Page 103 of To No End

Saryn could feel the tension between us and the silence that hung in the stale air of the tiny room.

“Can I have the day to process this? Please, don’t make me stay here today.”

All I wanted was to be in the dining hall with my team eating breakfast, or getting the sweat kicked out of us by Theory in the training room. I was scared, struggling to wrap my mind around all of this, but I didn’t want to be isolated in some closet far from the group. Saryn had never gone easy on me; I half expected him to lock me in this room.

“Yes. You need to take care of yourself from now on. Dark abilities take more than just a lot of energy and focus. The wielder I knew seemed like she wasn’t always there, like she was…absent,” he warned me.

“Will the others be scared of me?” I questioned, remembering the looks on their faces last night.

“They should be,” was all he said as he led us away from the room, directing me to be the one to close the door behind us.

CHAPTER

31

I was relieved that Saryn hadn’t locked me in, but the weight on my shoulders from what I’d learned made me feel like my chest had caved in on itself. I fought back the uneasy feeling and tears from the moment we left and began heading toward the common room. I glanced to my side, noting the rushing falls behind the glass, a visual representation of how I felt on the inside, a constant bombardment of one thought to the next, the fear of the unknown, a never-ending list of questions with no answers.

I’d never heard of Dark Wielders or their abilities. Saryn said it could skip generations, but who in my family line had this within them? Did they know it and conceal it? Was this from my mother or father’s bloodline? Would this ever have come about if I hadn’t been delivered to the king and forced to bathe in the Bath of the Four Mothers?

I looked down at the gash on my hand and used what little energy I could spare to heal myself. I now feared myself, but Iwas even more fearful of how the others would feel about this, or how they’d treat me.

It was an odd thing, to want special treatment until all of the attention was actually on you—but for all the wrong reasons. Had they heard of Dark Wielders? What if their powers just hadn’t been unlocked yet, and I didn’t have to carry this burden alone? I shouldn’t pity myself, but it sure felt that way. I didn’t feel special, I felt like a freak.

When I entered the room behind Saryn, they each looked at me with a different emotion. Nori’s expression seemed the most optimistic of all of them. Varro’s, something more akin to pride or admiration. Gia’s eyes flared with a hint of jealousy, and Cairis bore an amused smile. I only let my gaze flicker to Trace for a second.

His expression was hollow and empty. My skin warmed as I tried to keep the anger from boiling over, which might lead to another outburst. This wasn’t the time or place.

“Gather around, I want to show you all what you managed to retrieve and why it’s valuable.” Saryn motioned for us to join him at the table where the box etched with the king’s emblem sat.

As we gathered, I took special note of how Trace intentionally positioned himself the farthest possible distance from me. Varro towered over me to my right, and Nori was to my left.

Saryn carefully lifted the lid to the box revealing a satin cushion, upon which sat a handful of smooth, polished stones. There were ten of them, all oval in shape. Each of them was milky white with a bluish, sometimes purple hue.

They were beautiful and mesmerizing, unlike any stone I’d ever seen. Growing up alongside Gris, I had encountered rare and precious gemstones of all varieties. That and the ridiculous collection of jewelry in our estate.

“Does anyone know what they are?” Theory asked expectantly.

“I’d wager to say they’re moonstones,” Gia chimed in confidently as she leaned in to get a better look. “I read about them in one of the books you have here. I’m guessing that’s why they were worth risking our lives, given what they can do,” she continued, eyeing Saryn.

“Beauty, brawn, and brains?” Cairis teased her. She gave him a typical roll of the eyes and turned back to Saryn and Theory, expecting them to give her credit.

“What can they do?” I asked, desperate to know what Varro and I had almost died for, what was worth Trace’s betrayal.

Saryn picked one up between his thumb and forefinger, angling it toward the light, “I’d rather show you…”

Next thing we knew, a swirling cloudlike hole appeared mid-air behind Saryn, and without hesitation he stepped into it and disappeared. We each let out an audible gasp of surprise.

Seconds later, the same swirling cloud appeared on the other end of the room, and Saryn stepped out with a knowing grin, looking unfazed.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered to myself.

I felt Nori reach out and squeeze my hand, glad that someone else was feeling the same shock and concern. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? What sorcery was this?

“Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, Cress. Get your mental shields back up before I make you pay for those missteps in the training room.”

I was fuming that Saryn had called me out like that, but he was right. I was full of distractions. Distractions and thoughts that drained me and took my focus off simple things like mental shields.

The cloud-like mirage dissipated behind him and he walked back towards us, holding out the small stone in his palm.

---