I turn abruptly at the sound of footsteps behind me. I exhale the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as Orion, Adrian, and another Elite shows up.
Where is Zeke? I could use his humor right about now?
Then, it hits me.
He and the rest left early this morning to gather more intel on the rogues.
I sigh heavily. Malik’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “Search the room. Look for anything that tells us who did it.”
Adrian and the other Elite head inside while Orion holds back. He stares me down, expression unreadable. I shudder. With one last long look, he follows the others inside.
I don’t know how long we wait in the hall before I manage to work up the nerve to talk. “You know how I told you about the presence in the infirmary?” I wait for his nod before continuing, his expression suspicious. My voice wavers slightly. “Well, it happened two other times after that.”
Malik’s eyes narrow and fury radiates from his unnaturally still frame. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice is calm, collected.
It’s terrifying.
I look down, nervous. “You didn’t believe me the first time so I didn’t bother mentioning it again.” A low growl echoes down the empty hall.
“When did it happen again Alanna?”
“When we were in the infirmary.” I mumble.
“I know that. What days?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Damn it.” I snap my head up at the pure rage in his voice.
My eyes widen. “Why does it matter when?” I almost didn’t ask, not wanting to upset the beast any further.
“It matters,” He starts, attempting to control himself. “Because if we know what day and who was on guard that night, we might notice a correlation. It would tell us more than what we have now, which is nothing. If the same person was on guard each time it happened, then that right there is a red flag.”
“I’m sorry” If only I had said something. Or at least remembered the days it happened. Now, it’s useless.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.” He gives me a long look.
A thought hits me. “What makes you think it was a guard?”
“I’m not certain it’s a guard. It was simply a place to start.” Malik pushes his hair back. “But you aren’t safe in the dorms. We’ll move you to the guest room at Abel’s.”
I gape. “What? No. I can’t do that.” There’s no way I can move in there. Especially not with Malik rooming there too.
The look he gives me books no room for argument. His tone stressing the same. “You can and you will.”
*******
I stretch awake. The new bed is so comfortable, it feels like a cloud. The bed posts are made from dark, thick wood beams on each of the four corners. Dark blue drapes hang off the edge, effectively keeping the sun out once drawn shut. This mattress really is on another level.
In fact, the entire room is on another level. The guest room in Abel’s home is beautiful, unlike anything I have ever seen before. The lavish room is accented in shades of blue and white, more blues that I ever knew existed. Dark wood floors and walls are sparsely decorated with paintings, tapestries, and metal ornaments of some kind.
A large window on the adjacent wall of the bed is framed with the most beautiful while and blue curtains. The way the sun shines through the nearly see through curtain envelope the room in warmth. The window overlooks the dense greenery along the borders of Craforian. A soft cushioned seat sits just underneath, allowing me to gaze out.
The door leaving the bedroom is directly across from the large window, allowing the view outside to be on of your first sights when entering.
To the right of the bed sits a hard-carved wooden end table. A matching dresser sits on the opposite wall, directly across the bed. The large walk in wardrobe is to the right of the dresser while the lavish bathroom is on the right. The wardrobe sits empty, just waiting to be filled. The bathroom is home to a large tub atop dark wood floors. A large mirror stands over the sink.
I survey the room once more, in awe. To think, this will be my room. It’s amazing. If only my stay here wasn’t a result of that incident eight nights ago.
I shake the surfacing memory off and stand. Even though it’s already been nine days since I moved in here, I can still say I’m still not used to Abel’s home. It’s such a rich and luxurious room and I’m used to rooms that simply… aren’t.
I move to the window and look out, a new ritual I’ve adopted since the start of my stay. It’s the day before we leave for the festival and I’m anxious to go.
I push away from the window and get ready. A new pair of leathers sit at the foot of the bed, something I didn’t notice until now. It’s getting colder and colder out; just a couple days ago, my breath started to fog up when I exhaled. The thicker leathers have been become my permanent attire these days.
I ready the bath for a soak since it’s not a training day. Instead, today is all about preparation for the festival tomorrow. As I slip into the tub, I think back.
It’s been a flurry of activity in the last week and a half. Preparations have been underway for the festival coming up. Despite my initial reservation about the festival, I haven’t had much time to dwell over anything. Training has been far more intense than usual. We’ve been working nonstop on the weapon manifestation and physical weapon use. It’s safe to say my efficiency at using a bow and dagger has improved.
We also touched on the standard Firvo, Mindula, and Elestal practice. However, those sessions only lasted an hour or two every day. Priority went to other things.
I was finally able to manifest my weapon. It’s almost identical to the daggers from the manor, just less detailed than on the actual weapons. I still recall the feelings that overcame me during that first successful manifestation.
My frustration just keeps building up. I’m getting irritated at my lack of success with the manifestation. Ironically, that’s just how I feel about my wings too. I still haven’t managed to hide the damn things from prying eyes.
I push the thoughts away and focus on the task at hand.
I push all the energy I have into my palm. Like an idiot, I had only realized yesterday that I needed to envision the weapon in my hand. Otherwise it just makes my life more difficult. After all, you can’t have a floating blade, can you?
Adrian sits across from me, flames dancing along his palms. He’d grown bored hours ago. Even Malik and Zeke had gotten bored and moved off to the side to talk. Malik leans against the wall, arms crossed.
I shake my head and focus.
I keep pushing more energy until flickers of silver spark to life. I focus on the flashes and push more energy at them. Soon the flickers grow more frequent and last longer. In a blink of an eye, the flashes of silver seem to double. I stare in fascination as the silver strands gradually encompass my palm.
Next thing I know I have a silver dagger with swirling wisps of energy grasped in my hand.
I stare wide eyed at the perfectly formed weapon in my grip. The swirls of energy are beautiful and mesmerizing. I grip the blade tight. It feels right in my hands, like an extension of myself. It reminds me so much of the wings attached to my back. There’s an almost overwhelming sense of strength and power I now feel.
I feel invincible.
That was the moment I realized that weapon was very much an extension of me, one I created.
I carried that frame of mind over to my wings in my attempt to hide them from others. It was every bit as difficult as I had anticipated, but I made progress. I managed to hide small sections of my wing, the silver energy flickering out of sight. But, it was never the whole thing, and it never disappeared for long.
After I manifested the dagger, Malik and Zeke had raced over. All three talnarins were staring wide eyed at my success. Their expression managed to draw a small smile out of me.
Unfortunately, the smile slipped off my face a few seconds later as the dagger dematerialized.
<
br /> Oh Hellvian.
Chapter 25
Unwilling to give up, I followed up with more practice. I focused on keeping the energy materialized for longer periods of time, and now I can keep my weapons manifested for roughly thirty minutes. It definitely got easier once I got the hang of it.
I can feel myself growing stronger.
I have more control than I did a month ago, and I feel like I’m strong enough to take Him down. With this climb in power comes the climb in desire to see His head on a platter. My desire to end Him only grows as the days pass.
If only I knew where to find Him.
I also started practicing with the rest of Malik’s men. That was when I officially met the rest of Clan Elites, Drako and Mikhail. Malik’s reasoning behind this meeting was simple: I’ll be working with the Elites during my hunt for rogues, and we need to move like a team to succeed.
I got to know the Elites and their fighting styles a little better. While we never practiced all at once, it gave me enough exposure to adjust my style to theirs. Malik, of course, was always present, and usually joined by two or three Elites. I was also allowed to watch their practice matches between each other.
Seeing them interact was amazing. They moved together as a single unit, a single person.
It’s enviable how seamlessly these Elites coexist with each other. Clearly, they’ve all been together for a very long time.
During lunches, I ate in the arena with them too. They all chatted and laughed over gods know what while I sat some paces away, observing from the corner of my eye.
I was never good at socializing, especially with people already in groups. And this group is as close as they get. A part of me feels like an invader. It’s not as if I feel unwelcome really, just uncomfortable when all the Elites are around.
One Elite unsettled me more than the others, though. Something about Orion made me uncomfortable, weary. The way he was always there, always staring, always silently judging or assessing me was unnerving. Hostility rolled off him in waves during training.
I just don’t know if it was directed at me.
Other than him, the other Elites were kind, for the most part. They were gone most days too, in groups of twos or threes. Zeke was gone the most. They were searching for more intel on the rogues. Since I told Malik I wanted to join, he’s been telling me bits and pieces about what’s going on, keeping me in the loop.
It makes me feel like I belong, like I’m a part of the group too.
Aside from practice with Malik and his men, I spent time with Elaine during my breaks. We talked about small and insignificant things, but it was fun. We never once drudged up the gritty stuff after our talk in the kitchen a few weeks ago. We kept things light and happy. I even worked up the nerve to ask her if we were friends. She simply laughed and said, “Of course.”
That was a good day.
When I wasn’t training, I was in the library reading anything I could get my hands on. Sometimes Benjamin was there. He would step away from whatever he was working on to teach me. It was just like old times. His explanations are always easy to follow and entertaining.
The only talnarins I didn’t see during this time were Erik and Abel. According to Malik, Abel had some business to attend to in the capital before the festivities began. Turns out he’s important outside Craforian, too.
Erik, on the other hand, was out of Craforian a lot but Malik wouldn’t explain where he was or why he was gone. I didn’t push. After all, Malik was being generous in keeping me in the loop on most rogue related things.
I didn’t want to push my luck.
Chills skate up my body; I’ve been absorbed in my own memories, and the water has grown cold. I lift a hand up and gaze as my wrinkled fingers.
Oops.
I climb out and dress. Even if it’s not a training day, I can’t laze around all morning. There’s too much to do. Today, we prepare for Wilvidar.
I scurry out of the guestroom, taking a right down a short hallway and passing two other rooms: Malik’s and an empty bedroom. I was told Abel’s bedroom was upstairs to the left of the staircase.
The hallway empties into a kitchen larger than any I’ve ever seen. Dark wood cabinets wrap around the room, and there’s a refrigerator and sink on one side of the kitchen. I’m glad Malik gave the go ahead to use this kitchen; it’s always stocked with the best foods. A large table that seats ten is situated on the far side and it’s currently occupied.
At my arrival, Malik glances up from his paperwork. “Alanna,” he says in way of a greeting.
“Malik.”
He sets the paperwork on the table and leans back. “Sit down. There’s something we need to discuss.”
I bristle at command but sit anyway. “What?” I grumble, arms crossed like a petulant child.
He smirks. “Tomorrow is the start of Wilvidar. Are you certain you wish to go?”
Am I supposed to say no? It feels like a trick question. “Yes.”
“Very well. You will stick to Elaine, Erik, and Benjamin during the festivities. Do you understand?”
My lips turn down in the corner. “Why?”
I don’t need a babysitter.
He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. In that moment, the resemblance between him and Abel is overwhelming. “Because this is your first event with a large group of talnarins. Not all will be as… tolerant of your physical differences as we’ve been here at Craforian.”
My head drops at the reminder. I’m still a freak in their eyes. They’ve merely gotten used to seeing it.
Malik’s expression softens. “I can’t anticipate their actions but staying with Elaine and the others will ensure your safety regardless.”
“You think they will attack me.” I don’t word it as a question because that’s exactly what Malik is implying. I thought today would go well for me. Instead, Malik’s reminded me of the depressing reality of the outside world: I’m an oddity, even among talnarins, and it hurts more than I care to admit.
“I don’t know, but I won’t risk it.” Even Malik looks solemn for once.
I huff, frustrated about having babysitters.
“Why can’t I just stick with you and the Elites instead?”
His expression closes off instantly. “We won’t be there.” His words are short and clipped, booking no room for argument or comment of any sort.
But what do I do? I comment anyway. “But Abel said everyone will be attending.”
His expression remains guarded. “Urgent business came up.”
“What? Is it the rogues?” I wait for a response but get nothing. Impatient, I push harder. “You promised to keep me in the loop, Malik.”
“It’s not them.” His voice is hard, implying he won’t say anymore.
“Well, what is it? Can I help?”
“No.” Malik narrows his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Just stick with them, understand?”
I nod, defeated. I was hoping he’d learned to trust me, but he’s still keeping too many secrets. But... it was only a month ago I was still considered a threat. We’ve come a long way since then, and I shouldn’t push for more. It could backfire.
I sigh heavily, watching him walk away with that damn paperwork. I decide to get on with my day, and scarf down a quick breakfast before heading out the door to help with festival preparations. Elaine had told me to meet her in the arena whenever I got up, so I head there.
As I enter, I notice a handful of talnarins bundling weapons for transport. Two lines of capalts are coming from outside, and a couple of talnarins are shuffling the beasts in for an inspection of some sort. Two talnarins work on one beast, lifting legs and wings.
A tap on my shoulder has me whipping around. I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding at the sight of an amused Elaine. “Took you long enough to get here, Alanna. Did you get lost?” She laughs as my eyes narrow.
“I was getting my beauty sleep, thank you very much.” I bat my eyelashes, something I had seen o
ther village girls do in jest. “After all, you did say to take my time.”
“Well,” Elaine says between giggles, “You got me there.”
I look back to the beasts. “Where do they keep the beasts? I never see them in Craforian.”
She follows my line of sight. “There’s a stable for them on the other side of the compound.”
I glance at her in confusion. “Why would they be on the other side?” That doesn’t make any sense. That’s where the humans are and Benjamin told me it was against the rules to interact with them. So how do they get the beasts over here without interacting with the humans? I swear, sometimes the talnarins are confusing as shit.
“Oh.” She finally responds. “It’s just the way it worked out.” I give her a weird look as she fiddles with her clothes.
I decide to let it go. Things don’t always make the most sense in Craforian, and I’ve had to learn to drop some subjects. “Okay.” I manage to drag out the word, my reluctance obvious. I switch topics, the silence growing awkward. “These weapons are for the festival, right?”
Relief floods her face and she quickly says, “Yes. These weapons are going to be sold at the stall we’re setting up for Wilvidar. The weapons are made yearly so we always sell the never before seen weapons every year.” She pats me gently on the back. “Let’s get back to it then. Can you start wrapping the weapons in the cloth stacked to the side?” She points in the direction of the cloth. “We want to wrap them individually so they don’t get damaged while shifting during the ride.”
“Got it.” I walk off to complete my task. I realize I forgot to ask about how long I’d be working today, how many weapons I needed to wrap, and which weapons needed wrapping.
Oh well. I’ll figure it out. I grab what I need and get to work.
*******
Time passes exceptionally slowly. People are constantly coming and going, distracting me. I’m also growing frustrated with lack of progress I’m making. I’d thought wrapping weapons would be easy and quick. It isn’t.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
Just as I think to give up and ask Elaine, a talnarin sidles up alongside me, startling me. “Do you need help?” His voice is deep and husky. I’m caught off guard by how handsome he is, too. He’s lean and muscular with curly dirty blond hair reaches just under his pointed ears. His dark violet eyes mark him as an Mindula manipulator.
Spilt Secrets (A Talnarin Novel Book 2) Page 16