Chapter 13
Maelis
The weather turned significantly colder over the following weeks. From my window in the Lodge, I took note of the leaves changing from yellow to orange to brown, until the wind blew them away and exposed the naked branches beneath.
I split my time between training with Lydia and reading the materials Theo had provided in the library. I had already filled three notebooks and the stack of papers only seemed to grow each time I entered the library.
There was only one stack of books that I had been hesitant to start working on.
I wasn’t sure why I was so reluctant to learn about my heka and the wordsmiths in general, but every time I thought I was ready to open one of the books Theo had provided, I couldn’t get myself to read beyond the first pages.
Today had been a particularly rough training day for me.
Though my overall fitness had improved significantly, it was glaringly obvious that I was no fighter.
Progress was slow and although I was doing my best, I could see that Lydia was running out of patience.
She had become a good friend to me, but in the sparring ring she was my teacher first and foremost. We had started training indoors when the temperatures had dropped and I was grateful for it.
Climbing out of the bath, I grabbed a towel and inspected my new bruises and cuts. None of them needed mending, but I put on some lotion and slipped into a bathrobe.
A knock sounded at my door.
“I have a letter for you, Madam,” a young servant said shyly.
I thanked him and checked the envelope. Although I had hoped to receive a letter from my mother, a smile spread across my face when I recognized Theo’s handwriting.
I hadn’t seen much of him lately and I was always hoping to catch sight of him when I worked at the library.
But apart from a few short conversations, our interactions had been limited to the weekly meetings at the temple.
Inside the envelope was a simple card, engraved with Theo’s seal.
“Maelis, if you are amenable, I would like to extend an invitation for you to join me and a select group of friends for a shared evening meal. The gathering is informal in nature, intended primarily for the purposes of getting to know each other. Your presence would be both welcome and, I believe, conducive to a more balanced dynamic. Theo”
The back of the card simply read: 8.30 p.m. - South terrace, second floor.
“Your presence would be conducive to a more balanced dynamic,” what the Fates was that even supposed to mean? A select group of friends? Informal in nature? This man did not have a normal social bone in his body.
It was now 6 p.m., Caelan would be back from the temple. I slipped out of my room and made my way to the first floor where Caelan’s quarters were located. As head of the temple guard, he had his own little corner of the Lodge.
I was about to knock when Caelan’s voice carried through the door.
“Has she told you anything about her past?”
Lydia answered in her usual measured tone. “No. Every time I try to bring it up, she shuts down. I’m sure it’s connected to her heka—that’s probably why she won’t talk about it.”
Caelan sighed. “Theo trusts her, and I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t, but—”
“—but she’s a wordsmith,” Lydia cut in, “and that means we can’t afford to trust her yet. I like her too. She works hard. But we have to stay vigilant.”
Outsider. Risk. Something to be watched.
I knew I hadn’t been honest about my past—had learned early that some truths were safer when left untouched—but hearing their caution laid bare still stung.
Trust, I realized, was not something I’d been given; it was something I was expected to earn, carefully, under watchful eyes.
They weren’t wrong. My heka had always been tied to words, to meaning and persuasion, to shaping what others heard and believed.
I’d lived long enough with that knowledge to understand the unease it caused.
Still, I hadn’t known it carried this much weight—enough to put me on the wrong side of caution.
I didn’t know how my heka fit into whatever they feared, only that the word wordsmith carried more history than I understood. Maybe it was time I stopped pretending ignorance would protect me.
I eased back down the hallway, my steps soundless. When I returned, I made sure my footsteps rang louder against the stone. I knocked, and entered only after Caelan called me in.
“I am sorry to disturb you, oh, hello Lydia,” I said a little too brightly, and Lydia narrowed her eyes on me. The woman was like a bloodhound. She could probably sense my forced cheeriness from a hundred stretches away.
“Hello, Maelis, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was coming to see if Caelan could tell me a little bit more about tonight’s dinner? Theo’s card was a little… formal. I have no idea what to expect or what to wear.”
Caelan chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We have a couple of friends coming in tonight and thought it would be nice for you to meet them. We are going to do one last traditional barbecue for the year on the south terrace.”
“So there is no dress code or anything?” I asked.
“None whatsoever. Though I do think you should wear that mint green dress we bought in Lumoria. It looks gorgeous on you and compliments your eyes.” Caelan grinned.
“All right, a dress and warm tights it is. Thank you, Cae,” I said and turned to leave.
“Maelis?” Lydia called out.
“Yes?”
“Close the door behind you when you leave, will you?” Lydia asked.
All right, message received.
When I got back to my room it was past 6.
30 and I decided to take a quick nap. Unfortunately, the conversation between Caelan and Lydia kept playing on repeat in my mind.
They were right not to trust me, I hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about my past and the things I had seen and done.
But it still stung. After tossing and turning for over an hour, I got up in frustration and started getting ready for dinner.
I opted for the simple mint green dress Caelan had mentioned and combined it with thick tights and my light brown boots.
The sleeves were long, but the dress was cut to shape and had a simple, but slightly plunging neckline.
All the outfit was missing was a pair of earrings, but like all of my other stuff, they were safely tucked away under my mattress at home.
There was no time to dwell on my feeling of being homesick, so I quickly shut off the lights and made my way to the rooftop.
I had never been to the second floor and when I reached the top of the stairs, I had no idea which way to turn.
I felt a slight breeze coming from the corridor to my left, so I decided to follow the breeze.
There was an open door about halfway down the hallway and I could hear voices.
The room in front of me was empty as I entered, but the wide patio doors were open, and I saw the big terrace laying beyond the doors.
I heard Theo then, his deep voice doing funny things to my stomach. He was actually laughing, being way more chatty than I had ever heard him before. There was another male voice and to my surprise, a female voice that chimed in from time to time.
“I am beginning to think that you made her up, Theo,” the woman joked.
“Oh I assure you, she’s as real as it gets,” Theo responded, and I couldn’t decide whether that was a good or a bad thing. “She has been practicing with Lydia today, she was pretty banged up earlier,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to stay in her room tonight.”
I peeked around the corner and saw Theo sitting with his back towards me, a bottle of beer in his hand.
“It worries me that you seem to be disappointed at that thought, my friend,” the man standing next to the barbecue grill said.
His skin was as black as the night and he was wearing some kind of uniform.
I was too far away to clearly see his face, but he smiled at Theo, his bright white teeth a contrast to his black skin.
“No need to be worried, Malek. I know the role I have to play in all of this and what’s at stake if I fail,” Theo said.
I couldn’t stop the flicker of disappointment that rose in me.
Was it selfish to hope he might feel the same way I did?
That he would care enough to linger in thought about me, as I did about him?
Instead, his words were all duty and responsibility, and I wasn’t sure how to read the distance behind them.
My curiosity warred with caution, and I couldn’t get myself to walk onto that terrace.
I was intruding on a private moment, like walking in on my boss’s birthday party.
Maybe it would be best to go back to my room.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
But the Fates had no interest in deciding this one for me.
I heard someone clearing their throat behind me and turned around like a pupil who had been caught peeking at their neighbor’s sheets.
“Don’t worry, dear, it’s only me.” Lydia smiled. “I will not tell anyone about your secret little eavesdropping session if you promise to sit between Lythandra and Malek tonight. These two are always fighting and getting on every last one of my nerves.”
I sighed in relief. “You have yourself a deal. And for your information, I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was still deciding on whether I should attend this dinner or if I should go back to sleep and recover from the beating you gave me.”
Lydia smiled and took my arm.
“Nonsense. You are already here, looking lovely. Let’s eat some nice food.”
We walked towards the group of people at the end of the terrace and the conversation stopped while every head turned towards me.
Theo got up from his spot, and turned around and the moment our eyes met I swore I could feel the pulsing of energy between us again.
His gaze shifted to Lydia, and he gave her a nod and a wave.
“Thank you both for joining us tonight, I wasn’t sure if you would be too tired for company,” he said smoothly.
“Aah, hogwash,” Lydia said, “as if I’d ever be too tired to have a good meal with my family.”
She kept her distance with Theo, but went straight to a big hug when greeting Malek and Lythandra.
The latter now came over to me with a bright smile on her face and took my hands into hers.
She looked like a literal angel with her long blonde hair and her striking light brown eyes.
Fittingly, she wore a white flowing gown that rounded up her ethereal appearance.
“It is so lovely to meet you,” she said happily, “my brother has told me so much about you.”
I looked over to Theo in surprise.
“She’s not my sister by blood, but in every other sense of the word,” he supplied, motioning for me to take a seat on one of the sofas that were strategically placed around a fireplace in the center of the terrace.
Before sitting down, I went over to the man who had been introduced as Malek and reached out my hand as a manner of greeting.
He had the most striking appearance. Malek’s eyes were just as dark as his skin and he had fangs for teeth. He seemed surprised by my greeting, but took my hand with a strong handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Maelis,” he said and smiled, exposing his fangs even more.
Behind me, Theo cleared his throat and said “Maelis, meet Lythandra, Goddess of War and Malek, the commander of the Dreadshade Legion.”
Well, this was going to be an interesting evening for sure.