THE ASHES OF LIGHT ✔

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Red

Red tried to hide her excitement from Valencia as her eyes scanned the torn page. Her excitement quickly turned to disappointment as she finished reading the passage.

"This is it? There's no other page?" Red asked, looking up at Valencia again.

She nodded, "That's it."

Red resisted the urge to crumple the paper in frustration. The information was new to her, but it didn't support her theory that Ashton had known how to cure Shadow Disease. If that was the case, then why was this page so important in his journal on Shadow Manipulation? Red felt a tug in her gut telling her that the answer was right in front of her eyes, but the harder she squinted at the page, the blurrier the letters became until they were indecipherable.

She sighed and set it down on her desk, placing it underneath a stack of papers. Ashton had torn it out for a reason, and although Red hadn't figured it out yet, she was going to keep it safe from anyone else.

"Whatever you do, don't tell anyone about this," Red said to Valencia. "It's clearly important, especially since I've never heard about people having multiple abilities before. This kind of information could cause... well, it's not the kind of thing we want to find out."

"What do you mean?" Valencia looked confused as she picked at her arm nervously.

"Well, just think about it," Red shrugged, "someone who could master all seven of the abilities? They would be unstoppable." She shuddered, even thinking about it sending chills up her arms. That kind of power was something that no one should have.

"It could be useful though," Valencia pointed out. "In the war, I mean."

Red nodded. "You're right," she pondered, tapping her fingers on the desk as she thought aloud, "but imagine if that kind of power got into the wrong hands—Crypt's hands, to be exact. They already have more forces than us, and with someone like that, they could easily take over Gallomia."

Valencia sat in silence, unable to argue with Red's point.

"You still haven't filled me in on how you escaped," Red continued, sitting back in her desk chair.

Valencia stood awkwardly, her hands placed at her sides, "I was able to break off the lock from the cell with a bit of... force, and with the help of Kane, I was able to escape."

Her hands laced together, as if she were shielding her body away.

Red frowned. Was Valencia hiding something? She would talk more about it later, but right now, the important thing would be building their numbers against Maddi.

"Where is Kane now?" Red asked. "And for that matter, have you seen Maythus around?"

She shook her head, her eyes clouding. "Maddi banished Maythus and Kane—the last time I saw him, he was being escorted out of the palace by the guards."

Red dug her fingernails deep into the palm of her hand, her vision dark with anger. She muttered an obscenity, pricks of blood appearing in her hands. Maddi banished them? Red might understand if she arrested the two of them—she could always play the treason card—but banishing them was going too far.

Banishing someone from a kingdom was not something that was taken lightly. It was usually reserved for the worst of criminals—those who had committed murder or sexual crimes, something entirely unforgivable. That only made Red even more nervous. If Maythus and Kane were outside of the kingdom, their only company would be criminals and other hostile societies who wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

If Maythus was banished, that meant there was no way he would be able to come to the Infirmary to help Red collect her thoughts on Ashton's research. Not only was Maythus her best friend, but he was also supposed to be king—this kind of research was something he should know about, especially if there could be someone with multiple abilities.