“You remember,” he said calmly.
“Of course I do. I do not forget the things I can use to my advantage. I also remember how to sink an arrow.” She removed her heel from his neck and stepped back, watching him as he rose to his feet. “The rest of them have learned that move as well, by the way.”
“Won’t help them much when it comes to storming a castle,” he answered, rubbing his throat as he picked himself up off the floor. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“If that is my end, then it is. At least I will die doing something I believe in.”
“Even if it’s wrong?” he shouted.
“It is not. I know my husband. He likes this even less than you do.”
Renn stepped between Shannen and the exit. “And yet, here you are, while it’s politically advantageous… weren’t those the words you used? ‘Politically advantageous’ for his people to think he renounced you and the vows he made to you. What kind of man stands back and lets his beloved wife walk into danger like this?”
“The kind of man who believes in his wife,” she said quietly. “Thank you for your time.”
“I could keep you here. Hold you. It would be the right thing to do,” Renn said.
Shannen looked up, meeting his eyes. “If you did that, you would be dead to me, Renn Kinari. If the friendship we had means so little to you, then go ahead.”
They stood, face to face, for what felt like an eternity before Renn finally stepped aside, waving her past. Shannen let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding and walked out of the room without another word.
On her way out, she picked up nine more fighters from Renn’s household, and three who defected from Renn’s guardsmen.
It would have to do.
When she got back to the meadow where her army and her Maidens were waiting, she quickly introduced the dozen new recruits and then stalked off to be alone. She had managed to contain her anger and panic about Renn’s refusal, but she felt like she was about to crawl out of her skin.
What was she going to do now? So much of her plan had relied on Renn and his army. The men Renn commanded could out-fight Edwell’s guards with one hand tied behind their backs and barely break a sweat. She had seen them clash before, over bruised egos, ridiculous insults. It had not even been a contest.
She paced, arms crossed over her body, tall grasses whipping around her legs.
She did not have the numbers to beat him hand-to-hand. It galled her to admit it, but she had been naive. She had believed that the conditions people were forced to put up with under Edwell’s rule would be enough. She had stupidly believed that she would have hordes of angry, desperate people following her, when in truth, she had had to plead her case in every village and settlement she had visited. The only thing people feared more than tomorrow under Edwell was a tomorrow that was wrapped in unknowns.
Shannen paced and considered her options. A show of force would end in failure and find most of those who had bravely offered to fight beside her dead or captured.
She could do more recruiting. She had skipped over a few of the farther-flung villages, but doubling back and trekking to those places, in multiple directions, would ensure she did not see Tanris (or, more to the point, her husband once her business in Tanris was settled) in months.
She knew what many, including Renn, would tell her to do. Go home. Go back to her husband, stop instigating trouble. Just be quiet. Be nice. Learn to act like a lady.
Shannen snorted. It was a little late to start that now.
She took a deep breath and sank down into the grass. The sun was setting, and the sky to the west looked like it belonged to an entirely different world. The sky ranged from deep purple near the horizon, to pink, orange, yellow. How could something so perfect and vibrant even grace them with its presence?
As she let her mind wander down that path, she was struck by another thought: there were amazing, beautiful things here. Their world, what was left of it, was not totally destroyed. Not yet. It would take a long time — lifetimes — but the world could be a vibrant place again. That would never happen with Edwell in charge, trying to undermine the peace the Maarlai had graciously given him. He did not even realize how lucky he was to be alive. Vain, proud, brash… Edwell was all of those. And Shannen was all too aware that she was all of them as well.
She thought some more. It would have to be done quietly. The only way this could work would be if Shannen and her people were able to sneak into Tanris unnoticed, and remove Edwell as quietly as possible. It would require dealing with his guards, but two or three at a time rather than as a combined force. Stealth and planning would be the keys to victory, rather than brawn and sheer numbers. If they could take Edwell and his guards unaware, it was possible she could claim her crown before most of his forces were even aware of what was happening. And by then, it would be too late; the Tanris guards were there to protect their monarch and city, whoever that monarch might be. She did not doubt that a few would attack on Edwell’s behalf nonetheless. They would have to deal with that when they got to it.
Could they even do this?
She watched as the sky darkened. The first stars shone blearily through the ever-present haze, and she attacked her idea from all sides as she watched more and more stars appear. There were so many ways it could fail. But if it succeeded… if it succeeded, she would have it all. Edwell’s downfall, the crown her father had meant for her to have, power to change the world. She and Daarik would bring true peace and unity. They could begin to rebuild the world that had been lost to so many years of war and destruction. And whatever happened, their unified, allied people would work together.
This had to work.
She felt a sudden, sharp pang of loneliness. She hadn’t felt truly lonely since after her mother had died. At least, she hadn’t until after she and Daarik had fallen in love, and she had set off on this impossible task. It had taken having someone in her life who she truly loved to remind her what it was to be lonely. Before Daarik, she had kept every single person in her life at a distance. It was mutual, in most cases. She felt no desire to lose anyone she cared for again after losing her mother, and she could tell pretty quickly that they were not happy to have her there. The only friend she had made in all that time was Renn Kinari, and now even he refused to fight at her side.
Shannen pushed up her sleeve, exposing her glittering metallic mating mark. It shone dully in the moonlight, and she traced it with her fingers. “I miss you,” she whispered.
“Shannen?”
Daarik’s voice, clear as day. Shannen jumped up and looked around, heart pounding.
“Daarik?”
There was no sign of him, and she wondered if she was beginning to lose her mind.
“You are not losing your mind,” he said, and she looked around again.
“Then I am dreaming,” she answered.
“No, not that either. I can’t believe this,” he said, his voice full of wonder.
“What?”
“The mating marks… I never for a second imagined they would work for us. You aren’t Maarlai.”
“I am pretty sure I am dreaming, but go ahead and explain, husband of mine,” Shannen murmured, and he laughed.
“You don’t need to speak aloud. We’re connected in a different way right now. Which is why I know that you’re half afraid you’ve lost your mind due to stress. We need to talk about that, Shannen.”
“I do not understand.”
“The mating marks, aside from being a visual representation of our promise to each other, allow us to communicate this way. It is imperfect: it needs to be night, and we both need to have our marks bared to the night sky. If it is too cloudy, or if we are inside, it won’t work. I never thought it would work… this is amazing.”
Shannen shook her head a little. “Maybe it is more to do with the metal in the marks than in whether a Maarlai is the one bearing it.”
“Apparently so. We never had an opportuni
ty to test that before. And I don’t care if it works for anyone else right now. All that matters is that I can hear your voice, I can feel you… you’re alive.”
“I am alive, and so are you.”
She caught a snippet of something from him. Relief. A flash of thought.
“You thought I was not coming back to you,” she said, and she was torn between wanting to hold him and assure him she would always come back to him, and wanting to hit him for doubting her love.
“I deserve the second option, but I’d much prefer the first,” Daarik said. “I’m sorry.”
“How could you doubt me like that?”
“I don’t doubt you. I doubt us, sometimes, even while knowing we are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. This was never the life you wanted.”
“And yet now, it is all I want. Never doubt that I do exactly as I want. You should know me better than that by now. And what I want, husband of mine, is you.”
“Me and your crown,” he said, and she could detect his teasing tone.
“That, too.”
“You are tense. Nervous. Tell me what’s happening, wife of mine.”
“I don’t have the numbers to take the city. That would have been foolish at any rate.”
Daarik was silent for a while, and she knew he was trying to sense for her, as she was for him. “So what is the plan now?”
“Subterfuge and deception.”
“Sounds like fun,” he said, and she realized with some shock that there was no doubt from him, no lack of faith. “Yes, I believe in you. I hate that you’re away from me, but I believe in you. If you want to do this thing, you’ll do it. And I’m glad you’ve seen that you need to go with your strengths with this. Brute force isn’t your thing, Shannen. You’re a smart woman. Crafty when you want to be. Use that. Have as many fighters by your side as you possibly can, but do this your way. If you play this right, Edwell won’t know what’s happening until he’s surrounded and he has your knife at his throat.”
Shannen warmed, and then she laughed. “I love you. I hope you know that.”
“I love you, too. I wish we had discovered this sooner.”
“That makes two of us.” Shannen sat back down, kneeling in the grass, making sure to keep her mark exposed to the night sky. “You have not found Jarvik yet.”
“No. We haven’t heard or seen anything from him in a few weeks now. We’ve taken down several of his fighters, but no sign of Jarvik himself.”
“I think it is too much to hope to assume he is simply in hiding.”
“I agree. He’s recovering from his losses and making plans. It’s what he does.”
“Be careful.”
“I will if you will,” he answered, and she felt the warmth and humor in his tone.
“I will try.”
“How long before you reach Tanris?”
“A few days. We are nearly in sight of it now. Can we not talk about Edwell and Jarvik?”
He laughed. “We can do that. Let’s talk about more pleasant things.”
“Such as?”
He laughed again, and spent the next several hours talking quietly with her, flirting, telling her all the things he missed about her, and what he was looking forward to doing once they were reunited. As she talked to her husband, she basked in the sense of his presence. It was not unlike the connection she felt when she was in bed with him, utterly connected, moving and thinking as one. It was the one perfect thing she had ever known, and she held onto it, onto his words and his presence, and the only thing that could come between them was the inevitable rising of the sun.
“We will be together soon, either via the mating mark or when I finally hold you again,” he promised her as the fiery yellow wash of daybreak began to peek over the horizon. “Stay safe.”
“I love you,” she told him, and then the rising of the sun broke their connection. She felt bereft for a moment, and shook it off. She had had more time with Daarik than she ever could have hoped for, and with luck and a fairly clear sky, she would have him with her again soon. She looked down at the mating mark again, and felt a swelling of gratitude. She had loved it before, when it had been her own little secret, a symbol of her unbreakable bond with her husband. Now, she could barely express how she felt. It was humbling and magical, and she felt more energetic than she had in weeks. She stood up, stretched, and smiled. Even from leagues away, Daarik was able to make her feel more loved and chreished than she had ever felt in her life.
And now, it was time to move on and claim her crown. The sooner and the more thoroughly that was accomplished, the sooner she could be with him again.
Chapter Three
Four days after leaving Ashwall, Tanris was in sight. Shannen and her army hid in the mountains just outside of the city, using the rocks, cliffs, and caves to their advantage. The city’s white stone walls rose high, shimmering in the sun, the guard towers at each side of the city gate topped with flags emblazoned with the Lion of House Lyon. People came and went, and, as always, the city gates closed at sunset. Most people lived within the city’s walls, but some, particularly the farmers, lived outside the city. They usually came early in the morning, their carts loaded down with fruit, vegetables, grain, and meat, and they would spend all day in the market, and leave again at sunset. Shannen watched it all, took note of her uncle’s guards and the schedule they kept. There were regular changes of the guard, and night was always more heavily guarded than daytime.
Shannen spent most of her time staring down at the city, her brain working overtime. She did not have the numbers to take the city by pure force. While she was angry that Renn had refused to join her, she could not focus on that now.
Right now, she had a small force, maybe a quarter of which were trained fighters. As they waited, Shannen had the experienced warriors work with her people. Camille, to Renn’s men’s surprise, was one of the ones teaching the others. The Maidens, in particular, were not at all conventional in the way they fought, but they had learned out of necessity, rather than being formally trained. Days spent defending homesteads, shops, families, and, often, themselves, had resulted in each of her Maidens having developed a set of defenses that worked for her. Camille had her daggers. Sula and Reena, who were sisters who had lost everything thanks to Edwell’s wars, carried small clubs with large spikes hammered into the end. Lise looked like something out of mythology, a fairy, maybe, so delicate and quiet, but she carried a small curved sword and proved, time and time again against Renn’s men, that she knew how to use it. She had a few Maidens who used only their bodies; hands, knees, feet, fists, teeth, to protect themselves.
Gildis, a thin, dark-skinned woman who had joined her in one of the first villages she’d visited, was talented with poisons. She kept small, marble-shaped balls of compressed herbs that she could quickly and easily stuff into the mouth or eyes of her opponent, effectively destroying them within seconds.
This was what Renn didn’t understand. He assumed everything had to be handled with brawn and weapons. Those were quite useful, of course, but brains, ingenuity, and a pure, unadulterated desire for vengeance could get someone just as far, if not farther.
No, as she had learned with his refusal, her issues were more complicated than strength alone.
She moved to her other favorite spot, higher up on an outcropping that gave her a better view of the palace and its grounds. From her new vantage point, it was easy to see activity surrounding her uncle’s home. As her companions trained and rested and got to know one another, Shannen watched.
For as long as she’d lived in the palace, Edwell had taken morning walks through the palace’s flower garden. Not the small garden Shannen kept for herself, but the large garden that supplied the flowers for the king’s table and living quarters. He cared not at all for flowers, she’d learned fairly quickly. Most of his time in the garden was spent watching the two women who maintained it. He would slowly stroll through the rows of flowers, eyes on one woman or the other. They would
greet him respectfully and then go about their work. Edwell, meanwhile stared at the women in a way that had made Shannen’s skin crawl. Shannen had eventually befriended both women, mainly because she was interested in learning more about gardening. They’d answered her endless questions kindly, and before long, the three began having tea and sometimes lunch together.
This mingling with the servants incensed Edwell and his family, which was just an added bonus for Shannen.
They’d eventually confided that he made them very uncomfortable, that he never did anything more than watch them, but they still felt filthy when he did it. From what they’d been able to glean from the rest of the servants, he did not even give a glance to anyone else, which made it all the more unnerving.
Shannen found in her time watching the palace grounds that Edwell had not changed this particular habit since she’d been gone. Shortly after the morning watch changed shifts, he and his guards would make their way across the palace grounds to the garden. His guards, two of them, would stay outside the walled garden, and Edwell would slip through the gate and go inside.
Shannen chewed her lip as she watched it play out again, for the third day in a row. If they could get into the garden before Edwell, they could easily capture him there.
That would be the only truly easy part of it.
First, they would have to get into the city without being recognized. For the first time, Shannen cursed her tendency to draw attention to herself. The infamy she’d so prized would make it almost impossible to get into the city without the gate guards, and more than a few citizens, recognizing her.
She glanced down at herself. Although… Renn’s reaction to how she’d changed hadn’t been totally unfounded. Her clothing had become too loose, and her Maidens had found a pair of supple leather pants and a rough woolen tunic for her. She still wore her head scarf, but it was a simple gray one, not one of the more elaborate ones she’d often worn to annoy Edwell. They would not expect to see Shannen accompanied by anyone that looked as rough as her army did.
Riven (Exile Book 2) Page 4
