‘What’s your issue with her?’
‘I have no issues with anyone.’
He snorted. ‘Right. Everyone annoys you.’
‘Well you should feel special because you annoy me more than anyone.’
‘You can’t even bring yourself to say her name,’ he pressed.
Couldn’t I? I hadn’t even noticed. ‘Please. You’re obsessed with her. You don’t look at anyone but her.’
‘Speak for yourself!’
‘I don’t moon after her!’ I exclaimed. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t mind experimenting with girls, but, you know – I can’t help thinking she wouldn’t be wildly fun in the bedroom. Lack of soul and all.’
Jonah rolled his eyes. ‘She does not lack a soul.’
‘Well it’s a pretty weird one. Haven’t you noticed the way her eyes never shift? It’s like she doesn’t have any emotions, Jone.’
He didn’t say anything to that. Eventually he just muttered, ‘I wasn’t talking about Isadora, anyway. I was talking about you and Thorne.’
I shrugged. ‘There is no me and Thorne.’
To which my brother just laughed.
As morning rose Thorne, Isadora and Penn recovered somewhat and we sat around our camp to look at the parchment together.
Jonah read it aloud. ‘The people of Kaya die in pairs. With the forging of the soul magic, so is forged an unbreakable bond between those in love. When one dies, so shall the other, and forever will it remain so … Unless in the turning of the world the day comes when one is born with both the frozen blood of the north in his veins and the hot winds of the south blazing through his soul. Then shall he, and only he, have the power to break the unbreakable bond.
‘He will be of one soul and two faces. He will speak with two voices and feel with one heart. He will be servant and ruler. He will know moon and earth. To break the bond will be to break him.’
Jonah stopped and there was a silence.
‘Is that it?’ I asked. ‘What in Gods’ names does that mean?’
‘No idea.’
‘We’re looking for a person,’ Isadora murmured. ‘That changes everything.’
‘And it’s a man, we know that much,’ I supplied.
‘Not necessarily,’ Jonah disagreed. ‘“He” is how they referred to everyone back then, because all were “man” meaning “human”. So it could be man or woman.’
‘You have one soul and two faces,’ Penn pointed out, looking between Jonah and me.
There was another silence.
‘Well shit,’ I muttered. ‘Thank Gods we aren’t the only twins in the world.’
Thorne stood abruptly and he towered over all of us, looking like an ancient god of fury.
‘Woah. Calm down there, big guy,’ I said.
‘Frozen blood of the north and hot winds of the south,’ he bit out. ‘It’s Pirenti and Kaya. And born to a man of Pirenti and a woman of Kaya are the two royal Princesses of Pirenti. Twins – one soul, two faces. My cousins.’
We stood, hurrying to pack our belongings and mount up.
‘Thorne, it’ll be all right,’ I said, unsure why he was so utterly panicked.
‘As soon as the other groups discover what we did, they will ride for the fortress in search of the princesses, and they will want to use the girls – everyone in Kaya will want to use them – and do you know what will happen then?’
I said nothing.
Thorne said, ‘It will mean an end to peace, because there is no way in this world or any world that the King and Queen of Pirenti will allow their children to be used in a dangerous prophecy. There will be war, and an ocean of blood.’
Chapter 11
Quillane
It took hours to find her. Nobody had seen her except one man, finally, who admitted he had seen a small woman being led by the Emperor himself. My heart beat out of time as my feet took me to his chamber.
‘Hello, darling,’ he slurred. He was throwing darts at the roof, lying directly beneath them. There were six blindfolded and half naked women scattered around, giggling at his antics.
‘I’m looking for a woman. A servant.’ My nerves were shattered – I had no idea how much he knew. Why would he even be aware of her existence? And what was she doing out of her room without me?
‘I was under the impression this palace was full of them,’ he pointed out. ‘I just clap my hands and they appear. Come to think of it, do you imagine it could be by some kind of magic?’
‘Falco,’ I snapped. ‘Someone saw you leading her by the arm. Do you often lay hands on servants and take them places?’
He rolled over to look at me properly. Then grinned. ‘She wouldn’t sleep with me.’
‘What did you do with her?’
‘None of your concern, darling. Would you like to play? I’m not doing very well. I’ve been stabbed by a falling dart twice now.’
‘Do you think the wine could be affecting your aim?’ I asked acerbically.
‘On the contrary!’ he laughed. ‘It’s bolstering my strength!’
The girls laughed. It boggled my mind that he could enjoy this kind of shallow debauchery.
I spun on my heel and left. What would he do with a girl who’d angered him? I could hardly imagine him to be cruel – Falco had never been that. But he had been different since the departure of the girl – Finn. She’d unsettled something in him. Perhaps he was so twisted by it that it had made him unforgiving.
Without daring to believe it, I let my footsteps carry me down the steps to the dungeons. She wouldn’t be here. There was no way he would take an innocent girl to prison. No way –
And yet there she sat, in the far cell.
I ran to her, unable to believe it. ‘Radha!’
‘I’m all right,’ she said quickly. ‘Perfectly all right.’
‘What’s going on? How could he?’ Outrage struck. I literally couldn’t believe he’d done this.
‘Easy, Quill. I haven’t been here long.’
‘Because you wouldn’t have sex with the disgusting Emperor of Kaya? That is not the way this country works. I’ll have him punished for this – he will be held accountable.’
‘How will you do that?’ a voice asked from behind me and I whirled to see Falco leaning lazily in the doorway.
My jaw clenched. ‘You can’t lock women away for not falling into your bed. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful man in the country. Nobody has the right to demand that.’
He dropped his eyes, looking abashed. ‘You’re right. I apologise. I’d been drinking too much. Wasn’t thinking straight. Forgive me, Radha.’
Calling for one of the guards, I had him open the cell. Radha emerged and I had to forcibly stop myself from embracing her.
‘Are you well?’ I asked her instead. She nodded. ‘Then be gone to your duties.’
She hurried up the steps, but not before she met my eyes. A curl of something in my chest, of heat and tenderness – and our eyes shifted gold.
Fear punched me in the gut and I spun around so that my back was to Falco. Breathing quickly, I tried to make my voice cold. ‘We’ll deal with this later, when you aren’t drunk.’
I heard him come closer and I willed my eyes to shift, but fear for her was keeping them gold, tightening the bond between us.
‘I really am sorry, love.’
‘Just go, Falco! You disgust me!’
So he did. Dizzy with relief, I ran up the steps and headed straight for the secret room.
Falco
Something was off. The urgency under Quillane’s skin. The shifting concern I saw in her eyes. So I followed her. Up stairs and through corridors. She arrived at her chambers and I managed to catch the door before she let it fall shut behind her. Slipping in, I watched her wind her way deep into her library and then I saw her open a door I had no knowledge existed. With a quick look behind her (I ducked around the corner not a second too soon) she disappeared into what looked like a tunnel, closing the door firmly behind he
r.
Heart pounding, I left her rooms. I made my way to my study and unrolled a large map of the palace. There was no tunnel marked there. No door. Nothing.
How the fuck had she managed to hide a room from me in a palace that had been mine long before it was hers? And what was she keeping in there?
Finn
A raging river rushed before us. One we needed to cross.
‘The bridge is another day’s ride north,’ Jonah informed us from the map.
‘Too far,’ Thorne said bluntly. ‘We cross here.’
I tried not to smile. My gang didn’t appreciate it when I showed too much excitement for danger.
‘Hang on,’ Jonah tried. ‘Let’s not make poor decisions through haste. The horses might not make it across here.’
‘I’ll swim,’ Thorne said. ‘The load will be lighter for the mounts.’
Jonah clearly thought this was idiotic, but Thorne had become very difficult to argue with over the last few days. He was single-minded: reach the fortress. He started wading into the rushing water and we followed slowly on the horses. Jonah and I had a mount each, while Isadora and Penn who were the lightest in weight were sharing the third.
My horse, who I had decided was called Benedict, paced forward, then pulled up, uncomfortable with the depth and speed of the river. ‘Easy,’ I murmured, stroking his neck.
Penn had called his horse Griggor, of course, since he apparently needed to call all his horses Griggor. Griggor was moving calmly under his influence.
Jonah wasn’t having the same luck – his horse was pawing the ground uneasily, refusing to cross.
Penn swung off Griggor and walked back to Jonah’s horse. He reached up and started to stroke the dun-coloured mare, murmuring things to her. She calmed instantly as though by magic.
I smiled. I loved Penn’s affinity with animals; secretly, it was my favourite thing about him.
‘What’s her name?’ Penn asked Jonah.
My brother shrugged. ‘No idea.’
‘Cruel and selfish as usual,’ I sighed. ‘I named my horse the moment I mounted him, Penn.’
‘Good,’ Penn said approvingly and I grinned smugly at Jonah. He glared at me. ‘Name her,’ Penn said. ‘You have to name her or she’ll be uncomfortable.’
‘Uhh …’
‘Can we move it along, please?’ Thorne called from where he was up to his waist in the water.
‘Sky,’ Jonah blurted.
‘Sky?’ I repeated. ‘Did you just say that because you were looking at the sky?’
‘Whatever.’
‘It’s like you were born without an imagination.’
‘Oh, and Benedict is really inspired, is it? Shut up, Finn.’
‘You shut up.’
‘Both of you shut up,’ Isadora snapped.
‘Sky,’ Penn said, then whispered to the horse. Penn led her forward into the water until she was crossing comfortably, then he ran back to swing onto Griggor. Together we all crossed the river. As it grew deeper the horses had to start swimming, and they were doing beautifully under Penn’s soft words to each of them.
Until something moved, something hard and fast and whizzing past us with a thunk.
‘What –?’ I looked around to see that Thorne had been shot in the shoulder with an arrow.
He gave a grunt of pain, floundering in the water.
‘Thorne!’ I shouted.
But more arrows were flying, hitting the water around us. One flashed straight by my head and I yelped, ducking low to Benedict’s neck. He was trembling with nerves but I urged him forward and he kept swimming, the brave creature.
Sky gave a wild whinny as an arrow sank into her flank. Jonah tried to calm her but she bucked in the water and stopped swimming, allowing herself to be washed downstream.
‘Jonah!’ I screamed.
‘Keep going!’ Thorne ordered to me. He was swimming with one arm, struggling against the current.
Isadora and Penn had managed to keep their mount calm, even while being shot at, and were nearing the far bank. Penn was lying across the horse, shielding it from arrows with his body.
‘Come on, boy,’ I pleaded with my horse. ‘Keep going.’
The arrows were coming harder now, and I couldn’t work out how many assailants we had. My eyes scanned the trees of the forest and figured they must be firing from up in the branches.
Jonah was being swept downstream very quickly. I didn’t know what to do – was about to lunge from my horse when I saw him do exactly that. He scrambled off Sky and tried to swim against the current that was barrelling against him.
Benedict made it to the bank just behind Griggor and we climbed out. I kicked him into a hard run, fumbling with my pack as we thundered along the bank towards Jonah. Finding the long coil of rope, I knotted it through Benedict’s reins and prayed he was as strong as he looked.
There was a huge bit of driftwood sweeping down through the water. ‘Jonah!’ I screamed, trying to warn him, but it cracked him in the head and I saw my brother go under.
Spending so much time with Penn meant we were good with horses. I laid my hand flat against Benedict’s neck and said, ‘Hold strong, Ben. This isn’t going to be fun.’
As we cantered alongside where Jonah was being washed downstream – face underwater – I stood up in my stirrups and looped the other end of the rope around my waist, securing it with a quick bowline. Then without preamble, I launched myself from the saddle and dove straight into the river.
I plunged under. It was instantly cold and brutal, but I managed to reach for Jonah, clutching onto his ankle. The rope around my waist pulled taut and I heard Benedict whinny loudly but hold firm. He was anchoring the weight of both Jonah and I, as well as the force of the current. He was a good, good horse.
I hauled Jonah towards the bank and clutched onto it. With trembling limbs I managed to roll him onto the side so that he was no longer face-down. Then I dragged myself up onto the bank and drew some ragged breaths. My hands slipped as I clasped Jonah’s underarms and tried to drag him out of the water. He was a pretty small person, but Gods he seemed to weigh a thousand pounds right now. I finally managed to get him onto the bank and touching his skin reassured me that his heart was beating strong. He was breathing too, so I looped the rope from my waist, gave Benedict a quick, calming stroke, and then sprinted back up the riverbank.
Isadora and Thorne were both crouched behind trees, peering up into the branches. Penn was with his horse, still trying to guard it, but it seemed to have become a stalemate, for the arrows had paused.
I reached Penn and pulled him behind Griggor.
‘Don’t!’ he cried.
‘Shhh. I’d rather the horse get shot than you.’
Peering around, I met Thorne’s eyes and nodded to let him know Jonah was all right. He motioned for me to stay low. There was still an arrow protruding from his arm, and it made my heart revolt.
‘What do you want?’ Thorne called.
A few rustles above. ‘We want the Pirenti pig dead,’ called a male voice. An arrow shot straight past Thorne’s head and he pulled back behind the trunk again.
‘Anything else?’ Thorne replied.
‘The map.’
‘You can have the map. We surrender. Come down and we’ll hand it over.’
‘Throw your weapons into the river and move out from behind the trees – all of you.’
Thorne nodded, and I thought it was the stupidest thing ever, but didn’t have much choice but to trust him. He threw his axe into the river, then moved right into the open where he could be killed with ease. Heart thumping, I did the same, but had no weapons to remove. Penn came with me, more comfortable standing in front of Griggor, though he was hardly big enough to guard the tall horse.
Isadora moved slowly, removing the sabre at her belt. She held up empty hands.
‘The fifth!’
‘He’s unconscious!’ I snapped.
‘Show yourselves and you get the map,’ Tho
rne said.
‘Place it on the ground before you.’
‘No,’ Thorne said flatly. ‘Reveal yourselves or you get nothing.’
In response, they shot another arrow straight into his other arm.
I cried out without meaning to, but he lifted his hand quickly to stop me from moving. He had taken the impact with only the smallest of stumbles.
‘Fire as many arrows as you want,’ he said. ‘The map is knowledge. I die, and it dies with me.’
There was a long hesitation, and I wondered how they were communicating. Eventually the trees rustled and then four people dropped from the branches. They slid down ropes with ease and then hung suspended in the air, their arrows nocked and aimed straight at us.
‘The fifth, too,’ Thorne ordered, and I wondered how he knew there were five. Sure enough, a fifth assailant dropped into view.
‘Nobody move,’ their leader warned again. He was dressed in green to match the trees.
‘Nobody’s moving,’ Thorne assured him calmly.
But it was a lie.
Someone was moving.
What they didn’t know was that Isadora was covered neck to ankle in hidden knives. And she knew how to use them.
I watched, frozen, as she moved, grace in every muscle. A knife appeared in each hand and shot out to take two bowmen in the throats. They dropped their bows and hung dead, still attached to their ropes.
Thorne lunged to Penn and I, pressing us beneath him.
But Isadora wasn’t finished. With an easy spin she ducked beneath the three arrows fired her way, then materialised two more knives and with lazy deadliness flicked them out to kill two more. I had barely seen the knives land before she had a fifth and final dagger thrown into the last man’s heart.
All five bandits hung dead from their ropes within a matter of seconds.
Isadora straightened smoothly, utterly unruffled.
I’d known. But I hadn’t known. Her red eyes darted to us, and then I watched her walk to the five bodies and reach up to reclaim her knives. There must have been invisible slits in her clothing, because she cleaned the blades on the grass and then they disappeared again, settled back against her body.
I turned to Thorne, because frankly I didn’t know how to react or feel or what to think about what I had just witnessed. My mind wasn’t processing what my eyes were seeing – five swinging corpses. Five lives doused in mere moments, without the slightest of efforts. I couldn’t fathom who Isadora was, where she had come from, and why she was able to do that without batting an eyelid. It seemed too preposterous. As if the mere fact of her existence made a joke of the men who’d thought to attack her.
Thorne (Random Romance) Page 20
