by Imogen Elvis
“I knew you’d understand.” Kade hesitated, and in the space, Briar could feel the inevitable questions rising. “What happened? To your family I mean. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he added hastily.
“It’s alright.” And, surprisingly it was. In the darkness before dawn, the words that usually abandoned her whenever she tried to talk about that night came flooding to her lips. Instead of the sharp, stabbing pain of loss, there was just a vague, shapeless sadness as she remembered. “Most of my family died in Astar.”
“In the fire?”
“Yes.” Briar stared out at the fading stars as the first hint of grey touched the sky. “My mother was a fire singer, and a powerful one at that. She was a wonderful woman, warm and kind. She loved everyone. But she could never quite control her magic. When she was angry, things would catch on fire.” She took a deep breath, the words opening wounds that, despite all this time, were still as raw and fresh as the day they were made. “And then one night, she burned everything.”
Kade put his arm around Briar’s shoulders, drawing her closer in silent comfort. “It’s alright.”
Hot tears sprang to Briar’s eyes. She closed them, seeing that night again, painted on the backs of her eyelids in orange and black. “She was angry at me, at something I said. It was a stupid argument really. I should have known better. But she was so angry. And everything burned because of it. Because of me.” A tear traced a path down her cheek. “Only a few of us got out.” Her voice broke. “It’s my fault they’re dead.”
Kade’s arms tightened around Briar. She cried into his shoulder then, all the tears she’d never been able to shed when they were trying to survive, when she needed to be strong for Ava. The tears for losing everything she loved, her home, her people, her family. Tears at the guilt she carried for all the mistakes she’d made. They all came flooding out at once.
“The fire wasn’t your fault,” Kade whispered gently. “No one meant for it to happen. You can’t carry the guilt for an accident.”
“If I’d done something-” Her voice caught in her throat. “If I hadn’t argued with her-”
“It might still have happened. If not now, then some other time.” Kade stroked Briar’s hair gently. “She couldn’t control her magic. But that wasn’t your fault.”
Something inside Briar eased at his words, as if all this time she had been waiting for someone’s permission to believe she might not be entirely to blame. Kade’s arms around her were a reminder to Briar that she wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
Finally, the tears dried up and Briar sat back, sniffing. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cry like that. I… it’s just, I’ve never talked about it before.”
“It’s alright. Sometimes you just need to cry.” In the grey light of the approaching dawn, Kade gave her a half smile. “Who knows, maybe I’ll cry on your shoulder one of these days.”
“Anytime.” Something warm sparked inside Briar. He might be a prince, and she might be a magician, but inside they knew the same brokenness of a past built on mistakes that could never quite be fixed. “Kade?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” She couldn’t find the words to express the overwhelming gratitude in her heart for someone who listened without judgement, who finally understood her, but she hoped he could feel it.
“No, thank you, Briar. For caring.” Kade squeezed Briar’s hand. “I’m so sorry for what Sachio did to you and your sister. I promise, if there’s anything I can do to get her back-”
“Thank you.” Briar smiled sadly. There was no getting Ava back now. Not without stopping Sachio first. But the very fact that he was willing to help was comforting. “And thank you for not telling Lara and Rowen about what happened to her. I-I know they’ll need to know eventually. I just don’t think I can do it yet.”
“I understand. You can tell them yourself when you’re ready.”
“Anyway.” Briar roused herself, pushing away the heavy memories with an effort. “I don’t suppose it’s important right now. The main thing is to stop Sachio.” She turned and looked Kade straight in the eye. “Wherever you go, I’m going. Somehow, we are going to end this.”
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
The group left the cave as soon as there was enough light to see by, and set off up a small, steep path that wound slowly along the side of the mountain. So far today, there was no sign of the Nameless Ones. Maybe their pursuers had gone by in the night, or maybe Kade’s course change had actually thrown them off the scent, but, for whatever reason, there was no sign of anyone following them. Though, Briar almost preferred being able to see how close they were getting. The uncertainty was stifling.
“Are you sure this is going to take us the right way?” Lara’s nose wrinkled as she nodded at their little path. “It doesn’t look like anyone but goats use this track.”
“It will,” Rowen said confidently. “I’ve checked the map.”
“Oh, that’s a great comfort then. It’s not like you’ve ever got us lost before.”
“That was one time. Take a look, see for yourself.” He thrust out the map.
Lara waved it away. “I’m alright, thank you. But I’m blaming you if we get lost up here.”
“It’s Kade’s route too. Why don’t you blame him for once?”
“Because Kade’s my friend, so I have to be nice to him, but I’m stuck with you.” Lara’s voice took on a teasing note. “Besides, it’s more fun blaming you.”
“Great. Next time you do the navigating. We’ll see how we get on then. In the meantime, have a little faith in us, please.”
Quiet fell for a while after that. Briar gazed up at the mountain overhead. If she squinted, she could just make out the threadlike track as it wound its way around the steep slope, finally disappearing into the rocks and ledges above. Craning her neck to see the peak, Briar suddenly felt so small compared to the majesty of the landscape around her.
While Kade and Rowen led the way, their heads bent over the map, Briar and Lara walked side by side in a comfortable silence. Lara watched Kade with a curiously gentle expression on her usually sharp face. Looking at her, Briar got a sense of just how strong this friendship was. Strong enough for Lara and Rowen to give up their whole lives to help Kade. She was lucky to have met these people.
“How long have you known Kade?” Briar asked.
Lara shrugged. “All my life, pretty much. We grew up together. Rowen and I, we were children at court, just like Kade. He was bored. We were bored. So we became friends, out of necessity more than anything else. Rowen and Kade let me follow them around all the time, even when I was too small to play their games.”
“And when he was accused?”
“We weren’t at court when Sachio made his move. Rowen had business on the estate, and I went to keep him company. We were only gone for a few days, but we heard all about it as soon as we returned. I couldn’t believe Kade would even think about betraying his people. You know what he’s like. He’d sooner die. So we set out to find him and learn the truth. If he was innocent, we wanted to be sure justice was done.”
“And if he wasn’t?”
Lara’s lips tightened. “Then we’d still make sure justice was done.” Her gaze went soft again as she watched Kade talking with her brother, pointing up the trail and gesturing emphatically. “But I knew it wasn’t true.”
“How did you find him?”
“We used to talk about what we’d do if the castle was ever taken over. You know, like in the old stories? When we were children, we worked out this elaborate escape plan. It sounded so exciting back then. The reality leaves a lot to be desired. But it did give us an idea of where to start. And we’ve been helping him ever since.”
“But now you can’t go home,” Briar said softly. “Because Master Sachio knows.”
“So?” Lara looked Briar square in the eye. “Kade needs us. We’re with him for as long as he needs our help. We’ll figure anything else out when the time comes. Besides, if t
he Tree does what you think, then we won’t have to worry about that, will we?”
“True.” Though that was a lot of faith to pin on an idea Briar couldn’t even guarantee would work. Still, she managed a smile, covering her doubts. “There’s no point in worrying about it now, I suppose.”
“Exactly. Face forwards, keep moving and try not to worry about the things you can’t control. That’s how I get by.”
Briar hesitated. There were still so many questions she longed to have the answers to. “And at one point, there was Kade and Glissando, right?” She tried to phrase it casually, but the lift of Lara’s eyebrow suggested that Briar hadn’t been as successful as she’d hoped.
“I forgot you met Gliss. What did you think of her?”
“She was nice enough, I suppose. I don’t really know. I was too busy being frustrated at all the time I thought we were wasting.” Briar gave a wry smile. That was not her proudest moment. “I’m just surprised she never recognised Kade if they were to be married.”
“She and Kade were engaged for a few months before everything with Sachio happened. Kade took it seriously. Gliss, I think she just liked the prestige it gave her. Not that she didn’t like him, but she liked the status it gave her even more. Anyway, Kade’s not the same person he was back then. He got thin and grew a beard for a start. He was almost a skeleton before we found him. I think he’d about given up.”
That was a difficult image to reconcile with the Kade that Briar knew. She watched him as he scanned the area, his eyes alert. This Kade had a fire inside. The image of him defeated and despairing was not something Briar wanted to imagine. “But still, surely he doesn’t look that different.”
“He doesn’t wear a crown. At court, people don’t really see you as a person, especially if you’re part of the royal family. Without the crown and royal status, Kade is nothing. They wouldn’t even see him. That’s why Glissando never recognised him. She knows him only as the prince. She never knew the real Kade. Not like we do.”
“He seemed pretty heartbroken though. She’s engaged to someone else now.”
“He didn’t love her. I’m sure of that.” Lara tossed her braid over her shoulder. “I guess, she was a part of a time when people saw him as the good man he is. I think it was more of a reminder that things will never go back to the way they were before. Even if we stop Sachio, even if the king pardons him and the charges are cleared from his name, nothing will ever be quite the same.”
“I get that,” Briar said softly. In her mind, she had this golden dream of finding Ava, taking her back to Osman, re-joining the Order, and slipping back into their lives as if this had never happened. But that would never be. Even if Ava had come with her, they couldn’t go back to the way things were. They’d both been through too much.
“Anyway,” Lara hitched her pack higher. “They’re getting ahead of us. Come on or we’ll be left behind.” She pushed on ahead of Briar, who followed a little more slowly, her mind still turning over everything she’d just heard. The more she learned about Kade, the more impressed she was that he could keep going, that he still had hope. His fire might just save them all.
Though Briar kept a wary eye out, there was no sign of the Nameless Ones at all that day. That had to be a good sign, right? If the Nameless Ones were still on their trail, they would surely have caught up by now, judging by how fast they’d been travelling the day before. The steep slope made speed impossible, and yet the Nameless Ones were nowhere to be seen. Kade’s crazy plan was actually working. And if that worked, maybe her idea had a chance as well.
Kade’s pace slowed as night fell. The shadows lengthened much faster among the mountains, and the air turned cold the moment the sun dipped behind the peaks. Their path wound through a kind of boulder field, huge slabs of rock sticking up at crazy angles everywhere. It was here that Kade chose to finally stop.
“We’ll camp here tonight. Sounds like the wind’s whipping up and I don’t like the idea of risking these paths at night.”
“Well, at least we can use the rocks as a windbreak.” Rowen eased his pack off his shoulders, wincing. “Though I wouldn’t mind a fire.”
“No chance of that. Unless you packed wood in there somewhere?” Lara lifted an eyebrow at him.
“No, but I do have food. And I fancy eating it before we lose the light completely.” Rowen flipped the top of his pack open. “Anyone else?”
They ate quickly. The light faded faster than Briar had expected and a freezing wind whipped up, howling down the mountain like a hoard of angry spirits. Not that the threat of ghosts scared Briar anymore. There were far more real things to be worrying over. Despite the protection of the rocks though, the wind cut right through the two blankets she wrapped around her. Briar blew on her cold fingers and huddled closer to the sheltering boulders.
Another gust whistled past, making the hairs on the back of Briar’s neck stand up. Not just from the icy air either. She sat up. “Can you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Lara asked. The only part of her showing was a small wedge of face peeking out of a huddle of blankets.
“Magic. There’s a wind singer out there somewhere.” Briar could almost catch the fragments of song scattered into the wind and stretched thin over an impossible distance.
Rowen shot an anxious look at Kade. “Nameless Ones?”
“Maybe.” Kade shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do tonight.” His words were matter of fact, but Briar caught the undertones of tension. “Try and get some rest.”
“I hope they’re telling Sachio that they’ve lost us.” Lara sounded fierce, but her eyes flicked towards Kade, wide and anxious.
“Me too.” Kade shifted, pulling his blanket closer around him. “I’ll take first watch. Rowen, I’ll wake you later. For now, just try and get some sleep.”
Briar tried to settle, but gnawing anxiety ate at her insides. That song proved without a doubt that the Nameless Ones were still out there somewhere. If they were close enough for the wind to bring her their song, then they were close enough to find her and her friends. They weren’t safe yet, not by a long way.
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
The Nameless Ones didn’t attack overnight, and the next day, the group continued the long climb through the mountains. As the path rose higher and higher, the air grew steadily colder, nipping at any exposed skin. Even the hard work of trekking up the slope wasn’t quite enough to keep Briar’s fingers from going numb. She curled them inside her sleeves, wincing as they ached. Her breath steamed in a white cloud until almost midday. It was spring, so why did it feel so cold up here?
The day passed and night fell once more with winds fiercer than ever. Briar had never been so cold in her life. She huddled close to the others, silently sharing their warmth. Her whole body ached with exhaustion. The wind sapped what little energy Briar had, but she couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard she tried. It was a relief when the weak sun rose the next morning, and they could get back on the road.
No one had slept well in the wintery chill it seemed. Sunrise revealed shadowed eyes and pale faces. Briar huffed as she walked, the icy air chilling her lungs as she breathed. She’d never expected the mountains to be this cold. They looked so beautiful and serene with the sun lighting up their slopes. But up close, it was as if winter had never left this place.
They hadn’t been walking long when the road levelled out into a little plateau. Here, the craggy mountainside blocked the sun, leaving them in deep shadow. The ground before them glistened white. White? Briar stared.
“What is that?”
“Haven’t you seen snow before?” Lara asked.
Briar shook her head, staring at the expanse of white-covered ground. The edge glittered where it caught a sliver of sunlight. “But it’s spring. Why is it still here?” Briar poked at it with her toe. Her boot left a perfect imprint in the snow. She grinned suddenly. How absurd.
“We’re so high up that it’s still cold enough to snow, even this late in spring,
” Rowen said. “Remember, the man in town said there was a fall of snow not long ago.” He looked around, scratching the back of his head. “I wasn’t expecting this much though.”
Briar brushed her hand over the surface of the snow. It was so cold, it bit at her fingertips. She shivered and drew her hand back. It looked so pretty, she didn’t expect it to feel so cold. Briar gathered a little in her hand and watched as it melted against her skin. This was nothing like she had imagined. It was a kind of magic all of its own.
“Come on Briar,” Lara called. “We have to keep moving. You can admire the snow another time.” She turned away, flicking her braid over her shoulder.
Kade caught Briar’s eye and grinned suddenly, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He scooped up a handful of snow and packed it into a ball. Then, he held a finger to his lips and took aim. The corners of Briar’s mouth lifted into a smile as Kade threw the loose ball at Lara’s departing back. Snow flew everywhere.
“Rowen!” Lara shrieked, whipping around.
“It wasn’t me.” Rowen pointed at Kade. “Get mad at him.”
“This means war.” Lara scooped up her own handful of snow and flung it at Kade, who dodged easily. The snow flew past in a sparkling shower.
“Traitor.” Kade threw Rowen a mock glare. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Save me.” Rowen ducked behind Briar.
Kade raised his eyebrows at her, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. Briar grinned back. She could guess his plan. She shifted her stance in preparation as Kade gathered more snow. He gave her a slight nod, and Briar ducked. The snow hit Rowen straight in the face.
Rowen spluttered and stumbled back, brushing snow from his eyes. “That’s not fair.”
In moments, they were all throwing fistfuls of snow at each other. Briar gave a little scream as some fell down her neck. It was so cold. And wet too. She flung a handful at Kade while he was distracted by laughing at Lara as she pelted Rowen. Kade turned just in time to receive Briar’s snow attack right in the face. He spluttered, wiping his eyes. A light coating of snow dusted his dark hair, white flakes clinging to his beard.
