“I’m told he died instantly,” Acari says with a hard swallow.
I am not sure what comes over me, but I find myself compelled to try to ease his pain. “He would have. The aacsi are swift in their kills.”
Just like Reapers, I think.
“I know,” he says, sighing.
“What of your mother?” I ask, fairly certain his pain is only about to grow deeper.
“After he’d been gone awhile, they went searching for him, everyone including my mother, despite her guards’ protests. Call it mother’s intuition, but she knew something was wrong and she couldn’t just sit around and wait for the bad news.
“She was the first one to find him. And like Rikeet, she had no previous knowledge of the aacsi. Before the guard stationed with her could warn her, she was batting them away from Rikeet’s dead body and they…they killed her too.”
When Acari starts to sob, I don’t offer any words of comfort, for I don’t have any to give. None that could ease his suffering or bring back his loved ones. But I find myself wanting to try. I have a sudden urge to place my hand on his shoulder when I realize, for the first time in three years, I actually can without risking his life.
Before I can act on my impulse though, a ray of light blinds all of us, as the door opens, revealing that the night is fading to day. From inside the darkness of the hut, I can barely make out the vague outline of two figures in the entryway.
Acari and I share a cautious look as the two figures enter.
“Sorry for the intrusion,” calls a woman, her voice as bright as the sun shining inside. “But we’ve been expecting you, and despite the young prince needing his rest, I was too thrilled to wait any longer.”
When she steps inside, letting the door hang ajar for light, I first notice her hair, the color of pumpkins, stretched as long as vines. She has fair, plain features, but they are speckled, somehow matching her cheery disposition.
In stark contrast, Rhet pushes in beside her, hunched and judgmental.
“I’ll cut straight to it,” she says with a warm smile. “My name is Aulow. I may share my title with you yet, but for now all you need to know is I am in charge here.”
I almost don’t hear her though, my focus searing into Rhet. “What took you so long?”
“People, places, patience,” Aulow says with a wave of her hand, and I might’ve mulled over her vague words if it weren’t for the designs I saw on her hands, the same ones that mark both Rhet and the healer. It doesn’t seem possible to see runes that I’ve never seen before today on three different people within the same hour, within the same confines. I become even more transfixed by them and what their runes might mean.
But Aulow carries the conversation onward. “Because he was speaking with me and the other—” She clamps her lips tight, seemingly catching herself before she can accidentally reveal something she doesn’t want to. “The other leaders. We needed to discuss what to do with you now that you have arrived and we have decided to give you the test. To prove you are worthy and safe.”
“Worthy?” Acari groans. “Rhet said I just needed to vouch for her, which I did.”
“And that was the first trial: to have a mortal’s trust,” Aulow confirms, her voice as sweet as sugarcane. “But there are other trials she must complete.”
“Like what?” I ask, my eyes flicking to the top of their sockets.
This time, it’s Rhet that speaks. “Why did you come here?”
I don’t back down from Rhet’s intense glare. In fact, I have perfected one of my own that I send his way. But when I hear Acari shift in his cot to prop himself up, I turn toward him. Our eyes meet and I see that he too is waiting for my answer, like he has the same question. I am not sure why I find it so insulting. It’s not like I have been honest with him about my intentions.
I narrow my eyes and look back at Aulow and Rhet. “I am helping Acari find a Guardian to heal his sister.”
Rhet scoffs, his folded arms flexing as he shifts, but Aulow holds up a decorated hand. “You seek nothing else from the Guardians?”
“I didn’t say that. I have been tasked by the Council to report back to Veltuur with the whereabouts of the Guardian.”
“The Guardian?” Aulow asks, though there is bemusement behind her eyes. “There is only one that the Council is interested in?”
“There’s more than one Guardian?” Acari interjects, pushing higher up onto his arm. When he moves too quickly though, the pain bites into him again and he hisses, lowering himself back down onto his back.
My eyes do not leave Aulow’s. I recognize the bait for what it is, but I’m not sure why she has thrown it out before me. Why does it matter how many Guardians I am seeking?
“I don’t how many Guardians there are, only that I have been asked to deliver information about them. Before yesterday, I was not even aware that such things as Guardians existed.”
“Things?” Aulow balks, a playful glint in her eyes. “You believe the Guardians are artifacts or sigils or something of the like?”
Beside her, Rhet’s low laugh sounds more like a growl.
She is toying with me. They both are. But why? I do not yet know.
After scrutinizing me for a long moment, Aulow nods. “I appreciate your honesty this far, Sinisa. Thank you. I have only one more question for you.” Her tone is nothing but warm and friendly, but the finality of the statement causes my throat to tighten. “Would you like to end your contract on the princess, or do you intend to carry it out?”
The question cracks through me like a
