Chains of Fate

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty

After the banquet, I found Synnove hovering outside the tower. She was leaning against the glass side, her gaze on the afternoon sun. She tensed when I joined her.

I hesitated for a moment. "Why weren't you at the banquet?" I asked. "Aren't you fond of dancing?"

A slight smirk crossed her face, and she fingered the bag strapped across her back. Her simple blouse and pants made me feel foolish in my lavish white gown. She shrugged. "Not really."

Silence coated the air, save for the excited voices flowing from the tower. I couldn't stop thinking of how Synnove summoned Shula. Of how she tried to kill Rowan. I couldn't ask her the questions inside of me because it hurt too much to speak them.

"Did you hear about the prisoners?"

I jumped at Synnove's sudden question. "Prisoners?"

"The Eremithians captured from Therin's army," she clarified.

I shook my head. Truth be told, I'd forgotten about them entirely. Would they be tried for treason against Eremith? Banished? Executed?

"I visited them. They are confused," she said. When I frowned, she explained, "None of them remember why they betrayed Eremith—or why they fought with Therin."

I almost choked on my own breath. "How could they forget something like that?" I got out. "This is their home."

A dark expression crossed her face. "I don't know. All I can think of is that their memories were tainted, changed somehow."

"So their memories were altered by magic?" When she nodded, I leaned my head against the tower with a thunk. "Whatever tactic was made to turn them against each other was never meant to be known," I said. I rubbed my forehead. What would warrant such extensive magic? Were they coerced somehow by a creature that didn't want itself known? Therin came to my mind, but he wouldn't have been able to wipe their memories after he died. "How is it possible to make hundreds of minds forget something like that?" I asked.

"I don't know," Synnove said. "I spoke with Rowan to see if he knew anything."

I tensed, waiting for her response. Had she forgiven Rowan yet, or did she still blame him for killing her mother?

She continued without faltering, "He didn't know anything, but Ayacinth told me about his curse. Rowan, of course, was unable to share the details of his curse with me—the fool collapsed into hysteria trying to talk about it." She sighed, reaching her hand behind her to scratch her tattooed back. "So Ayacinth answered. She said that Rowan never knew he was changing. He would exit the tunnels under Eremith, driven by something he calls the Shadow. Ayacinth said she never knew what he was talking about." Synnove flipped a lock of black hair behind her shoulder. "He was probably hallucinating from Therin's curse."

A shiver went up my spine. The Shadow. It's said to be cloaked in malice and contempt for all of Etheia. All it desires is destruction. Dhiren's words made my bones grow cold. "Rowan's curse," I said slowly. "Is it gone? Is he free?"

She looked away. "No. He nearly changed before my eyes," she said. "He wouldn't stop screaming, so I got out of there as quickly as possible. You know those runes on his body?" she asked.

I nodded, remembering the strange symbols that covered Rowan's body from head to toe. "Rowan told me they protected him...from himself."

"Yes, they're protective runes. I always wondered what they were for, but I know now they kept him from changing—for the most part, at least. He must have put them on himself, knowing something was wrong." She rubbed a hand over her eyes. "Whatever is possessing him—torturing him, influencing him, whatever—is powerful beyond measure. Breaking a protective runic script like Rowan's requires a tremendous amount of magic."