Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
N eve recovered her strength within days at Eleksi’s secret hideout.
The black granite was like a blanket of security, energetically as well as physically. At night, she slept in Eleksi’s bed, at his insistence, and she slumbered well past dawn every day. He slept on a lounge covered in furs, by the hearth.
By the third day, restlessness began setting in.
To assuage it, Eleksi continued to train her, sharpening her instincts and honing her reflexes. She found it satisfying to develop herself in a way that had nothing to do with magic. In favor of sorcery, she’d neglected other aspects of herself. It was a common pitfall for mages, who tended to over-rely on their mystical skills to navigate the world.
The training gave rise to a different kind of restlessness in Neve, though. More and more, she was attracted to Eleksi. Standing close to him, touching him, talking to him, and gazing up into his intense silver eyes was having a cumulative effect on her desire. Now and then, she even outright flirted, which was something she’d never done before.
However, there were more important concerns than her amorous feelings and flirtations.
“We ought to concoct a plan,” said Neve as she sat with Eleksi at the table after lunch. “I’m well and truly revived now, and I loathe knowing that Meliohr is out there right now, enacting terror. My mother is in hiding. Palace servants like Danior are being targeted. King Leonid is essentially a hostage in his own palace. We must do something.”
Eleksi placed the knife he’d been polishing on the table with care. “Then, we will.” He paused, contemplating her. “You know the easiest way to end this, don’t you?”
Neve ran her fingertip around the rim of her goblet of honeyed wine. “Kill Meliohr, and her lackeys.”
“Aye. And if we can make it appear like she was betrayed and murdered by one of her own people, we might be able to avert disaster with Morktland. But we’ll need to take great care.”
“If we entered the palace by stealth once, we can do it again, surely. We know there are people within the palace who would help us.”
“But Neve?”
“Yes?”
“I will be the one to kill her. Placing it on your shoulders would be too much to expect.”
Neve shifted under the ferocity of his gaze. Warmth pooled in her stomach at his stern attention, which she was coming to enjoy far too much. A smile twitched the corner of his mouth, as if he could tell.
“What does it feel like?” she asked in a tentative voice. “To kill a person?”
His smile faded, replaced by his usual brooding stoicism. “It feels . . . colossal. People die every day, it’s true, but death is never anything less than monumental. Taking a life is very raw, very consuming.”
Neve bit her lip, gathering the nerve to ask a question she wasn’t sure she wanted answered. “Do you . . . enjoy it?”
His answer was instant. “Gods, no. Enjoy is not the right word. I’m only saying, there’s no other experience like it.”
“I don’t suppose you have any pure silver weapons?”
“No. Why?”
“Mages can enchant pure silver. If I can wield an enchanted blade, I might stand a chance against a Spider King.”
“Stand a chance?” he repeated. “You would have killed me, if you wanted to.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to do that, even to an enemy. And besides, it drained me terribly. I’d be useless afterward.”
“Fair point. There’s a metallurgist in a village nearby who specializes in fine weaponry. He’ll certainly have something in silver. We can buy supplies, and then begin the journey back to Klatos.”
“When will we leave?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Neve and Eleksi set off the next morning, approaching the village from a tranquil forest.
Through emerald and orange foliage, thatched roofs became visible. Columns of gray smoke rose from chimneys like spirits against an overcast sky. They’d traveled on foot, for the sake of stealth, and would circle back for the horses.
“I’ll go into the village alone,” said Eleksi as they descended a track from the forest. “It’ll be safer for you to remain out of sight as much as possible. One man on his own is unremarkable, but a man accompanying a beautiful sorceress will sound alarm bells. Royal guards might’ve passed through here looking for you.”
“Staying behind is alright with me.” Neve inhaled the pristine mountain air. “I’ll explore while you are gone.”
Eleksi removed his spider ring and tucked it into a pocket underneath his black cloak. “The whole area on this side of the village is deserted, because there’s an abandoned mine in the ravine.” He pointed left, where a path had become nearly overgrown. “But be careful, all the same. We don’t need you falling down a mineshaft.”
“Oh, but that sounds interesting. What sort of mine?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing all that interesting, I imagine, since it’s abandoned.”
The track opened to a wider path, crumpled autumn leaves creating a collage of color at their feet.
“You shouldn’t come past this point,” said Eleksi, stopping. “Do you have the dagger I gave you this morning?”
“I do.”
She patted her cloak, where the steel weapon was stowed in her dress pocket.
“I’ll bring you back a silver one.”
“No need to hurry.”
He sighed. “You’re going to investigate the mine, aren’t you?”
“It might be diamonds.” She smiled. “I must check.”
“Do you know how to whistle?”
“Whistle?”
He demonstrated, sounding remarkably like a songbird. “It’s how Spider Kings signal one another. Each of us has a different tune. Try mine.”
Neve whistled, sounding decidedly less like a songbird than Eleksi.
“Close enough.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’ll return soon.”
He disappeared through the trees like a shadow. Even on the dead leaves, his boots made no sound. Within moments, his tall figure was out of sight.
Neve made a beeline for the overgrown path to the mine, her body ringing with torrid, contradictory emotion. On one hand, she feared for her life, and her mother’s, and Eleksi’s.
On the other hand, she was becoming increasingly attached to Eleksi, and she didn’t know what to do about it. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. He seemed to like her, too. But he hadn’t made any advances toward her either, which made her worry that she only imagined his interest in her. Or perhaps he feared getting close to a person. That she understood.
The rocky path became steeper and Neve slowed to avoid sliding to her death. It’d be a fine thing to die in some foolish accident, saving Meliohr the trouble. Water gurgled at the bottom of the ravine and birds twittered ceaselessly in the treetops.
The mine was immense, cut into the mountainside like a staircase for giants. Old carts lay rusting on tracks and wooden planks were nailed over the entrances to the mineshafts. Gray boulders littered the ground, tragically devoid of gleaming diamonds.
Neve halfheartedly kicked a few rocks, suddenly aware of a peculiar dullness in her head. Perhaps she hadn’t eaten enough that morning. Frowning, she rubbed her temples with her fingertips.
She was about to turn back when an unfamiliar male voice made her jump.
“Ahoy there!”