Reign rode in silence for the first half hour. She rubbed at her arms, and Kalen tried to rearrange one of the blankets around them as night continued to fall. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I thought I had control, but I don’t. I don’t think I should stay with you. You’re better off leaving me at the next town.”
“Reign, you saved us.”
Cirrus voiced his agreement. “This time your unleashed powers worked to our advantage.”
“Do you ever try to control it?” Kalen asked. “I mean, on your own without the jewels.”
She released the grip she had on her arms. “I did in the beginning. But then I couldn’t stop it anymore. What if it happens again? I can’t risk killing someone else.”
“You saved us,” Kalen repeated. “If it happens again, please feel free to use your magick to protect us.” He waited for the words to sink in. “That’s exactly what you did. You saved us from being captured. You released us from the sorcier’s control. Your magick isn’t all bad. It isn’t negative or positive on its own. It’s how you choose to use your magick that determines the outcome. If you can control it and harness it, you could be more powerful than anyone I know.”
She sat in silence as if considering his words, and while she didn’t seem happy about the idea, she didn’t protest. After a minute, she took a deep, yet unsteady breath and nodded. “Okay.”
“I might be able to help further,” Kalen said.
“How?”
“If I were to go into your memories, I could look for triggers or see if there are common occurrences. There has to be a way for you to gain control.”
There was silence and then: “I don’t know.”
“We have several days’ travel ahead of us.”
“You should let him help,” Luna urged her.
“I’ll think about it,” Reign acquiesced.
The temperature continued to fall as the sun completed its descent. The sky darkened quickly and with it, Cirrus’s mood. They agreed to stop, only because they feared the animals would slip on the frost-covered ground.
They stopped in a clearing, and Cirrus made quick work building a fire. As the flame took hold, he kept throwing glances behind him, into the thicket of trees.
“Enough,” Luna said. “You’re going to make us all crazy, and this time you can’t blame it on your sister.” She reached into her cloak and removed a glass sphere, the size perfectly matching her palm. She tapped the glass, and the orb lit up against the night sky.
“Where did you get a flickerfly orb?” Cirrus asked.
“Nero had a lot of oddities in his house. I figured this one could be of use. Good thing for us I never had time to drop it off at the monastery. Although I wish we could have had two seconds to gather our things. I am going to miss my change of clothes.”
“Forget clothing. I wish we’d had time to pack food,” Cirrus said, his stomach grumbling as if to further agree. “But I am thankful for the light.” He glanced down at Luna and then quickly kissed the top of her head. “This is probably the best gift I’ve ever received.”
Kalen glanced at Cirrus and then Reign and then Cirrus again. “You know, it might help you further if we talk about your memory.”
“No way. Luna just got me the perfect gift, and you want to diminish that? I see where you’re going with this.”
Kalen grimaced in Cirrus’s direction. He tilted his head toward Reign in an effort to make the prince understand. If Cirrus allowed Kalen to help, Reign might allow it as well.
“However…,” the prince drawled as he grasped Kalen’s intention, “perhaps it might make sense to have you help in case the orb stops working or it breaks.”
Kalen swept his hand to the log nearest them. Cirrus reached out to pull Luna down with him. She moved to scoot away, but he patted the seat.
“Stay.”
She opened her mouth as if to berate the command.
“Please.”
Luna’s mouth closed and she sat. Kalen settled on the other side of Cirrus and took a deep breath. “I’m only going to look at the memory again so I can help you understand it. I don’t want to be in your mind long. You can’t see what I’m doing, so that is not even helpful. I only want to assist you in finding it.”
Because that was the problem. Cirrus could see it. The memory remained unlocked. But it was so clouded in darkness that Cirrus wouldn’t revisit it again.
Kalen quickly removed a glove and grasped Cirrus’s wrist before the prince could back out.
He rushed to the recesses of Cirrus’s mind and witnessed again the sorcier’s ability. His crafting of the vault and the shrouding darkness placed over it. He saw again the man crouching in front of Cirrus and telling him to always seek the light. Watched as he looked at the king and told him to foster the fear.
Kalen nudged the darkness with his hand, watching as it pulsed and retreated, a swill of dark gray smoke. It seemed malleable; Cirrus only needed to push through.
Kalen broke the connection.
The headache wasn’t nearly as crushing this time, considering he had only dived in for a minute or so.
Kalen donned his glove, this time more to protect his hand from the frigid temperatures than to protect him from seeing someone’s thoughts. He pushed himself upright and walked around the fire so he sat next to Reign, his eyes locking on the prince.
“You’ve seen the memory. I left it open the night the king had me enter your mind and you pulled away. So you know where it is.”
Cirrus nodded.
“I think you can push past it. Try using your body.” He paused. “Or even better, imagine taking the orb or casting sunlight on it. Search and push past your fears of darkness to see the truth for what it is.”
Cirrus nodded and closed his eyes. Over the flames, Kalen saw that he clenched Luna’s hand tighter, but she made no effort to wiggle free of his grasp.
“Come,” Kalen muttered to Reign. “Let’s clear a space for everyone to sleep.”
They worked in a synchronized silence to move rocks away from the area around the fire and gather some dried branches to lie on.
Cirrus opened his eyes.
He stood and paced toward the tree line and back several times before he spoke.
“All these years, my father knew of my irrational fear of the dark.” His tone was laced with bitterness. “And do you know what he did?” Cirrus didn’t even wait for a response. “He perpetuated it. Embellished my nightmares, made me go outside at night by myself—” He stopped abruptly, and his head tipped toward the sky. “Gods, I think he even had me locked in the treasury one night.”
Reign flinched. “Maybe I was lucky to be free of him.”
Kalen walked over to the prince, his childhood friend, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. We know his motivation, but it doesn’t make it right. Hopefully, you’ll begin to work through your fears, knowing that there is nothing behind them but magick and deception.”
“I hope so, but it will probably take time to get over this. All of it.” He reached for the orb and held it tight against his chest. “In the meantime, I have something else that will help.”
Cirrus looked around the circle at the three of them. “I’ll take first watch. I have some things to ponder.”
Kalen wasn’t about to fight him on it, although he did make the prince promise to wake them at their fair turn. He didn’t want Cirrus tired and susceptible to his sister’s emotions the next day as they continued their journey to Antioege.
THE FIRST STRANDS of light colored the horizon as Kalen lay on his back several yards from the fire. The last to keep watch, he had scooted away in hopes the cold would help him stay awake. He’d stared at the darkened sky with its endless stars and the moon hanging off center and couldn’t help but think of Luna’s story, of the girl who was afraid of the dark and the boy who brought her light and became her moon. It was odd, really. If he were to flip the characters, he would have Cirrus and Luna herself. The boy afraid of the dark and the girl who brought him light in the form of a flickerfly orb.
Kalen stretched and walked toward the tree line, where he thought he’d heard the gurgling of water. A small stream flowed over rocks, and he bent to splash the frigid water on his face. He spotted berries growing on vines, and he gathered them to take to the group. He then set about waking the others so they could get on the road and stay—hopefully—one step ahead of the bounty hunter.
Reign rode with Kalen again, and he was thankful for the warmth as the sun would take a while to provide any semblance of heat. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while before she spoke.
“I will let you help.”
He waited as she seemed to struggle with what to say next.
“I know you’ve gone into my mind before, but what exactly do you see? Everything?” She tensed, the movement causing the horse to shift beneath them.
He was quick to answer. “I don’t see everything. I have to search and sift through memories. They are not all exposed and available, so I will be respectful not to view anything that looks too personal. I will look for specific memories where you lose control over your emotions and see if I can identify any commonalities. There has to be a way for you to gain control of this.”
“Do you want to do it now?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“No, I need to be on solid ground. We’ll do it when we stop for a break.”
Reign sighed and leaned back against him. His breath hitched before he allowed himself to relax as well, just breathing in the scent of her hair and feeling the tickle of it against his cheek.
REIGN AND KALEN sat, facing each other, on a patch of grass while Luna and Cirrus went off in search of something to eat. Reign slowly removed Kalen’s glove. The leather slid over his skin as her fingers plucked at the fingertips, causing goose pimples to erupt on his arm.
She gripped his hand in hers, and he was swept under.
Kalen took in the surroundings again, noticing that her thoughts were contained in a space much like the catacombs. In the main cavern were the painful ones, the fractured images that reflected off one another. On either end, the hallways stretched, and he knew other memories were held in rooms there.
Kalen went in search of those memories that might be indicative of Reign’s inability to control the strength of her power. He peered into the openings quickly, trying, as promised, not to completely invade her privacy.
His heart felt heavy in his chest as he observed scene after scene of her loneliness. In one memory she was with a group of children in what appeared to be an orphanage on the outskirts of Servaille. Even there she seemed isolated, sitting off by herself in a corner. Finally, a little girl came over and held out her hand. Reign tentatively grasped the girl’s fingers and let herself be led to the middle of the room. There was no burst of emotion, only a sense of calm.
Another room showcased a trio of boys standing over Reign. They were a couple of years older than her, perhaps in their teens to her ten years old. They threw pebbles at her bare arms. “You’re a witch. Horrible little witch.” They taunted her with green ribbons of words. “Go back to where you came from and leave us alone.” Tears coursed down her cheeks, but she said nothing. Kalen saw the moment her power erupted, like her emotions had hit a tipping point, and the boys began to choke on despair. They wailed and ran off as if chased by a pack of wolves. He watched her body for tells, as he would the players at a card table. Her hands curled into fists tight at her sides and released, like he’d seen her do with her skirts at the inn.
He moved on. A slightly younger Reign sat on the top step of the monastery entrance. Thin legs poked out of a dress, and her red hair was snarled at the back of her head. “Please don’t leave me here.” Tears streamed as she watched a woman walk away down the path. “Please!” she screamed before her voice dropped to a whisper. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to.” She sobbed into her arms until the door opened behind her. A monk stood with his arms crossed in front of him. “Clean your face and come inside. We have just the place for you to stay.”
And thus it went.
Reign in control.
Reign alone, without family, without friends.
Reign out of control, her fingers folding into fists and waves of emotion rolling away from her.
He extracted himself from her mind.
The pain hit him so fast and hard that he fell forward. She caught his shoulder with one hand and reached for his hand with her other. He was immediately swept into her mind again.
Her most recent thoughts were vivid in front of him.
Vivid of him.
Of his hand gripping hers and his eyes closed in concentration. His forehead furrowed and his eyelids twitching.
He felt Reign’s concern, and she whispered aloud.
“The slower you can come out of these episodes, the less pain you will feel.”
She was talking to him, through her memories of talking to herself.
“Relax. Close your eyes. Try to acclimate yourself to your surroundings out here. Imagine the log you’re sitting on, cold and hard beneath your legs. Picture the sun and the cool breeze. Place yourself here, and then release my hand when you’re ready.”
His eyes closed, but his fingers gripped hers tighter. He didn’t want to let go; he didn’t want her to let go. The pain had disappeared, and he didn’t want it to return. He pictured the clearing, using all his senses, and severed the connection.
She waited, expectantly, her gaze traveling over his face to look for signs of pain.
“Thank you,” he said as he put on his glove. “I’ve never … I’ve never had someone do that for me.”
“You’re doing the same, trying to help.”
He nodded and told her what he’d seen in her memories and how her fists clenched before her emotions erupted. “It’s not a trigger, necessarily, but it’s a sign we can look for. If you could find another way to release that tension, instead of sending out a wave of emotion, you might be able to better control the magick.”
Cirrus shouted in their direction. “Come on, you two. We need to get on the road.”
Reign frowned but Kalen stood and held out a hand to assist her up. “Best be listening to your brother. He’ll be king someday.”
“My brother.” The words were a whisper that bled into silence. “I assumed I was an orphan all these years. Now I have this person in my life, this whole other history of who I am, and I don’t know what to do with it.” She paused. “I don’t know if I want it.”
“Come to Mureau, help us destroy the crystals, and then you can decide. Learn about the town, meet the people. You have an entire continent to explore if you find you don’t want to stay.”
Her gaze focused on the grass at their feet. “A continent to destroy.”
“No. You’ll get control of this. I promise.”
BY MIDDAY, WITH only berries in their stomachs, they were ravenous. Cirrus attempted to distract them.
“Maybe some more Hakunan training?” he asked Luna.
She rolled her eyes. “On horseback?”
“It’s not all physical, Little Pebble. And don’t knock it. Are you feeling prepared for that sea travel home?”
“Little Pebble?”
“Yeah. The moon is only a rock that orbits our planet. A small rock comparatively.”
“That’s the only nickname you could come up with? How about Oh Stunning Beauty of the World?” Luna attempted a bow from her horse.
Cirrus shook his head. “No. No way.”
“What are they talking about?” Reign asked Kalen.
“Hakunan,” Cirrus said, while at the same time Luna replied, “Exhaustion disguised as meditation.”
“Did it help you on the ship or not?” Cirrus asked.
She sighed. “It helped.”
Kalen agreed. “I do it often after a draining questioning to clear my mind of all the negativity I’ve seen.”
“It must be hard, seeing what all these people have done in their lives.” Reign looked over her shoulder at him.
“It is. It’s why I have to unlock the secrets. They aren’t locking them from me; they are locking them from themselves. Their deepest darkest secrets are hidden away so they don’t have to remember, don’t have to reflect on or examine the consequences of their actions on others. I see their flaws and lies in full, vibrant reality.”
A loose tendril of Reign’s hair brushed against his cheek as the wind picked up. They neared another switchback that would cut across the mountain face.
“Try it. Close your eyes,” Cirrus instructed Reign. “Not you,” he said in Luna’s direction. “You can try it later, when you’re not guiding an animal ten times your size.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious,” she said.
He continued. “Locate your center of gravity and then focus on each of the directions. This will bring you to the present and allow for more control of your emotions. Concentrate on your body’s movement and reactions to each of your senses.”
“It’s similar to what you said to try to help me exit people’s minds,” Kalen whispered in Reign’s ear.
Single file, the horses wound their way down the trail, and Kalen waited in silence for Reign to work through the meditation. Her breathing fell into a rhythm of deep inhalation and exhalation that he could feel against his chest.
“It tastes like a storm.” Her voice was hoarse when she finally spoke.
Kalen nodded, his chin grazing the top of her hair. He’d been watching the gathering of clouds and darkening of the sky in the distance. “I’m hoping it moves slow enough that we’re under the cover of the trees when it hits.”
The last thing they needed was to be caught on the open trail and unable to see.