Maelia wrapped an arm around Cyrene"s waist and helped her up the stairs. When they reached the strange door Cyrene had entered before with Ahlvie, Maelia released her.
"Wait here," she whispered, holding a finger up. She peeked through the door and looked around into the hallway. A minute later, she waved Cyrene through. "I"ll see you in a few minutes to collect your bag."
Cyrene nodded and then hurried out of the tunnels. Her side didn"t feel quite as bad as when she had woken up. Part of that must have been from eating something to restore her energy and the nasty concoction Younda had made her drink. Her body was repairing itself at an alarming rate. It was almost like the night after her near death escape in the underground lake.
She moved as quickly as she could handle through the empty corridors. She held her breath as she walked through the castle, hoping that she wouldn"t run into anyone. Younda had offered her a clean white dress out of her wardrobe, but it hardly fit like her own gowns, even pinned up. It had to do though. She couldn"t have worn the destroyed dress from the previous night.
Cyrene turned the next corner and went into her room, closing the door behind her. She pressed her hand into her side and sighed heavily. It still hurt like h.e.l.l. The Braj had been right about that.
After walking into her bedchamber, she opened her wardrobe to the sea of dresses hanging perfectly. Her red cloak from Edric was sitting there, untouched. She hadn"t had a chance to wear it since leaving Byern. Her fingers moved through the beautiful material. Memories came back to her of the first time she had received this wrapped gift in her chambers.
Her heart thudded. This was all she would have of Edric when she left. She should leave it because she knew that whatever had happened, or had been about to happen, was going to be long over once she left. She hadn"t come to his chambers last night and with her gone all would be lost between them. She didn"t know how long she would have to be in Eleysia, and she was sure that he would soon forget about her.
Yet as she looked at the beautiful cloak, she didn"t think she could do leave it. Even if she was leaving Edric behind, she knew that she would always remember him just like this. The easy smile in the rose garden, the glow of his face in the setting sun on the beach, the desperate kisses on his ship-those were things she never wanted to forget.
With a soft sigh, she finally folded the cloak and placed it into the last bit of s.p.a.ce in her bag. While she might not need it, she couldn"t go without it. She couldn"t leave without taking a piece of him with her.
Cyrene hefted her bag out of her wardrobe with a grunt and removed the leather pouch containing the book and letter. She had a few minutes before Maelia would return to collect her bag. She knew it would be risky, opening the book here, but a part of her desperately wanted to know if the dream had been real.
She was leaving everything she knew and loved behind to go to Eleysia based on this book, the words of an old peddler, and a fantastical dream about the ancient Doma court and Viktor Dremylon. If she could read the words, then she would know that she was on the right path.
Her hands trembled as she held the book. Her future lay before her. For a split second, she desperately wanted it all to be a dream so that she would wake up to find that she had just made Affiliate, and then everything would right itself. There would be no book, no riddles, no strange dreams. Then it pa.s.sed, and she was desperate to know and understand this power humming just beneath her surface. This power strong enough to kill a Braj...could be strong enough to do much, much more.
With a weighted sigh, she cracked open the delicate binding and stared down at the shimmery sharp font on the first page. She blinked twice, more in shock than anything. This time, she didn"t even have to concentrate to decipher the meaning. The words were as clear as day and as beautiful and vibrant as the first day she"d looked upon them, but now, their meaning sang to her as if she had known it all along. It spoke of the Doma society and the magical powers that linked them all together.
This was the proof she had been searching for. Her powers truly existed.
Now that she knew the true importance of the book, she never again wanted it out of her possession. It would be terrifying if it ever fell into the wrong hands. She slid the pouch over her head, so she could keep it on her person.
Jolted out of her thoughts about the book, the door to her rooms creaked open. She rushed out to the main chambers to find Maelia with a small Guard unit bag slung easily over her shoulder.
"We need to get going if we don"t want to be seen. The servants are already moving about," Maelia said.
"Yes. You"re right. Here"s my bag," Cyrene said. She handed over her bag, but she kept the book and letter carefully hidden in her pouch.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
After reading the Doma book and living through the Ascension ritual with Serafina, she was surer than ever.
"Yes."
Maelia hauled Cyrene"s bag over her other shoulder. "Okay. Well, I"ll meet you with the horses."
"Thank you for trusting me."
"Good luck in the tunnels." Maelia gave her a quick hug before disappearing through the door.
Cyrene hastily changed out of Younda"s dress and into one of her st.u.r.dier blue dresses. Her gaze moved around her luxurious rooms as she finished up and prepared to leave. It was hard to believe that she and Edric had walked on the beach just yesterday. It was even harder to believe she had promised to come to his rooms. Everything had changed in one night.
Soon she would be out of Byern for the first time and on her way to Eleysia.
Sorrow choked her, and she swallowed back the tears. She had wanted what Edric was offering her, yet she had made her decision when she left with Ahlvie. She was making her decision again as she was leaving now. In another life, she could have been the girl happy to be at the beck and call of a king, happy to be a mistress. But that other girl wouldn"t have heard destiny knocking, and she wouldn"t have answered.
She couldn"t stay in Byern for Edric. She didn"t know what was awaiting her in Eleysia, but she knew that it was necessary to go there. It would lead her to discover the extent of her abilities and find out the truth about this new world she was walking into.
Cyrene carefully closed the door to the Pearl Bay Chambers and whispered, "Good-bye, Edric."
Daufina lounged back in the chair in the comfort of Edric"s study. He had been on edge all morning. She could see it in the tension in his shoulders, the way he clenched his jaw, and a million other minute details that someone attuned with his body could see from far off. She wanted to believe that he was just steeling himself for the trade negotiations with Eleysia, but he wasn"t normally so ill-tempered when it came to the matters of state.
"Are you going to tell me what"s going on?" she asked carefully.
He shot her an exasperated look from where he was standing. He had a spread of paperwork before him, all things he needed to decide on and sign before the Eleysian Prince arrived.
"If you stay in this mood when he arrives, I"m sure he"ll be easily swayed to our side with your...charm, Edric."
Edric plunked the quill he had been writing with back into the ink and crossed his arms. "I know how to run this country, Daufina. I was bred for this role, raised to know my place since infancy, and have been doing a good job for the last five years. If you would care to take my place, by all means." He gestured to the pages.
She quirked an eyebrow at his chastis.e.m.e.nt and sent him a bemused smile. "No one could run Byern as you do. I was just noting that our Eleysian representative might not appreciate the fact that you are sulking."
He ran a hand back through his hair and sighed. "It"s nothing. Let it be."
So, she let it be. He would tell her in due time. He always did.
The time pa.s.sed uneasily. She could hardly concentrate on the text she was reading. She hated that he was so troubled.
"Is it the baby?" she finally asked.
The fact that Kaliana had lost yet another one while d.u.c.h.ess Elida was months away from a baby of her own, in truth, troubled Daufina deeply. They needed a Dremylon heir. Nothing was secure without one.
Edric sighed. "No. Though perhaps it should be."
"You need an heir."
"It was my father"s dying wish for me, Daufina. I know I need an heir." His blue-gray eyes settled on her, and she saw the heaviness in them. "Maybe if I had cared more for that than what is troubling me, I would already have a baby on the way. But that"s not possible when you haven"t been with your wife."
"At all?" Daufina asked with raised eyebrows. "Edric-"
"I know!" he snapped. "I should. It is my duty, and it must be done."
"Then, is it Cyrene? I thought you closed that matter when we arrived. I know her safety concerned you, but you stopped showing her favor. I thought-"
"Whatever you thought was mistaken. I stayed away to appease a wife who I do not love. Yet I am king, am I not? I should appease myself, should I not?" His voice grew continually louder as if he were convincing himself more than her. "I invited Cyrene to my rooms."
Daufina tried to rein in her surprise. Edric had sworn up and down that he never wanted a mistress...not one in compet.i.tion for his heart. He had tried so hard to love Kaliana, but the woman made it impossible for anyone to do so.
"So," she said quietly, "if you invited her to be with you, why are you angry? Are you angry with yourself for deciding to go through with it?"
Edric laughed without humor. "She never came to me. She promised she would. I waited all night. I sent a maid to her chambers. She refused to even answer the door. It appears that even the King gets rejected."
"She is a fool to have done so."
"And do you know that it just makes me want her more?"
"Oh, Edric-"
"Your Highness!" a maid cried, scurrying into the study unannounced.
Her face set in stone, Daufina turned to face the woman. No one burst in on the King of Byern. Even if she was here for the Prince of Eleysia, she should announce a royal emissary.
"What do you want, girl?" Daufina asked coldly. "You just interrupted the King."
"My apologies," she sputtered. She sank into a deep curtsy. "I just...went into the Pearl Bay Chambers to bring Affiliate Cyrene her morning breakfast and found her missing! Her room was in disarray, and some of her things were gone!"
"What?" Edric and Daufina cried at the same time.
"Yes. I know I was sent...last night." Her cheeks colored. "I think...she must have been gone already! Do you think the killer somehow got into the castle?"
"Absolutely not!" Daufina said.
But one look at Edric"s pale face said otherwise.
"Start a search immediately, Daufina. Look everywhere. Find any information you can."
"Edric, you"re not seriously considering that something happened to her?" she asked softly.
"It all makes sense. She was the target, she was supposed to be with me last night, and now, she is missing. I think it is a very real possibility." He strode around the desk and reached for her. "We cannot let anything happen to her, Daufina."
Just then, a Royal Guard walked inside. "His Royal Highness, the Prince of Eleysia."
Edric cursed under his breath. "Take care of this for me. I have to deal with the trade negotiations, but I won"t rest until she is found. Mark my words," he cried before storming from the room.
Daufina watched his retreating back as fear set in. If Cyrene was missing, potentially captured by this mysterious killer, then it meant none of them were truly safe, not even in the castle. And just as bad-in her mind at this point, even worse-Edric would not recover from this. She knew him too well. He would blame himself. He had already blamed himself. And she did not know what would happen to her King under such circ.u.mstances.
Cyrene hastened her steps toward the tunnel entrance and swallowed back the pain of leaving Edric behind. She knew that once she"d stepped out the door, she had lost him forever. And no matter what the Braj had said about the rightful Dremylon heir, her heart still ached at the thought. But there was no turning back. She couldn"t stay here and wait for the Braj to come after her, hoping she would figure out her powers on her own. She had to take action. If that meant losing everything she knew...and loved, then so be it.
Taking the most direct route to the hallway where the entrance was, she waited for the corridor to empty and then darted through the door. She slammed it shut as quickly as she had entered and took a deep breath. She wrenched the still burning torch she and Maelia had left on a hook at the top of the stairs and followed them down to the bottom.
Rhea was waiting for her, as promised, on the last step, pacing impatiently. "Cyrene!" Rhea cried when she appeared.
"Sorry it took so long. I got held up."
"I"m just glad you"re safe." Rhea tugged at her red braid. "I know you"re not telling us something. You"re so determined to go to Eleysia because something is happening to you, but I don"t know what it is. I"ve been your best friend your entire life. I know you. So, what"s going on?"
Cyrene sighed and nodded. She hated that they had to have this conversation now, but she didn"t know when they would be alone again. "I haven"t trusted anyone with this, Rhea, but I trust you."
"Of course you can trust me. We"ve known each other our entire lives." She sounded as confident as ever, but a crease formed in her brow, and her lips were pursed with concern.
"But, Rhea, you don"t understand."
"And how can I if you don"t even begin to explain?"
Cyrene tightly gripped her leather bag in her hand as she retrieved the book from within. If I can"t trust Rhea, who out there can I trust?
She cracked it open to the first page, and when she looked down at the beautiful font, the words were clear. Her heart rapidly sped up when she saw that she could read them.
"I got this book from Elea the day of my Presenting. Do you see anything here?" She pointed to the iridescent font with its sharp edges and looping swirls.
"No," Rhea said, turning her head to look at the page. "It"s blank."
"No, it"s not. Words are there. I can see them. I"m the only one who can see them," she said, her voice remaining level.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said."
Rhea stared at the page like the words might suddenly appear for her. "I"m sorry. I don"t see it. What does this have to do with the Braj and leaving for Eleysia?"
"It"s the real reason I have to leave Byern." She swallowed, not ready to tell her friend but knowing she had to tell someone. "I have...abilities, Rhea."
"What kind of abilities?" She narrowed her eyes.
"It"s going to sound mad, but remember when you first found out about Master Barca? How you thought Bursts were magic?"
"Yes," Rhea answered hesitantly. "But they"re not."
"No, but I am. I have powers, Rhea," she whispered. "I just found out, and I need to learn what it all means...how to control it."
Rhea stared at her, dumbfounded. She was so logical, such a straightforward, book-smart type of person. She probably couldn"t process this information. But it was out there now, and Cyrene couldn"t take it back.
"Powers? Like magic told in stories?"
"Kind of. I don"t know," Cyrene admitted. "I don"t know what I can do or how to do it. I couldn"t show you or anything. But if Braj are real...is this that far-fetched?"
"So, you think you have powers?"
"Rhea, I do have powers. I think...it"s what the Presenting letter said. What you seek lies where you cannot seek it. What you find cannot be found. Rhea, I can"t seek out magic because it was already there, hidden away inside of me. And it can"t be found because I couldn"t look for it. It just was. No one else could find it unless they already had it, and I already had it. I feel like maybe...I"ve begun to fulfill my Presenting letter," she said, "to fulfill the prophecy."
"By the Creator!" Rhea said, her hand going to her heart. "It actually...makes sense."
"I can"t tell the others yet. I told them as much as I was comfortable with. Will you hold my secret while we travel?"
Rhea peered down at the dirty floor. Her face was a mask, but Cyrene instantly knew what her friend was thinking. She had known Rhea too long not to see it in her face. She really hoped she was wrong though.
"I can"t," she finally said. She twisted her finger around her long braid.
"Rhea, come with me," Cyrene pleaded. "We don"t have much more time to waste, but I need you with me."
She shook her head. "I can"t. I"m not like you, Cyrene. I never wanted adventure. I never wanted to leave Byern. I love Albion now, but that"s only because I was fortunate enough to have the best Receiver. Master Barca is a good man, and he treats me well. I"ve learned so much from him, and I enjoy the work. I thought I wanted to be an Affiliate. I thought I would be happy as an Affiliate, but I was wrong. I don"t think anything could make me happier. So, I can"t go. I know you"ll do great things because you were born to, Cyrene. I think I was born to watch you from the sidelines."