Channeling my ancestors, I steadied my breathing by gulping in deep, long inhales. My shaking hands calmed. As I envisioned the power of those who came before, a mosaic of purple, white, and yellow light flooded out of the top of my staff. “Obstupefacio magna!” I shouted, charging a paralyzing magic through the light.
The spell hit the creature square in the chest. She flopped onto the slippery deck, her tail batting against the panels.
I shouted a second spell I’d learned from Morgana that would bind a creature. “Alliges duplicia viventem.” I pointed my staff at the low-hanging ropes of a mast. The spell coiled around the twisted nylon and wrapped around the mermaid.
I found shouting the spell’s words aloud put more power behind the magic.
“Not too close!” I shouted as Cedric approached the creature.
Pointing my staff at her again, I used another binding spell to temporarily force her mouth shut, but she still had talons that could easily tear through human flesh. The ropes spelled with magic wouldn’t hold for long.
Three of the crew flourished their swords as two more mer climbed onboard. The stench of fish and salt pinched my nostrils.
I scrambled backward, dodging a crew member who was charging at a mer.
I needed to think, but there was no time. How had I been so stupid to think I could capture one when we couldn’t kill or even threaten them without the Dagger of Ruin or Sword of Impervius?
“Listen to me!” I hissed at the creature. “Try to attack us, I’ll use this.” I pulled the sword from an unsuspecting Aquarius. “Recognize it? It’s the Sword of Impervius,” I lied, hoping she hadn’t actually seen the real thing before.
The creature hissed, pulling air into its sea lungs. “You.”
“It speaks.” My eyes were wild when I kneeled at its side. “Some of you protected me.” My accusing gaze drowned in hers.
“We do not save humans,” she hissed.
“Some of you did. Twice. Why?” I screamed, my expression manic. “Why were your people protecting me? Tell me!”
It opened its mouth. I leaned in, desperate for the answer on the tip of her inky tongue. “We were sent to get you, to bring you to him, but your kind always attacks,” it spat.
My heart sank. “Why were you sent to get me?” Brandishing my staff, I pointed it at her chest.
“Careful,” Cedric warned.
Harnessing the power of the ancients, I felt their magic strengthen as we fully crossed into Magaelorean waters. I could hear the steady, deep beats of drums. The ancestor’s song guided me. I allowed their fury into my soul, and my eyes darkened. Cedric moved an inch closer, then thought better of it.
“Tell me now, or I’m going to make you suffer,” I growled, “until you will. You’ll beg for death.”
Fear crossed her expression, if only for a second. “I’m not afraid of sorcerers.”
“I’m not either.” I stared at her with a coldness that rivaled the bitter winds. “I will never go with you, any of you.”
“Aqugar will see you.” Her eyes somehow changed shape in the moonlight. “Or your friends will die. Each time we have come, you have attacked before we could collect.”
I looked at her incredulously. “You took men, killing them. What did you expect me to do? How could I have known?”
“We hunt too. We must feed. You defend the lives of people no matter the danger for yourself.”
Aquarius growled, breaking in. “It’s called humanity.”
She struggled between shallow breaths.
I relented. “Bring him to me and attack no more of our men.”
“You will come with us.”
I scoffed. “I’m not getting in the sea with you.”
Cedric reached for my hand and tightened his squeeze. “There is no chance.”
“He will not come onto the ship. He gets his powers from the water and will not come aboard where he will be more vulnerable,” she said and gasped for air.
I stood, pressing my teeth into my bottom lip. “Damn my curiosity.”
“No way.” Cedric pulled me back. “Absolutely not!”
“I’ll be okay,” I promised.
“No.” He stood between me and the merwoman. “I won’t let you.”
“Don’t make me force you back,” I warned. “I really don’t want to do that.”
“Don’t underestimate my powers either.”
“You can’t hurt people.”
“We have tricks and loopholes,” he cautioned.
I sighed. “Please, Cedric. If they wanted to kill me, they would have, twice, but they didn’t. Let me find out why. Have faith, trust in me. Please.”
After a minute, he stepped back. “If they try anything, I’ll fly down to you.”
“I know you will.” I kissed his salt-sprayed cheek.
I was either mad or stupid… definitely both. I lowered myself into the mer-filled waters, feeling a tail brush my leg as I did. Darkness shadowed beneath the rippling waves. The mercreature’s wide, stormy eyes latched onto mine, unrelenting in her huntress nature. Her teeth bared as she fought to refrain from killing fresh meat when it was in front of her so readily. Her steel-like scales crashed through the surface as she disappeared into the murky depths.
Holding onto the rope on the side of the ship, I looked upward at Cedric. He didn’t wear panic well. The corner of his eye twitched when he looked at me. “I’m okay.” I mouthed, although I didn’t feel it.
They’d spared me, but I still didn’t know why, and just because they’d done it twice before, didn’t guarantee my life this time. Although it made no sense, as she’d not killed me yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if she fooled me so she could simply escape.
They weren’t always so cold, evil, and menacing. Being natural predators meant they would always enjoy the thrill of the chase, but over time, in the last five years, I was told how they changed. They more embodied the man who ruled them, the mer king, their master. His personality poured through them, influencing their base desires, turning them deadlier. Lately, they were more skilled at tearing into people, attacking for no good reason and going out of their way to sink ships.
If he was the totem in which they echoed, I feared meeting such a dark and hollow thing.
A crown of coral broke the surface, its red and orange matching the depths in his pointed eyes. His hair, which resembled seaweed, stuck around his diamond-shaped face. Barrel-chested and large, he looked more godlike than mer.
There was something sinister in his stare. It didn’t sit right with me. Then I realized what was making me so uncomfortable. It was their lack of humanity.
He swam toward me, the other mer following shortly behind. He ignored the ship. It was no threat to him.
“Winter Mortis.” He spoke with a low grumble. It resonated through the waters, causing the waves to pick up, and I clung to the rope tighter. “I am Aqugar.”
“Hello,” I said awkwardly. What was one to do when meeting the king of mercreatures? Was there any etiquette?
He interrupted my thoughts. “Your life was saved, under my orders.”
“Why?” I asked, licking my lips, then immediately regretting it as the briny taste hit my tongue.
“We are skilled divinators. We use the future to guide us.”
“So?”
His thin lips twisted in disgust. “I usually would not allow a human to live,” he spat. “However, you have been shown as the only one who can unite the Objects of Kai.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why do you care for them? You’re immortal, living in the ocean where no man dare swim to find and kill you.”
“You are correct, but you do not look outside to the bigger picture.”
“One of your people still bit me, you know. That’s hardly saving me.”
“He has been punished. He did not recognize your spirit immediately. When our waters touch you, we can sense you. We come to you.”
“That’s why all our boats have been attacked,” I figure
d aloud.
His tone sharpened. “You were supposed to be retrieved.”
“Why?”
“I wished to explain, as I will now, of your mission.”
I shook my head but stopped when I saw his hardened expression. “Why would I help you?”
“For one, you will leave today with your life.”
I cocked my head to the side. “That’s fair, yes.”
“For two, there is another motive I believe will be beneficial to you. Your heart belongs to someone who is in danger.”
My gaze flicked up to Cedric, my heart pounding. “Cedric?”
“No.”
My stomach knotted. I lowered my voice to a whisper, then leaned in. “Blaise?”
“Yes, the boy prince. For he bears the same curse as me.”
“Curse?”
“A crown was thrown into the ocean, from a ship, when the night was still, and ice frosted the coast. It was, I believe, to be discarded. Feeling the strength of the object, we found it, and it was naturally brought to me. Can you guess what this crown was?”
I searched my mind, not wanting to come across as stupid. “An Object of Kai? So the, um, Crown of Discieti.”
“Good. Yes. The boy prince was the one who tossed it away. I believe he thought it would rid him of the curse, but you see, one need only wear it once for the curse to enact itself onto you for a lifetime.”
“Now you’re cursed too.” The puzzle pieces slotted together. “How can the other objects help?”
“Together, there is a way to break all the curses. I have found the way. If you bring them to me, I will destroy them, and your Blaise will be set free.”
My thoughts wandered back to when Blaise had told me about the Crown of Discieti. The paper he had scribbled on said the crown was found by the mer. He put found, I realized, because he’d thrown it in the sea. Then when he explained the curse, he looked so lost, in a trance almost. He was searching for all five objects, and it made sense. He planned on doing the same as the mer king, Aqugar.
I recalled the explanation of the crown. “He cannot love.”
“We can love.” He placed his hand over his chest. “But it is dulled. Joy. Love. Happiness. They are distant yet close. We can feel, but we only get flickers of it. It’s maddening, and in the end, it is easier to close one’s heart altogether.”
It all made sense now. Blaise called himself the boy who could not love. It made sense why he wanted me and said he cared yet pulled away, then seemed so distant. “I’ll find them.”
“I already knew you would. Once you have them, come to the ocean. Call for us, we will come. You do not need fear us, Winter Mortis. You shall not be harmed by us.”
Something else fell into place. “You have all become deadlier, more violent in the last years. When did you find it?”
“At the same time.”
“Your people feed from your energy. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes, it is.”
Breaking the curse wouldn’t only save Blaise’s heart, it would also stop the mercreatures attacking the ships as much and actively hunting us. “In return, I wish for you to not attack any more lunas.”
“No.”
“That’s not how negotiations work.”
“This is not a negotiation. You will do the work regardless of deals made here today. If you need incentive, instead, I will offer this. If you do not find the objects by year’s end and bring them to me, I will make sure any boat, any ship, and any person who is a luna who comes into our waters will not leave them.”
I mentally kicked myself for trying to make an arrangement with him. What could I expect from a heartless predator king? “Then I have no choice.”
“You would have done it anyway. For your prince.”
He submerged below the inky blue waters, as did the others. I assumed that now he’d spoken to me, any ship I was on wouldn’t be attacked.
Awkwardly climbing the rope until my foot hit the ladder step, I inhaled sharply. Cedric grabbed my hand over the railing and pulled me over. “Are you hurt? I couldn’t see or hear much of what was said.”
Relief flooded me. “They need me to bring them the Objects of Kai,” I said carefully. “I agreed.”
Aquarius’s eyebrow cocked. “Why?”
I didn’t want to bring up Blaise, or how the mer king knew my weakness. I’d been told they could see into the heart, but never so invasively. “It’s complicated.”
“Any idea where they are?” Aquarius asked.
“I know where the dagger is. The sword should be at Ash Court. The Ring of Immortalem is with Xenos.” I growled under my breath, mostly angry at myself for letting it be taken from me. “The Amulet, if I recall, is hidden by the light fae.” I looked at Cedric. “So, your family.”
He scratched the back of his neck, then pulled at his collar. “I can’t get ahold of it.”
“I need you to,” I begged, curling my fingers together. “He wants to break the curses on them.” I attempted to squeeze the sea from my hair.
Cedric shook his head. “Are you mad? No way. If the curses are broken, those objects become ten times deadlier. Mortals can find and hold them, then become invincible to any immortal. The curses safeguard us.”
I didn’t reply, because I didn’t want to upset him with the truth; if he would not help me, then I would need to go behind his back to do it, which I didn’t want but I had no choice. If his family had the object, which I suspected, then I needed to find a way to take it from them.
TWENTY-TWO
Frosty winds nipped my cheeks and lips. I shivered from the cold, turning my head toward Cedric, who had his arms wrapped around his front.
“This ought to do.” Aquarius emerged up on deck holding two fur coats. “I’ll be expecting payment once you’re queen.” He winked at me and handed the larger, brown jacket to Cedric.
“Thanks, friend.”
Aquarius smiled and passed me a thick white one. I pulled it on, nestling into its warmth. I gazed over the wintry trees that blended into the white horizon. Gray rocks made up the beach. Snowflakes melted when they hit the sea. Waves lapped ashore, dragging icicles and melting them in their grasp.
“So…” Cedric’s breath fogged in the air. “This is Niferum. It’s quite something.”
I enjoyed the emptiness of a kingdom trapped in an everlasting winter, or so it felt. In the distance, a still river and thin sheets of ice led the way to runes of villages housing feral and lost fae. Ahead of us, fir trees narrowed on a snow-covered path.
I turned to face Aquarius. “Will you help us navigate?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “We are not welcome here, by King Blaise’s orders. We could only take you so far without being seen, but if you ride east, through the path in the forest, you’ll come out to Glacier Lake, and the mountains that surround it. Lepidus is just beyond the north mountains. Unless there are glamours in place, you should be fine.”
“I can see through any fae magic,” Cedric stated. “Besides.” He grinned. “We don’t need any help getting there.”
I smiled. “I hadn’t thought of that. You can see through glamours!”
Cedric’s wings unfolded in a glistening gold, like a sunset against the pale skies. “We can see through any magic, but we can also choose to see an illusion too,” he explained. “I can fly us some of the way. I’ll need rest in between, but this kingdom is much smaller than even a province in Berovia.” He nodded at Aquarius. “Thank you again, friend, for everything. Safe travels.”
“Your Highness.” He dipped his head. It was strange to hear Cedric addressed like that.
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Seeing you next to a future queen, it feels appropriate.” He grinned, as if they were in on some private joke. “We’re betting on you, Winter.”
Bella joined his side. “Good luck, Winter.”
Hugging my arms tighter around my torso, I inhaled snowflakes. “I will repay you all someday.�
��
Aquarius’s eyes glinted. “Oh, I’ll only be needing one thing.”
“What is that?”
He didn’t respond. Cedric looked from him to me, then wrapped his arms around my waist. The gold in his eyes contrasted the winter wasteland around us. He spiraled us into the air, leaving my question forgotten to the winds. He carried us up to colder winds in the misty sky, the ship appearing tiny. His bright wings flapped against strong gusts, swaying us back, then diagonally. Ice prickled every inch of my bare skin. I gazed down, and my lips parted. I gripped onto Cedric tighter, my feet dangling, the want for steady ground growing stronger with the rising winds.
I was nervous about seeing Blaise—and my feelings toward Cedric—especially with what the mer king had said about my heart being with Blaise, but he and I, we could never be together, so it didn’t really matter. Cedric was good for me, and he made me laugh. I couldn’t let what the mer king said change that.
***
An arch of ivy, purple berries, and black vines welcomed us to the white-dusted stone path leading into Lepidus, the royal court in Niferum. The castle reached high, their obsidian towers a mark against the cloudy horizon. I looked up, gasping as the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. My stomach was in knots, my heart pounded, and my hands trembled. I was just happy to be back on solid ground.
I flexed my fingers against my staff on my belt, touching the wood from Ash Forest and bringing myself comfort. Three men, dressed in navy uniforms with purple embellishments, stepped out of the door. Each wore hardened stares and clenched jaws, brandishing their daggers.
“What is your business here?” one shouted.
“We are here to see the king,” I replied, my voice breaking at the end.
They didn’t break their stride.
“Take the faery into the castle,” one ordered, jerking his head in Cedric’s direction, and turned his attention to me. “Sorcerers are to be imprisoned immediately.”
“No.” Panic widened my eyes. “I’m Winter… Winter Mortis.” I fumbled. The memory of being taken by the guards in Berovia to the pits froze my next words. My feet rooted to the spot, though the voices in my head tempted me to run. I begged them to calm. I’d always been ruled by logic, and I knew it was a different situation. Nothing would happen to me in Lepidus—Blaise would never allow it—but my trauma begged something different. I felt nauseated. “Please…” I begged when they wrestled my staff from me. Their hands on my wrists brought back the pain I felt before. “NO!” I wailed, trying to free myself.
The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset Page 43
