Page 14 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

Chapter

Twelve

TOLVAR

S ince encountering Kyrie, Tolvar had slept little. When he did, he dreamed of intense gazes that could only be employed by a StarSeer. One day left. In one day, he would leave Aura Hall, put Ashwin behind him, and go home.

Joss and the others spent time training with the Order of Siria knights—“A thrill!” she’d exclaimed—winning coin, playing cards, or lounging in the Twilight Hall, the smallest of the three halls in the castle.

When Tolvar discovered them idle, he longed to throttle them, take them outside, and train them into the dirt, but ’twas only a span of days, he reminded himself. Besides, there wasn’t anything to do.

Hux was the only one who’d ventured into the city of Ashwin, an act Tolvar was not entirely certain was permitted since outsiders of Ashwin were, well, outsiders and undesired in the sacred city.

Once one became a citizen of Ashwin, ’twas a rarity to leave, much like the priestesses they worshiped and served.

But no one from Aura Hall had remarked on Hux’s comings and goings, and Tolvar found he desired a reprieve from the feeling of playing nursemaid to Hux.

There would be plenty of time in the future for the two of them to spar .

He’d sought and failed to find Elanna the past three days. Although they’d been told they could roam the castle, there were sealed corridors tightly guarded that Tolvar could not breach.

She must be kept in some stuffy room, praying , he thought.

It certainly sounded like a horrendous punishment to Tolvar.

He did desire to find his hostess before they left tomorrow, however. He needed to confirm for himself that she was well. That she wasn’t confined in some dungeon—although it seemed unlikely that the StarSeers would commit one of their own to imprisonment.

Besides failing in his search for Elanna or any of the other priestesses, Tolvar spent his hours training alone in a small yard away from the Order of Siria or the Aura Hall knights.

They thought themselves glad to be rid of him?

He itched to be dismissed. He yearned to have Ghlee here with him.

Besides being the only one who could give Tolvar proper swordplay exercise, he might be able to make sense of this suspended time Tolvar had found himself in.

Listless days were worse than spending all day in prayer. Almost.

In the late afternoon, to pass time, Tolvar was sharpening his already-sharpened dagger when a knock sounded on his chamber door. There was no one there when he opened it, but glancing to the floor, there was a small piece of parchment folded into a star.

He held up the intricately folded note. He almost hated to unfold it.

Meet where we knelt upon the hour before midnight.

Stars. What now?

Without thinking, he seized the dagger and launched it into the wall.

It embedded itself into the indigo silk, revealing the plaster underneath.

He wrenched it out and ran his finger along the rip in the fabric.

He should have felt contrite but didn’t.

The surrealness of this place, coupled with the unwanted concern for Elanna, was too irritating.

Ashwin was untouched, a place of constancy.

Intentional to mimic the stars, no doubt.

A glance out the open window revealed Casta and Maristel below in the gardens.

The child tugged at Casta’s skirt, gathered her own, and scampered to a nearby ceramic pot filled with starglow flowers, touching the pot as she halted in some sort of game.

Her giggle carried up to Tolvar’s ears. Casta said something Tolvar couldn’t hear.

The child pumped her tiny legs toward Casta, charging into her.

They were almost knocked off balance; their laughter filled the air.

It occurred to Tolvar that this was the first time he’d heard laughter in Ashwin.

He continued to observe their game, Maristel clapping her hands and jumping up and down occasionally. Mayhap StarSeers were human, after all. Casta lifted Maristel in her arms and spun her around.

Tara, flanked by three Order knights, approached them and spoke.

Casta dropped her chin and lowered Maristel to the ground.

The two StarSeers—Maristel following Casta’s movements—clasped their hands behind them and grew solemn as Tara wagged a finger at Casta, who nodded, her shoulders becoming rigid and her expression becoming blank. Maristel’s lip quivered.

Behind Tara, the knights appeared only too glad to see Casta scolded.

Kyrie’s words entered Tolvar’s mind: The decree will change everything for us.

Tara finished her chastisement, and the three knights stood at attention. Maristel reached for Casta’s hand, but the woman shook her head slightly, clasping her hands together in front of her. Maristel’s frown deepened, but she followed suit, and the two followed Tara toward the Delara.

At the eleventh hour, Tolvar approached the meeting place. He was surprised, however, to find not Kyrie but Elanna.

He almost spoke, but the position in which she held her body halted him. Like Kyrie, she stretched her arms out, her fingers wrapped around each other. She sat motionless except for the great mass of hair that waved in the breeze. ’Twas warmer tonight, and a songbird chirruped in the distance.

She looked well enough. That was good.

“Good evening, Sir Tolvar,” Elanna said, not turning her head.

“Good eve.” He made no move toward her.

“Kyrie said you were wary the other night.”

“It feels different here,” Tolvar said, finally taking steps onto the grass.

“I suppose I wouldn’t know.” She turned her head away.

“I see you are well.”

“Well, for now. Circumstances are about to change.” She met his eyes. “And I do not mean the Lucien Law.”

Tolvar didn’t hide his surprise that Kyrie had informed Elanna they’d overheard the Order knights.

“Aye. She told me. She used her Sight to guide you. So that you could hear for yourself. ’Tis a…

tactic I’ve read about in our histories.

Though our words are sacred or should be.

” She gave him a pointed stare before gazing upward.

“Sometimes humankind only relies upon their own ears. Strange. An entire city built upon trust in the StarSeers. Nay, an entire empire built upon trust in the StarSeers, and I find I’m quite alone.

” When she turned back to Tolvar, her eyes were glossy.

“And circumstances are about to change throughout the entire realm because I am alone.”

He tired of towering over her and sat. “Your sisters would not hear your vision?”

“They did, but Lady Tara said other words. Hers are stronger than mine, I am afraid. And tradition calls for tradition, I suppose you’d say.

‘StarSeers are not meant to act,’ is one phrase she said.

Reminded me that we’ve been trained our entire lives to See, not act.

” She paused. “But also, she, Casta, and Kyrie have Seen nothing. And they’ve spent the last four nights searching the stars for confirmation of my words.

But what I Saw”—she shuddered—“cannot breach these walls. This place is too pure. They dare not leave the walls to See for themselves. And aye, the Lucien Law will cease that whim even if they did.”

At this moment, Elanna appeared withered and pale. Tolvar had the urge to comfort her but held back. She was a StarSeer, blast it all. A being to be treated with reverence. And there was naught he could do to aid her.

“The end is coming, Sir Tolvar.” Her eyes searched the sky; Tolvar followed suit.

Does she know the stars by name?

Her grasp of his hand was so swift, he was uncharacteristically startled.

“I tell you. Unless we stop it, the end of the realm comes. You must help. You must take me to Asalle so that I may warn the sovereign against actions I fear are already set in motion. We have but a small chance.” Her eyes glossed over again.

“A fraction of a moment in the expanse of time to act.”

Her touch was warm, even though the night had begun to cool.

“M’lady, I’ve spent the last four years banished from this realm. If I take you away from Ashwin, it will surely be my head this time. ’Tis forbidden, under penalty of death, to interfere with StarSeers. Forbidden.”

“I did not know the Wolf gave in to fear.” She let go of his hand.

“I trust but one man—the keeper of the word. If you, man who has seen the moon and stars, who was led to me by their same light—if you do not do this, ’twill not matter if you’re threatened to be executed thrice over.

There shall be no realm to carry out the sentence. ”

Tolvar eyed the hand she’d held. It tingled.

He could not deny her words poured dread over him.

He scanned the black-cloaked sky; the stars pinpricks against it.

He was not a praying man. He was not a man of belief.

And if the other StarSeers had Seen nothing, how could he trust all this?

Not to mention that what he’d said was the truth. What she asked of him was forbidden.

“Of what must we warn King Rian?”

“He must hear it from me. But I shall tell you once we are on our way.”

Not this again. A familiar memory splashed over Tolvar. A memory of a woman withholding information so she could be part of an adventure in which she had no business being involved .

“Tell me what it is, and you have my word that I shall deliver the sovereign your message.”

“’Tis not entirely a message. And I am beckoned there by the stars just as I was beckoned to flee Ashwin. I must be there.”

Tolvar ran his hand through his hair and stood. “I cannot take part in this. Besides the law of the realm, Lady Tara has invoked the Lucien Law. I researched the phrase this afternoon. For you, it means guardianship. For those who work against it, well, let us say, the stars work against them.”