by David Estes
Rivulets of blood streamed from noses and ears, streaking the snow.
Even once it was over, the fallen warriors continued to shake, wracked with shivers though they were not cold.
Lisbeth opened her eyes. Her other eye, marked on her forehead, vanished, leaving her skin as pristine as freshly fallen snow.
She saw what she had done—hundreds of souls, cracked, wracked with pain—placed her face in her hands, and wept.
Chapter Two
The Northern Kingdom, Castle Hill
Annise Gäric
The night was a snow-haired queen wearing a crown of stars. The queen’s eyes were the moons, one green, half open, and the other red, just a sliver peeking out from behind a dark eyelid.
Annise sighed, wishing that being a real queen was as magical as the false one in the sky. Instead it was full of impossible decisions, unbearable sacrifices, and a lifetime’s worth of heartache.
Frozen Lake stretched out in front of her, disappearing on the horizon, reflecting moon and starlight. What secrets do you hold? Annise wondered to the night.
The urge to relinquish the crown back to her younger brother, Archer, and depart Castle Hill to find Tarin still arose from time to time, but she tamped it down. That was something the old Annise would do. The new Annise would fight for her people, her kingdom. The new Annise wasn’t selfish.
Then why do I have to keep telling myself?
She turned away from the night, shivering despite the warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The temperature had dropped the last few days, ever since that night when Archer finally opened his eyes. With his awakening, it seemed, winter had awakened as well.
Annise slipped back inside, closing the door to her balcony behind her. Warmth from the hearth instantly unfroze her bones, causing her skin to tingle.
Archer was sitting up in bed, staring at her.
She couldn’t help it—she flinched. Though, for the last three days, her brother had been waking up more and more and for longer periods of time, it was still a shock whenever he did. It was like she’d grown so accustomed to his unconsciousness that him sleeping seemed more natural than him being awake.
“Does my face truly scare you, sister?” Arch said, smiling weakly.
I remember when his smile used to light up the entire kingdom, Annise thought. Now it doesn’t even light up his face.
She released a breathy laugh, pulling her blanket tighter against her skin. “Only the awakeness of it.” In truth, his face did scare her a little. His skin was far too pale, save for the dark half-moons under each eye. Worse, his cheeks were too skinny, the bones protruding at sharp angles. This sum total of the changes was that he looked even more like their youngest sibling, Bane, than she’d like to admit. Bane, the same brother who’d sent Archer into unconsciousness in the first place, she reminded herself, not losing the irony.
He yawned. “Shall I go back to sleep?”
“No,” Annise said quickly. “Well, yes. That is, if you’re tired, you should sleep.” The healer was strict in her instructions: Archer should continue to sleep for long periods in order to let his body fully recover from the injuries suffered at Raider’s Pass.
“I’m tired, but I don’t want to sleep ever again,” Arch said. “I’ve got bedsores all over my body—my back, my legs, my—”
“I’m sure your many admirers will rub a soothing balm on them for you,” Annise cut in.
“If you’d let me see them,” Arch said, and Annise was glad the quickness was returning to his mind. He’d always been one of the few in the castle who could rival the speed of her tongue.
“It’s for your own good. We don’t want you to overexert yourself.”
Archer narrowed his eyes and chewed his lip, not looking convinced. His tone turned serious. “What I really want to know is: How did I get knocked out in Raider’s Pass and wake up in Castle Hill?”
Annise cringed. It was the question she was hoping he wouldn’t ask for a good long while. She’d received a three-day respite, as he’d been too weak to do more than slurp soup, sip water, and sleep, but now there was no dodging it. She decided to face it head on.
“Well, there was a horse attached to a cart. And you were in the cart. The horse pulled the cart, and here we are.”
“I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, sister.”
“It’s a permanent attachment to my body, lest I fall into despair.”
“Annise.”
“Archer.”
“I’m the king, I need to know what I missed. I’m ready to lead again. To rule.”
“About that…”
She was saved by a knock on the door. “You may enter,” Arch said, sounding kinglier than he had since reawakening.
Sir Metz entered, bowing at the waist. As usual, his silver armor was so well-polished Annise could see her wobbly reflection in it.
“Good evening, Sir Metz,” Annise said. “Allow me to formally introduce you to my brother, Archer. Archer, this knight was responsible for your protection many times while you slept. May I present Sir Christoff Metz.”
“Well met, Sir,” Archer said. “Thank you for your service. Now what can we do for you?”
“Do for me?” Metz asked. “Nothing. I serve the kingdom.”
Arch cocked his head to the side and glanced at Annise. She shook her head. She could explain the knight’s eccentricities later. “What my brother meant was: Why have you disturbed us so late?”
“That’s a rude way of putting it,” Arch muttered.
Metz looked right at Annise when he said, “Apologies Your Highness, may I have a word?”
Frozen hell, Annise thought. Could he be any less subtle? The answer, of course, was no. Sir Metz was about as subtle as a stampeding mamoothen trying to cross a frozen lake.
“Of course,” Arch said, sitting up straighter. Annise saw a flash of pain cross his face, but then it was gone, hidden behind her brother’s calm, confident expression. “Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of my sister.”
Metz looked at Arch, then back at Annise. “Yes,” Annise said, hoping to salvage the situation. “Speak freely in front of both of us.”
The knight raised an eyebrow, but then said, “A stream has been received from Darrin. There is a storm gathering strength in the east. It looks to hit Castle Hill directly.”
“We have weathered many of storms before,” Arch said. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Because we have delayed depart—”
“Thank you, Sir,” Annise said. “That will be all.”
The knight, seeming almost relieved, bowed again and departed the way he’d come, leaving them alone once more. Annise avoided Archer’s stare as it bore into her from the side.
“Why did he stop answering my question upon your command?” he asked.
Annise said, “There is much I need to tell you.”
“Then tell me.”
Just like ripping off a bandage…
“I had a name day, Archer. I’m eighteen now.”
“And?” He still didn’t get it, still hadn’t thought things through enough to understand. I guess that’s what happens when you’re brought up assuming you will be king someday.
“And you’ve been unconscious for more than a fortnight.”
“A fortnight? That long? I suspected, but I couldn’t be certain. I think I understand what you are saying.”
“You do?” Annise was surprised at the lightness in his tone.
“Of course, sister, my injury didn’t dim my wits. You’ve been leading my soldiers, haven’t you? Knights like Sir Metz have been obeying your commands while I slept. They’re in the habit now, and we haven’t formally returned the torch to its rightful place.”
“Archer—”
“Tell me everything. The sooner the details are filled in, the sooner I can return to the throne and decide the next course of action.”
“It has already been decided. I will be going north, into the Hi
nterlands, along with Sir Metz, Sir Dietrich, Sir Jonius, and maybe some others. We are going to find the Sleeping Knights.”
Arch frowned. “Enough japes. I’m no longer in the mood.”
“It was no jest.”
His frown deepened. “The first thing I will do is revisit this decision. On whose authority was it reached?”
“On mine,” Annise said, rising to her full height and jutting out her jaw. “Under northern law, you have not yet reached the age of rule. I have. I am the queen now.”
SOULMARKED by David Estes, available NOW!
