Page 90 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“Nonsense!”

“She isn’t used to expending as much magic as she did at Auretras.”

“She will learn. This is important; they need to meet her.”

“They can wait.”

“Stop it!” I hissed, clutching my hands to my ears. Everything was tooloud. Too much. Something had changed since we’d first arrived, and it was like everything was amplified, all the noises rushing into my head and swirling around. “What is this?”

“What’s wrong?” Tallon asked, rushing to my side. “What did you do, Kalyx?”

“I merely reversed the effects of the plague on her body.” The concern was clear in Kalyx’s voice, but the volume was still piercing my ears. “I fixed whatyoubroke.”

“Take itback,” I demanded. “There was nothing wrong with me. I don’t want it. I don’t want this.”

“Undo it. Now.”

“Fine, fine.” Kalyx waved his hand, and like a blanket settling over the room, the noise was muffled. His voice sounded like it was underwater, but it was manageable. It was familiar, and it was what I’d grown accustomed to. “Is that better?”

I lowered my hands from my ears. “Much.”

“You truly do not wish to be made whole again?”

“I was never made less.” I raised a brow. “Do not deign to make decisions for me again, especially regarding my body. I can hear you just fine. I can breathe just fine. I can manage my way through life just fine and I do not need anyone deciding otherwise.”

Tallon said nothing, but I could sense the arrogant smirk on his face directed at Kalyx, who bent his head like a scolded puppy. “Of course, my dear.”

“Now,” I said, squeezing Tallon’s hand. “Who would you like me to meet, Kalyx? Tallon is right; I am exhausted and would like to rest, but I understand this is important to you too.”

“Of course, my dear,” Kalyx repeated. He bowed lowly before straightening and clapping his hands. “My court, if you will join us. I’d like to introduce my granddaughter, Odyssa. And of course, you all know my favorite herald, Tallon.”

From between the columns that lined the walls, people appeared. Only a handful, and yet my heart raced in my chest. Tallon had said no mask, and yet I couldn’t deny my desire to impress these people. To impress Kalyx. Tallon squeezed my hand twice, no doubt reminding me of his presence, and of his words.

“Hello,” I greeted the crowd. I couldn’t bring myself to offer other pleasantries, not when I was growing quickly overwhelmed by them staring.

“She is Eiran’s daughter?” a woman asked, peering at me closely. Whatever she found in my face, she liked, because she straightened, and the smile she offered was near blinding. “Of course she is; I see it now. Welcome, Eiran’s daughter, to the Beyond.”

Eiran. I’d never known my father’s name; my mother had refused to speak it. My throat was thick with tears I would not shed for a man I had not known, so I nodded in return.

“Introduce yourselves to her,” Tallon ordered. He shifted closer to me so our arms brushed, and that warmth seeping from him was all I needed to find my footing once more. “She just arrived and doesn’t know your names. Kalyx is a terrible host.”

Several of them fought to hide smiles as my grandfather rolled his eyes. Tallon, it seemed, had embraced the removal of his own mask. I enjoyed seeing him be himself and not the instrument of Death that Eadric had wielded. They stumbled over themselves to approach me, offering their names along with small bows. The woman who’d gifted me my father’s name spoke first, introducing herself as Imelda. Then, Evander. Silas. Amira. Hale. Runa. Eris. Thane.

I greeted them all, committing their faces and names to memory as best I could.

“Will she be your heir?” Hale, a slight blond man with long hair, asked.

“If she wishes to be,” Kalyx replied, looking at me expectantly.

“Do not make her decide now,” Tallon nearly growled. “This is enough; she needs torest.”

“Fine,” Kalyx said with an eye roll. “Tomorrow evening then, we will have a party welcoming home Odyssa and Tallon. Once there’s been a decision made by Odyssa, there will be an announcement. For now, Tallon remains my heir.”

“You’re the heir?” I asked under my breath as the others began to talk amongst themselves about the party. He hadn’t told me that, and the last thing I wanted was to take anything away from him. He’d had enough taken.

“We’ll discuss this later,” he said, pressing a kiss to my hair. “I have no problem with you being heir. Besides, I’m planning on never leaving your side. Perhaps we can be co-heirs.”

Kalyx’s eyes narrowed on us, but before he could open his mouth, the throne room doors opened and a harried man entered, clutching his hands in front of him.

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