Page 30 of The City of Zirdai
She followed. They climbed to the top.
Jayden faced her. “When I disappear, look over the side.” He pointed. Then he pulled his hood down. A cloud of grains spiraled into the air. It wasn’t thick enough to block the sight of Jayden sinking into the sand.
Even though she’d seen it before, it still startled her and she had to stifle the desire to rush over and grab his arms. When any other person sank, it meant the poor soul had stumbled into a patch of unstable sluff sand, which, if he was alone, meant he would soon suffocate and die.
Once Jayden vanished, the cloud settled and the sand rushed to fill the hole, leaving behind no sign he’d been there at all. Shyla hurried to the dune’s edge and peered over. After a couple heart-pounding moments, sand poured from the side as if the dune was bleeding. Then a man-sized slit opened and Jayden sauntered out. The grains reversed direction, plugging the gap.
He turned toward her and held his arms out wide. “Ta da!”
Show-off. But she had to admit it was impressive. She slid down the side of the dune until she reached him. “Why did the sand run out of the dune before you exited?”
“My body took up space inside the dune. The sand will compress to a certain point, but the rest has to go somewhere. When I sank, the sand moved to give me room. Some of it went into the air so I could cover my passage, and the rest went out the side.”
“So, after the ambush, I was taken through the dune?”
“Yes. Payatt took you with him, then he erased your memories of the trip to the testing chamber.”
A nice name for what it really was—a prison—but she kept quiet. Instead she focused on the fact Payatt had erased her memories. It was strange to think she had an experience that she no longer remembered. Unease grew, knotting her stomach. “Was that the only time my memory was altered?”
He hesitated and a longing to read his soul gripped her. She studied him, searching for any indication he was about to lie.
“I think so,” he finally said.
“Think?”
“I wasn’t with you the entire time. Plus you moped in your room those three sun jumps after we rescued Banqui. Someone could have visited you to find out how much you knew about our organization.”
Shyla recalled the events after Banqui’s rescue, but something nagged at her. A detail that…didn’t quite fit. It clicked.
“Why didn’t you erase my memories?” she asked him. “You can do manipulation as well as the other two skills. But you told me it wasn’t your specialty.”
“I lied. I was furious at you for that stunt you pulled with the Water Prince. If I’d accessed your memories, there was a very good chance I would have wiped everything.” He swiped his hand through the air in one harsh chop. “Clean slate. Baby fresh.”
Stunned, she grappled with his admission. So much there… She’d known he was angry, but this was on an entirely different level. Also the fact that a person’s mind could be obliterated back to infancy… Scary.
She regained some of her composure. “I don’t regret thatstunt. It saved us all.”
“So you say.”
Yes, she did. The Water Prince had been wearing armor under his tunic. But she hadn’t woken The Eyes yet, so Jayden hadn’t believed her. Obviously, he was still upset. It explained why he argued with her on everything. And why he didn’t fully trust her. It occurred to her that Jayden was the only one who hadn’t witnessed her sacrifice for The Eyes. Hanif had been right to invite the Invisible Swords to watch. It’d made a difference in how they treated her.
“Do you think The Eyes made a mistake choosing me?” she asked.
“I think The Eyes don’t choose. I think they’ll work for anyone who is brave and conceited enough to allow another person to cut out their eyeballs.”
Six
Shyla thought she’d been astounded before. This was so far beyond it she didn’t have a word to describe it.
“I’m being honest,” he said into the silence.
Recovering slightly, she said, “I got that. But what about all the warnings that The Eyes might fail to work and leave a person blind?”
“That’s where the brave part comes in. That supposed risk kept so many people from trying. From even touching them.” He shook his head. “And it put doubts into their heads so even if The Eyes stirred to their touch, they still wouldn’t go through with it.”
“And the conceit? Where does that come in?”
“Believing that you’re so special that there is no doubt they’ll work for you. Having the conceit to actually go through with it.”
