Ink Stains & Ill-Fated Lies by Kellie Doherty

Author:Kellie Doherty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: lesbian romance, good vs evil, love and friendship, power corrupts, quest for knowledge, woman vs herself, revealing the other pov, reversal of light
Publisher: Desert Palm Press

Chapter Twenty

ADARIS FOUND BERHN SITTING on the rocky ground just outside the mine opening. The darkness inside the mine called to Adaris, comforted her, but she didn’t go into it. A shard of pale rock provided some shade that she tucked herself into. Kye stood next to the shard, eyes on the early morning passersby.

“Hi, Berhn,” Adaris said quietly. Her gaze caught on a new earring glowing white on the Nemora’s ear. Where did that come from?

He didn’t offer a greeting. Tears wetted Berhn’s eyes as he stared into the darkness and tucked his knees up to his chin.

Adaris tucked her knees up to her chin, mirroring him, to hopefully put him at ease.

“You got one, too?” Berhn’s attention had shifted from the darkness of the mine to the anklet glowing on Adaris’ ankle.

She nodded. “Yes. Mine helps me walk. What does your earring do?”

“I only just got it a few days ago.” Berhn tugged on his earlobe. “I can heal scratches and the like with it. They gave it to me because I work in the mine.”

“That’s useful,” Adaris replied, though she wondered if the earring was meant to appease him after they cut off his father’s arms, but her words had rung true. A jewelry piece like that would be useful to a lot of people, including Berhn. “I bet you get cut on stones all the time, looking for those blue-green gemstones.”

Berhn shrugged, glancing at the gravel beneath his feet.

“Are you doing okay?”

“No.”

Of course he wasn’t okay, but she was glad that he was open about it. “That must have been terrifying for you to watch your father go through what happened at the ceremony.”

Swiping a hand across his eyes, Berhn nodded. “Tikova chooses randomly, but I never expected it to be my father.” His voice cracked. “I didn’t think he’d pick on the elderly.”

The elderly. It was a curious turn of phrase for a young man to use, especially regarding their parents. Berhn said Tikova picked on them, as if the demonstrations were a bad thing. The idea was so unlike the joyous mood during the celebration itself. The crowd had cheered then. So had his parents. Adaris sat with that for a moment. “Are the celebrations always that brutal?”

Berhn winced, drawing back as if slapped. Adaris immediately regretted her word choice. After a beat of silence, he replied, “No. At the first celebration with a goddess shard, one of the Nemora built some extra living spaces for us. They created the entire north side of the community with one lift of their hand. Everyone cheered. It was…well, I wish this most recent demonstration was like that one.”

Adaris nodded, staring into the mine. No sounds came from within, and Adaris wondered just how many people worked in there. “It would have been interesting to see that.”

What the Nemora did would have been interesting, sure, but seeing a Blood crafter grow entire limbs back in the span of a heartbeat fascinated Adaris more. Unbidden, she saw it again—a flash of metal, severed arms hitting the ground, the rapid regrowth.

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