Chapter 6

Signe woke up in the afternoon to a knock on the door. She yawned, got dressed and opened it, only to find an envelope on the floor. Whoever delivered the message was long gone, not even a trace of their energy signature. She picked it up and held it in her hand. It was thin, probably only a piece of paper inside. She carefully opened it and found a handwritten letter from Rosea.

 She read it, then quickly tore it up. Another letter from Rosea telling her to be careful, to not fall for Caine's tricks. She let the pieces burn to ashes. Even though Signe didn't really practice fire magic, it was one of the easiest spells to learn, even for someone that was specialized in Energetic magic, a completely different field in the world of magic.

 With one last look in the mirror she headed out. Her head was foggy, but she knew she had to continue her work. She needed Caine to lower his guard, start to trust her. She was clueless on how to make that happen, but maybe wandering around his house and snoop around could give her some answers.

 It was empty when she arrived. The girl was nowhere to be seen, same with Caine. Signe found an open window. Without hesitation she climbed in and landed in a bedroom. The room was full of dust with white linen sheets over the furniture. She could see a bed, a closet, and a desk, like most other bedrooms in the standard Kaldrian home.

 Signe looked around but couldn't see anything suspicious, so she exited the room. The door took her into another room, a living room. This room looked used. It was clean, a tiny carpet was on the floor underneath two chairs. On the table stood an empty cup.

 The kitchen was tiny but clean, someone was definitely living here. But that didn't explain the dusty bedroom. Signe saw two other doors along the far wall. She walked closer and opened the first one. It led into a bedroom. The bed was made, the blanket stretched out as straight as it could. On the desk was a hairbrush and metal hairpins. She opened the closet and found white linen shirts and old wool dresses. There were some thinner ones made of cotton, but they also looked at least fifteen years old.

 Signe walked out and into the next room, also a bedroom. This one was even tinier than the last one and only had a closet and a bed. The bed was also made but the blanket was still wrinkled. She couldn't find anything suspicious in the closet either, it was only shirts or pants, these ones also older than time itself. With a sigh she left the room, snuck out of the same window where she entered and left the property.

 It wasn't until nightfall she could hear their voices. She recognized the girl's happy voice and the boy's annoyed, angry voice. Signe expanded her energy again, to listen to what they were saying. But the only thing she could hear was Caine telling the girl to go inside the house.

 "I know you're there," he said, and Signe stepped out of the shadows. "Stop following me," he added. "I don't know why you're here but stop bothering me and my sister!" Signe stayed quiet. "Who are you again?"

 "I'm Signe," Signe said. Caine shook his head. "I know your name. I guess I should rephrase myself. What are you?" Signe looked at him, tried to figure out what he was thinking, but his face was impossible to read. "Look closer," she said, and she saw the realization in his eyes when he figured out who she was. "That's what I thought," she said. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?"

 "Are you here to kill me?"

 Silence.

 "Answer me!"

 Signe sighed. "I'm not here to kill you."

 Caine looked confused. "Then why are you here?" Signe took a step forward; Caine took a step backwards. "Not here. Come." She motioned for him to follow her, and she started to walk towards the outer parts of Kaldria, to the service entrance of the city. Caine followed her, hesitant, and he looked back at the house, stopping multiple times on the way. Signe stopped and looked at him. "You're coming or not?"

 "I don't trust you," he said. Signe sighed. "Well, the feeling is mutual. But that doesn't mean we can't have a chat, right?" She could see him think about it, and even though he decided to follow her, his body language showed that he was on high alert. She knew that one wrong word or movement would mean him being gone in an instant.

 "One condition," he said. "You need to answer my questions."

 "What do you want to know?" She climbed up on the wall and Caine followed. They sat down next to each other with less than a meter between them.

 "Why this sudden interest in me?" he asked. Signe sighed again. "You tell me. Why is the Council after you?"

 "Don't you know already? You're here for a reason right."

 "They didn't tell me anything."

 Caine laughed. "Too bad then. I'm not telling you."

 "Why not?"

 "I already told you. I don't trust you."

 Signe stared straight ahead, refusing to look at him. "You're not really helping," she said. Caine jumped down. "I don't know why you're here. I don't know your intentions. Therefore I don't trust you."

 Fair enough, Signe thought. Caine already began to walk away, and she knew she had to come up with something fast. "Your powers," she began, "you can't control them, right?" She didn't know for sure, but it was her last card to play in this conversation. Caine turned around.

 "And if I can't?" Signe jumped down and walked towards him. "I can try and help you. Let me try and help you." Caine looked at her with doubt in his eyes. "Why? What's your intention?"

 "Don't you want to be able to walk around without fear? Without being scared that one wrong move can turn your sister to ashes?" She could see in his eyes that she had hit a sore point. "Please just… Let me help. Let this be my way of showing you that you can trust me. At least we can try right? What's the worst that can happen?" Signe felt helpless, as if she was grasping for something that wasn't even there. Then, to her surprise, Caine nodded. "Fine," he said. "But I still don't trust you."