The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  Carth shook her head. She’d tried not to think of what magic the Hjan were able to reach, knowing that same magic had allowed Felyn to kill her parents, and had nearly killed her. “I don’t know. Something plenty powerful,” she said.

  Samis whistled again. “Powerful probably doesn’t fully explain it, I’d bet.” He turned to her, a curious smile tilting his lips, his blue eyes nearly piercing. “How’d you survive it? Rumor has it that you were the first one there. If that’s the case, and if this attacker managed to fight off three of the masters—and survive—how’d you live?”

  Carth had spent the past two nights wondering the same thing. How was it that she had lived when the masters had barely forced him away? But then, she hadn’t really been trying to fight him off. She had been trying to hide from him, using whatever magic she possessed that would keep him from killing her. Thankfully the darkness had helped her then, even if it wouldn’t—or hadn’t—helped her since.

  “I got lucky,” she answered. “Besides, I wasn’t there that long before the masters arrived. He tried to stab me and I ducked. That’s pretty much all I did.” That was mostly true, at least. What did it matter that she’d also managed to use the shadows to hide herself from him?

  Samis studied her, his gaze intense enough to make her uncomfortable, and then smiled. “That is lucky. What was it like?”

  “Terrifying,” she answered quickly.

  “Not that. Watching the masters fight. What was that like?”

  Carth hadn’t taken the time to appreciate what she’d seen. “They were… impressive,” she said. “Powerful. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”

  Samis whistled again and let out a long breath. “What happened? I mean, what really happened, Rel?”

  She gathered her thoughts before speaking, pausing long enough to debate whether she would even answer. If she did, she’d be satisfying his curiosity, but it might help her in some ways as well. Samis would share with others. “The man… he attacked with power. When I said that I got lucky, I really meant it. I almost didn’t get away. Had it not been for the three masters, I wouldn’t have survived.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and shivered.

  Samis turned to her and fixed her with that intense gaze of his, deep blue eyes meeting hers and making it hard to turn away. “What do you want the others to know?”

  She frowned. “I don’t care what the others know, Samis. Let them think whatever they want about the attack for all I—”

  He rested his hand on her arm, silencing her. “Assage knows I don’t know what it was you saw, and with the way you’re treating me…” He shrugged and lifted his hand from her arm, leaving a residual warmth behind. “I figured I could keep others from bothering you if you wanted. That’s it.”

  Carth didn’t know what to say, shocked that Samis had made an offer that seemed almost decent. “Tell them whatever you want,” she said. “Doesn’t matter anyway. Most probably think I did something to trigger the attack.”

  Samis chuckled softly. “Some do. I can’t promise that whatever I’d say would change their minds. They don’t know you, Rel. You keep to yourself and never share much.” He shrugged again. “Things might go easier for you if you tried to get to know others.”

  “I try,” Carth said.

  “You try. You’re friends with Alison, and that’s about it. She’s nearly as….” He seemed to catch himself and grinned.

  Carth didn’t need him to finish. Most of the ashai—at least those who were close to her level—thought Alison was almost as odd as Carth. Maybe that was why the two of them worked as friends, though Carth liked to think it had more to do with the fact that they treated each other decently—much better than the rest of the ashai treated them.

  “Thanks for the offer,” Carth said, getting to her feet.

  Samis looked up at her, his stupid deep blue eyes practically seeing through her, but she refused to let him get to her. The only reason he’d come over to her now was to try to find out some gossip about what had happened during the attack, and she’d been foolish enough to share—and share more than she should have.

  “Hey,” he said, and she paused. “Next time we spar, I might be one of the sai.”

  “You’ve been tested?” she asked.

  A smile spread on his face. “In two days. Don’t worry, I’ll still come around to show off for you.”

  He winked, and she stormed off before saying anything more to him, ignoring the glances of some of the others sitting nearby. They’d ask Samis what he said to her later anyway.

  Alison found her as she reached the cosak. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. Just Samis trying to find out about the attack.”

  “That’s not surprising. I think everybody wants to know more about what happened. You’ve become famous for it, as if you needed any more fame.”

  Carth stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t glare at me like that, Carthenne Rel!”

  Only Alison knew her full name, and hearing it used like that forced a smile out of Carth. Her mother had never used anything but her full name, but her father had shortened it, referring to her as Carth, and occasionally Thenney. That was a nickname she refused to share with anyone else; it belonged to her father.

  “I’m sorry! This whole situation is frustrating. As if it weren’t bad enough that Samis beat me so publicly—”

  “That wasn’t public.”

  Carth arched a brow at her. “Really? How is it that nearly a dozen people have stopped to ask me when I’d face Samis again?”

  “Well, it is Samis, and you’re… well, you’re Carth. They know they’ll get a performance.”

  “I’m not as skilled as Samis,” Carth said.

  “Not as fast. But I think we can both agree that when the magic works for you, you’re his equal.”

  When. It was so rare that her magic worked quickly enough for her to be anyone’s equal, and certainly not Samis Gold’s. Carth knew he had studied here for much longer than most, coming to the palace when he was barely five because the A’ras had detected significant talent in him from an early age. That gave him seven years of study on her, seven years during which he’d learned not only to reach his power, but to use it in more creative ways.

  “Anyway, you can’t let the others bother you.”

  “How? How is it that you manage to smile through everything they want to put you through?”

  Alison shrugged. “I remember that the A’ras chose me. They detected magic within me. I’m meant to be here, Carthenne Rel, the same way that you’re meant to be here.”

  Carth wondered about that. The A’ras who had granted her admission might have detected magic in her, but how much of that was from the shadow magic, and how much of it was from an ability to use the A’ras magic? It was an answer she doubted she would ever get.

  “Let’s get something to eat and ignore them. Well, you can ignore them. I’d prefer to study Samis Gold a little bit. His hair, or the way he looks at you with his deep blue eyes… maybe you can spar with him again and convince him to take his shirt off?” Alison smiled playfully. “No? Worth a shot, don’t you think?”

  “You can keep Samis.”

  “I would,” Alison said with a smile.

  “At least one good thing came from the attack,” Carth said.

  “What?”

  “Master Invar hasn’t come and watched me like he’d been doing. It makes me uncomfortable with the way his eyes go unfocused, as if he’s seeing through me.”

  Alison laughed and shook her head. “You are strange, Carth. You know that most ashai would be thrilled to have Master Invar studying them? Getting the attention of any of the masters is a big deal. With something like that, you might even be able to skip serving as sai and move straight into serving as elui. That’s only a few steps away from training for master rank!”

  Carth sniffed. “I don’t know that I want to train for that. I
’d be happy reaching sai so that I can leave the palace grounds.”

  “Why would you want to leave the grounds? The city isn’t all that safe. You of all people should know that.”

  Carth nodded, keeping her eyes closed as she thought of her parents. “I wonder if it’s not better to be free in the city than to be confined here.”

  “You’ll not always be confined. And you’ll have to face the streets outside the palace grounds soon enough. We all will. Enjoy the safety while you can.”

  As they stepped inside the cosak, Carth shivered. Why would the A’ras need to infuse so much power into the walls? What reason would there be other than to prevent something the A’ras feared from entering?

  If that was the case, did the A’ras expect another attack like the last? Had they expected the first attack?

  Alison nudged her, seemingly knowing the troubled thoughts that rolled through Carth’s mind. Carth forced a smile, trying to convince her friend that she was fine, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded.

  6

  Another few days passed, and in that time Carth made a point of avoiding everyone she could. She heard the whispers behind her back, though, whispers that told her how much Samis had shared. Enough that others looked at her even more strangely, if that were possible, and enough that she heard the words “three masters” more than once. A few even cast pitying looks in her direction, but she made a point of ignoring them much like she ignored every other look she got.

  “Don’t mind them,” Alison said softly as they hurried from the cosak. Carth had gotten a few more strange glances in the dining hall, which she’d tried hiding from by staring at her food, but she couldn’t hide from all of them.

  “I don’t mind them,” Carth said.

  Alison offered her a weak smile. “It’ll blow over.”

  “I know.” And then they would move on to something else strange that she’d done. The ashai were a small enough group—barely fifty all told—that she couldn’t hide from everyone. They were also small enough that the A’ras did all they could to train any with potential.

  “What do you want to do? I hear Samis is facing two others today. Now that he’s been raised to sai, it might be fun to go watch. Chances are good that he’ll lose.”

  Carth laughed in spite of herself. “If Samis loses something like that, I’d be surprised.”

  “You managed well enough against him.”

  Carth shrugged. As she did, she felt a buildup of power that burned through her veins. She’d detected similar buildups several times over the last few days. Ever since the attack, really. Each time, they’d diffused and she felt nothing further. This time was similar… but also different.

  Her stomach fluttered, and for a moment she thought she might retch.

  “Are you okay?” Alison asked.

  Carth turned to the side, covering her mouth. The last time she’d felt like this was when she’d detected the Hjan attacker.

  She looked up. If the Hjan had returned, did the masters know?

  Of course they would know. They would have to, wouldn’t they?

  “Do you feel that?” she asked Alison as the nausea eased. It left her for a moment, and then returned worse than before. She couldn’t help herself and retched.

  Alison stepped away. “I don’t feel anything, but it looks like you do. Let’s get you back to your room—”

  Carth wiped her arm across her mouth. “No. This is like the last time. This is what I felt.”

  There came another surge of power, this time one that she felt running through her veins. Power raced painfully through her, and she fought back the urge to scream.

  “Where do you feel it?” Alison asked.

  “Near the palace.” Carth took small breaths to keep from vomiting. The rolling nausea in her stomach returned again and again. Did that mean that the attackers flickered over and over, or was there another reason she felt this way?

  A thunderous explosion filled the air. Alison looked away from her, eyes wide. “That’s not near the palace. That was the palace.”

  “Come on,” Carth said.

  “You need to lie down!”

  Carth swallowed back the nausea and shook her head. “We need to see what’s happening.”

  She suppressed the urge to vomit again as they raced across the yard. Most of the others they passed went the other way, heading away from the explosion. This was the second time Carth had been foolish enough to race toward an attack, but she had to know if it was the Hjan or the Reshian, as Avera thought.

  When they reached the palace, Carth and Alison found that a section along the east wall had caved in, leaving a gaping wound. They stared at it, neither of them able to speak, as people streamed from the palace.

  “What happened?” Alison asked finally.

  “The Hjan,” Carth answered. There was no longer any sense of the same power building, none of the nausea. That had disappeared while they ran, leaving nothing that would tell her that the Hjan remained here, a danger to others. A’ras magic flowed, and she detected the control used by the various practitioners, much more than any student would possess. More than she would be able to manage at this stage in her training. There were masters at work here. Carth would love to see what they were doing, but then she feared getting too close and getting caught.

  “If they were able to do this,” Alison started, turning to Carth, “how were you able to survive?”

  Carth swallowed. How had she survived? She’d been lucky that nothing more had happened to her, but then, she had barely survived the attack. Had it not been for the arrival of the masters and their ability to hold him off, she wouldn’t have survived.

  “I got lucky,” she said.

  Lyanna appeared at the doorway to the palace with Harrison following. They both looked exhausted, and Lyanna had a long gash running along the side of her face. Harrison had his hands clasped in front of him and his eyes studied the grounds, surveying them carefully, as if he expected another attack. From the power he held, and the way he kept his hand near the hilt of his sword, she suspected he did.

  “Why would they attack us here?” Alison said.

  Carth shook her head. She didn’t have the answers. “Invar said the Hjan seek power. That’s the reason for the attack. Avera thought another attack was coming, but the other masters thought she was late for what had already happened.”

  “Avera returned?” Alison asked.

  Carth nodded.

  “And you saw her?”

  “I saw her. She was injured and tired, but otherwise fine.”

  Alison squeezed her eyes closed and nodded. “Doesn’t make sense, though. The palace and these grounds are bound to have A’ras capable of facing an attack. Why risk that? Why any of this?” Alison asked. “Especially with so many here?”

  Carth shook her head. “Maybe they wanted to show force,” she suggested.

  “Or they sought something.”

  Alison gasped and spun to see Invar standing behind them. Her back straightened and she almost bowed before catching herself.

  Invar ignored her, staring at Carth. “Interesting that you were present for both of these attacks, isn’t it?”

  Carth swallowed. “I heard the attack here on the palace and came to see what happened.”

  She looked around, thankful that there were others now in the yard outside the palace, including other students. Samis stood a good distance back with his two closest friends, Bardin and Kale. Of them, only Samis looked over at her. His face clouded when he saw Invar with them.

  “Heard the attack, not sensed it? Is that not what you told me, Ms. Rel?”

  “I sensed it, too, Master Invar,” Alison said.

  Carth looked to her with relief in her eyes. Alison might not be the tallest of the A’ras students, but she possessed the right amount of feistiness—probably the reason that she and Carth had become such fast friends.

  “I don’t know how you couldn’t,” Alison went on. “What caused thi
s? Is it the same thing that attacked earlier?”

  Invar looked at Carth through narrowed eyes before turning his attention back to Alison. “Ms. Cantor, I think we can both agree that the attacks were likely the same, as I am sure your friend here would confirm.”

  Invar watched Carth for a moment, and when she didn’t say anything, he only smiled.

  “You said the attackers sought something. What would they have wanted in the palace?” Alison asked. Carth shot her a warning glare, wishing her friend would just let it drop, but Alison ignored her. “They wouldn’t have attacked the palace if there wasn’t something they wanted there, would they? I can’t imagine what they would expect to find within the palace, can you, Carth?”

  Carth looked at her feet, pointedly trying not to notice the way Invar watched her appraisingly. Maybe he hadn’t approached her to teach. Maybe it had only been about learning why she had struggled to progress through the A’ras as she had. That had caused some consternation among those who sought to teach her.

  “I can’t imagine either,” she said.

  Invar stood in front of her, power radiating from him. She could feel the way he held on to his magic, and tensed up, almost taking a step back. “No? You who have been in a place so few not masters have ever visited cannot think of what they might want?”

  Carth looked up and tried not to see the way Alison stared at her out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t want to answer any more questions, but she knew she would have to, especially now, and would need to explain how Invar and Lyanna had led her into the Master Hall. But that would come later.

  “They attacked there?”

  “What else do you think is at that end of the palace?” Invar asked.

  Carth looked over to the palace and realized that would have been true. The attack might have hit the Master Hall. “What did they take?”

  A scowl crossed Invar’s face. “Take? What kind of masters would we be if we couldn’t protect our hall? They reached nothing, Ms. Rel. Three masters remained in the hall, thankfully attending to other duties. Had we not…” He pressed his lips together into a tight line. “Regardless, unlike with the wall, they were not able to breach our hall. What interests me more is what they thought they would find and why they would risk it, knowing there would be masters in the hall.”