Page 133

A TWISTING ROAD

WREN

T he camp is curiously untouched by the grief that has consumed Teo.

If we were at home, in our village, I would not be surprised; life does not end with breath there, and though there is sadness in a loved one passing, there is also the knowledge that they will wake again.

Here death is something different; I can’t understand how everyone is walking as though the ground beneath their feet hasn’t shifted.

From my tent I’ve even overheard quiet complaints about delaying the camp’s breakdown for the burial of a Fifth Tier, more laced with confusion than any actual anger.

It seems inconceivable to most of the people here, at least in the First and Second Tiers, that the death of a servant would affect their movements.

After leaving the clearing, I separated from Rannoch and Kaden and came straight back to my tent, where I have remained since.

It seemed safest, given the strange morning, but everything feels too large without Ellie’s presence here.

I’m about to start cleaning and packing when the tent flaps separate and Kylabet walks in with no notice.

Moving quickly, without speaking, she ties them shut behind her, then pauses, holding up a hand to silence the questions hovering on my lips.

It takes three, perhaps even four minutes for her to be satisfied, before she turns to me, careful eyes taking in the layout before her.

Over the course of the past two weeks, Ellie had become more comfortable within our little home.

At my encouragement, she’d laid out her bedroom near the fire, where she’d preferred, and had set a small bag with her new clothes next to it.

She had a second flask there as well, and a small rations pack, all neatly lined up, in sharp contrast to the chaos on my side of the tent.

In the center, closer to the opening, is a small table with two sets of plates and cups; it had taken me several days to convince Ellie to eat with me, and several days more for her to relax enough to do so, but for almost a week we’ve been sharing our meals.

We had. We had been sharing our meals. Kylabet’s brow raises, mouth pursed, as she looks over the tent, and then she sighs; moving forward abruptly, she almost collapses to the ground on Ellie’s side of things, all of her lethal grace deserting her, leaving her leaden with grief.

“I suppose you know we were friends.”

Whatever I expected to hear, it wasn’t that. “I know she thought well of you,” I offer cautiously; Kylabet’s lips twitch in response.

“Loyal even in death. I can see why she liked you.”

“Not everyone who deserves my loyalty is dead, BloodLetter’s sister,” I reply flatly.

“Ah. They’ve been schooling you well, hmm?

So proper.” She smirks, then rubs her eyes harshly.

“Would it put you more at ease for me to say I know about Teo and Ellie? Teo and I have been friends a long time. Longer than he and my brother. And I don’t have the same…

hang-ups…as the BloodLetter does. I couldn’t help them as you did, but I didn’t begrudge their happiness. ”

Shrugging noncommittally, I simply hum a response of sorts, not agreeing or disagreeing. She almost smiles this time.

“Well. It seems they weren’t wrong about you anyway.

” Jumping to her feet, she walks restlessly around the small space, picking things up and putting them down, touching the wall, seeming to be full of barely caged energy.

“He can’t be seen grieving, SoulBinder. You understand that?

” She glances back at me, then continues pacing.

“They told me it’s different in your home, but our hierarchy…

it goes so much deeper than you know. Even if she’s gone — and she is gone, Binder…

” She pauses, staring intently at me, before continuing, “...Even though she’s gone, it wouldn’t change things.

Our justice is swift and brutal. It’s one thing to have a…

casual encounter…with a different Tier; that’s not unheard of.

But just — you can’t have a relationship.

You understand?” Moving to Ellie’s bed, Kylabet starts quickly and efficiently rolling up her things, tucking her clothes away and packing her small personal items. “Teo is fine with you, at least for right now, because you are an unknown. People think it is part of the BloodLetter’s plans.

Use Teo’s charm against you, have you tame for him like a dog on a leash.

No one believes he actually cares for you, but you’ve been trailing him around camp like a lovesick child, and everyone thinks the BloodLetter a bit of a genius.

It’s a good plan, to be honest. Teo is famous for his flirtations, his wit, and yes, his kindness.

It is not inconceivable that you would fall for him, and he could keep you in a cage of your own making. ”

She lays out a shirt, folding it with careful hands that shake enough to belie her casual tone.

“Teo speaks of you with a sort of irritated affection, making you seem like a lovable annoyance more than a demonic spirit. He has played a clever game, a very clever game. Every time someone has objected to your ongoing presence, he has teased them, rolled his eyes, pointed out your scuttling feet, your odd attachment to your Fifth Tier—” She chokes, then continues.

“Even your stupidity of trading an unflawed gem for a gelding scared of blood. He’s taken the monster in your blood and made you a rabbit with teeth.

It removes your power. Which keeps you alive.

He cannot…it needs to continue as it has, or neither of you will survive it.

” She smooths out a blanket, then stops, inhaling sharply.

“I cannot lose him. He’s the brother I never had.

And Ellie was a sister. I have no other siblings. Not like you’d think.”

Turning to me, eyes bright, face set, she steps forward, crowding my space.

I don’t move, so we are uncomfortably close, but it makes her smile again, approval clear on her face.

“If he is to stay alive, which I think is important to you, though I’m not sure why, you must pretend as though Ellie was just a shadow to the sunlight shining on Teo.

You understand? Nothing changes. He comes at night for your…

tutoring. You walk the camp with him during the day, or ride by him.

You look for him. Keep your attentions on him.

And keep him focused until we are somewhere safe where he can scream his sorrow to the stars.

Be tame for him, SoulBinder. Be a mouse.

And in return, I will make sure your friends are gone from here before we reach the Crimson City.

I can only give them a chance, you understand?

No other help. But you have my word that at least they’ll have a better odds escaping this, if they take it. ”

“I want to see them before they go.”

She shrugs. “You’re not in a position to make demands.”

“I disagree.”

Grinning now, she gathers up everything she has folded.

“You’re surprisingly funny. Alright. If I can.

” Looking around one last time, she lets her eyes rest on the now empty place where Ellie’s things had been.

“I…it is not something I thought I would be saying, not to a SoulBinder. But I suppose…I want to thank you. You gave two people I love very much some happiness that they would never have had otherwise. For no purpose. And I may not understand why, but…anyway. Be smart, SoulBinder. You may survive this yet.”

And with that comforting thought, she unties the tent and slips out, quiet as a shadow.