by S. M. Boyce
Voices trickled through the paneling. The door swung open to reveal a Lossian Braeden hadn’t met. The yakona’s blue head bobbed, his black eyes filling up most of it.
“Heir Drakonin, may we—”
“I need to speak with Blood Frine, please,” Braeden interrupted.
“I’m afraid you need to set an appointment.”
Braeden cursed. “There’s no time for this! We need to move now.”
The Lossian flinched.
“Enough, enough, Erl. Thank you,” a man said from somewhere in the room.
Erl stepped away from the door, allowing Braeden inside. Braeden charged into the study to find Frine behind a desk, his son standing by the open window. A breeze swam through the room, shuffling papers on the wooden table.
“What is it?” Frine asked. His massive black eyes watched Braeden, unblinking. Braeden still hadn’t gotten used to the Lossians—namely their unblinking eyes—but he would have to ignore his discomfort for now.
He set his hands on his hips to calm himself. “I think Evelyn is about to make a mistake that could cost us the isen assistance.”
Frine sighed and stood. He grabbed his sword from the desk and buckled it around his waist. “Where will she be?”
Braeden hesitated. “Don’t you want proof?”
Frine huffed. “That girl is even more trouble than her aunt. After all her resistance to this war, I believe you without question.”—he gestured for the door—“Shall we?”
Braeden nodded. Gratitude flooded through him. Finally, a Blood listened. He almost couldn’t believe it.
Kara examined the empty woods surrounding the lichgate into Ayavel. A cliff rose in the middle of the forest, water cascading over its edge and into a lake below. The thunder of the waterfall filled the woods, swallowing any wildlife chatter. Mist hovered above the lake, a white glow trapping sunrays in the summer night. Several rivers escaped the lakebed, breaking away and carrying the rush of water into the forest. Her newfound isen army stood between the trees, silent and focused on her back. Her neck burned with the burden of thousands of eyes pinned to her, watching and waiting for the next move.
She stood at the edge of the lake between two small stones sticking out of the mud that signaled the start of a staircase that led into the water. Far below was a lichgate that would take her to the Ayavelian castle. She wouldn’t be able to get there, though, until the water parted—and the password Aislynn taught her all those months ago no longer worked.
She cleared her throat and said it again, louder this time—a word that had no meaning to her, despite her intuitive knowledge of the Ayavelian language.
“Foscythe!” she shouted again.
The waterfall thundered, swallowing her voice as it continued its rumbling. She huffed and twirled to look at Stone. He shrugged.
“Vagabond,” a woman said.
Kara looked around, her eyes finally settling on an Ayavelian woman standing on the edge of the falls. Water bent around her ankles, catching the hem of her silver dress as it billowed over the edge.
Neck craning, Kara took a step back to get a better look. Besides the trademark iridescent skin and white hair of all Ayavelians, Kara didn’t recognize this young woman. From this distance, she could only make out the barest details—smooth skin, a thin line across her lips instead of a smile.
“Did the password change?” Kara asked.
The woman nodded. “I’m afraid Blood Evelyn must speak with you first, alone, before she can allow so many isen into her kingdom.”
Kara’s fingers twitched. “We’ve already discussed this!”
A hand rested on Kara’s shoulder. Stone. He shook his head.
“Don’t make things worse,” he mumbled under his breath. She figured no one else could hear him above the water’s roar.
Kara frowned. “Fine.”
The woman arched her back. “Tell your isen to step back, away from the falls. They will be drowned if they try to enter with you.”
Kara nodded and raised her voice above the water’s thunder. “Yes, all right. Fine.”
Stone’s hand left her shoulder, but she didn’t take her eyes off the woman on the cliff. The woman tensed, eyes darting over the forest, likely watching the isen retreat to a safe distance. Finally, she raised her hand.
The waterfall parted at the gesture, revealing a staircase at Kara’s feet as it descended to the lakebed below. Kara took a slow breath and began down the steps before the path to the temple fully revealed itself.
Gold glittered through the layers of water ahead as Kara walked into the gap in the lake. Columns appeared through the glaze. She continued, storming along at the edge of the parting water as if her steps could make it part faster. Eventually, the water parted completely, revealing a staircase up to a golden archway.
She took the stairs two at a time, eyes narrowed and focused on whatever waited for her at the top. As her head cleared the last step, a thin face framed by long white hair appeared.
Evelyn.
The queen’s eyes narrowed as well, the three pupils in each eye clearly focused on Kara as she stormed into the temple. The young woman from the cliff top was already standing at Evelyn’s side, eyes to the ground as Kara entered.
As Kara’s foot landed on the top stair, water plummeted behind her. It rushed, crashing against an invisible wall separating the temple’s staircase from the lakebed.
Kara shook her head and bit her cheek. Evelyn had already agreed to this—though technically she hadn’t. The allied vote from the other Bloods and Braeden had outnumbered her. She had no choice but to let the isen in.
Kara did her best to keep from shouting. “What are you doing, Evelyn?”
“Keeping trash out of my kingdom.”
“Don’t you dare call them trash.”
“It’s what they are. It’s what all of you are—soul-sucking vermin.”
Kara grimaced, disgusted, but she had to pick her battles with this woman. “They’re fighting for us, and they’ll leave if you treat them like garbage.”
“They can fight for us, but they will not come into my home.”
“If you force them to sleep outside like dogs, they’ll leave.”
Evelyn shrugged. “Their choice. This is my home. They will obey me while they’re here. That’s the agreement.”
“No it isn’t! The agreement states they have free reign of the kingdoms in exchange for their help. You’re treating them as inferior and that’s breaking the agreement!”
“What’s going on here?” a man asked.
Kara shifted her gaze from Evelyn to see Frine standing at the other end of the temple. His blue head contrasted with the gold of the room, his large black eyes focused on Kara as if he didn’t expect Evelyn to give him an honest answer. Evelyn made a fist, but the queen didn’t reply.
Footsteps followed behind Frine, and soon a sea of heads appeared—Aurora, Gurien, Gavin, and Braeden. Kara’s heart fluttered. He caught her eye and smiled. For a second, she forgot everyone else. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and let him distract her from Ourea’s politics for a few days.
“Vagabond, what’s wrong? Did the isen agree to help us?” Frine asked.
Kara snapped out of her daze. “Yes, but the queen has refused to let them enter her kingdom.”
“Blood Evelyn!” Frine said with a gasp.
Evelyn lifted her chin. “This is my home, and they are not welcome here. I need to protect my people! There are thousands of them. What if—”
Aurora crossed her arms. “If we go back on our word before they’re even in the city, rest assured they will not help us in this war. They may even turn on us out of spite. Don’t be a coward.”
Evelyn gasped. “I’m hardly a—”
“Blood Evelyn, open the gate,” Frine interrupted.
Evelyn looked around the Bloods, her eyes getting wider as the Bloods ordered her about her own kingdom. Kara wanted to feel pity, but couldn’t. The girl got herself into this.
Gavin stared at the floor. Apparently he couldn’t handle watching the woman he once loved lose control of her own home.
Evelyn’s voice deepened, rushing over her teeth like a gust of wind. “You are all fools.”
She brushed past them, breaking through the crowd of royals and rushing down the stairs toward the castle. The woman from the cliff top flinched and reached a hand for her retreating queen, but ultimately kept silent and remained in place.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t lock us out, too,” Braeden said. He grinned.
Kara shook her head, trying not to smile. “This is serious, Braeden.”
He shrugged. “How are they? These isen?”
Kara hesitated, wondering how she could best word the experience. “Surprisingly jovial.”
Gurien laughed. “Jovial?”
Kara nodded. “We have five isen elders and their families with us. Ten thousand, give or take a hundred. Deidre beat us there, and she likely has more.”
Gavin shook his head. “I don’t know how the Hillsidians will handle this.”
“They need to behave,” Braeden said, voice thin.
Gavin nodded and rubbed his neck.
“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Frine said.
The woman who greeted Kara earlier bowed and rushed off toward a door along the wall. She pulled it back and ran through, hopefully up stairs to give the order to open the lichgate.
Kara took a deep breath and turned toward the steps covered in water. Now or never.
Chapter 10
The Seed
It took several hours for the isen to file through the waterfall’s lichgate and assemble just outside Ayavel’s main gates. Kara didn’t see Evelyn throughout the ordeal—likely, the Ayavelian Blood was sulking in her office, cursing Kara and the whole war. Kara could understand the queen’s frustration to an extent; after all, Evelyn was often outvoted in her own home, forced to do things she didn’t want to do. But this was war, and compromises needed to be made.
After her isen began setting up camps outside the city center, Kara meandered toward the bedroom she shared with Braeden. She walked through the hallways, hands in her pockets as she debated what she would say. Sweat pooled in the creases along her palms—she shouldn’t be nervous, but her gut churned all the same. Hopefully, he would like the sanguini tree idea.
Her feet stopped of their own volition. She blinked herself back into reality, suddenly aware she was standing at her bedroom door. With a deep breath, she rested her hand on the doorknob and opened it.
But instead of Braeden, a woman sat on the bed.
A jolt of panic shot through Kara before her mind recognized Twin.
Flick jumped onto the bed and chirped, his ears at full alert in a furry welcome that left a smile on Kara’s face.
“It’s good to see you!” Twin said.
Kara grinned and shut the door behind her. Stress of war or no, she needed more of Stone’s herbal sleep remedy if she couldn’t instantly recognize one of her closest friends.
“Are you still lying low?” Kara asked.
Twin winked. “I’m the queen of lying low. Don’t worry—no one knows I’m here. For such a busy castle, it’s remarkably easy to go unseen. Lots of passageways. I’m fine, by the way, so thanks for asking.”
Kara sighed with relief. “Sorry. I just didn’t know if I should still hide you from Gavin, that’s all. It’s great to see you, especially with all the crazy going on right now.”
Twin’s smile faded. “What’s going on?”
Kara shrugged. “Did you notice the army of isen I brought through the front gate?”
Twin’s mouth hung open. Her eyebrows lifted, and within seconds, she broke into wild laughter. “Are you joking?”
Kara shook her head. “Ten thousand isen, all willing to help in the war.”
“How?”
Kara instinctively reached for her wrist guard. A chill raced up her arm as she recalled it being ripped off—the agonizing memory of her skin being pried open echoed through her body like a dull ache. “I had to persuade a few isen leaders I was worth following.”
Twin stood and wrapped her arms around Kara. “You got all serious. Are you okay?”
Kara smiled and leaned in. “I’m fine. So what have you been up to?”
“Recruiting volunteer vagabonds to help coordinate the final fight.” Twin sat on the bed.
Kara’s heart skipped a beat. “Any takers?”
Twin frowned but nodded. “I’m worried about this plan, Kara.”
“Me, too. But it’s the best way to coordinate the battle.”
“I know.”
“Who volunteered?”
Twin bit her lip. “I—you’ll find out.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Twin grumbled. “Fine. Me, for starters. I volunteered.”
Kara sighed and sat on the bed. “I don’t think that’s wise.”
“Why not?”
“You’re my second. I need you.”
“Gavin already knows who I am. It makes the most sense.”
Kara frowned. Flick jumped into her lap and purred, his tiny feet dancing over her thighs as he fought for her attention. She grinned and scratched his ears.
She sighed. “I guess that makes sense. Who else volunteered?”
“Richard.”
Kara laughed. “Of course.”
Twin counted on her fingers as she named off all the volunteers. “I’ll be in Hillside, and Richard will be on the battlefront. For Ayavel, a young man named Azo is staying behind, while Rieve is going on the front line with Evelyn.”
Kara shuddered. “No, Rieve is too sweet. She can’t handle war.”
“It’s our only choice, Kara. Azo is in the Ayavelian defense troops—he wants to remain in his home. He only volunteered for that placement and refused to go to war.”
“No one else volunteered? Only these two?”
“No one. I think everyone else is afraid of Blood Evelyn. Frankly, I had to beg Azo to speak up. He almost didn’t.”
“What about Zimmermann, Rieve’s brother? He won’t let her go, will he?”
“He’s a warrior. He only joined the vagabonds because she did—I swear he lives to protect her. He’ll be in the troops who go to the Stele. She’ll be fine.”
Kara shook her head. “I don’t like it. Zimmermann should go, not Rieve.”
“Zimmermann said his army buddies would disown him if he revealed himself. We need those contacts. We don’t have a choice on this one.”
Kara huffed. “Fine. Who else?”
“For the Lossians, the twins Tier and Roj have volunteered.”
“What are they like? I haven’t spent much time with them.”
“Honor and family are important to them. They’re excited to volunteer, and I thought they would be our best options of the several who spoke up. Roj is a Lossian scholar, while Tier is a home defense guard back in Losse. Roj is here in Ayavel—I got him from his village as soon as he volunteered.”
Kara nodded. “That works. And for Kirelm?”
“Elana will be at the Stele with Blood Aurora. A young lady named Minly will stay in Kirelm—she’s a maid in the castle and already there.”
Kara paused. “We need to take their families to safety. I don’t trust what some will do once the vagabonds are discovered.”
“I agree. I’ve already found the Ayavelian volunteers’ family. I was going to give the family members safe haven in the village but wanted your approval before we take anyone.”
Kara nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. I’m not overly fond of having non-vagabonds in our village, but it’s for a good cause. They need to be blindfolded, though—I don’t want them to know the way in.”
“Sounds fair. The other families are in various cities across Ourea. I have vagabonds watching over them until we can move them to the village.”
“When will they be moved?”
“Tonight. The rest will prob
ably make it to the village a day after me.”
Kara smiled. “Thanks, Twin.”
Twin beamed. “My pleasure.”
“I’ll take the Ayavelian families tonight. How many people are there?”
Twin frowned. “Only one, I’m afraid.”
Kara’s smile fell. “Only one?”
Twin wrung her hands. “Rieve and Zimmermann are orphans. Azo—the other volunteer, who will stay in Ayavel—has only his mother. We’re taking her to the village tonight.”
Kara frowned. “How does a seemingly peaceful nation have so many dead parents?”
Twin shrugged. “I thought it was odd, too, but it didn’t feel right to ask.”
“Makes sense,” Kara said with a sigh.
“What should I do while you’re gone?” Twin asked.
“Will you organize a secret feast for just the vagabond volunteers? This is going to be dangerous, possibly deadly. I want to celebrate the risk they’re taking. It can be in this room if you’d like. None of the Bloods can know yet.”
Twin nodded. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.”
Kara yawned, sleep pulling at the corners of her eyes. “Have you seen Braeden?”
“No, the room was empty when I arrived.”
Kara lay back on the mattress and closed her eyes. “I wonder where he is.”
“Are you okay?” Twin asked.
Kara let the question simmer. No, she wasn’t okay. She was exhausted. She was scared for her life, for the lives of her vagabonds. She was scared for Braeden and what he would become when the power in his blood took hold and made him king.
“I’m fine,” she finally said.
Twin laughed. “You’re still a horrible liar.”
Kara chuckled. “I’m halfway decent when I try. I just don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Fine. I’ll get started on the feast.”
“Thank you.”
“When should I let Blood Gavin know Richard and I are here?”
Kara groaned. “Never sounds good.”
Twin laughed. “Seriously. When?”
“I’ll announce the vagabond volunteers tomorrow. Enjoy the last shreds of peace before then.”
