12-19-2021, 03:30 AM
The sword was placed in his hands. Jai swallowed, unblinking. He caught the weight, but only to keep the sword from clattering to the floor.
It was stunning. The grip was still taut. The dragon etching still impossibly detailed. The shine on the blade reflected his own face back up at him. For a moment, he held it as if imagining what it would be like to actually wield it. But the vision was sacrilege. It was another man’s sword. Another man’s symbolism. Lythia Sedai clearly valued the weapon for the one it represented. That value wasn’t for Jai.
A chill swept his skin. He shouldn’t be here. He laid Shadow’s sword near the anchor on which it was retrieved and let his own pommel become the rest for restless hands.
He was standing at attention, one hand behind his back and the other positioned upon his own property when Lythia Sedai returned. He was ready to beg for an answer. Or at worst, bolt out the door and search the halls of the Ajahs on his own. Likely his luck would land him straight on the doorstep of the Reds straight away.
But rather than begging, Jai was speechless with the news. He blinked, finding himself all the more frozen. Not a single twitch but a tightening of his fist behind him. He’d barely processed the information that Nythadri wasn’t even here when the Green mentioned Andreu.
She’d not said the name. Not said how he died. But she knew. His mouth was dry, and the cage bars slammed shut around him. Running felt like a great idea. But the problem was, he couldn’t bring himself to blink let alone take a single step.
“So, it’s true,” he finally said. Suicide was Jai’s worst nightmare for his older brother. Andreu deserved better. The last time Jai saw him, they’d fought, Jai claiming to be the betrayer of their family, and Andreu looking horrified.
He’d not realized he’d sank to a chair until he found his face in his hands. Heat rimmed his eyes. But before they spilled, he seized saidin just to burn away the pain. Lythia Sedai confirmed everything he’d come to validate from Nythadri. He had no further reason to stay in the Tower. There was only one place left to go.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and rose, ready to thank her and get the hell out of the Tower.
It was stunning. The grip was still taut. The dragon etching still impossibly detailed. The shine on the blade reflected his own face back up at him. For a moment, he held it as if imagining what it would be like to actually wield it. But the vision was sacrilege. It was another man’s sword. Another man’s symbolism. Lythia Sedai clearly valued the weapon for the one it represented. That value wasn’t for Jai.
A chill swept his skin. He shouldn’t be here. He laid Shadow’s sword near the anchor on which it was retrieved and let his own pommel become the rest for restless hands.
He was standing at attention, one hand behind his back and the other positioned upon his own property when Lythia Sedai returned. He was ready to beg for an answer. Or at worst, bolt out the door and search the halls of the Ajahs on his own. Likely his luck would land him straight on the doorstep of the Reds straight away.
But rather than begging, Jai was speechless with the news. He blinked, finding himself all the more frozen. Not a single twitch but a tightening of his fist behind him. He’d barely processed the information that Nythadri wasn’t even here when the Green mentioned Andreu.
She’d not said the name. Not said how he died. But she knew. His mouth was dry, and the cage bars slammed shut around him. Running felt like a great idea. But the problem was, he couldn’t bring himself to blink let alone take a single step.
“So, it’s true,” he finally said. Suicide was Jai’s worst nightmare for his older brother. Andreu deserved better. The last time Jai saw him, they’d fought, Jai claiming to be the betrayer of their family, and Andreu looking horrified.
He’d not realized he’d sank to a chair until he found his face in his hands. Heat rimmed his eyes. But before they spilled, he seized saidin just to burn away the pain. Lythia Sedai confirmed everything he’d come to validate from Nythadri. He had no further reason to stay in the Tower. There was only one place left to go.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and rose, ready to thank her and get the hell out of the Tower.
Only darkness shows you the light.