Chapter 24
The card spins in my palm, faster and faster, getting warmer. A tongue of flame rises from its center, pointing to my right. The tiny beacon persists even after the card is gone, hovering like a compass needle.
I start walking with purpose in the direction it points. I can trust the card to guide me in the right direction. But I cannot trust it to keep me safe from danger. So I remain vigilant.
Footsteps down the hall to my left have my heart racing, but I keep my pace measured.
I’m dressed as a servant. I’ve no reason to look like I’m fleeing.
The average person here has no idea what Clara Graysword looks like, especially not if I keep my head down.
But I do raise my other hand to hide the orange glow of the magical compass guiding me.
There’s no reason why a servant wouldn’t know where they were going… or would be using magic.
The halls grow quieter, shifting, becoming narrower. The needle then points to a wall. Knowing the magic cannot be wrong, I search for a tiny knob like Kaelis used earlier. There is none, but there is a seam that when pressed reveals a narrow door.
I sidestep to fit into this next passage. The sound of a familiar voice has me sucking in a breath.
King Naethor.
“…be ready to lead,” he says.
“Yes, Father,” a new voice replies.
I ball my hand into a fist, extinguishing my compass. Ahead are points that glow like tiny stars. Beams of light pierce through the wall to the left, striking across the passage I’m in. I creep forward, the voices becoming louder.
“Ravin is leading the charge to find her, but he might end up compromised,” Naethor continues. Silence is his response. “Kaelis cannot be permitted to leave the academy now under any circumstances. He is becoming too…erratic.”
Erratic? I reach the wall of perforated holes, coming to a stop just before it.
The holes are so tiny it’s clear they’d hardly be visible in the main room.
And even if anyone noticed them, I’m sure it’d seem like some kind of decorative element.
Not a means to eavesdrop. But even if the chance of them seeing me through the perforated wall is next to nothing, it’s not nothing.
“The Chalice’s strength is wavering, even after being fed.”
“Will the next crop of students not be enough?”
Daring to lean slightly forward, I get fractured glimpses of the king and the youngest prince. Prince Belen sits on a stool, as if receiving a lecture. The king paces before him.
“It will postpone the inevitable somewhat. I’d been hoping having her would quell his unbridled ambitions some, but it has only made them worse.” Naethor pauses, folding his arms. “At least she will be of some use to us, alive or dead. There is only one way to cure your brother of his afflictions.”
Movement at the opposite end of the perforated wall draws my eyes inward to the narrow, secret passage I’m in. Kaelis stands just beyond the dots of light at the opposite end. Armored in shadow.
He crosses without hesitation. I glance to the king, but Naethor doesn’t seem to notice any movement from behind the wall. I’m sure the king thinks himself the only person in the castle to know of this passage and uses it for his advantage.
Kaelis grabs my hand and squeezes past me, our bodies pressing together in a way that leaves no room for air.
My lungs burn as I stare up at him, and his eyes meet mine in a way that makes me feel as though I listened to something he didn’t want me to hear.
How long was he there? Did he hear his father talking about him?
Closing the door to that secret passage, he whispers without looking at me, “Did you do what you needed?”
I nod. “They’re on our side.”
“They’re on our side? You didn’t kill him? And who’s ‘they’?”
“Killing him would raise more alarm.”
“But that’s what we came here for.” He doesn’t like that the Hierophant remains a variable. I can’t entirely blame him for the sentiment.
“I know. But a better opportunity presented itself. I have him, and Elorin, and possibly the other Majors on my side.”
“Clara—”
“It’s done, Kaelis,” I say firmly.
He dips his chin slightly. I stand a bit taller in response to his unspoken challenge. With a soft sigh, he leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine. The sudden gentleness nearly puts me off-balance.
“I will never doubt trusting you. I just hope the people whom you put your trust in prove worthy,” he murmurs. “We should return.”
The Chariot rises, and in an instant, we’re back in his room.
“I’ll begin preparations for the procedure.” He goes to turn away.
I grab his hand, stopping him. “Kaelis, the Arcanum Chalice…” The question is lost for a moment as what I overheard replays in my mind.
“What about it?”
“What does it do? Beyond giving those who sacrifice to it access to deeper power…What does it do with the futures fed to it?”
“It converts the futures into the powers it bestows,” he says like it’s obvious. I don’t see any trace of deceit on his face. Perhaps even he doesn’t know what Naethor intended with the Chalice.
“Your father said the Chalice’s strength was wavering. Do you know what he might have meant?”
Kaelis considers this but ultimately shakes his head. “So far as I can see, the Chalice remains the same as ever. But if it were to waver, then Arcanists wouldn’t be able to be equally strengthened. Perhaps it is my father’s fear that Oricalis’s power on the world’s stage will diminish.”
I nod, repeating the conversation again in my mind. It seemed like more than that? Or something different…But perhaps that’s all it was; Naethor’s obsession with his own might knows no bounds.
“You should rest. What awaits you next will likely be…overwhelming.”
“I will be fine,” I reassure him.
Kaelis doesn’t seem convinced. “I will do my best, but know that the pain will be immense. Perhaps greater than you’ve ever felt before.”
I almost scoff. Pain? Pain is having my body broken at Glavstone’s hands. Pain is having my mind fray at its edges in the Halazar dungeons. Pain is howling when I believed my sister was dead or losing one of my dearest friends before my eyes.
“I’ll survive it,” I say with the confidence and ease of casting an ace. “This must be done.” My hands ball into fists. I’m going to enjoy when I can finally reveal the ploy to Ravin. When he’s staring up at me, bloody on the floor.
Kaelis nods, as if he always knew that would be my response. “Very well, we’ll begin at dusk. I’ll need to gather supplies and ink the necessary cards, and you should rest while you can.”
“I’ll see you at dusk, then.” I start for the secret passage in the closet.
He asks after me, “Not curious about what the preparations will entail?”
“I am,” I readily admit. “But I suspect this process will take some time.” I hold my thoughts there. When he gives a nod, I continue, “Then I’d like to go and spend as much time as I can with my sister.”
There’s a glint of understanding in his eyes.
It’s strange to see it, knowing the relationship he has with his brothers…
Does he yearn for it? Sibling companionship?
Even though Kaelis is a middle child, he might as well be alone.
He didn’t even so much as glance in the direction of his youngest brother.
“Go,” he says. “Enjoy it while you can.”
The phrasing is a bit ominous and haunts me as I venture back to Arina.
The morning light spills through the stained glass on either side of the fireplace, splitting into rainbows.
Gregor’s snores reverberate from the bedroom to the right.
The food I left out last night is gone. Hopefully at least some was consumed by—
Arina.
She’s sitting up in bed, staring out the window.