Hope
Ademanding knock on the door of their room interrupted Hope’s practice and Ciaran’s reading. Nobody had looked for them, not since their arrival, not even Gabrielle.
Hope lifted her eyebrows. “Do you think I was too loud?” She tilted her head as she examined the shattered pieces of different materials covering a fair amount of the floor in front of her, product of many hours causing explosions with the Fifth Power.
From the desk where Ciaran had been reading and taking notes fromOf Southern Petals and Wicked GreedinessandOf Western Petals and Savage Healing, he shook his head.
“You sound-proofed this room. But no, it wasn’t any louder than the previous fifty-four times. That graphene solid block the size of a wardrobe was the loudest, I’d say.”
“Because I had to make a significant effort to destroy it.” She had Given a varied range of items to destroy. From diamond orbs to golden chains to titanium beasts. So much fun. “Any major revelations in the books?”
“There is averyextensive anthropological personality trait distribution of this population, and the links between geography, culture, climate, and traits such as openness, collective consciousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Basically, the majority here are greedy and interested, with a worrying lack of empathy and disinterest in concepts such as justice, fairness, and the greater good.” He tapped his metallic fingers on the South House book. “There are chapters upon chapters on the history of items it has Taken and the impact of those disappearing on families and politics, including sentenced deaths for beings who were incorrectly deemed as thieves, and the evidence that it was always the House. There are two incidents, though, from a century and two centuries ago, when items that were Taken years before reappeared, which means—”
“That the House keeps them somewhere.”
He nodded, his dark hair falling over his shoulders with his move. “What we know is that South House Takes everything it wants. What we don’t know is where the House stores everything it Takes.”
“A secret place where a Cardinal House stores everything it deems of value. That sounds very much like somewhere a Queen would want a part of her heart to be.”
The knock was insistent and longer this time, so Ciaran stood up and said, “I’ll take it.” With a flick of his hands, he covered most of the room with shadows, somehow making it look like it was a black wall on the side of a small room. He didn’t waitfor Hope to come to the other side, so shadows enveloped her, caressing her skin, and playfully circling up her ankles.
He half-opened the door, and the person next to it welcomed him with a blunt, “Hi there.”
“Arabella,” Ciaran said briefly, without opening the door any further or offering her to come in.
“No need to be too excited to see me, don’t worry. I just have a warning to give you.”
Hope couldn’t see Arabella on the other side of the doorway, but she saw Ciaran’s eyebrow lifting as he waited for Arabella to carry on.
She did not carry on.
“Which warning?” he finally asked.
“I went for a brief visit to the East and your friend from the North—the one I trained—was there. She is a disgraceful little shit sometimes.”
Ciaran snorted. “I’ve known Lenna for years and was aware of that since the first time I heard her open her mouth.”
“Well, she is dangerous,” Arabella said matter-of-factly, as if that was her revelation of the century.
Ciaran’s eyes widened slightly, as if disappointed that that was the big news. “I know.”
“No, but I mean,verydangerous.” Hope didn’t need to see her face to feel the irritation in her voice. “She doesn’t control her sparks—hermoodcontrols her magic. Have you ever seen that happen to anyone? Because I have. This is how it starts. This is how it always starts.”
Ciaran narrowed his eyes. “Are you confident in what you’re saying?” His voice was suddenly grave.
“I swear on the Fifth and every Cardinal. Usually the Organ Mandor would discard or kill the poor soul to put them out of their misery or avoid a catastrophe, but I doubt the current Organ Mandor, wherever she is,” Arabella cleared her throat,and Hope felt a piercing stare through the shadows, “will kill her little gang friend.” She sighed. “I genuinely don’t fancy dying because someone loses their mind, and with it, their magic. Do something about it before she blows the entire island up, will you?”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“Also, there were many sangins flying over different parts of the East Petal, searching for prey. I reckon if they don’t find what they were looking for there, they might come to this House. They are ugly, ugly creatures, and the views from my room would be affected. So, when are you leaving?”
“As soon as I can, but perhaps you can help me,” Ciaran said. “In order for me to leave, I need to speak with a master of secrets, gossips, and whispers. Someone who trades in favors and survives by taking information from others. Someone who represents the values of the South House and has been around long enough to know things about this Petal and this House no one else might know. Do you know such a person?”
Arabella thought for a while, but when she spoke, there wasn’t a trace of doubt in her voice. “There is only one person in the South Petal that meets all of those characteristics: the Speaker of the Scales, leader of merchants, and unofficial royal pain in the ass.”
26
Hope
