Prophecy Bound: The Lightbringer Chronicles

The perfect chaperon

The last person to what? They talk in circles in front of me, and it’s annoying. Flames lick high, but before I can say anything, mother's gaze turns to me, pinning me where I sit.

Uh-oh.

Here we go.

“And you, young lady, had better get your temper under control. That stunt you pulled this morning, with Prince Lycur, was reckless. I can’t have it happen again, Saoirse. You know better than that.” She keeps me pinned with her stare. I know she’s right.

“But he started it…” I don’t get the chance to finish my sentence as an unearthly chill runs down my spine, a warning not to argue with her. It hurts, and bile rises in my throat threatening to spill out. It’s all his fault. I can’t help the reactions that Lycur seems to be able to pull from me.

“I don’t care who started it, you will not use your powers on any of them. It has taken us years to get to this point, and I won’t have your temper ruin all that progress. I know that this is new for you, having so many unknown people around, but you can’t allow your emotions to get the better of you. Please, get it under control.” I see the strain on Mother’s face and feel guilty for my behaviour. I apologise quickly and sincerely, and let them continue their conversation, cursing Lycur to the four winds in my mind.

“Queen Malvina is a worry. She is openly hostile and while Lyall ignores it, I worry what her defiance means. She may be his second mate and Queen, but she still has a level of power in her role and could make things difficult.” I listen in with interest. So, that is what Lycur meant about her not being a true Lupinel. It makes perfect sense now.

“I don’t know much, no one seems to be able to tell me anything about her before she married King Lyall two years ago. I don’t even know how she became involved with the King or where her heritage stems from. Her kin are Lupinel, from the Ty clan, and a few follow her court. My instincts tell me that there is something wrong with her, we need to keep an eye on her.” Father’s instincts are rarely wrong; his Avarian blood gives him a heightened feeling towards the nature of people’s intents. He has a sense about everyone; that is what makes him such a brilliant war chief and strategist.

“Keep searching and see what you can find but be careful when approaching the Lupinels. I don’t want the questions to be viewed as an insult and impact the treaty.” Mother stands and removes her cloak, she begins to pace the room slowly, she thinks better on her feet, her brow knots in concentration.

“Saoirse? Did I hear that you are taking Lyva to the maze this afternoon?” She stops for a second; one hand perched on her hip.

“Yes. Very soon actually, she is sweet, and I thought it might be interesting for her. Plus, I thought I might be able to see if she knows what else other than my powers has been discussed by the envoy.” I stand; I’ll have to go and change before meeting her.

“Be careful. Don’t push her too much. King Lyall mentioned that Lyva has not felt comfortable in a woman’s presence the five years since her mother’s death. She and Malvina clearly have a fragile relationship. He said she spends her days with her brother and hates to be away from him. You did well to make her comfortable. It will endear you to the King.” I nod my understanding. Mother gives Lothair that strange look again, his face darkens. I don’t have time to think about their odd behaviour.

I quickly change into a soft green outdoor overdress, sturdy boots and black wool cloak. I remove my snood and tie back my hair loosely with a black velvet ribbon. I arrive at out meeting place on time.

“Saoirse, you’re here.” she calls. She’s already waiting, and she’s not alone. Lyva jumps on the spot when she sees me; her hands clap together with glee.

Lycur stands by one of the windows with his back to me, the perfect chaperon for her. Through my irritation, I admit that it is a smart move given that she has already let information slip before. I just wish it wasn’t him.

Lycur is dressed impressively all in black. His long dark hair is pulled back with a black velvet ribbon identical to mine; I make no comment on this fact. I don’t have to. His lips quirk irritatingly, as he looks me over in silence.

Yeah, just keep your comments to yourself and we’ll get along fine. I ignore him, and hold my hand out to Lyva, who is still jumping a little too excited. Without speaking, I motion for them to follow me down to the Maze gardens.

Lyva half skips half runs beside me, humming a little under her breath, while Lycur walks behind me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand in alarm. I feel like I am being stalked, sized up as an opponent. I don’t know where the thoughts come from, but they won’t go away. This is not a good start.

The air outside is crisp and it soothes my warm cheeks. I race Lyva down the path to the beginning of the maze, letting her beat me, and puffing slightly at the brief exertion. Lycur still follows slowly, his gaze pensive as he watches the two of us. The muscles in my stomach clench in response. “Lyva, you must promise to stay with either your brother or me, it is very easy to get lost here if you don’t know the way. Shall we go? You lead.”

Lycur moves up beside me as she comes to the end of the first pass and stands trying to decide whether to go left or right. She looks over her shoulder at me. I shrug in answer, she looks at Lycur, and he shrugs as well. She smiles and turns left. It’s the wrong direction, but I don’t mind. It will be fun for her to try and find her way.

“Do you come down here often?” Lycur asks. His eyes are trained on Lyva, watching her protectively. Strange, we aren’t in any danger here. I watch his face cautiously, keeping a tight rein on my fire.

“I used to when I was a child, it’s a good place to play. I don’t come here much anymore, sometimes at night when I need to think; I never really have the time anymore.” Lyva turns left, the wrong decision, one more wrong turn, and we will be at a dead end.

“Do you travel much, or have you always lived here?” I look at him. It’s a strange question to ask with this question, there’s something in his voice. It’s common knowledge that I have lived here my entire life. He’s not looking at me. He knows something. We turn into the dead end as I predicted and Lyva turns slowly her in distress.

“I went the wrong way. I’m sorry.” Her lip quivers alarmingly; a look of fear is in her eyes. This is not a normal reaction to have for making such a simple mistake.

Oh god, don’t cry.

I can’t have her report that I made her cry. I haven’t even asked her anything yet. I kneel before her, taking her hands and rubbing them in both of mine until she starts to relax again. There are scars all over her palms, and I look up at Lycur, he nods at me, his expression is grim. I have questions, that I know I can’t ask yet. “That’s alright, let’s see if we can try again. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you try again. Ok?”

She nods at me gravely; her watery doe eyes are round, and her head is tilted as she regards me thoughtfully. I turn her around gently and give her shoulders a squeeze so she can lead us back; her mind assesses her options, making careful decisions. With Lyva safely occupied, I turn my attention back to Lycur, it takes me a second to remember his last question. “I don’t really travel, I’ve always lived here, why do you ask?”

“No reason.” His answer is too quick and noncommittal. He looks down shielding his eyes from me, he’s lying. The warning warmth spreads through me as he continues. “I had heard some things… but it’s not important. It intrigues me when people spend so much time in the one place. It’s not in a Lupinels nature to be stationary for too long.”

He smiles, a dimple appears in his right cheek, similar to Lyva’s. I don’t believe his explanation. Everything he says has a purpose. Lyva makes a wrong turn and leads us into another dead end. I watch anxiously for her reaction, something about her previous response gnaws at me. I’m still uncomfortable about the fear I witnessed and suspect the scars have something to do with it. “I took another wrong turn, let’s go back and try again, right?”

“That’s exactly right Lyva, lead the way.” She smiles impishly, and I watch her confidence grow as she leads back a few turns.

“Should we be out here… aaaallll on our own?” Lycur murmurs closely beside me. His eyes take on a mischievous glint that I don’t enjoy; his voice layered with innuendo.