“His name is Haddi,” she corrected with a smile.
“Haddi. Right. See, one more thing for me to fuck up.”
“You’re going to be okay. Just try to relax and open yourself up to whatever Haddi has to say. He’s extremely old and incredibly wise.”
“And Kade trusts him?” I asked.
“Of course, he does. Haddi is an oracle. Why do you ask?”
“I dunno. Back in the library, I sensed some tension between the two of them,” I said.
“Well, Kade’s father did assassinate the council of oracles, as well as attempt to kill him, and his mother basically held him in slavery.”
“Family drama is timeless isn’t it?” I joked.
“You have no idea.”
“I really will apologize to your father tonight,” I said, softly.
Isla smiled. “Thank you.”
Isla’s smiles felt like forgiveness. Not just for my bad behavior, but for all the evils of the world.
“And I’ll try my best not to have to apologize again to you.”
This time, Isla managed to hide her smile, but her cheeks betrayed her by turning bright pink.
“Shall we head out?” Gunnach suggested, waving his hand toward the exit.
“Will you walk with me?” I asked.
“Since you asked so nicely, yes,” she replied.
We made our way in silence. Both the cold night air and Isla’s presence soothing my burning skin and slowing my racing mind.
Arric
THE FIRE PIT was at the bottom of a stone-lined earth pit, surrounded with marble benches that looked as old as the castle itself. It was large enough to accommodate a sizable fire and I worried about the heat from the flames. More specifically, I was worried about how the heat would affect Isla. I wasn’t accustomed to worrying about others and wasn’t the biggest fan of what it was doing to my guts.
“Aren’t those benches a little close to the fire?” I whispered to Isla as we made our way to the others.
“Worried about the flames, young Arric?” Haddi asked. “Fear not.”
“You have good hearing,” I called back. My voice echoing through the small amphitheater.
“It’s nothing compared to my sight,” he replied with a smile.
“It’s this place,” Isla said softly, motioning to our surroundings. “The fire pit is a natural echo chamber. Centuries ago, when it was built, the designer placed each of these stones in precisely the right spot in order to achieve the best acoustics possible.”
“Why build a place like this?”
“Because I didn’t want secrets between those who sat here,” Kade replied, reminding me of his true age. “This is a sacred place, where the truth is revealed to all.”
“I have nothing to hide,” I said.
“Are you certain?” Haddi asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
