Page 17 of A Court So Dark
“Oh, that’s right.” I had forgotten its name. After thinking for a moment, I asked, “But couldn’t being too specific cause problems? At least being broad would give us a general idea of where he is. He could be in Nerethien, but not specifically in the castle. I’m sure Mythorne has other places for prisoners.”
Silver reclined against the wall. “For all we know he’s inyourrealm, Dani. I just can’t imagine Cardian having the balls to face Mythorne or place himself anywhere within his reach.”
Damn!This was harder than I thought. Trying to locate one person in two vast realms with almost nothing to go on was like trying to carve Mount Ruin with a spatula.
My frustration mounted, and I had to fight the urge to pull out my hair and scream. I felt like a nuclear bomb ready to obliterate everything around me. I had to… do more.
“I need pen and paper,” I blurted out, then marched to a nearby desk.
When I found what I needed I sat down and started jotting questions down. Anything that popped into my mind, I wrote it down—no matter how stupid.
Arabis sat across from me and also procured a piece of paper and did the same. The others remained quiet, meandering through the library, deep in thought.
All the nervous energy poured out of me and onto the page until I could think of nothing else to write. I straightened, looked up over what I had written, and underlined the things that had merit.
It was a lot.
I slammed my hands on the desk and stood, knocking my chair over. “Why only two questions? It’s not like it would kill the Envoy to be more helpful.”
My question made me wonder for the first time why the Envoy was answering any questions at all. Did it gain anything? And if it did? What if we offered it more of whatever it wanted?
“What is the Envoy after, anyway?” I asked.
They all looked at me with matching frowns.
I elaborated. “I mean, what does it gain? Does it want gold? Jewels?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” Arabis looked chagrined.
I waited for her explanation, but she only exchanged glances with the others.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“The Envoy shaves days from the end of your life.” Silver was now reclining against a bookshelf, inspecting his fingernails. He shared this piece of information as if he were talking about the weather.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“That’s just… wrong! How many times has Kalyll been to visit the Envoy?”
“Only twice that I’m aware of,” Kryn said. “But I think—”
I cut him off. “So let me get this straight… he’s going to live fewer days than he would have otherwise?”
“That’s the idea.”
A lot of messed up scenarios crossed my mind. What if someone died before sayingI’m sorryto a loved one? Before signing an important peace treaty? Before running over a serial killer with their car? Before conceiving a baby with their wife? The list was endless. One day, one hour, could make a huge difference, and the realization made me feel as if I was really going to explode.
So no gold or jewels for the fucking Envoy. Even one question seemed too much already. Two could break someone’s entire purpose for living. What if the baby the wife would’ve conceived was someone like Marie Curie?
Witchlights!I had to stop thinking about it that way. For all I knew, it was more likely that the Envoy was shaving off crappy days from crappy old age.
“Are you all right, Dani?” Arabis asked.
I must have looked how I felt—ready to blow up and make a bloody mess—because she looked truly concerned for me. Clenching my fists, I reminded myself to be strong. I couldn’t fall apart. Still, I had to ask my next question.
“Why do I have to go to the Envoy? Why not one of you?”
