes.
He straightened, uncrossing his legs, forcing me to tilt my head to look at him.
He was tall, his frame bordering on lean beneath his uniform, that it didn’t hold nearly the same intimidation level as the drakin had.
At least, I had a chance of beating him in a fight.
Except—he had a Token. I just had no idea what it was.
“Next week is the Vargothi,” he said. “I’m the leader of the Wielders, so I’m going to be busy during the days leading up to it.
The only time I can train you is at night before it starts.
So like it or not, I’ll be here every night because my king expects to see your power by the end of the tournament. ”
I nodded, tucking away the information that he was the leader.
Any thought of me overpowering him went with it.
But I wanted it. I wanted to train. If I could return to Dahes and have mastered my Token this would all be worth it.
I wouldn’t have to worry about Dahes grabbing me and my power not working.
I could be certain he’d never touch me again.
“Are you going to let me in?” he asked.
“We’re training in here?” I swallowed, trying and failing to hide my shock.
“I don’t think your Token requires a training ground, so yeah. Do you have a problem with that?”
Yes.
“No.” I stepped aside from the door so he could enter. He didn’t say anything, just stayed silent as he took in my room, slowly nodding his head.
I jumped as the window snapped shut. There was only one, but it was large enough that it nearly took up the entire wall, only now the latches were locked. But Cash hadn’t moved. He was still standing in the middle of the room, his back to me.
“I have two Tokens,” he said, turning to face me. “Both gifted from Cupio.”
My jaw dropped and I couldn’t control the expression on my face. He had two Tokens… I knew it was possible, that occasionally the Sun Goddesses would bless someone with two instead of one, but it was rare.
I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing. I couldn’t tell if it was more labored from shock or the altitude. It made him the most powerful Wielder in Viven, besides Elion himself, and now I was alone with him.
“Both of mine are stemmed from desire,” Cash continued, “and yours is transparency, stemmed from necessity.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak yet.
“It would explain why you don’t have control over it,” he said, still eyeing me.
I walked over to the window, unlatching and reopening it, trying to act casual about it, but internally, I was dying.
It felt too claustrophobic—reminded me too much of my windowless room in Moriann, and if I only had a couple of weeks to enjoy the warmth and sunsets and light breezes, I wanted it all.
Cash didn’t say anything, but I could feel him watching me, or maybe I was just paranoid. Maybe no one had been staring at me since I got here, but Dahes’ white eyes tracking my every movement was so ingrained in me that it was driving me crazy.
“What sparked your necessity?” he asked.
I whirled on him, my back to the now open window. “I hardly think that’s important.”
He cocked a grin. “Hit a nerve, did I?” He was eyeing me, and I wasn’t crazy—he was staring.
“It’s extremely important. Necessity Tokens are harder to control than desired ones.
For us, the want is already there, but when it comes from need, you have to work harder.
” He started moving objects around the room, picking up a pillow, then setting it down, drawing the curtains shut, then reopening them, all while staring directly at me, with his hands in his pockets.
“You need to know the why,” he continued.
“One of my Tokens is telekinesis. For me, I want to move things, so I simply do. So what’s your why, little Wielder?
What made you first become transparent?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I wasn’t doing this. I didn’t even know him. I wasn’t about to open up about one of the worst nights of my life—only second to the reason I became Dahes’ slave in the first place, the reason that had me so desperate I made a deal with the devil.
“That bad, huh?” His brow raised, and I swore there was amusement there. But honestly I could have been wrong. Dahes was emotionless on a good day and acted soulless on a bad day. I was so out of touch with mortal emotions, with feelings, with reading facial expressions, with everything…