Chapter 36
“It’s me, Clara, your sister. Remember? I look different now. But it’s me.”
She doesn’t acknowledge me, just continues her pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth…
I step into her path, forcing her to stop. “Look at me.”
For a moment, her eyes focus on mine, and I see a flicker of recognition. I hold my breath.
As swiftly as it seemed Arina recognized me, the expression is gone, and she tries to step around me.
“No.” I take her shoulders gently but firmly. She stills, but her chest heaves with barely contained breaths. “Gregor said you’ve been at this for hours; you need to rest.”
She tries to step back, but I don’t let her.
She could, if she really wanted to. I’m barely holding her.
But she doesn’t rip herself free. She whimpers, small and frustrated sounds that shatter my heart.
It takes all my strength to keep calm, to keep smiling so she sees a friendly face, even though I’m still not sure whether she recognizes it as me or merely a kind stranger.
Arina lets me guide her back to the bed.
But even when she sits, she fidgets constantly, hands picking at the blankets.
“I’m going to feed you now,” I say, holding a hand behind me.
Gregor understands and quickly crosses to put some bread in my waiting palm.
She opens her mouth, and I place a tiny piece on her tongue.
I speak to him even though my focus is on her.
“This is good. It means she’s becoming more coherent, she’s trying to come back. ”
Gregor steps closer. Arina doesn’t even glance his way. “Maybe…But this activity makes me more worried.”
“How?”
“What if she hurts herself when we’re not looking for even a second?”
I pause, then feed her the last piece of bread. Before answering, I encourage Arina to lie down. She does, even though her eyes are wide and alert as I settle the blanket back up to her chin.
“Let’s talk outside,” I say softly, and Gregor follows me out.
“I can bring a Worldkeeper,” he says after he cracks the door. “We can add more people to the rotation so that—”
“No.” The word comes out sharper than intended. “That’s a variable I do not want.”
“Clara, it’s what’s best for her.”
“The best for her is not having strangers around her right now. Think of how she might react if she wakes up alone in a room with someone she doesn’t know.” I’m very glad when he does not point out that my face is probably a stranger’s.
“She’ll get to know them,” he says.
“It’s not worth the risk when she’s showing signs of progress.”
He studies me. Sees through me, more like. “You can trust them.”
I glance away, as though that’d stop his inspection. I hate that he pinned my unease. “I don’t know them.”
“But I do.”
“You hardly do.” I roll my eyes.
“Better than you,” he points out. I can’t argue with that.
“Turns out I’m good at this whole Worldkeeper thing.
Even better is I like it.” He shrugs. “They trust me and can be useful. Let me help you make genuine inroads with them—get resources we need, she needs. It’s not often I get to be the diplomat; that’s always been Twino’s role. It’s my turn now.”
I sigh softly at that. “Fair enough. And thank you for it.”
“You’re welcome.” He has the tug of a smile, but it barely sticks and isn’t close to reaching his eyes. “I…I should’ve done more for Jura. Let me do more for you, and Arina, and everyone.”
The words are a blow to the chest. One that has my eyes stinging. There’s no romantic love in what he says or the way he says it. But there is love. And loyalty. The same I have for my sister, when I swore she’d never suffer again.
“You’re really passionate about joining them, aren’t you?” I say softly.
He nods. “I believe they’re going to help save this world, Clara. So, will you let me bring in more Worldkeeper help for Arina?”
“Maybe, in time…But for now I don’t trust anyone but you.” I look him dead in the eyes. He looks away, hesitant. “Gregor.” I draw his eyes back to me. “Give it time. For now we’re the only ones we can really be sure of.”
“What about Kaelis?” The question seems genuine, but it instantly makes me uneasy. Gregor can’t keep the note of disgust from his tone.
“He doesn’t know where she is, either.” I’m glad I can be honest.
“No?”
“No.”
He sighs, rests a hand on my shoulder, and gives it a friendly squeeze. It turns into an embrace as he tugs me forward, arms quickly wrapping around me. We hold each other tightly.
I know. My heart whispers what I can’t bring myself to say. I know I’ll have to start giving my trust completely. The Worldkeepers, Sorza, the Majors, Kaelis—they all want my complete trust…but how can I after all that I’ve lost?
“All right,” he says, finally releasing me. “Until you’re ready to let others help, what’re we doing about Arina?”
“I’ll stay with her tonight. Go and keep hunting for Silas’s family.”
“I meant in general,” he clarifies.
“We’ll do as we have been.”
“What if I need to leave? What if it’s for more than quickly stealing food from the kitchens?” He frowns, glancing to the cracked door. “What if I’m gone when you can’t be here?”
I think to the other night and how I ran off after she dozed. “Try to wait until she’s asleep and lock the door. She usually doesn’t get out of bed on her own, right?”
“Not usually, but sometimes…”
“Then it’ll be fine.”
“Clara—”
“I’m not letting anyone else I don’t completely trust be alone with her,” I say with a note of finality.
“Fine.” He sighs. “Figure out a lock for the door.”
After he leaves, I do—I fashion a simple latch on the outside with the help of the Three of Coins. Making such a tiny thing is perfect for that card. Then I settle in with my books, falling asleep on one of the sofas covered in blankets I’ve absconded with over the past few weeks.
I’m jolted awake as Gregor returns. I show him the lock and leave, groggy, dragging my feet to my room, where I freshen up before heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
Everything is relatively normal, until the doors to the main hall slam open without warning.
Prince Ravin strides in, his black hair immaculately coiffed. At his side is his wife, Leigh Strongborn. The woman wears a variant of Stellis plate, with a heavy sword on her hip as though she is prepared for battle.
And then there is Emilia.
Scars are etched across her like spiders’ webs. The skin around them is pulled taut, uneven. One runs from her hairline down across her face and to her neck. Another runs over her mouth, leaving her with a permanent scowl. The scarring continues past her neck and under the high collar of her plate.
But the scars aren’t simply gnarled and discolored flesh. Magic has been embossed into her skin in an unnatural way I’ve never seen before. The scars shimmer faintly under the light in the same prismatic way ink does before it dries.
Even her eyes look different, their golden hue a bit duller, as if a part of her very essence was stripped. But the cold fury I last saw in her stare remains. No…it’s become something more. She was already ruthless; now she’s monstrous.
A squadron of Stellis march behind Emilia, Ravin, and Leigh and then fan out, lining the perimeter of the room. It takes all my power to look shocked but not guilty. Not afraid. Yet my eyes meet Vaduin’s for a second, and even he has the glint of panic in his wide-eyed stare.
At nearly the same time, Kaelis rises from the table. He balls his hands into fists and then clearly forces them to relax.
“Ravin.” His greeting carries through the room, edged with a quiet threat. “If you wanted an invitation to my academy, all you had to do was ask.”
Ravin merely smiles slightly in response.
It’s Emilia who steps forward, every movement pained, and speaks. “Until further notice, Arcana Academy is under my control.”