Chapter 37
J ade was waiting inside Garrik’s receiving room when Alora and Garrik dawned inside. Draped across a chaise, looking wholly bored. It was little of a surprise. Unless Jade was in a training ring or barking orders to her all-female battalion, she seemed unsettled. Jade’s hobbies were more of a violent nature, and Alora wasn’t ashamed to admit she enjoyed that about her.
Garrik squeezed Alora’s hand before he excused himself to his bedchamber. His rooms appeared more like a mansion at the top of Magnelis’s castle. Unlike Kaine’s manor donned in redwood floors, marble, and accents in emerald, Garrik’s rooms were much darker.
It suited him.
Like a shrine to Darkness, the receiving room hosted an obsidian fireplace with dark stones climbing the two-story high wall. A mezzanine surrounded the room on three sides, much like where she’d lived in Telldaira. The two flanking an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows were accompanied by numerous doors and winding staircases made of iron. Between those doors and staircase were walls covered in onyx-stained wood and blackstone. And like her bedchamber, where those windows sat, they overhung the mountain and opened to a balcony far larger than her own.
Accents of potted plants balanced the dark features. Bringing in inflections of greenery and making the receiving room homely and quaint. Six pieces of furniture varying from single chairs to couches and lounges were settled in a circle, directly under a skylight that would offer perfect views at midnight or allow you to bask in the heat of midday.
At the center sat a stone table with flames, which flickered and cracked. Alora wondered if Garrik had the table burning because it brought a sense of home. A sense of sitting around their firesite at camp.
Movement at the top of the mezzanine drew her attention. Garrik rolled his shoulders and pulled the shredded tunic from his arms, standing in his open-faced bedchamber. Decorated much the same as the rest of his rooms, it overlooked the receiving room and every door surrounding it.
The sound of his belt sliding through the loops had her turning to Jade before she heard a door close and water running.
Not a minute later, something bright as lightning flashed inside, near the windows.
Alora didn’t feel a rush of panic, and Jade didn’t so much as twitch. Accustomed to Thalon’s incredible magic, she watched their Guardian and sea captain step through a portal—their Shadow Order firesite perfectly set up and preserved on the other side.
Eldacar waved, book in hand.
Something swelled in her chest at seeing him.
It’d been too long since she was able to train her powers with him, but only two days had passed since she saw him last. Despite it, Alora ignored Thalon and Aiden and rushed to the edge where dark wood met dirt.
“Are you joining us?” she asked, hopeful. Sapphires gleamed, covered in delight at the mere sight of him. She missed him. Missed sitting with him, learning that royal language. Of training in the arena since before she was injured.
Thalon didn’t seem bothered to keep the portal open longer and plopped beside Jade, who muttered something about there being more empty chairs.
Aiden only had one thing in mind apparently and sashayed to a table overflowing with liquors, wines, breakfast pastries, something made of garlic—name it, it was there. The servants must’ve been busy that morning with the display. It could’ve fed three families. Twice.
“Oh, no,” Eldacar sheepishly said through the barrier before his freckled cheeks blushed. “I’m afraid there’s much to be done.” He patted the navy book in hand and continued, “I’m much better suited here. Nalani and Zanayr have agreed to train. We’re meeting in a few moments, but I wished to say hello when I saw you.”
Wood creaked above her.
Eldacar’s gaze followed the sound. She did too.
Adorned in a new tunic and pants, Garrik leaned on the railing with his bruised hand, nursing the wrapped broken one by his chest. A grin twitched the corners of his freshly washed face, and those dark circles under his eyes were entirely gone. Not one darkened vein in sight. Strength radiated off him, eyes clear and alive.
Alora cursed herself for turning away, still feeling his attention as she looked to Eldacar and swelled her cheeks with a smile. He mirrored hers as she subtly glanced over her shoulder to Garrik, then returned and leaned through the portal before whispering, “ Mar gut elict voirduti, maiez amnekti .”
Eldacar practically bounced on his toes as his eyes widened with joy and repeated, “It’s good to see you, too, my friend. Very good, indeed.” A quick wave. “I must go, but I’ll see you soon,” was the last he said before Eldacar spun on his heel and rushed off.
“We can speak freely. Magnelis’s castle may be shielded by unwanted intrusions, but I also do not trust the servants to keep to themselves. If we require a meeting, we do so in my rooms or the Dawnspace. No sound can escape these walls,” Garrik instructed, reclining in his chair. A glass of clear liquid rested between his bruised fingers on the armrest.
Until now, they hadn’t discussed Blood or where to begin searching for it. If Life could be believed with whatever Garrik and Thalon had seen outside Fourtress, then somewhere in Kadamar one of its sister stones waited. It was only a question of where.
And an even bigger question: how on Elysian would they find it?
Alora and Thalon settled plates of food on the end tables. On the one between her and Garrik, she grabbed a cherry pastry with a white glaze on top. Garrik had already polished off the garlic and Parmesan braids, which were soaked in melted butter and herbs, so she brought more to their table.
He flashed her an appreciative grin before handing her one, then ate another.
Near the fireplace, Aiden paced. Running his fingers along trinkets settled on the hearth and bookshelves closer to the windows, lifting a few and pocketing others with a quick wink at whoever caught him. Garrik must not have felt any sentimental value to any of it because he noticed every time and said nothing.
Then Aiden’s fingers toyed with a chess piece, rolling it between his fingers before placing it back on the shelf and picking up another.
Jade shifted, looking at the carved wooden king between his fingers, and her brows pulled together in a moment of confusion as she studied the piece. An expression Alora didn’t often see gracing her fierce friend.
Carelessly moving to the next object to steal his attention, Aiden abandoned the king, and Jade’s attention snapped away as she rapidly shook her head.
Alora noted her reaction and was the first to speak after long moments of silent eating. She looked to Aiden, who now paced to the fireplace, and inquired, “I don’t remember Soulstryker’s book mentioning anything about locating the sister stones if missing. Could Life glow as it did at Fourtress if it were near one of those missing?”
Aiden propped his elbow on the hearth and rubbed the scruff on his chin in thought. “Nothing in the books, but perhaps.”
Thalon looked up from the mug steaming in his hand and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Why did it brighten, then?”
Silence cloaked the room, heavy and thick.
“A taunt,” Garrik answered plainly. “It is possible Ladomyr knows of Soulstryker. Life may have simply reacted to something in the fake gemstone because of a magic that caused it. As the light given showed Kadamar’s crest, it could be to lure whoever is looking for Blood here.”
If that was true, then that meant they had walked into a trap.
“Do you think they know?” Jade twirled a dagger between her thumb and pointer finger as if she were ready to throw it at guards storming the doors at any moment. But Garrik’s voice settled her unease.
“I believe Ladomyr to be more foolish than concocting such elaborate schemes. Alora’s footsteps disturbed the dust in the room. It could have been stolen years—decades—passed.”
Maybe the king had given up when no one sought out the stone. Perhaps he had others searching for Soulstryker or didn’t know about its existence and simply desired to barter for the ruby’s worth. Even with his status as king and wealth lavished by Magnelis, riches were never enough no matter how well-endowed someone was.
Still, Alora thought of how Life had glowed. No other explanation made sense. “I’m still thinking Life will gleam when near Blood.” A sister calling to a sister.
Garrik smiled and rubbed his broken hand. “I am not all-knowing. Perhaps it does. When we find it, we will see.”
“Find it. Just how will we find it? Kadamar is huge.” Jade stabbed a piece of chocolate pastry with her dagger and ate around the blade, making the starfire in her dragon claw ring sparkle.
Aiden shifted from the hearth and leapt over a couch to sink into the cushions. He dipped into his black jacket and pulled out a small glowing crimson compass Alora recognized from his treasure trove bedchamber. The Compass of Beginnings he had called it.
Unlatching a lever on the bottom, Aiden slowly guided open the empty chamber. “I thought maybe this would be useful?” He shrugged and looked around the room to find amazement on each face. Furrowing his brows. “What? Never said I wasn’t smart, just bloody pretty.”
Alora chuckled as Jade and Thalon rolled their eyes.
Garrik shook his head and said, “As good of an idea as this is, Soulstryker was not made in this realm according to the books, and we also are not seeking where it was created. The compass will not point to Blood’s location.”
Noticing Aiden’s frown, Thalon clapped his shoulder. “It was a good idea, Aiden.”
Alora leaned forward when Aiden pocketed the compass. “Maybe it’ll still work? It doesn’t hurt to try.” And placed her hand on Garrik’s knee before she realized what she’d done.
No one noticed the way his eyes glistened. Or the way they seemed to dull the moment she brushed her palm away.
“No, Garrik is right. It won’t work,” Aiden grumbled, frowning.
There had to be something short of hunting down every last ruby in the castle. Scouring every inch of the kingdom… There had to be an easier way. Something like Garrik’s location magic. His powers only located living things, not something as simple—or as complicated—as this gemstone.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, masking Jade as a darkened silhouette. Alora surveyed the mountains beyond. Every tree. Every dark cloud of the storm moving away, leaving that delectable earthy aroma fluttering in through the open balcony doors. Taking notice of how polished those windows unveiling the world beyond were. An eye into the unknown.
An eye. A window unveiling the unknown.
Alora shot from her seat and blurted, “What about my window?” and whirled to Garrik as they all gaped at her. The look of confusion across the room had her explaining, “The night of the bonfires.” On Garrik’s birthday. “He gave me Smokeshadows in a window that would show me anything I wished to see.”
Garrik was moving before Alora could say anything more. Smokeshadows tore from his good hand near a door behind them.
Darkness gathered inside the threshold. Swirling and tendriling until it misted away, revealing black wood entwined like the waves of Zyllyryon’s oceans. Inside that threshold, Alora’s window reflected the room like polished black crystal, void of any light.
Behind, Thalon and Aiden’s warmth enveloped her as Jade joined her side. Garrik flanked the other.
Alora only needed to press her fingers to the glass before those familiar whorls began gathering and coiling out from the frame. They danced as if in waiting, as if asking her to speak. So, she indulged them. “Show me the sister stone, Blood.” If this worked… Then she’d ask where Payment—Death—was too.
Shadows swirled like vortices on the black reflection. For a moment, she wasn’t entirely sure anything would happen other than the darkness and frost collecting on the edges. But Garrik’s powers danced over every inch of the smooth surface until they misted away?—
“Starsdamnit,” Thalon cursed as all that stared back was …
Darkness. A ruby inside pure darkness.
Garrik ran a hand down the back of his neck.
Thalon sighed and muttered, “What other options are there?”
Stars. Back to square one. It felt utterly hopeless. Maybe they would have to test every ruby on that mountain?—
“Whatever we do, we need to stay out of Ladomyr’s eye,” Aiden mentioned.
“Ladomyr is a floorman,” Garrik answered. From their expressions of confusion, he clarified, “He is suited for kneeling. As long as he resides in power, Ladomyr will cower from sight, obey my every command, only to keep his head and remain in Magnelis’s favor. We are not likely to be bothered by him. If he were his father, however, there would be need for concern, but Ladomyr is a gutless weakling. It is why Magnelis executed the late king. He would not kneel.”
Jade ran her fingers along the wood of Alora’s window. “Mind play?” And met her gaze in the reflection before those green eyes flickered to the defeat settled in Alora’s. However unlikely, Jade offered her a ghost of a smile.
“The drug Magnelis takes to fortify his mind against my invasions, I sensed it at dinner,” Garrik quickly responded. He flicked his smooth wrist lazily at the window and Smokeshadows swallowed it, removing it from the room. “A few dignitaries, lords, Ladomyr, generals… They were dosed. Depending on the amount, they could be guarded for days, weeks. I cannot steal into their minds under its influence. Anyone important will not be easily convinced of schemes I can inlay inside. I can only convince them of illusions on the outside. What their eyes can see.”
It was a smart play. Ladomyr had most likely circulated the drug directly after the Savage Prince’s arrival.
“Perhaps a servant?” Jade asked. “Ladomyr has plenty with bruises. I’m sure some of them would be happy to divulge information.”
“Miwa—my maidservant. I believe she can be trusted?—”
“No,” Thalon coldly growled, cutting Alora off. He seethed until he stood behind his chair. That unusual shadow flared as inked hands gripped the back, causing the cushion to groan as he shook his head. “Not her.” Taking on a tone of finality, there was no room for argument. Even Garrik had closed his mouth and returned to his chair, elbow to armrest, propping his temple against a finger.
Alora turned to Thalon and furrowed her brows. “Why don’t you like her?”
“I never said that.”
She leveled a glare, challenging him to argue, and crossed her arms. He could deny it all he wished, but she didn’t believe it.
That glare prevailed. When she didn’t back down, when Garrik pointed an arched brow in Thalon’s direction, he sighed. “It’s her wings. Her … kind .” He seemed to be struggling with finding the words. “If she can’t follow the laws, then no, she can’t be trusted.”
Garrik shook his head when Alora opened her mouth, stopping her.
Kind? She almost mind-spoke to Garrik when Aiden called from above them on the mezzanine.
“If mind tricks and servants are out, where the bloody hells does that leave us?”
A quick glance up and Alora had to suppress her amusement.
Aiden lay on the floorboards outside Garrik’s bedchamber and dangled an arm and leg under the railing, over the edge.
Thalon said, “Tunnels. The castle has its share that we and Ezander easily explored undetected as older faelings. Perhaps there are archives or a trove we never found? Some sort of vault?”
“If anyone would know about those, I’m willing to wager on Silas.” Alora suppressed an uneasy shudder, turned, and spoke to Jade. “You and the spymaster seemed to be … somewhat civil at the training course earlier.” Meaning Silas didn’t leave the mountain with his throat slit by one of Jade’s blades. Anything short of that was a mercy from the stars. “Maybe you can get close to him?”
Garrik interrupted flatly, “Do not waste your time on Silas. As for tunnels, tonight when the castle sleeps, I can search them. If nothing has changed, patrols should be minimal.” He twisted upward to Aiden and advised, “I have use of another particular set of your skills.”
Aiden rotated his face toward them. A devious grin surfaced.
“Another skill?” Alora questioned. Other than his impressive knowledge of captaining a ship, stealing , and bedroom activities, Aiden hadn’t shown many skills in camp that she knew of. But at this point, with Aiden, not much surprised her.
That grin went wholly wicked as he stood and leapt over the railing. Landing with a grunt, he hummed and sauntered to a door leading to Garrik’s study. “Remember how I’m bloody brilliant at acquiring things that aren’t mine?” He turned the lock on the other side and shut the door. In three heartbeats, Aiden had that locked door wide open.
Alora gaped as his back flattened on the wall beside it.
Arms crossed, Aiden cocked his head and winked, impressed with himself as he said, “Never met a lock I can’t pick, love.”
Garrik relaxed in the chair and widened his legs. “You will come with me tonight, then.”
Noticeable shock lifted around the room. Thalon smirked. “You’re not going alone ?” That was a hint of toying in his tone.
Garrik merely scoffed his disapproval, shot him a warning glare, and ignored the baiting grins. “It may be good in the meantime to search Kadamar’s library. If Ladomyr is as foolish as he looks, then perhaps he has hidden the whereabouts in texts and histories. Anyone care to volunteer?”
Alora grinned with feline delight. “I may know someone.”