A Jewel for Royals

by Morgan Rice

  “Did you ask him to go as fast?” Cora asked.

  Emeline smiled in reply. “Waiting is the hardest part.”

  For Cora, though, that wasn’t quite true. Waiting wasn’t the hardest part. Waiting while her friend might be dying was. If they could have sent a message ahead, she might have worried less, but like this… what if they arrived and it was already done? What if Siobhan had succeeded in killing Sophia? What if all they could do was try to save Kate from the consequences of it?

  Cora knew the answer to that: they would do it. Cora might not have met Kate, but Emeline spoke about her as a friend, and that was good enough. Besides, she had to keep hope. They would go there, save Sophia, and then…

  And then hope that Stonehome would allow them to return after they’d left without taking Cora’s memory of it. She couldn’t imagine that Asha, in particular, would be happy about that part of it.

  “I think I can see the harbor,” Aidan said, pointing.

  Following the line of his finger, Cora could too, and it seemed busy in a way that she might not have expected. There were more ships than she expected, more men with weaponry, more boxes being loaded onto ships than taken off. It looked less like a simple city harbor and more like a place preparing for war.

  “It looks like they’re planning to attack somewhere,” Emeline said.

  Cora could think of only one place that they might attack, but it made no sense to her. Why would they attack the Dowager’s kingdom? There was no obvious answer to that as their ship got closer, switching to oars to maneuver among the other vessels as it approached the shore. She looked at the town, strangely open and tree filled in comparison to the cramped confines of Ashton, trying to work out where Sophia would be. Given who she was, the castle standing above it all seemed like an obvious choice. They would be able to ask though. In all this, Cora guessed that someone would know where Sophia was right then.

  The sailors threw down ropes, and Cora waited impatiently for them to lower a gangplank to the harbor-side. As soon as they did, Cora ran down, along with Aidan and Emeline.

  “Where is Sophia?” she called out. “We have an urgent message for Sophia.”

  Almost instantly, it seemed, they were surrounded by soldiers with their hands on their swords. It occurred to Cora, too late, that perhaps showing up shouting in the accent of a place they might be practically at war with wasn’t a good idea.

  A young man stepped forward from the soldiers, and just looking at him, Cora could tell that he was someone important. He didn’t look much like a soldier, but the soldiers seemed to look to him for their lead.

  “I am Endi, son of Duke Lars of Ishjemme. Who are you, and what are you doing here, demanding to speak to my cousin?”

  His cousin? Of course, Sophia would be his cousin if he was the son of Duke Lars. His presence was good though, because it meant that they might be able to get a warning to her in time. This might be the one way that they could speed this up, rather than having to wait.

  “My name is Cora,” she said. “This is Emeline, and this is Aidan. We need to warn Sophia; she’s in great danger!”

  “Slow down,” the young man, Endi, said. “What kind of danger?”

  “A witch has attacked her sister, Kate,” Emeline explained, beside Cora. “She is planning to kill Sophia. Kate was able to get a warning to us, and we found a boat as fast as we could.”

  Cora saw Endi frown at that, obviously trying to think things through. She didn’t blame him. She knew it sounded strange, but even so, they needed to hurry.

  “There’s no time to waste,” she said. “Please, take us to Sophia. We might already be too late.”

  “And how do I know,” Endi asked, “that you are who you say you are?”

  Cora paused, frowning. She hadn’t expected this, although perhaps she should have. She’d expected that people would see how important their mission was and let them through.

  “Sophia can vouch for us,” Emeline said. “She traveled with us.”

  “And conveniently, the attempt to identify you would get you close to her,” Endi said. “Forgive me, perhaps you are sincere, but how are we to know that you aren’t assassins, or spies sent to disrupt our preparations?”

  “We’re not spies!” Cora insisted, although she didn’t know what good it would do. “We’re trying to help!”

  “Possibly that’s true,” Endi said, “but I think the best thing is if we take you into custody, and Sophia can decide if she wants to meet you when she has the time.”

  Cora could imagine what that might be like, sitting in a room somewhere, maybe for days, until someone remembered to tell Sophia what was happening. It would probably be comfortable, but it wouldn’t let them deliver their message. By the point where they got to speak to their friend, it might already be too late to do anything.

  “What’s going on here?” a voice asked, and another young man came forward. From the first glance, it was obvious that he was Endi’s brother; the similarity was too great for it to be anything else.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, Jan,” Endi said, in a tone that said he had everything under control.

  Perhaps the other young man might have moved on at that, but Cora could see her chance. It was the only way she could avoid being a prisoner in all but name.

  “Sophia is in danger,” she called out. “Kate can’t be allowed near her, because she isn’t Kate. A witch is using her to try to kill Sophia.”

  It was a dangerous move. There was no reason for this young man to believe her where his brother hadn’t, and shouting out like that risked annoying Endi. In fact, even as Cora said it, she could see Endi’s features creasing with frustration.

  “Enough,” he said. “Take these three and lock them away safely. We’ll deal with all this when we’re not trying to put together an invasion.”

  “Don’t be so hasty,” Jan said. “If Sophia’s in danger—”

  “She’s not, Jan,” Endi said. “It’s all a mistake, or a trick. Tell my brother about this warning Kate gave you.”

  Emeline answered. “She sent it to me, mind to mind.”

  The fact that Emeline was prepared to reveal that to a stranger told Cora how much she wanted to stop this from happening. She and Cora had both seen firsthand what could happen, revealing what Emeline could do.

  “You have powers?” Endi said. “Maybe you’re the witch trying to fool us and get to—”

  Cora had put up with enough. There was no time for this. Picking a gap in the assembled soldiers, she ran into it, pulling Emeline with her. Some of them made to stop her, but Aidan was there, blocking the way.

  “Go!” he yelled as men grabbed hold of him. “Warn Sophia. I’ll try to hold them.”

  Cora felt a pang of fear for him, wondering what the soldiers there might do to Aidan, but she had to trust that he would be safe. He wasn’t armed, wasn’t trying to kill any of them, and once they saw that the three of them were trying to help, this would be all right.

  She and Emeline raced through the streets of Ishjemme, heading upward past the houses, toward the spot where the castle stood. Behind them, soldiers ran in their wake, although Cora couldn’t tell now if they were trying to chase them down, or had gotten the message that Sophia needed help.

  They kept going up, and now the castle was only a short way ahead. Cora could see Emeline concentrating in the subtle way that came when she was using her powers.

  “Are you trying to contact Sophia?” Cora guessed.

  “I can’t get through to her,” Emeline said. “I hope that just means that she’s distracted and not…”

  She didn’t have to say it. This close, if Emeline couldn’t contact Sophia, it might mean something far worse. It might mean that she wasn’t there to connect with anymore. At the very least, it meant that they had to hurry.

  The gates to the castle lay ahead, solid looking and old-fashioned compared to the modernity of Ashton’s palace. There were guards there, and Cora realized as they cr
ossed their pikes that she hadn’t thought this far ahead, didn’t have a plan for getting past them. The best she could do was slam into the first of them, pushing him aside in memories of the training that she’d had with Aidan, sending him tripping to the floor. She saw Emeline doing the same with the other.

  Cora slammed her fist against the wood of the door, shouting as loud as she could.

  “Open up!” she yelled. “Open up! Sophia is in danger!”

  From the corner of her eye, she could see the guard she’d knocked over rising, and Cora suspected that once he did, this would be over. She kept pounding on the door, and finally, almost to her shock, it opened, revealing a young woman with the same family resemblance as the two brothers back on the docks. She had a bandage on her face where she’d suffered a wound of some sort.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “Why are you shouting?”

  “It’s Sophia,” Cora said. “There’s no time. If we don’t get to her now, I think… I think that she’s going to die!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  Sophia tried to fight against the effects of the powder the witch had thrown in her face, pushing back against the urge to lie still, to sleep, to just stay there while the woman wearing Kate’s body like a coat used it to murder her. No matter how much she fought, though, it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t move, couldn’t call out for help, couldn’t do anything but lie there.

  “There’s no point trying to fight,” Siobhan said through Kate’s mouth. She took out a vial of something that smelled pungent, as red as blood, so that her hands looked like a murderer’s when she started to spread it on them.

  She took out a knife that was inlaid with runes and knotted with sigils.

  “I took this from Haxa when I killed her,” Siobhan said. “The rune witch was weak and meddling, but I’m not one to turn down useful tools when they’re offered. Like your sister.”

  She slid the knife into the fabric of Sophia’s dress, and Sophia braced for the moment when it would plunge into her. Instead, Siobhan just cut it clear of the swollen skin of her belly, exposing it to the air.

  Sophia tried to fight then, summoning every scrap of strength she had and trying to throw it into movement. Nothing happened.

  “The powder I used will last for more than long enough for this,” Siobhan said. “There’s really no point in trying to do anything. You might as well lie still and let me finish this. Earn yourself a quick death.”

  She started to move her fingers over Sophia’s belly, the red unguent on them leaving marks behind as she did it. Sophia could feel her tracing whorls and runes there, and she could feel the power that came with it.

  “Wha…” Sophia managed, but it was all she could manage with the powder overwhelming her so completely.

  “What am I doing?” Siobhan asked. “Why, I’m giving myself a new lease on life. I could stay in dear Kate’s body, but I’m sure she would be executed for the murders of yourself and your brother. So it’s better to kill her too, I think.”

  The witch paused, smearing more of the red on Sophia’s stomach.

  “In any case, this body is not quite designed for all that I have in mind. Why have a cast off cloak when I can tailor make one? The child you’re carrying… she has such potential. I just need to shape her. Oh, and cut her out of you, of course.”

  No, Sophia wouldn’t let her hurt her child. She wouldn’t let this creature take her child like that. She would find a way to stop her. Except she couldn’t stop her. Even as Sophia struggled to move, struggled to shout for help, Siobhan continued to draw marks on her belly.

  “The runes will ease the way,” Siobhan said. “So will your death. After that, I’ll have a kingdom waiting for me.”

  “No…” Sophia managed. Kate, fight it, she sent, trying to get through to her sister, trying to pull her to the surface.

  Siobhan laughed. “Kate is firmly imprisoned. You should blame her for this, you know. If she hadn’t tried to break our pact, I wouldn’t have found myself almost destroyed. I wouldn’t need to take a body to live. I could have just kept using her to do what needed to be done, rather than all this.”

  If Sophia couldn’t call to Kate, then there was still her brother. With an effort, she looked over to where Lucas lay, unconscious.

  Wake up, she sent, please, wake up.

  “Oh, that won’t work,” Siobhan said. “Given how hard I hit him, no petty human could survive. Now, shall we begin?”

  She knelt by Sophia, starting to chant in words that were full of hard edges and guttural sounds. Sophia could feel the power building, could practically see it forming a web around her. That power seemed to twist and twine through her, threading into her child, despite Sophia’s frantic efforts to push against it.

  Siobhan lifted a knife, the blade seeming to glow with power…

  …and Lucas slammed into her from the side, knocking her across the room.

  “I’m not so easy to kill,” he said.

  Siobhan rolled to her feet. To Kate’s feet. “Then I’ll try harder.”

  She sprang at Lucas, kicking at him again. Lucas barely slipped aside in time, the blow missing him by a hair’s breadth.

  This time, she veered off at the last moment, heading for Sophia. She saw Lucas interpose himself, grabbing Siobhan’s knife arm and wrenching the blade from it. He shoved her back, parried a kick, and took a punch on his shoulder, moving at a speed that seemed impossible.

  It reminded Sophia of the fight against the Master of Crows, but this fight had none of the beauty or elegance of a sword fight. Siobhan struck out brutally with Kate’s stolen flesh, lashing out with fists and feet, knees and elbows. She dove for her knife and came up with it, slashing at Lucas in a web of strikes. He parried most of them, but Sophia still gasped as she saw blood on the steel. Lucas winced and shoved Siobhan back.

  He pulled out his sword, but there wasn’t the shine of metal there. Instead, he kept it in its scabbard, blocking and jabbing, using it more like a club than a sword. Sophia understood the danger he faced in that moment. He was trying to fight a creature with all the speed and power that came from magic, which had no concerns about its safety, and it was inhabiting a body that Lucas couldn’t risk permanently harming.

  It was a task that even Lucas couldn’t manage without injury. Sophia saw Siobhan lash out with the knife she held again and again, most of the blows caught by Lucas using his scabbarded sword, but some, too many, getting through. Sophia winced with every blow that landed, wishing she could do something to stop this.

  She tried, throwing thought after thought at Siobhan in an effort to distract her. It felt like throwing pebbles into the ocean. Siobhan struck back, in a wave of fear and pain that had Sophia reeling. She would have screamed then if she had been able to do so. She fought through it, trying to find a way to move again, to do anything other than lie there.

  Siobhan threw Lucas away from her, slamming him into the wall again, hard enough that the plaster cracked, and he brought down a tapestry as he tumbled. She lunged for Sophia, but Lucas threw the tapestry that he’d brought down like a net, catching Siobhan briefly until she cut through it with the knife she wielded. Then he was there, pulling her back even though Siobhan succeeded in cutting him as he did it.

  They couldn’t win like this. Siobhan only had to get to Sophia for a moment, while Lucas couldn’t do anything to end the fight. Even if he did the unthinkable and thrust a sword through Kate’s chest, Sophia didn’t know if that would stop the creature within her. Every attempt to slow Siobhan brought some fresh blow from the witch, either drawing blood or throwing him back. Lucas had seemed unstoppable against the Master of Crows, but now Sophia couldn’t see how he could win.

  Siobhan threw him back again, lunging for Sophia once more. In that moment, Sophia heard the crack of the doors bursting open, and she saw the last figures she’d expected. Cora and Emeline stood there, rushing into the room together, and Cora dove at Kate’s legs even as Emeline stood there, her
power focusing in a way that Sophia hadn’t felt before.

  “You can’t stop me,” Siobhan said in Kate’s voice, but Sophia could hear the fear and anger there.

  “Grab her,” Emeline yelled. “I need you to hold her!”

  Guards ran in behind them, and they grabbed for Siobhan. One died as a knife found his chest, then a second found himself thrown back across the room. Lucas was there then, managing to grab Siobhan’s knife arm again. A pair of guards grabbed for her other arm, and Siobhan still managed to throw one of them off.

  Cora knelt by Sophia. “What has she done to you? Don’t worry, I’ve attended to plenty of drugged noblewomen before now.”

  Sophia felt Emeline pushing power at Siobhan. She seemed to be lacing a net around Siobhan, locking it around the creature as it sat within Kate. Sophia could feel what her friend was trying to do, but she could also feel Siobhan pushing back, forcing Emeline’s power away from her.

  “Do you think this will hold me?” Siobhan demanded. She kicked out, slamming Lucas back from her. “Do you think any of you can hold me?”

  She struck out with her knife again, and another of the guards went down, blood pouring from him. One of the men coming into the room drew a sword, and Sophia knew that if she did nothing, they would cut her sister down even as Siobhan used Kate’s body to kill her.

  She felt Emeline trying again, wrapping power around the immensity of Siobhan’s essence. Sophia reached out, trying to help. She didn’t know what Emeline was doing, couldn’t do what she was doing, but she could at least try to lend her friend the power that she needed.

  She felt Lucas doing the same, giving power for Emeline to direct. Sophia reached out, and in that moment she felt the kingdom around her. She felt Ishjemme, felt the land and the people, felt the power running through it. She filtered that power through herself, ignoring the sheer, uncontrollable force of it, and lending it to Emeline as best she could.

  She felt Emeline shaping it, forming what had been a net into a ring of steel that tightened around Siobhan. Sophia gave her the raw materials, but Emeline forged them into something that could contain the witch’s spirit. She held Siobhan there, contained within a bubble of power, even as Siobhan fought against it.