This time, the nausea in my gut tastes more like a guilty conscience than the iron lining the streets. I’ve known for a while how unhappy Akari has been since the break-up, especially as—unlike Killen—she never got a reason for why Saleen was calling it quits. Not even afake one. They were simply together until, one day, Saleen decided they weren’t. By way of a note, no less, a cowardlyI’m sorry but I can’t do this. And now I’ve not only gone and forced her right back into those helpless feelings, I went and asked that open question, as well, inflicted this hurt for nothing.
“Akari, I—”Have to come clean.Right now.“There’s—”
“Hey, check this out.” But Akari’s attention has already drifted towards less painful ground, her brow furrowing as she considers the wealth of flyers that have been tacked, haphazardly, to the streetlamps. “These are new.” She studies the worn scraps of paper. There are dozens of them, each scrawled with a name, an age, a date, and the wordmissingin increasingly large text.
“They’re all children.” The churn in my stomach turns to dread. “Seems an awful lot, don’t you think? To have disappeared so close together?” Over the past few months, it looks like, though the flyers seem to have multiplied significantly in the past few weeks.
“Yeah,” Akari says with a shudder. “It really is.”
“Is it strange that we haven’t heard about a problem this widespread?”
“It’s strange that we haven’t beenblamedfor it.” Her voice hardens. Because—yes, that’s exactly the type of lie the Church would tell, and if not them, then the Meridians. Ever since their “divine” leader rose to power, the pitch of the hate in Sarotuza has changed. The lies used to be simple: magic is a sin, we are a plague, the Gray is unnatural . . . the same tired rhetoric that’s been regurgitated for hundreds of years. Whereas now, we have a false prophet telling a very different story and placing a price on our heads. Which the Church was fine with, at first, back when the Divine Meridian was little more than a disgruntled cleric. But the second he started threatening their power, the clergy took a firmer stance—and they’re not above denigrating us as a means to unseat him.
The Meridian takes Shades so, in return, we take children? That’s an accusation that would incite some pious rage. It’s only a matter of time before the Church adopts it.
“Come on, let’s just shimmer to the house.” Akari takes my arm and blinks us into the Gray. “The sooner we get your parents out of the way, the sooner we can start tracking.”
“Why don’t you start now?” The shadows immediately relieve the burn of the iron, lending me the strength to say, “I can go on my own.”
“Are you sure?” She has the grace not to look too excited. “Because I’ll come if you need me, I know your parents can be a little—”
Dismissive? Judgemental? Cruel? Cold enough to make me question whether it’s a daughter they wanted, or a continuation of the Wryvern name?
“I’ll be fine, honest.” Sometimes, it’s actually easier to weather the chill alone.
“Well, in that case, maybe I’ll sneak in a spot of trading before we track.” Akari flashes me her teeth. “Come find me when you’re done?”
“Yeah. But be careful, okay?” I add, not just because there’s still a Shade-hunting zealot on the loose, but because, strictly speaking, she’s not allowed to do that out here. At the Academy, our professors turn a blind eye to our extracurricular trading since spelling charms is a great way for us to hone our skills. But in the real world, the trade in magics is closely monitored, and the Council doesn’t much like it when a Shade conspires to rob them of their cut.
“Don’t worry, I promise to pick a nice, crowded,faithlessdive.” Akari winks. Then before I can remember that I broke my magic, she shimmers off in search of some willing typics to pitch.
Damn it. I curse at the air. I didn’t think to askwhereshe’d be trading and she didn’t think to tell me because she’s so used to me relying on the future for such basic, easy-to-discern paths. By the time I’m done with my parents, Akari will have already chosen a tavern, which would have made tracking her there a pinch—even for a thoroughly inept Indigo. Unless, of course, that Indigo decided to become fate-touched.
A problem for later. Since there’s no changing the past, I continue on towards the color district, hugging the shadows until I reach thegate to my parents’ manor, where I can phase back into the physical realm without fear. There’s no iron here, no Gods or typics. Just two decorated seers and a legacy I can’t hope to succeed.
The path leading up to the house is a snake of flowers, with indigo roses, oleanders, and tulips artfully arranged to form a sea of eyes, in nod to the symbol that represents our color. And though the house itself is Sarotuza’s usual mix of warm brick, arched windows, and terracotta tiles, it’s bigger than most of the neighboring manors by quite some margin, with three domineering stories that sprawl proudly across the grounds, a stern tower reaching skyward at either end.
Seeing towers.
So that my parents can always consult the future at will.
“Miss Wryvern, are the guild masters expecting you?” Their seneschal—a surly Blue with graying hair and a dour frown—meets me at the door, her voice laced with a note of irritated surprise.
“Not exactly, no. Could you please fetch them for me?”
“They are currently entertaining a guest in your mother’s study,” she clips with a huff. “They are not to be disturbed.”
“Then I’ll wait outside until they’re done.” I sweep past before she can argue. And since I’m also a Wryvern, she technically works for me as much as she does them. She has no choice but to let me.
A flurry of muffled voices greets me as I scale the stairs to the tower, slowly growing louder in volume and clearer in pitch.
“How were they able to breach the castle?” My mother’s questions have always been blunt, but they’re a gentle touch compared to my father’s manner.
“Are we interrogating the portal keepers?” he demands. “There must be a traitor in their midst.”
“We are.” It’s Councilman Denata’s voice that booms through the door in reply, freezing me in place. “And rest assured, any such sympathizers will be swiftly caught and dealt with. What I wish to know is how we didn’t see this coming.” Bywehe very clearly meansthem.
“The future isn’t a book to be read, Lars,” my mother reminds him. “Our seers seek answers based on the concerns brought tothem by the other guilds, and the trackers had not made us aware of this possibility.”
