Chapter 35
The Sorrows are just as I remember them—untouched by the relentless passage of time.
The isles and waterways are still bustling with life under the baking heat of the setting sun while the aroma of grilled octopus and crisp citrus lingers in the air.
Whitewashed buildings with blooming bougainvillea spilling over balconies and grapevines crawling up trellis walls.
At the center of it all, the Palace of Sorrows is cast in its usual golden glow, light catching and reflecting off the windows of the towers that rise above the other structures.
The same white flags emblazoned with golden sea eagles flutter from the tops of the cerulean domes.
It’s surreal to see the world so familiar when I feel so irrevocably different.
A group of Nightwings meet us at the docks when we arrive, handling our cargo while we headed straight to our debrief with the Eagle.
We make our way through the Aviary halls in silence, avoiding the curious looks from other order members and the awestruck gazes of Fledglings. When we reach Lord Malis’s study, he’s already waiting for us.
The room is just as I remember it. Shelf-lined walls filled with old books and parchment scrolls, scattered candles casting flickering shadows, and the Eagle sitting at a heavy wooden desk.
“Take a seat,” he drawls, and I’m immediately reminded of the last time I was here, receiving this very assignment. My lip curls at the memory as Malis waves his hand at the scattered chairs.
As we each sit, he leans forward, steepling his hands in front of him as he casts that dead gaze around the room.
“It appears we have a surplus of Flight members here.”
I flinch as my heart cracks a little further. I wrap my fingers around the edge of my seat and squeeze. I will not let him see how deep my hurt goes.
“Eagle, the mission was compromised,” Raven speaks up.
The failure of this mission is clear in the thickness of his voice.
He clears his throat before continuing, “We split into two teams as directed: one for extraction and one to remain with Starling once she won the trials. However, after we left with the weapon, she was captured and taken for questioning.”
The silence that falls over the room in the wake of his words is so complete that I can hear my pulse as it pushes blood through my veins. I stare at the floor, noticing a deep gouge mark on the otherwise smooth floorboards. The grains of wood have splintered and scratched.
“Start from the beginning,” the Eagle commands.
Raven recounts the story from the moment we first set off on The Nightingale. When he finishes with the initial group first arriving at the homestead, Myna takes over. She tactfully glosses over the details of my capture, providing enough information to hopefully not prompt further questions.
When she ends the report, we collectively hold our breath as the Eagle watches us. When his eyes sharpen on mine, I stare back with a deadened gaze of my own. I burrow deeper into my skin, shielding myself behind layers of tissue, muscle, and bone.
“I expected more of you, Starling.” Lord Malis scowls, disdain curling his lip. “Not only were you captured, but by allowing the others to rescue you, it has put the order and the Sorrows at even greater risk. You may as well have sung your confession of guilt.”
My jaw clenches, but I say nothing as the Eagle continues, “Despite that, your mission was a success, and the weapon is now in our hands. I will ensure that we use it effectively to keep the Sorrows and our people safe from whatever is to come.”
His words set off alarm bells in my head.
My mind flashes back to a clearing in a forest, a crumbling homestead, the unfamiliar weight of a sword in my hand, and a man on his knees as he gasps for air.
More will come.
I know Keres well enough to know he will not rest until he has revenge for our actions. We infiltrated his court, led him astray, and stole from him. He will come for us, just as his soldier claimed with his dying breath.
“Commander, stay behind.” The Eagle’s voice pulls me from my spiraling thoughts. “The rest of you are dismissed.”
My eyes flick toward Raven as I rise from my seat, but he stares ahead. If he perceives my attention, he ignores it.
I follow the others from the room, moving behind them so I’m the last to leave. When I step into the hall and pull the door closed, the others are already out of sight. Only Nyssa and Lark linger. Both wear matching angry frowns.
“Go on without me, Nyssa,” I say to my friend, casting my eyes between her and the door, giving her a meaningful look. “I need to speak with the Eagle.”
She hesitates, exchanging a glance with Lark while he continues to frown at me from her side. “I can wait for you.”
I shake my head before she even finishes speaking. “I’m not sure how long this will take, but I’ll be fine on my own.”
After further encouragement, the two of them finally leave. My eyes dart around the hall, searching every nook and shadow. When I’m satisfied there’s no one else around, I crouch down by the door and lean in close to the keyhole.
“You retrieved the documents?” the Eagle asks.
“Yes.” Raven pauses, the sound of rustling paper filling the silence. “The full procedure is outlined here. Based on what we learned from the last assignment, the power transference is relatively simple. The complications arise if the vessel isn’t strong enough.”
Their conversation scratches the surface of a memory in the back of my mind. Frowning, I lean in closer.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Lord Malis snaps. I hear him take a deep breath and exhale, reining his temper in. “We have everything we need to complete it?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Excellent.” A pause. “How is our guest?”
“Certainly not grateful, but he’s been inside a cell for well over a year now.
It’s not much different to where he was already.
” Raven’s voice is steady, but there’s a hesitation in his words that I can’t ignore.
Is it guilt? Doubt? Or something else entirely?
For a moment, I wonder if he’s as loyal to the Eagle as he seems—or if he’s playing a role, just as I have been.
“He was wearing a muzzle when we took him, but on our journey, it was removed.”
My heart plummets at his words. I was foolish to believe that Raven wouldn’t notice the muzzle. Then again, I hadn’t been thinking at all; I’d simply acted.
The clink of glass precedes the sound of liquid being poured.
“You think one of your Flight removed it?” Lord Malis’s voice is lethally soft.
“That remains to be seen. If they did, it was probably to give him food or water so he didn’t die on the way, but I can investigate it.”
“Don’t bother. He’ll be dead before long. No being can survive without their the?kós. Not even him.”
“Of course.”
A pause. “And what of Aella?”
My breath catches in my throat, my heart pounding so loudly I’m certain they’ll hear it.
“She’s…unaware,” Raven says, his voice quieter now, almost hesitant. “She suspects nothing.”
The world tilts beneath me, and I press a hand to the floor to steady myself.
“Good,” the Eagle says, his tone cold and calculating. “Continue to observe her. Report back to me if there are any changes. I want to know the moment she becomes a liability.”
The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. My vision blurs, and for a moment, I can’t think, can’t breathe.
Raven.
The man I trusted—the one who fought by my side, who taught me so much of what I know—has been watching me. Spying on me. Reporting back to him.
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, the sharp pain grounding me as Malis continues.
“Leave the documents here. I’ll take them to the Owls in the morning. Dismissed.”
“As you command, Eagle.”
I scramble back from the door, retreating into the shadows of an alcove just as it creaks open. Raven steps into the hall, his expression unreadable, his movements calm and measured. He doesn’t look around, doesn’t hesitate as he walks away, his boots clicking against the floorboards.
I press myself deeper into the shadows, my heart hammering in my chest. My mind races, a thousand thoughts colliding all at once.
How long? How long has he been spying on me? Was it from the very beginning? Every word, every action, every moment we shared—was it all a lie?
The betrayal cuts deeper than I thought possible, a searing pain that leaves me breathless. But beneath the hurt, something else stirs.
Anger.
It burns low and hot in my chest, a steady flame that grows with each passing second. I clench my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I force myself to breathe.
It’s not long before the Eagle appears. The satisfied expression on his face makes my teeth grind and my hands ball into fists.
I remain in my hiding spot until his dark silhouette disappears. And then I wait even longer to be sure he has no intention of returning before I slip from the shadows.
I test the handle of the door, but I’m not surprised to find it locked. Kneeling, I slip the lockpick from my holster and angle it into the keyhole. As soon as I hear the satisfying sound of the latch bolt releasing, I’m on my feet and slipping inside.
The faint scent of smoke hovers in the air but the room is lit only by the fading light shining through the windows.
In the room’s privacy, I allow myself a bitter smirk as I head straight to the desk and the stack of parchment that wasn’t there during our debrief. Just as I expected, Lord Malis’s arrogance and self-assured belief that no one would dare enter his study without invitation made him careless.
I lift the first page and angle it toward the window. When the lingering light pools on its surface, my heart stops.
The smirk slides from my face, and I struggle to draw air into my lungs.
It’s a detailed sketch of two bodies lying side by side, a complicated series of goiteía drawn on both. While I can identify the markings for drain, transfer, and absorb, many of the symbols are ones I don’t recognize.
But it isn’t the goiteía that causes my reaction. It’s the words written at the top of the page, their inked forms bleeding into the parchment like an ill omen.
An Instructional Guide for The?kós Transference
With a shaky hand, I place the parchment back on the desk and sift through the others. My heart climbs farther up my throat with each line of text I scan. When I reach the last page, my eyes pause on the jagged handwriting scrawled off to the side.
The?kós transference has proven to be a complex and mostly unsuccessful endeavor.
I can only conclude that there are unknown factors which need to be discovered relating to the compatibility between the vessel and the the?kós they receive.
In all attempts thus far, the mortality rate has been high, with only one successful case of transference.
In all attempts, once the the?kós was completely drawn from the original bearer, the death of the vessel was immediate.
I stare at the words, my own suppressed magic curling up inside me.
To steal someone’s the?kós…the very thought of it is abhorrent. But I know without a doubt that’s what Lord Malis is planning to do. Steal Xan’s magic and no doubt claim it for his own.
My thoughts flash to the silver-haired man, and I see him as clearly as if he were right before me now, collared and bound behind the bars of a cage.
My fingers drift toward the scar at my throat, and I wince at the phantom pain that follows.
What if this had been my fate? What if the Eagle had learned my secret somehow and decided he wanted to take it from me?
Could I let that very thing happen to another?
As the frantic thoughts chase one another through my mind, I tidy the parchments, ensuring they’re left as I found them.
Of one thing, I am certain.
If I want to save him, I need a plan now.