Chapter 24 #2
Her eyes, a mixture of black and red, came alive, a spark, an ember in the fire. As if her rage and frustration fueled her. She likes this. I thought—she thrives on it.
“What makes you think that I haven’t been helping myself?” My tone was cutting, icy.
Iona’s eyes travelled back to Oz. “Oz, would you please remind Kadian what court you are a member of?”
I couldn’t hide the look of confusion on my face. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this—with any of this. “What does Oz’s court have to do with anything?”
“Would you answer the question, please, Oz?” Her voice was sickly sweet, and it made the hairs on my arm rise to attention.
“What does the Eternal Court have to do with our special project?” I lowered my voice, hinting at my mounting anger.
“Oz, do you happen to know what the Eternal Court is known for, besides the strength and bravery of its members?” She smiled.
Oz laughed as he rubbed his hand over his jaw, seeming to know where she was going with this. “Ah, you want a Stonekeeper.”
A Stonekeeper?
My blank expression informed them both that I had zero idea what they were talking about. While my family did have connections to the Eternal Court, I had never learnt anything about it. Whatever I had learned about the Eternal Court had been taught to me in Azmeer, and it hadn’t been much.
“What’s a Stonekeeper?” I leaned in closer, thinking that this was some secret that the court wouldn’t want me to know.
Iona merely raised an eyebrow, as if she were tired of the chaos she was attempting to inflict, and just looked at Oz.
Oz smiled, “Stonekeepers are the keepers of history. They’re rare, but they do exist. At least in the Eternal Court. I have no idea if any other court has anything like it. If they do, I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“They don’t,” Iona said firmly, leaving no room for debate.
“What exactly does that mean, keepers of history?” I asked, rubbing a hand over my neck, trying to work the knot out that had started to form there.
Oz cleared his throat, “Stonekeepers are keepers of history in that they are skilled in one of two ways. The first, which is more common, is that they are a walking library. They have a hidden index of knowledge that just appears. Everything that has been written down, for their court, at least, they remember. It’s possible that once they read something for other courts, they will remember that forever as well. ”
“Remember that forever?” I repeated.
Iona nodded, agreeing with everything Oz was saying.
“That is part of the gift,” Oz continued. “Once you read something, you can remember it forever. Well, until you die, no idea what happens to you once you get into the Stoneveil.”
Stonekeepers, Stoneveils, whatever the fuck those were. This all sounded as if Oz was speaking another language. One I would never understand.
“Two,” I croaked out.
“Two?” They both repeated in unison, which caused Oz to crack a mischievous grin.
“Two ways, you said there were two ways. What’s the other?”
“Ah,” Oz said, clicking his tongue as he raised his coffee, “the rarer gift is given to those who are also given the gift of echobinding.”
Oh, for Gods’ sake.
“Echobinding means you can touch the earth and know every singular event that took place on its soil.” Iona reached for Oz’s coffee, taking a swig for herself. Perhaps hoping something stronger was inside.
“Anything else I can get for you, my lady?” Oz bowed his head at her boldness. My breakfast was beginning to make its way back up my throat.
“Finally, someone who treats me with the respect I deserve.” She smiled at him. “You know, Oz. I really could use a cup of my own.”
“On it.” Oz flew from his seat as if an invisible force carried him across the dining hall. Oz was quick on his best day, almost as fast as me, and I had never seen him move faster.
“Did you have something to do with that?” I turned to face Iona, whose smile had grown wicked.
“I’m not sure what you could be implying. You know very well that I’m a member of the Court of Shadows. I don’t possess wind magic.”
There was very little I knew of Iona, truly. Yes, I knew we were members of the same court, and for some reason, she hadn’t been given the ability to shadow-step, at least I thought she hadn’t.
“Can you shadow-step?” I asked, my voice dropping low in case any passerby might hear us.
“Do you think I would have demanded you bring me back a few nights ago if I possessed the ability myself?”
“Yes,” I said, firm.
She laughed, an audible, and charming laugh? It was unnerving.
“You may have a point, but no. It is not an ability I have been blessed with. Would be nice, but I am not one of her chosen few.”
Before I could press on, Oz returned with Iona’s coffee, miraculously not having spilled any, even though he was moving at a lightning speed.
“Thank you, Oz. That was ever so kind of you.” Iona placed her hand over Oz’s in thanks, and I’d never seen him look more abashed. If I hadn’t known he was made of flesh and blood, I could have sworn he was turning into a puddle before my eyes.
Gods, get me out of here.
“Oz, did Kadian tell you that he can shadow-step?” Iona took a sip of her coffee and I shot her a look that could kill. If only I had been blessed with that ability. Who would grant that anyway? Was there a Primal of death?
“Seriously?” Oz asked. His eyes light up as if he himself had been given a gift. Whatever he was thinking, I didn’t like where this was going.
“Seriously!” Iona continued.
“Is it your life’s purpose to ruin mine?” I said low enough that only she could hear me as Oz looked down at his plate to grab another piece of bacon. “Are you incapable of keeping anything to yourself?”
“Incapable, no. Unwilling? Hmm.”
Oz waited for confirmation until I reluctantly nodded. “I found out a few nights ago.”
“And? Where have you gone? What have you done?”
Oh, I don’t know. Other than move fucking Iona from one place to another because she claims it’s too far to walk, not a whole lot.
“It doesn’t work properly,” I said, tone flat.
“What does that mean?”
“You see, Oz. When Kadian so graciously offered to shadow-step us…”
I scoffed.
“It didn’t appear as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing it. There was something else living in the shadows. Not just smoke.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows raised.
“Sand,” Iona said as she turned to face me. “Strange when sand has never been affiliated with the Court of Shadows before and yet it danced in Kadian’s shadows…”
Oz’s eyes found mine, and I nodded in response. Everything she said was true. We had seen Dainan and Asana shadow-step, and mine had looked nothing like it.
“Have you started playing around with your magic, Oz? Any neat tricks you can do that you couldn’t a few weeks ago?” Iona practically purred at him.
“I don’t feel any different yet. Not really. I mean, nothing besides this.” He gestured up to his eyes, formally a lighter gray maybe? I couldn’t remember, but they were as gold as the sun now.
“It will come. In the meantime, if the Eternal Court doesn’t have you too occupied…”
“I’m not too busy. Whatever you need.” Oz could not have been more eager.
My mouth gaped open watching this unfold between the two of them. Whatever this was, I wasn’t sure I needed to subject myself any longer. Getting ready to rise from my seat, Iona then said, “Great. You can help Kadian and me then.”
There had been a few moments in my life in which I had wished someone else could hear my thoughts.
The first had been once at university when I knew there was a strong chance Brida would be coming to check on me because I left a party early, something I seldom did.
Except I hadn’t left alone, and I hadn’t wanted to be disturbed.
Of course, I had forgotten to tell her that I was leaving with someone or leave any sort of indication that I was with someone.
So when she knocked on my door, and I was forced to grab a pillow to cover my crotch because it had been too dark to see my clothes, that would have been nice.
The second had been when we arrived in Azmeer, and I wanted Lil to know every single thing I had ever thought.
How I had never seen hair the color of hers before.
A color that looked like spun gold. Or how I’d never seen her shade of blue eyes before.
A blue I’d only ever heard about, but never seen.
Or how I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life, and doubted I ever would again.
There wasn’t anything I wanted kept from her. If it was a part of me, it was hers.
The final moment was now. I wanted Iona to know that I was ready to kill her, and that my blood was beginning to boil.
“What do you need my help with?”
“As you are part of such an illustrious court,” I could feel the sarcasm of her words, “and a court that knows so much about history, I was wondering if you might be able to decipher if there has been another like Kadian.”
“Like Kadian?” Oz and I both said at the same time.
“Yes.” Iona tapped her lengthy fingernails across the wooden tabletop, eliciting a shudder from Oz. He was no doubt imagining what those nails, that hand, could do. I was too, except our mental images were vastly different.
“We’re looking into bloodlines, something that the Court of Shadows wants done. You know, a new king, bloodlines, all of that stuff.”
Oz nodded as if he had a full understanding of what she was saying. I possessed none.
“Kadian’s little shadow-stepping mishap, shall we say,” she turned to face me, “got me thinking. Has there ever been anyone to possess abilities of two courts? Now that sounds like the type of thing that the Eternal Court, the court that prides itself on record keeping and history, should have access to. Doesn’t it? ”
Iona winked. She fucking winked. It’s no wonder Dainan had wanted to be as far from her as possible.
“Let’s convene in a few days, shall we?”