Page 32 of Chaos and Crowns

“So what kind of things do I need to be watching out for?” Odelle asked. “I’ll keep an eye on the incoming stories, but how will I know if it’s the Shadow?”

“They’ll be wanting to cause pain and chaos.” Nora chewed her lip as she thought. “Anything that would breed fear, that seems out of the ordinary.”

Odelle snorted without humor.

“Nora, those are two separate concepts. We get news about shootings that cause pain and chaos every day. It’s not out of the ordinary,” Odelle pointed out.

“Ok, well then anything that causes an abnormal amount of panic or division.”

Odelle nodded in agreement but was interrupted by a yawn so wide that her jaw popped and her eyes watered.

Nora gave her an apologetic smile. “I shouldn’t be throwing all this at you right now. You need to sleep. Do you want me to find you a bed here? There are plenty.”

“No.” Odelle shook her head. “After the adventure I’ve had, I want to sleep in my own bed.”

She pushed to her feet and reluctantly relinquished the blanket she’d been holding around her shoulders. Nora made to come with her, but Odelle waved her off.

“I can get myself home,” she insisted. “I’m just going to catch a cab, since my car was impounded when I left it on the sidewalk. I swear, I’ve taken more cabs in my life since this mess with the crown than I have in my entire adult life before now.”

As Nora gave her a hug goodnight, Odelle refrained from mentioning the stop she was making on her way out, knowing her sister would give her a hard time.

Once Odelle left Adam and Nora’s cozy quarters, she turned down a hallway in the opposite direction of the exit, toward where Antony had been carried away on a stretcher. Thad had assured her he would be fine as Nora whisked her away to get her warm and fed. Still, the blue tinge on his pale lips haunted her. He had saved her life. The least she could do was check on him one last time before she went home.

As Odelle moved down the hallways, she poked her head through doorways until she saw the back of a golden blonde head bending over a bed. Odelle stepped around the corner and Seraphina looked up from where she had been applying a compress to Antony’s forehead. Odelle stood there, staring at his face, unsure what to do now that she was here. Thankfully, Seraphina didn’t object to her presence.

“He’s going to be all right you know,” she explained softly as she began grinding some herbs with a mortar and pestle.

Odelle nodded and stepped closer to the bed, looking down at Antony’s unconscious form. In sleep, he sprawled out like a starfish, despite Seraphina’s obvious attempt to tuck him snuggly under layers of blankets. It made Odelle smile, despite the crease between her brows caused by the shallowness of his breathes and the waxiness of his complexion.

Odelle reached out to push a copper curl from her face but snatched her hand away when Seraphina stepped up next to her. The smile Seraphina offered seemed to say that she shared in some secret, but Odelle refused to acknowledge it.

“I’m just…thankful that he saved me,” Odelle justified.

“What he did was quite impressive,” admitted Seraphina, “None of the rest of us would have been able to manage it.”

“Yeah.” Odelle swallowed thickly. “He told me that he’s the only surviving Smith.”

“It’s not just that. The amount of Light he used—it would have been astounding even before the Defeat. Now…most of us lose consciousness after use of the Light that would have barely taken a thought before, even though it seems to be becoming slightly easier to use the Light as the Shadow grows in power once more. What he did would kill any but the most powerful among us.”

“So…Antony is—” Odelle stammered.

“He has the largest capacity to channel Light in all of the Eteria,” Seraphina said with a sage nod. “Even before the Defeat, his raw power…it was some of the greatest the Eteria has ever known.”

“I had no idea,” Odelle admitted. She would have thought Adam was among the most powerful, or perhaps Ezra with his superhuman fighting abilities, moving faster than the eye could see. Antony seemed to think very little of his powers as well, criticizing his fighting skills and carrying so much guilt for the deaths of other Eteria members. But Antony, this beautiful unconscious man, channeled the powers of the universe through his fingers.

“It’s easy to forget,” Seraphina admitted. “He mostly channeled the Light in his workshop, away from watchful eyes. When you see him work though, there’s no denying it.”

There had been no refuting the awe Odelle felt when the entire world around her gleamed with the Light pouring off Antony. Now, he looked so fragile in comparison. It made Odelle’s chest tighten.

Seraphina put a hand on her shoulder as Odelle swayed with exhaustion.

“Why don’t you go get some rest.” Sensing Odelle’s hesitation she reassured, “I’ll stay with him.”

With a nod, Odelle shuffled from the room, weighed down by her fatigue and the heaviness of the feelings Seraphina and Nora had dragged up from where they’d been buried out of sight. The feelings needed to be revisited though. In all she had learned of Antony, from her experiences and that of others, it was out of character for him to dismiss Odelle for being outside the Eteria. Not when he nearly killed himself to save her, and his own humility spilled into the territory of self-deprecation.

Just as Odelle was stepping out of the doorway, Seraphina’s voice came from behind her.

“Feel free to come visit tomorrow. I’m sure Antony would like that.”