Page 51 of A Touch of Stars and Stones
I look at Ten.
“She’ll be in the Great Hall,” Rowan adds, turning to leave, and I go back to heaving air into my lungs. “We’ll delay study. No more concessions for you.”
How kind of him.
I look back at the obstacle course and can see that Micah is falling behind, but not as much as I might have expected. I’m not sure if that’s a reflection of what I did to Calix or on Micah.
Ten and I stand and watch, side by side. Tension builds, growing thick in the air, anticipation lacing every atom and speck of dust.
Warm, sparkling.
I want to lean in towards Ten. It’s as though he’s pulling me towards him, but I know that will be a bad idea.
We stay silent, and I listen to the final cheers of the people around us as Calix and Micah race to the end.
Calix crosses first, and I smile. The rush of winning and not making a complete fool of myself infects me, making me feel… joyful.
“Quite a day,” Ten says, breaking the silence.
“Yeah,” I say, and finally, my lungs ease.
“Nailed it.” Calix comes up to Ten and grins, breaking the tension between us. Calix nods to me and then heads towards his sister.
He’s not what I expected. But that’s maybe because I was on his team. Have I shown him something good or bad in me?
All the trainees seem to dissipate after the race. And now I just feel awkward, still standing with Ten. “So, the Maker has summoned me—” I start.
“Everyone sees her before their Transference. It’s nothing to be worried about. She uses it to work out what she needs to forge for you.”
“Forge?” I scrunch my brows together. “I didn’t think I’d need a sword here.”
“No,” he laughs. “Your stone. She makes them to fit you. Your stone needs to be in contact with your skin, sitting in a mount, or wrapped in metal, but connected to you. We all have them.” He raises his left hand, and I see the purple stone embedded into the leather cuff. Just like the one I saw on Capella and the necklaces on the others.
“Lyle showed me her necklace. That was in the moments of ‘way too much new information’, but she said it was important.”
“I forget you’ve still got to learn all of this.” He offers a sad smile.
I twist the ring I’ve worn since leaving home and wonder what my new piece of jewellery will be. Having something special, just for me, will be novel, but then I remember what else Lyle said, and it makes me nervous. “Is it true you’ve always got to wear it?”
“Maybe. Probably. There aren’t many people who volunteer to try and remove it. But it has happened. There are histories of when Watchers don’t find people in time, or people have been in battle.”
“Battle?”
“Not for years. Relax.” He chuckles. “You’ll read a lot about the histories. And more if you’ve kept that book in your room.” He grins.
“You can’t blame a girl. I’m in the dark here.”
“Come on. We should get you to the Maker. When she asks, she’s not really asking. She’s giving you an instruction.”
My face cracks into a full smile at his words, relieved that he’s not taken offence at the offer of his hand. “Thank you.”
Ten seems to have taken it upon himself to escort me to my meeting, and unlike the other night, I’m not upset about it now. I’m relieved.
We make our way towards the bridge, the constant divide back towards The Court. “Do I have to change first? I’m hardly dressed for a formal audience.”
“Believe it or not, those formal dinners aren’t as often as they might look.”
“Well, it was a little over the top for me. It seemed to suit you, though.”
