The Shadow

Chapter 19

Lord Canmore called for Harper a month after the siege. He did not include Kai in the invitation, but that didn't stop him from coming along. The messenger had been vague, but it seemed that the lord was deciding what to do about the impending war.

"Hurry," Harper told him, urging Dusty forward as he did the same with Lunar. It felt amazing to be back atop the horse. There was something reassuring about the way she moved, the way her muscles shifted beneath the saddle.

It was also comforting to have Harper nearby. They hadn't seen one another as often since the days after the siege; it turned out that managing a property as large as the Ivory Manor took time. Not to mention dealing with her fathers associates and conducting a funeral for him.

Kai had used his free time to train, falling back into his old habits each morning and night. He had also explored Aria, weaving through different parts of the vast city each day.

Lord Canmore's castle appeared before long. It looked decidedly less magnificent, after living in the Ivory Manor. It was still intimidating, with rising towers and sharp angles, but did not seem so large as it once had.

A stableboy took Lunar's reins, leading her down the path toward the castle's stables as another young man did the same with Dusty. Guards opened the doors to the castle, letting Kai, Harper and her two guards inside.

The inside of the keep was just as Kai had remembered it: clean-cut marble floors swept beneath him, stone pillars stretching toward a domed ceiling high above. And those carvings—he had nearly forgotten about them. He looked at them closer now. One of the pillars featured a man and beast fighting, the former with a sword and the latter a club. The beast's eyes looked normal, but..."

"Harper, look." Kai ushered her toward the pillar, some sort of excitement coursing its way through him. The beast in the pictures towered over the man—he seemed no more than a bug in its presence. "It's a giant."

There was no doubt about it; the carvings were old and somewhat primitive, but they clearly depicted giants fighting men. How had Kai not noticed, last time they were in this place?

Harper nodded, eyes widening. "So, we know that someone took a record of the giants...Perhaps they learned about the wraith too? Even if they didn't, we need to get a closer look at these pillars."

One of Canmore's guards coughed loudly and she sighed, seeming to realize where they were, and why. "Another time—after the meeting." She rushed Kai back into place behind the waiting castle guard.

Rather than being escorted straight through the enormous halls and to the throne room, they took a right turn halfway through the pillared room, leading them to flights of stairs. The stairs and walls were made of simple sandstone, carved neatly and void of any strange markings or pictures.

By the time they reached the top Kai was breathing hard and stood before a small wooden door. Upon it was written Curia Regis. Beyond the door lay a richly furnished room—a tower room, by the looks of it. The floor was adorned in plain but comfortable carpets and colorful paintings hung from the wall, none of which seemed to date back beyond a couple hundred years. The main feature of the room was a medium sized wooden table in its center. It was a plain table, but that was not what interested Kai.

Several people sat around the table, near all of which Kai had never before seen. He recognized only Lord Canmore, who gave him a cold nod which he returned with a bow, sitting down beside Harper.

Kai let out a breath. He had been allowed to stay, despite not being invited.

"Forgive us for our tardiness," Harper said, flattening out her leathers as she settled into a sturdy wooden chair.