After I get changed into clothes that don’t reek of smoke, Amaya takes me to one of the rooms that is similar to the Entity ones back at the Sector. She spends the next three hours showing me all of the skills she’s been able to learn since being here. Some I’ve already seen, but even so, I can see how much she’s improved. Her power is like no other. Space magic is so unique from everything else.
I was amazed when she formed the mirror for me in the Grand Library, but now she’s able to make multiple. The way she’s able to manipulate light with her power is trippy. The rules of the way we see things seem to not apply. Even when she tries to explain it, I can’t seem to fully wrap my mind around it.
The distraction of it all is just what I needed, but there’s still a voice in the back of my head, reminding me that there’s a very important conversation still needing to be had tonight.
“There you are.”
Damien rounds the bookshelf I’ve been hiding behind and leans up against it with his arms and legs crossed.
“How’d it go today?” I ask, shutting the book I’ve had my nose in the past couple of hours.
“Good, actually. Most of the ones who arrived today were four-legged beasts or ones with wings that flew most of the way. Ryder had the earth witches create a small forest that will be comfortable for them to stay in while they’re here.”
“Is it like the Dread Woods?”
Damien shakes his head and his curls brush against his forehead with the movement. “No, it’s much better. More similar to Avelion’s, but there’s a section with twisted trees and fog for those who prefer it.”
Hearing what Ryder has done to make them feel at home, makes me fall for him even more. It’s those small details that most people overlook, yet he takes notice and makes them a priority.
“That’s good.”
There’s an air of awkwardness that I know Damien must feel, too.
He clears his throat and crouches down beside me. “I was able to bring back a mender for Elias.”
“You were?” I immediately perk up with excitement.
He nods. “It was an offering from the Southern Territory leaders for refusing to get involved.”
Damien could’ve taken their answer and left, but he went out of his way to get Elias a mender. That’s the kind of friend he is. The kind of person he is, and I love him for it. Both of them are incredible and I’d be lucky to have either one.
“That’s amazing! When will they heal him?”
“Sometime this week. Mending is nasty business. It will be a long and excruciating process.”
“Oh. I had no idea,” I admit, thinking about the pain Elias will have to endure.
“It’ll be a rough couple of weeks for him, but he’s been through worse.”
“True,” I say, standing up to shake out my legs that have gone numb. I reach my hands out and pull Damien up. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
His expression hardens, and it makes my stomach hollow. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that.”
“Can we go to my room?”
“Sure,” he says, picking up my bag and tossing it over his shoulder.
The walk from the Grand Library to my room is long and uncomfortable. We’re both lost in thought and neither of us want to speak until we’re there. I think about asking something surface level, but it feels weird and unnecessary, so I just let the silence linger between us.
When we get to my room, he sets my bag down and leans up against the wall.
“Please sit,” I beg, patting the edge of the bed beside me.
“What’s going on, Reign?” His face is grim and part of me wonders if he knows what’s coming.
“I—I don’t know where to start.”
He reaches for my hand and sets it in his lap. “It’s okay. Just say what you need to say.”
