Or . . . maybe I do.
I stare through Jasyn. I don’t need to be a Mirror to see past his show. A number of memories elude me, but I’ll never forget his final words when I drove the mirrorglass blade through his heart.
“Thank you,” he’d croaked. The Void left him then, but his soul was already too far gone.
Then what? Something else. Small. A trivial detail, but one oh so vital.
At first, we believed it was the one the Verity cared for most who took on the Void. But the tale of The Scrib’s Fate relayed the reverse.
My blank gaze alters, focusing, soaking in the man beneath the bowler hat. He loves King Aidan. Like a brother? Father? Friend? Does Aidan hold the same fondness for Jasyn? Perhaps now, yes. Their closeness is what keeps the darkness in my grandfather from overwhelming him. It’s why being away from Joshua made the Void in him spread—
When did the affliction transfer to Kyaphus?
It had to have been recent, right? Did Joshua discover a new way to contain the darkness? Did an event occur in which Ky sacrificed himself so Joshua and I could be together? Free of the Void’s weight?
Impossible. Why would he do such a thing? Makes no sense.
Not much does these days.
Again, I feel nothing aside from loathing for the boy with the blackened veins. What’s wrong with me? No one is this heartless, so what am I missing? The longer I picture his face, the more I want to punch it.
The more I wish he were dead.
I clutch my stomach. The Verity rages, burning at the mere thought of the Void’s vessel ceasing to exist.
“What is troubling you?” Jasyn takes a drag. Releases, forming an O with his lips.
“Nothing.” The lie is small. Easy. Settles in my center.
“Oh no, my dear. It is never nothing. I am no stranger to lies.” He offers me his cigarette. Still doesn’t make eye contact.
I wince. Lean away.
He shrugs. Continues in his vice. “Much is on your mind. Now, whether or not you wish to relay your thoughts, that is up to you.”
My thoughts? “You love Aidan.” It’s not a blurt. No word fumble from awkward old me. It’s a statement. But also a question.
“He is”—another drag—“my oldest friend.”
I wait . . . three, four, five . . . twenty-five . . . fifty-seven . . . Yawn. Blink.
That’s it? He’s really not going to elaborate? Fine.
“How did you meet?” My sockless toes curl inside my dry sneakers. I dug through Grandma B’s closet and came out with something at least wearable. Pressed trousers, a loose blouse, and a hip-length pea-style jacket. Her shoes wouldn’t do. Good thing the pant hems are long enough to cover most of my Chucks. Who knows? Maybe I’ll start a new trend.
Glancing over one shoulder, Jasyn says, “Why would you want to hear that old tale?” He faces forward once more, expression stoic as ever.
For so many reasons, none of which I can give. My shoulders rise and fall. “Humor me.”
With an adjustment of his tie, he begins, “We met as lads. Aidan is several years older and has always been stronger, faster, and better looking.”
The admission makes me choke on my own saliva. Jasyn is admitting someone else is better than him? In more ways than one? I really have entered an alternate reality, haven’t I?
“I was an orphan. Abandoned by my parents as an infant. Naturally, I followed Aidan around like a horse with a bridle. If he told me to test for traps in the woods, I dove in headfirst. When he lost the wooden sword he used for sparring, I offered him mine with no expectation of return.” Another tap to his cigarette. It’s halfway gone now. “He excelled at everything. Everyone loved him. Including me. And what would you expect from the son of a king?”
Loved. Jasyn used past tense. Does he resent the king now? Does Kyaphus resent me? I didn’t force the Void into him. What right does he have to hate me?
What right do I have to hate him?
“Aidan’s parents were good rulers. Kind. His father kept to himself mostly. Rafaj Niddala was his name.”
I raise my eyebrows. Poor kid. I’m sure bullies had a field day with that one.
“But most referred to him as King Raf.”
Better. I’d want to go by Raf too.
“Aidan’s mother was a strict woman who rarely smiled. When Queen Yasmine grew ill and weak, King Raf started to go somewhat insane.”
My ears itch. The story is so familiar. Déjà vu. My prediction? Raf carried the Void. His queen held the Verity. A beast and his beauty.
Tale as old as time.
“Yasmine died,” I say to the canal. “Aidan took on the Verity.”
“You really are more than you appear.” At last he drops his cigarette, knocks it into the water with the toe of his shoe. He coughs twice into his fist before continuing. “You know much of things well beyond your years.”
Wait a minute. “You can’t be much older than I am.” I may still see him as my senior, but he doesn’t know our history. How can he look at me as a child when he’s probably not even old enough to drink?
In my century, anyway.
“You are not wrong. I turned sixteen this year.”
My jaw loosens. Sixteen? Younger than I expected. His speech is so precise. Tuned. This is a forties teen? We millennials really need to step up our class factor.
“When Aidan became the Verity’s vessel, only fourteen at the time, the Void remained with Rafaj for a few years. But eventually Rafaj went mad, going on about reversing Yasmine’s death. When he could not accomplish the impossible feat, he settled for figuring a way to forget her altogether.”
Forget her? Awful. I’d hate to lose Mom. Joshua. Makai. I miss Kuna every day. But would it be better not to remember him at all?
Never.
“Aidan has housed the Verity coming up on seven years now. I have held the Void for one, to this day, in fact.”
One year as the Void’s vessel? Whoa. “What happened?” I lick my lips, the dry winter air getting the best of them. “For the Void to make the switch, I mean?”
“Aidan locked his father away. He waited for Rafaj’s Ever heart to break. Believed the loss of Yasmine would have done it too.”
Only a broken heart can kill an Ever. For the love of irony. It was Jasyn who first revealed this truth. Little did I know how deep its effects ran for him.
“But the old king discovered how to forget Yasmine, as I said.” He must see the expectancy in my gaze because he adds, “I do not know how, so do not press me. All I can say is Rafaj feared death. He desired to keep his heart from breaking. Instead, he caused himself to despise those he once cared for. He hated Aidan. A deep loathing that blackened his core.” He pauses. “And that is the day the Void transferred to me.” My younger-than-I-am grandfather looks down at his shoulder, dusts something invisible off his jacket.
“Don’t you hate Aidan?” Wow. I have to say, I like the direct approach. So much easier than beating around the bush.
Jasyn looks at me for the first time since I arrived. “What would bring you to such a conclusion?”
Isn’t it obvious? “Darkness wraps your soul. Because of Aidan.”