Page 32 of Echoes of the Raven
Thrown off balance, he falls back on his bottom and looks up at me, outraged.
I ignore him and walk out onto the balcony. There’s a chill in the air, but the autumn sun still manages to warm my skin. Castellina stretches from the foot of the palace, an intricately woven tapestry of vibrant colors. To the east, the Realta Observatory’s immense broken shardssparkle, reflecting rainbows in all directions. Hard to believe the fae were once our friends and bestowed such beautiful gifts upon us. Why do we forget so easily?
Jago joins me. “I know it’s been awful for you, but maybe staying busy will help you get through this.”
I say nothing, barely registering his words like buzzing, annoying bees.
“I know you, Val. You do best when you—”
“He’s in the dungeons, did you hear?”
Sucking on his front teeth, he ponders for a moment, then asks, “Who exactly are we talking about?”
Ah, so even after six days, the news hasn’t spread through the palace. Amira must have ordered discretion. Smart. Nido has suffered enough breaches, one more and Castellans will start to question how we could ever protect them when we can’t even protect ourselves.
I face my cousin. “Rífíor.”
“He was apprehended?” He sounds incredulous. “I was sure everyone died in those catacombs.”
“Not him. The bastardo made it out, then came straight here. Got in through that secret passage you and I tried to use to escape.”
“Saints and feathers! We should’ve thought about that. In all the commotion, I forgot.”
“Me too.”
“So what happened?”
I tell him everything, barely mustering the energy for more than a few words.
Wind whips our hair around, presaging the blustery nights to come. When I finish recounting what happened, he pivots away on one foot and grabs his head. He walks into the bedchamber, pivots again to face me, and throws his hands up in the air.
“I just… this is… The Eldrystone… the… what in the fuck is going to happen now?” he asks, his eyes roving all over as he considers his own question.
“I have no idea, and I don’t care.” I drag my leaden body back to the bed and climb under the covers.
“Of course you care. You can’t go back to bed. C’mon, get dressed and we’ll find out more.” He pulls on my arm, but I bat him away.
The bed dips as he sits behind me. “Valeria, please. This isn’t good for you.”
I sit, and we’re eye to eye. I consider doing what he says, but I simply don’t have the energy for it. “Just let me be.”
“Do you want to talk about it? It might help.”
I collapse onto my pillow and throw the covers over my face. “Go away.”
There is no way I’ll voluntarily relive what I went through. I never want to think about it again, and the best way to do that is to sleep.
Jago lingers for a few minutes, but in the end, he leaves me alone, and I surrender to the oblivion of sleep.
The next time I wake up, it’s to Amira’s voice. She’s talking loudly, urging me to get out of bed. I throw a pillow over my head to muffle the sounds, but she snatches it away.
“You don’t think I want to stay in bed all day, too?” she demands. “Of course, I do, but I’m a Plumanegra, and there are a million things to do around here. Get up and be of use.”
“Not today,” I protest, hoping that the promise of a tomorrow will drive her away. I can play this game forever.
“You’re going to let one asshole male do this to you?”
I glare at her. “You think this is about Rífíor? You’re wrong.”
