Page 16 of Of Stars and Lightning (Sun and Shadows #1)

Twelve

THE UNSETTLED

IT WAS THE strangest feeling. Like separating into billions of particles and then slamming back together, or a jolt of lightning racing through every nerve and inch of skin. It left Sol dizzy and covered with the sensation of crawling static.

They stumbled into cold air, and not the damp chill of Spring. It was a dry cold, one that immediately set her teeth chattering. She swayed with Lilah’s gallop, almost toppling over with nausea. As if sensing it, Lilah halted with a stomp. Sol hopped off and vomited into a cluster of bushes.

“Took you long enough.” Sawyer stood a few paces ahead, leaning on Fey. She buckled a heavy-looking fur coat over her leathers. “A few more minutes and I would’ve left you all for a hot bath.”

Sol coughed and braced her hands on her knees with a groan.

“The enchantments have that effect the first few times,” Sawyer offered.

Sol turned to find Nina and Alix galloping through the open wall, materializing from thin air, both engulfed in a wind of fury.

“You idiot.” Nina stopped right next to Cas and slapped him. “We are in Rimemere for five minutes and you’ve already murdered someone.”

Sawyer glanced between them. “What happened out there?” Sol tried not to hurl again as another wave of nausea rolled over her.

“They struck a nerve.” Cas shrugged. “He was useless anyway.”

“That’s not the point! He was alive. He had a family, Cas!” Nina shoved Kahaida into Lilah, the two mares squaring off like their masters. “You cannot just prance around and use violence whenever someone pisses you off.”

“Like you didn’t slam Finigan and the other fool to the ground with your magic?” Cas's voice dropped, laced with agitation.

“Gods, shut up, both of you!” Sawyer stepped between them, pushing the mares away from each other while banging and yells sounded beyond the wall. “I’m usually the one who needs an intervention. Disappointed in you both.” Sawyer sent a spark of fire their way, then walked back to Sol.

“Come on, cousin. Let Cassie cool off.”

Sol climbed onto Fey behind Sawyer, hoping after this mess she never had to ride another horse again. They took off down the road, and as Sol finally gathered her head and stomach, awe spread through her at the sight before them.

The dirt road stretched directly into what seemed like a town made of stone.

Houses and stores and courtyards spread out on either side of them, all made of the grayest yet loveliest rock.

As they continued down the path, people of all ages and origins crowded around their windows.

They dressed in a similar fashion to what she used to wear at the Hound, beige skirts or pants and ivory shirts.

The women even donned bandanas to keep their long hair from their faces.

Like her mother used to wear.

A small smile pulled at her lips, for the wary onlookers, and at the connection she saw between this foreign place and her mother. It made it seem…not as scary.

Even as they continued, she watched the shops and their small flower gardens at their doorsteps, the familiar scents of mint and thyme making her sigh with comfort.

“These are the human sections,” Nina whispered from beside her, all her earlier anger seeming to have disappeared.

She kept a steady pace next to Fey, even as Kahaida stopped every other block to sniff the gardens and try to take a bite of nearby people.

“Only those without magic but with connections to the Wielder bloodlines reside here,” she finished.

“It’s also a cease fire zone,” Sawyer added. “Thanks to Queen Irene, no one may start conflicts here. Well, not legally.”

Maybe Cas should stay here then, Sol thought. She didn’t dare glance behind them at where he trailed silently.

The townsfolk seemed somewhere between terrified and cautiously curious. Sol met a few of their gazes. Some smiled shyly while others grimaced.

“Up there,” Nina waved her hand forward and Sol’s breath caught, “is the castle.”

No number of stories could have captured the grandiose beauty of it. The building before her was a breathtaking work of art.

It was also carved of stone with all sorts of dark grays and blues reflecting the hazy sky.

Stone cylinders erupted from the ground holding delicate arches.

Mezzanines extended every few spaces from the lateral walls, some occupied by silhouettes.

The upper reaches of the castle bent into perfect cones, then flattened out into what looked like a vast flat rooftop.

What was on that rooftop made Sol swallow a lump in her throat.

Fire. Water. Stone. Earth. All flying around and clashing with lethal precision. Spears of the elements shot from left to right in a dance.

Tracing her line of vision, Nina smiled. “It seems the students are training,” she said. “They’re learning different ways to manipulate their magic.”

Sol hadn’t realized the feeling of incompleteness she carried until it lifted as she watched magic dance.

That nagging sense she was meant to be doing something other than living a blissful silence in Yavenharrow had been perpetual, but she always just figured it meant she wanted something a little bigger.

Like going to the Scholar Towers and finding something she had a fire for doing, like her Aunt Lora with healing.

But she could never fully identify the source of the feeling, left only with awkward longing and no instructions of how to fulfill it.

It killed her slightly how right it felt to be in Rimemere. Angered her at how long she had been deprived of it.

Still, Sol whispered, “I—I can’t see myself doing any of that.” At least not well.

“It’s…bizarre at first. There are lots of things that go into it, but we are here to make sure you do it all safely.” Nina leaned closer in a reassuring gesture. “Well, I can’t guarantee Sawyer won’t try to throw you off the rooftop training rink, but I can guarantee one of us will catch you.”

Sawyer laughed. “My days of throwing people off roofs are long over, Nins.”

“Are they?”

“I hope so.”

They continued through the human sections slowly. Nina spoke to some of the citizens, engaging in laughter and gentle smiles. The people loved her. They loved the four of them—even Cas smiled and dismounted Lilah to help carry trunks of equipment into a lonely shop.

It wasn’t until they were almost out of the sections that a girl—no older than fifteen with beautiful curls like a halo around her bronzed head and the most peculiar violet eyes—stepped in front of them, blocking their way down the singular road leading to the castle.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “And where are you all going without even saying hello?”

Beside them, Lilah cantered ahead and halted directly in front of the girl. For a terrible moment, Sol thought Cas was about to pulverize another person, though after the thought invaded, she knew he wouldn’t hurt someone unprompted, especially not a young girl.

Well, Sol hoped.

The girl didn’t seem afraid, though. In fact, she gave Cas a distasteful glare. “Gone three years and not a single letter, Uncle Cas? Really?”

Cas dismounted and embraced the girl in a tender hug, enveloping her completely and lifting her from the ground.

The girl laughed and wrapped herself around him, the sound melting all the tension from Sol’s shoulders.

Sawyer huffed a breath behind her. “Penny Xanthos. Quite far from your mother’s claws, aren’t we?”

Penny continued giggling, then finally trotted over to them after Cas set her down. Sol marveled at the expression of unfiltered emotion on his face. She had only been allowed glimpses of his gentle side, and her insides fluttered as he smiled after his niece.

“The castle is stifling,” Penny said, patting Fey. “I escaped for the day.”

“So nothing has changed, then,” Alix said, also dismounting his mare and giving Penny a pat on her head. “Depressing.”

“You’re so big now, beautiful girl.” Nina held her hand out to her, then pulled her up on Kahaida. “You look so much like Samara.”

Penny made a face. “What an insult.”

Sol smiled despite herself at the casual conversation. It was nice to see the familiarity among them; it made her feel almost safer in their care, seeing their gentler sides.

Finally, Penny settled her gaze on her, gasping, “Is this—”

“Shhh, it’s a secret until it’s verified,” Nina whispered, easing Kahaida to a walk. Everyone followed along. “It’ll cause an uproar here.”

Penny’s gaze roved all over Sol, as if she were staring at a ghost.

“H... hello,” Sol croaked, not knowing what else to say, feeling too vulnerable beneath her attention.

“I can't believe they found you,” Penny breathed, unable to tear her gaze from Sol.

“Neither can we,” Sawyer added. “I was starting to think my father was going to rule forever. I was already writing my eulogy.”

“He’s gotten so bad, Sawyer,” Penny said. “He’s… cruel.”

“More than before? Can’t wait.”

Behind them, the faint sound of yells carried through the streets, making some of the citizens bolt into their shops.

“Your uncle might be in trouble,” Nina said. “We are hoping King Semmena won’t mind much.”

Penny looked at Cas, who led them on wordlessly. “What did you do, Uncle Cas?” When he responded only with a shrug, the girl sighed. “He finally got rid of Finigan, didn’t he?”

“I wish,” Sawyer laughed. “It was some other soldier.”

“Bad day to have a temper, Uncle Cas. It’s Flora’s Day.”

Penny looked over at Sol again. “Quite poetic the rightful queen has arrived on the original goddess’ bloom day.”

Sol sighed. “I—would rather not be called that yet.”

Penny smiled. “It must be weird. To be here.”

“Very.”

“The Unsettled are going to be so very happy to have a Yarrow here again.” Penny looked up to the sky, her violet eyes sparkling. “We are finally going to be treated like living beings again.”

“The Unsettled?” Sol glanced at Nina, knowing she would soothe her confusion.

And she did. The Earth Caller smiled. “A term for those of Wielder bloodlines who never materialize magic.”

It didn’t occur to Sol that such a thing was a probability until that very moment.

Nina’s answer only fueled more questions, but she decided to keep them for another day, especially as Penny gave her a small smile.

“They say we are bad luck to have around, so they usually keep us at arm's length. I think they only tolerate me because of my mother’s status.”

“You are not bad luck, Penny,” Cas chimed from behind them. “Don’t let those idiots get to you.”

“You’re more talented than most of my prior students, Pen,”

Sawyer added. “A shame your mother isn’t more like you.” Alix, who had been mostly quiet, hummed his agreement.

They continued to the castle, Penny sharing updates on Rimemere for the Royal court, most of them things Sol didn’t understand. Apparently nothing new, except a handful of cruel laws and regulations no one was surprised had passed.

Sol became lost in the scenery, her companion’s conversation soft in the background.

As they exited the human sections, the small shops and homes slowly dwindled, replaced by green, lively trees rooted in swaying grasses and bunches of yellow flowers.

Sol admired the nature, thinking how wonderful Earth Callers must be for the plant life.

Indeed, there wasn't a single wilted flower or shrub, and any that looked sad, Nina made sure to caress on the way to revive them.

Behind her, Sawyer radiated a comfortable warmth, either by magic or simply by her presence. Her cousin shared stories of their voyages with Penny, the girl as intrigued with everything beyond the wall as Sol was with everything within it.

When Sawyer got to Yavenharrow in her retelling, though, she paused.

A silent conversation passed among the Wielders, one Sol couldn't decipher, until they collectively told Penny Sol was found in Graniela.

She was confused at first, then figured they likely wanted to protect her town from this place as long as they could. Sol was thankful for that.

Penny looked over at Sol. “What was it like, Princess? Living such a different life?”

Sol’s lips twitched in a small smile. “Unnervingly calm at times.”

“And why did you choose not to come until now?”

It occurred to her that perhaps no one knew the truth. Maybe they thought she’d known who she was all along and simply chose to hide, to live an uninteresting life instead. “I didn’t know any of this existed until a week ago.”

Penny angled her head in a gesture of contemplation. “I don’t blame Queen Irene for choosing to forget about us.”

“I do,” Sawyer added. “She abandoned the kingdom when we needed her most.”

“Sawyer!” Nina chastised. “We don’t know what truly happened.”

Sawyer shrugged. “She chose to flee. That’s what happened.”

As they neared the castle’s steel gates, Sol wanted to argue. To defend her mother’s choices and explain her innocence. But as she tried to formulate an argument, her fingers twirling in Fey’s mane, she came up utterly, and sadly, empty.

Truthfully, Sol didn’t know. She loved her mother and knew she was good, but couldn’t provide a defense for her actions, especially when everything pointed to the fact that Irene truly had up and left.

Her mind drifted to her mother’s note, wrinkled within her satchel.

The people are in your hands now, and for that I am so sorry, Soleil.

She wouldn’t think of the rest. Not now. Not ever. Maybe someday, but not soon.

“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she whispered.

It was meant more for herself, but Nina responded as she idled beside them. “For now, we rest. And eat.”

Sawyer added, “And bathe.”

“Then we will deal with the ‘supposed to be’s,’” Alix finished.

They trotted along silently through the streets, and as they finally neared the castle gates, Sol tugged on the reins. Fey stopped without protest, as if she, too, was nervous.

Sol stared at the massive gates before her and the stone archways beyond them.

The courtyards were alive, people dashing from one place to another, seemingly uninterested in those about to enter.

They all wore black or brown leathers, their hair braided tightly around their heads, men, and women alike.

Some carried weapons, though Sol had the sense most didn’t need them.

“Princess?” Nina lifted her brows in question.

Without taking her eyes from the monstrosity of a building, Sol said, “If you all don’t stop calling me that, I will run.”

“Don’t get cold feet now.” Sawyer looked up at the sky, sighing.

“We are so close to finally having a decent bath.”

Nina gave Sol an encouraging smile. “We are with you.”

Sol closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a cold breeze caressing her. It cooled her warm skin, her racing blood.

She didn’t try to stop Fey as she resumed her trot toward the gates.