Extol of Agnatic Dreams (The Extol Series Book 1)

by Jennifer R. Kenny

  Evangeline shut the door, also aware that perhaps the guard was not getting Wick at all but rather was going to find Glais. She needed to try Wick first before she attempted to speak with Glais. Even if Wick didn't answer her, it would be good to have silence to help Evangeline work out how she felt about this. She was both angry, upset, and somehow concerned for Glais. Even after all of this, Evangeline found herself occasionally feeling that Glais was doing the best he could with the resources he was given. Just like she had been, Glais was struggling and alone. He had lied to her, Luella had been hellish whenever possible and yet Evangeline could not condemn him. Not until she had the answers to her questions.

  What her questions were, she was not sure yet. Wick would help with that. A light tap on the door came and after checking that her hair fell forward over her neck, she opened it. Thomas stood on the other side of it. Confronted, Evangeline took a step back. “I am waiting for Wick.”

  “Prince Glais was very vocal that your room is to be guarded at all times, and since Liam is looking for Wick than I have been reassigned.” Thomas was apologetic for his intrusion on her life once again.

  Evangeline supposed that made sense, and even though it seemed to her that Thomas was assigned to her frequently, she had no proof that it was on purpose. She just nodded and tried to shut the door when he gently applied pressure to make her stop. “You cannot come in,” Evangeline told Thomas sternly.

  “Glais hurt you?” He asked, his eyes searching her neck, focusing on the side she was attempting to conceal as Evangeline slid further behind the door.

  His concern though for her neck made her suspicious on how much he knew. Thomas was clearly a favoured guard, one that had high rank and access even if he was just a foot soldier. “Do you know?” she whispered.

  Thomas shushed her and he forced his way into the room, Evangeline backing up to let him in. He didn’t try and touch her or get close to her which she appreciated because suddenly she felt like an attack might come at any moment. She feverishly wondered if this desire for blood went beyond just the royal family. Standing with a decent space between them he looked around the room but it seemed empty. “Evangeline, you must take care of this knowledge,” He warned her

  Evangeline rolled her eyes. “I am tied to Braykith until such a time comes to pass that Quintus decided to get rid of me.”

  “I do not think that is going to happen.” Thomas didn’t elaborate on that and Evangeline did not ask. She assumed it was to protect their alliance with her father.

  “I am not holding my breath Thomas.” She crossed her arms under her bust and watched him. “Do you know?”

  Thomas nodded. “But this is more than a secret. The longevity of Braykith is tied to your fate obviously but this is bigger than that. This may seem selfish, but the warning I am giving you is to keep you safe.”

  Evangeline closed the gap between them and stopped just before she was indecently close. “Did they do something to Wick?” She asked him.

  “No,” Thomas was shocked by her question. So few even noticed Wick. Thomas often forgot she even existed. “Wick is fine. She is at the town to collect supplies for you. She came to you in the night and come first light she rode off into town to collect herbs that she swore would help keep you calm.” Thomas evidently did not believe in the power of these herbs but it didn’t matter. Evangeline was only relieved to know she was not hurt. “This punishment comes from powers beyond this world.”

  Evangeline frowned. “Please Thomas, help me. I need to know what is going on and how can I hope to survive it. Surely I can. If Kyleigh can keep her mind…” she paused mid-thought. “Is this why Kyleigh is the way she is? Is she so unaware of the world due to the constant attacks from Quintus?” she asked in a panic.

  “No, nothing like that. I cannot speak from experience regarding the Queen, but from what I know she had always been like that. Much like your friend Teagan she sees the world differently. Kyleigh is sweet, and nothing more dangerous than that.” Thomas reached for Evangeline’s hands and she let him take them. “Please tell me you have spoken to no one of this.”

  Evangeline looked down at their hands, his seeming so much bigger than her own and hiding them completely without even really trying to do so. “Glais and Kyleigh. They came after me.” She explained and Thomas nodded, seeming to relax a little.

  “That is fine. Speaking to people who know is fine.” He smiled and released her. Relieved he started to open the door again to reclaim his post as her guard.

  “I spoke to Teagan and Viviana about it.” She muttered and Thomas froze.

  “What did you say?” Thomas asked her slowly, trying not to look as afraid for them as he felt but he knew that he was failing the moment Evangeline’s face crumpled.

  His panic made her panic and she felt her heartbeat rise. “Everything I knew, which isn’t much to be truthful.” Evangeline hoped that would keep them safe from whatever Thomas feared was possible.

  “Curse. Did you use the word curse ever?” He tried to jog her memory.

  Evangeline stopped and thought about the brief conversation in the bath and she nodded. “I did. At least once.”

  Thomas kicked the wall and grabbed her firmly. Pulling her in close he seemed to be studying her face, her eyes, looking in her mouth although Evangeline wasn’t sure what signs he was looking for. “Are you tired? Are you feeling ok?”

  “Well no, I am not feeling alright but considering what I have endured I am allowed to feel a little stressed.” She tried to put her face free of him but he kept his grip on her and she finally allowed him to examine her.

  “You should be showing signs by now. Did Teagan and Viviana witness the feeding? Did either of them know before you told them?”

  “No. Thomas, please explain this to me.” Evangeline’s hands went over his and it seemed to help focus him a little.

  “I am not sure how it works, but it is the truth. You can only speak of the curse with those who know it already. If you do not, then you will die. You grow tired and never wake from sleep.”

  Evangeline finally made the connection, dread making her moan and her grip on his hands became one of desperation rather than trying to calm Thomas’ down. “Teagan and Viviana were exhausted.”

  “But they didn’t know about the curse. It only happens to the one sharing the story.” Thomas said again.

  “I need to check on them.” It made no sense but since none of this did, Evangeline went with her instincts to protect her friends. She was halfway out the door before Thomas was with her. “They did not sleep well, knowing I had left the dinner early. Kyleigh told them I was unwell.” Evangeline still wanted to believe that was a valid reasoning behind their yawns.

  Thomas nodded but said nothing. Never before had the curse worked this way, and the limitations were perfectly clear. It made no sense for her friends to be dead but as they approached the door, he felt an impression of dread press against him. Evangeline’s hand was on the door handle but he stopped her. “Please, allow me to check them first. Just in case.”

  Evangeline looked from the door to him and finally nodded. Why should she be concerned? Thomas would find her friends asleep and perhaps earn a lecture from Viviana for intruding on the sleeping quarters of a lady. Evangeline was clinging to that but felt her eyes close when no one answered Thomas knock.

  Thomas knocked on the door but there came no answer. He looked back over his shoulder but Evangeline said nothing. Not knowing either girl well enough to know their sleeping habits, Thomas took this as a sign that it was not a concern to be greeted this manner. He pushed the door open and left Evangeline standing in the hall. Sweeping his hand back through his hair Thomas scanned the room quickly, looking for any sign that perhaps he was right. Nothing in the sitting room seemed out of place and he moved on.

  “Miss Teagan?” He called out although his voice was soft and barely above a whisper. He still felt his voice echo off the walls, and he cleared his throat gently into his
fisted hand. “Miss Viviana?” This time, his voice sounded a little more like his own voice. “Lady Evangeline was concerned with your health and I have been sent to check on you.” He was sure to announce himself, should they be in a state of undress. Still there was no response.

  He came upon Viviana first, her body turned away from him, above the blankets and still wearing her shoes. One foot dangled off the bed, the slipper barely hanging on but it did not move. Slowing his own breath, he kept his eyes locked on her shoulder. He was hoping to see as it rose and fell in the rhythm of her breath. However, after a good count to ten, there still seemed to be no movement. Involuntarily he groaned and approached the bed for a better inspection.

  Coming into the room fully he could see Teagan strewn over the other bed. She was laying far less gracefully then Viviana was. It appeared the sleep overcame her before she could fully reach her bed and she fell onto the side. Half sitting up, her head hung forward and her hair covering her face, Thomas could see one arm was clutching the bed in hopes of pulling herself up. Her skirts had risen to her knees and he quickly bent over her to pull it down to preserve her modesty.

  The girls were dead, and even though Thomas did not know them at all, he felt the sadness of their passing. They had been innocents in this case, and while he did not know why the curse decided to change its course of action in an attempt to keep its own secret Thomas was glad it had spared Evangeline. Perhaps she would wish death upon herself should she come to find her friends like this.

  It was then that he heard the door opening. “I am here, but you should stay in the hallway.” Thomas returned to the sitting room to see Evangeline and Wick together. Evangeline was chewing on some leaves, Wick breaking them up in her hands and forcing more into her clenched fist as Evangeline seemed to just freeze for a moment.

  “Thomas?” she asked, and all it took was a grim shake of his head and she dashed from Wick and into the bedroom. The howl of her grief as she saw them for herself broke Wick’s heart.

  “I shall fetch a guard and inform the King. There will be letters to write to their families.” Wick ignored him. She knew that he was looking for an escape. The sound of Evangeline crying would be hard for any man to witness. Wick, however, was glad she had returned in time for this. Evangeline would need her support. She came into the sleeping quarters, sitting beside Evangeline as the girl held her hand to her mouth and just stared into the room. The tears fell, her breath was panicked and too fast but there was nothing Wick could do.

  “You know the secret.”

  Evangeline’s head snapped to the other girl’s voice. Broken from little use, Wick did not sound like she should. A woman of her age and experience should have wisdom. Instead, she sounded childlike and shy. “Glais, he…” So stunned by the events Evangeline couldn’t speak but pulled her hair back so that Wick could see the damage for herself. With all that was happening, Wick speaking was close to normal.

  Wick nodded and pulled back the curtain of hair to show the littering of scars, some deeper than others. Faint pink spots were mixed with heavy stains where the bites had not been clean and her body had struggled to make her whole again. “I was only eleven the first time. Glais developed the thirst faster than his father and they were unprepared.”

  Evangeline couldn’t believe that Wick was trying to make excuses for the clear abuse she had suffered. “How long until he stopped?”

  “Three years. One of the cooks found me the first time in the play room, unconscious and drained almost clean. He took me to his room and nursed me back to health.” Wick looked down at her hands, picking at the green that was stuck under her nails from the herbs. Perhaps she should take some herself. “I barely made it back to the living but he told me about the rules of the curse.”

  “Thomas said if you speak about it, then you die.” Evangeline offered the little information she had.

  Wick nodded. “That is how it usually works. I do not understand why your friends suffered this fate and not you. I am sorry Evangeline.” Her tongue struggled with the name but she managed to pronounce it close enough and Evangeline was hardly in a place to correct her.

  “You took a vow of silence? That is why you are playing mute.” Evangeline was impressed that a girl so young could manage such an amazing thing.

  “Not at first. I didn’t make it a habit of speaking about the games I would play with Glais so it was easy for me to routinely avoid it. But as he grew older and he would continue to feast from my veins it became harder and harder to simply hide them. There was another friend we had growing up. His name was Robert and Glais took from him as well.” Evangeline waited while Wick collected herself. She didn’t want to interrupt her natural flow of thoughts.

  “Robert told Baxter.” Wick started her story again. “Not obviously. The way he phrased it was odd and it seemed he was enjoying teasing Glais’ younger brother with the knowledge of a secret rather than looking to actually speak about it. I was sitting with them when it happened. I can’t remember exactly what was said but it was enough for the curse to claim him. In his sleep just as the stories said.”

  “I am sorry.” Evangeline took Wick’s hand and the girl didn’t fight her.

  “That was when I realised how dangerous it could be any allusion to the curse would be enough to trigger the end. That was when I went mute. It had taken some time before people noticed. I knew it was safe to speak with those who already knew about the curse, and yet I became more and more paranoid of being heard that I slowly stopped talking altogether. The rules are not clear and it seemed that no one could answer my questions.” Wick shrugged and put her head back, sweeping her hair from her face as she turned to look at Evangeline. “It was safer to stop speaking to anyone than risk death every day.”

  Evangeline nodded. “Why did they stop Glais from feeding on you?”

  Wick shrugged. “You can see by looking at me that there was something wrong. Be it he drunk too deep too often or perhaps the timing of it in my youth but my body could not heal the effects of his conditions. It became apparent he would kill me one day and his parents did not want that. I was banished from his rooms and as his friend.” With Glais gone, she had no one safe in her world and Wick had become less social, easier to forget and miss.

  “When you came, I knew I needed to protect you from him as best I could.” That was the reason that Wick had taken the role as her lady in waiting. Foolishly she had believed that she could protect Evangeline from the curse. “I am sorry I failed you on that.”

  “Oh Wick, please do not say such things. We are not to blame for this, and really all we can blame is Quintus and Kyleigh for ever putting you in that position. Both of us deserved better. Teagan and Viviana deserved better.” How many others had been forced into this same game of hiding a secret to such a degree that it ruined their lives? Evangeline dared not think about it.

  There was a knock at the door and Wick rose, helping Evangeline to her feet. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hands she nodded to Wick. All too easily she went back to her silence and after sharing such an intimate story, it was odd. Wick opened the door, Evangeline settling her dress and doing her best to look presentable. Her hair was pulled forward to hide her neck, the best she could manage but it was a small gathering of people. She was relieved to see Thomas leading the soldiers who would tend to her friends but she froze when she saw Glais.

  “Evangeline, are you feeling ok?” The concern in him brought out only confusion in her. For such a simple question the answer was complicated. Where to begin with how she was feeling. She could barely manage an accurate label for how she felt about him.

  “Please, take care with them both. They are family to me.” Circumstances had forced them together but Evangeline could not imagine a time without Viviana and Teagan. Now she would be compelled to mourn them. Would they be buried here or returned to Crimah? Evangeline bit her bottom lip to keep her composure but the shaking in her hands could not be so easily hidden.

  Her n
eck was still to obviously ruined and it would raise questions. Not knowing if the change to circumstances was long term, Glais wanted to limit the exposure to those who did not know. Right now they were safe with these guards but the circle was small and would remain that way. Glais approached her and reached for her hair.

  She easily stopped him with a sharp shake of her head. “Viv did it.” Evangeline stroked the braid and Glais didn’t try again to pull it lose. Evangeline had gone through far too much to fight her on this right now. “We need to talk, Glais.”

  “I agree.” But he didn’t know where he could suggest where Evangeline would feel safe. Not for this delicate conversation.

  “My rooms? Wick will be a chaperone.” The girl did not comment at the sound of her name, only turned and left the room to return to the one where Evangeline slept. Glais didn’t argue and after a moment, Evangeline left him to go to Thomas with a few final requests. “Pack their things and let me know what the King has planned for their burial. There are differences in the way we do things at Crimah and I don’t want to seem disrespectful to Braykith customs but I want their souls to be restful.”

  Thomas nodded. “Of course. I shall report as soon as King Quintus announces.” Evangeline turned to leave but Thomas stopped her. Looking over her shoulder, he saw Glais watching them but Thomas didn’t seem afraid of him. He brought his gaze back to Evangeline, who looked sick and stressed. “Take breaks. Rest. Do not let him force the story upon you if you do not wish to know it and ask all of your questions now.” He looked back at Glais but it seemed that the Prince would not interrupt them. “Glais is private. He will not be so free with information later. If you do not ask now, then you run a very real risk of it never being answered.”

  Thomas released her and Evangeline nodded. “Thank you.” She walked past Glais, trusting Thomas as it seemed most other people did. She believed that he would take care of her friends. Right now, Evangeline needed to learn how to take care of herself before she became mute like Wick did, or mindless as Kyleigh had become.