Luffie stood beside me now, a silent, much beloved presence. We’d spent our past nights sharing the experiences of our separated weeks. How, after I’d been captured, she’d gone to every battle that she could, particularly those closest to Karatel, Akadia, and then finally Ghaund—all the places where the Warriors got word that I was being sent. And she told me how she would have stormed the city and probably gotten me out sooner if the Warriors hadn’t been holding her back. When the plan to attack the palace had come up, Luffie had demanded to be a part of it (on pain of following whether they would include her or not). That was why Gael had ridden her instead of Yurei in to rescue me.
What I’d told her of my time in Akadia had made her silent more than anything, though her frustration at hearing that I’d been travelling with a group of less than twelve near Ghaund had gotten her so furious that she’d spent on entire day displaying pictures of what she would have done to them had she been there.
Looking out at the crashing waves, the deep waters, the bright sky, I felt a stronger sense of the value of freedom than I ever had. The knowledge that I was my own, that I could go where I liked and be where I liked, was almost overwhelming. Yanartas, with its blazing fires, and currents, and trees, winds, and chimera seemed to sing of freedom with every part of it. I thought that I could drink it in for an eternity.
And yet so much of my heart was still across the sea.
Luffie alerted me to a figure coming up behind me. I turned to see Lucian, his sword on his hip, in a Yanartian green tunic for the sake of the celebration. He hesitated, then grew a smirk and nodded to my head. “I don’t think I’ll get used to seeing it on you.”
He meant, of course, my crown. Its effect was as profound with all the Warriors. Though I didn’t think they’d ever questioned my place among them, or even my claim to be the Princess of Shaundakul, they looked at me differently now that I wore it, and I had the sense that they couldn’t help but think of me differently as well.
Lucian said nothing for a moment, and then: “You don’t mind that I join you?”
“No.” I shook my head. The celebration had been going for many hours. I’d slipped away only a little while ago. I looked back out at the ocean as he came to stand just beside me. I took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about what will happen to Akadia now. I know it’s good that Molec has been destroyed—for whatever else because it’s caused the Akadians to stop their attacks on the eastern kingdoms—but Akadia hasn’t really lost any of its power…”
“That’s true,” Lucian agreed, “When the Democedians presented us with the plan to attack the palace, I had my doubts. I thought that it was too bold, and the deception… it is not the way the Warriors work.”
I’d heard plenty about this; everyone had. After the destruction of one the Democedian palaces, and the murder, by Commander Venoc, of the youngest of the Democedian princes, the six remaining elder princes of Democedes had banded together and finally joined the Yanartians in their offense against Akadia. But the princes had had more in mind than battle-field attacks.
Due to the palaces they built into the sides of hills, Democedians were specialists in explosives, something rare in any of the kingdoms, even Akadia. And they’d proposed to the Warriors to attack the very palace of Akadia with them when the right moment came along. The weight of loss at the defeat of Selket had been offset by the fact that it had created the perfect moment to strike—when both Molec and Commander Lox would be present at the victory party. Prince Vartus and Prince Kais themselves had gone the night of the attack. It was unlikely that any others would have had the skill to take off the top half of the Akadian palace so absolutely. And yet… in one way it had not been enough.
“You’re thinking of Lox,” Lucian guessed.
I took a breath, then dipped my brows a little. “I keep going back over the party. He was there the whole time I was, and nothing seemed unusual about his behavior. Even right before I left, I saw him, he was just standing there. It just doesn’t make sense that he could have survived.”
“No one knows how he did it. Vartus and Kais swear he couldn’t have lived through the explosion. They say he must have been gone.”
I bit my lip. This had been a hard thing for all of us to accept. All the kingdoms knew that Lox was the real power behind Akadia’s army, and now that he’d survived and Molec was dead, there was no telling what might happen.
“Lucian,” I broached carefully, “I have not wanted to say… but about Molec…” I looked to my trainer. “Did you not have any reluctance to the attack of the palace for his sake?”
Almost immediately Lucian smiled, though it was not very happy. “Do you think I should have?”
“No… I didn’t mean that.”
It was another long moment, then he sighed. “Whatever feelings I had, when I saw… my mother, going along with the plan the way that she did…” He hesitated, then seemed to start again from a different direction. “I could see in her eyes how it pained her, how she still thought of him. To some degree it revolted me, that she could still feel anything at all after what he’d done. It made me dislike more than ever any sympathy I myself had towards Molec, as his son. But even more than that… when she ignored her feelings, and chose to help the Democedians in their attack, for your sake, and for the sake of the kingdoms, I felt I no longer had a right to consider my own feelings. No matter what, I knew I did not think of Molec so much as she did, and she had decided it was best that he died. She’d put aside her emotions, I realized I could do no less with what few I had.” Lucian’s head was dipped as he watched the waves, his brow low.
He seemed so clear and decided as he spoke. He certainly had thought it through, and it almost surprised me. I could not think of anything to say or add to what I could only see as a generous decision. I thought, as I had thought of his brother before, that he spoke his mind very well, that he would be a good ruler. And I envied him for both.
I questioned, now more than ever—since leaving Akadia and hearing about my people being sent underground—whether I had it in me to be a ruler at all. So long my people had been trapped in Akadia, and now I was as far away from them as ever, and while I was there, I’d done nothing to help them. It wasn’t that I did not want to save them, I would give my life to saving them and never stop; I just didn’t know that if they ever were saved, that I would be fit to lead them.
“There is,” Lucian went on suddenly, “something that I have wanted to ask you about as well, Ellia. In fact it’s why I sought you out, just now.”
I looked from the ocean to him; his expression was the sort he wore whenever Estrid was present. As if he were trying to balance himself somewhere between the sternness of a trainer, and the delicacy required to keep from offending her. It gave me some daunting.
“I considered not speaking of it with you at all, but… Gael told me about your departure from the palace,” he explained. “About the Akadian?”
“He wasn’t an Akadian,” I replied firmly.
“Gael said he… Gael thought he was one of Lox’s lieutenants.”
Air filled my lungs, making my chest rise high. Luffie didn’t say anything, but I felt her mind, close and assuring. Not that she was happy about the situation, but she knew my feelings, and she knew Cyric as I did and that made all the difference.
“Did something happen while you were captured?” Lucian asked.
My cheeks got hot. “No. It’s not like that.”
“But you did save him?” Lucian checked. When I didn’t respond, he spoke again. “I’m asking as your friend, Ellia, not your trainer. I’m only worried for you.”
“You don’t have to be worried,” I said. “He was one of Lox’s lieutenants. But he was also my friend. He was since long before I was captured.”
Inevitably, I thought here of Tobias’s death, how even still I hadn’t told Lucian the truth of it. I wouldn’t until he asked. Instead I switched my thoughts to Akadia, wondering what—as I so often did—Cyric w
as doing, whether he was safe.
I hadn’t been able to shake, even with how Cyric had acted in those last moments, a hope concerning him. Perhaps because of our time together, perhaps because we’d danced, I felt as if I were tied to him now more than ever before. Like half of me was where he was, and that he must feel the same, but it was almost a peaceful feeling.
Luffie grumbled beside me. Since she and I were bonded, she made it clear to me each time I thought this way that she had no interest in being half a part of Cyric. I smirked and patted her head. It seemed as if Lucian had left the subject of Cyric where I had, though he was still watching me carefully. I gave him a smile. “We will save my people, won’t we Lucian? And Nain? And the Selkians? All of them?”
He matched my smile, but then he crossed his arms, looked out ahead, and lifted one brow. “It won’t be easy,” he said.
Just then a star crossed in the sky. It was still light out and only barely nearing dusk, but the star was vivid enough to outshine that. Seeing it, I thought of the Constellation Animals. I’d already spoken with some of the Warriors about them; Master Elminster had heard of them, he and I had plans to look over some of his books tonight, and Minstrel had already promised to join us. With any luck, we would find out more about them, and what they really were.
I bent my head down and crushed it close to Luffie’s.
“I know we will,” I said.
THE END
The story continues… with FALLEN WARRIOR.
Look to the end of this e-book for bonus content from the final book in this trilogy.
More Books By Tess Williams…
EMBER (Ember series book 1)
Evelyn is one girl amidst hundreds of sword wielding, demon fighting, magic casting… boys.
Insecurity and logic have always kept the wild, adventurous spirit of seventeen year old Evelyn Avest stuck in her home town of Tiver. Now, with the Order, an all male fighting league, she finally feels like she’s found her place. If she wants to stay she’ll have to prove her worth as a magic Artisan. The problem is, the only one who can teach her to do that is one particularly infuriating, exasperating, cocky, self absorbed, gorgeous, powerful, hot, well… Jerk. A war is coming, and in the end, the girl who should not be there… will become the only answer.
OBSIDIAN (Ember series book 2)
Cold. Dry. Dead.
That’s all I can think, the only thought I can hold.
I’m dead. This is right... that’s what I said I’d do…
Evelyn Avest, the girl who didn't belong, was the only hope for the people and the world she loved. So she gave everything. But no light can survive the dark world of Fera.
Now it's Ikovos and Jaden who venture where they shouldn't. But will the boys who don't belong be Fera's only hope, or it's destruction.
DUST (Ember series book 3)
Purple, white, and blue lightning had shot out around him. His hair had been whipped by the wind. The sound was deafening, but not so frightening as his voice. Then Jaden was gone...
One broken girl, one irritated boy, and one big liar. The story continues in Dust. Evelyn and Ikovos find themselves in the world of Zeta, seeking their lost friend. But in this new world of sunlight, gods, dust and pleasure, Jaden is lost, even to himself.
LOVE SWORN
An enchanted castle, a self-absorbed rich boy, a painful curse, and the quiet heart of a beautiful girl...
Can a monster fall in love?
Love Sworn is a modern day retelling of the classic story, Beauty and the Beast, with a werewolf twist.
Adelle is trapped by a man, a monster, with a serious attitude problem. Her only comfort comes from the furry, scaly, and feathered household help, and her unexpected friendship with a white wolf named Max.
Dmitri is trapped by a curse and now by a girl. One way or another, he has to find freedom.
AND NOW AN EXCERPT FROM FALLEN WARRIOR (Fallen Trilogy book 3)
~ Chapter One ~
ELLIA:
Fire, water, metal, stone,
These creatures drawn
From far
Summer, winter, autumn, spring,
Four strongest, bold
From stars
And star by star
As a small bit of well-memorized myth ran through my mind, I looked up above me. There were stars there, hundreds, or thousands, too many to guess at. But each had its own vibrancy to set itself apart from the others. And some danced and shimmered while others stood constant. Some were clustered into constellations and some stood apart. Each as diverse as if it held its own soul. Star and star by star.
"I suppose there's nothing we can do but keep waiting," complained Lucian. His voice came out in a huff; it echoed off the domed walls of the Echrian temple, escaping only a little through the small opening at the top of the chamber. At this time of day, the sky beyond it was vivid blue, but little of the sunlight came down. Instead the room was lit by the glow of the ember-wood, the same orange warmth that pulsed through the constellations in the temple's walls, in its floor, and in the rest of the city of Echren.
I turned to Lucian with a smile, the rustle of my dress echoing almost as loudly as his voice. "I wish I could say that I remembered how long it took last time. It seemed much quicker."
"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to be able to. I can't imagine what it was like for you then." He set his mouth into a line, glancing over the walls as if he were trying hard to disappreciate them.
It was difficult not to find this endearing. Though Lucian had yet to even meet the Echrian rulers, he already harbored dislike for them and he made it no secret that the reason was because the last time I'd been here, they'd done nothing to help me escape my captivity to Akadia. The fact that I was free now, or that the rulers had showed me things then that had prompted me to begin seeking out the great Constellation Animals, didn't seem to matter to him. He remained skeptical that the Echrians would help us now.
I walked to a wall, putting my hand against it, thinking of Lucian's words. "They knew I would be freed. I don't know how. But they knew. And I'm sure they realized I would come back one day."
"One day, perhaps," a voice replied, "But certainly not so soon." It was similar to Lucian's, deep and full, but not so much so that I didn't recognize it belonged to another.
I turned, just as Lucian did, to face the far side of the room.
With a subtlety that couldn't have been more opposite to the previous entrance of the Echrian rulers, a man stepped forward from the shadows. His hair was long and golden, he wore full robes of orange, and on his arm was perched a bird of maroon feathers, a Vermillion Bird. "Well met, Daughter Solidor," he greeted.
"Carceron," I replied automatically. For a moment I was mesmerized by the animal on his shoulder, hearing now in my mind all the legends which surrounded it. It was hard to believe, as small as it was (only twice the size of a regular bird of prey) that it could really be as powerful as its fellow Constellation Animals. The Dragons with thirty-foot wingspans; or the White Tigers, more massive even than the chimera. But this didn't take into consideration the Vermillion Birds' ability to teleport, to say nothing of their magic flames.
I stepped forward past Lucian and bowed my head to Carceron. I saved my deepest respects for his fire-bird; only I hadn't been bowing very long before I felt a finger touch my chin, and Carceron raised my face to his. "You're the Princess of Shaundakul once again, aren't you? No need to bow to ones such as us." He nodded to my crown as he moved his hand away.
Lucian had by now come up beside me, though he didn't introduce himself. He simply stopped at my side, arms crossed.
"The Zuque know why you are here," Carceron said, stroking the bird.
It held my gaze, dark and sharp; I didn't know how, but it felt as if I was forced to answer.
"To request their help."
"To fight against Akadia?" I didn't seem as if Carceron were speaking for himself either, rather that his words had come directly from his bird, and on
ce again I answered under compulsion.
"Yes."
The bird watched me carefully. Carceron began to grow a grin behind it. "Don't worry," he laughed. "The Zuque take their time with every request, but I'm sure he'll agree." His tone had changed entirely. Even Lucian narrowed at it. Carceron noticed Lucian's reaction ( and him, seemingly, for the first time); he smirked at Lucian while the maroon Zuque continued to study me. "And who's this, but… Akadian Prince?" he tested, as if he'd snatched the title from the air.
Lucian darkened further. "I'm a Cirali Warrior of the second-order." He tipped his head to me. "And the Princess's escort."
Carceron hid a smile, looking between us. "I see Leddy will be happier than ever that she chose not to attend."
Leddy, the second Echrian ruler. I had not forgotten her, but I hadn't quite missed her presence enough to say so.
"She chose not to come?" I asked, nervous at what that might signify.
Carceron shrugged. "Can you guess why?"
I didn't answer; I didn't really think on it though. "I thought that both of your Zuque acted as monarchs to the others. Doesn't it matter that Leddy's Zuque hears our request?"
"You've studied," Carceron noted.
"You told me before I left the last time to remember all I'd heard. Everything I've learned since then was because of that."
Carceron paused before he spoke. "Both must decide. But the Zuque don't belong to anyone, Leddy is its guardian, nothing more." He said this, then nodded meaningfully to the wall behind me.
I looked to see a bright golden Zuque, perched on a branch of ember-wood. It watched me just as the other did, perfectly still except for the tail swirling out behind it; rolling, as all of their tails did, in an endless movement that seemed impossible. Lucian spoke next.
"Why didn't she come?" he asked.
Carceron's expression reflected that he enjoyed the question, but he addressed me with the answer. "She wasn't happy about the absence of the Akadian Master. Leddy had a fancy that things would turn out differently, but I told her from the beginning…"
Fallen Kingdom (Fallen Trilogy book 2) Page 22
