Fatefall - 47

Chapter 47 - Adrian

Alas, I digress.

Adrian didn’t know how to feel.

On one hand, he didn’t want to trust Declan. Sage had found this man on the street and taken his blasphemous words as truth. His theories were outlandish and sacreligious. This experiment seemed bound to fail.

However, Sage claimed that Declan had helped him before and Adrian couldn’t shake the feeling that Declan had helped him too at some point, though he couldn’t recall when. His theories sounded like they might hold a grain of truth, and even if they were sacreligious, hadn’t the whole concept of Fatefall been unholy too? And what about his experiments? There couldn’t be harm in at least attempting them, right?

Declan had been right about one thing: Adrian’s Grace.

Ever since he’d learned he could willingly weaken his Grace, he’d been able to sense the Graces of his teammates. He’d grown accustomed to it quickly, so he’d stopped noticing it…until now. It was as though he could feel their emptiness like it was his own. 

Declan was right when he said Adrian could sense other Graces, so what was to say that he couldn’t also control their Graces like Declan theorized.

All of these thoughts battled for dominance in the back of his mind as Declan beckoned with his lantern for Adrian and the others to follow him.

This time, Nakoa hoisted Poppy off the ground, something Adrian was grateful for. He knew Nakoa was probably weak from her time in prison, but his arms burned from the exertion. Whenever his life returned to normal, he decided he would dive back into fighting practices with a newfound appreciation for the strength it gave him. 

Declan had laid out a blanket in the center of the arena like he was setting up for a picnic. He gestured for Adrian and the others to take a seat and they obliged. 

Across the blanket, vials of swirling golden light were meticulously arranged. Declan sat beside them, his fingers drifting over the bottles in an almost longing sort of way.

“Are those…Graces?” Sage asked in disbelief.

Declan nodded. Adrian counted ten bottles, two for each of the Graces. 

“How do you know which is which?” Adrian asked.

“They’re labeled,” Declan explained. “But even if they weren’t, the Graces all have different temperaments. You’ve noticed that, haven’t you?”

He had, in fact. The Grace of Time was the most laid back. Just like Nakoa, it was content to sit back and observe the world. The Grace of Life, on the other hand, pushed at the edges of its bottle, seeking escape and freedom. The Grace of Soul burned brightly, on the verge of bursting. The Grace of Void shrank back from the other Graces. The Grace of Deceit was the hardest to get a read on, especially as it shifted uneasily. 

“Why do you have the Grace of Soul and Grace of Void with you?” Nakoa pressed. She’d laid Poppy beside her. “Adrian and Sage don’t need Graces.”

“I already mentioned my intentions to give Sage a Grace of his own, and considering he’s been masquerading as a Graced of Soul his entire life, I figured he’d probably choose that one. Of course, the choice is up to him. As for the Grace of Void, that’s merely here for my curiosity. If one can indeed transplant Graces, I would be interested to test if a secondary Grace or even a doubled Grace could be achieved.”

“One more question,” Jett said. “Is this…will this hurt?”

Declan gave a sad smile. “Unfortunately, I do not believe this process will be pleasant. However, I believe it to be worth the pain.”

Jett grimaced at that, and Adrian couldn’t blame him.

He wasn’t exactly thrilled with what this process entailed either. If his Grace failed him or if Declan’s theories were wrong, it could spell the end for any of Adrian’s teammates. 

“Now,” Declan continued, oblivious to Adrian’s hesitation. “Who would like to go first?”

“I’m calling ‘not it’ on that one,” Jett said. 

“I wasn’t going to suggest that you be the test subject anyway,” Declan said. His attention turned to Poppy, still unconscious. “If she doesn’t receive help soon, I’m afraid that she might not survive.”

“In other words, you’re telling us she has nothing to lose,” Adrian clarified.

Declan nodded solemnly. “I don’t know why her Grace removal has affected her more than it does the rest of you, but I think this is a necessary risk otherwise you might lose her for good.”

Adrian glanced at the others, silently asking for their support. He hoped Poppy could forgive him for making this choice for her. And if she doesn’t, he reminded himself, you’re not exactly on speaking terms right now.

“Let’s do it,” he decided.

“Bring the girl over here,” Declan instructured, patting the blanket beside him.

Nakoa gently lifted Poppy and placed her where Declan had indicated. Adrian moved so he sat beside Declan and maneuvered Poppy so her head rested in Adrian’s lap.

“I’m going to make a cut on her wrist and pour her Grace over it. Your job is to guide her Grace to its proper place,” Declan explained. “Trust in your Grace, Your Highness.”

Adrian inhaled deeply, trying to loosen the knot of nerves that had buried itself in his gut. 

Declan unsheathed the knife at his side and used it to make a small cut on Poppy’s wrist. His fingers drifted over the bottles again and selected one of the Graces of Life, uncorking it and drizzling its golden contents over her wrist. The golden light hovered over her skin like a layer of dust.

Adrian’s Grace prickled with awareness. He could sense the Grace of Life dancing across Poppy’s skin like it was curious about her. Like it recognized her and wanted to come home.

His Grace had always operated on instinct---most Graces did. 

Trust your instincts.

His Grace latched on to the Grace of Life, wrapping around it and tugging it down, into the blood leaking from Poppy’s wrist. He closed his eyes and let his Grace guide Poppy's Grace to the empty hole he sensed in her chest. Her Grace slid easily into place like the last piece of a puzzle.

Once he was sure her Grace had settled in, he opened his eyes.

Nakoa, Jett, and Sage stared at him in disbelief. 

“You…the Grace…it listened to you?” Jett stuttered.

“It appears my theory was correct,” Declan stated simply. 

“A Grace can be returned,” Nakoa whispered under her breath, her eyes widening. “Does that mean that the rest of your theories are also true?”

“That is a problem for a later experiment,” Declan said. “Now that we’ve proven that a Grace can return, I’m assuming you two want your Graces back as well?” 

Nakoa and Jett nodded eagerly. 

Adrian couldn’t share their enthusiasm. This power…it felt wrong. Not only could he nullify the effects of other Graces, but now he could remove them and return them at will? What did this mean for others with the Grace of Void? 

Poppy stirred next to Adrian, startling him out of his thoughts. She didn’t wake, but her breathing slowed into an easy rhythm as she curled her legs to her chest. Adrian wrapped her jacket tighter around her to ward off the cold. He took a roll of bandages that Declan offered him and carefully wrapped her wrist.

Nakoa opted to go first, just in case the process needed more fine-tuning. Adrian was pretty sure she only wanted her Grace sooner, but he couldn’t blame her. Declan wiped his blade on his shirt and handed it to Nakoa, who made a cut on her own wrist. 

The process went easier this time. Nakoa’s Grace seemed to recognize her more than Poppy’s had and barely needed any guidance to find its way home.

While Nakoa wrapped her wound, Jett took his turn receiving his Grace once more. Sage sat at his side, holding his free hand as Adrian guided Jett’s Grace to its rightful home.

Only when Jett tied off his bandage did Declan speak again. 

His words were directed at Sage. “It’s time for you to make your decision,” Declan said. “What I’ve seen here today strengthens my confidence that you can have a Grace---and not just the Grace of Soul, but any Grace you might desire.”

“Sage,” Jett whispered, laying a hand on Sage’s shoulder. “You don’t have to take a Grace if you don’t want to. Don’t feel pressured to become the boy your parents want you to be.”

Sage nodded once. “I know and…I’m not doing this for my parents.” He turned to Jett. “I’m doing this for me.”

“Are you sure about this?” Nakoa asked. “I’m not worried about the experiment going wrong, Sage, but…you shouldn’t make this choice because society tells you that you need a Grace to be strong.”

“I’m not doing this for society,” Sage assured her. “I’m doing this for me. I want the Grace of Soul.”

Declan handed him a vial of the Grace of Soul. “The original owner of this Grace won’t be needing it back.”

Sage paled. “Did…did you kill him?”

Declan laughed. “No, of course not. He took care of that himself rather than live a life without his Grace. Don’t be deterred by the morbid story, though. This is one of the strongest Graces I’ve ever seen.”

Sage sucked in a breath, then took the knife from Declan.

Sage’s new Grace was the trickiest to guide because it quite obviously didn’t want to belong to him. It fought against Adrian’s Grace and he had to wrangle it into place. Even then, it didn’t click into place but rather Adrian had to force it in with all of his strength.

Sage gave a whimper of pain and Adrian’s eyes flew open, afraid that he’d made a mistake.

“What did you do to him?” Jett demanded of no one in particular. 

“I’m fine,” Sage protested, weaseling his way out of Jett’s grip. His skin seemed paler than normal as he quickly wrapped his wound with the remaining bandages. “It’s just a bit different.”

“Because your Grace isn’t necessarily naturally fitted to you, it might be a bit uncomfortable at first,” Declan said. “If something doesn’t feel right or you think you might be in danger, the prince can neutralize your Grace and we can have it removed.”

“I’m fine,” Sage insisted. 

“How can we repay you?”Adrian asked Declan before Jett could start an argument. “Surely there’s something we can give you.”

“You are the ones who helped me,” Declan protested with a wave of his hand. “My experiments have proven successful and I intend to share them with the king. The gift of knowledge is all I need--”
“You’re a former competitor,” Sage interrupted. “You lost your Grace, didn’t you?”

Declan shook his head. “My team and I managed to escape---albeit not unharmed.”

“What happened?” Adrian asked, his curiosity piqued. 

“We didn’t want to have our Graces removed, so we intended to flee to Aecheral. I know, I know, it was the coward’s way out.”
“Quite the contrary,” Jett said. “To flee to Aecheral with Graces?”
“We knew the Golden Guard wouldn’t stop until they found us. It would be safer in Aecheral, where we could hide our Graces. However, on the way to the docks, the Guard shot at us with arrows tipped in an odd metal that felt like it pierced my soul. It broke my Grace, and I’ve been unable to use it since. The rest of my team fled without me and--” He broke off with a shake of his head. “I’m not here to make the rest of you feel guilty.”

“I could fix your Grace,” Adrian interjected without hesitation.

He couldn’t let Declan go without repaying him in some way, and this seemed like the perfect idea. He’d fix Declan’s Grace and maybe they could bring Declan with them when they fled Xegalla. 

“You’ve already used your Grace much more than it is used to being used today,” Declan argued. “I wouldn’t want to exhaust you further.”
“I want to help,” Adrian shot back. “Please, sir, it’s the least I can do.”

Declan sighed, his eyes glimmering with what had to be tears. “Well, fine, I suppose. If you insist. But if this starts to wear on your Grace, feel free to stop.”

“I will,” Adrian promised. And with that, he knelt in front of Declan and let his Grace begin to work.