Page 10 of Duskbound

“His mind looks different from the rest of you,” I said, tilting my head towards Aether.

Vexa returned to my side, giving me a confused look. “Looks different?” she asked.

“The rest of your minds glow silver, his glows golden.” I wondered for a second why I was revealing any of this to her. Itdidn’t seem like anything they could use against me, against Sídhe, but it still felt odd to be divulging it.

“So you can see our minds?” Her voice was low now but still edged with curiosity.

“If I try.” I looked towards the tower, eyes scanning the many levels as white orbs began to glow from the inside. Her attention followed mine.

“Ten minds in that room.” I pointed. “Six descending the fourth-floor stairs,” I murmured. Aether’s eyes shot to me.

“Vexa,” he said, starting towards us, but she whipped her hand out, halting him.

“Under control,” she shouted, eyes tearing into me now. “You can see them, within the walls?” she said, a breathless kind of rustle to her voice.

It felt like we were entering dangerous territory, and I had no idea how they would twist this information to their advantage. So I turned, looking across the landscape once again, crossing my arms, staying silent.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” she said, noticing my sudden apprehension. “You’re far more than a Duskbound,” she whispered, as if to keep the revelation to herself.

Her words sent a wave through me. In truth, I had never really known what I was. Who I was. At this moment, it seemed like more of a mystery than ever.

I watched as the Vördr paused at the edge of a platform that laid across the walled barrier, starting in the gray grass before inclining in elevation towards the sky. It scratched its hooves against the surface, the sound sharp against the stillness. Then, with a powerful neigh, it surged forward, its wings snapping open and carrying it up the incline. Without realizing it, my feet began to move, drawn toward the creature, eager for a closer view.

“Watch your step,” Vexa called from behind me, her voice a warning just as the Vördr launched into flight. Its wings unfurledfully, cutting through the air with effortless grace. Only then did I notice the shapes in the distant sky—dark, bird-like silhouettes drifting on the wind.

As my gaze sharpened, I counted at least five other Vördr, their massive forms racing toward the fortress. Each was a study in shades of gray, from onyx as dark as night, to reflective silver, their coats streaked with patterns—swirls of smoke and ink that seemed to shift with every movement. Some had legs dusted in white, as if snow had clung to the tops of their hooves, while others sported long, braided manes in shades of ivory and charcoal, the intricate plaits winding down their necks.

The creatures descended in an arc, their wings brushing the stone of the nearest tower before they ascended once more, vanishing into the sky.

I stood rooted, breathless. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. The legends of any beasts had been little more than whispered stories back in Sídhe, told to children as fantastical tales, often dismissed as fabrications—or forgotten myths from a time long past. I had never imagined seeing something like this. Never imagined something like this even existed.

The crunching of footsteps broke me from my trance, and reality settled in around me, tugging the numbness back into my bones, its presence more clear than it had been before. Perhaps in contrast to the exhilaration of seeing the Vördr, free and magnificent, unrestrained.

Now I remembered where I was. How I had come to be here. The sadness pulsed, hitting me like a wave. Part of me wanted to push it away, to try and climb out from its depths, but it was too heavy. I had fallen far past the numbness, into a pain too great to bear. My core ached to go home. To be able to take to the sky, fly out of here and back to where I belonged. Back to Sídhe. To Laryk. I nearly crumpled to the ground at the weight of it—the weight ofemotions I had been avoiding during my isolation. Ignoring them had felt like my only form of survival.

But now, they had returned in full force, blurring my vision with tears that fell just as soon as they welled. My breaths became hoarse and frantic as my heart jolted once more, stumbling forward as I hit the ground, everything around me sinking into darkness.

CHAPTER FOUR

The brushof grass caressed my legs and my eyes adjusted to the crimson rays of a setting sun. A path was clearly stomped out through the overgrown blades before me and the cry of children’s laughter had me moving towards the sound. I noticed them first, two young girls holding hands, looking to be five or six at most. They had dark hair braided down their backs and matching lace dresses. They ran ahead of a man and woman in fine clothing, fit for nobles. I was unable to see their faces but the similar midnight hair and clothing led me to believe they were a family. The woman looked tense as she leaned in, speaking in hushed tones to the man at her side. I noticed the stern shift of his shoulders in response.

“Wait for me!” one of the children cried. That was when I saw the wall of darkness. The two young girls were silhouetted by a mass of nothingness that seemed to leach in all the light around it, desaturating this entire corner of the realm. One girl stood in complete fascination, unmoving, while the other kept looking back towards her parents impatiently. Inky tendrils curled along the ground, moving closer to their small figures.

“It’s too early, they are too young!” the woman called out desperatelywhen the man broke away from her and began to walk towards his daughters, taking the hands of both.

“Please can’t we wait?” Her pleading was lost on the wind and he never turned back to acknowledge her. “Mommy? Don’t cry, Mommy. I won’t go!” The restless of the two girls turned, making an attempt to run back towards her mother, pulling against her father’s grip.

Without pause, he scooped them into his arms and disappeared into the darkness.

The dream clungto me like a distant memory for days after that. I couldn’t make sense of it. It occupied my mind more than anything else during the times I was left alone in the tower. Vexa had returned every day, taking me back to the stables, letting me breathe in the fresh air until Aether deemed the excursion had met its end.

Vexa had attempted light conversation, keeping a closer eye on me as I walked the grounds of the small field on the edge of the city, probably trying to anticipate another sudden fainting spell. I assumed she thought my panic-stricken attack was due to the nature of our previous conversation, and I didn’t correct her. The longer I could go without more questions from her, while still getting to experience a fleeting moment of fresh air, the better.

I climbed from my place on the floor, near the window, anticipating her at any moment. Time was difficult to discern with the motionless and unchanging sky, but I had gotten better at deciphering how the passing of it felt, paying attention to the slight differences in behavior—the patterns of noises or minds that I saw in other levels of the tower.

I strode over to the chest at the end of my bed, opening it to find the leathers I’d worn the day before. I began undressing, and pulled the thick fabric across my skin before slipping into theboots she had provided. I glanced up, briefly seeing my reflection in the mirror behind the bed, and quickly looked away before my face came into focus.

But curiosity tugged at me. Slowly, I returned my eyes to the silver mirror, and let my gaze climb to the ends of my long hair, unruly and weightless as it had ever been, dancing around my head in a halo of white. I edged my view over to my face, body stiff with the urge to recoil as I finally settled on my eyes. But they looked normal. Well, not normal. But they looked as they always had, opalescent and beaming.

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