Daughter of the Diamond: Book IV of the Elementals Series

by Marisol Logan

  “Precisely, and he has had almost nine years to do so if that was his plan,” Strelzar remarked. “So what is the plan?”

  “How can you take something over without attacking it?” Turqa wondered aloud.

  “Well, you don't have to directly attack it—” Strelzar started in a musing tone, and then his face dropped in horror and he cut off abruptly as a realization hit him.

  “If you can weaken it,” Virro finished the statement.

  “What does the mean?” Veria asked, a pit in her stomach seeing the look on her mentor's face.

  “It means that King Browan is trying to start a war without actually starting a war.”

  “I don't understand,” Turqa said.

  “All these things that have been happening, everything that has led up to these strained relations, these tension between kingdoms—he started them,” Strelzar explained. “He is trying to get a war to occur without him being the one who declares it. To weaken everyone else.”

  “Except Londess, who now has an army of Elemental Guards who are trained to take out hundreds of troops at a time,” Virro added.

  Veria's stomach lurched and she felt she might be sick.

  “I thought these tensions were a result of the Separatist Movement,” Turqa said.

  “When did the Separatist movement start?” Strelzar asked.

  “About five years ago, not quite,” Turqa answered. “Right around...Gordon's death.”

  They exchanged looks of panic and horror and defeated realization in tense silence in the room.

  “So...” Veria started, but she couldn’t make herself finish the statement.

  “King Browan created the Separatist Movement,” Turqa said, his voice a mix of shock and disgust.

  “Not only did he start it,” Strelzar muttered, staring into the fireplace with eyes full of flame, “he has been controlling them this entire time.”

  -XVI-

  Dizziness overtook Veria and she faltered, steadying herself with a hand on the desk, and causing Strelzar to launch toward her and grab her shoulders.

  “Are you alright, Birdie?” he asked, his voice heavy with worry.

  “Andon,” she muttered, horror still stripping her voice of any power.

  Strelzar followed her thought process easily, and his face contorted with concern.

  “What about Andon?” Turqa asked, his voice anxious.

  “He was kidnapped by Separatists almost a year ago,” Strelzar explained. “Which means Browan gave the order.”

  “You think he wanted Andon specifically?” Virro questioned.

  “Maybe,” Strelzar pondered. “Maybe not. Maybe any vulnerable diplomat would have worked and Andon fit the bill at the time.”

  “I can't take that chance,” Veria said, fear strangling her words. She turned and ran from the library, and the three men were not far behind her.

  “What are you going to do, Veria?” Strelzar snapped as he caught up to her at the front door and grabbed her arm. “Ride to Solderess alone? Sail to Barril in your nightgown?”

  “I have to warn him!” Veria yelled. “He has to come back! He's in danger! I knew this was dangerous and I tried to tell him—”

  “Virro can send him a message,” Strelzar said. “Maybe he hasn't gotten on the ship yet.”

  Virro nodded and closed his eyes in concentration, then nodded when he opened his eyes.

  “I told him that we have had a break in the investigation and the threat was bigger than we realized, and that he may not be safe and should return home,” Virro explained.

  “What time is it?” Veria asked urgently.

  “About eleven,” Turqa answered.

  “He might be on the ship already,” Veria stated, panic creeping into her voice.

  “And he might not,” Strelzar said. “Even if he is, he has plenty of time to get off of it and come back.”

  “I should go—”

  “And do what, Veria?” Strelzar asked sternly. “Separate yourself from the group? Put yourself in danger? We are stronger together—”

  “Andon is on his own!” she argued, her volume rising. “He's stronger with me, too, Strelzar! What if he already needs help? What if Browan was just waiting for one of us—any of us—to separate from the rest?”

  “I am sure he was,” Strelzar said matter-of-factly, “which is exactly why you shouldn't go anywhere. Please, Birdie, I can't lose you,” he added, his voice suddenly emotional.

  “And I can't lose him!” she rebutted.

  “I know...” he sighed, stroking her arm under his thumb.

  Veria's lungs failed her and her shallow breathing was not helping her overcome the dizziness she had been battling since the revelation in the library.

  “Veria...try to stay calm,” Turqa said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. His face suddenly changed, from concern to confusion and focus, which caused Veria's heart to pound even harder than it already was. “Veria...I...”

  “What?” Veria asked, panic taking over her voice. “What's wrong?”

  “At breakfast,” he muttered, “our conversation...I think—I think it has already happened.”

  Veria swallowed hard against the sobs that threatened to erupt from her throat. She wanted to be happy—for the first time she was carrying a child she had planned for and knew with certainty who the father was—but all she could feel was fear. Terror. Panic.

  She knew she was going to have to look over her shoulder when she left the castle, but that thought had never bothered her. But having someone she loved in danger was more than she could handle.

  “What's going on?” Strelzar asked in confusion. But when Veria's hand drifted subconsciously to her abdomen, Strelzar murmured in realization, “Oh...”

  “Not far along,” Turqa said, still focusing on his internal scan of her body with his hand on her shoulder. “Around eight weeks. Please, try to remain calm, dear, for this new child.”

  Veria took a deep breath and tried to steady her racing heart and swarming thoughts. Her body was trembling with anxiety and her head filled with cold, prickly air and threatened to float away from her body.

  “Get her something to drink,” Turqa ordered Strelzar, who rushed to the kitchen and returned a minute later with juice and a heel of bread and a plate of fresh butter.

  Turqa slowly guided Veria to the small, velvet lounge in the foyer and urged her to sit, then handed her the juice and bread. She gulped down the refreshingly sweet drink, but still couldn't bring herself to eat more than a few nibbles of any solid food in her current distraught state. She felt self-conscious having the three men watching her so carefully as she sat on the lounge, steadying her breathing and nibbling at bread.

  “What is the plan?” Veria asked softly once she felt somewhat composed.

  Strelzar shrugged. “As far as Andon is concerned, we wait a reasonable amount of time for him to return from Solderess before we jump to any conclusions, at which point, if someone needs to go after him, it will be myself and Virro, and you will stay here.”

  Veria knew better than to argue with him on the matter. There was no way anyone was going to let her go if she didn't have to, especially now that they were all going to be concerned about the child she was carrying.

  “As far as a general plan,” Strelzar continued, “I have no idea. We need to find the right channel for this information or we will be asking for a lot of trouble.”

  “What about Varfelg?” Virro suggested the capitol fortress of Govaland.

  Strelzar pursed his lips and scratched the oil-black stubble on his chin. “That is a thought. Could work. We will need a respected Earth Mager to go with us, if that's the route we choose—not you, Birdie—preferably one that has a relationship with the regime already.”

  “Willis,” Turqa suggested.

  “If we can get him away from King Browan,” Virro muttered with distaste.

  “What do you mean?” Veria asked.

  “He has turned Willis into his personal ve
rifier,” Virro said. “Willis is made to follow him everywhere a majority of the time. I would suppose he is threatening him with some form of repercussion if he doesn't do it, but he certainly looks forced and miserable.”

  “Well, then it will have to be Andon,” Strelzar declared.

  “If he comes back,” Veria whimpered.

  Strelzar sighed. “Alright, I see why you get fed up with my dark humor,” he groaned. “I can't concentrate with all this...negativity.” He waved his arms toward her in a circle.

  Veria rolled her eyes at him and flopped to her side on the lounge, feeling completely drained of all energy and emotion. She was spent and empty, feeling suddenly like she could go to her room and crawl into bed and not come out for days. She wanted to cry, but even the tears and sobs were gone, disappeared knowing her body had no energy for them.

  “I am going to have the cook make you some caro broth, Veria,” Turqa said softly, apparently sensing her level of fatigue. She nodded and he rubbed her shoulder before heading toward the kitchen.

  After a few moments of silence, Strelzar sat next to her on the lounge. “Well, you picked a wonderful time to get pregnant,” he drawled sarcastically.

  Not looking back at him, Veria waved a hand around behind her until it made contact with his arm with a satisfying slap.

  “Ow!” he complained facetiously. “Ugh, blast us and our infernal competence. If we were all terrible Magers, we never would have figured this out.”

  “What are we going to do?” Veria whispered.

  Strelzar rested a hand on her hip. “We will figure it out. I don't know now but—”

  He cut his statement short and when Veria looked at him to see why, he was exchanging a look of concern with Virro. Veria's eyes shot to Virro, and he looked deep in concentration, as if he were listening for something.

  “What?” Veria asked, and Strelzar shushed her immediately.

  Her heart began to pound again.

  “How many?” Strelzar whispered.

  “How many what?” Veria rasped with concern, shooting straight up to sitting.

  Virro's wind communication hit them at the same time: At least three Wind. The Norzo recruits. Not sure about other elements.

  “They're here?!” Veria whispered in shock.

  Virro nodded and she and Strelzar stood simultaneously.

  “They weren't waiting for just anyone to separate from the rest of us,” Strelzar muttered quietly.

  “They were waiting for the biggest threat to leave,” Veria uttered with dread.

  “Veria Laurelgate!” came a booming voice from outside the front door of the Estate. “We have come to escort you to the castle!”

  “Raken,” Strelzar whispered.

  “The King has requested an audience. Come quietly and no one has to get hurt.”

  A wailing cry pierced the sky and Veria's heart ripped open in her chest, her stomach plummeting. She new the cry well. It was Irea.

  Without a word, she marched for the door. Strelzar stopped her.

  “Wait, Veria—we need a plan.”

  “I have a plan,” she snarled. “I am killing that bastard like I have wanted to do for months, and I am killing anyone who lays a finger on either of my children.”

  Strelzar took a deep breath. “Alright, I guess that's a plan.”

  She flung the door wide open and stepped out onto the landing, Strelzar and Virro flanking her immediately.

  Pascha and Raken stood on either side of Tanisca and Sarco, who held Aleon and Irea, respectively. Tanisca was the most terrified Veria had ever seen her look in her life, and it fueled the rage that already burned inside her. She knew there were Wind Magers somewhere, too, but they would definitely be invisible. She tried to pinpoint them by feeling for disturbances in the dirt and rocks without giving any indication she was doing so.

  “Nice nightgown,” Raken teased.

  “I wouldn't push your luck, Raken,” Strelzar warned.

  “Ha! I'm not afraid of her,” he snapped. “She doesn't have her special little bracelet on.”

  Strelzar whipped his bronze cuff off his wrist and slid it onto Veria's.

  “Well, now she does.”

  “Ooooh...” Raken cooed with delight. “Maybe I will get to be the one who kills the infamous Strelzar Plazic after all.”

  “Remember that I was infamous long before I had that bracelet,” Strelzar said, no hint of concern in his voice as he stared the new Commander down. “Long before your pirate wench of a grandmother decided to spread her legs for your worthless, talentless grandfather.”

  “Speak of my family again and I will have you dead in three seconds!” Raken barked.

  “Touch a single member of this family and I promise you that every person you've ever known or loved will be burned or buried alive. Whichever I feel like when I find them,” Strelzar taunted, Veria suddenly noticing a flame hovering above his upturned palm.

  “Stop this nonsense,” Pascha snapped. “Veria, just come with us, your family can go inside, and we will never bother them again,” she said to Veria, her voice almost pleading.

  “If you only wanted me, why are there six of you?” Veria said. During Strelzar and Raken's spat, she had located four Wind Magers, two on either side of the steps, ready to strike the three of them on the landing at any moment. She knew Virro knew where they were—he could take the two on his side, and she could take the two on the other side. Strelzar, she knew, would go straight for Raken, and Tanisca could protect the children while Sarco focused on Pascha, who stood next to him.

  “Nice work, my Lady,” Raken snarled. “We just wanted to be prepared. One can never be too cautious when dealing with the Twin Dragons.”

  Tanisca gasped in shock, and Veria realized that she had never told her mother.

  “Oh, of course! She didn't know...” Raken grinned wickedly. “No one knows—or at least not yet. If you don't do as the King commands, I am sure that will change.”

  “I am done taking orders from Browan,” Veria spat.

  “Then you will pay for your insolence!” Raken threatened.

  “And you will pay for your misplaced loyalty,” Strelzar rebutted.

  “Veria,” Pascha warned, “I know you don't want anyone to get hurt.”

  Staring down Raken, who had clasped a hand around her mother's quaking arm, Veria growled with all the fury and hatred she could muster: “Actually, Pascha, I do.”

  In perfect concert, she and Strelzar launched into attack, and Virro was only a split second behind them. Strelzar's fire zoomed in a streak of blazing orange toward Raken, who was forced to let go of Tanisca's arm to dodge it. Veria ripped the wrought-iron railing from the stone steps and rammed into the location she figured would be the heads of the Wind Magers to her right. She made contact with one, knocking them out flat to the ground and disabling their invisibility—but the other was still out there. Virro sent a volley of wind blades towards the Wind Magers to his left, and judging by the sickening sound of ripping flesh and fabric, hit at least one of his marks, but Veria knew she didn't have time to look.

  Sarco had put Irea down and shot off several large balls of flame toward Pascha, who was retreating to keep from being burned. Tanisca, with Aleon still in her arms, started to shuffle Irea toward the stables.

  “Tell her to take the children away,” Veria muttered as quietly as she could to Virro, who gave a quick nod as they ran down the steps after Strelzar, who had not topped spraying flames at Raken since he started, and stalked him across the lawn.

  Raken was combating the volleys of fire with water he was drawing up from the ground, drying it and cracking it and rendering the grass immediately lifeless. He would run out soon, and he knew it, and had started to retreat the same direction as Pascha.

  Veria felt one of the Winder Magers approaching, but was momentarily distracted by Turqa sneaking out of the servant's door with several of the maids and the cook, and rushing to meet Tanisca and the children. The Wind Mager must ha
ve noticed it, too, as the rushing sound of an air blade filled the air, but whooshed past her, toward her family.

  Virro waved his arms in a giant circle above his head and a violently swirling eddy appeared between the attacking Wind Mager and himself and Veria's family, effectively nullifying the air blade headed their direction with much greater power.

  Suddenly, Strelzar collapsed with an anguished groan across the lawn from her.

  “Strelzar!” she screamed, rushing toward him and dropping to her knees.

  “They're not going to hurt you,” he said, shivering and convulsing in the dead grass, his fingers and lips turning pale, then purple then blue. “They have strict orders—you are to remain alive.”

  She panicked, searching for Raken. She had to break the connection on Strelzar, or he would surely die...

  “Go get them, Birdie,” Strelzar coughed.

  As she stood and ran toward the tree line of the forest, someone ran up behind her, firing off flames toward the trees as they did. It was her mother, she realized, as Tanisca caught up with her.

  “Take the children,” Veria demanded. “I can handle this—they aren't going to hurt me.”

  “Turqa told me about the baby—Veria, you take the children!” her mother argued. “I want to kill this bastard myself.”

  Her flames hit several trees as Raken dodged and weaved between them, and the forest caught ablaze quickly, sparks and fire dancing easily from tree to tree.

  Behind them, Irea screamed, a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream that ripped and ricocheted through the air. “Tani!”

  They both whipped around in time to see Irea struggling against Virro's hold near the stables as she reached frantically for her beloved grandmother. The ground started to quake under them, a deep rumble of stone and earth, and Veria and Tanisca watched in frozen shock as the stone bricks of Longberme started to shift, shaking back and forth in their positions, before they started to loosen and crumble and break away in large chunks that fell to the ground. Enough stone and wall gave way, compromising the integrity of the structure, that entire sections of wall were falling in solid sheets to the ground.