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Chapter 2

Saraneth had been asleep, or at least pretending to be when Ranna visited on her later that night, so there was no opportunity to question her about her strange behaviour until the next morning. Not content with the lack of explanation, however, Dyrim had invented her own theory by the morning and wasted no time in sharing it with the others.

Being the one who knew Saraneth best, Ranna was sure that Dyrim's explanation was wrong; she knew Saraneth would not be jealous of Astarael for being the first to find a lover. Saraneth had never expressed any interest in that sort of thing, and it was Orannis' name that had made her react in the way she did, and not the news that Astarael was in love.

Ranna tried to explain this but Dyrim, being Dyrim, drowned Ranna's voice out with her own. Eventually, Ranna grew so annoyed with Dyrim that she was forced to take a deep breath and calmly remove herself from the situation to avoid starting a very uncharacteristic argument.

It was past midday already, and Saraneth had yet to be seen outside of her room, so Ranna decided to see if she was alright. It was not uncommon for Saraneth to spend a lot of time on her own, but she rarely avoided the others for that long. Ranna figured that, if Saraneth was not in the mood to be sociable, she stood the best chance of cheering her up. She also had the smallest chance of being subjected to one of Saraneth's infamous glares.

Just as Ranna was about to knock on the door to Saraneth's room, a flash of golden light briefly came from inside. Curious and a little puzzled, Ranna paused and pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear what was going on, but she heard nothing. A few moments later, another golden flash illuminated the floor, lasting for a fraction longer time than before.

'Saraneth?' Ranna called, her curiosity growing even more. She heard a quiet curse from inside the room before Saraneth answered.

'Who is it?'

'It's Ranna,' Ranna replied. 'What are you doing?'

'Nothing. Why do you ask?'

'I was wondering if you were alright, that's all,' Ranna answered. 'You haven't come out of your room yet. It's past midday already.'

'I know. I've been busy,' Saraneth explained vaguely.

Ranna raised her eyebrows. She could always tell when Saraneth was hiding something, and it was usually very difficult to get the information out of her.

'What have you been busy with? Making that light?' Ranna asked before she could stop herself. She was still interested in the source of that light; it had felt like a Free Magic spell and also not like one at the same time. There was a long pause before Saraneth spoke again.

'I didn't know you'd seen that.'

'It was hard not to notice it, seeing as I was standing right out here.'

Ranna heard Saraneth sigh in annoyance. Evidently the source of that light was something she had intended to keep a secret.

'Can I come in?' Ranna asked tentatively, after another awkward pause.

'If you want to.'

Slowly, Ranna pushed open the door and entered the room. Saraneth was sitting on the edge of her bed and her dark eyes followed Ranna as she came to sit beside her. Realising that she had only been in this room once before, Ranna took a brief look around before becoming aware that Saraneth's eyes were still on her.

'You're staring at me,' she pointed out, trying to stare back, but finding Saraneth's gaze too intimidating.

'I know,' Saraneth replied, without blinking.

Ranna shifted a little on the bed. 'It's unnerving.'

Saraneth grinned mischievously. 'I know.'

Ranna rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh. Saraneth was also struggling to keep a straight face.

'Stop it.'

'No.'

'Why?'

'Because I don't want to.'

Ranna gave Saraneth a playful shove. 'Irritating being.'

Saraneth shoved her back. 'You love it.'

'I suppose it's better than having you in one of your antisocial moods,' Ranna agreed, a little more seriously.

'Since when do I have antisocial moods?' Saraneth asked, pretending to be offended at Ranna's comment.

'Well, you were in a bit of one at the end of last night,' Ranna answered. 'What was that about, anyway? None of us have had the chance to ask you about it yet. You left so quickly after Astarael mentioned –'

'I know,' Saraneth interrupted.

'So what was that about?'

'It was nothing. I just remembered that I'd forgotten to do something in here, that's all. It was a little urgent, so I had to go quickly.'

Ranna was far from convinced. 'The sooner you tell me why you disappeared like that, the sooner we can get Dyrim to stop giving everyone her own explanation.'

'What's she been saying?' Saraneth asked, looking a little worried, her voice quieter than usual.

'She says you're jealous of Astarael because she's found a lover before you have,' Ranna explained quickly. 'I kept telling her that she's wrong, but you know what she can be like sometimes. I'd just like to know the real reason. We all would.'

'You don't need to know,' Saraneth said shortly, looking away from Ranna. 'It's a long story, and it's one I prefer to keep to myself.'

Ranna studied Saraneth's expression carefully. She could tell that she was hiding something that was hurting her in some way, but it was clear that she was adamant about keeping it to herself.

'You knew him, didn't you?' Ranna asked after a few minutes of silence.

'Who?' Saraneth asked, looking up.

'Orannis.'

Saraneth flinched at the name and sighed heavily, looking away again. 'Yes,' she answered reluctantly.

'Is that why you reacted so strangely last night? Because you know something about him that we don't?'

'You could say that,' Saraneth answered quietly.

'Does Astarael need to know it, whatever it is?' Ranna asked. She was slightly surprised that she was getting proper answers from Saraneth – a sure sign that she was hiding more than she was giving away.

'It'd be better if she did know,' Saraneth replied. 'The problem is that she won't want to hear it. If anyone tries to tell her, she won't like it so she won't listen.'

'You could always try,' Ranna suggested. 'She said she was seeing him again tonight, so you may want to tell her soon, before she leaves.'

Saraneth sighed. 'She really loves him, doesn't she?'

Ranna nodded. 'You heard what she was like last night. She's completely besotted.'

'Then it's going to be hard to get her to believe what I have to tell her,' Saraneth said gravely. She stood up and made her way to the door, Ranna following.

'What is it that you need to tell her?' Ranna asked just as Saraneth reached the door, not sure how much of an answer she was going to get.

Saraneth paused in the doorway. 'He's dangerous.' Then she left the room before Ranna could comment.

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