by Edun, Terah
Sebastian looked down at her fondly. “It’s not nice to leave a man without one word or even a goodbye.”
Ciardis choked, half-horrified and half-amused. Her tendency to leave him without a word felt like a running joke between them. Even though she had pulled back from using his sensory capabilities, she could still feel every emotion running through his mind as she stood in his arms. Nothing he thought or felt was beyond her knowledge. And she knew it was the same for him. She could feel the amusement running through him as he spoke and lightly teased her. But she also felt his worry, his pain, and his fear.
She spoke calmly but her voice hitched in regret as she said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I had to leave you. My family is here and we needed to move quickly. To put things into motion.”
His forest-green eyes flickered at the mention of her family. “Yes, I’ve heard quite a few things about your family. Your mother in particular. For one, she’s alive.”
Ciardis nodded.
“And she’s on trial, but not just any trial. One to be headed by my father in four days.”
She nodded again.
“And your brother is here. The same brother that helped shelter the Sarvinians in the sanctuary against imperial orders and helped you with the daemoni’s enchantment—once again, counter to imperial mandate.”
Her mouth thinned but she reluctantly nodded again.
“And you’ve also managed to attract a cadre of individuals to your cause. Including the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of kith in the Sanctuary,” Sebastian said, looking up over her head and presumably back at Thanar, who stood at the entrance to the library.
Ciardis couldn’t miss the hardening of his tone and the unhappiness in his voice.
“I can’t really explain everything,” she said in a rush.
“Since when is that unusual?” he said with bitterness.
Quickly Sebastian amended his words. “I’m sorry, that was unfair of me. You’ve always been forthright with me. But since when have we decided to not give forewarning? To not be sure of the other’s intention before running off on another plan?”
“Since you betrayed me,” she said with no hint of anger in her voice. She was merely stating a fact.
He clenched his jaw. “I deserved that. I know that. Springing the imperial committee on you and allowing them to use the truth serum was inexcusable.” She felt true regret radiating from him alongside a swirl of emotions like anger and shame.
She raised her chin stubbornly. “And?”
“And now isn’t the time for us to be on opposing sides Ciardis. We need to be united,” Sebastian said.
“Then be on my side,” she said. “Trust me, work with me, support me.”
“I am supporting you,” Sebastian shot back. “Did you think I didn’t suspect that you were the one who freed Thanar from his cage days ago? It would have been quite the coincidence otherwise, since you disappeared in the dead of the night along with your bodyguard, your Companions’ Guild mentor, and several frost giants in your wake.”
“Well—”
“No,” Sebastian said firmly. “This time you’ll let me finish. If I didn’t trust you I would have come here with half a dozen of my men to apprehend the suspect and drag him to the bowels of the dungeon where he belongs.”
“I’m glad—”
“Again, Ciardis,” Sebastian said, “Let me finish.”
She glared up at him but she didn’t speak or move away.
“If I wasn’t working with you,” he said, “I would be at my father’s palace having provisions and troops reassigned for the northern campaign and reinforcements immediately sent to the men up there. But I’m not, because I believe you were right. More men are not the answer.”
Hope flared in her eyes.
“And if I didn’t love you. I wouldn’t be here asking what your next foolhardy plan is to stop the blutgott and how I can help.”
Astonishment flared in her eyes as she re-ran in her mind what he had just said.
The prince heir of the realm had just said her loved her. Her. A laundress. An incompetent Companion. And a foolhardy Weathervane.
Then he gave her a roguish grin. “I also wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love you.”
Before she could move or even think about what he planned, he swooped in and claimed her lips for a kiss. A kiss that didn’t end, that felt like the very breath was being stolen from her lungs and her heart would burst with the passion that was flaring inside of her. A kiss that left her breathless and swooning in his arms despite the bitter chill in the air, the manor falling apart around them, and the palpable distrust in the air emanating from the daemoni behind them.
Chapter 11
When Sebastian reluctantly eased back, she did the same hoping for just one more moment of serenity in his arms. Unfortunately, life was always quick to plant her feet firmly back in reality.
“As lovely as that speech was, prince heir,” Thanar said smoothly, “your timing is incredible.”
“Excuse me?” Sebastian said tightly. She felt his anger tick up into rage.
Thanar must have noticed as well, because he gave Sebastian a mocking grin as he walked forward. “We just survived a dragon attack of massive proportions last night. An attack that could mean war with the empire of Sahalia if given the proper amount of attention.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You wanted to be here right now. At this very moment. After the attack and before any trace could be removed of the event. To see the damage for yourself and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was done by a member of dragon kind. An under-dragon that could be persuaded, with gold, to take orders from a human master. In order to stoke the fires for a war, a war which would distract from your true intentions in the northern campaign.”
Sebastian dropped his hands from Ciardis’s shoulders, stepped back with his hand on the sword pommel at his waist, and went around Ciardis to confront Thanar.
“The only reason you still stand alive, Prince Thanar, is because Ciardis seems to think you will be useful,” Sebastian said tightly. “One more word about even a hint of war between Algardis and Sahalia as well as your fanciful plan, and all restraint will be removed from my willpower.”
Thanar stopped moving with his wings spread out.
Neither of the two males was focusing on Ciardis coming up behind them. Their hard glances were for each other, which was why they didn’t notice the still form in the library door as Ciardis did.
“Raisa,” she whispered and half-turned to her in surprise.
The dragon ambassador gave a cold smile as she walked through the rubble to confront the two males.
“And tell me, Prince Thanar of the Daemoni,” Ambassador Raisa said, “what would the Algardis Empire gain from accusing my people of an attempt on the Weathervane’s life? We have no desire to be enemies and, quite frankly, as charming as the dear girl is, she is not worth a war.” The last was said with the irate hiss of a dragon whose syllables were flowing too closely together in anger.
Thanar had turned his head to the side slightly to catch the last of Raisa’s increasingly indecipherable words, but he kept both his eyes warily on the prince. Sebastian’s back was to her but she could feel the spark of anger radiating through his power. The daemoni prince might have gone too far this time.
“You see, Madame Ambassador, the war wouldn’t be fought over the death of the Weathervane. But rather,” Thanar said, pausing for delicious effect, “over the secret she uncovered and the Algardis emperor’s attempt to silence her. They would do anything to keep this dirty little secret hidden.”
Ambassador Raisa’s expression was cautious, even dubious. But she didn’t interrupt his speech.
“You came to the empire as the Sahalian ambassador on behalf of the dying kith of the Ameles Forest a few months back. Missives had reached your doors of murders of your smaller kith brethren, and it was said that you gave the empire an ultimatum: H
ave the murders stopped, or you would do it for them,” Thanar said. He continued to watch Sebastian with half-smile on his face.
“I did,” Raisa said grimly. “And it was accomplished.”
Then Thanar smiled and turned to look at her with a cruel glint in his eyes. “But you see, Madame Ambassador, those crimes against the kith were only the tip of the iceberg.”
“Thanar!” barked Sebastian. “Whatever you have to say can be said to me. We will not involve the Sahalians in our quarrel.”
“This stopped being our quarrel close to three hundred years ago, when my people found out what the mages of the empire were truly up to,” snapped Thanar. “You’ve drawn this down onto yourself. Feigning ignorance for two centuries while the kith suffered.”
“Is it not a matter for the Sahalians—”
“I will decide what my people will and will not be involved in,” said Raisa icily. “If a person of the kith races has a concern, then let me hear it. We, the dragon race, will honor it.”
She spoke for her people as the definitive representative of the Empress of Sahalia in that moment. It would be a breach of diplomatic protocol, not to mention a very foolish error, for anyone to attempt to thwart her wishes. Because, as she lived and breathed, she was Sahalia. As the living representative of said entity, in this respect she was as powerful as her empress far across the seas, and equal, at the very least, to the prince heir and daemoni prince who stood before her.
Sebastian trembled in anger but was frozen where he stood. He could not refute what the ambassador had just said. Not without starting a war himself.
Thanar raised his chin in victory and practically purred as he continued, “The Algardis Empire has been enslaving members of the kith races in the lands beyond the northern border since the Initiate Wars. They use them to mine in the lands of Sarvinia to find what the humans cannot seek for themselves. Hundreds have died in those dark and dank caverns of lung poisoning, illness, starvation, beatings and forced labor. For far too long the empire has gone unchecked, Ambassador, and I beseech you to consider this when making any deals with these filth, these humans.”
The ambassador’s eyes went from cool calculation to a fiery incendiary in moments, and she turned to snap at Sebastian, “Do the accusations of the prince stand true? The truth or I will tear it from your throat, royal to royal.”
Sebastian’s lips twitched as his hand tightened on the pommel of his sword. Ciardis feared he would try to lift Thanar’s head from his shoulders at that very moment.
“Yes, but—”
“But there’s much more to this story,” said Ciardis, interceding.
“More to the enslavement and murder of hundreds of the kith races?”
“Much more,” Ciardis said. “And we need to stand together to resolve it.”
“There is nothing that could justify the enslavement of one people by another,” Raisa said flatly. “And I would have thought that you would know that from your family’s history, Ciardis Weathervane.”
Ciardis flushed at the mention of her brother but rallied on. “Ambassador Raisa of Sahalia, I agree that for far too long the kith of the Algardis Empire have endured prejudice and unjust practices. I cannot, in good faith, defend the actions of the imperial court. But I must plead with you – hear us out.”
Ambassador Raisa turned to stare at her with fiery eyes, but she did not interrupt.
“The mines of Sarvinia hold the key to the very survival of Algardis and possibly Sahalia itself,” Ciardis said, “There is a talisman that lies buried within the mines that is the key to our salvation. What the imperial family did, they did in order to protect their people.”
Raisa bared her teeth in a very unladylike manner. They could all see the pointed teeth in mid-transformation. Ciardis gulped. She was wary – not sure if Raisa intended to rip out their throats.
“I don’t think I care for your lies, child.”
Stiffening her shoulders, Ciardis stepped forward. “I’m not lying.”
“And yet you hold something back.”
Ciardis felt the whisper of Raisa’s magic on the edge of her mind. The lightest of touches and she knew – she was reading her aura.
Quickly closing her eyes and opening them again, Ciardis said. “I wasn’t lying. But I have new information. Information that may mean that there is another solution to our problems. One which means that we no longer need the mines. We need you.”
“What?” said Thanar and Sebastian at the same time. Ciardis startled at the interruption and then remembered that they hadn’t been there when General Barnaren was dying. She had tried to call for Sebastian, but Barnaren had insisted that his words were for her alone. So only she had heard his last testament. And only she had promised to heed his advice and seek the aid of the dragon race.
But she couldn’t focus on the two males right now. Her voice, her eyes, and her attention were solely focused on the inhuman woman in front of her. She was the key to their very survival. The ambassador’s eyes glowed as red as they had the night before during the worst of the under-dragon’s attacks. She looked prepared to eat them at any moment.
Ciardis didn’t back down.
With a lick of her suddenly dry lips, she continued, “Does the name blutgott mean anything to you?”
At the very whisper of the word, the dragon ambassador paled and took a step back as she demanded, “Where did you hear that word, child?”
“On the battlefields of the north, from the man who died protecting this empire” said Ciardis. “I know that this god, this being of death and destruction, is awake and is seeking to return.”
“Impossible,” whispered Raisa, almost to herself. It was a denial of everything Ciardis had said.
Ciardis smiled gently. “It is the truth. I swear on my life that the blutgott is rising. And we have to stop it.”
“Stop it?” Raisa whispered, her voice taking on the snake-like syllables. “There is no way to stop a god.”
For a moment Ciardis’s confidence wavered as her mouth thinned in worry. “General Barnaren said he could be defeated and the gate to his world closed...with the help of the dragon race.”
Raisa stepped forward until she was directly in front of Ciardis and took her face into the palm of her left hand. “Even if I believed your tall tales, you should know this: your general was wrong. He died for nothing. Because nothing and no one can stop the blutgott.”
As Ciardis watched her, open-mouthed, Raisa dropped a heavy tome that she bore at Ciardis’s feet and left the manor. Those who remained turned to follow her with their eyes as she left.
Before she cross through the manor’s gate, Sebastian called out. “Where do you go, Ambassador?”
“To see your father and to get to the bottom of this nonsense.”
In her wake, silence reigned.
“Well, that went well,” Thanar said cheerfully. “You scared off your only ally and I got what I wanted.”
As the sound of Sebastian’s blade leaving the scabbard rang through the air, Ciardis hastily grabbed on to his shoulder.
“Don’t!” she shouted.
“How dare you!” Sebastian said. “Is everything a game for you? No matter how many people die because of your actions, will you wash away the blood from your boots with a smile each time?”
“I did what was necessary for myself and for my cause. You could learn something, prince heir,” Thanar said.
“I think I have,” said Sebastian as he raised the sword ominously.
Grabbing his upraised arm to force him to lower the sword, Ciardis hastily told him, “We need him!”
Sebastian gave her a look. “‘We?’”
“Okay, I need him. And therefore you do. We’re in this foolhardy plan together, right?”
“I’m beginning to regret that promise already,” Sebastian said flatly. Nevertheless, he lowered the tip of his sword until it met the floor with a clang.
Reluctantly, Ciardis let him go. Thanar stood a few feet
away. Smirking. Unhelpfully.
Kneeling down Ciardis picked up the tome that Raisa had dropped. As she turned the tome over in her hands she told Sebastian and Thanar, “The princess heir had a project in the Ameles Forest. One that I believe is the key to the talisman in the Sarvinian mines. Now that we don’t have the dragons on our side, we need the daemoni, or at least a daemoni, more than ever.”
“Why?” said Sebastian.
Ciardis swallowed. “Because when I first journeyed to the forest we ventured to the center as a group. To investigate a cage with a captured griffin held inside. The Panen people told us that the princess heir kept a cage infused with powerful magic there. A creature was unleashed from inside and I believe that whatever Princess Heir Marissa released from that cage can only be controlled by a mage of the daemoni race. And that’s the reason we need Thanar.”
“And how would you know that?” asked Sebastian, stepping back in the taut silence.
At the same time Thanar said harshly, “What makes you think I will help you? I think I’ve made it quite clear, Weathervane, I am not your puppet and I am done playing your games.”
Ciardis looked over at him with narrow eyes. For once, she knew what she had to do. He had practically given her a roadmap this morning. She smiled, set the tome down, and stepped away from Sebastian’s side. Coming close to Thanar she reached up with her right hand as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Because I have something you want, Thanar. Me.”
She heard Sebastian sheath his sword behind them. She settled back on her feet, gathered the discard tome and backed away. All the while Thanar stared at her. His face unreadable. For the moment their focus was on each other and Sebastian was a world away.
“Price accepted,” said Thanar carefully.
She smiled. Her mother wasn’t the only one with the talent to charm, it seemed.
She could feel Sebastian’s anger roiling in her mind. His anger was one of passion, one of jealousy. But if that’s all he could feel – the cold anger of a lover scorned then he didn’t know what anger was. Today she would do what she had to do. To save herself, to save her family, and to save thousands of innocent lives. She would no longer stand by, worthless and ineffective. She would make her destiny. It no longer controlled her.
