Iavoid Leon for the next few days, throwing myself into training. I even ask Gallis if she can give me extra evening sessions. Anything to distract me from my confusing feelings about the fae prince. With my focus locked in, I finally start to get better at the “precision” Gallis keeps demanding of me.
The celestial flame stuff is…less successful. I can’t seem to manipulate the inner flames of the plants we practice on without overwhelming them and burning them away entirely. But the proctor keeps telling me being able to affect them at all is a big deal. It shows I’m capable of doing what needs to be done, even if I’m still very far from the mark.
A few more days slip by and then, one morning, I do a double take when I see Alastor at breakfast looking tired and rumpled.
“You’re back,” I say abruptly.
“Some version of me,” he says, his voice flat and low. “But I suspect I won’t feel like myself again until I’ve eaten every piece of food the kitchen can give me.”
He straightens at the sight of something across the room, then abruptly stands. I turn to see Leon heading toward us and silently curse. I can’t walk away now without it being obvious I’ve been hiding from him.
“Actually, breakfast will have to wait,” Alastor says, and there’s a sad note in his voice. I don’t think it has anything to do with him missing out on food.
“We should talk,” he says to Leon when the prince reaches our table.
An expression flashes across Leon’s face, something so hopeless it startles me.
“Bad news, then,” he says.
Alastor just heads for the dining room door, beckoning for Leon to follow. But the prince turns to me first.
“Come with us,” he says.
“Why?”
“Whatever Alastor has to say, you should probably hear too.”
I wonder for a moment if he can read my mind. Because for the last few days I’ve been like a pendulum, going back and forth on whether Leon really is opening up to me or whether the displays of trust I’ve seen from him mean nothing after all. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact he didn’t tell me why Alastor left, but apparently, I’m about to find out now.
I follow him out, and at least Alastor doesn’t look surprised when we both join him in his room. In fact, the blond fae addressesmefirst.
“I’ve been talking to Filusian intelligence,” he explains. “We wanted to see who this Parvus guy was in communication with. If he didn’t know in advance that you were coming here, it’s likely he sent a message or received some orders during his stay.”
“Did you find anything?”
“The Morelium themselves are too close knit for us to infiltrate on short notice, so we won’t get any answers directly from them. However, our spies did manage to track down a Filusian messenger who’d been paid to keep quiet. They told me they carried something from Parvus across the border. But they were instructed to leave the message in a random location in the middle of nowhere, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the trail goes cold from there.”
“That at least confirms that they’re in contact with someone in Trova,” I say. “Which means my aunt could very well be involved.”
Still, that presence I glimpsed when Parvus used his sensic magic—that dark, hungry entity—didn’t remind me of Oclanna at all. Whoever it was, a chill runs through me at the thought that they know where I am.
“I’m afraid that’s all I have on Parvus for now. As for the other matter…” Alastor turns to Leon. “Would you rather we talk about it alone?”
I smile. Trust Alastor to just come out with the fact that there are things Leon doesn’t want me knowing. Except Leon immediately shoots this down.
“It’s fine. She should hear this,” Leon says.
Alastor inhales and gives Leon an apologetic look. “Alright. The news from the palace is not encouraging. Your brother’s condition has worsened since we left for Trova. According to the healers, there’s barely any lucidity left.”
I see it again now—the hopeless expression that appeared so briefly in the dining room. Now it shines out clearly on Leon’s face. I have to look away before I fall into wanting to do anything I can to free Leon of that despair.
It’s possible that Leon wanted me here specifically to hear this so that I would be guilted into helping him. But whether I’ll choose to help his brother is overshadowed by the reality that I still don’t know if I can.
Leon talks to Gallis. He must know about my lack of progress. What does he think about that? He’s staked everything on me and my abilities, and I might turn out to be a losing bet.
“We shouldn’t delay much longer,” Leon says, glancing at me. “Whatever the outcome, I need to see him.”
Alastor nods and sits down on a chair, exhausted, like a man carrying too many people’s burdens.
