“But, how do you know?” Dramin asked.
“Ilyan pieced most of it together, but what you said about Edmund’s ?tít inside Cail – it kind of fit it all together for me.” I sat down in what had become my trademark chair, draping one of the many furs that were piled around the space over my legs.
“But what does he want from you? Does he know...” Dramin finished abruptly, I lowered the mug from my lips to raise an eyebrow at him in question, but he didn’t answer right away.
“Does he know that you are one of the Drak?” He finally finished, his voice oddly distant.
“No, I don’t go screaming out random bits of information for them to hear. I am a bit smarter than that.” I spat the words out a bit icily, but good grief, someone needed to have faith in me.
“Mostly, Cail enjoys messing with my mind.” I tried to keep the tone of the conversation light, but I could already feel the desperation creeping into my own voice. “He finds different ways to torture me. In the dreams he plays little games or makes me relive bad memories. In the T?uha he has been telling what is left of Ryland’s mind to get rid of me. They are trying to get me to break the Z?lství.”
Dramin dropped his mug to the stone floor in surprise, where it promptly shattered. I jumped at the noise, startling even more when I saw his face. For a moment I was worried he was lost in a sight.
“Who has told you this?” Dramin asked, panicked. His jaw was open and his eyes wide, the bright green thankfully still there.
“What?”
“Who asked you to break the connection?” I sunk away from his panic, keeping the mug tight in my grip. I didn’t want mine to break.
“Ryland asked me in the dream last night, but I’m not sure it was him. There was something off about him.”
Dramin nodded enthusiastically. “And in the T?uha?”
“What’s left of Ryland’s mind in the T?uha doesn’t know enough, but I can tell someone is trying to break us apart. Ryland told me the man with the dark eyes told him to get rid of me.”
“And you’re sure he means Cail?” Dramin leaned forward eagerly, his eyes boring into mine.
“Either Cail or the Ryland that they are controlling.”
“Or Edmund,” Dramin provided, his voice oddly eager. It sent a chill up my spine.
I nodded, not wanting to give him an answer. I emptied my cup and refilled it, hoping that Dramin’s excitement would leave him.
“Are you going tell Ilyan of this?”
I glanced toward Ilyan’s bunk at Dramin’s words, my heart dropping a bit to see him still unconscious. Thom had disappeared somewhere.
“Tell Ilyan, what?” I asked, unwilling to rip my eyes away.
“That someone is trying to convince you to break the connection between you and Ryland.”
“I suppose I will. I tell Ilyan everything.”
Dramin paused before speaking. “I am not sure that is the best idea in this instance.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. I had decided I wouldn’t be like Atlas. I would swallow my pride and ask for help. But Dramin sat there, telling me that it might not be the best idea to tell Ilyan something that was already eating at me.
“You will know why before the day is over, child.”
My eyes bugged a bit, I knew what he was talking about. The sight. The sight concerning me. He was finally going to tell me.
“But not yet,” he finished, and I leaned back into the chair. “You need to decide yourself whether to tell him of what Ryland is telling you and if you decide to break the connection. I believe you will, but not until the time is right.”
I wanted to scream at the thought of willingly breaking the Z?lství. But somehow, even now, I knew the possibility of me doing that was high.
“And when is that?” I asked, curious.
“Your sight will lead the way.”
He smiled and I returned the movement, although not as brightly.
I wasn’t feeling as heavy as I had been, thanks to Dramin. My team seemed to be getting bigger. I hoped that someday soon I would have the support of Ryland too. My Ryland, with his memories intact. I still had three weeks until Edmund’s deadline. With my newly unlocked abilities and Ilyan at my side I felt a bit unstoppable. Maybe it was the Black Water flowing through me, but I felt a bit cocky.
I was going to knock Edmund on the pavement.
I laughed at the thought, ignoring Dramin’s raised eyebrow by taking another deep drink of the Black Water.
“Well,” Thom announced as he approached the fire. “He should be awake in a few hours.”
My back straightened, my eyes flying toward Ilyan’s bunk in expectation.
“Relax, Siln?, I said a few hours not a few minutes. It could still be tomorrow.”
I exhaled heavily and sat back in the chair. Thom grunted at me in greeting before setting a blueberry muffin on my lap. It looked delicious, but I didn’t want it. I eyed it for a moment before picking it up and setting it on the small side table next to me.