Thealos closed his eyes, feeling the sickening feeling of failure rising up inside him. He knew the feeling. He opened his eyes and glanced around, seeing the looks they were giving him. Like he was a Kilshae already.
An idea sprouted in his mind. He snatched at it. “You’ve heard it calling to you. Haven’t you, Laisha?”
She turned slowly, her eyes full of mistrust and anger. “What are you talking about?”
Thealos took another step closer. “A whisper, a longing, a voice in your sleep you can’t deny. You want to leave Avisahn. You want to go south. You need to go south.”
Silence.
Thealos risked another step. “You’ve had this feeling for the last few weeks. It awoke in you when a warding failed. It is Silvan magic, princess. It has been calling us. It is calling for the Heirs of Quicksilver.” He took a deep breath. “You’ve felt it, haven’t you. A desire to leave. A desire to hurry. South. That’s where it is waiting.”
There was something in her eyes. A flicker of doubt, of hesitancy.
“You’ve felt it, just as I have. I know what it means. I know what it is. You have felt it.”
“I have.”
Thealos turned, startled. The voice came from the young Shae girl standing at the edge of the next room.
Chapter V
Thealos’ gaze tore to the young girl half-hidden by the shadows. His first glance had dismissed her as a servant, but now that he looked closer, he saw similarities to Laisha. The hair color was the same, though this child had hazel eyes that were washed with streaks of umber, making them almost brown. An old Shae cliché came to his mind.
“Is this your sister, Laisha?”
“Lucyanna, I’ve told you about eavesdropping,” Laisha said with a hint of anger in her voice.
The girl seemed frozen in place. “I…I know what he’s talking about. I’ve felt it.”
Abtalion shifted in the chair and leaned forward, stroking the edges of his mouth. “Come here, child.”
“I am not a child!”
Thealos couldn’t help the smile. She looked and sounded so much like his little sister Arielle. He remembered one of her outburts of childish anger as she screamed I’m not yelling! Thealos had just turned seven Silvan years himself, the very brink of manhood, but she could not have seen more than five.
“Lucyanna—come here,” Laisha said, bowing her head and closing a fist. She sighed.
The girl edged into the room, hesitant and awkward. She wore a pretty green dress with gold ivy-stitching on the hem and sleeves—not a state dinner dress. She was too young for those. Timidly, she came up and stood before Laisha, looking up at her.
Laisha knelt with a rustle of skirts and gripped her arms. “Please don’t listen in like that again, Lucyanna.”
“But I’ve been telling you…”
“I know. I know.” She ran her long fingers through Lucyana’s hair. “But we’ll talk about it in the morning. Go wait for me in the other room.”
After kissing Laisha on the cheek, Lucyanna turned and stared at Thealos for a moment. Her eyes were deep and curious. A little smile—a bit hesitant—and then she walked deliberately away, pausing once at the doorway to look back at them.
Laisha sighed again. “I’m sorry she didn’t come to you, Abtalion. She rarely obeys me.” Her eyes turned to Thealos. “You have a sister yourself, don’t you?”
Thealos nodded. “She’s in her second Silvan year. Arielle.”
Abtalion leaned back, stroking his mouth again. “She’s hiding around the corner still,” he said in a quiet voice.
Laisha dug her fingernails. “Lucyanna…”
The sound of padding feet retreated deep into the shadows.
The princess of Avisahn lifted her eyes and gave Thealos a hard look. “You’ve succeeded in manipulating my little sister,” she said in a quiet but earnest tone. “But it’s not that easy with me. Tell me more. What are you talking about?”
Thealos clasped his hands in front of him. “You know the city of Landmoor down in the Shoreland?” Laisha nodded once. “Then maybe you know it was built on the ruins of a Shae watchpost. A warding was put there—an Otsquare.”
The Warder Shae near the couches flinched and turned to Thealos sharply.
“What was it intended for?” Laisha asked.
“It was set there to protect an artifact of Silvan magic. I have been there, Laisha. I have entered the warding and seen the chamber where the magic is kept. It is called the Silverkin Crystal.” Memories of that chamber flashed in his mind, causing a chill to run down his arms. “It speaks, Laisha. The closer you get to it, the louder its voice is to your mind. But only those who are Heirs of Quicksilver can hear it. I felt…compelled to leave Avisahn. Like I would go mad if I stayed here a day longer. The Silverkin drew me south. Only one of us can wield it. Someone from our line. And we must use it, Laisha. We must.”
“You didn’t bring it with you?” Laisha asked, walking closer to where Abtalion sat.
“I couldn’t. There was someone there waiting to take it from me if I claimed it. The warding would not have protected me if I had.”