Truth of the Whisper

Chapter Sixteen.

"Caaln?", I asked, almost inaudibly, as he slowly stepped closer.

He looked... different. His hair was put up in a high ponytail, and the sides were short. It suited him. But another thing caught my eye.

"What happened?", I asked and crossed the distance, reaching up to run my finger over the scar that he hadn't had before. It started on his forehead and ended on his cheek, diagonally over his right eye.
"The Circle.", he said and watched me himself, frowning slightly as he looked at the still visible cut at my temple.

"By the almighty, I'd been told that you got injured badly, but... Rhydomir never mentioned... and Nysh didn't, either...", I murmured.

Caaln's eyes softened, and he said "You are still calling him Nysh?"

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. "I... try not to mention him at all." – even though he kind of dominated my thoughts.

Shithead.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?", he asked and I nodded. In silence, he followed me to a small library I had discovered the day before. Mysla had told me, that I was allowed to go everywhere in the castle, and that they didn't mind if I took whatever books I wanted to.

Caaln waited until I had taken a seat, then – to my complete surprise – he kneeled down in front of me, facing the ground.

"Lady Adriyele Mellai de Rylbnan, I, Caaln Lynrha, beg your forgiveness for binding your life.", he said, his voice a low rumble.

At first, I wasn't able to say anything, I was simply too shocked by his words. As I kept silent, I noticed how his shoulders tensed up, and I put my hand on his shoulder, nudging him slightly. Nyshard's aura rose, but I chose to ignore it.

"There's nothing to forgive, Caaln."

He looked up, his dark eyes searching mine, while he stayed on his knees.
Caaln was a mountain of a man, even on his knees, he still was almost on my eye level. I decided, that I absolutely didn't like to see him like this. "Please, stand up, you moron."

A small grin tucked at his handsome features, and I had to smile back. The scar across his face... it gave him a dastardly look. Just like the warrior he was, but it also hurt me to see that he had been injured like that and that apparently, no healer had been nearby.
"Nothing to forgive?", he asked carefully as he sat down in the armchair opposite me. Sighing, I shrugged my shoulders "It was Nyshard's plan, you and Brayhd carried it out. And none of you were responsible for not being able to tell me. He is."

"And you blame him?"
"Not anymore.", I said, carefully. "I understand why he did it. And I told him, that I understand it, and that I forgive him. Or course, I do. I just wished he would have told me himself. Finding out like that... I had thought that we were friends. But I guess, Rhydomir told you that I translated two quite similar words of the letter wrong, mixing up 'protect' with 'keep' and that's what made me finally run."

"He did, yes.", Caaln nodded.

We sat a few moments in silence, then I asked "Why are you here?"

"He didn't send me, if that's what you are thinking. In fact, he knows that I'm here, but right now, Nysh is... he distracts himself."

"Distracts himself?"

"He's hunting down Circle members. From day to night. Dahas, the General, was a tough nut to crack, but... he eventually spilled some names. And locations."
Chewing on my lower lip, I looked out of the window. "So, why are you here?"

"To ask you for your forgiveness, to see how you are and to... ask you to come to Ilyria with me."

Upon hearing the last words, I abruptly turned my head towards him "What did you just say?"