Chapter 9
nine
. . .
Aten
Nobody says anything for a long while.
We hadn’t planned anything past seeing Lyle. Hell, my only plan was to take the first steps and hope Aslendrix would grant us the luck needed for the rest of the way. So far, it has worked, and I didn’t need to rely solely on Nettle leading us through Estereah, thanks to Calix.
But going to Nehandun was a much bigger ask.
It explained why there was no sign or even a whisper of connection between me and Ever anymore. If she were heading there, it would be days at sea. The days we’ve taken to find our way here. But she’s alone.
“We go to Nehandun,” I announce.
“No!” Kalan cuts in. “There is no we. I can’t travel with all of you.”
“We stay together,” I insist.
“Yeah, we didn’t leave just to come home without her,” Calix joins in.
“You won’t be going home at all if you don’t listen to me.” Kalan slams his hand on the table, but it doesn’t silence us.
“Fenix killed my brother. I deserve to go.” Kyra shoves her chair back from the table and plants her hands flat on the surface, her own line in the sand.
“What’s your name?” Kalan asks, and I almost don’t want to know why. Everything out of his mouth seems to either build on the secrets we’ve been dealt or uncover ones we didn’t even know about.
“Kyra Star. My brother was Micah.”
“Your parents were Angelique and Joshua?”
“No. Solana and Cyrus.” Kyra’s eyes furrow with confusion.
“I see.”
“Did you know my parents? When you were in Kirrasia?”
“Only by name. I knew Angelique and Joshua. I’m guessing you’re, what, twenty-two? So, you would have been too young to remember.”
“Remember what? Ten, what is he talking about? Micah is my brother.” Kyra’s arms begin to shake as she holds herself.
“Angelique and Joshua Star had a baby boy. Twenty years ago. Just before the Battle of Decree.”
“No. No…” She turns around, a breeze suddenly trickling through the cracks in the window, chilling the air around us all. “Micah is my brother. Our parents are Solana and Cyrus.”
“He is your brother in every way that matters. And Fenix took him away from you. But he was not your biological brother, he’s your cousin. I’m so sorry, Kyra.” Lyle’s voice sounds from the door. She steps in and heads right for Kyra. “I’m sorry, Kyra.”
“No,” her voice cracks as Lyle reaches to wrap her arms around her. The contact, so unusual for us, breaks the last thread holding Kyra standing, and she dissolves into sobs in her arms.
The taste of grief is sour in the air, and I leave the kitchen, following Kalan.
Secrets and lies. They just keep coming.
“Okay, I didn’t see that coming,” Crimson’s voice is behind me as I step out into the warm sun.
“It’s a lot to take. First, losing him. And then in a way, all over again.”
“We’re still going to get Ever, right?” Calix asks, following his sister, staring directly at Kalan.
“I told you. I’m not taking you all to Nehandun.”
“Fine. Just take us three.”
Kalan seems to unravel his frame now that he’s out of the cottage and stands just as tall as Calix, and, from his stance, I gauge he’s not failing in the strength department.
“I’m not taking you.” He looks Calix dead in the eyes.
“Why?”
With no warning, Kalan clenches his fist and slams it into Calix’s ribs. He buckles at the waist and falls to the ground.
“What the—”
“Calix?” Crimson’s next to him in a second.
“He won’t do us any favours in his state.” Kalan’s words are direct.
“State? What do you mean?” I look between Kalan, who’s now towering over Calix on the ground. “Calix?”
“It’s nothing.”
“You’re still recovering. It might look like you’re healed, but if you take a beating from Fenix, you won’t be back at full strength for several weeks.”
“No. Perrin healed him. He’s fine.” Calix is the strongest of us. He’s fine. We’ve all taken a beating before, and we’ve never needed more than a day or two to recover. Calix has had plenty of time.
But as I say the words and look at my friend, nursing the side Kalan hit, doubt seeps in. Fenix had magic when Calix didn’t. Crimson said he nearly died. I’ve never seen him look in worse shape. The facts all line up in my mind and twist the view I had.
“Cal?” I ask. “You’re good?”
“I’m good,” he starts, “just, I might not win in a fight right now. Sorry, Ten. As much as it kills me…” He tails off, and I realise what he’s saying.
Shit.
Guilt swamps me at what I would have eagerly put Calix through.
“How did you know?” I turn to Kalan. “Did you know?” I ask Crimson.
“No. He’s stubborn, and clearly lost a few brain cells in that fight,” she says.
“So, as I was saying. We will go.” Kalan motions between him and me.
“Aren’t you forgetting someone?” Crimson stands and moves towards me.
“I want revenge on that son-of-a bitch. If Calix can’t go, there’s no fucking way you’re stopping me.
” She lands her hands on her hips and takes a step towards Kalan.
“Unless you’re scared a little girl might get hurt on your watch, old man? ”
It takes everything in me not to smile at her taunt.
But her words seem to have swayed the ‘old man’.
“As long as you’re not all talk, Aster. And neither of you is my responsibility. Let’s get that clear.” He levels us both with a stare.
“Perfectly,” I assure him.
“You need to work on your skill. You’re like a toddler with that gift of yours, Ciro.”
“It doesn’t feel the same as it does in Kirrasia.”
“No. And it will feel different again in Nehandun. And Sunatora. So, you better be a quick learner. And what about you, deary?” He turns back to Crimson. “Any problems in Estereah?”
She blurs, moving at speed before either of us can speak again, and rounds Kalan, and pulls her knife to his throat. “Still plenty fast enough for you, old man.”
Kalan laughs, hard and loud, scattering a few birds from the nearby tree. “Fine. You’re in.”
She lets Kalan go. And he stalks back into the house, seemingly done.
“So—” I turn to Calix, who’s back to standing.
“So—”
“I’ll go with Ten and Kalan,” Crimson butts in.
“Crimson. You don’t have to do this. I know you’re not Ever’s biggest fan.”
“Stars! Aten Ciro!” She rolls her eyes at me. “Not everything revolves around your little Fifth. I’m not going for her. I’m going for my brother. And, despite how you’ve acted recently, I’m going for you. I’m a Warrior, Ten. Get over yourself.” She nods to her brother and heads back in after Kalan.
Shit.
“At least she’ll keep you honest. And you know how vicious she is.”
“Are you okay with this? We have no idea what’s going to happen, and I can’t—”
“Crimson won’t change her mind. And believe me, I’d be coming with you if Kalan hadn’t set me on my arse. He’s right. I’m not ready. It would be a mistake.”
“You’ll heal. He said it was just a matter of time.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“What will you do? Go back?”
“Fuck no. I’ll stay here with Kyra. And Lyle. We’ll wait for you here, and then, when you’ve got Ever, we can work out our next step. Together.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Maybe I can get more out of Lyle about what happened before we were born.”
“And if we don’t come back?” It’s a possibility that I have to accept.
“I’ll raise the alarm. Two months, and the whole of the Kirrian army will descend on Nehandun. You have my word.”
That’s if my father still holds control over the Warriors and the army. But I know General Aster is on our side, and he’ll stop at nothing to help his children. He’s already proved that, despite his love of rules and order.
Two months seemed like a lifetime, though.
“My mother—” I start, thinking of how I’ve left her. Abandoned her.
“It won’t come to that.”
It’s my turn to break tradition and pull Calix in for a half-arm hug. “Thank you.”
“Hey. Keep her safe. Bring her home.”
He means Crimson. “She’ll keep herself safe.
” I’m still in debt to the last favour I asked of him, and it weighs on me as I vow to do everything in my power to keep Crimson safe.
Despite our differences lately, she’s one of my oldest friends, but making promises I can’t keep to Calix isn’t what we need right now.
“Come on. Time to see how our plan goes down with the others.”
“I’m pretty sure Kyra’s going to be pissed.”
“I can’t blame her. You two will have that in common.”
Calix sends me a look he must have stolen from his sister.
After a frosty agreement to the plan that Kalan set out, we all stay the night at Lyle’s.
Kyra seems resolute to stay; her demeanour has markedly shifted since the news about Micah.
Calix seems to have warmed to his duty of keeping watch and even has a conversation with Kalan out of earshot after dinner.
Reluctantly, Lyle allows me and Calix to share Ever’s room for the night. Calix gets the cot, and I take the extra blanket and bedroll from my pack and sleep on the floor.
Looking around the room, I see how much harder the adjustment to The Court must have been on Ever if this was her life.
The gulf between our worlds isn’t just defined by magic, but in the riches around us, too.
But the more I think about Ever, the more content I feel in this space.
As if the happiness she felt here is ingrained in the wood of the floors, bleeding into the fabric of the building.
It’s enough to help me sleep, to know that she was happy here.
The sky is filled with clouds when we wake, the light of dawn dim and opaque.
Kalan has already secured his supplies and is waiting for us outside the cottage.
Nobody is sure of the mood, and we all dance around each other in the small rooms, saying little about nothing.
Crimson, despite the length of the journey, opts for no horse. We won’t be needing them past Estertor, which, according to Kalan, will be where we find passage to Nehandun, trading the horses for travel.
Lyle questions why not head to Nestegarth, which is the main port and will have easier travel arrangements. But I guess Kalan hasn’t shared all his secrets just yet.