The bell sleeves stopped at the middle of her forearm, the skirt flowing straight down. She was given another article of clothing, a long corset that layered on top of the dress, the dark red color rich. Esper laced the top layer, the fabric cinching her waist. She quickly shoved her feet in the boots and swung the cloak over her shoulders.
“You’ll want to take off your jewelry, dear,” Esper pointed out. Airess removed them, starting with her earrings and bracelet. She began to unfasten the heart-shaped locket at her neck when Esper stopped her, telling her that it was hers to keep on the journey.
Esper handed her a bag full of supplies and a change of clothes. Airess frowned. “Are you not coming with me?”
“No. My work here is far from over.”
“But I have so many questions for you! I don’t even know where tostart.”
Esper smiled sadly as the carriage came to a stop. “If all goes as planned, I will meet you in Rune with the rest of The Obadiah. Then, you can ask me all the questions your heart desires.”
Airess pressed her lips together to keep herself from crying, fear and anticipation overwhelming her. She said her farewells to the High Priestess of House Moros. Esper embraced Airess before she opened the carriage door and stepped onto the streets of Holtzclaw.
“You will find your way. This is only the beginning.”
Airess watched the carriage ride away until she no longer saw it in the distance. As she turned towards the Inn, she couldn’t help but notice the finality in Esper’s tone.
She had a feeling she wouldn’t be seeing Esper again.
Chapter 4
‘Tevye was once part of the physical world, but Evyen Deyanira ascended it to a higher dimension.’
– The book of Tevye
Taryn
He couldn’t get her scent out of his head.
In a way, he was grateful for it, the prominence of her sweet scent the only reason he was able to track her after that disaster of a ball. He focused on the task at hand, trying his best to block out the blast that brought too many painful memories back to the surface. He trailed the faintest hint of honey and magnolias, the smell of Lady Airess lingering in the woods he now traveled through on horseback.
The explosion was a problem, an annoying deterrence. An unknownthird player had entered the mix, much to Taryn’s dismay. He had a flawless plan: dance with the Lady Airess and slowly draw her outof the ballroom using the Compulsion Ring Eryx had lent him. Taryn had compelled the castle guards and any ballgoer around him to act natural, as if he belonged there. He was surprised Eryx let him use the ring, but there would have been absolutely no way he would have been able to get into the castle without it.
Taryn rode twenty minutes south until he reached the small town of Holtzclaw. The clatter of hooves on stone faded as he dismounted his horse and scanned the perimeter. Stone buildings leaned slightly with age, and the town was null of any life bustling amongst the street in the dead of night.
Taryn inhaled the brisk air. The Lady Airess’ scent was strong. He tied his horse to a tree nearby, pulled the cloak over his head, and followed her trail.
He stopped before a familiar building, an inn Taryn had seen in passing during his travels across Luciena. The Lady Airess’ scent trail ended here. He debated breaking in, but that would lead to witnesses and a commotion he’d rather avoid. Ultimately, he decided on watching out for her behind the outhouses.
Surely, she would eventually come outside.
A brief feeling of shame washed over him as he thought about what he was doing. If circumstances were different, if Eryx hadn’t made him swear the Oathmark, Taryn would never be doing something like this. Hell, he wouldn’t have done half the things Eryx commanded him to do.
Taking that Oathmark had turned out to be the biggest mistake of Taryn’s entire twenty-four years of existence.
After several hours, a soft, feminine humming sound drew him out of his thoughts. He sat upright against the tree, completely out of eyeshot from the outhouses so he wouldn’t be seen. The melody graced his ears. He didn’t need to see to know it was her who hummed. For a moment, he closed his eyes and relished in her song. When the door of the outhouse closed, Taryn slowly crept up to the side of the building. He inched around the side near the door.
And when the door opened, he lunged.
Chapter 5
‘Us Luciens have always had to connive and claw our way to power, for the other Godlings have pitted against us.’
— Written entry from Zaro Lucien’s personal journal (Pre-Division)
Airess
She wasn’t thinking clearly.
