Page 61 of The King of Koraha
She’d forgotten Xerxes had ordered them to enjoy the show. An odd command until she thought about it. The order was probably a test to make sure his magic had worked on them. “Do you still want to trap a merc and interrogate them?”
“Do you think we’ll get anything useful from them?”
“Not if they’ve been influenced by Xerxes. Their thoughts will be dominated with all the wonderful qualities of the commander.”
“Then we won’t risk it. But we do need a few supplies for the journey to Qulsary.”
They arrived at the heart cavern at angle eighty. Because of the name, she expected the space to be heart-shaped. However it was just another huge cavity at the heart of the city. Tiers of market stalls ringed the main area. Each ring was wider than the one below so they appeared to be a gigantic circular ramp. Up above everything, distant spots of druk light marked a series of balconies. While she normally enjoyed bartering for goods, Shyla couldn’t shake the creepy-crawly sensation that she was being watched.
“How many are following us?” she asked Rendor.
“Five or six mercs.”
“Xerxes?”
“Not that I’ve seen.”
“Good. Don’t look him in the eye if you do see him.”
“I don’t ever back down.” He just about growled.
She sighed. Men.
They muscled their way through the crowded market. The sounds of shoppers, sellers, and children shrieking was both overly loud and swallowed by the immense empty space hovering over them.
At angle eighty-nine, a man called, “Prepare for the sun!”
The druks were closed, but the cavern still had enough light to see. In fact, high above their heads, sunlight illuminated a giant hole in the ceiling, revealing the pink sky. Rendor stepped behind her and pulled her close. She leaned on him as she tipped her head back to get a better view.
Except the sunlight brightened to a painful degree and she had to avert her gaze or risk going blind. Then the sun reached apex. An intense sunbeam shot straight down—a brilliant yellow shaft that appeared solid. Its arrival caused gasps of wonder even from the sellers. Those who stood close to the roughly three-meter-wide beam stuck their arms into it. She half expected their skin to catch fire.
“I give you the heart of the sun,” the man called. “Now!”
A tarp was yanked off the floor right underneath the sunbeam, revealing a huge crystal. Immediately prisms shot out in all directions, waterfalls of colors going up. When they reached the walls where other crystals had been installed, they fractured and reflected until beams of lights crisscrossed the entire cavern. Her breath locked.
Glorious indeed. No other word matched.
She marveled until the sun shifted and everything disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. A sigh of disappointment sounded from everyone in attendance. The crystal was covered and druks were opened. The red light was weak and thin and utterly ordinary in comparison. Commerce resumed, voices called and haggled. Life continued.
“That’s why I call you sunbeam,” Rendor whispered in her ear. “That’s what you do to my heart every time you look at me like I’m worthwhile.”
Oh, Rendor. She wanted to melt and yell at him at the same time. Keeping within the circle of his arms, she turned to face him. “You are worthwhile.” Before he could deny it, she added, “These eyes don’t lie.”
He pulled back slightly. “You said you haven’t gone that deep into my soul.”
“I don’t need to, Rendor. I’ve seen—”
“Not enough. Just surface thoughts and feelings. You’ve no idea what I’ve done. What I’m capable of. Who I really am.”
“Then tell me.” But he’d already turned away, heading for the stall selling travel rations of jerky, bread, and cheese.
As they finished their shopping, she mulled over Rendor’s comment. He was right; she didn’t know much about him. She’d picked up on his intentions to atone and his love for her when she’d first awoken the power of The Eyes, but nothing deeper. He’d had a life-changing moment when he’d almost died. Did she need to know the details of what he’d done prior to that? The rumors in Zirdai had painted him as evil incarnate, but there had been a few stories of kindness. As for what he was capable of…did it matter? Actions, not thoughts or abilities, spoke the loudest. Plus she had the power to manipulate people, to do harm, to kill.
No, she decided. It didn’t matter to her what he’d done or what he could do. She already knew who he really was. The hard part would be revealing Rendor’s true self to Rendor.
The trip back to Qulsary took nineteen sun jumps and was uneventful. Soon after they arrived, Shyla and Rendor went to the castle’s entrance and asked to speak with Najib. The advisor’s expression was welcoming but worry lurked in his gaze.
“We’ll go straight to the King,” Najib said. “He’s been anxious for news.”
