Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
-LIL-
“I’d be happy to give you a tour and escort you back to your rooms,” Thetius said as he rose from the table. “Allow me a moment to tell Imelda how much I enjoyed the dinner.”
I nodded, asking him to convey our thanks. We were being monitored. Proper decorum was a necessity.
Find your reason before it finds you. We were to be tested. The trials of Azmeer hadn’t been enough. My endurance of Thalius, Rai, none of it had proved me worthy of answers. But for what purpose were we to be judged?
Dainan remained silent following the proclamation of The Scala. Opening my mouth to speak, I was interrupted.
“Are you two ready?” Thetius bellowed from the exit, his arm waving as if we might miss him.
“I think we need to be wary of that one,” I said to Dainan before beginning our march toward Thetius.
“We need to be wary of everyone.” Dainan reiterated.
For the first time, possibly ever, the prince and I were in complete agreement.
The smile I offered Thetius was as brittle as it was polite, but I forced myself to hold it. I can do this, I reminded myself, swallowing down my apprehension.
“Lovely!” Thetius beamed. “It’s a pleasure to play tour guide. As I said, we get so few visitors, and the regular faces blend together. Now, where should we begin?”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” I ventured, “I’d love to see all of it.” Our time here was limited. Something was seeking us. A reason. Whatever that could be. I would find it before it found me.
He chuckled, appeasing me as one would an overeager child.
“Of course, my dear, of course. Come along!” Humming softly to himself, he led us down the corridor, his cheerful melody clashing with the eerie silence that clung to the halls.
I glanced back at Dainan, who trailed behind us, his face still pale, eyes distant.
Colorful corals bloomed in the walls, twisting in their patterns as schools of fish swam past in silvery bursts.
Strands of underwater flora drifted in lazy harmony with the unseen currents.
Everything was calm about it, but the images that continued to flash along the water’s edge were anything but calm.
A symphony of chaos, the tide crashing against rocks, breaking your concentration.
It was suspended between land and sea, its depths seemingly endless.
What is this place? I wondered, half in awe, half in trepidation.
“You may notice that, unlike Azmeer or the other courts, we don’t have much in the way of artwork adorning these halls. It would be rather difficult to hang paintings here, wouldn’t you agree?”
I managed a laugh, though my anxiety lingered, living in my chest as it had these past months.
We wove through a labyrinth of corridors before stopping in front of two doors that looked unlike anything we’d seen thus far.
They were made of cobalt, the surface polished to a gleaming sheen, and in the center of each door swirled a vortex of water, an endless tide looping in and out of existence before us.
“These,” Thetius intoned with an air of reverence, “are the doors to our archives. Unique, like much of this place, but it will have to wait until another time. Come, let us head back to your rooms. You two must be exhausted.”
The word “but” was on the tip of my tongue, but I agreed with him. Dainan and I needed time to regroup. Formulate a plan. The Scala were here, and they wouldn’t help us. Like everything else in my life, I would have to help myself.
“Here we are. I hope you enjoyed what you saw. It can be difficult to keep track of new faces and places. But don’t worry, no one will begrudge you if you ask them to repeat their name tomorrow. Save me, perhaps.” Thetius smiled wickedly.
“Thank you for the tour. I hope we will be afforded the opportunity to see more of the palace’s splendor tomorrow.” Dainan bowed his head and entered our room.
“Ah, Lil, a moment if you wouldn’t mind.” Thetius pulled the door closed before I could move to follow Dainan inside, giving us some privacy. It was fruitless as we both knew the Prince of Selective Speech was no doubt standing with his ear plastered to the door.
“Many here have ties to Azmeer. We like to keep tabs on things.” Thetius said, tone softer than it had been.
“Word will not get back to Thalius that you’re here.
I wanted you to know, in case the thought was causing you any potential distress.
Everyone who comes here does so for a reason.
” He smiled, tilting his head to look at me.
“It really is so nice you’re here. It has been a long time since we’ve had a visitor. Fifty years, to be exact.”
“Thetius, uh, T.” I corrected myself. “How does one go about discovering their reason?” If The Scala wouldn’t answer my questions, perhaps he would.
Thetius chuckled. “There are five hundred and thirty-seven doors here. Of course, there are many doors in places like this. But the doors here are unique.” He gestured his arms out, “Forgotten worlds, you know how these things go. But for the doors, a reason lingers behind each one.”
An ache formed in my jaw as it tightened with each of his words.
“And what is the reason I was brought here?”
Acid churned in my gut. I wanted to escape. I wanted peace—calm, serenity—the beach at dusk, the arms of a man who made me feel safe. I wanted my husband’s head. I wanted a better world. A world where I was free.
But the Scala’s warning had been ominous. Though we had been brought here, time was a huntress, and we were her prey. I would not let her devour me.
“Oh, that’s not for me to say. I’m a mere watcher. A student, if you will—much like you have been these past months. What calls to you will not sing for another. Your reason is yours alone.” Mystery surrounded Thetius as he nodded his head and turned to make his way down the hall.
“T?”
“Yes?”
“What’s the name of this place?”
“Of course, dear, of course. You are in Ossmera. The Home of Souls.” He bowed his head before turning to exit, his hideous robes trailing behind him. “Ah, Lil. One more thing.”
“Yes?”
“The doors can be deceiving. Do be sure to listen.” With a wink, Thetius made his way down the ever-shifting corridor.
The door handle was cold to the touch as I closed it behind me, and to my complete and utter expectation, Dainan stood with his arms crossed, waiting for me.
“Care to tell me what that was about?” He said, tone firm and fixed on me.
Unlike the rest of this place, the apartment did not have any flashing images or cascading walls.
Pale blue, a calming color, welcomed you as you stepped inside.
I made my way to the window where the view unfolded like a canvas of rolling hills, but instead of grass, it was water.
Waves crashed with thunderous roars, others undulating gently—some almost motionless, reflecting the calm of a tranquil sea.
Each wave carried its own rhythm, its own story, painting a mesmerizing portrait of the ever-changing vision it wished to depict.
“Don’t try to pretend you didn’t hear that conversation. My hearing isn’t as good as yours, and even I would have been able to hear everything.” I walked to the couch before sinking into its plush cushions.
“I was trying to be polite, make conversation. Something you insisted on me doing.” He sighed, sitting down on the couch opposite mine. “It’s good you asked the question, but I’m not familiar with The Home of Souls. Is it something you’ve ever come across?”
I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. “Can’t say that I have, but I’m not typically the one with my nose in a book.”
“Now, now.” He crossed one leg over the other. “No need to squabble. We have more important things to attend to. First and foremost, I believe you should get dressed.”
“Yes.” The word slithered from me. I yearned for something other than the mere shift and oversized jacket I’d been wearing.
Making my way into the second of the identical bedrooms, I opened the closet.
Inside were clothes for each of us. Clothes from the Court of Reflection and from the Court of Shadows.
I reached for the pale blue linens that hung there, and sighed in relief at the feel of the fabric across my skin.
As soft as water, and just as smooth. The pants rippled with each of my steps.
“Better?” Dainan inquired as I sat across from him.
“Much.”
“Are you tired?”
“No.” The food, the conversation, the reason, all of it had given me a resurgence. “What do you think the reason is?”
“They said we each were brought here for a reason. I had believed we had been brought here because of you.”
“Because of me?” I interrupted him. “I thought you were the one to bring us here.”
“I said it before, I didn’t bring us here. What ties would a Court of Shadows member have to Hild?”
The truth in his words forced me to pause. “Well, if each of us is here for our own reason…”
“Yes.” Dainan rested his elbows on his legs as he leaned forward. “It’s sensible to expect that for part of this we’ll be on our own.”
Alone to wander this place. “What sort of test do you believe this to be? Do you think if we pass, we will be granted a meeting with the Seers? Maybe then they would give us answers?”
Dainan rubbed his chin in a way so similar to Alvar, I wasn’t sure he knew that was who he emulated.
“Legend is that the Seers give their sight for the sight of all. It’s possible that our reason may force us to offer something of ourselves.
They said they didn’t know why we were brought here, but perhaps if we discover that, then they will provide us with answers. But is that the goal?”
“Is what?”
“Is your goal to meet with the Seers?”
“It is,” I said without pause. “If they know the way for us to get back to them…”
He nodded. Nothing more needed to be said on the matter. As we made our way to the exit of the suite, Dainan looked back to me. “What was it Thetius said again as he left you?”
“The doors can be deceiving. Do be sure to listen—not sure what we’re meant to listen to. Did you ever know a door to speak?”
Dainan ran a hand through his hair before ushering us into the undulating corridor. “As a matter of fact, I do.”