The key clicked sideways inside the lock. I watched as the contessa placed her hands on the sides of the chest and lifted the top open. I have to admit I was scared to step forward for a lot of reasons, but I couldn’t help myself. I approached, knowing I was too close, knowing no one should stand next to the contessa of their own accord. But she allowed it.

"Listen," she said. Doubtful, I tuned out my own thoughts and took in the sounds around me. There was a faint noise coming from inside the box. It sounded a bit like those awful instruments, but lower in volume and somehow gentle. As she opened the box further it grew louder. I watched, determined to see what was inside. But there was only blackness, even once the lid had slid into its resting position.

It was black, but it wasn’t nothing. The chest was stone-colored, while what came from it was dark, like a shadow with no true form. I just stood there, dumbstruck, desperate to move but forgetting how.

"This is one of those...truths? A shadow?"

"One of the secrets, you mean," she replied. She was way too calm for this. "Here I have the power to contain it, and to control it for a time. But to let these run loose would be the downfall of our world."

"And here I thought running out of amber was our biggest concern." Too much thinking aloud. I had to get ahold of myself. Running out of amber was only a rumor. Saying that to the contessa was practically an accusation.

"It’s...related," she said, placing her left hand back on the lid of the box. I noticed as she did that the light from the key in her right seemed to repel the shadow back inside. There was a thud, and the chest was closed again. "I will not show you any more. We can’t know what would happen if a Lumen were to relearn a powerful secret. I will only tell you this. What you came to me with so many turns ago was a detrimental truth involving one of the creatures you call Grey. One such being was not as he seemed. He sought to overtake us. He would have succeeded too, if his name had not been drawn. I suppose the Eternal Wizard of Chance sought pity on us that day. That is who I offer these secrets to, in the blessed flame of Draconia."

"And how exactly did you manage to transport enchanted fire to Palunia from Draconia?" I blurted, instantly wishing I could cram every word back into my mouth.

She didn’t answer. She turned toward me, and I could feel the warmth of her breath on my face. I held my place, but every social instinct made me want to jump back or run. “The words you said today.”

I didn’t know what she meant at first. Then it hit me and twisted my insides in a knot. My mother’s shocked expression flashed inside my head, and I wanted to take it all back. “I’m sorry. I was only repeating—”

“That same Grey,” she finished for me. “While I will not give you the details of the plan, you will know that he sought to kill all Lumen and make a paradise for himself. He was, in secret, building an army of Grey. Most of them are simple creatures, but we can’t mistake that for indifference. Give them a cause and they’ll parade around it in the hot sun.

“We didn’t know, of course, until we drew his name. But before that, he had a conversation none of us were privy to with a young boy of three and a half turns. Our scholars still want to know how he came to command so much of our language when most Grey struggle to care for themselves. When he was selected to partake in the Cup he spoke his final words.”

“Let the fire of your sleeping god rain on me,” I muttered, slowly feeling out each word this time. “I find it a bit strange that I remember that line and nothing else from your story.”

“The other memories are here,” she said, lowering her palm toward the box. “Have you ever, Damaus Ju Demma, spoken of something you thought to be common knowledge, only to find that a relative or acquaintance had never heard of it? Often that’s just a gap in learning, but sometimes...sometimes the memories have had to be sealed away, for the individual’s sake as well as the planet’s.”

“A gap?”

“I cannot remove the secret without removing the context in which it belongs.” She placed her hand delicately on the box lid.

“What does that mean?” And what exactly did you have to do to get the information out of me?

“This is a truth I need not relay to a prisoner,” she replied, getting to her feet. She extended her arm, allowing the key to hover in front of her palm. It turned to light and formed the shape of the great staff.

My mind was overloaded. “A what?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard right, and my eyes were transfixed on whatever arcane object could be both a key and a staff. The thin circles and ruins reappeared, tracing a ring around the box on the floor again. Light descended from the hovering staff and the chest began to fall. On its descent a column of liquid flames shot up next to me. I jumped and toppled backward, letting out an embarrassing yelp, and checked my robes to make sure they hadn’t been lit on fire.

When the column dropped back into the floor I forced myself into a sitting position. There was no sign of the chest. I studied the staff again, despite its brightness. The light bore into me, but I just kept on staring at it. It was coming closer to me. I closed my eyes and everything went white.

Next Chapter: One of Them