The Wicked House of Caroline

For the first time since she watched Deo spout fire out of thin air in Sagittate, Beks felt left behind. At the time, her memory was excellent and she received a lot of praise over it, but when she was faced with her brother’s natural ability, she was undoubtedly inferior. Although she didn’t like it, she had to accept it.

Since she had such a weakness, she could only make up for it by focusing on her strengths. However, as she watched the twins discuss the process of rokh overseas transport, she wasn’t doing enough.

The translation process was exceedingly frustrating and slow, but Laz had already trained the rokhs to carry a person in a basket, and Lucian had designed and put together a basket woven out of plant fibers with limited tools, which was strong enough to carry two people. She saw the physical manifestations of their work, whereas all she’d read about so far was that detestable copper salesman and how much the company had to pay angry customers to placate them.

Beks took a deep breath and adjusted her seat on the woven cushion. “Focus Beks....”

Her work area was ready; a tablet in the niche and the light pearls projecting text on the floor; her notes in front of her; blank dried leaves cut into rectangles and a stylus with a pot of ink at her side.

She lifted her stylus and fixed her eyes on the projected characters.

The next thing she knew, she was walking outside and the bright sunlight hit her face, momentarily blinding her after coming out of a dim chamber. Snowflake turned his head towards her, as if in question.

“I’m too excited.” Beks deduced out loud. It was a bit surprising, as she hadn’t been able to sleep, either. By all accounts, she should’ve been drowsy. The anticipation was what was keeping her awake.

Although the day had just begun and Jonas wasn’t scheduled to return until well after sunset, Beks couldn’t sit still. She wanted to know the results of the test flight immediately, as the sooner they got them, the sooner she could fly to the mainland.

Unable to focus her attention, she walked towards the lower tier, where she’d seen Thunder land with the basket the night before. The human-sized baskets were brought into one of the nearby ruins along with the coiled vine ropes. However, there wasn’t anyone there.

Beks walked back to the upper tier and found the twins seated at the dining table outside the kitchen with some dried leaves in front of them and a stylus similar to hers. Laz and Lucian sat across from each other, both wearing looks of concentration as they looked at the dried leaves and occasionally wrote across them, passing the stylus between them.

She approached slowly so as not to startle them, but only made it a few steps before she was noticed.

Laz turned his head towards her and the stern look on his face faded to gentleness in an instant. “What’s the matter? You finally realize that you’re sleepy?”

She shook her head. “I’m too excited and can’t focus.”

The twins chuckled as they looked at her. Lucian scooted to the side to give her a place to sit. “That’s what got you in trouble all the time when you were young.”

She took a seat, but threw him an indignant look. “When did I get in trouble? I was always well behaved!”

“I didn’t say you got in trouble because you weren’t. I said there were times you couldn’t focus,” Lucian replied with a smile.

“Perhaps you blocked it out of your memory, as you were quite resentful of those instructors,” Laz said. From the look on Beks’ face, he must’ve understood that she really didn’t remember. “You were so busy, every day, not only because so much was expected of you, but because you were being used as a tool for everyone’s benefit.”

“Mother aside, instructors fought over who taught you,” Lucian said.

Laz let out a small snort. “No one fought over us....”

“It’s likely that you never noticed as there was little to compare your situation to. You probably saw it as normal, but it wasn’t,” Lucian told her.

“You are the prophesized daughter with dawn in her hair. That was enough for various instructors to have high expectations of you,” Laz continued. “And then, you have your superior memorization abilities. Anything they threw at you, you could remember.”

“It then became a competition on who could make you memorize the most about a particular subject.”

“And, of course, Mother was pleased to see you absorbing all this information, so she didn’t stop them. It only proved that she was right to foster you...but, you were still a child. No matter how focused you could get, if you weren’t very interested in a subject, you’d lose interest or at least want a break.” Laz let out a heavy sigh. “Adah had to fight for you to take breaks between classes and days of rest, as he was worried you wouldn’t be properly socialized.”

“He explained it to us like this: politics was not all about memorizing laws and regulations, it was about dealing with a wide array of people. If you were kept in a room your entire childhood, only exposed to a few people, mainly those who were instructing you, how would you ever learn and grow accustomed to collaborating with nobles and the like.”

Laz nodded at his brother's words. “If you grew up so sheltered from human relations, then as an adult, you would be far too inexperienced when exposed to Court for the first time. It would leave you vulnerable to manipulation, which could harm you or use you against the royal family.”

“You would become a weakness to the royal family, which is something Mother didn’t need.”

“Then, Uncle Timur successfully convinced the late Queen to lessen my workload?” Beks asked. She didn’t feel as if it had been lessened.

“He was able to schedule time for you to rest and play with us,” Lucian replied. “It was the best he could do. You know how Mother was.” Beks nodded her head and lowered her eyes. “I was prohibited from leaving the palace grounds, so my experience with peers was limited.” Laz let out a heavy, tired sigh. He shook his head at the thought. “If Adah was alive, he might’ve been able to push Mother to let you go to balls and parties outside the palace. Mother was adamant on keeping you away from any trouble.”

“It shouldn’t surprise you that young, wealthy individuals without much responsibility placed upon them can run wild.” Lucian thought for a moment and knit his brows. “I recall a few young masters and mistresses that got out of hand more than a few times, causing trouble for their families, both in the social and financial sense.”

Laz nodded with a frown. “The point is that because Adah was able to convince mother to give you breaks and days of rest, the instructors took it as a sign not to pace their instruction, but to force more on you in a short amount of time. The gods know that you were already studying more than a normal child at your age. Certainly, more than Lucian and myself.”

“Brother Laurence also believes that you had more placed upon you than he did and he was raised to be the Crown Prince,” Lucian said. “It certainly shows where Mother put her expectations.”

Laz let out a snort and sneered. “That explains why Luther barely studied.”

Beks frowned. Because so much was expected of her, she’d been proud, and never considered how unfair the situation was or how she was pushed in comparison to the royal sons. Laz was right about Luther, as well. Luther was sheltered and outside of basic arithmetic, literature, and art, he was instructed by his father.

She would admit that Luther’s etiquette and manners were as expected for a royal family member, outside of his affair with the new oracle, but he was kept very sheltered with a heavy dependance on his father. It was by design, and now the Third Consort’s tedious care had paid off, and his son listened to every word he said.

“When you’d lose interest or your mind would start to wander, either you were bored or simply tired, the instructors would take a reed and hit your hands or legs to try to ‘wake you’ and make you concentrate,” Lucian said with a sad, distant look. “If you were interested in something else and couldn’t sit still, the punishments grew harsher.”

Beks remembered being hit in the hands. While she could write at an early age, it wasn’t the cleanest writing. Her mind had moved too fast for her little body to keep up with and so, she’d skip words or push them together, making them unreadable. She remembered being told to stand and face the corner, or made to recite something she had just read. If she made a mistake or rather, didn’t actually read, she’d be hit in the back of the calves.

If she couldn’t sit still because she wanted to go play or was looking forward to the promise of adventure with the twins and Uncle Timur, Beks would be made to run around the room until she was tired and then forced to sit and read. Of course, when she was tired, she could barely focus, which resulted in mistakes and more punishment.

“It didn’t matter, as long as I could play,” Beks said, her voice lowering. “Brother Laurence was too old and had too much work, and Luther is useless and kept away most of the time, so you two were my only playmates I had in the entire palace.”

“Was my little egg tart monster lonely?” Laz asked as he put his arms on the table and leaned forward with a soft smile.

When he put it like that, she sounded a bit pathetic with no friends as a child. That wasn’t a choice she made herself or was caused by her; how could she make friends her age if there were no one her age around?

She narrowed her eyes and shot him an annoyed look. “Your little egg tart monster wanted a change of scenery.”

Laz’s eyes brightened. “Well, at least my little egg tart monster knows she’s mine.”

“Ours.” Lucian replied as the corners of his lips curled up.

Beks resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Laz pushed her a leaf bowl with cut fruit. She picked up a small, wooden skewer and stabbed a fruit with white flesh and little dark seeds. “I thought we agreed to let Brother Laurence decide.”

“Then we will let Brother Laurence decide,” Lucian said as he looked back at the dried leaf. “We’ll raise the weight limit in increments and have him do a round trip. We should keep time, but include an allowance for landing and takeoff times, though it will be a non-stop flight.”

Beks leaned forward, munching on fruit as she looked at the dried leaves on the table. There were several check lists, the outline of a plan, and various notes, as well as what appeared to be a list of items they didn’t have on the island.

“What are you discussing?”

“Flight plans and tests,” Laz said. “We need a certain amount of space for the rokhs to approach and land, so we need to find such a location on the mainland, near the shore. It can’t be too accessible that anyone from the coastal road will stumble upon it, but it can’t be too obscured that a high canopy will prohibit the rokhs from landing, or even hovering close enough to the ground to allow the passenger to climb out.”

“Beks, you said the prisoner carriage came along that route, part of which is outside of Kadmus territory. Did you pass any open areas?” Lucian asked.

“There were numerous cleared areas on either side of the road, but those were meant as campsites for travelers to stop for the night. Obviously, they’re right beside the road, so they’ll offer no privacy. I heard that a river cuts through, but I don’t know if there is a suitable space near it,” Beks replied.

The twins both frowned. “In that case, we should have Jonas survey the area along the coast.”

Beks narrowed her eyes. “Won’t that take a lot of time? Jonas is only one man. And is it safe for him to be seen?”

Laz waved his arm with the stump dismissively. “Jonas is better at surveying than Gerard and he’s experienced, which makes him the best choice. As far as being seen, even if royal guards or paladins are looking for me and Lucian, they wouldn’t recognize Jonas. For one thing, he’s often indoors and is rarely seen. Second, the clothes he’s wearing right now wouldn’t immediately identify him as a member of my battalion.”

“There aren’t any large cities along this section of the coast that he’ll enter where the chances of him being identified increases,” Lucian said. He pulled forward the dried leaf with a list of items. “He can’t carry too much on one trip, but we want him to start bringing some things back.”

Beks looked over the list as she brought it closer to her. Surprisingly, the first few things were related to cooking, then fabric and sewing materials, and finally books.

“I’ve also instructed him to ask around on any news from Kadmium,” Laz said.

Beks’ eyes looked over the top of the list. “He’s already gone to look for a village?”

“He’s not going to waste his trip there,” Laz said. “Tempest dropped him off and then returned late last night, after we forced to you to go to sleep.”

Beks tilted her head to the side. “Why didn’t Tempest stay on the mainland?”

“She could be seen,” the twins chorused. Lucian looked towards the dilapidated tower in the distance. “We also don’t know where Tempest could hide. Even if she did, she’d have to stay still and remain in one place so as not to attract attention.”

“It was safer for her to return. She’ll fly out once the sun sets to pick up Jonas. Jonas is carrying a small light pearl filled with shadow biha, so Tempest will find him,” Laz told her. “Each time they go to the mainland, we’re performing tests to get an understanding on timing, efficiency, and coordination. When we’re satisfied with the procedure, Gerard will accompany you as your guard when you’re on the mainland.”

The night before, when she was voicing her excitement about flying to the mainland in a basket, the twins began trying to figure out which of the two of them could accompany her. Laz was the better fighter, but was now missing a hand. Lucian was well recognized by the Temple, which had a far broader reach than Kadmus.

It would be best if she went on her own.

At once, the twins had disagreed, but after some discussion, since Beks was only cutting through part of Kadmus to get to the High Desert, and would be traveling incognito with her hair dyed, she convinced them to let her go with Gerard. In addition, Beks didn’t want to be followed too closely.

Gerard would listen to her orders to an extent, but Laz and Lucian wouldn’t give her a chance to sneak off and contact Nexus, which could arrange for her transport, lodging, and supplies all the way to the High Desert and back. She also needed to get information on her enemies while enroute.

Beks nodded. “He agreed?”

“It’ll also give him an excuse to see his wife and pass on my orders through the Wild Dogs information network,” Laz told her. “I want to transfer them to the island.”

Her brows shot up. “You want to bring your battalion here?” She couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. There were over a thousand members of the Wild Dogs and there were very few ways to get to the island. It was a logistical headache.

His eyes were narrowed and his lips were in a tight line, but Laz nodded. “Brother Laurence will need an army when he returns to Kadmium to retake the throne. At this point, he has no military backing.”

“Even if Luther is willing to give up the throne as soon as Brother Laurence appears in front of him, do you think the Third Consort and their supporters will allow the transition of authority to rule go back?” Lucian asked with a raised brow.

He didn’t need to ask. Beks knew that when they returned to Kadmium, they would have to pry the crown from Luther and the Third Consort’s cold, possibly dead, hands. The kingdom’s army of legions made the bulk of the kingdom’s army, with the rest being soldiers in armies under the control of several marquis.

Beks didn’t know if the von Glasser March would support them after what happened with Lady Eleanor and Marquis von Glasser, thus implicating the entire family.

The Five Great Houses didn’t have armies. They had their own private guards and reserves in case of war, but they were relatively untrained compared to the March armies and the legions. The Caroline Duchy’s main advantage in this regard was their high level biha and mandatory training in the Northern Pass.

Even with the Wild Dogs, they would be grossly outnumbered, but it was better than nothing.

“How long will it take to move them?” Beks asked. “And what if the move is noticed?” “That is what we’re trying to figure out,” Laz told her with a helpless smile. “We don’t even have a timeline yet, let alone a process. It’s one thing if one or two soldiers arrive at a time, but if they come in masse, a crowd gathering will be noticed and someone will come to investigate.”

“We only have two rokhs and each basket can carry two people and little else. Even if we flew over four people a night, and nothing else, we’re looking at a year of migration to the island,” Lucian said. “Someone is bound to notice at that time.”

“There are a few soldiers I want to contact first. With them, we can prepare a passage from the island to the Forbidden Valley, though even then, because of how dangerous the environment is, we can’t do a mass migration. It would need to be in small, flexible groups. However, going underground is the easiest and safest way to remain hidden.”

Beks let out a tired sigh and ran a hand down her face. “What about a ship? What if it only travels at night?”

“That’s also something we need to assess, but we can’t until we’re able to get some sort of ship,” Laz told her. “We need ship builders.”

“Which is another problem we’ve come to,” Lucian added. “Neither of us know any ship builders,” he said, motioning towards him and then his brother.

“We’re hoping Jonas can find a book on the subject so we can teach ourselves.”

“Why not just buy one from the mainland and sail it over?” Beks asked.

The twins went quiet for a moment. They both looked at her and then at each other. “Beks,” Lucian began carefully. “Haven’t you wondered why we haven’t gotten any visits from passing ships in the far distance since we’ve arrived?”

Beks furrowed her brows and drew her head back. “We’re not far from the mainland. Perhaps there is simply no need to come on to the island?” “That was what we assumed, too, considering that the ruins on the island were fairly buried and overgrown. We’ve not found traces of recent human contact, either,” Lucian replied. “But on one of the test flights, Gerard said that he and Thunder flew further away from the island and came into some clouds.”

“There haven’t been clouds over the island in weeks,” Laz told her. “It’s possible that the clouds were only over the water, so Gerard had Thunder fly back. When they did, he found a blanket of cloud cover hiding the island. Thunder can sense shadow biha in a light pearl I was using to train them, so he was able to find his way back blind.”

“But when they got close enough to the island and low enough to go beneath the clouds, the fog started to clear up. By the time they reached the shore, the fog was gone and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky,” Lucian said as he drew a small map of the island’s coast onto a piece of dried leaf. “Gerard, Jonas, and I all made similar trips. Once we got far enough, there were clouds, but when we returned, the clouds were gone.”

“The bihar on the island is very strong, so we didn’t notice it at first, but it wasn’t until Lucian went on a trip did he feel the biha shift right where the clouds began.” Laz looked at his brother.

Lucian tapped the table with the blunt top of the stylus. “There is a theory that light is what allows for vision. Aside from reactivating light crystals and creating light in my hands, I can manipulate light bihar, thus manipulating what you see.”

Beks tilted her head to the side. “Is that a little-known variant?”

Lucian’s lips pulled into a wry smile. “When I was studying at the Temple, one of the young nuns was also a light biha user. There were very few of us, so we were studying light biha together. She was like an older sister to me. She discovered light manipulation when she noticed her black hair would shine brown in the sunset light and theorized that light could change the way to see color. So, we practiced to see if we could change our hair, our eyes, even the color of our clothes.

“If we manipulate the light bihar around it, we can change the color. She was so excited; she told our instructor about it. Before she could submit the paper on our findings, she was taken away by paladins in the middle of class. We never saw her again.” Lucian’s voice tightened and he swallowed hard. “I don’t think she told them about me having learned it, too, as no one ever came back for me. When I and some other students asked, they told us that she was sent for advanced studies. No one saw her leave the Great Temple grounds.”

“It’s good that she didn’t mention your involvement,” Laz said. “If the Temple found out you could manipulate light bihar to essentially create an illusion, they’d either try to use you or kill you.”

Lucian gave a small nod of his head. “If we are not of use, what is the point of keeping us, one of the Brothers at the temple used to say,” he said with a small, bitter laugh.

“The more I learn about the inner workings of the Temple, the more dangerous it becomes.” Beks moved closer to him and leaned against his side in a quiet effort to comfort him. She felt an arm around her and a head nuzzle top of hers.

“It’s always been dangerous, Beks. They only do a good job of hiding it,” Laz told her. “At the very least, Lucian had a strong education there.”

“There is a layer of light bihar around the island. The cloud layer and fog are an illusion created by light bihar that was manipulated and still remains,” Lucian said. “All biha is moving, so it will eventually weaken. If it’s contained or focused through something that can hold bihar, such as light pearls or specific stone, it will last indefinitely until the bihar runs out. But if it’s left uncontained, it should slowly disperse, which hasn’t happened to the light bihar layer.”

“Meaning either it’s connected to the island to maintain a steady source of bihar or whoever created it was very, very strong.”

Beks drew her lips inward and bit them. “What if it was both?”

“Then I hope you can translate High Berup soon so we can find some reference on the bihar usage on the island,” Laz replied.

Beks closed her eyes and let out a tired breath. “One moment, there were clouds that day until I had a flare up in the pool. If the bihar layer was outside the island, why were there clouds over the island?”

“About that,” Laz said, leaning forward. “You may be the reason that the island is clear, but the illusionary layer remains. Your outburst might have affected the clouds over the island, causing it to become clear even past the shoreline, out to sea.”

Beks’ eyes crinkled up. “Are you saying I broke it?”

“Perhaps not break, but overwhelm,” Lucian said, trying to placate her.

She gave him a dull look. “It’s the same thing.”

“Whatever the reason, what matters is that the layer still remains and that’s what’s keeping ships from finding and landing on the island,” Laz said. “This is something we’d need to assess, but we’d need to take a ship from the mainland back to the island.”

“That’s another reason why it would be useful to bring back some of Laz’s men from the Wild Dogs,” Lucian said. “We’re in a location that is ideal to hide and plan. We need to make use of it so Brother Laurence can retake the throne, and we can go home.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

“How soon will he be going back after he lands?” Four people stood in the landing tier of the ruins, surrounded by dozens of well-lit light crystals and a few filled with shadow biha to signal the rokh returning from their flight out.

Tempest had left from that very spot some time ago, once the last rays of sunlight disappeared in the horizon. Beks didn’t know how long it would take for Jonas to return in a basket.

“The man has yet to return and you already want to send him out again?” Laz asked with a raised brow. “Have pity on the man and let him rest.”

“I didn’t say to send him out immediately. That’s why I’m asking when. There is something I need him to get,” Beks said. She chewed on her lower lip. She had to find any sort of stand in which to put her urapearl on in order to try to call Nexus.

On the mainland, the bases they connected two were fixed to a table. Bases were a particular type of material carved with characters to connect one urapearl to another. She was familiar with those characters, which were not in Jasper and appeared decorative, but she hadn’t seen anything similar in the ruins she’d checked.

If she was going to return to the mainland, there were many things she needed to prepare. She also wanted a full update on the status in Kadmium; how the Court and Luther were going, were there any changes to the government, and did the people notice? If so, what was their reaction?

She also wanted to know what the kingdom’s opinion was on her and her family. They’d been made scapegoats and anyone at Court knew that, but would the common people? If the common people blamed the Carolines, then they would have to be careful of their support of Laurence so as not to sully his reputation.

If the common people had doubts or didn’t care, then they could be a bit more daring.

General opinion would also let her know how the remaining royal family and the new oracle were seen. If they were smart, they would be trying to win over the general populace.

But Luther was useless. In the past, Beks assisted with his public relations and essentially facilitated his positive reputation. He’d have to depend on his father or an advisor, and Beks didn’t know who his advisors were.

She filed that question away to ask along with her others. She’d need to know who was backing Luther. They’d need to isolate his supporters.

“What do you need him to buy? We’ll add it to the list next time.”

“Urapearl stand. I couldn’t find any here.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised with how much bihar use there is here that there is some sort of archaic urapearl stand somewhere; we just don’t recognize it,” Laz said with his arms crossed. He kept his eyes up and towards the horizon where the mainland was situated.

Beks sat on a fallen piece of a pillar with Snowflake behind her. She leaned back until her back rested on Snowflake and waited.

Time passed far too slowly for her taste, but this wasn’t something they could rush. They didn’t know how long it would take to fly across water to the mainland. In addition, once Tempest reached the mainland, she’d have to use her sensitivity to shadow biha to find Jonas. Jonas could get on without the rokh having to land, but there still needed to be a cleared space so Tempest could continue flapping her wings.

Just as sleep was about to get a hold of her, she saw Laz straighten up. Beside him, Lucian also lowered his arms at his sides and squinted. Gerard let out a laugh and raised his arms, grinning from ear to ear.

Beks then saw it; a small glowing dot in the sky coming towards them. A light pearl.

She slid off the pillar and rushed between the twins. The rokhs didn’t carry light pearls due to concern of being sighted and followed, so the light pearl must’ve been the one that Jonas brought with him.

Her heart shot to her throat and she resisted the urge to jump up and down to welcome him back. As the basket and the shadow of Tempest grew closer, they could make out Jonas waving with a wide smile across his face.

Once he landed, Gerard rushed forward and leaned over the top of the basket, pulling Jonas into a tight hug, and practically lifting him off.

“Wait! Hold on! I’m a bit unsteady after the flight!” Jonas said as he reached out to grab hold of the top of the basket to steady himself.

Beks wanted to ask questions about his trip, but Laz stood in front of her, back straight and eyes fixed no Jonas.

“Take a moment to rest. Gerard, take him back to the top tier for a meal first. We didn’t have much money to send him off with, so I doubt he’s eaten anything substantial,” Laz said.

“Battalion Commander.” Jonas seemed to regain his bearings and stood up straight to salute Laz. “I’ve brought back what you’ve requested, as much as I could afford.”

Lucian peered over the top of the basket and nodded. “Flour, eggs, some cloth...did you go to a town?”

“There was a small village not too far away, along the main road,” Jonas reported. “It is almost half a day’s walk there and back, but there was plenty of time. Unfortunately, I could only carry so much and the village didn’t have everything you requested.”

“This is good enough,” Laz told him in a firm voice. He gave him an acknowledging nod. “Excellent work, Jonas. You may rest.”

Jonas bowed his head to Laz, but turned to Beks. “My lady, there is news regarding some of those involved with the exile of your family.”

“My family?” The smile on her face faded in one breath as she knit her brows and took a step forward. “What is it?

“Two of the drivers of the prison carriages had returned, but none of the men with them did,” Jonas told her with a serious expression. “Only one of the carriages was recovered, found abandoned on a cliffside north of the Port of Black Sands. The drivers do not know what happened to your mother or siblings, as they had remained in the nearby town the day of exile.”

Beks pursed her lips and slowly nodded her head. “I see. Thank you for telling me, Jonas.” She gave him a nod and forced a smile. “Please go and rest first.”

He gave her a respectful salute and then followed Gerard, who carried some of the items in the basket back.

“The drivers were likely told to remain so that your family could be executed without a witness,” Laz said.

Beks nodded her head once. “But my mother and siblings got away.”

“And likely killed the paladins that were with them.” Laz reached over and patted her shoulder. “Your family is fine, Beks.”

A small smile crept up her lips. She nodded. “I know.”

“Will these eggs go bad before they’re used?” Lucian said as he carefully picked up a small wooden box stuffed with straw to cushion some eggs. He lifted the lid and in the light of the light pearls, they could make out at least two dozen eggs.

Laz smiled, satisfied. “We’ll be able to eat them throughout the week and can preserve some. However, we’ll start with the most important task.” He took the wooden box from his brother’s arms. “Making egg tarts for the monster.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

Despite their protest, Beks carried her sleeping mats to the library so she could read herself to sleep at night. It took a month, but she could now translate a good portion of High Berup with an eighty-percent accuracy. She couldn’t read it out loud, as she didn’t know what sounds were associated with the characters, but through decoding, she knew what they said.

“It is a bit terrifying that you were able to figure this out in such a short time,” Laz said as he brought her a tray of food.

Gerard had come with him and began to move the air in the room so it wouldn’t get too stuffy and cause her discomfort.

“I think it’s quite impressive. My lady’s notes are extensive and when she breaks it down like this, it’s easy to understand,” Jonas said. He was seated by the wall behind Beks, reading her notes. “The biggest hurdle is memorizing what the words mean and reorganizing how I think about structure.”

“Next tablet,” Beks said, not taking her eyes off the floor.

Jonas stood up and faced the niche just above his head. He pulled out the tablet, put it to one side, and then picked up another from the pile at his feet. He blew across the back and pushed it into the niche. The light crystals flickered and new text was projected onto the floor.

Beks waved her hand over, moving to the next page to begin. She took a glance at the page, then moved her hand to the next page, and repeated this five times before Laz let out a cough to stop her.

“I know you’re focused, but you need to eat,” he said as he loomed right above her. Beks blinked and lifted her head. Her eyes were a bit red and there were some dark circles beneath them, but otherwise, it wasn’t so bad that a bit of rest wouldn’t revitalize her.

“Sorry, I’m trying to memorize what I can.” She blinked to moisten her eyes and then shifted in her seat. She grimaced as her body ached from sitting in one position for too long.

“Don’t apologize, just eat and get some rest,” Laz said with a heavy sigh as he placed a wooden tray in front of her.

Their meals had gotten a bit more varied after Jonas and Gerard had been able fly to the mainland for supplies every few days. The two men had spent three days at there at one point, looking for a suitable landing and departing area that met the criteria required; open, but secluded, with little to no traffic, but can be accessed while carrying supplies.

The location they found was further east than the coast directly north of the island. From what Jonas estimated, it was quarter day’s walk from the main road, following a feeder river to the sea. From the water lines, it was rare that the dry embankments would be swallowed up, but there was enough open canopy for the rokhs to stop and rest.

It also made it easier for them to get on and off the baskets, as well as load supplies.

Jonas had carefully used his earth biha to hide the light pearl filled with shadow biha to function as a marker for the rokhs to find and land at. So far, it had worked well and they had a system in place.

Once it was dark out, the rokhs would carry them to the landing point, drop them off, and come back to the island. Jonas and Gerard would then rest for the remainder of the night before getting up before dawn to visit one of the nearby villages or towns. It depended on what they needed.

After they bought supplies, the returned to the landing area, making sure to vary their way back so as not to be followed, and wait until the sunset and the rokhs returned. So far, they didn’t seem to arouse any suspicion from the villages.

Their aliases were brothers who did odd jobs in the area and often did guard escort work with merchant caravans. They’d stop by these villages and town on their way home and spend money to buy supplies for Gerard’s wife, who was Jonas’ sister.

That part was actually true. Jonas and Gerard were brothers-in-law. Jonas’ older sister was a supplier at a fort. She was the only family both men had, aside from each other, so Laz gave them permission to contact her first.

They had also managed to find Beks a urapearl stand. While her urapearl fit and did light up, it would not register her voice or connect to Nexus. It couldn’t connect to the family home in the Sacred Valley in Sagittate either, making her worry that perhaps she had damaged her urapearl when she fell off the cliff.

It caused her heart to ache, and despite failing every night, she would still try to contact others every day.

Beks sat around and ate her food. Jonas had gone to eat earlier, but Beks insisted on finishing the tablet. It only took a wave of her hand to memorize each page into her head. Even if she couldn’t translate it at a glance, she was able to recall the page and read it at a later time.

“How many tablets have you been through?” Laz asked as he looked around the room.

“That pile.” Beks pointed her left hand to a large stack against the wall. Laz appeared taken aback. The stack easily hit his waist and was three paces around.

“So soon?”

“I’m not reading them page by page individually, I’m just memorizing them for later reference,” Beks said. She swallowed the food she shoved into her mouth and looked down. Surprisingly, she was hungrier than she thought. “I want to memorize all I can from this library. From the tablet engravings, anything noteworthy of history and bihar in this area has been recorded in these tablets. If I can’t read it now, I can read it while I’m traveling.”

“How much longer do you think it will take for you to complete reading, my lady?” Jonas asked, impressed.

Beks looked to one side of the room, where there were many more piles of tablets. She squinted. She’d prioritized the tablets she thought were most useful at the moment. Things on city planning, various infrastructure records, and government policies were pushed aside.

She took a deep breath. “I want to finish at least another fifth of what remains. That should be enough for me to read while I’m looking for my family.”

She missed the look of worry in Laz’s eyes. “You plan to leave so soon?”

Beks nodded, her cheeks puffed up with food. After she swallowed she looked up. “My family is waiting for me, Laz. I have to find them. Afterwards, I’ll bring them here.” She turned her head in the direction of the rotunda. “The pool had a hand in purging the exile marking from my body. I’ll need to come back in order to use it to purge the markings from my parents.”

Laz crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “Then, you may have to wait a few days at the landing point.”

“It’s fine,” Beks said. “Jonas says it’s out of the exile borders-”

“Laz!” Lucian’s frantic voice came from the hallway. He stumbled in, eyes wide as he grasped onto the door frame to stop himself from stumbling out. “There’s a ship in the fog layer.”

“What?” For a moment, no one in the chamber seemed to know what he was talking about.

“I’ve been paying attention to the light bihar surrounding the island and there is a disturbance. I didn’t think much of it, as it could’ve been an animal or something swimming close to the surface, but I took a look with the spyglass and it’s a ship!” Lucian lifted a hand and ran it down his face. “I haven’t seen a ship come this close to the island since we’ve been here!”

“Let me see.” Laz turned around and followed his brother out. Curiosity got the better of Beks, and she shoved the last of the food into her mouth and followed.

The twins not only returned to the top tier, but to the dilapidated tower where the rokhs nested. In the middle of the day, Thunder and Tempest were hunting while the babies were lazing around. They perked up, excited when they saw them, but Laz held out his arm to calm them and keep them in place as he followed Lucian to the surrounding walkway.

The younger twin handed him a spyglass they had Jonas purchase from the mainland and then pointed him south.

“The fog layer stretches out a good distance and also acts as an illusion to hide the island on the horizon. As Beks said, if they’re far enough away, she can’t see the island or the fog at all,” Lucian told his brother. “It’s possible that the boat didn’t realize there was an island here and sailed straight towards us.”

“We can’t see the fog layer from the island. Are you sure the ship is in it?” Laz asked.

Lucian nodded. “Yes, my light biha can sense a change in the layer. Right now, they’re sailing blind.”

Laz’s lips tightened into a frown and he lowered the spyglass. Beks pried it from his hand to take a look. She stuck her tongue out and searched the blue waters until she saw a two masted ship.

Her brows furrowed as she waited. “Is it moving sideways? Considering the angles of the sails and the wind direction, shouldn’t they be going north, towards us? Why is it going east?”

Laz narrowed his eyes and Lucian took a deep breath. “The current around the island,” the twins said at the same time.

Lucian turned to look at her. “You said that you were floating on the carriage, going wherever the current took you, right?”

Beks continued to watch the ship in the distance, but answered. “Yes....”

“The current likely took you directly to the island, whereas that ship is caught in a current pushing it away from the island.”

Beks drew her head back and gave him a doubtful look. “Can a mere current completely divert a ship that size? There isn’t a storm or a whirlpool. The waters below look calm.”

“It stands to reason that this island has been layered with biha to prevent discovery by ship,” Laz said in a low voice. “That’s the only reason I can think of that is causing such a strange fog and abnormal tides.”

“Beks, have you read anything on the history of the island? It’s people?” Lucian asked.

Beks shut her eyes tight and went quiet. Moments passed by. The ship in the distance was pushed near the western tip of the island. She opened her eyes and opened her mouth, but had difficulty trying to explain what she read.

Laz glanced at her. “Are you all right?”

Beks furrowed her brows. “I haven’t read anything about the fog, but strong currents enough to divert large ships, multiple at the same time, are manmade defense features.”

“Defense?” Lucian asked. “From what?”

“What else? Invaders,” Laz replied. “Most places would use walls to keep invaders out, but the island uses water to physically keep them from reaching the island. It would relax the staffing needed to patrol and guard, as well as prevent damage from happening to the island itself. Not to mention, from this vantage point, we have an excellent view of the enemy and what they’re doing.”

“That’s...impressive,” Lucian said, stunned. “To think they’d control the sea.”

“It’s not the sea,” Beks said. “It’s like the exile stele around Kadmus. Under the sea are stele that control current. The text on them is difficult to decipher, but I can tell it’s complex. Considering that the island is bihar-rich, the steles retain its strength even now.”

Laz let out an impressed whistle. “Now, I’m curious about what happened to these people.”

“If this island was originally part of Gurani, as we suspect, then the land bridge to the mainland sunk in a natural disaster and citizens had to flee to survive,” Lucian replied. “Beks, have you read anything about that?”

She shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m not sure if I’ll find anything in depth about it, either, considering that those who kept up the library may have fled, as well.”

The ship in the distance was pushed far from the island, its bow turning several degrees to face east.

“The light bihar layer has returned to normal,” Lucian said.

“They look like they’re moving faster,” Laz added. He turned to look at Beks. “When you come back, you must meet at the landing point. Right now, we haven’t figured out the currents, nor can we control them, so taking a ship will just send you in circles and avoid the islands. The rokhs don’t like flying in the fog. They are weak to light biha.”

Beks nodded. “I understand.”

“It will take you at least three months to get to the High Desert and back, provided you’re able to find your father and brother in due time,” Lucian said. “It’ll be faster with a carriage, but we don’t have enough money-”

“Don’t worry about money,” Beks said, handing the spyglass back to him. “I can get myself a carriage and a driver.”

The twins exchanged looks. They looked back at her. “You’re rather confident.”

“Beks, you realize that even with Gerard, you’ll be going through this mostly on your own. And it’ll be the third time you’ve been outside of Kadmium since you arrived. The second time, you were in a prison carriage,” Laz said with some displeasure in his voice. “What if you’re overwhelmed?”

“I haven’t had a flare up since I broke through in the pool. Even if I am overwhelmed, it won’t cause death. I can take a moment to collect myself if need be,” she replied.

Every time the topic of returning to the mainland to search for her family was brought up, the twins were reluctant.

Laz let out a heavy breath and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know why we keep trying. You have a plan and Rebecca of Caroline follows plans.”

“You know me well, Laz.”

He shot her a glare. “How much longer do you have until you leave?”

“I’m going to finish that pile of tablets first and then I can leave for the mainland.” Laz didn’t look happy, but conceded.

“Then go back and read. You have a lot left over.”

Satisfied with his answer, Beks nodded and turned around. As she walked down the stairs that wrapped around the building, she could hear the two men still talking above her.

“Are you finished with her clothes?” Laz asked.

“Almost. It’s not as good as I’d like, but it’ll do.”

“You always were terrible at any sort of craft.”

“That’s not my strong point.”

Laz snorted in reply. “What about her orange streak? Have you figured out a dye for it?”

Beks paused as she heard this. She’d almost forgotten about her abnormal hair. She smiled, thoughtful, as she put a hand on her heart. Those two didn’t approve of her going to the mainland without one of them, but they were supporting her where they could.

She heard Lucian let out a low breath. “I’ve tried numerous plants and even minerals here and nothing will stick, let alone darken the streak to a matching black.”

“Then go with your original plan.”

“I don’t know how long it’ll last,” Lucian replied with some frustration. “It’ll work, but my ability isn’t strong. What if it fades before she returns?”

“Do you think it’ll last three months?”

Lucian seemed to falter. “Well...yes, mine lasts half a year, but it’s on my body.”

“Then do it to her.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“I can’t see a single line of pigment on your skin,” Laz said, raising his voice as he grew annoyed. “And you think manipulating light bihar won’t work?”

Beks’ heart shot to her throat. “What line?” She stormed back up the stairs, a frown of disapproval on her face. Her eyes fixed an accusing look at Lucian, making him take a subconscious step back. “What line is he talking about? Were you injured, too?”

“No-”

“Where is it?” Beks circled around him, reaching out to hold out his arms and examine him for any wounds. “Where did you get hurt? Don’t try to hide it from me!”

“Heh....” Laz smirked behind Beks. “It’s his arms, Beks.”

Frowning, Beks grabbed the sleeve of Lucian’s shirt and pulled it up to his elbow. She didn’t know what to expect, but not the flawless pale skin she’d admired previously.

She frowned. “Is he hiding it?” The question was to Laz.

“Yes, it’s on both arms, like sleeves,” Laz said with amusement. His brother shot him a glare before looking back at her beseechingly.

“Beks, it’s nothing!”

“Take it off!” Beks tugged at his arm. She held up her other hand almost threateningly. “Or I will force out biha! I don’t know what it will do, but I’ll do it!”

Laz turned his head to the side and let out a little snort, and Lucian looked at her, dumbfounded. His shoulders sank and he let out a defeated breath.

“All right....” Lucian put a hand over the arm she had grabbed. He covered the back of his wrist and then slowly drew his hand up.

Beks’ eyes slowly widened as with each section of skin revealed, there were patterns of black lines and pastel colors in a motif she didn’t recognize. Lucian let his hand drop as it reached his elbow.

“It’s a Langshe ceremonial inking. I was fascinated by the design....” he trailed off.

Beks stared at the pattern, stunned. She looked up and he avoided her eyes. “You’ve been hiding this with light biha?”

“It lasts about half a year.”

Beks turned to look at his brother. “What about you? Did you get a Langshe ceremonial inking too and are hiding it from me?

Laz smirked and said. “It’s not that I want to hide it, it’s just that it’s in a rather private place-”

“Never mind, I don’t care.” Beks turned away from him. “Lucian, are you able to use light biha on me to hide my streak?”

“Yes, but the problem is I don’t know how long the illusion will last,” Lucian told her. “And it is possible that another light biha user may notice if they get close enough.”

“Light biha users are exceedingly rare to begin with,” Laz said. “Just change her hair...and her eyes.”

Lucian furrowed his brows. “I can try now and then do it again before you leave to strengthen the illusion by leaving my biha on you. Is that all right?”

Beks’ head bobbed up and down. “It’ll be good to test it now, while I’m on the island. Hopefully, it won’t fade before I leave.”

Lucian nodded and reached up to untie her hair pin and then separate the orange hair from the black.

“Take a seat, this does take some time.”

Beks nodded and took a seat on the step.

She didn’t know how long it took, but Lucian’s slow and steady combing of his fingers through her hair lulled her to sleep. When she opened her eyes, she sat by the dining table, leaning against a stuffed sack. It was still daylight, but no one was around.

She sat up as soon as she remembered what had happened before she fell asleep, and reached for her hair.

Seeing the consistent dark locks through her pale fingers made her tremble with excitement. She almost couldn’t believe it.

She shot to her feet and rushed around to a shallow pool in the back to look at her reflection.

“He really did it….” Her voice was breathless. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the blurry reflection of a woman with a full head of jet-black hair and dark eyes. “I don’t recognize myself....” She touched her face and almost let out a cackle. The rest of her features remained the same, but without her streak, she didn’t feel as if she were looking at herself.

A wave of possibilities filled her head. She could travel incognito and with confidence that she wouldn’t be caught. Guards and paladins who may have been searching for her wouldn’t recognize her without her streak nor her gray eyes.

In fact, she reckoned she could parade through Kadmium, slap Luther across the face, and he, let alone anyone else, would recognize her.

She drew her lips inward and trembled with glee. Maybe...just maybe...she could stop by Kadmium to gather some information from Nexus directly, and give additional orders.

Most importantly, it wouldn’t hurt to spread a few rumors about Luther, the new oracle, and the Third Consort to pave the way for her, and Laurence’s, return.