Sun awoke to a light knocking on her door, and opening her eyes was a struggle.
Reading wasn't typically something she enjoyed, but the journal was illuminating. She had started to understand why this power wasn't supposed to go beyond family; the ways in which it could be abused seemed devastating.
She didn't know what her limits were, but it seemed there were other ways of using it that she hadn't discovered on her own and things she hadn't even been aware of.
One of the ones that troubled her most was the fact that whenever she killed anyone with this power, she wasn't just taking their lives from them; she was transferring it to herself. It explained why she felt so energetic and rejuvenated after doing it. She'd had to fight off a panic attack when she calculated it and realised she could quite possibly live for a couple thousand years if that were true.
How powerful someone was and what heights and limits they reached seemed to be different for everyone. She hadn't finished yet; after all, there were hundreds of entries in that tome. But what seemed to have worked for one didn't quite work the same for the other.
The first man to write in it was Caius Illusen, and he didn't know if the story of how they got their eye was true, but he suspected some truth to it. He didn't go into why.
In his first entry, he dated it the fifth day of the Month of Whispers, five years after the Sundering. They didn't even date things like that anymore; this was way back before they'd developed a formal calendar. The Sundering was an event from ancient times they had very little information about.
It was staggering how far back this journal stretched. The energy she could feel over it no doubt came from casts dedicated to preserving it.
It had been a bit difficult to read considering how drastically language had changed over time and there was much of it she couldn't understand. At least some of it she could glean from context; the rest of it she would need help with. Book help, since she couldn't share this journal with anyone else.
It had crossed her mind to ignore Kalys's warning, but if he found out, he might take it from her. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, their talk last night had softened her to him slightly. She didn't want to betray the trust he'd extended by giving her this journal.
He had even given her the box along with it and taught her how to open it. If it wasn't in her hands, it had to be in the box.
"Sun, are you up?"
Sun recognised Mika's voice, and she sat up, trying to blink the heaviness out of her eyes.
"Yeah," she replied, her voice cracking.
Mika entered the room, her eyes falling on Sun, who looked like she'd been out drinking half the night.
"Good dinner, was it?"
"Food wise," she muttered. "The company was shit."
Mika looked amused. "If your instructor were here, she would rap you across the knuckles. Ladies don't curse."
"I'm starting to wonder if ladies do anything other than wait around to be married," she muttered, rising from the bed.
Mika opened the curtains and the door to her verandah to get some fresh air through.
"Going by the amount of extra lessons you have, you should know that they do."
Sun rolled her eyes but didn't really have a comeback for that. "Do I have to do those today?"
She didn't have to go to the academy today; it was a day off. She really wanted it to stay a day off.
"Sorry, you absolutely do," Mika replied.
"You don't sound that sorry," she mumbled, trudging to the wardrobe to get dressed.
"We are in a mood today," the other girl noted.
While Sun was happy Mika treated her like a normal person, she was far too chipper this morning for Sun's comfort.
"I think after last night I should be allowed," she called back.
"Surely it wasn't too terrible."
"I would rather have chewed my own face off," she said, coming out of the wardrobe in the most casual clothes she could find.
Mika smiled brightly, taking Sun's chin in hand. "But it's such a pretty face."
"You're sprightly this morning," she grumbled.
"One of us has to be. Come, I'll do your hair. Your grandfather wants to take breakfast with you in his garden before your lessons."
"He has a garden?" She asked, taking the seat in front of the vanity.
"He visits regularly enough that he has his own room rather than staying in one of the guest rooms."
"How long have you worked here?" She asked curiously.
"I was hired the day before you were brought here."
"How do you know so much then?" She had hardly been here long enough, and Mika had been showing her around like she wasn't new.
"I'm good at my job, and the maids like to gossip," she replied simply.
"Anything interesting?"
"Well, there isn't a woman who works here that doesn't fancy your brother."
Sun scrunched her face up, and Mika laughed.
"He's an attractive man, Sun."
"I suppose if you're into that kind of thing," she mumbled.
For reasons she didn't care to examine, the thought of people fancying her brother flared her irritation to life.
"Attractive men?" She asked amusedly.
"Stoicism, imperiousness, and being bossed around."
Sun could see Mika biting her lip as she tried not to laugh. "You'd be surprised. And since he's taken so much flak for acknowledging you, the general consensus is that underneath all that ice, he has a soft heart. Women are suckers for that kind of thing. Especially when it's wrapped in such a pretty package."
"How much flak?" She asked hesitantly.
"General grumbling, some threats, a lot of insults..."
"Threats?"
Mika nodded. "I wouldn't worry about him, though. Say what you want about the pampered nobility; your brother is very powerful, even without his status to back it up."
Sun nodded. She'd heard that too; even among the Commanders of Perdition, he was said to be one of the strongest. And he had offered to train her. She was a little nervous about that; no doubt he had high standards.
Mika finished with her hair, keeping it simple and using her flowery ribbon since she knew it was what Sun preferred and she had no appointments other than lessons today.
Sun had to be shown to her grandfather's suite; much like hers, it was simple but clearly expensively decorated. And there were so many more books; he had shelves and shelves of them. An avid reader, she supposed. Nick was the same. Jinn also had a lot of art, sculptures, and paintings - mostly landscapes. An art lover too?
Jinn was waiting for her out on the verandah, seated at a low table on plush cushions. There was an exquisite teapot and tea cups waiting.
He smiled in greeting as she approached. "Good morning, Sun."
She bowed to him the same way she would her brother in a formal setting, and he waved it away.
"No need for that when it's just us. Have a seat."
She did so, a little nervous. He'd been something of an ally at dinner last night, but she didn't know if that would extend to today as well. It could have been more about showing a united front with her brother than any real support for her.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked, taking the teapot in hand and pouring some out for them both.
She was pretty sure that should have been her duty in this situation.
"I did, thank you. Yourself?"
He looked amused but nodded.
"How are you finding the estate?"
"It's very big," she replied.
"Generations of Illusens have added to it over the years. As I understand it, it started out half this size."
"Why does it need to be so big? Only Kalys and I seem to live here, and maybe some of the staff?"
She wasn't entirely sure about the staff.
"A few members of staff, yes. More often than not, the Head of the Clan resides here, as he's also a Revenant, and with him his wife and children, and at times extended family. The main branch of the family rarely gets so big anymore. In fact, you and Kalys are the first siblings in several generations."
"Half siblings," she corrected.
"A distinction of little importance. Now, tell me about how your studies are going at the academy."
-
Her tea and breakfast with Jinn was surprisingly comfortable once she relaxed a little. He had been trying to get her to relax the moment she'd walked in, but her wariness had been hard to shake given the general consensus of the rest of the family. Why should she expect him to be any different?
It turned out he was, though; he didn't seem to care where she came from or about her legitimacy. He saw his son's daughter, his only granddaughter.
They had spoken more of her father as well, what he'd been like as a child. It was clear - in both Jinn and Kalys - that they missed him terribly. He had been killed in action a long time ago.
He also told her how he had been the one to pass along the journal to Nero. He didn't have the same struggles as Sun had since he had someone to explain things to him growing up. He never had to worry he was going mad, to fear sleep or the reflections in the water. That must have been nice.
Jinn couldn't tell her much about the power itself; like Kalys, he had taken his duty seriously and hadn't read it himself. They were only meant to protect it for the next person like her.
But by the end of breakfast, she found herself far more comfortable with him, and they were talking, laughing, and sharing stories. He was far less cold than Kalys was.
He'd had to remind her of the time and her lessons and send her off to them.
She had several instructors for the various gentle arts she was expected to master, some harsher than others. One woman in particular seemed to take delight in her failures and mistakes. There were instructors like that at the academy too, and she tried not to take it personally.
The morning passed agonisingly slowly; she needed to get back to the academy dorms and talk to Nick and Zen.
When she was dismissed for lunch, she found herself alone; her brother and grandfather were otherwise engaged. However, she was pleasantly surprised to have Mika turn up and let her know her afternoon was her own. Her brothers command, though Sun suspected Jinn might have had something to do with it.
Sun all but ran out the front door, ignoring Mika's suggestion of taking a carriage. It would be a good chance to keep practicing her auric manipulation to make her faster. It wasn't an easy thing to funnel that kind of energy into your physiology and force it to go beyond its natural limits. She tended to focus more on speed; Zen preferred strength. Prodigy Nick did well with both.
It was time to see what Kolver had to offer. After collecting the boys, of course.