“So is Benedict in the temple now?” Ruby asked.
“He will be until nightfall, then he’ll come here again, I think. Tejus and I have a theory about the stones—that the entity needs to remove them in a specific pattern in order to regain his full strength.” I had spent some time in his quarters looking for a stone lock, but hadn’t found anything. I didn’t think that meant our theory was wrong—I just hadn’t found the location yet, and would probably need Tejus’s help to do so.
“Do you think when the entity has enough power, he’ll release Benedict?” Ruby asked me quietly.
“I have to believe that.”
It was the one thing that kept me hanging on at the moment—that and knowing I wasn’t in any of this alone. We were all going through our own private hells. Knowing Ruby and Julian had survived theirs left me feeling hopeful that Benedict would also overcome the entity’s hold over him.
“So what’s next?” Ruby asked. “What do we do now—do we wait for Benedict to return tonight and try to keep him here?”
“Exactly,” I replied. “But it’s easier said than done; he’s managed to syphon nearly every minister and guard in this castle, leaving them completely wiped out. He’s untouchable.”
“We’ll find a way,” Ruby reassured me. “There’s always a way.”
“You need to rest first,” Ash commented, looking pointedly at Ruby.
“We have a couple of hours before he’s due—it’s normally late in the night. Probably just to freak us out more,” I muttered.
“What are you going to do?” Ruby asked.
“See Tejus…he’s not well at the moment. The last trial, when Queen Trina lost her powers, he was attacked by one of the ghouls, and I don’t think he’s made a full recovery yet.”
“The next trial’s tomorrow,” Ash replied, frowning. “Why hasn’t he recovered?”
I shrugged. “I don’t actually know. I guess the combination of being syphoned by the entity and then the ministers, and then being attacked by the ghoul, was too much.”
Ash looked puzzled, but didn’t say anything.
“What?” I pressed. If he had information about Tejus then I wanted to know.
“Nothing. Nothing really…it’s just that sentries have pretty good healing powers. But perhaps you’re right—that’s a lot. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Of course he’ll be fine!” I answered hotly.
“He will be,” Ash repeated. I wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it or he was trying to pacify me. I chose to ignore him either way—the idea that Tejus wouldn’t heal was unthinkable. And anyway, today he’d been up and flown to the Fells without a problem. He’d just looked a bit pale, that was all.
“I need to fill him in on all this, he’ll want to know about Queen Trina,” I announced, rising up from the sofa.
Ruby smiled. “Tell him we said hi.”
“Well, hang on,” Ash added, looking mildly flustered. “I’m not entirely sure I’m welcome here…the ministers here are going to see me as a traitor. At a time like this, I doubt they’re going to feel very happy about me staying in the castle. Perhaps you could ask Tejus? Say that I’m not willing to leave Ruby?”
“It will be fine.” I smirked. “Once he hears what happened to Ruby and Julian he’ll just be happy that you saved them. I promise.”
“Will he?” Ruby exclaimed.
“Yeah.” I smiled weakly. “He’s… changed.”
A look of understanding passed across Ruby’s face, and she eyed me knowingly. “Right.” She smiled.
“It’s not like that…not for him, anyway.”
“Hang on.” Ruby laughed. “Tejus of Hellswan suddenly cares about your friends to the extent of putting his most valued guards on a manhunt for Julian, does everything he can to save your brother, and then won’t mind that his trial opponent and an ex-council member of Queen Trina’s stays in his castle… and you don’t think he feels anything for you? Are you mad?”
She didn’t understand. And I wasn’t about to go into detail about the conversations Tejus and I had had about the potential of us having a relationship. He might have cared, but not enough to put aside whatever was bothering and holding him back from me…not yet, anyway.
Ash stared at the ceiling. Clearly this conversation was uncomfortable for him.
“I’m leaving now,” I said to Ruby. “Before Ash has a fit.”
I knew Ash’s views of the Hellswans. It didn’t bother me in the slightest—he too would see that Tejus had changed. And I had faith that Tejus would turn Nevertide around. He just had to find his own way of doing it.