Sky of Wind by Emily Deady
Chapter 24
“Another game of quugot?” Jules asked before they had even arrived back at the manse.
Sol smiled nervously. He would not be able to focus on anything other than the secret letter inside his doublet.
“That would be so fun!” Meena answered their host.
Sol clenched his jaw, trying to catch Meena’s eye. After two days of constant company, he could not pretend to be pleasant in front of Jules and Ezra any longer.
“However,” Meena continued. “I would feel terrible beating you so soundly so soon.”
Sol exhaled. She was good at this.
Meena stepped closer to Sol, slipping her hand into his arm and leaning her head toward his shoulder. “The sun put me almost to sleep. I need a rest. I will challenge you to quugot as soon as we are rested.”
“Let them be, Jules,” Ezra said. “They didn’t come all this way to spend time with us.”
Jules’s mouth formed a round shape. “Oh, you are quite right, my love. Get some rest. We will see you for supper this evening.”
Sol thanked the princess in his mind as they walked quickly down the hall. The tension in his shoulders relaxed as they left their over-present hosts behind. But excitement built in his fingertips, hoping the letter held useful information.
“How did that happen?” Meena whispered, leaning her back against the closed door of their room. “Do you know who this Sophie is?”
“Robin said she was working on a contact here. I was hoping it would be someone more closely related to the fort, but I am not in a position to choose my allies.” Sol slipped the letter out of his outer shirt. He quickly and carefully broke the wax seal.
“What does it say?” Meena asked, not even giving him a chance to read it. She leaned over his shoulder.
He tilted the sheet of parchment so that she could more easily see it. Something felt odd about the movement. He’d never shared a secret communication with anyone. In fact, he’d taken great pains to ensure even his closest family members never knew he was still leading River’s Thorn. But he’d tilted the letter to Meena without a second thought.
Was he growing lazy in his work here when it was most dangerous? Or did he instinctively trust Meena to carry this burden with him?
He did not like either thought.
The letter was written with coded symbols he had developed with Robin, so it was not legible at first glance. That was likely why he had no qualm showing the paper to Meena. It had nothing to do with laziness or trust. It was just common sense.
“What does it say?” Meena repeated, clearly unable to read the code.
“I don’t know yet,” Sol replied. He moved to the small table, setting the letter in front of him to decipher it.
He looked at the symbols, changing the ones he remembered in his head. He managed to make out a few words, but he would need to rewrite it in order to understand the full contents of the letter.
“Can I help you with that, Rain?” Meena asked, she was standing close to his side.
Sol looked up, confused. She was holding a fresh sheet of parchment and a feather pen. Taking them from her, he placed them on the table in front of him.
“What did you call me?” Sol asked, wondering if his ears had heard her correctly.
A quick look at her sparkling eyes and he realized she had called him a different name on purpose.
He closed his mouth, exhaling a long breath. “You were jesting,” he said.
“Isn’t your name supposed to mean ‘sun’?” she asked, her voice still teasing. “You seem more morose, like rain. Not light and happy like the sun.”
Sol momentarily forgot the letter in front of him. That was how she saw him?
Her mouth curved into a small smile that she tried to hide.
“Light and happy,” he said, repeating her words thoughtfully. At least he hoped it sounded thoughtful. If she could jest, then so could he. “You perceive these traits as weaknesses, and therefore see the sun as weak?”
“Weak? No—” she started to respond, but Sol cut her off.
“The sun provides warmth, yes, but it also sends its rays down in relentless heat. It guides the path of the moon, balancing the darkness of night. It gives power to the earth, causing plants to grow and cultures to survive.” Sol found his voice growing louder as he convinced both himself and her of his point. “The sun is not weak. It is the anchor upon which all life is dependent.” He paused.
Meena had stepped back, her mouth hanging open.
“So, yes. I suppose if that seems weak to you, there’s nothing I could say to change your mind.” He turned to look up at her, a smile of victory playing on his own lips.
“Sol.” Meena looked thoroughly impressed. “Are you jesting with me?”
“Yes, rainy Meena mine,” he said. He pushed his chair to the side, making room for her at the small table.
“I’m not yours,” she said, sitting down on the corner of the bed and leaning forward. “I’m mine.”
Sol smirked, appreciating her play on words.
“How do we read this?” she asked, her voice serious.
Sol leaned back over the table, explaining the code for the different symbols. Since he was more accustomed to deciphering, he found most of the letters, but she helped speed up the process by writing them down on the fresh sheet of parchment.
S,
New information. G is aware that a member of the Iseldan royal family is in Falqri. Watch your back. You are under suspicion. He expects treachery since he moved his special project there.
Sending N to aid you. He insisted.
Confirmed ally in Falqri whom I have been in contact with for some time. N will make contact first to confirm. Too risky to reveal your identity.
A and C send their love.
Stay well.
R.
“Who could ‘N’be?” Sol asked Meena after skimming through the missive a second time. He recognized the rest of the names—G for Gareth, A for Aizel, C for Celesta. “None of your brothers have an ‘N’ name, right?”
Meena shook her head. “I have no idea. Robin seemed to think you would know. She said ‘he insisted’ which she assumed would mean something to you.”
“Neven,” Sol said. “Another Majis who was taken from Istroya with me. I helped him escape when Robin came for us.”
“It will be good to have another person here whom we can trust,” Meena said. “And he could be more useful on the ground than Sophie.”
Sol pondered her words for a moment. He didn’t not trust Neven. But he had just shared more secrets with Meena in a day than he had with anyone else his entire life. “I don’t know how helpful he can actually be,” Sol said slowly. “He is more of a follower than a leader.”
“You give the orders then, and we will follow. We can use all the help we can get.” Meena’s inherent trust grounded him.
The letter was more concerning than helpful, especially the news about Gareth being suspicious. But as always, Meena naturally looked ahead.
That was strength. She was more like the sun, warm and bright and magnetic.
“What if you gave the orders, and we followed?” Sol asked. “You seem particularly well suited for it.”
Meena leaned back. A half small played on her lips, but her eyes were squinted as though she was suspicious of him. “I can’t tell if you are trying to make me angry or if you are jesting with me again.”
“I was trying to praise you,” Sol responded.
“I seem particularly well suited for it?” Meena repeated his words. “And you meant it?”
“Yes,” Sol said. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“You keep trying to shield me, protect me. I got the impression that you don’t think very highly of me.”
Sol paused. Her words were not without merit. “Without you, I would be trekking across some wilderness trying to find this place. I am used to working alone. I have been shielding you out of habit as I tend to keep all the responsibility on myself.”
“Oh.” Meena did not seem convinced.
“Wherever you are, people gravitate to you,” Sol continued, trying to find the right words to express his thoughts. “At first I thought it was because you were a princess, and I may have doubted your sincerity. But it seems to be far deeper than that.”
Meena was uncharacteristically silent as he spoke. Her cheeks appeared slightly warmer than usual, but her eyes were wide and bright. She nodded slightly, as though encouraging him to continue.
Sol cleared his throat. “People listen to you,” he said. He was not used to praising someone, but the sparkle in her eyes was intoxicating enough to continue. “You know the right words to say. You make other people feel comfortable. Those are all skills I lack and I am impressed by them in you.”
“Thank you, Sol,” she whispered. Her eyes fluttered down shyly, but her lips remained in a smile.
“Thank you,” Sol whispered back, not sure if the words actually left his mouth or not.