Page 80 of Spirit Rites
She holds my gaze and then finally nods. “You’ll do.” Without another word to me, she turns to Jorren. “So, where are we searching for him?”
I turn around and meet Zarreth’s eyes and give him a grateful nod. He gives me a respectful bow of his head before opening the door and giving orders to his guards. When I turn back around, Jorren and Reika are arguing over which areas to search first. Taren stands with his arms crossed, watching them. “Have you spoken to Mae yet?” I ask him quietly.
His eyes snap to my face. “No. Why?”
“Maybe just let her know you’re okay before you take off again.”
He nods. “I will. Why don’t you go now before they assign you a task,” I urge. He hesitates only a moment.
“Tell Jorren that I’ll be back?”
I nod. “I will.”
“Thanks.” He jogs up the stairs and is out of sight in the next few seconds. I watch him go and feel absolutely exhausted all of a sudden. “Do you need to sit down?” Evren asks quietly.
I look up at him, studying him a moment. “I really don’t get you. One minute, you act like you hate all of us, me especially. Now, you’re like all in.”
Those dark eyes study mine. “I told you. My father is dead now.”
“I know, but—”
“While he was alive, it was always a battle. Trying to listen to my father and keep him happy, while also trying to work with Kal. I agreed with Kal on a lot of things and knew he was making the right decisions for our kingdom. And yet, my father and Kal are...wereenemies. Now, there’s no longer a conflict.” I really don’t know what to say to that, so I stay quiet.
We hear somebody on the stairs, and our group stops talking. A guard walks over to our group. “Your Highness, Seren is waiting to meet with you in the meeting hall.”
“Okay. I don’t know where that is.”
“I’ll take you,” Evren says.
I nod. I’m not sure that I trust him completely yet, but I need to give him opportunities to either prove himself or show us exactly who he is. I turn to Jorren. “I have to meet with Kaldar’s personal advisor. I’ll be back.”
“With Evren?” His gaze is sharp.
“I’ll go with to see that she actually gets there,” Reika says, glaring at Evren.
“Do you need me to come?” Jorren asks me.
“No, I’m good. Keep me updated on the search for Kaldar. I want to know the second you know something.”
Jorren nods. “We will.”
“Taren was checking with somebody, and then he’ll be back.”
“We won’t leave until he gets back,” he reassures me.
I check in with Zarreth and then follow Evren and Reika up the steps. We finally go topside, and it’s nice to be in the sun. He leads the way, and Reika and I follow. Evren leads me to another building I haven’t been inside yet. This one is much, much smaller than the dome we were in this morning. Evren leads me to a room with a large oval table, and Reika disappears without a word. A man with white hair stands up and gives me a respectful head not. “My Queen, I am Seren, the king’s personal advisor. It is my job over the next few days to get you prepared for everything you need to take care of. Please, have a seat.” I sit across the table from him, and he slides a notebook across the table to me. “This is the notebook I gave Kaldar when he became king. And now, it is yours. Read it, study, and learn everything you can about our kingdom and how it’s ruled.
I open the notebook and start flipping through the pages. “This is a lot.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Did you think it wouldn’t be?”
“No, I...maybe.” I guess I hadn’t really given a lot of thought to it. “Okay. Thank you. I will take it with me and—”
He puts his fingers on the book, stopping my progress. “Now.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
His eyes meet mine. “You need to start reading it now. You are our ruling queen for the time being. You need to know the things in this book.” Once I realize he’s not going to change his mind, I slide the book forward, open the first page and start to read. I’m not sure how long I sit at that table and read and take notes, but the words begin to cross over each other after a while,and my eyes get sore. “That is enough for today. You should probably get some rest.”
