He waded waist-deep into the glowing river. As he moved, thin, ethereal threads sprang from the runes on his skin. I gasped as the ghostly forms twisted around him, brushing against his cheek and neck like affectionate phantoms. With a single flick of his inked finger, he pulled them back, sinking the threads into his skin as if they had never existed.
He met my eyes, catching the brief flicker of awe I could not hide. I snapped my lips shut, forcing a huff of feigned annoyance.
Talon laughed. “Would you believe any words I spoke, little flame?”
I looked down at my bare feet and wiggled my toes into the soft moss. “I would now.”
If the High Court was willing to send a witch to execute me in my own front yard, all in the name of an ‘extinct’ bond, I could not imagine what other horrors they have committed.
“Sit,” he said softly, gesturing to a stone bed layered with thick furs and black silk.
I sank onto the mossy bed, the absolute comfort of the space encasing my body. Being here, intoxicated by his scent of ozone and earth, made a naive part of me imagine a future that did not end in fire.
“The Sayel never went extinct, Kaelia,” he started, gesturing between us. “But that much must of been obvious.”
“I figured,” I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. “I just do not understand the reason for the lie. What does the High Court fear about this bond?”
“Power,” he stated, cupping the water in his hands and striding closer to the bank. “A Sayel bond merges essence. Sharea life, and each gains the other’s abilities. We are becoming two halves of one whole.”
Talon hummed contentedly and nodded. A wave of nausea settled in my gut at the thought that I would no longer be entirely human, but before I could speak, a flash of something horrific ripped through my mind—a vision that was not my own.
I saw a darkened stone cage. I heard the squeals of tortured spirits. My eyes skimmed over dozens of bare, unmoving bodies on cold stone. Blurred faces on missing persons posters nailed to the wooden pillars of Isvale. And flashes of the same faces laid against the concrete floor.
“Do you see?”
“What was that?” I whispered, burying myself in the furs as the vision cleared. “Talon, what did you just show me?”
“The truth,” he said, stepping from the river. Water streamed down his carved torso as he moved toward me.
“I do not understand,” I gripped the hide tightly. “You showed me the wandering souls.”
The name was spoken in hushed tones in the markets, the lost ones who vanished without a trace. They said these souls felt adrift, their lives slowly draining away, so they simply left Haelen and were never to be seen again.
“Yes,” he confirmed, his voice a low rumble. “The name does not fit the horror, but those were the wandering souls, and they were sent to the Thrynn chambers.”
“Why?” I whispered.
“Because they were Sayel bound.”
My eyes widened as they searched his face for any sign of feigning. When all I saw deep in his eyes was truth, I shook my head.
“This cannot be real,” I denied, throwing the blanket away and standing. “You knew this was the price, and you still bound us?”
Talon did not answer. He simply watched me as I paced the cavern, my hair flowing behind me like a cape of fire.
“Was it the same for Thora and Xylos?” I demanded. “Was that the Sayel?”
Talon’s gaze darkened, something unreadable flickering in the navy depths of his eyes.
“I suspect they were the first to be hunted,” he said, running an inked hand through his damp hair. “But this is a lot of information for one night, Kaelia. You need rest.”
I spun on him, my finger jabbing out. “I am not tired.”
Talon’s eyes narrowed. “Do not lie to me. You always sleep at this time.”
I placed a hand on my hip. “And how would you know? There is no possible way for you to know my habits.”
I knew it was late; if I were home, I would have most likely been snuggled beneath two fluffy blankets with a leather-bound book in my hands. But Talon should not have known that. He should not have known the rhythm of my life.