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Needing the normalcy of something mundane, he pressed the button and the tint within the windows changed, allowing unfiltered light through. He stood and walked to the window, still dressed in the same clothes from the day before. He’d slept deeply, and yet still felt exhausted.
Out the window, Sol looked as it always did, the structure suspended like a cloud in the sky above the Elcadian realm subject to his—now his father’s—power. Unchanged. The clouds drifted past in the blue sky and the sunlight was bright and crisp. Far below the rolling hills of Elcadia, a patchwork of agricultural lands gave way to the edges of the city. A ribbon of river wound through the landscape and cut around the city, widening as its length disappeared toward the sea in the west. Everything familiar. But he felt stripped.
He wanted to get back to Brinna.
What if he couldn’t?
The thought flustered him. He could lie to himself and say that it was for Nix and Auri, but it tasted wrong, where it never had before. Now, the truth was that he wanted to be near Brinna. He wanted to help her. And that didn’t make any sense to him. When did he ever want to run toward rather than away? Brinna had called him out on it, and it had floored him. He’d never felt so exposed.
With a sigh, he turned away from the window and headed for the bathing room. He needed to speak to Nix, knowing his brother would be interested in what he’d discovered. Reaching for their godlight tether, he tried to summon his brother, only to find the tether missing.
“Fuck,” Luc muttered, realizing he couldn’t summon anyone without his power. He was truly trapped in Sol.
Eventually he made his way to the kitchen to make himself an espresso. As the pleasant aroma filled the space, his mother’s voice rang out across the expanse of Sol’s living room. “Lucian?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Good morning, Mother.”
Aiah smiled at him and drifted toward the kitchen, her cinnamon tresses dressed around a crown of fall leaves to denote the season. Her dress flowed around her, gossamer panels of shades of orange, green, red, and yellow drifting like leaves falling from a tree. “You didn’t answer my summons, and I got worried.”
“Father took my power. I can’t.”
She stalled. “He did what?”
“Took my power.”
She cursed. “When I get my hands on him…”
“It is no less than I deserve,” Luc said. “But it would be nice to be able to summon help should I need it.”
She continued to mutter.
Though his parents had been paired for their lifetime, a marriage of convenience, their partnership had been tumultuous at best. Luc had a host of half-siblings across the Elcadian realm—maybe even beyond it—both by his father and mother. Though turbulent, there did seem to exist a sense of partnership and camaraderie between them, even if it was hard to predict which way the wind blew from one minute to the next. If his mother’s glower was any indication, it wasn’t a peaceful wind at the moment.
“Deserve is an ugly word, Lucian,” she said and sat down on a barstool at the counter. “Make me an espresso.” She tapped the counter with a fingernail.
Amused, Luc huffed through his nose. He set the espresso he’d made for himself in front of her. “I’m here. Safe and sound,” he said, though he didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm as he turned to make another cup.
She took a sip of the coffee and made a sound of contentment. “Delicious,” she said. “Now, that is a beautiful word.”
“How about devious?”
She set the cup down in the saucer with a clink. “Devious? Are you being devious?”
“No. Just thinking of other words that begin with the letter D. How about di–”
“Lucian,” she warned. “I’m not in the mood.”
She was never in the mood for fun, especially in the fall and winter, but he didn’t say that. Instead, he finished brewing his espresso and enjoyed the first sip, then leaned over the counter toward her, his elbows on the cool marble.
“I’ll assign some piskies to come up. Clean the place, bring food, serve you.”
“I don’t need?—”
She raised a hand, indicating she wasn’t open to discussion. “No. Without your power you can’t summon. You’ll need someone for that. You won’t be able to leave, see to your needs. It’s a hopeless business, and absolutely barbaric,” she said in a huff.
“Hopefully Sol will remain intact under their care,” Luc said, then shrugged, knowing he wouldn’t change his mother’s mind.
“Tell me what happened with your father.”
