Chapter 26
Chapter
The next day the palace hummed with gossip.
About me, of course. It was not the fate I would have chosen, yet I couldn’t feign surprise.
I had given them cause. As I walked the corridors, people halted, whispered and pretended not to stare.
It was as if all the Dominium had but one tale to tell, my dinner with Aidenar.
On my way to my father’s rooms I met Velena. Because Jasmine was no more, then a new maid trailed at her heel. Velena looked at me, then at the necklace at my throat.
“So it is true,” one of her companions breathed.
Velena widened her eyes, but for the first time she said nothing. She only swept past me, hatred plain upon her face.
I tried to help my father with the maps, but I couldn’t concentrate.
My hands were shaking, and my thoughts were wandering.
Suddenly, I burst a jug of water. Glass shattered everywhere, and water spilled across the floor.
My father looked up from his parchments without saying a word, then walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“Rest, child.” His voice was calm but firm. “Go to the shore, clear your head. Just please, Nerissa, go far away and be careful.” He didn’t mean to tell me to look out for myself, but for others.
His advice only irritated me more, but I knew he was right, I should leave. I left the office and headed for the stables. Kael and Brenn were already there, preparing the horses. As I was collecting my horse, Peter emerged from the shadows.
“Lady Nerissa, are you going outside the palace?” he asked.
“Peter, it’s none of your concern where I go or what I plan to do,” I replied sharply. But I immediately regretted my tone. I was out of control. I hadn’t unleashed my power in weeks, and everything inside me was boiling.
“Of course,” he said coolly. “But I have orders from Lord Cavareth to ensure the Lady’s safety. Especially when leaving the palace.”
“And who protects him?” I asked sarcastically.
“My Lady, my orders are to guard you.” He stood as if compelled to duty.
“Fine,” I waved my hand. “But don’t complain if you witness something that you shouldn’t.”
We left by the smaller streets of White City.
The town smelled of salt and smoke, and beyond it lay the sea.
White cliffs rose on one side and a long ribbon of sand on the other.
We rode for a time until weariness tugged at me.
I dismounted. The wind brought the taste of water, and the voices of the waves soothed me, though a tremor moved beneath my skin.
“Stay upon the hill,” I told them all. “Don’t come any closer.”
I had to loosen what I carried. The dark dreams, the weight of the prophecy, the Plague, the attack on me, on Aidenar, and now these courtly rumors had piled upon my chest. I stood at the shore, the sea calling me like an old friend.
I made certain no ship or fishing boat drifted near and that no soul walked the strand.
I closed my eyes and listened to the water.
The waves answered each beat of my heart.
At first they stirred lightly, then with greater force.
I felt the element swell beneath my feet.
The sea began to draw back, uncovering sand and shells, until at last a wall of water rose on the far line of the world.
In the distance the horses snorted and stamped. The wind struck my face. I lifted my hands to the sky and gave the element all the wrath that burned within me. The wave towered high as mountains. I held it a heartbeat longer, pouring out every shard of anger.
Then I let go.
The sea broke before me. I stilled the force that might have swept us from the earth and allowed only a lace of foam to kiss my boots. Then the ocean returned to its ancient rhythm.
I stood for a moment, drawing ragged breath. Relief came at last.
I walked back toward the guards. Kael and Brenn were used to such sights, but Peter and the others were not.
They stared at me with horror, as if they’d just seen something inhuman.
I was accustomed to these kind of looks from men on the islands.
They were afraid of me, they wouldn’t even stand close to me. Was my power so disgusting to them?
On my way back to the Palace, I decided we would visit one more place. Father and I had circled endlessly without answers, and her words still rang through my mind.
I signaled Peter to alter our course, and we turned toward the darker district.
The same narrow streets I had walked with Aidenar.
Eyes followed us from shadowed doorways and cracked windows, hostile and wary.
We were outsiders here, and everyone knew it.
My hands hovered near my blades. In places like that you never knew what was waiting in the shadows.
As we approached the cramped passage from before, the same skinny man, with his guards, stepped into our path.
“Young Lady, here alone?” Omar said, his voice carrying false concern. “Better not to wander such places without the White Lord. Even with an escort.” He tilted his head toward my companions, his smile thin.
“I have business,” I said.
“You have no business here little bird.”
Since releasing my power, energy thrummed beneath my skin, wild and restless. I had no patience for games.
I closed the distance between us until I stood close enough to see the weathered lines around his eyes. I held his gaze and reached for the contents of his stomach with my power, drawing them upward until bile rose to his throat.
Shock flickered across his face.
“You can be helpful then and ensure that no one disturbs me,” I said softly. “I need no lord as a nursemaid.”
I stepped past him and released my hold on his insides. My company followed without hesitation.
Perhaps I had gone too far. But today, my patience wore thinner than parchment.
I stood once more before the small wooden door.
I entered without knocking, I had no appointment.
When I got inside, entrails lay scattered across the table.
Animal, I hoped. Whether ingredients for some remedy or the supper, I preferred not to ask.
The crone stood at her workbench, slicing something that resembled liver into fine pieces.
“I can smell you from a mile away,” she said without looking up from her cutting board. “You walk through this city as though you mean to drown us all.”
“You knew what I am. You knew about the sacrifice.”
She lifted those milk-white eyes to me. I could never tell if she saw anything at all.
“You didn’t ask,” she said.
“You said there are more. More like me, like the White Lord. Who else did you mean?”
The witch snorted. “I don’t give fortune for free.”
“I have palladium.” I tossed the coin purse onto the table.
She laughed again, a dry rasping sound.
“I need none of your palladium.” Her gaze drifted to my throat. “So. You have chosen. Or perhaps he chose for you.” Her mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Ehh. Young hearts. So vile. So tasty. So sweet.”
She licked her lips, set down her blade, and moved toward me. Heat crawled up my spine. She drew closer still and inhaled deeply, then she pulled back with a grin.
“Interesting.” She rummaged through her collection of stone talismans hanging about her waist. She withdrew a notched stick and counted the marks along its length. “Oh. And the moon stands full tonight. What a fortune.” She muttered to herself.
“A lock of your hair,” she said.
“Pardon?”
“For you, a modest price. And I shall find use for it.”
For what I wondered with growing unease. She took the same knife she was using, still crusted with dried blood, and with surprising speed for such an ancient creature, pressed the blade against my braid. “Well?”
I jerked my head back instinctively, revulsion twisting my features, but she held my braid tight.
“Cut it,” I said.
She claimed her payment.
“Where is the fourth heir?”
“Oh, the earthborn.” She searched through her collection of beads and bones again. “She does not wish to be found.”
“She?”
“She left.”
These fragmented answers stoked my irritation further.
“Who is she? Where do I find her?”
“She is not here. They search for her as well.” Her fingers traced along the strand until they stopped on a single bead. “They cannot allow you all to stand together. United.” Her white eyes turned black as pitch.
I knew what that meant.
In one motion, I drew my blade and sliced through the air, severing the necklace. Beads scattered across the earthen floor in a cascade of sound, but I heard only one strike the ground with a deep, resonant thud. I knew its color without seeing it.
I shoved the old woman against the table and pressed my knife to her throat. Her eyes cleared to white once more, and fangs gleamed between her parted lips.
“You are one of them,” I hissed.
The witch laughed until spittle ran from the corners of her mouth.
“I bow to no fallen Families,” she said. “And I trust no gods.”
“Fallen Families?” I kept the blade firm against her throat, my hand steady.
“If you mean to kill me, do it now. I don’t have all day.” Her fangs flashed again. I was looking at this creature, not knowing if she was a friend or a foe. Maybe neither. But I knew if she wanted me dead she would try it already. I withdrew slowly, knife still raised and ready.
“Those who win the wars write the history, or hide it.” she said. “The vanquished lurk in the shadows. They wait until all sleep. Until magic and gods fade from memory. And then they strike again.”
She leaned forward and didn’t fear my knife at all. “You will find the answers in your blood. Blood that is thicker than water. Only you can find her. She cannot hide from you forever.”
I stood there, understanding little of her cryptic words. Her counsel seemed vastly overpriced. As I turned to leave, I saw the black gem that dropped to the ground. I used all my might and shattered it with my heel into countless shards.
“Just so you are not tempted,” I said, and stepped into the street.