Page 90 of The Blood Traitor
Jaren made a frustrated sound of agreement.
“You d-didn’t say what a M-Mystican is,” Tipp pressed.
Kiva, too, was curious, since it wasn’t a term she was familiar with.
“As King Sibley said, Mysticans are incredibly rare,” Naari answered, moving toward Tipp and swiping a muffin off the tray. “They come from across the ocean, mostly Adastria, though some are from Mahari. Considering how far west we are, Zofia Sage is probably from the latter. I can’t imagine she would have crossed Wenderall and ended up here if she hailed all the way from the east.”
“But what d-does shedo?” Tipp asked. “The k-king said she read his f-fortune. Is that even p-possible?”
“No one really knows what Mysticans can do,” Caldon said, shoving Cresta’s legs off the couch so he could sit beside her. He ignored her glare and continued, “Legend claims they’re gifted in the mind arts, a special kind of magic that we know little about here in Wenderall. They’re said to be able to do anything from predicting the future to knowing someone’s innermost secrets. Some can even move objects without touching them, while others can speak directly into your thoughts.”
“Whoa,” Tipp breathed, and Kiva found herself agreeing.
“So what’s our plan?” Naari asked, nibbling her muffin.
“We don’t have a choice,” Jaren said, unhappy about it. “We need the ring — so that means we have to find her, and then pay whatever price she demands.”
“What if she wants our firstborn children?” Cresta asked, frowning. “Or our kidneys?”
“Our kidneys?” Caldon’s eyebrows shot upward. “That’swhat you’re worried about?”
The redhead tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I can probably give her one. But she’s not getting both.”
“Cresta’s right,” Naari said. “Not about the kidneys — that’s, well, never mind.” She scrunched her face and shook her head. “But she’s right that it’s risky to go in willing to offer anything. We have no idea what the Mystican might want.”
“It’s still a risk we have to take,” Jaren maintained.
No one was pleased, but they all knew there was no alternative. They’d just have to hope Zofia Sage would relinquish the ring for a price they were capable of paying.
Devising a quick plan of action, they all agreed to rest for a few hours in the separate bedrooms connected to the suite before meeting up again close to midnight. Unlike the others, however, once Kiva was alone, she didn’t try to sleep. Having no distractions for the first time since that morning, she could no longer hold back the tide of what she’d been ignoring all day, with every detail of her talk with Jaren replaying in her mind.
You made me fall in love with a lie.
I don’t even know who you are — and frankly, I don’t want to.
And perhaps the worst:
You and I will never have to see each other again.
She curled into a ball on her teal-colored bed, her arms around her knees, her wounded heart thumping dully. And finally, she released the tears she’d been fighting for hours, allowing them to flow in silent rivers down her cheeks, all while she begged for the pain to ease.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kiva felt hollow as she walked with Jaren, Caldon, and Tipp into the Midnight Markets later that night.
Cresta and Naari had left earlier in the evening, choosing to scout ahead rather than rest. Kiva had wished she’d known in time to accompany them, because now she was stuck with a much more intimate group, including the one person she greatly wished to distance herself from. But she did her best to ignore Jaren, instead channeling her energy into keeping her eyes on Tipp. She’d wanted him to remain back at the palace, but their encounter with the king had made her wary about leaving him alone. And while she’d almost offered to stay with him, she was also aware that the dangerous nature of the underground Markets could result in her friends needing her magic.
So there they were, the four of them having just climbed down one of the many public entrances into Ersa’s underground network, with the aboveground hatch having revealed a set of ladders eerily similar to those at Zalindov. They weren’t all like that, Caldon had shared, rattling off other entrances he’d used during past visits — sandstone staircases and even mechanical shafts powered by luminium, along with different trapdoors with more ladders and ropes and pulleys and slides. Ersans had made it all too easy to access their criminal world from all across the city — and to escape it quickly.
“It smells b-bad down here,” Tipp said, wrinkling his nose as they headed along a vast thoroughfare.
Kiva didn’t feel as if she was underground; as long as she didn’t look up at the dark rocky ceiling, it was just like walking through a normal street, with vendors lining the sides of the road, some peddling theirwares, others sitting silently behind tables and watching as they passed. There were also a surprising number of Ersans moving from stall to stall, some angling furtively down narrow alleyways and through secretive doors cut into the earth. Kiva couldn’t help being curious about those hidden establishments, what they contained and how they’d been hewn out of the sandstone itself. She didn’t, however, dwell on the question of how safe she and her companions were, and tried to forget that there was an entire city resting just above their heads.
“Should we split up?” Caldon asked as they walked past a woman who had three snakes coiled around her arms and neck, and dozens more for sale in a glass enclosure. The red streaks in their black scales identified them as necros adders, a single bite from which would cause death within seconds. Kiva quickly pulled Tipp away when he moved in for a closer look.
“Maybe we should just ask someone where we can find Zofia,” she suggested, not wanting to separate, even if it meant she wouldn’t have to be near Jaren. She’d scrubbed her face before leaving her room, but her eyes had still been red from crying, making her mumble an excuse about them being irritated from the sand when Tipp had expressed his concern. He’d bought the lie — but the look Caldon sent her said he hadn’t.
Kiva hadn’t dared glance at Jaren.
