Unequal

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five- Baurindriel

The next morning, Vaughn woke me early to put me to work in the stables. I sighed and grabbed my knives, then walked down the eerily empty hallways. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, letting in such small beams of light through the windows. Still not entirely awake, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and groggily asked Vaughn what I’d be doing. He explained that I would help groom the horses and clean out the stalls.

“Lovely.” I murmured and pushed open the door. Outside, I was guided to the back, where they kept the horses. Vaughn pressed on the creaky door and it swung open. Inside, it smelled like hay and sweat. I looked around and my eyes landed on an empty stall. I pointed it out to Vaughn and asked him if it was supposed to be like that.

He shook his head, “That’s where Servius’ horse would be.”

“That means he left intentionally.” Suddenly unable to resist my urge to do something, I mounted my own horse and dug my heels into his side. He obediently galloped and I raced towards the gate.

“Baurindriel! Don’t make your punishment worse!” Vaughn called after me.

I didn’t care. I just needed the fresh air and the sense of usefulness. That is, until my horse came to an abrupt stop. I looked down and saw Servius sprawled on the ground. “Good horse.” I whispered, then shouted Vaughn’s name behind me, “I found him!”

Servius was face down on the muddy cobblestone, an extra sheath across his back. Slowly, I pulled the sword out and examined the spiraling pattern. It was of elvish make, light in my hands and very familiar. My mouth dropped open when I realized why. “Silvyr’s sword.” I muttered. I looked at Servius and wondered where he got it, why he had it. Was this what he left the academy for? I slipped the sword back in place and turned Servius onto his back. His face was pale and looked sad, tired, and empty.

I kneeled beside him and soon after felt Vaughn’s hand on my shoulder. “Perhaps,” he said calmly, “your recklessness has paid off.”

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“After some rest and some food, he should be fine.”

“Good.” I muttered.

Vaughn teleported the horses back to their spots and then he moved us back to our dorm. Vaughn lifted Servius and took him to his bed.  "I'll attend to him," he called, "and you can wake up Scarlett. It's getting to be that time. I'll explain things to Michael and wake up Izuk. You will go to breakfast, you will train, you will go about your day as normal.  No raging, no snap desicions."

I nodded. "I'll try."

And I did.  But all I could think about was the sword. I almost didn't realize Eliana shooting daggers at me all throughout breakfast. Almost, of course. She has a way of boring into your soul like some sort of recurring demon.