by Lisa Cassidy
She nodded, taking another sip of the mead, her eyes falling on the magnificent sword at his hip. “May I see?”
He drew the blade out, its soft ring like music drifting through the room. It lay heavy in her open palms when he passed it to her, a long glimmering blade of sharpened steel. The hilt had been crafted from ivory and dyed a deep midnight blue. Garnets set into the hilt glittered in the firelight, artistically placed to look like leaping flame.
“Your mother named it Heartfire,” her father murmured. “She thought the name suited me, but I often thought it described her much better.”
Alyx’s fingers traced reverently over the blade and hilt wishing once again she could remember Temari Egalion. Eventually she handed the sword back, clearing her throat. “I don’t want to fight with you, Papa, but I have to do this. I wish you could trust me.”
He let out a sigh, re-sheathing his sword before sitting. “I do trust you, but at the same time I’m frantic with worry.”
“I know exactly how that feels.” She gave him a half-smile. “Casovar told me that he’d arrested you, Astor and Sparky, and that he’d caught Dashan. He told me he was going to make me watch him kill you all,” she said. “He must have been lying, but it was effective. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared, not even when Galien was trying to kill me at DarkSkull.”
“He wasn’t lying, not entirely.” Garan stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire. “He never got Astor, the wily old bastard was gone when they showed up at his house.”
She stared at him, heart thudding in sudden fear. “What do you mean? You said Dashan was okay. Tell me you weren’t lying!”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t lying,” he soothed, his hand resting on her arm. She nodded, trying to calm her racing heart. It was too much. The past couple of days had left her emotions fragile and strung out.
“Tell me, please.”
He gave her arm another squeeze, brow furrowed in concern, before sitting in a chair beside hers. “Casovar came to the mansion with a unit of Mage Guard within an hour of you disappearing. Dawn was at the house—she’d come straight to me after receiving your telepathic distress call. I told her to run and warn your friends and Cayr. The arrest order was signed by the king. I was put in a cell with Sparkish and told we’d die as soon as Casovar got the king to sign an execution order.” Garan gave her a wry smile. “I was so frantic about you by that stage I barely heard what they were telling me.”
“Oh.” Alyx processed that, then cold fear gripped her again. “What about Dashan? Are you sure he’s all right?”
“I’m sure.” Garan frowned. “He was here earlier.”
Her heart clenched. “He was?”
“Yes.” Garan looked at her in growing realisation. “Of course, you wouldn’t know. I don’t suppose anyone bothered to mention it.”
“Mention what?”
“Cayr must have issued Dashan’s release order before Casovar got you. He was released before Casovar could stop it, and somehow some of his Bluecoat friends learned about it. Several of them closed down the area around the east gate after setting a fire in one of the markets.”
“Then why is he still here?” Worry surged again.
Garan sighed. “The Bluecoats helping Dashan heard about the arrest orders for Sparky and me and told him about it. Instead of fleeing the city, he went straight to Tarrick, who presumably told him you were missing and I was in the palace jail. The next thing I knew Dashan was giving himself up to the Mage Guard at the palace.”
She shot up in her chair, heedless of aching muscles. “He what?”
“They took him straight to the palace dungeons, which is exactly what he wanted, of course,” Garan said dryly, then paused, as if debating with himself over whether to say anything further.
“Tell me,” she demanded.
“When they brought him down… I’ve never seen Dashan like that before. The rage shone from his eyes, but it was cold, contained. He had a purpose, and nothing was going to stop him from achieving it. He scared even me,” Garan said. “He waited until the guards were about to open the cell beside mine and then he went berserk. He killed them all, the first with his bare hands. It was over in seconds, and then he calmly took the dead guard’s keys and let Sparky and me out.” He shook his head. “We fought our way out of the palace and came straight to this safehouse.”
Alyx found herself perilously close to weeping. Dashan had gone straight for her father. Of course he had, he knew how much Garan meant to her. “How did you find me?”
“Luck, in the end.” A dark shadow flashed over her father’s face, an echo of the terror he must have felt for her. “Brynn returned. He knew about the hut where you were being held. He’d followed Casovar there once before and thought that might be where he was holding you.”
“And Dashan?”
Garan sighed. “You heard me talk about the Bluecoat rebellion before? He’s leading it. They’re furious they’re being kept away from the palace and they know Casovar tortured you. Dashan and those loyal to him are telling every Bluecoat that will listen that Casovar is using magic on the king. They’re hampering the Mage Guard search for us and forcing Casovar to keep most of them at the palace.” He shook his head. “I had no idea Dashan had so much support in the Blue Guard.”
“I did,” she whispered.
“While you were sleeping earlier, he dropped by to see how you were and ensure we were still safe. I told him of your plan to face Casovar now, and he said he would help. I don’t know exactly what he’s planning, but Sparky is in on it too—he’s in the back room now talking with Finn and Tarrick.”
She couldn’t hide the tears welling in her eyes and trickling down her cheeks, and Garan reached out to her, tortured sadness on his face. “I never wanted you to know how this feels. I am so sorry.”
“Not your fault.” She leaned into him, allowing herself to take the comfort he offered. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Brynn appeared in the late afternoon laden down with bulging saddlebags. Despite the deep shadows under his eyes, he had a bright smile for Alyx when he saw she was up and about, and happily accepted her hug of gratitude. “I just wish I’d been quicker in returning from Tregaya.”
“Any luck with the council?” she asked.
“I actually think I managed to convince Rothai there’s a possibility Shakar is alive,” Brynn said. “He promised to talk to Romas. I didn’t linger to see what happened, I wanted to get back here as soon as possible.”
The door swung open. “I thought I heard voices,” Tarrick said, followed by Cario and the twins. “Did you get everything you need?”
“I’m ready to go.” Brynn shrugged. “Why do you all look so grim?”
At a raised eyebrow from Tarrick, Alyx filled him in on her plan. Thankfully, he merely nodded. “Dangerous, but smart. The last thing he’ll expect is you coming at him now, and if he still doesn’t know the extent of your magic... well, you can definitely use that to your advantage.”
“Sparky just left.” Finn eased into a chair. “I think we’ve managed to come up with a workable plan.”
She waved a hand. “Let’s hear it.”
Once he’d finished, the room dissolved into silence. A small smile tugged at Alyx’s face. “If Sparky holds up his end, I think it could work.”
“He wouldn’t say how, but he says he can take care of it,” Tarrick said.
Brynn gave them a mournful look. “I can’t believe I’m going to miss out on all the fun.”
Alyx didn’t laugh at his attempted joke. “No, you get the excitement of another trip to Tregaya alone and without any protection. Stay safe, Brynn.”
“You too, Alyx.”
Chapter 35
The wind gusted, playing with the tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid and filling her cloak so that it whipped around her ankles. They ran in single file up the hill, Alyx unerringly following the trail she’d marked out with Dashan and Cayr as children. Dawn was immed
iately behind, her magic soaring around them to detect threats. Tarrick, Finn and Cario brought up the rear.
Alyx tried to focus on managing her breathing as they ran, but found it impossible to relax enough to find a rhythm. With each step closer to the palace, her chest tightened further with dread. How could she think to face Casovar and win, especially after what he’d done to her? Even thinking about what had happened in that room left her shaky and nauseated.
At the top of the hill waited two shadowy figures, one tall and lean, the other stocky, his usual smile flashing despite the seriousness of the night. Their familiar faces calmed her for a brief, blessed moment.
Tarrick pointed at the two bodies lying still on the ground. “Any problems?”
“They found the wrong end of my sword.” Roland dug his boot into the Mage Guard soldier at his feet.
“Keep your voice down,” Tijer warned, looking to Alyx. “The gate is clear. Nothing in the garden besides these two as far as we could tell.”
As expected. Casovar didn’t know about Cayr’s secret exit from the palace. Alyx nonetheless glanced at Dawn, who confirmed Tijer’s words with a nod. She pushed open the gate and they quickly slipped through. Inside the wind was calmer, the garden protected by the palace walls, and she pointed Dawn towards a particularly tall tree near the gate.
“It’s easy to climb and you’ll be well hidden in the foliage.”
“Good luck.” Dawn reached out to squeeze her hand.
Alyx squeezed back, holding Dawn’s gaze. “Together.”
A smile ghosted over Dawn’s face, then she let go and headed for the tree.
“Tijer, Roland, you’re with me,” Alyx spoke softly. “The rest of you, are you sure you know where to go?”
“Your instructions were clear, we’ll be fine,” Tarrick said patiently. “See you soon.”
Cario gave her a faint nod of reassurance, and Finn even smiled. Then they were gone, disappearing in three different directions into the darkness. She buried her fear for them and turned to the Bluecoats.
“As I understand it, we’re going for the king?” Tijer asked in an undertone.
“Yes. He’s the priority, is that clear? You’re to keep him safe above everything else.”
“Not to worry, My Lady, we’ve had that particular instruction drilled into us since enlistment day.” Roland’s smile flashed again in the darkness.
“We’ll need your magic to get us past the Mage Guard crawling all over the place, though,” Tijer added.
“Follow me.”
Alyx summoned enough magic to probe ahead with her telepathy, but not too far, unwilling to risk the possibility of Casovar sensing her near. In this manner, she led the Bluecoats through the dark gardens. Twice they had to stop, freezing into stillness, as patrolling soldiers passed by. Both times the Mage Guard were in groups of four—Casovar wasn’t taking any chances. Eventually they made it to Cayr’s bedroom window, Alyx swinging it open and climbing inside.
“The prince’s bedroom?” Tijer asked as he slipped through after her.
“Yes.” Alyx concentrated while Roland came in and quietly slid the window closed. Beyond Cayr’s front door the corridor was full of the thoughts of Mage Guard—at least six. More than she’d hoped for.
“Do you think we could fight through?” she asked, relaying the news.
“No need.” Roland moved quietly to edge open the bedroom door. A moment later, he opened it fully and went through. Tijer gestured for Alyx to follow. Instead of going to Cayr’s front door, though, Roland headed for a narrow corridor connecting Cayr’s lounge to another smaller room he used as a study. Halfway down the corridor, an exit led into a small private garden.
“The prince’s garden shares a wall with that of his parents,” Tijer murmured. “Only those assigned to guard the royal family are told about it.”
Not even Alyx had known that, and she felt a flash of relief that Dashan had sent these Bluecoats to help.
Nothing disturbed the darkness as the three of them slid open the door into the garden and ran straight for a low wall to the left. Once they were over that, Alyx followed the Bluecoats to a window she assumed led into the king’s bedroom—their target. She and Tijer sank into the shadows on either side while Roland worked on the catch and inched it upwards slowly enough that it didn’t make a noise.
He went in first, Alyx’s heart thudding into the silence that followed. She jumped when he reappeared suddenly, waving them in. Tijer gave her a leg up and she climbed in, cursing under her breath when her boot knocked against the window frame. Inside, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light cast by the open window.
“He’s here,” Roland breathed. “But there’s at least two Mage Guard on the other side of the bedroom door. I heard them talking.”
Alyx pointed both Roland and Tijer to the bed, gesturing that she would guard the door. The two Bluecoats gently pulled back the bedcovers, and at the expressions that crossed their faces, her heart began pounding.
Eyes on the door, she tip-toed over to Tijer, the closest, making a questioning gesture.
“He doesn’t look good,” Tijer murmured in her ear. “And he’s unconscious.”
She glanced down at the bed—it was hard to tell in the dim light, but the king’s skin was deathly pale. His chest rose and fell sluggishly. A flash of regret went through her for not bringing Finn.
“Get him awake as quietly as you can,” she murmured before returning to her post at the door. Tijer leaned in to murmur to the sleeping king.
Darien awoke with a start, and even though Roland’s hand immediately closed over his mouth, the king jerked backwards in fright, head banging against the backboard. A moment of tense silence followed in which the king’s eyes widened at the sight of Alyx, and he realised the man holding him down was a Bluecoat. Then shouting broke out from the other side of the door.
“Get him out!” Alyx screamed as the door flew inwards. “Go!”
The first soldier through the door came straight at her. She barely had time to duck before his blade swung through the air where her head had been. Drawing magic, she yanked the sword from his hand, lunged with her knife and drove it into his side. Yanking it out, she turned on the second guard, divesting him of his sword before embedding her knife in his chest.
It was over in seconds. Breathing hard, adrenalin flooding her, Alyx stared through the door, but no one else was coming. Two dead men lay at her feet, their blood pooling on the floor. Sickened, she tore her gaze away.
The king!
She spun around, but Darien was gone along with both Bluecoats, curtains billowing inwards from the open window. Her shoulders relaxed fractionally.
“Alyx!”
“Dawn? What is it?”
“Casovar has Tarrick.” Panic beat through Dawn’s mental voice, despite her attempt at calm. “They’re in the ballroom. Casovar caught him trying to get the doors open.”
Alyx sheathed her knife and started running. “The others?”
“Cario successfully unbarred the front gates before he was spotted—he’s in a fight, but all right for now. Finn too, he managed to get the kitchen entrances unlocked. Bluecoats and army soldiers are pouring in at both locations, but the palace is full of Mage Guard and they’re swarming to intercept.” Dawn paused. “I can’t see Tarrick properly because Casovar is using his magic. Do you want me to come?”
“No, stay where you are. I’ll get to Tarrick.”
She’d hoped they’d be able to do this—get the king out and the Mage Guard smothered—without encountering Casovar. A slim hope, but one she’d clutched hold of fiercely.
It wasn’t to be.
Alyx stretched her legs out into a sprint, racing through the back corridors of the residential wing of the palace. She got almost all the way to her destination without being seen, but eventually rounded a corner to see six red-cloaked soldiers running down the hall in her direction.
Ducking back the way she’d come, sh
e raced up a set of stairs to the first floor. Her breath was burning in her chest by the time she reached the gallery above the ballroom, but she barely noticed that or the sweat trickling down her face—her eyes were frantically searching the open space below. The ballroom seemed oddly lonely in its empty state, lit only by a few wall torches.
There.
Alyx skidded to a halt, her gaze catching on Casovar standing in the middle of the floor, Tarrick gasping at his feet. The lord-mage had one hand raised as Tarrick writhed, clutching at his throat.
“Where is she?” Casovar shouted.
Tarrick’s forearms lit up with his magic, a bright pearlescent glimmer that dispelled the shadows, but Casovar was merciless, tightening his hold until the glow flickered and died.
With a ruthless determination, she turned her terror for Tarrick into strength feeding her magic. Then, she backed up as far as she could before breaking into a run, her momentum taking her up to the gallery railing in one leap and then she was launching herself out into open air, arms spread wide, knees drawn up to her chest. Using just enough flying magic to control her fall, she slammed into Casovar, her boots in his back, sending him crashing hard to the floor.
His head bounced against the marble with a loud crack and Alyx rolled smoothly away. Tarrick gasped, rolled over. She scrambled over to him, but he was already staggering to his feet, one hand at his throat.
“Go!” she yelled at him. “The Bluecoats need help. I’ll take Casovar.”
“Alyx... ” He hesitated, glancing towards where the lord-mage’s prone form was already beginning to move.
“Go, Tarrick, please! I can’t fight Casovar if the Mage Guard come flooding in here.”
“Be smart, Alyx,” he said, before turning and running.
Casovar’s mocking laughter cut through the room and Alyx spun back to face him. Blood trickled down his neck, but none of his agility seemed to have been affected as he rose to his feet. “What exactly is it you think you’re going to do?”
Alyx forced herself to meet his eyes. This was it. Nausea surged so strongly she whimpered, unconsciously taking a step backwards.
