Page 112 of The Ascended
“My mentee,” Xül corrected quickly. “For the Trials.”
“Ah!” She extended a hand toward me, and I found myself taking it without hesitation. Her skin felt like warm velvet. “I’m Nyxis, dear. I’ve known this one since he was small enough to hide beneath my counter.”
“Thais,” I replied, finding myself oddly at ease despite the strangeness of the situation. “And I wasn’t aware Xül was ever small enough to hide anywhere.”
Her laughter filled the tiny shop again. “Oh, you’d be surprised! This shop has seen him at all sizes—including the time he was no taller than my elbow and tried to steal an entire jar of taffy.”
“I was six,” Xül interjected, a hint of embarrassment coloring his voice. “And I intended to pay.”
“With what? The buttons from your coat?” Nyxis teased, moving behind the counter. “You hadn’t yet mastered that imperious glare you now use to get your way.” She reached for a glass jar filled with small amber-colored candies. “Still the same, I assume?”
Xül nodded once, and she tipped several of them into a small paper twist, handling them with practiced care.
“Wait,” I said, realization dawning. “You dragged me all the way to the capital of death for candy?”
Xül shot me a look that might have been deadly if not for the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. “It’s not just candy.”
“It’s certainly not,” Nyxis agreed with mock severity. “These are my specialty, perfected over centuries.” She winked at me.
“How did you find this place?” I asked Xül, genuinely curious about this unexpected glimpse into his past.
“I was exploring the lower city—against direct orders, of course. I’d managed to slip away from my tutors.”
“Escaped from them, more like,” Nyxis corrected, sealing the package with a deft twist. “Came barreling through my door with three guards right behind him, wild-eyed and desperate for somewhere to hide.”
“I chose randomly,” Xül continued, accepting the package from her.
“This shop became his sanctuary,” Nyxis said, her voice softening. “Somewhere even the Prince of Draknavor could simply be a child for a while.”
A silent understanding passed between them—a look laden with history I couldn’t begin to understand. For a brief moment, I could almost see the shadow of who Xül might have been in another life, one where duty and darkness hadn’t shaped him.
“It was just a convenient location,” Xül said, though the excuse sounded hollow even to my ears. “And the confections were acceptable.”
“Acceptable!” Nyxis pretended to be outraged. “This from the boy who once ate so many he made himself ill and had to be carried home to his mother?”
Xül winced visibly at that, and I filed away this unexpected weakness—his apparent sweet tooth—for future reference.
“That only happened once,” he muttered.
“Once was enough for poor Osythe.” Nyxis turned to me again. “He was sheet-white and moaning about dying.”
I couldn’t help myself. “You ate yourself sick on candy?”
“I was a child,” he replied stiffly. “I hadn’t yet learned the concept of moderation.”
“Some might argue you still haven’t,” Nyxis remarked with a raised eyebrow. “Now, tell me how the Trials are going. You know I can never bring myself to watch.”
Xül sighed, but there was no real irritation in it. “Well, she survived the first one, clearly.”
Nyxis studied me with new interest. “That’s quite an achievement. Davina’s Trials have always been particularly nasty. Throw Thorne into the mix…” She shuddered.
“It was... educational,” I managed.
“She’s a feisty one, I’ll give her that,” Xül added with a smirk. “Tossed a knife of starlight straight through someone’s heart.”
“She can wield the stars?” Nyxis asked, delight crossing her features. “No wonder you chose her.” She leaned across the counter toward me, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “He used to watch the sky for hours as a child, you know. Even in a domain like this, he always loved the stars.”
Xül cleared his throat. “We should be going. There are matters requiring my attention.”
