Nyx and Theron led us through the shadowed and broken cobblestone streets of the poor sector. Ramshackle homes built out of equal parts stone and wood rose up on either side of us, sometimes new apartments built haphazardly over the roofs of existing homes from a lack of space. The city did not pay to keep these streets lit like the upper sectors, or even to keep it well guarded. I glimpsed shady dealings down thin, dark alleyways, and heard the cries and coughs of sick children whose parents were most likely unable to pay the exorbitant prices of the mages who lived so tortuously close to them. Somewhere, a dog was barking, its hoarse warnings echoing off of stone walls. Then, with a squeal, it was silenced.
It was a far cry from the merchant and rich sectors higher up in Sera. I hadn't been down to see the poor sectors often when I'd lived here, and now I could see why. It was clear to me that both Theron and Nyx knew this area much better than I and both had been here many times before, for they walked through it with purpose and direction.
We traveled down side streets until we turned down a wider street that was clearly meant as a shopping strip of sorts for the poor. A small market sat beside some shops advertising homemade goods and a tavern, which was the brightest place in a good distance from any direction.
The tavern was on the corner of the intersection of two main streets, and was built out of large, untrimmed and whole trunks of trees. It was three stories high, and light from within spilled out its windows over the cobblestone streets in rectangles. Laughing, talking, music, and the sounds of drunk people dancing were muted behind its walls. A sign hung over the door between its two street facing walls, a carving of a mug of ale and a stack of coins lying just below the words, The Hung HorsemINN: Your Secrets are Safe With Us! Given the reputations of taverns, and given this particular inn's tongue-in-cheek sign, I doubted that was the case.
Nyx opened the door with a push and then a kick of her boot, and led the group of us in. The music and conversations were amplified as the walls enclosed around us. This was definitely a place for the poor and destitute to come and spend their wages on things that would only maintain their lifestyle, but nevertheless, the people were laughing and having fun. If I were here in better times and weren't stressed out about my current situation, I may have joined them.
As we were led to the bar, we passed couples making out at corner tables, and men passed out in pools of spilled alcohol. Over to our left, a man who had gotten too into dancing while drunk had fallen, causing belly laughs from all who saw it. Above my head and through the floor boards, I was pretty sure I heard a particularly hyper bed spring.
“Ah, Nyx! Long time no see, love!” The man who spoke from behind the counter was a Celdic elf, his long brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail, allowing the tips of his ears to glow in the nearby candlelight. He had three thick scars running horizontally across his face, like it had come from the swipe of a paw, and a long pipe stuck out of his lips, smoke rising slowly from it. When I approached the bar, I could smell a mix of herbs from it, knowing that some of them may not have been perfectly legal.
“Heeey, Linden,” Nyx greeted, glancing back toward us.
“There are a few lonely guys here tonight. Could point them out to you, if you're interested,” Linden offered. “And don't forget, if you want me for the night, I won't even charge.” He wiggled his eyebrows and took a puff of his pipe.
“Not here for that tonight, bud,” my friend replied. “I need...” she glanced back toward us again. “Five rooms.”
“You brought your own, ey?” Linden's eyes scanned over us all. “You don't need five rooms for that.”
“I need five rooms. Don't argue,” Nyx replied, impatiently.
“Hm. Okay, okay, I won't ask.” Linden stooped down below the counter and pulled up a book. As he flipped through it to the current date, I found myself surprised that he kept records at all here. “I hate to say it, but I only have three rooms left for the night.” With another cheesy grin toward Nyx, he said, “Mine's got room for one more.” He glanced over to me. “Or two.”
I stuck a thumb back toward the front door. “The inn...was it named after you?”
That caught his attention. Leaning over his book on his forearms, to smile over at me, he replied, “Why yes, Nyx's beautiful fire-haired friend, it was. I can prove it to you, if you'd like.” Another wiggle of his eyebrows.
I chuckled. I found this man oddly charming in a goofy way, if a little desperate. “I will believe it is as you say, Linden.”
The Celdic elf's eyes beckoned in mine. “Nyx, be a dear and introduce me to this vixen, for I fear chasing for her affections will be difficult otherwise.”
“For fuck's sake, Linden, put your dick back in your pants and do your job,” Nyx hissed.
“Ah, the lady protests,” he complained, standing back up. “You want the three rooms, then?”
“Yes, please.”
We waited as Linden marked it down in his book, and took the coin from Nyx. He then gave us three silver keys. “Your rooms are 18, 19, and 20. Up the stairs and down the right hallway, all the way at the end.” Even as we walked away, the horny elf managed to sneak an alluring smile my way.
We decided that Nyx and I would sleep in the same room, and Silas and Theron would sleep in another. Cerin would be alone in the room between the other two. After a good night's rest, we would be sending Theron out in the morning up to the barracks to find Bjorn and give him a message from me to both him and Terran. From there, we would just have to wait and hope they came quickly, or gave Theron a message in return.
The next morning, I had my message written by Nyx and given to Theron, so even my handwriting could not be recognized in the case it was seen by someone else. I deliberately kept the note vague, so that it would mean nothing to anyone who came across it if they were not one of the intended recipients. I hoped the message relayed just enough to the two men to get them to come.
Bjorn/Terran,
Urgent. Please come at earliest convenience. Messenger will tell you where. It has been nearly a year since I left for Whispermere. I have much to tell you both.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
With that, Theron was off, and all we could do was wait. I had given him a visual description of both Bjorn and Terran, though it was imperative that he would reach Bjorn, if at all possible. It would be much harder for him to get an audience with my brother.
Theron returned some hours later, and informed us the message had been received by Bjorn, who had promised to pass along the message to my brother. I was told that Bjorn would be unable to make it on that very night, due to an influx of new recruits keeping his schedule full. He would find the time for me, he promised.
Over the rest of the evening, as the sun crawled across the sky and dipped back below the horizon, we waited in our rooms. I didn't want to risk being seen by anyone who knew me. Theron and Nyx took turns waiting in the bar, as Bjorn and Terran were told to meet them there to be led to me. Just when I'd all but given up hope to be visited on the first day, a knock came at our room's door.
I opened it. Terran stood on the other side, a range of emotions running through his sharp features. He immediately grabbed me into his arms.
“Sister, thank the gods. I never thought I'd see you again.”
Ale and sage. It was so comforting to me. I pulled back from his hug, before pulling him inside the room Nyx and I were preparing to share for a second night. Terran and Nyx said awkward hellos, before I sat my brother down on the edge of the bed.
“I have missed you greatly, Terran. I have much to tell you.” I swallowed hard, and sat beside him. “You have no need to fear for my life, brother.”
“What have you learned?” He asked, intrigued.
Over the next minutes, I tried to rush through most of our journey, though I kept Cerin's name out of it. I knew Terran might remember him, and if so, he could remember why he had left the college so early. I told him mostly of my mother, and my disappointment, and finding out I was no longer just human.
“You have made friends along your journey,” Terran commented, at a point.
I nodded, thinking of Theron. “I hired Theron as a mercenary before we left. He has become a friend.”
“You chose well.” Terran hesitated, before asking, “Who else?”
My stomach twisted into a knot. “No one else. I have Nyx and Silas with me.”
Terran frowned, his dark brown eyebrows dipping toward the center of his face. “There is a man here, clad in black. He has the room next to yours.”
I wasn't sure how Terran could know that. Cerin had been doing such a good job of staying hidden in his room. “Yes, well, there are many rooms here with people in them I have never seen, brother.”
Terran nodded, and looked away. “I love you very much, sister. I hope you remain diligent when it comes to those you keep close to you.”
My heart pounded in my ears. Surely he knew nothing of Cerin being here with me. We had been so careful. “As I hope you do as well. I have one last thing I need to tell you.”
My brother glanced back over to me. His eyes held a certain amount of distance. I felt sick with confusion; I didn't know what had caused it. “What is it?”
“Sirius—father—is the one who hired the Alderi to assassinate me six years ago,” I said, keeping intense eye contact with him so he could see my honesty. “He was—”
“Kai, Kai, listen to you!” Terran looked perplexed. “I understand your relationship with our father is strained, but to suggest such a thing! Who has been feeding you such lies?”
“My mother told me this. She knew those who requested it of him.”
“She may be the woman who birthed you, but you knew her a total of what—two days and nights? She fed you lies, sister. Father has always had plans for you. He loves you—”
“Do not lie to me, Terran. You don't like what I am saying, but do not attempt to change my opinion with lies.”
Terran stared at me a moment. “Do not be the pot that calls the kettle black.”
I was quiet, thinking back over our conversation. Somehow, Terran knew more than he was letting on. I didn't know what it was—whether he knew Cerin was with me, or thought I was straight up lying about the assassination attempt—and not knowing was driving me crazy. But I could not figure it out without letting him in on my secrets.
Terran stood up, facing the door. “Forgive me, Kai. I must leave.”
“Please, Terran...do me a favor, and believe in what I am saying to you. Sirius has put my life in danger before. I know he places you in much higher regard, but still...” I trailed off, watching as my brother stopped just before the door. “I fear for your safety.”
Terran held a hand over the doorknob. I watched his shoulders rise and then slump with a defeated breath. “I fear for yours,” he replied, his voice barely above a murmur.
Just like that, my brother was gone, and I felt worse for having seen him. Something had changed between us from when I'd left and now, and it wasn't just because of what I'd learned. Maybe it had to do with Cerin. Maybe it had to do with Sirius spreading lies about me in my absence. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it made no sense.
“Something about this stinks to the heavens, friend,” Nyx said softly, when Terran's footsteps had been gone for a number of minutes.
“I don't understand it at all, Nyx. We have been to Whispermere and back. We have come across no one from Sera's Army, and we have made good time. Even if someone had followed us, surely we are back sooner than they could have been?”
“That depends on if their mission was to kill us or report back,” Nyx mused.
I was silent. That was all too possible.
“We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I would not trust even Terran,” she murmured.
That broke my heart. I didn't want to believe my brother would turn against me. At the same time, I couldn't discount it. I left Sera, while he had always tried to get me to find a place in it. He had always accepted the path in his life he felt he was assigned. Even if Terran still loved me as family, at some point, with Sirius and I having drastically different opinions, he was going to have to choose a side. If I were in his place, I would have chosen the same.
“I need to talk to Bjorn first,” I finally insisted. “I cannot leave without seeing him. I need to make sure he's all right and has the option to join us.”
Nyx sighed. “Then I hope he comes tomorrow, because the longer we stay here, the more dangerous it is. Theron and I will need to keep a close eye on anyone coming upstairs in this inn, tonight. The last thing we need is for Cerin to be captured.”
“Yes, please do that. I would appreciate it.” I couldn't keep the anxiety out of my voice. So much was happening and unraveling in what I thought had been a simple plan.
“I will talk to Theron,” Nyx promised.
The night was long, for I could not sleep. Every noise stirred me, and there were a few times throughout the night where I got up to investigate the hallway to ensure Cerin's safety. I did not believe that the gods were almighty, but I found myself wishing I could pray, because sitting around doing nothing did not sit well with me.
When a knock came at the door the next morning, I was fatigued with a lack of sleep, but I hurried to the door nonetheless, hoping it was Bjorn on the other side. I wanted to leave Sera today, and ideally, I wanted him with me.
The door opened, and I felt nauseated for the umpteenth time in the two days since I'd been back in Sera. For it was not Bjorn, but an official messenger from the Seran University who awaited me on the other side.
“Kai Sera,” the young man said, holding up a summons from Sirius's court. “You are hereby notified to come with me for a meeting with your father, Sirius Sera, and his court, effective immediately. He requests you bring Silas Galan and Cerin Heliot. No one else.”
There was my heart again, forcing my brain out of my head with the pounding of my blood. “Cerin Heliot is not here,” I stated, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I can bring Silas Galan.”
The messenger read along the back of the summons he still showed to me. “You are harboring Cerin Heliot and are required to bring him.” The young man's eyes raised to meet mine over the scroll. “It says here that you might try to lie, and that your ties to him are proven.”
My nostrils flared, and my mind flew through thoughts at a mile per minute. “I was harboring him, yes. He grew suspicious of my intentions here and fled during the night. There is nothing I can do. If Sirius requires his presence, I suggest he send his men east of Sera.”
The young man looked flustered and confused, reading through the summons again. “Well...I guess just bring Silas Galan and yourself, then. I will request he send his army after Cerin Heliot when we arrive.” He hesitated. “We must leave immediately, Miss Sera. I have armed soldiers waiting outside the inn for us.”
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. I turned to Nyx, who was watching this all with a look of horror. I could not portray what I wanted to her without the messenger overhearing me. Instead, I stared at her, before flicking my eyes to the left, toward Cerin's room. She made no mention of noticing the move, but I knew she did.
“He will not hurt me,” I said to her, as I slowly exited the room. “He desires my powers more than my death.”
Nyx nodded, even as she stood from the bed. I didn't know what she was planning, but I saw the options racing through her black eyes before I could see her no more. Passing Cerin's door without so much a glance, I knocked on Silas's door.
The Celdic elf's face appeared before mine a moment later. His eyes flicked from me to the messenger.
“Silas,” I said, my voice low. “We have been summoned.”
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