Page 150 of Anathema

I sighed, recalling the features that had imprinted themselves in my nightmares, alongside The Banishing Man and the Lyverian girl. And Aleysia. “White hair, pale skin. Black eyes.”

Her eyes flickered in a way that left me wondering if she knew the woman. “Did she say anything to you?”

“She told me not to trust him.”

“Who?”

Shaking my head, I shrugged. “I don’t know. I only saw her briefly. Why did you ask if we burn our dead?”

“All our dead are burned. Their bodies create bloodstones, which eventually become vivicantem. I just wondered if perhaps that’s why you’re not seeing them as much here.”

“Maybe. But then, why would I have been visited last night?”

She snapped her gaze from mine and looped the stems faster, sloppier, as she shoved stems haphazardly through the fabric. “Some aren’t burned. Some die in awful ways.”

“You knew the woman.”

Her jaw shifted, and she nodded. “Pain and grief are entwined in every stone of this castle.”

“May I ask who she was?”

Brows pinched, she ignored my question and kept on with her weaving. When she finished, she held it up between us. “How’s this?”

Not wanting to prod her any further, I glanced toward the sachet and smiled. “Perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

MAEVYTH

Somehow, eleven days managed to slip by.

I spent most of the time studying bones and scrolls with Dolion and Allura, cooking dinner with Magdah, teaching Rykaia how to make weavers–a skill she didn’t entirely have the patience for. And on the very few days when Zevander hadn’t been summoned to some obscure location that he never bothered to disclose, I trained with him. In the evenings, he’d take me down to the dungeon to feed and sing to Branimir. A few times, Rykaia had joined us, and the two of us sang silly songs, while Zevander watched from the shadows. As I’d become more familiar with his family, though, he seemed to grow more reticent. I’d caught him staring at me a few times. Long, unabashed stares that’d stirred thoughts of that day in his office. Nothing had ever come of those stares, though.

The other Letalisz, who I’d learned also lived on the grounds of Eidolon, kept to themselves, for the most part. I’d only caught glimpses of the one named Kazhimyr on occasion, and still hadn’t yet met Torryn. I’d learned through Rykaia that he’d long been in love with her and apparently had an inclination to kill anything that so much as looked at her sideways.

With a sigh of boredom, I opened the puzzle book that Dolion had given to me. It happened to be one of the days Zevander had gotten called away, so I decided to pass the time figuring out the maze puzzle that I still hadn’t solved. At the very least, it helped settle my anxiety, the antsy feeling in my gut that needled me any time I thought about my sister and returning to Vonkovya. While Aleysia remained at the forefront of my mind, the prospect of seeing her again felt unlikely. Hopeless.

Dolion had tried scrying for her a second time, but the attempt had produced nothing. Nothing but a question mark that loomed over me. Haunting me, day in and day out.

At a knock on my bedroom door, I pushed up from the puzzle book and padded across the room. Allura stood in the doorway, holding two mugs of steaming tea, one of which she passed to me. “Thought you might want something warm to drink.”

Temperatures had cooled over the last few days, and though I hadn’t spent much time outside, I felt it in the walls of the castle, through the stones and cracks that had me sitting closer to the hearth in the evenings.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile, and she peered past me.

“Are you still working on the last puzzle?”

Smiling, I nodded. Allura and I had spent a good couple of hours on it the day before, a challenge I think she’d enjoyed, more so than me. “Would you like to help?”

Brows raised, she nodded, and I stepped aside, allowing her entry into the room. “I thought about it a bit last night. Have you learned mind projection yet?”

“No.”

“Come. I’ll show you how it works.”

“Is this another glyph?”

“No, no. It harnesses the power you’ve already gleaned.” She placed her mug of tea on the bedside table and took a seat on the bed opposite to where I’d sat moments before. Once I’d settled across from her, she placed her hand over top of the puzzle and closed her eyes. Clicking her tongue, she remained in place for a moment, then slid her hand over a small bit and clicked her tongue again. Sighing, she shook her head. “Well, I can’t see it.”

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