“I’m sorry,” Janis vowed. “I have been blinded, but now I see what has been before me all along. I am so very sorry.”
Khollo closed his eyes. “I cannot forget what your weakness has cost me, but I can forgive. And I will.”
Janis groaned in relief and sank into his chair. Ondus sat very still, an uncomfortable witness to the scene.
While Janis fought to compose himself, Khollo sorted through what he had learned. I have a family after all, he thought. I have an uncle, and I had a mother and father. Ezraan. I wonder what he would think if he could see us now.
“Tell me about my father,” Khollo said suddenly. “Everything.”
Janis looked up. “Khollo, I – ”
“Tell me!” Khollo demanded. “I want to know who he was. I want to know everything.”
“Tomorrow,” Janis promised, looking out the windows of the tower. “Tomorrow, I will tell you all. But night is falling, and I am diminished.” He gave Khollo a weak smile. “But I am glad to get this burden off of my shoulders. Tomorrow, when the sun returns, we will talk. For now, sleep is what we both need. So much has happened today . . . good, and bad.”
Khollo nodded. “I will hold you to your promise,” he warned. “Tomorrow it is.”
Khollo retreated to his room one level below the council chamber and climbed into bed, but sleep did not come. He felt drained, mentally and emotionally, and thoughts ricocheted about in his mind, a confusing array of sadness, anger, pity. But amidst them all, there was another. There was pride and hope. He had a family for the first time in years, and tomorrow he would learn his legacy.
Chapter 10
When Khollo woke again, it was still night. His room was dark and cold, a stiff wind rattling the shutters he had latched over the window. Somehow, his blankets had gotten bunched underneath him.
Shivering, Khollo rolled upright, his bare feet slapping against the cool stone floor. He fumbled in the dark for the shuttered lantern he usually left next to his bed. He nearly knocked it off the table before successfully sliding the shutter aside and casting a weak light across the room.
Khollo set the lantern down again and rummaged in his belongings for a clean shirt and pants. After dressing, he moved to the window and opened it.
The eastern sky was gray with the promise of dawn, though Khollo still could not see anything save the stars that glittered above. The wind clawed at his untucked shirt, causing it to billow around him. Khollo shivered again and closed the shutters quickly. It was nearly dawn now, and there was no sense in going back to sleep. He’d go up to the flat roof of the keep and watch the sun rise, then head to the kitchens for an early breakfast.
Khollo pulled on a leather jerkin, thick socks, and his boots. He slung his quiver and bow over his shoulder. Then, his eyes fell on the Sen-teel and the two sheaths that went with it. Khollo frowned, then removed his quiver, unbuckling the leather strap.
After a good deal of experimenting, Khollo managed to thread the two scabbards onto the strap that held his quiver in a suitable arrangement. One half of the Sen-teel hung at his left hip, where his sword used to hang. The other half was held perpendicular to his quiver of arrows, the hilt poking up between his neck and left shoulder. Khollo tugged at the hem of his shirt, trying to rid it of wrinkles, then snatched up his thickest cloak and made for the roof.
The roof was accessible by a trapdoor above an iron ladder at the top of the keep’s spiral staircase. Khollo shoved the door open, letting it crash against the stone roof, and clambered out.
The gray light Khollo had seen from his window was slowly growing brighter, gaining color. Khollo began to make out the shapes of clouds hanging low to the dim landscape, and hills undulating gently across the vast expanse. Finally, with a sudden flash of brilliant light, the sun crested the horizon. The clouds were underlit with a rosy pink glow that deepened to purple and indigo further away from the sun. The horizon itself was pale gold shot through with a dusky orange.
Khollo sighed contentedly. No matter what, the sun returns. Even in the darkest times, hope rises every morning.
The peace that had settled on the roof was broken by soft footsteps. Khollo spun quickly, wary of attack. Then he realized that he was in the safest place in the West Bank. Any enemies would have to breach the wall, gain entry to the keep, and climb the stairs without alerting any of the guards.
“You know, I didn’t expect you to take my promise quite so literally,” Janis said with the ghost of a smile.
Khollo relaxed as he recognized his mas – his uncle. That will take some getting used to, Khollo reflected, considering Janis as family.
“I woke early,” Khollo explained. “And I wanted to see the sunrise.”
Janis nodded. “The best part of the day,” he agreed. Khollo looked up at him, surprised. He’d had no idea that he and Janis had this in common.
“Were you here the whole time?” he asked, curious.
Janis nodded. “I was sitting against the battlements, out of the wind. You never looked that way when you climbed up. I suppose I should thank you, actually. When you opened the trapdoor, you woke me up from an unintended nap.”
Khollo nodded but said nothing, watching the sunrise still. The clouds were glowing orange now, and about a third of the sun
