Page 86 of The Rose in the Shadows

“Good,” Hansel complimented. “I think you’ve finally got that part down.”

He removed the text from the table before me and moved to return it to the library shelf. The palace library was one of the few places I could go to since Clay had locked me up again. And I could only be here for the sole purpose of my mythology lessons, and then my guards were always sure to swiftly escort me back to my suite.

I hadn’t spoken to any of my friends about what happened between Clay and me at Hyrax Estate, but somehow, the others had realized we weren’t exactly on speaking terms. Iris had taken one look at my tear-streaked face after I returned from the stables and been able to put two and two together. She had sighed, shook her head, and announced, ‘Well, at least you now know one way or the other.’

And that was true, at least. I did now know. I knew that Clay and I would never work. I knew that now that I had accepted my future as a Council member, I needed to prioritize the resurrection of my House above any feelings I may or may not have for him. I just didn’t understand why I felt so damn conflicted by that.

My emotions had been a mess since that argument with Clay. I was a volcano of anger and frustration, ready to erupt at any unforeseen moment. I knew I’d been worrying my friends. Iris and Lorelai checked in on me daily. One afternoon, after my power burst out of me and I tossed furniture upside down, they convinced Clay to let me leave - under supervision–to continue my preparations for my trials. So, I had returned to daily lessons in the library with Hansel, physical training sessions with Rankor in the newly restored gym, and power exercises with Ryla on the mountain. And every afternoon on that mountain, once I was safely away from the castle and others, I allowed my power to finally escape me and shake everything around it.

I was getting stronger.

No one really knew why or how. Most brushed it off as my being a natural, but I could tell there was something more to it than that. They would send nervous glances at each other while noting that they’d never seen someone learn hand-to-hand combat as quickly and efficiently as I had. Ryla would clear her throat with pursed lips as I toppled a tree in the woods without even breaking a sweat. They couldn’t understand how quickly my powers and strength were growing.

I could feel their unease pressing down on me, and it was that awareness of their suspicion that kept me from being completely honest with them.

I still didn’t feel like I was tapping into my full potential.

Something deep within me told me I had a well of magic that was untouched but constantly swirling, ready to escape. I knewwithout a doubt that I could domore.And that feeling scared me as much as I knew it would disturb others. So I kept my mouth shut and kept the lid on the raging storm of magic that felt like it was constantly building in my veins.

“I still don’t understand, though,” I told Hansel, frowning as he pulled a new book to study.

“What’s not to understand?”

“Well, I don’t have a hound on my chest. The Mark of Hyrax is a bident. Where did his weapon come from?”

Hansel’s eyes twinkled in the way they did to show me I had asked the correct question. I had learned in our first few lessons that Hansel liked questions. He appreciated when you asked questions about missing information or storylines that contradicted themselves – and there were very many contradicting stories I had learned.

That’s what happens when you have Descendants of so many different bloodlines all writing histories of their ancestors. Sometimes, the same stories are told differently, and the same characters are shown in a different or more flattering light. And you’re left wondering if the story that’s been accepted as historically accurate is actually the truth of what happened.

“Hyrax has been said to be a rather jealous God,” Hansel explained, sitting across from me. “There have been conflicting reports of what happened to Ciclopia after the battle. The most common myth we have is that she entered ‘eternal rest.’ Some debate whether that means sleep or death, but that is neither here nor there. The point is that when the Gods celebrated the defeat of Triad, they celebrated Zion and Hyrax only. The twins were gifted several items from the Gods of the Upperworld. Arto, the God of Violence, gifted them weapons.”

“The bident?”

Hansel shook his head. “Not quite. He gifted Zion a most powerful sword and gifted Hyrax a bangle that granted invisibility to its wearer.”

I snorted involuntarily, then sputtered when Hansel leveled me with a glare that would make Clay proud.

“It’s just that hardly seems like a weapon.”

“You are not far removed from your ancestors’ thinking. Hyrax insisted Arto should give him a better weapon, and Zion was enraged by his ungratefulness. And so the King of the Gods commanded Hyrax to the Underworld once more. Hyrax went willingly, having already devised a plan to steal the Mortal Realm from his brother. You see, before entering eternal sleep, Ciclopia birthed two new monsters–Tyran and Eckna.”

I had read about the beasts recently. Tyran was known to be extremely poisonous. He’d had four heads and each of his teeth delivered a deadly venom. But how was any of this relevant to the question I had asked, or those that had since risen to mind?

“What happened to the invisibility bangle?” I questioned.

Hansel’s eyes darkened as he scowled at me. Hansel liked questions, but he only wanted the questions he deemed to be necessary. And apparently, I had asked something irrelevant.

“I imagine it’s in the Underworld still.”

Stopping myself from groaning my frustration with the old man, I changed tactics. “Okay, so how does any of this relate to the bident?”

“Stop rushing me, girl!” He criticized. “To defeat Tyran, Zion decimated a mountain and pinned Tyran under it, effectively burying the beast. Hyrax knew this. He also knew that as the God of the Underworld, the beast would one day enter his domain. So, he waited. Some say he waited hundreds of years for the beast to finally die. But when it did, he took a bone from the carcass and fashioned it into a bident, a weapon he felt was more appropriate for his power.”

He stood and placed a second book in front of me. Impatiently, he motioned for me to open it and begin taking notes. Our lessons always ended with me taking notes on the texts he expected me to study overnight. He didn’t allow me to take books from the library. I suspected he didn’t trust me not to harm them. And considering that whole furniture explosion in my suite days prior, I couldn’t really blame him.

“What happened next?”

Hansel rolled his eyes. “There is still much to cover before we get there, girl.”

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