Page 39 of Steeling Light
Rhion was not daunted by the task. He held the spellstone beside the burin, a hair-thin piece of silver that is used to draw power from one of the tiny beads. He could feel the power of the undine inside it. It yearned to touch his emotions, to feed on them as the undines do.
Without hesitation, he gave the power what it wanted—a piece of him, a fragment of his emotions that he would never get back. He focused on the kiss in the Moonlit Pools, bringing every piece of the memory to the surface of his mind in sharp detail, and he fed it to the power.
But there was no undine to consume it. The power could not grow, could not feed on it, could notchangethe memory and all the emotions surrounding it. Instead, it encircled it, desperate to be near such a potent set of emotions.
It was his most powerful memory, and now it is gone. Everything has a price, and the price for this particular piece of enchanting was the happiest moment in his life. He couldn’t dwell on the loss, though, for if he lost concentration for even a moment, the price would be paid, while the enchantment would fail.
With the burin, he drew the essence of the undine to the hematite. The iron tried to siphon off the power, but Rhion quickly gave a stabilizing command, forcing the iron to ignore the undine’s essence and the emotions that the essence was holding so tightly.
These are all things that many enchanters could have done, but Rhion is no typical enchanter. The power of Sidon flows through his veins, and using the burin as an extension of himself, he followed the memory and power into the hematite.
And heshiftedit. For the briefest of moments, he was part of that stone. And he felt all those emotions and experienced his happiest moment one more time. A tear threatened to run down his cheek as he said goodbye to the memory forever. Then he sealed the piece of hematite, hiding the emotion, memory, and power inside it.
Then it was done. He looked down at the stone that he had collected so many years ago, a treasure he’d held dear. Even though he’d given up the happiest moment of his life to create this, he smiled because it was exactly what he set out to make.
It was a sacrifice that he’d make a million times over. Not to save the world. Not to become more powerful. Not even to save a life.
But to be the mirror that will let someone see how wonderful she truly is.
Chapter 21
Calyr’s influence on the Houses within Selithar is undeniable, the House of Webs being the most obvious connection. The only exception seemed to be the House of Light. Now we know just how wrong we were…
~Maeve Arden, The Future of Magic and Dragons
Ainslee
The Keep of Webs is just as it was before. Silkies cling to the webs that cover the outside of the mound, and none of them look at Rhion and me as we stand outside the door.
“Ready?” he asks.
And I am. I’d been dreading this, but standing beside Rhion makes me feel stronger. Not because I think he’ll protect me. I have no idea what the silkies and weavers inside this building can do. They certainly aren’t warriors, but they’re powerful in their own right. Far more powerful than my own House.
More importantly, I feel less alone. It’s almost as though his support bolsters my own strength. Darian and Cole don’t make me feel this way. They decide what we do, and then I help when I can. Rhion won’t make any decisions. He isn’t going to deal with Maerlix. He’s simply willing to stand beside me while I do these things.
I nod to him, and he opens the door for me. I step through the entryway into the foyer, and as expected, Vellith is waiting for me. “You have come to speak to Maerlix,” she says. There isn’t even a hint of a question in that statement.
I nod to her, and she says, “You will have to excuse him. He was… injured this morning right before he awoke from his long dreams. He has agreed to speak with you, but he will not be his normal self.”
I don’t know what that even means, but as long as he’s awake enough to tell me where Vesta might be, that’s good enough for me.
Vellith doesn’t wait for my answer, instead turning to Rhion. “You will be tolerated as far as the corridor outside Maerlix’s chambers, but you are from the House of Steel. You will not be permitted to see the Master Listener. The danger you pose is…significant. It is only because your dreams do not align with your father that you have been allowed inside the Nest at all. Do you understand?”
Rhion smiles at Vellith in that arrogant way that infuriates Cole and Maeve so much. “I’m only here to support a friend. You’ll find no animosity from me, silky.”
Vellith nods to him and turns to lead us into the Keep of Webs. I glance at Rhion, who shrugs before we follow behind our guide. The path doesn’t become winding. Instead, we travel through the main corridor for what feels like hours. The deeper we go, the fewer silkies there are in their strange robes adorned with trinkets.
At the end of the main tunnel, there is a single small passageway, and blocking it from the rest of the corridor is a web of silver. It reminds me of something, but I can’t remember what. It seems to drip with liquid silver. Vellith takes my hand and turns to Rhion. “Do not stray, Prince of Strength. You are a guest, not a leader here.”
Part of me fears what Rhion will do. If she’d said that to Gethin, he would have killed her on the spot purely because she disrespected him. But Rhion…
“Where would I go, silky? This place is as much a maze as the Labyrinth. I don’t think I’d enjoy being caught in one of your webs this far in. I’d probably die of boredom before anyone found me.”
And the corner of her lip curls up in a creaking smile. “Yes. Continue to think this,High Fae.” Then she steps into the web in front of the corridor and pulls me behind her. As I cross the threshold of the corridor, I feel caught for a moment, and I remember exactly where I remember those webs.
My dreams.
Vellith continues to pull me, and I appear on the other side. The web is still completely intact. I look around, and it only reaffirms my previous thought. The walls and ceiling are covered in thick silvery webs that seem to drip silver. Only the floor reminds me I’m still in the Keep of Webs. No strands of spider silk bind me this time, but fear fills my mind. This is the cavern from my dreams. Which means…
