Chapter 32 - Levent

Magrath Mines, Vanstead Dukedom of Augustein Year 995

“Levent,” Amara repeated, testing the name on her tongue. She snapped her fingers, and the man winced slightly at the noise and stepped back with a frown. “Oh, I remember now! Glenn was asking for you, I think.” Seeing the confusion on the man’s face, she continued talking. “Yesterday he took us to see Monica to treat some wounds. I heard him asking if she’d seen you around.”

Levent frowned at that, but he didn’t respond verbally. His eyes darted over to the open entrance to the ore storage area, then back to Amara in practiced sweeps. His eyes were grey, Amara noted, and their color looked especially light in comparison to the dark tattoo sitting beneath them.

“Sorry,” she suddenly said.

The man blinked. He furrowed his brow, and for a second he looked around like he was expecting something to happen or for someone to appear.

“What’re you talking about?”

Amara tapped her cheek, and Levent’s hand drifted over to his tattoo absentmindedly.

“I wasn’t trying to make fun of you, just so you know.” Amara shrugged, dropping her hand. “Isolde explained what it was. I still think it looks cool, but I’m guessing you’re probably not too fond of it.”

“Wait. You didn’t know?”

Amara snorted. She strode over to lean against one of the tunnel walls while they waited for Isolde. They were more dusty than they looked, their roughness evident in their texture despite their smooth outer appearance. She ran one of her fingers along a crack in the stone idly. With the fabric of her gloves blocking most of the sensation, it wasn’t as satisfying as she would’ve liked.

“To be fair, I had kind of a weird childhood, so I don’t know a lot of stuff.” She paused, eyes wandering over to the man’s tattoo again, and added slowly, “It sounds like you might not have, either.”

Levent looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but stopped himself. “Are you always this nosy?”

“Hey, can you blame me? I’m just trying to make up for lost time here.” She grinned, and Levent just grunted. He crossed his arms, shifting his weight and tapping one finger along his arm as his eyes drifted back over to the ore storage entrance. There was still no sign of Isolde, and Amara wondered in amusement if the woman was trying to fit as much ore as possible into her bag. She turned back to Levent.

“So, how long’ve you been working for the Alardices?”

Levent didn’t move, ignoring the question, so Amara tried again.

“What’s the process of being a source like, anyway? I didn’t know you could transfer magic like that.”

Still nothing. The man seemed intent on returning to his former silence, apparently having decided that he’d spoken enough. Amara hummed, eyes narrowing for a moment, before she leaned forward a little with a grin.

“Isolde said the only people who become sources’re really desperate or don’t have any other skills. So which one are you?”

That finally got a reaction. Levent’s head snapped around and his eyes flashed like they had that day in the shop, burning with fury at a level of intensity that she’d only witnessed a few times before in her life.

“Tell your friend,” Levent gritted out, “that she doesn’t know shit.” He opened his mouth like he wanted to continue, but he seemed to struggle to get the words out. Various shades of anger crossed over his face, colliding and conflicting, before finally his jaw slammed shut. Amara watched him visibly exhale, the breath passing through his body in a wave that slowly unwound tensed muscles until his posture was simply a little stiffer than normal. It was an impressive display of self control, she thought.

Amara vaguely wondered if she’d looked like that, back in the facility when she’d shoved that cold feeling down every time she felt it rising up. Edith’s voice rang out in her mind. It must be nice not to have to feel things. She adjusted her position, remembering what Susie had said as well.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Maybe she’d never been that expressive; maybe she’d never felt anything so strongly. Certainly, that icy feeling didn’t seem at all like the burning intensity seen here.

“You should tell her yourself,” Amara suddenly said. She nodded at the open entrance. “She should be back soon.”

She didn’t miss the way the man froze for a second before his features morphed into a frown. He turned away, resolutely returning to his earlier silence, and Amara sensed that it wouldn’t be as easy to get him to break it this time. She frowned, but decided to keep her mouth shut. She’d pressed enough for today.

That was how Isolde found them when she returned, rising up the stairs in easy, graceful steps. Her bag did indeed look fuller, but it wasn’t by so much that it was conspicuous. The woman raised a dark eyebrow, glancing between the two of them as she stepped back into the tunnel clearing proper.

“Apologies for taking so long,” she said to Amara, who just shrugged.

“No problem. Me and Levent were having a great conversation.” She nodded her head at the man in question, who still didn’t react. Isolde glanced in his direction briefly before turning back to Amara.

“Well, we should be returning now. Ah, wait a second.” She turned around, pulling out that same rough ore from before as she did so. Raising a hand, that icy blue light glowed from her palm again after a few seconds, and the panel covering the entrance trembled as it began to rise and drift back to place. This time Amara was sure to watch Levent closely, and it was undeniable the way he stilled at the sight of the magic.

“There.” Isolde nodded once the panel was securely back in place. A cloud of dust rose from the area, lightly obscuring it. The light of her magic faded, and in her hands, the rough ore cracked, fissures climbing up its surface and breaking into smaller and smaller branches before it shattered entirely. Levent winced as it did so, but Isolde herself simply dusted her gloved hands off, clearing them of any lingering shards. That was a low quality ore, Amara assumed, based on how unbothered she seemed by it breaking in comparison to her earrings.

Taking a second to adjust her dark gloves, Isolde turned towards the tunnel exit without a second glance at the area.

“Let’s head back.”

—

Levent led the two of them out of the maze of tunnels in silence, their footsteps echoing around the walls as they walked. More than once Amara thought she caught him glancing back at them, specifically at Isolde, with wariness, but every incident was quick enough that she couldn’t be certain.

When they did finally reach the exit and stepped outside the mines, the two miners from earlier were nowhere to be seen. Amara breathed in the outside air, not even minding the dustiness, and stretched her arms. She felt the bandages pull, restricting her range of motion, and she sighed but dropped her arms back down. She could practically hear Joan’s disapproving voice in her head. She’d have to check the wounds again later to see if the skin covering them was still thin.

Stopping in his tracks, Levent turned around to face the two of them for the first time since they’d begun the trip back. He bowed stiffly.

“Have a good day,” he said, voice painfully monotone. He straightened and turned to leave, not even waiting for a response, which Isolde didn’t seem to be planning on giving anyway. She barely acknowledged the man, though Amara was sure to wave energetically at his retreating figure.

“See you later!” she called after him. Levent didn’t turn around, simply striding forward at the same pace, but she had the feeling that he would be scowling if she could see his face.

The man soon disappeared between the surrounding hills, weaving around and blending into clouds of dust, and Amara finally lowered her arm, satisfied. When she turned around again, Isolde was watching her closely.

“You seem to have taken an interest in that source,” she observed.

“Levent,” Amara corrected on instinct. She shrugged. “Eh, he kind of reminds me of someone I used to know.”

“I see.” Isolde was silent for a moment before she tilted her head to the side, dark hair swaying. “Out of curiosity, is this the same person you said I looked similar to?”

Amara blinked. “Yeah, actually. I didn’t think you still remembered that.”

Isolde just smiled. “I have a fairly good memory.” She kept watching her with that strange smile that only seemed to widen. “Do you always do that?”

“Do what?”

The other woman nodded in the direction Levent had disappeared to. “Process things through the lens of your past.”

Amara frowned. “I mean, I figured that was normal.”

“Oh it certainly is, but perhaps not to the extent that you seem to do it.” Isolde’s eyes sharpened into that cool, icy observance that still sent shivers down Amara’s spine. They weren’t accusing or threatening, that much Amara could say for certain, but she couldn’t discern what was there.

The woman took a step forward. “I wonder…” she began. Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. “No, never mind. Please forget I said anything.”

Amara stared at the other woman, who seemed content to stand in silence. She opened her mouth, but found she didn’t know what to respond with. So instead, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine,” she said, finally tearing her eyes away.

Isolde just hummed. The woman’s hands lightly passed over her full bag, her eyes drifting up towards the sky. The sun had already passed its apex, but it would still be some time before the blue hues shifted into reds and yellows.

“We should return to the inn,” she murmured. “I’ll explain the different ore categories to you, if you’d like.”

It felt like a concession, or perhaps a final agreement to move on from the conversation. Amara felt strangely relieved. She nodded.

“Yeah,” she said. “That sounds good.”