OathBlade (Wattys2015)

52. The Surface Calls*

Taelin wouldn't have gone that far, Elery told herself as she stood dumbstruck before the young knight. "I...I need to meet with my group."

"We will gather them at once, M'lady," the keeper beside Isandel said before rushing toward the door of the records' hall.

"I also need Gaidel and the three dragons who accompanied us!" she called. "Bring them here! I will meet with them in the map room!"

The keeper nodded and flung open the door.

"Isandel, go help him. Your sense of smell will find them far more quickly than their eyes will." Elery put a hand over her face. "And..." She shook her head. "Examine the front gate. Check for his scent."

He passed her and left, offering nothing more than a short glance devoid of his usual humor.

Elery walked into the map room and sat at one of the tables. She closed her eyes, resting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands to rest her forehead against them. Misani was quiet and still within her, something that unsettled Elery more than she thought possible. Perhaps it was that they were underground. Perhaps she was worn, much like her own frayed nerves. Whatever the reason, she wished for her bubbly, warm presence beside her. Anything to lift the dark pall over her heart.

The first to join her was Cylphi. As she lifted her head to watch the slender girl walk into the room she offered a weary smile. "You seem better."

"A mother's presence is an effective balm," she replied. "Though I feel selfish for having left you alone."

Elery shook her head. "You know I'm never alone. I couldn't shake Isandel loose even if I wanted to be rid of him."

Cylphi was quiet a moment. Her expressions changed too quickly to gauge her thoughts. She closed the door and sat beside Elery before asking, "Would...you ever wish to be rid of him?"

Elery curled her fingers around her bare wrist and rubbed softly. "I've begun to think that...I don't. He says many things, yet not every word he speaks is true. This he admits, and this I have seen. When he speaks of things that help me, I sense truth. When I let my mind wander back to his teasing and flirtation, and take in his claim that I am but a game to him, I...cannot see that as true."

"Since you returned I sensed a difference between you. You have been quick to defend him. You even smile when he is near." Cylphi took Elery's hand away from her wrist and held it between her own. "Do you love him?"

The door opened once more as Vydel and Dakkan walked in, saving her from answering the question she had no answer for yet. She squeezed Cylphi's hand and released, then stood from the table. "Have either of you seen Taelin?" she asked, though knew it was merely a desire to debunk what she knew deep in her heart.

Both shook their heads and Dakkan said, "The keepers will find him, I'm sure."

"No," Isandel said as he walked through the doorway. "They won't."

Elery bit her lip, turned, and slammed her fist into the table. "Damned traitor!" she screamed.

"He is long departed from this place I fear," Isandel said. "If I were to guess from the scent and the condition of the blood, he killed the guards last night while we all slept."

"Hold on," Cylphi stood. "What...what has happened?"

"Taelin has gone to Celestine," Elery said.

Cylphi covered her mouth with both hands and gasped. "B-but why? Why would he betray us? He knows what she means to do!"

"Do we have time to dissect his mentality?" Vydel asked. "All we need know is that he declared himself our enemy the moment he raised his weapon to the keepers."