I hung back, deploying an avoidance tactic of my own while I thought more about what we’d faced today. The fact that it had seemed completely immune to our swords terrified me. The only victory that we’d had was when Hazel had stabbed the form. Was it because she had managed to come into contact with something? Or was it because of the dagger that she’d used? I’d never heard my mother or her family mentioning that the Mercy Dagger contained any specific qualities that would make it any different to our weapons. Deep in thought, I wandered over to the castle entrance, relieved to see that GASP had ventured inside. The coast was clear.
“Tejus?”
Or not.
A man stood by the door, watching me. He had black hair, contrasting dramatically against skin much paler than my own. His blue eyes were intense, meeting mine as if he could see right through me. He looked young like all the rest, but as I met his gaze, I wondered how old he truly was. There was something that made me think that he had seen many lifetimes before this one.
“Yes,” I replied as politely as I could.
“I heard about you before we arrived here.”
I nodded. That wasn’t unusual—if they’d met a passing traveler who had rejected the confines of Memenion’s palace, they would undoubtedly mention me…and damn me.
“I’m not a very popular man.”
The man arched an eyebrow in my direction.
“That’s putting it mildly,” he replied sardonically. “It was a woman named Abelle. We unchained her from a tower, only to be thanked by her later — knocking us out, en masse, as we traveled through the forest.”
So she’s escaped.
“Bravo,” I bit back. “She was a prisoner. She was in league with the Acolytes, a cult dedicated to bringing about the rise of the creatures that chased us just now.”
“And you left her in a tower?” he hissed back, not taking kindly to my sarcasm.
“We had no choice. She was a liability—better that she rotted in there.”
I didn’t tell the man that she had harmed Hazel, had tried to get her killed. It would undoubtedly bring up more complicated subjects that I wasn’t willing to discuss till Hazel and I had a chance to decide how best we would tell her parents.
“How much of a danger is she now?” he asked.
“I can’t be sure. The rest of the cult is dead, and they have achieved their aim. Perhaps she is useless to the entity now, I have no idea.”
“It seems we have a lot to discuss,” the man replied, contemplating my response.
“Ash, the emperor, will be holding a meeting. Perhaps you should find sleeping quarters and prepare yourself for what lies ahead,” I replied. And stop questioning me.
“I am not finished with you yet, Tejus of Hellswan. I take it you are the man involved with my granddaughter?”
Ah.
That’s who he is.
“Yes,” I sighed, readying myself for another onslaught.
“Hazel comes from a long line of Novaks. Our family is powerful, our history darker than you could possibly imagine. I trust that your intentions are honorable?” His last line was laced with malice and an underlying threat.
“They are, sir.”
“You would have quite a force to be reckoned with if they were not.”
“I am well aware of that,” I replied, keeping my temper in check. “But I love your granddaughter. This is not something I take lightly, and I do not love her carelessly. Hazel may be part of your bloodline, but she is also part of my soul. Try to take her away against her will, and you will become acquainted with my equally unpleasant and powerful family.”
He didn’t have to know most were dead, and one was chained up beneath the castle.
“That’s not my intention,” the man growled, “but I love my granddaughter, and I am having a difficult time understanding what she would see in you.”
“I don’t blame you,” I replied quietly. “But that is not my concern. For whatever reason, Hazel loves me—and I’m honored that she does.”
The man nodded, quiet for a few moments. I sensed that I had passed some kind of test, and for now it seemed that he wouldn’t be questioning me any further. No doubt that would change once he understood what I had caused her to become, but I would have to face the consequences of that when the time came.
“This…protection around the castle. What is it?” he asked eventually.
“Barriers. They’re created and upheld by the mental energy of the sentries—our ministers usually attend to that task. They have more developed powers than guards or laborers.”
“How do sentries come by this mental energy?”