“You will be allowed to roam the grounds of the palace, of course. But I have designed a schedule for you to ensure you do not meet with anyone.”
His gaze goes to Upsila.
“You may keep the dog.”
I stare at him.
“Please do not make this harder than it already is, son. Do not leave your room outside of your schedule. Is that understood?”
He does not wait for me to answer his question. He manifests a piece of paper in his hand, and he lays it on the bed, away from me. It dawns on me that he does not even want to touch me.
With mother, this would not have been surprising. But father? He’s always been on my side, even if tacitly. To see the wariness in his eyes guts me to my core.
He stands there awkwardly for a moment before he turns and leaves.
The door closes in his wake, and a tightness appears in the pit of my stomach.
I dare glance at the piece of paper.
The days of the week are listed individually. Some days I am allowed to be out in the morning and at night, while others only at noon.
I close my eyes and swallow.
Prisoners must have a better schedule than me. They are at least allowed to socialize.
My gaze moves to Upsila, and laughter bubbles in my throat.
You can keep the dog, he said. As if he was doing me a favor when she’s been mine since she was a pup. Sheismine. I would not have allowed him to take it from me.
Sensing my distress, Upsila jumps on the bed and lays her head in my lap. I stroke her absentmindedly.
I suppose my punishment means I will not be able to see Baine, my older brother, when he comes home from his post in the military. It has already been decades since he’s last come to visit, and I was looking forward to it.
Baine is much older than me. He has already passed his qualifying exams and is said to be one of the strongest immortals Tartareia has seen in ages. As soon as he opened his ninth gate, at the age of three thousand years years old no less, he was recruited by the House of Jubal’s military and offered a top position. Now at almost six thousand years old, he is a household name, both feared and admired in Tartareia and other neighboring realms. Even Aperites know his name, and that is the true pinnacle of fame.
Although a large age gap separates us, Baine has always been kind to me. Whereas mother and father prefer to keep their distance, Baine is the opposite. Every time he returns from one of his missions, he brings me a small gift. I may not have many possessions, but Baine’s gifts are among the most prized.
“Maybe I will catch him during one of my scheduled hours,” I murmur to Upsila. “Or, maybe, he will come to visit me himself.”
He is bound to wonder why I am not outside to greet him, or why I do not seek him out to spend time together. Then maybe…
My face falls, though, as I realize that will be unlikely.
Father said I am not to meet anyone. With Baine being my mother’s favorite, I doubt she will allow us to meet.
I sigh deeply as I look around my room, thinking of ways to spend time to keep the boredom at bay.
I could, of course, go against my parents and go out whenever I please. But that spurt of rebellion would be short-lived, and then I would suffer more dire consequences. Likely, they will not allow me to go out at all. Since Upsila needs her daily walks, I cannot do anything to upset my parents further.
Letting Upsila sleep in my bed, I go to the bathroom and wash myself. Despite doing my best to avoid thinking about Miss Lavandale, her unmoving features and the gash on her neck keep entering my thoughts, as does the guilt that I may have had something to do with it.
I do not think so, but I am unsure.
Maybe my parents are right. Maybe this is for the best, since the last thing I want is to cause harm to another person.
But if I am so dangerous, if I can kill a person so easily without even realizing it, why have my parents not investigated therootof the issue.
Where other immortals start their spiritual energy training at five hundred years old, I was told that this was not for me—that my future did not lie in combat, but in the administrativeside of things. My predisposition was for the cerebral not for the physical.
