THIRTY-SIX
SAGE
I open my eyes to an unfamiliar world. Then the sound of the waterfall drifts into the room, and I realize this is reality. I rise slowly, uneasy, an odd feeling of disassociation hovering over me. The sensation of the king’s grip on my wrist still lingers, the conflict inside, wanting something I despise. But it was just a dream.
I touch the bedspread, making sure the soft yellow cotton is real.
Sunlight fills the room. I wonder what time it is.
I slide from bed, my muscles protesting as I walk into the front room. The clock on the microwave says it’s ten. Faelan should’ve come to get me by now. But I’m not complaining. I make myself some breakfast, oatmeal and a banana, and then wander into the living room and sit on the couch. I eat the warm oats and stare down at the glass owl next to the black envelope on the coffee table.
I know Kieran isn’t the king, and I know I’m not Lily, but all of this is seriously messing with my head. I have this tangle of emotions coiling in me, and I have no idea what to do with it. Since I’m not going to run, I’ll have to walk right into it and hope I survive.
A knock sounds on the door.
“Come in,” I say, setting the oatmeal down. I snatch up the owl and hide it in the pocket of my pajama pants.
Why did I just do that?
Before I can take it back out, Faelan comes in. He studies me as he steps into the living room. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.”
He hesitates, but then asks, “Dreams?”
I shrug. I don’t want to talk about it with him, not right now.
He takes the hint and moves to the couch, looking down at the coffee table. He picks up the smaller scroll, turning it in his hand. “I asked Aelia to help us with this spell after lunch. We can do some training until then.”
I keep quiet, unsure how to feel, and take my oatmeal bowl into the kitchen.
“Also,” he says, his voice hesitant, “there’s a gathering tonight for the House of Morrígan that you were invited to.”
I set the bowl in the sink with a clang. “Are you kidding? No way.”
“You know that I don’t want you to be around Kieran, but it would be good for you to mingle with others, test your will. Marius would want you to go.”
“Which I couldn’t care less about.”
He nods, not arguing. “So, are you up for practice?”
All I want to do is sit around in my pajamas and disappear into a book, pretending there’s nothing going on with me. As if I didn’t feel like I barely know where I belong, or who I am right now.
“Sure,” I say. “Just give me a second.”
“Wear a bathing suit.”
I go into my room and shut the door. As soon as it clicks behind me, I pull the owl from my pocket. My thumb slides over the smooth surface and my head aches.
I move to the bed and slip it under my pillow. Then I go to get dressed.
Practice, as he calls it, turns out to be more like swim training. First he makes me do a million laps. Then he has me tread water as he yells from the edge of the pool, reciting the names of the Houses and their leaders, like I don’t already know.
I realize that my knowledge has increased, and I wonder if it’s because of the dreams. I don’t say that, though. I let him talk and repeat things back to him, until he finally lets me stand in the shallow end.
“Why don’t you have to sweat?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“I’m the boss.” He smirks. “I tell, you do.”
“Is that right?” I walk to the edge of the pool, my hands on my hips. I notice him glance at my body, but then his eyes quickly shift to my nose. “Seems very totalitarian.”
“Welcome to the Otherworld.”
Eventually he’s in the water with me, and we’re competing to see how long we can hold our breath. But then he surprises me, dragging me down to the deep end and showing me how he breathes underwater. Cheater. I marvel as I watch his chest rise and fall, the pool water rushing in and out of his lungs like it’s nothing, but I have to swim to the surface, my own lungs aching.
“The best way to learn is by force,” he says. “It’s not natural the first time.”
“News flash.” I cough as we move to sit on the steps. “It’s never natural.”
“I could help you,” he says, like he thinks I might want to try. He settles in next to me.
“Uh, no.” I release a nervous laugh.
“One of my brother’s concubines taught me when I was fourteen,” he says, and I find myself wondering if she taught him other things too. But I’m not sure why that matters.
“What was her name?” I find myself asking. I know nothing about him. I feel the need to fill in the blanks.
“Genevieve,” he says, recalling easily. The memory makes his gaze go distant with what looks like sadness. “She was kind to me when I first came into my brothers’ House. Things were difficult for me.”
I study his profile, fascinated by his sudden openness. “Why?”
He shakes his head, wiping water from his face. “I didn’t . . . fit. I was very young. And I missed my mother terribly.”
I wait as he works through something, and I know. “She died?”
He nods. And his eyes meet mine. “The river took her,” he whispers.
A sharp pain pierces my throat. I start to reach out to him, to put my hand on his arm, but I stop myself.
He slowly shifts to face me, leaning closer like he’s going to whisper a secret. My heart thunders in my chest, as I wonder what he’s going to say.
The sound of approaching footsteps breaks into the odd moment, and I find myself exhaling deeply.
Aelia’s voice comes down the pathway from the house. “Do you guys want to do the spell now?” she calls.
Faelan moves away, putting a few feet between us as she comes through the trees.