That’s because he’s the only person you know here. Though, that wasn’t quite true, and I sobered at the thought.
“Can I see Ben soon?” I asked quietly.
The General gave a curt nod before striding toward the door to my suite once more. “Yes. As soon as Lord d’Refan is aware of your presence and can . . . interview you, I will have you added as an authorized guest for the house. For now, please stay here until I come and get you.”
With that, he departed, the door closing softly in his wake.
Without his presence, the vastness of the rooms became overwhelming, and I quickly closed the door to the bedroom, preferring the ambiance of the sitting room. I barked a disbelieving laugh at how quickly my place in society had changed in just a few days, though I distinctly missed the dirt floor of my house and its decidedly cozy feel. The lack of vegetation was alarming, and I was already growing restless.
I strode back into the bedroom and scoured through my bag, pulling the first journal I could find from its confines and tearing a random sheet from the middle. I found a box of pens shoved into the side of the bag and quickly wrote my first request.
A plant. Or two.
I made my way back into the sitting room and flopped on the couch, too tired to begin unpacking and cataloguing my books, even though I knew that would bring me some semblance of peace. Instead, I chose to lay down on the couch and rest, suddenly too tired to keep my eyes open.
But when I did, I was met again with strange dreams that felt more real than not, and I didn’t know what to make of it all.
Chapter 48
The Girl
The girl stretched her arms over her head, her bones and joints cracking from disuse as she lay on the bed in the dark and cramped hut.
Sunlight, she thought.When was the last time I saw the sun?
She had seen it in her dreams, sure, but she couldn’tfeelit. And for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel another vision threatening to crest into her consciousness. She had witnessed the death of one of the last remaining Keepers recently, and she wondered if the lack of visions was a result of the dwindling number of her people. Laioken—orthe Librarian, as he referred to himself—was one of the last, most hidden of her people, and they had never seen eye to eye when it came to the girl’s plans. As much as she despised Laioken, she still watched his light fade, his soul absorbed by Solace. After that witness, her visions had tapered off, becoming jumbled and unclear.
Her visions were muddied again, one of the Children of Fate inevitably exercising their free will and deviating from the paths she had so meticulously led them toward. It would takemonthsfor her to correct everything, and she groaned in frustration.
The hallway in Solace flashed in her mind, briefly disorienting her, as she climbed from the bed, her muscles almost giving way. She steadiedherself before taking tentative steps forward, her body in the hut but her mind in Solace.
It was becoming more like that, recently, her mind beginning to fuse with her goddess. Eventually, that is all that would remain. Her body would be here, but she would be with Solace.
The girl often wondered if the goddess would be able to control her physical form once that happened, or if she’d fade into nothing.
Slowly, the hallway disappeared to reveal the dark and hot interior of the hut. It was just large enough for her bed and two chairs, but there wasn’t much else she needed anyway. She shuffled to one of the chairs and grabbed a linen wrap, tying it around her thinning hair and emaciated frame.
Oh, the glamorous life as the voice of a goddess.
The girl finished tying the wrap as images flashed across her vision again. She saw Cael in pain, a body the girl couldn’t see under him. As she tried to make sense of the scene, it disappeared. She sighed and rubbed her temples, filing the information away in one of the rooms in the hallway.
She reached the door to her hut, which was really just a flap of fabric, and pushed it to the side.
Instantly, the scalding heat and relentless sun of The Sandstones hit her, causing her to throw her other arm over her eyes in an attempt to block the assault.
Well, there’s the sun.
She stepped out of the hut and hissed, realizing too late that her feet were bare and the hard-packed sand that comprised The Sandstones was blazing hot. The girl ducked back inside, quickly pulling on a pair of leather sandals by the door before exiting again.
The sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was nearly midday. She expected Cael and his retinue to return today with aguestin tow. The girl practically vibrated with excitement.Thisshould turn the tides in their favor in the war against the Warlord.
Soon, Solace. Three Children of Fate will be here, within our grasp.
The girl plodded through the camp, the bustling of Mages and Vessels halting to pay deference to their leader.
“Mother.”
“Matriarch.”
