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Kell sunk to the floor in the Basin. He craved a little peace. Time away from being Kamerov, and Rhy’s changeable moods, and probably mostly from the King and Queen. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone wall. The eerie red light from the Isle tinting his light skin and making his auburn hair even more vibrant.
His mind swam with all the ways things had changed. Some his fault and others not, but somehow he had to bear the weight of all of it. This was the best London. The most beautiful London. His London, but what filled him with life before was draining him now.
Kell felt a presence before he ever heard their footsteps in the stone room.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d come,” said Kell, his eyes still closed.
The Aven Essen chuckled and joined Kell on the floor. “The Sanctuary has not forsaken you, Master Kell.” But Kell didn’t respond. “What did you wish to talk to me about?”
“The seal binding Rhy and I,” Kell said evenly. “I want to know if there is a way to break the seal and pass all of my life force to Rhy.” He opened his eyes and casually looked over at Master Tieren who had a fleeting look of shock on his face before he schooled his features back into the calm mask he usually wore. “I’m not living, Master Tieren. I’m a prisoner. At best a possession and despite what people may think, I can never abandon my duty. Rhy could have a life that isn’t shared, and the Crown would be rid of me. I would no longer attract danger to Arnes or strike fear in its people.”
Kell had grown up before the Aven Essen . He watched as Kell became the strongest magician in their world. Their Antari . So while Kell’s voice was strong, he sensed the bone deep hurt he carried with him now.
“You would cease to be,” said Tieren, half question, half statement.
Kell said nothing. He was accused of fearing death in the past and it was still true. He didn’t want to die, he also saw no out for him.
“Alas, it is a seal Master Kell, but do you think that is a life Rhy would want? One that came at the expense of his brother. And do you think the crown thinks so little of you?”
Kell’s silence answered that.
“And what of Delila Bard?” he asked.
Kell pulled his knees up, crossing his arms over them. “What about Lila? She left.”
“Don’t you think that is something worth protecting?”
Kell scoffed. “Lila can take care of herself.”
“You are drawn to each other. There is magic between you.”
Kell’s heart thudded in his chest as it always did when he thought of the thief from Grey London. He turned to face the priest, fixing his gaze upon him. One black, the other blue and coloured with sadness as it had been for four months. “Does that mean we have no choice?” His spirits sank. All he needed was another thing that he had no say in. Another way to be the most powerful, powerless being.
Tieren shook his head patiently. “There’s magic in everything, even in love, Master Kell.” With that the Aven Essen left the Basin, taking his calm with him and leaving Kell alone with his thoughts.