Chapter 35 Nyte
Nyte
Astraea had fallen asleep on a chaise by the fire in Balthezar’s quarters. I sat by her side, hyperaware the captain was still in this room.
The door creaked open without a knock and I stood, defensive instincts on alert to the intruder. My sight fell, finding a far smaller person than I expected poking his head around the wood timidly.
“You should be asleep, my boy,” Balthezar said, setting down his quill and motioning for him to enter fully.
I didn’t expect any youth to be on board.
“I couldn’t s-sleep,” he said.
His stutter wasn’t from his timidness. He rounded the desk toward his father, and I assessed him as no older than twelve.
The boy resembled Balthezar with tousled curly brown hair, but his father didn’t have the same scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, nor the deep green eye color I assumed was from his mother. With him being alone, I thought his mother was likely dead or at least not aboard this ship.
“What is your name?” I asked the boy, who didn’t stop stealing glances of curiosity at me.
“Brody.”
“My name is Nyte.”
The boy smiled, easing at my company with that token of amity to share names. While I was stuck with this captain, I thought to probe for any information I could get.
“You used to visit Goldfell manor, am I correct?” I asked Balthezar.
The captain’s brow raised as he poured out two drinks of what smelled like rum, offering one to me, but I didn’t take it.
“A couple of times, yes. For trade negotiations between Volanis and … I can’t quite remember his name, in fact, but the man who ran that manor was too arrogant and full of himself for my liking.”
He couldn’t remember because I’d erased Goldfell’s birth name from existence, and he would hardly recall what the piece of shit looked like either.
“How many ships and captains act as traders and communicators between Volanis and the mainland?” I asked.
I tensed when Brody left his father’s side, wandering over to where Astraea slept peacefully. I’d lulled her mind into a deep rest; she needed it.
Brody boldly sat at the foot of the chaise. “She’s very pretty. And her hair sparkles.”
Her beautiful soft laugh echoed through my mind as if she had been awake to hear the compliment.
Balthezar said, “To answer your question: Vermont is a very paranoid and guarded man. Many have tried to take his island, which boasts great riches, as I’m sure you know.
As far as I know he had trusted no ship other than the Silver Sparrow to dock his shore.
” Balthezar didn’t boast this fact; it was just a job to him, regardless of how rich the person was.
“Many months ago, there was to be a particularly precious trade between Vermont and Goldfell,” I mentioned cautiously.
He took a drink, looking off to consider. Then he made a noise of recollection.
“Ahh yes, now you mention it. Goldfell was killed in his manor before the transaction could be completed. Vermont was unusually angry about it. He tires of the seclusion and said what Goldfell offered was a prize as valuable as the whole of Volanis. I couldn’t fathom what it could be…
” Balthezar’s gaze trailed over to Astraea, casual at first, until he realized she was the missing piece.
“I see. Goldfell had her all that time ago?”
“She was without her memories of the past,” I said bitterly, despising how he’d stirred up the memory of a failure of mine: when I left her there believing Goldfell was keeping her safe, when he was just as cruel as the world outside his precious manor.
“What a tragic time, to have the most powerful being on the continent caged without knowing her potential. I am glad she escaped, however it was achieved. It seems fate will always have a way of opening the doors we need to pass through, and it takes a strong will to walk through not knowing what could lie beyond.”
Brody reached for her hair, and it took conscious effort not to snap at him. “I-is it ma-ma-magick?” he asked innocently.
“She is pure magick,” Balthezar answered in a voice like he was reading a bedtime story. It was a side of him I didn’t expect. He exchanged a smile with his son, whose eyes filled with wonder because he wanted to hear more.
“She’s also just a person,” I said, glancing over her. Astraea was so much more than a god’s creation. “A person that loves, and fights, and dreams. Just like anyone else.”
“I want her to wake up so I can meet her,” Brody said.
“It is long past rest hour, son. You should be sleeping as well.”
Brody pouted.
“What can you tell me about Vermont?” I asked Balthezar.
Balthezar ran a hand through his untamed locks, seeming to gather what he could.
“Volanis has long been an independent island. Vermont is a king for all intents and purposes. The people treat him like a god; they say he is a man of great fortune and wealth who can bestow such luck on his subjects. Some believe he is a prophet.”
I could have laughed. “Is that what you believe?”
“Not at all. He’s a man with power and fortune, which is something that can very easily be taken. Might I ask what your business with him entails?”
“He has something I need.”
“Another souvenir, like the monocular?”
“You could call it that.”
Balthezar huffed. “Then I will warn you that a lock of hair and a sample of blood will not be enough, no matter what it is.” His gaze skimmed Astraea head to toe, and I was close to plucking his eyes out of his head. “He’ll want all of her.”
My jaw tightened. “We can handle him.”
“He’s a powerful man. He hasn’t lived beyond a human lifespan and kept hold of the richest empire by being so easily thwarted. There are those who believe he is a gold-touched god because his fingers appear bathed in the metal … If he sets his sights on the Maiden, he will try to collect her.”
“A starlight matter enhancement could achieve the gold skin effect.”
“Agreed, but there is power in faith and legends. And there are many about Vermont that make the people believe he is someone sacred. As much as you will be tempted to approach with violence, and you’re powerful enough to challenge him, I would caution against it.
Vermont is as worshiped as the star-maiden by the people of Volanis. ”
I said, “Then I’ll cut him down and make them see Astraea is the one and only true god to walk among them.”
“I’m sure you could, but exercise caution, Rainyte, for her sake. She needs all the alliances she can get, and a nation forced to bow before her will always remember.”
I would have to keep my impulses under control for her. Something told me that being around Vermont was going to be an incredible test of my restraint.
“Will you need passage back to the mainland?” Balthezar asked.
“No.”
“I saw your dragon. Is it true there are others?”
I cast him a deliberating look. “Yes.”
Balthezar said nothing more about it. He stood, indicating with a hand to Brody, who came to his side with the silent request.
“We should dock in a few hours. You’ll be safe from potential pirate attacks here.”
“You trust us alone in the place that holds all your treasure?”
Balthezar lay a hand on Brody’s shoulder, giving the boy a seconds-long fond look.
“I think you of all people know our greatest treasures are people, not items.”