Page 31 of Duskbound (Esprithean Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY

I shoved the compact mirror into my pocket and bolted from my quarters. The discovery about the siphon burned in my mind as I raced through the fortress corridors, barely registering the surprised looks from those I passed. I burst into the courtyard just as Aether was dismounting from Nihr, nearly colliding with him in my haste.

His expression shifted from startled to annoyed to confused in the span of seconds. "What?—"

"We have to go back to the Archives," I cut him off.

"I assumed we would return tomorrow." He began removing his riding gloves, studying me with that maddening calm.

"No. Now."

"What did you find?" He raised an eyebrow but started walking toward the Archives, his long strides forcing me to quicken my pace to keep up.

"Have you ever heard of a siphon?"

"Can't say that I have."

"In the book I was reading, it says there was an item—a siphon—that could direct essence. Actually direct it. "

"What text did you discover this in?"

"It was in a memoir. The Adventures and Life of Krayken Vindskald ."

Aether stopped walking, turning to face me with lifted brows. "The drunk ramblings of a bard?"

"Just hear me out. Right now, the Umbra's only tactic is attacking the arcanite. But what if there's more to it? What if Sídhe is using a siphon?" The words tumbled out faster now. "And better yet, what if we could find our own—redirect the essence back into Umbrathia ourselves?"

He paused, considering my words with unexpected seriousness.

"Let's be honest," I pressed, "the current strategy isn't exactly working."

"What else does the book say?"

"That's the most intriguing part. The rest of the chapter about siphons is ripped out."

Aether's brow furrowed, but he continued walking. "I guess it's going to be a late night then."

I noticed how empty the streets were as we approached the archives, especially the area surrounding the building. When we reached the entrance, I pulled on the handle. It didn't budge.

"It's locked." I turned back to him.

"Well, of course. It's after hours." His tone suggested this should have been obvious.

"Then why did you let us walk all the way here?" Heat crept into my voice.

A smirk pulled at his lips. "Because you're going to unlock it for us."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"Your spectre form. You can slide right through the door if you're quick enough."

"You're going to have to give a better explanation than that. "

In an instant, Aether dematerialized before my eyes. Where he had stood, only misty shadows remained, twirling like smoke before dissipating completely. A breath brushed my ear from behind, making me jump. I spun to find him there, solid once again, standing far too close.

"Better?"

I crossed my arms. "Show-off."

"You used your shadows the other day for the void-letting. This isn't so different." His voice was steady, patient. "Instead of imagining them pouring out of you, imagine becoming them."

I took a step back, eyeing the door before closing my eyes. Drawing the shadows in was easy now, but this was different. Instead of letting them flow out, I had to let them consume me. I focused on becoming intangible, letting the shadows spread from my core outward until they filled every part of me.

The sensation was bizarre—like losing all my weight at once while still maintaining my shape. When I opened my eyes, everything looked slightly darker, edges bleeding into shadow.

I moved forward towards the door, bracing for impact that never came. Instead, I felt the grain of the wood pass through me—or maybe I passed through it, I couldn't quite tell. The smell of cedar filled my nose as I slipped past, and then I was on the other side, reforming into solid flesh with a strange tingling sensation, as if spider webs clung to my skin.

My heart thundered in my chest. I had just walked through a door. Actually walked through it.

"Impressive," Aether's voice came from behind me, his shadows still whipping around him.

I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how thrilled I actually was. "Let's find those missing pages."

Aether simply turned and began walking through the tall shelves.

The archives felt different after hours. The usual shuffle of feet and whispered conversations had been replaced by absolute silence. I pulled out the compact Raven had given me, studying its polished surface before snapping it open.

"I don't know how this works," I whispered to my reflection, feeling slightly foolish, "or if you can even hear me, but if you're interested in some late-night debauchery at the archives, we're waiting." I eyed the door once again, and twisted the lock.

I followed Aether through the maze until we found a table near one of the brass lamps, its light barely reaching the edges of the wooden surface. I set down Vindskald's memoir, the leather binding making a soft thud against the table as I opened it to the chapter about siphons.

Aether moved behind me, his chest nearly brushing my back as he leaned over my shoulder to examine the faded text. His breath stirred loose strands of my hair as he squinted at the pages, clearly struggling to make out the words.

"Do you require your spectacles?" I asked, trying to ignore how his proximity made my skin tingle.

Instead of answering, he reached around me to lift the book, his arm brushing mine. He turned and leaned his back against a chair, shooting me a narrowed glance from behind the pages. I couldn't help but notice how the lamp light caught the gold in his eyes, how it traced the sharp angles of his jaw. He was almost devastating to look at, that statuesque beauty almost too perfect at this angle, backlit and shadowed against the archives. The silence stretched as his gaze moved across the words, broken only by the occasional rustle of paper.

Eventually, he turned to the section that was torn out, a thoughtful hmm escaping his lips. The sound vibrated through me, reminding me just how close he still stood.

"It's something," I said, my voice soft, but I couldn’t hide the eagerness creeping in. "I can feel it."

"It could be." His tone remained carefully neutral .

I snorted, ignoring his skepticism. "Where should we start from here?"

"If it's some kind of spelled or enchanted item, it would be somewhere along those shelves." Aether pointed to the back of the archives, where rows of books stretched into shadow. "Or," his voice dropped slightly, "it could be in the restricted section."

A creak of the door cut through the quiet. We both turned to find Raven in the entrance, one eyebrow arched as he took in the scene before him.

"You made it." I turned to Aether. "You remember Raven?"

Something in Aether's presence seemed to make Raven smaller, his easy confidence from earlier replaced by something more hesitant.

"Our new Archivist." Aether nodded before walking back to the section he had previously pointed to, running a hand through his dark hair.

"So," Raven said once Aether was out of earshot, "breaking into the archives after hours? I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one."

"Technically, I never said that. Simply an assumption on your part."

"Fair point." His eyes fell on the open book. "Found something interesting in Vindskald's memoir then?"

"Maybe. If we can find anything about siphons in the rest of these texts." I gestured to the towering shelves ahead of us.

"Well," Raven grinned, his confidence building, "you've got an Archivist on your side now. Where should we start?"

That first night stretched into early morning as we combed through dozens of texts. Raven's knowledge of the archives was a saving grace. He knew exactly which sections might hold relevant information, which authors had written about magical artifacts, which historical periods to focus on. But despite our efforts, we found nothing more about siphons .

Days blurred together as we established a routine. Mornings were spent in regular archive sessions, carefully maintaining appearances of normal research. Nights were dedicated to more thorough investigations, particularly of the restricted sections. Vexa and Effie had immediately volunteered to help when I'd explained what we'd found, eager for something more engaging than their usual duties. Rethlyn was too busy training the new recruits, though he gave me an apologetic smile on his way out of the dining hall.

"There has to be something," I muttered on the third evening, surrounded by stacks of books. My eyes burned from reading endless pages of faded text. "An item that powerful doesn't just disappear from history without leaving any trace."

"Unless someone wanted it to disappear," Aether said quietly from where he sat across the table, his glasses reflecting lamplight as he studied yet another tome.

"What do you mean?"

"If such an item existed, it would be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. Perhaps someone deliberately removed all record of it."

The thought settled uncomfortably in my stomach as I watched the twilight glimmer from outside. Time was running out. I had less than two days left before I had to present something to Urkin, and so far, all I had was a single page from a questionably reliable memoir and a growing pile of books that told me nothing.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," Raven suggested, closing another useless volume with a sigh. "If someone did try to erase its existence, they wouldn't have left information in obvious locations."

"Then where?" I asked, frustration creeping into my voice.

But no one had an answer for that.

"I need air," I said, shoving away from the table. My head throbbed from endless hours of squinting. "And time to think that doesn't involve being surrounded by useless books."

Aether simply nodded, already standing. He stayed quiet, pulling the door open for me as we filtered into the gray light. Days of searching, of hope building and crashing with each dead end, and all we had to show for it was exhaustion.

The walk to the stables was silent, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Maybe I'd been foolish, letting myself believe we'd found something significant. The siphon could have been nothing more than the drunken imaginings of a traveling bard, and I'd wasted precious time chasing it.

Laughter drifted across the lawn as we approached—a sound so unexpected it made me pause. Lael stood in front of the stables, practically bouncing with excitement as he ran his hands over a Vordr's coat. The beast had charcoal-colored fur marked with patches of pure black that spread across its wings like ink spills.

"Aether!" Lael called out, sprinting toward us with a grin that seemed too big for his face. Rethlyn followed at a more measured pace, though his easy smile seemed proud. "Look! She claimed me! Just now—she landed right in front of me during training and wouldn't leave!"

Despite my exhaustion, I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. The Vordr watched us with intelligent eyes, its head tilted as if assessing newcomers.

"Her name is Nyx," Lael continued, practically vibrating with joy. "She's perfect, isn't she?"

"She suits you," Aether said, and though his voice remained steady, I caught the hint of warmth beneath it.

"Well the two of you have been spending an awful lot of time together in the archives," Rethlyn said, his tone casual but his eyes knowing. "After everyone else has called it quits for the day.”

Aether ran a hand through his hair, letting out an irritated sigh. “Your perception skills are unparalleled. ”

“Urkin will wonder what you're up to," Rethlyn added, a slight grin pulling at his lips.

"Urkin is welcome to inquire about whatever he likes.” Aether's eyes narrowed. “He knows he can request me any time he requires my presence."

"He just might." Rethlyn shrugged, his eyes playful. "Especially since you've missed the last two briefings."

"I’ve had more pressing matters to attend to."

"That may be." Rethlyn's gaze flickered between us. "Though I can't recall the last time you showed such... dedication to research."

"Rethlyn." There was a warning in Aether's voice.

"What have all of you been doing?" Lael asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Aether replied, his expression closing off slightly. "Focus on your training."

Rethlyn ruffled the boy's hair. "He’s so mysterious?—”

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Aether cut in.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Rethlyn sighed, shooting me a smile. "I have to go check in with Mira and Theron. I'll catch you two later."

Tryggar's silver form descended from the clouds as if summoned by my thoughts, landing with enough force to send dust scattering across the yard. His eyes immediately found Aether, and his wings flared slightly—a warning I'd come to recognize.

"Still holding that grudge, I see," Aether muttered, taking a careful step back.

Tryggar snorted, positioning himself between us. I couldn't help but laugh as he nudged me with his snout, nearly knocking me over in his enthusiasm.

"Yes, yes, I missed you too," I said, scratching under his chin. His purr of contentment vibrated through my chest. "And your instincts are correct, as usual. "

Tryggar's only response was to wrap his wing around me like a shield, effectively blocking Aether from view.

"Mature," Aether said dryly. I heard him whistle, and moments later Nihr appeared, her dark form a stark contrast to Tryggar's silver coat.

The wind whipped through my hair as we soared above Ravenfell, its dark spires piercing the sky. Up here, everything seemed smaller—the problems, the pressure, even my own doubts. But they weren't gone, just muted by the altitude and the steady beat of Tryggar's wings.

"I wasted our time," I finally said, breaking the silence between our Vordr. "Three days of flipping through nearly every tome, book and scroll and we're no closer to stopping this war."

"You found a lead," Aether replied, guiding Nihr closer so we could hear each other over the wind. "That's more than we had before."

"A lead that goes nowhere." The words tasted bitter. "I have less than two days to present something to Urkin, and all I have is torn pages and theories."

"Sometimes theories are enough to start with."

I shot him a look. "Since when are you the optimistic one?"

"I'm not," he said, and I caught that ghost of a smile again. "But you seemed to be taking a break from it."

The laugh that escaped me was sharp, almost desperate. "I just thought... I don't know what I thought. That maybe there was a way to fix this without more death. Without having to choose sides."

"There might be," he said after a moment. "Perhaps we just need to get more creative."