Chapter 42
Chapter
Forty-Two
-KADIAN-
“What did he just say?” I asked Oz as I rubbed my eyes. The meeting this week was dragging. We’d been here for hours and I’d only had two hours sleep.
“Cracks, on the third floor near the balustrade. They’ll be ordering repairs, funded by the human settlements.” Oz had said.
“So they continue to pay for a place that doesn’t support them. One that keeps them at arm’s length.” I murmured.
“This is no longer a palace, but a prison,” Illerium shouted. “Azmeer crumbles beneath us, and what says our king?”
“You and your dramatics, Illerium.” Thalius patronized him, much to the pleasure of Sylar who it appeared had forgiven Thalius for the water illusion.
“You are not willfully blind, Thalius. Law is being overridden. What function do the courts serve if not to maintain the peace of Eldara? Many of us remember what it was like when Elidas ascended the throne. Many of us were there.” Illerium looked to the others around the table and found many nodding in agreement.
“Lucky for you then that we aren’t in a war of succession. We have a new king. Alvar has graciously removed himself from Azmeer, and Prince Dainan has shown no interest in ruling. He preoccupies himself with books. Perhaps he would have been better suited to your court, Illerium.”
“We are not in a war of succession, that is true. But mark me, Thalius, the people will have plenty to say. There was a time in which the Fae outnumbered the humans, but with dwindling birth rates and the humans breeding like animals in the early months of the year, they have surpassed us. And while they may not have the magic of the courts behind them, they also possess something we do not.”
“And pray tell, what might that be?” Thalius voice dragged, his disinterest in the debate palpable.
“Hatred. And yes, of course, the Fae possess hatred as well, the Nymphs too, for that matter, but theirs is not a line drawn by a court. They do not care if you belong to Vasenia or Giaxia. If Ollo or Hild’s power flows through your veins.
No. They mark you by the tip of your ear,” he pointed his finger at Thalius, “by the glow of your skin. They remember when they were made to serve us. And they will not go back to that again. Not willingly. You underestimate the determination of the human race, Thalius. And it will be your undoing.”
Thalius laughed with an edge in his tone that only made Illerium turn a deeper shade of red.
“Save for one thing, Illerium.” He placed his palms down on the table, leaning in, “They have no one to lead them. What’s an unruly band of misfits against us?
” He gestured around the room. “Besides, arms and provisions are already being removed from the human settlements in order to ensure civility and peace remain.”
Had Escalia been raided? There had been little there.
Few residents I knew had anything worth hiding in their house, but my parents’ house…
What of the dagger that my mother had hidden?
It had been given to her by her grandfather.
An amber embedded into the hilt. I’d played with it countless times as a boy until my mother had taken it from me.
“It’s not a toy, Kadian. It’s an heirloom.” She’d said as she tousled my hair. I’d been nine then, and I don’t think I had seen it since.
“You dig your own grave, Thalius. And you do so with the king’s hand. You shall doom us all.”
The meeting had not improved from there when they began to discuss the grain shortage outside of Azmeer, insisting that Samina supply more.
Qurasa argued, Illerium had shouted more until Thalius had simply ended the meeting without the proper procedure and decorum.
An action that only fueled the fire of the other courts, save the Court of Whispers as Sylar had laughed and smiled throughout.
When I returned to my room, I found a note had been slid under the door.
Meet me at the library tonight.
-I
I would meet her. After I’d worked on my notes for Tura, met Oz for dinner, and laid my head down for a few minutes… I would meet her.
???
The knocking on my door pulled me from the depths of sleep. It had been a dreamless sleep, one I was grateful for. How long have I been out? Shit, I need to go meet Iona.
I opened the door and found Iona fist up, mid-knock, looking even more determined than usual, if such a thing were possible. She was wearing her fighting leathers, a warrior prepared for battle.
“Where the fuck were you last night?” The dulcet emptiness of my sleep was replaced by Iona’s shrill and unyielding presence. With a sigh, I moved to the side, “Please come in.”
Iona strode past me, arms crossed at her chest, before turning to face me.
Closing the door, I took a breath, knowing I was going to need it in the coming minutes. As anticipated, by the time I turned, Iona had sucked all of the air out of the room and was ready to fight.
“I waited for you, you know. And this might be news to you, Kadian, but I don’t wait for people. I came here to retrieve you to make our way to the library, and not surprisingly, you weren’t here.”
“I…”
“Don’t interrupt me.” Her eyes flared to life, embers and sparks popping into existence, warning me to listen.
She took a step closer, raising her index finger at me, “I then proceeded to wait in that hideous library.”
“Hideous library—are you insane?”
“I said don’t interrupt me.” Her eyes were ablaze, a fire ready to consume everything in its path. I held my breath as she took another step closer, lowering her voice, ensuring she articulated her words. “I waited for you. This is to help you. So tell me, where the fuck were you?”
Settling on the fact that if Iona did truly want to kill me, she would have done it by now, I made my way forward, and stared into her eyes.
They were wild and untamed, as cold as ice and as hot as any flame I’d ever known, both being able to burn you just with their stare.
Her gaze held the weight of a storm, barely at bay.
As if with a singular movement, she would shatter before me.
I placed my hand on her forearm and gave it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, knowing for the first time that despite the facade she showed to the world, there was something she, too, was hiding.
A version of herself that few people, if anyone, had seen, understood.
While I didn’t agree with all of her choices, she was right.
She was helping me. And I would do my best to help her.
A slit appeared in her left eye, as if cut by the stealthiest blade, and the darkness receded, leaving behind a reddish brown, one that was calm, warm. Whatever had taken hold of her in that moment was gone, at least for now.
And then to my complete and utter shock, Iona smiled.
“Why are you grimacing?” She said, pulling her arm back from me.
“I… I didn’t know your face could do that.”
Iona stifled a laugh as she made her way to sit in the chair that sat in front of the desk made of onyx in my room. Is there anything in here that isn’t black or red?
“I will accept your apology on a condition.” She said as she sat down, “And that is if you agree to be honest with me from this moment onward, and if you tell me where you were last night.”
Nodding, I leaned against the edge of my bed, arms folded over the other, reminding myself to breathe.
“Kadian,” she pressed, the irritated tone returning to her voice.
“I think I was here.” I cleared my throat. “I must have fallen asleep. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“You slept for an entire day?” She scoffed. “If you think the rest of us aren’t tired, Kadian…”
“You see, just as we’re in the process of becoming friends, you have to go and make a quip like that.”
Iona’s face paled, just moments ago, she had burned—her cheeks flushed with the deep, furious red of a setting sun, her eyes blazing, ready to set the world alight with the force of her anger.
But now, it was as if the flame had been snuffed out in an instant.
Her skin, once glowing with rage, turned ashen, her lips parting slightly as though the breath had been stolen from her lungs.
She looked fragile, almost brittle, like frost on a cool morning.
“Friends?” She questioned, her tone so quiet I had to lean forward to hear her.
“If you’d like us to be,” I shrugged my shoulders, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of my head that screamed this was a terrible idea. Has she ever had a friend before? Could that explain why she is the way she is?
Iona straightened, rolling her shoulders back, and for the second time in her life, smiled. “I would like that.” She said as she rose and made her way across the room. She extended her hand to me, a peace offering, and I gladly accepted.
“Gods, you’re warm.”
“You… aren’t?” It wasn’t a statement, but a question. “Why aren’t you warm?” She asked.
“Are you saying I’m not hot, Iona? I’m not sure that’s a kind thing to say to your newest friend.” Or only.
“First of all,” she eyed me up and down, “you’re not my type. Secondly, yes, that is precisely what I’m saying. You feel…” She raised a hand to my forehead, not in a loving way, but more a nurse who had been forced to touch a patient they would rather have died than ever been near. “Cool.”
After a moment’s pause, I moved around her, running a hand through my hair. “And this matters, why?”
“Because Court of Shadows members run hot. It’s our very nature, it’s the most basic aspect of Vasenia’s magic.”
“Is it?” I raised my eyebrow at her, wondering if she was correct. Brida would have known. Why do I continue to doubt Iona?
“Of course it is! You know, I don’t just say things for the joy of listening to my own voice. I’m not you.”
“Ahh, there she is. I knew that spark hadn’t dimmed completely. Now tell me, why is this the most basic aspect of Vasenia’s magic?”
Iona paused to rub her temples, letting out a long sigh. She’s trying.