by Kara Jaynes
If only they knew.
Glacia came out from behind the curtain, and walked over to stand beside me. I glanced at her a moment before watching the garden again. She was clad in a gray colored gown, and she was silent as she gazed down at the silent landscape before us. I handed her the small parcel I still held. “Here. Your birthday present.” A pause. “Happy birthday.” I smiled weakly. Such a silly thing to say, after all that’d happen to her, today.
Glacia beamed at me, and then carefully unwrapped the gift, setting aside the paper and string. “Thank you for remembering.” The silence that followed was uncomfortable. I was the only one who ever remembered her birthday. Until today, anyway.
The package contained a headband, with glittering bits of glass sewn into it. I couldn’t afford real diamonds.
She stared at it silently.
“It’s sparkly,” I said, feeling foolish. Did she hate it? “You usually wear such simple clothing—which is fine—but I thought you might like something that caught the light. It’s just when I saw it . . . it made me think of you.” It all sounded so idiotic now, especially since the dress she wore earlier was studded with actual diamonds.
“I love it.” Glacia carefully slipped it on, the band resting in her hair. She smiled up at me, her eyes luminous in the fading light. “I’ll treasure it forever.”
I stared back, swallowed up in her gaze. Magic have mercy, she was beautiful.
Glacia’s smile faded and she looked away, breaking the short silence. I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose.
“I won’t be here after today,” she said quietly. “Father and Mother want me to move down to the lower halls. To adjust to my new life.”
I nodded, trying to stop the smoldering anger that stirred in my gut, threatening to spread to the rest of me.
“It won’t have windows,” she went on. “It’s underground. So, if you never see me again—” Glacia choked on her words, “just know that I’ll never forget you.”
Before I scarcely knew what was happening, I’d crushed Glacia in a tight embrace, and buried my face in her shoulder. She felt so fragile, like a shard of ice, threatening to shatter in a sudden burst of sunlight. The scent of floral soap was stronger, and I trembled, heat spreading throughout my body. “I’d never forget you, Glacia. Never.”
“I’ll see if I can convince them to let me stay here,” Glacia whimpered. “What if I can’t get out? What if I never see the sun again?” Her frame shuddered.
“Be strong, Glacia,” I whispered. “I will come for you. I promise.”
We stood there in silence for several minutes. Neither of us wanted to break the comforting quiet, the human contact. But I needed to get back. I’d already been gone for too long.
With a sigh, I released her and stepped away. Taking her hand, I guided her over to her bed. She crawled under the covers and settled down, her legs drawn up to her chest. I pulled the blanket up to her chin, stroking stray golden locks of hair off her face.
“Goodbye, Silvan,” Glacia said, her voice small.
“Goodbye.” I smiled at her in what I hoped was a reassuring manner and climbed through the window. “Remember my promise. I will come for you.”
I climbed into the branches and down the tree. My feet hit the stone, and I crossed the garden and up the wall.
Hitting the ground, I paused, ears straining. I’d thought I’d heard something, the sound of feet on stone. I waited for what felt like an eternity.
Nothing. Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk home in the hazy summer twilight, leaving my heart behind me.
11
Glacia
It was two weeks after my birthday. Father was true to his word and had me moved to the lower levels. There, I quit my studies in history and mathematics and began the studies of behaving like a lady. I was trained how to walk, how to sit, to hold my head erect, and to speak softly.
I bore it all as best I could. I got to see Mother and Father quite often now. It was a surreal feeling. For years I had craved their presence, their affection, and now that I had their attention, I felt . . . nothing.
I had several servants assigned to me; Outsiders who were lucky enough to come into our safe halls. They devoted themselves to making sure I was properly fed, dressed and taken care of. I felt like a glass doll, and one false step would see me shattered.
It was right before the noon meal, and I would have heaved a sigh of exasperation if my dress had allowed it. All my dresses were extra-tight in the waist these days.
It was time for me to interact with some of the other Chosen, along with Mother and Father. I didn’t want to go. I was sick of this routine, sick of pretending I cared anything for these strangers. What would Silvan do in my situation? He’d probably engage them in meaningful conversation, and make everyone feel good about themselves, if his relationship with me was any indication of how he treated others.
I missed him. I hadn’t seen him since my birthday, and every day that passed without seeing him, my heart sunk a little further. Was he trying to find a new place for me to live? Was he too busy to look? Maybe he couldn’t find me.
Maybe he’d stopped caring.
I shook my head. No, I didn’t believe that. If there was one thing I was absolutely sure of, it was that Silvan cared for me. He truly valued me as a friend.
I bit my lip as I attempted to walk gracefully down the corridors that would take me to the dining hall. Just a friend. That knowledge hurt. Why? He’d always been my friend. When did I begin to hope that he might become more than that?
I entered the dining hall and took a seat next to my mother. She sat stiffly, only smiling briefly at me before turning her attention back to my father. They clearly loved each other, that much was certain. They seemed inseparable. When had they decided I wasn’t part of that equation? Why did they abandon me? What was I to them? Was I just a pawn in a game I didn’t understand? I clenched my teeth and waited for the meal to start.
“Ah, Lord Gerald,” my father said in a jovial voice. “Come sit, good man.”
Gerald sat down in the chair across from me, nodding politely to my parents. In this light, I saw his long hair was, in fact, a dark brown, rather than black, the sun casting a reddish tint to it. He caught me looking and smiled disarmingly. “How are you this morning, my little Crown?”
Little Crown. I liked it, actually. It sounded like something Silvan might call me. “I am doing well, thank you.” I wasn’t, not really, but a proper lady wouldn’t say anything else.
Gerald arched a dark eyebrow at me, as if he saw through the lie. “I suspect this is all very different from your life as a child.”
I smiled hesitantly, unsure of what I was supposed to say. Should I agree or disagree? A servant came gliding over with a tray of drinks, and I was spared a response. I took the goblet that was offered, sipping delicately.
“How was your visit to the Outside?” Mother asked Gerald, leaning forward a little, her expression earnest. I turned my gaze back to Gerald. I had no idea he had access to the Outside. If I married him, maybe I would, as well. If Silvan couldn’t get me out first.
Gerald swallowed a mouthful of his drink, choosing his words carefully. “It was as we expected,” he replied.
“That bad, huh?” Father said, his tone grim. “We will need to strengthen our walls. Continue to keep the rabble out.”
Gerald was quiet for a moment, frowning down at his still empty plate. “I think we should let them in,” he said suddenly. “We can only be made stronger with numbers.”
Father scoffed as he tucked into some roast chicken. “You are young, Gerald,” he said, wiping grease off his chin. “And inexperienced. But with time, you'll see. There is nothing we can gain from helping the riffraff. Or the magickers.”
But they have everything to gain. I read the response on Gerald's face, plain as day, and for a moment, I felt that I could almost like him. Except he wasn't Silvan.
Gerald spoke, but instead of fighti
ng my father on the matter, changed the subject instead. “There are more rumors,” he said. “Of the demons.”
“They can't have escaped,” Mother said, her voice like cold, chiming crystal. “They’re imprisoned. Aren’t they?” She cast a worried look at my father, and he placed his hand over hers. “Don't fret,” he said gently. “Even if they had, they wouldn't find us. It's been too long, dearest. The demons may not even exist, anymore.”
What were these demons? Where had they come from? I already knew their number. There were two. But why did they want to hurt us? I knew the answer to that, too. They were evil.
Father must have read the curiosity on my face because his eyes narrowed. “Enough talk on dark matters. Glacia isn’t ready for this.”
“She might never be,” my mother muttered, so quiet, Father and Gerald didn’t hear her. But I did. I glanced at her, my heart drooping when I saw her glowering down at her hands. “She could doom us all.”
I stared at her. What did she mean? Did she hate me? Had I done something to make her distrust me? I couldn’t remember. I was only sixteen, kept in isolation for most of my life.
Silvan sprang to my mind, and I clutched the table, fingernails digging into the cloth. Did she know about him? And if so, did she think our friendship was dangerous?
My mother and I were silent as we finished our meal. Father and Gerald both talked. I wanted to please my parents, but not if it meant abandoning Silvan. While Gerald seemed nice, I couldn't marry him. Perhaps I could grow to love him with time, but I didn't want to. I wanted Silvan, and the knowledge that I couldn't have him cut to my core.
More courses came around. The amount of food was staggering. The nonsensical talk in the room continued, a dull roar in my ears.
Dread began to trickle into my bones, rushing through my blood. This wasn't my world. I didn't belong here. I had to get out.
Silvan. I'd never gone this long without seeing him. Where was he? Why hadn't he found me?
Why hadn't my parents wanted me around until now? What had changed? Anger mixed with my dread and I pushed my chair away from the table and stood.
“Glacia?” Father asked, but I ignored him. I couldn’t breathe. I needed to get away. I staggered away and fled from the room, running down several halls that led me to my new rooms. Bursting through the door, I staggered into my bedroom, realizing no servants had come yet for the evening. But Silvan hadn’t found me yet, either. I was completely alone. I hugged myself around the waist as I dropped to the floor, disappointment pulling me to my knees.
All my life I had wanted my parents to love me, to even just acknowledge me, and now that they did notice me, I realized that what they offered—companionship, the crown, luxuries—weren’t anything I wanted. I didn’t want this strange new life. I wanted things to go back to the way they were. When I was a little nobody, loved by an Outsider.
I could only hope that my boy with the silver hair would remember, and someday come for me.
12
Silvan
I stood on the small path that would take me to the hidden stone halls of the Chosen, and to Glacia. Wherever she happened to be. I knew she definitely wasn’t in her old rooms. She’d been moved. But where, I hadn’t discovered yet. It’d been over two weeks since I’d last seen her. Between not knowing where she was, and my Elite schedule even fuller than usual, I was growing increasingly frustrated. I continued walking, knowing it would lead me to an empty garden.
I knew I shouldn’t be there. I was nervous that someone had followed me the last time. I would have been sure of it, except Master hadn’t confronted me. Surely, he would if he knew. But I’d been kept extremely busy, so this was the first time I’d been able to try and find her new rooms since her birthday.
I had been able to scout a couple of the villages in the foothills below the mountains. Taking Daiki with me those times helped throw anyone off the scent of my secret, I hoped. But the villages had been small and broken, the people distrustful of strangers. Glacia wouldn’t thrive there at all. I’d have to try something else.
I staggered at a shift in the air, a wave of evil washing over me. I tensed, breaking out in a sweat. I hadn’t sensed this vileness in a long, long time. The evil was still far away, miles from here, but close enough for me to feel it. It was coming fast. My body ached, screaming at me to shift, to rise and meet the danger. To do battle.
I shook my head, panting with the effort of not giving in to my instinctive ability. I needed to go home. Find Master. Stumbling, I turned around and bolted back toward the Elite, my heart pounding with exhilaration and terror. Master would know what to do.
I sprinted back the way I’d come, legs moving in time to the roar of blood pounding in my ears. Would Master believe me? He had to. This danger, this evil, was too real. We all lived in fear of it, letting it control our very lives.
I ignored my friends and peers as I hurtled through the stone hewn streets, until I stumbled through the door of Master’s home.
“Silvan?” Master stood from where he was sitting before a low table. Scrolls and pots of ink littered its surface. It was untidy, which was very unlike him. “What’s wrong?”
I leaned on the doorway, chest heaving. When I caught my breath, I gasped, “The demons. They’re approaching.” I shuddered. “Both of them. They escaped, somehow. We’re in danger if we stay here.”
Master stared at me, his eyes wide. “You can sense them, too?”
I nodded, a flicker of surprise going through me. I hadn't been aware that Master shared that ability. He could sense evil as well, it seemed.
Master smiled briefly. “Very good. That bodes well for our future.”
“What future?” I panted, gulping down air. I staggered into the room, alarmed by Master’s calmness.
“The future of this world. You have to know you’re special, Silvan, but I very much doubt you know how special.” He went back to his table, kneeling to rifle through the scrolls. “Do you know how the demons came into being?”
I shook my head. “No, Master, I do not.”
Master exhaled as he studied one of the papers, the ink faded. “So much knowledge has been lost,” he sighed, “so much of the world destroyed.”
I knelt beside him, ignoring my instinct to run back, to seek out the evil and fight. “What happened?”
“No one remembers who the demons were,” Master said, “but we know they were human, once. Mages they were, almost certainly.”
My ears perked up at the mention of mages. Magic was a fascinating subject. I didn’t understand people’s aversion and fear of it. Magic was life. “There’s nothing wrong with magic.”
“No, there is not,” my master agreed. “But there is something wrong when one lusts for power. These two mages lusted for it very much indeed. From the writings I’ve been able to find, they became . . . warped, in their war against each other. See, those who desire power, absolute power, are never content to share it. And so they delved into their study of magic, and perverted it, bending and shaping it to their dark will. From what I gather, the demons used to be humans, just like you and me. Once, a long time ago.” He frowned down at his papers. “Now, they are terrible, twisted beings, possessing terrible power.” He slammed a fist on the table, upsetting some inkpots. “Blast! Who released them? What sorry fool released them?”
I was silent for a moment, digesting this information. “I saw one,” I whispered. “When I was a child.” I could still remember its pull, the demon trying to corrupt my mind. I clenched my fists, trying to stop their sudden trembling.
Master’s gaze softened. “It wasn’t as powerful as what you’re about to face, but yes. It sensed your power and tried to claim it. But we were watching, and were able to save you just in time. The rest of your family wasn’t so fortunate.”
I stared at him, thunderstruck. “You knew my family?” I choked. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I knew at some point I must have had a father and a mother, but I remembered nothing about t
hem.
Master shook his head. “There is no time for that right now. I am sorry, Silvan. Know that you have the Mark of the Defender.” He reached out, his finger twining around a lock of my silver hair before releasing it. “Your power, your ability, is sacred. The Elite all have power like you, but none so strong, not the power of the Dragon. The Defender.” He hesitated a moment before speaking again, picking up his scrolls as he did so. “There’s a prophecy about you, Silvan; one that was written in the stars, long before your birth. Just as there are two demons that walk this earth, it has been said two will rise to meet the evil: a man . . . and a woman.”
I was shaking, unable to control the spasms that shuddered through my body. So much I didn’t know. I could feel the evil drawing closer. If I could sense the demons, did that mean they could sense me? So many questions, and not enough time. “Who is the woman?” I asked.
Master shook his head. “I don’t know. But I am absolutely certain you are the man the prophecy speaks of.” He stood, putting his scrolls away on a shelf. “When silver meets red, ice will fail and demons fall,” he recited. “That is what one of the passages read. You are the silver, I am certain of it. Dragonblessed.” He frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. “I do not know what the red means, but I suspect it is in reference to the woman. But who?”
The evil drew closer. I could feel its taint, pushing against my soul. “It is coming,” I whispered. The urge to battle was overwhelming.
“I feel it, too,” Master said. “Alert our brothers. It is time to fight.” He unsheathed his sword, a fierce light in his eyes. “You are strong, Silvan. Stronger than you comprehend. Despite not knowing where the woman in the prophecy is, if you combine forces with your brothers, we shall turn back this evil, even if it is just for a little while.”
I left his home, running through the streets as I shouted the warning, to my brothers, the Elite, warning them to prepare themselves.
Soon, it would be time to fight.