Read Online What Matters Most by Sasha L. Miller - Free Book Online Page B

moment, and then nodded. "She'll be expecting me, and I'd rather not start the day on a bad note.
    Give Kyros my love."
    Raslin nodded and sat down at the table. Ailynn bustled around, packing up a satchel with a few dishes and some ingredients. When she left, Raslin could see a glimpse of more snow falling outside.
    Kyros stumbled down from the loft a few moments later, not looking much more awake than he had when Raslin had left him previously. He wandered over to the kitchen, looking around as though he was missing something.
    "Where's my mother?" Kyros asked finally. He sounded more awake, at least.
    "She went down to Hally's to do some baking and spend some time with her," Raslin said, finishing off the rest of the porridge in his bowl. "You want breakfast?"
    "No, it'll keep," Kyros said, yawning. Raslin hoped he did go back to bed when he was finished with whatever he wanted to give Raslin. Kyros set a small wooden box on the table. It was square, about the size of Raslin's bowl, and as Kyros moved the box, Raslin could see each side was carved. The carvings were faces mostly, though one side—the front, perhaps—was carved instead with an intricate pattern that didn't seem to paint a picture.
    "What is it?" Raslin asked. Kyros slid the box towards him across the table top. It rattled when Raslin picked it up, and he frowned at it. It was hollow inside, but there was no obvious latch.
    "It's a puzzle box," Kyros said, pushing a lock of his ash blond hair from his face. He scooted his chair closer, his knee accidentally knocking against Raslin's under the table. Kyros paid it no mind, though. "As you probably guessed, it's got a compartment inside."
    "How do you open it?" Raslin asked, trying to ignore Kyros'
    proximity and the way it made him too aware of Kyros' every slight movement. There was barely a foot of space between them, though the corner of the table gave the illusion that they were further apart than that.
    "There are a series of catches you have to press at the same time," Kyros said, looking up and meeting Raslin's eyes. Kyros'
    expression was solemn, and Raslin fought a shiver at the intensity in Kyros' gaze. "I'll walk you through it."
    Raslin turned it over in his hands. He spotted one of the catches immediately; one of the faces' noses was more prominent than the rest, and pressing it made the box click.
    "Press that one, and the left eye on the adjacent face,"
    Kyros directed. Raslin did so, and a small panel on the top of the box popped open. He flipped it open, revealing a deep cubby.
    There were three gold coins in the box, along with a silver ring set with a single green stone.
    "What are they for?" Raslin asked, frowning. The coins were just coins; there was nothing significant about them that Raslin could see. The ring could be anything though, and Raslin wouldn't know its import. Raslin pulled it out of the box, studying it in the firelight cast by the stove.
    "Distraction," Kyros said. "I need to add something to keep them from rattling, but I haven't gotten around to it yet."
    "There's some fabric scraps—" Raslin started, but Kyros shook his head.
    "That's not important," Kyros said, pulling the box closer.
    "You can only do this with the first compartment open. Then you press here … and here … and keep the box flat on the table." Kyros placed his hands carefully along the edges of the box, slowly and deliberately so that Raslin could follow along.
    Another flap popped open, thin and small, along the bottom of the box.
    Kyros slid the tray out, revealing a compressed, folded stack of papers, and that made more sense than the coins and the ring. He unfolded the pages, studying them for a moment before passing them to Raslin. Raslin took them, automatically catching the thick iron key that fell out as he took the sheaf of papers.
    The top page was a deed to a house in Mykon, a coastal city that was clear on the other side of the country from where Kyros had said Ailynn was going. The