Page 69 of Keeper of the Word

Twenty-Six

ELANNA

Elanna fled straight to the haven of the Delara upon their return to Castle Sidra, which, true to Hux’s promise, was a surprisingly uneventful experience. Hux could talk, that was for certain. When they’d approached the main gate, the guards—shoulder to shoulder in blocking their passage—Hux pressed Elanna forward, removing her cap to spill out her golden hair at the same time. As their mouths hung open, Hux gave a pretty speech about hoping no one noticed if they barred their entrance. And wondered aloud, “what would the sovereign think about all this?”

When one guard still obstructed their entrance, Hux leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. The guard, slack mouthed and cheeks red, gave the order to open the gate.

Hux winked at him.

The guards stepped aside; Elanna was all too keen that their eyes followed them across the outer courtyard. But she’d prided herself on not touching her throat, at least. Would she ever not feel prone to do so when eyes fell upon her?

Her heartbeat hurried her through the corridors, Hux and the others quickening their pace to keep up. She no longer thought ofthe knights’ gaze nor how in stars’ name Hux gained them entrance to the castle; she pondered the witch’s eyes that had fallen on her. They had pressed upon her like cold steel, scraped over her from where the hidden countenance stood in the shadow of the alley.

She had not told the others of the witch. She’d simply strode away, frantic to put as much distance between her and the witch as possible. She did not know if the others sensed her terror, but right now, she couldn’t talk, couldn’t explain, couldn’t breathe. The stars. She needed the stars. The veil of daylight was naught to her. ElannaneededLight.

Flinging herself onto the white marble floor of the Delara after shutting the doors on the others, Elanna let her breaths escape.

A witch.

Witches were not supposed to exist in Asalle. They’d been banished long, long ago to the Skyward Mountains beyond the far south border of Grenden.

She did not realize that she’d been sobbing until she noticed the front of her gown was damp. Her heart continued to pound.

What shall I do?

The door opened, and footsteps padded into the temple. Elanna tensed momentarily from the hand that rested on her back. She sat and stared into Hux’s dark eyes.

“What happened?” he asked.

“We should have never gone into the city.”

“That is not it. What happened?”

“You should not be in here.”

“Your sobs were too great to ignore. No one who cries like that should be alone.”

He offered her a kerchief, and she wiped her eyes.

“What happened?” he repeated.

“I fear that I must sort it out before I may say. I must seek the stars and their guidance. I must See what becomes of the path before us.”

Hux shook his head. “That’s the future, Elanna. What happened in the square? You tensed like a hunted hoshefer.” Whenshe said nothing, he added, “You’re allowed to be human. To have human feelings.”

Elanna jerked her shoulder from his hand. “Take heed. I know that you hail from another land, but I am not like others. I am an ordained being, and I have no place to wallow in self-pity or fear or”—her head dropped into her hands as her sobs renewed—“or unease about what happened in Tam’s Ford. You must understand…”

Hux drew her into his arms and shushed her like she did with Maristel when the child was inconsolable. “Youareallowed to be human, Lady, because you are human. And what happened to you in Tam’s Ford was a heinous and vile thing. I am quite surprised you haven’t fallen to pieces before now. Shows your strength as a human. But”—he gently drew her away so they met each other’s eyes—“take heed yourself. Have your feelings. Because they may swallow you otherwise, and you may find trouble in your”—he scanned the height of the Delara’s ceiling—“duties.”

Elanna focused on Hux’s hand upon her shoulder. She craved to be back in his arms. To be enveloped in the warmth of another soul. But the sunlight streaming through the open ceiling was forging her aura once more, fading the dark gaze of the witch, which had carried along the memory of Tam’s Ford. Elanna could bathe here in the brightness. She could do without leaning on the dark-eyed Deogolian. Precisely as a StarSeer should.

She wiped her eyes. “As I said, you should not be in here.”

Hux narrowed his eyes and dropped his hand. A curt nod followed, and he exited, shutting the door behind him. She did not gaze back. She dared not.

The gaiety of the day dwindled into the background. Honeyed seeds. Examining fine cloth. Watching puppetry shows. How could Elanna have made the decision to leave the sovereign’s castle? What possessed her to make such a rash and ill-formed decision?

She rubbed a spot on the back of her hand, still sticky from the honey. There was no room for frivolity in Elanna’s existence. The only thing that mattered was her duties to the realm. She would not forsake those again.