Page 175 of The Eye of the Fifth
‘Because I was disconnected to my power,’ Kyra said. ‘Recent events have made me less… closed off.’
Her fingers absent-mindedly grazed over the wrap around her arm. Kano hadn’t seen it happen, but had heard through Kawai it had been quite the ordeal. A few days had passed since then, and Kawai hadn’t said anything more. He was tight-mouthed behind Kyra even now at the mention of it.
Actually, now his attention was drawn to it, there was a distance between the both of them that hadn’t been there before.
He’d have to ask Kawai about it later.
‘Alright,’ Kano said, steeling himself for what was to come. ‘So, I just… lie here?’
‘Yes,’ Kyra said with a small smile. ‘I’ve got the hard part. Close your eyes and try to relax. It might feel strange, but try not to tense your body. If it hurts, or you want me to stop at any time, just say the word.’
Kano looked at Kawai. His brother gave him an encouraging nod.
Kyra approached him, hands raised. ‘Ready?’
So this was it then. Was he willingly about to say goodbye to the peace he’d found these last three years? Or was he finally about to feel complete, after three years of knowingsomethinghad been missing?
‘Yes,’ he said, and ignoring the sudden rise of his pulse, closed his eyes.
At first, he felt nothing.
But then there was a niggle in his mind. A bug-like presence, crawling through memory after memory.
Most of them were of the nymph twins. His heart ached every time he saw Akraia, every time she’d lightly touched him, and he hated that he hadn’t told her sooner, hated that he hadn’t even realised how he felt until he’d had to leave her behind.
They’d had fun, the three of them, Kano realised as he watched the memories float by. No matter how much their mischievous nature would grate him beyond belief.
The bug went deeper. To a darker, hazy place that pulsed dangerously.
Kano didn’t want to know what was behind that ominous haze.
‘Don’t fight it, Kano,’ Kyra’s voice flitted through his ears. ‘Don’t fight it.’
But the haze was terrifying. And there was another’s presence there, inactive but strong, like an iron leash of ultimate control.
‘Kano,’ Kyra’s voice warned again, but it was gentle, not scolding. ‘You’re alright. You’re safe.’
Those words.
It was like a trigger as the bug burrowed in the haze. He’d heard those words before, but spoken by someone else.
Brother.
The bug shifted, its legs elongating and multiplying, attaching to things Kano couldn’t see. Its legs began to retract, but the haze was fighting it, swirling into a furious storm as if it might stop the bug from revealing what it had hidden-
Someone was moaning in pain, or fear. He couldn’t tell which.
The storm raged on, but the bug didn’t stop, now glowing faintly with green light through the haze.
It grew brighter. The storm began to panic.
A roar of ferocious outrage pierced through him then, and it washimthat was moaning in pain as the storm fought against the bug in his mind, but the latter was stronger, and the haze was fading as the bug grew brighter still-
The haze completely vanished.
Memories rapidly swarmed the space it had been occupying.
His brother holding him close on a ship, Blythtrie fading into darkness behind them. His mother’s warm hands on his face. Choking someone with his water as they begged for their life until they went limp. And another. And another. Standing at the king’s side during a meeting with a queen of golden radiance-
