Heart of Ash (The Dark Arcane Series: Book 1)

Chapter Sixteen

He swallowed.

That voice was akin to the sound the wind makes as it smoothed and honed the edges of ice, evoking the hairs on his neck to rise.

His mothers voice rang in his head like a cool breeze. Your words are your weapon.

The Ender knew his name. But he could have got that from anyone, Nala, Kade, for all he knew; Darius was not so an uncommon name that the only Darius in the world had to be the prince. Therefore, his cover was safe.

Put forth your case, his mother whispered.

Darius rested his gaze on where the eyes of the Ender's mask should have been, resisting the urge to shiver.

"I have come to ask for a favour. I have an item in my possession that I am not wholly sure of what it means or what I should do with it. But it once belonged to someone very dear to me, and I believe it has a greater purpose than to be simply what it is." He touched the hard metal of the key in his pocket like a reflex. "I would ask of your expertise and knowledge to help me, if you will."

Before the Ender could reply, another voice spoke, aimed at Nala, "You have brought this man here just to ask of us a favour? He's not even a Shadow."

Darius was ready; he didn't flinch. Gods, this was an awful lot like court, just without the expensive outfits.

"I don't know what she was thinking," another person muttered, the distaste evident, thick like mud.

The Ender did not move, nor make any comment. This seemed to be the signal for others to speak up, and a series of voices commented on the audacity of this young Shadow.

Darius prepared to speak but was beaten to it by Kade's sharp tone, "You can trust him. He's a—he—" Kade rethought his wording "—I can speak for his character."

As was the desired effect, the murmurs quieted. Kade added, "I take full responsibility."

No one quite seemed to know what to say after that.

"If we find this Darius less reliable than you say, you understand this means you forfeit your place as a Shadow?" Maija, the woman from earlier asked, hardly containing her enthusiasm in her tone.

Darius observed carefully. It seemed Kade was not a popular character. At least among this table.

"I wouldn't have fucking said it if I didn't mean what I said," the man snapped back.

The Ender held up a hand in a singular motion, and before he had even started speaking, utter silence broke across the room. The effect was like smoothing out the mountainous waves of a stormy sea into nothing but a still surface, ready for his voice to cut through the water. "Kade, please, save us your gracious hospitality for another time."

Nala laughed louder than most. Even Darius was delighted at seeing someone speak to casually to him—did they realise he was an Elite?

"Darius, let me have a look at this item, I'll see what I know. We have a wide range of people in this room, I'm sure someone is bound to know if not me." The Ender inclined his head in invitation.

Darius nodded respectfully, his hand already grasping the key. He took one more look at the people around him, before pulling the dark key out and placing it in the centre of the table. It sat there like an ominous figurehead.