Chapter 5
five
. . .
Aten
General Aster escorts me through the narrow paths of the Jet Mountains until we emerge, a little higher than the waterfall I took Ever to.
The sound of the water cascading in the distance serves as a reminder of everything that was so close for us when I first took her there, and to think, it was only four weeks ago.
We keep to the edge of the mountains, happy to stay in the shadows and stay hidden as we make the journey that’s usually reserved for celebrating the Transference.
We’re relying on the fact that this place will be abandoned on New Moon night.
We bow to each other as we approach the clearing, and he slinks back into the shadows that dusk so happily provides.
I’d have every opportunity to vanish or retrace my steps if I liked, but I won’t, not with so much on the line.
Besides, I’d get nowhere fast. I’ve barely slept and haven’t eaten in days.
He leaves me his waterskin, but that’s it.
The rest of the items in my pack are useless, waterlogged and ruined.
It’s been a long day, and I slept through the first half of it.
As the evening passes, the night creeps up, stalking the light from the sky.
The stone table comes into view as I make it to the main clearing.
But there’s someone else here.
“Calm yourself, Aten. I am not here to do you harm.”
The Maker.
“How did you know I would be here?” I refuse to speak with her inside my head. That is reserved only for Ever now.
“Such a stupid question, boy.”
“Are you here to send me back? To uphold my banishment?” I tread carefully, closing the distance between us until the stone table is the only thing between us.
“Your banishment is of no concern to me. But I am here for a purpose.”
“Then tell me. Please.”
“Do you remember what I told you? You seem to have forgotten. Repeating myself isn’t a task I’m fond of doing, yet here I am. Do you understand me?”
Is she serious? But I hear the thrum of power—of menace—in her voice and force my mind to rake over the words she’s spoken to me over the years.
“Um, the journey. I have a journey.” I close my eyes and picture myself in the Great Hall receiving another one of her cryptic messages that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
“You do have a journey to make. And a decision. And I’m here to remind you that your choice will play its part in shaping Kirrasia.” Her hollow eyes seem to look right through me—down to my very bones—as she imparts her message. Although, it’s more of a warning.
But now, after the decisions and events that have led me here, I have to wonder if this is tied to Ever just as everything else has been since she arrived.
It’s like her arrival was a pebble dropped into the centre of my life, and now I’m riding the waves, fighting against the momentum that threatens to topple me into the depths.
“What’s the choice?” I ask, hoping for more than the shadows and mist of her words.
“That is for you to recognise and for you alone to act on.”
So many Kirrians revere The Maker. She, after all, is the link to Aslendrix and has overseen all of Transferences, ensuring the continuation of power and magic as we know it.
The daughter of our Goddess.
But so many of her actions and words are veiled, hiding their real meaning. Like she’s teasing us, manoeuvring us in her giant game.
And she knows more about Ever, maybe about everything, than she’s letting on. I’ve always felt that. But with Ever, it’s been clearer.
“I’m going to find her. I don’t know who took her, or where she is, but that doesn’t matter. I will find her. With or without your help.”
“You think I can help?”
“I think you know what Ever is, who her parents are, and what secrets my father is hiding.”
“You presume a great deal, boy. And, for your boldness, I will remind you of one more thing that you already know. She is a Fifth, and will bear all of Aslendrix’s power, as is her role.”
And with that, she turns and vanishes into the night.
“Wait, no.” I chase after her with a pang of regret that I’ve squandered my opportunity for better information. But she’s gone.
The chirp of birds waking before dawn rouses me from my heavy sleep, and as I awaken, I recognise the gentle hum of power back in my veins.
The second it tingles through, I pull on it and shout as loudly as I can to Ever.
“Ever!” I call her name over and over, but each time, it goes unanswered.
I don’t want to consider what that means and settle on the naive thought that she’s just travelling in the opposite direction—that the distance between us is too great for our magic to work. But my stomach rolls at that thought. It twists from more than just hunger.
The birds soon fly off to start their day, and the peace of this place descends. It’s always felt imbued with something more—an essence, perhaps—of Aslendrix herself. Maybe because of the significance of what occurs in this place. The ceremony of it. The importance for every Kirrian.
I wait for the sting of grief to grip my chest or the sour taste of disappointment to form over what happened to me here, but it doesn’t come.
Instead, I see Ever. I remember the look of pain and fear on her face during her Transference.
And the haunted look she carried when I showed her this spot for the first time.
This place might be sacred to Kirrians, but it’s something different for Ever. Something fearful.
A snap of a twig draws my attention, and I crouch and reach for the knife at the base of my back.
“Relax. It’s just me. I brought you these.” Crimson edges into view, and my legs relax, my grip of the hilt easing. She offers a weak smile and hands me a satchel of supplies.
“How’s Calix?” I ask before opening the bag and pulling out the spoils, my hand going for the food and waterskin first. I drop the bag and devour the fresh sandwich, thick with meat and tomato, where I stand, my mouth salivating with every bite.
“He’s better. Perrin worked on him through the night.” Her eyes mist, and she turns away to hide her vulnerability. “He was up when I left. He’ll be along later.” She ventures to the edge of the clearing, near some foliage that would serve as initial cover against anyone taking a walk through here.
Crimson is always loud, opinionated, and direct. The fact that there’s nothing but a shadow of that around her now makes me nervous to see him. Her priority is always family. And maybe me, until recently.
I give her some space as the chill of her emotions radiates towards me. They’re so strong, I pull on my power to shield against them.
After the sandwich is nothing but crumbs at my feet, I pick up the bag and go to join her. Rooting through it, I drain the water and then set about changing out of the clothes and cloak that have been on me for days.
“Ten, Zuns, you could really use a bath.” She scrunches her nose up at me.
I snigger, relieved that the timid Crimson paid only a fleeting visit.
“Thanks for the support. But last time I looked, there weren’t any baths near here.”
“The others won’t be here for at least an hour, if not more. Go to the lake. I’ll make sure nobody comes looking.” She runs her eyes over me. In another time, perhaps, I would have expected her to come out with some sassy comment. Instead, she goes back to picking at the leaf debris on the ground.
“You’re not going to fill me in first?”
“Calix is on his way. Clean up.” She turns away, hiding, if I didn’t know better.
“Okay. I’ll… do that.”
The edge of the lake isn’t far, and I don’t mind the walk now I’ve got food in my belly, the nourishment kickstarting my mind, that’s now running at full speed.
It was only for a few days, but being without my gift, or the ability to use it properly, left me feeling weak in a way that was different to the monthly new moon phase we were all used to.
Being in Estereah and then on the water had me exposed. That’s not what I needed to help Ever.
The shadow of the steep inclines of the Jet Mountains runs straight to the edge of the lake. With those to the west, and the crawling scattering of trees from the Variscite Forest, the passage has grown narrower, but the sight hasn’t dimmed.
Novandia lights up the turquoise of the lake, reflecting a pearly blue colour to my eyes.
It’s beautiful, and I immediately think of Ever and what she might think of the spectacle.
But as I gaze around, the white caps of the mountains, edging closer down the mountains this far north, are a shadow in my mind.
Shrugging it off, I cross to the edge and strip the caked clothing from me.
With the meltwater running directly into the lake, I know this will be a shock to the system, so vote to just get on with it, and rush forward.
Ice splinters over my shins and thighs, and the cold freezes my lungs, making it hard to breathe as I go farther in.
Speed is my ally, so I try to master my breathing for one lungful and force my muscles to comply, dipping beneath the surface.
My hands scrub over my hair and body, providing a crude wash, but it will have to do.
As I breach the surface, my teeth are already chattering together from the cold, and I limp back to shore.
My feet are numb, but I shake it off, constantly moving, and keeping the blood pumping around my body. When most of the water has given up and fallen to the ground, I dress and savour the warmth the layers of material create.
Before I head back to Crimson, I look over the vista and hope that I’ll be able to show this to Ever one day. Even if I get to her, wherever she may be, there’s still the problem of my banishment from Kirrasia to face.
“If you’re going for concealment, hate to tell you, but you suck.
” I force the jovial tone as I scout along, closer to the tree line, and return to the spot I left Crimson.
She’s made no attempt to conceal herself or to remain hidden from view, opting to lie out on the slight rise in the terrain and soak up some of the sun’s rays.
“That wasn’t the aim.” She sits up as I draw closer and doesn’t protest when I’m a few feet from her. The bath must have worked. “They’ll be here soon. I don’t even know if Calix will be able to travel this far.” She looks away again.
“Will you tell me what happened?” She shifts her position as I take a seat next to her and hang my elbows on my knees.
She doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t shoot me down, either, which, for her, is a plus.
Finally, she takes a deep, steadying breath.
“He was viciously strong and still had his power, Ten. Calix was, well, Calix. He’s always had the upper hand, so why would this be any different?
” She shrugs, but her voice trembles, belaying the ease of her words.
“I went for the ones holding Ever. Calix attacked but…” she tails off, and my gut tightens as she leaves the details for my imagination to conjure.
“He had power, Ten. Fucking terrifying power on a new moon. How?” And I have no answer for her. “He held me in some sort of status. I couldn’t move, couldn’t see Calix. Couldn’t help. All I had was Ever’s face and emotions to tell me how badly Calix was losing. I heard how badly he was losing.”
“Who was it? Who had her, and who attacked you?” Any attempt to keep my voice calm is abandoned.
She turns to me then. “He risked everything. For you. For her. How about some concern for us?” She slams her hand against her chest as she narrows her eyes. This is the Crimson I recognise—sharp teeth and a sharper tongue.
“You’re here. Calix is here. Ever’s not. And, she’s with someone we have no fucking clue about, and who has power. I’m grateful to both of you for what you did to try to help. I will never be able to tell you how thankful I am, but right now, we have two other problems.”
“No shit.” Calix’s voice carries, and we both jump up to watch as he comes towards us, limping, half carried by his father.
Blessed Aslendrix. What in the stars?
It might be Calix’s voice I recognise, but there isn’t much else that I do. Half of his face is contorted with bruising, pushing his features together and encasing them in purple and red welts. His eye is swollen shut, his lip and cheek the same.
His arm is strapped to his side, and one of his legs looks to have been broken, given the lack of weight he’s putting on it.
“Stop staring. Perrin said I’d be fine.”
“Perrin told you to rest. Not to come all the way out here with us,” General Aster scolds him.
Calix rights himself and staggers a little towards me. Even with this one eye swelled shut, I can see the sorrow he carries. He feels responsible—like he let me down. Not a fucking chance in Zuns that he did. I embrace him, slinging my arm around him.
“Easy there, Ten.” He returns the gesture, though. “I’m sorry. But he…”
“It’s not on you. No matter what I asked. I didn’t expect you to end up like this.”
General Aster gives us both a stern look, clearly disapproving of our exhibit of touch in this informal way.
I help ease Calix to the ground, and he stretches his leg as much as he can.
“He fought just as hard as you. Each punch was worse. It was almost like with Ever, when she absorbs your power through touch. But he just gave it back. And with nothing to counter—”
“Who is he?” I ask again, looking at Cetus now.
“We don’t know. He wasn’t alone. He had two companions with him. They were the ones who kept hold of Ever. She tried to warn us, Ten. She wasn’t with them.”
“Of course she wasn’t. She’s been taken.” It might have come out closer to a shout.
“We don’t know that.”
“We’ve been over this. How did she get out of the cell? How did she get out of The Court? She didn’t want to be there.”
“You didn’t hear what I heard,” Crimson adds.
“What?” We all look at her, and her eyes flash to mine. A hundred memories between us, but all I see is the vengeance that grew between us when I told her there would only be friendship, now.
She turns away from me as she says, “She called him her brother.”
What?
“And he’s the one who murdered Micah,” Kyra announces from behind us.