Ash and Dusk

Chapter 20

I ended up arriving far from the hour established, even though nothing kept me occupied. The thought of a meeting this late in the day, of those nobles that were still trying to get higher and higher in rank, to flatter their way out of everything and to look at people as if they weren't even humans, just some possible source of more power, was enough to make me sick.

But it was another thing that needed to be done and, to make it pass, I actually had to show up.

As soon as I opened the door to the war room, I was welcomed with an unusual silence. The place was dimly lit, the only light coming from some lone candles placed on the long wooden table. There was visible a large map of Ravka and the other surrounding countries, along with the True Sea and the rest of the land that is known.

He was sitted in a chair at the end of the table, slightly leaned over the map to study it. The warm light of the candles did nothing to tame the coldness of his eyes as he watched me approach the seat near his. As the little flames moved with the paceful exhales of our breathings, so did the shadows on his face, that only highlighted his sharp jaw.

"You are late.", the Darkling said, gesturing to the chair on his right.

I tightened the kefta's material in my fists and sat, watching as the gold of it sparkled slightly. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why are we here anyway?"

He turned his attention back to the map, as if saying come look for yourself. The angle that I had didn't provide much of a view, so my only options were either to rotate my head at ninety degrees or to stand up and come near him. I remained where I was.

"You are going to pick the fastest and safest route from Os Alta to the shore of the True Sea.", he informed me, watching for my reaction. If he expected one, I didn't give him much of a show. "Or make your own."

Was this another test? Most probably. I repressed a sigh and stood up, making the chair scratch the ground with a noise. I covered the few steps that were between us and paused when I was standing near his armchair. Before I looked down to study the map, I caught a glimpse of the wall on the left and an idea started to form in my head. With a hidden grin on my face and my arms crossed, I turned towards him.

I saw him raising an eyebrow, waiting for whatever I was planning to do. My feet carried me past his chair and to the left, where a wall sized map pinned there was hidden by the shadows of the room. I turned around to see his amused expression matching my own.

"I thought we could have a better view.", I said in a slightly challenging tone.

My hands went up as light started to make the map visible and I paused to study it. It was simple really, maybe too simple. We just had to follow the course of Vy and make our way to Kribirsk, with a few stops on the road or in cities to gather more supplies. Then, we would cross the Fold, pass the now swallowed in darkness Novokribirsk and reach Os Kervo. However, I had a feeling that the shore of the True Sea was not our final destination.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked after an endless moment of silence.

His smile only grew in sharpness and I thought that I could cut myself just by looking at it.

"To Ketterdam."

I remained silent. The only things I knew about Ketterdam were that bored nobles and rich tourists were exploring all it had to offer, from the embrace of the courtesans to the madness of gambling. The ones that were living there believed in some kind of diety that looked upon their trading. Just an excuse for the merchants to trick everyone into buying something ten times its worth.