Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Idrift toward Veneficia Alley in a haze, barely registering the vendors setting up their festival tents, the bright fabrics and glittering wares blurring at the edges of my vision.
My hand lifts in absent greeting as I pass familiar faces, but my mind is elsewhere.
Lost in fog. Lost in the image of my brother's bound wrists disappearing into the mist.
My name cuts through the noise. I whirl around. Naima is waving from the far end of the alley, her dark brows furrowed into a determined scowl as she shoulders through the crowd. She glances back, speaking to someone behind her.My spine stiffens when I see the man walking beside her. An outsider.
Of all the impossible things I've witnessed today, this might be the strangest. The Sages raised us to fear outsiders, and none of my friends took that lesson to heart more than Naima.
She'll befriend the occasional merchant who shares her features, hoping to learn something about where she came from, but this is different. This man is no merchant.
They share the same sleeveless tunics, the same muscular arms on full display.
But that's where the similarities end. The outsider has fair skin and straight black hair pulled into a knot at the crown of his head.
When Naima pauses to shoot a flirty smile at a woman in a purple dress, he rolls his eyes with the practiced exasperation of someone who has witnessed this a thousand times.
The familiarity between them unsettles me more than anything else.
As they draw closer, I take in the details. His tunic is black, longer in the back, cinched at the waist by brown leather straps that hold twin daggers at his hips. The hilt of a sword peeks over his shoulder.
Weapons. That's something he and Naima have in common, though she's always preferred wielding them to forging them. If they'd allowed women at the Dueling Estate, Naima would have followed Arlo and Casimir without hesitation. Thank the goddess they don't.
I've already lost two friends to the Council. I couldn't bear to lose her as well. When they reach me, I open my gift. Just a crack. Just enough to taste the stranger's emotions. Anguish and frustration, tangled together. And beneath it, fragile as glass, hope.
He feels me. Dark glittering eyes pin me in place, and the connection snaps shut like a door slammed in my face. I blink, startled. No one has ever noticed when I reach for their emotions. No one has ever pushed me out.
His lips curve slightly, amused by my reaction. I study him more carefully now, taking in the contradictions of his face: soft and sharp, delicate and dangerous, arranged into something close to perfection.
“My gods, Temp.” Naima's arms wrap around me, pulling me into a fierce embrace. “We've been so worried.”
I exhale and let my eyes fall shut, sinking into the comfort of her. The warmth. The steadiness. For a moment, I let myself pretend everything is fine.
Then we pull apart, and the words spill out of me. “Jordi's gone.”
Her expression falters. “I know. We were there when the silent guards took him.”
“Silent guards?” I search her face. “Are you certain?”
“I wouldn't have noticed if Kage hadn't pointed out the SiGA letters on their patches.” Her jaw tightens. “I told them it was a violation of the treaty.”
My gaze swings to the man beside her. He's watching me with a quiet smile, as if he finds this entire situation mildly entertaining, which is wildly annoying.
“Oh gods, I forgot.” Naima waves a hand between us. “Ada, this is Kage Yoshioka. He rented one of Tilda's rooms that faces the forge.”
I nod slowly as the pieces begin to slide into place.
“Kage, this is Ada. Jordi's sister.”
His brows shoot toward his widow's peak. “You're Jordi's sister?”
My gaze snaps back to Naima, and she laughs, shaking her head. “It's a long story. He's Draven's friend. He was supposed to stay at Jordi's, but I convinced him otherwise.”
Kage scowls at her. “You told me she was hideous and mean.”
“She is mean.”
“But not at all hideous.” He turns to me with a slight bow and offers his hand. I take it. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ada, though I wish the circumstances were different.”
“Likewise.” I study him a moment longer, thinking of Malachi, of Draven, of the tangled web forming around me. Then I push it aside and turn back to Naima. “They violated the treaty.”
“That was my first thought, but we don't actually know what the treaty says about the silent guards. They didn't exist when it was signed.”
I realize she’s right. Back then, there were only the gray parrots with their glinting amulets, watching from rooftops and windowsills. SiGA came later. Around the time our gifts manifested, if I remember correctly.
“I can't believe they do this job without compensation,” Kage says quietly.
My mouth twists. “They believe if they report enough people, the Council will notice them. Promote them to legion guards.”
“Has that ever happened?”
“Never.”
“Because they don't have the gifts the legion guards have?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He holds my gaze for a long moment, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. Then he shakes his head. “It doesn't matter. I was going to stop those guards, but your brother told me not to get involved.”
“It was like he was okay with it,” Naima whispers. “Like he wanted to go. Why would he want that?”
I swallow past the tightness in my throat. “I don't know. But we can't just let this stand.”
“What are we supposed to do?” She spreads her hands. “The Council is at the square addressing the first wave of arrivals. The Sages will be with them all night.”
"Can we go to the Lunarian Keep?" Kage asks.
“No,” Naima and I say simultaneously.
“The Council isn't allowed to visit the Veritas Estate without permission,” she explains, “And the Sages have made it clear we're not to visit the Keep, either.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Even if they broke the treaty first?”
Naima and I exchange a look. I shake my head. “Even then. We'd need to speak to Arlo or Cas first. Or find one of Jordi's maps of the Keep and try to sneak in.”
“You have his maps?” Kage's voice lifts with hope, and my eyes narrow.
“You said you're Draven's friend.”
“I am.”
“How do you know him?”
“We fought together in the war. In Vinadriel.”
“Kage is here for the Reckoning,” Naima says. “That's why he needs a current map of Lunaris.” She laughs at whatever expression crosses my face. “That was my reaction as well.”
I study Kage with new eyes. “What exactly are you hoping to do here?”
His chin lifts. “Lift the curse.”
“He's dedicated his life to it,” Naima continues. “Him, Draven, and …” She glances at Kage.
“Bain.”
The name lands in my chest like a stone. I was expecting it, but hearing it spoken aloud makes it real in a way I wasn't prepared for.
Kage notices my surprise. “You know him?”
“He’s …” I clear my throat. “He's staying at Jordi's.”
Kage's face transforms. The guarded wariness melts into something bright and almost boyish. “So he is here.”
I stuff my trembling hands into my cloak pockets. “How do you know it's a Reckoning year? And why come here, of all places?”
“Because the sprites that mark the Reckoning led me here.”
“The sprites look like red lightning,” Naima adds. “They've been appearing every night.”
My eyes snap to hers. “You saw them?”
She nods, her expression grave.
I press a hand over my pounding heart. Jordi was right.
About the sprites, about the Reckoning, and probably about far more than I ever gave him credit for.
I think of Malachi again. His golden brown eyes.
His quiet arrogance. How can he be here for the Reckoning and to collect the bargain I struck with the goddess?
The two don't fit together, and I can't ask Kage without revealing what I've done.
“Doesn't the blood moon mark the Reckoning?” I ask. “We don't even see the moon here.”
Kage casts me a sideways glance. “You would have seen it ten years ago, if they hadn't kept you indoors during the festival.”
My brows snap together. I look at Naima, and she nods slowly. “When our gifts manifested.”
Ten years ago. The year everything changed. The year the Sages locked us inside and told us the outside world wasn't safe. A roar of cheers erupts around us, shattering the moment. Naima grabs my hand before I can process what she's said.
“We need to move.”