Page 2 of Light Up the Night

Chapter Two

Small World

Messiah

The quiet was something I’d never get used to. Not in the Krypt and certainly not in House Krypt. I’d learned long ago to wade into all things Krypt, test the water, then commit. The problem was, there were no ripples with Isabella and Atticus gone. Even Ender, had been sent away.

It was only me and Keif, or so it seemed, now that Chalice had locked herself away in her chambers. I stood in the kitchen, soaking in the light and staring out the window. Such a beautiful day.

“You realize,” Chalice began from behind me, nearly taking my soul from my body, “That entire outfit is see-through when you stand in the light like that, right?”

The muscles in my side pinched when I spun to face her. I stood there and braced my flank against the afterpain while she laughed at me.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she teased, catching the tip of her tongue between her teeth.

“It’s been…” I ticked off the days on my finger and squinted with one eye. “…We were beginning to wonder if you’d gone into hiding up there.”

Her hand thumped playfully against my arm, and she set off to find a bottle.

“I’ve received word from my twin.” I rubbed my neck and forced myself to keep a blank expression. We shared a womb, that was all we had ever had in common. He had no honor. Pariah had once poisoned a village. Poisoned! The very thought made me want to spit. A woman’s way if ever there was one.

But I didn’t say any of that, instead, I smiled and kissed her cheek before telling her what she wanted to hear.

“He’ll meet us, but only in the desert.”

She gasped, as if there were something to be feared. “The Spicelands?”

“Indeed. I wasn’t aware you had ever been?”

Her brows rose, and an excited shine lit her eyes. “I haven’t.”

Without another word, she motioned to the staff upstairs and started making demands over how her things were to be packed.

“Uh...Chal…” I trotted after her, unsuccessfully. “Chalice, I didn’t mean now. Fated Few. Breathe!”

I laughed, but she didn’t. Her dead panned expression and narrowed gaze said it wasn’t up for discussion.

I sighed and took the steps two at a time. In less than half an hour, I had my bag. A single sack that I slung over my shoulder on my way out the door. At the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Chalice standing in the main entrance. She held the door wide while maids and cooks alike scrambled to get her many crates and bags to the dock.

“Chalice,” I began, only to hang my head and smile. “Come on, love.”

I slung my arm around her and kissed the top of her head. We were going for a meeting, not relocating, but I’d let her enjoy whatever it was she thought we were celebrating. Knowing my brother, he had already assassinated Azaria of the Savageland and gotten Lazarus killed in the process.

He was slick. Slick and deceitful. Atticus would have loved Pariah.

The Dock Master tried to help Chalice up the ramp, but she wasn’t having any of it. She jerked her arm away so violently he nearly went overboard.

“Never touch me again,” she advised, with a murderous glare.

The man put both hands in the air, but Kantor still shoved him over. He screamed and flailed before landing with a splash.

“Nasty Bastard,” Keif spat, adding insult to injury.

Keifer

Chalice was a woman who had been put through the wringer. So, when she cringed and reacted like that, I knew something was off. I didn’t really care what. If he disturbed her serenity, he had to go. And so, he did.

“Keif!” Messiah scolded on a hushed laugh. “You can’t go around bouncing noblemen off the docks.”

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