Denial of the Whisper

Chapter Thirty-One.

Chapter Thirty-One.

Nyshard had disappeared as fast as he had shown up in my room, and when I was alone again, I didn't leave the spot I'd been standing on for a while
He wanted me to hate him, or – no – he said I would hate him one day, and when that day would come... he would have to be there and take it. My hate, my anger.

The more I thought about it, the less it made any sense at all. Same with the red shimmer in my palms. I had no clue and I feared that I had indeed to get used to it, no matter how much I hated it.
Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed Dylana's book again and continued reading about the isles in the Great Sitr Sea, flipping through the pages, continuing to read about the Isle of Gnys where I had been interrupted by Nyshard earlier. The book wasn't in a good shape, broken in two halves, and I was indeed sorry about it. For me, books were a treasure, because they held knowledge. Sighing, I sat onto my bed and began reading.

'While the Isle of Gnys has a strategically poor location directly in the canal of the Great Sitr Sea, it's a vital trade point and has a lot of mineral wealth to offer. In the mountains next to its capital Lin Bura, there are a lot of mines, most of them hidden and protected by spells, and only the ruling Lords are able to open the gates to the deeper mines. Due to its richness of the mineral wealth, especially the Gnysran Stones, after which the Isle is named, the Isle of Gnys is a preferred trade partner for most of the other Islands in the Great Sitr Sea, as well as for the Continent and the territories of Sulrantis. As mentioned, the location is strategically poor, but due to its fortune from the trade goods, the Isle of Gnys has built some remarkable defensive fortifications, along its coastline, which resisted several attacks until the war of...'

"Adri?", flinching, I looked up.

Caaln stood in the door frame, looking a bit grim.

Quickly, I put a bookmark in the book and glanced at him, unsure. "Hey."
"Are you alright?", he asked, but didn't make a move in my direction.

I nodded.
"Come", he said and I raised my eyebrow in a silent question.

"You've been in here for two days. Come."

I glanced towards the window. It was already getting dark.

"But..."

"No 'but'. Dinner. Outside. Now."

Only when I stood up, a small smile lit up his features.

I stepped in front of him and watched his eyes dart to the still visible bump on my head, but he said nothing.

In silence we walked through the corridors of this part of this castle at first, but then, I thought it started to look familiar. "Caaln?"

"Hm?", he tilted his head at me.

"Isn't this the corridor where your room is?"

"It is", he murmured nodded towards a stairway where we had just walked by "And this staircase leads to Nysh's."

"What?", I asked, stunned, and looked back at the archway and the staircase that led upwards, probably to the highest tower, from what I knew where we were in the castle.
"Yes."

"But..."

"This is the part of the castle where the family usually lives. And higher guests."

"But..."

"No 'but', Adriyele. Nysh said he needs to keep an eye on you, and while he is away, I do it for him."

I stopped my steps and looked to the ground, not able to meet his eyes "I didn't want to flee."