“Itwas the emperor;Iwas sure of it.Itwas likeIhad wandered into his war council or something,”Nokisaid.He’dbeen in the mountain for three days, and for once, his timeline lined up with ours.Hehad gotten the furthest into the caves, the best we could surmise.Abraxashad drawn a map from what he remembered, but by his own admission, those memories were over six hundred years old and “cloudy.”
“Buthe wasn’t the emperor yet.Theykept calling him ‘PrinceHadeon’ and this other guy ‘king.’Hadeonwas working to strategize an attack on something.Iwasn’t sure what.AllIcould think about was how pissed that king guy was as he watchedHadeon.Justfuckin’ staring daggers into him.Especiallywhen the commanders were all ‘great job,Hadeon’ and ‘you’re a great strategist like your father,Hadeon.’Afterthey all cleared out, the king went up to him, grabbed his collar, and was all, ‘remember your place, boy.’Thewhole thing was weird as hell.Noway any of that was real.”
Itwas real.Ihadn’t been there, but it played like so many similar incidentsIhad seen in those years beforeObion’sdeath, that there was no doubt it had been true.HowhadNokiseen such a thing?Atrue vision of the past—that was a magic that could only be woven by the most complex of enchantments… or curses.
Thesoldiers quickly devolved from any useful topics andIleft the tent.Thiswas something thatIneeded to update the princess about.Iwalked to her tent but paused outside whenIheard lowered voices.Istood outside, listening throughthe paper-thin walls and peering through a small crack in the canvas.
“It’slikeTenebrae, the warping of time.Butso far no one has been lost.”
“Notyet, butIcan feel it.Thecurse was sleeping, but it slowly awakens.”Theking shook his head. “It’scalling to me, calling for blood.Ourpeople won’t be safe in there much longer.”
“Thenwe have no choice.Ihave to—”
“No!Iwill not allow it.”Isaw her expression twist in annoyance, but it softened, and she grippedAbraxas’ face gently.
“Ican feel it, that well of mana beneath the mountain.ButIcan’t reach it!Thisdamn curse is blocking me.”
“Exactly,Iwon’t be able to connect with you,Tori.Thecurse will warp our bond.Ican’t stand it.Iwon’t be separated from you again.”
“Doyou not believeIam strong enough on my own?”
“OfcourseIdo.Don’tyou see?ItisIwho isn’t strong enough without you.”
Myheart twinged at how he looked at her, how he held her close, and meant those words.Ihated how very jealous it made me.Ilet out a soft cough and they turned asIentered the tent.
“Pallas, good.Anynews fromNoki?”
“Yes, everyone came back without injury again, but there was something interesting this time.”
“Letus hear it.Ihave no time for dramatics.”Theking’s face was ashen, with deep bags under his eyes.Ialmost felt bad for him but couldn’t quite find that sympathy.Iturned to the princess.
“Nokisaw a vision of something that happened in the past.”
“Yeah, we’ve seen that before, people’s memories.Wasthere something else?”
“Thepast he saw was not his own.Itwas an event none ofthe humans in his party could have known, as it happened four hundred and fifty years ago.”
Atthis,Ihad both of their attention.
“Andyou are sure the things thatNokisaw were true?”
“Yes.”Ididn’t explain more.Icould not lie, butIdidn’t have to tell the whole truth.Neitherof them pressed me.Instead,Toriturned to the king.
“Thinkof what we might learn,Abraxas.Wecould destroy the node and perhaps discover something, maybe something that would help us.”
“Ihate to say it,YourHighness, but for once,Iagree withAbraxas.”Theyboth looked at me with surprise. “Thiscurse is beyond anythingI’veever read about before.Ithas warped the very fabric of reality.Whoknows what you will see?Whatwill you find?Yousay you will find knowledge, butIsay you will find untold danger.”
Abraxasnodded. “EvenPallasagrees,Tori, you must—”
“No.Iwill not put my cohorts at risk, a riskIwouldn’t be able to tackle myself.I’mgoing in there tomorrow morning.”
Theybegan to squabble again, andIexcused myself beforeIsaw anythingIdidn’t care to witness.
Iwandered back to the tentIshared withJun, and once again found myself listening in on a conversation from the outside.
“He’sjust always so damn overprotective of me.I’molder than he is!Ican take care of myself.”
Junnodded; his face grim. “Iknow.Toriis the same way.Shetreats me likeI’mstill a youngling, and it makes me… beyond frustrated.”Ifroze, unable to believe whatIheard.Thetruth of his heart revealed.
