The Empty Ones (Fantasy Romance)

57. Cry for help

It's been three days since that night.

I go every day down to the library hoping he will be there, but isn't. Every night, I crawl into bed with his notes and can't help thinking about a way to decrypt the pages I don't have access to.

So Lysander's legs are bound to him and made functional by Nanite. But how?

It's truly fascinating as a fact. It means I can imbue a regular object to do my will.

Theon said he is searching for a way to make this permanent. And I saw that the effect of that formula seems to be indeed ephemeral.

When we were at the ball, Lysander said that if he dances, it will wear off quicker and Theon won't be happy about it. Now I know what Theon wouldn't be happy about.

But apparently this can be fixed. Just not permanently.

I also recall that, that night, he used a blue powder from a small box to make the effect of the pumpkin seeds stronger.

It's a paradox. Nanite can make the effect of something stronger, but it cannot make its own effect stronger.

What does Naninte do after all? It captures magic and energy. But the captured magic and energy are not of much use if they cannot be released at will.

So Theon found a way to command Naninte. The only problem is that Naninte is finite.
Wrong. Not only are Nanite effects finite, but also the magic and energy that it contains are. It's rather that Naninte is only a container, a very interesting one, but the problem is the ephemeral nature of magic in this world.

Well, congratulations, Theon; I think you want to solve the unsolvable.

Which is... Stupid. And heroic.

Heroic... I can't stop picturing him looking at his brother that night. Sure, he was angry, but he was more concerned and hurt by him hurting than anything else.

I haven't seen a depiction of love in a very long time. Since my husband executed Hara, to be precise.

Theon loves his brother more than anything else. And I think he is smart enough to know this is a weakness.

There is also something else Theon loves. Tajir. Else he wouldn't try so hard to make it a good place to live, to solve the problems of common, magic-less people, like he depicts in his journal time and time again. Else, he wouldn't be so concerned about my warmongering husband storming in and stomping over everything he holds dear.

So Theon is... Indeed, truly remarkable and capable of devotion, just that his devotion is directed to things very much opposed to me.

What to do, Zara, what to do?

Truth be told, I am anything but devoted to my husband. So, as long as I am not caught, I could support some other cause, can I not?

If I am tired of living, there is. But somehow, in these past days it felt a bit like it, like having acquired a sense of purpose, liked it and lost it.

Alas... I shouldn't think about it or him or his brother. But at least it's only thinking not doing anything stupid. You've grown, Zara.

It's still very damn intriguing where he is and what he is doing.

In the afternoon while walking down to the library I notice Lysander from the distance. He is talking with someone who stands around the corner.

I want to talk to him but at the same time I don't because I don't know how he feels about what happened.

But to get to the library I must pass that corner. Hmm...

"Go spend time with your fiance, your Highness. The nuptials are only weeks away. It really helps to get to know each other a bit before the wedding, they say," he says and I raise my eyebrows when Prince Dair becomes visible around the corner.