Page 98 of Somewhere down the Ley Line
“So you didn’t order them to kill us?” Garren pressed. “That was amisunderstanding?”
Kaeloth’s expression did not falter. “Lady Isolde’s power is… formidable. And until we knew its extent, precaution was necessary to ensure her safe arrival here.” His eyes slid back to Isolde, and his smile widened a fraction. “I trust you understand.”
Isolde understood very well. She forced herself to nod sheepishly, just enough to appear acquiescent. “I… I suppose that makes sense,” she said, staring at her boots. She let her shoulders slump a little. “I don’t… I don’t always have control. It is very difficult.” She clutched her hands together nervously, then risked a glance up at Kaeloth. Was that a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes? Good.
“Exactly, my lady,” Kaeloth said. “That is why we are here. To help you. To help everyone.” He made an elaborate gesture towards the grand arch in the mountain above them. “Once the ritual is complete, your power will be safely stored here at the Nexus. No longer a burden to you.”
Her hands shook; she didn’t have to fake that. The question came by itself, more out of morbid curiosity, to see their reactions, than anything else. “And I’ll… I’ll be alright? Is it safe?”
The blonde mage stepped forward, her eyes keen and hawkish. “If you follow the ritual exactly as instructed, yes. It is perfectly safe.”
Kaeloth’s face was an unreadable mask, but Isolde did not miss the way Caelian turned away from his colleagues and fidgeted with his sleeve.
Isolde nodded, just enough to be convincing. She looked over at Garren, whose eyes were flinty with distrust, and at Felix, who watched the mage with his jaw clenched so tightly she thought she heard his teeth grind.
Kaeloth clapped his hands together, the sound startling her. “Excellent. We shall continue our preparations, and should be ready to perform the ritual tomorrow. There are baths in the complex, and we have a private guest room prepared for you, Lady Isolde. Your companions can stay in quarters nearby.”
Isolde forced a smile, hollow and sweet. “That is very generous, thank you. I expect I will need my strength for what you are to attempt tomorrow.” She let the words hang, waiting for his reaction.
Kaeloth’s eyes gleamed. “Indeed, my lady.”
He addressed them all then, his voice louder and more formal. “Rest, eat, make yourselves comfortable. But please resist the temptation to explore the Nexus; although it is a fascinating and magnificent place, it is also ancient and unstable, and we are unsure of what dangers may lurk deeper within.”
Felix snorted. Isolde shot him a look, but his expression remained defiant.
“Very well,” Kaeloth said, inclining his head in that infuriatingly polite manner. “Tomorrow morning, we will speak of the ritual and what it entails. For now, I will leave you to your well-deserved rest.” He turned and gestured for the other mages, who followed behind him like loyal hounds.
Once they were out of earshot, Felix rounded on Isolde.
“Are you out of your mind?” He sounded like he was fighting to keep his voice down. “You can’t let them isolate you from us! What if he drags you off to the Nexus in the middle of the night?”
“He won’t. He wants me to trust him, and he wants to learn more about my power first. Tonight at least, we’re safe enough. I don’t want him to suspect anything,” Isolde whispered back. “He’s expecting compliance, so I’ll give it to him… for now.”
Mia crossed her arms. “She’s right, Felix.”
Garren nodded. “You played that very well, my lady. Your father would be proud.”
Isolde grimaced. She did not feel any gratitude towards her father for anything, anymore.
Felix raked a hand through his hair. “This is insane.”
“I’ll be fine,” Isolde said quietly.
***
She was not fine.
Isolde sat in the middle of the guest bed, her legs drawn up, arms wrapped around her knees. They were given a meal and shown to the baths, and when night fell a mousy guard had escorted her to her rooms. She had not been alone in a room for so long that it felt like being a prisoner. The air was stale, the ceiling too close and too bland. There were no guards outside her quarters, she’d checked. She’d opened the single window as wide as it would go and looked out at the view of the mountains, but the sense of being trapped was persistent. Meanwhile, the urgent call in her head, the call coming from that archway, had not lessened.
She startled when the door creaked open, and a surge of relief so great she could have cried washed over her when Felix stepped through and closed it silently behind him. She leapt off the bed and ran into him with enough force to knock the breath out of him.
“Oof.”
“You came! You’re here.”
He made a face. “Of course I’m here. You think I was going to sleep in a drafty barracks, listening to Garren snore, while you have a room all to yourself?”
Isolde huffed out a small laugh, but it did nothing to ease the tension. She was practically vibrating with it.
