Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A ctivity emanated from the village they approached. A sigh of relief slipped from Rose’s lips—the mist had not been here. Drained from her work on Juliette’s daggers the previous night, she was asleep before Luc returned from cleaning up the evening meal. It had not been a restful sleep. Her body clenched, waiting for a warning on the wind she could do nothing about.

Her mind wouldn’t stop working over all the things she had to do, all the questions she had yet to answer. The compass continued to lead them after Aterra, but would combined wind magic be enough to stop a god? Unlikely. Was she the only one worried? She resolved to make time today to talk to Luc about it.

The sun hadn’t yet set, and they were already at the village. They would have rooms in an inn tonight. She breathed easier, observing the villagers going about their day around them as they walked their horses into the communal stable. The market was winding down. Wooden booths and stalls lined the city square, offering goods that reminded her of Bury.

It was odd. The market didn’t make use of the entire square. Patrons and vendors gave a wide berth to a formation in the center. She glanced at the others as they handed off their horses to be groomed and fed. No bewilderment graced their features. There was no hood for an old well or anything she could see. Nor any specific artwork or statue. Whether the Compass Points found it interesting or not, she wanted to investigate. It was so different from the clumsily assembled aisles at Lake of the Gods crowding the entire square.

“Where are we?” Rose whispered to the others. She wasn’t as familiar with the southern geography of the continent as she would have liked. Juliette’s and Carter’s gazes both shifted to Luc. Rose took note since they rarely deferred to him for anything.

“Loch,” he replied. His voice was flat and emotionless, but his eyes told a different story. They willed her to understand something. She searched the square again, wondering what he silently desired her to know. Her head shook slowly as she turned back to him.

“The square is so much emptier than Bury,” she said. “Remember the chaos of the attempted aisles there?” She tried to make her tone light and playful, but thinking of Bury was hard. And Luc somehow looked even more uncomfortable at her words. His body tensed, prepared for battle.

“Should we head to the inn?” Carter asked.

Rose sighed. She wasn’t the only one who found Luc’s agitation awkward. As the group walked toward the square, she let her mind wander. The market scents and sounds brought forth more memories of Bury. She tried not to dwell too much on things she couldn’t control. That included Tara and the other villagers she’d had to leave behind.

She was doing what she could for them. Finding Aterra and stopping his interference with the balance between the gods and the continent was her number one priority. It was the first step in ensuring the mist plague ceased. They still followed Aurora’s compass. It would lead them to the god. She mentally reminded herself of the steps in this plan. She was trying. They were moving as quickly as possible.

Turning to talk to Luc as they walked, Rose was surprised to see he pulled up the hood on his cloak, shielding his face.

“What’s that about?” She gestured toward it. He hadn’t worn it up when the wind was coolest at the mountain pass or even at midday on their rides, when the sun was at its peak. She tilted her head, watching his eyes shift. Was he nervous? “What’s going on?” she whispered, trying not to draw attention from Juliette and Carter.

That was a lost cause, as Juliette’s gaze had been locked on the two of them since Rose had asked for the village name.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I’ll explain as soon as we’re alone,” Luc replied.

It was clear he also wanted to avoid having this conversation in front of the others. Rose let it be as they made their way into the market square.

Something drew her forward as they entered. Like a moth to a flame, the avoided area called her. Her magic stretched, desperate to know what it held. Power lingered here. A faint air of familiarity tinged it. She needed to explore. Her feet were moving before she could stop them.

“There’s the inn,” Carter said behind her.

“Can you make sure Luc and I get a shared room?” Rose said to the group as her attention was drawn elsewhere. Luc wasn’t telling her something, but she wouldn’t let the others use it to drive a wedge between them. Rose’s progress continued, ignoring the others’ voices as they planned for the evening. Loch was a small village. She was sure she could find where they were staying. Quick steps led her to the empty center of the square. A need to know drove her forward. Confusion hung heavy when she approached her target and peered down.

It was a hole.

A really deep hole by the looks of it—but still a hole.

Rose searched the market again, noticing the whispers and side-eye glances of those still milling about. Her interest must be unusual. She peered down the hole again. The familiarity was striking—a dark, vast tunnel leading to the unknown. Squinting, she tried to find any hint of a bottom—of where this feature would lead.

She was so focused, she missed the sound of footsteps approaching until Juliette was beside her. “You don’t know where we are, do you?”

“Clearly not, Juliette. I asked the name of the village just moments ago.”

“I don’t mean that…” She waved her hand. “You don’t know what this village represents, or what this is?”

Rose shook her head, realizing before the words were out of Juliette’s mouth why the depth of this tunnel felt familiar—it was Luc’s magic.

“Luc is from Loch.” Juliette’s eyes sparkled with mischief as her words reinforced what Rose was only just putting together.

Of course he was. Rose bit her lip. He said, and his memory proved, that he didn’t have fond childhood memories. Living in a village this small, she could imagine everyone would have been in his family’s business. Everyone would have questioned his unknown paternal lineage. The hood made more sense to her now, though it was likely a lost cause. He would be recognized here, not as the Suden Point, but as the fae child with too much power.

Her stomach dropped as everything sank in. He would have known yesterday that they were headed here. Why hadn’t he mentioned it? She fell asleep before they could talk last night, but he should have woken her to tell her this. To give her a heads up so that Juliette wasn’t here, reveling in their lack of communication skills. While she understood he did not want to discuss his past in front of the other Compass Points, he was pushing his luck for plausible reasons not to warn her.

She looked back down into the hole.

“And what is this?” She knew she should go to Luc to get these questions answered now. But the hole called to her in a way she couldn’t explain. The question had slipped out. Rose was sure from the feel of the magic and the look in Juliette’s eye that it had something to do with Luc—she just didn’t know what.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be the one to tell you.”

“Oh, please,” Rose said. “You followed me over here to make sure I knew.” Rose was angry that she’d even asked Juliette this question. She needed to find Luc.

“You’re no fun.” Juliette relented. “Fine. This is the marker of the event that called Michael to Luc.” She gestured to the space before them. The hole was wide enough to fall into, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find an indication of the bottom.

“How far down does it go?”

“No one knows,” Juliette replied. “And no one knows how to close it. Various rumors have been spread about the event that led to its creation. Young Luc let his emotions get away from him. Most say his power exploded and created this hole, this abyss.”

“What do you mean, abyss ? Surely, it has a bottom.”

“For nearly twenty years, the courts have been trying to measure its depths. No one has been able to find something that reaches it. Even strong earth wielders like Michael can’t sense it. Or so it has been said.”

“Twenty years? I would have heard about it,” Rose replied. “I would have still been at Compass Lake.”

“Would you have heard of Suden gossip, though? You were young and carefree, from what I remember. Many Suden were aware. The Compass Points were also reluctantly told. But it’s not like it was general knowledge among the courts.”

“So, Luc made this hole to nowhere? That not even other Suden can feel the bottom of? Why?” She cringed at her curiosity. She needed to stop asking questions and find Luc.

Juliette smiled coyly. “Well, that is where we get into salacious gossip.”

“You can spare me. I’ll ask Luc,” Rose replied as she circled the hole. The size made her nervous. She remembered the memory about the playground splitting because he was upset. Some would say he’d been trying to throw the child who was picking on his brother into a crack in the earth. Was this a similar situation? To her, Luc was so tightly wound. He had such a firm grip on his emotions and reactions. This idea of him losing control felt strange.

He’d been young, though. It was similar to her own childhood experiences when she’d barely realized that she was calling the wind.

“You’re not curious about the gossip?” Juliette asked. “You believe Luc will give you a true representation of the situation? Why?” She genuinely didn’t understand why Rose wouldn’t seek third-party information on this particular event. An event that, in all likelihood, Luc was incentivized to lie about.

“You saw him when we came into town, Juliette,” she said, leading them away from the hole. The essence of his magic pulsed there. It was faint, but sure. His scent wasn’t present, but the resemblance was still clear. “He’s not hiding the fact that something about this place causes him discomfort.”

“But he also clearly didn’t tell you ahead of time.”

Rose put her hands on her waist, stopping them in their tracks. “Why are you so determined to think the worst of him?” She needed this conversation to be over. Juliette was only interested in driving a wedge at this moment. While annoyed, Rose knew the real answers were with Luc.

“Why are you so determined to trust him blindly? As far as I can see, everything he’s done for you has only improved his position.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “He must be one hell of a lover.”

Rose fumed but reined in her reply, disappointment softening her tone. “I thought you and I understood each other better than that.”

Juliette’s eyes widened at the words, vindicating Rose’s calm response. Juliette had not expected it. Was she surprised Rose valued the time they spent together and the knowledge she shared? She didn’t think she had miscalculated. Even though Juliette was prickly, they had established a kind of relationship, one in which Rose deserved more credit than Juliette was currently granting.

“I guess not,” Rose said, the silence building between them, making her fear she was wrong. “Please continue to assume I’m a mindless idiot led by an excellent tumble in the sheets.” She turned to walk away, looking for the inn.

“Rose, wait.” Juliette’s fingers gripped her arm. “You’re right. I do respect you more than my words indicated.” She averted her gaze as she continued. “It’s part of why I’m having difficulty understanding your trust in him. It doesn’t make sense with what I know about you.”

She gave Juliette a searching look. Nodding, she said, “Can you just accept that if you don’t think I’m capable of being manipulated by a pretty face, I must have reason for trusting him?” Juliette wanted a full accounting of why Rose trusted Luc. But Rose wasn’t sure the facts would help. Yes, Luc had catered to her demands when he brought her to Compass Lake. He’d sided with her even when he realized her enemy was the Norden Point, and he’d encouraged her to take her place, offering his support for her challenge to Aiden. All of those things individually could be chalked up to Luc making his own life easier.

It was well known that he was working on the mist plague alone. Keeping Rose sequestered went along with that. It was also understood that Luc disagreed with almost everything Aiden did as Norden Point, so supporting someone with a claim to be his replacement wasn’t a surprise, even if it had never been done before.

No, her ultimate answer was that her gut trusted Luc. More than that, her magic trusted him. She never feared the power he wielded; she was drawn to it. If she was being honest, her heart trusted Luc too. However, she wasn’t willing to look at that too deeply herself, let alone drag it out for Juliette to assess.

After a long pause, Juliette nodded. “I’ll try,” she said.

That would have to do, as she went to find Luc.