Sylvia Talgan’s POV.

  “Cut all this nonsense out, Sylas. What do you have to say?”

  He gestured with his hand toward me. “I just have some questions, that’s all,” he said.

  I scoffed and answered, “Then just ask them. This song and dance is unnecessary as it is ineffective. I didn’t come here to play word games with you like we are at court.”

  Sylas nodded to himself and asked, “Is that so? Then how is it that you are so familiar with the workings of a noble court?”

  “Family matters,” I answered simply.

  Silas let out a disappointed sigh, “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected a forward answer to an indirect question. Then allow me to put it plainly for you, Sylvia. What are you? And where did you come from?”

  My eyes narrowed at the man, and he shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a relatively simple question. It is very clear that you are abnormal, and I don’t mean that because you are a Vampire far from home, but your power and the purity of your bloodline is simply unheard of. Someone of your ability and pedigree, which you so clearly have, should be holding a lofty position in Amoth’s north, perhaps even claiming the bloodline of Talgan himself as you subjugate those around you. After all, comparing you to Malachi is the difference between the dirt and the sky. Speaking of which, I don’t believe I ever heard your family name?”

  …

  Sylas took a sip of his tea and raised an eyebrow. “It appears your silence is worth a thousand words,” he muttered.

  “What is it you are trying to insist? That I’m at fault for something?” I asked.

  “Are you? The recent chaos of the world seemed to be heralded by the arrival of you two. The first Dragon attack could easily be a coincidence. I highly doubt you could control one, nor would you let it kill you. But one time may be just that, a coincidence, but the arrival of an undead legion, the rebels suddenly springing an attack backed by a nation. And even the mustering of troops from said nation that just so happens to be across the ocean, and they are directly against your mere existence. Not to mention the betrayal of a long-standing alliance from the Dark Elves. And you two seem to be at the precipice of it all. Surely you can understand why I have my reservations?” Sylas stated with a wave of his hand.

  I couldn’t help but snort as I shook my head at the man. “I’m not sure where you got the guts to place such blame on me or Kaladin. But it is unfounded as it is disrespectful. As you said, we’ve been at the forefront of it all. Placing our lives on the line for not only ourselves but also those around us. We’ve made a family here, and we call this place home. We have a vested interest. And honestly, why even bother pretending if we are behind it all? What is stopping us from making you suffer? How many times could Kaladin or I kill a royal, noble, or someone of importance? Sabtagoing this country from the inside should have happened months ago if we were inclined,” I said plainly.

  “Even so, I have to wonder whose side you are actually on. We may have common enemies for the time being, but would we have them if you had never come to this place? And what will happen when we don’t? And of course, who are you exactly? If I didn’t know better, I might assume you are far older than you appear. And with that comes plenty of concerns,” Sylas said far too casually.

  I stood up from my seat and glared down at him. “Say what you want, I owe you no explanations or need to justify myself when our actions more than speak for themselves. So feel free to continue to doubt us,” I said.

  He met my gaze as I added, “And you would do well to remember, Sylas. Kaladin may have a soft spot for you and your sister. But I don’t. And if you intended to harm our family, I will make sure that the Paine bloodline ends with you.”

  Sylas smirked and let out a long sigh. “Just sit back down, Sylvia. Please. And for the record, I have no intention of harming anyone. Not that I could harm you even if I tried,” Sylas said.

  “What? Was this some kind of sick joke?” I spat.

  “A joke? Hardly. More of a…test. Although some of those questions I would like answered, if you are inclined to keep your past private, so be it. But I don’t doubt your loyalty—Yours or Kaladins for the matter. As you spoke the truth, without your involvement, thousands would have perished, if not hundreds of thousands. And if you were going to betray us, you would have done so long ago,” Sylas said with a shrug.

  What…what was the point of this then? Did he try to get me to slip up? Say something I wasn’t supposed to? Is Sylas dumber than I thought?

  I slumped back into the chair and couldn’t help but look at the man incredulously. That side of Sylas was…not what I knew of the man. An edge to him that he had never shown before. He had me fooled; if it was all entirely an act, that was.

  “Then refrain from doing…whatever this was again. I don’t exactly enjoy being interrogated. However, it seems you have something very specific in mind, so say it,” I said sternly.

  Sylas fidgeted nervously with his teacup, spinning it in the palm of his hand, a complete turnaround from his earlier behavior. After a brief moment, he said, “It’s about my sister and Kaladin. Don’t you think their relationship is rather odd?”

  …

  Now things make more sense.

  “What? Just how insane are you? There is absolutely nothing romantic going on between those two,” I said confidently.

  Sylas’s face scrunched up in disgust, looking at me as if I were the idiot. “Well, obviously, I’m well aware that no such things are happening, and that’s not what I meant either. Kaladin is a good man and wouldn’t do something so unbecoming. I was referring to their general kindliness. Ever since their bout at school, they have been…fast fiends. And I’ve noticed a distinct change in my sister,” he said with worry.

  I let my head roll back as I stared up at the wooden ceiling, a groan escaping from my lips. I should have just stayed with the butler; he seemed like a nice guy. Maybe I could have gotten a piece of one of those cakes Mila was talking about…

  —

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  Kaladin Shadowheart’s POV.

  “I was…expecting a larger office,” I said honestly.

  Lin smiled softly behind her modest desk, reports, books, papers, and much more stacked into columns that went above her head. The room itself was astute, barely larger than a one-bedroom at an inn. There wasn’t even a window, just a few candles lighting the glorified broom closet.

  “Some work needs to be separated from the rest, unfortunately. I believe we were taught operational security at one point or another,” she sighed.

  “A lifetime ago,” I chuckled as I sat down in the rickety chair.

  I felt the presence beside me and looked up. There was no face to see behind the shadowy blood-red visor, but the deep emotions spilled out from it regardless. Remorse, a profound sadness, a hint of happiness to go along with it.

  It wasn’t unexpected at all. Perhaps it was reassuring, and all but a confirmation that we had changed. It still was rather odd, experiencing someone else's feelings as if they were my own, but then again, it wasn’t anything new for me.

  “Thank you for coming and bringing Sylvia. I know this work may be…rather morbid. But I assure you we’ve exhaused all our options,” Lin said with a tired smile.

  “Of course, we figured it was important. But before that, I was hoping to talk to you about a few other things first,” I said.

  Lin raised an eyebrow and extended a hand to urge me on. “By all means, Sir Shadowheart,” she said with a smirk.

  “And speaking of unfortunate things, this doesn’t have anything to do with Linnetia Paine but Natasha,” I said solemnly.

  Lin’s face darkened as she folded her hands. “What is it?”

  “It’s about our, or more specifically, your origins in this world. If you were anything like me, you may have wondered about these things. What happened to Linnetia Paine, and how you came to be. And I may have an answer for it, or at least, a partial one. It’s—”

  Lin put up a hand to stop me as she shook her head. “No…please. I—I’m okay. I understand what you are going to say, but…I’d rather not know,” she said hesitantly.

  “Are you certain?” I questioned.

  She nodded and sighed, her eyes closed as she said, “I wondered about those things for a long time. But at one point, I decided it didn’t matter. The past and the powers that be, I have no control over those. However, I do have control over my future, what I do, and why I do it. Those are for me to decide.”

  She opened her hazel eyes and smiled softly. “So, as weak-minded as it may seem. Frankly, I would enjoy continuing to live in ignorance about it. The past will remain just that, the past,” she said.

  I returned her smile and said, “Then it’ll stay that way.”

  Lin gave me a questioning look and asked, “But how exactly did you come to know of these things? Don’t tell me you communed with some ancient god or something?”

  “Well… you're not entirely off the mark. Perhaps a recap of the dungeon is needed. And besides, we aren’t alone in here anymore.”

  —

  Lin sat back in her chair, her eyes drifting off to the side. She stared at the empty space, as if willing the unseeable to be seen. Well, for her, it was empty space. But not for me.

  “I don’t see or sense anything. Is he really just standing there?” she admitted after a brief moment.

  “He is,” I answered honestly.

  “Can he…hear me?” she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

  “Apparently, he has been able to do so for a long time. Albeit through muddied channels,” I said.

  Lin slowly opened her eyes with a broad smile as a tear dripped down her cheeks. She looked over at the space and said, “Thank you for everything, Commander.”

  The shadowy figure nodded curtly before disappearing from my sight. The lingering emotions were still present in my mind.

  “What? What did he say?” Lin asked, worriedly.

  I smiled at her and told her, “He nodded at you, then vanished from my sight. He does that from time to time. But his feelings were quite clear.”

  Lin wiped her face as she nodded to herself, “Good…good.”

  I sat for a few brief moments to allow Lin to collect herself. She chuckled in disbelief. “I don’t even know where to start. What’s more astounding? The return of some…ancient god like being hellbent on destroying the world or us at least, or the fact that you two can both be the same yet different beings at once. Or that he was even able to manifest himself…this world…it’s truly one of magic and wonder,” she chuckled.

  “What gave that away? The fireballs coming out from people’s hands or the whole being reborn anew part?” I said with a smirk.

  Lin giggled to herself, “Touché.”

  “Now, before we get to the hard part, I want you to take a look at these. Can you read them?” I asked.

  The old journal materialized from thin air along with another ancient-looking tome, and I set it down in front of her. Lin took the journal first and carefully flipped through it. Her eyes widened in shock as she scanned the ancient pages.

  “I…I can’t believe it. Where in the world did you find this?” she asked in awe.

  “I didn’t. Bowen had both of them, and Brax long before him. This also answers our old question of where he was getting such advanced information from. Is it what I assume it to be?” I asked.

  Lin nodded as she gently closed the journal. “It is. It’s most definitely Cyrillic script done in cursive. The handwriting is frankly terrible, barely even chicken scratch. And I can’t say I was well-versed in the cursive form to begin with, but I do remember learning it at the convent, if barely. Those memories are…hazy at best,” she said.

  “Then I assume you can translate this one?” I questioned.

  Lin shrugged her shoulders slightly and sighed. “I would have to spend a lot of time practicing and trying to remember what I’ve forgotten. I was just a child back then. But yes, I can translate some of it with time. Most of it is barely legible as is, so don’t expect too much,” she said.

  Lin turned to the next book, one that Bowen had Sylvia look at a long time ago. I had checked its contents, and it didn’t seem like any written language I was familiar with. But the symbols still held some resemblance to Cyrillic letters.

  “This…it’s utter nonsense? And these pages are not well preserved, an entirely different problem from the first. But then again…there is order to this. A code or cipher of some sort, perhaps…” Lin muttered.

  “Also, my guess. However, without the key, cracking it may prove a challenging task. Unless someone knew the base language it was written in, that is,” I said.

  Lin shut the book after a few moments of reviewing it. She pressed a finger to the second book and said, “I can’t promise anything for this one. It’s beyond my wheelhouse, but I’m willing to give it a try. Perhaps I can create a rough key, and someone far more talented than I can handle the heavy lifting.”

  “Fine by me. These two books may hold more answers than we could ever imagine. So extracting anything from them is worth the trial. I would help, but linguistics wasn’t exactly my strong suit,” I said.

  Lin smirked and said, “It was easy when AI could do it for us. I suppose we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. I can hold onto these, right?”

  “They are yours for the foreseeable future. Bowen gave the permission, not that he knew I would be giving it to you,” I said.

  Lin clasped her hands and smiled wryly. “Now…shall we get our hands dirty? We have some people to interrogate.”

  “Right before I drop some formulas off to your brother,” I said, standing up.

  Lin raised an eyebrow and asked, “Formulas? For what?”

  “Oh…nothing special. Just the beginnings of smokeless powder? Maybe something with a bit more power? Who knows?” I said with a shrug.

  Lin looked taken aback before shrugging. “I guess if I have to face a god like entity, I wouldn’t mind a gun or two. But I think we’ll need something a little bigger.”

  “Most definitely. But baby steps first,” I agreed.

  As we walked out the door, I realized I had nearly forgotten to ask something.

  “Before that, could you remind me of the exacts on the Human marriage culture? I know most of it, but I just want a confirmation on some things…