Chapter 148: Book 3: Time (for) Skills
"You could have at least warned me you were going to try it," Ahkelios complains.
He's been justifiably upset for a while now. We're taking our time and walking back toward Isthanok, although it's a long way away; the Knight covered quite a lot of distance while he was out of control. I'm almost back to the Cliffside Crows. My memories of traveling are somewhat fragmented, probably because I spent some of that time fighting the Knight for control over our shared body—I have a vague recollection of passing through the gates to the Great Cities, but I don't really remember landing on anything that wasn't a tree.
I glance at Ahkelios, who's still looking at me, affronted. "I know, I know," I say with a little sigh, reaching up to nudge him with a finger. At least it's easy enough to follow the trail of destroyed trees, grass, and cratered dirt back to Isthanok. I can't imagine what the guards at the wall are going to think. "In my defense, I don't think I was entirely in control when that happened."
"You weren't in control at all." Ahkelios looks away, grumbling.
"I mean when I used the Inspiration," I say. I can't really be mad at his grumbling. A lot of his annoyance just comes from genuine worry, and every little gesture he makes reflects that worry. "It wanted to be used. I... don't know how else to explain it."
Ahkelios makes a noise in his throat. "And it won't happen again?"
I hesitate. "I don't think so," I say carefully. "But I'm not ruling anything out. You get to manifest yourself whenever you want, but the Knight and I... we have to share a body. It's not so simple for us."
The little mantis looks away. That point hits home. The truth is, the situation with the Knight is more complicated than I'm ready to think about. For one thing, it's both aware and strong enough to influence me. That's something I'm going to have to keep in mind—even now, what we have is tentative.
Trust takes time to build, and the Knight might be willing to put a little faith in me, but it doesn't yet trust me. Not entirely.