Nothing and Everything

Morning came sooner than I thought. I opened my eyes, allowing a heavy beam of light to blind me. The open balconies were both a blessing and a curse; on one hand the view was magnificent and on the other, I was vulnerable to the breadth of nature be it winds, sandstorms, or sunlight so hot, it would melt the Ether bergs in Maignane.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "Land of the sun, indeed," I noted to myself.

Once my vision recovered, I spotted Innes sitting shirtless on a high folding chair with his feet resting on the balustrade. Eyes closed, his face was tilted towards the sun, basking under its warmth.

"Good morning," I chuckled as I leaned against the railing, peering over at the orchards.

"Morning," he yawned as he lowered his feet to stand. He inched over to me and nodded towards the stairs. "Seeing as how neither of us got much sleep, we should at least eat."

I grinned and followed his lead.

We made our way to the dining room upstairs, chattering about how Innes promised his people would never serve me Sealy cake.

"Cow guts dipped in perfume water doesn't sate anyone's appetite," Jhilza hissed from the table, half her face obscured by the mug she drank from.

I took the seat across Jhilza and began to eat from the feast laid out before us. For an estate in the desert, there must've been a lot to go around if the servants could afford to generously feed us.

"So what happens now?" I asked, my eyes shifting between the captain and the assassin.

Luster City was no longer an option, but I still had to find my mother. Not to mention the hundreds of unanswered questions I had about the strange books the people were holding during the Tyrant's festival.

"The only option is to leave Caledonia and head west for Maignane. There is no longer anything here for any of us." Jhilza folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against her chair. "If I bring you to the Children of the Dawn, I would have accomplished my mission." She looked down at her hand and clenched it. "Three years in this sunny shit hole, I'm ready to go home."

I blinked. "Three years? What exactly was your mission?"

"To bring home the last of the Gifted," she replied, her eyes never leaving mine.

Instinctively, I turned to Innes. Jhilza's vicious disposition returned, signaled by the narrowing as well as the strange glint in her eyes.

"I'm not going to Maignane without my mother or Innes," I scoffed. "He's the only one I trust."

Jhilza patted her chest and winced, as if in pain. "Ouch. And here I thought I was finally getting on your good side after rescuing you from a Warden."

Locked in a stalemate, we both turned our heads towards Innes, who was lost in thought.

The captain exhaled as he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair. "Jhilza's right, we all need to be as far from Caledonia as possible."

Jhilza grinned while nodding at me. "See I—"

"But!" Innes interrupted, glaring at her. "If your mission is to bring home all of the Gifted, then shouldn't you be trying to find your Templar? Camilla is the foundation of the Dawn, is she not?"

My eyes widened. I knew Innes was on my side.

Jhilza pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek and looked away.

My attention was taken by the faint sound of feet rushing up the stairs and I craned my neck to the side, trying to get a peek.

Innes' aunt from last night rushed up the stairs, one hand clinging onto the her skirt. She bowed her head to him as her chest heaved.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but Lady Deimos is here," she panted.

My heart suddenly stopped. Unikila was here?

Innes was the first to rush downstairs, his casual demeanor melting behind his practiced noble facade. When we passed the floor with his room, he quickly pulled a leather coat from a nearby love seat and slipped it around his shoulders.

Rushing out the door of the manor, I had to shelter my eyes from the light, but that didn't stop me from noticing the glimmering gold and black armor. Lady Deimos stood in the middle, encircled by her armored entourage. All around her, the people of Aellecion bowed their heads, some even going as far as to kneel in the presence of two nobles.

Feeling as though I was disrespecting the two, I began to bow my head until Jhilza tapped my shoulder. When I looked at her, she shook her head.

The bannermen beside her stepped aside as Innes approached. Unikila wore a beautiful white dress that was simple in shape, but adorned with pearls and rubies. A feathered, ivory comb was inserted on the side of her head, between layers of curls.

"Uni," Innes exhaled.

She smiled at him as she held her hand out, waiting for him to take it. Much to everyone's surprise, Innes stood still.

"Let's talk inside," he nodded towards the manor. He turned on his heel and brushed past me.

I stepped aside as Uni followed him in. Some part of me was waiting for her to notice me, but I knew that I was too far beneath for her to care about.

Jhilza pulled me towards the closest orchard as Unikila's escorts positioned themselves around the manor's entrance, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

"Jhilza, what are you doing?" I asked when she released me. I rubbed my wrist which ached from her tight grip. "Aren't you curious as to why she's here?"

The assassin glared at me. "Everyone but you knows why she's here. She was escorted here by her House's bannermen and she's wearing her formals, Myst."

I stared at her, mouth gaping. "Her dress? But Uni always wears very beautiful dresses."

"It's a noble declaration of love," Jhilza groaned. "She's here to marry Innes."

Something rose out of the pit of my stomach, something hot and ugly. It climbed until it burned the back of my neck. Hundreds of possibilities swirled in my head; a maelstrom of thoughts that fueled my rising anger.

Yes, anger.

I was jealous. Unikila was everything I wished I was: rich, elegant, and wanted. She had a place in Caledonia and in the people's minds. But the hardest reality to accept was the fact that no matter who or what I am, Uni always meant something to Innes. They were part of a world that was beyond my reach and I constantly fooled myself into thinking I could be part of that world.

Jhilza grinned at me. "I know that face."

"What face?" I huffed, turning away from her.

"Jealousy suits you, Myst. But why be a poised noblewoman when you can explore the breadth of emotions being an actual human being offers?" She leaned against a tree, grinning at me.

I blinked. How did she know I was envious of Uni? Was it possible that Jhilza could—

"Read your thoughts?" she asked, causing my eyes to go wide.

I remained speechless. Both my mind and mouth were silent. Has she been able to read my thoughts this whole time?

"The answer is no," she chuckled. "An overload of emotion makes a person easy to read. It's like their thoughts bleed into their expressions and their movements. They unknowingly create this voice in their heads that any Gifted can hear. And you, Myst..." She looked over at me as she walked to the center of the clearing. "You possess this power as well."

"I do?" I asked.

I recalled the times that I was able to focus my hearing to eavesdrop on conversations and to find Innes.

Jhilza closed her eyes as she wriggled her fingers. "I told you that the Gifted possess a fragment of Belveus' soul, did I not? At the very core of his being, he was still a dragon and dragons are masters of the wind and sky. That power has been endowed upon the Gifted."

I watched as a she summoned a breeze that circled her. Her eyes opened, glowing a faint white color that was almost as gray as the petals that danced around her body.

"Are you saying that we can control the wind?" I smiled as a few petals raced across my skin and tickled my cheeks.

"No. Humans can't bend the elements to their will. Leave that to the gods. But we are allowed something." She wagged her finger at me, signalling me to come closer. "Sound is a friend of the wind. And the soul speaks just as loud as a voice."

Suddenly voices echoed all around us, dipping and rising in volume with every curve and bend of the wind. There were hundreds of voices from men, women, and children. The chirping of crickets and songbirds as well as the lapping of the brooks that trickled across the estate. With every new sound, the wind grew stronger. It was like a choir of the world around.

I could hear everything.

"This is amazing. How are you doing this?" I yelled over the gale.

Jhilza lowered her hands and made a slicing motion, killing the wind and silencing the voices.

"With practice. The Templars teach all of the Gifted how to harness the full breadth of their powers." She walked over to me, her eyes still glowing. "Since you can't control it yet, how about I do it for you?"

I tilted my head to the side and crooked a brow. "Do what?"

Jhilza summoned another breeze, circling it around the two of us. Two very faint voices echoed from the wind.

"What is this about, Uni?"

My head instantly spun to meet Jhilza's eyes. "Is that Innes' voice?"

Her eyes were shut as she slowed her breathing. Gray vines slithered out from her sleeves as more petals circulated around us. Within a few seconds, a smell fouler than rotten meat made its way inside my nose.

I pinched my nose shut and made a fanning motion with my other hand though it came too late because my head began to swirl.

I began to see visions. Two figures in a room, facing each other while locked in some sort of discussion. While the rest of the world around me darkened, the blurry apparitions became clearer.

"Bacchus is going to come for you and Aellecion will burn. Please... I can't lose you, too."

Like a spear straight through the heart, my chest began to ache as the scene before me materialized. Uni stood on my right, her white dress a stark comparison to the humble dining room she was in.

"Innes, we can fix this. If we unite our houses, House Solterica will be absorbed back into true nobility. You and your people will never be cast out from Luster—"

"Uni, stop," Innes sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I can't marry you." The words came spilling out of him like it was a weight he was afraid to discard.

Hearing his words, cooled the rage I'd been feeling. Yes, it hurt knowing that I took him from Uni, but I was happy. Maybe it was time I deserved some happiness of my own.

The two phantoms began to move. Innes motioned for the stairs and Uni chased after him. When her ghostly body passing through mine, my chest began to ache as tears poured out of my eyes uncontrollably. I slid the backs of my hand across my cheeks as thousands of voices echoed in my mind. Voices that weren't my own.

Why? What have I done to deserve this? He is mine. Innes loved me, why did he stop? I have to save myself. I can't marry that bastard.

The darkness around me pulsed as the scene was ripped apart by a violent gale. My head and heart were overwhelmed and I collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down my face.

The darkness underneath me turned back to grass as sunlight poured back into the strange void I'd been transported into.

"Vivid, wasn't it?" Jhilza asked as she picked me up.

My fingers trembled as I planted my feet under me. The tears that dripped down my cheeks had disappeared as if they were never there.

"Was that real?" I asked, rattled at how sudden the visions had come and gone.

Jhilza nodded. "When the emotions are strong, the soul speaks so loudly that our magic is able to show us more than just voices."

My eyes drifted towards the exit of the orchard and I found myself walking, drawn back towards the manor.

When Uni's phantom has walked through me, I could feel her anguish. The pain of being rejected, I was all too familiar with it. My entire being was not enough for Caledonia, only my powers could sate her hunger.

Upon reaching the manor, I caught sight of Uni storming from the entrance. Her tears were endless, trailing behind her and falling to the ground.

"Uni," I called as she passed by me.

Lady Deimos spun around, her hair whipping behind her. The moment she noticed me, her noble disposition melted away as her features crunched together, forming a scowl that made me cower in her presence.

"You!" she growled. "He always chose you. Everyone wanted you."

I shook my head, taking a step back. "Uni, I didn't—"

She interrupted me, not caring to give me a chance to explain much less defend myself. "They gave you everything: a palace, a stage, wealth, and fame. Now you're taking Innes from me? I am Unikila Savonte of House Deimos! How has a filthy village girl managed to destroy my entire world?"

I could see her chest heave uncontrollably and I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel the same way. Heat tickled the tips of my ears as I clenched my hands into fists.

"Without Innes, I lose everything. My name, my house, my reputation, everything. You could never understand!" she spat.

How dare she tell me I couldn't comprehend. As if life itself was any less precious than something as silly as a name and a fancy golden house. I was so sick of being treated like I didn't know the value of anything.

"No," I barely managed with trembling lips. The word came out of me in a cross between a whisper and a sigh. "You're right. I could never understand. The pain of losing one's wealth could never amount to the fear of losing my life day by day."

Uni shook her head as she moved towards me. She lifted her hand and moved it to swipe at my face.

"Don't you dare touch me," I growled as her hand hovered over my cheek.

Uni stood in front of me, petrified. Just like during the festival. The emptiness of her dark eyes reminded me of her brother.

"Alright, party's over, Myst" Jhilza called as she pulled me back.

Innes approached the two of us as his men formed a line between Lady Deimos and I.

"I'm sorry, Uni. Please leave," he said as he positioned himself in front of me, blocking my view of her.

Surrounded by House Solterica's guards as well as Innes and Jhilza, I began to calm. Behind the iron curtain, I could hear the sound of sniffling and metal clinking moving further and further away.

I decided right then and there that I didn't want to stay in Caledonia any longer. Not with all of its false glory and greed. I couldn't stand to live inside a picture of vanity; I wanted to be free of all of this selfishness, abandon it for good. If Maignane sought me out, maybe it's time I did the same.

All I knew was that I didn't belong here.