Chapter 35
Chapter
Thirty-Five
-KADIAN-
“You’re expected to have something… prepared.” Fayma exhaled, rubbing her eyes all the while. The five of us who had been recently inducted into the Court of Shadows stood before her, each as bewildered as the next.
“The king expects each of you to display whatever magic Vasenia has granted you. Some of you may remain unsure as to what your new gifts might be. Do not be alarmed, she is a capricious goddess at the best of times.”
Iona scoffed while the rest of us remained silent.
Fayma’s gaze drifted to her as she continued, “But alas, do at least attempt to channel whatever it is that now flows through your veins. Some of you have been marked, your appearances,” she looked at the hair of most of us, “has changed, for others the changes remain more subtle. But each of you now has fire in your veins. It would be best to remember that.”
Each of us nodded before Derek spoke up, “When is this festival?”
Iona laughed once more, unable to cover her feelings on the subject.
“Is there a reason you continue to interrupt, Ms. Vorren?” Fayma’s stare was piercing, nearly matching Iona’s.
“The courts have never been beholden to the whims of the monarch. We are not a spectacle.” Iona stood straighter, holding Fayma’s attention as she took slow steps towards her.
“Times are changing, not only within Azmeer, Ms. Vorren.” She paused to look at each of us. Her brows were tight, her expression rigid. “It is best we get used to it.” With that, she clasped her hands behind her back and made for the exit, calling behind her to her secretary.
Iona came closer to me as the others dispersed and made their way to whatever job they had been assigned within the court.
“What do you think other court members do all day? What jobs do they have?” I asked Iona whose expression had only grown more taut in the passing minutes.
“Why should I care, Kadian?”
“Excuse me for making pleasantries.”
Her eyes rolled further back into her head than I’d ever seen as she grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the way of several senior court members making their way for the exit.
“You need to be thinking long and hard about what display you’re going to present to Rai.
We can’t very well have you showing that your magic is… different.”
Pulling my arm from her grasp, I waited until we were alone. “You think I don’t know that?” The last several days, since our visit to the Eternal House, it had been all I’d thought about. Save for Brida and Lil and that whatever was at the end of this, I hoped they were okay.
What must it be like to be special, Kadian? The voice slithered into my mind.
“I have no need of being special.” I thought to myself as her laugh wrapped around my mind like smoke.
Iona snapped a finger in front of my face. “Are you even listening to me?” Her expression was grave.
“Yes, sorry.”
“Do you pester her the same way you do me?” I thought and the voice said nothing. She’d moved onto her next victim.
“Do you know what you’re going to do?” I asked her, returning my focus to the contemplative look that rested on her face.
“Not yet. Vasenia has yet to bestow any of her gifts on me.”
“Why do you say it like that?” I questioned.
“Like what?”
“Like you doubt the validity of it?”
Iona paused, looking behind me as another group of court members made their way to their daily tasks. “Start thinking of something. The festival is next week. We won’t have long.” She gave me a curt nod before heading off.
“Wait, what is it you do here?” I yelled to her as she made her way down the fiery, lit corridor.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She winked over her shoulder and faded into the darkness that awaited in each turn.
And for the first time, I thought I would.
After greeting Tura and spending the day compiling detailed notes on what books were missing from the library’s index and catalogue, I decided to go for a walk through Azmeer. In front of each exit to the outside world, there now rested a barrier. At its front, Wind Walkers waited dutifully.
Do the barriers not work if they aren’t guarding them? I wondered. Do they somehow fuel its magic? I shook my head and continued my walk. I needed to be somewhere quiet, somewhere I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed.
I cannot believe I am here, I thought as I entered the main library of Azmeer, wandering through the stacks, my hand dragging along the books. How many of these would Brida read if given the chance? I laughed as I knew the answer.
The ninth bell rang and I saw the final group of scribes rise from their positions and begin to make their way to the door that led to their quarters. I looked among them to see if the person I sought was there, and to my relief, he was.
“Edrick,” I whispered from the stack where I attempted to hide in shadow.
He looked around, unsure where he’d heard his name from until I stepped forward into the light, gesturing to the left. Excusing himself from his cohort, he made his way toward me.
“Good evening, Kadian. It’s lovely to see you.” He said in a tone that sounded like he meant it. How this man and Iona are related, I will never understand.
“How are you, Edrick?” My hands made their way into the pockets of my black pants. Everything I wore these days was black. It wasn’t my color.
“Oh, I’m doing as best I can. Addie’s still gone, you see.” His cheeks were gaunt, his stature more slouched.
“Of course. It must be difficult not knowing when she’ll return.” I offered.
“It is. We become so used to someone in our space, in our lives, and even more so when they are our partner at work.” He laughed, “I have never missed her clutter as much as I do now.”
My heart broke for him, the remaining pieces fracturing into a thousand shards. I coughed, taking a moment before speaking. “Edrick, I wanted to let you know that Brida has written to me, and she says Addie has been sent to work with her for now. At the request of Alvar.”
“Oh? Odd that she wouldn’t have sent word.
” He scratched his head, attempting to make sense of what I’d just told him.
None of this made sense. All of it was wrong.
Brida, Lil, Addie, Alvar, they should be here.
All of us should be here, together. Rai and Thalius hadn’t known the extent of their reach, their malice when they’d committed those murders. Not that they would have cared.
“Brida says she is hard at work but asked me to inform you. When they have more news, they will write to you. But in the meantime, Addie asks that you get back to your work and life as you know it.”
A smile crept its way onto Edrick’s face, tugging at the corners of his mouth just ever so slightly.
The expression on his face was one of relief, a weight being lifted from his shoulders.
“I’m so happy to hear this. I’ve been waiting for Addie to resume with the project.
But to know she’s fine with it, it is a great pleasure. ”
“You really love your work,” I said not as a question but as a fact.
There were few people I’d seen light up the way Edrick had just now while discussing their profession.
None in Escalia had ever appeared this way.
But when Addie had talked about libraries, or Brida about books and stories, Lil about traveling and seeing the world, it was the same look. Wonderment.
“I do. I’m luckier than most.” He laughed. “I thank you for this news, Kadian. Now I must ask, is there anything I can do for you? You have eased my mind. I must repay the favor.”
“Are you sure you and… Iona,” I lowered my voice to a whisper, “are in fact related?”
His smile erupted now, chuckling all the while. “Have you ever heard of bull thistle?”
I shook my head.
“It’s an interesting flower, you see, its appearance is prickly, covered in thorns. One touch would be uncomfortable, it’s why we avoided it for so long.”
“But,” I said.
“But,” he continued, “while its appearance from the outside is that it’s harmful, in truth it is a healer. The point being, Kadian,” he placed his hand on my shoulder, “looks can be deceiving.”
I nodded. There was truth in what he said. Thus far, Iona’s bark had been much worse than her bite. In fact, she’d gone out of her way to protect me, offering that story to Oz.
“Now.” Edrick removed his hand. “Is there anything I can do for you?” His smile was kind, patient, that of an older sibling.
Clearing my throat, I shuffled on my feet, “Would you happen to know of a room somewhere where I would be undisturbed?”
“Undisturbed?”
“Yes,” I paused before carrying on, “and one where I would be able to use magic.”
???
Edrick led me up a tower in the southern corner of the library. “We never came this way on our tour when we arrived in Azmeer,” I said as we climbed.
“Not surprising. I don’t believe the general populace knows about it. It was only told to us due to our being caretakers of the library.”
“Is that a responsibility you’re happy to have? Is it what you expected when you came to Azmeer?”
“Certainly not,” Edrick said, “but it is a mantle I will gladly carry.” He looked over his shoulder to offer me a faint smile before resuming his marching.
I moved out of the way of a cobweb. It was evident that few people had been here in recent times. Dust, dirt, and spiders, it was all anyone could see.
We remained quiet for the rest of our walk, reaching the top floor, I was nearly out of breath.
Edrick looked as if he’d just woken from a restful night’s sleep.
“I envy the stamina of the Fae.” I said in between breaths.
“I feel we humans are constantly striving to achieve what has been given to you all.”
He nodded in acknowledgement.
“Was it difficult for you and Addie…”
“For?” He pressed on as we made our way down a dimly lit corridor. The windows were few and far between.
“For you to overcome your differences, to be together.”
“A human and a Fae, you mean? Don’t tell me you’re developing feelings for my sister, Kadian. I fear whatever man she settles on, well, she may eat them alive.”
I coughed, trying not to gag at the idea of it. “What about appearances not being everything?” I offered as we fell into sync, walking beside each other.
“It is, of course, wise not to judge someone by their appearance, but there are some things we just know.” He winked as we arrived at an ornately carved wooden door.
Within the center rested an emblem, four runes, the four courts of Azmeer.
But in its center was a symbol I didn’t recognize.
Before I could analyze it further, Edrick pushed open the door.
The room was barren. Nothing like the rest of the palace—this looked like it had been abandoned. Where the rest of Azmeer had marble-lined floors, these were rough stones that had been polished by time. The walls, a similar stone, radiated cold, not like the walls of the House of Shadows.
“This is the Room of Convergence, rumored to be one of the few places outside of the houses themselves, and the Center Court, where magic of any of the courts may be used.”
“Thank you for bringing me here, Edrick.”
“Just try not to bring the tower down.” He lowered his head as he made his way to the door. “Oh, and Kadian?”
“Hm?”
“It wasn’t difficult. I knew from the moment I met Addie that my heart belonged to her. Human or not, there was nothing that would keep us apart.”
With that, Edrick turned on his heel, closing the door behind him as he made his way back down the corridor to the library.
Looking around the room, there was little to see until I noticed a groove in the floor in one of the corners.
Kneeling, I dusted it off and saw the sigil of the Eternal Court.
I checked each corner and found them all to be marked.
I made my way to the center of the room, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.
Let’s see what we can do.