Stormlight Rains (Book 1 of The Girl Who Looked Up)

14: The Sea of Glass

Y/n's cell door opened. A guard poked his head in.

"Come on, then," he said.

Y/n frowned, standing slowly. "What?"

"Brightness Jasnah wants to see you."

Y/n stared at him. "But—"

"Storm it, woman," the guard said frustratedly. "Do I need to drag you out of there?"

At that, Y/n briskly sped out of the cell.

The guard led her back to the Palanaeum, strangely enough.

Why am I being brought here? Y/n thought as they walked to the hallway of reading alcoves. Why hadn't Jasnah come down to her cell herself to see Y/n?

A few paces away from one of the alcoves, the guard gestured for Y/n to go on ahead. Hesitantly she did so, entering the alcove.

Jasnah sat at her desk. Her eyes looked uncharacteristically fatigued, dark circles underneath, her face stressed. She looked up as Y/n entered. "Ah. Good. I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"What is this about?" Y/n asked, standing in the doorway.

"Sit."

Y/n stared at the princess before taking a seat beside her.

"I've decided," Jasnah said, "to take you on as a ward."

Y/n sputtered. " What?"

"Not in the traditional sense," Jasnah said, raising a hand. "It will primarily serve as a cover. You and I are going to research your... condition together."

Y/n blinked. "But...I don't understand. Why?"

"Because I believe you have a bigger part of this than you're aware of." Jasnah met her gaze. "Tell me, what do you know of the Knights Radiant?"

Y/n's brow furrowed. "Uh...not much. They fought the Voidbringers, then abandoned humanity during The Recreance, or so the legends say...why does this matter?"

"Some of the characteristics you show align with the order of Windrunners or Skybreakers," Jasnah said. "Your ability to Bind, as you called it—you Lash things. Something that these two orders were both able to do."

"So you think I'm some sort of Radiant, then?" Y/n asked.

"Perhaps. Perhaps you are something else entirely. Your other abilities lead me to lean more towards the latter. Nonetheless, I believe the Radiants are the key."

Y/n sat back, contemplating all this. "Why are you helping me?" she asked finally.

Jasnah said nothing for a moment. Her gaze swept to her notes. "Because the Knights Radiant are returning. I am sure of it. I—"

Suddenly a figure entered the doorway. One with pale Veden skin and red Horneater hair.

Jasnah stiffened as she saw Shallan. "You are not welcome here."

Shallan walked in anyway. She was wearing a hospital robe and was holding something. Her sketchpad?

"Don't make me call the soldiers to get rid of you," Jasnah said. "I could have you thrown in prison for a hundred years for what you did. Do you have any idea what—"

"The Soulcaster you wear is a fake," Shallan said quietly. "It was a fake the whole time, even before I made the swap."

Jasnah froze.

I, Y/n thought, seriously need some context here.

"I wondered why you didn't notice the switch," Shallan said, sitting in the room's other chair. "I spent weeks confused. Had you noticed, but decided to keep quiet in order to catch the thief? Hadn't you Soulcast in all that time? It didn't make any sense. Unless the Soulcaster I stole was a decoy."