by Lisa Cassidy
Beaming himself, he stood back to let them in. “I must admit I’m surprised you managed to make it, though I am delighted you could. I was sure you’d have not long left Carhall.”
Alyx’s heart plummeted. “You haven’t heard.”
“Haven’t heard what, Aly-girl?” His gaze sharpened on hers, penetrating and insistent.
Tarrick cleared his throat. “We’ll leave you both a moment to catch up. Rothai and I should keep an eye outside anyway, just in case.”
Alyx’s gaze tracked the door closing, then fell to the floor. Astor said nothing, waiting for her to straighten her shoulders and meet his eyes. “There was a Hunter attack while we were in Carhall. The king…the stress of the escape…his heart was…” She stumbled, angry at herself for not being able to say the words. “He died. Cayr is now king.”
Astor was still, unblinking, hands resting lightly in his lap. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling. After a long moment he gave himself a little shake. “Oh, Darien,” he murmured.
“I’m sorry, Astor.” She reached out to lay a hand over his. “I know you’ve been friends for many years.”
He nodded absently, pale eyes settling on hers. “I suppose this news explains why you look so pale and drawn. Was anyone else hurt?”
“I’m not certain, but I don’t think so. We had to leave so quickly.” She swallowed. “I had to walk away and leave Cayr when his father had just died. He has to be king now, and I want to be there to help him, support him, but I can’t. It’s hard, running away all the time.” Bitterness leaked into her voice despite her best efforts. “I hate every second of it.”
“I know,” he said softly, almost as if talking to himself. “And your news pales in comparison to the reason I asked to meet, though I’m glad I did. Darien’s loss...I’m glad to know sooner rather than later.”
She straightened, unable to dwell on their loss any longer. “I’m going to Zandia to ask the emperor for an alliance. I’d like your help. I want you to come with us. A representative of the Rionnan crown will only help our cause.”
Astor sat back in his chair, letting her rush of words wash over him. “I hope you’re not doing something reckless merely because you feel like you have to do something.”
“It’s risky,” she admitted. “But necessary. You know as well as I do how vulnerable Cayr is going to be until he can assert his authority.”
“I do.” His eyes narrowed in thought. “And for what it’s worth, I agree that an alliance with Zandia will forestall any perceived weakness in Rionn on Shivasa’s part. But I can’t come.” He raised a hand to forestall her protests. “The council has officially requested my presence, and to flout such a direct request would only add to Rionn’s precarious position. I’ll send a bird to King Cayr today recommending he send someone immediately via ship to Sandira. If you’re travelling overland, the timing should match up well enough.”
She frowned at his mention of the Mage Council. While for all intents and purposes the council functioned as it always had, the masters hadn’t ventured out of Carhall since the attack on DarkSkull. In the first days after the attack, Rothai had urged her to go north and join them in the formidable walled city. She’d flatly refused.
Over time, as Rothai learned through old contacts that the council’s reach had diminished, along with their activities, he’d stopped trying to convince her. It wasn’t only Alyx and those who followed her that Shakar’s Hunters went after. Council mages were dying too.
Part of Alyx yearned to do more, to show leadership where the council hadn’t, but all she could promise mages following her was the high chance of death. “What does the council want to see you about?”
He lifted his hands, giving her a little shrug.
She sighed. “I don’t trust them, Astor. They murdered innocent children. Besides, it’s not like they’re doing much beyond hiding behind the walls of Carhall.”
“Even so, is there anything else you need from me in Carhall?”
She hesitated, fighting through her gut-level hatred of the council. “Yes. I intended to speak with them while in Carhall, but the unexpected attack meant I couldn’t. Would you please tell them of my trip, and offer that they send a representative to join us? The emperor is likely to respond more favourably to a request for alliance if the council and I appear unified.”
“I agree.” Astor smiled at her sympathetically. “I will pass on your offer and let them know that a representative from Rionn will attend.”
“Can you also find out about Galien? Despite his murderous hatred of me, he’s always claimed loyalty to the council. I want to know if that’s still the case, and if so, what they have him doing.”
Astor’s gaze narrowed thoughtfully, though she got the distinct impression his mind was far away. “Yes of course, the other mage of the higher order.” He blinked, eyes settling on hers. “I’ll deal with that for you.”
“And another thing. You know that before I fled Alistriem, Ladan and I found out that Shakar is probably a mage my mother knew personally?” She shook her head in frustration. “Tarrick and Finn and I have discussed it endlessly ever since, but we can’t think of any good candidates. Could you do some sniffing around for us?”
“Of course I’ll do anything I can to help. But you know I’m dubious about your theory. Even if Shakar could disguise himself so well that he could re-enter the mage world after them all thinking him dead...it would be arrogance in the extreme. And I’m not sure what he’d be hoping to achieve by it.”
“Thank you.” She sighed, leaned over to hug him. “I wish we had more time. It’s so nice to see a familiar face from home.”
“Maybe after you meet with the emperor you should consider going back to Alistriem, even if only for a few days,” Astor suggested. “It might help if you could go home and see your family again. I know your father and brother miss you very much, and Cayr especially so after what’s happened.”
“I miss them too. I’d really like to do that,” she said wistfully.
“Then give it some serious thought.” He stood, beginning to usher her out. “Now, we both know you shouldn’t linger. Keep safe in Sandira, Alyx.”
She hugged him tightly. “You too. I hope to see you soon.”
Alyx and her escort were well-accustomed to travelling light and fast, and in just over a week they approached Tregaya’s northern border with Zandia. The Tregayan countryside had become more rugged as they moved north, less forested and green, but she saw no immediate difference when they crossed the border.
“Don’t worry.” Tarrick brought his horse up alongside Tingo, white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “You’ll see desert soon enough.”
“You must be happy to be going home.” After all, he’d been away from his home far longer than she had hers. A good reminder she wasn’t the only one affected by Shakar’s existence.
His smile widened. “I can’t wait to show it to you.”
She returned his smile, touched by his uncharacteristic show of feeling. “Thanks, Tarrick. I suppose it’s only fair, after you’ve spent so much time in my home city.”
“I like Alistriem,” Tarrick said. “It’s got nothing on Sandira, though. You’ll see.”
“Is it really that different?”
“You remember the first time you saw Carhall? You and Dawn spoke about how much grander it seemed than your home.”
“Yes.”
“Well, you’ll find the same with Sandira, only in a whole different way.”
A little frisson of excitement tingled through her as he kicked his horse ahead. For the first time in a long time, she was excited by what lay ahead of her.
Later that night, Alyx lay staring up at the stars, wide-awake and unable to sleep. Finn snored softly beside her. Tarrick stood some distance from the dying embers of the fire, his back to the camp as he kept watch. Rothai slept soundly on Finn’s other side. Alyx shifted in her blankets so that she could see the sleeping forms of the o
ther mages with them.
Adahn was the closest. He slept sprawled out, one arm tucked under his head, his too-long chestnut hair covering half his face. He’d been a cocky, handsome apprentice during Alyx’s first year at DarkSkull, well-liked and a member of the pure mage-blooded popular students.
Tari slept on Adahn’s other side. A retired council warrior mage who’d been in Rothai’s study group at DarkSkull, he had actively sought her out several months earlier. Alyx wished she knew how Rothai had convinced Tari to join them—an old friendship surely couldn’t be all there was to it. And she got the distinct sense Tari continued to reserve her judgment on Alyx’s worth. Jayn, lying barely a handspan from her, muttered in her sleep and turned over. Alyx smiled. She’d been with them since the destruction of DarkSkull.
Tarrick shifted his stance and then relaxed. Alyx turned back to her other side, trying to get comfortable. Sleep remained frustratingly elusive for her. Her thoughts shifted to her recent fight with Finn and what seemed like her constant irritation with him, Tarrick, and Rothai.
She didn’t want to be angry with them all the time, didn’t want to be bitter and sharp. But managing the misery and frustration that had been building inside her for months was proving more and more difficult. The death of Cayr’s father had been too much—Cayr was hurting and she couldn’t help. Worse, she didn’t know what to do about the situation. She missed home. She hated being so magically powerful yet so useless at the same time. She was terrified for those she loved.
And underlying all of that was a heavy dose of guilt. Her friends would be horrified to learn that she hadn’t ended her relationship with a Taliath, that she and Dashan loved each other fiercely despite the distance between them. The fact they hadn’t become lovers wouldn’t matter—just the possibility of her absorbing his invulnerability was too great a threat. One Shakar in the world was bad enough. Two would wreak utter destruction. There was no doubt the Mage Council would turn all their resources to killing her and Dashan if they found out.
Her thoughts turned to Cario and Dawn in Alistriem. She’d sent them there because she couldn’t go herself and they were the next best thing. Dawn’s ability to read the thoughts of those around her had made Cayr’s father far more effective at dealing with the Shiven incursions than he would otherwise have been. Cario’s skill with diplomacy only added to that.
She missed them terribly, missed the way Cario would simply raise his eyebrow at her when she snapped at him, then wait patiently until she calmed down enough to talk rationally. More, she missed Dawn’s quiet friendship and support. At least they would be there now to support Cayr. That gave her some comfort.
“You can’t sleep either?”
Alyx shifted again as Finn’s voice whispered in the darkness. “No. I was just lying here wishing Cario and Dawn were with us.”
Finn let out a soft sigh. “You can’t miss Dawn as much as I do. Part of me hopes King Cayr will send her to Sandira, but it would be almost as good if Cario came.”
“What’s keeping you from sleep?”
A hesitation, then, “I was thinking about Brynn, actually.”
“Oh.” Another pang of aching sadness shot through her, and she bit her lip. Sometimes it felt like she was never going to stop missing those she loved. Brynn was alive, or at least he had been eight months earlier when they’d received a message containing only greetings and an indication he was well, but none of them knew where he was or what he was doing.
Rothai told them Brynn had been and gone right before the attack on DarkSkull, sent on Mage Council business he wasn’t aware of, just like Galien. She often wondered if the two absences had been connected, and each time the thought made her shiver.
“Why didn’t he say more in his message?” Finn sounded frustrated, but underlying that was the same worry Alyx felt. Brynn was one of them, one of the original group that had bonded so fiercely during their first year at DarkSkull when they’d had nothing but each other to survive.
“I don’t know. Maybe he couldn’t.” She sighed. “Brynn always has a reason for what he does.”
“If he had enough time to write that he was alive and well, surely he had enough time to tell us what he was doing and explain why he hasn’t come to us.”
“I wish he had,” Alyx admitted softly.
“Yeah, me too. He always makes me feel cheerful, you know? It’s that smile of his, like nothing can bring him down.” Rustling sounded as Finn settled into a different position. “I guess there’s no point dwelling on it. We should try and get at least a little bit of sleep.”
Soon after, his breathing evened. Alyx stared at Finn’s back, thinking. The trip to Zandia was so important. If she could take an alliance back to Cayr, surely that would help him establish his rule and avert Shivasa taking advantage of a new king. Maybe it would even make her mages more open to letting her do something other than run and hide.
She hoped so. One thing had become a certainty—she couldn’t keep running. Enough was enough.
As the days passed, the landscape gradually changed from dry, scrubby terrain with a few trees, to desert tundra. On the afternoon of the third day since crossing the border, Alyx realised with a start she hadn’t seen a tree or bush since the previous afternoon.
“Have you ever been to Zandia?” Jayn spoke up. They’d been riding together in comfortable silence for a while.
Alyx shook her head. “You?”
“I’ve never been further north than Carhall, where I was born.” The young woman laughed, her dark hair glinting in the bright sun. “This should be interesting.”
“And hot,” Tarrick called back to them.
“How long until we reach Sandira?” Jayn asked.
“If we travelled through the sands, it would take weeks. But since the stoneways were built, crossing Zandia is much easier. It shouldn’t take us longer than a week. There are waystations along the stoneways, so we’ll be able to get provisions at those.”
“What are stoneways?” Alyx asked.
Tarrick was silent for a few seconds, then pointed out in front of him. “See for yourself.”
They’d come to the top of a shallow rise. Below them, a long, wide road curved through the golden desert. As they rode closer, horses slipping slightly in the sand, the road became clearer. Constructed entirely of smoothly paved stone, it was swept free of sand and completely flat.
“That goes all the way to Sandira?” Adahn asked in interest, raising a hand to sweep chestnut hair from his eyes and peer ahead. Alyx glanced at him. He’d joined them months earlier, walking away from the council to do it. Outwardly, his lively and overly self-assured personality hadn’t changed from what she remembered as an initiate at DarkSkull. She wondered what it hid. If anything.
“It certainly does,” Tarrick answered. “And work crews travel through on a steady rotation every few months keeping them swept clean of debris.”
“That’s amazing!” Finn and Adahn said together.
Jayn chuckled and shared an amused glance with Tari. Alyx was equally impressed. Rothai was still watching their back-trail, wondrous sights paling in comparison to his obsession with keeping Alyx safe.
“Is this the only one?” Tari asked.
“No. Several of them crisscross Zandia, linking all the major cities. My father told me they took almost fifty years to complete,” Tarrick said.
“They would allow the emperor to move his army south quickly if needed,” Finn noted.
“Indeed,” Alyx murmured, her gaze half on the stoneway, half on a future where Zandia helped them defeat Shivasa and they were free to face an isolated Shakar and finish this once and for all.
“What are you thinking that has you frowning like that?” Adahn asked. He’d ridden his horse up without her realising. As always, there was an amused glint in his eyes, robbing any real seriousness from his words.
“Why are you with us?” The words came out without thinking, and he lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
“I already told you that. The council wasn’t doing anything to hunt Shakar. They sit in Carhall and do nothing more than increase the numbers of mage warriors sent out on assignment.” Frustration edged his voice. “When I asked what their plan was to defeat Shakar, they told me to mind my business and follow orders like a good little warrior mage.”
She considered him. “It’s not like we’re actively hunting Shakar either. All we do is run.”
“Which you hate,” he murmured. “I see you, Magor-lier. One day you’re going to go at him, and I want to be there when that happens. Of any mage alive, you’re the only one with any hope of beating him.”
His words were low, intense, taking her by surprise. As if equally uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and then gave her a little nod before kicking his horse forward. Her eyes lingered on his back.
One more person to let down if she couldn’t do what they all desperately hoped she could. The weight of that made it hard to breathe.
Chapter 4
Mage robes were packed away one by one as they travelled deeper into the seemingly endless desert. Even the horses felt the oppressive heat; Tingo was much less eager to run than usual, and the insects that buzzed around at night made the horses, and people, extremely irritable.
Alyx’s initial excitement about the new landscape faded as days passed with no change to the unending sand around them. The stoneways and the occasional waystation were all that broke up the monotony of the flat, waterless landscape. When they finally reached Sandira, however, her first sight of the wondrous city was worth all the long days of heat and monotony.
Built along the turquoise northern ocean, the capital city of Zandia sprawled out for miles into the desert. While Alistriem was all stately homes and bustling markets, and Carhall wide, tree-lined avenues and marble halls, this city was an exotic riot of coloured tents and sandstone buildings. She couldn’t do anything but gape in wonder, Tingo shifting restlessly under her as they sat on their horses staring down at the city laid out below them.
