by Elise Kova
“Or Adela was a murderous madwoman who wanted to keep her prize only to herself and send anyone who attempted to claim it to a watery grave,” Erion said grimly. Vi hated that a part of her agreed that it was possible.
“No… I don’t think so…” Vi looked up to the ceiling that was mostly cast in shadow. The only chutes of light were coming from three-fourths of the way up on the walls around one side of the room—the side that faced the beach where she’d found the coin, she hoped. “We merely have to see past another illusion.”
A dark line of shadow caught her eye and Vi lifted her hand, sending a burst of fire up to the ceiling.
“Look there.” She pointed to the line she saw, the firelight illuminating it. “I would bet that’s wide enough to shimmy around.”
“How did you even see that?” Baldair murmured.
Vi focused solely on moving forward. She was so close now, and all she wanted to do was get to that treasure.
“There are cut hand- and foot-holds here.” Vi gripped a narrow outcropping of stone. “Had to be some reason why someone wasted the time. I would bet that behind that pillar is a bridge of some sort, connecting it to the far wall. We just can’t see it from here, and Adela knew this would be the only entrance.”
Jax boldly followed behind her as she began to climb.
“Jax, wait, what’re you doing?” Baldair stole Vi’s words from behind her lips.
“Someone is going to go over, right? We’re not really going to get this far and just wait for a Waterrunner, are we? We all know I make the most sense. It’s not like my life really matters, not like yours or Erion’s.”
“Your life most certainly matters,” Erion blurted, warming Vi’s heart. “If you are reckless here, I will pull you from the Father’s halls myself.”
“You’re our brother,” Baldair said, joining Erion’s cause. “And I don’t want to see you die here.”
“Is that an order, my prince?” Jax asked in an almost timid tone that nearly betrayed all the brokenness she’d seen in his eyes.
“It is,” Baldair affirmed. “Stay alive, Jax.”
Vi continued her climb so she wouldn’t be caught staring at the unorthodox little family—the start of the illustrious Golden Guard. Jax’s feet scraped the stone behind her as they shimmied across the narrow ledge that rounded the room. Vi glanced at him from time to time, wondering if she could, somehow, convince him to turn back. But it would be suspicious if she pushed too hard. So Vi said nothing and prayed his balance was good enough to stay on the path.
Finally, on the other side of the cavern, they descended onto a narrow ledge that had a wooden bridge connecting it with the column in the center of the room.
“Do you think it’s safe?” Jax asked.
“We came this far. Are you really going to turn back now?” Vi hoped he’d say yes, but knew from his determined expression, he wouldn’t. “I’ll go first.”
“Wait—”
“What?” She stopped, one foot on the bridge.
“Be careful.” He eased away.
Vi gave him a faint smile. “Worrying about little ol’ me?”
“Have you looked at this bridge?” He grinned and pressed himself against the wall, putting as much distance as he could between them.
“It’s all I’m going to look at,” she muttered, shuffling her weight onto the planks of wood.
The bridge held as Vi walked, arms outstretched for balance. She crossed without the boards even creaking. Vi went immediately to the ice, taking a deep breath and whispering “Juth starys” before Jax could cross.
The fire burned underneath her right palm, outstretched to the ice. Vi lifted her left hand, summoning tendrils of flame to hide the glyph that spun there. The ice was certainly Adela’s magic and it would need more than the splintered elemental affinities of the Dark Isle to bring it down.
Motion caught her eye. Jax was at her side, hands lifted as well, fire burning from them. She kept her gaze forward, focused, digging into Yargen’s power and pushing it outward. She begged for the magic that lived in her to seek out its own and find the crown hidden underneath this frosty tomb.
Her hands were nearly on the crown after years of searching. The thought made her almost dizzy.
A monumental crack in the ice was accompanied by a rumbling roar that echoed against the cavern walls. Vi pushed harder. Steam filled the Caverns as the magic that gave the ice shape gave way beneath their joint efforts.
She saw Jax slump, panting. Vi launched herself forward into the haze.
The gold was so cold it nearly burned her fingers. Vi pushed through it, scattering coins across the scant platform, discarding them into the waters below. She knew the water was moving fast enough to carry the coins—at least some of them—out. There was enough gold here to buy a ship, and she needed the wealth far more than any of these young men did.
“What’re you doing?” Erion shouted.
“S-Stop!” Baldair bellowed. “That belongs to the crown.”
Vi ignored them, taking bags of gold, ripping them open, and tossing them over. It rained coins and jewels into the raging waters. She’d secure as much gold as she could for her, Taavin, and Deneya. In the process, she’d find the crown.
“Nox, stop!” Jax reached for her and Vi swung. He dodged backward and Vi grabbed for another bag.
Where was the crown? Yargen above! The damn thing must be here. Her mind raced as panic began to fill her. What if the past years of searching were for nothing? If the crown wasn’t here, then where was it? Did Adela have it, after all?
Had she already failed? Had Victor beaten her here and this was his ruse, not Adela’s? The thought nearly made her scream. It would be too much to bear.
“Jax, stop her!”
Jax kicked at Baldair’s command and Vi dodged. She tumbled, rolled, and righted herself.
“Don’t touch it!” she yelled. She needed him to wait a moment, just one moment to—
“What’re you doing? Tell us, we can help you!” Jax pleaded.
As if you could.
Vi’s eyes landed on the last, plump bag that’d been hidden at the bottom of all the other treasure. She lunged for it and Jax stepped on her hand. Vi pulled away with a hiss and grabbed a bunch of coins, throwing them at his face. When he was distracted, she grabbed the final satchel.
If she could get it all in the water, she could search through it later. The crown must be in this bag. It would be in her possession and this whole infernal vortex would be put to an end once and for all. If she got the crown here and now, she could get the scythe, and the axe, and then—
A hand grabbed the bag as she began to hurl it forward.
“No!” The word burst from her like fire, hot, singeing, painful.
The canvas ripped and its contents exploded. Vi twisted, off-balance. She stepped hastily, trying to recover. Her eyes landed on the gold-plated crown that now sat lonely on the mostly empty column of stone. Yargen’s magic called out to her longingly.
Vi’s arm rose. It was there, so close—she’d almost had it.
Her vision shifted. Jax was reaching for her—he was still going to try to save her. Even after she’d knowingly begun to try to push him away. The tiniest smile crossed her lips as Vi tipped backward.
Jax’s compassion was the only thing she could find joy in, given her failure. Cursing herself and her arrogant greed as she fell, Vi took a deep breath right before she plunged into the icy water below, and allowed the currents to carry her out to the sea.
Chapter Sixteen
Vi rolled on the stone and sand for the second time in the span of a day. Gold coins clanked and scraped against the rocks around her. Treasure glittered across the beach in the early morning light.
Dragging herself far enough out of the icy water that she could breathe without sputtering, Vi brought the spark under her skin. The water evaporated in shimmering waves of heat. She gulped in air by heaving lungful, staring up at the bloody sky. Spending years
on boats and ships had turned her into a strong swimmer—strong enough to navigate the currents through the short passage out to the beach beyond.
She waited until her breathing slowed and her chest stopped burning, murmuring curses on the exhales. Failure felt like a noru on her chest, keeping her pinned. The crown had slipped through her fingers and who knew what the young men would do with it now.
Eventually, Vi pried herself up, left the gold behind for now, and began the long walk back to the hovel.
She didn’t even knock on arrival, allowing herself in. The room was empty and Vi helped herself to the bed, inhaling the familiar scent of the blankets as she collapsed and fell into a dreamless, exhausted, sleep.
“Vi,” Taavin said, shaking her shoulder. “Vi,” he repeated. She cracked open her eyes. “Oh thank Yargen.”
“You worried us,” Deneya said from over his shoulder.
“Sorry, things happened quickly.” Vi sat and Taavin helped her up. His fingers laced around hers as Vi rubbed her eyes with her other hand.
“You’re being reckless again,” he murmured.
“I had no choice.” Vi shook her head, her hand falling. “The prince and his group were going after the crown. I was trying to get to it before they did. I knew once it was found, taking it would be nearly impossible.”
“We know they found the treasure.” Deneya sat on her bed across from them. “The whole town is abuzz with it.”
“That was fast.”
“Word moves fast when it comes to ghostly prizes.” Deneya grinned. “What happened?”
“Jax, Erion, and Baldair showed up at the Lady Black…” Vi started, telling them the events of the past day that had ultimately led to her failure. “… but I didn’t manage to get the crown.”
“So they have it, then,” Taavin said faintly.
“I can only assume.”
“Years…” Deneya trailed off, staring at nothing. But she didn’t have to finish her sentence; they all felt the shared sentiment. They’d spent years hunting for the crown. Now, all that time meant nothing.
“They had a map. Someone else was searching the caves,” Vi said.
“We had no idea.” Taavin shook his head. “But perhaps all will be well. In all other worlds, the crown has come to light after the War in the North began, at the earliest. We can find out what they did with it later.”
“In all other times, we hadn’t been meddling as much with the crystal weapons.” Vi folded her arms.
“What if we steal it back?” Deneya said, suddenly eager once more. “You studied the Imperial estate here. You know the manor. You just said there were secret tunnels connecting to it—hence why the blueprints you showed me ages ago were so strange. We could sneak in.”
“We could,” Vi said uncertainly. Deneya was right, Vi knew the manor. And now that she’d seen the prince’s map, she knew how the caves connected to it. “But I think they’ll have tighter security now that they have the lost treasure—or at least a small portion of it.”
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
“I appreciate your confidence,” Vi chuckled softly.
“We can’t take it.” Taavin put the notion to rest. “You’re right, we’ve been meddling. If the crown goes completely missing at this point, it’s impossible to say what would happen. We can’t risk the birth of a new Champion.”
“I grow weary of your obsession with Vhalla Yarl’s womb,” Deneya shot the curt remark at Taavin.
“He’s right though,” Vi said. “If it went missing now, they’d hunt for it.”
“They didn’t care to hunt for it for decades,” Deneya countered.
“But now they know it exists. They’ll know someone stole it. Getting the crown only worked so long as its location was a mystery.”
“We can handle them if they come after us; it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve fallen off the pages of history.” Deneya was making it difficult for Vi to think rationally. All she wanted to do was go after the crown right now. But rushing in with Jax hadn’t yielded results.
Patience, she reminded herself. Time and again, patience was the best way forward.
“What if I made another crown and you illusioned it again?” Deneya suggested.
“No,” Vi said immediately and firmly. “That didn’t work last time.” She rubbed her midsection, remembering the price she’d paid for it. “If Victor sees it—”
“And we have every reason to believe he will,” Taavin interjected, “if past worlds are any indication of how Victor might act now.”
“Victor will see right through any illusion.”
“How did he see through it the first time?” Deneya asked.
“A shift in the light,” Vi said, recalling that fateful encounter.
“Well, you’re more powerful now. I think—”
“Wait,” Vi whispered. “Shift…” Vi stood and began to pace. Her mind was racing. Her gut was laying a new path before her. “This could work.”
“What could work?” Taavin asked hesitantly.
“We have to go to the Twilight Kingdom to get the scythe. We also need to keep the crystal weapons in their places to ensure the birth of a new Champion.” She looked to Taavin as she spoke.
“Yes, that’s our top priority.”
Not saving the world? Vi wanted to ask. She knew where his priorities lay and she’d indulge him right up until the moment she couldn’t any longer—a moment Vi could now see on the distant horizon.
“We go to the Twilight Kingdom and collect the scythe. There, we have them use the powers of the shift to make a crown that looks like the crystals. Something real, tangible, not an illusion for Victor to see through.”
Then, while they were there, Vi would use Fallor to get to Adela. They needed passage to Risen to get the flame and, ultimately, someone crazy enough to take them to the island of the elfin’ra.
“That… might work,” Taavin relented.
“There’s just the one small problem of the Twilight Kingdom being a sea away.”
“I already planned for that.” Vi looked to Deneya with a grin. “We now have enough old Solaris gold to buy a ship. All we need to do is collect it.”
“Then we should do that,” Deneya said with a nod.
“You look tired. Why don’t you rest? Taavin and I can go and collect it.” Vi grabbed two packs and handed Taavin two more.
“All right, I can tell when I’m not wanted. Go and have your alone time.” Deneya was already nestling herself into bed.
“We’ll be back soon,” Vi said with a grin.
She and Taavin slipped out the door and into the dark town. There seemed to be fewer people about, likely because they were all clamoring somewhere else over Adela’s treasure finally being found.
Vi opened her mouth, surprised when Taavin spoke first.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I said, I’m sorry.” Their eyes met. “The other night, I was harsh.”
Vi gripped the strap of one of her packs tighter. “You’re only trying to do the right thing.”
“Yes, but doesn’t excuse me when I act an ass.”
“I snapped at you first,” Vi said tenderly. “I’m sorry, too.” Their shoulders brushed as they walked down a staircase that would lead to the beach by the cliffs.
“We’re both trying to do what’s right, and that’s never an easy thing to do.” He took her hand and Vi didn’t hesitate to lace her fingers with his. The squeeze of his hand pushed forgiveness into her, a sentiment she tried to push back.
“There’s something I want to ask you about,” she said, pausing as their feet met the sand.
“Yes?”
“Jax, his life…” and death, she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud. “Is it a stone in the river?” When he didn’t immediately answer, she pressed, “Have there been worlds in which he died here and now?”
She almost told him not to say anything. She had her answer by the look on his face alone.
>
“I can’t decide what his fate is,” Taavin said, finally. “Some worlds he lives, and some worlds he dies. His life seems to be a variable, not a stone.”
Memories flooded her, rushing like the seawater around their ankles as she started walking again, rounding the cliffside. Vi watched the little rocks being carried out by the tides, the larger ones stuck in place. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t.”
“That’s not an excuse.” The words could’ve been sharp and angry, but they weren’t. She wasn’t about to risk their restored peace. “You could’ve told me at any time. But you didn’t want to because you didn’t want to hurt me.”
“Am I that transparent?” Taavin blinked into the morning’s early light and Vi appreciated his profile. There might never be an hour of her life where the sight of all his sharp angles didn’t fill her with a mixture of sorrow, joy, and longing.
“I know every corner of you, inside and out.”
“I suppose if anyone would, it’s you.”
“Tell me about everyone else. Who does the goddess demand? Who can live? I won’t fight Yargen’s fate,” she added hastily. “But if I can save someone, I will.”
Taavin searched her face and sighed. “Regardless of the path we walk, Tiberus, Twintle Junior, Schnurr—”
“Schnurr?” Vi interjected.
“You met him, briefly.” The words brought back a fleeting memory of a young boy in a war zone.
“He was with Fiera the night Mhashan fell—the young man with the moustache, who she directed to keep fighting at the break in the wall.”
“And he becomes a leading member of the Knights of Jadar. He’ll be one to watch as the years go on.”
Vi groaned. “I should’ve killed all the Knights when I had the chance.”
“They’re a necessary counterweight. Without their presence, people wouldn’t be driven to actions we need them to take.”
“In any case…” Vi didn’t want to speak about the Knights a moment longer. They made her blood boil. “Tiberus, Luke, Schnurr. Who else dies regardless?”
