by Sam Dogra
“So this is the third time you’ve seen them?”
I nodded. Ryan murmured, and drew me closer. I kept still, in case the Binding decided to wake up. I was surprised it hadn’t jumped in already, but it seemed as knocked out as I was. Not that I was complaining, as I was no way near well enough to fight it.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
I scoffed.
“What was I supposed to say? ‘By the way, Ryan, I’ve started seeing weird lights lately’?” I shook my head. “Like you would’ve believed me; like anyone would’ve believed me. I didn’t want to believe it myself, at first.” I stared at his lap. “Something horrible is happening, and I…I don’t know what to do.”
Ryan said nothing. He stroked my hair, meaning to be comforting. I closed my eyes. Guilt plagued me. I shouldn’t be doing this, not after the way I’d treated him. The way the curse forced me to treat him. Staying clear of his affection, only to bury myself in it when the situation became too much to bear.
I was such a hypocrite.
The alcove door creaked. I backed away, though Ryan’s arm didn’t leave me. Bergundy’s bald head appeared, his tufty brows creased with worry.
“Elle, are you alright? I saw you collapse in the hall.”
“I’m fine, Bergundy,” I said. “I fainted. I think the sheer scale of it was too much.”
Bergundy strode over. He was trying to look at my eyes. I avoided his gaze, feigning interest in the leather cushions.
“I think there is more to this than a simple faint,” he said. “You read a Holy Rune.”
I raised an eyebrow. The runes had a name?
“Holy Rune?” Ryan repeated. “What’s that?”
Bergundy tilted his head.
“You don’t know?”
“Never heard of them,” I shrugged.
“But you read Lord Balthander’s paper in Lanaran,” Bergundy said. “He mentions them there.”
A blush rose on my cheeks. I had skipped half the folio, after all.
“Sorry, I don’t remember. Care to give a quick refresher?”
“Oh, but of course!” Bergundy beamed. I got the feeling he was rather pleased I’d forgotten. He cleared his throat, making himself comfortable on a chair. “The Holy Runes are an ancient language. They date back to the Era of the Goddess and the Binding spell, although little is known about their origin.”
My eyes widened. I exchanged a glance with Ryan, who was equally as stunned. This couldn’t be coincidence.
“It has been quite the mystery,” Bergundy continued, “that the runes have survived this long, yet no way of translating them has been discovered. Though the letters bear resemblance to modern Azarian, they share none of its syntax, structure or meanings. And outside the shrines, it does not exist, not even in the remotest parts of the kingdom.”
I sank back in my seat. This information was unsettling. A language that had remained a secret for centuries, and suddenly I had the ability to read it. What was going on?
“So how can Eliza read them when generations of scholars have failed?” Ryan asked.
“That is the question running around the library right now,” Bergundy said. His cheeks reddened. “It may have been wrong of me, but I witnessed the whole thing. It was magnificent. The hall carving blossomed into light, and you spoke the word ‘secrets’. Was that truly what it said?”
“It’s what came to mind,” I shrugged.
“And—forgive me, I couldn’t help but overhear earlier—you say you’ve read similar runes before?”
I hesitated. If the Holy Runes had been impossible to decipher, and I held the key to their meaning, every scholar in the kingdom would want their hands on me. It probably wasn’t wise to admit as much.
“Don’t worry,” Bergundy said, picking up on my pause. “I will not speak of this to anyone, and what happened today will soon die down as rumour. Further, as far as I can tell, no-one has noticed your eyes.” He loosened his collar. “Scholars are fickle things. They will not deign to believe a young lady with no research credentials could decipher the Holy Runes by tricks of the light.”
“I suppose,” I said. Then I shrugged. Bergundy had been very helpful, and the first thing he’d asked was whether I was alright, not about what I’d done. I felt I could trust him.
“So what happened before?” the scholar asked. “Was it much the same?”
“Yes,” I said. “I see this golden aura, which leads me to the runes. Then the symbols burn with light, and the meaning appears.” I rubbed my eyes. “I saw four of them in Lanaran, and two in Dhjerba. Plus the one here, of course.”
“Fascinating!” Bergundy drummed his fingers together. “I always knew a method existed to unlock the secret of the runes. Although I never realised it would be a magical one.”
“What else do you know about the Holy Runes?” Ryan broke in, a fresh eagerness to his voice. He had an idea brewing.
“Well, there are twenty-seven known runes recorded,” Bergundy said. I swallowed, recalling the Lanaran shrine compass. Somehow I wasn’t surprised this number kept coming back to haunt me. “They were discovered in the Goddess Shrines, engraved upon various relics. For example, the hall carving here is from the Viens ruins.” He scratched his nose. “As well as this, some claim the runes possess mystic properties, which I myself did not believe, until I saw what happened today.”
Absently I ran a hand over my shoulder. I’d seen those ‘mystic properties’ first hand, when the runes had healed my injuries. Even my ribs weren’t troubling me anymore. Now they’d gone as far as changing my eye colour.
Ryan played with his collar. He was mulling something over.
“Bergundy, you said the Holy Runes and the Binding date back to the same era,” he said. “How do you know this?”
Bergundy smiled.
“Through Lord Balthanders’s research,” he said. “He’s the leading scholar in this area. In fact, only last month he discovered the Binding spell and the runes share the same power source, which has been a remarkable breakthrough. It has brought us closer to learning why magic does not exist independently in Azaria, and…”
He continued rambling, but I stopped paying attention. Everything had clicked into place, and I almost snapped my fingers. My Binding! My twisted, malformed, unrequited Binding—that was why I could read the Holy Runes. Ryan’s jewel had distorted the curse’s magic, and since both the spell and the runes shared power…well, I didn’t need to worry about the mechanics. At least I had an explanation for my strange ability.
And, thinking about it, there did seem a difference in the curse after I’d read the symbols. I mean, I’d comfortably escaped Ryan’s embrace in Lanaran, despite how weak I’d been, and once we left Dhjerba, the compulsions hadn’t bothered me until a few days into our journey to Terent. Even here in the alcove I didn’t feel anything, even though Ryan was practically on top of me.
Perhaps they were the key to my escape.
Yet this temporary immunity didn’t come without a price. Reading the first set of runes had left me unconscious for three days, and I hadn’t particularly enjoyed that stomach ache in Dhjerba. Further, I had no idea about the long-term consequences, or what other side effects I might have to endure.
“Eliza?”
I turned to Ryan. His lips pursed into a thoughtful expression.
“If what Bergundy says is true,” he said, “and there’s a link between the Binding and the Holy Runes, this might be the answer we’re looking for.”
“Well…” I trailed off, chewing my lip. While my hatred towards the curse hadn’t changed, doubts plagued me. This wasn’t what I’d been expecting. Even if the runes did offer me protection, I had no guarantee they would actually break the spell. Also, if the Binding and the Holy Runes drew on the same power, meddling with one would surely affect the other. It wouldn’t only be about my Binding to Ryan. Other Bound couples might become involved, too.
Yet if it meant I could escape the constant infatu
ations, the forced situations, and the ravenous desires…
The chime of glass broke my thoughts, and I glanced up. The alcove door burst open, and a woman with a golden braid stormed inside.
“There you are!” she cried. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Ryan.”
My heart stopped, and all thoughts about the Holy Runes plummeted like a stone.
Navinka’s meeting with her tutor was over.
* * * * *
I sprang aside, discarding Ryan’s arm, but it was too late. Navinka’s gaze went to Ryan, then me, then back to Ryan.
Uh oh.
Navinka closed her eyes briefly, and took a slow breath. When she opened them again, she stared hard at Ryan.
“What is she doing here, my love?” Her voice was silky smooth, but carried an edge sharper than an axe. “Don’t tell me you wanted to teach her to read?”
Well, to be fair, that wasn’t far from the truth.
When Ryan didn’t answer right away, Navinka stepped forward. I kept my head down. However, instead of going to Ryan, she stopped in front of me. I refused to meet eyes with her. I couldn’t reveal what the rune had done.
“Please give us a moment in private.” Navinka jerked her head at Bergundy. The scholar’s face flushed, and he bowed low. He crept out of the alcove, closing the door behind him. Probably very wise.
Navinka crouched, so our faces were level.
“My dear, do you realise what you’ve done?” She snatched my cloak and hoisted me up. I was too tired to resist. “Impudent girl, your deceit will be your undoing!”
She drew back her arm, when Ryan grabbed her wrist.
“Navinka, that’s enough!” he said. “I won’t stand for you to hurt her. We don’t treat our servants like that.”
Navinka released me, and I crumpled into the cushions. She shook off Ryan’s hand, her eyes narrowed.
“Ryan, I fear our time apart has caused your judgement to falter,” she said. “I know she’s not a servant. She wanted to come to Begara for a reason, and you provided her the opportunity.” She began to circle the couch, running a finger on its back.
“What are you talking about?” Ryan was growing uneasy.
“You met her on your travels, didn’t you?” Navinka said. “Fell prey to her simple charms, discarding your rank and name because you couldn’t accept your fate.” How she could keep her voice controlled and have her words so venomous was amazing. “Running from our Binding, our destiny to be together, so you could harbour after a commoner like a lust-crazed dog!”
“Navinka, you’ve got it wrong!” Ryan snapped. “It’s nothing like that. It was an accident in the Galgiza forest. I saved Eliza’s life, but she was in her Binding time. She became Bound to me. I couldn’t leave her…”
The crack of Navinka’s palm smashing into his face silenced him. Ryan groaned, gripping his cheek.
“You’re pathetic,” Navinka scoffed. “Do you think I’d believe such nonsense? You said yourself the Goddess Jewel protects you. The fact neither of us became Unbound is testament to its power. How can this wretch be Bound to you? You are immune to its effects!”
“Eliza isn’t,” Ryan said, stepping in front of me. “She’s suffered with the spell alone, driven by its compulsions as much as we were. I promised her I’d find a way to break it, so I brought her to the Vault.” His face held such defiance, I was astonished Navinka could keep her gaze. “And we might have come across a way to free her.”
“If you think I’m that naïve…”
“Navinka, listen to me!”
“Only when you start telling the truth!”
“I am telling the truth!”
“Your eyes tell a different one,” Navinka snarled. “You claim you are spared the Binding, yet I’ve seen how you look at her.” Her lip trembled. “The way you used to look at me when we were together. You are as much under the spell as she is!”
“Navinka…”
“This was never about choice, was it?” Navinka hissed. “Your words mean nothing, Ryan. I can see where your heart lies. You don’t really want to free her, do you?”
“That’s enough, both of you!”
Navinka and Ryan turned to me. I stood up, though I had to hold the couch for support. I wouldn’t listen to them go round and round.
“Navinka, Ryan is not lying,” I said coldly. “For some reason I’ve become Bound to him, and the magic affects me and only me. Whether it’s because he was Bound to you first, or because of the jewel, I don’t really care. The only thing I’m interested in is fixing it.” I brushed back a loose strand of my hair. “I’ll never let some spell tell me who I’m supposed to spend my life with.”
“Is that so?” Navinka arched an eyebrow. “Does that mean you don’t love Ryan, then?”
My face flushed. Navinka’s smirk broadened, while Ryan held a guarded expression. Inwardly I groaned. How had I painted myself into a corner? While I wanted to be clear I wasn’t Navinka’s competition, I wasn’t prepared to do that at the cost of Ryan’s feelings. Never mind I had no idea how I felt myself.
“I can’t know what I feel so long as the Binding has control,” I said, picking my words carefully.
Navinka’s smile dimmed. Ha, she didn’t know who she was dealing with.
“Wise words,” she said, changing tact. “But while you might be determined to escape, how do you plan to do so? Think you might stumble across another Goddess Jewel or two?” She peered closer, meaning to continue, but was caught by my eyes. “What happened to your eyes? I could’ve sworn they were blue before.”
I looked to Ryan, who simply shrugged. I didn’t see the harm in telling her about the runes. Whether she would believe it or not was another issue. It had been hard enough convincing her about my Binding. This would surely be the icing on the cake.
“They were,” I said, deciding to go for it. “Until I read the Holy Rune in the hallway.”
Navinka’s eyes widened.
“What? You can’t be serious.” She seemed more curious than angry. “You deciphered a sacred rune?”
“You know about them?” I blurted.
“Of course I do, it’s…my tutor’s specialist subject,” Navinka said. I couldn’t help but catch the hesitation. “How is that possible? Nobody has understood the runes for almost a millennium!”
“She’s read several,” Ryan broke in. “This is what I was getting at. We’ve been told the runes are connected to the Binding. In fact, they have the same source of power.” His jaw tightened. “If we can turn it to our advantage, we might be able to break the spell’s hold on Eliza.”
“Wait a moment.” Navinka paused to regain her composure. “You’d tamper with the magic that has governed our people for centuries?”
“Haven’t I done that already?” Ryan asked, reaching for his necklace. “I’ll destroy the spell entirely if that’s what it takes.” He looked back at me. “So long as it has Eliza, I’ll never rest until she’s free.”
A long silence followed, and I sighed, twisting my finger in my hair. Suddenly I had a lot to think about. If we did go after the runes, I’d be exposing myself to an unknown risk, for an unknown reward, and I really wasn’t the gambling type. Then again, the alternative wasn’t much better. Unless I was constantly in Ryan’s embrace, the Binding would hurt me as much as the Holy Runes. And with Navinka around, that would only become more frequent.
So, I could either sit around and remain the curse’s plaything, or pluck up my courage and change my fate. The way Fiona, Ryan’s mother, and so many others couldn’t.
But would my body withstand the power of the runes?
Navinka sighed.
“I still find this difficult to believe,” she said, holding a hand to her forehead. “Nevertheless, I cannot deny the change in Eliza’s eye colour. Even the most skilled lens maker could not brighten a darker iris.” She pursed her lips. “Though this leaves me with a predicament.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
�
��If you mean to find the other runes, as Ryan claims, I can hardly allow you to run around Azaria with him,” Navinka answered. “I will therefore accompany you. I will see you keep your word, and that Ryan is returned to me.”
“Navinka,” Ryan said, “you can’t come with us. It’s too dangerous. If anyone found out about Eliza’s power…”
“Then she will need all the more protection,” Navinka finished. “I take it that was why you brought the servant boy? Or should I say Eliza’s protector, as I saw him escorted off the manor with her yesterday.”
Damn, she’d seen that as well? She was really observant.
“Navinka…”
“Ryan, if you abandon me here, I will have no choice but to tell your father,” Navinka cut in. “You don’t want Aronzo and his men prowling after you again.” She gave a stretch. “I can inform Lord Glenford we are joining my father in Dragonvale. The East Pass is a safe route. He will not insist on sending a further escort.” She flashed a deadly smile. “I can make your life easier or more difficult. I leave the choice to you.”
Ryan sighed. I had to admit, I’d not thought of the potential problem of Lord Glenford. Navinka was quite the tactician. Not that surprising, given the noble politics she’d have grown up with.
“Alright. We’ll go together,” Ryan said, though it wasn’t like he could say anything else. I was starting to see why he was so keen to run away from her.
“Perfect,” Navinka smirked. She glanced to the door. “I suppose I should find that scholar again. He did seem knowledgeable about the runes. Perhaps he could provide further guidance.”
She sauntered out of the alcove. I stared after her, brow raised. Well, that had been totally unexpected. I thought she would’ve ordered Ryan to dump me in a ditch someplace. Yet while I wasn’t thrilled we’d still be enjoying her company, at least I wouldn’t have to hide my Binding. Goddess knew what exotic excuses Ryan would’ve conjured up.
Ryan turned to me, looking as if he’d escaped a thrashing.
“That went better than I’d hoped,” he said, rubbing the imprint on his face. “I thought she’d rush to tell Father.”
“She will, if we don’t keep on her good side,” I said darkly. “You better not upset her again.”
