“We found no survivors,” I said. “Did you evacuate?”
“We had no chance. The castle was too quickly overrun.”
“They came by Shinree door?”
She nodded. “They stormed in during the celebration. They took many of your kind.”
“Celebration? The war is far from over, Your Grace.”
“We were marking the end of a different battle.” Sudden pride overtook the worry in Elayna’s oval eyes, as she announced, “Rella’s slave laws have been dissolved.”
My voice was husky with restrained hope. “I don’t understand.”
“It is a criminal act now to own, sell, or breed Shinree in my realm. Those in captivity are to be immediately released. Slaves on Kayn’l will be weaned off and educated in a trade befitting their magic. The Arcana name may have no authority in other realms, but here, I am Queen, and Shinree will be granted the same freedoms and subjected to the same laws as anyone else entering or residing in Rella’s borders.”
The air seemed to have been sucked from the room. “You overturned the laws?”
Her smile at my dismay was drawn. “It was always Malaq’s intention.”
“Yes, but I thought it would be months from now. Longer if his new reign met resistance. I thought…” I thought I wouldn’t live to see it.
“Malaq and I discussed the ramifications of moving forward too early. But if we are truly to create a new age of peace, it has to start somewhere. I’ve issued a proclamation. The island will be considered a temporary sanctuary until the war is done and your father is removed from power. Then, Ru Jaar’leth can truly be a home for your kind.”
“What you’ve done, it’s…” No words would do the deed justice. How could they? Five hundred years of oppression had been ended in a single blow. And by the most unlikely of wielders. The chain of events that had led to this moment, the twist and turns, the pain and death, the circumstances of Elayna’s captivity and her freedom—were almost beyond comprehension. I could scarcely express my gratitude. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
She put a hand on my arm. “I know well what it’s like to live in chains. I won’t tolerate it in my realm.” Sadness rushed in and Elayna dropped her hand. “But if Jem Reth continues his raids on Kabri, I fear I’ve called the Shinree to their doom.”
“Their abduction isn’t your fault.”
Elayna nodded, though her eyes said otherwise. “Sienn had people with her.”
Jarryd moved up. “Where did they go?”
“I didn’t see their direction,” she admitted.
“You must have some idea,” he pushed her.
“I was keeping the eldring busy, giving Sienn and the others time to slip away. I have no idea where they are, Jarryd. I have no idea if my son is…” Elayna’s voice cracked. Her body tensed. Feet shifting fast, she whirled and flung her sword at the wall behind her. It bounced off, fell to the floor with a resounding clang, and she stared at the blade, blinking furiously, as if angry at the presence of moisture in her eyes.
Shame drained Jarryd’s color. “I’m sorry.” He reached out. I thought Elayna might rebuke him. But as Jarryd pulled the Queen into his arms, she readily accepted his comfort. His hand on her back, her head on his shoulder; strength flowed between them. Love, too, but not desire. Jarryd had come to grips with the course of their relationship. As he once did with Neela.
I’d always admired Jarryd’s knack for wholly accepting a thing; mind, heart, and soul. Borrowing that ability had kept me from succumbing to my horrific dreams of Neela. And I need to borrow it again. I had to let go of my misgivings and remorse. I had to stop wavering and wholeheartedly embrace the task Lady Brielle’atroy assigned to me five hundred years ago.
Once more, it was a Troy against the emperor. Once more, a Reth would shape the future of the Shinree. Once again, the crown and I would transform the landscape of Mirra’kelan.
For the better this time, I vowed. I owe it that much.
Mauled remains decorated the floor in front of the Menagerie doors. The bodies were all Shinree with chest cavities sucked clean of organs and heads caved in. Weapons still rested in their lifeless grips. They hadn’t gotten in a single hit; steel was the only thing on them not stained with blood. Even the men’s white hair was a shocking red. It wet the gray stone as Jarryd and I dragged their bodies aside.
Placing a palm on each man, I closed my eyes and asked Death to treat them well. “Ki esk-morah, pah Su’tay,” I didn’t know them. But I was weary of seeing my kinsmen die because of my father. He’d joined souls with Draken to liberate our kind. Yet he crushed their wills just as thoroughly—and their bodies. I can’t let this go on. No matter the cost.
I’m sorry, Nef’taali.
Jarryd was struggling to lift the heavy crossbar. I went to help him, and together we lifted the beam blocking the entrance. I put my hands flat against the doors and felt the space in front of them constrict. “The wood’s been reinforced.”
Elayna drew a nervous breath. “Then we’re in the right place?”
“We have to be. Jarryd’s blood powered the tracking spell. Your son is behind this door.”
“Can you tell if he’s…?” She shook her head, unable to voice it.
“The spell only tells me he’s here, not if he’s alive or…” I couldn’t do it either.
Jarryd’s anxiety was pounding both our hearts. “Get us in.”
Moving one palm to the seam where the doors met, I assessed the elemental spell quivering against my skin. Though the wood had been made strong enough to hinder a handful of determined eldring, the working itself was an easy one. Conjured in haste, it could be razed just as quickly.
I sent out a call. The auras comprising the spell stirred. Their glowing, snake-like tendrils made their way to me, flowing over the wood and pooling against my hands. I drank them in like a cool mug of ale; draining the energy off the door and onto me bit by bit. As the spell unraveled, I let go of the auras. The magic sloughed off harmlessly to the floor, and I stepped back. “It’s done.”
Sharing an anxious look, Jarryd and Elayna pushed open the heavy doors and ran inside.
The survivors were in the large living space at the end of the hall. A mix of refugees from the caves, slaves from the city, servants, and some Rellan faces I didn’t know; there were more than I expected. Some sported cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. The castle staff instantly surrounded Elayna. Several of the younger maids bravely hugged the Queen in relief. A plump, middle-aged Rellan woman pushed through the growing crowd and transferred a wide-eyed baby into the Queen’s arms. I assumed he was unharmed with the way Elayna crushed the bundle to her chest. Jarryd was right beside her. I stepped back and let them have the moment.
I scanned the faces for Sienn. Not seeing her, foreboding crept cold up my spine. The door was shielded from the outside.
Recognizing the pretty, young maid that Liel had been fond of, I went up to her. “Bethanee,” I said, grabbing her attention. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
She dipped in curtsy. “And you, My Lord.”
“Sienn isn’t with you?”
The girl’s face went pale. “Not anymore.”
“Tell me.”
“The beasts overtook us at the door. Some tried to fight, but….” Bethanee bit her lip. Anger circled the pain in her eyes. “How can such a brutal creature understand surrender?”
“Is that what she did? Sienn surrendered to the eldring?”
“They seemed to want her, My Lord. She feared for the Queen’s child, for all of us. She agreed to go if they would spare us. They let her spell the door. They waited for her. If she hadn’t protected us, more might have come. If not for Sienn, My Lord, we might all be dead.”
I muttered my thanks and went back down the hall. I checked the rooms until I found one with something I could use. Inside, rows of tables crowded with pott
ed herbs were lined up wall to wall. A conjured light hovered over the green stalks. It gave off curls of moist heat and turned the small space sultry. The Menagerie had been abandoned for months. But the spell on its small garden was still going strong. Untended stems and vines had grown off the table to tangle on the floor.
I put myself in the middle of all that green and asked the magic for another tracking spell. It sprung to life and the supple leaves turned black and crisp. My nerves sung gratefully.
Grabbing onto the table in front of me, I waited as the spell reached out. I pushed it across the island, searching, hoping.
Nothing.
She’s not here.
With a growl I swept the dead plants off the table and across the room. The table went next, splintering as it hit the stone wall. I was onto table number two when Jarryd came in. Elayna was behind him, still holding their child tightly to her breast.
I kicked at the mess of dirt and broken pots on the floor. “Jem has been eavesdropping through Elek this whole time. He knew I wasn’t here to protect Sienn. Just like he knew Krillos and Jillyan were coming. They never had a chance.”
“Ian, stop,” Jarryd said. “You can’t trust what Jem says. Krillos and Jillyan—”
“Are dead.”
Jarryd stepped closer. I struggled not to hit him as he said, for what felt like the hundredth time, “It was just a vision. And Jem wants Sienn as his empress. He won’t hurt her.”
I laughed at how wrong he was. “Do you know how many times we’ve debated who that man is and isn’t going to hurt? I’m tired of it. I’m sick of agonizing over whose life he’s going to use against me next. I can’t let him hold me hostage like this anymore.”
“What are you going to do?”
“End him. End it all.”
Catching the finality in my words, worry tightened his stare. “What do you mean?”
I didn’t answer. Jarryd squinted harder. He sensed something.
The truth, I thought, as his anger-laced understanding charged across the link.
His accusation was equally scathing. “You don’t plan on coming back.”
I didn’t deny it, and Jarryd’s blue eyes—grim and screaming of disappointment—burrowed in so hard it hurt. “I’m sorry,” I said.
He took a stunned step back. His jaw clenched. “You’re sorry? You tied us together. You gave me your memories, your soul. You made my life a part of yours.” Temper brought Jarryd right back up into my face. “I don’t know what bullshit you’ve conjured in that stupid, stubborn Shinree head of yours, but forget it. I’m not letting you do this. I’m not letting you take the easy way out.”
“Easy?” I shouted back. “I have more to live for now than I ever have. Than I ever thought I could have. We’re building something here, Jarryd, something impossible and good, and I want like hell to be a part of it. But for my people to truly live free, I have to…”
“Have to what? If you’re going to do it, then at least be man enough to say it.”
I cringed at the bile in his voice.
“Say it,” he pushed me.
“I have to die,” I blurted. “But if you think I want that—”
“I don’t know what you want. Frankly, I don’t care. Because I stayed alive for you, Ian. I stayed alive in that goddamn prison for two years, when all I wanted every single fucking day was to die. But I lived. I lived through the hunger and the pain because I knew what it would do to you if I didn’t. And now…now you’re telling me you can’t do the same?”
“This isn’t about me. It isn’t about you. This, what I have to do, the responsibility I’ve accepted, is greater than both of us. Greater than any of us.”
“Then find another way to see it done.”
“I wish I could.”
“How many times have you told me: it can’t always be black and white?”
“In this it is. Mirra’kelan’s future is riding on me.”
“Right,” he nodded. “Everything always falls to you. Ian Troy shoulders the fate of the world and to hell with what it means for anyone else.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Oh, it’s exactly like that. We agreed to stay out to each other’s memories for privacy, Ian. And all you did was keep secrets—again. I’m not a child. I don’t need your protection.”
“The secrets weren’t to protect you. They were to protect me. I wanted to keep this moment from happening as long as I could.”
“Why? So you wouldn’t have to hear what a selfish bastard you are?”
“No. To keep you from looking at me like you are right now.”
Jarryd’s resentment softened some. I felt the grief well in him.
Gods, give him the strength to survive this.
“You should have told me,” he said.
“I know.”
“We could have faced it together. Isn’t that the point of being nef’taali?”
Shame tightened my voice. “You have every right to be angry. You never had a choice in any of this. I bound you to me without consent. I changed the course of your life. I changed you. Now, I’m about to do it again. But I need you to look past all that. Look past your anger. You know I’m telling the truth. You can feel it. I don’t want to die.”
“But you’re going to.”
“I have to. You don’t understand—”
“Then make me. Because I don’t think I can survive in that darkness again.”
“If you bind with another, it will help to fill the void.”
“You want me to join with someone else? I’ll be missing half my soul, Ian. How is shoving another one inside me going to help?”
“It will.” It has to. “Trust me.”
“I did. And look where it’s gotten me.”
“Nef’taali…” I stifled the urge to reach for him.
“Do you know who really pays the price of your magic, Ian? It’s not the ones your spells drain. It’s the ones who survive. It’s the ones you leave behind in your wake.”
My chest hurt. I couldn’t breathe. I turned away, and Jarryd’s hand gripped my shoulder.
It wasn’t in friendship.
As he spun me around, I summoned the crown’s magic and caught his approaching fist in my right hand. I put my left on Jarryd’s head and whispered the spell. His eyes closed. His legs buckled. I caught him as he fell.
Elayna gasped. “What have you done?”
“Saved us both from something we’d regret.” I hoisted Jarryd’s body onto my shoulder. Moving past Elayna’s accusing eyes, I carried him into the hall. I found a room with a bed and deposited Jarryd on top of the covers.
Elayna stood in the doorway. “He didn’t mean it.”
I sighed. “Some of it, he did. And he’s right.”
“No, he’s not. Jarryd loves you, Ian. But he feels betrayed. And he’s scared. So am I.” Shifting the squirming babe in her arms, Elayna moved closer. “I watched what your last separation did to him. I’m not sure can he survive it again.”
“He has to bind with another. It’s the best hope Jarryd has for a normal life”
“If he does, if takes in another soul, will he be the same person he is now?”
“No,” I swallowed. “The new soul will alter him, just like mine did.”
“I see.” Her frown was deep. “Ian, dying for your father’s crimes can’t be the answer. You’d be far more of an inspiration to your people alive than as a martyr.”
“This isn’t about my father. And I’m not trying to inspire. I’m trying to end the Shinree addiction to magic.”
Her sad gaze lifted in disbelief. “End it? Can such a thing be done?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“That would mean no more cravings, no more losing control?”
“Without our addiction, we wouldn’t
be the threat we are now. The Shinree would have a chance of becoming a real society, peaceful and productive. We’d have a chance of being accepted.”
“But at the cost of your life?”
I forced a grin. “There’s always a downside.”
Elayna didn’t reply. Contemplation knitted her brow. After a moment, it softened, and I knew she’d come to the same conclusion I had. “Is my husband aware of your plan?”
“No. But considering the benefit to Mirra’kelan—after he was done yelling at me—I think he’d approve.”
“As do I.” Elayna gave a wistful nod to Jarryd. “He will too, someday. The anger will fade, and Jarryd will see your sacrifice for what it is: a most honorable undertaking. And in the meantime, we will all help him through.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s the least we can do.” As she stared at me, a brief smile broke her somber mood. “From soldier to outcast, to weapon, to savior; you’ve lived quite a bold life for a Shinree.” Elayna put an affectionate hand on my cheek. “I pray you end it just as valiantly.”
FORTY SEVEN
A slice of moonlight pierced the night sky. Deep shadows masked the barren expanse. Distant hints of yellow danced against the blackness; lanterns on my father’s faraway wall twinkling in the breeze. As it gusted around me I called to the brown jasper on my brace and the obsidian at my throat. Magic twisted through my veins. I cast three spells in rapid succession; night vision, a shield spell, and a shot of strength. Pleasure took my body. Color took my sight. I dropped to one knee, enjoying myself, thinking: I’m going to miss this.
Invigorated, with night vision in full force, I stood. The dead stalks of desert grass splintered like broken glass beneath my boots as I set off for the lights in the distance. The patch of lifeless vegetation gave way to all sand. The occasional wind became a blustering gale the farther I moved from the mountains. It seemed the temperature dropped with each step. I endured it for a while, but my shield was designed to deflect physical blows, not the elements.
Stopping, I slid the bag off my shoulder and retrieved the cloak I’d brought with me from Kabri. I threw the covering over my shoulders and woke the magic in my scars. As I thawed from the heat it provided, I noticed the whisper of a presence sitting beneath my skin. I wasn’t sure when Fate’s energy would dissipate completely, but I was running out of time to wait. I needed access to the knowledge in the scars. I needed to remember.
The Crown of Stones: Magic-Borne Page 40
