Page 22 of A Spark So Bright
He'd just been getting comfortable in a massive chair he had conjured for himself. Rhydian had long ago dropped pretenses that the world they were in was entirely of her own conjuring. Eventually he’d just gotten tired of being uncomfortable while dealing with her.
The house he’d attached to the tower was wonderfully comfortable. Everything was so plush, likely because his body was so thin that it was hard for him to sit on anything that didn't have the texture of a cloud. She'd learned that elves were rather delicate creatures, and they had very specific needs.
Rhydian needed everything to be comfortable. Soft. Cushioned.
Rose pointed out a small translated section with a diagram. "I think they're talking about the realm gate, the one that allowed your people to leave this one and go back to the original realm you came from."
"That diagram does not refer to the realm gate."
"Well, fine then. If you know what it refers to, why don't you just say what it is?"
"I am your teacher. Teachers don't just tell you what you need to know! They advise so that you come to the same conclusion." He turned his nose up at her before returning to his own book.
Licking her lips, Rose took a deep breath and asked the question that had been burning in her for quite a while. "Why are you here teaching me at all, Rhydian? Shouldn't you be with all the other elves?"
He stiffened. She could see it in the way his slight shoulders were suddenly wider and not caved in. His entire body seemed to be electrified by her question, and she already knew that he would not tell her the truth. He was so good at hiding what he didn't want her to know, and apparently this was one of those answers.
"Are you finished translating that section yet?" he asked, as though she hadn't voiced a question at all. "I need those translations from you today, or they're going to be late."
"Late for who?"
"For our lessons!" He slammed his own book shut. "I am trying to prepare you for everything that could and will happen in your life! You need to stay on track, or we are going to fall behind. The future is barreling toward you, Rose, and I cannot stop it. The only thing I can do is to prepare you for what will come."
What did he want from her? Why was this such an issue?
"You don't know why you're here, do you?" she asked. "You don't know why you're stuck answering my silly questions when all you want to do is go back with your people. I know how you feel about humans! You don't have to remind me."
Sticking her nose into her book, she tried to focus on the words, but she couldn't. Anger burned through her chest, hot and unwelcome in situations like this.
Rhydian hated anger. He said it was a feeling for fools and weak-willed beings who couldn't see past their own needs. Maybe she was weak then. She absolutely couldn't look past the need to know why he was in her life.
"Rose," her mentor said, and his tone had softened. She glanced over the pages of her book to see him looking at her with an expression that made her stomach twist. "You know I can't answer that question. I have a wealth of knowledge. I know many things. You simply ask the one question I cannot tell you the answer to."
"Why?"
"Because—"
She woke in motion. Rose wasn't entirely sure why she was even back in her body at all. She had just been getting somewhere with Rhydian and suddenly, like a bubble had popped, she was right where she didn't want to be.
"Damn it," she cursed, trying to get her bearings on what the fuck was happening.
Rose should’ve been in the labyrinth. Memories flickered. She'd met a woman named Maia who had promised to get her out. The plan had sounded so stupid that she'd gone along with it, in the hopes that the guards would catch them and she'd get in even more trouble than she usually was.
If she was lucky, the king would send her to get tortured. That usually lasted for quite some time, as all the guards loved to see what they could do to her while she wasn't even aware. Theysometimes spent weeks with her, and that would give her plenty of time with Rhydian.
But this wasn't the labyrinth at all. All she remembered was jumping down into battle, knowing that she could very well get herself killed. Then she had seen the Bull himself, a beast of a troll who had terrorized many of the fighters here, and she had disappeared just as she’d thought.
She should have opened her eyes to stone walls, or maybe blood dripping in front of her gaze.
Instead, all she saw were... trees.
Green leaves turned emerald in the dappled light. The tree trunks were covered in so much moss she thought they looked almost fake. They moved past her at a blistering speed, so she thought perhaps for a moment she was on horseback. She couldn't hear any snorting from the beast, or hooves striking the ground, though. Which meant, somehow, she was being carried at this pace.
There were arms beneath her. Strong, sturdy arms that were so covered in muscles which bunched and shifted with the man's movement. He was shirtless. She could feel the heat of his skin against hers where there were holes in her gown. If he was running at this speed, he should have been sweating, but all she felt was the pleasant texture of warm, dry skin against her own.
Tilting her head from where it rested on his biceps, she looked up at him.
The troll, she realized. She knew this man. She'd been given to him as a gift only a few weeks ago, and he had wanted her to sleep. Strangely, she had felt comfortable enough to do so.
