Page 17 of The Night Prince 2

Who am I?

What am I?

The coolness of the Adiva pressed against his forehead. The chain drifted against his cheek. He brought his hands down and looked at the delicate silver disk. It was unmarked. So if he had expected some spell to be written in Katyr upon it, there was none. The links of the chain it was on were delicate, but they did not look magical.

Could this really protect me from the Sun?

Although, why would there be any spells that the Aravae knew that would protect people from the Sun? They loved the Sun. They drew their power from the Sun.

Perhaps this isn’t an Aravae spell. Maybe Adivas aren’t Aravae objects. Adiva is not a Katyr word. If not Aravae, then what kind of amulet is this? And how does Rhalyf know about them?

Yet more questions for the enigmatic elf. But from what he’d heard, Rhalyf, Gemma and Finley had headed to Hope, the Separatist city so there was no chance for him to ask more questions unless he followed them. But it was nearly 11 in the morning now. The Sun would be reaching its zenith soon. The thought of walking all the way to Hope–miles away–under the blazing noon-day light seemed impossible. It was impossible. He hadn’t even been able to survive the walk from the Dawn to the sewer. Would this Adiva really protect him against that amount of light?

He needed to test it in a far more controlled arena.

His heart was thudding heavily in his chest as he turned and went to the door of his bedroom. Should he put the Adiva on now before he even tried to enter the hallway? There wasn’t that much light in there. Not direct anyway. He’d want to see what the Adiva could do in full sunlight. He slowly put the Adiva over his neck.

He felt nothing.

No tingling.

No magical shield appeared.

Nothing.

Is this thing even real?

But Rhalyf might have seemed many things, but a fool was not one of them. If he said this would protect Declan from the Sun then it would. Besides, what did Declan know of how a magical amulet would work? Maybe there wasn’t any tingling involved. Just so long as it did work. That was all that mattered.

He was only wearing a light pair of black draw-strong pants, no shirt or shoes. He couldn’t imagine going out like this. Unprotected. So much bare skin exposed. He could imagine the acidic feel of sunlight on his ribs. And yet, if the Adiva worked then he could have gone outside naked and been fine. Still, he grabbed his long-sleeved black hoodie that was hanging over the back of his desk chair before he went to the door of his bedroom.

His fingers hesitated on the lock. It was cool beneath his fingers. Cool and smooth. He flicked it open and then turned the door handle. The door swung outwards and his eyes watered even at the low light in the hallway. The Adiva hung so lightly around his neck that he barely sensed it was there. He threw on his jacket, zipped it up to his neck, tugged down the sleeves so that they hung over his hands and pulled up the hood.

Now or never.

He stepped out into the hallway. There was only a single window at the end of the hallway, but that window faced west so no direct sunlight made its way into the hallway this early in the day. Just reflected light.

He could see the deep green of the side garden out there. Even without the careful tending that Michael offered, the garden plants bloomed in wild abundance since the Aravae’s arrival. The scent of them was intoxicating. Sun-warmed and full to bursting with life. He imagined that to stuff his nose in such a flower at full-noon would be what it was like to draw his nostrils along Aquilan’s neck. He shook himself. He needed to focus. He slid out into the hallway and stuck to the more shadowy parts of it. He kept his hood pulled as far forward as he could. The sleeves of his jacket extended below his fingertips.

He padded silently down the hallway past Finley’s bedroom and stopped only when he reached the central, circular foyer. The house was laid out in three wings that jutted out from this central point. One wing, the wing he’d just left, held his and Finley’s bedrooms. The second wing was where Michael and Shonda’s master suite was located and also where Gemma’s sun-filled bedroom was. The third was the living wing with the kitchen, family room, two offices for Shonda and Michael and a dining room. There was a gorgeous outdoor patio where they ate during the Spring, Summer and even early Fall months. He’d not been out there during the day since… well, for a long while. That’s where he should go now.

The thought of stepping out onto the patio near noon had cold sweat coating his upper lip and his hands twitching inside his sleeves. The doors to the patio were just to his right from the circular foyer. But even the foyer was filled with light.

I have to do this. I have to do this. I have to!

His heart was in his throat. His breathing was rapid and rushed as he dashed through the foyer to the shadows by the french doors to the patio. There was just a segment of shadow there. A slice really. Hardly enough for him to fit into. His back was pressed tightly against the wall, his arms were clutched against his chest and his feet were tucked together into the corner. Still he felt the warmth of the Sun on the hood of his jacket and sleeves.

I’m supposed to go into the light. Yet I am clinging to the darkness. And it’s hardly dark.

More cold sweat coated his upper lip. His breathing was short and sharp. It was only then that he heard Shonda and Michael’s voices coming from outside that he unbent a little. The two of them were likely sitting on the patio under the umbrella having breakfast. Michael always brought Shonda tea and toast with butter and jam. They would drink and eat together while welcoming the day. This was far later than they usually started their morning, but they’d all been out quite late.

What would happen if I go out there and… and the light takes me again?

If that happened, at least they would be able to help him inside. Michael had seen what had happened to him yesterday. He could carry Declan to the safety of the shadows. So that would be better than if he’d done this alone. But they’d have so many more questions if they saw him fall again. But better those than to perish in the light.

If the Adiva doesn’t work…

He closed his hand around the cool disk. Again, he felt nothing from it. It seemed only like a normal necklace. Not something that could stand between him and the power of the Sun.

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