Chapter 15 Aethra #2
Turning red, I broke his gaze. Seth stared at our interlocked fingers, jaw clenched.
Setting aside his work, Seth rose and walked to my side. “If you want to have a merry time, you should dance.”
Releasing Eleos’ hand, I looked up at Seth. “I can’t dance.”
“Oh.” Seth chuckled. “I forgot about that. What kind of princess doesn’t know how to dance?” His scarlet eyes flicked to the door, and he tensed.
A young man entered the tavern—at first, I didn’t notice what had put Seth on edge. Light brown skin, matching curly hair, and a bundle of old rags for clothes. Nothing on the surface was remarkable.
He walked with a bounce to his step, but his eyes darted around with the kind of alertness I expected from Guild members.
Dropping a package onto the counter, the young man leaned forward and spoke with the bartender in hushed tones.
Glancing between the young man and the dark-haired bartender, I dropped my cheek into my chin, pretending to stare into my drink as I reached for their minds.
Reading a stranger’s thoughts was much more difficult. I felt like a sword, circling an armored knight in search of a gap in his defenses. Both felt foreign—voices I’d never heard before.
Eleos leaned against my arm and whispered in my ear. “You have to open your mind, too.”
My nose wrinkled in concentration as I let my own walls fall—only enough to seek the pair’s words, not to hear the whole world as I had earlier.
The exact words circling in their skulls eluded me, but I gleaned their emotions.
Excitement shivered in the young man’s bones. He bounced on his feet, both eager for what came next and terrified of it. Rage bristled in his heart, red and hot.
The older man was quieter, muted. Wariness held him in its shroud, and he did not trust the young man, not entirely. His eyes darted about. Worried. Always so worried.
But convicted. Whatever frightened him, he would not flee in the face of it.
The young man said farewell to the man and walked away, leaving his package behind. He caught my eye and winked.
Seth glared at him until his ratty cloak disappeared out the door.
“Stop scowling,” Eleos said. He turned to me. “Did you hear?”
“No. Just emotions.”
“That’s normal, when you’re still a novice.” He smirked at Seth. “That was one of your cousin’s.”
One of Cerys’—an insurgent.
“Oh.” Seth relaxed. “So that’s why he was acting shifty.” Clearing his throat, Seth offered me a hand. “The bard’s playing a good song. Would you like to dance, princess?”
I wanted to say yes. My mouth opened, trying to form the word, and my hand brushed his.
Seth tried to take my hand, but I yanked it free.
Lifting my mug, I drained the last of my ale and slammed it down on the table. Smoothing my skirt, I stood. “I’d rather sleep. But you and Eleos should dance.”
“Frankly.” Eleos returned to his journal. “I’d rather die.”
“So would I.” Seth’s eyes flicked back to the stick, but I caught a hint of his feelings.
He swallowed tightly, hiding the hurt my words had caused him.
Squeezing Eleos’ shoulder, I slipped through the back door and passed through the back room. Seraphim stood outside, sharpening her knife by the channel beneath the evening sky.
“Oh,” I exclaimed, hurrying to her side and kneeling. A small white lily bloomed from the cracks in the road.
“Find a good one?” Seraphim asked. Her whetstone rang across her dagger, reflecting the foggy look in her eye.
“Mhm.” I tilted my head. “Did I come at a bad time?”
“No.” Seraphim scraped the whetstone again. “I’m just thinking. About Phaedrus. My parents. Themis.” She blinked a few times. “My time here.”
“I . . .” Twirling the flower between my fingers, I stepped closer. “I think we might be able to win Phaedrus back. But, I suppose you’d know best if I’m being a fool or not.”
Seraphim sharpened her blade one last time and sheathed it.
She turned to me with bright blue eyes. “Because of Eleos? Yes. I had the same thought.” She gazed at her reflection in the water and tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear.
“My brother and I were always thick as thieves. And the bastard has the same dry humor he always did. It’s hard to separate the truth from memories. ”
“I felt that way about Ainwir, once. But I learned my fond memories were still the truth.”
Seraphim smiled. Plucking the flower from my hand, she tucked it behind my ear. “Go get some rest. You’ve been through a lot, recently.”
“I sure have,” I agreed, leaving her to her thoughts.
I brushed the flower with my fingers, remembering the nights I had returned from work and searched for blooms in the slums.
Home . . .
I was never going to see it again.
* * *
The sound of singing greeted me when I woke. Rubbing my weary eyes, I stepped over Eleos quietly and pushed through the tarp hanging in the doorway.
It was Percy. He stood by the channel, lute in hand, singing Athena a ballad.
Leaning on the doorway, I caught the last few words and quickly recognized the tune. A grin spread across my face.
This was the song of the Pegasus. Though I could not recall the rest of the play, this ballad had stuck with me.
Ainwir had bought me a little yarn Pegasus. I’d treasured it.
The last line, though, I did not recall.
‘From the blood of death, the Pegasus rises.’
Percy bowed when he finished, and Athena licked the feather on his hat, coating it in spit.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” I said, joining them.
“Of course I am.” He shouldered the lute. “Who wouldn’t be, getting to accompany a beautiful woman through a breathtaking city?”
“Beautiful?” Cerys’ voice startled me, and I spun around.
She stepped from the embrace of a golden canvas, wearing the elaborate gown and headdress of the Oracle.
“Ahm.” Percy backed into Athena, who nudged his hat off.
“I had a proposition.” Cerys turned to me. “Percy blends right in with my other attendants. I think it would be beneficial for him to accompany me going forward. That way, we can pass messages more easily.”
“That’s a good idea.” I placed a hand on my hip. “As long as Percy is okay with it.”
“I, um.” Percy cleared his throat. “It would be dangerous. Let me think about it.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need.” Cerys bowed her head and swept through the tarp into the tavern.
Percy reached for his hat and missed, grabbing only air. He fit the invisible hat on his head, eyes gazing into the distance.
“What’s gotten into you?” I asked. “I thought you’d leap at an opportunity to escort her.”
Starting, Percy ran a hand through his hair when he noticed me. “She’s . . . I’m . . .” Sighing, he gathered himself. “I don’t have time.”
“I don’t follow.”
He sighed, took my arm, and pulled me closer. “I’m dying, Aethra. There’s a reason why I don’t court.”
Swallowing, my heart throbbed, and I felt compelled to share something I had been keeping bottled up for weeks.
“So am I,” I said softly.
“ . . .What?”
“My magic. Whenever I use it, I fade away a little more. It hurt a little more,” I explained. “The other Elpis maidens never returned from the Acheron. I’m dying, too.”
At a loss for words, Percy rubbed his arm and looked away. After a moment, his face softened, and he met my eye. “Oh.” He managed.
“Do you think I should do what Seth wants? That I should stay away from him?
“No.” He rolled his eyes. “The man’s an idiot. I—” He trailed off, swallowing. “Oh,” he repeated, stepping back. Wiping his face, he glanced at the little shop. “Don’t tell Eleos.” He laughed. “Gods, don’t tell Seth, either, he’ll . . . You haven’t told them, have you?”
I shook my head.
“I won’t tell them either,” he promised. A smile brightened his face, and he grabbed my shoulders. “We should celebrate. Drink ourselves under the table, maybe throw an orgy!”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I want to go that far.” Nudging him, I tilted my head toward the shop. “Go with her. Live life while it’s still here.”
He nodded. “Far be it from me to refuse the company of a beautiful woman while I can still walk. But that’s all. There’s no point in letting it go any further.”
“Alright,” I agreed.
The store flap parted, and Cerys emerged. Adjusting the headdress she wore that sported the strange carving of the eye, she took a breath. “I need to touch base, learn what happened in my absence.”
“I’ll go with you,” Percy declared, fishing through his bag. He pulled out a drab gray . . . thing and pulled it over his head.
Gods, it was hideous. Eye patterns covered every inch of the dark fabric. A matching eye fell from the hood, covering the face. Cerys flipped it down over Percy’s eyes, hiding a laugh. “Perfect. Shall we?”
Percy turned toward me, only an errant strand of white hair sticking out from his garb. “I don’t like this disguise.”
“This outfit has a long history and is highly revered,” Cerys said. “Come along.”
Cerys strode away, waltzing like a goddess gliding upon water. Scrambling to catch up, Percy hurried after her, adopting a slumped-shoulder walk of a lowly attendant.
Leaning on Athena, I watched until they rounded a corner and disappeared, completely missing that Seraphim had exited the building, too, until her hand fell upon my shoulder.
“I’m going out,” she announced. “There might still be old contacts hanging about. You,” she articulated, “will be staying here. Eleos needs to rest, and you need to make sure he doesn’t push himself.”
“I won’t say no to a nap.”
She grinned. “Have I told you it’s an enormous relief, you not being stubborn?” Releasing my shoulder, she flipped up her hood and jogged in the opposite direction the Oracle had walked.
A nap. That sounded kind of nice, actually. Assuming Eleos and Seth could keep from stabbing each other while I slept.
Seas. I’d left the two of them alone with Phaedrus. Whirling around, I rushed back into the shop. Athena followed me, shoving her head through the door frame.
Eleos stood a pace from the door, tying his bracer on his good arm.
“Is she gone?” He whispered.
I jabbed a finger into his chest. “No,” I snapped. “You’re staying here.”
“I’m fine.”
Phaedrus snorted. I looked left, noticing him leaning on the wall.
“He’s not fine,” Phaedrus said. “I would know, considering I bandaged the wound.”
Eleos opened his mouth to protest, but Seth appeared from the shadows behind him. “Let the man go out. We have something to do anyway.”
“What?” I asked.
“You saw the state Percy returned in.” Seth waggled his eyebrows at me, as if his meaning was obvious.
“Seraphim wants us to rest,” Eleos muttered, pulling out his journal. He flipped to a pair of crinkled maps. “Relaxation to me means doing something fun. Considering I have no books, I figured Percy was the next best thing.”
“You’re going to . . . have fun with Percy?”
Seth chortled, grinning. Eleos shrugged. “I’m going to watch him.”
“We’re going to watch him,” Seth corrected. “And I need to see what’s become of this city.”
“Why are we following them?”
“Lady Aethra,” Eleos said quietly. “Cerys didn’t ask Percy to follow her because he blends in.”
Seth finished his thought. “I know my cousin. She likes him.”
Phaedrus rolled his eyes. “Oh, to be young again.”
Blinking, I recalled the way Cerys had spoken when she’d invited Percy to join her.
Oh, she had been lying. The woman could waltz through worlds to reach any destination she chose. She didn’t need a messenger.
Eleos snapped his journal closed. “We’re going to make sure he doesn’t screw this up.”