Page 71 of Stars May Burn

Kasten paused. I risked a glance at his face. His jaw had tightened, and his posture was rigid. “We believe it is Lord Lyrason.” I got the impression he knew more but wouldn’t say.

“And what is he trying to do? Why hurt that poor woman so badly?”

He fell backward in his chair and lifted his eyes to mine. “I honestly don’t know. But we’re trying to find out. He’s making…something. The problem is with the campaigns, the court dynamics, the king…” He spread his hands. “We can’t spare many resources to working it out. The Red Men are trying to, but they haven’t discovered much and keep making things worse.”

I took a sip of wine to wet my own throat. “Have you found many on the streets like her?”

He gave a half nod. “A few every month for the past half year, though their characteristics have been changing over time. We also find people they’ve injured. If they bite somebody or their saliva gets in a wound or in somebody’s mouth, the injured person becomes like them—mad, violent, drawn, and pale. That’s the key thing that sets halfsouls apart. Soulless from Kollenstar are well controlled by the normal soldiers. They simply kill their victims on command. In contrast, halfsouls are random and purposeless and can infect others. Both soulless and halfsouls have been drained of normal human emotions, but I suspect different ones. The kryalcomy isn’t the same. But we don’t know why or what the differences are meant to achieve.”

I suppressed a shiver. “Have you ever saved one in the same state as that woman?”

Kasten shook his head slowly.

“But you’re still trying? You could have just killed her in Adenburg to stop her from hurting people, correct? Surely that would have been easiest, but instead you brought her all the way back here to try to help her?”

Kasten inclined his head. “And to try to figure out what was done to her. If Callum can work out what’s been taken from them and how, he’ll know what to give back—if that’s even possible. It’s hard since he doesn’t want to experiment in this sort of kryalcomy. It’s evil.”

I tapped my chin. “Have you tried sedatives to make transportation easier?”

“We do.” He nodded. “But they don’t respond like normal, healthy humans. The sedatives have a much shorter and reduced effect.”

I pursed my lips. “Maybe I could make up some different ones for you to try.”

He rubbed his chin and pursed his lips in thought. “We could give it a go, but getting them to drink anything is dangerous and difficult. We need something they can inhale or we can inject.”

I nodded, putting that problem to the side to mull over later. Injections were a relatively new practice. It was hard to make ingredients sterile and absorbable enough to be safe. As far as I knew, only sterile water and a few alkaloids had been produced by the top pharmacists in Adenburg. It might be an impossible task, but I could try. I would need to do a lot of reading.

I frowned. “You could dart them. Some sedatives are strong enough that they are quickly absorbed once you piece the skin. It wouldn’t need to be a proper injection. Though they would be more dangerous to handle.”

Kasten tilted his head and nodded without meeting my eyes. “If you can make them, I’m willing to try it.”

A tremble of excitement and purpose made me sit up straighter. I lifted my eyes to Kasten who was eating methodically, studiously focused on his plate. An unexpected peace settled over me. The subject of the conversation was unpleasant, but it proved that Kasten was a good, selfless man. Even when life was hard, he was doing so much to help others. He never gave up. Warmth built in my stomach. With Frederick, I had always been desperately trying to find some good traits to dwell on or reasons to excuse his behavior. With Kasten…well, I was starting to believe I was married to one of the best men in the whole of Fenland.

Abruptly, he put down his knife and fork. “I want to apologize again for last night.”

I cleared my throat. “There’s no need. You already have. I shouldn’t have barged in like that. I know the east wing is out of bounds—” A sudden thought made me break off. “Are there other people locked up in there like that woman?”

He shook his head. “They don’t last long, the victims of Lord Lyrason’s experiments. Especially the unlucky civilians that are bitten before we can stop the original ones. They die by themselves within a day or two. Sometimes hours. We do still have some of their bodies though. We dissected them but have found no metal in their stomachs or any devices on their skin. All kryalcomy needs metal.” He took another sip and looked up, wincing. “I’m sorry. Dead bodies and dissection is hardly suitable dinner conversation. I don’t mean to stop you from enjoying your food.”

I ate a bite of omelet to show I was quite capable of eating while talking about corpses and leaned forward. “So what else is in the east wing? Just restraining rooms and places to examine bodies?” I pointedly ate another mouthful.

His lips twitched in amusement. “And Callum’s private workshop. His main forge is in the garden, but the east wing is where he works and stores his more secretive kryalcomy.” He held up a hand before I could speak. “And it is illegal only because of the Maegistrium. He stays away from the sort of kryalcomy that Kollenstar does. Or Lord Lyrason. He doesn’t change people.”

I fidgeted in eagerness. “May I see it? I would love to see what Callum makes, and I understand and will respect the need for confidentiality.”

He sighed as if in defeat. “Why don’t you ask him tomorrow? Tell him he has my permission. He’ll enjoy showing off.”

I beamed, happiness I hadn’t felt in a long time radiating through me. “Thank you.”

He only nodded, watching me carefully from his shadowed eyes.

I happily heaped a pile of vegetables and sausage onto my plate, my appetite returned. Between bites, I glanced back at my husband and saw he was still watching me. He looked away quickly and I felt my cheeks heat as I smiled to myself.

SOPHIE

Kasten must have told Callum about my desire to see his kryalcomy because he was waiting for me by the stairs with a big grin on his face.

He clapped his hands together. “Sophie, are you ready to be amazed beyond your wildest dreams at my sheer genius?”

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