Even though the kitchen was bustling as always, the staffpretended to ignore us, continuing to go about their business. Cadhla dropped off a loaf of bread as she passed.
“Thank you,” I murmured, the sweet, yeasty smell transporting me back to Nana’s kitchen.
She bobbed a quick curtsy and hurried off.
Griff stretched out his legs closer to the fire, wincing slightly as he did so.
“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.
“Just stiff. Nothing to worry about, Princess.” When I gave him a hard look, he added, “It’s an old injury. It flares up in the cold. Unrelated to my trip.”
“Tell me about the trip.”
In a soft tone, he did. He told me about the village that had been destroyed by hufen. About how hufen had still been lurking around the outskirts of the village, and he had destroyed them. About staying long enough so the Veil could repair itself so that hopefully no more could enter.
“How many?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He knew exactly what I was asking. “Only two deaths. They were lucky.”
We sat in silence for a while before I changed the subject. “How did you even find me on the mountain?”
“I’ll always be able to find you. No matter where you are,” he replied in his mild, even voice. But somehow, that soft, simple statement rang through the kitchen as a vow.
That should have been ominous, right? The possessiveness should have irritated me. Except, for some reason, it felt like an anchor, tethering me to a safe harbor. Heat, separate from the fire, pooled in my stomach. As his hand reached out and covered mine where it rested on the arm of the chair, a comfort settled in my chest, something I hadn’t felt since before I’d first set eyes on him over two months ago.
Chapter
Sixteen
The priestesses say it was through the will of the gods that the hufen were created. That’s never made sense to me. Why would the gods embrace such darkness?
—From the journal of Violet Andrever
Ihad now been in Valdris for over two and a half months and was no closer to fixing the Veil than I was when I first came here. If fixing it the last time required the sacrifice of both of my parents—powerful channelers by anyone’s estimation—how was I, a barely trained magic user who had no idea what she was doing, supposed to figure it out? Clearly, the prophecy wasn’t going to help me. I needed more information. Something that no one else in all the years of studying this phenomenon had uncovered and tried. But nothing was what I was looking for. Although since I didn’t actually knowwhatI was looking for, it was hard to put into words.
But people were dying out there. The reports were just getting worse. Griff was constantly in danger every time he left. And, as Zachariah reminded me every chance he got—not that he needed to—it was all on me to fix this.
“I just need…” I slumped in my chair in frustration, trailing off—because that was the problem. I didn’t know what Ineeded.
Finn rubbed my shoulder in solidarity. “What do you need, Lexie?”
“More knowledge? There’s something I’m missing about the Veil and the prophecy. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but something doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Then you’ve come to the right person. There’s no history book, no knowledge, no archive, that’s forbidden to me. Let’s try a different track.”
I was starting to wonder if what I was looking for didn’t actually exist. But somehow, someway, I knew that when I found it, I’d know it was what I was looking for.
Finn decided that maybe what I needed couldn’t be found within the castle walls, and that we should check out the second-oldest place in Valdris. I think he also thought, rightly so, that I needed a break. And so I made my first foray outside the castle walls since that trip with Griff, now almost six weeks ago.
The afternoon air was crisp in a way that only late autumn air could be. The season was certainly turning, bringing into sharp relief the fact that Ignistar was next week. I pulled my coat farther around myself. Even though it was made of the finest wool and lined for warmth, the chill permeated my bones. Although, even with the weather, I was ecstatic to be outside the castle walls and ready for my first visit to the city of Valdris.
“You’re practically dancing down these streets,” Finn observed, grinning. “Anyone would think you’d been a prisoner up there.”
“Wasn’t I?” That came out more bitter than I intended and I laughed to soften it. “I’m just used to more… freedom, I guess. The ability to wander wherever I please.”
“Wander away, my dear.” Finn gestured grandly, and I skipped a few steps.
We followed the cobblestone path down the mountainside. It was fairly steep as we left the castle, but it settled into a low slope soon enough. The path spiraled down the mountain, with the ramparts, carved straight from the mountain stone, rising high onboth sides of us. We soon came upon the first set of shops and houses, built into the rampart walls. Some of the buildings were in front of the walls, narrowing the already tight passageways, and others were behind, forming close-quartered alleys. Some you could only enter from the ramparts themselves, while some had street-level entrances or were up half a flight of stairs. All were built of that same gray, brown, and yellowing stone. Dark-gray stone appeared every so often—newer places that hadn’t yet weathered over the years. The buildings went up several stories, apartments and houses dotting the rest of the path. Staircases leading to other levels of the ramparts were either open to the elements or contained within narrow towers.
