Shadows and Shade Box Set

by Amanda Cashure

  “I want the White Castle,” Pax says, and the gentle chatter of the group silences.

  These women are at the top of the food chain, and I’m at the bottom. If I try to move up that food chain, there’s going to be trouble.

  I-might-get-eaten kind of trouble.

  Seth was right to drag me away from Pax and Jada to distract me. I just hope he can keep doing it while we have company – my mouth is not the type of beast that behaves itself for long.

  Seth’s a pretty good option as a babysitter. Shade-sitter. Shitter… nope, that’s not right. Might just leave it at Shade-sitter.

  “How?” Teegan asks.

  Killian rumbles at her, and even though I’m not looking, the silence says it all.

  I glance over my shoulder, through the gap between Roarke and Seth. Unfortunately, the main Saber in my view is Teegan, and even more unfortunate is the fact that she has her pretty eyes on my Roarke. All sexy and seductive, like she’s expecting Roarke to speak up in her defense.

  I swallow my ill-placed growl before it can properly form. This is not the time. Not the place.

  Besides, I’m pretty sure I don’t get jealous.

  From this angle I could get a dart to pierce straight through her nose – but then she does have the kind of face that would still look pretty. Wonder how much that would change if I cut the thing off?

  Is it possible to look pretty without a nose?

  I lean a little to get a glimpse at her triune members, both of them are looking attentively at Pax. Lara is on the left, her almost-white hair is my little reminder that she’s the StormSeed. I have no idea what they can do, attract lightning? Make it strike locations on cue? Or just encourage a storm? Her hair is close to the color Saber Masters go when they get old. But since triunes all form at the same age, she has to be young, and she’s very pretty, even if her nose is oddly flat. Her nose would be harder to cut off, but not impossible.

  The twins are interesting to watch. Rynn and Amber. Every now and then their gazes flick across to each other, sharing looks that are full of communication without any words.

  They can keep their noses, for now.

  “How many Sabers can we rely on? If the Elite forces are down to thirty-seven?” Rose asks.

  She has all of her attention on Pax, lethal and loyal and fierce. Some people have that resting face that looks bored, or like they’re in a bad mood, but this woman has resting killing-you-would-be-a-delight face.

  “Forty-one teams were in the castle when we left. Thirty-one were less than a century old, only twelve strong allies. Five could be swayed. Forty-eight individual fighters that would die for Lithael. Of the fifty-six Masters in residence and the three dignitaries running the castle, only eight are guaranteed allies. The rest are either openly with Lithael or would run and hide if a battle came their way,” Roarke quotes the numbers, making my head spin.

  “If they’re too old or scared to fight, then they should die,” Rose says – not yells, or growls, just calmly says.

  Like it’s a fact. Apples are red – and these people should die.

  Killian makes an approving noise.

  “Rose, we need to restore order, and once we’re done, we need Masters who can train every living Saber and put the realm to rights,” Pax says, his voice in almost alluring soft tones. “We keep as many of them alive as possible.”

  Command and inspire – Roarke said. Pax has compassion and foresight, which are qualities worth surrounding yourself with. I’m on the other end of that spectrum – a soot-servant with a big mouth. Trying to be helpful to Pax, to help keep this kingdom from being burnt to the ground, is going to be hard.

  Rose slips off her traveling cloak. She’s wearing almost nothing underneath. Wherever her team came from, they’ve detoured here directly after their mission. Her arms are lined with deep red bruises, and her knuckles are scabbed over. She has more buckles and belts on than fabric, and a weapon clip has been attached to every available space. But she only has two weapons on her right now that I can see: a sword strapped down the middle of her back, with the hilt visible over her right shoulder, and a short dagger. She draws the dagger and spears it into the ground between her feet.

  None of them bat an eyelid. What kind of a world am I in when someone throws a knife around, and I’m the only one taken by surprise?

  “Logan was meeting the new triunes at the gate,” Pax continues. “Influencing them from the moment they arrived. Between Logan’s DeathSeed and his triune brothers both being TrickerySeeds, all they need are a few well-placed words, and the new triunes don’t stand a chance.”

  “Not at the moment, he isn’t,” Teegan says. “He left the White Castle the same night you did.”

  “Did he complete his trial?” Pax asks.

  “Nope,” Teegan answers, popping the ‘p’ on the end. “His triune was recalled. Crown business. Prince Logan was requested to attend the Black Castle immediately, but the gossip is that he’s not in residence, he’s in the field. Gods know what he’s doing.”

  I don’t want to know.

  “We haven’t seen him, but we’ve heard noise about bandits on the trade routes and weapons bound for the Crown’s personal guard being stolen. Perhaps he’s playing cat-and-mouse with them,” Rose says.

  “We’ve heard those rumors too – for now the bandits aren’t our problem,” Roarke says.

  “Logan is,” Pax snaps.

  “Did you think he’d just sit around the White Castle waiting for you to return?” Teegan asks.

  This time Rose growls, and immediately Teegan shuts up. She drops her gaze to the ground and looks genuinely remorseful. Or she’s good at faking it – not sure.

  “I’m sure he’ll return when you do,” Rose says. “And we’ll be ready.”

  “And he’ll still be waiting to take his trial. Why is he running away from it? He must have a weakness we don’t know about?” Roarke throws the questions out, but I’m assuming no one knows the answers – because no one says anything. Roarke clears his throat and continues talking. “Eight of our twelve strongest allies are female triunes. The only way this plan can work is if all of us at the castle can keep Logan close enough to death that he’s no longer part of the problem. Incapacitate him again and again, while avoiding drawing Lithael’s attention.”

  “What would you have us do?” Teegan asks, rushing to add, “We can’t avoid Lithael’s attention. We don’t have the same kind of grace as you do.”

  “We need tact and stealth at this point. Keep Logan busy, keep him broken and in pain. But you have to play him into challenging you to a tournament,” Pax says.

  Rose scoffs. “We can’t. Women and men don’t compete against each other.”

  “That was before the first mixed pentad was born,” Pax says.

  I resist the urge to look over my shoulder. Bralls, I wish I could, because a rock just sank to the pit of my stomach, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been played. Somehow. Somewhere. Someone has used me.

  Pax did lay down logical reasons why they risked everything to make me a Saber. Maybe I was stupid for thinking there were also emotional reasons. Maybe there are emotions now, but there weren’t then – not when all of this began. I struggle against the desire to feel like an idiot.

  A complete and utter fool.

  Their mother spelled out a prophecy that somehow made me part of the solution. Is this that part? To allow their female warriors into the arena to balance out the overwhelming number of male enemies? To create some kind of battle equality?

  Which means my job’s done – right?

  The one thing to fight a grimm is something that’s finally dead.

  Wait until your grief has passed, then – Seek the remnant beyond the border.

  Speak to a man named Martin but believe the word of a bird.

  Let your reflection go hazy in clear waters and see instead through a gray lens.

  In Silvari glass is a blade that can pass, a soul that can kneel, and a world that ca
n heal.

  This is not a battle that can be won. Before this time can pass, the mortal soul from its beginnings cannot last. There is no way a soul can rule and live.

  Because I heard what the Origin Spring said to the tallest forest tree – the key will be in the last of me.

  That first line, the one Killian was afraid to share so he made it vanish in smoke back when we were in the cave, that one about the thing that will fight the grimm is something that’s finally dead.

  In my downward emotional spiral, I know I’m jumping from one crappy conclusion to the next, but what if…

  … What if that thing that’s finally dead is long dead and never physically goes near the grimm at all. What if the thing is a she, and she is an instrument in leveling the playing field and everything happening right now is the moment the tides turn, is the stone-in-the-lake-ripple-effect that brings the grimm down?

  My presence has changed this society – job done?

  Killian is still keeping that line to himself, so it must be important. Or scary.

  Or both.

  All these thoughts tumble through my head during a long pause. I’m pretty sure every pair of eyes just turned to size me up. Me, who is basically cowering in Seth’s shadow. I chose not to be a part of this conversation – chose to sit lower than everyone else. To not even face them.

  I chose to present myself as a servant.

  And let myself be used as nothing more than the female who broke the arena’s gender rules.

  And, as my nose struggles to function through a bitter-metallic bite in the air, I’m pretty sure I chose wrong.

  Chuck.

  “I was wondering if the rumors are true,” Teegan says.

  “I was wondering if I’d have to kill her,” Rose adds.

  There’s a low growl from Pax, cut off by Killian’s hard-as-stone voice. “I’d enjoy tying knots in your entrails while you’re still alive.”

  Double chuck! These Sabers want to kick my ass. Followed by Pax throwing away every chance he has of keeping their allegiance by pigheadedly protecting me. Even if the protection comes ten minutes later and in the form of killing everyone.

  A part of me wants to fix this, stop him from doing something stupid. But another, possibly bigger, part of me would rather kick someone’s ass – anyone’s – to prove I’m worth more than just an instrument to change a stupid law!

  Walk right into the middle of this group and put one of them in their place – hard. Like Rose. Just punch her in the jaw, or the nose, or something to do with her chuckin’ pretty face.

  “We need some of you to become Logan’s friends,” Seth says, and he sounds happy about it. “So he doesn’t suspect your motives. Become his friends and have accidents at training or whisper in his ear, bad advice to challenge others to a tournament.”

  I feel the vibrations of his voice through his back and into mine, making me lean into the sensation. He’s so full of confidence, and I just want to soak a little of that up – or a lot.

  Maybe punching Rose is a bad idea, but confronting her sure isn’t. That’s what I need to start planning. Just me and her.

  Just like dealing with the biggest bull in the paddock, once that one’s compliant, the rest behave themselves.

  “We need Lithael to keep the Saber ranks in place. We need Logan’s sister, Kyra, to get the call. If Lithael disbands the White Castle before then, we’ll lose our chances of keeping track of those two,” Pax says. The gravelly texture to the words hinting that he’s still settling the angry wolf inside of him.

  “Well, we know Logan isn’t there, and I’m pretty sure we’ve lost track of Kyra too. Lithael had secretly put orders out for her capture and return to the Black Castle,” Seth says.

  “What orders? When?” Pax demands.

  Seth groans. “The Sabers in Rengurra mentioned it, but we had bigger problems at the time.”

  “It’s true,” Jada says. “I live in the Black Castle with all the other SealSeeds when not on assignments. And I make sure I’m in all the right places at the right times. The kingdom may think Kyra is there – an abnormality still in training – but she’s not. Maybe that’s where Logan went?” Jada offers.

  “To hunt his own sister? Not likely,” Teegan says.

  “Very likely,” at least three of my Elorsins deadpan.

  Rose shrugs. “Let him kill her. Problem solved.”

  No one seems to have anything to add to that.

  “Why would the Crown shut down the last Saber castle in existence? Where would he send us all?” Teegan asks, which seems like a more pleasant line of discussion than a brother hunting down and wanting to kill his sister.

  “Right here,” Roarke answers. “If the magic is failing, he’ll send the Sabers to keep things from escaping until every last one of us not a hundred percent loyal to him falls to either released prisoners or Ximena.”

  “Prisoners,” Rose demands.

  “Tanakan is empty,” Killian answers.

  At the same time several voices echo, “Ximena?”

  I try to smother my smile as Roarke rushes to add, “The border.”

  The smile saves me from falling into the pit of information. Tanakan is empty. Bigger and badder things are after us, Logan and his sister – whoever she is – are who knows where, and my bubble is shrinking.

  “What do we do?” Teegan asks.

  “About the prisoners? Watch your backs. About the border? Leave it to us. I want you focused on Logan and taking back the White Castle. We keep Logan busy, we eliminate our enemies, and we reclaim our freedom first. Then we reclaim our Kingdom,” Pax says.

  “Your plan has holes,” Jada declares. Forget putting a dart in Rose’s nose, I want to put them all in Jada. “First, taking control of the castle could take months or even years. Our Masters and our border might not have that kind of time. Not with Lithael hunting down Masters and executing them. You think you can pull that off without getting heaps of people killed, and while babysitting a mortal?”

  And, apparently, with a whole prison worth of bad Seeds against us. When were they going to fill me in on this? But this isn’t my meeting, so I’m not about to open my mouth about anything.

  “It won’t take years. This is a multifaceted strategy,” Pax says. His tone is cool and controlled, but I wouldn’t describe it as calm. “You have to trust that there are other factors in play. Do your part, and the pieces will fall together.”

  “When Commander Pax and his team return to the castle, we’re going to restrict the flow of assignments that are being passed directly from Lithael, and increase the flow from a trusted source. Then we can move more pieces into place around the realm,” Jada says. “But that will take time.”

  She emphasizes that last word, and I get the distinct impression that no matter what Pax says or does – Jada is in no rush to play her part. The breeze must have just picked up over the dying fire because there’s suddenly an ashy quality to the air – along with murmurs of agreement from the Sabers.

  It’s a dangerous game she’s playing, first making the Sabers second guess Pax, then coming to his rescue, only to end her rescue with another reason why they shouldn’t trust him.

  She may be some family friend from a few hundred years ago, or whatever her excuse is, but she can’t be trusted.

  “Once we have control of the White Castle,” Roarke begins. “Orders will come in from Jada to secret some of the more powerful masters to the springs we know we can save. There are four Springs, from Eydis’ notes, that can be saved. Stars, Wood, Aether, and Sound. She’s tried potions, even mortal magic, and it’s worked on some of the smaller power sources but not these. Without a trusted Master in the domains, the border will bleed the Springs dry. We can save them.”

  “We will take control of the White Castle,” Rose declares.

  I twist enough to see Pax incline his head. Part in a nod, part in appreciation, and all rather more regally than I’ve ever seen. He looks like he belongs there, in front
of everyone. Which is not my idea of fun. My idea of fun right now would be flicking something very small at his ear and watching the look on his face as he tried to ignore me and maintain composure.

  I sift my fingers through the dirt and pick up a pebble, but Killian kicks my bare toes with his boot before I can toss it. I drop the stone and yank my knees up to my chin, glaring at him.

  “When will you return?” Teegan asks, drawing both our attention.

  “Not until we’ve finished our business here,” Pax says. “Elite teams who are currently on Release Seal assignments over the next few days will make their way here before they return to the White Castle. We’re hoping for at least five teams, but we can’t be sure. They will all have orders, but they may not all have the same orders as you. Trust each other. At this stage the risks are too high for all of our plans to be shared among all of us.”

  “Can we trust you?” all four Elorsins suddenly stand and ask.

  The synchronicity is spine tingling.

  There is barely a pause before the phrase, “As it should be,” choruses around the group.

  And that’s it. End of meeting. Formalities over.

  The Sabers stand, and a sense of excitement settles over the group.

  I rest my elbows on my knees and run my fingers over the thick shackle scar on my left wrist. If I can deal with Lord Martin, I can deal with anything. Right?

  “What do you need?” Rose asks behind me.

  “We could use some help locating this Spring,” Roarke says.

  “What’s at the end of the track?” Teegan asks, excitedly waving towards the path that Roarke and I followed to find Eydis’ body.

  “Nothing,” Roarke says, standing purposefully, stretching his limbs, and looking like he’s trying not to be offended by her question.

  “It follows the water, and a Spring is water. That direction is logical,” Teegan presses.

  “It doesn’t start or end at a magical Spring. It starts on top of a cliff. Sheer rock. We climbed it – nothing but that great big tree on top and a trickle of water flowing from beneath its roots,” Seth says.