CHAPTER 6 #2
“But if Draknor rises when it’s whole–” a woman’s voice said, and Kara felt a rush of fear that wasn’t her own.
A man’s voice replied firmly, “Then it must remain scattered. As we agreed.”
Kara edged a little closer, straining to hear.
“–heard nothing from Navyr. No hawk or wind messenger. No sign of this,” said a deep and unshaken voice. Her father.
“But this Arcalon was supposed to prove our magic was strong,” the woman insisted. “And after what happened yesterday–”
“That was... unfortunate. Very unfortunate,” the first man said, and his voice broke slightly.
“But what does it mean? What if it does come to pass?” asked the woman, the fear clear in her voice now.
“We have our unity. It was enough once before,” her father said.
The woman spoke again. “And if it’s not this time?”
No one answered her.
But their footsteps drew closer.
Panic coursed through Kara. She ran through a nearby gate and out of sight. Her pulse raced and her mind buzzed with questions.
She knew about the Drakens. They’d been allies once, Vallenna and Draknor. Occarlia too. But when Draknor began to twist the Arcanth’s magic, tried to hurt people, Vallenna had fought against them. The Occarli stayed neutral in the Dark War – but Vallenna won anyway.
What threat did Draknor pose now?
And the Arcalon was supposed to be a proof of strength? Was that why the trials were more dangerous, more brutal this year? Had Rosalie given her life for a test?
What was it the Council knew?
A prophecy?
That’s what it sounded like. If Fatàn had shared something with them, they were keeping it from the rest of Vallenna.
Her feet carried her to the training grounds without conscious thought and she stopped short.
Sebastian was there, blade flashing in the weak morning light, each strike too sharp, too fast. His hair already damp with sweat.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she called to him.
He whipped around in surprise, sword raised. His stance relaxed when he saw her. “Didn’t know healers rose with the sun.”
Kara folded her arms. “Didn’t know soldiers trained through the night.”
“Training?” He lowered his blade. “I call it keeping sharp.”
She hesitated, then asked more softly, “Are you okay?”
“Never better,” he said – too quickly. He flashed a crooked smile, but the shadows under his eyes told a different story. He tilted his head. “Want to spar with me?”
She raised a brow. “No, thanks,” she said. “I’d be more likely to hurt myself than you.”
He huffed a short laugh. “Fair enough, Healer.”
And with that, he turned back to his forms, the dismissal clear. She should leave. Should go back to the barracks, forget what she’d heard, trust the Council like a good daughter.
But her legs wouldn’t move.
She wanted to tell him. The words rising before she’d thought better of it.
Kara caught herself. She barely knew him after all – one moment of shared magic didn’t make him an ally.
He could use this against her. But Sebastian was a soldier – Thorne’s second commander at that – just returned from war in the Isles.
If there was truly a threat to Vallenna, he deserved to know.
And he was here, the weight of what she’d overheard was suffocating, and–
Don’t let this be a mistake.
“Sebastian,” she said, more urgently than she intended.
He paused mid-swing, blade hanging loose. When he turned, there must have been something in her expression, because he lowered it entirely. “What’s wrong?”
She looked around nervously, checking that they were alone, and took a step closer to him. He peered down at her, surprised.
“I just overheard the Council talking. About why the trials are different this year.”
His whole body stilled. “Go on.”
“They mentioned Draknor rising.” She watched his face carefully. “Said something about ‘when it’s whole’ and ‘it must remain scattered’. That the trials were meant to prove our magic is strong enough.” The words tumbled out faster now. “But it didn’t work, because of Rosalie.”
Silence followed her words.
“You’re certain?” He lowered his voice. “Those were their exact words?”
“Yes,” Kara said, “They said what happened yesterday was ‘unfortunate’. My father was there – I recognised his voice. And two others, I think Lord Elias and Lady Evelyn. She was scared, I felt it–”
“Fuck.” He dragged a hand through his hair and turned away, pacing. “Fuck.”
She’d never heard that edge in his voice before. Not cocky, not amused. Something darker.
“You believe me?” she asked, surprised.
He turned back. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I thought you might think I misheard, or–”
“My father’s been different for days. Tense. Insisting on more patrols than usual. This would explain it.” He paused. “Fatàn must have given them something. It sounds like a prophecy.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Kara agreed. “But Draknor are supposed to be gone. The Arcanth stripped them of their magic after the War. That’s what we were taught.”
“It’s what everyone was taught,” Sebastian agreed.
“It’s the whole reason the Arcanth was shattered – to stop it happening again–” The words died in her throat.
“What?”
“When it’s whole... they’re not talking about the Arcanth Shards, are they?”
Sebastian said nothing for a long moment.
“If they are, then it could mean someone’s going to try and put it back together,” he said quietly.
“But that’s treason. No one would–”
He shook his head. “People do all sorts of things, Kara.”
Kara hesitated. “So... what do we do about it?”
His posture straightened, and something shifted in his expression. The man she’d confided in was gone in an instant, replaced by the soldier. Calm and calculating. Already turning the possibilities, strategies, over in his head.
“I’ll see what I can find out from my father,” he said at last.
“You can’t tell him that I–”
“I won’t,” he assured her. “I can be subtle.”
She raised her eyebrows at him.
“In the meantime,” he continued, “we say nothing. Finish the Arcalon, keep our eyes open. If the Council are hiding something, it will show itself soon enough.”
Kara nodded.
“Thank you for telling me,” he added.
Guilt flared sharply inside her. She’d told a Thorne Council secrets. If word got back to her father–
“I probably shouldn’t have,” she admitted.
“Probably not,” he replied.
Well, that’s reassuring.
“But I’m glad you did.”
Me too.
The weight in her chest hadn’t lifted, but it had eased. The morning bell tolled in the distance. Eight o’clock.
“We should go,” Kara said, but neither of them moved.
Sebastian’s hand lifted, almost touched her arm, then dropped. “Whatever happens in these next two trials... be careful.”
“You too.”
He smiled, just a little. “After you, Healer.”
She hurried back towards the barracks, Sebastian following close behind.
They had an Arcalon to finish.
If it didn’t kill them first.