CHAPTER 31 #2
“It’s not only the weather that makes a morning beautiful.” He said, looking towards Maya, eliciting a giggle from her.
I tossed a stern look her way. “Not happening.” And she covered her mouth with her hand, stifling the giggle.
Zendryk watched the interaction and didn’t say anything, but a smile toyed at his lips.
Those lips that were all over my body last night.
He looked at me, and I quickly looked away, even though I knew he caught me staring.
“What were you trying to figure out?” I asked even though I knew what it was from hearing their conversation.
He looked down at the map, “We’re trying to figure out how and where the Soulless are living.
I have a hunch it is in the mountains.” He pointed to the drawing of mountains on the map, “but Ulric is right, they’ve been uninhabitable for centuries, and there’s no way in.
There are no gaps, caves, or entrances, and trying to fly above them is useless.
Plus, if they could figure out how to live there, then they would have to somehow travel across the lake to get to the manor.
” He slumped down into his chair in defeat and frustration.
I stared at the mountains on the map, taking in the vast expanse they occupied. They were much larger than the cities in the south, and they covered the top portion of the map. Then it hit me.
“What if… their powers can act like yours?” I asked.
“Go on.” Zendryk crossed his arms.
“Well, you put an incantation on humans, what if they can put an incantation on you. What if they could be blocking you from seeing where they live?”
They both turned to me, their eyes widening in unmistakable shock.
“Fuck. It was so fucking simple. We’ve always had the incantation in place; I never thought twice about it. I never even considered that others could use one too.” Zendryk's brows pulled together, concentrating harder on the map before him.
“If they could, that would explain why they’ve remained hidden for so many years, and why they have only attacked our manor. We’re the closest living entity to them. Ulric, what do you think?”
Ulric nodded in agreement, “Besides being completely embarrassed, we didn’t think of this, I would have to agree.
It makes sense. It would also explain how they appear out of nowhere during an attack; if the incantation is hiding them from us, at a certain point, they would hit the, let's say, end of it, and they would no longer be covered by it.”
“After breakfast, go and ask the Professor to do some research to see if they can harness the ability to create an incantation,” Zendryk said to him in response.
Again, a nod, but he didn’t say anything this time, as he stared intensely at the map.
“Well, now that we have wheels in motion, shall we eat breakfast?” Zendryk waved a hand in the air at the servant by the door, and she hurried off to let the other servants know we were ready. He folded the map and placed it to the side.
“Wait, how can you talk about this stuff in front of them?” Maya asked, but I had just told her everything last night.
I let her continue, waiting to see her train of thought.
Ulric let out a rumble of a laugh. “Anything that relates to our immortal world is erased from their memory. They’ll only remember the basics of serving; there won’t be any gaps, but the conversations or images are gone, filled with images of us eating and boring conversations about balls and other matters. ”
“Then how do I remember everything from the attack?” she retorted.
Zendryk answered this time, “Since you and Avyn are so close, I figured she would try to tell you, and if I know Avyn, when you continued to forget, I would suffer the consequences. I removed the incantation from your mind.”
Maya and Ulric laughed at the same time as I shot him a look that said “fuck you”.
“We erase their memories for their protection; the less they know, the better,” Zendryk said.
“I know the incantation hides our world, but how does it hide an attack like last night? People died.”
“The guards have full knowledge. Once they have proven their trust and dedication to the kingdom, we remove the incantation and send them through another round of training. Servants like Mrs. Prast, who have served for so long, also know about it. It’s mainly in place for the newer servants, visitors, and people we cannot trust right away.
” He stopped for a second and took a drink from his cup.
“They are aware that an attack took place, but their memories are altered, so they think it was just another enemy that attacked us, and images of the Soulless are replaced with humans,” Zendryk said, and placed his cup back down on the table.
“Don’t you think it would be better to warn them of what’s out there? What if they make their way into the mortal lands?” Images of my mother being attacked by a Soulless gripped my heart as panic rose in my throat.
But before anyone could respond, plates were put down in front of us.
I glanced up to find Jane serving Zendryk, and as she placed the plate down, she leaned her breast into view, putting them on display for him like a buffet.
Heat washed over me, no, rage coursed through me, and jealousy bit at my soul.
Zendryk waved her away without glancing at her or the buffet of flesh.
She looked my way and noticed that Maya had joined us; fury flashed in her eyes as she stormed off, her footsteps echoing on the marble floor.
Zendryk looked at me and winked, causing the rage I was feeling to turn into a different kind of heat.
I looked away to the stack of pancakes and fruit in front of me, picked up my fork and knife, and indulged.
After breakfast, I asked Maya to tidy my room, knowing she would understand the hidden meaning of ‘hang out there and do whatever you want’.
“Since Ulric is going to be busy with the Professor, I figured we could squeeze in an extra training session,” Zendryk mentioned before Maya, and I left the room.
“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s storming outside.” Do these men not really understand how weather works?
They are rather dumb.
Oh shush! I fired back, trying to hide my smile at the same time.
“It’s just a little rain.” He joked, and lightning flashed across the sky, hitting a tree. The tree immediately caught fire, but the rain quickly extinguished it.
I raised an eyebrow to him as I put my hands on my hips in a ‘I told you so’ kind of way.
He shook his head with a smile, “We have an indoor training room.” He started to walk away. “Meet me at the main entrance in fifteen minutes, wear your training gear.”
Back in my room, Maya was finishing lacing the corseted bodice of my training gear and moved on to my hair. She pulled my hair into a high ponytail and then braided it down my back.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” I said to her reflection in the mirror.
“You’re just happy you don’t have to do your hair anymore.” She said, finishing the braid and tying a black ribbon at the end.
I let out a laugh. “That too.” Gods, it felt so good to laugh.
“Is there anything you want me to do while you’re gone?” She let the braid fall from her hands and placed them on my shoulders, looking at me in the mirror.
My mother used to make the same motion when I was a small child, and it made my heart ache for her.
“Have a bath, relax, go for a walk, whatever you would like to do, just stay away from Ulric.”
She smacked the back of my head, “Oh, stop. Just go fuck the Prince again.”
I shot a joking glare at her before I stood and made my way out the door.
I walked through the maze of halls to the main entrance, but Zendryk was not here yet.
I looked out the window at the rain pelting against the patterned pathway leading to the front of the manor, bouncing off the stone as it gathered into puddles.
The trees and bushes were blowing sideways in the wind, and for a moment, I thought they might blow away, but their roots held them in place.
The sound of boots on the marble stairs echoed behind me, and I turned towards the sound.
Zendryk was jogging down the staircase, his hair bouncing with every step.
Damn, if he didn’t look good before, he looks even better in his training gear.
“You’re drooling.” Jane snapped as she hurried by with a vase full of flowers, and I didn’t have time to respond as she swapped out the old flowers for new ones on a small wooden side table by the front door.
She was gone as fast as she had appeared, nothing but the new flowers left behind to hint that she was even here.
Note to self, find some way to make her life miserable.
Agreed. I don’t like that one.
Did we agree on something? Let me know if you think of anything.
Silence.
“Ready?” Zendryk asked once he reached me.
He led me around the main staircase and opened a door that I had never noticed before, hidden behind the towering stairs.
One by one, the fairy lanterns sparkled to life, and shadows fluttered, dancing along the walls.
The room was bare, except for a wooden weapons rack and a large training mat splayed across the floor.
Zendryk began taking off his boots and socks, so I followed suit and removed mine.
The floor was cold beneath my feet, and I wiggled my toes trying to warm them.
He walked onto the mat and motioned for me to follow.
The surface was much firmer than a pillow, but it would still break his fall after I knocked him to his ass again.
“No weapons today.” He said and tossed his to the side of the weapons rack.
I tossed mine to the other side.
Careful with those!
I ignored the voice, giving it the same treatment it liked to give me.
“Are you ready to talk yet?” He asked over his shoulder as he tossed his last dagger to the side.