“Gavin told me. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
Lillian’s resolve shattered, and the tears came. “I couldn’t stop him, Kiri! I tried, but I c-c-couldn’t! He asked for my help; he said one of his friends was hurt in the maze. I should’ve known something was wrong; I-I should have.”
Kiri reached out and took Lillian’s right hand in hers. Almost before Kiri realized what was happening, Lillian pulled her into a tight embrace and sobbed into her shoulder.
Gavin awoke with a start, slamming his right elbow into the back of the wooden bench, and grimaced. He didn’t know what had woken him, but the way the Void-scar on his forearm pulsed in time with his heartbeat, he felt he had a pretty good idea.
“I’ve never seen one of those scars before,” Mariana said from her seat across the waiting room. “Read about them, yes…but never seen one.”
“What time is it?” Gavin asked as he rubbed his face and yawned.
“Not quite daybreak. You can just see the first rays of daylight creeping over the horizon.”
Gavin pushed himself into a sitting position and yawned again. “Did we spend the night in the waiting area?”
Mariana nodded and extended a cup to Gavin. “I thought about going down to my family’s suite, but you were already sleeping. I didn’t feel right leaving you here alone.”
“On one side, I appreciate that, but on the other, one of us could have had a good night’s sleep. Do you know if Kiri left Lillian’s room at any point?”
Mariana shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“I see.” Gavin sighed. “Well, that’s either good news or bad news. Do you-”
The main doors of the infirmary flew open and banged against their stops. A man in a tunic and trousers strode into the room. Though the clothing was simple in design, Gavin now knew enough about tailoring to recognize the quality (and therefore expense) of the work. He stopped just inside the doorway and scanned the room, his green eyes taking in everything.
“Mariana? I thought the Battle-mages were going on training maneuvers near Hope’s Pass.”
“They are, Andrin,” Mariana said, “but Commander Roshan re-assigned me to the College until further notice.”
“Where’s Lillian? Do you know what happened?”
“I know the rough overview, but you’d be better off speaking to Gavin here. He stopped the attacker.”
The man Mariana addressed as Andrin turned to Gavin, and his eyes dropped to Gavin’s medallion. Gavin watched Andrin’s eyes widen just enough to notice as his pallor paled, again just enough to notice.
“I-I wasn’t aware any descendants of Kirloth remained,” Andrin said.
Gavin shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t either. I have reason to believe I’m from someplace called the Refugee World.”
Andrin nodded, his eyes still locked on Gavin’s medallion as he said, “Ah…Gerrus’s line, then.”
“That’s what I’m told.”
“So, Mariana says you stopped the attacker.”
“He was a wizard, but I haven’t learned all the various House Glyphs yet. He had Lillian laid out on the stone block at the center of the maze, and he had used a paralysis scroll on her. It was the use of the scroll that attracted my attention.”
“How?” Mariana asked. “Scrolls are undetectable.”
Gavin frowned as he shifted his attention to Mariana. “No, they’re not. I felt the Enchantment effect very clearly. Granted, it was a little faint…but more than strong enough to identify.”
Mariana drew breath, but Andrin spoke first.
“I’ve read that the sensitivity of a wizard’s skathos is related to the strength of the wizard.”
“At any rate,” Gavin said, “I found him standing over Lillian and prevented him from concluding his intent, while Valera brought the nearest Inquisitor.”
Just then, Torval Mivar entered the waiting area. His eyes locked on Mariana, and he approached the group.
“Mari, dear girl, it’s good to see you,” Torval said as he pulled the young battle-mage into a fierce embrace. “Thanks for being here for Lilli, and I’m glad you’re here. I’m calling a Conclave to discuss what happened.”
“A Conclave, sir? Is that really necessary?”
“No matter whether this was just some pervert having some fun or part of an orchestrated plan, it was an attack on the Great Houses of Tel, and I feel we need to discuss our position and response.”
Mariana nodded, saying, “In that case, sir, I should probably introduce you to Gavin.”
“No need, Mari; the lad and I are already acquainted,” Torval said, stepping around his son and extending his right hand to Gavin. “I appreciate what you did; not many would’ve done it. Come to think of it, you’d also better come with us. We won’t be able to convene the Conclave without you. But enough of that for now…where’s my girl?”
“She’s in Room 5, at the end of the observation hall.”
With Mariana on his left, Gavin led the two elder men down the hallway of the observation rooms and found the door to Room 5 was still closed. Not even thinking about it, Gavin tapped Mariana’s shoulder and pointed to the door, and Mariana walked ahead of the men. Mariana approached the door and rapped two, quiet knocks before edging the door open and peering inside. Within moments, Kiri came to the doorway.
“How is she?” Mariana asked, her voice a whisper.
Kiri looked over her shoulder to the sleeping form partially hidden beneath the covers as she said, “I think she’s through the worst of it now. It will haunt her for years, but I don’t think it will be anything more than a bad memory. We talked most of the night, and she only just went to sleep a short time ago.”
“Her father and grandfather are here. They came to get her.”
Kiri motioned for Mariana to back out of the doorway, and she followed Mariana to the hallway, closing the door behind her as she moved.
“Gentlemen, this is Kiri,” Gavin said as Kiri stepped into the hallway. “She’s been helping Lillian process what happened. Kiri, this is Torval Mivar and his son Andrin, Lillian’s grandfather and father respectively.”
If the older men thought it odd a slave would be taking care of Lillian, they didn’t show it.
“How is she, miss?” Torval asked.
“She’s sleeping. We were up most of the night talking, once I broke through her determination to be strong about it. You need to understand that this will be with her for quite a while. I think she’ll come to terms with it in time, but it’s still raw now. I spent the time after she went to sleep thanking the Gods that Gavin found her when he did; as bad as it was for her, it would’ve been far worse if that student had finished what he intended.”
“We’ve come to take her to our estate, here in the city,” Torval said. “I’m calling a Conclave of the Great Houses to discuss this attack. As Heir to House Mivar, Lillian is part of the Conclave.”
Kiri shook her head. “That’s not a good idea at all. Yes, she needs to talk about what happened, but it needs to be in an environment where she feels safe and has no pressure. Being your Heir is an incredible weight on her, and right now, she’s still wrestling with the truth that what happened wasn’t her fault or her failure.”
“Are you calling my daughter broken? I don’t like some slave saying my daughter is broken,” Andrin said, taking a step toward Kiri.
Within the span of a finger-snap, Gavin stood between Kiri and Andrin. His back to was to Kiri; he gave Andrin his best glare.
“And I don’t like your tone,” Gavin said. “Now, back off, and apologize.”
Andrin stepped closer to Gavin, returning the glare. “You think I’m afraid of some waif wearing Kirloth’s glyph?”