The report continued to go into details about the plan, but Alandris couldn’t bring himself to read any further. White hair. It wasn’t much to go on, but it still made his chest painfully tight. He’d long since learned to stop himself from getting too hopeful too soon—it only ever led to disappointment. He knew better, but he still felt an ember of hope leap to life as he read the words. Pale. Human woman. White hair.
“Where did you find this?” Alandris asked, keeping his voice steady.
“I was in a tavern in one of the smaller port towns, Caerthien. They’d apparently had one of their shipments of gemstones from the northern mountains stolen by a pirate vessel. Piquedmy interest, so I read the report. Can you believe our girl is a pirate?” He lifted his head and laughed deeply. “She’s really outdone herself this time.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…”
Zorinna nodded. “We should send someone to investigate, but I agree with Alandris—let’s just see what this is first.”
Kaz clicked his tongue. “Apart from the elderly, how many Humans have you seen with white hair?”
“They could have mistaken a Faeling for a Human,” Alandris mumbled.
“You know as well as I that the Faeling have far stranger features than an odd hair color. If they’d seen a Faeling, they would’ve mentioned horns, or fangs, or a tail. Her idea to tell people she was a Faeling was a long shot at best.”
“We will send someone.”
Kaz shook his head, pressing his lips into a thin line. “Of all the leads… this is the one we should investigate ourselves. What’s gotten into you two?”
“There are things I must do here.” Alandris crossed his arms in front of himself and leaned against the desk. “I can’t keep stepping away from the Consortium. I am Grand Arch Magus now,” he spoke the words as if they disgusted him. “The Divine Council will have eyes on me.”
“You promised her!”
“Kaz!” Zorinna stepped between the males, holding a fuming Kaz back with a hand against his chest. She glared at him, unspoken words passing between the two.
Alandris dragged his hands down his face. “I know—I know what I promised. There has not been a day in twenty-five years that I have not thought about that promise, or taken a step to fulfill it. But I also cannot watch her die again… and me bringing her here personally is a risk. It is the same with the two of you. My protection does not extend outside of the wallsof the Consortium. You are too close to me. The Council could recognize you. We need a better plan.”
With the rising tension in the air quelled, Zorinna allowed herself to step back from Alandris and Kaz. “I will ask him.”
Alandris lifted his head. “Are you certain? No doubt, he will want something in return. Jyuri is not the type to work for free. Though, I suppose if it is for his darling lover, he’d do anything.” The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.
“I’ll kill you. Right here. Right now.”
“Jyuri rather likes your violent tendencies. It may impress him.”
Zorinna scrunched her nose. “Kaz, you’re going to need to be the one to hold me back now.”
“Now, now.” Kaz patted her back and shot Alandris an apologetic look. “You have an enchanted journal to write in, Rin, and I’m sure Alandris would appreciate some time to rest.”
Zorinna threw another vicious glare Alandris’s way before exiting the room with Kaz. Her eyes did not match the faint smile on her lips, for in truth she was happy to see her friend joke with her for the first time in so long. Seeing him show the tiniest glimmer of hope was enough for her to submit to his teasing. She would pray to every god that ever was and ever would be that Kaz’s lead would come to fruition, because she wanted her friend back—both of them.
The door clicked shut and Alandris threw himself down onto his bed. In less than an hour, he would be teaching a class of bright-eyed, fresh-faced Mages how to use their magic, pretending his mind wasn’t a realm away—thinking of her. He forced himself up to sit in front of the mirror to make himself more presentable. He didn’t need the students questioning his ability to lead them, and the dark circles under his eyes and the disheveled state of his hair didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Aquick brush and a glamor spell to hide his lack of sleep would do the trick.
He’d wrested control of the Mages Consortium from Lyandril and ensured no active students were involved with the Divine Council. They would still expect him to send them Mages for the holy order, but he could control it now. He had eyes on the inside. He’d intended to make this a safe place for her, somewhere she could seek refuge upon her return, and he’d done so. Fully freeing the Mages Consortium and the Mages within from the grips of the Divine Council would come next.
They’d promised to do that… together. A dream from another life.
When we first met, when you told me of the Consortium, I thought it sounded like paradise. That doesn’t have to change.He could hear the words in the warm, soft tone of her voice. He could see the way her smile lit her face when she spoke them to him. Regardless of how many years had passed, the imagery was clear as day. His pristine memory—a blessing and a curse. It might have hurt less if it wasn’t so vivid.
He sighed at his reflection in the mirror. “I’m still waiting, Nairu.”
Two years earlier…
The puddle of blood beside me was spreading outwards from where I sat on the cold, hard ground. Numb to the sounds of shuffling feet and screaming around me, I watched the crimson creep towards me, little by little, until it soaked into the fabric of my pants. I stared into the glossed-over eyes of my Keeper, knowing what I should feel—what was natural to feel—when someone you’d grown up beside was cut down by a murderer in a city on fire—but I didn’t feel that. I felt relief—relief, guilt, disgust at myself—and then… nothing.
From my earliest memory, I recalled the feeling of needing to run as far away as possible, but that simply wasn’t an option while chained to a Keeper amongst a village of people who idolized me. So, her death—my Keeper Evri’s death—though unfortunate, was a convenient opportunity for me to make my escape. If only I could get my body to stop shaking and get to my feet to take advantage of it.
I ran my palm over her eyes, closing her lids. I didn’t hate Evri, but she, and the entirety of my village, had always felt… off.Though I grew up with her, it was as if she was a stranger. She felt like a ghost of someone so familiar, but always too far out of reach, and because I couldn’t stop reaching for that ghost, I could never connect to her.
