Page 30

Chapter 30

Saelyn

We swam for hours, taking breaks occasionally to lie in the sun that seeped through the Hatchery skylights in long amber rays. Thevin told me stories about his time at the Blight Line —the missions he’d been given as a Runner , working closely with his parents who were both conduits with prized power.

Never once did he mention the scars across his chest.

Never once did he touch them as I longed to do.

Those were parts of Thevin I hadn’t known, but wanted to.

I wanted all of it, soaking up every one of his stories like our skin soaked up the warmth of a spring sun.

Guilt pricked her nasty little head a time or two when I occasionally wondered if my mother was worried about us. But she had that damned rhyzolm with her always and would be able to find us if she really needed to.

“ This world you’ve shown me is wonderful,” I said at the end of laughing until we cried at his story about Lanna’s mishap with a particularly ornery Horned Vintras in the Attatok Mountains .

We were lying on our backs, arms behind our heads, looking up to see the occasional group of white birds soar across the blue sky.

“ There’s so much more to see. Even the dark parts of this isle are something to behold. But ,” he wavered, “nothing I’ve seen compares to Felgren . The trees, the fields, the streams. The sun when it shines down from the sky like a warmth I’ve never known or will ever know anywhere else.” He closed his eyes and sighed.

I turned my head his way. I wanted more than any swimming, or exploring, or adventuring, to follow the line of his arched nose with the tip of my finger.

He peeked one eye open as if he could feel me studying him. “ What ?”

“ Do you think there’s hope?” I sat up, pulling my frizzy damp hair over my shoulder. “ Do you think we can defeat the Blightress ?” I set my chin on my knees, pulling them to my chest. “ Do you think there’s any chance of saving my father?”

He followed my movement, pulling his arms around his legs. “ Hold onto hope. Defy the dark. That’s what my father always says before we leave to any frontlines. He said it comes from something your father told him a long time ago. Before either of us was born.” He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to him so I could rest my head on his shoulder. “ I think your father was a great man. Is a powerful Baron . And if anyone can bring him home, it’s your mother and his daughter.”

A tear fell down my cheek before I could stop it.

I didn’t want to stop it.

I wanted to shed tears for my father. For what he’d missed while he’d been gone from us for so long.

“ Sometimes I miss him.” I wiped my cheeks, sniffing. “ Even when I was told he was dead, somedays I’d find myself at his portrait, wondering if I’m like him. Wondering if he’d be proud of who I’ve become without him. I wonder if he would have trained me himself or would have taken me,”— I gestured to the pool in front of us—“fishing.”

“ Baron Revich liked to fish?”

I laughed, replying, “ Yes . Yes , it’s one of the few things I know about him. My mother once told the story of the day she knew she could no longer hide her feelings for him. He’d been fishing of all things.”

Thevin laughed, the sound echoing through the cool breeze and flowing through the open arches of the room. “ Maybe he’ll teach you someday, Sae .” He tilted his head to mine. “ Someday , when he’s back with you, father and daughter, fishing in Felgren .”

I pressed my chin to his shoulder. “ You’ll have to join us.”

“ Oh , I will,” he chuckled. “ I wouldn’t miss watching you catch a slimy fish for the world.”

“ I bet I could catch a fish before you could,” I teased back, nudging his arm.

He tilted his head with a gasp in mock astonishment. “ Before me ? Never .”

“ I can do a great many things better than you, my dearest friend Thevin .”

“ Name some.”

“ Running , climbing, lying…lumen riding?”

He covered his hands with his face, feigning embarrassment. “ I’ve forgotten all those things. But I still think I could catch a bigger fish than you.”

“ We’ll have to wait and see,” I laughed.

“ Why wait?” he asked, rising and stretching his arms over his head, then around his body.

“ What are you doing?” I stood with my hands on my hips.

“ Catching the biggest fish.” He grinned and his single dimple flashed just as he ran toward the pool and dove in.

“ The - vin !” I yelled, shaking my head and crossing my arms.

He popped up out of the water, flicking his head like a lumen after a rainstorm. “ Watch me catch the biggest fish!” he called, capturing the attention of several onlookers nearby.

I ran to the edge of the great pool, following his sleek form as he dove back under the water, swimming straight for the largest aurum fish we’d seen flowing lazily. Its scales were pure white with one small patch of brilliant orange at the end of its tail. It was easily ten feet long and darted from Thevin the moment it noticed him headed straight for it.

I laughed, sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the cool water. I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, “ Go for something smaller on your first try!”

I doubted he heard me, and regardless, he didn’t follow my advice as he chased after the massive beast. I giggled to myself watching his body glide through the water. He at last came up for air, flicking his hair again and wiping his face, taking long deep gulps.

He smiled at me, then looked around for something else to catch, giving up on his initial trophy. We eyed the next largest fish at the same time as it rose close to the surface nearby. With another flash of his smile, he turned his body, diving once again toward the entirely orange fish, not quite as long as the last, but still bigger than Thevin . The fish glided at the surface, unafraid of the man swimming toward it. In a flash, Thevin just managed to grab ahold of its dorsal fin.

The fish thrashed in a panic, but Thevin held on with both hands, showing off for my amusement.

I rose in slight concern and shook my head, giving way to laughter and ready to jump in to join him.

The fish thrashed its body to knock off its rider, but Thevin held on, cutting through the water like a knife and lifting a hand to wave at me.

I waved back, about to tell him he’d proven himself enough, when the massive white aurum from before circled around them in agitation, flicking its tail across the water.

“ Thevin !” I cried, “ Let go!”

He realized the real danger just as I did. The white fish twisted and smacked its tail sideways across the water, hitting Thevin squarely in the chest.

I screamed his name, watching his body go limp, his hands releasing the fin as he began to sink into the ripple of waves across the surface.

I didn’t think— I dove, gliding into the water and using my momentum from the jump to propel straight for Thevin’s body slowly lowering in the depths.

The white aurum fish wasn’t done, however, as it circled back toward him for more punishment. I didn’t have time to act, didn’t have breath for a spell. I paused under the water, releasing my hands back over an orb of white, pulling them apart, just as I’d watched my mother do to form the portals that led us to the Spire .

It was my one chance, my one thought to send that fish…somewhere.

I had barely enough time to set a destination, let alone think twice if I was powerful enough to form a portal like I’d seen my mother do that morning. The only thought that passed through my mind was the fact that I should have reversed time instead of jumping into the pool to save him, and now, I didn’t have the breath to do it.

A flash of white light wove through the water, blinding me and the aurum fish. It swerved away at the last second, avoiding whatever it was I had just formed under the waves. I swam as fast as my legs could push me toward Thevin , wrapping an arm around his chest to heave both of us to the surface.

People lined the edge of the pool, some already in the water, swimming toward us. A man took one of Thevin’s arms and we swam him to the hands of the people waiting to pull him out.

“ We need a medicus conduit!” I huffed, rising from the pool with the help of more onlookers.

They laid him flat on the white stone. His eyes were closed, his chest unmoving.

I heard the shouts, the cries for help repeating through the open space, trickling out onto the side walkways. I shoved the hair out of his face and turned his head to the side. I pushed down on his chest in a panic, pleading, “ Come on, Thevin . Breathe , dammit!” I pushed over and over, pressing so hard I could have cracked his rib and not cared.

My mind sifted through every medicus conduit spell I’d ever read about in Viridis , coming up with nothing to force water from lungs. I pushed and pushed, panicked, raging, crying for someone to save him, to please help me save him .

Dainty , wrinkled hands, the color of sand, slid gently over mine, squeezing once and then guiding them off his chest. A ruby conduit ring graced one finger.

I gasped and looked up to see earthen rich brown eyes look into mine with just as much surprise as I held. The woman looked back down at Thevin , gripping the back of his neck with one hand and shoving the palm of her other at his sternum. Her voice was high and light as she said, “ Visaquae , ” jabbing her palm into his chest.

A flash of red and then water from his lungs sprayed all over me, and I gave a shuttering gasp, releasing my breath and holding his head as he coughed continuously onto the wet stone. He turned to his side, heaving in big gulps of air over and over, more and more water flying out of his mouth.

I cradled his head in my lap, soothing my hand over his back and repeated thank you again and again to the stranger in a medicus conduit’s all-white attire with a jeweled red flower pin attached to her vest. She sat with her legs folded, her hands at her knees and watched me carefully—knowingly—as if she’d seen me before.

“ You look just like him,” she sighed to herself while the crowd around us cheered and clapped.

“ Wh -what?” I stammered.

“ Your father,” she amended. “ You look just like him.”

“ You knew my father?”

She nodded sweetly and her small lips curled upward. She held out a hand for me to shake. “ I knew Baron Revich , Saelyn . My name is Clairannia Lynns . It’s nice to meet you again.”

* * *

We arrived back at the Spire thirty minutes later, Thevin’s arm over my shoulder that I insisted he keep there, refusing to let him walk on his own, no matter how often he mumbled something about being just fine.

“ You’ll need rest,” Clairannia said. “ If a bruise forms on your chest, find me or another medicus conduit and they’ll be able to heal it.”

I’d been quiet, thinking about this conduit who knew who I was and recognized me based on my father’s features.

“ He’s alive,” I blurted, guiding Thevin toward the first steps of the winding Spire staircase. “ My father, I mean.”

Clairannia stopped. “ What ?”

“ My mother told me yesterday. At my seventeenth birthday celebration.”

“ She told you?”

“ You knew?”

Clairannia’s mouth tightened to a thin line. “ Yes . I knew.”

I frowned. “ So you’re one of her friends, then. One of the three who knew besides Pah - Pah .”

She tilted her head. “ Pah - Pah ?”

“ She means Pompeii ,” Thevin explained.

Clairannia nodded, handing me the bundle of clothes she had carried and rushing up the stairs. “ I need to speak with the Baron . Please go to your rooms and stay there until your mother comes to retrieve you.” She ran her hand along the stone stair rail, sprinting up each step, calling back, “ I’ll explain to your parents, Thevin . Nothing more than a misadventure.”

“ She’s a mysterious one,” he said as we carried on.

Halfway up the tower and out of breath, we found our hall of rooms, spilling into the one I would share with my mother. I helped him onto one of the bright yellow chairs and he sank back into it.

I fell into the one opposite, tossing our things onto the short table between us. “ I can’t believe you did that.” I rubbed my face, swiping my damp hair from my forehead.

“ I did it though,” he mused. “ The biggest fish anyone’s ever caught.”

I bit my lips together, stifling my smile.

He watched me try, bursting into laughter the moment he saw me grin. We laughed until it hurt, wiping tears from our eyes.

“ You’re in so much trouble when your parents find out,” I giggled, grabbing the package and clothes on the table to go change.

He chuckled once more, shaking his head and grabbing his own discarded clothes. “ No . I’ve been through worse.”

I opened my mouth to ask if he meant the scars on his chest, but he rose instead, headed toward one of the rooms. I followed, stepping into the other room, taking a moment to appreciate the large bed and small furnishings in yellows and oranges. I entered a smaller closet to change out of my swimwear and step back into my black skirts and cream corseted shirt. I decided to save my new clothes for another time, not ready to risk my mother having something else for the day to scold me about.

I tucked my new clothes onto the shelves next to the skirts and dresses I’d brought from Felgren , already unpacked and neatly stacked, along with a few other items that I didn’t recognize.

I heard his soft knock and opened the door for him to come inside. One look at his face had me grimacing. “ You need a nap.”

He nodded, stumbling for my amusement to my bed and falling face-first, dressed in his original attire.

“ Are you hungry? How do I get food here?”

He mumbled into the sheets, “ There’s a bundle of flags by the balcony. Slide the orange flag into the slot on the rail and someone will bring up food.”

My brows rose in surprise. “ What other colors are there?”

He lifted himself higher into the bed, pulling the white quilt over himself. “ Purple for laundry, white for a message, and black for emergencies.”

“ Clever ,” I muttered, already heading out the door to find the flags. They were bundled into a large pail near the balcony. I pulled the orange one and placed the stick into the slot on the rail, just as he’d said. The bright fabric flew in the inner spire breeze, and I noticed a white flag flying a few stories below.

I waited at the door to our rooms, curious how long it would take for someone to see it. Within ten minutes, a servant arrived carrying a tray of fresh fruits and cheese.

“ I apologize, miss, but the midday meal has already been served and dinner is being prepared in the kitchens.” He smiled wryly, setting the tray on a table in the room.

“ Thank you very much…” I said, holding a hand out to greet him properly as Pah - Pah had taught me.

“ Yezron , miss.” He took my hand briefly.

“ Thank you, Yezron . I’m Saelyn , daughter of?—”

“ Of the Baron of Felgren , yes, I know. Everyone on staff will know who you are, miss. You only need to place your flag there and we will prioritize your needs.”

“ Oh , there’s no need for that, but thank you.” I gestured to my room. “ My friend, Thevin , is tired and needs rest. I expect my mother to arrive back here soon, before the gathering tonight.”

“ Yes , we all know Thevin , too,” he chuckled. “ If there is anything more you need, please do not hesitate to wave the white flag. I can send messages throughout the Spire . Amaya will be up in two hours to help you dress for the gathering and dinner.”

“ That won’t be necessary, I can dress myself.”

He nodded once, explaining, “ The Baron has already commissioned a gown for you to wear tonight. It arrives soon and, forgive me, but the dress customs here might be quite different than what you’re used to. And difficult to put on yourself, if I may suggest.”

My cheeks flushed. “ Alright . Please have Amaya come help. Thank you again.”

He held up his hands and backed toward the door. “ It is nothing, miss.”

“ Saelyn .”

“ Miss Saelyn .” He bowed turned to leave.

I looked over his suit—far different than anything I’d seen Pah - Pah wear in Felgren . It was all white with different textures and patterns sewn into the shirt sleeves like lace. A high collar was stiff and high on his neck against his olive skin. I stole a glance behind me to where Thevin was probably already asleep.

“ Wait ,” I urged, stepping forward before he could close the door.

He opened it wide and asked, “ Yes , Miss Saelyn ?”

“ Would you mind…” I bit my lips together, remembering my goal here was to prove that I was no simple girl of Felgren . “ If Amaya is able, please ask her to come up as soon as possible. I have some…questions about your customs that she might be able to answer.”

His face lit in a brilliant grin, displaying a mouth of white teeth. He nodded again and said, “ But of course, Miss Saelyn . I’ll send her right away.”

“ Only if she’s free!” I added as he shut the door and I crossed my arms, ready to write a list of what I needed to know in order to show myself just as capable as any other seventeen-year-old here.

I peeked into my room to confirm my suspicions that Thevin had already fallen asleep. He had—completely knocked out from his “misadventure” across my bed.

I sat down near the tray of food, shoved a strawberry into my mouth, and began to write.