I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Don’t, not yet. You can tell Rhenor, but no one else. We will have to tellRyehro—” I cut off myself off as he jerks his head at the slip of my name for her. “Carnaxa.”
Someone will need to inform her, but in her current state — who knows how the message will be received. I just hope the message was only sent to me, and not to Shaston as well. I don’t need my father hearing of King Clemmon’s illness, and I pray he hasn’t already. I just need to gather the men from here and send them south to see if they can help Midaeliea and Antalis, with or without his approval. The sigil of the other letter the young boy delivered catches my attention, fitting considering I was just thinking of the Kingdom of Midaeliea. I tear it open. Well, if things can’t get much worse for the Northern Continent ...
“Thekhindare now raging inside Midaeliea. Queen Natala and King Elino have sent most of their people to hide in the forest that surrounds them. They built their houses high and are hopefully protected enough.” The first time I saw the tree houses, I was astonished. They make the living spaces into the trees themselves, building them as well as any castle elsewhere on the continent.
Thylas grabs the decanter of brown liquid from the corner of the desk, not even bothering with a glass as he takes two quick swigs. Silence falls heavily over us as we wait for the others to arrive. Everything that once was is gradually fading away, slipping from my grasp as I struggle to hold on. Sure, my life wasn’t great — Shaston wasn’t perfect — I would lie awake at night thinking if I had been born somewhere else I could have been happy. Now, those places are transforming into the same nightmare I grew up in.
I crack my neck and think of all the trouble that awaits us. I just hope thekukhewill remain in their ice prisons so we don’t find ourselves fighting on all fronts. However, with the reports I’ve received … I don’t think that’s what we will find. It’s why I’ve stalled our travels, trying to bide time to come up with a plan. And perhaps, we should abandon this journey and head to Antalis. A chill runs down my spine as I think of thekukhe. Their bodies are half-decayed and larger than any creature should be. No one truly knows what they are, but the stories that surround them are of death. Legends are told of once great men turned traitors and this is their punishment.
Thylas pulls another swig from the bottle before he looks at me and holds the drink out. “Is she okay?”
There’s no need for me to ask who he means. I confidently reach out and grab the bottle from his hand. As I take a swallow, the liquid burns down my throat, preparing me for the upcoming conversation. “She’s scared ... She says she remembers fragments, but nothing fully yet. She’ll come back to us, and to you.”
He nods his head. “Ryehrois a fitting name — my moon. She looked happy today — truly happy — in the snow with you. I haven’t seen her smile like that in a long time.” He chuckles sadly to himself and a piece of my heart aches for him. I didn’t know he knew Shamlilish, but since he was born here, it makes sense. “Naxa’s not been eating the breakfast you’ve been bringing her. Every morning after you leave, she tosses it. Word of advice, she’s eaten the same thing since she was twelve: a piece of toasted bread with almond butter, a peach, and a glass of goat’s milk. If you can’t find that, choose cheese. She loves cheese.”
I look at him now. My fingers graze against the shell embedded in my sternum. I once thought I would have taken her only for myself, but I know now how much love was between her and Thylas.I would have found a way for them to be together. I wouldn’t have liked it at first, but I would have let them have each other.
“Thank you.” I take another drink, needing to have questions answered myself. “How isshe?”
He looks up at me, his eyes quickly moving back and forth as he carefully selects his words. “Anara is ... different. I don’t think I’ve ever truly met someone like her.”
I nod in agreement. There aren’t many like Anara. Antalis may let their women speak their mind, but Anara has her own way about her. She doesn’t just speak her mind, she speaks with a wisdom even some elders don’t have.
“Be her safety, Prince. She’ll need you when I fix this.” Thylas’ tired gaze meets mine as he wipes his hand wearily across his face, he then rises from his seat and heads towards the distant wall.
I open my mouth to ask what he meant when he said he’ll fix things, instead the tent flaps’ movement catches our attention and I quickly hide the message from Antalis. Rhenor comes in and bows to me while looking suspiciously at Thylas. Thylas just shakes his head before the rest of the council comes in to talk about how we are going to survive the next few days as another snow storm is upon us.
thirty-two
Carnaxa
Isit with Siphonie and Rhenor, laughing as they verbally and irritatingly spar with one another. She’s telling him how loudly he snores and he’s reminding her he isn’t the only one. She slaps his shoulder, and I feel comfortable for now. The conversation with Anara still lingers in my mind — she knows more than what she is saying. I stand up, dusting off the back of my pants and walk back to the food tent. I’m hungry and hope they haven’t put everything up for the night. I enter the tent, anticipating darkness, only to gasp at the sight of someonealready inside.
Thylas looks up from his own scrounging and smiles. “Needing a late-night snack?” He looks away before shifting through a bag of fruit.
Before I can leave, my stomach grumbles. “It would appear so.” Removing my scarf, I lean down and try to read the labels on the individual bags and crates scattered throughout the tent.
“The cheese is over there.” Thylas points to a crate towards the back of the tent and I smile.
“How did you know that’s what I wanted?”
He walks towards me, his boots scrapping the hard ground below us. “I know you, Carnaxa. We used to make a game of stealing cheese late at night.”
I warily eye him before I start walking toward the crate and attempt to pry it open. It doesn’t budge.
“Here ... let me.” Thylas’ warm body appears beside me and I move out of his way. He rolls up his sleeves and his forearms flex with visible muscles as he effortlessly draws the sword from his hip. With little effort, he pries the top open with the tip of his sword. He reaches inside and I glimpse tattoos that cover his corded forearms disappearing beneath his sleeves. The tattoos aren’t surprising. I know those in theKe Neyehave them, but his seem to pluck at something buried deep inside of me. I note thew?ngeskon his forearm and smile, the Goddess’ sacred creature that came to her during the Great War. But it’s the tattoo around his wrist that pulls my attention the most.Nohæ.
He pulls out a small cheese wheel and hands it to me, but he catches me staring. His lips tip in a half smile and I take the cheese from his hand. “What does it mean?” I ask.
He sighs and looks up before looking back at me. “You never noticed before. Of course you would now. It means ‘my dream.’ I used to dare to dream.”
I look at him, his emerald eyes staring into mine. I don’t know why, but I reach out tentatively and brush my fingertips against his arm. His eyes dart to the contact and then back to me. He breaches the small distance between us.
“Don’t you see the ripples anymore, Naxa?”
I shake my head. “I don’t ... I’m sorry, Ambassador —”
“Don’t call me that. You’ve never been one to call me anything but Thylas. Can you not feel me? I have held you in my arms more times than I can count, my back bears the marks of my promises to you. I promised to be your safety, and for so long I pushed you away. I pushed you away when you wanted me and now, when we finally have a chance, you’ve fallen through my grasp like sand.” He reaches up to touch my face and to my surprise, I don’t pull back. I search and search but every memory I try to call forth doesn’t come. His fingertips trail across my jaw and I flinch, but I don’t reject his advance.
