Page 34 of Set in Darkness
Jarryn raised a hand, having never been forced into silence by another, and continued. “Your interference jeopardises our autonomy. What’s to stop the Nine from gracing us with their oh-so-benevolent presence if they see us so willingly taking handouts from you?”
“Saeren does not harbour the same distrust of my mother and her kin as you do, Prince. The threats we face transcend your kingdom’s borders. If you cannot see beyond your painfully narrow perspective, the consequences will be dire.”
“Leander!” Flavian tried where Caisa had failed.
“No, let him speak,” Caisa commanded. “What, do you mean, Lord Leander, that these threats transcend that of King Nevari and Desanne?”
Leander, who had been staring down Jarryn, seated across from him, blinked and turned to the king. “I—” he had said too much. He had been careless in his anger.
“Speak, boy!”
“The motives of the gods are not my story to tell, Your Majesty. They are beyond my station even as a demigod and especially as a mortal. I have been away from their circle and out of their confidences for weeks now.”
“Save your poetic excuses, Leander.” Caisa’s eyes had narrowed, his regal composure momentarily disrupted. “Actions speak louder than words and your presence, while tolerated in this city and in this country, is predicated on the expectation that you are loyal to your mother’s teachings, as we all here are.”
“What... what are you implying, Your Majesty?” Leander asked.
Caisa leaned forward, eyes never leaving Leander’s. “The people fear what they don’t understand. You are an unpredictable force and we all would feel much more at ease knowing that you are on our side.”
“Of course I am on your side!”
Silence reigned over the hall as Leander breathed heavily.
“Time will tell, I suppose,” the king finally uttered as he leaned back in his chair, his expression making it clear that he was no closer to trusting Leander.
Unable to hold himself back, Leander all but hissed, “I don’t seek your trust, only recognition for my allegiance to my mother.” He took in the expressions of everyone around the table: they ranged from impressed to downright distrustful. Leander leaned back, his expression growing more resolute. “You have not the ability to fathom the sacrifices my kin have made to prevent nothing short of calamities to your realm. Your Majesty, you seek stability for your nation and this one?—”
“You’re godsdamned right I do! You think that you get to decide what constitutes a threat to my country? I declare a power play, though I just cannot work out why.”
Tone softening, Leander’s words had an earnest plea in them. “This isn’t about a power play. It’s about survival.”
“Spoken like someone who just lost control. Survival… the favourite excuse given by tyrants and cowards alike.” Flavian said, a cruel smile falling onto his lips.
Caisa glanced at Jarryn, including him in his next statement. “You have both been given plenty of opportunities to behave appropriately in my presence, but it is clear I overestimated your restraint. You are both dismissed. Get out of my sight.”
Chapter Eleven
Lying on a low stone wall, to any casual observer Leander would appear to be sleeping. However, the wide smile on his face made it clear to passersby that he was not asleep. He was not wearing a coat or cloak of any sort, just a neatly pressed shirt and loose trousers. In this cold weather, where the snow was falling in the first flurries, signalling the beginning of winter, he was obviously shivering. He was attracting several odd glances as a result.
He had spent ages watching the crumbling stone crawl around under his hand, its grey hues more kaleidoscopic than he could ever have imagined. Time was so unbelievably slow. It felt like every second was a new moment happening, and he tried to wrap his head around it. Then he would blink and the feeling of the stone beneath his hand renewed itself, and all the thoughts he had been clinging onto then floated away like bubbles carried off in the wind for children to burst.
For what felt like hours, he had gotten caught up in the sway of the blades of grass visible through the fallen snow all around the stone wall. They danced to a melody Leander could only just make out, a distant sound, but one he wanted so desperately to hear more of.
For his part, Leander was blissfully unaware of the stares he was receiving. The demigod’s eyes were open, pupils barely the size of pinpricks as they stared up at the bright, grey-white sky.
A warm energy slowly settled over Leander. Everything felt so clear, like he could see each and every individual snowflake that was falling around him, right from the clouds, all the way down to where they settled on his nose and cheeks. He licked his lips, the cool white snow melting on his tongue.
He was able to do this because everything had slowed down to the point where he could focus on the individual, and entirely unique, patterns of every falling snowflake. They were beautiful. He supposed that winter wasn’t so bad after all.
After a while of remaining still, Leander could no longer sense the wall he was lying on. It was there, he knew it, and he was vaguely aware of it, but he felt… light, like he was floating. His limbs were simultaneously too big and too small, his feet both too close and too far away. He wasn’t really here… he didn’t think.
“Get up.”
Very slowly, Leander’s gaze moved from its unfocused upwards stare to find the owner of the voice he had just heard. The voice sounded distant, as if there was a wall of glass between him and the speaker, muffling it.
A blanket was thrown on top of him and he moaned in half-hearted protest at the weight of the itchy material, suddenly covering his body without warning.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it grounded him; the blanket was heavy enough to counteract the weightlessness which descended upon the fallen demigod each time he indulged in the illicit substance. Moments ago, the sensation had felt so wonderful, so freeing. But now, with instant realisation, Leander found himself frightened from the lack of control that accompanied the weightlessness. He dragged the blanket closer to his chin and breathed in deeply.
