Discordant Note: Crescendo | TBATE

Chapter 241: Lacking Knowledge

Thank you to my beta reader and editor, GlassThreads!

Toren Daen

I didn't know how to respond to that question at first.

"What do you mean by 'what it's done?' " I pressed, immediately uncertain. I slowly stood, feeling the silence in the air.

I took a step forward toward Seris, wanting to ask her more, but the guarded look on her face–the very same mask she showed me as a Scythe–made me halt in my steps. Her intent was an expanse of endless fog. Intentionally unreadable.

"Do not approach, Toren," Seris said, the words sharp and commanding. "Not yet."

I stood awkwardly at the center of the room, my hand lowering to my side as I peered behind me. Cylrit stared back at me from the door, guarding it like a stone sentinel.

Out of the edge of my perception, I could sense as Cylrit's stance shifted ever-so-slightly. He was ready to move. Ready to act at a moment's notice. But he wasn't prepared to fight. In fact, I got the sense that he was worried. Solemn.

On my shoulder, Aurora's construct fluttered its wings in agitation. "They think you are a danger... No. That you are in danger."

Seris didn't respond immediately, instead maintaining a distance from me that seemed to stretch further and further. I imagined this must be what an infected animal felt like. What a dog with rabies must distantly be aware of as all avoided them.

It clicked–and my eyes widened in horror. My expression changed from one of silent hurt to dread realization as the puzzle pieces aligned.

Seris had asked if I knew what my rune had done. She kept a distance now, fearing for not just her safety, but my own as well. My jaw tensed as sweat began to bead along my back, tracing lines toward the rune emblazoned on my lower spine.

I could feel the water as it glided over the intricate spellform. It seemed to stay there, trapped as if by gravity.

"Runes," I said slowly, tracing the paths of our conversation from before. Of how Seris' mood had darkened at the mention of how the Sovereigns so casually meddled with the minds of their slaves. "they're a backdoor to the mind somehow. They're a weakness."

Seris didn't respond. Only stared at me with a cool gaze that hid the turbulence of her emotions.

My eyes slowly widened as the implications began to settle into place. Was I in danger of Agrona just... puppeteering my body? Like he did his own daughter? But no, if what Seris implied was true, then–

Not just me. Everyone. Every. Single. Alacryan. Every mage with a rune was compromised somehow.

I took a step backward as my head swirled, my heartbeat rising as I struggled to keep myself under control. I recalled back to my knowledge of that otherworld novel. Of how confident Agrona had seemed in squashing Seris' rebellion, even despite his various losses.

I need to stay calm, I thought. I'd been in too many high-stress situations to lose my head over one thing I didn't know. I need to take a deep breath. I need to be calm.

But surprisingly, it was Aurora who spoke next, the songbird on my shoulder fluttering away and settling on the tea table nearby.

"You are safe from this, my son," she said solemnly, staring up at me. "The dangers within your spellform have been scoured away. Broken under will and force."

Aurora appeared before me as the Unseen World overtook my vision. Even though the songbird sat on the table, my bond's asuran shade stood by my side, a solid arm resting on my shoulder.