Chapter 13 #3
Even without details, her stomach began to turn.
Not enough to stop eating, of course, but enough to make her heed the warning.
She finished her pastry and picked up the clay cup.
It was a herbal tisane infused with lavender, and a twist of something bright and citrusy.
She imagined the chef-extraordinaire of the Godsguard barracks concocting it like a magic potion with foggy spectacles in a witches’ hut somewhere and downed it in three gulps like a complete heathen.
She had no idea how long it would take for her second sight to burn through the energy the food had given her, so she pulled the nearest book beneath her chin and got back to work cramming as many hand gestures into her brain as she could.
By the time her eyes once again blurred beyond usefulness, she was fairly sure she knew the gestures for attack, kill, hunt, flay, burn, skewer, slice, quarter, and bury.
She hadn’t come across the words for run and hide just yet.
Her thoughts felt like a tangled mess of gold lace and sharp hand gestures and Hymn’s tired apologies.
With what remained of her energy, she pushed away the book she had been studying and turned her fingers before her eyes.
The lines were thin and delicate, but they weren’t frayed or broken.
Her bond with Hymn was very much intact.
Not complex or strong, yet—not like Chasin’s or the other captains and section leaders.
The lines weren’t overlapping or layering; they were sparsely spaced, dancing in faint patterns like they wanted to begin intricate weaves but weren’t quite sure how to.
Her second sight flickered and blinked, and ultimately failed, sending her back to darkness. Great.
For a moment, she just sat there, and then she began to practise all the gestures she had learned—through touch, this time.
She kept going until a sound near the door echoed down the hall.
Soft footsteps just outside the hall. The attendant was probably returning for her dinner tray. Maybe she could beg for another.
The door flung open.
“Eiko!”
She jerked upright so fast her chair screeched.
“I heard something down the back.” Kaito was barrelling into the hall, sounding breathless and furious.
Footsteps thundered behind him. Ren’s heavier stride, Rion’s lighter steps, Ky swearing under his breath as he nearly tripped on something. Eiko pushed away from the table, snatched up her cane, and was barely halfway to the front of the hall before a warm, familiar presence crashed into her.
“We’ve been looking everywhere since Alessandra released us this afternoon,” Kaito breathed, releasing her quickly and holding her at arm’s length. “We checked the grounds, the courtyard, the infirmary, the kitchens, the mess hall. Who hides a blind girl in a room full of fucking books?”
Ren exhaled, sharp and angry. “Are you hurt? You don’t look hurt.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just exhausted.”
Rion shoved Kaito aside and gently pushed damp hair off Eiko’s forehead. “You should be resting. You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I’m fine,” Eiko insisted again, though she was a little less sure this time. She did actually feel like she was about to faint. And was that sweat dampening her collar? Her eyes felt moist, and she blinked sluggishly, jolting when Rion hissed in shock, the others mumbling curses.
“You’re bleeding,” Rion whispered, dabbing something beneath Eiko’s eyes.
What?
“Your eyes,” Rion specified. “They’re bleeding.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “That’s … fun.”
“What have you been doing?” Ky demanded, but his voice wobbled.
“Not much, just hanging out in the library,” she tried to lighten her tone, hoping not to worry them all too much. “What have you guys been doing?”
Rion pinched her and then went back to wiping her apparent tears of blood. “Alessandra had us running training drills all day. Apparently, we’re all as fit and strong as pathetic little baby goats. The rest of Crescent banner mostly stood around and watched and laughed.”
“What have you actually been doing?” Ky pressed.
Rion stopped wiping her tears, so they must have stopped.
Eiko rolled her stiff shoulders, leaning against one of the columns.
“I read some notes on Whisperings: total death and destruction, zero survival rate, absolute psychopathic maniacs, blah blah blah. And then I spent the rest of the day trying to learn the prince’s language.
” She made a sloppy motion with her hands.
“This means ‘maim.’” Then another, even sloppier. “This means ‘useless sack of semen.’”
Kaito sighed.
Ky snorted. “You made that up.”
“And added it to the book,” she said with a grin.
“So …” Ren lowered his voice until she had to lean forward to hear him. “Should we talk about your monster giving you the ability to see—even though I can tell you’re still blind, sometimes—and you suddenly crying tears of blood?”
“Does it need to be a conversation?” she asked. “You pretty much just covered it.”
“Eiko,” Kaito said flatly.
She sighed, feeling suddenly bone-tired.
Her head swam dizzily, and she sank back heavily, the cool surface of the column behind her a balm to her feverish skin.
“I’m not sure what I’ve done. What Hymn has done.
We didn’t Silence right. We didn’t manifest right.
I’m not supposed to have his second sight—which is very disorientating, by the way.
I’ve been using a watered-down version of it all day—again, not doing it right—and I think it’s burnt me out a little more than I realised.
Anyway, I’m not supposed to have it, but I do.
And Hymn really is what I said he is; he’s not waiting to break free and rampage the city. He’s only small, look!”
She thrust out her arm. Show them.
Hymn, who had been wrapped around her wrist, just as exhausted as her, suddenly perked up.
She could feel his excitement to show himself off.
She couldn’t see it, but she heard Rion’s quick, indrawn breath, and felt them all move closer.
Hymn circled her wrist, flicking his long tail back and forth, unfurling his little wings, trying to show off to her friends.
“He’s … tiny,” Ky said, disbelieving.
“He’s … adorable?” Rion sounded just as shocked.
Hymn hummed with happiness. I am. I’m adorable.
“It could still be a trick.” There was a wince in Kaito’s words. “Have you shown this to Cairn?”
“No.” Eiko quickly dropped her hand, willing Hymn to hide himself again.
“I don’t like what’s going on here. I don’t like the way everyone reacted to my lace.
It was like they were all ready to kill me on the spot.
I don’t know what’s worse: them thinking he’s some sort of city-swallower, or them realising he’s …
this small.” She covered her wrist with her free hand.
“She has a point,” Rion agreed. “If they see proof he’s as underdeveloped as she says he is, they might see it as an opportunity to study or experiment with a Whispering to discover more about them before he grows up or gets too powerful for them.
They might start experimenting on Eiko. We don’t know these people.
Are we supposed to trust them just because they’re Godsguard?
Let’s not forget, the Godsguard is made up of criminals: thieves and rapists and—”
“Men who like other men?” Ky cut in dryly. “And women in no rush to get married?”
“And Kira,” Ren added. “Whatever Kira is.”
“I honestly forgot all about Kira,” Kaito admitted.
Rion sighed. “I’m just saying: Let them prove we can trust them first. And don’t forget what I told you about King Grigori.”
“We’re not likely to forget that anytime soon,” Ren said darkly. “You two aren’t cattle. He can’t just take possession of you and sell you off to his sons.”
Nobody answered, because … well … the King of All could absolutely do just about whatever the fuck he wanted.