Page 8 of A Touch of Stars and Stones (Kirrian #1)

five

. . .

Ever

W e don’t detour to Orasia, and we barely rest. Lyle’s silence is as I feared and allows me to create wild and fantastical thoughts in my head, pulled together from the chips of information that have cracked from her lie.

That’s what our life has been, after all, a lie.

The silence allows me to simmer. Thinking over everything again and again. Dissecting it, turning it around to see if I can understand it from a different viewpoint, but I can’t.

There’s magic in the world. Lyle has magic.

The careful distraction of the landscape provides some relief as I note the subtle changes of the land around us, mile by mile. The trees grow sparser the further away from Orasia we travel, until there’s nothing to look at except a great expanse of… nothing.

A patchwork of yellows and greens stretches before us, and rolling green hills loom in the distance.

I would say we’re trekking through fields, but there’s no clear definition between the areas. It’s just grass, or straw, or a combination of both. Darker patches with clusters of weeds and taller grasses surround us.

Lyle is steadfast, moving forward, even with no path to guide her.

“How many times have you done this? Taken somebody to The Court?” I shout.

Nettle trots on, and Lyle slows, giving me a chance to catch up. When I draw up alongside her, she starts again, keeping her distance and perhaps out of reach of the answer I want.

“Only one. It’s rare to find anyone, but I’ve never made the full journey back as I had you to look after.”

“I’m nearly twenty. You could have left me for a few days.”

“You were much younger when it happened before. Kalan knows other Watchers, too. He saw them safe.”

“Kalan?” He lived near Nestagarth and visited a couple of times a year for as long as I can remember, at least. I always thought he was kind and maybe had a soft spot for Lyle. I always felt happy when he visited, especially after he left me the leaf brooch.

“He’s from Kirrasia. Like me. And a friend.”

“Are all your friends from there?” I say bluntly.

“No. But some are, and they have their roles. Like offering protection to villages, or watching over crops and farmland, being stationed at the port—” As she carries on explaining the world she’s kept from me, my anger rumbles, every word more fuel to its fire until it burns too hot and ignites.

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this!” I want her to hear me and feel the pain she’s caused by keeping this from me.

She freezes and looks over at me. “I’m sorry.” She pushes her horse on and puts more distance between us. Nettle doesn’t seem bothered and continues to walk on.

Is that it? I’m sorry? My jaw aches as I clench my jaw shut to keep from screaming for answers that aren’t just more unearthed lies. But the distance between us only grows.

Fine.

If this is how she wants to play it, feeding me scraps, then I’ll just wait. But a rush of fear sweeps through me like a cold wind, chilling me to the bone. It’s unfamiliar, alien, and I know it’s not my fear I’m sensing, but Lyle’s. It’s so heavy, so far-reaching that it’s almost paralysing.

And just as quickly, it leaves me, and I gasp as it releases me.

I watch her ride on and wonder how she’s still sitting upright on her horse if she’s carrying all that fear. And worse, what is she so afraid of?

The sun makes shy appearances throughout the day, peeking out through clouds and showing me glimpses of the vibrant green of the hills in the distance—the colour of their namesake, rich and deep.

When the sun shines, it’s beautiful, and I feel a glimmer of hope infuse me with warmth. And then I remember all the things that Lyle has told me, and my hope withers away.

Lost in my head, I don’t notice that she’s waiting for me up ahead. As I get closer, she turns and aligns her horse next to mine once again, but doesn’t stop the steady trek onwards.

“Beyond the Jade is Kirrasia. I am Kirrian, a Watcher of The Court. The Court is our city, where The Chamber members reside. All Kirrians undergo training to control and master their power and how to grow and nurture it. And, maybe, you’ll be invited to join as a member of The Chamber or find another role within Court.

” A smile twitches at the corner of her mouth, although her eyes are sorrowful.

“Lyle, why? Why have you kept this hidden from me?” It’s the question that screams the loudest in my head.

“Because if you didn’t have Aslendrix’s gifts, then it would forever be kept from you. The Chamber decree that, above all, we are to be kept a secret from the rest of the world.”

“But you live in that world. Our world.”

World. I didn’t know much beyond our small part of it, but somehow, that was okay until now.

Now, everything has changed.

The possibilities of what was past the Southern Shore Sea didn’t seem important, not compared to a whole other realm she was naming.

“Kirrians straddle the two worlds to ensure the protection and survival of all.” Her words are flat as if she’s reading the words from a script.

“And what would happen if you weren’t a Watcher? If you weren’t looking for signs in me? If I turn Nettle around and refuse to go to this Court with you. What then?”

I want to push her and punish her for all the revelations streaming from her mouth, so I attack her with my words.

“Your power would overwhelm you. Likely turn you mad and drive you crazy.” She lifts the necklace from around her neck and shows me the small blue stone that’s always sitting in the hollow of her throat.

“I received this during my Transference ceremony. It harnesses my natural ability and power from the source of all Kirrasia’s power, the moon. ”

“I’ve never seen you without that necklace.” I don’t want wonder to ring in my voice, but it does.

“You won’t. It keeps us safe from ourselves. Every Kirrian has a stone worn in a piece of jewellery that connects them with their harnessed power. That is their gift from the Transference. Their power from the moon, our Goddess Aslendrix, and from their Advocate.”

She nods as if that’s enough for the time being and trots on. And I’m left with another chapter of information to digest and live with.

Goddess?

We don’t stop until dusk, and I can’t gauge how far we have left to travel. The green hills of the Jade are still in the distance as if we’ve made no inroads to reaching them.

Lyle’s off her horse and has cut down a patch of longer grass for us to burn, perhaps, or sleep on, I don’t know. I pull my foot from the stirrup and slide from Nettle, feeling the pull and protest of my muscles with every inch of movement. “What shall I tie him to?” I ask.

“You can tie him to Sara. They won’t leave us, though.”

“How do you know?”

“They are from Kirrasia. This is the way home for them.” Her voice is warm, and it strikes me that perhaps this was home for Lyle, too.

I tie my reins to Lyle’s horse and look around. The sun is hiding behind thick clouds, shrouding everything in gloom. It has only been two days, yet I miss my room with its familiar window. I miss the table in the front room with all the trinkets ready to attract someone’s attention.

Every plain and simple thing about that house, the seemingly small life, suddenly strikes me at the centre of my heart.

Here, now, everything around me is big and vast, and I feel lost in the middle of it all, lost in more ways than just my unknown whereabouts.

It makes me feel insignificant, and I hate that.

Lyle settles on the nest of grass she’s laid out like a bed, drawing the thick woven blanket from her satchel. “There’s no wood here to burn, so we’ll have to sleep close together to stay warm. It’s mild, but sleeping under the stars will still give us a chill tonight.”

I take a seat next to her and bask in the slight relief of stretching my legs out after being on Nettle for most of the day.

She rummages in her bag and pulls out a couple of apples and the rest of the bread we had this morning.

We eat in silence. And then she lies back and pulls the blanket—the beautifully woven blanket we would drape over our laps in winter—over us before folding some of the grass around our makeshift nest, every movement careful and placed.

Lying down, we’re invisible to anyone else who might be out here, which doesn’t seem like such an important consideration until I remember the men and Lyle being driven to kill them.

We both look up at the sky, waiting for the sun to finally give up and sink beyond the horizon. When it does, a gust of wind pushes a bank of cloud away to allow the moon to shine light down on us. It’s pretty, shining silver and bold against the rest of the sky.

“I was born two days after a new moon, which is when our power is at its weakest. My father gifted his magic through our Transference as my Advocate, but the trials showed me that I’d never have the level of power to stay in Court unless I was happy with a job I was too stubborn to carry out.

” I listen to her speak, grateful for the words, even if they make little sense to me yet.

“Kirrians can use me as a vessel or an amplifier, but my role in our world is clear.”

I let the words settle for a moment or two, not rushing forward with the questions that are building.

Instead, taking my time. “There are a lot of things you’ve just said I don’t understand.

Or even know where to begin trying to understand.

Magic. We’re talking about magic powers, Lyle.

It’s like you’ve kept me in the dark, and now you’re expecting me to take everything in and just be okay with it all?

” I was glad for the cover of darkness, which hid the emotion that I was sure streaked across my face.

“It will take time. And maybe I’ve been naive to keep you in the dark. But until now, I couldn’t be sure. It’s what…” she tails off.

“It’s what?” I push.

“It’s what… I thought was right. Now, sleep. It’s still a long day tomorrow.” She closes down again.