Dan scoffed.
“We spent a week within the Fold, outside the confines of the walls of Andir, and nothing. Not even a hint of danger,” Laurent offered.
“He has a point,” Aeden conceded.
Aeden had wondered about that himself. If it were so dangerous, why had nothing occurred?
It was Thea who provided the counter argument.
“The absence of something isn’t proof, that’s argument from ignorance!”
Adel wiped his mouth free of crumbs, “I thought that was a negative conclusion from affirmative premises.”
The lessons of logic and rhetoric Aeden learned under the Jal’s tutelage came to mind.
“I believe it to be an inductive fallacy, you are making a conclusion from a premise of little to no evidence,” Aeden said.
Thea looked at him with a hint of surprise and pride. Aeden masked a smile by looking down into his nearly empty cup of spiced tea.
Laurent opened his mouth to speak but said nothing. It was a rare moment when Laurent was shocked into silence, however fleeting.
Adel took another bite of his pastry.
“I think Aeden’s right,” Dan confirmed.
There was a lull that fell over the table as each mulled over their own thoughts. The lull carried the fractured weight of death. It whispered at the loss of the students at the University of Galdor. It hinted at the possibility of danger within the Fold.
For Aeden, it breathed the familiar tune of mangled bodies, broken trust, and the burden of revenge.
Just as the oily pool of incessant thought began to gather about Aeden, Adel spoke.
“I still don’t get you and Harmon,” Adel whispered.
Laurent rolled his eyes.
It was Thea who answered for him, as her foot secretly rubbed Aeden’s shin under the table. Why did she do that? It drove Aeden wild. It also banished his dark thoughts to a hidden corner within his mind.
“Laurent’s from Mende…” she started.
“Not to mention his father is Lord of Mende,” Dan interjected.
“Right,” Thea continued as if no interruption had occurred, “and as such, he was born and raised to hate those north of him. Those from Winter’s Bind.”
Adel’s brow wrinkled in confusion, before he began nodding.
“The Thousand Year War and all,” Dan cut back in, apologizing quickly to Thea.
“Because of the greatest love story or whatever,” Adel chimed in, remembering some of what he had learned in Oliver Fenn’s history class at the University of Galdor.
Thea merely nodded, her hand slipping under the table to grab Aeden’s thigh.
Aeden stood quite suddenly, caught off-guard by Thea’s advance. The conversation fell silent, and everyone around the table looked at him. Laurent seemed confused. Dan simply watched him with interest. Thea was openly smiling but pretended to be startled.
“I’m getting some more tea,” Aeden uttered in an attempt to save face.
“That was weird,” Dan said.
“He loves that tea,” Thea teased.
“Apparently,” Laurent said, thankful for the reprieve from history and his strange relationship with Harmon.
Aeden only glanced at them for a moment, before extricating himself from the two-person bench.
“Who’s testing next?” Laurent asked, ensuring the conversation went in a more comfortable direction, turning away from Aeden’s departure.
“I was hoping to,” Adel said, wiping his mouth.
Their voices faded as Aeden stepped away, moving to the back of the tavern. He passed the crackling fire, its warmth radiating outward in waves of heat. His mind, however, was elsewhere.
Aeden was remembering the previous night. He had been reading a book on intrinsic bindings when Thea had approached. She had passed one of the many dancing plants, growing in the stony alcove of a living column of botanical life.
The plant twitched long after she had passed and he had been worried the movement would draw attention. It hadn’t, the library was huge. It rested on multiple levels and was filled with passageways lined with books, framed by plant life. They were alone in their small corner of the athenaeum.
She had led him to a room where she had proceeded to tease him and taunt him until they finally succumbed to adolescent desire and fell upon each other in a heap of passion.
The thoughts faded and he simply stood near the kitchen for a moment, gathering himself.
“Getting some more tea?” Thea whispered as she approached, placing a hand on his lower back.
Aeden glanced back toward the table. No one was watching them.
“Skittish?”
“No,” Aeden replied lamely.
He didn’t want others to know they were back together. Somehow, he felt that keeping it quiet would reduce questions, reduce complexity, and secretly that it would reduce his feelings of guilt. Guilt that still clung to him whenever he thought of the archduchess, which, admittedly, was less and less frequently.
Thea pressed up against him for a moment. He fell still as his mind erupted into thought. Every nerve along his back came alive with the warmth of her body. He felt the soft, yielding pressure of her figure. Upon his neck, the hot touch of her breath stirred Aeden to excitement.
“Get me a tea too,” she whispered by his ear.
Thea glanced back at the table. She saw no one was watching and spanked Aeden, before wandering back to the group.
Aeden watched her for a moment, a lump of desire swelling in his throat, as his blood pumped heavily about his taut body. He took in a calming breath, slightly upset at how easily she could manipulate him, before catching sight of the serving girl.
“One more spiced tea,” he requested, having already forgotten Thea’s request.
The girl nodded politely, touching a fingertip to her lip, as was customary in this part of the Fold. Aeden watched as she moved back to the kitchen. He remained rooted to the spot, gathering himself, before working his way to the table.
As he approached, it was Adel’s voice that found him first.
“Next week, I think,” Adel said, looking intently at the group.
“Next week what?” Aeden asked, taking his seat.
He was still mildly distracted. Images of the previous night combined with Thea’s recent touch. The yielding warmth of her breasts exploded in his mind, as naked skin was cast under the soft glow of a distant, flickering candle.
“Get lost over there?” Dan asked, referring to Aeden’s prolonged absence.
“I think he likes the serving girl,” Thea stated hotly.
“I don’t,” Aeden replied quickly.
“She’s cute,” Adel stated almost simultaneously, before catching himself and falling silent.
All eyes turned back to him. He rarely spoke of women, so when he did, it was something of interest.
“You like the serving wench?” Laurent mused aloud.
“Not as much as you like Oria,” Adel countered, his face flushing red.
Laurent put up his hands defensively, “I merely was commenting on whether Oria was hot or not, it’s hard to tell.”
Dan was now nodding in agreement, “Yup, hard to tell.”
“One day she’s made up and lovely as all hell,” Laurent said, “and the next, she looks tired and stressed, and not quite so lovely.”
Thea was shaking her head, “You guys are dogs.”
“Better a dog than a cat,” Laurent replied.
Thea kicked Aeden under the table, attempting to illicit support.
Aeden had only been partially following the conversation. His mind felt languid in its response.
“Cats can be nice,” Aeden replied lamely.
Laurent spit up some tea. Dan simply stared at him for a moment as if he had just sprouted a third eye.
“And I like bench,” Laurent retorted with an open-mouthed smile.
Aeden turned at the approach of footsteps, saving himself from further ridicule. It was the se
rving girl, carrying his mug of spiced tea. Wisps of steam curled out of the opening, bringing scents of nutmeg and cinnamon.
“Where’s mine?” Thea asked.
Aeden turned a touch red, looking from the server to Thea.
“One more please,” Aeden whispered, pushing his cup toward Thea.
The server merely nodded.
“How do you feel about students from the Tower of the Arkein?” Laurent asked the server as she turned to fetch another spiced tea.
Adel’s face turned a darker shade of red as he tried to look anywhere but her eyes.
“It depends,” the server said playfully with the strange accent of Andir, “Who’s asking?”
Laurent opened his mouth to speak, but Thea kicked him under the table.
“No one here,” Thea replied.
“As the sages wish,” the server smiled briefly and walked off.
“Why’d you kick me?” Laurent asked, hurt, “and what in the hells does, ‘as the sages wish’ mean?”
Thea didn’t respond. Instead she glanced at Adel, her mouth forming a thin line.
“What were you saying about next week?” Aeden asked again, this time in an effort to guide the direction of the conversation away from Adel and from his own weak attempt at defending Thea.
Adel nodded subtly, as if trying to remember their previous conversation. His eyes flicked once to the retreating form of the server girl, before turning to Aeden.
“We’re supposed to get news of Verold,” Adel said.
“Apparently,” Laurent blurted out, “Once every three months, word from the outside world is relayed to all the students.”
“It’s supposed to be a big deal,” Dan said, “We all gather at the Chamber of Light, awaiting what’s new in Heorte and abroad.”
Aeden merely nodded. It made sense.
Many of the students had asked them questions when they had first joined the novus class. Aeden, however, wasn’t the most forthcoming with answers. The loss of John, the headmaster, and the death of hundreds of students, were still fresh wounds. Wounds that rested heavily in his heart as a glaring reminder of his weakness.
It was a reminder of his inability to protect those he cared about. A reminder of the Thane Sagan that still resided in purgatory, awaiting revenge.
The conversation resumed about the table.
Aeden hardly noticed. His dark thoughts clouded the rest of the day. They formed into a thunderhead of lingering doubts about the hidden shape of the future.
Chapter 18
“Hidden bindings are most often glimpsed by those with the Sight.” Intrinsic Bindings and Their Principles – Tower of the Arkein
That night Aeden had difficulty sleeping. He tossed in bed as dreams plagued his sleep. They lingered about him like a rancid oil, blurring the line between past and reality. Images of his father, Thomas, Alina Cynesige, Dannon, and the rest of those from his village, coalesced in a soupy vexation of illusion and torment.
He awoke early in a sweat. The room was still dark, cast in the soft hues of a violet sky. The sounds of others sleeping, drifted languidly to his ear, reminding him of where he was. He lay within Bellas Tower deep within the Fold.
There were a half-dozen beds arranged in two staggered rows. Aeden’s bed was toward one end.
He slowly sat up, rubbing absentmindedly at his eyes. He felt lethargic.
Aeden took in a slow breath and placed his feet onto the stone floor. It was cool to the touch, like a Vintas kiss. Gathering his thoughts, Aeden dressed and slipped out of the bijenna dormitory. He made his way to one of the spiraling staircases and worked his way to the ground floor.
Aeden moved quietly through the empty dining area and out one of the doors into the crisp, Andir morning. He glanced back. Bellas Tower was but a sliver before the gargantuan Tower of the Arkein.
The sight still sent shivers down his spine.
The deep velvet sky cast the scene in mauve hues as if the gods had spilt a dark wine from the heavens. Without another backwards glance, he made his way to the adjacent gardens.
A cool mist greeted him, slowly dissipating at the sight of the rising sun. The green needles of forest pine appeared dark in the wane light. Neatly trimmed hedges formed shadowed pathways, and kalon flowers, with their vibrant faces, tracked the light of the moon.
Aeden cast one last look at the purple sky before he closed his eyes, settling his thoughts. He cleared his mind, slipping into the quiet awareness that was atori.
Without preamble Aeden began his breathing exercises and the slow-moving forms of the gevecht. As blood flowed to his joints, he transitioned to the next set of forms.
A gentle breeze swept through the gardens. Aeden too swept across the grasses and stone-strewn paths. He became the wind. His footwork was light and fluid. His breath was one with the prevailing mist.
As Aeden’s body warmed, he entered the next phase of movements, rapid and powerful. He exploded forward in a series of strikes, cutting short and sharp angles, in an avalanche of momentum. His body was quick as a striking viper, as yielding as a still body of water, and as powerful as an enraged shroud cat.
Finally, he slowed for the final set of forms, cooling down.
Soft clapping drew him out of his focused exercises and to his immediate surroundings. He fumbled a movement and dropped his hands. His mind was torn from the gentle state of atori and thrust back into the tumultuous current of effervescent thought.
He caught sight of Thea. Her eyes were bright with amusement.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she approached.
Aeden forced a smile. He had shared so much with Thea, yet he still clung desperately to the spiritual solidarity of being. Her presence, both desirous and warm, was also a distraction from routine.
“What is it?” Thea asked, curiosity was in her tone, yet her face was a serious mask of concern and interest.
Her question probed at him. Part of him wanted to share his past. Tell her of the atrocity of the black-winged creature that had reigned death and fire from the sky. Tell her of his persistent nightmares.
The blackened images descended heavily upon him. The weight of remembered debt to those who’d burned in S’Vothe, anchored him to the past. They were the vivid effigy of recent dreams, casting shadow over his heart, and reminding him of his unyielding duty of revenge.
“It’s nothing,” Aeden replied, “just simple exercises.”
Thea’s eyes narrowed slightly. She stood there for a moment, taking him in. Thea knew part of the burden he carried. After a moment’s thought, her compassion trumped ego.
“Are you excited?” she asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
“At the sight of you?” Aeden replied, “Yes.”
She hit him playfully in the arm, the smile becoming genuine for a moment, “No, I meant for the practical defense classes and more importantly, for starting bijenna.”
Aeden nodded as he looked across the garden. The first glimmer of the sun’s reaching light peeked through the dissipating mist. It highlighted the violet-blue flowers of the wisteria trees and reflected off the broad leaves of the colossal blue hosta.
Aeden reached out for Thea’s hand. Thea looked up, the smile gone from her lips. She grasped his thick hand, interlocking her fingers with his.
“It’s nearly time,” Aeden said.
“For what?” Thea questioned as she was led across the garden.
“You’ll see,” he replied.
The twosome cut across the carefully trimmed trees, bushes, and flowering plants that rested within the shadow of the two spires, Bellas Tower and the Tower of the Arkein. They passed under a stone archway, covered in kalon vines, which now turned their flowering faces away from the impending sunrise.
Aeden led Thea up a set of stairs, onto the city wall that surrounded Andir and the gardens. He positioned her near a small alcove, and wrapped his arms around her, providing a modicum of warmth. Thea leaned her head against his shoulder, as th
e sun broke free of gloaming’s grasp and cast thin rays of golden light across the landscape.
Thea felt safe within his strong embrace. It was like finding home after a long and exhausting ordeal. She sighed and Aeden smiled.
“There,” Aeden whispered, pointing across the valley.
Thea leaned forward and placed a hand to shield her eyes.
“There what?” she asked, “What am I looking for?”
Aeden’s smile widened. He didn’t say anything at first. He simply enjoyed the moment. The feel of Thea pressed against him. The faint warmth of the sun’s light and the cool touch of the receding fog.
“See where the edge of light touches upon that part of Skadoian Valley?” Aeden said, pointing toward the breadth of the expansive gorge.
Thea nodded.
“Look carefully,” Aeden whispered.
Thea continued to look into the carpet of trees, waiting for the fingers of fog to curl back under the glare of the rising sun. There, in the distance, she saw an unnatural pattern of lines amidst the greenery.
Her brow furrowed as she struggled with the shape of the unfolding scene.
“A labyrinth?” Thea asked.
“A labyrinth,” Aeden echoed in agreement, a goofy grin painting his features, “One I’d like to explore.”
Thea fell silent and looked at him. She didn’t appear to share his exuberance.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing some of her hair from his chin.
She shook her head.
Aeden tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked again.
“Tell me,” he pleaded, “please.”
“I had a nightmare,” she whispered, looking back at the expansive valley, “It was about home, about my father.”
Aeden nodded encouragingly. Coaxing anything about her past had been as hard as finding information on the draccus fiend. She talked little about her history, just as he never mentioned his. It was the shared pain of suppressed memories that partially fueled their relationship.
That’s not to say there hadn’t been a few shared moments. One time, Thea had told him of how she had lost her family in Gemynd. Recently, Aeden had shared some of his past as they soaked in the warm waters of the bathhouse.
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