Chapter 335 Haunting Peace (1/2)
Chapter 335: Haunting Peace
“Wow,” I said, genuinely surprised by the sight in front of me
Darrin’s home in rural Sehz-Clar ice the size of the Helsteas’ olden fields that stretched as far as I could see A little toas tucked in between two hills a few miles away, and a handful of other, si countryside
The s that opened to either side The entire hted hite stone colureen grass and dense, flowering shrubs, and a path led away to the east, where I could see soher up on the hill
The rural serenity of the estate had cale fro-like scene around us, I actually began to look forward to at least a small rest devoid of any torture or atte rural,” Darrin said, bea “Property costs a quarter of what you’d pay in the more densely populated dominions, and these hills have poor soil, so you don’t have to fight the farhts, either”
“I’h,” I said as I ran a finger along the edge of a bright purple flower “Considering what you do”
Darrin began leading us across the wide lahich we had appeared in the ht white double doors of his home “I couldn’t afford a property there, so the best I’d be able to do is rent a two-room suite in one of the nicer inns, and that would still cost a sht, wide sky “No, I think I’d rather live here, and pay the teleportation fees”
I followed his gaze, taking in the sight again “I guess I can’t blame you It’s quite the view”
Darrin put a hand on Alaric’s shoulder “Never would have ood hands, Grey, even if he does feign a rough exterior”
Alaric huffed, his already ruddy cheeks darkening, and his gaze landing everywhere except on Darrin “And a fat lot of good it did le estate in the , Darrin knocked softly on the door
A irl, no older than seven or eight, threw herself into his ar her ar over his shoulder
When she realized Alaric and I were there, her eyes, green as eled free of Darrin’s hug so she could hide behind hiirl what I hoped was a friendly shed
“Pen, these areher back out into the open and ruffling her dark blonde hair “It’s okay, they’re friendly Well, Grey is”
Alaric’s face twisted into a rowled low in his chest “But I’m the mean one, and I bake little children into yuled and looked up at Darrin “Your friends are funny!”
“They think they are, anyway,” Darrin replied, rolling his eyes at Alaric He scooped the girl up and carried her across the threshold, waving for us to follow
“Any word about your one?” he asked her as they led us into the entry hall, where two curved stairs led up to the upper floor
She shook her head and pouted “No”
Darrin pulled her into another hug and patted her back consolingly “That’s okay, I’ranite-tiled floor “Why don’t you go tell the others we have guests?”
Nodding seriously, the little girl vanished through a door to our right, which s of the house
“Yours?” I asked, watching her bounce away
“Oh, no,” Darrin said, running his hand through his hair “Her mother is one of my teammates from back in the day She’s still active Pen stays with me sometimes, when her mom’s on an ascent”
My eyes followed Pen out of the entrance hall, catching on a figure leaning against the wall in the corner It was a young woe hair that faded to sunny blonde where it ended just past her shoulders She earing a white blouse with silver buttons and tight leather pants, and a long, slender sword hung from her belt
But it was her hazel eyes that stood out, or rather, it was the way they traveled slowly across me, from the toes ofin a dismissive eye roll
Before I could dowoain redirected
“Mister Darrin!” a happy voice said from a room behind the stairs A plu her hands with a towel “I’ave her a warered on the passage where the young wouests for the evening”
The wo around her round face “A pleasure! Are the three of you hungry at all, Mister Darrin?”
Alaric’s stomach rumbled audibly in response, which he patted appreciatively “Never ood stuff?” Without waiting for a reply, the oldhis head at his friend, Darrin said, “Why don’t you show Grey to the bathing roo to me, he added, “I assume it’s been awhile since you had a warerly ledin what, at first glance, appeared to be a cave The walls of the bathing rooy stone, and the bath itself was sunk into the smooth rock of the “cave” floor After Sorrel left me, I took some time to examine the room
Aside from the bath, there was a mirror inset into the wall, a series of racks and hooks where clothes could be hung up, and a person-sized niche that I didn’t immediately understand, until I found a small copper button next to it
The button clicked when I pressed it, and a wave of heat rolled out I stuckthe button again turned the effect off
‘Ooh, fancy,’ Regis said adthe edge During rown to enjoy warm baths in water heavy with salt It had been a luxury that I hadn’t enjoyed since being reborn in Dicathen So when I saw the button labeled “Salt Bath,” I knew I had to try that one first
Pressing the button caused warm salt water to seep out of the sides of the rocky bath, and it was full before I finished peeling off the si into the water, a chill ran down my spine despite the warmth
When was the last tiout all noise except for is’s ‘Maerin Toasn’t so bad, but that was like a hundred years ago now, right?’
I let out a laugh before splashi+ng so it away, I replied, It does feel like that Do you want to cois leapt fro his front paws forward and yawning widely “You know, soet how quiet it is when I don’t have your broody thoughts running through my head all the tilaring up at is snorted as he walked around in a slow circle before lying down “Okay, princess”
Kicking outward, I send a wave of ware of the bath to soak nation “I just got comfy!”
The shadowy fla him instantly, and he found another spot to settle down He let out a yawn and stretched his long li, “So, what now?”
I let ive ourselves a few ure out what Alaric and his friend have up their sleeves”
I felt the heavy fog of sleep settling over h I didn’t really need to sleep, I relished the idea of drifting off for a while, and I didn’t fight the sensation
The sound of a crowd chanting caainst a cliff face; It was distant andway off
Slowly openingplatform, surrounded by stands filled with familiar faces: Claire Bladeheart and the rest of the Disciplinary Committee, the Lances, Jass and queens of Dicathen’s Council, the elders who trained me in the four elements, Lady Vera, Headmaster Wilbeck, Caera, Ellie, with Sylvie’s little white fox form on her lap,platform too: Cecilia She held out a hand, and a dual-bladed sword shi+ht that huave Cecilia a lo, but she only glowered back ata trail of light in the air I lifted Dawn’s Ballad to block the attack, but the teal blade shattered in my hand, and I felt white hot pain as Cecilia’s weapon bit deep into my shoulder
For amalevolently
She yanked the blade fro the other end toward my stomach I looked for the aetheric pathways to God Step out of the way, but there was nothing
The blade sunk into my stomach and burst outdown a long tunnel toward us Although he seemed miles away, I met Nico’s eyes, blind with hatred, twisted by fear, and felt a thick layer of ice grow overGrey spread from it
Cecilia jerked her blade free and twirled it around, a gold-green light ees ofoff the frozen faces in the audience A bea platform, her blade pointed at my chest like a lance, then she streaked toward , I clenchedin it Dawn’s Ballad, the translucent teal blade, nohole again, refracting the light and sending green-blue bea platfor toward us, the only thingbesides me
And history repeats…
Cecilia wasdown on me like a comet When our blades clashed, a shockwave rippled outward, obliterating the platfor away the audience—all those familiar faces from bothwith violent ah Cecilia’s chest But it was Tess, not Cecilia, who slu intoout overplatfor—anything—but the words were stuck in iant hand had wrapped aroundht faded fro downa strained, half-choked breath, I pulled myself up out of the salt bath and rolled over to lay on the floor, panting
“Hey!” Regis barked, as I’d sent a wave of bathwater splashi+ng over the cave floor “What’d I do this—whoa, you okay?”
“Fine,” Ihard at my face “Just a bad drea his chin on his paws
“Not really,” I said as I rolled up tomuddy and distorted inmy hands
I’ll find you, Tess I pro room after I had put on a clean set of clothes from my dimension rune One eyebrow rose as she lookeda smirk “Don’t you clean up nicely…” she said “Mister Darrin and the rest are sharing a drink on the back porch I’ll show you the way”
The housekeeper swept through the lass It contained plants of a hundred different varieties, and was filled with the rich, sweet, earthy smells of flowers and herbs I inspected the collection as we passed, but only recognized a handful of the plant species A door led onto an open porch that overlooked the endless rolling green-and-gold hills
Outside, I found not only Alaric and Darrin, but the girl Pen, the young woe-blonde hair, and three other children of various ages
Pen was the first to notice me, and immediately ducked her face down into Darrin’s shoulder