“Perhaps I am trusting you, just a little?”
“Or manipulating me.”
Was our family incapable of any kind of talk that didn’t involve ten layers of intrigue? I ignored the fact that she was again perceptive. “Mother. I am in danger. The last party we hosted left me poisoned.”
She stilled. She was thinking.
“You know,” she said after a long pause. “You can hide. Or you can draw out your attacker. A gala would be an irresistible opportunity for them.”
My stomach curled at the thought. What would Tallyn think of this? But at the same time, I was weary of hiding, worrying, wondering when the next strike would happen. Setting a trap was appealing.
“What are you suggesting?”
She smiled. “There are so many things we could do, Aemiana. Think like a Graywater. If we could get the attacker to show his hand...”
“I might be convinced,” I said. “But first, I want to know how you determined I was visiting Annah.”
What insane maneuvering had allowed her to uncover my plans so easily? Was she having me followed? Did she have some of Annah’s servants in her pay as spies?
She laughed. “I called you here to discuss the gala. Your grandmother’s house has a distinct scent, as I gift her a particular incense monthly for the sole purpose of being able to keep tabs on her visitors this way. It’s a very strong scent, you see, and it permeates clothing and hair beautifully whenever anyone is around it. I could smell it on you the moment you stepped into this room.”
I struggled to keep my expression from betraying me. I would have to warn the Dron and Valus to bathe at once lest my mother make the same observation about them.
“We will talk more about the gala at dinner,” she said. “I trust you can find the appropriate dress in time?”
Her use of the word trust was not lost on me, or the mockery of it. “Of course.”
I left and went straight to find the Dron and Valus and give them strict instructions to bathe before they saw my mother. Then, I needed to speak to Tallyn.
~ ~ ~
Tallyn had me run through a refresher of our self-defense exercises while we discussed the meeting with my mother. We met in a small study and cleared away the furniture after he examined the room for listening devices or other tricks that might be hiding.
I hadn’t yet told him about what Valus had revealed to my grandmother, but I had recounted the conversation with her in the study, including her plans to flush out a would-be assassin. Tallyn aimed a series of strikes at me, and I deflected them reflexively, my muscles responding from the hours of training we’d had on Primus. I enjoyed the burn of exercise. It distracted me and let me channel my frustration over everything that had and was happening.
The door opened, and we both paused. Nol stepped inside and regarded us both. “I’ve been looking for you both,” he said.
As was the usual lately, my stomach jumped at the sight of him. “Congratulations on your success,” I said. “Tallyn told me.”
“It is only one step. Let’s not rejoice too quickly.” But his expression was lighter, and the edge of his mouth lifted as he spoke. He was pleased.
“You should spar with Nol,” Tallyn suggested. “You are familiar with my fighting style, my build and weight. This will test your anticipation of a stranger’s attacks.”
Nol and I regarded each other. I flushed.
“All right, if Nol agrees.”
He removed his coat and slung it over a chair, revealing muscled arms. He gazed at me steadily. “I’ve been training with the Battalia for months. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Let’s see what you can do,” I said lightly.
“He’s thinner than I am,” Tallyn observed for me as he drew back to give us space. “You’ll have to account for that. But don’t underestimate someone for their size.”
Nol smiled faintly.
I bounced on my heels as he approached. My limbs buzzed with anticipation. He feinted left and struck right. I dodged, and his hand whistled past my ear. We circled each other.
“Good,” Tallyn said to me.
Nol made another move that I easily avoided. I was becoming impatient. I struck at him, and he caught my wrist and pulled me against his chest. His heart thumped against my back, next to my shoulder blade, matching my own pulse racing in my throat. He was warm and solid and smelled like sea salt and spices.
“Defense,” Tallyn insisted. “You’re defending yourself only in these scenarios. Don’t attack, Aemi, or you’ll get yourself caught and killed. Don’t be a hero. The point is to stay away from the attacker and live to run away.”
I gritted my teeth and nodded. I’d wanted to show off, but it backfired.
“Now,” Tallyn said. “Get out of his hold.”
Nol’s breath was warm on my neck as he chuckled. “Well, try to get out.” His long fingers tightened on my wrists.
I struggled just to test his hold, and it was firm, his arms around me, his hands gripping my wrists like vises. Nol chuckled again, renewing my determination. I let myself relax for a second, and then I slammed my head back into his face while simultaneously twisting my wrists to break his grasp. Nol groaned and let go, and I darted away.
I turned to face him, triumphant, and then gasped. Blood poured from his nose and down his chin.
“Oh!” I gasped. “Nol, are you all right?”
Tallyn laughed. “Effective.” He handed Nol a handkerchief from his pocket, and Nol pressed the cloth to his face. He was laughing as I came forward to examine my handiwork.
“Is it broken?” I asked.
He shook his head and winced. “No, I don’t think so. I wasn’t expecting that.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “That’s the point. Tallyn is a good teacher.”
“I should have,” Nol continued, his voice slightly muffled by the handkerchief as he shifted it. “Teachers aside, I know what you’re like. You always were a wiry little snake of a thing in a fight. Do you remember how we used to scrap and wrestle as children?”
I remembered. I was always being beaten or scolded for it. “It was always your fault too.”
Nol lowered the cloth. It was stained scarlet with his blood, and his nose had begun to swell. “That is blatantly untrue.”
“Admit it. You were spoiled and insufferable.”
“I was an ass,” he said, grinning crookedly at me.
“Garren is going to think I attacked you.” I took his face in my hands and turned his chin from side to side, examining the injury. “He’s going to be furious.”
“Garren is always furious,” Nol said, his voice low and a little rough as he spoke. He didn’t move away from my hands, or break eye contact. His eyes were dark like ink. I noticed a faint scar above his lip.
A blush crept up my neck. I hoped Tallyn didn’t notice.
A chime sounded in the hall, calling the time, and Tallyn coughed. “Dinner will be soon.”
I dropped my hands with an exhale. Nol and I drew apart. He turned away to retrieve his jacket, then bid us goodbye and vanished into the hall.
As soon as we were alone, Tallyn speared me with a look that I pointedly ignored. He was my bodyguard, not my father or older brother.
“If we’re really going to draw out the attacker,” Tallyn said, “we’re going to have to be totally committed. No mistakes, no sloppiness. Focus, Aemi.”
“I need to stop by the library,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
~ ~ ~
The Graywater library smelled of dust and old books. Pale light filtered through skylights in the ceiling, playing over the shelves lined with volumes. They didn’t appear to be in any discernable order, and so I wandered the aisles, scanning titles at random as the events of the day played in my mind again and again. Valus’s astonishing admission about my memories. My confrontation with my mother upon returning home. Bloodying Nol’s nose. Tallyn’s words about deceiving everyone.
Restl
essly, I plucked a slender volume from the shelf and flipped through the pages. A book about etiquette at morning tea parties. I put it back and moved on, trailing my fingers down the leather spines.
A History of the Ancients caught my attention. I halted and dragged the heavy book out. In my excitement, I dropped it. A plume of dust shot into my face and made me cough.
“Is someone here?”
The voice startled me. I gathered up the book and pressed it to my chest so the title wasn’t visible, even though what I was doing would hardly be apparent to anyone else.
“Hello?” It was my sister’s voice.
“Laimila?”
She appeared around one of the shelves. Her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for reading material.” I nodded at the book in my arms. “What are you doing here?”
“This is the place I come to be alone,” she said, and her voice betrayed her annoyance at having her sanctuary violated.
This was the first opportunity we’d had since I’d returned home to speak privately. Eager words crowded my tongue. “Laimila—”
“I’d appreciate it if I could continue that,” she said coldly.
“If you would just listen—”
“I thought we were sisters. Real sisters. I was wrong. I’d like you to leave.”
The words hit me like a slap. Hurt burned through me, and I opened my mouth to say something in response, but she was already walking away.
“Wait,” I said. “Wait!”
She didn’t stop, so I followed her through the maze of shelves, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face me.
“I’m sorry, and I messed up. But this family is a labyrinth of contradictions, and I don’t know who to trust or how to act.”
“Don’t worry,” Laimila snapped back. “You’re a Graywater, and you’re doing just fine acting like one.”
“What do you want from me?” My voice rose. “My life is in danger.”
“Maybe you could have trusted me.”
“If our situations were reversed, is that what you’d have done?” I demanded.
She was silent, her eyes bright with unshed tears, her chest rising and falling. “No,” she admitted.
I dropped her arm.
“And maybe you were right not to. Maybe we were stupid to think it could be otherwise.” Again, she turned to go.
“Laimila!”
She shook her head and kept walking, vanishing behind a line of shelves.
~ ~ ~
Back in my room, I poured through the book, looking for any mentions of Trulliman or his weapons of the Cataclysm as I tried to distract myself from my sister’s words and the way they made me ache inside. The passages mostly dealt with matters of economics and trade, and I skimmed them, murmuring the unfamiliar words to myself.
What was I searching for anyway? Something that might trip the memories Valus claimed were lurking in the recesses of my mind? Proof that they existed, or that they didn’t?
The chimes in the hall sounded again. Dinner was near. I rose to find a dress my mother wouldn’t scowl at, leaving the book on the bed. It looked naked there, and I looked around for a place where I could conceal it. My eye landed on the glass city by the window, and I threw back the cloth that covered the little spires and towers. I could leave the book underneath—
The light from the windows hit the towers, causing a prism of glittering sparks to erupt across my vision. I felt dizzy as a memory came rushing over me. I’d seen this before. Not just the toy city, but also this fall of light, this glitter of color bouncing off at just that angle. I stretched out my hand, and the reflection of the colors painted my arms. Words.
They made words.
I stepped back so the light was on the floor. My heart dropped like a stone as I looked at it.
Perilous.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ASTONISHMENT STRANGLED ME as I staggered back, staring.
I didn’t understand.
The memory was still there, persistent. My father’s face bending over mine. His mouth forming words. Behind him, a familiar-looking woman lingered anxiously, twisting her hands as he asked me questions. The toy city in the corner, glittering behind them both. Tears on my cheeks, my stomach knotted with fear as I shook my head.
I’d known something. Something my father was frightened about. Frantic about.
And the woman... I gasped as I realized the truth.
My mother. My mother in the Village of the Rocks.
It was she in the memory.
I couldn’t remember anything else. Shaking, I returned to the city and examined it again. The towers and spires formed the basis for the word, and all it required was the right fall of light, the correct angle to reveal it.
What did this mean?
What had the Dron woman said?
Are you familiar with the name Perilous?
My hands trembled as I shoved the book beneath the city and covered it again with the cloth. I noted the time that the light had come just right through the window. I needed to show Tallyn.
Was Perilous the answer to this?
Pulling stationary from the desk beside my bed, I scribbled a cryptic note to my grandmother and sealed it. I rang for a servant and sank onto the bed.
This changed everything.
~ ~ ~
I arrived to dinner silent and shaken, my mind still on Perilous. I murmured greetings to the others as I sank into my chair. I was late, but I didn’t apologize.
My mother marked my arrival with a lifted brow and no comment.
The servants brought plates of green seaweed with something orange and egg-like nestled in the middle. I poked at it with my fork, and the orange thing tried to crawl away. I put my fork down and sipped from my glass. Everything seemed dreamlike in the wake of the events of the day.
“We’re going to be celebrating Aemiana’s safe return tomorrow evening with a small, tasteful gala,” she said. “Invitations go out tonight. You are all, of course, invited as well, as guests in our home.”
Garren scowled at this announcement. Olis was unreadable. Nol, the bridge of his nose still a little red, also had no reaction. Everyone picked at his or her food. Garren used his fork to spear his orange glob, which was trying to climb off the plate. He held it aloft and squinted at it.
Valus, on the other hand, paled. Undoubtedly, dozens of attendees would know who he was on sight.
“A gala so soon, after all that’s happened?” Laimila asked.
“We must show that our spirits cannot be diminished by this war and bloodshed,” my mother replied.
I suffered through dinner while my mother made barbed small talk, Garren chased his dinner around his plate, and Valus gave me glances that probably meant he was going to corner me later and demand explanations.
The meal ended with a shockingly spicy crème tart dessert that contained what appeared to be tentacles. I excused myself immediately once the plates were cleared away, but Valus was right behind me. He shadowed me through the halls and cornered me outside my chamber door by bracing an arm on either side of my head.
“Why is your mother throwing a gala?” he demanded.
“If you’re afraid you’ll be recognized and imprisoned, then don’t attend,” I said, ducking beneath his arm and moving to open the door. I had no patience for his games, not tonight.
He blocked me with his arm again.
I turned slowly. His face was inches from mine, and I could feel the heat of his breath and smell the spice of the crème tart he’d eaten. “Is this your doing? Are you trying to expose me?”
“I’m not trying to expose you, Valus.”
“Dorian,” he reminded me with a scowl.
“If the things you said are correct—” I winced, because my memories suggested they were. “—then we need you. I’m not going to endanger that.”
He stared into my face for a span of several seconds. I gazed back steadily.
“I trust you,”
he said. “But only you. Not the rest of them.”
“Is anything the matter?”
We both turned to see Nol striding toward us. Valus straightened but didn’t back away. He flashed Nol a cool smile.
“Perfectly fine.”
“Aemi?” Nol looked at me.
I forced a smile. “Dorian and I were just discussing the gala tomorrow.”
Nol’s gaze sharpened. “Ah.”
“I don’t know if he’s going to be able to make it,” I continued, and Valus nodded.
“A pity,” Nol said, not looking remotely sad. He crossed his arms and didn’t move.
Valus hesitated a moment and then stepped away from me. He strolled past Nol for the stairs that led toward the guest chambers without looking back.
Nol frowned. “There’s something between him and you. You two know each other?”
“Not something I can talk about right now,” I said.
He looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t.
My gaze dropped to his nose. “How’s the injury?”
Nol’s mouth twitched with amusement. “Garren wanted to declare war, as expected, even though he doesn’t like me. I told him you might do the same to him if he wasn’t careful.”
I cautiously returned his smile.
“You should know better than to underestimate me,” I said. “I’m not just a scrappy slave girl anymore.”
“You’re not,” Nol agreed, taking a step toward me. “But then, you never were.”
He lowered his head, and I inhaled.
A movement came from the edge of my vision, and I spun in time to see a figure dressed in black charging at me with a knife in hand. I dropped to a crouch, my training with Tallyn taking over as my brain snapped into a place of shock. Nol shouted at me, but I couldn’t hear the words through the buzzing in my head. The figure swung, the knife gleaming, and I dodged left. The knife swiped past my ear.
I didn’t try to fight. I didn’t attempt heroics. I ran.
My feet slapped loudly against the marble floor as I rounded the corner. Valus was halfway up the staircase, and he turned to see me coming at a full sprint. The smirk that crossed his face died as he looked beyond me, and then he was running too, toward me, shouting something.
For Wreck and Remnant Page 14