“How long was I sleeping?”
“Two days.”
Two days? So my moon cycle isn’t early at all. My stomach churns, mind whirring with a sudden flurry of images, everything rushing back.
Gee.
“Is Gee okay?” I take a step forward. “Did the Bryhers make it out? And Ruri? Where’s Timo?” The questions tumble from my lips.
Kip doesn’t answer, his gaze still averted.
“Please,” I beg in a small voice choked with emotion. “Just tell me.”
Kip clears his throat and takes a step back. “Perran will answer your questions.” His words are flat and emotionless. “Once you’re dressed, I’ll take you to him.”
I hear what he's not saying. That Perran, the Arch Mage of the Guild, will expect answers from me, too.
Kip studies the doorframe, refusing to look at me. I press my lips together, tears pricking at my eyes. I’m too drained to argue. Instead, I search his profile for answers. Not finding any, I let out a small sigh.
“I’m washing first.”
I clutch the fresh clothes to my chest and step past him. He practically jumps back, like touching me is the worst possible thing he can imagine.
Kip crosses his arms. “I’ll take you to the bathing rooms.”
“I remember the way, Kip.” I stalk away, too exhausted to even care that the back of my nightgown is stained with blood.
The rock is cool beneath my feet as I pad along, my singed, uneven hair damp against my clean shirt. I don’t see another soul on my way from the bathing rooms, through the children’s dormitories, to the Arch Mage’s council chambers.
I stand before the door and raise my hand to knock, pausing.
The last time I spoke to Perran, I was thirteen, fresh from the healing ward and about to be sent packing.
Nothing much has changed.
I push the dark thoughts from my mind and knock, loudly. Perran’s answer to enter is almost immediate.
The cavern-like room is warm, tinged pink in the late afternoon glow from windows that look over the canyon. Gauzy curtains hang along one side of the room, stirring slightly as they keep the worst of the hot afternoon air at bay.
Perran sits at the end of the large rectangular table, a huge falcon perched on the back of his chair. His dreadlocks are tied away from his face, the gray around his temple the only sign five years have passed since we last saw each other.
I exhale in quiet relief at the fact he's the only one in the room. I’m not sure I could handle the entire council right now. Mentally or magically.
Perran pulls out the chair to his right in invitation. The sweet smell of bread and honey hangs in the air. I walk over, my stomach growling at the small spread of food on the table.
“Hungry?” he asks by way of greeting and pushes a dish of flatbread toward me.
I sit down heavily and take two, stuffing one into my mouth.
It’s heavenly, fluffy and still warm from the oven. Perran watches me with mild interest. His deep brown face and copper eyes don’t seem to have aged a day since I was last here.
He doesn’t say anything until I’ve finished the second flatbread.
“We weren’t expecting you.” His voice is a low rumble. Hearing him speak reminds me of listening to his lectures in the classroom.
And telling me I no longer belong here.
“I didn’t plan on visiting,” I reply flatly, leaning forward to grab a handful of dates and dropping them onto the plate in front of me. I pick one up, toying with it. “Is Gee okay? Have you heard from her? Where’s Timo? Can I see him?”
Perran slides a sharp knife toward him. “I’ve spoken to Timo. He told me what happened." The Arch Mage selects the shiniest apple from the platter in front of us and begins peeling the skin.
“We took a tunnel from the Stellar Enclave,” I say. “How’s that possible?”
“Old magic. Portals, in the form of the Fallen Star trees, connect the three enclaves of the Grand Trine. Only mages can use them.”
“So Sister Lucine said." I nibble the end of the date and frown. The sweetness hurts my teeth. “It’s weird, though. The fact the sisters can’t use their own tunnels.”
Perran’s full lips quirk into an amused smile. The apple peel drops to the table as his expression fades to a much more serious look. “Timo told me about the snatcher. And what happened to Ruri. You both did well to get away.”
I meet his copper gaze.
I didn’t do well at all. I did nothing.
“What happened to them?” I ask, a pleading note entering my voice. “Gee, the Bryhers… I need to know they’re okay.”
Perran sets down his knife and reaches into the inside pocket of his loose waistcoat. He pulls out a letter with a broken wax seal. It’s purple, imprinted with the same design as Lucine’s tattoo – a constellation of five stars.
“The Stellar Sisters sent me this letter by bird. It only arrived this morning.”
It’s all I can do to not snatch it from his hands.
“But first,” he continues, and I glare at the letter as he pockets it once more,
“We need to talk about that night.”
“And what exactly would you like to discuss?” I answer petulantly, annoyed. Trading crucial news of my family and friends for information I’d willingly tell him anyway seems cruel. “Shall we talk about the fact Ruri has been captured by a snatcher? Are you even looking for her?”
Perran doesn’t seem bothered by my tone. “I’ve released a small force to track them, but it looks like they’re taking her straight to Vankuza.”
The name of the prison island sends a cold shiver down my spine. If the Defiance doesn't get to her before she’s put on one of those slave ships, they’ll never get her back.
Perran clears his throat. “Timo tells me you’re a mage now.”
I furrow my brow and push my plate away, caught off guard by his casual tone and the change in topic.
He looks down, carving the apple once more. “Considering what happened when you arrived – the nosebleed, collapsing – I assume some form of night magic?”
The apple skin coils to the table in a perfect spiral as curiosity, desperation, and hope emanate from him. Why does Perran seem so interested in my magic now?
I shrug. “Guess I’m what you’d call a late bloomer.”
He smiles politely. “And do you know what magic exactly–”
“Empathy,” I interrupt. “Do you have a point?”
“Mm-hmm.” I hear his disappointment, but also sense a flicker of hope. Perran looks up from the apple, meeting my gaze. “I don’t know if Ruri mentioned it, but she’s been training for a mission.”
It feels like years ago that Timo accidentally told me about the mission. I nod. “She mentioned it but didn’t tell me any details.”
Perran places the knife back down carefully. The falcon perched next to him shuffles along the back of the chair, its beady, black eyes watchful. “Cassia, I’m going to ask you to hear me out before you say anything.”
I shift, the chair suddenly feeling too hard against my back. He plants his elbows on the table and steeples his fingers.
“Did you know the Governance hires apprentices? It’s one of the traditions they kept from the Guild before they overthrew it.”