Dreamcastor | The Girl Without Words

Chapter 16: Bird's Eye

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Chapter 16

 

Eyverlin Palace

 

“They said it’s by some stroke of luck. How else would that street rat would have done it?”

Saybin’s hand froze, just inches away from the door. His mouth went dry, his hand feeling like a rock. It dropped to his side, a deadened feeling in his chest. It tore at his insides like claws. It had been days since the test and they were still talking about it. His headache raged, refusing to go away.

“Perhaps the king was feeling lenient. It hasn’t been long since that sister of his croaked, after all.”

Croaked.

He shook with suppressed rage. The proper term would have been ‘passing,’ as in, his sister had passed away. If they had any respect for him, they would have done so.

With the fury he felt, he could have killed someone. At least, he wanted them to feel how he felt, torn and broken inside. To them it was just idle gossip, something to fill the day’s lazy hours. To him, it was like reopening a not-yet healed wound.

Then Saybin stopped fighting it. Even though his insides still felt like they were being raked with knives, he stepped forward, letting his anger fade until it was just a flame. A sneer twisted his mouth. After all, what was a brief moment of anger? He could exact his revenge then, or he could wait it out. He had come this far. Anya deserved more than just blind rage, didn’t she?

Once he got his emotions under control, Saybin threw the doors open and glanced at the maids who had been gossiping loudly. Their eyes grew wide like saucers and they threw themselves at his feet, sobs replacing their gossip.

“We didn’t know—“

“We deserve the worst—“

“Silence.”

Their sobs quieted, but they didn’t dare look up.

“Cast yourselves from my presence,” he said icily, staring at them coldly. They looked up, eyes still wide. “Leave!” They scampered off like scared pups. They turned the corner, their skirts disappearing from sight. He leaned against a wall and rubbed his temples with his fingers. Saybin glanced down at his hands, feeling irritated that they were shaking.

Why was he still so weak?

It had been a week since the results of the test had been announced. A week since he had taken second, just following Kyreth who had taken the lead. While Kyreth’s place had been expected, no one seemed to believe it was Saybin who was next. At first, inquiries were made, wondering if a mistake was responsible for it. When those proved false, his brothers had turned to accusations. It had gone from bribing the court officials for the test question to leniency because of his sister.

“You talk loudly,” a familiar female voice murmured from behind him. “Raising your voice accomplishes nothing. Haven’t you figured this out by now?”

“It’s rare to see you out of your room, Mother,” Saybin replied curtly.

“Don’t be so confident,” Delia warned, sounding uncharacteristically serious. “That was only the first task. You surprised them, sure. But this is only the beginning.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She seemed to notice his distractedness. “Were they talking about Anya?” At his shocked expression, a soft smile lit her face, and disappeared in an instant, replaced by her usually arrogant look. “That’s all that angers you anymore.”