by Rosie Scott
I hadn't remembered making plans the previous night to meet her here, but then again, I couldn't remember much about the night before at all. The pain that permeated through my stomach reminded me that my coping techniques for dealing with my father were sorely due to be revised.
Nyx wiggled her eyebrows at me before making a crude gesture with both her hands about the night before.
Glancing back behind me, I saw Silas hadn't appeared in the stairway yet. “Nyx!” I hissed.
She shrugged, a grin on her face. “I figured maybe Silas had finally come to his senses,” she reasoned.
“He's allowed to have his opinions,” I mumbled. I wanted to leave it at that. Silas had been my bodyguard since just weeks after Nyx had been hired to assassinate me, so we had been inseparable for years. It was only inevitable that we would form a friendship, if not more. After a year or so of a very fulfilling romantic partnership, he had abruptly broke it off and asked to revert to the friendship we'd had. He was uncomfortable with our vastly different lifespans, so I guess he found it easier to cut things off with me than to love me and lose me in what would be a blink of an eye in his own life. His opinions on the matter didn't fully make sense to me, but he was entitled to them. I just didn't have to be happy about it.
“Okay, so you're allowed to have some wild fun on our adventures, then, right?” Nyx went on, pulling my thoughts onto other things. “We'll find you some fine looking man in some city far away, and we'll keep your identity a secret from him so he doesn't charge you extra for a night, eh?” Nyx patted me on the back. “One night, hot action, and you'll never have to see him again.”
“You think it's that easy, huh?” I asked. Who was I kidding? I knew she did. Nyx had never been in a relationship, but she'd had her taste of plenty of men from all sorts of races. The Alderi weren't known for being a monogamous race, and she was no exception.
“It's the oldest profession of them all, my friend, and a woman is entitled to partake in it.”
“True enough,” I replied with a sigh. I knew she was trying to get me to feel better, or to look forward to something. I simply didn't think doing something like that would make anything better for me.
Footsteps on the stairs alerted me to Silas, and he came over to us, oblivious to our previous conversation, his bow on his back. “Are we off to see Bjorn, then?” he asked.
“Ready,” Nyx replied, pulling her hood over her head to leave her face in shadow. “As long as I don't have to get close enough to the university that I start picking up on its stench.”
“Just to the barracks. He'll be training again today, until dusk,” I explained. I had always respected Nyx's wishes not to get too close to the university; within it, after all, were the dungeons in which she'd been imprisoned. And despite my father having released her years ago, he still abhorred her, and she returned the feeling with equal passion.
Nyx led us out the tavern door and into the cobblestone streets. We made our way through crowds of citizens and tourists alike, stopping only at a merchant selling whole turkey legs so Nyx could pick up a few with her incessant hunger.
“You want one?” She asked me as we left, holding out one of the drumsticks.
“Sure, thanks,” I replied, taking it from her. It smelled delicious and fresh. I knew not to ask Silas. Celdic elves, while not all strictly vegetarian, believed in certain rituals of respect when it came to hunting animals and eating their flesh. Silas did eat meat occasionally, but only if he had hunted the animal himself, and only if he knew he would use the entire carcass for materials and give it a proper death, as he called it, with a prayer of thanks and respect toward the animal that had given its life for a different being's consumption. I held great respect for Silas for such strongly held beliefs. I always had.
“You don't think Bjorn's going to have me kicked off the property, do you?” Nyx asked, just before tearing a piece of bird flesh from its bone. Years before, it had been Bjorn that had arrested her. In the time since, the two had never really seen one another. Bjorn's work kept him near the university, and Nyx was usually as far from it as she could be.
“No. Trust me—he's come around. I wouldn't be taking you there if I thought otherwise.”
The three of us slowly made our way uphill, the massive stone gate separating the Seran University grounds from the top tier of the city intimidating before us. Just beyond, the clangs of training weapons clashing and parrying echoed off the massive university walls. I kept my face at a downward tilt as we passed the gate and neared the training grounds. After my argument with my father the day before, I couldn't be sure he wasn't looking for me.
We hurried onto the training grounds and past the small stone wall that separated it from the university courtyard, my eyes on the lookout for Bjorn.
“Kai!”
I spun, finding Bjorn jogging toward me from a building I'd already passed.
“Where have you been, woman?” He asked, grabbing me into a bear hug. I melted in his embrace. I longed for the physical intimacy of others, and Bjorn was one of the rare people who'd ever given it to me. Perhaps my desire for it stemmed from the way my father had never shown it to me. He'd never hugged me or kissed me, even as a small child. The most he'd ever done was grab me on the wrist when he was impatient, and even then his touch had been cold.
Bjorn pulled away from me, his eyes glazed with moisture. It was the closest I had ever seen him be to tears. Glancing back at the university in all its glory, the stone walls rising upward to rival the clouds, he told me, “Come with me.”
The three of us followed Bjorn into a nearby armory. We waited until Bjorn led us into a side room from there.
Nyx pulled back her hood in the shadows of the indoors, happy to be free of her cover, if only for a moment.
Bjorn blinked at her a few times, surprised to see her. “Nyx?”
She smiled awkwardly, lifting up a hand. “Bjorn,” she acknowledged.
“I haven't seen you in years.”
“I assure you, my absence was intentional.”
Bjorn laughed heartily, which was odd considering he had been concerned just moments ago. “No need to be uncomfortable around me, my dear. I was just doing my job.”
“The same excuse didn't work for me, you lucky bastard,” Nyx replied in jest, speaking of her assassination attempt on me.
Bjorn chuckled once more. “I like your spunk, woman. Just real quick, before I get into the thick of things, let me tell you that you've proven yourself, at least in my eyes. You've become a great friend for Kai, and you started out as her enemy. The decision for that change was yours, and I thank you for making it.”
“I appreciate you saying so, sir,” she replied. It was weird to hear her use the word sir in respect. Nyx was definitely a product of her rough, brutal, and crude race, but she could still surprise me from time to time in the classy ways she could handle things if she wanted to.
“And so polite,” Bjorn grinned, before turning back to me. “Your father is outraged.”
Even though I'd expected as such, I still cringed. “Yes. I suppose he is.”
“He claims you disrespected him and left his office without waiting for him to excuse you.”
I hesitated. “Yes, I suppose I did.”
Bjorn snorted a chuckle, surprising me. “By the gods, child, you have balls made out of the finest brass.”
“They're about this big, too,” Nyx said from beside me, holding her hands about two feet apart.
I laughed at the two of them, though I felt conflicted.
“How I wish I had half the audacity you do in your dealings with him,” Bjorn went on.
“He definitely provoked it. He told me that the time I have left alive is of no concern to him.”
Bjorn's amused face faded. “He said that?”
“Yes. I told him that I wasn't sure how much time I had, and that because of my abilities he should put me into combat as soon as possible. That's when he said that and told me that the rea
son he was sending me on an escort mission was because I consistently failed to follow the orders of my superiors.”
Bjorn's jaw tensed, and a vein rose in the skin of his forehead, a telltale sign of his anger. “Let me tell you something, child. You—or your father, I don't know which—came to this world at the wrong time. He is undeserving of you. You are a walking contradiction to all of the studies we have ever done; the limits to our magical abilities and our simple abilities as human beings are being tested by your very existence. You will be remembered throughout history, even if you never accomplish anything, if only for being a living phenomenon. But you will accomplish many things, I am sure of it. And your father? He is no one compared to you. He is but one of many cookie cutter headmasters in a long, boring lineage of the Seran royalty. His name will be forgotten. Yours will not.”
I said nothing. I was simply overwhelmed by his praises.
“Your father is a bitter and jealous man,” Bjorn added.
“You think he is jealous?”
“Are you kidding? He once thought himself special for being a dual caster who could cast the coveted life spells in addition to a material element. He worked for decades to become respected. You arrive, and kingdoms on other continents are requesting your attention, not his.”
I stared at Bjorn. “What do you mean, they're requesting my attention?”
Bjorn hesitated, confused. “Ha. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't know.”
“Know what?”
“Do you truly think you'd gone unnoticed?” He waited a moment. When I didn't respond, he added, “News of your abilities spread across the land like wildfire when you were fourteen, despite your father's best efforts to keep it a secret. The leaders of armies across the world, from lands and cities you have probably never heard of, have offered outrageous sums to get you in their armies.”
This news should have enlightened me. Instead, it was frightening.
“Why doesn't he just take the money and send me elsewhere, then? He'd likely enjoy the funds more than my presence,” I added dryly.
“You are the greatest asset of war that currently exists,” Bjorn said carefully. “Armies may have mages, they may even have dual casters, siege weapons, and other inventions, but many of all of them exist. There is only one of you. We have no reason to believe there will ever be another one just like you. Your father is keeping you within the confines of the Seran Army to prevent you from being used against him, either in war or within negotiations.
“It's why keeping you here, in Sera, is extremely important to him. He is outraged not only because he feels you disrespected him, but also because he's trained you throughout your life to be the greatest asset of his army, and you're not so keen on the position.”
“Why does he act as if I am an incompetent mage if he thinks I am so important?” I asked, confused.
“My personal opinion is that he's trying to keep you dependent on him. He wants you to think your abilities aren't marketable simply because he wants you to feel your options are limited.”
I took all of this information in for a few moments, sensing that both Silas and Nyx were also doing the same. Finally, I asked, “Is he searching for me?”
“Yes,” Bjorn replied. “That's why I hurried you in here. Among other reasons.”
“You're risking your job for it,” I replied.
“So be it.” He paused, searching my eyes with his. “I have no reason to believe your father would ever intentionally hurt you, but his selfishness and arrogance is limitless, and you are defying him. I have no doubt he might try to use intimidation tactics to get you to stay within the university.”
“I am leaving soon, Bjorn,” I blurted then.
“Leaving? Sera?” He cocked his head slightly. “Already?”
“Soon,” I repeated. “I can't stay here. I can't let him control me anymore.” Even as I spoke, Bjorn nodded, understanding. “Silas and Nyx are coming with me. I don't know yet where we'll go, but I want to see the world. Use my skills. Make a name for myself.”
He smiled, then. I could tell it saddened him that I would be leaving, but I knew he wished me nothing but happiness. “And you will, child. You will. Oh! That reminds me.” Bjorn straightened, glancing toward the door of the armory, as if he would be able to see through to the other side. “There is a messenger here for you. He's been waiting for you since early this morning. Claims he's from Whispermere.”
I frowned. Whispermere. The word was familiar, yet somehow distant; I knew I had heard of the place before, but it must have been far away, because it didn't come up very often. “Whispermere is...in the mountains, correct?”
Nyx glared at Bjorn. “I think you have the location incorrect. Whispermere is weeks from here. And even if he made the trip, it's only accessible by a terrible uphill trek through the mountains and its populace is very...exclusionary.”
“No...Whispermere is correct. He looked very fatigued and said he left two moons ago.”
Two moons? Then whoever the messenger was, he'd been carrying his message for half a year. It must have been important, or he must have been paid a very, very worthy sum of gold for the trip.
“Did...did he say anything about what his message was or who sent him?” I asked, intrigued.
“No, my girl. He refuses to speak to anyone but you. He's in the university, waiting for you. I'll have someone retrieve him for you so you don't have to take a step in there.”
I nodded. “Okay, that would probably be best.”
Bjorn did just that, leaving the three of us in the armory for a few minutes while he made the arrangements. We made small talk while the messenger was retrieved.
“Maybe we'll have a destination in mind after this,” Nyx commented, wiggling her eyebrows in excitement.
“Yeah, no kidding,” I mused, anxiousness foggy in my chest. “Now that we know my father's been turning down requests for me from other kingdoms, perhaps it's a message from one of them that they wanted to make sure got through to me.”
“We can hope so, but that'd be rather convenient timing, wouldn't it?” Nyx mused.
It wasn't long before the armory door opened, and Bjorn hurried in, a middle aged human man behind him, with skin made of a tan so unique in hue it appeared gold. I had never seen someone with skin of such a color. I wondered if it was due to the environment in which he lived, or perhaps it was even a type of dye or fashion from his hometown. Other than his skin, it appeared he'd been living roughly since he'd left Whispermere. His long, dusty brown hair was matted and oily, and he had an unruly beard that had grown down onto the tops of his throat.
The man glanced at the three of us, but zoned in on me, like he somehow knew I was the one he was looking for. He bowed, as if he were approaching royalty. Of course, if he knew where to find me, he probably knew I was an heir to Sirius Sera.
“I bring you a message from Whispermere, Kai Sera,” he spoke, his voice one of relief. After having carried his message for so long, I could understand why. “But I am afraid that in order to fully deliver it, you must be completely alone.”
I hesitated, glancing over to Silas. He was never happy to leave me alone with anyone. Sure enough, he was already staring at the messenger with deep suspicion.
“It appears to be a letter, messenger,” he pointed out. “Surely, she can read it quietly and receive the message alone and in the presence of good company.”
“I apologize, sir, but my direct orders were not to deliver the message in the presence of anyone but her. It is crucial she receives this information alone.” The man's voice was wavering. It was almost as if in fear. I had the feeling that if the orders he'd been given weren't followed, his livelihood was on the line.
Silas was already replying to the man, but I interrupted, “No, I understand. I am very powerful here, and you know that to try anything would mean your death. You wouldn't request this if it weren't the case.” It was true. I was fully capable of defending myself, but the fact remaine
d that the messenger might not be aware of this. In either case, I'd just made him aware. “Come, we will discuss this in the other room.”
The messenger nodded, and allowed me to lead the way. Having been in the armory before, I knew where Bjorn's office was, and so I headed there. With Bjorn still standing alongside my friends, I knew it would be unoccupied.
An ache of uncertainty settled warmly in my gut as I closed the door behind us a moment later. I felt no hostility from the man, but whatever his message was, it was surely important.
The messenger nodded again, despite my silence, and handed over the letter, keeping his eyes to the floor. “Please,” he offered, “Read it, and I will attempt to answer as many questions as I can.”
Even as I broke the red wax seal on the envelope, I watched the messenger, concern in my eyes. Pulling out the letter within, I let my eyes finally fall to the paper, and read the few words available to me.
41st of Red Moon, 416
My dearest Kai,
It has come to my attention that you are causing quite the stir in Sera with your unique skills. Because I care deeply about your safety and well-being, I would love to finally meet you and discuss these powers and how you can best utilize them. There are many who wish you dead for the simple fact that you exist—and, may I say, I am very happy to hear that past attempts on your life have failed or fizzled out. Regardless, my dear, you have such immense power because you are an anomaly, and the fact you exist defies the rules of the gods. I would love to explain more, but it is much too dangerous to put everything in writing. Therefore, I must request that you make your way to Whispermere with haste. I will try to explain everything to you when you get here. There are more options available to you than you may have ever dreamed, and you would be of more use taking one of them than to be killed because of who you are.