The Lore Of The Evermen (Book 4) (3 page)

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“All of our hopes depend on these devices,” Ella said.

Ada, the eldest daughter of Dain Barden of the Akari, turned
the pyra
mid-shaped prism in her hands. Ada frowned as she
examined
the device, seeing the holes on each corner of its base, where it could be mounted, and noting the myriad of tiny symbols covering each of the three other faces.

Perhaps five years older than Ella, Ada’s hair was even paler than Ella’s, near white to Ella’s gold. She wore it in a thick braid she
occasionally
tossed when irritated. Ada now tugged on her braid, her expression thoughtful rather than fierce.

Ella had invited Ada to this meeting in the Alturan market house in Seranthia. She’d had conversations like this with lords and templars, Tingaran melders, and Torak builders. This was now Ella’s chance to convince the Akari about Altura’s strategy for dealing with the coming storm.

The device Ella called a reflector was made of quartz, and Ella had drawn the runes herself, using a lens to aid her vision. Ada passed it to the three other Akari seated around the broad table as Ella shivered; it was late winter in Seranthia, and the heating system in the cavernous market house struggled to fight the chill. For once the Akari didn’t look out of place in their heavy furs.

“We’re building them to connect all the capitals and we’re even connecting Stonewater. Our enchanters mount them on
towers
, and as long as the next reflector in the chain is in sight of the
previous
one, the light carries from one to the next.”

“So there will be a tower with one of these at its summit in
Ku Kar
a?”

“Unfortunately, in your case, no,” Ella said, “much as I might like it to be otherwise. As far north as Ku Kara is, we’re only able to extend the chain to Lake Vor. We simply don’t have the resources to continue farther into the icy north.”

“So you need us to keep watch on the tower at Lake Vor?” Ada said, glancing up to meet Ella’s eyes.

“Exactly. If a reflector is activated in Seranthia, for example, it will shine purple. If the Petryans in Tlaxor were to activate theirs, it would shine red, the color of Petrya, to show they require
assistance
. The colors will spark along the chain until every device is lit up with that color, and everyone knows that a house is requesting help. It’s a simple system, but we hope it will be
effective
. We’re asking all the houses to pledge their assistance and to come if one of us calls.”

“I understand,” Ada said. “I’ll explain the system to the Dain. How many of these towers have you built so far?”

“We’ve traveled to Seranthia by ship, but after the Chorum we’ll be heading back home over land. Our enchanters will build them as we go, although the station at Lake Vor will necessarily be one of the last constructed.”

“Excuse me, Enchantress. Two messages for you.”

Turning, Ella saw a courier in Alturan green standing just inside the doorway. She didn’t recognize him, but that wasn’t surprising; there were so many new faces in the market house these days.

Ada stood as Ella took the two notes the courier handed her. “I see you have work to do,” Ada said. “I also have other business to take care of. Thank you for the demonstration. I’m sure my father will agree to help.”

Ella rose and touched her fingers to her heart, lips, and forehead as Ada and her retinue gave a short bow and departed.

Ella opened the first of the folded notes and frowned.

It was from Ilathor, kalif of House Hazara, written with the flowery prose the desert men favored. Ilathor greeted Ella and asked her about her well-being. He said he wanted to see her at her earliest convenience.

Ella thought about the time she’d spent in Petrya with Ilathor after she’d helped the desert prince conquer Tlaxor, the Petryan capital, a city guarded by a volcanic lake. Lord of the Sky, it felt like eons had passed since. She set the note aside and opened the second message.

There was just one written word.
Tonight.

Ella smiled and felt a flush of pleasure. It was already growing dark, and she wouldn’t have long to wait. Ella glanced around to make sure she was alone before exiting the meeting chamber and heading deeper into the Alturan market house. She passed through the great hall, weaving through the merchants and soldiers she encountered on the way to the stairs. She checked over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being watched before she began to climb. The set of stairs led her up two levels before she reached her personal chambers at the end of a corridor.

Her heart raced with excitement.

Entering her chambers and gently shutting the door behind her, Ella threw a heavy cloak with a furred collar and hood over her shoulders before pulling on two soft gloves. She crossed the room and pulled open the doors leading to the balcony.

The fierce biting wind struck her with force, and she grimaced at the chill on her exposed cheeks. Stepping out onto the balcony, she tried to close the doors softly behind her, but they were torn from her grip and slammed shut.

It was freezing out on the balcony, but even so, Ella placed two gloved hands on the rail and looked out at the grand skyline of the Imperial capital Seranthia and the golden glow of the windows, which gave the city a softened beauty in darkness that it never had in light.

There were so many buildings pressed close together that it was difficult to encompass them all. Block-shaped structures
clustered
around her: the market houses of the other eight houses. Nearby, snowy gardens surrounded the manses of Fortune’s wealthy merchants. A long line where the distant buildings ahead terminated could only signal the length of the Grand Boulevard. The
Imperial
Palace rose above it all, easily the highest structure around,
dominating
the city with its lofty size.

Seranthia was now so peaceful, but Ella feared the tranquility would soon be shattered by the coming darkness. In a way she’d come to love this city, a difficult place in many ways, where it was easy to feel like a stranger, yet filled with infinite variety. Rich and poor mingled together in Seranthia, even though the difference in their stations was greater here than anywhere else. Many of the city’s inhabitants seemed to think of Seranthians as separate from
Tingarans
, and even the individual neighborhoods were renowned, with each projecting its own charisma and the citizens of each fiercely proud of the district they called home.

An emperor now lived in the Imperial Palace. Seranthia’s pride had returned.

Time passed as Ella looked out at the city, her thoughts
turning
from one thing to another. If anything, it grew colder, and Ella fought to control a shiver. The message was vague about the time, so she didn’t know if she was too early. Deciding to head back inside, at least for a while, she turned away, but then she caught a flicker of motion on a nearby building.

Ella frowned and tried to peer through the flurries of wind and snow. All she could see was a figure: a dark shadow.

Ella watched the figure, a man, climb from one roof to another, leaping and bounding with incredible agility. He ran and leapt from one building to the next, flying through the air for tense heartbeats before landing with catlike grace. A wide gap separated the Alturan market house from the surrounding buildings, but the figure didn’t pause. He dashed forward and threw himself into the air.

Ella stiffened as she waited for him to plummet to his death, but at the end he hovered as if floating, coming to rest gently beside her on the balcony.

Seemingly impervious to the cold, Killian pulled back his hood and grinned. The night was clouded, but the shimmering lights of the city poured from countless windows to light up his face. His wild red hair, down to his collar, framed a strong masculine face with a sharp nose and square jaw. Ella couldn’t help smiling when she saw the twinkle in his deep blue eyes.

“You couldn’t use the front door?” Ella said.

Her heart rate increased. Killian had a way of looking at her that made her feel there was nothing else to rest his eyes on.

“Easier said than done. You have no idea how hard it is to get away,” he said. “I have people by my side from the moment I wake to the last thing at night. Lords and ladies compete for the honor of having breakfast with me, and as for lunch and dinner . . .” He shook his head. “And then leaving the palace is a major event. There are the formalities. When the emperor travels to the Alturan market house, people speculate—particularly the Tingarans—that I’m showing preference to Altura. Every action is analyzed. I
sometimes
. . .”

“Shh,” Ella said. “You look well.” She smiled.

“I’ve missed you. First, the coronation, and now with just a few days to go until the Chorum . . .”

“I’ve missed you too,” Ella said.

She drank in the sight of him. He wore a regal purple cloak with black trim, and underneath, his embroidered collared shirt was tucked into black trousers. A silver belt bore the image of a
nine-pointed-star
, matching the silver buckles on his black boots. She saw both sides of him: the boy he was and the man he had become.

“Ella?”

“Yes?”

“Can we not talk about the future tonight? I mean, I’m happy to talk about
our
future. I’d like to talk about our future. Just not the war. I mean . . .”

“I’d like that,” Ella said. “I’d like that a lot.”

The night passed as Ella and Killian talked about Alise, Killian’s mother, and his joy at finally having the family he’d always searched for. Ella couldn’t help but think of her own mother, Katherine.

“You’re lucky you knew her,” Killian said, “even if you didn’t know who she was.”

Ella found herself looking into Killian’s eyes as they spoke, and they stood close together, so that Ella forgot all about the cold.

Without talking about the threat from across the sea, Ella told Killian how worried she was about her brother. Miro’s zeal kept him up at night, the desperation in his eyes evident every time Ella
saw him
.

Killian listened as no one else did, and he took Ella’s hands in his warm, comforting grip.

He then spoke about the things Evrin was teaching him. Killian had the powers of the Evermen, but Evrin had warned Killian that if he confronted Sentar Scythran, he would face the most dangerous opponent imaginable.

“Evrin says he doesn’t have time to teach me everything so he’s just concentrating on doing a few things well. I also have the
knowledge
from my time in Shar. I’m nearly ready,” he said.

Ella was glad he’d brought up the subject of his unique
abilities
, for it gave her an opportunity to ask the question she’d been
burning
to have answered.

“Killian,” Ella said, tilting her head to look up at his face. He looked just a couple of years older than she. “I need to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth. Evrin Evenstar and Sentar Scythran are both over a thousand years old. Will you live forever?”

“No one lives forever,” Killian said with a wry smile.

“I’m being serious. Will you live for a long time, like Evrin?”

“I . . . I can’t say. I honestly don’t know.”

“And I’ll grow old and gray while you tire of me. Then you’ll watch me die.”

“Ella, please don’t . . .”

“We’d be foolish not to speak of it.”

“Not now. Not tonight. Let’s just be together.”

As the hours passed and the occasional star shone through the speeding clouds overhead, Ella felt her furred cloak struggle to hold off the night’s chill.

Inside, her warm bedchamber beckoned.

As Ella made a decision, she felt her breath come short. She was going to invite Killian inside. They’d never been together. Not in that way.

Ella opened her mouth, and Killian suddenly looked up at
the sk
y.

“Scratch it,” he cursed, “I was supposed to be back in time to have dinner with the Council of Lords.” He grinned sheepishly. “My mother will kill me.”

“Do you have to go?” Ella asked.

“I can’t tell you how much I want to stay,” he said. Ella thought she saw his eyes flicker to the balcony doors.

But he sighed and drew away. It hit her with force; she didn’t want him to leave. “Don’t go.” Ella pulled him close.

“I wish I could stay. Will you come and see me?”

“At the palace? Are you sure?”

Killian stroked Ella’s cheek as he held her. “I’m sure.”

“When?”

“The day after tomorrow. In the evening. We can have dinner, the two of us and my mother. She likes you, Ella.”

Ella shook her head as she smiled. “She’s only met me twice.”

“Will you come?”

Killian tilted Ella’s head, and they kissed.

Ella had kissed Killian back in Sarostar, in another time, when life was simpler, and no one knew about the darkness to come. This kiss sent a tingle through her lips as their two bodies fitted together perfectly, with his head at just the right height.