Silence! I’d not thought of him ever since the mention of war, yet… the prince had. How could I have forgotten someone so dear to me? A friend and lover. The one I’d known the longest. The one who’d been with me back at Silverveil and helped to save my life! How could I have forgotten him, even if only for a moment?
“I’ll see you all soon,” Alvere said. He turned those jewel-blue eyes — like clear, dark beryl — to me. I can’t say how I must have looked in that moment, but his brow furrowed, darkening. He nodded to me, then looked to Fin. The large man nodded and the two of them made their way down to the boats.
The rest of us retreated back to the path up the cliff.
As we reached the waving grasses at the top of the bluff, Amber put a comforting arm around me. “It happens to all of us.”
I leaned into her for a moment. She was surprisingly strong, pulling me close to her side as we walked.
“How did you know?” I asked softly.
“It wasn’t hard to guess. You looked like someone had crushed your heart when the prince mentioned ‘our man.’”
I looked ahead at Maverick, walking stoically, still tall and strong. “How does he do it? It seems like he doesn’t care, but I know he does.”
“That, child, I have no clue. He’s always been like that.” She drew in a breath, squeezing me close, then releasing me to walk on my own. “Did anyone ever tell you where he got his spirit-gift from?”
“No.” Ant had told me about the gifts, and who had them, and his theories on where some had come from. Amber, for example, could use simple commands to control someone’s mind. Maverick had fire as his gift.
“Midnight told me once. She believes his powers come from being hot and cold at the same time. Did you know he could summon cold too?”
I shook my head. That was news to me.
We reached the carriage which had brought us to the coast. Amber and I got in while Maverick joined the driver up front. After a moment we began along the rough road back to Hedgewild Manor.
Out the window I could see farmer’s fields, newly tilled and waiting for spring crops.
Amber continued her explanation of Maverick’s gift; voice hushed a little. “Sometimes, when he can’t do anything about a situation, he gets cold. Also, if he’s truly furious, a cold anger, then the temperature around him drops. That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced.” She drew in a breath then let it out in a bit of a laugh. “I guess you could say he runs hot and cold? Anyway, Midnight thinks this strange ability comes from how much he cares for his family, us, his House. He’s fiercely close and warm, but sometimes he cares so much that he also becomes distant. I know that sounds odd, but essentially, at times like this, he can’t be thinking about what might have happened to Silence. He can’t help the man, he can’t be fire, so he’s ice instead, unfeeling, except toward the rest of us, for whom he’s warm. It’s… an odd combination, but it works for him.”
I think I understood the man a little better now. Amber was always a font of interesting information.
“I’m… I’m sure Silence will be well,” she said a bit haltingly. That wasn’t as reassuring as I think she’d hoped to be.
I nodded, but said nothing. I still felt a little hollow, and I think I’d continue to feel this way until I knew Silence was safe. I couldn’t forget again.
I wouldn’t.
Chapter 2
I fretted for another day.Once again, I only slept periodically, falling asleep while in the library with a book — that I wasn’t reading — in my lap, or sitting in the great hall with an empty tea cup on the table next to me.
The only thing I did of note that day was check my bandages. Well, Crane did it. She removed the old ones and bathed me, cleaning the wounds, but we were both a little shocked at what few injuries remained.
“I hate to doubt the word of Lord Maverick, but the wounds he described upon you… he must have been exaggerating.”
I sighed. “No, he wasn’t. Auwei thinks that I’m developing a spirit-gift.”
Crane blinked at that. “So young? Around healing?” She was a bit taken aback.
“Not healing so much as… keeping going. Doing whatever it takes to move past what’s hurting me and do what I need to do. It’s hard to explain, but it’s the only way to explain this.” I motioned to my body. “I should be far more injured.”
Crane nodded. “Auwei may be right. Now that I look closer, I can see the scars of the other wounds, By-The-Spirits there are a lot. And… nearly all healed up now. Amazing!”
I shrugged at the off-handed compliment.
We bandaged my right thigh, left calf, and left upper arm. Those were the only places with significant wounds still showing.
“You should tell Lord Maverick of your gift,” Crane said as she left with the bundle of soiled bandages. “He has a way of knowing a person’s gift, sometimes even before they do.”
