by Apryl Baker
“I asked a question, and it will be answered.” She put the same bite of a command in her voice when she disciplined her own crew, and it got the response she was looking for. Both agreed.
“Now that’s done, are we agreed?” Ileana asked. “Will we support the claim of Valeria Dendali Riverthorne?”
“I will.” Maester Grigoren raised his cup.
“As will I,” Heyshen agreed, raising his cup as well.
Darius maintained his ill countenance, but he raised his cup. “I will.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You’ve paid who needs to be paid?” Hera looked over at one of her two most trusted sorceresses. Tera wore the same dark robes of their order, her countenance excited but stern. “There can be no mistakes at this point in the game.”
“Everything is as you have commanded.” Tera bowed her head. “Kronos will never know we have swayed the men’s allegiance to you until it is too late. The only ones left by his side will be those loyal to him or to Commander Ajax.”
“Very good.” Hera let her long fingernails drum on the table in front of her.
The two women were sitting in a side room next to Hera’s laboratory. The room itself was plain. A table was scattered with the aftermath of Hera’s plans and notes on her work. A bookshelf set against the far wall was bursting with scrolls and books that had been leafed through a hundred times during the course of her work.
Creating her very own army of Titan soldiers and ancient creatures of the abyss had not been easy. Hera stood on the edge of greatness. A false move now could mean the difference between claiming the role as queen and a very slow and painful death.
“And what of Kat?” Tera asked, shifting her gaze to the floor. “I mean—not that it is any of my concern, but I haven’t heard word from her since she stowed on board The Emerald Queen during our attack with the Titan.”
“You’re right.” Hera studied Tera, gauging the origin of her question. Was it a simple inquiry about a friend, or was she digging for information? “It is none of your concern, but I will indulge you since you have proven yourself to me time and time again. Kat is alive and well. She has been feeding us useful information about Tobias and his movements. When the time comes to make our move, I’ll give her the order to kill everyone on board the ship and return.”
Tera nodded again. She moved to open her mouth as if to say something more, but then thought better of it and remained quiet.
A scream penetrated the stone wall separating the laboratory from Hera’s small studying chamber. The sound was like music to Hera’s ears. The army of her own making that would be loyal only to her was complete. Even now, the ranks of her militia were filled. Last minute tweaks and adjustments were all that were left to be made.
Hera allowed the scream to die before she continued. “I’ll need you to stay on top of the situation, of course. Allegiances can change at a moment’s notice. We’ll need everyone who has promised to turn to hold fast to their commitment. Even without the full support of the army taking on Kronos, Ajax and those loyal to them will prove difficult.”
“I will.” Tera bowed from her waist, taking the hint to leave the room. “I’ve bribed where it was required and blackmailed where it was needed. When the time comes to make your move, Kronos will find himself left with few friends.”
Tera left, and once again, Hera found herself alone. Her mind wouldn’t stop thinking on the plan. Over and over again, it ran through her mind as she studied and probed it for any weaknesses, any sign she had missed something.
Tobias and his granddaughter would marshal support from the people. This would weaken Kronos’s state, but not enough for him to be crushed. More than likely, he would still prevail. But once he had, Hera would make her move. He would be too weak from the fight to stand against her, and he would be nearly alone.
If by some miracle the Dendalis did manage to defeat Kronos, her job would be even sweeter. She would be able to take on the man who had scorned her so many years before.
The thought of Tobias brought back fond memories, despite the anger she still felt for the man. He had been good to her up until the time he hadn’t. If he came back groveling on his hands and knees now, she might spare him death. He could live out the rest of his days as her plaything, a source of her entertainment.
Lately, Hera hadn’t allowed herself time for any interaction besides that of business and work. It might be nice to have a man in her life again. Even better, this man would come with a set of chains and be forced to obey her every whim, whatever that may be.
The more Hera thought about it, the better the plan became. She wasn’t looking for love—that option had died for her a very long time ago—but she would settle for power.
Chapter Fifteen
“Get on your feet, and we’ll do it again.” Tobias walked back to his section of the room where he had started time and time again. “If you think this is hard, wait until we fight Kronos.”
Val tasted the familiar metallic tinge of blood in her mouth. She lifted herself off the stone floor, spitting a spray of dark red against the ground. Pain was nothing new to her. On the contrary, there was a part of her that welcomed the concept. With every hour spent practicing, she felt the magic inside of her growing.
“Don’t be afraid to let go.” Tobias readied himself on the other side of the long warehouse. “Ileana assured me this part of the wharf is empty during the early hours of the morning. Embrace who you are.”
Val took a moment to gather herself. She turned within, gathering the magical power that flowed inside of her like a raging ocean. When Val opened her eyes, she allowed the power to take on physical manifestation through her hands and eyes. Jade green flames of magical fire erupted from her hands.
Her vision went green as she charged across the room.
Val understood she was able to shape her magic into whatever weapon she saw fit. Her advantage was in the idea that the longer she waited to show Tobias what she was going to attack with, the less time he would have to counter with his own defense or attack.
Val fell upon Tobias at the last moment, forming a sword of green fire in her right hand. Tobias barely managed to block the blow with a magical sword of his own.
The two exchanged a few brief blows, but Val was ten times the swordsman Tobias was. She pressed the attack, preparing herself for where Tobias would take the battle next.
As suspected, Tobias discarded his sword in favor of green balls of fire that hovered in his palms. Without pause, he began hurling them at Val.
Val dodged those she could. The ones she couldn’t, she blocked with her weapon. Green fireballs roared past her head, singeing her scalp. The smell of burnt hair soon filled the warehouse. Over and over, Val blocked the incoming projectiles with her sword. They splashed against her weapon in violent showers of sparks and explosions of flames.
Step by step, Val pushed forward under the barrage. It was only a matter of time before she would be on top of Tobias again. He would have to once more change his tactics if he was going to stop her.
Just like that, the barrage stopped. Val broke her concentration for a moment to take in what her mentor was creating next.
Tobias held both hands by his side in the shape of a circle. A crackling jade ball was beginning to form in the space between his hands. With a very unlike Tobias battle roar, he shot his hands forward, sending the ball of energy and a beam of green magic at Val.
Val held her hands firmly on the hilt of her sword and braced for impact. The energy beam hit her blade full force. The power was astonishing. Val’s boots fought for traction on the stone floor. She slid back a few yards but refused to stumble.
Get it together, Val screamed at herself in her head. You’re not going down!
Tobias kept the beam of crushing green magic on Valeria. The heat coming from the spot where his attack impacted her blade was scorching. Val didn’t know how much longer she would be able to hold her weapon or channel the strength needed to
conjure her sword.
Already, she was beginning to feel fatigued. Her use of magic was draining on her muscles. Still, she found a way. Step by step, she held her sword in place and pushed into Tobias’s attack.
She couldn’t tell if the primal growl was coming from her or Tobias. Both magicians seemed to be testing the limit to their power. Each of the Dendalis was far too stubborn to call a break in the conflict and allow the other a victory.
Val was soon so close to Tobias she could reach out and touch his hands. Instead, she pushed the end of her blade into his outstretched palms.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the warehouse. The next thing Val could register, she was rocketing backward. She flew through the air so fast she barely had time to understand what had happened. Experience took over. Val tucked her head and did her best at a roll instead of a face plant. Pain shot up her shoulders and arms as she sacrificed that part of her body rather than her head.
Val made it to her feet, breathing hard. Her hold on her magic was gone, her hands empty. She looked across the room to see how Tobias had fared. He wasn’t so lucky. Tobias didn’t move from the crumpled heap he had landed in.
“Tobias?” Val ran across the warehouse floor, ignoring her own aching muscles. “Tobias, are you all right?”
The older Atlantian didn’t move. His chest still moved up and down, but his head was angled away from Val.
Val reached her mentor and fell to her knees beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tobias are you—”
“Owww…” Tobias shrugged off her touch. He winced, making it to a seated position. Blood fell down the right side of his face. “I’ll be fine. I should have guessed you would have dogged your way into the attack. I’m more upset at me than you.”
“Wait a minute.” Val scrunched her brow, searching her memories. “Was that the first time I won in a sparring duel?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say you won.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t.”
“I’d say we tied. It was the first time you’ve not lost in one of our duels.” Tobias made his way to unsteady feet. “I hope Ileana was right about there being no one within hearing distance of this warehouse.”
“If she’s wrong, it will be a first.” Val moved over to a pile of their equipment where their water containers sat.
Val took a seat on an empty crate, one of the few things still in the warehouse. Tobias joined her, and the two drank cold water from the metal container.
The few torches that lit the inside of the warehouse played with the shadows. Val took the opportunity to address Tobias with questions she wouldn’t want asked in front of anyone else.
“Do you think we have a chance of really doing this?” Val didn’t make eye contact with Tobias. Instead, she stared out into the shadows. “I mean, do you think the merchants will keep their end of the bargain? Do you think the people will rally once more around a Dendali?”
Tobias didn’t answer at first. Val found a sense of relief in the silence. It meant he was taking his time to be honest and give thought to his answer. “I think the merchants will stay true, but for very selfish reasons. I think the people will follow you for the opposite reason.”
“Who would have thought,” Val mused, pressing the water container to her lips again. “From pirate to qu—”
Val’s next words were cut short by voices. A steel scraping noise filled the room as the warehouse door was forced open.
Chapter Sixteen
Val and Tobias moved as one. The two magicians ran deeper into the warehouse and took shelter by a large wooden crate.
Val’s heart was beating so hard she could feel it in her ears. What she was worried about now wasn’t being in another fight. It was giving away their warehouse location. If things went south, she could already imagine the look of dramatic fatigue on Ileana’s face.
Voices drifted to their location. There were at least two voices, maybe three.
Val looked over through the darkness to see Tobias put a finger across his lips.
“There’s no one here,” a strangely familiar voice echoed into the room. “Can I take off this collar thing? It’s killing me, and whoever I choose to be, I’m not going to have any fashion sense. Seriously, what did you make this thing out of? Lead?”
“You’ll get used to it.” Stephen’s voice carried across the room. “Val? Val are you in here somewhere?”
“I could have sent a fireball through your skull.” Val stood from her hiding position, doing a double take at who was standing in the room. “Are you crazy? What’s he doing here?”
Val was having a hard time believing her eyes. There were two Stephens standing in front of her, along with Ryder. Seeing the twins could only mean one thing. Stephen and Ryder had brought the changeling back from The Emerald Queen.
“I told you, you should have cleared it with her first.” Ryder shrugged and took a step to the side to free herself from Val’s impending rage.
“Well, it’s nice to see you too.” The copy of Stephen smiled at Val.
She knew it was the changeling because he was wearing a thin metal collar around his throat.
“Before you get mad…” Stephen started.
“Try again.” Val crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m already mad.”
“Just hear me out.” Stephen pointed to the collar. “Ileana purchased this on the black market. It has magical properties that will only permit the user to shift when we allow him. It can be coded to recognize a handful of preapproved users.”
Stephen reached over to the clone of himself and pressed a small button on the collar. There was a faint beep.
“Change into Val,” Stephen ordered.
“Reduced to a freaking dog doing tricks,” the changeling grumbled as his skin shimmered. In the matter of seconds, he had transitioned from Stephen to an exact replica of Val. “Are there any other requests? Maybe I can turn into a watermelon or cabbage for your amusement.”
Everyone in the room ignored the changeling.
“You should have asked me first.” Val was still unwilling to allow the fact to go. “You’re not in charge.”
“I understand that,” Stephen agreed. “But he was rotting in a cell. I thought we could give him an opportunity to redeem himself.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Val raised an eyebrow at Stephen. “You’re talking about redemption?”
“Yeah, well, when we nearly died, I had a chance to rethink my outlook on life.” Stephen shrugged.
“It might not be such a bad thing.” Tobias walked over to the changeling, inspecting him from all angles. “We could use a decoy as you harness the support of the people. It’ll be dangerous for you in Atlantis. Maybe even after we take the throne back.”
Val was torn. She studied the shifting eyes of the changeling long and hard. This was a gamble, but one that might pay off. There was also the fact that Stephen had released one of her prisoners. He would have to be dealt with, but a part of Val was surprised in a good way. He had been haunted for a long time about the deaths of his friends. It seemed a new Stephen had emerged from the dungeon of Atlantis.
There was something different about him now. He even seemed to have forgiven Ryder for her part in the events that led to the deaths of many of the soldiers under his command.
“All right.” Val finally broke the silence. She walked to the changeling, skewering him with a glare that could turn skin to stone. “If I even think there’s a chance you’ll put one of my sailors in harm’s way, I’ll skin you alive. And that’s not hyperbole. I’ll actually take my sword and slice away your skin.”
The changeling’s face, which was her own, grimaced in disgust. “That’s a horrible visual. You can rest assured I have no intentions of betraying your trust.”
“Good.” Val was starting to feel the ache of her sparring session with Tobias settle in. “Now, we have a lot of work to do before we can rest. We have a city to conquer.”
***
> The last few days had taken their toll on Val. She’d begged Talen for a way to slip out, somewhere she’d not be seen. The underground was stifling, smothering her in ways any land lover wouldn’t understand. Every moment of the last ten years had been spent on board a ship, the freedom of the open skies her constant companion. Now, to be buried in a hole under the surface of the city? She was going to go mad soon.
The cool breeze of the ocean slapped at her face. Talen had led her to a small inlet, the beach quiet and undisturbed. Valeria stayed on the southern side, the trees her shield against any onlookers. It felt good to be outside and alone with her thoughts. She knew the thief was close by, but he stayed hidden, giving her at least some semblance of solitude.
She let out a heavy sigh and sat down, leaning against a tree right at the edge of the forest where it met the beach. Valeria had an unobscured view of the clear, blue waters of the ocean, something that still awed her. She’d grown up with black, murky waters that were toxic. These waters she could swim in if she chose, not that she knew how to swim. It was a long-forgotten talent in DeCadia. Why learn to swim when almost all the water around the landmass was poisoned?
The sun warmed her skin, the sky cloudless, and she allowed herself to relax for the first time since she’d set foot in the Crucible and completed the trials to enter Atlantis. All Valeria longed for at the moment was the feel of her ship beneath her feet, her hair flying in the wind as she raced along the skies. Simple pleasures.
Now her days were filled with worries, and she was so stressed, the urge to scream at every turn ate away at her nerves. They all wanted her to be queen. All she’d wanted was to find the place she’d come from and hopefully the place she would feel at home. She never wanted a kingdom. How had she let Tobias talk her into this?
She belonged in the skies at the helm of a ship. It was in her blood, and every day she spent landlocked, the more desperate her desire to run became. How could anyone expect her to sit on a throne for the rest of her days? Val wasn’t even sure she could manage it. Running a ship was one thing; running a kingdom was entirely something else. The mere thought of it made her queasy. How to tell them she didn’t want to do this?
