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Keelen
A knock pounded at the door, and Keelen peeled his eyes open, his arm draped tightly around Silver’s waist. After Afton had left, he’d stayed with Silver, watching her sister in the garden with the king before the two of them returned inside the castle. Silver had seen Afton’s hand signal, one that told her not to search her out until the morning. But that hadn’t meant she couldn’t send someone else to check on her sister, so she’d sent Javan to keep a close eye on her.
Keelen hadn’t fallen asleep until late. Not after what he’d realized the night before about himself, about Valgmyr.
Taking his arm from around Silver, he rolled from the bed while she continued to sleep. He shuffled to the door and pulled it open, expecting to see Javan.
Afton stood there, mace in one hand and a book under her arm, dressed in the same gown she’d worn the previous night. Her disheveled hair spilled down her back. She looked as if she’d done more than talk with the king.
Holding a finger over her lips, she motioned him toward the stairs before he could wake Silver. With a scowl, he pulled the door shut behind him and met her near the top of the steps.
He leaned against the wall, crossed one foot over the other, and folded his arms. “What is it? Are you going to run off with the king again and leave your sister behind?”
Her chin remained lifted, her eyes narrowed. “Silver can defend herself, and I left her with both you and Javan. I should have known one of you would disobey.” She paused, staring at the closed door. “I need to ask you to do something else for me.”
He furrowed his brow. What is she trying to do now?
“We will all dine with Thorin, and then you, Silver, and Javan will immediately return to Ketill. Javan knows,” Afton whispered. “Thorin knows. I would tell you all to leave now, but Silver must stay long enough to discover if there are any changes in this energy. She needs to understand as much as possible in order for her to watch over Ketill. Both times I've experienced this dark energy, the results were different.”
“Silver will never agree to it.” Keelen straightened. “And to be honest, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here alone either.” As he thought about it, she’d felt the energy in Ketill and hadn’t before, not until after his soul had been placed in his current form. He could be the true reason the energy was seeping into their territory. Fuck.
She took the book from under her arm and tossed it at him. He easily caught the tome, the coloring a faded silver and gold. Flipping it over to inspect the cover, his gaze locked on gangly creatures with white eyes. His heart kicked up in his chest as he stared not at the creatures, but what rested in the center of them. A tall male with his back turned, broad shoulders, large leathery wings like that of a gargoyle. The Valgmyr King.
Keelen inhaled deeply as he looked at the book. He lifted his gaze to Afton. “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to help Thorin find a way to crack open a portal to Valgmyr so we can seek out that bastard of a king.”
Keelen closed his eyes for a brief moment and swallowed, his words trapped in his throat. I’m right here. “The energy here seems unstable, and I’m not sure how many creatures there are. Silver wouldn’t want to sacrifice you for her safety.” A flash of something blurred his vision, the creatures flying over a lake, soaring above bodies that stood like statues, the corpses’ faces frozen in serene expressions forever.
“Do it,” Afton demanded, but something like fear was hidden deep down in those two words. “Get out of here and be my sister’s guard. That’s why you’re here, to protect her. Now do the same for her back in Ketill.”
“It’s one thing to try and stop the tainted energy from spreading while here. But to go to Valgmyr? You know the stories. Once you go there, you can’t ever come back.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Afton studied him, her eyes training on his, digging down into his soul, seeing his darkness, as if she knew all that lay hidden within him. “There’s something even more different about you today. It’s because of my sister, isn’t it? Protect her. Not fuck her. Understand?”
“I promise.” Keelen would do it. He would take Silver home, then leave so she would be protected from him. He’d find a way to go home. Back to Valgmyr. Then he would find his own way to stop the energy.
“Now, this is the plan.” She wiggled a finger for him to lean closer and whispered the rest into his ear.
As she spoke, the book in his hand seemed to thrum, as if it had its own heartbeat, calling him to come home.
Keelen placed his swords at his back—dusk would start to fall soon. He knew the plan. It was simple enough. Get Silver out of the castle and to the carriage, letting her think Afton was coming. The one challenging part of it would be Silver remaining in Ketill and not trying to return for Afton. Even if he could draw up the magic and place a barrier around Silver in her castle, she was strong enough to use her own energy to break through it if she wished. But Afton knew her sister better than anyone and if it was the only way to protect Ketill, then Silver would stand guard there.
He’d flipped through the Valgmyr book before he’d given it back to Afton. All the way down to his bones, he knew it held truths, but not everything about Valgmyr would fit into a single book, and not everything would be accurate. However, he knew the enclosed kingdom surrounded by branches, the topiaries, the victims’ blank eyes when their life ended were all truths. His mind was becoming clearer with each passing second. He closed his eyes and shut out the memories.
For most of the day, Keelen had stayed outside Silver’s room to bathe, to breathe, to not want her, to protect her.
Lifting his fist, Keelen knocked on Silver’s door. It swung open, revealing her in a flowing ivory gown with gold stitching and golden metal flowers on each shoulder. She seemed to be alone, and he wasn’t sure when Afton had decided to leave and get ready.
Silver offered him a warm smile. “You’ve been avoiding me.” She pressed a hand to his chest and his heart accelerated beneath her touch.
“I’m sorry.” He bit his lip. As her face fell, he hurried on, “I didn’t want to, but I needed to think.”
“I did too.” She leaned forward and murmured, “Afton told me we’re leaving tonight, but we’ll return soon.”
“Mm-hmm.” He gnawed on his lip harder, trying not to let her rosy scent entice him into telling her the truth yet.
“Let’s go downstairs so we can see if the energy will be the same as last night.”
They descended the two flights of stairs while Silver chatted about Midnight. He couldn’t bring himself to truly absorb the words when his mind was spinning too much. Fuck, he wished he could go back and forget his past that was becoming clearer, but not his past with her.
As soon as Silver took the last step, she paused.
“What?” he asked as she flicked her gaze up the stairs, then toward the ceiling.
She released a huff. “I knew I should have relieved myself before putting on this gown, and I forgot the damn mace.”
He scanned the thick layers of her dress, the laces running up the front between her breasts. “Do you need help with the ties?”
“I don’t need to untie the front of my dress to relieve myself.” She leaned in and whispered with a grin. “Maneuvering these dresses only takes a bit of practice, which I can do.”
“Ah, I’m glad I haven’t had to deal with that myself.” Keelen chuckled.
He started to turn to head back up the steps with her, when she held his arm. “It won’t take too dreadfully long. Go check on Afton in the dining room.”
“I’ll wait for you here.” He didn’t trust the night that was inching nearer, and he wasn’t about to put more physical distance between them until they returned to Ketill. But it was only her going upstairs, so he would allow it.
“Fine. Stubborn.” She laughed softly before ascending the stairs. She glanced one more time over her shoulder and grinned—his heart struck his sternum at that look. Keelen couldn’t fight a smile this time and held it until she disappeared from his view. His thoughts then turned to meeting her for the first time.
Bright light filled his eyes. He couldn’t remember his name. Who was he? He was ten years old. A boy. But that was all he knew.
“Hello,” a high-pitched voice said.
His eyes cleared and he met irises of midnight and pupils of ivory. A girl. Long black hair framed her oval face, and a raised scar was at her chest.
“Hello,” he said in return. Lips didn’t move when he’d spoken though. It was something else. A beak?
“I drew your soul here from the afterlife. I needed someone to talk to besides my sister. She has a lot going on at the moment since becoming queen. I hope that’s all right?”
Peering down at himself, he studied his waxy skin. He lifted his arm. No, not an arm—a wing. He should have been frightened about why he was a damn bird, but the girl’s gaze held him steady.
“You’re a raven. For now.” She smiled hesitantly. “I’m Silver. What’s your name?”
He thought about it. But no answer was coming to him. “I don’t know.” He then told her everything he did know, which wasn’t much at all.
“You need a name.” She tilted her head to the side. “How about Keelen?”
As he mulled over the name, while looking at her wide eyes, he knew he never wanted to leave her again. “I like it. Now tell me about you.”
And she had. She’d confided in him about her deepest secrets, her past, how she liked spending every day out in her edelweiss meadow with Midnight.
Keelen glanced up the stairs. Silver had been gone a while. His veins expanded when the energy of the night filled the room, the coursing of his blood attuned with it, as though it was tasting the new guest.
Familiar. Familiar. And he knew just what that darkness could do to the world.
