Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
Sabina
Somehow not a single guard says a word when Antonia shows up at the temple with an iron bar in her hands.
Nate lifts an eyebrow, but I drag her inside where Charlotte and I are waiting for her.
All the candles are lit again. Or still. I’m not sure which it is. Or how they haven’t all burned to nothing. I haven’t yet figured out how magic works, but I’ve seen enough to know that it’s real and capable of far more than I realized.
“How far do you think it goes down?” Antonia looks at the hole.
“No idea,” I say.
“Only one way to find out.” Antonia manages to pry two stones free while I catch them and set them aside.
Charlotte holds one of the candles over the dark space and something glints in the light. “I think someone hid valuables here.”
Antonia drops the bar, then we crouch next to the hole. Charlotte is right, it’s packed full of metal cups and jewelry and even some weapons.
“What is all this?” I ask.
“Maybe a servant was hiding it?” Charlotte asks.
“Or the people who built the estate? Maybe they hid it and planned to come back for it?” Antonia suggests.
I reach toward it, my fingers brushing over the hilt of a silver dagger.
Pain explodes through me, and my body tenses as power surges.
I’ve lost all control, but I can feel the darkness rising, the usual slithering coming out abruptly and without any hesitation.
I’m struggling to breathe as I fight to regain control.
The room goes dark. Antonia makes a strangled sound. Panic flares. I can tell the shadows are holding her, squeezing her the way Caiden had used them on me. I pull them back, desperate to summon them away from her.
Then there’s a scream that’s quickly silenced. It’s Charlotte. I’m certain of it, but I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t feel the shadows anymore even though the entire room is still saturated with them.
They wrap around me, constricting tighter the more I fight them. I’m trying to call them back, to end this, but I have no control.
There’s more screaming, then I hear pounding on the door. The guards are trying to get inside. They can’t see this. I don’t need anyone else to know about this.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I struggle against the terrifying power I’ve unleashed. That’s when I realize my fingers are still wrapped around the hilt of the knife I picked up. It’s like I’m locked in place, unable to release it.
Instead of trying to contain the shadows, I turn my energy on the weapon in my grasp. Lifting my fingers from it should be easy, instead it’s like I’m pushing against a boulder that’s keeping my hands in place.
Finally, I manage to remove my thumb, then the rest of my fingers regain the ability to move. The knife falls to the ground, clattering against the other items in the pit.
I feel the shadows again, the way I usually do. So, I call to them, begging them to return to me, to release my friends, to empty from the space. I squeeze my eyes closed and focus on gaining control, on making the shadows do my bidding.
My chest loosens, and I can suddenly take a full breath again. Cautiously, I open my eyes.
The shadows are swirling around us, translucent and smokey, playful even. Antonia is near the door, her eyes wide. Charlotte is on the ground next to me, trying to catch her breath. She pushes herself to all fours, then empties her stomach.
Antonia is by her side in a heartbeat, holding her hair and soothing her. I catch my own breath as I will the last of the shadows away.
The door shatters, all of us screaming, as Nate bursts into the room, sword drawn. Several other guards rush in behind him.
His eyes are wide, his expression hard. He scans the space, then lowers his weapon. “There’s nobody here.”
“We heard screaming,” one of the other guards says.
“There’s a hole over there, we nearly fell in,” Antonia says quickly.
Nate starts toward it, and I push myself to standing. Fighting against the nausea, I move to block him. “Wait. There’re objects in there. They…reacted to our touch. I think they’re magic.”
He nods, and I move aside so he can investigate. He returns his sword to its sheath, then gets on one knee in front of the hole. Brow furrowed, he studies the items without touching any of them.
Two other guards inch toward the hole but don’t get as close as him.
Charlotte is sitting up now, but she’s pale and trembling. There’s red marks around her wrists where it looks like she was bound too tightly. My insides feel heavy with guilt. That was my fault. I did that to her.
“I think I should take her to a healer,” Antonia says.
I nod, unable to say what I want to out of both shame and the concern that the guards will hear.
“We’ll escort you,” Alan offers. He and his companion follow Antonia and Charlotte from the temple, leaving me with Nate and two more guards who wait in the hall.
Nate looks over at me, his expression determined. He knows something.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Did you notice the markings on the items?” he asks quietly.
“No,” I admit.
“Come look,” he says.
I hesitate, but realize that he’s fine where he is. As long as I don’t touch it, I should be alright. Careful to keep some distance, I look at the objects in the hole. Symbols and letters I don’t recognize are etched into several of them.
I look up at Nate. “What does it mean?”
“That’s Safiran.”
My brow furrows. “As in the language of Ashendune? Of the Shatterlands?”
“Yes.”
As far as I know, our two continents have never gotten along. Trade between us and them is extremely limited, and I’ve never seen their language before, let alone items that came from there. “How did they get here?”
“I don’t know. But it’s clear whoever hid them didn’t want anyone else to know.”
“Based on the dust covering everything, it’s been here a while,” I point out. My thoughts swirl as I recall the strange reaction I had. What would happen if I touched it again? Or if someone else did? Would it always react that way? Was it the objects themselves or was it Mara sending me a message?
“What is it?” Nate asks gently.
I hesitate, knowing it’s best not to tell him. Every person who knows something is more chance of it getting out. And I’m not ready for my magic to be known.
But then again, I need to talk to someone. And who else is there? “It set off my magic. I touched it, then lost control.” I swallow hard as the memory slices through my mind. “I could have hurt my friends. These are dangerous.”
“Yes, they are.”
“Why?” I ask. “How did that happen?”
He glances toward the door where the other guards are staring into the distance as if trying not to listen to us. We both know they’re hanging on every word. I have to hope I spoke quietly enough that they couldn’t hear.
“After you get some rest, perhaps you should visit the library.” Nate says in a clear, loud voice. He stands, then offers his hand. “You always enjoy reading. It will give you time to rest and recover. Leave this to us. We’ll get it taken care of.”
I let him help me up. It’s obvious he’s putting on a show for the other guards.
When we step into the hall, he addresses the others.
“You two stay here. Nobody should enter this space. It’s not safe.
I’ll inform the emperor when he returns.
He’ll need a priest trained in such unique objects to safely remove everything. ”
The guards nod, then take up positions on either side of the door. I don’t know how Nate has gained that kind of authority, but I don’t ask. There’s still so much I don’t know about him. I remain hopeful that I’m not making a terrible mistake as I follow him down the hall.
As soon as we’re far enough away that we can’t be overheard, I look over at him. “You’re not really going to have a priest deal with that, are you?”
“Of course not. But I need to buy some time.” He keeps his gaze forward, scanning the hall as we walk, checking for threats.
“What are you going to do with it?” I ask.
“If you’ll allow me, I’ll hide everything somewhere else until you need it,” he says.
“Why would I need it?”
“I’m not sure yet, but they’re powerful. They’ve been hidden all this time and yet, you’re the one who found them.” He glances over at me. “I don’t believe in coincidence when it comes to things that involve magic.”
My insides twist with anxiety and excitement. Mara wanted me to find that for a reason. “You’ll tell me where you hide them?”
“Of course.”
“And you don’t want them for yourself?” I ask. “What if they could be the cure you’re looking for?”
“If they are, I think you’d tell me if you discover that one of them can help,” he says. “But the item I’m looking for was well documented. It’s a yellow stone on a silver chain. Unless that’s buried in there, I don’t think it’s what I’m after.”
“You trust me but you don’t even know me. What if I find the stone and keep it for myself? What if I chase power?” It’s a fear that’s been buried in the back of my mind, something I hadn’t let myself consider fully, let alone speak.
What if the magic flowing in my veins corrupted me? What if it turned me into someone like the emperor? Like all the other nobles who ignore the misfortune of others. What if I’m one of them now and that’s why I’m struggling to maintain my anger toward Caiden?
“I know you well enough by now, Your Majesty. And in the end, you want to help people. It’s both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.”
I look down at my feet as I contemplate what he said. “I don’t think that’s how I’ve always been. I wasn’t like that when I got here.” I press my lips into a tight line.
“You shouldn’t fight whatever it is you’re becoming,” he says.
His words are dangerous. If he knew what I could do, he wouldn’t suggest such a thing. “Where did they take Charlotte?”
“Probably the infirmary. I’ll take you,” he offers.
We’re silent the rest of the walk while I think about what I’m going to say and how I’m going to apologize for harming my friends.