Chapter 22
As Kalcas’ city gates came into view, I pulled Nayana’s hood up, making sure all of her blonde locks were securely hidden beneath the dark fabric. She was still wearing my cloak, and seeing her in something that had once belonged to me—something I’d given her—brought me joy.
“Are you done mothering me?” Nayana’s eyes were glued to the horizon, where the city of Kalcas slowly appeared. We’d only been on horseback for two hours after leaving our campsite behind and would soon arrive.
“Just making sure none of that very recognizable hair of yours is sticking out. You’re—after all—a wanted woman, Jama.”
“Just as you’re all wanted men. Still, I don’t see anyone else fussing about hiding their faces or hair.”
“There are so many wanted men in the world, but how many wanted women have you heard of? So, hiding your features is a necessary precaution and not up for debate, Jama.” I let out an exaggerated sigh. It wasn’t the first time we’d engaged in this discussion.
Nayana was getting too bold.
Apart from the ambush by Feroy’s men, some random animal attacks, and our tense border crossing, the journey had been uneventful and mostly harmless, which resulted in her feeling too safe. The fact that she was trusting us increased her comfort as well.
Frankly, such an attitude was risky. Dropping one’s guard was dangerous, so if she was getting reckless, I’d have to compensate with even more caution. “Just keep your hood up and listen to me, like we’ve discussed.”
“Controlling bastard.”
Nayana wasn’t wrong. I was aware of how much she hated my orders, and I’d accepted that she pushed back every single time, but fortunately, she’d learned to fall in line when it mattered.
Still, sometimes, I just wanted to whisk her far away and lock her up in a tower to ensure no one could do her any harm. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t still consider this option from time to time—or all the time.
I’d broached the subject a few days ago with Antas. There was an undeniable merit to the idea of bringing her somewhere very remote and keeping her hidden until we’d know what her purpose was. Until then, she’d live safely tucked away.
However, my uncle had responded by raising his good eyebrow. Why he’d believed that this was a foolish plan, I still didn’t know. And he hadn’t even dignified me with an answer.
Despite the fact I’d come of age a long time ago, Antas had the special talent to make me feel like a youngling. Safe to say, I hated it, and I’d just shown him my teeth in answer. No one could claim we hadn’t nailed down nonverbal communication.
Nayana pulled me out of my thoughts when we crossed the heavily fortified city walls of Kalcas. “They’re just letting everyone enter.”
“Didn’t you listen to Fig when he mentioned that?”
“Yes, but I thought he and Antas just wanted to keep me calm.”
“Did those two ever try to coddle you?”
“Point taken. They aren’t you.”
“Careful, Jama.”
“Oh, shut up.”
We rode into the city, and out of the corner of my eye, I registered the guards controlling the travelers leaving Kalcas.
It was a potential complication, and I wondered why my uncle hadn’t caught this, but it was too late to dwell on the development.
Our business inside the city was important because if we didn’t find the answers we sought, we’d be stuck in another dead end, and I was sick of those almost as much as of sleeping outside.
I wanted a proper bed, and if a risky situation later down the road was the price, I’d gladly pay it.
To find boarding at an adequate inn wasn’t hard.
Fig chose a poorer district to be able to maintain cover more easily and picked the second place we found—the first one had been such a dump even our low standards had run away screaming.
This place, though, was decent. The small rooms were at least kind of clean and—what delighted me even more—promised a bath, thanks to the private washing chambers attached to each of them.
It’d been too long since I’d taken one of those, and I’d use the tub even if I had to fetch the hot water myself—from home, if necessary.
“Jama, we’ll share a room.”
“I’d rather have one of my own.”
“No. Not going to happen. Come.” I grabbed her hand and hauled her along. “You should know I won’t allow you to throw all caution to the wind.”
“I loathe you, Dion.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. A little more every day.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Jama. But just for you, I’ll go along with it and smile and nod if that’s what it takes to make you feel better about yourself.”
As she gritted her teeth and got all agitated again, I flashed her a grin. There were moments—even more often lately—when I couldn’t resist teasing her, and I often wondered what it would take for her to lose her temper completely and what such an outburst would look like.
I opened the door to our room and pulled a still-pouting Nayana inside, turning the key to lock us in. I quickly began unpacking my bag, already daydreaming about the relaxing bath and comfortable bed that awaited me.
“You got to be fucking kidding me.” Confused about what it was that offended the tiny woman, I turned to her, and when I noticed Nayana glowering at the only bed in the room, I couldn’t help but laugh.
She looked too funny, all angry at an innocent, inanimate object, but when she realized I was amused by her, she directed her scorn on me.
“What’s your problem, Jama?”
“I’m not sharing a bed with you.”
“Sleep on the floor then.”
“I want a room to myself.”
“No.”
Of course, I could let her know that the double bed was composed of two single frames I could separate with ease, but I was currently having too much fun poking and prodding her.
“In that case, I cannot promise I won’t use a pillow to smother you in your sleep.”
“Thanks for the warning. Means I’ll just tie you up before going to bed.”
I observed Nayana as she opened her mouth, then closed it with a frustrated expression and glowered at me once more. I stalked toward her, smirking, and she frowned.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Gods, Jama, don’t you realize that every time you say that, it’s like a direct challenge for me to do exactly what you dared me not to do?”
“I truly loathe you.”
“You’ve said so before. In fact, you always say something like that or call me a bastard when you run out of arguments.”
If deadly stares were a real thing, I would have been six feet under by now. With a barely concealed scowl, Nayana fell into an angry silence and unpacked her bag.
After I’d briefly observed her, I resumed emptying my luggage as well and contemplated whether or not to separate the bed.
Gods, I was so tired. Because of Fig’s desire for secrecy, he’d chosen the early morning hours as the best time to act, even though—at least in my opinion—Dion could have just used his shadow power to conceal us.
Fig, however, pointed out that darkness was a lot more conspicuous during daylight hours than at dusk.
Sadly, their reasoning made sense, but it didn’t change the fact that Dion woke me up at half past three in the night after only a few hours of sleep. Thankfully, he’d split the bed in our room, although he hadn’t positioned the two frames as far apart as I’d asked.
Nonetheless, there had been at least a slight distance between us.
We silently moved through the gardens, searching for the entrance to the secret tunnel to the Library of Kalcas, concealed in Dion’s magical darkness and the veil of the night.
Even after I’d granted my eyes enough time to adjust, I stumbled over every stray stick and stone while the men were as graceful as dancers.
After my second near-fall, Dion grabbed my hand, and even though I couldn’t see it, it was clear that he had to be smirking. The smug energy radiating from him told me as much.
“Here.” Antas’ voice became audible, and I heard the faint noise of a trapdoor opening before all of us descended into the dark mouth of the tunnel. Had we already encountered guards, and I’d missed them? Or had we been able to circumvent them?
It was pitch dark in the tunnel, and—on top of worrying about the potential absence of guards—I wondered how anyone could find and disarm traps in this light.
Suddenly, a sharp pain seared through my chest, and I gasped, clutching my upper body in panic until I recognized the sensation: Thain was pulling from my Potential without even so much as a warning.
He created a small flame in his hand, and I glowered at him for involving me in something so trivial.
Fuck, I hated how being an Amplifier hurt.
“Everything all right, Nayana?” Dion’s whisper was a gentle, worried caress in my ear, and because I didn’t trust my voice to stay steady, I nodded as I gritted my teeth.
Right in the beginning, when I’d started to train with Thain, I promised myself that I’d keep Dion from knowing that amplifying hurt me.
Otherwise, he’d move heaven and earth to stop me from doing it, and since I’d rather have my spleen removed than engage in that discussion any day soon, I swallowed my discomfort.
Did Thain have to draw from me? Sure, both of us could use the training, but this was a rather dangerous situation, and who knew if my Potential was needed later? But again, I kept my mouth shut.
With cautious steps, Fig ventured further into the tunnel, on the lookout for any triggers that might activate the traps he and Antas presumed to be hidden.
“Found one,” he said and crouched down. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but after a while, he got up and nodded. “Nasty trap. If someone had activated it, gas would have been released, and everyone in the vicinity would’ve been sedated within seconds.”
I shuddered. The thought of falling unconscious here and potentially waking up in the local dungeons had my stomach in knots.
“Don’t worry, Jama. This isn’t our first time breaking and entering.” Dion whispered again, his lips so close to my ear that I was almost able to feel them touching my skin, and I flinched, which made him chuckle.