Page 22

Then there was Effie, whose crossed arms and grimace told me she hadn't forgotten our last encounter. Her gaze was sharp as she sat rigidly in her chair, like she was just waiting for me to make a wrong move. I refused to meet it.

Aether sat beside her, silent and stiff, his gaze fixed on the farwall where an enormous tapestry hung, its edges frayed and worn. But the second I glanced in his direction, those golden eyes locked onto mine with frustrating speed. I swallowed hard and looked away, but I could still feel the heat of his stare long after I’d severed the contact. The room felt too warm, too close, despite its size. The air was thick with the smell of old parchment and burning wax, and something else. Something metallic that seemed to coat the back of my throat.

"Well, this is sufficiently awkward," Vexa broke the silence, her dagger catching light as it spun. "So I suppose I’ll take the opportunity to ask you, Rethlyn." Vexa's nose wrinkled as she turned to face him. "What in the Void were you doing in your quarters last night? The entire corridor smelled like something crawled into the walls and died."

Rethlyn glanced at her over his shoulder, his mouth twisting. "Wine making is a delicate process," he replied from his window.

"Delicate isn't the word," Effie grimaced. "The fumes were quite literally an assault on the senses."

"Sure you're not trying to poison us all?" Vexa asked. "Again."

"That was one time," Rethlyn sighed, "and the recipe specifically called for?—"

"Recipe?" Vexa barked out a laugh. "Is that what we're calling your experiments now?"

"I don't have to share." He turned slightly, a hint of defensiveness in his tone.

"We'd rather you didn't," Effie added, and Vexa let out a cackle.

"Laugh all you want. But who spent three hours yesterday throwing daggers at her own shadow?"

"It's called training, Reth." Vexa rolled her eyes.

"That was boredom," Effie corrected. "And you still owe me a new mirror."

Aether simply shook his head, which had Vexa's eyes falling on him.

"And this one's stuck in a perpetual state ofbroodnow that he has to play prison guard instead of lumberjack," she shot towards him.

"His cabin is quite nice, to be fair." Rethlyn shrugged, a gesture that had Aether's eyes landing on him. “Full cedar logs, and larger than most. Little glass embellishments hanging in the windows?—”

"Excuse me?" Aether raised that pierced eyebrow.

Rethlyn sank down into one of the chairs at the table, face turning pink. "It's not like I followed you. I was foraging out in Skullwood before it fell," he said with a shrug. "You were outside skinning a deer. It looked like a massacre, by the way."

Aether's eyes darkened. "Bloody work. I can show you sometime if you’d like?"

Rethlyn let out a nervous laugh. "Thanks, but I don't think you'll be able to find any deer for a demonstration."

"I wasn't referring to the deer," Aether murmured, and I could have sworn the ghost of a smile played at his lips, which sent annoyance licking up my spine.

"What is the point of this?" I asked, my voice echoing slightly off the stone. "Why are you all stalling?"

"Talon's late, as usual." Vexa sighed. Without looking, she drove the dagger into the table with a dull thunk. The blade quivered in the wood as she stretched her arms above her head and let out an exaggerated yawn.

Something in Effie's expression softened for just a moment as she watched Vexa, but it vanished so quickly I might have imagined it. "Must you always destroy the furniture?" she muttered, though there was less bite in her tone than I'd expected.

"Areyounot capable of answering my questions?" I raised an eyebrow, my attention returning to Aether. The others shifted uncomfortably at my challenge, even Vexa's casual posture stiffening slightly.

"It's better to start with him." Rethlyn breathed, eyes darting quickly to mine before refocusing just beyond me.

“You all think I’m this Duskbound. Why are they so important to you? Where are the others?” I didn’t know where to start or what to ask, but this was the question that clawed at me the most. Aether had said I was the only one who could save the realm, but no one had told mewhyorhowthey expected me to do that.

Vexa blew out air through her mouth and shrugged in Aether’s direction.

“Only a Duskbound can harness shadows…” she began, resting her arms on the table. “Only a Duskbound can share them with vessels. Without one, a shadow wielder cannot exist.”

“So all of you are vessels?” I asked.