“You were nine!” Zander shouted. Throwing his arms up in the air in frustration, he ran his fingers through his hair, turning to face the window. “Things are different now. You had to hide then because you weren’t capable of fighting them.”
“You’re right. Things are different now,” Leyna stated firmly, squeezing Reina’s hand tightly in hers. “I am capable of fighting. And that is exactly why I cannot keep running and hiding. I have to stand up to them. They need to be stopped, punished for what they have done. For what they intend to do.”
Zander’s head turned slowly. Understanding flashed in his eyes, staring back at her with concern. “You want revenge.” The words were simple. But they were true. These men had to pay for what they did to her mother. If she succeeded, it would be so much more than simple revenge, but it would be revenge all the same. In the process it would save thousands of lives. It was all justified in her mind. There was nothing that could convince her otherwise.
“Wouldn’t you?”
She knew him too well to expect an argument. He stood there, staring deeply into her eyes, making no attempt to disagree with her. After a long silence, he nodded his head. “Very well,” he said. “I suggest then that you go to the Consul and tell him about what we witnessed in Kaipoi. I would go, but I have no way of knowing when Gislan will be home. She expects me to be here, but not you.” He turned to face Reina calmly. “You should lie low for a while. If they believe you to have the information they need, they will come after you also. Take some time off – go on a vacation – anything. Just don’t let yourself be seen.”
“I suppose using the front door is out of the question then,” Leyna chuckled. Her legs still ached from the trip, the muscles trembling as she rose to her feet. Part of her was excited at the thought of seeing the Consul, while deep down she realized she was afraid. Afraid of what she would have to tell him, about Kael, and about everything. She wasn’t ready to bare her secrets to him. Not that night, and certainly not like this. She always imagined the truth would come out between them in a way that showed she trusted him, and wanted to share it, rather than feeling as if she was only doing it because she was being forced to.
He had to know about Kael. As much as she hated the thought of telling Thade what she had witnessed him doing, she couldn’t keep it from him. Not anymore. Kael couldn’t be trusted. He needed their help, but until they were able to get him back under control, they couldn’t allow him to gain knowledge of their plans to counter Damir and Oksuva. She didn’t want to betray him like that, but he had chosen his path. And while she didn’t believe he should be cast away for his mistake, she knew it wasn’t something that could be easily changed.
“Neither one of you should use the front door,” Zander agreed. “We can’t risk anyone seeing you both leave the house, or what direction you go. If Reina is seen, they could follow her, and Leyna, if they catch you heading toward the Consul’s…”
“I know, Zander. Trust me,” she smiled, patting his cheek gently with her hand as she moved over to the window. Her fingers glided over the latch, expertly twisting it, lifting it upward without a sound. “We need to try and get as much in order tonight as possible, because come tomorrow morning, when all of this comes out in the open between everyone about what Kael did, and it will; things will become an even bigger mess.”
“Which is exactly why I’m worried,” he frowned, helping to hold her skirt while she slid her feet over the ledge. “Now go quickly. The sooner you get moving, the sooner Reina can get herself to safety, and I can start trying to think about how to get us out of this.”
Leyna raised her hand to knock at the familiar door, glancing up and down the street cautiously. She was afraid to think about what she must look like. Her hair was windblown and flat, the curls having lost their hold, lying now in soft waves hanging in a mass of tangles over her head. The dark green of her dress was marred with stains, damp soil from the cemetery darkening the hem, the front marked from where her knees had sunk into the dirt at Damir’s feet. She felt disgusting. Never before had she ever wanted to bathe as badly as at that moment.
But there was no time. Taking a deep breath, she let her knuckles rap against the wood, listening intently for any sounds coming from inside the house. It had been weeks since she was last there. Her pulse quickened with the fear that something had happened while she was away, a heightening of the Consul’s illness, or worse. Everything had been so out of control that she was beginning to believe anything was possible. And with her luck, it would be the absolute worst.
A soft click came from the door. She followed the knob with her gaze, lifting up to find Thade’s silver eyes glowing brightly at her from inside the darkened house. They opened wide, surprised to see her there on his porch. He looked unsure whether or not to smile, opening the door wider for her to enter. “Leyna – you look…”
“Awful, I know. I apologize,” she sighed. Her gaze trailed over the room, taking in the strange shadows which covered everything in the darkness, devoid of any light at all from even a single candle. “Did I wake you?”
“Not at all,” he replied, closing the door behind her, fastening the lock securely into place. “I have been enjoying the peace and quiet. Feolan and Lady Diah left this afternoon to go on a bit of a picnic in the country. They are due back – eventually – but I am not entirely sure when. Can I get you something to drink? Water? Tea?”
Leyna shook her head uncomfortably. She didn’t understand why her heart was pounding the way it was. An urge to burst into a giggling fit came over her, lost there in the dark, unable to see anything but the brilliant light of Thade’s eyes. They were like two glowing lanterns, faintly illuminating the features of his face. “No, actually, it may be best if you stayed a bit of a distance away from me. I must look and smell wretched. Oksuva insisted the carriage not stop at all during our trip back from Kaipoi, which allowed no one the opportunity to freshen up.”
“Then you only just arrived back into town?”
“A few hours ago,” she stated, realizing suddenly that she had lost all track of the time. The sky still retained some light from the sun when she and Reina burst through the door of Malic’s Tavern. She was beginning to question just how long she’d been unconscious before they managed to wake her, the clouds overhead now completely devoid of any light but the moon. “It has been an eventful homecoming, to say the least.”
Thade maneuvered his way around the furniture by memory, a flicker of flame erupting from under his fingertips on a candle situated near the sitting area of the main room. It was barely enough light to chase away the darkness, but it was sufficient to guide Leyna across the floor to where Thade was standing, motioning for her to have a seat on the settee. “Please, sit. I regretted my inability to speak with you when last you visited.”
“Oh, I could not possibly risk getting dirt on the cushions. Besides, this dress is not the most accommodating.”
“Yes, you do look a bit… cramped.” Thade blinked as if in surprise at his own words, averting his eyes with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I am not worried about the cushions. If it would not be too uncomfortable, I would love for you to have a seat and relax. You appear distressed, despite your calm countenance. Your eyes say much.”
Hesitantly, Leyna gave in to Thade’s request, settling herself on the settee. “Well, you did not seem surprised to hear I was in Kaipoi, so I will assume then that Feolan received my last letter.”
“He did,” Thade nodded. “It was an interesting method. We are not entirely certain who delivered it, but there was a knock at the door and Feolan’s cloak was the only thing visible upon answering it. The unusual arrival piqued enough interest that we were compelled to look it over in search of some possible hidden reason for its appearance on our doorstep.”
“It was the only way I could think of to get word to you both. The decision to leave Siscal was rather sudden and unexpected.”
She found herself fidgeting. Her fingers clasped a
nd unclasped in her lap. There was so much she wanted to say. To know about what had happened while she was gone. Thade looked much healthier now than he had when she saw him last. The color had returned to his face. Or so it appeared. It was hard to tell in the dim light if his complexion had returned, or if it was just the discoloration of the dancing orange flame on his skin.
It struck her as odd to think they had never before been anywhere alone in this way. Even in their most private of conversations in the past, there had always been someone nearby, just outside the door or standing on the opposite end of the room. She found herself intimidated by it. All the guilt from the thoughts she’d had about him made it hard for her to find her voice.
What was wrong with her? She had come there for the sake of business, and the safety of her people. It didn’t make any sense why she would be so lost in her own trivial thoughts, feeling bad for things which held no bearing on the situation at hand. So what if she had imagined what it would be like to kiss him. Those soft, perfectly sculpted lips. She coughed, clearing her throat nervously. Her subconscious was being impossible. She needed to get control of herself, to gather her thoughts and lay out the news she’d come there to bring.
“Unfortunately, I have come here with two pieces of very disheartening information,” she frowned. “I just cannot decide which I should give first. Both are quite disturbing, but one is more so than the other.”
“Let us start small and work our way up, then. I am still getting back into the swing of all this. You are the first to visit me in quite a while. At times I worry everyone has given up on the mission.”
“I fear that one of us has,” she said. Her eyes drifted away from Thade’s face at his raised eyebrow, peering at her quizzically. How much did he know? So much had been shared with Feolan and Maeri when she was there last, but Thade had been so ill. How could she know what he was aware of already? She dreaded having to explain the engagement to him. She didn’t understand why it pained her to speak of it, but for some reason she felt guilty. “While I believe that his intentions were true and he was loyal to the Queen throughout his mission, there have come to be some – complications – with Kael.”
Sitting down in the chair across from Leyna, Thade drummed his fingers idly on the arm, staring off into the distance over Leyna’s shoulder. “Your betrothed?” His voice was quiet. Leyna let her eyes trail back up to his, searching his expression. He sounded almost saddened to say the words.
“Yes. I suppose Feolan told you.”
“I overheard of the news while drifting in and out of consciousness. Feolan merely confirmed it for me. While I have my questions and doubts regarding why you did it, and whether or not it should remain so, I recognize that you are a woman and free to make your own choices.”
“That is exactly why I am here,” she said calmly. It had to be said. There would be no getting around it. Sitting there in Thade’s presence reminded her of how much more important her friendship with Thade was than her loyalty to her people and Queen. It outweighed even the devotion she felt obligated to give to Kael. “I did not tell you before, and I know I should have. I just was not certain then, and a part of me thought, perhaps foolishly, that I could help him. But I see now that I will need help, if it is even possible at all.”
His eyes focused, shifting to look Leyna over curiously. Almost hopeful. “What is it you wish to tell me?”
Leyna stared back at him. She could see the spark in his eye, anxious to hear what she would say. Thinking over her words, she tried to place what might have caught his attention in such a way, nothing standing out in her mind. With a shake of her head, she gave a sigh. “He has been using the sorcery. Only a little at first, and I thought he could be swayed away from it. But I have seen it, gradually taking him over. I no longer can find any trace of the man I once knew in his eyes.”
“How deeply has he fallen?” Thade grimaced. His hopefulness twisted into a strange sympathetic gaze, looking unsure on how he should react toward her regarding the admission.
“Oh, sir, I fear he may be beyond redemption,” she said quietly. To hear the words out loud, spoken from her own lips. It drove the blade of reality deeper into her back. The betrayal that Kael had laid upon her. He claimed to have dabbled in it for her own sake, to keep her safe from Mikel. But she would have preferred Mikel come for her. At least then she would not have found herself bound to a creature of evil like Kael had become. It hurt to think it all sparked from an original betrayal that was in no way linked to the sorcery at all. Nothing had altered Kael’s decisions the night he climbed into that bed with Oksuva. Only the alcohol. And it seemed a pathetic excuse.
Thade was watching her. She wondered how much pain he was reading in her eyes, the way he stared so deeply into them, as if seeing into her soul. If only he knew everything she’d been hiding there! Tucked neatly away from anyone who had ever been close to her.
“I returned from Kaipoi tonight and went to see him at the inn where he was staying. I found him there with another woman. I may have reacted a bit dramatically, but he lost himself in a rage. His eyes have lost all color, even that little which was still there when I left. We had talked about trying to help him. He wanted assistance. I do not know what happened while I was away, but tonight I saw him use it. I saw that evil magic come from inside him.”
There. She’d said it. The hardest part of her visit was over. Though it was difficult to say how he would react to the news of Oksuva’s plans. The evil that Leyna had witnessed in the cemetery in Kaipoi was far more dangerous than anything Kael could do to them. At least for now. If he continued to become stronger with the magic, there was no saying what damage he was capable of. Kael was aware that the Consul was gathering information. What if he found a way to come after him?
Stop being foolish, she scolded. He wouldn’t dare come after Thade. Would he? “He cannot be trusted anymore,” she added, breaking through her own frantic thoughts. “I ask that you exercise caution if you come into contact with him. He is currently doing work for Kyros. I cannot verify exactly what it is, but I have my suspicions, and if I am correct, it could prove detrimental to my place in the mission as well.” It could kill her. Why could she not bring herself to speak of the true danger? Because it would require her to expose more of herself. Her secrets. She hated feeling vulnerable in front of Thade.
Silently, Thade rose from his chair, moving over to sit beside Leyna. She tried to remain composed. Something about his sudden closeness sent a tremor through her body, her heart rate increasing uncomfortably, pounding loudly through her head. “You amaze me, Leyna,” he whispered, calmly shaking his head. “He has treated you so terribly and yet you still speak nothing of your own pain, and instead worry about the safety of everyone else. This must be eating away at you inside.”
“There are far worse things for me to be concerned about right now than whether or not my future husband is being faithful.” A pathetic laugh escaped her lips before she could stop. It was the truth. How could she wallow in self-pity over her own misery when Damir and Oksuva were plotting to raise an army against them? She might be confused, but she could still prioritize which dangers required more attention than others. There would be time to mourn over her personal downfalls when Damir had been stopped. “You do remember that I spoke of there being worse news?”
“A part of me hoped that you decided to tell me the worst news first,” he frowned, leaning back against the arm of the settee, his eyes closely following every move Leyna made. “I think I am prepared.”
Again, she was at a loss at how to tell him. It had all been so easy to say in her head! Why was it so much more difficult to form the words when he was looking at her like that? Sympathizing with her. And the questions she saw in his eyes. They haunted her, with their bright silver hue, so friendly and understanding, while she kept her secrets from him. Information he should be made aware of, but she was too frightened to share. Too afraid of how he would react. Or the repercussions of admittin
g all of the things she had hidden for so long.
She needed to just go for it. To let the words fall from her lips without thinking about him, or his eyes. Looking straight ahead, she tried to ignore his presence, speaking to the empty air in front of her. “Oksuva has made an arrangement with the man known as Damir Rohld. You have spoken of him in the past, I believe. She has an artifact. An amulet, said to be the one worn by Arcastus. Damir in turn will divulge the location where Arcastus’s corpse has been hidden away all these years. They intend to use the amulet, and the magic still contained within it, to bring Arcastus back to life. They want to raise an army against the Vor’shai. Had I not witnessed the things that I did, I might not be so concerned over their ability to do what they wish, but I have reason to believe that Damir is entirely capable.”
“You have met Damir?”
Leyna shuddered. “I have, yes.”
“I can see the pain on your face whenever you hear or speak his name. Has he done something to you?”
Hanging her head, Leyna let out her breath, growing weary of constantly hiding, pretending everything was fine when inside she was screaming. She still felt like the lost little child that had limped away from her house in Mialan that night. Her mother murdered. Her life left in shambles. And because of that man! The man who now stood in the way of completing this mission. She wanted him dead. She wanted to be the one to plunge the blade into his heart. “No,” she lied, swallowing hard to choke back the emotions welling up in the back of her throat. “He has not done anything specifically to me. But he killed one of Mikel’s men. He used his magic to raise the spirits of the dead from their graves, to threaten us. I am convinced one attempted to pull the soul from my body. I was powerless to stop it. It would have succeeded had Damir not stepped in.”
“You are choosing your words very carefully in regards to him. I hope you do not think I would not notice.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 56