James Islington - The Shadow Of What Was Lost

He knew the princess was being nothing more than friendly, but Caeden had begun to live for those times. Though he’d often enjoyed his talks with Wirr, Davian, Taeris and the others, the spectre of his past had always hovered over those exchanges. Around Kara, that never seemed to be the case. Their conversations were more relaxed, lighter somehow even if the topics were serious; it seemed that with her, for just a few hours each day, he was able to forget all the problems he faced – that they all faced – and just take pleasure in someone else’s company.

Today, however, was different. Kara had looked exhausted when he’d opened his door this morning, and now he knew why.

"How soon until they arrive?" asked Caeden, his stomach churning.

"A couple of days - maybe less, if they push. Nobody is really sure." Kara watched Caeden’s expression. "What are you and Taeris going to do?"

Caeden hesitated. He hadn’t confided Taeris' contingency plan to the princess - not due to a lack of trust, but rather because Caeden didn’t want to put the princess in yet another awkward position. Knowing her as he now did, Caeden had no doubt that if he told Kara that he and Taeris were intending to break into the Tol, she would feel guilty for not acting on the information. Would feel party to whatever happened as a result.

But he realised now that he couldn’t leave her completely in the dark, either. She hadn’t made him put the Shackle back on - if he left without warning, she would think he’d just run away, abandoned the city. Abandoned her.

Before he could speak, though, he spotted a harried-looking Taeris hurrying towards them. Caeden grimaced, but nodded to the older man and stood.

"Caeden," said Taeris in half-irritated relief when he got a little closer. His eyes widened as he recognised Caeden’s companion, and his demeanour transformed. He gave a low bow. "Your Highness. I… I’m afraid I will need to borrow Caeden for a while."

Kara nodded slowly. "That is fine, Taeris," she said, suddenly the cool and formal version of herself that Caeden now saw only on occasion. She turned to Caeden with the hint of a wry smile. "Perhaps there will be an opportunity to continue this sometime later today."

She began to walk away. Caeden watched her go in frustration, knowing why Taeris had come to find him.

"Your Highness," he abruptly called after her. "Please wait a moment."

He hurried over to the princess, ignoring Taeris' surprised look.

"I’m not sure we will get the chance to speak again before the Blind arrive, Your Highness," Caeden said in a meaningful tone, locking gazes with Kara. "I think other matters may… keep me away."

Kara looked between Caeden and Taeris for a few seconds, then nodded in understanding. Her eyes were suddenly sad.

"Then we will just have to wait until after everything is over," she said softly. She stepped forward, her lips brushing against his cheek. "Fates guide you, Caeden."

Caeden swallowed, blushing. "You too, Kara," he said, quietly enough that Taeris couldn’t overhear.

Kara just nodded, then turned and disappeared back into the main palace building without another word.

Caeden watched her go, then turned to Taeris and opened his mouth to explain.

"I… don’t want to know," said Taeris gruffly, shaking his head. There was something approaching an amused smile on his lips, though it faded almost straight away. "You’ve heard about the Blind?"

"Just then," said Caeden. He hesitated. "The Travel Stone is really our only option?"

Taeris nodded. "It is now, and we should think about using it straight away. It’s early enough that we might catch some of the Gifted still asleep in the Tol, maybe buy ourselves a couple of extra minutes to get the memory device working." He glanced around. "We can’t just open the portal out in the open, though; the last thing we need is someone seeing and trying to interfere. Doing it from my quarters would be best."

Caeden nodded, and they started towards Taeris' rooms.

After a few minutes they rounded a corner and Taeris issued a soft, panicked curse. Caeden looked up at him in alarm as the scarred man faltered, breaking his stride for a moment as he stared down the hallway ahead.

Caeden followed his gaze. A blond-haired man in a fine blue cloak was walking towards them, though he was absorbed in reading some papers in his hand and hadn’t yet noticed their presence. Caeden glanced at Taeris, who had now bowed his head, evidently doing his best to hide his face from the stranger.

The Administrator looked up just before they were past and came to an abrupt halt, holding up a hand to indicate that they should do the same.

"Taeris Sarr," he said once Taeris had stopped, a quiet certainty in his voice.

Taeris' shoulders slumped, and he nodded. "Duke Andras," he responded dully.

Caeden’s stomach twisted. The duke was one of the people that they had been desperate to avoid, that Taeris was certain would turn them over to Administration.

The duke studied Taeris and Caeden for a long moment.

"Try not to be seen," he said.

He turned his attention back to his papers and walked off without another word.

Taeris and Caeden both gaped after the Administrator for a few seconds.

"Why didn’t he raise the alarm?" asked Caeden.

Taeris shook his head in confusion. "I… I don’t know," he admitted. "But let’s get moving before he changes his mind."

They made it to Taeris' rooms without further incident; the few other people they passed in the hallways all seemed distracted, hurrying about their business and paying little heed to the two men.

Once they were inside Taeris turned to Caeden, still looking a little shaken.

"Before we do this - I need to make one thing clear, Caeden. This was a last resort for good reason. I can get us in, but not out again. If we let the Gifted catch us, they will lock us up and we’ll be of no help to anyone… so whatever happens, you’re going to need to get free. Fight your way out if you have to, but make sure you get to the Shields by the time the Blind get here. Even if that means leaving me behind."

Caeden didn’t reply for a moment, wanting to protest, knowing that this was his last chance to change his mind. He’d suspected that this would be the way of things, ever since Taeris had told him the plan… was he really was capable of fighting his way out of Tol Athian, though? He knew he probably had the raw strength; if his memories were fully returned, he would hopefully have the skill as well.

But whether he would be able to do it without hurting anyone was another matter entirely. Despite their stubbornness, the Gifted were to a large extent innocent in all of this, and Caeden had no desire to injure anyone at the Tol. Deep down, though, he understood that an escape without casualties may turn out to be impossible.

And he did need to escape - needed to do everything he could to fight the Blind.

"I understand," he said reluctantly.

Taeris gave him a relieved nod. "Are you ready? Once we start this process, Administrators will be on their way. We won’t get a second chance at it."

Caeden took a couple of steadying breaths. "Ready."

Taeris put his hand above the Travel Stone and closed his eyes. A stream of white energy started pouring from him into the stone; he stayed like that for several seconds before stopping the flow with a slight shudder.

He picked up the stone from the table and held it out, away from his body. The Vessel began to glow; a shimmering line of light appeared in front of Taeris, growing, spinning and expanding until it was twice Caeden’s height and just as wide.

Then it vanished, replaced by a hole that simply hung in the air. Caeden peered through it into what appeared to be a vast storage room.