Page 20 of Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)
I have to save him. He grows weak down there.
— ALARIC SARE’S LETTERS TO ISABELLE ARKOVA
I didn’t want to face the day. Getting up and going to the castle meant Alaric was still missing.
It meant everything that happened yesterday was real.
My plans to leave the city were indefinitely on hold.
I was now Jeweler to the Blessed. Sourcing the adamas and crafting the gems that would granted the Blessed power were my responsibility, and because of that, my life was in danger from the Feared.
I could lay here a bit longer.
Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the history of the Cursed King.
The heart of his story was defiance. He railed against the fate he didn’t choose. Those summoned by Themis were required to be her champion. In books forbidden in this city, one could learn that Themis’s sister, Eris, also chose a champion.
Her champions were granted choice.
It was said Eris’s Champion came first. She wanted someone to challenge the order Themis had imposed.
From there, it had become a game of thrones across the continent. Which kingdom worshiped which goddess? Kavios was one of three. There was a time when Themis was the only goddess worshiped in all of them. Eris had changed that.
In Linia, the kingdom I’d planned to escape to, a descendant of Chaos’s original Champion still held the throne. Hence, information on both goddesses was more freely accessible. I believed Aven, the third kingdom, worshipped Order like Kavios.
All I knew of the Cursed King from Alaric’s texts was that he fought his fate. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to be Themis’s Champion or didn’t want to be told what to do, but whatever he did—attempting to make demands of a goddess ensured his curse.
I wondered how much the rest of the city would fear the Cursed King’s presence and the power that came with it.
King Rodric’s calming magic had overtaken my parents on the staircase last night.
Afterward, they had seemed almost unbothered by the evening’s trauma.
Father’s ankle was still in bad shape, of course.
The Cursed King’s magic had been used in service of the Feared at the festival—to get them away from a fight they might not have won. The more I considered it, the more I decided the power could challenge the Glanmores and the Blessed if the Cursed King chose.
I swallowed thickly as my thoughts found the necessary conclusion.
If the Cursed King supported the Feared—would his considerable power aim to remove me?
He hadn’t made himself known last night, or tried to end me while I should have been incapacitated.
I didn’t know what to think. With no purple glow in sight and no one else that seemed unaffected by the magic, I had no idea who he was.
I pulled the blankets back over my head. Maybe if I hid, none of it would be real.
Yesterday had been a disaster.
The only good thing to come out of it was that I’d have access to the Glanmores search for Alaric. I needed to find out what they were doing—where they had already searched. My position afforded me information, and I would use it to find my uncle.
I also needed to understand where my guard stood. Alaric trusted him, but I wished I knew why. We’d need to discuss the youngleaf for Mother’s tonic as well. Hopefully, our conversation wouldn’t backfire like mine with Soren had at Forest’s Edge.
The Feared had known my guard. I’d even say they’d been afraid of him. What was his place with them? If he was the youngleaf seller, as I suspected, he must cross paths with them regularly. Why would a Blessed work with the Feared, though?
I needed to know if he was a danger to me or if he’d protect me as his new duty demanded.
This was no longer a productive distraction. I guessed that meant it was time to get out of bed. Besides reporting for duty at the castle, my priority today was to search Uncle’s workshop for clues to his whereabouts.
What had Father said … Lost on a quest from one of his books.
At least I knew where to look.
With that, I threw back the covers. I might as well get started.
There was no argument that morning as I left.
Father’s ankle was swollen, and he was using a walking stick we had for Mother to help keep pressure off it.
I stopped by Jasmine’s apartment before I departed.
Her mother was a healer, and she’d been known to care for those in the building when required.
“You kept me in the dark.” Jasmine’s teasing smile as she opened the door told me I wasn’t truly in trouble.
“You wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
“I know.” She wrapped her arms around herself, still smiling, floating on the high of her engagement. At least she didn’t appear to have lingering effects from any nightmares at the festival.
Not wanting to bring her down, but knowing I had to depart, I pulled her back to reality. “Do you think your mom can check on my father today?”
“Sure. What’s wrong?” Her question must have reminded her of everything she—or the king’s calm—buried from last night. “Was he hurt in the …” She didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
Neither did I. I nodded, though. “I think he sprained his ankle when we tried to leave.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. Yes, of course, Mother will stop by. I didn’t realize. Matthew and I snuck away after the proposal. We felt the …” She stared into the distance. “Well, we felt the magic but avoided the mobs trying to escape Cross Street.”
“I figured.” I caught her eye to reinforce the truth in my words. “I’m glad you weren’t there. No one could have helped.”
Her face looked haunted. I didn’t think it was over Father’s condition. Whatever nightmare she’d seen last night must be resurfacing. I wondered how well King Rodric’s calming magic had worked on the rest of the populace.
“Thank you. I have to get going.”
She nodded.
I forced a smile. “Congratulations again.”
Turning from the door, I left to start my new position. I may have escaped last night’s nightmare, but I was living a different one.
Given the chaos unleashed during the festival, I couldn’t imagine the prince would be in good spirits. I wasn’t sure it was wise to try to enter the castle—at least not without my guard. Last night had been so eventful, I’d not bothered to ask where we should meet or how this would work.
My best bet was Uncle’s workshop. I could start my work for the Glanmores and spend more time searching Alaric’s things.
The closer my footsteps brought me to Cross Street, the more utter disarray surrounded me.
Booths were tipped over, some destroyed, and garbage was scattered everywhere.
I shouldn’t be surprised. It was still early.
No one would have had time to clean up. I was sure the guards had spent most of the night searching for the Cursed King.
The stage where the future Blessed were to be presented was still erected at the foot of the castle steps. As I walked by, I let out a breath and wondered what the Glanmores would think of all this. In all the chaos, I doubted they had apprehended any of the Feared.
I unlocked Uncle’s workshop and walked inside.
As I entered, I bit my lip—it was how I’d left it yesterday.
It might seem silly, but my first order of business was watering the plants.
I’d skipped it yesterday. When I pressed my fingers into the semi-damp soil of the Oldwood, the dirt’s heat was as familiar as it was unsettling .
How long before they sent me through the Oldwood to the mines?
Unsure how long I’d have before someone came searching for me, I didn’t dare open the storage room.
The drawer under Alaric’s workbench held his current projects.
He had started the ring bands for the Selected, but without their identities, he hadn’t sized them.
At least I could confirm my assumption about our adamas reserves.
Uncle wasn’t one for inventory. When I couldn’t find an adamas stone, I dug through the papers up front.
I swore there had been one here two days ago.
This only meant I’d have to go to the Oldwood Mine sooner rather than later.
I was a little ashamed of the thrill that thought sent through me.
Secretly, I’d always wanted to know what the sourcing part of the process was like.
I swallowed, thinking about what I’d signed up for with the Glanmores.
I knew I could find adamas in the mines, shaping it to wield magic would be a different test. We’d have to cross the bridge at some point.
I tapped the end of a quill against my cheek as I made my list, trying to remember when Alaric last spoke of traveling to the mines.
His visitor—my guard—said he’d been seen leaving the Eastern Gate two nights ago.
Why go that way if not for the mines? I shook my head.
Alaric had whole swaths of his time that I didn’t understand. I couldn’t make any assumptions.
“What are you doing here?” a guard called from the doorway, interrupting my thoughts.
I glanced up, noting the uniform, but knew it wasn’t my guard by voice alone. That should probably have been more concerning, but I let it slide.
“I’m trying to organize Alaric’s things. Prince Elias wants me to take up his work until he returns.”
Another guard filed in behind the first, and they gave each other a suspicious glance. “How did you get in here?”
The second guard’s gaze raked over me from head to toe. It wasn’t lingering, but it was certainly uncomfortable.
“As I said, I’m the new jeweler until Alaric returns. I have a key.” I reached for the key from my satchel, which I’d set down on the counter.
The guard halted me. “Don’t move!”
I might be in trouble. As quickly as news had spread to the Feared that I was the new jeweler—these guards seemed in the dark. And I bet they were on edge from last night’s chaos.