Bound by Blood and Sand
Page 37
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Desinn pushed up to his feet and walked out, and Elan buried his head in his hand. The worst part was that Desinn was right. His father would have known exactly what to do, how to handle Jae. If anyone could find a way to keep her under control now, it was Elan’s father.
But anything he did to try to control her would just make Jae angry, and if she got angry enough…
Elan forced himself to his feet, but only so he could cross the room to his mat and collapse. He’d managed to place himself in the middle of a precarious situation, stranded between his father’s power and Jae’s, the only buffer between two forces that wanted nothing more than to destroy each other.
Jae wasn’t accustomed to sitting idly. In her whole life, she’d never gone a waking hour without work—mending, gardening, cleaning. Closest were never allowed to be idle for long. But Elan wanted her to stay in his room resting, and she saw no real reason to argue with him about it.
Firran brought her dinner that evening. He moved silently, deposited the tray on the table, looked over at her, and shrank from her gaze.
Her breath caught as she realized: She was free, and Firran was still cursed. She wasn’t Avowed. He wouldn’t be compelled to obey her, not exactly. But the Closest were still expected to do as they were told by anyone, even the Twill, and didn’t dare resist orders. Just like she had always scurried to follow the cook’s instructions even though he wasn’t Avowed, she knew Firran would do what she said.
She narrowed her eyes a little. Firran hated her and Tal—
He took a quick breath and retreated a step before recovering and waiting, perfectly still. Just like she always had when she’d known Lady Shirrad was angry with her and she’d braced herself for Shirrad’s temper. Or maybe Firran was even more scared. Jae always knew what Shirrad would do, how bad it would be. Jae herself could do anything.
Whatever anger she felt toward Firran crumbled. He’d put her near Rannith, and she would never stop loathing him for that. But she would never be like Lady Shirrad, either, or any of the rest of them, lashing out at people who were powerless to defend themselves. So all she said was “Thank you.”
He bobbed his head and fled, practically running out of the room.
The next time Elan stopped in to check on her, she informed him she only wanted to see Tal or Gali. Elan agreed, and after that, Tal brought her meals, and no one but Tal, Gali, and Elan set foot inside the room with her.
As it turned out, lying around without leaving a single room was boring. After two days shut in, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She started pacing the room and let herself bask in the magic she sensed around her. It still shone brightly no matter where she looked, glistening and twinkling, and without the Curse fettering her, she was able to tell different kinds of energy apart more easily.
One, a darker and steadier glow, felt like what she’d grabbed for when she’d set off the earthquake. She could see it under her, under the estate, spreading off into the distance—the energy of the earth, the land itself. By contrast, water’s energy was bright and glistening, like the surface of the reservoir. There were other energies she couldn’t separate as well, one that jangled and clanged more like a sound than a glow, and still another that shimmered around people.
The power left her humming, vibrating with energy, and with it, she could see beyond her room. She stood still and let her mind drift up, looked down at the whole estate. When she’d practiced with magic before Elan had ordered her not to, she’d learned how to tell who was who when she looked at the world like this. It was as easy as breathing, now that she was unfettered by the Curse.
Some people felt familiar to her, like Gali and Firran—but she didn’t know Firran well, and Shirrad, who she knew much better, felt strangely different. The Closest all seemed to shine with the same glow, and everyone else was alien to her.
Like this, she could find and follow anyone, but the only person she really cared about was Tal. He moved through his day as usual—he worked with the teams that were clearing out rubble and replacing bricks and tiles, smoothing cracks in the walls and floors. Hovering over him was soothing. She couldn’t make out any of the actual words said around him, but she could watch over him and know he was safe.
She found Elan, too, though it took her some time to realize what she was watching. Elan spent the morning with Shirrad and Desinn, lost in a conversation Jae couldn’t hear and didn’t care about. After that, he spoke with the other Avowed at Aredann—and formed them into another work crew, one that he joined. She watched in amazement as they began work on another section of the estate, cleaning and clearing.
Tal brought Jae lunch and a handful of dates to share, which she doubted had originally been intended for the two of them. But she didn’t ask, and it wasn’t likely that anyone would notice they’d gone missing during the chaos of cleaning up the estate.
He sat to eat with her, his knees knocking against hers, leaning in close so they could talk. “You should have seen it,” he said, and laughed, mouth full. “Of course, no one had a choice. When Lord Elan gave the order, they all had to do it. None of them were too happy about that—especially not since they’re leaving Aredann soon. But then he said he’d be working, too. He stripped off his robe and started hauling bricks—and, Jae, I thought Lady Shirrad was going to swoon at the sight.”
“She doesn’t care for him,” Jae said.
“No, but I think she took it as a sign. There are rumors that the quake was magic, and some people think…some people are starting to say, if there’s magic, the Highest won’t abandon Aredann,” Tal said. “Lady Shirrad believes them. And she believes Lord Elan will make that case to his father. Even you might appreciate that.”
“I’d rather he just left, and took the others with him,” Jae said.
“Me too—but if he wants to repair the house before he goes, I suppose I don’t mind,” Tal said, smiling a little.
Jae rolled her eyes, but smiled back. It was nice to sit with Tal and let him tease her. It was safe, as if nothing had ever changed at all. Not that she wanted to step back in time to before Elan had arrived and upended her world. She’d never go back to being powerless. But back then, she’d always known what to expect, and now she had no idea what was going to happen next. When she sat with Tal, things still felt easy and normal.
But anything he did to try to control her would just make Jae angry, and if she got angry enough…
Elan forced himself to his feet, but only so he could cross the room to his mat and collapse. He’d managed to place himself in the middle of a precarious situation, stranded between his father’s power and Jae’s, the only buffer between two forces that wanted nothing more than to destroy each other.
Jae wasn’t accustomed to sitting idly. In her whole life, she’d never gone a waking hour without work—mending, gardening, cleaning. Closest were never allowed to be idle for long. But Elan wanted her to stay in his room resting, and she saw no real reason to argue with him about it.
Firran brought her dinner that evening. He moved silently, deposited the tray on the table, looked over at her, and shrank from her gaze.
Her breath caught as she realized: She was free, and Firran was still cursed. She wasn’t Avowed. He wouldn’t be compelled to obey her, not exactly. But the Closest were still expected to do as they were told by anyone, even the Twill, and didn’t dare resist orders. Just like she had always scurried to follow the cook’s instructions even though he wasn’t Avowed, she knew Firran would do what she said.
She narrowed her eyes a little. Firran hated her and Tal—
He took a quick breath and retreated a step before recovering and waiting, perfectly still. Just like she always had when she’d known Lady Shirrad was angry with her and she’d braced herself for Shirrad’s temper. Or maybe Firran was even more scared. Jae always knew what Shirrad would do, how bad it would be. Jae herself could do anything.
Whatever anger she felt toward Firran crumbled. He’d put her near Rannith, and she would never stop loathing him for that. But she would never be like Lady Shirrad, either, or any of the rest of them, lashing out at people who were powerless to defend themselves. So all she said was “Thank you.”
He bobbed his head and fled, practically running out of the room.
The next time Elan stopped in to check on her, she informed him she only wanted to see Tal or Gali. Elan agreed, and after that, Tal brought her meals, and no one but Tal, Gali, and Elan set foot inside the room with her.
As it turned out, lying around without leaving a single room was boring. After two days shut in, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She started pacing the room and let herself bask in the magic she sensed around her. It still shone brightly no matter where she looked, glistening and twinkling, and without the Curse fettering her, she was able to tell different kinds of energy apart more easily.
One, a darker and steadier glow, felt like what she’d grabbed for when she’d set off the earthquake. She could see it under her, under the estate, spreading off into the distance—the energy of the earth, the land itself. By contrast, water’s energy was bright and glistening, like the surface of the reservoir. There were other energies she couldn’t separate as well, one that jangled and clanged more like a sound than a glow, and still another that shimmered around people.
The power left her humming, vibrating with energy, and with it, she could see beyond her room. She stood still and let her mind drift up, looked down at the whole estate. When she’d practiced with magic before Elan had ordered her not to, she’d learned how to tell who was who when she looked at the world like this. It was as easy as breathing, now that she was unfettered by the Curse.
Some people felt familiar to her, like Gali and Firran—but she didn’t know Firran well, and Shirrad, who she knew much better, felt strangely different. The Closest all seemed to shine with the same glow, and everyone else was alien to her.
Like this, she could find and follow anyone, but the only person she really cared about was Tal. He moved through his day as usual—he worked with the teams that were clearing out rubble and replacing bricks and tiles, smoothing cracks in the walls and floors. Hovering over him was soothing. She couldn’t make out any of the actual words said around him, but she could watch over him and know he was safe.
She found Elan, too, though it took her some time to realize what she was watching. Elan spent the morning with Shirrad and Desinn, lost in a conversation Jae couldn’t hear and didn’t care about. After that, he spoke with the other Avowed at Aredann—and formed them into another work crew, one that he joined. She watched in amazement as they began work on another section of the estate, cleaning and clearing.
Tal brought Jae lunch and a handful of dates to share, which she doubted had originally been intended for the two of them. But she didn’t ask, and it wasn’t likely that anyone would notice they’d gone missing during the chaos of cleaning up the estate.
He sat to eat with her, his knees knocking against hers, leaning in close so they could talk. “You should have seen it,” he said, and laughed, mouth full. “Of course, no one had a choice. When Lord Elan gave the order, they all had to do it. None of them were too happy about that—especially not since they’re leaving Aredann soon. But then he said he’d be working, too. He stripped off his robe and started hauling bricks—and, Jae, I thought Lady Shirrad was going to swoon at the sight.”
“She doesn’t care for him,” Jae said.
“No, but I think she took it as a sign. There are rumors that the quake was magic, and some people think…some people are starting to say, if there’s magic, the Highest won’t abandon Aredann,” Tal said. “Lady Shirrad believes them. And she believes Lord Elan will make that case to his father. Even you might appreciate that.”
“I’d rather he just left, and took the others with him,” Jae said.
“Me too—but if he wants to repair the house before he goes, I suppose I don’t mind,” Tal said, smiling a little.
Jae rolled her eyes, but smiled back. It was nice to sit with Tal and let him tease her. It was safe, as if nothing had ever changed at all. Not that she wanted to step back in time to before Elan had arrived and upended her world. She’d never go back to being powerless. But back then, she’d always known what to expect, and now she had no idea what was going to happen next. When she sat with Tal, things still felt easy and normal.
