Chapter 24 #2
I had anticipated that maybe the king thought Kassiel disposable. From the little answers I’ve got from him, it felt that maybe The Devourer was more important than he believed. Why else would the king bind his lifeforce to Kassiel’s for over two hundred and fifty years?
“It would be easier if we had a minder.” I finally throw out the suggestion. Everyone had an idea of what should be done, but we couldn’t come to a majority agreement.
“Why didn’t we blasted think of this before now?
” Yasper, a man of about thirty—three turns, practically bellows out in a mix of frustration and amusement.
He starts to laugh, the relief breaking the tension in the room before stopping to yawn.
His dark brown eyes light up as he scrunches his ivory nose.
“Jessamine, could you send for a minder who is awake at this hour to come and assist us? Maybe then they’ll tell us what lurks in the inner workings of The Devourer.” Helena sits there, her feline eyes holding the woman’s gaze.
Jessamine pushes to her feet and turns hastily, her dark green robes swishing around her feet. She looks like an autumn goddess in this dim light with her golden skin and long thick braid of auburn. The gold loops in her plait glint as she continues out the door.
None of us like to keep Helena waiting. She’s impatient and hates to waste time, so it’s no surprise Jessamine returns nearly minutes later with a young male minder.
“I found him along the market starting to enter one of the taverns. Obviously he thought he had better plans.” Her pointer finger trails along his neck and down to his shoulder as she continues, “Although I was very glad to see that he was easily incentivized.”
The young man blushes so hard, his pale skin could be confused as a radish.
He clearly doesn’t know that Jessamine has luxuria, with her ability to imitate lust in someone.
Gods it’s worked on me before too when she used her sultry magic.
Even without it she is striking, though her beauty is nothing compared to her wit.
“What is your name, minder?” One of the older men on the council calls out from the corner of the room.
I pull out a wooden chair and plop in it exaggeratedly. The table is expansive, easily fitting twenty or more people comfortably. Tonight, however, it seems to swallow the room with the limited bodies to sit at the oak wooded top.
Others follow suit, pulling out the large chairs in a symphony of scrapes along the floor.
Jessamine brings the young man closer to us. He looks around the room and decides to choose a seat closest to the door.
“They call me Irthrid.” His demeanor seems calm enough, he must have already taken a collective reading from the council.
“Whatever you hear or learn from this meeting must remain confidential, you understand that don’t you, Irthrid?” Naaveen’s words settle the room into silence.
“Of course. I’m well aware of the dangers should anything leave this room.”
I wait for someone to reveal the secret residing in the next room. No one offers anything and I realize they’re leaving the space for me to lead this discussion. Great.
“Irthrid, we’ve found ourselves with a great opportunity. The problem is that we, as the council of The Hidden, can’t reach an agreement until we know… certain things.” My eyes bore into his, the golden glimmer focused and eager.
I decide that I’m too nervous to sit through the impending interrogation and push to my feet. Pacing the length of the table, I look to the side door that locks Kassiel behind it.
“Naaveen, will you go get him?” Caym asks.
I can’t bring myself to look at anything except that door. Naaveen steps into my peripheral, his bronze skin even darker with the spent light.
My gaze returns to Irthrid who watches the egress. I wonder how he’ll react to seeing The Devourer. That’s the funny thing about the iron manacles, they prevent the wearer from using their magic, but also null any magic from being used on them. It’s a secret not many know.
Kassiel’s green eyes immediately search mine, suspicion haunting his face.
After dipping my head at him, he looks around the room, calculating and cold.
The ambience of the room, with the low lighting that casts shadows, only encourages his look to be more sinister.
If I hadn’t spent the time with him that I had, I’d believe him to look like a wrathful devil.
“Devourer.” My voice comes out too small.
He sat in that damned room without knowing anything of his fate, trusting in me and Caym, even Leeson.
And now I’m the one addressing him like a captive instead of the man I shared some of my most intimate moments with.
It’s cruel, that face of condemnation can be so familiar and one that you’ve bared your soul to.
“Little warrior.” My heart breaks a little at the way he’s looking at me with uncertainty in his eyes. Like I’m about to throw him away like used paper once I’ve scratched my pain onto the sheet. Our eyes lock, and I can’t bear to look away.
“Devourer? As in The Devourer? You’re kidding me.” Irthrid’s brows jump into his hairline.
Jessamine acts quickly, slowly stroking his arm again.
Her lips begin to slightly glow, her magic making them illuminate.
Most magic can be seen from hands, but Jessamine’s is different in that regard.
Perhaps it’s because her rarity is rumored to be from an ancient line of witches whereas most magic was gifted by the gods.
“Irthrid, there’s nothing to worry about, handsome. He’ll behave.” Jessamine’s green eyes could rival any other coloring, perhaps even the man who hasn’t stopped watching me in the corner.
“Take his manacles off.” I’m not sure who speaks the words, but I’m thankful to see them quickly unlatched.
Kassiel’s head turns, breaking our eye contact, watching the bands fall to the floor. He stoops to pick them up and gently places them on the tabletop, the clank heavy against the wood.
He stands there, with his back straightened, waiting.
Continuing my pacing, I walk between Irthrid and Kassiel.
“It’s easy, Irthrid. I just need you to tell us if The Devourer is lying.”
Irthrid’s throat bob before answering, “As you wish.”
“Devourer,” I begin, not wanting to reveal our intimacy just yet, “We will not condemn you this day. We just need some insight only you will have. What is your alliance with King Euron?”
Relief washes over his face and his shoulders relax, which in turn has me breathing easier.
“I am but a servant to King Euron.” I narrow my gaze on the man. Of course he would make this difficult, I can’t say that I blame him.
He stares at me expectantly. “Next question, Ms. Viren.” His smoky voice wraps around me, caressing me.
“I need you to explain exactly how you’re a servant to the king before we continue.” He’s not getting off this easily, even if he is enjoying this game of cat and mouse.
His brows rise up and he tilts his head. “Is that what you desire, little warrior?”
Gods. I can almost feel my eyes pop out of socket from how hard they roll.
“Kassiel, I’m not your enemy here.”
The words linger in the air and I suddenly feel self—conscious again, like the hardness I’ve pretended to harbor is chipping away.
“Shall I take over the questioning, Alora?” Helena’s soft voice comes from behind me, and I realize I was unaware of her moving closer to me.
She takes another step closer and whispers, just loud enough for me to hear, “I know you’ve had a long journey. If he has started to cloud your mind —”
Her words trail off as Kassiel interrupts.
“Alora will ask me the questions or I’ll answer none.”
Well then.
I turn to Helena and offer her a placating smile. She turns to him, cracking a slight grin. Good gods, she likes him. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve witnessed Helena grin.
“As you wish, Devourer. She might be just as stubborn as yourself. She’s an admirable opponent.”
I like to think of Helena as everyone’s cranky elder, often cunning and sharp with tongue, but very proud of all her kinfolk. It’s reassuring to hear her speak of me this way.
Turning back to her seat, Helena moves past me, brushing my arm with her woolen coat.
Kassiel grins at me, delighting in the fact he’s won this feat.
“As you wish Kassiel,” I answer.
Jessamine sits down near Irthrid where he still stands looking at The Devourer. She rests her chin in her hands. I glance to the rest of the council and see that Leeson also looks bemused, her seriousness cracked by the dimple she works so hard to not show.
Joy. This is almost more tortuous to me.
Kassiel clears his throat. “King Euron has me bound by the Siorai Ban.”
Naaveen’s mouth drops open whereas others begin to lean forward in their seats.
“The Siorai Ban? I’ve only heard of its supposed existence in ancient texts—” Helena cuts her words off short.
Jessamine’s eyes are now trained on Kassiel’s neck, where I’m sure she’d noticed the inky band by now.
“He speaks true,” Irthrid adds.
“That’s barbaric,” Naaveen whispers, “to take someone’s freewill, to force them to submit, it’s one of the worst things I’ve heard of.”
Kassiel stares at the ceiling and silence falls over the table again.
He continues, speaking not necessarily to anyone, “The bond tie weakens every hundred years with the blood eclipse. Usually that’s when he demands us be locked away with him somewhere.”
My thoughts sharpen as I begin to process what he’s saying.
Helena chimes in, “Do you mean to say that King Euron has found a way to stay alive despite that kind of magic being forbidden? Gods it’s not even gifted from them, it’s abhorrent. It’s a vile thing created by the oracles of old. And explain further, what do you mean ‘us’?”
Many others around the table nod their head in agreement.
Kassiel begins again, “My companion Rune was tied to King Euron many years before I. He is a Rhwym.”
“He is the one who bound you all to King Euron?” Jessamine asks.
“It’s not that simple, but yes, through his magic, he was the conduit some of Euron’s witches used to place the eternal tie.” Kassiel stares at her and she shakes her head in disbelief before looking to Irthrid again.
The minder just nods at Jessamine and she raises her arms and throws them in a shrug.
“Well that’s more than inconvenient.” Yasper pipes in for the first time since our discussion began.
Kassiel just chuckles.
“I can’t even begin to explain how much so,” he says.
The Devourer goes on to explain his summoning, all the eyes of The Hidden council members trained on him. Leeson exchanges a glance with me as I relieve the moments when Kassiel thrashed on the ground. Where I truly thought he might die.
“It’s blinding pain. Like your soul is being seared through the veil and torn apart.” The description from Kassiel makes my stomach drop. It sounds more than painful. Anger wells within me as I realize that it’s likely he has had to endure it for centuries now.
“Why should we trust you, Devourer?” Helena stands as she lets the fierce words slip.
He starts to pace the room before turning to face the stained glass window, the image darkened by nightfall.
Without turning he answers, so seriously, and without a doubt, “Because I trust Alora. At some point you tire of being a monster, unrecognizable when you look in the mirror. Because for the first time in centuries, I’d prefer to not feel numb to the realm.”
He shifts his head until he looks over his shoulder slightly and adds, “Because despite everything I must atone for, I believe that she is the good in this godsforsaken world. And that is worth fighting for.”
It’s no surprise the rest of the interrogation continues smoothly after I finally admit what he wants most of me; that he isn’t the monster they think he is, that he means something to me.
He was more than willing to peel back his skin and reveal the painful truths he hid for so long, those of which were confirmed by the minder.
All it took was me doing the same, peeling back my mask and showing the council that hope sometimes resided in the most unexpected places, and ours happened to fall upon The Devourer.
The rest of The Hidden, particularly Naaveen and Jessamine, seemed entranced when I argued why allowing Kassiel in our ranks was a bold, much needed move. Why we need him to fight for us against the oppressive wave that would crush us.