We both laughed, and Tristan pulled a second armchair close to his, so we could sit by the window together. By then, the sky had taken on a dark purple hue, with barely a thread of red and orange still gleaming on the horizon. His room smelled of leather and musk, and I had the inclination to blame the fragranced oils for that. The Aeternae definitely had an appreciation for fine scents and toiletries.
“What do you think of this place, so far?” he asked me, setting his book aside. He fumbled with the scarf for a while but gave up quickly, since he risked ruining a perfectly styled knot that the valet had made for him, no doubt. This was all unlike him, and it was truly hilarious to watch.
“I smell secrets, little brother,” I said. “Lots and lots of secrets.”
“I’m only a year younger than you, Esme. Cut the ‘little brother’ crap.”
“Never,” I replied, delighted that our banter hadn’t changed, even after all our years spent exploring the weirdest corners of Earth together. “Anyway, like I was saying. They’re hiding something.”
“Of course they are. Every civilization, every nation, every household will hide things, especially from strangers and newcomers such as ourselves,” he said, slightly amused. “But do you have something more concrete?”
I nodded. “The Aeternae elders are definitely off-limits,” I replied. “Only the highest of the upper echelon are allowed to see them. Zurah, my handmaiden, told me a little bit about it. Apparently, they keep them in gated communities on six islands off the eastern coast of this continent.”
“Which, by the way, is called Droyo,” he added.
“I’ve also been told not to go into the restricted areas of the palace. They’re left dark on purpose, so everyone knows to stay away,” I said, beaming at him. I knew his interest was beyond piqued, at this point.
“We’d be asking for trouble if we went outside the mission’s parameters.” He sighed, his lips pressed into a thin line. That was his way of resisting temptation, and such an easy wall to break. Tristan had come to Visio hoping to stick to our discovery mission, but I’d already warned him that he might not be able to resist digging deeper. It was in our nature to peel away at the layers of every society we studied until we figured out everything that made it function the way it did.
This was no exception, regardless of how hard he fought to resist the itch.
“I’m not saying we should go out now and get into trouble, Tristan. I’m merely suggesting that we make good use of those invisibility pellets we brought along for the trip, at some point. That’s all,” I said, wearing a most innocent expression.
“Esme.”
“You know there’s more beneath the surface!” I insisted. “We can talk to Derek and Sofia about it, if you want. Surely, they must’ve noticed a few things off in this place, just like you and me.”
“This isn’t like Neraka. We can’t mess with their organization or their people,” Tristan said. I understood his cautiousness, but I knew it was a feeble thing, and that it would soon snap. Tristan had never had that much regard for the rules, though, bless him, he’d always tried.
“We agreed not to interfere, sure,” I replied. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t just, you know, look around. I don’t want us to make any kind of diplomatic mess, obviously, but don’t you think we’d be better off if we knew exactly what kind of creatures we’re dealing with? I mean, let’s be honest. We keep saying it’s not like Neraka, but in many ways, it kind of is. I’m starting to feel like there’s a pattern. Species like ours seem prone to subjugating those they deem inferior. Like the vamps of The Shade used to do. These creatures look nice and all. They dress beautifully. They feed off their living, conquered people, and they are immortal. Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not curious to see what’s under this neatly crafted façade.”
“I am. But I’m worried it’ll jeopardize our mission.”
“Invisibility pellets. How many times do I have to remind you?” I retorted, trying not to laugh. In my mind, the plan seemed easy, as long as we remained unseen. We could move through the palace as we wished. Hell, we could even go to the islands and observe the ancient Aeternae for ourselves, if we wanted to. “No one needs to know. If you want, we can even keep this from Derek and Sofia and the others, though, honestly, the thought of them not knowing doesn’t feel right.”
He nodded slowly, gazing out the window. “We should at least talk to them about this. Get their thoughts before we even propose going stealth through this place.”
“But you understand why I need us to do this, right?”
Tristan gave me a soft smile. “You’re worried for our safety. You don’t feel right until you know we’re going to be okay, especially in a foreign setting like this. It’s your protective instinct kicking in, Esme, and I love you all the more for it, sis. So yeah, I get it. But we have to be careful.”
It was my turn to nod, as I leaned back into the chair. “Okay. You do the talking where the crew is concerned, and I’ll worry about the logistics of the whole thing. Cool?”
“Yeah. Side note, how was your handmaiden?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did she strike you as nervous? Worried you’ll be upset if she makes a mistake, maybe?” he asked, and it rang such a bell in my head that I nearly went deaf for a moment.
“Your valet was on edge, huh?”
“Zurah, too?” Tristan’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “It makes me wonder what sort of penalties they have for the servants.”
I shrugged. “It could be more of a cultural thing for them. Not necessarily punished, but severely frowned upon. Zurah said she loved her job here. Though she did sound a bit strained.”
“Like she was taught to say these things…”
“There is no mind-bending or any other foul play like that. Zurah was honest in her discourse, but she definitely didn’t want to say more than she did. Again… I can’t help but notice the similarities to Neraka, even without the Exiled Maras in the picture. Which brings me back to the necessity of us scouting the place and checking things out, incognito.”
Tristan scoffed, though he seemed slightly amused. “You’re incorrigible, Esme. All right, I’ll talk to Derek and Sofia about this, the first chance I get, and—”
A knock on the door brought our private moment to what felt like an abrupt end. We stared at each other for a moment, wondering who it might be. We had Telluris connections with Amal, Nethissis, Derek, and Sofia, and they would’ve gotten in touch before coming over, for sure. It had been something we’d agreed upon, so we’d know when others were coming to our door.
“Tristan? It’s Valaine,” the feminine voice announced. “I’m here on behalf of the lord and lady supreme.”
“Tristan? She came to you first, for this?” I whispered. “I would’ve expected her to reach out to Sofia and Derek first, since they’re the de facto leaders of our crew.”
He blinked several times, caught off guard. “I… I don’t know. Maybe she already told them?”
“We would’ve known.”
He sighed deeply. “Then, I really don’t know.”
“Tristan?” Valaine called out again.
“Go open the door!” I hissed. “Show some good manners!”
“Okay, Mom,” he replied dryly.
