15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I followed Thalia downstairs, deep into the library. The people we passed didn't bat an eye at the two Divine strolling among them. I doubted they even knew I was the Tempest. And I wasn't sure I wanted them to.

Thank gods the storm is still quiet. Between healing Caelus's wound and the exhausting ride, I hadn't felt the tempest stirring. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to give Thalia a light zap because she was surer of herself in a way I would never be.

We descended into what appeared to be a sanctuary on the lowest level of the library. Shelves lined only three of the four walls, but on the back wall was a mural depicting the gods gathered together, sprawling mountains behind them. Each bore a smile, but there was a goddess among them who stood out. Her slim face was solemn, and her hair shimmered in a rainbow of color with each step I took toward it, like that of the path to enter the tranquil temple grounds above.

Once I stood in front of it, the image shifted. Chaos replaced the serene landscape. Smoke and fire surrounded them. A dragon with multicolored scales lay in the center among the other gods, the eyes lifeless. Blood pooled out from where I imagined the heart might be. I tilted my head, scanning the gods and goddesses.

The goddess from before had taken on the form of the late dragon.

"Everyone knows Evryn is creator and king of dragons," Thalia said. "Few consider that perhaps another assisted him."

"You're saying that dragon helped him?"

"Perhaps. But she's dead. I'm sure you've heard of the legendary heroes. The ones that fouled the great dragon war?"

I looked at the mural again, studying it closer. Lost in the smoke were the shadows of five figures. One was shorter than the rest. Valton .

"I assume your belief in the gods has wavered, despite being Divine. Or maybe you believe they should intervene more?"

"Who wouldn't want that?"

She ignored my question and said, "They've sealed away their ability to take a corporeal form for extended periods of time; otherwise, they may go mad."

"That isn't what's taught in the temples. How can you be sure?"

"I've spent my entire life studying Divine and the gods across Marunia."

I knew the Inquisitive never stayed in one place long, but if she'd been studying Divine and the gods, it certainly explained why.

"The last time they walked among mortals didn't end well, and they lost a dear friend and fellow goddess to the madness."

"Madness?" I asked, tearing my gaze away from the dead goddess.

"At one time, I think they truly wanted to live among mortals. But imagine a never-ending life and having to watch those mortals you created go to war, die of sickness, or believe they're right to the point of ruin. It would make anyone mad, eventually, wouldn't it?"

She shrugged as if the answer was no longer important. "But after Navryn was defeated, the gods and goddesses have not set foot among us for long periods at a time. When I found this, I also discovered that tablet. It seems they believe there is a balance, and instead rely on Divine to intervene and carry out what they no longer can."

Below the shifting mural was a tablet I hadn't noticed, written in an ancient script I couldn't decipher. "But what does this have to do with them watching?"

She smiled. "They may sleep, but there's evidence to suggest that they still care for us and wake to be among us from time to time. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the Divine to begin with."

I couldn't fault that belief. The Divine were chosen by the gods and wouldn't exist without them.

She continued, "Each also favors a particular gift. Oerban favors gifts of fire or light, for example." She smiled and practically bounced up to me, grabbing my hands again. "Yours is perhaps one of the rarest."

I tried to take a step back, but she held on tight.

"I think Ahrea is the source of your gift. It's unusual for her, but it seems she favors the unusual." She giggled. "Texts suggest she may like to gamble too. Fitting, for the goddess of luck."

I tugged my hands away, succeeding this time. "And what could she be gambling on with me?"

Her eyes sparkled when she looked up at me, like I was a new puzzle for her to figure out. "I don't know. She might not be. I only assume it to be Ahrea due to all your lucky circumstances. Either way, I think you should claim your power. It was a gift meant for you. You should discover for what purpose."

I faced the mural again—faced Ahrea. Loose strands of black hair plastered themselves along her face, and a tear trailed down her dirt-smudged cheek. Her once-pristine white gown was tattered.

"Are they all dragons?" I asked.

"If one believes there is truth in stories, then no. There are stories of Oerban and Maelynn taking the form of the sun and moon respectively, and Thanally taking the form of a snake."

When I looked at Thalia, she was watching me, that sparkle still in her eyes. "How would you suggest I claim my power?"

She beamed and tugged me along behind her and back up the stairs.

Seated side by side in her cozy alcove, Thalia studied my palms extensively. She said she'd learned palm reading and discovered that she could see the currents of the soul—part of what allowed people to harness esprit to begin with—using her own power. "It's almost like a second set of veins," she said. "They can be blocked, either because the person isn't strong enough or because they never accepted their ability."

To unlock it would mean accepting my gift and learning to harness it, or so she said. She instructed me to avoid negative thoughts about it. Be positive. Find good in it.

She wanted me to increase the frequency that I used my esprit, too, saying it would help ebb emotional outbursts. She gave me an earring, a smoky crystal that dangled in the shape of a teardrop, and Thalia claimed it had some residual power to assist me with the tempest.

When I asked how she knew, she simply said, "The spirits of the dead are helpful but often vague." But she didn't give me a chance to ask more about her ability to communicate with the dead, choosing to focus on helping me.

I told her about Caelus's theory about my ability to control not just lightning. She jumped up again and began instructing me to open and close doors and lift things with air. Thalia also instructed me through attempting to release my esprit harmlessly, letting it skitter across my body and then in a small area around me. I scorched a patch of the wooden library floor but otherwise managed to do it. She seemed giddy that I might be more powerful than she'd considered.

The weight in my chest lightened being with Thalia. I was in a little bubble of normalcy that I'd never experienced before, except with Marus. Even the urge to zap her had dissipated.

Her passion reminded me of him, but she had an eagerness to share it with others that he lacked. Where Marus preferred to write and publish his work, she found joy in verbalizing her knowledge to anyone who would listen. I told her that he was currently the high priest of Ahrea for the time being.

"Are you sure he needs to be replaced? You said he'd be perfect for it. Who cares if he wasn't a priest before?"

"I'm not sure it's right to take that choice from him."

She sat back in her chair, propping her head on a fist. "You know, there is a chance he has grown to enjoy the position. It's quite cozy, from what I hear. But I'll speak with the high priest of Evryn for you. When you return, ask him what it is he wants."

I laughed. "And if he doesn't want to be high priest?"

"Then I suppose I'll help you find someone suitable if the high priest here doesn't," she said, smiling.

Thalia continued instructing me on using my power, never pushing me to use the lightning. I tried a few more times, letting it skitter across my arms but nothing more. Once it got late, she walked me to the exit of the temple. I'd gotten distracted by her company. She was easy to be around, and part of me didn't want to leave. And I still hadn't asked her anything about the true reason I was in Tiruhm. Her gift made her the most likely to be helpful when it came to information.

I bit my lip, then asked, "Do you know if there's been any strange disappearances in Tiruhm?"

"The disappearances all over Marunia the past couple of years have all been inherently strange. They haven't found any of those missing. It's as though they've vanished. It'd be hard to say for sure if it's anything outside of what's become an unfortunate normal."

"And what of Lord Ebonhammer? I used to live in Tiruhm, but I haven't heard much about him."

"He's a recluse. More so than usual in the past few years. Though he is getting older. I imagine Iker will become the new Lord Ebonhammer soon."

I sighed in defeat. It'd been the last lead I had regarding Teeg and Lord Ebonhammer, and maybe why Klareth had sent Teeg to him.

We said our goodbyes, and I made my way through the quiet streets toward my aunt's home, the waning crescent moon shining overhead. Between conversing with Thalia and meeting with Keiran and Vinnie, my mind had been preoccupied. Would Caelus wonder where I'd been all day?

Everything Thalia had proposed to better control my power had been similar to Caelus's suggestions. But I'd seen what that storm within could do firsthand if given the chance. My fists clenched at my sides, and I tried to push away the thought. Thinking like that was the opposite of what Thalia had suggested. I fingered the dangling earring, hoping it worked.

An icy voice broke through my thoughts. "I never expected to lay eyes on you, Lady Quinn."

I froze. Quinn. It was a name I'd abandoned.

A name I wanted nothing to do with.

A name easier forgotten.

A tall fey man stepped around me. "Going to continue pretending you died in the fire with your parents?" he asked. "I think we can skip the bullshit. You're standing right here, alive and well. The long-lost heir to House Quinn."

"Who are you?"

He circled me before placing a long arm around my shoulders. "Call me Perrin. With any luck, we can be friends. All you have to do is tell me why you and the king's pet are in the city?"

"King's pet?" Caelus? Why would this man want to know about him? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Pity." His hand slid down my arm, leaving chills in its wake, but I remained still. A finger twirled a lock of my dark hair. "You look like your father." With his thumb and forefinger, he forced my gaze to his. "Especially the lovely blue one. How no one else notices who you are with those eyes is a wonder."

I jerked my chin away from him and stepped back. "What do you want?"

He laughed, the sound cold. "I told you. Tell me what it is you two are doing in the city."

I scoffed, pulling away, and started walking. "I'm afraid that's none of your concern."

"We could have been such good friends," said the fading voice of Perrin.

The sound of footsteps trailed behind, and my heart sped up. Would he follow me? The sound continued, keeping pace, and my palms started sweating. I quickened my steps and made a turn. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw no one. Had Perrin been following me, or had it been my imagination?

I let out a shaky breath and continued to make my way to the villa.

How had Perrin known I was a Quinn? It couldn't actually have anything to do with how I looked or my eyes, could it?

I'd avoided reading the history that'd been written about my childhood home of Mythbel, preferring to leave that life behind. Even my aunt refused to refer to me using that name—she never once spoke of my parents. I'd become Eira Ortunis while living with her.

What could a seven-year-old of House Quinn do for the people, anyway? The king had reassigned the land to the remaining High Houses before I'd ever considered the possibility of claiming it or my true name.

The scents of leather, rain, and citrus wafted by on a breeze.

"I've been looking for you," Caelus said behind me.

I yelped, tripping over my feet. He grabbed my arm to steady me. A tingling shot through me, and I waved him off. "You shouldn't go poofing around."

"Poofing?" He laughed.

I relaxed at the sound, my racing heart easing.

"It's a little more complicated than that."

I stared up at him. His face showed no sign of suspicion or like he'd overheard my discussion with Perrin. King's pet rang through my mind, but I dismissed it. Guards, royal or otherwise, likely had people who disliked them and gave them derogatory nicknames.

"Hey," he breathed. The distance between us shrank. "Are you all right?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm fine," I said. "You said you were looking for me?"

He searched my face. "You're certain?" he asked, ignoring my attempt at changing the subject.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking toward my aunt's home. "You nearly scared me to death."

Caelus fell into step beside me. "Awful things tend to happen at night."

I looked down at my feet, my boots crunching in the light dusting of snow. Would he know Perrin? Did I even want to mention that man to him? Perrin knew me somehow. Caelus knowing about him could reveal my most closely guarded secret.

My foot slipped on a patch of ice, and I fell forward. Caelus caught me, pulling me into his muscled chest. "Though I didn't expect the very dangerous frozen puddles hidden in the night to be my main concern," he said, his warm breath coasting against my forehead. His arms wrapped around me, and heat pooled in my core.

I met his darkened eyes. "Do you spend much time saving women from frozen puddles? You seem very aware of how dangerous they are."

He smirked. "There are many women in Ryseer who wish I'd save them from a myriad of things. In fact, Kenzo enjoys teasing me about the audience of women who find their way to the training grounds. A surprising number of them need assistance so they don't hit the ground due to fainting."

I gently pushed away from him, laughing. "Is that true?"

His hand found mine, and he winked. Citrus wind enveloped us, and our surroundings shifted. The cold night was replaced by the soft glow of my aunt's fireplace in her den. "Unfortunately, it is."

I smiled, stepping away from him, his fingers slipping from mine as though he wasn't quite ready to let go. Or that's my imagination. "You never said you could take people with you."

Caelus smirked and picked up a silver cup from the nearby table. "It's draining. Luckily, I'll be sleeping soon. Learn anything today?"

"Not really. Thalia—the Inquisitive—said Lord Ebonhammer has become reclusive."

"Interesting. Perhaps it's for the best that she hasn't noticed anything."

As frustrating as it was, he was right. Noticing nothing was better than noticing odd behaviors.

Caelus sat on one of the expensive plush couches. "I have something for you." The warm glow of the fire illuminated a large paper on the coffee table that showed what appeared to be the layout of a building, or maybe an underground system.

"This?"

"You sound disappointed." He set his cup on the corner of the detailed drawing. "Getting a chance to speak with Lord Ebonhammer won't be easy. I want to help you." He leaned back and let out a long sigh. "He'll be hosting his annual Frostfire Ball at the end of the festival. It's the perfect opportunity to get in and out of his castle nearly unnoticed."

I sat across from him and examined the layout again. "I doubt he lets the entire city inside. Even if we get in, that doesn't guarantee an audience with him."

"I'll help you get your audience, but first we have to find a way inside."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm guessing you can't get us in the way you brought us here?"

Caelus draped his arms across the back of the couch and propped a foot on a knee. "No. It's too much of a risk, and we chance using too much of my esprit getting in. Instead, I think we pretend to be together."

I gave him a confused look.

"Romantically," he added.

My mouth fell open.

He couldn't be serious. I'd never been together with anyone aside from a drunken kiss here and there. There was no way I could pull something like that off believably.

Then there was the etiquette expected of those attending such a fete. Any lessons I'd had as a child had faded along with that life. And there definitely wasn't a suitable dress lying around for a ball.

But a chance to meet with Travok Ebonhammer and find Teeg . . . "It can't be that simple," I said. "He isn't going to let us waltz in because we're—"

"Madly, irrevocably in love?"

My mouth snapped shut, and I hoped my face didn't betray me. From the way his lips twitched up, I knew it had. " Pretending to be that," I muttered.

"We'll also need an invitation."

"And how are we getting that?"

"The festivities."