54. Faylinn
Chapter 54
Faylinn
I switched positions in the wingback chair in Rohak’s office, rearranging my legs so they were tucked underneath me, my back resting against one of the armrests. I sighed as I settled back into the chair, completely content and at ease. The room was silent, apart from the occasional scratch of Rohak’s pen, and the soft purring of Cotton on the rug that I added to the office.
It was . . . cozy, comforting. Rohak and I spent the last few days in much the same manner, amiable silence filling the space between us. Every so often some important person or other would walk into his office and they’d discuss the affairs of the Northern Territories in hushed voices. Other times, I’d ask him about a particular missive or read him a particularly interesting passage in one of the books Lord d’Refan gave me.
Most days I was left to my own devices as Rohak spent the majority of his time at the Academy training Mages and Vessels. But the early mornings and late evenings were spent here in his office. I could have read anywhere, but I was always drawn back to this space. Something about it just settled my soul, and I wasn’t sure if it was the room or the person who created that peace.
I hummed quietly and Rohak looked up from his desk .
“What?” His voice was low and raspy, betraying the exhaustion he inevitably felt from his impossibly long days.
“Nothing, just reading. Absorbing. Learning,” I replied as I flipped a page in When Gods Walked Among Us .
It was an old book, predating anything I’d ever read. Some of the pages were crumbling and the ink was smudged, but I was able to puzzle out the majority of what was written. When I didn’t know a particular rune or a phrase seemed odd, I marked it in my journal to come back to later, or simply used context clues to get by.
Rohak yawned loudly and I finally looked up from my book to see him rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. His usually slicked-back hair was ruffled as if he’d had his hands in it the majority of the evening.
I marked my page delicately, before closing my book. I rested my head on one of my hands and took my fill of Rohak.
Why was he always working? It was clear from our time together that he didn’t have a wife or a family, but I couldn’t figure out the why of it. He was incredibly successful and held a position of immense prestige, not just in the city, but in the Northern Territories as a whole. He was kind, if a little grumpy and cold at times, but I didn’t see him as a malicious person. And there was no denying he was handsome—I was certain that his jawline alone made many of the socialites in his circle swoon.
“Why aren’t you married?” The question was out before I could stop it, my thirst for knowledge ever present. I flinched, expecting either a bark or a non-answer, but Rohak surprised me when he raised his head and regarded me with a slightly guarded expression.
“Do you practice the old religion?” he asked, which was not the response I was expecting.
I shook my head. “You’d think that a smaller village like Isrun would be more apt to call upon gods and Fate, but it was the opposite in my case. We relied on our own hard work and that of neighbors and friends. There wasn’t much room in our lives for the gods,” I admitted sheepishly. “Not to mention the nearest temple was two days from our village. No one could really afford to miss a full week of work just to go visit the temple of some faraway deity.”
He made a humming noise in the back of his throat but didn’t seem offended. “ I can understand that. It was the opposite for me, growing up. I was raised here in the city, but not in one of the wealthy sections. My parents were simple people—my mom washed the clothes of the wealthy class, and my father was in the army. They were extremely religious—we went to the temples of Fate, Kaos, and Solace every week, and they insisted on shrines at home as well. I was raised on the importance of something bigger than me, of working for something better.”
He paused for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. “They were . . . disappointed when I chose to enter the Academy with Alois.” At my quizzical expression he chuckled lightly. “Alois is Lord d’Refan’s first name. We grew up together, just a few houses apart, actually. I can show you sometime, if you’d like.” I nodded my head, enraptured by his story and shocked that he and Lord d’Refan grew up together.
“How did you both come into your positions if you grew up . . . not in this world?” I didn’t want my words to offend him, but he waved me off with a hand.
“You mean poor, Faylinn. It’s okay to say. We were poor. Poorer than poor, quite frankly. But that story is for another time, perhaps. My parents were disappointed when we enrolled, but they understood that my path was what the gods dictated and there wasn’t much they could do aside from telling me it wasn’t a good idea.” He smiled as if recalling some happy memory, but his face fell just as fast.
“They died while I was out on a mission. A fire started in the neighborhood where we lived, and the houses were built so close together that everything caught. They died in their sleep, according to the official report.” My eyes pricked with tears for Rohak, and I covered my mouth with my hands. It was clear by his pinched expression that the memory still hurt.
“I’m so sorry, Rohak.”
He shrugged his shoulders while fiddling with the pen in front of him. “Thank you. There’s nothing anyone could have done, or so I was told. But after their deaths I sort of relapsed back into the old religion, clinging onto something that mattered to them to keep a piece of them with me. And I wanted to believe that they went somewhere . . . happier when they passed,” he whispered the last part like a reverent prayer.
“All of that is to say that I believe in the sanctity of Bonds. So, I won’t take a wife until I find one of my True Bonds.” He looked at me sheepishly, a light tint to his cheeks.
Was he embarrassed by that admission?
“I think that’s beautiful,” I said as I dropped my hands from my mouth. His head shot up, a look of shock on his face.
“You do?” he asked, incredulously.
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. There’s something oddly romantic about the idea of waiting for a True Bond. And whoever that is, whenever you find them, I’m certain they’ll make you incredibly happy, and you them. Your parents would be proud of you, Rohak, but they’d also want you to be happy, you know?”
He smiled at me, a rare, genuine smile. “Thank you, Faylinn. For listening and for understanding. I-I haven’t told anyone that story, apart from Alois. Everyone else simply thinks I’m a monk. Or asexual.”
I laughed at that, something in me warming at the thought that he shared something so incredibly personal with me. “Your secret is safe with me,” I whispered. He smiled again before it transformed into a yawn.
“Get to bed, General. You’ve got another early morning tomorrow, I have no doubt,” I teased.
“And you don’t?” He raised an eyebrow at me while rising from his chair. I rolled my eyes at him.
“I get to read and take notes all day, Rohak. That hardly counts as taxing work.”
“It sounds taxing to me,” he admitted. “Though I’m not much of a reader, to be honest. Like the empty bookshelves didn’t tell you that.”
I laughed lightly before shooing him from the room. “I’ll lock up and be back at the palace in an hour or two.” He nodded before gathering his things and walking toward the door. He paused at the threshold, like he wanted to say something before he left, but he simply patted the frame before closing the door lightly on his way out.
I sighed and rolled my neck, shaking the kinks from my body before moving to the rug on the floor next to Cotton. I laid on my stomach, head propped on a hand as I opened my book again and began to read.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was reading for, and much of what I’d already read was common information, things I already knew. I was certain there’d be secrets later in the text, but I didn’t know if I wanted to read that much more tonight. I closed When Gods Walked Among Us with a sigh and opened The Bondsmith .
Here we go. A children’s book .
Again, I was skeptical about why Lord d’Refan wanted me to read this particular version of the story, but as I was currently employed by him, I figured I had to give it a go at some point.
I cracked it open and began to read. The pages were old and crinkled, but the runes were clear. Someone had very evidently taken care of this particular edition, which was curious in and of itself. I filed that away as a note in my journal to investigate later.
The story started the same as always, the Bondsmith—sometimes a man, sometimes a woman—came into this world to provide balance between Kaos and Solace. They created a Bond between the two gods, creating a ripple effect into our world. Now, each person had someone, or someones, that was made for them. These Bonds provided love, protection, acceptance, and the ability to draw magic from each other.
I started skimming, bored with the usual children’s tale, but something caught my eye as I was flipping. It was an illustration, which wasn’t unusual for a children’s book, but what was curious was what it depicted.
The Bondsmith—a robed and masked person—was kneeling over the bed of a sick man, blood clearly dripping from his nose, eyes, and ears. Next to the Bondsmith stood another figure, this one was whole and healthy. I squinted as I looked at the aged drawing and was able to make out a rune drawn on the sick man’s skin and a similar one drawn on the healthy woman’s forearm. There was a knife in the Bondsmith’s hand, and a small cut on their palm.
My heart began to race as I searched the book for the passage that described the Bondsmith’s actions.
The Bondsmith is gentle and kind. They exist to protect, heal, and provide balance in our world. When they walked with us, the Bondsmith could even heal the sick by uniting them together. The unification was forever, and this allowed the sick to siphon energy from the strong. Neither person would ever be sick again, trading energy across the Bond when necessary, though, their life force was also tied. When one died, so did the other .
I reread the passage three more times.
Holy shit.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Once I was sure of what I read, I hurriedly copied the runes into my notebook and transcribed what I saw in the picture before jumping to my feet.
“Holy shit, Cotton. Holy shit!” I exclaimed. I grabbed Cotton from the carpet, which he protested with a loud meow, before running from the room. In my haste, I forgot to turn off the light orbs and lock Rohak’s door, so I sprinted back to his office and quickly locked up for the night before clutching the notebook to my chest and running out of the administration building. My feet slapped the cold concrete as I ran all the way back to the palace, intent on finding Rohak.
I can do it. I know how to cure Mage Sickness .