CHAPTER TWENTY

A cool cloth is pressed against my forehead, and I open my eyes. Tor stares down at me, a smile pressing his lips and a look of relief in his eyes.

“She’s waking up …” someone whispers at my side.

I prop myself up on my elbows. The cloth drops to the ground, and Tor lifts it back to my face. For some reason I’m lying on the forest floor. I begin to remember … Piper and Lily, the river, Finley rescuing me and then Malise. But why did I pass out?

“What happened?” I ask, taking the cloth from Tor’s hand as I sit upright and then wipe the back of my neck.

No one answers, and I stop to glance at their faces. Piper and Lily are watching Tor nervously, and Finley has wandered to the back of the group.

“You passed out suddenly, and Toby ran to get me.” Tor gestures to Toby who stands at his side, still breathing heavily from the long run. “Piper told me what happened. I think maybe you had a little too much water.” He grins, patting me on the arm.

I nod but can’t help being suspicious as Finley walks away muttering something beneath his breath. Tor looks back at him and then turns to me giving a small shake of his head.

“Well, I think it’s time you all headed back for lunch …”

“Where’s Dorian?” I ask, wondering why Tor has come instead of him.

Tor looks at me for a moment as if buying time for his mind to work. “He couldn’t …”

“Can we go back now? I’m starving!” Aaron shouts from beside Malise.

The thought causes my stomach to grumble, and Dorian’s absence loses its importance for the moment. I begin getting to my feet, and Piper takes my arm to help me up.

“You’ll feel much better after you eat something,” she says, leading me away.

I can’t help wondering why Tor came all the way from the Great Oak to make sure I was all right. If all I needed was a cold compress, what was Tor there for? Not only that, if the situation was so serious that Tor was sent for, why hadn’t Dorian thought to come? Maybe I’m thinking too much.

I sigh as we reach the base of the Great Oak. I hang back as the others begin to climb the ladder. I watch as Malise and her brother disappear behind the large bough. Why does it feel like there are even more secrets outside of the University? I thought I had solved everything by leaving, and yet this world is still a mystery. It’s hard not to question everything when the others keep carrying on silent conversations with their eyes.

“Questioning your ‘friends’?” I jump, not having noticed Finley standing beside me. I can’t find the right answer, so he continues. “I recognized that look of suspicion on your face.”

His smirk annoys me; his demeanor is too self-confident. I shake my head. “You’re mistaken.” I walk past him toward the ladder, not wanting to look back. I know he doesn’t believe me. It doesn’t matter. I need to get to lunch. But first, I need to find Dorian and clear my mind. I’ll ask him what the truth is and force him to tell me why I should be worrying about him.

Climbing the ladder, I fail to notice the heights, and my determination to reach Dorian has me arriving at the platform before I know it. I look up when my hand is grasping solid wood instead of another rung. This time I pull myself up and to my feet. Finley swings onto the platform next to me. He doesn’t say anything else.

The others are anxious for a meal and are starting down the platform toward the dining structure. Piper and Lily hang back to check up on me.

“You’re going to sit with us, right?” Lily asks sweetly. Piper nods in agreement. I can tell they have honest intentions, and I reply with an equally honest smile.

“Of course I will. I just need to find Dorian first.”

“Right, okay then,” Lily answers. We walk the rest of the way in silence that I don’t have the energy to break. I’m concentrating too hard on finding Dorian. If I can just see him, things will be back to normal.

The food has already been laid out as I enter the platform shelter. Flaps on the side of the structure that faces away from the Oaks’ trunk have been opened to let in a natural light, and a cool breeze sweeps down the table, sending a wave of sweet aromas. Piper and Lily follow me down the side of the table until they find their seats halfway from the door. I continue down, trying to see around the corner before I’ve actually turned it. As I round the bend, I see Azura and Liam sitting in the same places as last night. I notice that Tor has already made it to his seat, and again they are speaking animatedly across to one another. My stomach sinks; Dorian is nowhere in sight.

“Oriana, come sit.” Tor smiles and gestures toward my seat. It is a larger space with Dorian missing.

I almost feel like wiping the kindness off his face. Doesn’t he notice I’m disappointed? “Oh, actually I was just looking for …”

“Dorian couldn’t make it,” Azura supplies. I can see she’s enjoying it. “He was too preoccupied to eat.” She looks down to scoop up an assortment of berries from her plate, ignoring my look of irritation.

“You’ll see him tonight, I’m sure,” Tor adds gently.

I try a smile, but it feels awkward. Instead I give a nod, eager to head away from Azura’s judgment. “I promised Piper and Lily I’d sit with them …” I don’t wait for a response before heading back toward the others. I can’t help wondering what Dorian is so preoccupied about. Why couldn’t I just ask? Demand some answers? No, I’m a guest here, a pureblood at that, and how can I possibly accuse them of hiding things from me? They’ve welcomed me, fed me, given me shelter. How can I be so ungrateful by doubting their intentions? If I could just see Dorian, then he would explain everything to me. Tonight he will tell me why their meetings are discussed in private and why even Finley and the others are kept in the dark about the details.

I lose track of my food as well as the others talking around me. Jagger is teasing Lily about something, but I don’t bother to figure out what. The others laugh, and I look up from my plate. I haven’t really eaten anything.

“Oriana are you all right?” Dugan asks as he leans back against the wall and folds his arms.

I look from him to Finley, who has also looked up from his plate. I notice the others are watching me as well. “I … I think I need to get some fresh air.” I get up quickly, leaving them in silence, and head for the door. Bursting through the entryway, I run face first into a tall warm figure.

Tor turns to face me. “Oriana, are you feeling better?”

I give him a questioning look.

“Anyone could tell you were extremely uncomfortable in there. What’s bothering you?”

I go to speak, but he stops me. “Actually, I think I know what it is.” He begins to walk away, taking a route along the outside of the dining hall. He turns when he realizes I am still standing in silence. “Follow me.”

Curiosity compels me toward him. I follow him around the platform and up a series of ladders. We pass my cottage and Dorian’s as well. I look for a light within Dorian’s but see only darkness. A voice in the back of my head whispers, Is he avoiding me? I shake the thought away.

Tor stops in front of a building larger than the other cottages. Moving forward, he unties some straps securing the flap with one hand and guides it open to let both of us through. Once inside, I wait by the doorway as Tor works his way around the side of the room, opening the side hatches to let in light and moving air.

In front of me sits a heavy wooden table, its surface clear of any objects. The building curves slightly like the dining hall as it hugs the tree. On this wall are a series of bookshelves, which to my surprise are filled with many volumes, all of which are different and do not repeat.

Tor moves toward a set of shelves. “Please take a seat.” I find a spot on the table’s bench, one closest to the light of a window. In front of me, Tor is rustling through a bundle of rolled parchments stacked on one of the upper shelves. He extends his long arms to reach them.

He pulls one from the bundle and turns to me. “Oriana, have you ever seen Odon’s Lands? Beyond them?”

I look at him in wonder. Is it possible to actually see it all? Is there really anything beyond them? “No …” I say hesitantly, unsure what he is hinting at.

He places the scroll upon the table and unrolls it, stretching it far across the table. I hold an edge down to keep it from curling up again.

“This is a map, the area of Odon’s current lands, as well as the outer region,” Tor explains, although I have assumed as much.

“I never imagined one existed. How—?”

“It was made before Odon had finalized his enforcement. You will not find the University, but it would exist somewhere in this region.” Tor circles an area with his finger that has been drawn in as a tall forest hill. The map contains mostly forest terrain with blank canvas beyond a black line surrounding it. This is labeled simply: “Outer Regions.” Yet what is most apparent is the large sketch of the Great Oak, labeled and detailed. Showing a complete outline of its platforms and structures, our current location being one of the higher ones.

Tor points out the thick line running around both the outside of the University’s hill as well as the Great Oak. “This is Odon’s territory. The border was drawn in later on.”

My eyes widen, shocked to see a limit to Odon’s power. Yet I cannot wrap my mind around the full meaning of this. “Then what actually is outside of all of this? Are there others …?”

Tor nods and my excitement grows. “But”—I hold my breath for him to continue—“this only means that they are under the control of another ruler. Outside of Odon’s lands is a world very similar to our own. So you’ll understand why we still remain within his borders.”

The situation is not as I imagined. Tor goes on, “Yes, if you were to escape Odon, it would mean falling under the restrictions of another tyrant. One that we are not familiar with.”

I sigh, feeling even more trapped than before. When Odon was the only danger, it was easier to imagine a way of escaping. Now it seems hopeless. “And on this side?” I point to the opposite border.

Tor replies grimly, “The same matter, the map does not show all lands, but we can assume that others are existing in similar circumstances.”

“But how did this happen?” I ask, frustration rising in my voice. “If there was a time when Odon did not rule, then how did he and these other rulers take over?”

He sighs. “It is a story others can tell better than I.” I am sure he has seen the look of disappointment on my face because he quickly adds, “But I do know the one person who can share it with you.”

My gaze alights with intrigue, “Who might that be?”

“Falda,” Tor replies with confidence.

My eyebrows rise. “Who?”

“Falda,” he repeats. “My mother.”