I split my time between training with Lydia and reading the materials Theo had provided in the library. I had already filled three notebooks and the stack of papers only seemed to grow each time I entered the library.
There was only one stack of books that I had been hesitant to start working on. I wasn’t sure why I was so reluctant to learn about my heka and the wordsmiths in general, but every time I thought I was ready to open one of the books Theo had provided, I couldn’t get myself to read beyond the first pages.
Today had been a particularly rough training day for me. Though my overall fitness had improved significantly, it was glaringly obvious that I was no fighter. Progress was slow and although I was doing my best, I could see that Lydia was running out of patience. She had become a goodfriend to me, but in the sparring ring she was my teacher first and foremost. We had started training indoors when the temperatures had dropped and I was grateful for it.
Climbing out of the bath, I grabbed a towel and inspected my new bruises and cuts. None of them needed mending, but I put on some lotion and slipped into a bathrobe.
A knock sounded at my door.
“I have a letter for you, Madam,” a young servant said shyly.
I thanked him and checked the envelope. Although I had hoped to receive a letter from my mother, a smile spread across my face when I recognized Theo’s handwriting. I hadn’t seen much of him lately and I was always hoping to catch sight of him when I worked at the library. But apart from a few short conversations, our interactions had been limited to the weekly meetings at the temple.
Inside the envelope was a simple card, engraved with Theo’s seal.
“Maelis, if you are amenable, I would like to extend an invitation for you to join me and a select group of friends for a shared evening meal. The gathering is informal in nature, intended primarily for the purposes of getting to know each other. Your presence would be both welcome and, I believe, conducive to a more balanced dynamic. Theo”
The back of the card simply read:8.30 p.m. - South terrace, second floor.
“Your presence would be conducive to a more balanced dynamic,” what the Fates was that even supposed to mean? A select group of friends? Informal in nature? This man did not have a normal social bone inhis body.
It was now 6 p.m., Caelan would be back from the temple. I slipped out of my room and made my way to the first floor where Caelan’s quarters were located. As head of the temple guard, he had his own little corner of the Lodge.
I was about to knock when Caelan’s voice carried through the door.
“Has she told you anything about her past?”
Lydia answered in her usual measured tone. “No. Every time I try to bring it up, she shuts down. I’m sure it’s connected to her heka—that’s probably why she won’t talk about it.”
Caelan sighed. “Theo trusts her, and I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t, but—”
“—but she’s a wordsmith,” Lydia cut in, “and that means we can’t afford to trust her yet. I like her too. She works hard. But we have to stay vigilant.”
Outsider. Risk. Something to be watched. I knew I hadn’t been honest about my past—had learned early that some truths were safer when left untouched—but hearing their caution laid bare still stung. Trust, I realized, was not something I’d been given; it was something I was expected to earn, carefully, under watchful eyes.
They weren’t wrong. My heka had always been tied to words, to meaning and persuasion, to shaping what others heard and believed. I’d lived long enough with that knowledge to understand the unease it caused. Still, I hadn’t known it carried this much weight—enough to put me on the wrong side of caution.
I didn’t know how my heka fit into whatever they feared, only that the wordwordsmithcarried more history than I understood. Maybe it was time I stopped pretendingignorance would protect me.
I eased back down the hallway, my steps soundless. When I returned, I made sure my footsteps rang louder against the stone. I knocked, and entered only after Caelan called me in.
“I am sorry to disturb you, oh, hello Lydia,” I said a little too brightly, and Lydia narrowed her eyes on me. The woman was like a bloodhound. She could probably sense my forced cheeriness from a hundred stretches away.
“Hello, Maelis, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was coming to see if Caelan could tell me a little bit more about tonight’s dinner? Theo’s card was a little… formal. I have no idea what to expect or what to wear.”
Caelan chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We have a couple of friends coming in tonight and thought it would be nice for you to meet them. We are going to do one last traditional barbecue for the year on the south terrace.”
“So there is no dress code or anything?” I asked.
“None whatsoever. Though I do think you should wear that mint green dress we bought in Lumoria. It looks gorgeous on you and compliments your eyes.” Caelan grinned.
“All right, a dress and warm tights it is. Thank you, Cae,” I said and turned to leave.
“Maelis?” Lydia called out.
“Yes?”
