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The silence that filled was heavier than a pile of blankets. I half expected it to be broken with laughter.
Instead, Ryze tilted his head back. "Fuck."
My gaze met Cavan's. Clearly, he'd expected a different reaction.
"You believe they exist too?" Cavan asked carefully.
Ryze lowered his chin. "I've long suspected they might. During some of my wanderings, I’ve kept an eye out for their whereabouts. If they exist, I haven't found them."
Wornar, who’d stood until now, flopped down onto a wide sofa. "The legends say they had different magic to the seasonal courts. The ability to see the ghosts of the past and the future. To control dreams and minds. To create enough rain to make floods. Theirs was like the power of the gods themselves. The seasonal courts were terrified of them. But they hated each other and wiped each other out." He shook his head.
"Not wiped out," Cavan said. "Just hidden…somewhere."
"Don't tell me," I said. "They could harness lightning and melt stone?"
That did sound like something gods would do.
"Why would they target Ryze?" Vayne asked.
"Because I'm exceptional?" Ryze smirked sarcastically. "Maybe it wasn't directed at me. Or at Cavan. It might have been intended as a general warning. Unless there was something in that building they didn't want anyone to get their hands on." He quirked an eyebrow at Cavan.
"It was nothing but a storage building," Cavan said. "It would have been full of potatoes, grain and bed sheets."
"Maybe they're offended by cum stains," Tavian offered, his expression deadpan.
"While I'm sure everyone has the same dislike of those, that seems an extreme reaction," Ryze said. "The real question here is what do we do about all of this? Potentially, this has nothing to do with the Winter Court. Merely some random enemy of Cavan's. It might be a good time for us to leave." He placed his hands to either side of him and started to push himself to his feet.
"You're welcome to leave, but I think you know this goes beyond me," Cavan said. "The whole of Jorius has been on edge for years now. Waiting for something. Nowsomethingis here. I can't see another explanation for what happened today."
Ryze sat back down and put his hands in his lap. "Neither can I. Khala said you suspect the courts will awaken? What do you mean by that? Winter Court legend is similar to what Wornar said. The courts were powerful and annihilated each other. I thought if I ever found them, I’d stumble onto ruins. Fascinating, certainly, but nothing more than the remnants of long dead Fae. From what you're saying, I get the impression you think otherwise."
"Summer Court legend says they only went into hiding for a thousand years." Cavan pressed his fingertip to his lips. "The Court of Dreams that is. No one seems to know what happened to the Court of Shadows, apart from their disappearance happening shortly after. According to Harel, Autumn Court legend has them building ships and sailing to the gods know where.”
“One legend says the High Lord of one court fell in love with the daughter of the High Lord of the other. They sought to bind the courts to one another. Yet another legend says the opposite. They fell in love but her father forbade them from being together and the courts went to war. The truth may lie somewhere in between blood and biding."
"Or with neither of those," Wornar said. "We're talking about thousand-year-old legends. Myths. There may be no truth in them at all."
"If I hadn't seen a bright light melt stone with my bare eyes, I may be inclined to agree with you," Ryze said slowly. "It seems clear there are forces at play here. Forces that either are or are not trying to target me or the Summer Court."
"Forces that have allies," Tavian said. "Illaria said she was working with some others. She also said she came from the Autumn Court."
"Are you sure Harel isn't up to something?" Ryze asked. "He seems eager for an alliance with you."
"I'm certain heisup to something," Cavan said. "Which is why I let him stay here. I trust him as much as I trust any of you."
"But you don't think he's involved in what happened today," Ryze stated.
Cavan pressed his lips together. "He's a sneaky prick, but I don't think he has that kind of power any more than you do. He's curious about the legends of the courts, but he doesn't believe they exist. He thinks they were always a myth."
"Is there any chance he's right?" I asked. "I mean, I know what happened today, but maybe there's some other explanation."
"Bored gods?" Tavian suggested.
"I'd sooner believe the gods are a myth than the two missing courts," Cavan said. "There may be another explanation, but in the last half-century, I haven't managed to find one."
Ryze stared at him. "You've been worried about this for that long?"
"Not just worrying about it,preparingfor it," Cavan told him. "Gathering resources." He nodded towards me.
