Chapter 23
The next morning I couldn’t leave my bed.
I had been sick the night before, the feeling of betrayal and panic mixing in my stomach until all I could do was puke my heart out.
When I didn’t leave my room that day, Caelan stopped by to see if I was doing all right.
I claimed to have caught a stomach bug and stayed indoors all day.
When Lythandra stopped by in the evening, I pretended to be asleep, and she quietly left again.
When the third day of me being sick came and went, my room was filled with flowers.
Every member of the Circle had sent me flowers or “get well soon” cards and still I didn’t know how I could face them again.
Knowing what they all thought of me wasn’t only a disappointment, it hurt like hell.
We were supposed to go to the capital the next morning and I had to remind myself that I had to keep up the facade of being blissfully unaware of their mistrust.
I went to sleep early that night, well aware that sleep would be the last thing on my mind when in company of the promiscuous Gods and Goddesses.
Not that I had any interest in joining their little parties, but the whole concept of magical sex parties freaked me out.
Mainly because the state of my own sex life was a tragedy and after months of not getting any, I was getting damn tired of my own hand.
I must have fallen asleep quickly. When I woke hours later, it seemed as though morning should have come already. I cracked one eye open to check the light beyond the window, only to find the world still steeped in darkness.
I was just settling back into the pillows when movement in the chair opposite my bed caught my eye, and a startled shriek tore out of me.
Damn it. I had no weapon beside the bed, and I doubted that the intruder would be scared by my romance novel.
“I am sorry for waking you up.” Auretheos was lounging in the chair, his face an unreadable mask, his expression solemn and earnest.
“What are you doing here, Theo?” I whispered and sat up in my bed.
He rubbed his hand over his face. “I was worried about you and wanted to see for myself if you were well. You looked so peaceful and I… I haven’t been able to think of anything else but the conclave for the past few days.
But when I was watching you sleep, it was like the weight on my chest had lifted. ”
My pulse sped up at his quiet admission.
“That is very sweet, Theo, but also very creepy.”
He laughed softly. “Oh, I am the creepiest of them all, Mae.”
The smile on his face faded away again. Should I ask him about my conversation with the Abbot?
But before I could open my mouth, Theo spoke again. “I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Sure, what do you need?” I asked.
He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands.
“When we get to the capital tomorrow, I am sure you will draw a lot of attention. For one, you are the wordsmith that will fulfill the prophecy. But you are also incredibly beautiful and if there is one thing Gods worship, it’s beauty.
I am under no illusion that the other Gods will notice how special you are and you might get… offers.”
He let out a long breath. “I don’t know where I am going with this, I am just being an idiot,” he said and got up abruptly. “Forget what I said. I am sorry for waking you, try and go back to sleep.” And with that, he disappeared into thin air.
Sleep eventually arrived, but it brought little of the peace I had wished for.
* * *
10 years ago
“What did you find out, Nightpetal?” Madame Celestine’s words coiled like smoke.
I straightened.
My second visit with the diplomat had been more productive than the last, although it had taken me way longer than usual to make him spill his secrets. My heka had been playing up, it was depleted after last night and wanted to be left alone.
But I eventually got the spell to settle, and the diplomat had spilled his guts to me.
I hesitated.
Madame Celestine raised an eyebrow.
“The Crown Prince of Elther is in love with a foreign merchant’s son, and is planning to elope with him under a false identity during an upcoming diplomatic visit.”
As soon as I had finished the sentence, Madame Celestine’s fist crashed down onto the table. I recoiled like I’d been struck myself, my chair scraping backwards as my hands flew up in defense.
“Stupid girl. That’s bedroom drama, not leverage. You know the kind of people I sell to, they don’t want pillow talk. They want power. If you can not or do not want to deliver, just say so. But don’t you dare to insult me like that again,” she said icily.
She was right, of course.
The Crown Prince’s affair had been one of the many secrets I had extracted a while ago, but had kept tucked away for later use.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Madame Celestine knew this too.
I had learned early on that in this line of work, knowledge was power—and a currency. You had to know who to target, who to sell the information to and which kinds of secrets should stay buried.
And I had a feeling that the one I was about to share was one of the latter category.
“Please, Madame, I don’t think—” I tripped over my words.
Calm. Breathe.
I started again. “I don’t think the intel he gave me should be used. I don’t feel comfortable with it, something seems off,” I finished.
Madame Celestine sat behind her desk like a judge preparing to deliver a verdict. Her elbows rested on the polished wood, and her fingers formed a sharp, deliberate steeple, each fingertip pressed precisely to its twin.
The tips hovered just beneath her chin, casting a shadow over her pursed mouth.
Her eyes never left mine.
There was no need to raise her voice. The silence did all the work. She was in complete control, someone deciding whether to destroy or merely punish. I felt like a misbehaving schoolgirl again, waiting for the ruler to fall.
Celestine let her hands drop to the table and grabbed a pen and paper.
“Your reservations are noted. I will consider the information you have learned and proceed with caution. Nevertheless, I must remind you, that your stay here at ‘The Nest’ and my silence about your heka is contingent upon you handing over the information I seek. Now… Can we continue?” She asked.
I gulped. I didn’t have a choice here. I could try and distract her with another secret or give her false information. But what good would that do? She probably would find out and the Fates knew what would happen to me then. I needed her silence. Maybe this was the Fates way of testing me.
“All right. Do you remember that a few weeks ago a messenger from the King came through, asking questions about the location of the immigrants?”
Celestine nodded and jotted down a few words.
I cleared my throat, “The diplomat has found their location and is planning to sell the information to the highest bidder, which apparently isn’t the king.”
A slow smile curled her lips as her eyes turned to slits, amused, intrigued, and clearly expecting more. Would the part of the secret I had shared be enough?
I remained silent, watching her scribble down the information I had just shared.
Please don’t ask anything more. Please be satisfied with what I have shared.
“Nightpetal… Did the diplomat share the location with you?” she asked sharply.
She already knew the answer. I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes. I pressed my tongue up against the roof of my mouth.
Larna had taught me that move the first night at ‘The Nest.’ It was supposed to stop the tears from falling. And it worked most of the time.
I couldn’t lie to her.
I had no choice.
No choice.
“Yes.”
I didn’t draw the sword, but the bodies would still fall at my feet.